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
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
A model railway friend has recently upgraded and motorised his kit built turntable. He has used parts formed with a 3D Printer - real cutting edge technology. As a result I have been shamed into refurbishing my hand operated turntable made in the 1980s.
Turntable prior to refurbishment
In the 1980s there was the Airfix turntable, now marketed by Dapol. This was a plastic kit for an above ground turntable. At the time I thought it a disappointment as it was particularly flimsy and I could not
Many thanks to that well known retailer in Sheffield who contacted me on Friday for payment and then delivered the locomotive on Saturday.
Hornby R3191 - Duke of Gloucester
What do I think of the model? Well it is ‘growing on me’.
Straight out of the box there were a number of issues. Most obviously ‘something’ had come adrift in transit and the engine was no longer coupled to the tender.
Tender to engine coupling unglued.
In the way of things this is minor and can easily be remedied.
There was some discussion this week on one of the forums relating to the ex Dapol / Hornby twelve wheel restaurant cars. I have lowered the ride height of mine to run with Bachmann stock:
In order to get the buffers of the Hornby Restaurant Car to match the height of my adjacent Bachmann Mk1s it was necessary to lower the underframe on the bogies.
First it is best to take the whole coach apart. This can be done by sliding ones finger nail between the coach side and the underframe an
Instead of ballasting track, this week has seen some playing with trains:
This is my 'new' Hornby 14xx. However as received it was not a smooth runner and it been given a replacement Dapol chassis. The Hornby model replaces an older and much loved Airfix model.
The suspect Hornby chassis has been given to my Airfix model. As an experiment much time has been spent delving into my 'box of bits' and I have replaced the centre driven axle (with the traction tyres) with a pair o
I do like the rolling stock to be close coupled. This Blog entry is about close coupling ex GWR Siphons of the Airfix / Mainline / Dapol / Hornby varieties.
I like to keep the rolling stock in as near 'mint' condition as possible. I am against cutting and gluing. For close coupling rolling stock of Airfix origins my usual procedure is to fit Bachmann Mini Couplings (Long). This solution is totally reversible should the rolling stock need to be sold on. It also enables trains to neg
I have been watching listings for the six wheel Stove R on that well known auction site. I have succumbed and ‘won’ one. From its name I imagined that it was perhaps a train heating van that the LMS had designed for use with the LMS twins.
Dapol Stove R in company with Bachmann ex LMS BG
How wrong can you be! A check with Jenkinson and Essery shows that the Stove R was Sir William Stanier’s first design for a ‘Full Brake’. It was a Period III design and appeared in 1932/33. It was a six whee
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 list of jobs to do is endless but finishing off the platforms must come near the top.
This could be quite a long task but first what size to make the paving? The British Standard suggests that paving stones should preferably be 900 x 600, 750 x 600 or 600 x 600 (mm). However my layout represents the late 1950s, early 1960s, long before metrication. In those days, and for some considerable time after, the standard size of paving stone was 3ft x 2ft equivalent to 12mm x 8mm in 00 s
Some time ago I was asked to provide more details of the current layout. Where to start? I would start with the Branch Terminus.
The Branch Terminus – Long Shot 2013
First a little bit of history. Back in the 1960s I didn’t have that much space for a model railway and I had plans and even made the base boards for, a short ‘L’ shaped layout. It would be modelled on one of CJ Freezers suggestions. In this article from August 1961 CJ Freezer took the track diagram from Ashburton (ex GWR) and pr
In recent posts I have detailed corridor connectors for Bachmann Collett coaches and I have touched on the Hornby Hawksworth Full Brake.
Hornby Hawksworth Coaches as bought (left) and as modified (right)
When Hornby introduced their Hawksworth coaches back in 2010 I was most impressed with the coach detail but not so happy with Hornby’s corridor connectors.
I wanted the coaches to be more closely coupled and it took me a lot of courage to remove Hornby’s moulded black plastic
First a view of my completed version of the Tees Tyne Pullman:
I would say that the Deltic hauled train with a mix of Bachmann saloons and Hornby brake coaches compares favourably with this early 1960's view of the down Yorkshire Pullman passing Hadley Wood - with all grey roofs:
As I suspected my attempts to cut and re-glue the Hornby R8220 couplings using instant glue were less than satisfactory. The couplings are probably nylon and need a more specialist adhesive. However
Apparently I recorded my intention to purchase the Bachmann Blue Pullman in August 2010. Well it finally arrived this week and has provided hours and hours of nail biting entertainment over the last few days.
Get 50% off (Insurance)
My layout is DC and I thought that perhaps I would have to go inside and remove the installed DC Chips. I did not expect that I would have to do it so soon and to have to dismantle and correct so many other bits before enjoying its running.
I cannot imagin
Following my posts dealing with Collett and Hawksworth coaching stock I am moving forward a few years to talk about Bachmann DMUs, Class 108, 105 and Derby Lightweight.
Location – location!!!
When I acquired my first Bachmann Class 108s I immediately set about closing up the gap between the units. The Bachmann 108s have sprung buffers and it is possible to draw the two coaches together such that the moulded corridor connections are almost touching yet still allowing the unit to negotia
This is a follow up to my last Post which was devoted to Hornby’s release of Special Edition Duke of Gloucester.
Hornby R3191 Duke of Gloucester left versus Hornby R2717 Apollo right
What do I still think of the model? I am not so sure about value for money.
Hornby R2717 Apollo left versus Hornby R3191 Duke of Gloucester right
Hornby R2717 Apollo came with a wealth of added detail parts fitted at manufacture – almost too many to list.
HornbyR2717 Apollo - a closer view
Apollo came wi
The sun has come out and the garden beckons. With the sunshine we can also see which of our double glazed units have failed. Upstairs the sudden warmth is likely to be responsible for the spontaneous failure of the glazing in one of my Bachmann Mark One coaches:
This need not be a major problem. Many of us will be familiar with the 'stress test' applied to items sent by post and will have received coaches with displaced glazing. I must have been inside over half a dozen Bachmann coa
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
One of the first engines that I purchased on returning to the hobby was a Bachman Austerity 2-8-0.
I remember seeing a number of these engines on Teesside in the early 1960s and I was keen to have a model of one on the layout. From memory the Q6s, J26s and J27s handled the local traffic bringing coal and coke from County Durham whilst the WD 2-8-0s handled more long distance freight south to York and beyond.
Whilst the detail on my Bachmann WD was superb, its performance I thou
There has not been a lot of progress with the layout so instead some ideas on close coupling and corridor connectors for Bachmann Collett coaches.
Coach Couplings as bought
As with so many Ready to Run models there can be quite a gap between coaches. Can the gap be closed up? Is it cheap to do and will it significantly reduce the value of the original coach?
Coach Couplings as modified
I can remember the introduction of the first Collett coaches by Mainline (Bachmann). At
I have been rather preoccupied of late and have not been keeping up with the various forums. I have given myself a break today and for some relaxation I will attempt an answer to the question - Hornby Grange or Bachmann Hall – which is better?
First why would you want a Hall or a Grange? The old GWR constructed around 255 ‘Hall’ Class locomotives and then proceeded to build a further 70 or more ‘Modified Halls’. With 6ft driving wheels the Halls were designed to provide a powerful general purpo
Following my last post with ideas for improving the haulage capacity of the Bachmann A4s (old and new) I am suggesting ways here which I think improve the performance of the Bachmann A1s.
Coming from the North East I have to say that I think Thompson’s A1 Pacifics were one of the most handsome and certainly most powerful engines to grace the East Coast Mainline. The photograph above dating from around 1961 shows Silurian, 60121, at the south end of Darlington Station (light engine), wai
As a break from work work I took a day off to replace the buffers on my Hornby Duke of Gloucester (DoG).
Hornby R3191 Duke of Gloucester as I think it should be with Sprung Buffers
I was inspired by Matt otherwise known as ‘Bluebell Model Railway’ of this website.
Fitting the buffers to the front was straightforward. I followed Matt’s suggestion and used Hornby Spare Part No. X9313. My usual supplier did not have the R (red) variant so mine were black and had to be painted red.
Th
I am reading on RMweb that there could be a shortage of Hornby models. When I saw this truck for sale a little under £100, I would snap it up.
£100 Truck
By chance I had stumbled upon a video on YouTube which had been made using the Branor Systems Cam Truck. I was impressed and I thought that I would investigate further. In fact I have purchased truck No. 230.
Branor Systems Cam Truck
I have swapped the standard Hornby couplings for the older Mainline type with a shorter hook. I think th
Stocks of the latest Bachmann Midland 4Fs have appeared in the shops and I have taken delivery of one of the examples with a Late Crest. Well I have taken delivery of two engines but more of that later.
Bachmann Midland 4F on unfitted freight
It is now over 100 years since Sir Henry Fowler introduced his 4F goods engine. 192 of these engines were built by the Midland Railway between 1911 and 1922 and according to Casserley and Asher (1961) all these engines were still in service up until May
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