Progress on the Firsts

Like husky rock legend Rod Stewart, I can’t go ‘on tour’ without taking some tools and etches with me to do a bit of railway modelling whilst the rest of the band indulge in the rock’n’roll lifestyle.

Ok, so there’s no band, just me, but a few days teaching at Dumfries House in deepest Ayrshire has given me a few evenings to solder up the sides for three London & Birmingham Railway Firsts (with quarter lights) and Blind Firsts (without).

These are from etches drawn up by fellow Brighton Circle member Mike Waldron. The sides are completed and I’ve made a start on the ends with their distinctive footboard end steps. The roofs are also underway but I still have the fiddly rooftop luggage rails to do. These will have to wait until next week. A couple of well earned bottles of excellent Scottish ale and I’m not sure I trust myself with a soldering iron any more.🤪

The second pic gives an idea of what I’m aiming for….eventually!