Lord of Narnia

Do we know what the cost is going to be? Some of these 3D printed kits can be very expensive!

Radley’s haven’t ceased trading they have paused trading. Hopefully they will be up and running soon. What ever happens I expect that their Dreadnought fleet will continue to be available as the manufacturer still has the moulds.

Hard to say but the former more likely than the latter.

It certainly is a difficult time for us modellers at the moment. I heard that there was a slim possibility that one of the main manufacturers was looking at flare sides stock. This would be welcome and give many options going forward. I am hoping that there will be a decision on the future of Radley Models in the near future.

There are discussions going on at the moment. Hopefully there will be a decision soon which I will be able to post here.

I attended Phil’s funeral on Wednesday. The business will remain closed until the New Year when a decision on its future will be made. Watch this space!

I have just seen on Facebook that Radley models owner Phil Radley has very sadly passed away. I don’t know what this means for the business but if I hear anything I’ll let you know.

I was going to use 3mm cork as an underlay. I am now thinking of using a 3mm foam. The sort of stuff that flooring gets laid on. I was then going to use the 3mm cork over this so the ballast has something to adhere to. If there is too much of a step up to the track I’ll infill the surrounding areas with more cork sheet. Not sure if it will work or if anyone had tried this before?

In Brussels they tend to use a post at the end of the wire with an insulator. More modern systems or sections are more likely to use catenary and use weights for tensioning. It’s good advice to check the prototype though.

I’ve not tried them but the measurement suggests 73mm from the railhead although that is with the mast mounted at railhead level and at 1:87 scale. They are expensive so I made my own.

I believe the R38 is still at Mangapps.

Hi Jim I’ve just come across this tread. Loving your work. I was looking to do a Chiltern 165/0 for me layout. Regarding the removal of the hopper windows I was wondering if you had any ideas on removing the grey band on some or the glazing sheets to it was just a plain glazing panel? i was thinking of trying a bit of t cut but don’t know if it will work?

Looks great Arun. I guess the R stock could have been operated in 5 car units post 1971 and one trial four car test unit was set up in the early 1950s to test power consumption.

Thanks I think I’ll look at the tacky glue. Was originally looking at something like Copydex which is similar I guess? I’ll have to do some mock up sections and see.

This is a really interesting topic. I was looking at a foam sheet (the type used for slab perimeter with screeds) below a thin layer of cork just to try and reduce the noise leaves. I wasn’t sure how well the ballast would adhere to the foam hence the cork on top of the foam. Will this work do we think?

Still no sign of the BEC tram despite being in contact in January! Is this usual from BEC? Are they still in business? I’ll have to give them a call as my emails are not being returned.

Looks good. I usually use a simple bar to couple my underground stock although they don’t uncouple in service. The Q stock looks great. Despite being a Met modeller I do like the Q stock!

Looks great! I understand the whole fleet is being withdrawn in early May which is a shame.

Yes and only after a while in service (with LUL) and learning the hard way. That gives you options depending on the time period you are modelling.

Hi, I bought four Cambrian Kits some years ago to convert. I made a start on them recently. I think I’ll be here a while… Kits go together ok but it’s the reinforced sides that need the work.

I was looking to experiment with code 100 rail and a piece of space code 60 soldered on the inside. I’m hoping it will come out ok.

I’ve started to look at girder rail. I’m not going to buy it so I’ll make it. Getting the inner section looking thinner is the key and making sure the rail chairs on the inside are hodden is a personal bugbear of mine. The attached photo shows a mock up using code 100 rail for the main running rail and a piece of code 60 rail for the inner section. It is thinner so looks ok. It also is squat enough to sit over and avoid any rail chairs retained. I quite like it so far. I’m not sure the gap between the rails is large enough for the flange thickness though. I’ve considered laying a sliver of plastic card between the rails to hide the chairs or perhaps just poke in some modelling clay instead.

The experiment is over. The test set up overhead looks to have been a success. Until the BEC PCC arrives I won’t know for sure how accurate the wire assembly has been although the experiment to see if it all goes together has certainly worked. I’m pleased with the finished work. The photos provided show the finished section of track and overhead. The next thing to do is work out how to do the girder rail and roadway infill. I don’t think I have the patience for doing everything in cobbles and it’s not realistic anyway as the is a mix of tarmac, cobbles and off street running in Brussels anyway. It’ll probably be a while before I start the main layout (I need to get on with my London Underground Layout anyway!) but watch this space…

The experiment continues…. I’ve managed to get the running wire up and soldered the pull offs to the span wire. I’ve got another mast to erect and two more pull offs to connect before I conclude the experiment. Hopefully my PCC will be ready soon so I can start testing.

I have family in Brussels. As a child I would practice my French with them and my cousins would practice their English. Needless to say their English is better than my French although if I’m over there I can get by pretty well….