A pair of Swift Sixteen Owain bodies mounted on Accucraft chassis which were assembled, painted and lined here. They both needed some additional work to fit over the pre-existing radio control gear, and both gained the dummy whistle from their original Accucraft bodies.

This Roundhouse Darjeeling B-Class came here for fitting of a cab back sheet, working lights and blackening of the rods and valve gear. The cab back sheet was beautifully made by my mother-in-law and can be fitted to any Roundhouse B-Class. All I need to have is the cab roof, with headlight and whistle removed for easier postage. Contact me for further details.

For nearly 40 years I have been involved with and supported railway preservation projects, and so it was a pleasure to be able to assist in this particular, if rather unfortunate, task. The Roundhouse Engineering Argyll shown in the pictures is owned by the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre in Donegal, Republic of Ireland. It forms a significant part of their public displays that help to keep the history of the County Donegal Railways system alive in what is now an area of the country devoid of railways. It suffered an accident that resulted in an impact to the rear of the cab and also to the front of the frames, the latter pushing the right-hand cylinder out of alignment. The DRHC contacted me and asked if I could repair it, which I could. Straightening of the frames was the first task, and the chassis was soon running again as it should. Battering the bodywork back in to shape took a little longer, but started with stripping the paint and then some careful work to restore the shape. In this kind of impact as well as bending the brass will often stretch, as it did in this case. A full repaint in County Donegal red lined in cream followed. I was anxious not to place too much of a financial burden on the Heritage Centre for the repairs needed as it would divert funds away from their other work. However, another regular Rhos Helyg Loco Works customer is a Life Member of DRHC and so, between us, we covered the cost of the repair and I was delighted to be able to return the loco to the owners at no cost.

This loco first came here a few years ago for attention to the poor running characteristics unfortunately common in these locos. The usual battle with the cylinder end covers and their steel 10BA screws snapping when unscrewed followed. Fitting a new set of the correct type of piston O-rings soon had the loco running again as it should, and that was about all I did. Four years later, and the same loco was back on my bench having changed owners in the meantime. The new owner wanted it to be fitted with single-channel (regulator only) radio control, more detailing (lubricators, pipework, cab vents, etc.) and a repaint in to the maroon lined in red that the full-size loco carried while at Dinorwic Quarry in North Wales.

Another Robert, built here from a kit, and again featuring the the dummy coal bunker sections between the cab front and the back of the water tanks, filling the gap nicely and changing the look significantly.

I was asked by a customer in Australia to paint and line the bodywork he had made for a Quarry Hunslet. He was building a model of the National Slate Museum's loco UNA and so the parts were painted in dark maroon with cream lining and black detailing. The loco is now complete and looks stunning. I am so pleased to have played a small part in its creation. (Photos 2 and 3 by John Bell)

A representation of the Talyllyn Railway's Edward Thomas built by Steve Acton using Roundhouse Engineering chassis components. It came here for repainting of its boiler, smokebox and cylinder covers, some attention to the existing lining, a valve timing check and servicing of the safety valve.

Sometimes it is an absolute pleasure to do work on a loco, and those produced by Finescale Engineering definitely fall in to that category. LEAMINGTON SPA is a Finescale Peckett 0-4-0ST and it came here for remedying of its poor performance issues. Worn piston rings, a stuck slide valve head and a faulty safety valve all contributed, and normal sewing machine-type performance was restored after correcting these issues. Just lovely...

The first picture shows this 20-year old Roundhouse Millie in as-received condition. I think the word "forlorn" accurately describes it. My work consisted of straightening out the smokebox and cab and then replacing its axles, bearings, eccentrics and rods, all of which were well worn. All of the old paint was then removed and it received etch primer, bronze green, black and the simplest of orange lining: just one panel each side but enough to "lift" its appearance and showing, once again, that sometimes less is more.

Another variation on how to do the tanks on a DJB Robert... This one had been built from a kit and was acquired second-hand by the current owner. The first picture shows the loco in as received condition, complete with spacer blocks added between the front of the cab and the rear of the side tanks. Both the owner and I were rather taken by these but they were poorly made and had to go. They were replaced by the dummy coal bunkers shown in the later photos, firmly attached to the cab front and complete with matching rivet details.

Another change made to the tanks was removal of the fairing that encircled the smokebox front, leaving the tanks' inner edges vertical.

The original builder had made the cab back removable but this weakened the cab structure and necessitated a complicated roof hinge to allow the removal of the rear panel. Neither the owner or I could see the point of all this so it was rebuilt in standard configuration.

All of the paint was removed and the loco then received coats of etch primer, bronze green and black with orange lining.