There has been some discussion recently about techniques and materials for connecting ‘droppers’.
Single Core 0.6mm tinned wire for making droppers
Those of you who read this Blog will know that it is an account of my own experiences and as such it contains descriptions of activities and techniques that work for me. Since 1980 I have constructed three large layouts. They have all used Code 100 Peco Streamline track. For each layout I have reused and added to the components from the pre
Continuing my BR(NE) saga I have resurrected a couple of elderly Bachmann B1s that have been quietly slumbering in their boxes. Bachmann B1s – Widlebeeste and Hartebeeste There is an issue with these particular early models and mine were not immune! For whatever reason the black plastic wheel centres expand with time and catch on the coupling rods preventing the wheels from freely turning. The affliction does not affect the centre driving wheel and rather puzzlingly it is the rear pair of d
A conversation with a friend about changing names and numbers on old Bachmann or Mainline Jubilees prompted me to dig out some etched plates I bought perhaps two years ago, and get on and fit them!
Mainline Orion with 247 Developments etched plates and newer Bachmann split chassis
One of my all time favourite models was the Mainline Jubilee ‘Orion’. I think ‘Royal Scot’ was my first Mainline model but Orion followed soon after in June 1981. Pallitoy must have made
This Blog entry is about making good a Bachmann Manor. It could equally well apply to an older Bachmann Hall and I dare say might also apply to Dapol / Hornby Counties, not to mention Granges and the new 28xx.
This view above is my version of the Cambrian Coast Express. I have fond memories of the ex GWR Manor Class engines and Dovey Junction. As mentioned elsewhere on this web site 'Dad and I' had a little look round Aberystwyth Shed in the very early 1960s and couldn't fail to be i
As the year end approaches a new Blog Post is well overdue.
After a brief foray into the world of digital sound on analogue DC with two or three Bachmann Diesels (fitted with LokSound chips) I thought it time to investigate the possibilities of digital steam sound. I like the look and feel of Bachmann’s unrebuilt Patriots and I had been watching Giggleswick with a mind to making a purchase when I deemed the price to be right. However I was also keeping an eye on the Junction Box, run by Ian
I have been taking advantage of the Spring Sales and have bought myself a BR black engine driven Oxford Rail Dean Goods.
I bought my first Dean Goods back in 1985. It was a Mainline model with a tender drive. The perceived wisdom was that the model was conceived and designed by Airfix just before that company folded. I thought the tender drive came with an unrealistically high mound of coal, to hide the motor, and it could be noisy. It did have a good haulage capacity.
I am returning to one of my favourite subjects, Heljan Westerns. My sixties layout is shall we say ‘stuck in time’. Rather than purchase the latest model shop offerings I have been backfilling some gaps in my ‘stock book’ from eBay. Whether it is a sign of the times or just an ‘age thing’ but I have picked up a number of excellent ‘unused’ models, and in one case unopened from around ten years back.
Heljan is a particularly interesting manufacturer in that their models seem to be designe
I have spent some time these last few days searching unsuccessfully through boxes for an old calendar. I have in mind a Dalesman Publishing Company calendar from the late 1990s. It had a picture of the then recently proposed 60163 ‘Tornado’ in BR green livery with Late Crest heading a rake of maroon Mk1s on the Skipton Carlisle line. Sadly I think I can remember parting with the calendar during a recent decluttering exercise. Never mind, it is the memory that counts. Whilst the picture was not p
I was recently paid for some unexpected work. I would invest part of the proceeds in some additional motive power (more engines). I don’t think there are any model shops in Dumfries and Galloway (probably the largest Council in the UK) so it is very much a case of what is available on the Internet. All very exciting – well until the post arrives!
The first item should have been straightforward. I would buy a Bachmann BR ROD - pristine.
Bachmann BR ROD – Early Emblem – Pristine
The mod
My first Bachmann Portholes have been unpacked and are installed on the layout, topped and tailed with a pair of Hornby Stanier brakes.
Bachmann Portholes topped and tailed with Hornby Stanier brake coaches
My first impressions were very positive, good looking light weight and free running coaches. However I had issues with the couplers and the ride height.
Bachmann Portholes straight out of the box
Straight out of the box I was disappointed with the large gap between coupled coaches. I
The winter solstice has passed and we are heading to Christmas and the New Year. Times are certainly changing and last Saturday we spotted our first daffodil flower.
First Daffodil for 2016? SW Scotland 19.12.15
We have also seen some unusually stormy weather. ‘Desmond’ deposited something like three months rainfall in 48 hours over parts of the Region. There was some local damage but thankfully not on the scale of the property damage and personal misery that has affected the North Wes
This week there have been conflicting interests, so not so much ballast and instead a bit of history:
My old Superquick engine shed in its latest postion - a rare picture with no engines.
The shed dates back to the early 1980s and my Bracken Ridge Layout. It was part of a pair of sheds which were customised to fit my track spacing. The sheds were made narrower. This was achieved by separating the gable ends from the walls. If you look carefully you can see where the brick arch f
The Peco Streamline 3 Way point is an extremely useful space saving device. This Post is prompted because I had to sort out a couple of problems with the installation of my own three way point. I was also aware that other modellers here on RMweb were finding difficulties with the operation and installation of their 3 way points.
The design of the point is symmetrical and has the appearance of a LH point being placed directly on top of a RH point. As a consequence the construction of the point i
My previous Post looked at some detail improvements to the old Mainline Restaurant Buffet including fitting Finecast Flush Glazing, wire handrails and simply filing the buffer heads.
Mainline RB slotted into a rake of BR Mk Is all fitted with Hornby R8220 couplers
For me the most important improvement is the fitting of the Bachmann close coupling mechanism. This enables the coach to be unobtrusively slotted into a rake of Bachmann Mk Is – in my case all fitted with Hornby R8220 couplers.
My first Mainline Restaurant Buffet came from the Cheltenham Model Centre in 1986 for the princely sum of £5.50. For the time it was a well detailed model and far superior to previous Mainline Mk1s which had holes in the sides to aid assembly.
Original Mainline Restaurant Buffet – with re-painted roof
I parted with my first Mainline RB in 2008 and upgraded to a Bachmann Restaurant Unclassified with metal wheels, wire handrails and close couplers. However there was a slight problem. The Bachm
Following on from my last Post I am showing some more pictures of the Main Junction Station concentrating on the ‘through’ tracks that form the Mainline.
The Main Junction – overview with two Bachmann Scots in the centre two way road
To help locate the pictures I have turned the track plan presented in my last post from the vertical to the horizontal.
The Main Junction – not to scale
The preferred through routes I have labelled as Up and Down Main.
First some trains passi
It would be January 2021 when Bachmann introduced their 94xx models. I bought the basic version. It had a lovely copper cap to its chimney and it ran perfectly without any trace of a wobble. Three years later and I have just purchased a sound fitted version.
Bachmann 9479 – 32-27SF
I have titled this Post ‘The Long Haul’ in recognition of the time that I have spent in recent weeks changing CVs to enable the engine to run on analogue. It would help if I knew what I w
As someone said, Summer is next year! In the meantime the ballast has reached the loco yard:
Where there are to be buildings I have glued a piece of cardboard down to the board prior to ballasting. The cardboard is cut ever so slightly smaller than the building footprint so that it doesn't show beneath the finished building. I also took the opportunity to make a 'concrete' floor for the engine sheds.
Here is the footprint for the old Superquick shed:
And here the footpr
For years my wife has been pointing out that my layout lacks people. Enter my son-in-law Martin. He likes his technology and he has invested in a 3D printer. After making some War Game figures for his son he would turn his attention to some little figures for the railway. Not only did he print the figures but he also painted them – that is skilful.
Some of Martin’s 3D Printed and Painted Figures
Problem is that printer files for suitable little people are in short s
This Post is well over due, but then so is the repainting of our outside paintwork - the white house walls. Hawksworth County Class engines were designed during wartime conditions for handling difficult work in Devon and Cornwall. The locomotive Power Classification was 6MTwhich fits neatly between 7P for a Castle and 5MT for a Hall. The engine’s main purpose was ‘fast mixed traffic’, hence the Counties’ 6’- 3” driving wheels, smaller than the 6’- 8 1/2” of a Castle and larger than the 6’- 0”
The arrival of Bachmann’s new Class 43 Warship Pegasus has encouraged me to revisit my fleet of Bachmann Warships. I have counted four distinct variants of the Bachmann Warship: the early 'low' version, the corrected version, the lighted version and now the latest Class 43. I don't count Kader’s early Mainline models as being Bachmann, although they have a place in this narrative.
Four ages of Bachmann Warship, left to right, Onslaught, Glory, Zenith and Pegasus
First some history, Kader
Back in 2015 I wrote a Post for my Blog detailing an improvement to the old Mainline / Dapol model of the ex LMS Fowler 2P.
Mainline Ex LMS 2P from 1984
Crucially the work required access to Hornby spare part X6475, the front bogie from their latest engine drive 2P (R3028). Sadly as said in my previous Post about remotoring the Hornby Q6, Hornby seem to have given up on providing useful spare parts. Front bogie X6475 continues to be out of stock.
My last Post discussed the merits of various proprietary couplings that could be used to close the gap between two B Set Brake Composites. Sometimes the solution is so obvious that it gets overlooked. I should thank Nergle for his comment and for pointing me the in right direction.
Close Coupled B Sets, Airfix back, Mainline front
A search of the Internet points to an old blog from Tim Venton currently with a work bench thread on the Scale Four web site. The picture montage below is from Tim
The last Blog entry dealt with adding the electrics for the new siding. With the electrics completed. I have returned to ballasting and have now completed the 'corner':
It is a start and having added the ballast it highlights just how much more scenic work needs to be done.
The picture below is an update of the earlier unballasted view. The poppy seeds form a relatively thick layer and hide the cast metal base of the old Tri-ang water column.
Finally another view o
No heat wave here in the west of Scotland. In the meantime ballasting has passed under 'the bridge in the middle'.
Two pictures looking up and down the line.
And a more general view which highlights where some of the 'civil engineering' works have still to be finished off.
The bridge itself lifts off to alow access to the tracks beneath. Further details are provided here in my photogallery.
http://www.rmweb.co....789-the-bridge/
I have also added a picture f
.thumb.jpg.60c53fcbcaa34017b05b8919d1a9e6d2.jpg)