Mike Riley

This 100 billion figure for HS2 comes from the National Infrastructure Commission who estimated that an additional 43 billion would be needed for people to make the best use of HS2.  This additional money was for connectivity to HS2 stations, not directly for HS2 itself.

Double Chemistry for me - trying to get some elderly Methfix transfers to stick...

Apply them when the paint/varnish is slightly tacky.  I brush a thin film of paint on the area where the transfer is to go, wait half an hour or so and then apply the transfer.

Don't forget that cattle vans were also used for conveying produce from Cornwall, particularly broccoli [though in the BTF film "Train Time" it looked more like cauliflowers].

 

Chris

The Cornish "broccoli" was indeed cauliflowers.  Although I have lived in the county for nearly 40 years I don't know what the Cornish name is for cauliflowers.

An article in our local paper today says that work has started on Okehampton Parkway station.  It mentions parking for 350 cars.  I can't find anything else about this on the web though and I can't say that the Cornish and Devon Post is noted for accurate journalism.

Mike

I think most burglars prefer to work at night.  Unless you have night storage heating or something like that, the current draw is no different whether your are asleep with all the lights off or on holiday.

There was a drawing for a Western Pooley van in MRC January 1960 (no 82924) and a photo provided by a reader in March 1960 (no 82872).  No sign of drop lights on either of these.  Generally similar to the DRC one but without vertical handrails at the ends and they have vertical wooden strips in the centre of the windows.

Mike

A reminder of more hopeful times, just three short years ago....................

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26609000

Newbury to Oxford link?  Reinstating the norther end of the DNS railway?

And why does an electric train have 20% more seats than a diesel equivalent?

Looking at the history of the line, every major place north of Leicester is only really served by a loop or a branch line. The original main line missed every intermediate place of any significance apart from Chesterfield. Derby is really only on a main line from Leeds to Birmingham, whilst connections to Nottingham have always been devious. I suspect it will always be a Cinderella line, unfortunately.

Looking at the history of the line, Derby was on a route from London to Manchester and Derby to Glasgow.  When I was young living in Derbyshire we were well served by the former Midland routes.

Mike

So many perceived problems. One wonders what the Hattons King would have really been like!

A serious problem if the wheels were 1.3mm oversize.  The front drivers would have been touching or worse.

The current wiring colour standards were partly to unify different systems worldwide.

Prior to the new standards where I worked we had equipment arrive with Black-Green-White cords, Red-Black-White cords (both USA). Which is earth?

I have also seen Red-Blue-Yellow cords as well as the UKs normal Red-Black-Green!

 

Something needed to be done.

 

Keith

 

 

Out of interest, what do the Americans use now?  I'd be surprised if it is the same as Europe.

 

At least we have a common world-wide standard for wiring colours on decoders.

 

After all the posts about number plates, bunker-side steps etc it has taken until now to find out that the driving wheels are 1.3mm oversize.  An unnecessary error and less easy to correct than the other"faults" that have been raised on this thread.

I'll stick with my two Hornby ones - modifed years ago with Markits wheels, Mashima motor and various mods to the bodywork.  And they run very nicely.

Mike

Here's the new E-mail address, from the advert in this month's Rail Express:-

skitsinfo@bt.internet.com

 

 

Note to mods; I have posted this as a comment on the relevant entry in 'Small Traders'

I think that should be btinternet not bt.internet.

Did you but this new?  If so it is very old stock if it has v 1.28.

C'mon Tender, don't be a meany, let us all know what tweeks you applied to your Zimo (presume MX649N) decoder to get the DJM 14xx to behave at slow speeds !

 

I have a DJM J94 which also refuses to run from startup, and which I am about to either throw against the wall, or fit some kind of capacitor to, so would be interested in any suggested CV mods first!

 

Cheers,

 

Alan

The Zimo decoder manual is quite clear on what settings to use for coreless motors, large and small.

Slightly OT, but this thread's favourite (sic) trader Gosturd - a.k.a. Greg Diffen - is featured in the latest issue of Classic Cars magazine, showing off his rather large collection of Studebaker cars. Not a word in the article of what he does for a living, strangely enough....

Are the cars all painted by Larry Goddard?

Price comparison (RRP) for 4 wheel Toad.  Hornby 21.99.  Oxford 14.95.  We will have to wait to compare the quality.

Mike

I'm not sure what the timeline of Ratio going to Peco was, but now Peco have the Ratio stuff, it would be fitting if the Slaters kits ended up there too with the MR wagons complementing their LNWR kits. The old Slaters 6 wheel Clayton carriages would sit well with the Ratio MR carriages too - that would be quite a nice little pre-grouping collection (well, for those of us fancying the LNWR and MR anyway!).

I don't think that Ratio have expanded the range of coach and wagon kits for some years, though they have introduced new building kits.  Maybe Peco don't see rolling stock kits as a profitable part of the business.

It may be worth considering the size of your layout.

 

Probably 5-6 light running or 1 double-headed on full power.

You would need a big end-to-end layout to cope with a heavy train on maximum acceleration so depending on your layout, it may not be possible to run anything on anywhere near full power.

 

A circular double track main line with a yard would be different. You could run multiple long trains on this which would draw a reasonable amount of current. I had 5 running at the same time on my home layout recently.

 

The PowerCab has a built-in ammeter. I usually drew less current than I thought I would be doing. I doubt this feature works when you add an external booster. It is certainly missing from the PowerPro.

The PowerCab ammeter is very useful.  I have sound and carriage lighting and with 5 or so locos on the track and one running I rarely exceed 350 mA.

I think the PowerCab is an excellent piece of kit for the price.  The downside is if it needs repair then it has to go back to the US and it may take some time for it to return.  Not to mention possible problems with customs.

My thinking was that normally when double heading there is enough play in the couplings between the two locos which helps even out the difference there may be in motor speeds. You can often see the locos hunting back & forth.

However in the case of the Garratt even though there are two chassis as well they are bolted rigidly together with no play at all between the two so they fight against each other even more.

I

Of course if I was running DC I couldn't do anything at all.

You could put a resistor in series with the motor on the one that ran faster.  Trial and error to find the value of the resistor would be a pain of course unless you used a potentiometer.

I'm sure there are many on here who, like me, grew up in houses with lead pipes.  And we are still around to talk about it.  As my chemistry master explained, a coating of lead oxide forms on the pipes and lead oxide is insoluble.

I think you would have to ingest quite a few soldered joints on a regular basis to get serious lead poisoning.  I continue to use lead/tin solder and hope it will continue to be available.

In two years or so the only HSTs operating in GWR livery will be four coach sets running between Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance.  I haven't seen any indication about the composition of these sets but I doubt they will include a buffet and probably not a TGS.  First class?  Maybe one FO and three SOs.  I wonder if some of the existing stock will even get the new livery.  they are already sending coaches off to be converted to remote doors and retention tanks etc.  Those that are not planned for conversion or transfer to Scotland may remain in FGW livery.

Mike

The liveries on SDR loco's have always been suspect as being incorrect, nice photo BTW.

And the SDR version has the wrong inclination of the cylinders and crosshead guides.  Also the vacuum pump - the Heljan version clearly shows it should be horizontal.

You can't trust preserved examples.

Thankfully prices still the same, I think getting mixed up between the cost of 250 & 500 packet sizes

After my last post I compared the current price on their web site with my invoice from 2008.  They have nearly doubled in price since then.  Sadly, my other investments have not increased similarly.

Alan,

I too was highly impressed by your rate of progress and the ambitious scope for your railway.  I've missed if over the last few months.  Please get back to railway modelling and give up on medieval warfare.

Mike

Mike, quite correct but at what cost!!

Yes.  Didn't I read that C&L have recently put up the price of chairs?  I still have quite a few 2-bolt chairs left over from making the turnouts on my current layout.  A good investment?