Mantles Wood - Not finished yet!

Unlocked as requested for updates.

Is this likely to be available at Smiths on stations?

Congratulations. I’d love to get my layout in a mag if I ever finish it!

A new loco has joined the stable at Mantles Wood (an ex-Metropolitan Railway F Class) and fills a gap in the fleet. This has been made by adding a 3D-printed body to the loco chassis of an Oxford Rail Dean Goods. (The loco body came with the trailing wheelset).

rev F Class front 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

rev F Class side 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

rev F Class standby loco 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

rev F Class servicing point 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

Is that what you wanted to know if LH or RH drive for ?

Not only am I not into kettles, I be not into modelling*** either - I have no time no patience and no space.

But that looks good.

*** somewhere my ~1970 Triang Hymek, freightliner wagones, and a what were they ? continental ? BoBo Alco lookalikes lie in a box. Not turned a wheel in ~45+ years.

I hadn’t noticed before, but the rail sides are actually brown. It doesn’t come like that, does it? It’s that sort of detailing that makes it look so good.

It certainly looks good. I have experimented by using Halfords camo brown spray which also looks good. They do several colours like green and black which are nice and Matt.

This autumn I bought a Q38 driving car so I could have variations with my 4-car Q stock set. Since when, Phil Radley has passed, and I’ve had a spell in hospital (just 24 hours but still recovering), so I haven’t had a chance to work on the Q38 at all.


This update is just on other projects, two more Black 5’s (making a total of four as befits a Great Central layout) a ‘French’ or ‘cupboard door’ 16T mineral wagon to make a change from all the other more normal 16T wagons, and a Blue Pullman kitchen car conversion. Someone is now doing 3D printed conversions to make a kitchen car and also some variations of parlour cars as Triang only made the one parlour car.


rev 44760 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr


rev Black Five 45147 side 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr


rev 'French' 16 tonner 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr


rev Blue Pullman kitchen car 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

Just a little update to show I’m still in the land of the living. I’d been wanting a Fowler 4P 2-6-4 tank to complete the Chiltern local roster. These weren’t as common as some other 2-6-4’s but certainly not rare either. I’d been waiting for a reasonably priced example to come up for auction. In the event 42315 was reasonably priced, nicely weathered and in addition had actually been shedded at Willesden and Neasden in the 50’s. She just needs a lamp, replacement steam pipe, dummy screw link coupling on front and some crew.

rev 42315 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

About 18 months ago Sonic Models (a new entrant and available via Rails of Sheffield) announced an ex-LNER A5. My wallet heaved a sigh of relief as the A5’s departed from Neasden on the early 50’s and before my timeframe which starts at 1956. Then I discovered 69801 returned to Neasden April 1956 in connection with some celebrations of the opening of the GW/GC joint line. She’s quite a chunky beast and gives me yet another type of large tank loco. It’ll need renumbering, weathering, crew, coal and dummy screw-link coupling. Oddly the lamps are moulded-on in express lamp code, so they will need to be changed to a local lamp code. Others have said they will be changing theirs so I’ll wait and see just how they do it before I start surgery.

rev 69804 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

Ordered now! It should be coming next week. What coaching stock did these A5s work with? I assumed the suburban coaches shown with yours but was there anything around the late 30s or early 40s that might have been used too?

Thanks. The twins were flush steel panelled I think with fake teak later repainted to crimson?

I have my A5 now and I’m not very impressed with it! The mechanism seems very rocky and bobs about a great deal.

Has anyone else had this trouble? I’ll carry on trying to run it in but I think it might need to be returned….

Mantles Wood finally has a Chesham set! I was never going to build a brass 3-car set, so knew once a 3-car set would be available RTR it was a ‘must have’.

With Rapido bringing out an E class loco that will be 2 huge gaps in the roster filled.

rev Chesham set a by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

rev Chesham set b by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

Ever since cdc models announced the Chesham set I’ve been pestering Charlie to do them in brown as well as teak – and now he’s done me a set and I have to say I’m very pleased with it.
rev Ivatt leading set by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr
rev Ivatt pushing set - bay by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr