Pete Piszczek

The obligatory shot down at the shed... D8401 Ardley Bridge Sept 2013 b by Pete Piszczek, on Flickr

We are supposed to snip the Bachy capacitors off when we fit DCC, correct?

Not sure where this "rare as hen's teeth" is coming from, you can still buy the Class 22 from a couple of major retailers, and the Hatton's 10000/10001 is still available in those liveries that have been delivered... I will agree that the Heljan Western's will become even more readily available, I have some untouched models that are going to get flogged to the highest bidder, I suspect I'm not alone in that regard.

I believe the main problems were out of tolerance bushings on either side of the worm with a number of duff motors thrown in the mix...

There's plenty of shots with the skirts on, here's fully skirted: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24041160@N02/6652110623/in/faves-45603744@N06/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5596077402/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5596077406/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5367941510/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5727144676/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5596077406/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/curly42/5410073393/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertcwp/2728616506/ And missing a section or two: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johngreyturner/3923618684/in/set-72157622720375618 http://www.flickr.com/photos/59835095@N02/6260767746/ I suspect you are looking at locos with skirts on, and thinking they are off?

I doubt the price would go down that much, and what about those of us who like the lights, they look fantastic at night. As for them being too bright, depending on what you chip them with, the lights should be dim-able. The Lenz silvers I have in my locos allow me to adjust the brightness by changing a CV value. You can't see the light in the daytime, but there is a wonderful glow at night. Great for photography...

The Simmons-Boardman Cyclopedias, loco, and car volumes, then after 1966? combined volumes, are very useful. The car builder Cyclopedias are basically what the engineering staff at the various railroads used to order piece parts or whole freight cars. Passenger cars too, all the hardware you'd need... They can be pricey, but if you are patient you can find them at reasonable prices. I have a few 'pedias from my decades of interest and they get used regularly. Another reference that is a real gem is the Popular Picture and Plan Book of Railroad Cars and Locomotives. Although this might sound like a kid's book, it was published by S-M in 1951 and has all the choice steam, diesel, passenger, and freight car photos and plans from the Cyclopedias of the era. If I was to get shipwrecked on a desert island, and only had one book, this would be it.

Would that 2002 book be The Heyday of the Scottish Diesels? Title Page 6121/32 Grangemouth Sept 1971 Page 40 6112 Cader April 1971 Page 44 D6107 Crainlarich Page 45 D6103 Monnessie Gorge April 1968 Page 46 D6103 Fort William April 1968 Page 47 D6129 Corpach April 1968 Page 48 D6129 Locheilside April 1967 Page 63 6112 Dundee Tay Bridge August 1969 Page 66 6116 Friarton Shed August 1969 Page 69 6132 Grangemouth September 1961 This is a fabulous volume, all color, really is a nice addition to a library...

Pick-ups in the tender- Bachmann, No?, Hornby, yes? That's worth paying extra for...

The Hatton's LMS Twins seem to already be in the delivery queue, the Western seems to be fast tracked (should sell really well), and there's Kernow's D60X that are billed for early 2012. Considering the way Dapol has asked for feedback on the Class 22 and 52 CAD plots, and we haven't really got to this stage with the D61XXs, I'd suspect we have a ways to go...

Thanks, I know it must seem like a thankless task at times, but I'm very grateful we have subject matter experts trying to coax the factory into producing better models...

Do you suppose they will go to the trouble to get the bottom edge of the yellow panel the correct distance from the Sherwood green?

I used the photo in post 228. Do you suppose a railway would have vastly differing horizontal center to center widths for buffer spacing? Regardless of whether we were speaking of a wagon or locomotive? You obviously have no experience measuring photos to derive dimensions. Have you ever accurately measured something from a photo? There have been magazine articles written on the subject. And please don't tell me that unless it is an absolute frontal shot you can't use it to derive dimensions... Again I offered objective numbers to either support or disprove the individuals that are stating that the box is too small. I'm not taking a position either way right now, I happen to like what I have seen of the model, I just don't care for the suggestion that I am tossing numbers out on a whim. These sort of discussions should be constructive...

ar·bi·trar·y Adjective: Based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system. Not sure how random choice or personal whim has anything to do with using a fairly standard dimension off of wagon drawings... If you have a better buffer to buffer dimension for a Baby Deltic, then by all means offer it. I was putting forth something objective, as opposed to more subjective, "I saw a photo once and it looked fine to me!" We ought to be able to rationally discuss the model without individuals getting offended.