stewartingram

I'm off to the show on Sat, parking at Grantham station. Anybody got details of the parking (esp how to pay), or is there a beterr close alternative?

Regarding the 'high' price on 20 year old models, Hornby are a business, whose aim in life is to make a profit. They design a new loco, the cost of design and the making of the tooling has to be paid for in the selling price. (Don't forget this is normally to the retailer, who then adds a percentage on top to ensure he gets a profit; though today with direct interne sales the retailer can be out of the loop). After a period of time (and sales) the development costs are paid for - the manufacturer plans this in the initial pricing, hopefully getting this right! After this he gets more profit on each sale. In days gone, the product would sell for years and years, but in todays fast moving world, much shorter runs happen, which means the setup costs have to be covered in a shorter period, thus increasing prices. And if the shorter run is then dropped, there are no higher profits later, as a newer item replaces it. Hence the business has lower profits (or even maybe losses) overall. So an older item when back in production has to also have price increases to keep the firm viable. In the case of a model loco, any changes to the design will have development costs to add in as well. Note I have mentioned 'business' & 'item', not 'Hornby'' & 'model loco', as this is a fact of being a manufacturer. I'm not condoning a large increase in a particular price btw, just explaining things, the manufacturer has to decide prices himself.

Always makes me smile shake my head, the number of drivers that go forward into a parking space (I was taught by the Police to always reverse in, as the Highway Code states), but they can't make it in one move - they have to shuffle in and out - which makes it a 3 or 5 position move. Its only like turning a corner! Can they not manage that as well? And if the bay in front of that one is empty, they don't pull forward, which saves a reversal when they leave!

11001, 34B Hornsey, from 6/56 -9/56. Taken from Shed by Shed, part 7, by Tony Walmsley. Something different for ECML followers?

I'm sure I read in a book somewhere this week, that 11001 was allocated to Hornsey (34B) for a short period in the 50s. I'll have to have another look.

As I've always said, driving is not the supposed 'right to drive', but a 'privilege to earn', and risk having it withdrawn (but sadly it doesn't work that way).

Nice surprise from RM this morning. I was expecting a small parcel from Kernow (a single Oxford car on pre-order which I transferred from Hattons - they emailed me oat the end of last week and the order number was that of the car). It wasn't that though, it was the class 11 (no notification received though). Unpacked it, quite impressed by the extra bits of packing behind the steps and on the underside. Took the packing out - and promptly knocked that step off!. but its back on ok. Tried it on the workbench test track, superb runner, good slow runner and quiet. I usually strip out lighting and DCC wiring, but I do like the shunting lights and controllable cab lights. I may leave them. I then added the small number of details, the holes needed opening out for the front bar, I found the plastic hard to drill out but I did it ok. However the screw links are a disaster. The hooks were upside down, and refused to move without breaking. I shall source some different ones. I needing to renumber to 12134 (one of two at Cambridge), I tried to remove the last 2 digits, which were very stubborn. Eventually decided to remove all the numbers back to green with a fibre pencil, but the 1st pair of '0's went back through green to white plastic, I need to touch that up. However, all in all a superb model, just the couple of minor hitches.. Now, where is my Oxford car....it is shown as despatched and due today (they must have mixed the 2 orders up).

I bet the platform wasn't crowded with onlookers back in those days just to view that A3!

As the roof of saloon cars forms part of the strength of the car, its removal leaves a loss of structural strength. Cars built as convertibles have stronger, usually deeper, sills to compensate. Conversions have to have extra strength built into that area, this may be visible from outside or hidden underneath. Or if a bodge job, ignored....

Anyone know of a 4mm source? I've just retrieved from my junk box an old MTK model that I built, probably back in the 80s. It has been in my 'for disposal' box for at least 25 years after I got the 1st Bachmann RTR model, but looking at it I've decided to keep it. Not much TLC needed to revive a good model, but the exhaust cone has gone missing. Stewart

LKH is the ECOC class designation - basically a Bristol halfcab/open platform bus. There were both 7'6" and 8' wide versions, all being highbridge versions. The LK version was the lowbridge version. LFS was the 'modern' Lodekka (earlier versions were LKD. Ithink the main difference was the air suspension on the FS chassis, as well as some body modifications but still to the same basic style. And of course they were still front engine/rer entrance (open or closed). There was also a small class of LFL version which were 30' long.

I remember years ago getting a conversion kit (was it Crownline?) to convert a Tg-Hy 46400 to the very similar BR 78xxx. It mentioned 2 ways to dos it. One was use the basic 46400, and end up with a stretched loco, which was way too tall (among other discrepancies). The other way was to do some extensive cut & shut to make it more to scale. There was however a complete etched tender in the kit. I made that and then put the rest on the roundtuit pile. Many years later, I got a Bachmann 46400 from the Doncaster show, s/h, at a very reasonable price (just as prices were actually rising very fast, never seen one anywhere as cheap since!). In addition, I also got the kit/scratchaid that Michael Edge produced, and ended up combining Baccy/Crownline/Edge in a presentable model. I completed it just before the new Hornby version was released, determined not to buy one because of the vast price difference from when first announced. (Though I still have to complete the lining on it). But...I succumbed, and now have a Hornby one too, with no regrets. Both can be stood side by side quite happily.

It was a 'bitsa' loco cobbled together from stock parts 'off the shelf', with an absolute minimum number of new parts. Even the tender chassis (with obviously a new body) was an already produced chassis (I can't remember what model) and is too long for a scale model.

I think it was Ipswich that removed a coupling from their BI in departmental use, to prevent over-enthusiastic use as a propere loco. I know I've read it somewhere, and there may have been other examples.

My daughter's cat, Oscar:- "I've just had my steak pie, now I'll have my afters please"

Magazines are written a long time before we read them. Timescales can only be guestimates at best. And when exactly does the period of early January finish....

On second thoughts, the video shows it isn't where I thought it was.

Where is that junction?

OK try this. You have a folder (call it L or Left) with 10 pictures in it. You have a 2nd folder (call it R or Right) with 5 pictures in it. Open either of them, this works with either. I'm more used to W10 on my PC where I have hundreds of folders and 1000's of pics. However I'm presently on the laptop with W11, slightly different; I also don't have any pics on it yet, but I've quickly checked and the process is similar, though the actual layout is slightly different. With the folder open, the main window lists the pics. Above the main window, there is the word 'view'. Click on this and you can change the look of the main window. You have choices such as List, Small icons, Large icons etc. Choose one and your view in the window changes, maybe from a written list to icons (thumbnails). Note they are already sorted into order - numerically or alphabetically - depending on what they are titled. That gives you the thumbnails, and sorting, that you are asking for. Save a newer pic in that folder and straight away it is sorted. Now go to the top right corner of the screen, next to the 'X' which will close the screen is a box, click on that to reduce the window size. Click on the top bar and hold, you can drag the reduced window around the screen. Then move the mouse to any of the 4 edges of the window, the mouse changes to a double arrow which you can click and hold to drag that edge and change the size of the window. Now, assuming you have opened the L folder, move it to the Left side of the screen. (See why I called them L & R now?). Open the other (R) folder, reduce its size in the same way and move it to the right hand side of the screen, so you can see both folders open. Now go to folder R, left click on the 1st pic and you can drag it to the L folder where it will be copied. Or try this with the 2nd pic, right click and drag it to the L folder. When you release the mouse you have the option to choose move or copy to folder L. That gives moving instead of copying. Now 3rd option. If you go up a level with folder R, where you have gone up to the list of folders, right click on folder R, drag it to folder L and release the mouse. Again, choose Move here, and folder R becomes a sub folder within L. Better still, go back to opening R, then click in the main window. Then do a CTRL A, which highlights all the contents (pics) in R; this means they are all selected. You can then right click to drag them all across to L. But there is also a shortcut for this; after the CTRL A do a CTRL C (which copies the selection). Roll the mouse to L and left click then CTRL V (which places the copied selection). All this long wording actually takes just a few seconds in practice. Notice when all these moves take place, order sorting takes place within the folder too.

Just to add to my previous answer, you don't need extra software if you use Win10/11 and Edge as I do.

Changing the subject a little, but still relevant to the Warley NEC show... Does anyone have a complete list of all the 1:1 exhibits that were shown over the years? Including not only the 'centrepiece, but the extras such as n.g. locos, wagons, and buses etc ?

Not sure what you actually seem to need here. I actually use Photoshop as my editing program, but often collect images from other sources too, including downloads and scans. My standard procedure is to firstly store a pic on my 'N' hdd, ready for editing. Then at a later stage I edit the pic as necessary, with a minimum edit of size, and conversion if necessary to a .jpg format. When saving them back to the 'N'drive, I may partially rename them as appropriate. (I still need to allocate a serial number within the title). Ata a later stage I move them to a permanent store , on my 'P' drive, where a number will be added to the title in my standard format. (Note the 'N' & 'P' lettering of the drives is a throwback to film days - 'N' for negative and 'P' for Print!). So at some stage they will be on the PC, saved with a title, and my operating system is W10 using Microsoft Edge. This works perfectly for me in re-labelling and sorting. Indeed I just drag & drop a pic from the 'N' drive, across to the correct folder on the 'P' drive, not even worrying about the position in the folder. They automatically 'snap' into the correct order. When opening the folder, I can select the view at the top of the screen; I normally select either 'List' or 'Large icons'

An hour ago I was musing over what would be the next big shock to our railway community. We've had the Hattons closure, the Warley show demise, what next? (We've also had the slightly mediocre Hornby announcement, but I can excuse that in their reorganisation plans). Now we have this prohibition notice to WCRC & the Jacobite. Not prohibition to the whole organisation as such, but how much does this affect that organisation? As others have said - what is next for them? Worst case would see them close down, just think what that would mean to the sector. I don't know how likely it is, they may continue without Jacobite or Mk1's. But if they do close, just imagine the impact. The loss of their rolling stock? Coaches and locos are used for other charters. Crews? Used for other charters. Engineering facilities? I believe they used to take on contracts, not sure if the do now. And if they totally go, what happens to the stock? Sale for further use? Or scrap - perhaps even in a spiteful mood? We just don't know?

Interesting comments from SK in RM this month, where he reckons annual catalogues are outdated.

Don't forget the curtains!