wombatofludham

Based on my experience having to remove the body to change the DCC chip in my NIR DBSO removing the body is absurdly easy compared to some other manufacturers. I literally managed to pop off the body using my thumbnails to unclip from the chassis clips. I imagine the BR models are just as easy to disentangle. The lighting bar is fed by two copper prongs so no leads to unplug, Bachmann take note.

If Accurascale want to fit DCC sound to a coach loo, the other week when doing some file back-ups I did find a sound effect I made for the Microsoft Train Simulator 1 "Enterprise" Dublin-Belfast route add-on of someone "downloading" on the loo which I intended to put in a passenger view inside the lavatory. I wasn't allowed to do it, but together with automatic ejecting loo rolls could add some colourful Easter eggs to future releases.

The Bala Lake Railway have been donated the remaining stock left after the sad closure of Hatton's to sell as a fundraiser for their proposed extension to Bala Town, currently mired in a planning wrangle with Snowdonia. Link to Website with details of the sale A nice gesture on the part of Hattons

Gosh, they look really nice. I know WMPTE and Centro told the DfT where to go when they tried to force us into having these yokes for the Cross City (really) but I think they may turn up on test runs on the new layout (which the real units did do from time to time)

Bala Lake Hatton's Sale details From the Bala Lake Railway: Nice gesture on the part of Hatton's

At the risk of thread drift, "marrone" is Italian for brown. As opposed to "moron" which is Welsh for "carrot", which of course is orange...

Might help as well if they designed the thing to take DCC without having to remove the PCB board and stick it in upside down. Some consideration for noise fitting would also be a good idea. Heljan do it. Bachmann do it. Accurascale do it. Hornby? "That'll do, now, let's get back to the Little Fartingbury and Miss Marpleshire Peckett". The idea that in 2024 you need to perform open heart surgery to fit a plain 21 pin chip, and heaven knows what else to get them to make noise, really isn't on, but it does play into the arguments some of us have about Hornby's engagement with non-steam modellers.

It's Hornby so unless it boils water I suspect it'll be next century before they do any more livery variants. Personally I would like to see some more blue but without names as first built, there's also IC executive without the jumper boxes which a couple of locos still carried in the early 1990s. There's also the early IC Swallow with full yellow ends, with and without jumper boxes. For a class of 36 there are more varieties than Heinz. You are probably right about GBRf and DRS as they seem to sell well whatever the subject, plus they worked alongside Pendolini and Voyagers for a while which would appeal to some.

Ally Pally would be a good place to break cover with a 313 seeing as they were associated with the GN when new, replacing the 31s and Mk1 subs. Now, who is making them?

On the Electrostar debate, I think the fact they have run on a wide range of services from semi-rural single track (Seaford, King's Lynn) to four track high speed mainline (GN, GW, Brighton Line) does give modellers a chance to justify one, especially those of us who prefer to model "prototypically literate" fictional layouts. A single track semi-rural layout with an Electrostar wouldn't look odd for anyone concerned that their plans wouldn't allow an Electrostar thinking they are main line only. I could, for example, see a fictional semi-rural East Anglia layout set in the time of changeover between the Flirts and the Electrostars running both, together with Cross Country 170s and East Midland 158s, plus 66s on intermodals, being prototypically literate whilst offering a "recent history" level of interest for those who are interested in the relatively contemporary scene, and the only missing part of that plan is currently the Electrostar. I don't think the time has passed for the PEP units - whilst the last few in Merseyside are on their last innings, their high degree of standardisation must surely make manufacture simpler, and being BR-Privatisation era stock will be tapping into what some have observed as a growing area of interest. There's nothing to stop a manufacturer releasing the one off liveries that might appeal to non-modelling ordinaries as they won't be fussed about whether the train is current or not, although I can't actually see a Beatles fan buying a three car Merseyrail unit as a souvenir, Hornby's wagons might just do it but a single train north of £300 isn't going to appeal even to the most rabid Beatles fan. I think there is room for both PEP and Electrostars and both would help stimulate a new interest, in much the same way I have modified my plans for my rebuild of "Wednesford" in my new home on the back of the announcement of the Dapol 323.

I know the question wasn't aimed at me but the "PEP" type units (313-508) seems a low hanging fruit which I'm surprised hasn't broke ground yet. They have a multitude of liveries, very standardised bodies and with potential London Transport Museum tie ins as "London Overground" branded units, would almost certainly be a bank-roller for a number of years, with Scotland, Merseyside, north and south London and the south coast, plus Anglia all having seen derivatives of the design. For me though, an Electrostar that can replicate the various versions made must be on the cards, they work everything from all shacks seaside trundles along the Coastway as three cars to 8 car inter city service from Paddington to Cardiff. I suspect the PEP and the Electrostar are being worked on as we speak and will be breaking ground in the next 12-18 months.

Without working at Barwell or Margate, no one will know for sure if units sell in expected quantities for the respective companies. However. 1) Hornby have retooled their lemon flavoured 4-VEP. When he announced this unexpected rabbit out of the hat (surprisingly not holding his nose given his kettle fetish) Simon Kohler actually said, on video, that the prices some of their previously poor output were fetching second hand meant it was worth the investment in a retool to address the lemony issues (I paraphrase but I distinctly remember the comment because I'd been saying much the same on this 'ere forum). If units were slow sellers, they would have spent the money on yet another green tea urn. When the duff first production run of 4-VEPs regularly sell on Tatbay for north of £200 given the Bay of Tat is the closest thing we have to an open and free market, that also is enough circumstantial evidence to suggest demand for units is strong. 2) Despite the comments on here about pricing, Bachmann have gone ahead with the retooled 4-CEPs in refurbished, rebuilt 1980s condition. They have also recently released the 2-HAP. The retool for the CEP would have cost several hundred thousand pounds as all four coach bodies required a retool, although they didn't have to tool up new underpinnings. If they were getting feedback that the existing CEP models were sales lemons, they would have decided to spend that money elsewhere and given they are in competition for production slots with other companies in the Chinese owned group if the units were not selling, they would have used the precious slots for some other purpose. They didn't, went ahead with the release and did so despite some price blowback. 3) Dapol have announced a Class 323 unit which no-one was expecting, and Revolution have given in to lobbying to upscale their N scale 321. Neither of these companies can be considered big enough to "take a punt" on a risky venture, they must expect to be able to make a commercial product. Cheap sales items a decade or more ago in some retailers is no evidence of slack sales today. Serious six figure plus sums being spent by companies, none of whom can be considered business suicidalists and who need to make every penny count, is to my mind a better indication of the sales potential of electric units. That Bachmann can launch the renovated 4-CEP at prices in the region of £500-600 having all the sales data of the original CEP models suggests they see a market that will give enough return on investment, and a hard nosed business decision to produce the model to me trumps any spurious pointing to past occasional sales reductions as "proof".

Given Irish Railway Models are progressing Iarnrod Eireann's 3,4 and 6 car Rotem Inter City units in a much smaller market, which is a design that as I've said before is a bit "Marmite" with fans of the Irish scene having effectively killed off most loco haulage in the country, I think what modellers consider an economic case and what the likes of Accurascale (and Revolution and Cavalex) consider they can make a go of aren't the same. A carefully tooled Electrostar would open up an untapped market. Don't forget too they regularly (i.e.are timetabled) work into Wales on Cardiff-Paddington services off peak, and at the moment no-one knows where the ex Anglia units will rock up which are in storage following their replacement by Flirts on West Anglia, so despite me not wanting one, I can see there would be a market and given their experience in making affordable Marmite units for the Irish market, I can see Accurascale not sharing your observation.

I noticed a semi-reveal on Facebook today when you uploaded the formation diagram for the Northern Irish Mk2b-c fleet where you mention a forthcoming release of the coaches in the gorgeous but unusual Caribbean Blue and Morocco Red original livery, which makes me wonder if you are about to announce a 101 class Hunslet to go with them. Given the Hunslets were effectively a revised "Whistling Wardrobe" I do wonder if a Class 20 using the same mechanicals might be in the planning stage?

Interesting post on Facebook today, note comment about the original livery NIR Mk2s The full diagram

Occasionally. That said the previous owners of Bron Meirion in the village installed a water turbine generator on part of their land. There's also two unused tunnels in Friog which were designed for a hydro-electric scheme when Fairbourne was self raised by MacDougall the flour magnate in the early 1900s but was never implemented, sadly. Llwyngwril also had some form of water powered DC electric system before the grid. It would be good if we could reactivate some of these schemes so we can have battery-electric trains up the coast with opportunity charging in the station loops where trains wait to pass.

I used Posca paint pens with a fine nib to paint the rail webs before laying and ballasting (using wallpaper paste mixed with the ballast to fix but allow for removal at a later date unlike PVA which sets like concrete) then when dry used a mix of paint pigments to weather the ballast and sleepers in situ using a paint brush to dry brush the neat pigment on. I tended to brush away from the rails on the outside, and along the rails inside the track. I used umber paint pigment for brake/poo dust and charcoal pigment for oilier areas, such as at signals. By brushing away from the rail on the ballast shoulders you get an effective fade effect where in real life the brake dust and poo aerosol from the lavatories would get less the further you were from the track. I didn't fix the pigment in place as I wouldn't be handling the track whereas when I use pigment for weathering rolling stock I fix with artist fixative to allow for handling. I find the neat paint pigment gives a lovely, dusty finish and you can vary the tones by doing multiple passes to give a variation.

I wasn't going to bother but seeing as you commented. I'm not extrapolating, I'm commenting on a wide range of videos on the Tube. In particular, I have watched the good compilation videos of a videographer going by the name of DCC125 who clearly visits a lot of shows and does show the layouts in good detail, as well as others. I don't think the videos are in any way selective. Whilst there are those layouts which have applied weathering to the environment, there are a lot more where the weathering is either non-existent (or, to elaborate a bit more on my original post, not enough, which isn't quite the same I grant you). Now in my original post I said " Yet a lot of the layouts I've seen film of have nice, clean ballast." which isn't the same as extrapolating, "a lot of" doesn't mean all, it's an observation. I also said: ...and for that reason I'm not about to start naming layouts where, in my observation based on visits and video of exhibitions I think the weathering has been non-existent or insufficient. I respect the exhibitor's choice to present their artwork as they see fit. Yes there are those who do weather everything to realistic levels, but I've seen enough video and first hand observation of exhibits at a wide range of exhibitions recently to express surprise at the number of layouts which seem to be presented in, to my eyes, an unrealistic state of environmental weathering. And I'll re-iterate it doesn't alter my admiration and respect for the modelling concerned.

No I wasn't, I was explaining that we've had enough comments sneering about "playing trains" from people who think watching football or getting drunk is normal, despite both those activities being somewhat odd and creating costs to society in terms of extra policing and health costs which model railways do not. I've had rabid, season ticket holding, footy fans sneer at me for being into model railways in the past and the arguments I've used here were thrown back at them with some force, so fighting external sneering with some acidic responses was not only justified but also achieved the objective. If they want "bants" they chose the wrong person, it's a form of bullying so being patronising back to them is frankly the lesser of two evils The real point is the fact we can do without snotty attitudes from within the hobby when we all know there is still enough external commentary on the hobby from people who think it appropriate to diss our hobby. I couldn't care less if they choose to waste their money on football or getting liver sclerosis so long as they keep out of my face. What I find more difficult to accept is sniping from within the hobby.

Hell's Teeth, I thought I could be patronising but this is Carlsberg level. We have just managed to change public opinion on the "playing with toy trains" snottiness we used to get, thanks in no small measure by celebrity modellers "coming out" without the need for blue on blue gunfire from within our ranks. Let's get one thing straight. We play with toy trains. Adult, very expensive toy trains but toy trains none the less. There is nothing wrong with that. After all, it is less bizarre than choosing to spend hundreds of pounds for a season ticket to sit in a draughty, unheated shed watching 22 multi-millionaires kick a bag of wind from one end of a lawn to another, whilst consuming reclaimed meat products of dubious origin and with the added thrill of possibly being beaten up by the other tribe. Or spending hundreds of pounds destroying your liver with alcohol only for you to wake up the next morning with no memories of the night before, thereby wasting the the whole evening's expenditure and with the potential long term prospect of needing dialysis at some time. Playing trains by comparison is positively sane. I also take offence at the judgement that you need to "put some effort in" to justify the label "modeller". I enjoy making scenery far more than hand knitting my own trains, but even then I'll use a combination of ready to plant, kit, and home designed and 3d printed items to achieve the effect I want. However, those who exhibit collections of Triang models creating layouts typical of what used to be shown in the old "Track Plan" books with contemporary items shouldn't be sneered at, and given they are often knee deep in visitors at exhibitions, clearly the modelling fraternity share their passion and nostalgia. It's about time we started to support each other and stopped being so judgemental and snotty about what is after all a hobby, a pastime and not international diplomacy or politics. And yes, I know I can sometimes be dismissive about steam enthusiasts but when I use the term "kettleistas" I do so in response to just the kind of dismissive, holier-than-thou attitudes I've just described safe in the knowledge that I am planning a steam layout as well as one for trains with coathangers so am a kettleista myself, but don't intend to elevate my interest and passion to religious zealotry. Life is too short for that.

Finally got round to unboxing my BR Mk2b delivery yesterday and after comparison I take back what I said about Bachmann's Mk2a baboon's bum. Whilst the level of detail on the Accurascale 2bs is next level, with the sliders picked out in aluminium and the interior being painted for example, I think with a little modelling it might just be possible to mix the 2b and Bachmann 2a coaches without them looking too odd. Adding some paint to the interior of the 2a coaches, and a battery reed-switch lighting rig to allow lighting (something I've tried successfully on some other non-lit coaches) should allow them to work alongside the Accurascale coaches, the shades of rail blue do differ slightly but in real life you got some variation depending on outshopping dates and with slight weathering will look fine. So, if you were wondering about mixing the two fleets it shouldn't be too bad if you paint the interiors of the 2a coaches and consider lighting. Once moving I suspect you won't notice the differences so much. There again if Accurascale want to do the whole Mk2 design story to a consistent standard bring 'em on, I can always flog my Bachy Mk2's.

Revenons a nos moutons... How's the 80 class coming on? Must be due a reveal soon along with the revised Dutch Van for the incoming IE Mk2 sets?

There were a lot of Mk2d coaches on Cross Country from the mid-80s on. When the Cross London services were launched via Kensington six Mk2d TSOs were converted to a super-mini buffet, with a two bay counter and microwave for ping meal service whilst the rest of the fleet got a light refurbishment with new seat covers and carpet. The Mk2ds were also common on the Paddington to the Midlands "shorty" six car sets, often working with a micro buffet conversion of both Mk2c and d types. They were still running in cross country sets up to the early 90s when Inter City had a cull of the less reliable Mk2 stock although the odd BFK could still be found with Intercity swallow branding as late as 1995.

I can't help thinking that there might be a better chance of getting South Wales Valleys locos and authentic design non-generic 4 and 6 wheel coaches from Rapido. Certainly in OO, they have more or less stuck two fingers up to anything post-steam bar a few wagon commitments and seem to be pursuing more niche steam era subjects. I do think small runs of interesting, slightly obscure or off-radar subjects like authentic four and six wheelers and pre-grouping small engines seem to fit their OO range philosophy and business model, and at least if their usual pre-order model attracted enough interest to proceed to manufacture it would confirm or deny the actual interest in the subject. Business case e-mails to Rapido could be worth a few minutes keyboard time.

For me the quality of detailing of these vehicles will make even Bachmann Mk2a coaches, which are a nice coach, stick out like a baboon's bum if mixed in with the Accurascale coaches, and will look even worse if mixed with the ex-Airfix 2d which as I have said before got me and my friends very excited about their release when we were wearing school uniform last century. I think it would be unreasonable to expect Accurascale to do a 2a to match the standard of their 2b-c stock given the Bachmann models (although they are not afraid to go toe to toe with Barwell) but given the Hornlinefix 2d is now really at pension age and given the frequency with which 2b-c stock ran intermingled with 2ds, certainly on the WCML and later on cross country services, a 2d range (including a BFK which has never been modelled but was a regular feature on cross country services) would give a suitable "air conditioned" range whilst not going head on with the Bachmann 2f. That said, given blue-grey Bachmann 2fs are rarer than pixie snot and unicorn dung, frankly if Accurascale wanted to do the complete Mk2 canon I'd be laughing all the way to the Caernarfon bankruptcy tribunal. (edit) Forgot to add, I do think that if Accurascale wanted to do some LMS coaches the equally venerable Period 1 stock which began life with Mainline might be worth a punt, they were around for many years and again some types have never been made. Some also made it to the Northern Counties Committee lines out of Belfast and lasted in service just long enough to be hauled by the three Hunslet diesel locos as excursion stock so might also have an Irish connection depending on details.