Gook the Goblin

Thank you D9020 and Jim. Yes, I think the model is a few years old. I managed to locate the instructions online for the model - extract attached. These seem to show a 9521 coupling. Also, I can now see how to access the coupling pocket. I will need to be careful unscrewing in case a small spring pops out from behind the coupling I guess. A bit closer to a solution now. Nigel

Thank you Steven and Jim. Looking closely I am pretty sure the Fleichmann loco does not have a NEM pocket. I am reluctant to tug on the coupling too hard to see what it looks like. It looks like the coupling should just pull out and may have a forked end to clip over the vertical pin - the Profis coupling has a end like this. Will it pull out? I have added a photo of the existing Fleichmann rapido next to a NEM pocket with a rapido. The sizes of the two boxes are similar but the vertical pin is in a different place. To open up the coupling box looks like in need to take the bogies off to release the two halves of the box. Jim's suggestion might work in gluing the Dapol coupling head to the body mounted end of the existing coupling. Can I get a spare in case of a mistake or to make this modification reversible? Maybe NEM box fitting is not for me? I may try uncoupling the existing Rapido couplings with a stick, see how I get on with that for a bit. Thank you All. Nigel

The video was great Paul. Really liked the freight train. The layout looks superb, well done. Nigel

Looking great Paul. Good luck tomorrow. Nigel

I have dipped my toes into the world of N gauge after many years of 4mm scale modelling. All my N gauge stock seems to be fitted with Rapido couplings. This has not been a problem up to now with fixed rakes of stock. I recently bought a Fleischmann shunting locomotive and now I want to shunt wagons in a yard. The Fleischmann Profi coupling might be a expensive but possibly easy alternative coupling. I am not sure how the current Rapido couplings are removed. I would suppose it is a simple case of pulling out the old and clipping in the new? I have heard of the Dapol couplers. I assume I would need to do some surgery to fit a NEM coupling box? Any helpful advice and suggestions are welcomed. Nigel

Thank you Rich, far more than I expected. Nigel

I have liked modern Dutch railways for a few years now. At the Abingdon show last weekend I saw Zeedijk in the flesh after enjoying the article last year in CM. I have been heading down a rabbit hole this week wondering what stock and locos were available in N gauge? A repainted 08 and 66 are obvious choices. Piko do a nice model of a Captrain Vossloh G1000, but it may not be appropriate for the Netherlands? Piko also do a Hondekop. I have seen Fleichmann 1100, 1200 and 1600's. Nigel

Very enjoyable show with some great layouts. We'll done to the organisers. Nigel

Steventon Village Hall, The Green, Steventon, Oxfordshire, OX13 6RR Opening Times: 10am - 4pm Entrance Fees: Adults £6 accompanied children free Biennial open day for the Oxfordshire narrow gauge modellers Layouts including; Long Sibford - Oxfordshire NG Modellers Group OO9 Modular Layout Woodbury Wharf OO9 by Richard Holder Angst Lesspork OO9 by Hugh Norwood Chwarel Cwm Bach OO9 by Tim Williams Kaninchenbau HOe Austrian by Iain Morrison Grand Duchy of Mittenberg HOe by Blair Hobson Devils Bridge OO9 by Andy Cundick Farnham Group Modular Layout OO9 Garreg Wen OO9 by Matt Kean Whipsnade Central by Malcolm Harrison Nant Gwrtheyrn 00/009 by Alan Macdonald St Fayre Rhianne by John Davies Blackmoor Gate 009 by Peter Play Norton Heath 009 by Peter Hardy Llanfair Rhyd 009 by Aaron Matthews 009 Society secondhand stand ST Models Refreshments available. 5 minutes by car from A34 - Milton interchange Free parking and step free access 15 minutes by bus from Didcot Parkway Station

The passing of this major show is sad news for me personally. I have attended a few times over the years usually with my son and enjoyed the quality of the layouts on show. It was always good to get items from my shopping list and bump into friends and make new ones. I had quite a few nice chats at Warley last year. It is amazing that this huge show was able to be organised by volunteers and I want to thank them all for some great memories over the years. Nigel

Jut seen this very sad news. Hattons have been a institution. Heartfelt best wishes to all the staff. Nigel

Thank you Keith. So as not to disappoint, fast forward to over a year. Since Christmas I have focussed on the Lehnen Viadukt side of the layout as in theory it was smaller and could be developed quicker. Some photos are as below, these have shown up some minor areas needing a bit more scenic work such as adding bushes etc. Following this work will continue on the Brombanz side and I have already started scribing stone on the side hidden from the viewing side.

A thread or a layout needs a name. This layout is not intended to bear any resemblance to any real place of a similar name or lie between Filisur and Davos Platz. The layout equally could have been called "Paul" as it is a unapologetic copy of his Bonsai Rhb mini test layout @PaulRhB. As some may know from my RhB photo plank (CM January 2022) and elsewhere in the RM Web, Swiss Railways forum. I was sucked in via Paul's Bonsai RhB thread and bought some stock. With the plank finished and the stock list grown, I needed somewhere to run it. Available space at home is at a premium and the small size of Paul's layout meant it would fit in a cupboard I have for model trains. It also allows a continuous run and would be quick (hopefully) to build. This seemed to fit a number of requirements and so a start was made. The board size was fixed at 720 x 450mm by the width of the doors into the cupboard and the the space between two removable support rails I added which also allowed sufficient height for the layout. A full size track plan was developed which was similar to Paul's only that I added a 62mm feeder frack so that I could avoid any electrics. The curves were the minimum 150mm radius Kato track. Three 600x600x100mm thick sheets were ordered from Panel Systems www.panelsystems.co.uk/product/craftfoam-grey as an extruded polystyrene material which was advised could be easily be cut with a hot wire cutter and be embossed, it is popular for wargaming dioramas as well as model trains! I wanted to create a model of Brombänz bridge on the layout and so the name "BonsaiBänz" was born with Brombänz corrupted by Paul's Bonsai title. I sketched out the bridge based on a series of photos with the principal span dimensions kindly given to me by Thomas Kestenholz kesti.ch/rhb1913/index.html. The height of the main span I estimated to be around 145mm from water level to track bed and was too high for me as I was limited to 100mm by the insulation board thickness and available headroom in the cupboard. I scaled down the main arch by around 29%. Nigel

The plank finished with its display case.