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And thanks for the kind comment. It's been silent for some time now, but that doesn't mean nothing happens. For some weeks we have been discussing plans to make our track layout much more interesting, of which more anon, and, of course, the transport issue is ever present. Our modules have been designed with an ordinary car in mind, in order that a standard sized module of 1m20 together with black boxes, legs, roof etc. fits in even a small car. However most of the times that leaves little room in the car for necessary equipment like the fiddle yard, reverse loops, bends etc. Our fiddle yard consists of 6 modules of 90 x 45 x 15 cm each (approx. 35.5 x 17.8 x 6 in). They are as small as we could possibly design them, but in the car they are still quite huge, especially when one's own module is already in the car. More often than not the car looks like this: This is a Toyota Verso, but most of us have smaller cars. We have also discovered that a large fiddle yard has many advantages over a smaller one, so it would be nice if..... However, transport is prohibitive, and even as it is now we cannot always be sure if we'll be able to accommodate all our equipment in our cars to the next venue, which could be virtually anywhere in Holland. There are not many ways to clear this situation without resorting to expensive measures like the rent of vans or trailers. A solution is of course to make small modules, so a few months ago we decided to make two modules like this one: During transport they can be sandwiched together and that way the volume for two boards is less than a third of a single fiddle yard module. The sandwich-boards, as we call them, can be suspended from the other modules by means of two of these brackets (here still without holes): Here you can see one sandwich board in use, while the Station Master waves the green flag: This photograph was taken on 28th April during our latest Running Day in Eindhoven. The sandwich board performed as expected and the risk of not being able to take essential fiddle yard modules to running days has now decreased considerably. Leen.

Four BMB members are now heading for York. We will have a few drinks on the ferry tonight, be at the NYMR tomorrow, and be at the York MRS on Saturday. Leen.

In post #9 we left the reader, celebrating the successful First BMB Running Day, which had been held in friend René's garage. The flawless running at full speed of unmodified Hornby 4-4-0's and the LMS Fowler tank was something of a pleasant surprise, but it hadn't all come entirely by itself. The success of this first running session was the result of some “important” decisions made from the start. These were necessary to provide the BMB with a solid base. Most, but not all decisions were technical. At module joints we still had to find a solution for a smooth crossing. OK, the baseboards were provided with holes for M8 bolts and could easily be aligned, but our experiences with track alignment by means of baseboard alignment had been quite disappointing. We knew about engineer’s dowels, but somehow it didn’t feel right. At last the push joiner was invented: the simple solution that enables the easy moving by hand of ordinary railjoiners on track at aligned baseboard joints. The group decided to give it a try and we still use it.. But getting started in 2015 wasn’t all plain sailing. In the beginning, our idea was that an oval layout would be the easiest and cheapest solution to get started. Our experience in that configuration had been extremely positive, it was reliable and required only two 180 degrees curves to make it possible. We talked about shape and size (diameter about 2 meters), and three members were prepared to invest in these curved baseboards. They were soon ordered but when they arrived the 12 baseboards turned out to have an outside diameter of 3 meters (10 ft.), which was much larger than foreseen. The excuse was that the curve would look extremely pleasing, which indeed it did, but for now we couldn't use them in René’s garage. The large curve is just visible on the image. Here we use it on 12th November 2016 with a straight module in the middle. Rob (l) and Werner ® are having a chat while Thijs is making up his train. This was our layout on 12th November 2016. It was over 35 meters (117 ft) long. Up till now the large bends have served us only three times. They are good looking but are too large for our ordinary cars. We are thinking about ways to make better use of them. The solution to fit the layout in our cars was to quickly construct smaller curves. We screwed track on four flat 90 degrees curved 8 mm ply shelves, made from old bits, and put them on four of the new curved baseboards. The first incarnation of our smaller bends. The inside track had 24 inches radius (61 cm), the outside track 6 cm more. The baseboard's outside diameter was approx. 1m 45 (4 ft. 9 in). We still use our small bends a lot and others have copied them. Having a layout together with other people is quite different from running one on your own. We made up a simple document that describes the responsibilities of individual members in relation to the group, the layout and the process of decision making. This is always the boring bit, but it has to be done. All members are equal and when becoming a member they have to either commit to this document or come up with the desired improvements. Anyone can come up with ideas or proposals or even make things e.g. to solve a problem, but ultimately the BMB Group of Members has to approve and/or make the final decisions. This has all been done to protect the group from “Big Egos”. After all, the mission is to have as much fun as possible running the BMB-layout together. Also at the start the decision was made that we would be just a bunch of free individual modellers, and not an establishment. This implies that nothing could be owned by the BMB as a club, so each layout component was to have an owner of flesh and blood. Consequently the question at the time was, if individuals would be prepared to invest in collective components like reverse loops or bends. In practice we have since managed to realise our requirements at minimal cost without sponsors. We want the BMB to be easily accessible. Anyone with an interest in British railway modelling can join, whether he or she is a good modeller or not. That means that our modules show different levels of modelling skills, of which we are proud and not ashamed. The aim is to slowly improve by help and experience. When a potential new member shows interest we first invite that person to attend a running day. You never know if they are going to like the regulars, but this approach seems to work well. A new member is supposed to realise a technically working module (without scenery) within 6 months with or without help. Preferences for region, company and era differ. As a new member you will get your three DCC loco addresses and you can run your own preferred trains, as long as there are no duplicates, e.g. two Cock O’The Norths, running at the same time. Our trains are the well known ready-to-run models, nothing special, but here in Holland most are unknown, maybe with the exception of A3 “Flying Scotsman”. It is possible to run long trains like 10 coach rakes. A tired "Cock O'the North". These things happen from time to time. Since then the track layout has been improved. Yes, we know about the front bogie. We now have 16 members, the majority is aged over 50 and four are younger. Our members live in different parts of the country, and two even live abroad. Hans, Werner and three others live near Eindhoven in the South. They are members of the local model railway club, the EMV. On Saturday 24th October 2015 we were invited by Hans to come to Eindhoven for our second Running Day. There we had an oval with six modules and got acquainted with the EMV-people. It is important for our group to have such a positive relationship, because we have mutually supported each other ever since. Local EMV-members are curious to know what it's all about. Thijs (l) and Ray ® explain. Very important: the After-Party of the Second BMB-Running Day in Eindhoven. It was good to meet new people. Running trains in an oval is not the most exciting running experience. On the 26th October, two days after our second running day in Eindhoven, Werner came up with the idea to create a fiddle yard. Of course a discussion arose and of course it would be too expensive. Three months later we ended up with an eight-track fiddle yard of 4 modules of 90 cm (3 ft) each, constructed for the most part from plywood that had been salvaged from skips. The fiddle yard was payed for by 4 owners, one module each. That way a difficult and complicated project could be realised and a big step taken. It cost us about £400, roughly £100 each, and marked an important milestone, opening the door to more possibities and more fun. Today our fiddle yard has 7 modules and we couldn’t be without it. The fiddle yard at its first outing on our Fourth Running Day 16th April 2016 in De Meern near Utrecht. Running in De Meern required reverse loops, since the available room was quite narrow. We constructed these from bits of scrap wood that had been lying around. Testing our brand new reverse loop. In february 2016 the BMB group members, almost unanimously, came up with the idea that they would like to attend at Eurospoor 2017, a year and a half later. In the meantime until Eurospoor we held ten more running days at various locations, and not until September 2017 in Eindhoven was there anything else to be seen than bare wooden modules with track, only two of which included scenery. At Eurospoor, which actually was our thirteenth running session, we were located at the BNLS-Forum stand next to the BNLS Forum Layout. We had 6 modules and the layout’s total length was 27 meters. It was the first time we presented a well dressed-up layout. It was complete with curtains, nameplates, lighting etc. and fortunately everything went according to plan, which was way better than expected. We were proud of the result, got compliments and had a great weekend. Our presentation at Eurospoor 2017. The crowds. Never before had we got so much interest. Werner at the fiddle yard, situated behind the other modules. Eurospoor was the first time we were fully dressed-up and we enjoyed every minute of it. A month after Eurospoor we were, most surprisingly, invited for the "Modeltrein Expo On Traxs" exhibition in our NRM in Utrecht (see post #1). Leen.

I use Hornby R8220 couplings on my Bachmann Mk1's. In my rake there are also three Hornby Mk1's plus a Gresley coach. For those I use the shorter Roco 40270 coupling wherever I can, but because of a derailment in a curve I had to replace one or two with the longer Hornby coupling. To overcome the difference in height between the NEM-sockets in Hornby and Bachmann, I have tinkered the Hornby coupling into a cranked version: The difference between it and the Hornby R8220 is obvious: It consists of the NEM part from a Bachmann cranked wagon coupling, glued to a Hornby R8220 with cut off NEM plug. The joint has been reinforced by a glued-in 0.3mm wire in a drilled hole. Leen.

This post is not of very much interest, it's only about how our BMB group started en how things subsequently developed. There are aspects about the concept, the environment, the technical aspects, and there is always the human factor. The Dutch Beneluxspoor.net model railway forum, or in short BNLS, is where most of our BMB members met. Whereas most threads on BNLS are about continental modelling, a new topic was started back in 2011 aimed at British modelling. We were trying to attract people that would like to post or read about British railway modelling, which is virtually unknown over here. We called it "Litter Bin for British Railways and British Modelling Projects". People talked about their modelling and their trips to the UK. Since 2011 we filled almost 900 pages and it has been read over a million times. Regulars call themselves "Litter Binners" and in 2015 we organised a "Litter Bin Day" with some 15 guests present! To some it may even look as if there is some kind of a small British modelling community. In November 2011 (on page 41) we started talking about a British themed modular layout, and three months after that seven potential participants were present at our first meeting, four of whom are still involved. There was even a written concept, based on the connection of several individual layouts, which had kindly been given to us by the OHMB-group (Old Dutch Model Railway), a group interested in pre-war Dutch railways. We all agreed this was the way to go: each member would create his own preferred theme and era on his module and the modules would somehow be connected by so-called black boxes. Of course this meant that prototypical running would be virtually impossible, but running sessions within a certain timescale, e.g. Big Four or early BR, would be feasible. We talked about the concept, the modules, and finally one of us proposed he would professionally design the module legs. But too bad! The leg designer vanished, and the project stalled. And that was it, for over three years. However things started to move elsewhere. In 2013 on BNLS the old idea of a modular forum-layout suddenly revived and, in spite of all obstacles and objections, materialized within a few months. This was mainly due to two or three experienced modellers, who had taken up the challenge. Not only did they succeed in designing a tolerant concept without too many decrees, but, maybe more importantly, one of them managed to design an easy-to-build, inexpensive kit for a module. We call our module a box. It was being made commercially available and dozens of kits were sold. In case one preferred to build one's own box from scratch, all dimensions were published on BNLS. The concept was first and foremost intended to make railway modelling more easily accessible to beginners. It was meant to prove that anyone could build a small layout, and there would be experienced modellers available for help. There was to be an H0/00 layout and one in N gauge to start with. The modeller had total freedom of theme and era, only the dimensions concerning track were determined. H0/00 or N trains from anywhere in the world were allowed, they had to be two-rail DC and chipped. They were to be driven by the affordable Roco Multimouse system. The main objective was to be present for the first time at Eurospoor 2014. Eurospoor is the Dutch equivalent of Warley, our largest annual model railway show in the railwaycity of Utrecht. And indeed, at Eurospoor 2014 the good-looking almost 30 meters long Forum layout featured eight participants, two of whom are now BMB members. There were four British themed modules - one of which was a beautiful Scottish Highlands themed scenic layout complete with distillery - and it was a great experience indeed! BNLS Layout at Eurospoor 2014, before the black curtains had been attached to hide the naked legs from view. After Eurospoor some improvements had to be made, but alas, a disagreement developed about the failing plastic track alignment boards on baseboard crossings, that had caused many a derailment. We split up in April 2015 and revived the BMB. Previously there had been a number of people that for various reasons didn't like the idea behind the BNLS layout, e.g. running their British trains through Dutch scenery or seeing someone's American trains run on their British layout. Some of those soon joined the BMB and it wasn't long before we had 9 members and building days were organised to build BMB-modules: A great milestone was our first BMB Running Day on 29th August 2015. We had 4 bare modules in an oval. There was no scenery, no curtains, just track. The trains ran faultlessly, even some notorious derailers. It was great fun (someone complained it was boring because nothing happened ) and the pub was just around the corner. To be continued.

Maybe we should have posted a little earlier about our Dutch British modular 00 layout, but how much would a layout like ours add to the British model railway scene? That's how we felt about it. However, since the past weekend I think it's getting about time we make ourselves a bit known. We call ourselves "BMB", which stands for "Britse Module Baan", "British Modular layout". In the UK there are probably a lot of those but here in Holland we're still the only one. In our country railway modelling is very much about German and post-war Dutch railways. Not many people model British, although some, like Ted Polet and Guillaume Veenhuis, featured in the modelling press over the years. When you create a modular layout together with other people, it's not just about modelling, but a lot of other things get involved. Therefore it may not be anyone's cup of tea. Nevertheless, since we first started playing our trains in 2015 , our group has evolved into quite a close bunch and at this moment counts 16 members. We are able to adapt our layout to almost any venue and the maximum length of track we have sofar been able to set up is 82 meters (272 ft), approx. 41 meters (136 ft) of layout. Our layout features a 6,3 meters (21 ft) long 8-track fiddle yard, which, together with a real Fat Controller of flesh and blood, forms the heart of the operation. Only British and Irish trains are allowed. But, now back to this weekend, which was the absolute highlight in the BMB existence. The weekend from 9 - 11 March featured the highly rated yearly finescale show "Modeltrein Expo on traXS!" in our National Railway Museum and, although not finescale, we had, most surprisingly, been invited to bring our BMB-layout to the show, which we felt as quite an honour. We brought in about 34 meters (113 ft) of layout with 69 meters (230 ft) of track length, including 8 scenic modules. Thursday evening after 5.00 P.M. we pitched up the entire layout in 4 - 5 hours in the "Waiting Room 3rd Class", a beautiful, stylish location that one could only dream of. This time we managed first time to end up with a nice flat trackbed without any major humps. During the following 3 days everything performed almost flawlessly. There were only a few minor issues to deal with. All of the time our crew consisted of 11 - 13 members and, even though the bar was not in operation, we had a great time together, which is not entirely unimportant when you run a modular layout with so many others. I would gladly like to start this topic with a photographic report of our experience in Utrecht. Impression of the "BMB Square" in Utrecht. On the foreground you see 2 tables for our public. The fiddle yard is behind the modules at the left side of the picture: Our tables, without sunshades, but with some literature about British Railways: The tables were well patronized: One of our reverse loops: The right side of the layout: The left side of the layout: The fiddle yard, situated behind the modules, from where one of the first trains departs on Friday morning: The crowd on Friday: The signposts, you almost couldn't miss it. Still many did , because after all, this wasn't the main venue: A4 "Wild Swan" with 10 Mk1's on: Fleetwood (LMS): Medway Valley Line (SR) Our Fat Controllers: They're always thirsty. One of them at the bar: Having lunch: Trains are operated wirelessly by Roco WLAN mouse or, alternatively, by Android smartphone. Here you see John drive his train: Cor sees his Peppercorn A1 through the reverse loop: The kids also enjoyed our British trains: Most of our Sunday crew: An impression of the show's main venue, before the show started on Friday morning: And, finally, this is where we come from. This was our 41 meter long layout in June 2017: Leen.

After having glued my brake block back on the O2 I found 2 more brake blocks that were loose in de plastic packaging. I will glue these back on asap and check the fitting of other brake blocks at the same time. I also filed the chimney in shape. It looked as if a tiger had tried to bite its top rim off. Although a RTR loco like this should not have the issues I experienced, they are after all minor issues that can easily be remedied. Yesterday I let the O2 stretch her legs on our BMB modular layout. She performed flawlessly for several hours. Here on our Dutch forum you can find an impression of the day we, 9 fellow modellers and I, enjoyed together yesterday: http://forum.beneluxspoor.net/index.php/topic,64485.msg3221639108/topicseen.html#msg3221639108 OK, it's not all LNER and not 100% prototypical either and it's still under construction, but it was great fun nevertheless. Leen.

I feel a bit ashamed to have to admit that my two inspections of the loco have not been thorough enough. After having put the right glasses (+4) on, I discovered that after all it was indeed a brake block causing the blockage. After taking the culprit away the loco went off as it should. I will glue the brake block back on later. Thanks for trying to help and fortunately it is not the cog. Leen.

Thanks for your reactions. I still cannot find what has caused the problem without dismantling the loco. No, this time it's not the conjugated valve gear and it's not the brake block or the union link either, the latter of which would for sure have caused problems in curves sooner or later. On the Dutch forum someone informed me that Heljan and some other H0-manufacturers, that share the same gear cog supplier, have gear cog problems since about a month or 6. I will let Hattons know tomorrow and the loco will most probably be returned to Liverpool. Leen.

My O2 arrived today from hattons. After having run half a length of slightly curved track it stopped running and the wheels are now jammed. So far I am unable to see what the cause is. The valve gear, especially on the right side, has too much sideplay and could interfere with the front driver but this is not what has happened. Leen.

Nice photos, Rob. I've put the top one on my desktop. Leen.

Yes, great photos indeed, and a nice weathering job. Mine is a tad heavier and I'm not too convinced about the weathering on the cylinders. Leen.

No. The Railroad version with simplified lining and the "posh" R3207 had no sound, and R3246TTS had Hornby TTS sound. The ones with sound that are now being advertised by Hattons and others as well as the weathered one from Rails are the TTS sound version. The sound is OK but it lacks synchronisation. Leen.

I can find no mention about the weathered TTS-edition from Rails of Sheffield or is that in another topic?: https://railsofsheffield.com/lner-2-8-2-cock-o-the-north-p2-class-locomotive-with-tts-sound-weathered--JJJA28747.aspx Mine arrived this afternoon and I think the weathering is not bad at all: http://forum.beneluxspoor.net/index.php/topic,36295.8010.htm Pictures in post #8012. No idea if it's the 2015 or the previous version. Leen.

Thanks. I will show the result when it'll be finished. Leen.

Because returning from Holland is always a bit of a hassle and also because I wasn't sure it would be accepted as a reason for return. I thought I could manage to make some of the paint melt and then make the thick layer thinner. When the paint didn't melt I started scratching it off and just went on. Too late now, and I hope I will succeed in making it into a nice model. It's a great model basically, it just needs the right weathering. Leen.

Tuesday my weathered 62059 arrived. The weathering job is indeed a great disappointment. It completely spoils the model. I am now halfway scratching most of the weathering paint off the wheels and rods. No idea how it will work out, but in the end it will certainly look better than Hornby's shoeshine/dog's muck job. Leen.

A few years ago I had the same problem with a brand new J72 chassis that I had bought as a Mainline chassis replacement, and sent Bachmann an email requesting for help. They sent me the replacement wheelset and also helped me out with the other two axles, when this axle alone didn't cure the problem. Great service, and hopefully they can help you too. Leen.

@Mikesndbs Nice video, Mike. I haven't tested the old motor yet, and I have given the P2 a DCC decoder with stay alive, so I'm not too much worried about the missing flywheel. @Graeme I have done the same replacement as Mike in his video. Will you be at Warley again? Leen.

Nice work, Graeme! @Mikesndbs Strange you had to use your file. Mine was a direct fit, OK maybe a bit tight. At least it now runs OK! Leen.

No, sorry Mike, I didn't take any pictures of the weight being removed, I wish I had now. But it is really quite easy. Once the weight's 2 screws will be released (take them out e.g. with a pair of tweezers) and the small motor clamp, also 2 screws, you just carefully move the weight away from the motor and then lift it up, just enough to release the motor. The pickup wires go top to bottom through a hole in the weight and you will see them disappear into a hole that leads to the pickup "cave" below the loco. When remounting the weight pay attention that they don't curl up under the weight, which may already have happened at Hornby's factory. There is no other things than the wires to worry about, I even couldn't find capacitors, and there's only 4 screws involved in this operation.. I think in my case the weight rested on a curl of the wires, lifting it slightly up. I think as long as you take care for these wires it will all go by itself, good luck. Leen.

My motor arrived yesterday. Swapping the motors is really a piece of ...., errrm, a 5-minute job, but after mounting the new motor, the loco was still showing the same behaviour as before. I then saw that the pickup wires that come from underneath the chassis lay curled under the top weight that you have to lift to get the motor out, thus lifting the weight and maybe, with the screws tightened, this exerts some force on the wormwheel. I'm not sure, but this may have been the cause of the entire problem instead of a faulty motor. It may also pay to have a run with the chassis by hand after you have taken the old motor out. This will show you if your chassis runs freely, mine did. After straightening up the wires under the weight I at first carefully ran my loco without the screws to see if it ran freely. I then tightened the screws and fortunately all was well. I had to cut off a tiny bit of the lower motor tag in order to prevent it from touching the metal chassis behind it. Do not bend the tags outwards too much, otherwise they won't fit into the body. Those who have this problem of the loco not smoothly running away at start up may check the pickup wires under the weight, and slacken up the screws a bit and then run the loco, before buying a new motor. Nevertheless I am happy with the new 5-pole motor in the loco and without the flywheel it may even behave better with DCC feedback decoders. I have put a report and some photos on our Dutch forum: http://forum.beneluxspoor.net/index.php/topic,36295.msg3221498651.html#msg3221498651 On the top photo the motor tag hasnot yet been cut off. Leen.

My P2 also has problems and I have emailed Hattons for a solution. It happens when she starts running, especially in forward direction, although backwards she isn't exactly a slow starter as well. Most of the time the motor starts humming before she moves forward at a jerk. I have had her run in for a couple of hours (so long, because this behaviour didn't stop) and then inserted a TCS decoder. When I let her start at speed step 16 of 128, the motor started humming and off she went at speed, and after a second or two she calmed down and continues at the right speed. Now she does indeed start at speed step 1 of 128, and backwards she behaves approximately correctly, in fact she is shuddering backwards, but what can you expect with a 3-pole motor? In speed step 2 she moves slowly and approximately like she ought to. However when moving forward in step 1 she repeatedly takes a run as if it were in step 16, then almost stops, then starts again etc. I have checked the valve gear and it is not binding. I am now almost sure it must be the motor that is the culprit. Whilst composing this message, DaveBfromG came up with the solution so I promptly ordered a X9108 King motor, which presumably is a much better quality motor anyway. Thanks Dave, this is what I was hoping for. Leen.

Yes: http://www.nwsl.com/uploads/chap1_TOOLS_04-2014.pdf and here are some cutters as well: http://www.micromark.com/special-cutting-tools.html But are you sure you need one? This is magnificent work! Leen.

Tony is my favorite movie star and it is sad to read about his ill health. I wish him well and am looking forward to seeing him again on his next DVD. I hope you soon get well again, Tony!! Leen.