BMacdermott

Hello t-b-g I will quote from the 'Lessons Learned' section of the article by Steve Hall in MRJ No.171 of 2006... "Other factors to take into account early on (in planning a layout) revolve around deciding how the layout will be operated, by how many and what their roles will be and how they will communicate with each other. I would also suggest making the control panels simple to understand in order to minimise the number of operator errors." To use another piece of management speak (that derived from the film In Which We Serve)... An efficient ship is a happy ship. It sounds to me that matters have only become more complex and fractious. Retford is in need of some tender loving care! Brian

Hello everyone Possibly 15 years or so ago, Roy very kindly let me visit Retford during a group meeting, so I can appreciate the overall complexity that you all face. As noted earlier, I run to 'my own system', so I know what is involved. Can I make a suggestion for you all, now that you are 'under new management' so to speak? 1. When Covid permits, gather round the layout with a large flip chart; 2. Come up with an agreement: What would a perfect running session for us all look like? 3. Assign responsibilities accordingly - signals, track, electrics, couplings etc (Robert is already on coaches); 4. Work to an agreed timescale (which needs to be 'firm but flexible' under Covid); 5. Book a date for a 'dummy run' - start 'simple'; 6. Review and improve - build in greater operating complexities over time, such as attaching/detaching, shunting etc. This may sound like 'management speak' and - to some extent - I agree that it is. However, I'll leave you with a quote from Winston Churchill in a memo he sent concerning the building of the completely novel and untried ships that my father served in during WWII: Don't argue the matter...the difficulties will argue for themselves. Brian

Hello Johnster and everyone No need for apologies at all, I fully assure you! No doubt there would be 'an electrical expert' somewhere who could wire up the old motor into various test configurations but - in my view - all's well that ends well. I now have the benefit of two locos at an overall cost of under £100, whereas my original dilemma was 'one dead one' heading to eBay. All the best and thanks again to all who wrote in. Much appreciated! Brian

Hello cypherman I can't be 100% certain but the evidence seems to stack in that direction. Brian

Hello again I forgot to say that Ballast Wagons will be taken up in the Departmental Stock Mini-Poll No.7. Brian

Thanks gwrrob & 31A The LNER Double Bolster (and Plate) were in my notes but they slipped my net! Patching in shortly! Correct that I have missed the Hornby LSWR & GWR Brake Vans. Also going in shortly. Brian

Thanks LNER4479 The greater majority are 'complete new tooling'. The policy of the old 'main' 00 Wishlist Poll was that we would list any item that hadn't had completely new tooling. Hence, we listed such as the LNER V2 even though it had had a new chassis. As I have often said, it is impossible to be 'deadly accurate' with descriptions. There are times when Wagon X gets announced, then gets cancelled, then gets re-announced and then eventually appears as something related but slightly different! Brian

Hello everyone In advance of our move towards Freight vehicles in forthcoming Mini-Polls Nos.4 & 5 (Mondays 7 & 14 June), I thought it might be useful ‘to take stock’ of where we are in respect of current RTR. Below is a list of what we have seen since 2000 – if you can spot any missing, please let me know and I will patch them back in. Note that dates are approximate and are either ‘announced date’ or ‘on the market date’. GWR 2001 Bachmann Goods Fruit Van 2001 Bachmann Mogo 2001 Bachmann Double Vent Van 2009 Bachmann Cattle Wagon 2013 Bachmann Shunter’s Truck 2016 Oxford 6-wheel Brake Van 2017 Hornby Brake Van 2021 Rapido Loriot (but only part of a Titfield Thunderbolt set as yet) 2021 Rapido Brake Van (but only part of a Titfield Thunderbolt set as yet) SR 2005 Bachmann Planked Vent Van 2005 Bachmann Plywood Vent Van 2012 Bachmann Pill Box Brake Van 2016 Hornby Cattle Wagon 2019 Rails SECR Van 2019 Hornby Warner Brake Van 2021 Rapido SECR 5- & 7-Plank Wagons LMS 2001 Bachmann Single Vent Van Sliding Doors 2014 Bachmann MR Brake Van 2016 Hornby Coke Hopper 2019 Hornby Brake Van LNER 2002 Bachmann 20-ton Brake Van 2010 Bachmann Highfit Steel Open 2010 Bachmann Fruit Van 2010 Bachman Vent Van (Plank and Corrugated Ends) 2014 Bachmann Fish Van 10ft 2015 Hornby 20-ton Coal Hopper 2016 Oxford Cattle Wagon 9ft wb 2016 Oxford 6-plank General Merchandise 2016 TMC Double Bolster/Plate Wagon 2018 Hornby Brake Van 2020 Oxford GER 10-ton Van BR (but note that some may ‘derive from’ company vehicles) 2001 Bachmann Conflat A 2001 Bachmann 1-plank Lowfit 2001 Bachmann 3-plank Open 2001 Bachmann 16-ton Slope Side Mineral Wagon 2001 Bachmann 16-ton Slope Side Tippler Wagon 2002 Bachmann 24-ton Ore Hopper 2005 Bachmann Shock Absorbing Van 2006 Bachmann Shocbar Open 2008 Bachmann Plywood Vent Van 2008 Bachmann Fruit Van 2008 Bachmann Insulated Van 2010 Bachmann Presflo Cement 2013 Bachmann CovHop 2013 Bachmann Grain Wagon 2014 Bachmann Pipe Wagon 2014 Bachmann Vent Van 2015 Bachmann Fitted Tube 2017 Bachmann Vanwide 2017 Rapido Gunpowder Van 2017 Kernow Bogie Bolster E 2017 TMC 25.5-ton Double Door Coal Wagon 2018 Accurascale 25.5-ton Coal Hopper 2020 Accurascale 21-ton Mineral Wagon Double Doors Other 2000 Bachmann Coal Traders Pack 2000 Bachmann 14-ton Tank Wagon 2004 Dapol 12-ton Tank Wagon 2005 Bachmann 45t Monobloc Tank 2005 Dapol 9-plank Mineral Wagon Double Doors 2005 Dapol Lime Van 2006 Dapol 4-plank Open 2006 Dapol 20-ton Steel Mineral Wagon 2008 Dapol Rectangular Tank 2009 Dapol 5-plank Open 9ft wb 2009 Dapol 7-plank Open 9ft wb 2011 Hornby 27t Iron Ore Tippler 2011 Hornby Standard Brake Van 2015 Oxford 7-plank Wagon 2015 Heljan Class A & B Tank Wagons 2016 Bachmann Anchor Mounted Tank Wagon 2016 Bachmann Warflat 2016 Hattons Warwell etc 2016 Oxford ICI Limestone Hopper Wagons 2018 Oxford Tank Wagons They split up as: 38 – Bachmann (but none announced since 2017. Presflo Twin Silo announced then cancelled) 9 – Hornby (but they didn’t really start to ‘kick in’ with Freight until 2016) 8 – Dapol 7 – Oxford 4 – Rapido 2 – Accurascale 2 – TMC 1 – Rails 1 – Hattons 1 – Kernow 1 – Heljan This might give the impression that we are ‘well served’ with freight types, but I believe there are many types just waiting in the wings: * Banana Vans – plenty of diagrams, travelled far and wide, a train of 20 vans is perfectly reasonable. * Bogie Chemical Tanks – remember the Hornby Dublo ones? * Container Types – the containers themselves that is. * Continental Ferry Wagons & Vans – a wide variety to choose from. * Early RCH Coal Wagons – you will be able to vote for those on Monday. * Ex-Company Opens and Vans – there was a myriad of these types! * ‘Heavy Duty’ types – such as Flatrols, Trestrols, Weltrols, Loriots, Bogie Plate Wagons etc. * Mineral Wagons – such as the SNCF type. Food for thought! Brian

Hello everyone Many thanks for all your comments... I am pleased to say that the new motor arrived from Hornby and - after a bit of 'test wiring' to see which wires connected where without the DCC sockets etc - the loco is up and running! Brian

Results - 00 Rolling Stock Mini-Poll No.3: Non-passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (NPCCS) Hello everyone Many thanks to the 16 voters who took part and for the number of written comments received. Rather than take up space here, I have put them in a PDF attached. As per earlier Mini-Polls, they are in order of receipt but slightly edited for consistency. You will have already read these, but I felt it useful to have them all in one place in context with the results The number of votes per item is shown in the left hand column. High Polling 12 Passenger Brake Van B 51ft 1½in & BG 52ft 6in Gresley (Diags.129 & 284 of 1928 & 1939, Diags.154 & 282 of 1932 & 1938) 11 Passenger Brake Van BZ 6-wheel (Diag.358, BR-built 1950) 10 Bogie Covered Carriage Truck CCT 45ft (Diags.2 & 3, of 1924-1928) 10 Bogie Covered Carriage Truck CCT 52ft (Diag.7, of 1940) 10 Passenger Brake Van BG 61ft 6in Thompson - Flat Planked Sides (Diag.327 of 1945-1946) Middle Polling 8 Passenger Brake Van BG 63ft 0in Thompson – Steel Sides (Diag.344 of 1945) 8 Travelling Post Office Vans – LNER (Diag.164 & Diag.165 of 1933 to 1937) 6 Car Carrier – Anglo-Scottish Bogie CCT (E71000-E71099 of 1957) 6 Passenger Brake Van BY 4-wheel (Diag.120 of 1927) 6 Passenger Brake Van BG 61ft 6in Gresley (Diag.245 of 1938-1943) Low Polling 2 Travelling Post Office Vans – BR Mk1 (built or converted 1959-1977) 1 Car Carrier – Newton Chambers Double-Deck TCV (of 1962) Please note that the results reflect the views of those who voted here and may not necessarily reflect those of the wider modelling community. I might be able to show you more on that another day, so I have split them up as High, Middle and Low Polling to be in context with 00 Wishlist Polls of the past. We’ll be back on Monday with: 00 Rolling Stock Mini-Poll No.4: Freight Stock – 4-wheel (Pre-1951) Brian (Note: These are ‘informal Polls for fun’ on Gilbert’s thread only and neither The 00 Wishlist Poll Team nor RMweb are specifically involved, apart from me in my ‘personal capacity’.) Mini-Poll No.3 Comments Received.pdf

Hello Robert & Simon Have just spoken with Colin... He was looking after the Brian Green Collection but it was subsequently bought by Norman Preedy, who himself has since passed away. Colin thinks the collection might be at the Severn Valley Railway. However, Colin kindly checked his records of loco numbers in the collection, but 61633 doesn't feature and the name 'B Green' doesn't appear in the book's acknowledgements. Brian

Hello Robert I have just checked my (handwritten) address book and I still have Colin's phone number as we have been known to each for many years, mainly via the late Richard Strange. I haven't seen him for a long while although we have bumped into each in Milton Keynes City Centre from time-to-time. I will ring him later today. Brian

Hello Robert Colin (last name escapes me!) of Stony Stratford used to have some involvement with his photos. I can't recall if he was SRRS or Mangotsfield Railway Circle. Memory kicked in: Colin Stacey! Brian

Hello Robert There is photo of the loco and first carriage at Sheffield Victoria 1954 in the book Steam Around Sheffeld, Mike Hitches. The boards cannot be read in the printed book, but the photo is credited to B Green - perhaps Brian Green of SRRS? Brian

Hello Robert This was the film I was thinking of. Brian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu3_6CZMhpY

Hello again Robert I have found that BTF has a list of all its films, with dates. I'm pretty certain the film concerned was c.1960, so I'll start looking at those soon. Brian

Final Call for Votes: 00 Rolling Stock Mini-Poll No.3 Hello everyone The 'polling station' closes at 17.00, with Results due tomorrow (Friday 4 June). Full details are on page 1312, but a reminder for those who may have overlooked voting… 1. You may vote for two of the ‘car types’, plus four of the Passenger Brake Vans, plus one of the TPOs. Seven votes total available. You cannot ‘transfer votes’! 2. They must be items you would realistically wish to buy if made RTR. 3. Submit your entries on this thread simply as (for example): 2, 4, 7, 9, 12 – with comments and explanations following. 4.If you vote by PM, please only list your selection of numbers without explanations. 1. Bogie Covered Carriage Truck CCT 45ft (Diags.2 & 3, of 1924-1928) 2. Bogie Covered Carriage Truck CCT 52ft (Diag.7, of 1940) 3. Car Carrier – Anglo-Scottish Bogie CCT (E71000-E71099 of 1957) 4. Car Carrier – Newton Chambers Double-Deck TCV (of 1962) 5. Passenger Brake Van BY 4-wheel (Diag.120 of 1927) 6. Passenger Brake Van BZ 6-wheel (Diag.358, BR-built 1950) 7. Passenger Brake Van B 51ft 1½in & BG 52ft 6in Gresley (Diags.129 & 284 of 1928 & 1939, Diags.154 & 282 of 1932 & 1938) 8. Passenger Brake Van BG 61ft 6in Gresley (Diag.245 of 1938-1943) 9. Passenger Brake Van BG 61ft 6in Thompson - Flat Planked Sides (Diag.327 of 1945-1946) 10. Passenger Brake Van BG 63ft 0in Thompson - Steel Sides (Diag.344 of 1945) 11. Travelling Post Office Vans – LNER (Diag.164 & Diag.165 of 1933 to 1937) 12. Travelling Post Office Vans – BR Mk1 (built or converted 1959-1977) Brian

Hello LNER4479 Indeed, the idea of making the Mini-Polls 'thought provoking' was part of the overall thinking - and that seems to be working very well. Thanks. Brian

Hello Robert I may be wrong here, but I have a feeling that a roof board is visible in a British Transport Film...the problem is, which one! I'll have a look through some possible suspects soon. Not suitable for Retford, but one 'cinema film ' that was on TV recently had a very clear view of Cambridge Buffet Express boards on some crimson & cream stock departing King's Cross. Brian

Hello everyone Just had a little time to check out my 08... The noise seemed to be in only one direction (backwards). I tried the IPA spray to no avail. I then dabbed the tiniest dab of oil on the outer circumference of the flywheel and...noise gone! The noise on mine was only kicking in when running at or near top speed, which is never used for shunting but - of course - it shouldn't happen. I will report again if the problem comes back, but this looks promising. Brian

Hello everyone Item No.3 in our current Mini-Poll (see page 1312) is: Car Carrier – Anglo-Scottish Bogie CCT (E71000-E71099 of 1957) Am I right in saying that these received the 2-line branding Anglo-Scottish Car Carrier, London-Newcastle-Edinburgh from early summer 1960 in readiness for the new train of the same name? Many thanks Brian

Hello Andy Whilst I can't speak for Gilbert as it is 'his thread', part of the agreed purpose of these Mini-Polls was to create debate and tease out valid comments. From my viewpoint, you are doing exactly what we hoped for. Brian

Thanks Chris I didn't go back pre-2000 as I think Gilbert and I were referring to the paucity in recent years. If I include individual Mk1 TPO releases, the time-line works out as roughly: 2000-2004 = 1 item 2005-2009 = 3 items 2010-2014 = 12 items 2015-2021 = 3 items Brian

Hello drmditch You still have one vote available if you wish on items 11 or 12. Brian

Hello Steve Many thanks for the above. I am - perhaps - being overly pessimistic, but NPCCS announcements seem to have tailed off lately. The 2021 Hornby GBL is the first since 2015 (ignoring later period Carflats of 2016). Below is a summary which others might be able to add to - if so, I will edit them back into this post. GWR 2010 Hornby Hawksworth BG 2011 Hornby Horse Box SR 2007 Hornby Van C 4-wheel BY 2012 Hornby Van B 2015 Bachmann PMV (but the CCT has not been produced in 'steam era' guise) 2021 Hornby GBL LMS 2005 Hornby 50ft BG 2010 Dapol Stove R 6-wheel (a commission originally) 2013 Hornby 4-wheel CCT 2014 Hornby Horse Box (inadvertently listed in LNER, now moved here) LNER 2012 Hornby Gresley BG 2013 Hornby Extra Long CCT 4-wheel BR 2000 Bachmann Mk1 BG (with Hornby coming in with their version later) 2007 Bachmann Mk1 GUV 2010 Bachman Mk1 TPO (first of several in later years) 2013 Bachmann Mk1 Horse Box (originally a TMC commission I think) 2014 Bachmann Mk1 CCT 4-wheel 2016 Oxford Carflats (but these were for the later BR period not the 1959 type) Edited in 'stop press' paragraph: The 2019 00 Wishlist Poll listed 68 items of NPCCS to vote for. Brian