Jack374

https://rainbowrailways.co.uk/product/Bachmann-br-mk2-drs-barrier-coach-9428-oo-gauge/ https://rainbowrailways.co.uk/product/Bachmann-br-mk2-drs-barrier-coach-9419-oo-gauge/ Rainbow Railways taking the initiative with the popularity of these wagons, knowing they rarely run without the escort coaches! As before, I’ve no connection, just saw on Facebook they were back in stock. Jack.

For the sake of completeness… Jack.

The "end of the tugs"…long live the tugs… In complete contrast to the reason for this thread starting, yesterday all 3 current class 60 operators' locos passed through North Stafford Junction within half an hour. Below pics linked from Flickr mostly… First was DCR 60046, working from Ravenhead Sidings to Chaddesden Sidings: Then Big Jim of this forum was the driver of GBRf 60002, making a rare appearance on this line taking some weed killer KFA flats from Derby RTC to Bescot: Finally, DB's silver 60066 with a delayed Wolverhampton to Toton (for onward transit to Boston Docks) steel… Thanks, Jack.

I agree with Mick about your arm! Interesting you had to re-marshal…would that mean it is out of gauge or is it 'allowed' at the drawhook ends as long as the rest is within gauge? Surely it would require runner vehicles in that case though…I dunno, pure speculation on my part! The wagons appear to be the same set…found this Flickr pic from Tonbridge when they last escaped the RTC… Jack.

Great set of pics Jim, I was on North Stafford Jn footbridge, ta for the tones and wave! I saw the DCR too and a very claggy silver 60066, and thought same as you, how wonderful we’ve got 3 different FOCs running multiple 'tugs', when in circa-2009 EWS were running as few as 4 I believe… There are 3 full wagons' worth, it made its inaugural journey this summer to Tonbridge then did a few test runs and came back to Derby. Here it is on its first trip (Flickr link): Whether they’re the same 3 wagons I’m not sure, I’d be able to say if I knew the 'original' 3 numbers (to compare to pics from today). Odd that now only the middle modules remain if so! Thanks, Jack.

Will that do Tom? I'll be honest I was torn between ex-EMT (difficult to paint), all purple EMR (difficult to design transfers) or this, which is best of both worlds…so I thought… Safe to say no more 222s are on the horizon! Jack.

Cheers Will! Haha thanks Pete…I know the feels and like I said, any substantial modelling time for me in the next few months will be a godsend. Jack.

Quick update on two projects… The first is my 68 which has graced these pages numerous times. I dread to think the amount of hours I’ve spent on it! The most recent modification has been to renumber it from 68002 'Intrepid' to 68001 'Evolution'. This is because we found 3 of the DL team had 'Intrepid', so we had to take it in turns to run! Simple white spirit transfer removal, then Railtec transfers and Shawplan etched plates. The transfers were sealed in with a coat of Pledge floor polish (formerly Johnson's Klear), which is really thin so went on a treat: And then this. Masking for the purple took 45 mins per centre car and 90 mins (!) per driver… Usual Tamiya masking tape, and the aforementioned Halfords custom RAL-matched rattle can which was mixed last summer. This went on a bit thick but otherwise as smooth as per their other colours. There are areas which need touching up and one little bit I caught which will need a touch up spray. Otherwise, main colours are done! Next will be install handrails on cab doors, paint steps black/yellow and light units black/grey, then make the actual lighting circuits. Then transfers… Finally, Pete (@Powerhaul 70 Pey) invited me over for a running session yesterday on his layout Durrington Central. I brought some locos over and had a great few hours running trains through the awesome scenery he’s created on Durrington. He’s made a compilation of some shots he took, linked below from YT…cheers Pete! My usual caveat regarding updates applies from now…university begins tomorrow for my 4th and final year, so the dissertation beckons. I’ll try and beaver away at a couple of bits but any update between now and April next year will be a bonus! Thanks for reading… Jack.

DCR's 60055 runs the final mile or so of the 6Z19 Ravenhead Sidings to Chaddesden Sidings through Derby station. Jack.

A couple of celebs have dropped on the local petroleum and steel flows around Derbyshire…pics linked from Flickr… Thanks, Jack.

Nope. I had a face full of clag on its first loaded trip since repaint and re-fuel. Smelled like a diesel to me. Jack.

As adb968008 has just said, that looks salvageable if you strip it back. Regarding the ploughs, the only source I know of is PH Designs' version as an etched brass kit… http://www.phd-design-etchings.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=25_28_63&product_id=95 Usual disclaimer - I’ve no affiliation - just remember seeing it in Model Rail (?) when it came out, way before Hattons had considered producing sheds! Jack.

You and me both! I’ve included a few 1s on the custom sheet in a suitable typeface to renumber it, but as I had the airbrush out I though stuff it might as well weather the thing. It’s been sat waiting it’s turn for renumbering for months. Think the way to get around it will be to make the whole number clean like someone’s wiped the dirt away. The real end numbers were a mismash of sizes and typefaces anyway, before it’s white repaint. I was too keen with the white spirit on the shed too as shown in the photos…only that one cab side thankfully. in hindsight it would’ve been good to include a spare number set for that on the transfer order too! Jack.

How it’s already September and the leaves are falling is beyond me… This weekend I had an airbrush session, mainly to weather the track on Fordley - where most of my attention has gone the last few months - but I also weathered a few bits. Firstly Hattons 66504. This has received the axle box cut and shut and steps mounted to the chassis as I’ve mentioned previously. A generous general traffic 'frame dirt' application, Railmatch 'dark rust' on the silencer, and matt black on the roof to represent the loco circa autumn 2019 when it looked particularly grubby! The whole loco was sealed with AK Matte varnish… Also my third and final pair (for now) of Bachmann 'multifret' intermodal flats received the same treatment: And my Northern 150, which was dusted on the sides with frame dirt and received subtle exhaust streaks. The clean roof edge is intentional and observed from photos, clearly where the washer reaches! Before I weathered it I also sorted the face of the unit. I don’t know what Bachmann's original intent was but it didn’t represent 150204 around the top edge of the cab front, the cant rail should sit as shown below, at the bottom of that lip, not at the top as Bachmann portrayed. This was fixed with Humbrol orange and 32 dark grey; not an exact match but perfectly close when weathered. IMO it makes a massive difference to the look of the cab front. Also the front above the handrails was all painted black from just black window frames, to represent 150201 - my chosen prototype. Last night I applied the extra Northern bicycle and PRM door stickers courtesy of Railtec: Don't look too closely, I applied the bikes too high as it would seem Bachmann's window size or Steve’s sticker width is slightly out! The unit will also receive CDL lights (on their way) and a new identity - when Steve gets round to my custom order including the 222 transfers… Thanks for reading! Jack.

I was originally going to withhold taking this discussion further because of thread drift, but oh well… It’s all well and good that you can’t cost your time in doing the upgrade, neither can I, but about 90% of users probably have to have someone else do it due to lack of skill. As Tom says, we all fit different categories. There is a reason these cottage producers are not larger…not everyone wants to, can do, or can justify doing these lighting upgrades. I still maintain changing the lighting on a model does not hike the price by circa £40; your quoted £20 and then whatever labour would be involved doing the mod. Look at Bachmann's 57/0, the price of that has rocketed due to new liveries being offered…no lighting upgrade in sight. Totally agree Will, it comes down to what manufacturers have the desire to produce. I know for a fact that some involved in the Hattons shed project were driving for ultimate fidelity and functionality, with an attitude of 'I want to do this, how can I make it work' rather than 'this works, let’s stick with this', which arguably has been the blue and red teams' attitude towards lighting particularly for some time. Yes, Hattons' shed is not perfect, but the innovation it has offered has served as a benchmark for the future, showing us what is possible, with a few teething issues as it’s been the first of type. The lighting wasn’t perfect and neither were the axle boxes, but they were marked improvements over previous representations. Bachmann's pantograph on the 90 was noisy, but it was the first of type too. Accurascale's is far quieter, from hearing early samples. I've no doubt this has been a wake up call to those slower manufacturers (we know which) who are being outdone by newcomers like Accurascale and others, who will hopefully bring their own innovations to the table and run with ideas from others. Jack.

Now I know a few on here have multiple Dapol TPE 68s, so why not run them together with a Mark 5 set? https://www.railcam.uk/stills/galleries/g.php?sfpg=Q3Jld2UvKiozZGM3ZTExYTQ1Yzc0NzdiZDUwMzNhOGM5ZjYwMzE2OQ Image copyright Railcam from their recent stills. Thanks, Jack.

That's worthy of the 'Prototype for Everything' thread - looks like it’s loaded with half inch pebbles! EDIT never mind, just got to the top of my notifications and seen you already have! Any idea why huge rocks are needed? Good to see Machen being used by rail. Thanks, Jack.

Not wishing to stray too far off topic, but poor lighting is one of my pet peeves. Tom hit the nail on the head: For me, having correct lighting is far more important than having every underframe component or valve or small wire handle, which can easily be added by drilling a hole, cutting a suitable shape, and gluing in place. I disagree. Improved lighting i.e. a circuit board redesign and tooling mod - which would be done anyway for a newly tooled model - wouldn’t add £20 per model just for the lighting. The price hike is for the entire redesign and retool, which AFAIK has never been carried out solely to rectify lighting issues - improved lighting has been one of the multiple improvements of a retool. Don’t forget, you need to add your time to the equation. Even an hour of skilled work adding the kit, soldering it and other associated work can easily double, if not more, your quoted £20. Completely agree with supporting cottage industry, however it sounds like you’re effectively asking manufacturers to halt development of lighting and either stick with flawed design (Bachmann shed) or not bother at all. Not likely, certainly from Accurascale. Price hikes are inevitable, as consumers demand more detail, including lighting. I swapped some of my Bachmann sheds for Hattons versions, one main factor being improved lighting. I’m sure many did the same, but there will be others who stuck with their flawed lighting Bachmann models, and some who have Hornby 66s with no lighting at all. The hobby is a variety of perspectives, but Accurascale have carved their path very much at the top end of the market. All my personal opinion, of course. Oh! To keep things topical, a Northern 195/331 be grand, ta! Jack.

This is true, there is a part of the moulding which prevents the subframe from seating correctly. However, 'trim, refit, done' isn’t quite correct as you have to remove all the axlebox caps to remove the subframe and trim the excess. Therefore, you have to refit all the caps yourself. I’ve seen many examples where people have done it and the models run sweet, however I decided for the other reason below, to trim the caps and glue them in permanently to the subframe, thus no more connection to the axle = faultless running and prototypical look, just not operation. The nail in the coffin regarding axle boxes for me is the side play in the axles, very much required for a Co-Co loco, but to me it just looks wrong when going round curves, resulting in the axles box caps 'popping out' by what would be 6 inches in 12" to the foot size. On Bo-Bo locos or wagons, rotating axle boxes of this design work perfectly, but a whole new approach - probably frame-mounted rather than axle-mounted - is needed to do it justice, IMO. For the sake of a few pence, Hattons would do well to include some if not a full 12 spare axlebox caps in the detail bag. I mean, they’ve gone to the fuss of a pair of cut-valance fully detailed buffer beam replacements with steel sprung buffers, so why not throw in 12-off axlebox caps in case of glue failure or loss? Just my tuppence worth! Jack.

Plenty of sheds at Peak Forest last weekend/beginning of this week. I was camping near Chapel so couldn’t resist a couple of visits to PF and one to Chapel Milton viaduct. All the below are Flickr embedded links, click for info: Thanks, Jack.

56302 according to Railcam. Jack.

Fran and team, these models look stunning. From the photos the loco certainly has a presence and in the right scenery, would look very much like the real locos…excusing the rather sunburnt 92020 of course Not wanting to steal your thunder, but all loco photos are now on the website, for those who haven’t seen: https://accurascale.co.uk/collections/british-rail-class-92 I’ve got a couple of questions at this point, none are deal breakers and I shan’t be cancelling my pre orders! Will the wheels be painted or plain? It’s a slight bugbear of mine when (particularly) loco wheels are unpainted…not hard to rectify, but equally not too difficult to implement at production, I’d imagine. Have the above-buffer cutouts for the GBRf/CS Dellner fitted locos been tooled up? I notice (on 92020 as an example) that these are present on the artwork but I assume these latest models are just to prove the livery and not the actual tooling for each loco? Is there any indication already available/can you clarify which GBRf/CS locos will feature the drop-head Dellner (and cutouts) and newer LED lights? Obviously 92020 will, but for 92038 (for example), it ran for a time - before the MK5s were anywhere close to delivery - with older 'IOo' light clusters and no Dellner/cutout modifications. Which version of 92038 will be produced? Along these lines, will the Dellner be a separate detail pack part which the user can fit instead of the standard screw link? I realise some of the above is a bit pedantic, I’m just curious at this stage! Thanks, Jack.

AFAIK it’s spares only, but could feasibly be returned to service, although that would take many £k or even £M. I think the move to Leicester is in connection with more DCR 60 maintenance happening there, thus spares donation needed there, although I could be wrong… Jack.

I saw this move at Stenson: Great tones from the driver: Jack.

DB's 60044 heads south on the last leg of its journey to Kingsbury from Lindsey (Immingham) yesterday… It appears someone at Toton has taken to painting the buffer edges on the 60s silver…a nice touch! Jack.