Phatbob

I've struggled with this one. It's like being asked to pick your favourite child! So, I'm going to be greedy and answer the question twice. Favourite three shows as a punter: 3rd Stafford. big show, local, high quality exhibits, great trade, great catering. 2nd Wigan. big show, local, very high quality of exhibits (dare I say the best from that perspective?) great trade. 1st Warley. Biggest and best. high quality of exhibits, biggest rade of the year, and on the basis of "pence per layout seen" quite the bast value for money of the year. Favourite three shows as an exhibitor: 3rd York. Big show with masses of high quality layouts, but still has that "friendly local club show" feel about it as an exhibitor. Fantastic show, superb venue, great hospitality, good "apris-exhibition" with a 'do' on Saturday night and three days allows you to explore York and relax a bit, rather than, set-up, play trains, knock-down and bugg@r off at shorter shows, which can be exhausting. 2nd Liverpool. Scouse hospitality and "having the craic" is rightly legendary. Apris-exhibition is superb. 1st Barrow in Furness. Friendly local show with a real focus on quality layouts and fabulous hospitality that just leaves you wanting to come back again next weekend! ;-) The apris-exhibition is legendary. Finally, a special mention for the Model Show at Poynton. Being a model railway show AND a general model show, as a punter it's two quality shows for the price of one. As an exhibitor, really friendly bunch running the show, great venue, great hospitality, great apris-exhibition. Ticks all the boxes. :-)

The legend has it that all the signal boxes between Redhill and Tonbridge were instructed to make sure the train got a clear run witth all signals off well before the MLV got to them. The usual modus operandi was to pilot the MLV with an ED on diesel, but on at least one occassion an MLV made the trip without a loco attached.

I remember seing them used with Cromptons, EDs and Westerns in and around the Croydon area back in the day.

Some intersting information here, including photos of a replica under construction showing the brake gubbins inside the beast. http://www.rvp-ltd.org.uk/projectx/

My understanding is that initially they could be propelled as well as dragged and that the prohibition on propellinng them came later. I recall seeing an ED propelling one and dragging another on a southbound house coal concentration train at Clapham Jungle when I was a sproglet.

Don't forget good people, the proposal under discussion is for a trawl by the 3mm society. So sorry to cut-off discussions over UK 1:120 TT, but it's . SK and the Margate posse may well be connsidering introducing 1:120 in the UK, but Rapido's carrot is definitely a 3mm carrot! For what my opinion might be worth, I'd say new RTR should be engineered for 14.2mm, but supplied with 12mm wheelsets that'll work on PECO track.

Published after noon, so no, not a wind-up.

Having received today by e-mail Rapido Trains UK Newsletter No 3, I was intrigued by the following; "If you think that the humble BR Mk I coach would make a model that every 3mm:1ft modeller would want, why not tell the 3mm Society? Credit: COLOUR RAIL 3mm – Have your say  We've also made a couple of flippant comments about 3mm:1ft scale Class 28s in past newsletters. ANDY: Again, just a couple?! We might have made this scale seem like a bit of a joke but we’re serious: if there’s enough demand for a ready-to-run 3mm model to 21st Century standards, then we’ll consider making one. We have to be honest though. The 3mm market is so small that if we were to make something, every 3mm modeller would have to dip their hands in their pockets and buy one. The market's just not big enough to produce something that might only appeal to a fraction of it. So we're looking at vehicles that will find a home on all layouts, such as the Mk 1 coach (see above) or the 16t mineral wagon. With that in mind, we’ve had a chat with the 3mm Society and have devised the following plan. The society is to canvass its members over the summer via its newsletter in order to find out if there’s a 3mm model that would satisfy all. It will then report back to us and we can decide if such a project is financially viable. If you’d like to have your say, click here and sign up to the society's newsletter. We can make no promises but this is probably the best chance to see a 3mm:1ft ready-to-run model to 21st Century standards." In my case, I'd have a go at 3mm if decent RTR stock was available, so it's a bit of a catch 22. Some MkI coaches, 16t minerals, box vans and Brake van would certainly tempt me to have a dabble in 3mm.

Meir, this is another vote for the general excellence of the Bachmann EMU / DEMU power bogie. Between the three of us that have rolling stock for Star Lane ( ) we have a massive collection of Bachmann 4CEPs, 2EPBs, MLVs, 2HAPs and 2Hs. THe mechanisms in all of them have been faultless. I fear that you were just plain damn unlucky with your original thumper. HTH.

Oh yes, definitely. THe BR Std 4 was specifically built to have a better route availability than the Std 5. Very much a locomotive for backwaters and branches.

The best view of a Pacer is always one of it going away. A view of it coming towards you means that you might be about to board one of the hateful things.

Typo alert! It's Worsley works. HTH

I really enjoyed tonight's programme. I noticed Tim admit a particular appreciation for LMS concrete nouveau. Does thihs mean we'll get to see a feature on the Bleach Green viaducts in Northern Ireland I wonder?

Congratulations on coming up with a way of assessing the Customer Service Award that manages to make a truely meaningful result. Making a quantitative measure of something that is qualitative is never an easy task (been there, done that, failed miserably). Well done Andy Y and the BRM posse.

There are medieval devices in the London dungeon that are more comfortable than the seats in Thameslink’s Great White Worms (class 700 to those not familiar with that nomenclature). The last trains built for use in this country with a decent interior where the Class 175 DMUs (aka HIPPOS) IMHO. Unfortunately, for we fare paying punters, they’ll be going for scrap soon it seems. Everything built since then has varied between “uncomfortable” to “torturous”. The rail industry really has lost its way when it comes to comfort. Arguments about standards for crash worthiness, if true, really do need to be challenged. Risks are the product of the likelihood and consequences of a hazard. We all know that the likelihood of a train crash in the UK is extremely low, except perhaps for road vehicles on level crossings, which generally result in little consequence to the train! Road vehicles (e.g. busses) and aircraft must surely be subject to strenuous crash worthiness and fire protection standards, yet somehow their designers manage to come up with compliant seats that are comfortable and softly upholstered. Why is my bus to the station more comfortable than my train to London? The whole situation is a scandal. I see from previous posting that I’m not the only one who drives more often than they used to because of the prospect of an uncomfortable journey. I thought is was perhaps myself being overly petulant, but it seems that this really might be a real threat to the recovery of the railway after germageddon is finally over.

Tim, I'm glad you're including Huddersfield station. It's a personal favourite, and not just because it has TWO real ale pubs! Did you get to try the breakfast, or at least a bacon buttie, from the independent cafe on the island platform? Last, but by no means least, I presume that we are going to see Felix and Bolt make their National Television debut?

Pronouns can have gender and announs can't? I have to say chaps and chapesses, I am loving the banter in this thread.

Powering the rear wheels through a reduction gear and driving the "real" driving wheels with coupling rods are not mutually exclusive.

Personally, I think this is Jason endulging his well known sense of humour. However, if it is genuine and includes a GWR 0-4-2 tank loco, would Rapido please engineer it like their Stirling single, i.e. with the trailing axle driven and geared to synchronise with the larger driving wheels. This would produce a loco that would be a de facto 0-6-0, obviating the notoriously poor running of previous attempts to engineer an 0-4-2.

Me(ow)-euston, we have a problem.

Yes. It's an ecological disaster.

That was a signal crayfish. A nasty invasive species that we really could do with getting rid of. The underside of the claw is distinctly orange as it happens. The rest is more of a dull grey-brown for camoflague purposes. So not a very appetising appearance.

There were, I think, two types of Maunsell BSK (or BTK if you prefer). Four compartmant and six compartment. Maybe Oli decided to just split the difference and build all his with five compartmants?

Good point well made sir. The fly in the ointment for Stage 3 is whether or not it comes with any need for social distancing. I'm not aware of any layout than can be set-up or taken down while people all stay at least 2m appart! ;-)

I've used these guys in the past and can recommend them. http://shop.traintees.co.uk/ HTH, Bob