Robs workbench...in works grey...

[CVR1865]

Rob, yes that is what confused me I thought she should be a little more silvery...

[rob]

....and with bigger wheels!
The others are now finished,albeit the A2 is not properly dressed yet but I'll be working on that tonight all going well......
......here are a few shots from final assembly and testing last night on the 3rd radius switchback.....the A2 is at fairly extreme settings!

This shows how it sits on a settrack curve,unlikely it will ever need to but better allow for future developments,plus some of the hidden curves on the layout will be quite tight....loads of play on the non-driven drivers,a little even on the driven,rear frames slightly squeezed and the live side of the pony mounting (whitemetal) filed down a lot...

This shows the bogie and the very big carve from the cylinder front-this was pretty much already there but the cyls were out on washers and I was able to eliminate them which does improve the overall look....

The entire machine from the outside of the curve-the tender has an internal frame so play was no problem and its quite close coupled... ....once its finalised I'll pose them for their formal "works" photos!The others are there,just not visible in any shots!

[Atlantic 3279]

Looking beautifully "crisp" in that carefully re-built and pristine-painted state Rob. Excelent

[Robpulham]

Looking great Rob, I have never seen one of these prior to your rebuild but recently I have seen four of them offered for sale - like buses all come at once.

[rob]

Thank you Graeme,great to hear,I wasn't sure it would be possible to "straighten" the job sufficently but it seems to have worked out!
Built or unbuilt Jon? I would have loved an unbuilt kit but all's well that ends well I suppose!..and it was something different to attempt.
I have nameplates ready to go now,had to add tiny mounting blocks to them having forgotten to add anything to the splasher to aid securing them while building!...maybe finalised tomorrow!

[rob]

Well all done now though the nameplates proved a real frustration and slowed things down in the end so photos had to be taken with flash rather than daylight......




So thats the end of this saga at last!....now I really have no excuses for not getting on with the layout itself,and seeing Micks stock running on his is a real incentive......

[Atlantic 3279]

If the layout looks as nice as the locos we'll be in for a treat .

[52D]

Nice.

[jwealleans]

They really look the business, Rob, especially that Q10. Well done.

[rob]

Happy New Year everybody and I hope I'll be around a bit more for 2011...
I did continue with my plans for clearing out and preparing the loft....it involved building shelves under one of the baseboards,dismantling the old layout at my parents and sorting two and a half lifetimes of stock into boxes and away....

It was a poignant experience...it includes a very early Triang Jinty which was part of a Christmas display in my Grandfathers business one Christmas,found with its wagons and some track in a wicker basket a few years back during renovations and given to me as the familys only railway modelller!Its like an old fashioned model railway shop under there now,very nostalgic....theres also a fair degree of junk which I haven't the heart to throw away yet!
Good news was that the control panels should be adaptable for the new venture...

They will need to be extended to accomodate larger track diagrams but when I buil them I did leave room for more switches etc so there should be an appreciable time saving element.....
I will be away for the next two days but look forward to catching up with the action after that!Will 2011 be year of the layout? It should be feasible to get track laid and wired but I'm not going to get too optimistic yet!

[Atlantic 3279]

Welcome back to LNER-land Rob, and welcome to 2011! Family been keeping you busy these last 4+ months I presume?

[rob]

In reply Graeme....family along with many even more bizarre things!
I'm just posting the brakes here as a matter of record...one of the many great things about LNER.info is that carefully constructed threads don't vanish overnight and remain as a resource and record for us all....thanks Richard!

What brainfade came over me re the numbering?
Two GNR brakes,4 wheel from McGowan,8wheeler D&S

...allowing for the RM circa 1980 quality of build it does show the McGowan can produce a nice model even in comparison to the Rolls Royce quality of D&S kits.

[rob]

Heres another I made some time back...GC 6 wheel,15T,from the Falcon Kits range....

This still has the Hornby couplings I used to use,need to be replaced with Dapol in line with my standardisation program!

[Robpulham]

They look good Rob and it's nice to see you around again.

[rob]

Thank you Rob,I'm going to make a good effort to stay in touch here now I'm back in business......!