Ron Ron Ron

Hornby - out of stock (has been for a long time) Rails of Sheffield - on order (again, has been like this for ages) Hattons - also was out of stock. Kernow - out of stock Gaugemaster - 1 in stock (dubious?) Cheltenham MC - allows you to order, but no stock levels given (I would phone to confirm if they have one) TMC - lists 1 in stock Digitrains - out of stock Jadlam - allows you to order, but also says pre-order, expecting deliveries in Feb 2020 !!! With Hornby being out of stock for a very long time (at least 2 years or more) only a limited amount of old unsold stock will be left at any retailers. .

Are you sure that’s a refusal to help? I read that as Gaugemaster informing you that they cannot get hold of certain parts, for pre-2022 units and therefore cannot guarantee they can carry out a repair. Hence they can’t say how much a repair might cost. What else can they do? Shortages of various electronic components has been widespread across all sectors of industry over the last couple of years, leading companies to replace some of their product lines, or revise the components used in their manufacture . Electronics for model railway equipment are not immune to this. As Brian points out, Gaugemaster’s Prodigy branded DCC products are bought in from MRC, so have no control over the components used in original manufacture. I think, but am not sure, that American MRC have the products manufactured in China. Note that ESU have had to change the electronic innards of the ECoS and CabControl, due to changes in the availability of many components, which are no longer manufactured. This problem could affect all sorts of electrical devices that may no longer be repairable. . .

Although still listed by Hornby, it hasn't been generally available for at least 2 years. The odd one or two might be gathering dust on a retailers shelf somewhere though. .

The HS2 TBM tracker is today (26th Feb) showing that "Florence" has 20 metres left to go ??????? Cecilia has 195 metres left.... possibly a couple of weeks before breakthrough? Meanwhile, up in Brum, at the Bromford Tunnel, TBM "Mary Ann" is reported to have completed 1,690 metres, with 3,910 metres left. i.e. 30% of the total tunnel distance. .

Digitrax DT602. Two throttle knobs at the top, above the screen. Available in tethered (connected with a cable), or wireless (no cable) versions.

Not being familiar with Sheffield station and this van, had the Shark been moved from one end of the station to the other? Google Maps and the first photo on the Facebook link, show it at the eastern (Rayleigh Road) end of the station, but the scrapping has occurred at the western (London) end, by the car park. .

My desktop computer (an iMac) are happily working with both a Bluetooth Mouse and keyboard.

Florence must have broken through last week. There's no debris from the breakthrough and the concrete plinth at the base of the portal is swept clean. .

NR say it’s engineering works. Although the piers to carry HS2 over the line, are being constructed either side of the track, just west of Coleshill ( east side of the M42), current disruptive HS2 work in that area is to do with moving and replacing utilities and affecting some road closures. .

I just saw that Jamie. UPDATE From other reports, TBM "Emily" hasn’t yet begun its launch from the Victoria Rd crossover box, in west London. The video release is a bit premature. By all accounts, launch is imminent, with TBM " Anne" following in a few or several weeks time. The video uses mostly old footage and recent footage of the preparations in assembling the TBM's. There's no actual video or photos covering the launch itself, because it hasn’t happened. The usual poor HS2 Ltd PR output. For those not familiar with events.... These TBM's are digging the Northolt East tunnels, westbound from OOC to Greenford, where the'll meet up with the Northolt West tunnels, currently being dug eastbound from West Ruislip to Greenford. TBM's "Sushila" and "Caroline" have completed half of their work and should reach Greenford at the end of this year. They'll be long finished and removed from the completed section of tunnels, before these latest 2 machines reach Greenford later in 2025. . .

Not quite Iain. For clarity. The NMRA Standard for the maximum voltage rating of decoders (what they should be able to handle) is... N Gauge and smaller gauges = 24v H0 Gauge and larger gauges = 27v Safety headroom is proved by the maximum allowed track voltage being set lower than the decoder's upper limits. Maximum track voltage... All gauges up to 0 Gauge = 22v Larger gauges above 0 Gauge = 24v These values have not changed for at least 20 years or more. .

Eurostar (formally Thalys) from Brussels to Cologne. Legroom tight. Seats don't line up with the windows (e.g. sitting by a wall). Windows filthy. General dirty state of trains in Western Europe. Trains in Germany, always late. .

Good news for the budget conscious motorist, who would like a low cost EV runaround, for local and town driving. The Dacia Spring is finally coming to the UK in RH drive form. The car has had an facelift and update, since its launch in France and some other European countries, almost 4 years ago. Much less a bare bones spec. car in its new guise. OTR road price will be circa £17k .

Northolt West tunnelling... TBM "Sushila" has passed the halfway point on its way to Greenford . TBM "Caroline" is less than 500 metres behind. Colne Valley Viaduct.... Apparently, there's a pause in progress, as the last span completed, requires re-tensioning of its cables. It's been reported that the centre joining section, in the middle of the span, will have to be removed to accomplish this work. .

RailCom was adopted into the NMRA standards almost 10 years after widespread adoption of DCC in the USA (it had been in existence in Europe long before NMRA adoption), by which time the US manufacturers and most modellers had become invested and entrenched in the early DCC systems and decoders. Their DCC manufacturers have been very unwilling to move with the times and adopt new innovations, whether they are part of the NMRA standards or not The only exceptions are TCS, a long established decoder manufacturer who have recently entered the control system marketplace, bringing a fresh approach and adoption of RailCom and LCC... and SoundTrax, who have introduced their Blunami, direct radio Bluetooth control system (similar to Hornby's HM7000/HM DCC ), developed from more than 10 year old BlueRail Trains technology. .

We're still waiting for the first break out of the Chiltern Tunnels TBM's. Today's report says that "Florence" has just 36 metres to go. Progress at this stage will be very slow and careful, with the tunnel only a few metres below the surface and the TBM cutting through, between the lines of reinforced concrete Barrettes, previously piled into the ground around the final 100 or so metres of excavated route. The other TBM, "Cecilia" is reported as having just 317 metres left (more than 20 metres per day) and should emerge at the north portal a few weeks after "Florence". .

Work in progress. Building the head house and other infrastructure at the Chalfont St. Peter vent shaft (Chilterns Tunnels). When finished and the site restored, the only evidence of HS2 work, will be some farm looking buildings, partially screened from the adjacent road. Note: at the start of the video, you can clearly see the temporary, concrete fabrication factory buildings at the south portal (West Hyde), in the near distance. Some of the London skyline can be seen on the horizon, above and to the left of that. .

More of the Colne Valley Viaduct....... .

They usually do ! 🤣🤣🤣 .

Another view of the newly diverted Harvil Road, showing the new bridges over the HS2 trace and the adjacent Chiltern Line. This video clearly demonstrates that the Copthall tunnel serves no other purpose but to retain the original hillside profile, sloping from the left of the view, down towards the Chiltern Line on the right. Hundreds of millions of ££££'s spent, rather than the original plan to simply have a cutting and re profile the hillside. .

Harvil Road is on the eastern side of the Colne Valley, in the London borough of Hillingdon and had to be diverted to provide a road crossing over HS2, just off the eastern end of the viaduct. A later change to the plan has resulted in the inclusion of the Copthall “Green “ tunnel, which commences where the diverted Harvil Rd. crosses the HS2 trace and extends eastwards towards West Ruislip. .

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I understand it's for a separate line running parallel to and not linked to HS2. AIUI, there's no funding for this line to be extended beyond a new unloading facility at Calvert, to Aylesbury. .

Chilterns Tunnels... Florence has less than 56 metres to go, as of yesterday's report. Probably, slowly cutting through the heavily reinforced and stabilised ground in the final stages to breakout at the northern portal. Cecilia now under 465 metres from breakthrough and counting down. .