great central

There's still quite a bit in the Ashburys and Ardwick area, granted with25kv insulators on. I presume the same stuff is in place right up to Hadfield, can't say for sure as I don't go that way, replacement only being done when needed? I often think some of the (slightly) newer stuff around Liverpool and Manchester looks in worse condition, then again it's much lighter section. One mast near Hunts Cross did move a few weeks back and caused chaos for several hours.

5596, I'm pretty sure is Bottesford, there's a whacking great footbridge there now. Around 2005, I think, 170397 had been a demonstration train for a while but was then absorbed into the Central fleet. The other 170 is an ex MML one which were transferred to Central when the Meridians came into service. I could look it up but as I started with Central in late 2004, the MML 170s were just coming over. Just beaten to it on Bottesford. 5765 is Ancaster, you can see the grain loading equipment hanging over the siding. Further along the siding is the abandoned brake van which is still (now) marooned there to this day, the siding having been disconnected and a signal placed in the four foot. I suspect the date is similar to Bottesford, Central were quite slow at repainting some of their units, from RR livery, the 156s being only just ahead of a few 153s. Edit: magnifying the 156, it appears the guard is wearing a light blue shirt, which were issued in the last couple of years of the CT franchise, previously we had white. EMT took over the eastern part of Central in November 2007, but the unit is still wearing it's branding which started to be removed in mid-late 2007, so date between 2005-mid 2007?

J6948 is Radcliffe on Trent, shortened to this day to Radcliffe. The yard on the right is now given over to housing. Time period? Mid-late 70s?

J5340 Newark between the flat crossing and North Gate station? Around 1980? J5340 Newark between the flat crossing and North Gate station? Around 1980?

But that 'pin' should be inside the surround. The chip is fitted on top of the pins sticking up, no matter now, the wires are going to be cut in the loco.

Hi Dave, sorry to be a bit of a pedant but the first picture of Electra will be a Manchester-Sheffield service, the through trains to Marylebone having been cut back in 1960. New Haven Neil, what's stopping you?

Postscript to my question, I now have a photo of the offending item, courtesy of my son's DSLR, my camera wouldn't focus down small enough, well it is about 10 years old.

Todays problem was caused by a Hull Trains unit.

Sorry to keep labouring the point but when I get home and some batteries for my camera, I'll post a photo. For getting on 30 years of my life, I have been involved with electrical stuff including PCBs so although not down to component level, I can tell if something isn't put together right. Thanks once again for the replies, I was more interested in the decoder, but also whether this manufacturing fault would stop the loco working as I know that many of the pins are unused.

Thanks to everyone, although I can't explain the problem without a photo, I know that it's a manufacturing fault. In time the loco will be renumbered and weathered so I'll modify the wiring at the same time to just DC. The thing is that it has obviously been faulty from new and never tested! That will also do away with the annoying little plug under the tender.

Thanks but the problem isn't with the decoder, it's the male plug mounted on the PCB that the decoder fits onto. I now know that pin 1 is an essential so need to decide whether to get in touch with Bachmann about it or just cut the wires and set up for dc only. DCC is very much a fringe interest having bought a Hornby TTS 37 and, at the moment borrowed the club controller.

Thanks Grosvenor, you've confirmed my suspicion. Not that simple to rectify though, it's the pin attached to the PCB, I presume when they're made the pins all stick up and have the 'shroud' fitted over the top then fastened down to the PCB. This one has escaped at manufacture. I've just tried it on dc with the blanking plug in, still nothing. Must have been faulty from the start. Simplest thing is to rewire for dc only, but I'll give it some thought first.

Thanks for the quick reply Nigel, as you say probably just a Bachmann chip, there were some still in their packing if I recall correctly. The 'pin' sticking out is beside the mount on the tender PCB, which the chip plugs into. I would post a picture but my phone won't focus down to the size required.

I'm hoping the collective knowledge here can help. I have a Bachmann 3F which I bought from a deceased estate so don't unfortunately know it's history or where it was bought. Having bought several locos from the same source, all chipped and working, the 3F does nothing. Even trying to interrogate the chip reveals nothing. Having dismantled the tender, it seems that one of the little metal 'fingers' that should be inserted into the socket is actually on the outside (it appears to be pin 1) This, I presume, is a manufacturing fault? That being the case I think I need to speak to Bachmann! Then there's the installed chip, the brand appears to be 'Soundtraxx'? Does that mean it's actually a sound chip, there's no speaker installed but if the previous owner hadn't been able to get the loco to work, may not have gone any further? Any help gratefully received, this is a very new field to me, I'm only going down this route because I got several locos at a bargain price from the same source, of course I could just rewire the loco for straight DC operation.

No offence intended in my post, it just seemed a little odd to say that there was no railway nearby, especially as one of your group lives in the area. My apologies for any misunderstanding, obviously rule 1 applies at all times.

Sorry, have to take issue with that statement, the GN Derbyshire line ran alongside Hucknall Road and Rigley's (not Wrigley's, they're the chewing gum people) wagon works were pretty much the site of the current Tesco Top Valley store, where there was also Bulwell Forest station. Bestwood Park Drive and Top valley Drive the main roads into the area, cut right through the embankment and if I recall correctly there's still, certainly was a few years back, a small occupation bridge in place which is used for the footpath on one of the roads cutting through the embankment. The line of trees alongside Hucknall Road shows the route on Google satellite view: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.0043192,-1.1776418,1829m/data=!3m1!1e3 Edit: Just checked on streetview and I think the occupation bridge was on Top Valley Drive, but removed when the new bigger Tesco store was built a few years ago. There's also a concrete signal post hidden in the trees between Tesco and Bestwood Park Drive, I think it would have been the distant for Bulwell Forest. There's a forum topic about Bulwell Forest station including a couple of pictures here: http://nottstalgia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6221 I well remember the area as I went to school not far away on Gainsford Crescent in Bestwood, Rise Park was just starting to be developed then 1963-69. The school had a cross country running route taking us around the back of Rigleys (I think, because the first time I did cross country I realised I wasn't very good as a distance runner and got left completely behind. Imagine the outcry if that happened nowadays, an 11 year old left out on their own! Didn't matter then, being a train spotter I was well used to finding my own way about and already knew the area)

Does this mean that 26054 was named after the well known co-star of various Disney films? Edit, just remembered that 45 106 also carried the name Vulcan in it's Tinsley days. Remembering the plane or something to do with a Trekkie?

Used to go there with my mother to get the bus to Clifton to see my stepsister. Remember vividly seeing a 9F come rumbling over the viaduct, still at a fair pace, with (apparently) no train in tow. Followed some time later by a solitary brake van, train was all flat wagons hidden behind the parapet. Can't tell for sure whether the NCT bus is a Daimler Fleetline or Leyland Atlantean, can you read the fleet number above the door on the original scan?

Happens throughout the day with Liverpool-Norwich services. No problems so long as passengers are kept informed. Been going on for quite a few years now most are used to it. Why must 'officialdom' think we're too stupid? Perhaps because they really are

I think I know the loco you're talking about, and most likely where the photos were taken. It was built by a friend of mine, Hayden Reed and photographed on our Deepcar layout. Hayden wrote several articles about hacking around various Triang locos to make quite decent models of other types. One I recall particularly was an LNER L1 built using largely B12 parts. There were others that I can't now remember, there was a standing joke within the the club that pretty much all of Hayden's projects contained some part of a B12 I should have some of Tony's photos here with the Deepcar 'archive'. Edit: I've just remembered that the N5 in this picture is one of Hayden's more recent creations http://www.nottingham-modelrailway.org.uk/images/img_4542a.jpg It's O gauge and started life as a Lima 4F!

Derr, worrabaht the one be'ind the clerestory?

Getting rid of steam locos? On another note I see the wires are down at Hunts Cross near Liverpool, shutting the route. Thing is these wires are, as far as I know, never used. If the GW takes so long to get wired I can't help but wonder how much will have to be repaired due to damage before it's even live?

A modern(ish) oddity I can't understand is at Manchester Oxford Road. Certainly platforms 3 and 4, can't be sure about 2 never having arrived in there from the Liverpool direction, have two lots of 4 aspect signals. (There is only the single signal on each platform heading the other way). One is, obviously, at the platform end, the other little more than a loco length in rear. It's a real pain when we follow another train in closely, our 4 car set doesn't all fit in the platform until the first signal has cleared. The next signal in rear is at Deansgate.

Sorry just putting it into context with a Notts dialect twist. Just shows how some peoples minds work