Les1952

Using them myself on Bregenbach im Schwarzwald, with 1 in 25 gradients and very tight curves I can assure you they are. I have also seen a 10 coach rake of heavy OO coaches with them that performs faultlessly. Les

The age gap is the one that needs plugging to maintain and reinforce interest before hormones kick in. The hobby needs those people to stay interested, even if their activity lessens for a while. As a long-time N-gauge modeller I'm not convinced that N gauge is the answer. Pre-Bachmann Farish locos were solid enough, but the modern stuff isn't really all that suitable for under 14s. The future if Hornby don't lose the plot, is probably TT. It needs someone like Tillig to realise there is a UK market and produce a diesel, or even to sell some of their existing stuff in the UK. A bit of competition here would give Hornby's top brass a nudge. However Tillig need to find an importer who they can get on with - their relationship with Golden valley Hobbies seems to have broken down. Les

At the moment the gap is for cheap- ie really cheap- simple locos with not a lot that can be knocked off them to try to keep the juniors who started with Thomas the Tank Engine but who are still treating the trains more as toys. Both of my great nephews who were mustard keen at age 6 to 7 have got into secondary school and dropped out as the affordable up-line from their 0-4-0s mostly doesn't exist. My youngest one still runs his 0-4-0s, and would welcome something a bit bigger and better- a Bo-Bo or Co-Co diesel would be ideal, especially at the fifty quid mark or lower. None of them was interested in running units- you can't shunt with an Electrostar..... Les

Depends how cheap they are. Deep pocketed RMWebbers who want the best detail aren't the only ones they need to sell to..... Les

Ah, now that one is almost positively distinguished.... Built on the "throw bits into the pile and see what you can make" principle.... Les

Two large club layouts actually live upstairs at the venue. they only needed to be carted downstairs and set up. Many thanks to all for the positive comments. Next year we are on April 5th and 6th. Les (club chairman)

For info- The judging committee for "best in show" is one club member, one local resident who is not a club member, and one non-member expert, who this year was Tony Wright. Les

"They're all out of step but our Jimmy"....... For those who don't recognise the quote it is a woman watching her son taking part in a military parade, but does sum up the British attitude to doing things the same as everyone else.

On the point of TT:120 UK stock looking small. in 2022 I travelled from Newark on Trent to Venice by train. Four trains, LNER to London, Eurostar to Paris then an Italian Frecciarossa to Milan and a Swiss train to Venice - the latter being a through train from Geneva. The train from Newark to King's Cross was the only one where we travelled First Class, and had the most cramped seats of any of the trains- despite the seats in UK first Class being 2+1 seats across the gangway and all of the others being 2+2. That brought it home just how much smaller the UK loading gauge is- our trains are not only much lower but also a fair bit narrower, compounded by the Azuma not being built to the full UK loading gauge to allow for tilt. Pics show the Azuma and the Swiss unit. Les

Q1 would have the same issue with the next lot of "in transit" stuff showing as in stock.... That aspect is one they can't win other than getting stuff made closer to the UK, and, barring World War III, that isn't going to happen in any large amounts any time soon. Les

From the Peachy interview the mismatch between coaches and locos is something that Hornby are trying to address in TT:120, hence the Stanier coaches not appearing until after the Duchess and current lack of blue-and-grey Mark 1 stock (until the class 50 appears). All of this of course helps the balance sheet, but Hornby are getting hammered by prospective punters for it as they can't yet have the stock they want.... Les

That is answered pretty comprehensively by Hornby in Peachy120TT's video. You do need to sit through three quarters of an hour or so to get the whole answer, but it is there. Les

A frequent culprit on smoking Dapols is the circuit board. Less likely to be the motor. Les

They have nem pockets. The 3-axle umbauwagen have self centring mechanisms, which are a pain in the fundament to reassemble when taking the chassis out to get passengers in- I've only done one so far and am dreading the other three... I've not yet looked again at the eaos wagons. Les

The TT:120 Pacifics? Les

OHLE in TT:120 is produced by Sommerfeldt and Veissmann.

I have a rake of four Eaos wagons with variations from 5.5mm to nearly 7mm, to the extent that coupling them has required me to use two different lengths of Hunt coupling. I've not checked my 3-axle Umbauwagen, but they don't couple gangway to gangway with the original couplers as fitted by Tillig. Les

The couplers will take NEM355 alternatives. Does NEM355 specify a distance from buffers? If so nobody seems to have told Tillig...... If you want your coaches to touch on the straight and stay coupled when running I would suggest you might want to invest in a Hunt coupler starter pack from West Hill Wagon Works and try the different lengths until you find a pairing that does the job. I now have magnetic couplings on all of my TT:120 stock (Hunt on the stuff that doesn't shunt and Dapol Easi-shunts on the stuff that does) and did a 2-day exhibition the other weekend without a single random uncoupling. There is still a little work to do adjusting the Easi-shunts as occasionally they refused to uncouple, but the Kadees on Burch Green have taken three shows to get working properly. No connection with Dapol or WHWW other than being a satisfied customer. Les

And the second video from South Notts Show. All for today. Les

South Notts Show video, number 1 of 2 Number 2 to follow. Les

Pics from the show. The layout as set up on Sunday morning, with the "Plandampf day" board in place. The class 106 shunted the yard both days. The only casualty was the class 280, which shed a traction tyre, though it seems to run quite well without it. looking into the goods shed yard. The only two issues with the layout were firstly that some glue fumes had found their way into the mechanism of one of the semaphores. A little work with the end of a scalpel blade had that working by Sunday morning. The more serious issue was a point wire popping out of the tie bar hole on Sunday morning. Fortunately Neil Stevenson of PLS Layouts/Sherwood Models is more adept at putting these things back than I am, and got it sorted before the show opened. Many thanks, Neil. The class 798 at rest in the platform. The show was opened by no less a person than Sir Topham Hatt. Videos are being processed and will eventually be posted. Les

To be quite honest, given the size of the TXS chips I'm glad they haven't- far too much weight would be needed to be carved out to make room for them. Given that Digitrains have got sound and a stay-alive into an EFE N-gauge J94, why not just get quality sound fitted? Les

Stadtler Eurodual, modern Bo-Bo electric in a number of liveries. Very interesting but out of my period. The prototypes have a wide range, though I'm not sure how far those in the catalogue get. Les

that doesn't mean those details would survive the reduction in scale without being so thin they fall apart as soon as you look at them....

given their military origin, a parade of Austerities?