Jack374

Snap! Plus GWR 43004 and 43154 heading back home following refurbishment at Doncaster: Jack.

Another new livery, this time GBRf and a black main body side, raising awareness of prostate cancer. Picture taken by James Pilbeam, link embedded from Flickr: It will be named today I understand. Jack.

Well, summer is upon us, and yesterday I finally set the whole layout up for the first time, and had a good running session, with the help of Cal. After taping some thick card down in the fiddleyard, to raise the cassettes to the correct height, operations commenced, with the first train to traverse the whole layout being my trusty DRS 20: A couple of board joins needed wiggling to improve alignment, but on the whole there were no real issues. I need to look into the track joints again at some point to get them perfect now I can set it all up. Then, the first train was loaded by the loader. This was a rake of autoballasters with my Hattons EWS 66 as train loco, and 08892 as shunter. Because there’s no run round (deliberately), there has to be two locos to perform a full shunt from an empty train arriving to a full one departing. This means I can either have a resident shunter(s) or multiple main line locos, both of which can’t be bad! And a video of the loader, not very long or different to the previous vid. I’ll take some more videos next time I set it up: For the rest of the day we just ran trains. Multiple rakes were loaded (at least 6) and the loader was refined slightly - I’ll detail the loader in a subsequent post as I’m considering changing the set up to make it more reliable. The funnel clogged up a few times but this was a combination of the conveyor going too fast and the nozzle being slightly too small. Also the controller became very temperamental this morning so I need to investigate that. Scenic-wise, I’ve begun the buildings with a warehouse/shop made from 5mm foam board and corrugated styrene sheet, and some terraces in the same vein but with red brick sheet. Both are works in progress but give a good indication of the backscene on the main boards. The board with the warehouse has had scatter added as per the first board I did this on, but some more refinement and blending will happen between these two, as they’re slightly different. Another vid, of my 68 departing with a loaded rake of 'Falcons'… Finally, here’s a shot of the whole layout. At 15', it’s a good size but I slightly underestimated how long it was! Lots to be done following this session so I’ll plod along, but hopefully now I know it fits in the house I can set it up more often! Thanks for sticking with this…it might be exhibitable some time this decade… Jack.

If you’re brave enough to strip the branding off 5x MK5s! I can’t recall any other diesel class hauling CS MK5s bar the usual 73/9 with 66 on the front. Recently they’ve had all manner of 66s on top, I’ve seen Royal Scotsman 66743/746, Large Logo 66789 and 66791, one of the imported ones in plain blue. Then Freightliner 66s with ex-HHA coal hoppers as translator/brake force were used to take them from Tyne to Polmadie upon arrival. Of course the other diesel that’s used a class 92 as a translator is DRS' class 57/3s when they need rescuing from the WCML… Jack.

Move was mooted for today and I’ve heard Leicester for further storage. Believe it’s owned by DCR. Jack.

Great pics Jim…I’ve never explored the paths around there as there’s no record of them to my knowledge, OS hasn’t updated and satellite still shows it being built! Well, I turned up some 30 mins early after seeing you sat at the departure peg, but when I got halfway along the track the unmistakable brake release and notch up meant a quick scramble to get the cameras out! I’ll have to try Stenson next time as you sat there almost to time! Doh Might try again later. Jack.

Thanks Andy…in a few days I reckon I’ll be sick of it haha! I’m sure it'll find its way down to you in due course, there’s a few Southampton to Masborough 'liners through here and of course it could go anywhere if it finds its way onto the engineers trips.

Another day, another sighting of the Garden Shed. This time on the short trip from Toton to Burton Wetmore (Nemesis) with the stock from yesterday's "Thanet (without...) Thunderer".... Thanks, Jack.

Going off Wikipedia (dangerous I know) lengths of 72' 10" for a MK5, 75' 6" for a MK3 and 64' 6" for a MK2, "new" and "classic" rakes of 16 come to a scale 15' 4" give or take an inch. Now that’s an impressive train of MK5s. So far I’ve ordered 8 and a 92 so we’ll see how much is in the piggy bank when they come closer to being shipped… Jack.

I did have a look into the lengths when I was thinking about a WCML layout, and found that a 16 coach rake of either MK5s or 12 MK3s/4 MK2s are the same length, to the metre/foot. Don’t quote me on it though. Jack.

Many thanks for the heads up, I went to Gateway West Jn to see it leave having run round: Not a very 'green' departure! I can confirm the clag still smells like a diesel and still lingers, be it veg/HVO or not... The Frying Scotsman is good but I reckon greenhouse is better given it's a green shed??? Jack.

Taken in this evening's strong and low light (after the thunderstorms…), here is the sole active surviving 60 in EWS colours - albeit with DB branding - 60065 'Spirit of Jaguar' coupling up to a HTA in Fordley Sidings to take it across to the WRD for attention. Jack.

Well, I’ve been doing bits and bobs on the workbench over the last few months, however most of my efforts have been focused towards my layout, Fordley. That thread is looong overdue an update… The main focus has been to see my container flat rake over the line, insofar as it can now be run in either Freightliner or GBRf guise, and the decks are now varnished to provide some scratch resistance. First though, my second KQA 'pocket' wagon had the awful buffers changed. My preferred method now is to use styrene tube and insulation tape, with a dab of glue underneath to hold the tape firm. The styrene head was then glued on, making sure the tape line was underneath: On other projects, I’ve acquired a second class 68, which has been partially dismantled to become a free-running dummy for my first 'Cat'. I thought I’d do a comparison between front ends on my modified 68002, which has featured multiple times in this thread, and the 'out the box' loco…spot the difference… Part of the reason for getting another 68 was the arrival of these beasts… Hopefully I can achieve as good a weathered finish as Phil Mc has! The 222 has been painted further, so all that remains is the purple colour then the transfers. Internally, I’ve replaced the motor previously, as the original went really slowly for some reason. The driveshafts were chopped and replaced with brass rod to lengthen them: Finally, the whole lot was rewired using a 21-pin socket. I did this so that I only need 1 decoder and so that 3 of the 4 coaches with pickups will be connected to provide superior pickup. This means a 5-way (!) connector one way and a 7 (!!!) way connector the other, to include my plan for a pair of speakers spaced along the unit. And here are the pics of finished container wagons. The decks had white marks added from the container ribs (rather crudely), then the lot was airbrushed with RM 'frame dirt'. Details such as black, yellow and white were picked out, then all were varnished with AK Interactive matt acrylic. Most of my containers have now had rust added to the corners, while some are fully weathered and some have paint patches or other marks. When I get the urge, I’ll weather them all properly, although not half as well as Mr Makin…does he take commissions? I also partly-weathered some other goodies, though these aren’t finished so I’ll share when they are. Oh, and never say never…I’ve since seen 2 MOL containers since I last posted and said I’d never seen any! Thanks, Jack.

Superb compilation Simon, I saw it on YT first then just watched it again on here Hopefully I’ll be able to see Dallam in the flesh in the near future…have you any (provisional) bookings this year or next? Thanks, Jack.

Interesting graffiti pics for VGA weathering, thanks for sharing. It appears almost every wagon has been vandalised/artified…delete as appropriate… Jack.

Great work Will, by far the most comprehensive going-over of the new (9 years old!) Hornby 67 I’ve seen. You’re right about the wheels, I’ve replaced mine and I’m 00! I didn’t realise so much was missing or wrong, but now you’ve highlighted it all I’ll notice it every time no doubt…… Look forward to seeing the finished article. Jack.

https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2021/06/class-93-locomotives-on-london-to-stirling-services-grand-union-revises-proposal.html It would appear at least one TOC will have a need for these locos on class 1 Anglo-Scottish expresses…good news! Jack.

Interesting it's classed as a 66/6…I presume because of the lower gearing but would welcome clarification/correction! Jack.

I think units are a strange proposition because they’re becoming increasingly expensive as we demand more functionality such as interior lights, low profile mechanism, inter-vehicle electrical contacts and multi-vehicle pick-ups. While all of these are possible, they come at a premium price. Look at units such as the Pendolino, with no fancy couplings or interior detail/lighting due to heavily tinted windows, which is why they’re still churned out for £45 per coach RRP, although ever increasing. Whereas for an all-singing and dancing unit vehicle, complexity is comparable with a loco, minus a motor in each vehicle. However, there will come a point when there are enough new units on the railway and not enough modelled, to prompt them to be produced. The idea of the recent Bombardier units (class 710, 720, 701 etc) will seem more attractive the more they’re used in service. I’m surprised a Northern 195/331 has not been announced, these units having effectively replaced or at least heavily supplemented the 14x/15x classes across the north...and available in 2-car form. I'm sure in the near future, when the loco classes left to improve on run dry, manufacturers will produce more units. After all, units make up the backbone of passenger rolling stock, like it or not! Just my two pence worth! Jack.

Last chance saloon (or escort...) for Rainbow Railways' coaches. From Facebook: "FINAL BATCH OF COACHES NOW COMPLETED AND LIVE ON THE WEBSITE.... BUNDLE DEAL STILL AVAILABLE (UPDATED 21/6/21) To compliment the Accurascale KUA release, we've got a few of the DRS MK2 Barrier coaches 9419 and 9428 available to purchase as well as the KUAs themselves. Bundle deal - Add 2 Barrier coaches and the KUA Flask twin pack to your basket and get £20 off your purchase" 2 of 9419, 4 of 9428 left as of just now. 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/ As before, I’ve no affiliation, just saw it on Facebook. Jack.

I see your pairs, and raise you quads! All pics linked from Flickr... (Also a 57/3 on a flask working, which was quite rare...) In years gone by, multiple locos on multiple flasks was due to the train splitting for different destinations. Recently it’s been to get (usually) pairs between Sellafield and Crewe or Kingmoor for exams, maintenance or to get them out of the flask loco pool. Jack.

As NIRCLASS80 has said, wires or anything rubbing ont he driveshaft would be a possible cause. Recently I bought a s/h one which 'ticked' very badly and occasionally locked up once I’d removed the worm gears/driveshafts to make it a free-rolling dummy loco. It turned out to be a small (less than 1/2mm cubed) piece of ballast or grit or detritus which had got into the drivetrain and was stuck to one of the axle gears. This was visible just by removing the bogie frames and turning the wheels, then it could be spotted. A minute with a cocktail stick to clean the gear groove and it runs sweet as a nut. The issue with locos of today is the amount of grease/lube they pour in, which will attract any fibres, dust or small particles. I find I need to de-grease RTR locos far more often than I need to grease any!! Jack.

https://www.cavalexmodels.com/blog/cavalex-conundrum-2

https://news.Bachmann.co.uk/2021/06/new-gbrf-class-69-locomotives/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-gbrf-class-69-locomotives&fbclid=IwAR1TTpwLdMrhfn8RgAy0vOpkHR93rjUAcr_8rd_5a878XqIPcBr3nJW-DSU

Definitely one of the less well-kept secrets recently! A very thorough announcement though...good to see decorated samples at an advanced stage. While my era is after the HAAs had finished their service, and CDAs don’t come up north nowadays, the MHA is a nice addition which is a gap in the current market, as James has said. While Hornby's initial attempt at an MHA featured a make believe body, the recent one represents the early type with more ribs. I’ve got a few for conversion to later (with S-Kits) body and MPAs with their lack of brake discs. One thing regarding the early MHAs caught my eye on the email that was sent out: So is the plan to produce the early MHA or is this "not true"? Would you produce it if your "friends" didn’t move in that direction (or if they did)? Also don’t know if it’s been mentioned but will both brake disc types - with bolt holes and plain - be catered for? Thanks, Jack.