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Announcing major system malfunction. I am currently away from home and admitted to hospital with major heart failure involving mitral valve and atrial fibrillation. The consequences of this mean that I am not feeling my scintillating best and appear to be set for a long stay in an attempt to provide a fix for feeling the less than special way I feel now. I am receiving excellent treatment from my local NHS once I gained admission by kicking in the front door ( A&E) . I am keeping in touch and will continue to do so as long as I possibly can. Best regards to ANTB friends Ian

There you are, was having withdrawal symptoms, I suspect AY has been battling hard to get this back up and running so thank you for all your efforts. Life has been carrying on at a sedate pace on LM and one day later than planned here is a re-badged train passing through Encombe Town station sporting the GWR roundel to both loco and carriages. The original manufacturer applied wording/badges where removed using the time honoured method of T-Cut left on for 10-15 mins to the area in question then carefully washed off with a damp cotton bud. With the loco tender I removed all the weathering and name back to the original colour to the entire main side panel then re-badged and weathered as a whole area so their would be no issues with joining old to new. Same process to the coaches but much smaller area of brown but again embracing a whole area approach so no weathering jointing was visible between old and new. Weathering applied using my method of varnish with a hint of roof dirt in it applied in vertical downward strokes.

Hi everyone, Well, the posts immediately above illustrate the dichotomy that we faced with modelling this rolling stock. It certainly hasnt been an easy one to do, but we do love a good challenge. The simple answer to your question is that the Chaldrons require either true scale modelling, or 00 scale modelling; as to make them applicable to both camps would require two complete sets of tooling, such are the areas that need to be attended to. For obvious financial reasons, this was never going to happen I’m afraid, as the true scale market is too small to be viable, and as much as we are all enthusiasts here at Accurascale HQ, we have to make any project viable for us to survive. So now, to expand on that a little, and explain our approach. The CAD was created true to scale, in all aspects bar the wheel sets, and all the usual detail amendments were made as we would normally. With the CAD correct, the 00 wheel sets were introduced, which highlighted the areas that clashed, and from here everything was gradually altered, not just to keep to the gauge, but also to maintain the correct aspects of the wagons. Where the alterations have taken place to keep the wagons looking correct is largely irrelevant in this instance, what matters is that we have kept as close to the originals as is possible in the circumstances, to create a model that is proportioned correctly and which maintains the inherent look of the wagons. Rest assured, we have not sacrificed 1/1000th of a mm where we have not had to! At the end of the day, it was either take this approach or not make a RTR Chaldron wagon at all. We felt that this era of modelling interest needs support, so we decided to plough on and bring an iconic wagon type to market. Perhaps it wont be for everyone, but if it creates more interest in this era then it is beneficial for all modellers of this persuasion. Cheers! Fran

After a concentrated few weeks with the chop saw - and litres of PVA - I've now finished the baseboards and legs for the Weymouth lines on Yeovil. Overall, pleased with the results: they're strong, flat-surfaced (thanks to Alan Smith kindly cutting out the top surfaces from good quality birch ply (massive thank you to Alan) - why, oh why, didn't I use that for the rest?) and rigid. They're also very heavy - all really a 2-person lift - but that's not a problem as it's primarily a stay-at-home layout. They do all separate and reassemble easily (given a couple of hearties) - location is with pattern-maker's dowels, bolt together with handwheels and captive nuts, separate legs with top height-adjustment. It's good to see the full extent of the project; I finished the scenic track during the lockdowns and that's just rested on for now. Still the track beds to cut out, stick down and sand, joints to close up with P38, trackplan to stick on and superelevation strips as well - THEN I can stick the track down. Wiring will take me up to Christmas - and probably beyond.

That was as long a break as I can remember. Never mind, here is a nice wide angle view to get things under way again.

It's good that RMWeb is working again, many thanks to Andy and others. The photos which should have appeared yesterday will appear in about 4 weeks time, don't worry, there were nothing very special. It will be four weeks as I always keep about a months worth of photos ready to upload in daily folders. Today we travel to York with a couple of colour photos and some much older black and white ones. Things have changed a bit since they were taken. All but one of the photos were taken by Dad. York 156490 Leeds to York Aug 90 J11615 York LNER V2 4771 and 08337 28th July 86 C7657 York A1 60121 Silurian down ecs 1953 JVol2073 York B16 61443 down l e April 52 JVol6115 York D49 Leeds to Scarbrough c1952 JVol4211 David

Hi everyone, So, who saw our latest OO wagon announcement coming? Let's go on a journey together! A place that (to date) very few manufacturers have gone to before. We're heading off to the very beginning of the railways, to a time when industry and the modern world as we know it was just beginning. Welcome to the Chaldron wagons in OO/4mm scale, the first stop timescale wise in our "Powering Britain" series of coal wagons! Explore the 150 Year History Of These "Black Waggons" With a career on the rails spanning over 150 years, the Chaldrons seemed the perfect place to begin the timeline for our “Powering Britain” series of coal wagons through the ages. There has been a surge in interest in the birth of the railways, along with intrigue in pre-grouping and the Victorian era with recent locomotive releases, not to mention the interest in industrial heritage and its railways. The recognisable Chaldron design appeared around 1820, but that itself was the continuation of an outline that dated from the mid-17th century onwards. The would operate on the railways for another 150 years, ending their days in industrial use. Click on the following link to read our in-depth blog detailing the career of these wagons, from the birth of the railways, through pre-grouping and in extensive industrial use between the wars which continued all the way up to the late 1970s! https://accurascale.co.uk/blogs/news/chaldrons-the-wagons-that-fuelled-the-industrial-revolution Our OO/4mm Model With so many variants of the ‘Chaldron’ being produced by builders across the North-East, as well as ongoing repairs in service by the collieries and the compromises inherent in 00 Gauge modelling, depicting the definitive Chaldron is a complex task, but ultimately rewarding. We have produced five main variants of the type, based on the S&DR style dating from 1835-45 built at Shildon, the North Eastern Railway (and subsequent Internal User pattern) P1 types of the second half of the 19th century and the improved 4T ‘Black Waggons’ that were so prevalent in and around the Seaham area, of which we have identified three main body profile types. Within these five variants, there are different arrangements of ‘bang plates’, handbrakes and wheel styles, which we have included within the tooling suite. Engineering such an interesting and diverse range of waggons is always a challenge that is relished by our team of project managers and engineers. With the series of detail differences between Chaldrons, the “Accurascale Way” of covering various detail differences was employed to offer a comprehensive tooling suite. The couplings also offered an interesting challenge, as we deemed traditional tension lock couplings to be too large for the delicate nature of our Chaldrons, and so we have created an almost prototypical arrangement, with the chains being replicated faithfully and using magnets to join the waggons together, with additional NEM attachments being used for connection to existing locomotives and rolling stock. Check out our blog by clicking the link to see the full specification of these characterful hoppers! https://accurascale.co.uk/blogs/news/chaldrons-the-wagons-that-fuelled-the-industrial-revolution Prices, Availability And Delivery Tooling of these distinctive waggons is now complete with pre-production samples signed off and decorated samples due shortly. Each pack will consist of three wagons and will be priced at £44.99 per pack, with 10% discount applied on two or more packs when you order direct from our website. They are also available from our network of local stockists and are due in stock in Q2 2022. You can pre-order yours direct by clicking here: https://accurascale.co.uk/collections/chaldron Cheers! Fran

Here are the final pannier pics showing the other side of 8709. The driver looks like a bit of a shortar$e - perhaps he's an H0 person. He started out as a flag waving guard with whistle who fell out of the box of a second hand loco I bought years ago. He had to have his arms removed to fit into 8709 but he's all I had around. The only bit missing now from 8709 is the Beyer Peacock builder's plates on the front splashers, as in the pic below of my original Bachmann donor loco. Not sure yet how I'm going to replicate these. Rather like the last shot - don't think I've found quite that angle on the goods yard before. John C.

Greetings! It has been strange not having RMweb and ERs. I hope that both have made a full recovery! The Volkswagen dealership phoned on Wednesday afternoon. They are looking for good second-hand cars to sell and such is the current state of the market that they need all they can get. I can see why they might want mine. I have had it for just over two years and it has less than 8,000 miles on the clock. Were it not for that ruddy virus it would be nearer 20,000. If I part with my present Polo I will need another. The deal would have to be remarkable, such as giving me a brand new car and paying off the finance on the one I have. Somehow I do not see that happening! I have agreed to meet the sales executive on Monday morning. Watch this space. My surgery does not appear to believe that Professor Oncologist prescribed some steroids for me. I know this because he asked me to arrange a continuing supply and they have refused - so far. Well, why would they? I am only the patient. They have not heard the last of this. Best wishes to all Chris

Hi Tony Having been out of the UK for the past month i am just catching up with the RMWeb discussions. I see the Hornby Thompsons have been discussed again so I hope you don't mind me posting a photo of my own Hornby A2/2 60501. I replaced all the linings to both locomotive and tender using Fox transfers and had to add some additional weathering to cover up the Hornby green livery. i have also changed the tender totem and double chimney to bring it up to the 1958 period but still need at some point to replace the existing smokebox door so the front number plate is in the correct position. Regards David

We've got a slot, Clear Prop! We'll folks it's good to be back. Thanks to Andy (and anyone else involved) in resolving the problem. Daily life continues; Blood tests at the hospital yesterday in readiness for a consultation next week. Why go to the GP's surgery just a couple of miles down the road for blood tests when you can drive ~30 miles to the local hospital? Oh, I remember now; because that would involve actually being able to get into the GP's surgery ..... Vapour in car petrol tank finally replaced with liquid yesterday on the way to the hospital. Not a huge queue (I was off the road when I joined it) and it all seemed relatively civilised. As I was in St Evenage I took the opportunity to visit the big orange shed for some skirting board and architrave for the hall refurb. Got to get a wriggle on as the we had a visit from a chap to measure up and provide a quote for flooring. More fiddling with software, such fun and no Gold carp to contend with as there would have been doing a "proper" job . Desperately trying to support a good friend and convince him that there's a much better life waiting after "Working for a living". We're getting there but not quite there yet. Keep smiling everyone and thanks once again to Andy for fixing RMWeb. Alan

I don't know about easy to fake. It is apparently 80-90% reliable and that's good enough for me. I don't know of a 100%-accurate test. Even the PCR tests are "only" around 90%+ . The vaccinations are "only" around 88-95% effective. PCR tests are also free from the NHS website if you display symptoms but you only get one not seven in a pack. Any test offering above 80% reliability is very much better than not testing at all. Any vaccination offering me 88-95% chance of protection against serious or fatal illness is also fine by me and having almost a side-benefit of that same vaccine very significantly reducing the chances of becoming infected is a bonus worth having in my book. In other news ...... oh look - we're back Many thanks to @AY Mod and the team for the time and effort spect in returning service. No little midnight oil was spent, I'm sure, judging by the timing of some of the antisocial media updates. It appears the servers were full. A thorough drenching was avoided this morning by dint of being rostered to a covered position at the House of Fun. A few colleagues were less lucky and copped the full brunt of the morning's torrential downpours. It remained quite dark until well after 9am such was the cloud and low visibility generally. I begin to feel like the white clown at the circus - every time the skies open I am in a sheltered position. I very seldom get soaked in the line of duty while others seem to do so rather too frequently for their liking. Flu jabs had by both Dr. SWMBO and myself so in a few more days we should be as well protected from winter ravages as we reasonably can be. It must be almost C*******s because Ocado has just invited me to book my festive week delivery. Those slots are like rocking-horse poop unless one is already a Smart Pass member (i.e. paying them a monthly fee for "free" deliveries and priority slot bookings) and I was pleased to get one for Wednesday 22nd. Thursday and Friday are already booked out having only had the slots released an hour ago. It's time to do something. I'm not sure what but there must be something awaiting my attention. If I discover what it is I may report back later. Meanwhile here's another contribution to the server's load

Don't. It's never pretty.

@Andy Y..I admit it.. yes I pressed the button which caused the mayhem...many apologies! Been home alone all week. Herself has been in Scotland on a coach tour. I have been inundated with phone calls and emails as I have been given a senior Regional volunteers role in the ECB ACO (that's umpires and scorers(. My empty diary is no more... We are preparing to make an exhibition of ourselves at the end of the month with our 70th Anniversary exhibition of things which are miniature versions of things which run on two ribbons of metal. Rain has drowned me twice today...Pah! Time for chish, fips Yorkshire caviar and a mug of tea... Baz

Where am I? I'm Lost.!! Where is this...? Oh we're back.. Yesterday at stupid o'clock in the morning, I tried to emoji some posts and couldn't, then it all disappeared.. All four petrol stations between here and home now have fuel and queue lengths between none and very long.. The coal company are trying to sell more coal... sorry we bought tons of it off of you six months ago we don't need more for a couple of years.. But I will be winding up the stove for the first time this end of the year, as the heating turned itself on yesterday.. The New boy is here, he's spent most of the day doing arrivals paperwork, having had a chat in here with me and the boss, he's now at his desk wading through the company calibration manual.. Calibration staff all get a copy when you join.. it's a hefty lump and will set you back about £50 if you can buy one somewhere. Going home via the big Tes and Co for some major shopping (time limited double points card) home the petrol queues don't trap me in there.. Bin cal'ing shunts all day, time for 2 more before pots time.. Time to ... type in more numbers..

Afternoon all. I have returned from an “overseas” trip. Not really, just over the bridge to Canvey Island for a blood test. We returned via the recycling centre. The trips to the loft have been completed but the task of now sorting stuff out begins. Obvious recycling and rubbish have gone but now the “do we really want this?” sorting begins. Once the loft has been inspected by the solar panel surveyor next week , we will add more insulation as it isn’t really up to recent standards and add some proper shelving. Anything going back will be in proper boxes not old cardboard boxes and bin bags. I have ordered some 64L Really Useful Boxes (yes, they do fit through the loft hole). They are being delivered by “other courier”. I will be interested to see how they arrive as 320L is quite a big parcel. Tony

Well I only said G'night all and it seemed to go down hill from there lol. We nipped into Montrose to the butchers and the library, passed a Shell garage with fuel to sell and an empty forecourt, I didn't need any as I still have 3/4 of a tank. Coal man brought some coal though as we were low on that, stay safe all.

Wartime Skarloey: 'During World War II the old mines had been commandeered for ammunition dumps, and the line was worked to the limit providing slate for blitzed houses and pit props for mines.' - Reverend Wilbert Awdry

<BAH> In other news... Of course, first of October, about 6 months since I last endured Incompetent Team messing up my VPN access to the "client". The director of Finance even requested access be extended, pro-actively, over a week ago. Apparently that doesn't make it any more likely they can manage a simple task!

I saw this rather nice pair of Class 378 units at Richmond today: and, it looks like passengers are being made aware of some new rolling stock heading their way (this poster is on the stairway to the down platform)

This is a reminder to a certain Punk Rocker not to re-register his CPD for another year, as requested..... (This reminder service was brought to you by Bear Services PLC - a premier company that accepts payment via most forms of cake (so long as Coffee, Cream or Nuts are absent)

If you're all looking for modelling inspiration on the subject, this is one of the best films I have watched on Seaham's railway operations - so much to ponder on...

Hey, rmweb is back! Thanks, boss. I was getting worried late Wednesday when I couldn't rate posts, except to like them, and then lost the ability to reply or post. I assumed it was personal because for a few hours some people were still able to post. Computers are fun, aren't they! (Well, I already knew that, having my own fun this week with computer-related tasks).

steve

The p-way team seem unfazed by the appearance of Scottish interloper 37 033 heading south on the ‘Thames-Clyde tractor’ railtour.

Thank you to Andy and staff; yesterday was a "bad" one; I did not know how addicted I am to RMweb!!!! Wednesday night I logged on to issue my nightly dispatch of the "Night Owl" but no keystrokes were being accepted although I could select different forums. Oh well, tomorrow. BAH! to quote someone ! "Tomorrow" was even worse, a screen showing some fancy graphics stating that my computer was working, the "cloud" was working, but the server was not responding. My initial thought was: "Now what have I done?" to be blocked! Somewhat later when I tried to log on, the ER screen showed up but this time with a red banner of explanation. Whew! All this bothered me as I had just that day (Wednesday) done a deep computer cleaning with a software product from Avast!; it worked fine but bothered a few of my sites that I visit by removing their cookies and I thought that was the problem here. Anyway, I did not realize just how much a simple thing like talking/reading various posts from folks around the world can mean to me someone; this place is sort of like a loose-knit family; it must be, I was talked into buying a green pannier! GWR, no less! EDIT: I just remembered another reason I thought that something might be wrong; no photos were showing at all. I just now saw Bear's black chopper and thought "Hmmm, that just might work!" for cake raiding.

Afternoon all Its nice to be backi thought the ads had killed the site finally taking over. @chrisfThe problem I believe is getting hold of new cars all down to the situation with microchips so folk are going mad for nearly new and pushing sales of used cars up and prices too

Well done to Andy Y getting us back up and running before the weekend stuck. I m currently preparing to go through the check list of things to take for tomorrow's exhibition. The list appears massive, but in all honesty most of it will fit into a small toolbox: The exception being the 'rail grinder' aka the sanding machine; a large lamp, the RSU and my work board. Then of course, there is all the materiel.... Fortunately I have a four wheel trundle truck: So it's a case of everything getting dragged into the exhibition hall in one go: Useful if it's raining! Trouble is, it will be 3/4 full of cake....

37 506 rests between duties in the sidings at Charwelton - 01/10/87

And we’re back in the room! it’s a wet Sidcup-I got drenched taking Younger Lurker to school earlier although the rain has now ceased. well all the company tax returns went in on time despite a last minute software hitch and despite me finally getting the person who works for me to check a test, at which we point we had to extensively revise 20 returns! Mrs Lurker assumed I had gone for a beer; chance’d be a fine thing!

Shouldn't we be telling people not to panic buy @Accurascale Fran?

I think the walls are just about finished, Added some vegetation to the walls.

Thanks, I don’t really want to charge at all but there again there is a lot of expense with the rent of the venue, exhibition insurance and a million other things. Heres a pic of two thirds of the fiddle yard like you’ve never seen before!

We were told today that our six year old niece has tested positive for COVID19. Not surprising as many of her classmates have and so has their teacher. Niece isn’t too poorly fortunately. Her sister, mum and dad (Aditi’s brother) have tested negative. It has affected her parents though as it has restricted who they can see at work. Mum is a GP and she has been seeing patients face to face throughout the pandemic. Dad also is a GP but he being vulnerable himself initially was restricted to seeing patients remotely. He returned to doing face to face appointments ages ago and did loads of extra sessions vaccinating people. Older niece can return to school on Monday (negative result came back too late to go today) but it seems her teacher has tested positive now. Where they live and work is now a COVID hotspot for some reason. As we saw the nieces on Saturday we did lateral flow tests and we were both negative. Tony

Not done too much model-wise recently, but I did get a delivery of number plates from Narrow Planet for my 517, so they have been fixed in place (with a dab of gloss varnish). I also knocked up some brake gear for it - the pull rods were fretted/filed from a couple of pieces of 0.010" etch waste sweated together, the brake hangers and shoes were similarly fretted/filed from some 0.020" phosphor bronze. The whole lot (once separated) were cobbled together to look a bit like brake gear, being built up around a couple of pads of thin double-sided PCB and 0.3mm wire. Once "sturdy" (a relative term as the whole ensemble is rather fragile), the cross shafts had pieces removed from their middles replaced with thin wire sleeving so that the two halves were electrically insulated. A quick prime and brush paint with Precision Paints Indian Red and the assembly was ready to install onto the bottom of the chassis. The finished brake assembly prior to painting. A crew of N Brass drivers were painted up (I chose just drivers because the fireman option is a "traditional" chap shovelling). Arms were bent a little (as one of them has his hand so far in the air and looks like he wants to ask if he can go to the toilet!), so that one has his hand resting on the cab opening and the other is reaching up to tap a gauge or something. Also a rather rudimentary backhead was cobbled up from a bit of black plasticard , a few bits of wire and a couple of slivers off the end of a bit of brass rod to represent a couple of gauges. Once painted, stuck in place with a couple of blokes standing in front of it there really is little to see. Completed loco with brake gear, numberplate, and cab populated. View of the rear of the engine showing what can be seen of the cab "detail" Over the last couple of days, with Modbury's first outing for nearly 2 years coming up, I have given some thought to increasing the population of Modbury. The first of these additions is a Shire Scenes Farm Cart (although I made and painted this a few months ago). To give it a purpose, I made some sacks out of milliput, forming one so that it sort of hung over the back. N Gauge horses are very unsatisfactory looking lumps of white metal generally, so inspired by some re-carving that Tim Watson illustrated in the Copenhagen Fields thread, I had a go myself. A small chisel was ground from a gramophone needle, and employed to re-shape a 4 legged lump of white metal into something that bore a little more resemblance to something equestrian, a longer tail being added in low melt solder and then re-carved. The driver of the cart I had already decided to feature standing alongside the horse rather than sitting in the cart, so I took an Andrew Stadden character and performed a little re-modelling on him too - an arm was removed, bent at the elbow and re-attached. His top hat was taken off, and a cloth cap substituted. His jacket was lengthened into a longer coat, which was then carved to be open with a waistcoat underneath. Once man and horse were painted, the horse was glued between the cart shafts, and thin strips of Rizla cigarette paper cut, painted and formed for the reins. The idea being that my little man would be holding one of the reins. Further short bits of pre-painted Rizla strip were added to link cart shafts to the horse harness. Thanks for looking, by the way the little chap is only just over 1cm tall so please forgive the (extremely) cruel close-ups! Ian

POETS - definitely missed RM yesterday, must have been quite a day for AY and the team getting it back up, thanks Nothing much to report, weekend plans mostly revolve around going to the cabin for a day (Not sure which one yet) to sort some issues before we close it up. 17 and overcast possibility of some rain later, high of 25 Enjoy the start of the weekend.

Hello, were back, Thanks Andy, @AY Mod

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Glad to be back, most of the withdrawal symptoms have subsided and the DT's have stopped. I tuned into the RMweb server status page on Farcebook for updates and I recommend others do the same. Not a lot else happening, I went to Tess Coes this morning, a bit of a queue but not as bad as it has been recently. I did consider joining but a quick glimpse of the fuel gauge showed it just below three quarters full so I drove past. Time to make a pot of tea, be back later.

In 1922 H.C. Casserley visited the CVMR and took several shots of the ancient Beyer Peacock tank that they were using on the passenger service. It's been a long time since I posted anything about the CVMR, but I have recently revived it with DCC control. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/136413-the-calder-vale-mineral-railway/&do=findComment&comment=4588145

It is good to be back. Thanks Andy & co

37 506 rests between duties in the sidings at Charwelton - 01/10/87

Now then Fran; I had no conceivable need for these whatsoever (they should be steel bodied) for a project. Until I thought Earl of Durham could be Earl of Dudley and the Pontop and Jarrow markings could lose the J for the Pensnett Railway. Bugger.

Yes, Ham radio is the term for amateur radio operation in the US. An FCC license is required.

Finally got around to mowing the lawn (NOT harvesting the hay this time!) after five or so nice, sunny days. Busy tomorrow at a hamfest and I do not do this kind of work on Sundays; next week the pine cone rollers are predicting rain through the middle of the week so today was IT!

Hello again from Estuary-Land. Things seem quiet on the RMweb front, not as many posts as I expected after the shutdown. Perhaps some people are unaware that RMweb is back. Tea is brewing so I'll be back later.

Hi Dave, Many thanks for your order! We are actually finessing the coupling system as will be apparent on the decorated samples, but this might give you an idea of their operation @Islesy will explain them better than I can and we will be doing a visual demonstration with them once the decorated samples arrive. We 100% agree on the tension locks argument, and if there was one thing I could change in the hobby myself it would be banishing them forever. They're only fit for the bin. It's also not our first rodeo in pushing alternative solutions, as our Mark 5s show. Opposite ends of the railway era, but similar ideas! Cheers, Fran

I would have thought a cake transport would have been far more secure than that!

The p-way team seem unfazed by the Scottish interloper as 37 033 appears heading south on the ‘Thames-Clyde tractor’ railtour.

What a brilliant think to have done. Well done. I am sure the release will be a well-deserved success; count me in. I'm going to set my P&J micro layout before 1911 (so I don't have to set fire to the models right after I've bought them!).