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Labour's plans for the railways 1 2 3 4
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Upcoming Events
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27 April 2024 08:30 Until 16:00
0Don't miss the 2024 National Garden Railway Show at Stoneleigh, probably the largest event of its kind where 16mm,
G-Scale and G1 traders and exhibits are all under one roof. This is the show where manufacturers launch new products and where you will find garden railway traders that dont attend other shows, and in some cases, don't trade online!
At least 16 layouts are expected, most with live steam, in various garden gauges and scales, and over 60 exhibitors.
FREE onsite parking. FREE ENTRY for accompanied Under 18's - it's a great family day out!
Full steam ahead to Stoneleigh! - the National Garden Railway Show returns to this venue in Warwickshire.
If you've not been here before then it may be signposted as the National Agricultural Centre as well as Stoneleigh Park.
Book Online NOW and bring the family - Theres something for everyone to enjoy!
16 layouts have accepted an invitation to the show - Most with live steam garden scale locos running all day!
Over 60 exhibitors are currently expected, new faces and old favourites, selling everything from nuts and bolts to fuel, locos, rolling stock, line side features and garden railway equipment
Free parking for over 2000 vehicles.
Shuttle mini bus from Coventry BR Station (Pre-Booked bus tickets required)
Massive prize draw, model of the year competition, Member to member sales, cafe / food and drink outlets
NB : There is no cash machine - Make sure you bring plenty with you, as not all traders will accept cards / contactless payment!
Don't miss out on a grand day out at the biggest show of its kind in Europe.
Tickets bought in advance £15.00 (Longer opening hours - All day, 9.30 - 5.00)
Important : Online advance ticket sales stop at 09:00 am on 25th April 2024
Please make sure you print your tickets and bring them with you! Visitors without a printed ticket or with fraudulent tickets will be refused entry.
www.nationalgardenrailwayshow.org.uk
Tickets also available on the gate for entry from 9.30 am. Card payment subject to availability of wifi connection.
Please note : Due to significant fraudulent activity at the 2023 show including ticket duplication, additional security measures will be in place for 2024 which may slow entry. So please make sure you have printed your Online ticket and brought it with you, and dont be tempted to purchase tickets from any source other than the official association ticket shop. The association will be taking action against anyone seeking to defraud or gain unauthorised entry to the event, and venue provided security personnel will be present to assist with this.
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28 April 2024
0The SWAG Members day for 2024 is scheduled for Sunday 28th April 2024.
A show provided by modellers for modellers.
Hours
10AM- 4PM
Where
Staplegrove Village Hall,
214 Staplegrove Road,
Taunton.
TA2 6AL
☆☆☆Please note- There is limited parking at the venue. If parking in the residential areas, please do so with consideration for local residents☆☆☆
Entry
Entry is FREE but donations are gratefully received to go towards ensuring we can do this again in 2025.
Layouts
Ten layouts in 2mm F/S, 00, EM, P4, 0-16.5NG and 7mm.
Demos,
Bring and buy.
Cake, cups of tea accompanied by a large dollop of gentle banter, good humour.
Please refer to main thread in area group section of the forum for more details but we hope to see you there.
Rob.
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02 May 2024 23:00 Until 04 May 2024 23:00
0https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/information/the-bristol-model-railway-exhibition
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11 May 2024 09:00 Until 15:00
0Annual Immingham Model Rail Show.
We invite you to another of our highly commended model railway shows.
2024 Saturday May 11th 10am to 5pm and Sunday May 12th 10am to 4pm. Entry price Adults £5, accompanied Children FREE, Refreshments available, Disabled access to main exhibition area
Layouts
Invermire – Scottish terminus in 1970’s – 0
Copper Wort – Burton brewery railway - 00
North Colton – ECML modern image - N
Cockshute – mid 1970’s depot near Stoke - 00
Splott – South Wales steel terminal in the late 1980’s – P4
Chatsworth Road – Peak District in the 1970’s – P4
Bytoft Creyk – East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in the 1960’s - N
Back ut Shed – Modern image shed scene - 00
Manygates – East London line scene - 00
Renewable Railways - Drax – 00
Wits End - box file layout - N
Kyle of MacAllan – Scottish shed layout based on Kyle of Lochalsh - EM
Moorton Bottom Yard – Moorton canal basin goods yard - 009
Horncastle – What might have been in Horncastle in 1970’s – 00
Access to Immingham Museum with its two large permanent layouts and docks and Great Central history;
Immingham Shed - Scale 1950's Shed Scene in 00
Barnetby to Wrawby - Modern Image in N
Support
There will also be trade stands and society stands including Caistor Loco, CM3 Models, Elaine’s Trains, Peak Rail, Lincolnshire Wolds Railway, O Gauge Guild, Great Central Society, Paul King books
Address: Civic Centre, Pelham Road, Immingham. DN40 1QF
Ample Parking satnav DN40 1QF
No5 bus from Grimsby Town station every 20 mins on Saturday and hourly on Sunday
Disabled access to main exhibition area
www.imminghammuseum.org
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Recent Blog entries
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Recent Entries
Latest Entry
OO Gauge MR 700 Class
Just received this lug in the mail from TMC. If anyone remembers, I have a penchant for ugly locos.
I lucked out, though. Built, running, painted not only in the right color for my collection, but numbered correctly as well. About the only disappointment is the builder made absolutely zero provision for a rear coupling. I have ideas.
Main problem is that there is no substructure behind the rear tender axle. Nothing to drill into, nothing really to glue to.
My first thought was to add a block. I've had bad luck with such arrangements before. Even 5-minute epoxy doesn't quite grab well enough against a train.
Second thought is an L-bracket, soldered at multiple points. That then brings the issue of my lack of talent at soldering.
Third thought is running a long bolt up through the footplate. Probably the best cross between strength and simplicity. Problem there is how to disguise the top of the bolt. I thought of fabricating a toolbox to cover it. I've seen no evidence from what few pics I can find that such a toolbox was ever carried by the class.
She runs OK on the test plank. Won't have access to a layout until next month for a good run, though.
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comments - 41938
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Recent Entries
Latest Entry
Cheddar P4 - April 2024 photo update
With all the running repairs completed for now, I couldn’t resist putting a few items of stock on the layout before putting it away for the time being.
I’ve a list of jobs to do before Wells, including finishing off stock items so I’ve filled my display case with items requiring attention, just to remind me. Some just need lamps, crews and coaling. Some need motors!
Next up will be the fiddle yards.
photos attachedThe prairie is heavily reworked Lima with Comet chassis
The Collett Goods a reworked Replica with High Level chassis
5757 is a Bachman pannier with a High Level chassis
4694 is rewheeled Bachman Pannier
The twin rail car a Worsley Works etch on a cut and shut Replica chassis
all are detailed in my other tinking table blog.
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comments - 3458
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Recent Entries
Latest Entry
Norway poles
There is a photograph in Jim Russell's book 'GWR Wagons Appendix' that shows a wagon loaded with long, thin conifer tree-trunks, of the kind referred to as 'Norway poles'. For some time I have wanted to model a similar load.
The wagon itself has been described in this blog before, and has a rather chequered history. Amongst other issues, I put washer plates on the inside, corresponding to the attachment points for the sheet supporter mechanism at each end. I was following the RCH drawing for the sheet supporter parts, which was the only information I had at the time; since then, I have seen photos that show the GWR didn't put washer plates on the inside. I therefore wanted to add a load to hide the washer plates I had put in, so this was my opportunity to model the Norway poles.
Making the poles has been a slow process - 15 months in fact. They are made from the twigs of a Christmas tree, with the needles stripped off and most of the bark sanded off. I collected all the suitable twigs from our 2022 tree, but there weren't quite enough, so I had to wait until the 2023 tree became available. Each time, I left the twigs for a couple of months to dry out, then stripped the needles and sanded then with coarse sandpaper. The remaining texture gives a reasonable impression of the partly-stripped bark seen in the prototype photo:
The bottom layer of poles was glued to a piece of stiff card about two-thirds the length of the wagon. More poles were glued on top, and the final layer left loose, as I wanted to ensure there was no glue visible. The roping follows that shown in the photo, and is made with 0.75mm rigging thread, as used by ship modellers - the same technique I have described in previous blog entries. A small amount of thin cyanoacrylate glue holds the knots in place.
And here with a 2-plank wagon as a runner:
Nick.
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135
Hornby Trading Statement Published 22 April
Don't forget - unless things have changed - that Bachmann out out to retailers every year a list of what amounts to unsold stock being offered at a lightly reduced trade price. Hence any retailer who takes up that offer (and not all do) will have stock bought in at reduced price and therefore saleable at more than the usual discount below RRP. I don't think Hornby did the same but simply allowed the stock mountain to grow, and grow, until one lot of past management decided to reduce it by means of 'fire sales'. Unlike Bachmann's approach I believe - and am obviously open to correction - that this sort of heavily discounted stock was not offered to all retailers but (in some cases??) was left to reps to sell to those whom they expected would both be interested in it and able to pay for large amounts of it. I suspect that more recently when Hornby have been selling surpius stock at reduced prices they have followed the Bachmann approach. I don't follow all the retilers but I know that both Hattons and Kernow have bought such stiock and I also know that someone else, in a smaller but still quite busy, way of business has had such stock offered to him but hasn't bought any. -
46,580
The Night Mail
I was always under the impression that in RAF terminology, Bingo was the point at which you needed head for home before you ran out of go-go juice. -
75
Edwinstowe... ex-'Broomridding Wood'
Now I have some track work down, and I have been adding track/frog droppers to points and track and have installed motors (physically), I am getting to the point where I would like to wire things up permanently. I've trawled through the DCCCs guides and posts on here and on their forum on here but everything either seems either too generic or too specific so thought it best to share the wiring conclusion I had come to and see whats folks here think (I've also stuck a similar thread on their forum). So... DCCCs Advice #8 states to have a Data/Control Bus with Track Connections off this via a CB. Got it 👍 The instructions for the CB shows this arrangement below (I assume although the terminology is slightly askew and "Track Out" is actually the Data/Control Bus)... The Colbalt IP motor wiring is given as follows: On the face of it all seems fairly straightforward. However if Track Connections are made after the Circuit Breaker and the Colbalt IP is wired to the Data/Control bus as described surely using terminal 3 for the point frog on the Colbalt motor is a no-go as it will bridge/bypass the CB? If so how is the point and point motor to be properly wired? Obviously I want track power to the track droppers on the point and would like the point motor to be connected to the Data/Control Bus... likewise I want switched frogs. Do I therefore need to wire track power separately into terminals 4 & 5 on the Cobalt IP and the point frog into terminal 6 to provide switched frog separately to powering/controlling the point motor? To me there seems to be a little bit of a disconnect in the advice given... or have I completely missed something? -
135
Hornby Trading Statement Published 22 April
I agree. Which raises interesting questions about retailers stocks, turnover of those stocks, cashflow etc that we won't get answers to, but comes back to my earlier point about retail premises. If the bulk of sales and margin/profit is from pre-order or rapid sellout items, what is the point of a retail store full of stock on shelves which only moves very, very slowly as you describe and what are the economics of that? In theory it is a financial drain on the business, Hornby have a financial drain on the business from excess/wrong stock and pass some of it onto retailers who end up with some of that excess/wrong stock costing them retail space and cash. Hence retailers moving into the secondhand market etc en masse and finding other ways to generate profitable revenue streams. Could be worse though, could be trying to sell EV's 🤣- 2
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More model ideas
TBH, the older Bachmann model was already the best OO Class 47 out there.
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