MPR

Hi Tim - I don’t think so, they are sized for 1 -3 standard posters, side by side, with or without a 2mm high top board. The posters themselves are by Trackside Signs, who also do large advert hoardings https://tracksidesigns.co.uk Or from the EBay shop, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172339607951?hash=item28203db98f:g:nngAAOSwRLZT8w2z

I certainly won’t be using the chalked messages, but the printing seems very crisp and they are diecut, so if you are using them direct, they are a very easy way of obtaining a good result. I bought this pack from eBay, but they can found at https://tracksidesigns.co.uk/pages/station-signs-and-signage?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsdTj56vh9QIVAurtCh3v8QYwEAAYASAAEgJS2_D_BwE I’ll let you know how cutting the posters out separately & mounting them on the etched boards goes.

The few 1950s images I have show mostly timetables on the road side (perhaps unsurprisingly). I will probably use the Wells poster, running under “Rule 1” in honour of the layout’s first exhibition though! I agree that a number of the posters on the sheet are 1960s. I’m not sure if the space would be used to advertise local destinations, more distant places on the Western Region, or attractions off the region as a rule.

Poster boards as supplied (flat in foreground) - neat but slightly over-sized. Modified and unmodified boards - I used the fret waste for the top, rather than the through etched “British Railways” pieces supplied. Three boards, ready for cleaning up and painting. I have bought some rather nice self-adhesive timetables and posters to fit afterwards.

The station building has long been lacking poster boards, so I thought that I would add them as a nice easy project to get back to progressing the model. I started by ordering a few packs of etched brass signs from NBrass. These are rather cleverly designed with a half-etched border. The idea is that you bend them over an edge with half-etched line on the outside. I used my fine pliers, my P4 back to back block and a steel rule to persuade the edges flat. The result was very neat and will do nicely for the platform side boards, but they were a little over-sized so I decided to alter them a bit for the road side. A double poster board needs to be this big… …and a single poster board a little narrower. I was able to remove one edge by bending back and forward with the pliers. I then scribed a line to align to, reduced the length of the edge piece to 14.75mm with snips and soldered the edge in place.

7820 “Dinmore Manor” and 6430 at Buckfastleigh, South Devon Railway

..and that's only the second dodgiest modification to a Manor this festive season https://www.southdevonrailway.co.uk/news/access-restrictions-at-buckfastleigh-stati/ (scroll down!)

You can buy the track books even if you are not a member. http://www.2mm.org.uk/products/nms/index.html

It doesn’t quite meet the criteria above, but I can’t resist suggesting Llangurig https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llangurig_branch

Composite tanks, gaseous storage 700 bar or so. Liquid would require either serious insulation or active cooling - the boiling point of hydrogen is -240C. If you watch rocket launches with hydrogen fuel (space shuttle/SLS or Ariane 5 core stage) this is handled by continuing to top off the open tank until the last moment to replace boil off - pressurisation occurs very quickly after the lid is closed! The fuel is then used over the next few minutes, so no long term storage is necessary) A link for current production technology hydrogen tank is https://www.toyota-europe.com/download/cms/euen/Toyota Mirai FCV_Posters_LR_tcm-11-564265.pdf

That's a different kind of engine entirely (sort of like a fireless steam locomotive, but working from the reverse temperature difference!) - I don't think it is a particularly likely technology to be used widely. By the way, JCB's plans were covered in a recent BBC radio programme called "39 Ways to Save the Planet" https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0010xpd Basically, they see a mix of solutions (battery electric for smaller, lower duty cycle applications, fuel cell for applications were charging would be take too long, hydrogen combustion engines for applications where working environment is very rough (fuel cells are regarded as being delicate). As ever, fuel cells and combustion engines give nothing like the overall efficiency of battery systems - but there are other factors at play here and these technologies may have a place in a decarbonised future.

Happy Birthday, Tom!

And very few cars bite or kick pedestrians when they are parked.

https://cornishlithium.com/

Hi Kevin - and welcome to RMWEB. If you haven’t done so already, I’d recommend you join the Scalefour Society. The forum is accessible in part to non-members. https://www.scalefour.org There is an area group that is in your area - https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=921&p=6579&hilit=watermouth#p6579 Starting with a wagon conversion is an excellent idea - this can be as simple as swapping out the wheels sets on a ready made wagon with no further modifications, but some form of suspension is usually recommended - MJT W irons plus a Parkside kit is a suitable next step up. If you want to go for something more sophisticated, have a look at http://website.rumneymodels.co.uk For track, a couple of metres of C&L flexi will get you started. Points can be tackled later. https://www.clfinescale.co.uk For a first locomotive, I’d recommend rewheeling a diesel loco - this can be done very quickly indeed with wheel sets from https://www.ultrascale.uk (long lead time, very high quality) or on shorter timescales, from http://alangibsonworkshop.com Do reach out for specific advice, there a lot of P4 modellers on this forum! If you want to tackle a locomotive chassis go to https://www.highlevelkits.co.uk/chassis For full locomotive kits, look at http://www.brassmasters.co.uk/gwr_kits.htm - these are sophisticated and uncompromising designs, but are extremely well executed and may be accessible from the off if you have good soldering skills and patience. Good luck on the journey! Regards Martin

Years ago, I read that when the MINI was launched by BMW, they expected 80% of sales to be MINI ones, with the remaining 20% being split between Cooper and Cooper S models. The reverse happened, transforming the profitability of the model. Fast forward 20 years and car manufacturers are in the midst of the perfect storm - supply of components is limited, both common drive electronics and batteries, the time left to recover investments in R&D in current petrol and diesel models is ebbing away, further to this they are still bearing the continuing overhead of engine and gearbox plants on ever diminishing sales. I don’t see how in this environment, anything other than concentrating maximum efforts on obtaining maximum margin, top end sales is feasible - plus, with most sales on lease, and residuals currently very high, financing all these bells and whistles is within reach for more people than ever. When the transition accelerates and volume supply of electric cars is assured, I’m sure that there will be a reversal.

Just under £40,000 now - the dual motor version, which launched first, is more expensive (but has brutal acceleration). https://www.polestar.com/uk/polestar-2/configurator/eyJTIjoiNTM0RUNQQjBLMjE1MDE5MDBSNjAwMDBfX19CRDAyRVYwMUpCMEFKVDAxSzUwMkxGMDFMUjAxTkMwMVBEMDFSMTRCIiwiUCI6ZmFsc2UsIkUiOnsiZSI6bnVsbH0sIk8iOm51bGwsIkQiOiJXZWIiLCJVIjpudWxsLCJGIjp7ImMiOiJCMkMiLCJmIjoiQ2FzaCIsImQiOm51bGwsIm0iOm51bGwsInQiOm51bGwsInN0IjoiTm9uZSIsInIiOm51bGwsInJhIjowLjB9fQ#engine

Looks good! What style are the pickups, and can you tell the axle diameter?

I’m working on one of these at the moment - they are reasonably good models, if not to the latest standards. I’ll put some photos and description in my “Torre” thread in the near future. If you have access to “The 4mm coach part 1” there is a good description of a similar project.

Not for these coaches - they were built with 9’0” wheelbase pressed-steel bogies, which did not have a tie-bar between the axle boxes, they would have been much stiffer than previous designs

Steam locomotives have used many forms of fuel besides oil and coal, including fossil fuels such as turf, LPG and naphtha, but also non fossil fuels such as wood and bagasse. For heritage railway purposes, wood and its derivatives are probably going to provide the best answer for the very long term. There have been a number of experiments with torrefied bio-mass, which is made by a process where wood is heated in an airless environment to produce a coal-like substance. The volatiles that are given off are then burned to sustain the process. Binders are being developed to produce pellets with properties optimised for locomotive fire boxes - the pellets can be stored like coal - they do not absorb moisture. With all the talk about carbon capture, I also suspect that this process may be a key environmental remediation tool. The coal mines of the future may be burying this material beneath ground to sequester the carbon. If we want to maintain some long term access to loco fuel - “we”should be buying and developing commercial forests specifically for this purpose as part of wider carbon sequestration efforts - & be part of the solution and not the problem.

Tom, it’s been great to see this layout develop over the last few months, it shows artistry and craftsmanship of the highest order. I really hope that you have gained as much satisfaction from it as we all have in watching it grow -I’m looking forward to seeing the next chapter! (and of course Cwm Prysor in due course!) Occasionally, I go back and check the early views to remind myself just how small it is! My very best wishes to you Martin

0750 Kingswear to Cardiff at Churston this morning.

Will this kit cover the “3100” std 4 boilered rebuilds?

I remember this issue being discussed in the news a couple of years ago, which resulted in some insurers revisiting their position on this issue - I found this document from Jan 2019 on the ABI website describing the commitment made by a number of providers at that time: https://www.abi.org.uk/globalassets/files/publications/public/motor/2019/abi-guide-to-winter-driving---the-motor-insurance-commitment.pdf That said: I would still be sure to contact my insurer to be sure that the position has not changed since then if you are planning fit winter tyres