Manchester765

Wonderful choice by Bachmann - think these are going to revolutionise 7mm narrow gauge modelling and bring it to the fore of people's minds much more than the L&B tanks ever did.

Hi all, I'm working on a friend's layout, who's just picked up a Lenz set kit with one 100 handset and a pair of 90 handsets. The 90 handsets have the RJ11 style wire rather than the DIN plug of the 100. Do I need to use the LA152 plates to connect the 90s - or can I make up a cable with a RJ11 at one end and just screw the wires directly into the LMAB connector on the magic box itself at the other? Any advice appreciated please - as don't want to fork out on baseplates or new wires to adapt to the DIN socket if I can help it! Cheers Joshua

Hi all, For all of those that are in the Blacker Lane D.P. thread, there has been discussion about Royd Hall Drift and Royal Oak Sidings being removed from Ruston's shed. I'm delighted to say (after some serious butchery and violence against the timber framework as alluded to in the other thread!) that the layout is joining my collection alongside Bury, Thorn and Sons. The plan is that they will get out onto the exhibition circuit for the first time sometime in 2024, once they have been reframed onto new timbers and work undertaken on the scenics and some wiring adjustments to make sure it is resilient when being moved about - not something ever intended and it made this point quite clear today when we worked to remove it from its home! Will keep this thread updated as things develop! Cheers, Joshua

Hi all, BT&S is now ready for the next outing at the Pontefract show next weekend (28/29 Jan), after some further rewiring to the point control kit - the 15 pin connector on the layout finally giving up the ghost during the last show in Colne! The layout is also out at another local show in Saddleworth on 11/12 March. Cheers Joshua

Hi all! Two shows out of the way now - BT&S performed reliably at both Highley and Hartlepool, apart from a sticking frog switch on No. 6 point, which will be replaced prior to the next outing to Colne in a few weeks. The layout had a visiting engine during the weekend at Highley, thanks to one of the event organisers, in the from of No. 686 'The Lady Armaghdale' in her red ICI colour scheme - a superb model which I wish i could have taken home to partner my MSC short tank! There have been a couple of new additions to the fleet in BT&S house colours, with the grateful assistance of one of the chaps in the Modern Image O Gauge team, who has painting and weathering skills significantly better than my own! These are No. 1, a Ixion Hudswell Clarke, fitted with EDM's 3D printed sound setup, and No. 16, a Tower Models Class 02, fitted with a TTS MTU HST soundchip (picked up for £25 off Amazon!) with a Lais stayalive soldered onto the back of it - which makes a beautiful runner even with such a short wheelbase. Couple more shows lining up for next year - in the meanwhile, I hope to see some of you at Colne! Cheers, Joshua

Hi all, Just to let you know - BT&S has THREE outings in the near future: 24th/25th September - Severn Valley O Gauge Get Together at the Engine House in Highley 15/16th October - Hartlepool Model Railway Exhibition, Hartlepool College For Further Education 19/20th November - Pendle Forest Model Railway Exhibition, Park High School, Colne. I think this year is the busiest the layout has been for some time, after attending the MIOG exhibition in March this year at Crewe. Hopefully see a few of you about and that she doesn't get too many battle scars in the process! Cheers Joshua

Hi all, Blowing the dust off this thread once again - BT&S has been in long term storage over the last few months while I've had other projects on the go after attending the Ellis Clarke show in Skipton last year. However, the layout has received an invite to the Modern (I think I reside at the early end of modern!) Image O Gauge show being held at the Heritage Centre in Crewe on the 26th and 27th March - consequently, I needed to get on with repairing some of the battle damage it had suffered from previous outings. The concrete apron had suffered from cracking and chips of this had broken off - this has been repaired using some DAS clay and the skill of a friend with an airbrush to blend this back into the existing concrete. Various small details such as drainage and tar pipework has been remanufactured and replaced, with rust applied to blend it into the pipework already on the layout. The warehouse and engineers shop both had lighting rigs within but these weren't wired up - a new mount for the lights made from foamboard instead of cardboard was made for the warehouse and these are now wired into a 9v supply. The key issue found at the Ellis show was the failure of the pointwork - which was narrowed down to the D-shape connectors which were failing to provide a good connection and were a little susceptible to damage. This has been replaced with a slightly more "industrial" solution with push together choc blocks, which also carry the track power and lighting power circuits, which should make setting up a little easier! These have now been mounted to the boards since the photo was taken. The Peco-lectric levers have also been replaced with new Cobalt levers - this culminated with Peckett No. 8 running successfully on the layout last Tuesday. Plenty of work outstanding - I'll update this thread with some more pictures of the above and ongoing work over the next few days. Hopefully see some of you at Crewe! Cheers Joshua

One day, I shall attempt to keep this thread regularly updated... Just a quick message to let folks know that Bury, Thorn & Sons has got it's first day out at a physical show under my ownership in a couple of weeks time. The layout is attending the Ellis Clark Trains Summer Exhibition up in Skipton - the show is free to attend and has a small selection of other layouts and traders attending, as well as a free(!) hog roast and vintage bus shuttle. For more info on the show and to RSVP, click the link below: https://www.ellisclarktrains.co.uk/blogs/news/the-ect-summer-exhibition-2021 Cheers, Joshua

Fair point, well made! Must research things before typing what I think it is

Things have been a bit quiet here of late! The layout has laid dormant for a couple of months while real life got in the way, but I'm now back on with getting the layout ready for MIOG Live later this month, with a couple more scenic repairs made. The layout is now also forming part of the Gauge O Guild Virtual Show the following weekend. There has also been a new addition to the diesel fleet, on loan from a manufacturer in Stoke-on-Trent (thanks Ruston for correcting me!) ...in reality, this is a (very!) heavily bashed about Atlas Plymouth switcher with a scratchbuilt plasticard body, purchased from eBay last week. The downside of this is the switcher mechanism, which runs nicely but is rather loud, which isn't conductive to a DCC Sound installation! Hope to bring some more updates before MIOG Live.

Another week with another look at activity on Bury, Thorn & Sons. Bridge repairs have commenced with the salvaged pieces glued back in using superglue - didn't think to take any pictures! Awaiting some plastistruct to finish off the repairs and that's the majority of the damage repair complete. A interloper has also been spotted in the yard on gauging trails for a potential transfer to BT&S - a tight fit! This is a Invertrain Peckett X Class that I picked up assembled at a Gauge O Guild show a couple of years ago - runs very sweetly and seems an ideal fit for BT&S alongside the Minerva Peckett E Class already in the fleet. One big piece of news is that BT&S has already been invited to its first show, albeit a virtual one! I am part of the team behind the Modern Image O Gauge group and BT&S will be taking part in our MIOG Live event alongside the amazing Heaton Lodge Junction, rather at the opposite end of the size scale from BT&S! The event will be taking place on the 24/25th October and more info can be found here: http://www.modernimageogauge.co.uk/mioglive.html That's all for this week - hope to have more pictures soon! Joshua

Couple of photos from Wednesday night's first running session with BT&S after getting it all set back up - all working well, I'm pleased to report. Onto battle damage repairs now - mainly the bridge across the layout that I understand was attacked by a box containing some Lionheart B set coaches, as well as some of the concrete that needs touching in. Hope to have another update sometime next week. Joshua

I'm from the (superior) Red Rose side of the border myself, near Burnley. It doesn't pain me to travel over the border, honest...

Just on the outskirts of Todmorden - just about inside Yorkshire!

Hi all, To bring this thread up to date, I am now the proud owner of BT&S - for a layout set in Yorkshire, the layout has now returned "home", albeit in West Yorkshire! Hope to keep this thread updated as I work on repairing some battle damage and getting the layout ready to go on the road once we're at the end of this terrible pandemic. Cheers, Joshua