This loco is a delightful Darjeeling 'A' Class made by Archangel. Unlike other A-Class locos that have been here it is (a) made to scale and (b) beautifully made. It arrived here in bare metal and so has received etch primer, paint and lining. .

This Decauville 0-4-0T came here for fitting of radio control, fitting of a Summerlands chuffer pipe and a bit of weathering. The tank tops and cab roof were also repainted black as they would never have been blue on the full-size loco.

One of the rarer Roundhouse models was their Michael. Basically, it was a Lady Anne chassis with a Dylan cab and a Fowler smokebox. Only a few were made, exclusively for SMD Models in 1991.

When I look at a model, one of the first things I ask myself is "Would that work in full-size?" and when I first saw a Michael my answer was "No". It has coal bunkers, but where would it hold a supply of water for the boiler? So...

This one (No. 6) came here for modifications at the request of its owner. Included were dummy well tanks between the frames (solving the water supply problem), replacement smokebox and dome, Accucraft couplings, upgraded radio control and a repaint in to the owners stealthy black scheme lined in blue and red.

A representation of a Darjeeling Himalaya Railway A-Class built by Elstow Engineering.

The eight A-Class (formerly No. 2 Class) locos were delivered by Sharp Stuart (and Hunslet) to the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in 1879 and 1880. They were the forerunners to the larger, more familiar and much-loved B-Class.

The third and fourth pictures show the model as it was delivered. lt came here for testing, extensive modifications and repainting at the request of the owner.

My sincere thanks go to Shawe Steeam Services for their considerable help with this project.

And that is all I have to say.

Here is Roundhouse Lady Anne LIGNITE, a real Old Lady. Meths-fired with tinplate (not brass) bodywork and half-inch cylinders, it must date from the earlier half of the 1980s. It came here for a repaint and a general check over, but there was nothing wrong with it!

PUFFIN, a Roundhouse Lady Anne has been here for fitting of a DJB Model Engineering Ltd steam whistle and associated radio control, new rods, lining and de-glossing.

Another Roundhouse England, appearing in the guise of PRINCE this time. Festiniog locos in this livery are very much black locos with green panels, and that is exactly how the full-size ones were / are painted. This model was delivered in all-over green so had black added to the tank front, tank top, cab front, cab back and tender front (and interior) followed by lining in red with black edging. Name and four works plates provided by MDC, of course.

The owner of this loco wanted a green one but could not find one, so bought a black one and had it repainted and lined.

This one is the unusual combination of a Swift Sixteen Owain body, usually seen on an 0-4-0 Accucraft chassis, but mounted on an 0-6-0 Roundhouse Lady Anne chassis instead. It also has a Lady Anne boiler but the smokebox is from a Roundhouse Billy which allows the boiler to be mounted higher and so not causing it to be lost between the side tanks. Many modifications had to be made to the body to make it fit this chassis, particularly around the radio control equipment, and a few to the chassis too. It also had modifications made to the coal bunkers in front of the cab.

A first for me in a couple of ways... The first Roundhouse Engineering "Harrogate" I have seen, and the first loco I have ever lined without taking it apart. With lots of well-hidden fixings, I just could not work out how the loco came apart, so I spoke to the lovely people at Roundhouse. Their first reaction was "Do you really need to take it apart? Not recommended" followed by the extensive instructions on how to do so. I decided that there really was no need to take it apart and so I lined it "in one piece", the first time I have ever done that.

MAN OF KENT received one of my personal favourite lining schemes: British Railways Mixed Traffic. The lining is in three colours: grey, cream and red. It was derived, I think, from a much earlier London & North Western Railway scheme and was used by BR on thousands of locomotives during the 1950s and 1960s, but this is only the second model to which I have applied it.




However, during my volunteer days at the Severn Valley Railway I played a part in its application to several full-size loco, including the one shown in the second picture.