Robert Shrives

Update, While better runners I have the FW 4 pack and a Dapol 73 under a resin 73/9 It would pull two easily enough but third it struggled and 4th almost stopped it on a 11" rad curve. So not where I wanted. Perhaps not for the faint hearted but the bogies that evidenced slight drag I popped out wheel sets and pulled wheel and stub axle off the muff and extracted the bush, two had some black grease - I guess electrical conducting but the pin head smear was more a small blob and this had squeezed around muff so perhaps not helping. I used a small reamer to clean hole a few thou and rebuilt wheel set. Much freer running and with pick up strip removed as good as a pinpoint bogie. Correctly seated pickup strip and very good rolling so one bogie on each coach with no pick up saw loco happy on 3, ran out of time but It looks like the 73 will romp away with 4 now. Well spent an hour on the 4 vehicles and a couple of hours test running on my lockdown scottish roundy to get to this stage. To my tiny mind intriguing and entertaining but can see for Revolution trains less entertaining but certainly can be overcome at home easily enough. But also fully understand reluctance of others in this level of "messing about" with expensive models. Still happy modelling Robert

David, Indeed, there is an aspect of the "kings new clothes" with expectations, specifications and delivery of perfection. Function over form unless building shelf display items of museum standards also The joys of real world lightweight bogies and inside bearings - give grief in the real world as well. Trying to miniaturise will always give some issues as stuff does not scale down. The best internal solution was on the Dapol Western with chassis able to have good axleboxes in the inner frame, Farish locos have had same on steam locos as well. But these have the frames to suit these coaches and on many modern units do not have space to hide big chunks of metal, the Mk2 design here is a good version with the rolling bush on the stub axle and I have two coaches on my Fort William set that were very free running from the get go. The other two not so freewheeling in comparison but not that bad. As has been suggested resetting wheels has helped but removing wheels showed a lug on the pick up strip not in its home slot, possibly displacing the bush. Removing the bogie and fitting wheels with out pick up strip made for a very free wheeling bogie. So bending lug back so it fitted in slot helped a lot but I noticed a trace of a etching cusp on pick up strip this I gently filed off with a rat tailed file and wheels as good as the others. From my simple experiments this should help in free running. Joys of mass build as noted in release there must be a selection of the strips that want just a tad of attention. Maybe slightly miss etched, maybe slightly miss bent when faced with such variation risk who would be a model manufacturer ! Mind you I would not know where to start to make a Mk5 from scratch let alone get the finish these models and all manufacturers create these days so glad to be helped along the way and to do a little bit more to detail or fix a little wayard issue is for me part of the hobby fun. Hobby being an important word ! happy modelling Robert

Hi, Just to say a great weekend had with loads of folk at show, yes a bit hot on Saturday but all went well, Ice cream van man did very well. Brilliant layouts from small MPDs to large panoramic visions. I think traders enjoyed a good weekend as well. 2024 TINGS now in the planning stage 14/15 Sept Thanks to all who got to the show , and missed those who could not! Robert

card is good , £13 for adult is headline price , reductions per below. https://meridiennengauge.seetickets.com/event/the-international-n-gauge-show/warwickshire-event-centre/2625994 Robert

https://www.meridienneexhibitions.co.uk/events/the-international-n-gauge-show Link to show and guide, see you there Robert

Lovely little sheet , just need to be smaller - well N gauge really... amazing that a coach sub class can raise so much interest.

Hi , It has been suggested that differing bogies would help sales so have to see it it bears fruit. Robert

I like the 128 a pretty extreme bit of bashing! For "under gubbins" I got some 3mm generic 3D prints from Bob Davies of N train- a "blow up" of an N gauge item. Robert

Hi I crash landed in Ireland when Murphy 141 spotted in BHM model shop and in 4mm Robertland have taken over, so beware of interplanetry issues! mind you my Traing TT lockdown project currently has a 1:32 Western kit sitting on it... Robert

Sorry to hyjack a tad but below is a recentish pic of nearly started 3mm TT stash. There is plenty to be going at for many a winters evenings . Many are LL resin and 3D print models and some sourced from other sources - the 73 is a 3SMR kit the 120 dmu in foreground from Shapeways . the 158 is from another ebay source that escapes me - but it is the only UK outine 158 sold. Robert

Great work with the vans, my take on scale models in this instance is so what - the look the part, clearly BR 20T vans and GWR Toad, please you add value to the model as a whole, so 10/10 from me and being finished are well ahead of my life long collection of just started projects in 3mm/ TT hobby. Thanks for sharing. Robert

The good thing is Steve at Railtec does some lovely transfers to garnish these kits IIRC I added about 20g with wheel weights to mine. Your roof much better than mine - I used a bit of an old wooden roof to form a basis for plastic roof and a strip for the ones with the sliding doors . Always amused that it tool several versions of he "basic AB van" before it was dropped and the VGA became the latest standard! I should add this edit - the top pic shows informational sheet which is more than I got and really helps, thanks to whoever created it. The kit does "scrub up well but shows its age and really works as a scratch aid, perhaps time of an upgrade for those with the skills. into a full kit/ 3D print option. In a recent loft find I have discovered I have a 10m/ G1 VAA kit - well another scratch aid just etches , maybe one day I will start it Robert .

Lovely work with the walling, lovely looking layout.

These look very good and should encourage IRM to get RTR project moving! The work on the end pallet clamping system and brake gear is a good modification as the castings are very fine, but weak. Robert

Great looking layout, Given nothing shouted about it is hard to establish scale and gauge used. To me the mark of a great layout. It is only comments from TT100 - itself a give away that this is a 3mm layout! So congratulations on showing the premier scale in such a good light. Despite the old call of its just a box the EM1 and EM2 locos are a mass of subtle curves - and a mass of grills that in any scale a good model is a target to achieve. These look the part which must be satisfying. I will miss the show but hope you have fun and can promote the 3mm world. Robert

Hi Often down to ensuring tractive effort effective, electrics lighter than diesel locos so slipping on a bo - bo compared to a co- co diesel more of a problem but two bo-bo locos likely to less affected by wheel slip on the Northern Hills given heavy tonnages on offer. Robert

Exciting work and I hope you succeed and have plenty of fun. Robert

Hi , Slow to comment as a working PC and time overlapping a rare occurrence but great wagon works just a another 20 to do ! This best way to ensure IRM crew release one or mutiple packs ... Robert

Hi Just to add a great day had with layouts, cakes and chat at top of the game! Thanks also to Simon, Jerry for getting all the ducks in a line so well for us the punters It was good to chat with Bob who was worrying plasticard strips into a signalbox making it look so easy and also Lawrie with is painting skills on little people and some not so little people, his 1950s pin up models were wonderful! Thanks to all above for the great pics as well. Robert

I have also read of using a piece of brass wire on the outside as a "fishplate" soldered across. Robert

Hi I used a set of 2mm soc cast brass chaired sleeper unit, filed foot of the code 55 and a tad more to match the code 40 rail , slicing the sleeper unit lengthways and gluing to a length of plasticard to get sleeper unit height to match. Looking at you picture a notch filed in the foot and a a flat head brass screw in your holes and solder on top would seem to do the job. robert

Opened as planned with 20 then 50 TSR through XC services again - some were DBC - Demand beyond capacity and yesterday only enough drivers for basic hourly service but apart from a repeat TCF in New Forest just about ran per the plan. Pictures seen during build were good with plenty of good works done , I think one farmer did well with getting a road built. Robert

Defo off to splash the cash for the N gauge version possible! It does look very good. Robert

The hook and link couplings mean you get a lovely effected of picking up each wagon in turn, must be lovely to watch , 11 of 28 is a good leap thanks for showing progress Robert

One drawback to reduced manning levels and changes in operations is the loss of a "secondman" in the cab - the years spent in understudy mode in a cab surely helped in road awareness and experiences that no process driven management lead training school can ever hope to match. I suspect we will never have the luxury for second staff up front and for a zillion valid reasons I am sure they would not be needed or desired within the industry. In the lulls between incidents in my work area talk often spins on to the "do you remember when xxx when wrong, some younger colleagues hear about larger accidents and bigger near misses with historical and geographical references that they did not know happened. A recent rail break on the Crosscity, within a fishplate was another Hither Green but was spotted first and quite a few had never heard of it. I await report with interest and hope it will feature in the active discussions within the industry. Robert