Evening. Continuing the countdown to the AGM and exhibition at Aldershot on the 11th, here's today's update.

No Cambrian layout can ever have too many 0-6-0 goods locos and that's quite handy when looking for building simple locos that run well. I have already done a conversion on the Peco Collett using my now proven solid split brass chassis method and using the original tender, but cut down to the correct height. For this second version, the loco chassis is identical to the first, but I will use a Dapol tender. The loco body is one aquired  from Peco by Roger Jones, so none of the mechanism is thrown away this time.

So in the Proxxon MF70 mill goes the brass rod and plate. These are drilled and screwed together before the holes for the bolt bushes are drilled. This is shown in the main picture. These holes start as 0.8mm to allow the plate is tapped for 14BA screws. The holes in the block are then enlarged to 1.6mm and a recess of 2.5mm to take the bushes. The bushes are the ones developed for the Manor chassis kit, so anyone who has built one will know what I am on about.

Once the two parts are secure, the axle holes are drilled to accept 2mm Scale Association bearings. Next the block will be milled to allow the muffs and gears room to move.

I will do another post to show the progress on this. It may seem a risk to be making a chassis this close to the show, but it is a copy of a proven design, so fingers crossed.

The second photo shows the worm mount part of the gearbox which will screw into the top of the main block. This method has the advantage of being able to quickly split the two parts when getting wheels quartered and gears meshed correctly. The box is milled out of solid brass and will take Association bearings in the large holes.

Evening. With the AGM fast approaching I needed to add goods facilities to Llangerisech without spending too much time on them. The original plan was to use a slightly reduced version of the goods shed at Llanidloes, thereby following the main station building and engine shed. It would have been a fairly sustantial structure and a bit of a squeeze in the space available. Having then looked at the Scalescenes small store kit, this seemed too small. So out came the books.

C C Green's books on the coastal lines of the Cambrian are a superb resource and while browsing the first in the series, I came across the shed at Llandre north of Aberystwyth. It was a good size and could be quickly built using the Redutex corrugated iron sheeting that I had recently acquired.

So a quick shell from mounting card, the door openings painted with acrylics and scribed wooden doors gave a good start. Scalescenes brick paper was added around the base before the roof and sides were clad in the Redutex sheet. The latter is self-adhesive, so they just need to be cut to the size of the base card and are then slapped on. Before you know it  Robert is your mother's brother.

A little finishing with steps and guttering and the whole thing had taken less than six hours. The gable end boards and step hand rails still need to be done, but other than that, it is complete. A little weathering powder helps to blend the brick paper, but very little is needed on the cladding sheets to produce the results pictured.

The Redutex sheets seem excellent for this sort of application. They aren't cheap, but neither is my time, so overall they represent good value as such results are very quick. The shed seems to have the right parsimonious presence for a Cambrian station where freight plays second fiddle to the passenger services. So sometimes the organic approach to planning works!

No - nothing to do with that dodgy 90's Mullet-sporting band Europe, but a few blogs in the lead up to the 2mm AGM and the Aldershot exhibition.

Llangerisech is one of the four 2mm layouts that will be at the show and will be shown for the first time in its 1930's mode. For that purpose, I have had to make the additional features required by a steam railway as opposed to the slightly  rationalised items we have used when showing blue diesels.

First up is the water tower. This is based on a version at Machynlleth, but is a fairly standard Cambrian brick built design. The Cambrian used similar tanks on timber supports, but as the shed is a reasonable size, I felt the more substantial version was appropriate.

Biggest challenge was the pattern on each of the tank panels, but the old Robo Cutter came in very handy. I drew the shape on the computer and cut the rounded corner squares out of sticky-back plastic. As the shapes are very thin, I had to cut out more than required and bin a fair few to get a reasonable consistency. These were then stuck onto the tank sides (made from platicard sheet and quarter round rod) before being sprayed. The base is simple mounting board with Scale Scenes paper and Scale Link windows. The water is old processed X-ray film (my Mum used to be a radiographer and I have a large stash).

Over lead up to the show, I will show other bits of progress since the layout was last shown and some of the last minute panics.

I hope to see you at the show on the 11th.