Les1952

When they ask for information you provide it. That is how new entrants grow into competent and experienced modellers. This hobby shouldn't have room for cliques. Les

My local shop rang this morning to say Peco had emailed them the price and to confirm my pre-order. Les

My local model shop enquired on Monday and reported back to me- they are at Peco's warehouse but can't be shipped out until the price has been decided. As a result the shop can't put in my pre-order. Les

1981, not that far from withdrawal- A3s at that stage were being used on loose-coupled goods. Hornby's blinker fitted A3 could well be used so, as could A4 William Whitelaw, which I saw shunting 21-ton hopper wagons at Grieveson & Whitwell's coal drops at Faverdale, Darlington. No camera with me as I was waiting for the bus back to school at lunchtime, heard the sounds and dashed up to investigate. Ah, the days when school lunchtimes were long enough to get a bus home, have lunch and get the bus back, indeed when there were buses enough to do it.... Les

It was only comparatively recently that one of the preserved Deltics was used on some freights in the Ashington/Lynemouth area. In their early days freight workings were definitely frowned upon (but probably not impossible). On unusual workings, there was a Northbound (oil?) train off the SR that was worked by a pair of Class 33s as far as York. If the scheduled class 37 replacements were unavailable the Class 33s continued up the East Coast Main line to Tyne Yard, bringing unusual power to the North Eastern Region. Les

Yes. I thought they were made in County Durham then I remember those were Tudor Crisps from Peterlee. Les

Hornby's class 66 has Arnold variants planned. Les

Bill Hoole also took his turn firing on stretches where the train was moving a little more slowly (ie up Stoke Bank) or the signals easier to read, thus giving his fireman a break and also helping him gain experience of driving ready for promotion. In general Top Shed drivers considered it a point of honour to get to their destination on time, even when they had taken the train over late. In the fifties there were rather more obstacles to that, partly due to reconstruction and the temporary speed restrictions that caused. Les

The brake wasn't necessarily at the tail, and the train would be screw coupled. As to a smooth ride on the loco, yes if it was a Gresley, no if a Peppercorn, and definitely no for a Thompson. Bill Hoole also famously managed to dislodge all the floor boards on a B1 hitting Potters Bar pointwork at full line speed. Another reason why the fastest trains had locos with trailing trucks. Les

A goodly proportion of LNE fitted stock (later Eastern, North Eastern and Scottish Regions were screw coupled and plated to run at 75mph up to about 1960 when Headquarters slowed everything down to 60mph maximum. These were short wheelbase vans/wagons, brown in BR days. As the train was fully fitted the brake van was not usually at the tail, but a few vehicles in. Wagons added to the train en route were added behind the brake van. Peter Coster's book (either one of the Pacific books or the one on the V2s) states that there were 18 freight paths in each direction between Doncaster and Peterborough timed to run at a start to stop AVERAGE of 60mph. This helps to explain the 202 Pacifics and 184 V2s. The down Scotch Goods was an A4 rostered train whenever one was available, and substitutes were A1s for preference. The return working was also an A4 turn. Les

A4s were rostered for express goods even before WW2. There is also the famous (true) story of Bill Hoole keeping his express goods ahead of the (Elizabethan?) for a goodly number of miles without holding it up before being stopped with a hot axlebox on one of the wagons- and signalbox records showing another occasion when an A4 on a Southbound express goods was being held up by the streamliner, running mile after mile behind it on ambers and double ambers.... Maybe not as silly as one might think.... BR Eastern Region had eighteen paths in each direction for fast goods between Doncaster and Peterborough that had to average 60mph start to stop (until about 1960 when everything was slowed down). That involved climbing Stoke bank in each direction. What sort of speeds were they doing down the other side? The only authenticated 100mph achieved by a V2 was on a goods train going down Stoke bank. Les

production slots? China has production problems with all goods as far as I recall........ Les

If it doesn't have round windows it is less likely to be a J26. Admittedly some did get shaped windows, but no balance weights to the wheels. Les

I have the same problem with my Continental N gauge sounds. Minitrix (?uniquely?) uses f2 to toggle the sound on or off. All others have short horn or whistle on this. One of my locos has the guards whistle on f3 while others have a long whistle. Many have the guards whistle on f7, which is loco whistle on Minitrix and platform announcements on at least one other loco. There should have been a nem standard for which function key does what, but I'm afraid that horse has bolted.... Les

That is exactly what I did, as I have done with all my shunters- the layout is too short for locos that coast. Les

Mine arrived on Wednesday morning, having been held back for me by Gaugemaster until I came back from holiday in Iceland and Norway. It is a sound-fitted NCB one. Opening the box- where's the chimney? Answer- on the carpet, where else? Only problem here is that there is a copper or brass bit on one side of the chimney and it might help if I knew which way round it went. Otherwise- excellent in almost every respect. Looks fantastic and runs beautifully, and with sound off it is silent. Very slight slogging- but the prototype probably slogged much more being a short wheelbase loco with huge cylinders driving from well outside the centre line. Nothing there to complain about. A wonderful piece of kit, well done. So what is the beef?- the sound file. The loco as supplied coasts for a huge distance if you return the power to zero- the idea of f2 for brake is not that useful when NOT fitted to most of the locos this works alongside. About time people doing sound files got their heads together and made the controls consistent. I'm quite happy to bang for them.... This loco is a dock shunter- it goes short distances. Using f20 to get into shunt mode (other than remembering it as it isn't the same number as other locos with brakes...) means holding shift down and pressing headlight, holding shift down again and pressing headlight again, then pressing f0. OK if you are using the loco continuously, but go to another loco and come back and you have to do it all again. My layout is 7 feet long. My locos shunt for short distances. By the time you've remembered this one has active drive and used the brakes the loco is in bits on the floor- especially when you are switching between five different locos shunting in a shed (with five different sets of sound commands....) Could I make a plea to Rapido for the Y7- a smaller loco that in service travelled even smaller distance than the 15xxs in South Wales. Could we have f20 toggling the other way on this one so that it is normally in shunt mode and those who wish to emulate Mallard then toggle shunt mode off? As it is I've done what I do with all my other locos that are required to shunt a couple of millimetres over coupling magnets- I've altered CV3 and CV4 to disable coast and make the starts quicker. Les BTW- a driver from South Wales I talked to in Barry in 1970 reckoned a 15xx could pull "two of them D3000s backwards". Perhaps the 08 wasn't the best heavy dock shunter.

Given Peco's general glacial speeds that is this month this year?.... Les

A late friend who was an undertaker who worked in a town close to the East Coast Main Line recorded that when there was a fatality it would involve him and a colleague walking the line for anything up to three miles with black bin bags and a litter picker collecting the parts of the body. He got very annoyed when Jeremy Clarkson stated that a fatality was no reason to close a railway to clear it up. Les

Another video. The Ferkeltaxe arrives heading up the valley to Furtwangen and is crossed by the BR290 on Eaos wagons heading for Donaueschingen. Must weather the wagons. Finally the BR86 pauses on its way East with the vintage train. All still a little wobbly and jerky- I'm still juggling a Powercab in one hand and the phone in the other. At least it gives an impression of the work that has been going on with the ground cover. All for tonight

the pond progresses. One complete jar of Gloss Cote tipped in. Mind you it is doing a good job of changing the colour of the grass around it.... More of this when it finally dries the same colour as in the pic (taken while it is still wet...) Les

Some of the latest scenics. First trees have gone in at the Eastern end of the layout over the tunnel. These take time as every tree I've found that is a decent shape and size has had to have a lot of work done on the colour. There will also be some trees in front of the road- how many depends on the number of quality trees I can afford. Also the first trees have gone in between the shed and the town- different species mostly for this area but the same remarks about quality and finish apply. The one in front of the flats has yet to have the ground around it worked on to hide the plastic roots. The area around the shed has had the ground cover extended. A lot more work to do here but it is better than varnished plywood.... Having abandoned the idea of having a second platform - a halt this size wouldn't have two platforms - the area between the running lines would now be just unused space- most likely in more affluent time there would have been flower beds here, though they could still be added. A different angle of the same area. Mr Simon has paid a visit today to retrieve his dog from his holiday here, and suggested that as there is a dip in the ground level here, a large puddle/small pond to the right would be a good idea. That seems a good possibility. the unstarted area behind will be grassed, with bushes and a path from the cobbled area to the shed. Not a road as all supplies will be brought in by rail. Last for now, the cobbled access from the ramp to the concrete goods standing has now been laid in. Again no work yet done to blend it in, but it is there. The goods transfer warehouse is now stuck down on the extended concrete standing. Next is to look on the DM Toys website for appropriate fencing for the edge of the apron. The area around can now get its basic grass covering. Plenty done but a lot to do. How long to April 6th (less time needed to prepare the other layouts for 4 shows and the annual holiday)? Les

The layout is set up again, until the middle of October when it needs to be taken down to allow NO PLACE to be readied for Hinckley show. Running today there seems to be a shortage of serviceable railcars as the morning train to Donaueschingen has a Class 215 pulling three Ferkeltaxe trailers, which haven't even had the railway's crest applied over the DR on the sides. The morning goods is light enough for the 08 (bought at scrap value from British Rail) to handle the train. Nothing for the goods yard here this morning. More pics showing progress when the glue sets and the paint dries- I've been working on that expanse of ground behind the station and between the shed and the goods yard. Les

I got the impression that it was a TT Talk for the sake of having one. I'm certain that anything with a delivery date before mid-October is firm, i.e. waiting for shipping or on the boat for its journey of up to 3 months. A "Surprise" item needs to be in production now if it is to appear by the year end. That means something has been passed for tooling and a slot found. I'm not going to guess what- I've too much to do getting my German TT layout ready for its debut in April and making sure my N Gauge locos are all running well for Warley... Les

I think the target market isn't the twenty-odds but the middle-aged would-be modellers in smaller houses. There is a higher proportion of younger modellers either still with parents or in rented accommodation without the location stability to consider a train set. Those would possibly be the ones more likely to go for 377/87 etc. Les

There's every chance of it snowing on Christmas day. It is just working out where...... (preferably Lapland) Les