Scalefour Forum

Lindsay My apologies --- I was getting confused between your engine and Steve's. It was late at night. When you see the two engines together the difference in the chimney tops is quite marked. We not only have "the Rules" to be careful of, but also a daughter who is a headteacher; we're re...

Oh, and I meant to say that my bunker is 30.8mm wide; the footplate under it is 31.8mm wide....
Allan F

I also did one of these --- not to the standard of either of you two. It was scratch built, and a week or two later, it seemed, John Boyle's kit appeared But it did appear on the front page of "Railway Modeller" as part of our "Bonnybridge" layout, so it was at least painted. It ...

We used to leave pennies in a glass of Coca-Cola overnight and in the morning they were like new. I now know it was the phosphoric
acid which did the job, but would it still work?

Allan F

Well, I wish you luck. I see it was 2001 when I disentangled the parts for this loco from the parts of two other wee tank locos with which it was mixed. I assembled the superstructure down to the footplate, but couldn't get a chimney or dome. I never started on the frames or mechanism. I always felt...

I admire your choice of malts, though for sentimental reasons I try never to be without a Lagavulin. But the 21 year old!! Do you have a rich uncle? I hope you don't do what I have been known to do ---- anoint the joint with the whisky and take a sip of the flux …………… Allan F

My layout, built 6 or 7 years ago, is entirely 12mm MDF, supported at 300mm centres throughout, and has shown no sign of warping, either on the bare boards, or where foam is attached to it (with spray carpet adhesive). Interestingly, in view of other comments made, I found that trains running over t...

PhilipT wrote:Has anyone tried using the GW Models roller? It would be a bit cheaper than the item suggested.

I have, and it worked well on curves down to about 1m radius. There's always the wee bit at each end which has to be discarded, but that's no matter

Allan F

I think a wire torque reaction link is ideal but it needs to be fairly long so that any movement of the axle is as near as possible straight up and down. This can cause problems fitting it round everything else. I do feel that a very little movement can give the jerk needed to start a slightly stick...

Hardwood "cobblestones" were, I think, used in towns and cities which were otherwise surfaced with granite setts. The purpose was to make the traffic, which was mostly iron clad wheels or iron shod horses, significantly quieter in sensitive areas, such as beside hospitals. I remember them ...

Not making any recommendations, but in the very early days (45 years ago), with no local model shops, and unable to attend the big shows where traders were, I used cellulose thinners from Halfords to weld plasticard. It worked, if not as well as the butanone I use now. I think the point is that anyt...

As stated, butanone dissolves some of the plastic. But it is important to keep some weight on it for a wee while (a few seconds for sassenachs) to force the softened plastic into the grain of the wood. With plastic sleepers you need just make sure the components are held firmly together until the so...

The poor souls who man the desk have enough problems without me. But when I tried to collect my (preordered) badge it appeared to cause a minor panic behind the desk -- and a bit of a queue behind me. I really felt I shouldn't bother -- but then they found it. But evidently name badges were not part...

Some years back I took up the offer of a name badge and wore it for the day. Nobody else seemed to have one (other than exhibitors), and nobody greeted me by name who didn't already know me. So I didn't bother again. I still think it's a good thing, though! Perhaps everyone could be given (not "...

Back in the early 60's there was a bit of an epidemic of British drivers in France running off the road or into a tree, having apparently fallen asleep. It was eventually concluded that the constant flicker caused by the trees at the sides of the road could be close enough to a natural frequency in ...

"My general point is this. In general terms - on the prototype, the switch rails, as they get thinner towards the tip, cannot take the weight of the vehicle and descend below rail level, and gauge level. On the 4mm scale model, the point at which the prototype cannot bear weight is the point at...

I think it is true that joggles are relatively rarely, if atall, to be found on Scottish lines; perhaps this is true of some English lines also. The set is another matter, and is always necessary (unless your switch blades can taper to zero thickness). Certainly I have never used a joggle, and have ...

There wasn't a standard, but many early platforms were much lower. This picture, taken about 1900, shows a station built in 1847. In this location, as in many others, the platform was raised later, but they couldn't raise the bit with the buildings on without unacceptable expense. There are still a ...

Possibly a slightly niaive question. The big pipe is to let water out to the various columns; but where is the (presumably smaller) pipe to let water in? There might have been a pump, possibly steam driven.

Allan F

Some years ago, when I did these things commercially, I built a model, for sales purposes, of a small housing development. What I didn't expect was that the property agent put it on display in his front window. After 4-5 months in the sunshine there wasn't a vestige of colour about it -- all a very ...

Very intrigued by your long 0.5mm drill. Evidently a long piece of steel rod; but how is the drill attached to it? Is that a collet on the end, or is there some other connection? It seems like the sort of thing I wouldn't need very often, but when I did need it I would need It badly. Allan F

I had this problem recently when constructing a C.R. 4-4-0 (A Dunalastair 1). I first worked out for the coupled wheelbase the tightest radius before the flanges began to bind. Then I worked out how much sideplay I could allow on the bogie, having first decided on how much I could narrow the frames ...

Philip you are probably right -- I can't get up into the loft just now to measure it. But I think that, within reason, track gauge can be wider than standard on plain track with no harm done. But not through points and crossings. The only difficulty is trying to couple SWB wagons (and indeed pushing...

I have a fairly large setup in my loft, which is about 40ft long but only about 8ft (effectively) wide. My tightest radius is 40 1/2 inches round the ends, and I found that 6 wheel locos could not reliably go round. However I relaid the curves using Exactoscale Gauge Widened trackbases, which give, ...

I get stuck on this phrase "the consistency of skimmed milk". Ian Rathbone's book "A Modeller's Handbook of Painting and Lining" is good in this area and well worth a read but not as good as practice!! I am grateful for all the helpful advice on this topic. But I suspect the mos...