SirBud

Hello Sir Douglas and Johnson 044, The above is one of the photos reproduced in the Bylines article. Having taken the time to actually read things, the photo caption says this is a Midland Railway "Gun Truck" No. 9696 Diagram 622 consisting of six 4 wheel bogie wheelsets built at Derby in 1911. It is the only one built. Capacity was 105 Tons with 70 Tons at the breech end supported by 4 bogies and the rest of the barrel (about 35 Tons) supported by 2 bogies. There's also another photo at https://warwickshirerailways.com/misc/miscfr001.htm and I found an RMWeb forum article "140-ton 'Gunset' wagons" from 2013 in which there appears to be a fair bit of discussion (5 pages) about these things and most of the links still work. Best regards, Trevor

Hello Johnson 0-4-4. I have been having a sort out today and came across an article on these gun barrels at Coventry Ordnance Works including 4 pages of photos of the bogie "Gun Trucks" used to transport them in Railway Bylines Vol 23 Issue 12 Nov 2018. Thought it may be of interest to you if you are not aware of the article. Best regards, Trevor

I've often thought that there should be a subject in the Skills and Knowledge Forum for "How to dismantle and re-built RTR Locomotives and Rolling Stock" to the level of detail that Jon did in this case, where these types of instructions could be kept in one place and available to everyone. Maybe it could be combined with "How to fit a decoder into RTR Locos" for which there are also many tutorials inside and outside RMWeb. Unfortunately it seems that the people who write the manufacturers instructions are already familiar with all the bits and pieces and so they are not in the best position to write instructions..... "Remove boiler" - but fail to explain how many pipes and bits need to be disconnected first, and how best to disconnect them without damaging them or the model. I think I may have some similar instructions downloaded from the RMWeb several years ago for the original Ixion Manning Wardle 0-4-0 which from memory the process is not for the feint hearted. I'm pleased the information I posted worked its magic and helped those looking for it. Best regards, Trevor

Hi Tim, This doesn't include milk, but its a very interesting short film about ingredients coming into Huntley and Palmers biscuit factory by rail. Regards, Trevor Reading in the 1930s - Huntley and Palmers Factory - WFSA - AV618-2-V1.mp4

Hello Davey, The attached will help. I copied it from RMWeb before the great server crash and loss of photos from older posts. Best regards, Trevor how to dismantle an Ixion Hudswell Clarke.pdf

Which tells you the employer was not trustworthy and did not trust its staff and subcontractors. Scum / product of human greed in my opinion. Sadly there are too many companies who operate this way, who see employees and subcontractors as resources to exploit to improve the "bottom line", rather than partners in the business enterprise. Hattons demonstrably are not like that and from what I can see are doing their very best to look after customers, staff and suppliers as they wind the business down. That is commendable as well as socially and commercially responsible. I have a very large collection of locomotives, hauled stock and DMU's I purchased from Hattons over the past 10-15 years or so - both O gauge and OO gauge. Superb service every time, without exception. I've purchased from other retailers as well, but to me Hattons had the edge over everyone else in terms of their customer service, website functionality, accounts set up and management, ordering, and ease of doing business. For me living in Australia, the trunk service was brilliant. Overseas postage is so expensive these days. Being able to pay for an item up front and then have it saved until it could be combined with another purchase down the track to save on postage costs was an innovative and for me a much valued service. I will greatly miss Hattons and their team of dedicated people. Trevor

I think it looks fabulous and have just ordered a kit.

There doesn't get a much larger space around a track than this: Nullabor Plain, Australia

Hi Schooner, A real life example - Queensland Rail at Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Australia.

Hi Dave, On the back of the above comments I have just tried out my Tiger that arrived a few days ago. It ran beautifully straight out of the box. Quiet motor and drive, and smooth low speed operation in both directions. Very pleased with it. Then I gave it a session on a couple of tortuous test tracks with 10" and 8" radii that i use to test On30 and GN15 short wheelbase models. The loco and tender handled 10" radius without any issues both forward and reverse. 8" was a bit too tight and the loco derailed. Same results with the supplied wagons hooked onto the back of the tender. The "chains" supplied are fiddly to install, and the only way I could attach them was with tweezers and the help of a magnifier. The wagons look at bit odd though without any dumb buffers, and the "chains" hold them a long way apart. Regards, Trevor

Could you develop a system that uses the wagons themselves? To start, fill a wagon then tip its contents into an identical empty wagon under the loading chute. That full wagon eventual makes it off scene and the train brings in the empty wagon and places it under the chute, full wagon tipped into the loader and so on. You would need two wagons of each type to do this and the loads would match the wagon capacities. Could be semi automated using something like the locomotive coaling stages that lifted and tipped coal wagons, or manually tip a wagon over a hopper. An alternative would be a series of containers, one for each wagon type, which when filled and levelled hold the correct amount of stone. Then tip the contained into a hopper with the matching wagon below.

Seems to me there is no physical reason why it could not be done. Therefore it would come down to a commercial arrangement between the railway company and the industry. Whether anyone actually did it is a different matter. And on a model railway rule 1 can always be applied.

I agree with Jason and think the majority of people who purchase locomotives probably do so because they like them - I do. Therefore a double ended Sentinel may be just as useful on a layout as a Bulleid Shunter - just depends which one the prospective purchaser likes the look of. And this will depend upon its general appearance, colour, number of wheels etc. Few would research in any detail whether the locomotive actually existed or where it worked if it did. As an extreme example consider Hornby's Steampunk range - Non ever existed on real railways but people buy them to run around on their layouts. We're a weird mob and everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Personally I'd take the Sentinel before any other locos on the list - by a very large margin, especially if it was O gauge!!. Best wishes to all Regards, Trevor

In addition to the information Mol suggested above, if you can track down a copy of Railway Bylines April 2000 there is an 8 page article on Altrincham Gas Works that includes lots of information, photos of small locos and wagons, a detailed map including the works and track layout etc.

Thanks everyone for your input and advice. Looks like seeking the assistance of Digitrains to re-blow the Zimo decoder with Paul Chetter's new soundfile when it is available will be the best way to go. Best regards, Trevor

Apologies Ian that I took it the wrong way and was probably a bit over sensitive - I don't post very often and generally only when I need some help. It's easy to be critical in posts when you don't understand the context in which someone is making a comment, or don't know the person. All's well that end's well and I think we are on the same page - no offence taken or intended. Best regards, Trevor

Hal Nail, If you can't respond constructively to someone posting and asking for help / information and offering suggestions to others what they should consider, then please refrain from doing so. It is not helpful. Clearly you either don't have the knowledge or expertise to answer my questions, or were having a bad day! Hopefully someone else can assist. In the meantime I am trawling through old Zimo posts from Paul Chetter in the hope there is something in there that points me in the right direction. If I find a solution either by info from others or by trial and error I will post same to assist others. Best regards and Happy New Year Trevor

Greetings from Brisbane, Oz, where it is an unusually cool 26 deg C for this time of year. Based upon some of the feedback above it was with trepidation that I unboxed my new sound fitted Cl 122 this morning as supplied by Hattons, whose service was exemplary as usual. All was well and the loco worked beautifully except for one minor issue. The direction was reversed and so I had to adjust CV29 by 1, from 10 to 11. That fixed it and now "forward" on my Z21 App is forward and "reverse" is reverse. This now aligns with all the other locos I have. But it created another minor issue - the drivers cab light selection based upon direction did not reverse as well. So now if you turn on the drivers cab light it is the reverse cab (was originally the wrong direction driving cab) that lights up. No doubt there is a CV somewhere to change the cab light selection / direction. Does anyone know which one it is? The Zimo manual is not much help since it says much of the information about CV settings for things like light switching would be different depending upon the particular sound project. Another minor gripe is the sound file. It appears fine if you want to accelerate with full throttle assuming you have miles of track in front of you (which is what the original drivers did except when they had to change gears). But for a gentle acceleration along a 10 ft plank the sound file revs the engine like its a diesel electric - engines revving at full speed but DMU going slowly. Which doesn't match the original mechanical drive where without wheelspin the engine revs were directly related to the speed of wheel rotation and which gear the box was in. And due to the freewheel arrangement coasting and deceleration would have the engines at idle. No doubt there are CV's that can be adjusted to fine tune these things and it would be very helpful if Dapol or whoever developed the sound project could provide a list of CV's associated with each function with some basic instructions along the lines of: "If you want to reduce the intensity of the forward (or rear) lights this is controlled by CV XXXX. Default value is set at YYY," "If you want to reverse the cab lights to match the direction of the loco this is controlled by CV ZZZZ. Change it from X to Y. Adjusting engine revs to what the DMU is actually doing may be a bit more involved but any advice would be appreciated. Overall I am very impressed with the model and how it performs, and would not hesitate to recommend purchase of one of these DMU's. IMO it is excellent value for money. However if I was in the market for another sound fitted one I would do some research into the available alternative sound files and try them out if at all possible, or ask for a video showing operation if you are on the other side of the world as I am, before deciding on whether to buy a Dapol sound fitted one, or fit an aftermarket sound decoder and / or sound file. It's a big wad of extra cash to go to DCC Sound and I would like to see if anyone else has made a better job of the sound side of things. Best wishes to all. 2021 has been a difficult year for most people. Lets hope things start to turn around in 2022. Trevor

I could watch this video over and over. Model trains running through the garden. They could be streamlined, air smoothed, course scale or fine scale. Doesn't matter. Wonderful, just wonderful.

That is looking really good. I like the way you have managed to integrate a backscene of the Etruria Bone Mill and canal arm with what looks like some overlays as well - it gives the backscene a good flavour of the Etruria area of Stoke on Trent. I suspect many hours / months of work has gone into the buildings and backscenes. Could you share with us how you constructed the buildings and how the backscene was printed? Best regards, Trevor (A Stokie lad until I left in my late teens and now living in Oz)

I have also been researching this topic and came across a fascinating 50minute video available on YouTube titled "Salt In Stafford - Staffordshire Film Archive". Runs for about 50 minutes and people explain the whole process of salt manufacture from brine. Towards the end of the film there is footage of salt being loaded into BR salt wagons. There is a photo of a book on salt production in the film but I can't find any reference to it or the author on line. Like others I wonder if local distribution to butchers, bakers, etc. in towns in the 1950's and early 1960's was via a local agent who would shop around and see who could provide a wagon load of bagged salt at the best price. Then a wagon load would turn up in a mixed goods train and would be unloaded onto the agents local lorry for distribution / storage in the agents local warehouse. I can't see how else it would work for other than very large users like water works, Huntley and Palmers type operations, etc. who would have their own private sidings and receive at least several wagons per shipment. There appears to be surprisingly little in print about these operations unless its buried in railway books I have not read yet. Internet searches don't come up with much information about local distribution. Best regards, Trevor

DPG I just thought it much easier to use track that was already perfectly gauged and the same profile as that on the layout which the cassette docks to. My method doesn't need any accurate measurement and the angles are just acting as stiffeners for the plywood base, keep the cassette track perfectly straight, and provide electrical connections for cassette to cassette and cassette to baseboard. Best regards, Trevor

This is how I built mine - details of materials etc are included. They work very well and I have not had any issue with them at all. The cassettes slide on top of a laminex / melamine board and they have a slippery tape underneath them (can't remember what its called) but used for things like wooden drawer runners to make them run smoothly. Hope this helps, Regards, Trevor Cassette_Construction.docx

My favourite photo of the hydraulic version of the loco is Victoria - it oozes character. Can't remember where I found this on line - it was some time ago and I did not take notes. I've often thought that if someone sold a 7mm kit of the Class O7 then it would be worth modifying it to try and achieve a reasonable representation of the industrial hydraulic version. The photo must have been taken on a summer day where Stoke on Trent (my birth place) got a bit too close to the sun. Looks like it was very warm in the cab. The photo is clearly at least late 1960's since the overhead line equipment on the Manchester to Stoke main line is evident.

I think this is fantastic news. I have wanted an inspection saloon for some time. Even purchased a kit, but don't have the time to make it. This solves that issue. As for types, I'm in the group where if it looks right and has the right number of wheels then I'm happy and will buy it. Best regards to all.