81F

I have used Shapeways and presume that the print is done in the Netherlands. So far I have made a GWR steel bodied open wagon which fits on the old Hornby Dubleo 10' Chassis (or Dapol version). After a reasonable sucess I am now awaitng another improved steel open, a body based on an LSWR van, a GWR Bullion van and a 009 sentinal body kit. If these work I might try a loco body for a hornby chassis.

Also in the post was a s/h blue box pannier to supply a chassis for a 3D printed body of a condensing pannier. This 3D printing is wonderful stuff, just got to fit hand rails, smokebox door dart paint and numberplate! Wish someone would do bodies for some of the Hornby Chassis

Thanks for the advice. It arrived today and has a small DCC ready logo on the box but it must be a second hand one because I found it was already fitted with a Chip and also explains the very cheap price! Only thing was I could not programme the chip to 6008 - Must be the old type chip. So I swapped it for the one I had in my GW (steam) sentinal no 12 and reprogrammed both.

Just accidently bought a GWR King of Amazon! My finger slipped as I move the mouse to one side and just cliped the one click purchase button! Fortunately I did want another but need to know if the R2460 GWR 4-6-0 KING CLASS KING JAMES II is DCC ready. Regards Steve

Two GWR Night Mail Coaches @ £20 each (the older type with just Night Mail on the side). (would have been £22 without the discount card

Just watch out that the large light at the end of the tunnel is not another train comming the other way! Best wishes Steve

I am awaiting GWR no 12 from the same supplier! I already have no 13 and it is such a beutiful runner.

Three blue S&D four wheeled coaches and one GWR version. I think the S&D ones had been stored in a damp place because the metal tyres had taken on a froste appearence and one of the couplings was rather rusty (Hence the GWR one to donate a new Chassis). However all the bodies were in a good condition and I have some spare silver seal wheels. This now makes up the loco and coaches from the Rural Rambler set I remember wanting in 1976 - only a 38 year waIt! I should also add the ebayer didn't really know what they were since he described them as being from a Caledonian set but they had metal couplings and silver seal wheel so I though this unlikely.

6 Humbrol Aerosols approximately £41 including p&p! These will hopefully allow me to weather some of my kit built wagons which have been packed in the loft for the past 20 years! Funny I remember being able to buy 8 of them for the same price as the paint is now!

My latest aquisition, a set of Hornby/Triang Cylinders. I now think I have all the bits to restore the third loco I ever bought - a new body, new tender & new piston rods. All I need to do now is find the chassis!

In a moment of insanity I recently bought a Triang Lord Westward in very good condition for around £25 plus p&p. The only damahe was a missing step from the tender which I have fixed by swapping the tender chassis for one from a green GWR hall tender. It seems like a bargain by ebay standards but what do others think?

Latest Acquisition, Three Coal wagons - Pentwyn, Prestwich and Cambrian Wagon Works - to mu surprise (and relief) these wagons are still being made with the old wide couplings (which I use as standard). However, it must be frustrating for those who use the new narrow types

Just taken delivery of an Electrotren E5083 see http://www.hornbyinternational.com/en/2383-costa-coach-2nd-class-renfe-bb-2334.html. This is a beautiful model in it's own right but bought it because it might just make a good basis for this... http://www.trainsim.com/vbts/Attachments/up1/119834.jpg only trouble is it looks too good to cut!

In a fit of madness I've just got the NCB sentinel. Heaven knows why it is totally out of period for my railway! However,t I do have some other industrials so I am tempted to build a small portable colliery layout when my main layoutis almost finished - The coal mine buildings on my main layout are on a separate lift off section so I'm probably half way there!

Latest Acquisition a B'mann Consolidation & spare body. It bears a very strong resemblance to the USA 2-8-0s that came over in WW2. It also compares vary favourably with drawings in JH Russell's GW adsorbed locos so I intend to bash it a bit to get something similar.

Another Video Uploaded. Sorry about the quality - Still trying to get the lighting right

Duchess of Athol Body & Tender top to go with a chassis I had in the bit box. 2 LMS break vans from the other company - a preorder I had totally forgotten about!

81F said: I've a long way to go to before my layout is finished to get any decent photos, but coincidently I have been messing around with a tiny digital camera I got off eBay for around £15. For what its worth here's the link - http://www.flickr.com/photos/16721965@N07/12150975233/ The subject should be self explanatory :) Regards Steve As always with Flikr addresses you'll need to cut and paste the url into your browser. Once there you can look at other phots by using the arrow keys.

I've a long way to go to before my layout is finished to get any decent photos, but coincidently I have been messing around with a tiny digital camera I got off eBay for around £15. For what its worth here's the link - http://www.flickr.com/photos/16721965@N07/12150975233/ The subject should be self explanatory :) Regards Steve

Just taken delivery of the Blue box Earl (GWR DCC fitted) very nice looking model but not too strong over my gradients (will not pull 3 corridor clerestories! Also got some 6 pin decoders for my Hornby/Dapol/Mainline Dean goods these work quite well on the one I've fitted but I've managed to strip the treads in the body so the screws wont hold the body on. So will have to drill these out and bush them with 1/8 plastic tube :(

1. the Blue box teams shunters truck (I wanted one with the straight stanchions) - feels more flimsy than the Hornby one so if you want sloping stanchions or not bothered, I would recommend the Hornby one. 2. LMS CCT very nice model. 3. County of Flint 4. Mainline 43XX (BR lined green) I hope to "turn back the clock" on this one by removing the outside steam pipes, smokebox door number plate and replace the uni-cycling ferret with GREAT (Garter) WESTERN. May even fit a copper capped chimney!

Latest Acquisition is yet another Dean Standard Goods I seemed to have ruined one by trying to put the DCC chip in the body - it seems to just stop due to very poor current collection especially on curves. Tried replacing the chassis twice but to no avail so I am wondering if it is the lack of weight in the body that is causing the problem. Before I ruin the latest one has anyone got any tips - I am thinking of getting a GM very small chip and trying to fit it in the tender after hacking a lump off the tender weight.

Sorry - the relevance of my story to this tread is that I think the wagons may have been railway (GWR) owned rather than PO wagons

I seem to recall my late Grandmother telling me how my Great Grandfather would buy a wagon load of coal direct from the colliery in a wagon "hired" from the railway (GWR) just before winter and distribute it to other members of the extended family to see them through the winter. From what she said I do not think it was via a coal merchant because I think she said it was cheaper to go direct. I must admit I'd be interested to know if anyone would know how this arrangement worked. The only thing I do know is that he did run a shop and later a haulage business (never more than one cart/lorry!) so he could probably do this through his business rather than as an individual.

the ferret said: Look I really am very sorry about this but I just cannot stand it any longer!!! What is this mystic "aquistion". Do you all mean an "A-C-Q-U-I-S-I-T-I-O-N"??? Not allowed to mention the sources involved but I have just made up two kits. One is a very smart GWR 'Mink A' van while the other is a conflat. I have painted the flat wagon in S.R. light grey while the container is in navy blue and our friends MABEX (who are still in business albeit a very sad little story) are supplying me with Pickford's Transfers. If I cannot get the 'Oxford' Pickford's Mechanical Horse, the GWR Mechanical Gee-Gee with Flat truck trailer will have to suffice. I will also have to make up a yard crane from which to dangle the container as transhipment proceeds!! When a schoolboy (it is a long time ago) I watched this process actually taking place in the GWR Vastern Road goods yard at Reading, in 12 inches to the foot scale. (Sighs deeply) We had a REAL railway then. I am also making up a train of coal wagons but am using all kits to do it with some notable exceptions. Hornby do both "C & G Ayres" of Reading and "Porter and Sons" of Marlow. However, apart from Isleworth Coal (in a blue box) I have to resort entirely to kits for Southern Railway private owners. I fancy "Woking Co-operative", "Meakins of Dorking", Stephens of Basingstoke but most especially (and I have two of these already) Fear Bros of Staines. I watched Fear's coal deliveries being fly-shunted into their siding in the UP yard at Staines from the age of three. It is so wonderful to recreate such events in model form. So, come on Mr. Hornby, let's have some Southern Private Owner wagons. I feel that there are far too many private owner coal wagons from the Midlands, the North and Wales. Hornby have done Oxfordshire based coal merchant as have Dapol - not sure if this would be a little to far away though.