Future plans

Ebay models

Having been alerted by other members of the SSMRS I discovered several items on Ebay which looked attractive enough for me to bid for, and win!

This partly built model is clearly an Alan Gibson kit Midland 2F loco, with the standard Johnson 3250 gallon tender. By the time I started modelling in S Scale Alan had discontinued this kit and I'd expected to have had to scratch build the locomotive body myself. Needless to say I'm rather pleased to have picked this model up.

I'm going to have to modify the model since it's not powered. The wheels have shorting out strips on opposite sides of the loco and tender chassis, which is something I don't like. I prefer to have pickup off all wheels with the body electrically dead. As it stands the wheels in locomotive chassis are very stiff and would have to be removed anyway. I don't think there's enough side play to cope with my sharp curves. Strangely the coupling rods are not jointed

I'll convert the tender to my usual tender drive system and replace the loco wheels with EM Gauge profile ones, which I've already got in stock. Not immediately apparent, is that the splashers and sandboxes on the other side of the loco are missing so these will need fabricating.

I'm not too convinced by the cast metal safety valve cover. I think I prefer the brass ones I've fitted to all my other Johnson locomotives.

On another seller's page were some LMS wagons and two carriages. I decided that the coaches might be worth having as one of them, at least. was obviously panelled and looked "Midlandish". In actually fact, I think it's an early LMS 57 foot 9 compartment suburban 3rd. It's got a detailed underframe and nicely constructed bogies together with a wooden profiled elipitical roof. The sides and ends are etched brass. It's not an Alan Gibson product - his coaches were for MR corridor express stock so who made this one - Bill Bedford perhaps?

The roof is made up of a wooden profiled core with a piece of thin ply across the base to give the impression of gutters. The curved roof has been covered with individual ply planks.

The other model is a flush steel 57 foot LMS suburban third. It's not as far advanced in terms of completion as the etched kit. I have a feeling that this is actually a scratch built model. The windows aren't all perfectly identical whilst there are scribed markings on the rear of the sides.  (see photo below)

Bogie for the LMS coaches.