The Chronicles of Canary Sidings - Eastern Eccentricity in EM

[Rippers]

I remember Walker Marine as one of the layouts that really inspired me in my early modeling. Never saw it in the flesh sadly but It was featured in Model rail when I was in my teens and as it caught my imagination so much I cut out the pages carefully and they are still in one of my scrapbooks to this day. Following your post I've dug them out and and am very much enjoying rereading the article. The viewing angle is a still a stroke of genius.

As to the crane tank. I can see what you have done from one of the photos now you have described it. That helps my thinking of what I do with mine.

Current thinking is that if British HO modellers can cut and shut models to shrink them down to 3.5mm can I not cut and splice an HO model to grow them to 4mm scale?

It you plan it early enough you should be able to do it way better than we did back then. We didn't discover the scale issue until after the body had been constructed.

 

[Herb Garden]

It you plan it early enough you should be able to do it way better than we did back then. We didn't discover the scale issue until after the body had been constructed.

It's recently been disassembled so hopefully I'm in with a chance

 

[Herb Garden]

In other news slow but steady progress on the T26. This Gibson kit is the best on the market for this prototype but it's a ruddy pain to build. Nowt fits properly and a fair bit of fettling is needed to progress it.


Front frames are now added to the footplate ready for that piano front casting to be inserted also started working on the cab floor.


Also for the fun of it the tender body has been started.

 

[Herb Garden]

So while that's all well and good there are another couple of sets of frames that need putting together. Hopefully these next few will be the last of the batch.


First up is a lovely little 0-4-0 from the branch lines stable. Once again the much loved poppy's jig taking centre stage.


And yes it's the redoubtable Hornby smoky Joe. This one from my little sister's trainset which came to me when one of us grew up and the other didn't.

The plan with this is to do the nesscecary cut and shut to make a mid Victorian industrial Nielson like the preserved 2203 Kelton Fell. I feel that would be more useful on the Victorian end of the layout than a Caledonian or North British machine.

Lovely kit the branch lines one. Like Thier other chassis I've built it just drops together. Progress so far only took me 90 mins or so

More photos of the prototype

 

[Flymo748]

I

View attachment 241023
Also for the fun of it the tender body has been started.

Errr...

I hope that you increased the coal space to the correct size before you soldered up the tender body. You need to compare it to Lyn's drawing to see what I mean:


I marked it out according to the drawing, and then fretted it out:



The end result is much better proportioned:



Good luck. As you say, it *is* the best T26 kit available. Which isn't saying much...

Best,
Paul

 

[Herb Garden]

I feel like I'm on an episode of "I'm sorry I haven't a clue"

Welcome to the game of Name Those Coupling rods!

Yes I'm batch building again but these are and will be the last batch of coupling rods as at some point this binge will need to come to an end and layout building commence again.... But until then....


The next loco to get a new set of frames is a very old friend. This conversion of old triang Nellie mounted on the old Hornby terrier chassis was built for the first (peco code 75 00) incarnation of Skeetsmere in 2017 and was the most complex bit of modelling I could do at the time.


I'm very proud to say it featured in the May 2018 railway modeller. Sure it was a bit crude by many modelling standards but I'm still very fond of it to this day. Sadly a botched spray painting job and the OO finescale track of Skeetsmere 2 sidelined it for models with finer profile wheels.
Since the start of the pandemic and Skeetsmere 2 she has lain in a box of past projects. Until the chance finding of a set of comet terrier frames suggested a method to get her back on her wheels again.


I've decided to make of the terrier frames and some 3'8" wheels that I've had lying around. Although not the correct size for a terrier Nellie is a lot bigger machine and she benefits from a squat chassis to ensure she don't look too top heavy.


The terrier chassis is a pretty good fit helped by the fact the body was allready adapted to fit the RTR version. Well it's coming together nicely and it will be fantastic to have this old friend running again

 

[Herb Garden]

So back at the end of last year I started working on a set of coaches for Skeetsmere. I didn't get further than a bread van and the shell of the third class but after using the sides of the others as a way to demonstrate resistance soldering at the local 2mm accosiation area group a month or so ago they've been ready for a gap in my focus to come sailing back onto the workbench with the result that 2 days later we have:




Plenty of work still to do on them but nice to see them in 3d

 

[James Spooner]

So back at the end of last year I started working on a set of coaches for Skeetsmere. I didn't get further than a bread van and the shell of the third class but after using the sides of the others as a way to demonstrate resistance soldering at the local 2mm accosiation area group a month or so ago they've been ready for a gap in my focus to come sailing back onto the workbench with the result that 2 days later we have:

View attachment 241662

View attachment 241663
Plenty of work still to do on them but nice to see them in 3d

George,

That‘s a lovely set of carriages and I’m sure the good burghers of Skeetsmere will be eternally grateful to you for providing them with such accommodation!

Nigel

 

[Herb Garden]

Well I knew I would get frustrated with the coaches pretty quickly....

Its been a tiring week so I needed something easy going tonight to work on.


This P4 scratch built M&GN brake van arrived yesterday. It's a really lovely thing but if you look closely there's some damage to the footboards


So now I've converted it to EM and made repairs to the foot boards. Spot the white plasticard.


Needs some couplings and a repaint into brown and it can do service on Skeetsmere as one of the brake vans. Not quite the right railway but the right region and period

 

[AJC]

The one on eBay? I guess there can't be very many P4 models of M&GNJR brakes (and one fewer now). Quite tidy - and of course the body of this one survives (currently at Whitwell and Reepham).

Adam

 

[Herb Garden]

The one on eBay? I guess there can't be very many P4 models of M&GNJR brakes (and one fewer now). Quite tidy - and of course the body of this one survives (currently at Whitwell and Reepham).

Adam

Yeah that was the one .... Turns out it was originally built in EM (you can tell from the brake positions.) Then converted to P4 in which some of the damage to the underfloor area was done.

So in a way I'm just returning it to it's original state. Until I paint it brown that is....

 

[paulc]

Hi

So while that's all well and good there are another couple of sets of frames that need putting together. Hopefully these next few will be the last of the batch.

View attachment 241285
First up is a lovely little 0-4-0 from the branch lines stable. Once again the much loved poppy's jig taking centre stage.

View attachment 241286
And yes it's the redoubtable Hornby smoky Joe. This one from my little sister's trainset which came to me when one of us grew up and the other didn't.

The plan with this is to do the nesscecary cut and shut to make a mid Victorian industrial Nielson like the preserved 2203 Kelton Fell. I feel that would be more useful on the Victorian end of the layout than a Caledonian or North British machine.

Lovely kit the branch lines one. Like Thier other chassis I've built it just drops together. Progress so far only took me 90 mins or so

More photos of the prototype

Hi Herb , what are the blue bits on your Poppys jig . Great idea so wondered what material it is and does it just grab on the rods ?

 

[Herb Garden]

Hi

Hi Herb , what are the blue bits on your Poppys jig . Great idea so wondered what material it is and does it just grab on the rods ?

It's just some blue rubber tubing that came with the jig very handy indeed

 

[paulc]

It's just some blue rubber tubing that came with the jig very handy indeed

I didn't get that with mine and i can see the advanrage so will have a search around and find something . I could macine up some collars , food for thought .

 

[Dave Sutton]

Some cable sleeving from 1mm cable would probably do the job.

 

[simond]

Try fishing / angling shops

 

[Herb Garden]

So if anyone is thinking my modelling is unsettled at the moment and flitting between projects. Believe me I know I'm doing that!

Here goes again

Found these Peter K etches in a box for a pair of GER diagram 11 2 plank opens. Known in the GER as wool wagons but they carried everything.


The main body is two U shaped hefty pieces of brass laminated together




Hot work.... So hot I had the RSU up at 3V and I ended up melting the handle of the probe!


Oops! Still works though! Not sure what I was doing wrong though.


Then there's a whole load of laminates to go on the outside to make up the planking. That's one done one to go....

 

[Herb Garden]

Sunday is tidy up day and I've taken the opportunity to construct a stock display stand from Stoneybridge structures I've had in a draw for a couple of months.


I don't think any of the stock needs a introduction as it sould all have featured on these pages before. It's an eclectic mix but so are my tastes

 

[Osgood]

Not sure I recall seeing the Met(?) 4-4-0T - shades of the West Somerset Mineral Railway perhaps?

 

[AJC]

Not sure I recall seeing the Met(?) 4-4-0T - shades of the West Somerset Mineral Railway perhaps?

The Met' tank appeared (in passing), a page ago: The Chronicles of Canary Sidings - Wooly Minded

I don't remember the (Paul Windle?) 0-4-0T though...

Adam