Robert Shrives

A good rake of coaches - no food for a while I guess !! EGV looks the part. Thanks for showing Robert

But to dream ...... 123 would tick many boxes after the 120 project.

Back in the dark bad old days I recall pricing being upped to control demand by pricing passengers off the railway forever - once a person enjoys a private tin box for transportation, even with all the other vexations of road transport it is hard to tempt back and these latest "exciting" developments of plank seating, rubbish trains and price increases, gift wrapped by marketeers as "simplification" can hardly impress any generation to use rail as a serious transportation network. A once national resource is truly side swiped into the gutter of irrelevance.

Good luck on the dmu that looks to be sweet design well on the way. The 126 is a good choice as you only need one fancy cab! I can see some sort of Cadder yard area layout with blue 29, green 21, green 24 and a 126 howling past on a Glasgow - Edinburgh express. pair of green 26 on an Inverness working complete with maroon coaches and a blue grey griddle car. Brilliant progress. Robert

Can you now fit a decent can motor over the small affair fitted ? The slightly non equal with a stretch would do a 56 as well.. 5342 was an early "cab" for me in 1973 at Kyle whilst on tour with dad, defo back in the day times! Like you Phil ought to get on with the 3mm, but N , Irish 4 mill and G1 itches get tickled as well depending on mojo. Robert

It would be best to have both controllers really. An old H&M clipper will be a bit of a sledgehammer on a coreless motor. Albeit in N I have used a Vesta controller from Moreton and it does the job on old chunkey Farish motors and the latest Farish coreless motors. However for a while another Vesta happily ran the 4mm Can motors and lima pankcakes on the office "training layout" and on the replacement Gould street N gauge roundy. As motors vary I guess there is not a one size fits all all in DC conrol, DCC CVs allow for much micro adjustment to get the best from motors. Robert

That looks lovely from that angle, just need to add the local specialty of a lost and drowned slate wagon sticking out of it.

A good start, looking forward to progress, between rail replacement moves. Robert

Unlikely, bearings are sealed units so ingress of large particles - cement dust large in this context, water ingress is seen as an issue - one of reasons why modern trains do not paddle any more. A non rail incident in Leith docks ended up with a gear box in the water. Inspection showed a thumbprint of stain on a bearing surface, SKF expert explained that it was saltwater a few micron under the surface, it would eventually flake off and cause a rumbling bearing and had potential to fail, eventual home of gearbox was in the upper floors of a building, replacement access would have be a real PITA... new gearbox and bearing ordered. Back in the day the network had wagon depots with covered work bays - I have seen in recent years more mobile solutions used, possibly using MARPLAN techniques for work planning. Hence proactive works stop and problems are not caught in time. The cost saving of extended maintenance periods over "over maintaining" can sometimes cause a storm much bigger than the few pounds the account sees.

Hi please PM me about bogies I might have enough bits to help, as noted they are normally lovely motors. FWIW the screw in the bush holds the spring for the motor brush the brass bush is a force fitted item that is knurled and will not move but if you have tried it is now likely the brush and spring now out of alinement, giving a rough runner as brush will be arching on the commutator, guess how I know this !! Robert

Hi It really sounds like the motor is root cause, if you have swapped bogies and much the same - there is not much left. class 22 Spare motors might be an issue looking at DCC supplies and Peters spares. Whilst motor is the same flywheels are smaller and so using another motor and trying to swap flywheels might be possible. Please drop me a pm . Robert

Hi , Early 22s had what look to be hand soldered PCBs on a really bad day, the gloop I always thought was a contact glue used to make a "mechanical connection for the wires and "after the event" insulation for the cats cradle of wiring. The flickering tail lamp could indicate one of the control diodes on the board is about to go pop. The motors are quite good and failures happen but not common in the picture of how many Dapol have used/ use today. - Current consumption is a good check on motor life and at worst might be source of smell but they get hot quick and the black tape in second pic shows no distress. On later models I have seen a smidge of heat shrink sleeving on the motor joint - preventing your fear of short on the wire to motor/chassis point. Grease gloop is a pain as a does dry out and cause drag and easily cleaned off - certainly a case where less is more! I got a non runner class 150 sprinter off ebay and 15 minutes cleaning out a static grass and grease soup out of the bogie the unit was cured. It is hard for manufacturers as a scale model ex warehouse is let out in to the wild and treatment not always humane! yet as it is branded with their name they are to "blame." Ebay purchases are always a risk but for me part of the fun of the chase- sadly prices no longer the basement bargains we remember - or want to perhaps! Viz the 52 did it come with the second bogie in the box - worth swapping if it did and see if running improves - the first batch had some wonky wheels and some with a horrible tarnish on the treads- I hate to think what the builders were breathing if the air made the metal crud up so quickly. Robert

Good to see it is open, and it works, I did not get wet last Friday! Buses were fun at times and offered a better service with some stations almost needing the "Road" suffix. A lot of money lost with no revenue protection, even at Mach. Viz 197s not enough fitted with ERTMS version ? equipment despite being a new build so the twats in Cardiff have ensured yet again the the daily farce risk of a double train change with up and down services at Shrewsbury with unfitted sets in the service group will carry on for the future - and beyond. Worse suggestions are that timetables being designed to treat coast as a separate line with changes required in both directions at Mach- very retrograde. The last current connection down the coast sees station closed around passengers - so you get dumped back into the cold... as the staff hours have never been changed - a missed opportunity perhaps a decade ago. The very late train has killed off the evening rover market and what at times had been a reasonably well used summer train is leading towards a superannuated ecs working! And of course the earlier up trains do not enjoy the custom of outward evening users - what a way to see a sunset on a lovely day but from a west coast facing train, pie and pint at several options and back on a train for 22.00 but no now it arrives end of line post 23.00. A few years ago it would be being "worked in for closure" with tricks like this, but no rather than maximise revenue options it is a case of maximise subsidy so much for initiatives of privatisation over dead wood BR ! But really glad bridge set up now for length of time line has with global warming and tidal lifts, I suppose if humans left in 100 years time Ffestiniog Travel marine division will offer suitable tours and diving experiences to see the Barmouth reef based on the bridge. Robert.

An earlier post noted about new entrants not knowing about the crash and resulting changes. It is true and talking about "Hidden" they do think of out of sight. Corrective action by us oldies does help open a few minds. Like using the Q word in control having books about disasters open does invite gremlin intervention so sometimes I have lent some of Stanley Hall`s tomes for use in out of office hours environments. I have the full report of the Clapham inqury and it is well thumbed by others and recently inspired one member of staff to enrole on the safe working of trains course. So good has come for many after the culture change and better controls, but like many reading this fear the wheel turns and a case of when not if we have to deal with another multiple train collision. stay safe Robert

Great to see a 9F - I have all the bits and a bag of round tuits in the way but it is good to see what it should look like! The presflows are a real dedication job. I have in N around 20 N soc hopper kits and detail etches - a lot mounted on Dapol chassis as the parkside hopper chassis parts are not the easiset affair. Recently finished 15 N rover KSA cube wagons that was a labour of love! 3mm I have been working on 12 MGR wagons and waiting on Steve for transfers - but no rush as he has a lot on at mo . The class 25s- "rats" to me look really good. I have some not so well done also waiting time to put numbers on. Robert

Hi Happened across the boys packing these on pallets last week and lovely looking and undoubtably useful for many layouts - all crying out for gunking ! far to clean in the pristine condition. Certainly they were based on photos and available drawings but sure the model will please many and see folk off down oily worm holes getting exactly right details. I look forward to seeing these in the wild very shortly. I have got a box of bits and bobs post production as spares - yet to look inside and catalogue so perhaps in new year some listings of bits will appear - but a large backlog of new parts to work on. Robert

These extra 6 vehicles amazingly taken out of existing 3 cars of LM 170 fleet added to 2 cars and via works to get to same spec only got XC back to where it should have been when it was "given" the central services, it had always been 6 vehicles light on planned stock levels , laughingly XC was offered 6 153 vehicles to work a Leicester- Brum service group a while back - no crews sign and only 75 mph sets totally stupid and offer kindly declined. just a few years earlier ( hindsight police alert) it would have been possible to get some 170 style MS vehicles on end of Chiltern order but no such luck. As discussed at work all the 170 fleet need bolstering to 4 cars - while they would need reworking down to XC standards the potential Chiltern fleet changes might mean vehicles available in the next 5 years- which does not really help at BHM when you cannot get on the 16.49, 17.22 etc services this evening! The LM 170s have almost all gone to East midlands replaced by the 172/ 197 fleets until something worse comes along !!

You have to remember the mantra - "nobody is travelling these days", so no income no, wage increase and stock can be stood down. Rather than considering network benefits cost minimisation still occupies the tiny minds in Whitehall, having sold off our rolling stock into private hands the cutback in stock is one of the few places where our money can be saved. The "horrific" costs of keeping booking offices open has to be saved somewhere ! Robert

Yes, the cut back was for platform residual asbestos removal and took longer than expected - surprised ! The new service puts back so now chances of doubling sets gone as no float to use - and 2 sets go for refurb shortly making it harder but as there is not enough staff not to worry as cancellations and strategic simplification at control level to provide a robust service will be enacted. Levels of evening drunken abuse across the network increases with "European effect tat markets" so no vols for late trains at this time... you reap what is sown.. With some recent changes as a result of industrial action the use of voyagers is now limited on the turbo routes just to make it harder - and no it is not union based restrictive practices but a safety directive from on high!! Robert

A good dose of grot should finish the 08 off nicely. A grand little project, I missed out on as chassis at the time not enough cash in the bank. ( not much better now mind you! ) so sad to read no chance of any more. But can understand the sanity/ horror of batch building them. Robert

As said before - really sharp modelling, great skill it taking a kit/cum scratch aid of a past era and making a great model. Trojan seat covering decals must be a marketable thing Robert

Well I ventured on 1S43 and 1V54 today both had active TMs on ticketing and 1V54 had two XC revenue protectors and TM amid train - which was full and standing 5 car, 1S43 was a busy 8 from Derby. As staff I stood on way back along with two other employees - seats for paying customers first. Called at SHF booking office - three windows open which is most I have ever seen, and the latest accessory for your modern station a pair of armed BTP officers on visual presence duty on concourse, both stood together offering a single target! ho hum. Robert

Sadly getting tickets checked on XC services is harder with management hardly seen and morale below rock bottom. Despite current industrial actions and reduced timetable trains still cancelled due no crew yet from Monday more trains inserted. Why would you volunteer for overtime work with the worst excesses of drink and violence on trains after Brum Market and the others around the XC network. I have see trains delayed waiting police everyday for last few weeks of shifts at work. Barriers at Birmingham after 06.00 to 20.00 help a bit but attacks on staff at all time high and even with body cams not much seems to be done. At long last the latest round of train faffing will see XC trains fitted with CCTV which might deter but all a bit stable door shutting. When involved in welfare calls it is clear crews tough it out and are "all right" but suggestions of tazers or hot lead side arms do seem to be a useful thing to add to crew kit. Robert

I really like the striped paint on the seats ! Fun fitting a print on all the curves certainly more patience than many! Robert

Great to the signals - as you note one of the last big jobs, it makes the scene complete and you will be busy talking past signals with the crews while S&T procrastinate! Have fun wiring up... Robert