Book Review: Manx Electric Railway - Motorman Basics Handbook

 

It's time to order my 2027 calendar - the 2026 one is filling up with all sorts of things, and bookings will soon stretch past December. 

While on the Isle of Man Railways website placing the order, I spotted the Motorman Basics Handbook, for a paltry £3.

When the package arrived, I opened up the book and was surprised. OK, it's a slim publication, but inside is packed with all sorts of nerdy, technical detail for those interested in MER trams, or just trams generally. 

The driving and stopping mechanisms are explained in great detail - I'll need more than a single read-through if I'm to take it all in. Suffice to say that if you've ever wondered what goes on inside the pedestal the driver stands behind in a tram, it's all in here!

Likewise, the various braking systems are fully covered with some excellent diagrams.  

This book is part of the ultimate driving experience. Presumably this is a longer session than the one I took a few years ago. No book for me! It was still great fun though. Driving a real tram, on a live line, complete with wandering sheep. 

 

At the back of the book, there is a rundown of the different types of driving cars and trailers to be found on the MER. This stock listing is worth the price alone, as there is a lot of variety in the fleet. 

 A must for the Manx transport enthusiast, or anyone interested in tramways generally. 

Scenic work in the October issue of BRM

 

Plenty of Phil in the October BRM, and in some interesting scales. 

We kick off with building a couple of N gauge (OK, 2mm scale) garden sheds from Metcalfe kits. They really are tiny; that's a 10p piece under one of them.  

Why am I building sheds? Well, I needed them for a diorama. 

We're taking part in the "Make a Scene" competition, so I was presented with a pack and told to go away and make something with it. Digging through my stash of N gauge materials, I found the makings of a bungalow, and an allotment. 

In the pack are some interesting scenic materials, so I set off and produced something simple, but I hope, very achievable.

My camera has been out, and sticking with the N gauge theme, the first layout is Ambleton Vale. 

Chock full of interesting details, this is the first layout I've seen with a racecourse. 

Next, we step up a scale to 3mm*, with Hanton Tarrant.  

*That's proper British 3mm scale. 1:100, not that upstart TT:120.

It's a scale I love, and with boats and a rhinoceros. Can't go wrong there.  

With my reviewer head on, I take a look at Rapido's 009 wagons. 

And finally, for BRM TV, I explain colouring bricks.

 

Roof making

 

Regular readers will know I'm a fan of dry-fitting kits together to spot possible problems later in the build. 

Looking at the sides on the barge, I'm not 100% sure where they sit. Logically, the bottom of the side sits atop the sides of the hull. But there is a gap at least one layer of card could sit in. Get it wrong though, and the roof won't fit. Looking at the photos in the instructions, I think I'm right, but there's one way to be sure, make the roof. 

Work starts by putting a curve in the piece of card forming the roof. A set of metal rollers would be ideal, but mine are buried in a cupboard, so I just rolled a bit of dowel back and forth, with the card on my thigh - less chubby people can use a couple of towels. 

It worked fine, so the next job was to fit some MDF formers in, which are clipped in place as shown. Finally, a spine fits into these. I did all this quite quickly so the glue didn't have time to dry until everything is in place. The cutting of the MDF ensures very tight fits, but there is a tiny bit of movement of the MDF formers in the holes in the card. 

Speedy work ensures this isn't a problem. Using normal PVA rather than Roket card glue would have been wide too, but didn't occur to me at the time. Fortunately, I've got away with it. Luck or skill, you choose.  

Bow pen rims

 

Looking at the sides, I thought a nice brass rim around the edge of the windows would look good, but it would need to be perfect. 

It occurred to me that maybe I could run a bow pen around, with the corner of the card in between the jaws. This would keep it consistent. 

With no idea how this would work, I loaded it with neat Darkstar Molten Metal Brass, and had a go. After all, if it went wrong, I could wipe away my shame, and slap some red on top. No one would be any the wiser. 

And you know what? It worked perfectly. I was able to trace around the edges easily, and the acrylic paint flowed perfectly. I'm quite pleased with this!

 

Barge sides

 

Back to the barge! Various work projects have got in the way, but it's back on the workbench. 

There's a lot of painting going on. Also a lot of ignoring the instructions, which, if I'm honest, aren't the easiest to follow. Apparently, you are supposed to build some furniture next, but as far as I can tell, this can wait until the sides are ready. That way I'll know if it fits. We'll see how this pans out. 

Anyway, the sides are made up of three card layers, sandwiching some clear acetate. The basic idea is to make painting easier, as the shaped outer can be painted red, and then overlaid on the next one, which is green. That's clever, if not particularly prototypical, but I can live with that. 

The card is really nice quality. Sharply cut and it takes paint really well. OK, the satin green took three coats for a decent depth of colour, but that's down to the Humbrol paint as much as anything. 

Inside, I'm going for a varnished wood effect. OK, a mid-brown, but from the outside you won't be able to tell. The MDF dividers looked like they might be a problem, so I went over them twice with a AK white paint pen. After that, the brown looked great, even on the burnt ends. Mind you, the MDF absorbed the white like crazy. I'll remember its usefulness for priming in the future though.