Kelly

They effectively tried this in the 1980s with the Class 210 prototypes. It proved too costly unfortuately. Also, I suspect that had they tried it earlier, they might have gone with a Sulzer 6LDA28 over a 6SRKT to have commonality with the 33s. Though the 4SRKT had commonality with the 73s. The traction equipment was the more important aspect I expect.

Will have to see later if we can find the manual for the car and figure opening the boot, as it'd be much easier if that were possible. The car is pretty much scrap, but it is not a priority to deal with presently.

Morning. Hope all are well? If not, best wishes as appropriate as usual. The ankle is aching a lot this past couple of days, probably because of GETS Sunday. The show was good, but I was not too impressed being unable to access the two balconies with no lifts or any indication of a lift if I didn't see one. I'm hopeful I'll be more mobile next year and be able to manage the stairs, but this year it was a definite no, so I missed some of the layouts I'd wanted to see sadly. Accessibility is important and this will be a big factor over whether I return to the venue I think next year. Anyway, that aside. Today finally batteries arrived for my mobilty scooter. They were only ordered on the 16th September! DPD Local managed to lose them in Hinckley, around 5 miles from here. It took me a week or so to get in touch with CareCo about the whereabouts of said batteries mind, due to illness, they did what they could I guess and sent out a replacement package. It would have been helpful to have had the batteries ahead of Scaleforum and GETS, but ho hum! next job is to drag the scooter out of my old car (which might be interesting as the battery has gone totally flat and the central locking not working means the boot won't open!) and test them after a full charge. Hopefully they work and I'll have the scooter ready for Warley, which will make a big difference. Nothing much else to report. Poppy is currently watch Richard in the kitchen, I can't think why, might have something to do with sausages and bacon??

They also sadly are rather dull, like a lot of units sadly. Theres a reason things like the HST and APT get done.

I've heard it said from a number of sources that E/DMUs can be difficult sellers unless they're something iconic (such as APT, APT-e, 800, HST etc) and the more hum drum types are often difficult sellers, especially after the first or second batches. How many people are buying Bachmann 4CEPS at near £400 each I wonder? the EPBs and 350s were getting heavily discounted, as were the 2Bil and 2Hal after the initial batches. So a 4/5 car Electrostar is going to be a difficult proposition I think. Maybe we'll see a 4mm one eventually, but for now we'll just have to be a touich jealous our 2mm friends get them (and the 319, etc). Who knows though, there could well be one in the works somewhere (note, I am not saying I know this for sure, just wishful thinking!).

I'm sure eventually they'll get around to certain liveries, but the 'flashier' liveries are probably the focus i guess. Theres been a lot of the special/one off liveries the past couple of years for a number of units though, so maybe that is their current focus. Unfortuately with their state of finances, they are more than ever likely to cater to the collector market than the modeller market I expect, which means BG/IC are last on the list if they're doing that. Accurascale and others are much more modeller focused (being modellers themselves) and so they are likely to do the likes of BG etc first as they'll know there'll be demand.

None of the local ones here wany any books or otherwise sadly. Moving out of my flat into my other halfs house has rather forced a downsizing of the book collections and DVD collections. CD collection trimming and vinyl collection trimming will probably have to follow when we get to those boxes. Not something I like doing, but needs much. At least with the DVDs and CDs I can get something, even if it is pennies sometimes compared with the books which I can't really get anything for.

We can never accurately predict the future and we might get surprised with how popular it might be (or might not be), if theres money to be made most companies are going to give it a serious consideration. Of course they probably have plenty on their plate atm, but down the line, who knows? Heljan seems to be quite keen on it though, though they're pricing higher than Hornby are which might be interesting to see how it pans out. Anyway, back to the suggestions... How about the first nuclear flask wagon, from the 60s, would look impressive alongside the KUA in a old vs modern thing. That or of course a 501 unit (and other 57ft stock of course).

Sad news indeed. A very inspirational modeller who will be much missed.

These days the discs are not much more than drm checks as the content on them is outdated before they even ship. Sadly either a new update has broken something or you have developed a hardware fault.

Richard is very much alive and well. His washer dryer is however junk. But my washing machine that was going to be surplus works fine at least, which saves paying for a new washing machine at least.

Natalie and myself are doing OK thanks. We're both tired from a busy weekend at SCaleforum. That and in my case trying to get the moving out of my flat finished off (including getting the washing machine today as Richard's decided Friday was a good day to die!). I saw ChrisF briefly at Scaleforum, though I didn't get chance to talk with him.

If it is a diesel it might be the EGR or the DPF. Sometimes a good blast along a motorway to get plenty of heat through both can clear such problems. YMMV however. Kelly

If you plan on keeping them forever then it is not relevant for you. But it can be for others. People are increasingly consuming digital media sources, especially streaming and so being able to buy a physical copy might not be possible in time. Quite how long that time is is unknowable precisely, but probably fairly soon in terms of decades as demand declines.

I have a pretty decent vinyl record collection thanks! no need for asking my dad about those particular items. DVDs and CDs are virtually worthless after you've bought them in a lot of cases, the same is true for paperback books. Pre-pandemic charity shops made a good amount off of these products, but with the lockdown and people doing clear outs, they've pretty much all stopped accepting books, dvds and cds and places like CEX will give you pennies for your DVDs. Second hand games hold some value (Nintendo especially), but only for the latest console generations. PC games are pretty much entirely digital already, the DVD in the box these days if there is one is pretty much just a paperweight as the code and account is the real product, often via steam. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft all get 30% of every transation on their console stores, they get a much smaller cut of the disc games. Simple economics for those companies will see why they are all wanting to and pushing to subscription or digital only. It is not a matter of if, but when now. Of course retro gaming has had somewhat of a blow up in the last few years, so older games on cartidge especially have shot up in value (Super Mario 64 for $millions??).

Afternoon All, Hope all are well? best wishes etc as appropriate. Yesterday proved a rather tiring day of physiotherapy and some shopping. Then the rest of the day was sleep/rest. Today has been fairly lazy, but I have a few things to get on with at least. Saturday/Sunday I'll be in Stafford and whilst I'm there, Richard will be transferring the bookcases across from my flat, and then one, maybe two trips will see it ready for clearance.

I wonder if those still with Economy 7 meters will get the best of it in terms of rates, though I suspect they're slowly becoming less common. My flat still has one, but it won't be my flat for very much longer I expect.

I'd imagine the BoB/WC/MN would be seen by Simon as a range staple like they viewed the Terrier, so anyone proposing a new one has to weigh up if there is already one being worked on by Hornby, and if Simon views it as strongly as the Terrier, then they'd go ahead regardless of competition. On mentioning the Manor, didn't Dapol just release a new version?

I'm guessing they've been under supplied by surprise or there has been a problem with the production causing less than expected acceptable models. Equally costs could have increased to make the batch sizes difficult. All speculative of course though. Hopefully they'll do further runs and satisfy customers. I guess the Hornby offering will still be available to fill some of the gap.

Afternoon all. Hope everyone is doing OK? If not usual best wishes. This morning was physiotherapy appointment. Physiotherapist happy with progress and that I'm not needing the boot anymore. They were considering discharge, but as I put my back out last week I was a fair bit shaky and unsteady with the crutches, though the ankle movement was deemed good. 6 weeks time and assess again for discharge. Otherwise see the consultant next month, possibly the last time as long as the xrays look OK. In other news yesterday we went over to the flat and shifted the last of the boxes. Not much to move now, bookcases will be moved by Richard's sister with a van while I'm in Telford with Natalie for guilder. Then just final bits before arranging for a house clearance, no idea how much that will cost!

NER P4/P7 and NCB hopper wagons would probably be a good option, especially with the variety of NCB locomotives being produced in recent years (Hornby, Hattons, Dapol etc). They were both long lasting and a pack of 4 would probably be good for a number of potential small layout plans (including my own admittedly!). Coupled with a suitable NCB industrial locomotive with widespread use it could be a joined up thinking success I think.

The print magazine industry in general has seen a decline over the last 5-10 years especially, possibly also hastened by the pandemic. A number of publications have ceased operating (mainly Tech and Craft related, no hobby related that I know of yet).

Xcloud in TVs already exists. Samsung Smart TVs come with it preinstalled now. Theres rumoured of a Xbox Series Y HDMI stick coming later this year or next year.

Afternoon all. Hope all are well, best wishes for those suffering. iD hope you're not too sore for too long and Baz hope your family member has some good news soon. Nothing much really to report. Another day where I'm feeling decidely achy with my back and too hot most of the time. Another quet day resting I expect today.

Plus yesterday it was announced one of the photo etching companies (Photo Etching Consultants Ltd. IIRC?) has ceased trading. This will cause some ripples of disruption to etch kit suppliers as people scramble to retrieve their artwork and source their etching elsewhere, which will naturally cause a bit of a bubble effect of delays. Hopefully most people will be graceful about such delays and understanding of price increases if things are clearly communicated. I wouldn't want to be a small business or sole trader right now though!