bob hughes60

I would defintely replace the gear don't use loctite! You do not say if the tender drive motor has a 3pole or 5pole armature. The replacement brass gears are different sizes for each type. S2290 is the 11 tooth brass spur/pivot gear for 3 pole and S2635 is the brass 10 tooth spur/pivot gear for 5 poles. There is an 11 tooth diecast gear for 3 pole armatures do not touch these with the proverbial bargepole. I am intrigued by a "nylon" gear I know of no Hornby nylon gear in a tender drive. Remove the brass gear retainers and black/grey gears. You can remove the tender wheels by gently levering with a screwdriver. On the opposite side unscrew the brush retaining arm screws one at atime. Take care to lift the brush retaining arm off the brush spring slowly so the spring doesn't ping off onto the carpet. Tap/tip up motor block to get carbon brush out. Put the motor block over a small vice and tighten the vice around the shaft side of the armature that went though the cover plate. You now, by gently tapping drift on the new brass gear onto the armature shaft. One side is tight and one side is a looser fit as the bore is tapered to fit. Put it on loose side first. I use a no 4 spanner to drive it home as far as I want. I check it spins freely by spinning with a finger. If the gear is too tight to the motor block tap end of the shaft downwards. I always put a SMALL amount of oil on the gear and shaft. Reassemble but before putting coverplate and brushes etc on I touch the armature face with two DC terminals from the transformer to make sure it spins ok. Sounds comilcated but isn't. If you need service sheets http://www.hornbyguide.com/default.asp or Lendons site have them I have used loctite 648 but wouldn't again as it sets damn quick (before you get gear along shaft) and in one case it failed so the gear kept spinning around the shaft not driving it. Cheers Bob hughes The old nylon gear can be levered off (fine bladed screwdriver) and the new brass gear is drifted onto the armature shaft whilst gripping the other end in a small vice.

Hmm. I ordered one yesterday from Hereford Models. Due to their very efficient handling it arrived 9:10am this morning. Now if only 200 were released and I've got one will it ever have rarity value if I hang on to it? Or will it always just be a kludge of two sets of parts? Bob Hughes

As somebody who lived on Rake Gate Estate I looked at Pendeford sidings with interest. You may not know it but it may not be as fictional as you think. In the "Railway to Wombourn" by Ned Williams (i.e the Oxley-Kingswinsford branch frrom Aldersley) there was a plan to cross over the Shrewsbury line and join the Grand Junction railway at Elston Hall (nearly Bushbury)! Another proposal was to join the GWR at Oxley but continue eastwards crossing the stour valley line, the Bushbury spur, the Grand junction line and meet up with the Cannock Chase and Wolverhampton Line (which wasn't built). So where we lived could have been quite different. Good luck with the project.

I have an interest in the Oxley-Kingswinsford branch and the "car trains" rang some bells. Not found any pics yet but timetable copy from "By Rail to Wombourn"-Ned Williams I am sure there is a picture of a 9F with one of these loadings waiting just to go onto mainline at Oxley Junction. As earlier poster has indicated train took the branch. Track was lifted in 1967? so route would have changed then. This one shows diesel working type 4 just after branch closed http://www.flickr.com/photos/71592768@N08/8099732526 Cheers Bob Hughes

Is the title right? Shouldn't the order be "The hobby, women, and dating.." Need to get your priorities right. I cunningly waited till lads were old enough, then bought Thomas which I retrofitted with an old triang smoke unit. My wife then swiped Thomas to facilitate teaching the maths of loads and inclines in her classes, now there's gratitude for you.

Speaking of Portugese trains 2 years back I was in one of my favourite portugese towns of Viana do Castelo and had a nosey at the station(below shopping mall so temporary escapism from plastic damage by wife ) From deciphering a flyer (portugese is easier to read than speak) it appeared that they were running summer steam excursions up the Douro Valley? Anybody know if they did run /are still running? (beginnings of a cunning plan) I spent a summer overlooking the Douro and the clatter of the trains alongside the river on the single track was a nice warming sight and sound.

Brought back memories of my sister and I sitting at the Birmingham end of the platform trainspotting in the early 1960s. The stationmaster (nice freindly bloke) came up and had a chat with us he'd never seen a girl trainspotting! I never sat on High level there was something "glamorous" abour Low Level/WR that just wasn't there on the LMR. Nice start so far I shall watch with interest (escaped from Wolves in 1969 when Wolverhampton shut on a friday night) Cheers, Bob Hughes

I was a manager at a college and got out at 60 (year ago) - a change of senior management, changing government policies and an inability to see that recruiting 16+ students was going to get very competitive as the cohort shrank did influence me. I find that my time goes quicker in retirement than at work. I have plenty to do , DIY ( a lot on 2 son's houses), gardening properly and constructing the 5m. x 2m layout in the garage. I had done consultancy work and was an OFSTED inspector (boo!, hiss!) but I've let it all go. My decision was influenced by my father who died the year he retired. What is embarrassing is when I meet colleagues whose first words are "you look well", then "you got out at the right time" redundancies, increased workloads etc. etc. You will need some financial planning but this can be helped by having time to find the best utility supplier, travel, car and house insurance, banking, savings and so on. I didn't ease down at all in my last year;that's not professional and would not have helped my under-managers. What did surprise me was this group for advice and help, freindliness of traders and model shops and exhibitions, a really useful fraternity. No, I wouldn't go back. Look on it not as retirement, but your next career, the portugese word for retirement (reforma?) suggests replanning your life which is what it should be; not "en retrait" as the french say. Good luck and enjoy yourself!

I have 'researched" for the purposes of re-creating them in 4mm Sedbergh Station on the the Lowgill-Ingleton Branch (LNWR) and Tettenhall station on the Oxley-Kingswinford branch (GWR). The National Archives was a bullseye for Tettenhall but nowt for Sedbergh. When the Lowgill-Ingleton Branch was built Sedbergh was in Yorkshire and their archives are in Wakefield but as county boundaries/counties changed Cumbria archives are held in number of places. Neither archive had anything! Photographs I found on the internet e.g. CRA site (very helpful guy at the Wigan Show) but no plans whatsoever apart from Rob Weston's book and subsequent finding of the old OS map in county archives. Sedbergh Local history were very,very helpful but still no plans. I was disheartened but quite by chance I was pointed to 1945 track plans of Sedbergh and Ingleton on a cumbria website run by Carlisle library http://www.cumbriaimagebank.org.uk/ So 4 points: Search engines do not search as we would think. Typing in Sedbergh Station on Google does not get you Carlisle libraries plans so don't think by using a search engine you have searched everything. Somebody who knows far more about search engines can explain why. On the above site try Sedbergh station you get 3 photos. Now try a freetext search (2nd box on menu) by typing plans see how many stations come up ! Make sure you know about the history of local boundaries the archives may not be held where you think. Libraries and archives do not know of each other. If you do find things then put back into the system; the local history society now has copies of the 1940's track plan. Finally if anybody does know of building plans for Sedbergh station, now a private house and very little like the original, (I know the goods shed the family business runs from there) they would have my eternal thanks if they shoved them under my nose. As somebody who lives in Golborne I was staggered to find Golborne had 2 stations and there was one at Haydock so I'd be very interested in anything on this line and Lowton.

Just started with peanuts, blue tits in quick no long tailed tits yet. My tame male woodie has been at the peanuts as have the jays. No finches as yet. Apples I put out untouched but the blackbirds cleared off the damsons. There are still this years froglets in the garden and flying insects. The high temperatures have fooled some plants into a third crop of flowers had first hard frost last week so tomatoes in green houses just finished. Not yet seen partridges and tamish pheasnats suggests food availbility high ? Also no big skeins of geese going south yet (am on flypath). I back onto farmland in what was a smallholding orchard between liverpool and manchester; and usually get killer frosts in October; seems very mild to me. Dahlias just frosted time to lift the tubers. Mind you last novemeber was mildish but from then on....... Bob Hughes

Direct attempt to pick members' brains ! So does anybody have an off the shelf, Humbrol etc. paint enamel/acrylic or a recipe for getting a basic mortar colour (i.e.very light grey/beige?) for dressed stone plastic? I do realise mortar varies but I am after a basic starting colour. TIA

I really like the way you break the task down and give very useful stepped explanations The modelling clay you used could solve a problem for me with cornicing on station buildings I will be modelling Is there a trade name to ask for or supplier ?- I am only familiar with with DAS? Looking forward to the next bits! Many thanks Bob Hughes