adanapress

Bought an incomplete Dave Alexander 4mm kit, built very easily, and now painted it looks very well. However I made the mistake of fitting it with a power bogie from a Triang/Hornby Railcar R157, that now runs pretty well, but oh dear it now sits too high by about 4mmm and the buffers do not align with typical rolliing stock. The obvious answer - to replace with smaller dia wheels will lead to lower bogie frame mouldings grounding on the rail head (these are the excellent Heljan mouldings glued onto the ground down bogie side frames) and I'm loath to start again in that area. I think I'll put overscale buffer discs on which will just about do, despite not being as per prototype. Its all a learning curve ....sigh ...

Afternoon Gentlemen, what news is there of any serious work going on elsewhere along the line?

I think I recall that there is one or some in routine use on the Bolton Abbey / Embsay Heritage line. And someone mentioned Rothley on the Great Central. Again my memory is vague but I recall that when clearing scrub on an embankment slope on a section of the GCR ( Northern) they discovered a really remarkable hybrid survivor.

The comment about charging points reminds me of the Irish WW2 Drumm trains, which as I recall were pretty successful. But the bionic duckweed folk never heard of them of course.

I have an operational oo gauge diesel electric bo-bo loco, which I choose to call a 'class 18', entirely fictitious of course The story being that a stretched 08 was offered first to the overseas market (some reality in there) and the prototype (only) ''was eventually sold to BR''. Two 08 bodies butchered of course, etc etc Looks quite good in fact

And during WW2 and ?? after there were regular trains from Fishguard to RNAD Trecwn, where there were four platform faces, still existing, long unused, in the 80s. Other Ordnance Depots had services bringing in workers during WW2 eg a wide circuit round the various areas of Boston Spa depot, now the location for the British Library's reserve collection.

Then there was the Clapham Junction to Olympia trains 2 up and two down per day, I was told that these were for the National Savings Office staff, and then again told ' for Post Office staff'. Later on they seemed willing to allow Joe Public to use them

Regarding the EMB under the old R157 and the early Pullman and the Dock shunter. I run a fleet of these, and have a number 'gorn dead' on me. Can anyone say what the details of the electronic components within the wiring , on the live side wire coming up from the insulated pick up, in my case thats the plus side. The old Triang/Hornby service sheet reference reference for this part is X217. It was I thinkoriginally for suppression of TV interference. I'm hoping that todays equivalent bits are a deal smaller. Or maybe with the changes in TV, to digital and different frequencies, maybe they are no longer needed, All advice welcome.

Re ClassixT's comment about check rails outside the running rail, I think I have seen various versions of this, sometimes just an angle iron or some other bodge, actually on the bridge decks. I have always thought that this was to make sure any derailed vehicle plunged over the side.

I'm having a go with compressed air, like London Transport. Two lego technic pistons and tubing, will be gentle and less strain on soldered toe to tie rail joints. Fist tries look promising.

Someone mentioned that development of ex-MOD land at Bicester will call for rail connection in the form of a loop. I would observe that there are MOD tracks in existence now on that site (unhappy memories of Ordnance Depot Bicester) or recently were so, that form an almost complete loop complete with a small loco shed! and two stations.

I'm currently experimenting with compressed air as with London Transport. Rubber tubing connecting pistons from the Lego technics range. It might work, first tests say maybe, and be that bit softer on soldered point rail vital connections. We shall see how it goes. As for cost, certainly cheaper than some electric options.

In the period immediately before the goods yard tracks were lifted, and if you were a fairly senior railway officer, it was possible to have a truck loaded with former timber carriage partition wall units shunted right up against the buffer stops at Woodford (Snakes Lane) which was right against the stationmasters garden fence. One then manhandled the partitions over the fence, took out a million screws, and used the timber to build a garage etc etc etc. I know, I helped with the manhandling!

Between the present outer wall of Farringdon Station,by the widened lines platforms, and the nearby Farringdon Road, there used to be a (probably Great Northern owned) goods depot with maybe two terminating tracks. . It had a head shunt on a rather rising gradient, that ended well to the west directly under the second (trolleybuses only) road bridge above the Ray Street Grid Iron. I definitely saw from a passing Circle line train an 08 loitering by those buffer stops more than once. But I think this would have been early 60s or more likely mid to late 50s. Wether that 08 was working the depot or having a rest from banking in the Snow Hill area I never knew.

Can anyone advise me on the possibility of a stay alive wired simply in curcuit in typical 00 diesels, or indeed in steam models. I would only be seeking maybe one wheel revolution, perhaps one and a half.. I am definitely analogue, DCC is not for me, tho' I do know its available in the DDC world.. I do understand about the need for clean track and wheel discipline, and do my best, but a smidgin of 'freewheel' would be good ...

Just in passing, not exactly on this precise topic but had you noted a discovery in some bushes on the Great Central (northern) a few years back. It was a semaphore signal at first glance quite ordinary, but with a slide holding two coloured lenses that the signalman moved up and down in front of a qhite lamp. At least that what I understood, a sort of halfway stage towards colour lights. It was intact and complete and duly saved. .

Agree entirely with what has been said above, One other thing needs to be beaten into the skulls of the senior levels of all departments of the Civil Service, if a bit of paper, no matter how fancy, has a cash value it will,l it will, it will, be forged. From passports through union cards in the old days in Fleet Street right down to certificates of competence of individual sub-contractors staff. Now matter how fancy, And how do I know?, 45 years in the security printing industry trying to stop the naughty boys.

I think I recall that the 1948-50s steam shuttle Woodford (etc) - Epping was a Gresley non-corridor 57 footer modified with end windows and controls to be push pull. This used to be in the excellent Ian Kirk range of kits, and here are others that might be relevant. In passing this was once derailed by blast when a Vampire jet taking off from RAF North Weald crashed in or adjacent to a slight cutting not far ahead of the train.

If you stand back and take a long term back view, clearly the movement is towards vastly fewer signal 'boxes' proceeding forwards to just a handful of signalling centres, operated by a tiny handful of vastly specialised staff. Now look at the French Air Controllers situation and regular actions, and one can begin to see a potential future problem. Dont ever say that the duck never quacked ........

Whilst I entirely agree with the general view of the Daily Mail these days, there was a time, maybe during and just after WW2 and perhaps before then, when any ambitious journalist badly wanted the D.M. on his CV, only seeing the Manchester Guardian (as it then was) as being a better pick from from all the rest of the pack. Different Editor and/or proprietor I suppose, sad really.

Going back to the original subject, much of this discussion has been about the trains coming from the North, via the special York Road platform, but what about the return services Northbound via platform 16 on the Surbuban side. The gradient was horrendous, and restarting from stop often produced violent slipping in both steam and diesel days. .

And the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway bogie coach, cut up 'by mistake' at Stratford, or was that the one the film company used in 'The Titfield Thunderbolt', or was that the one that has amazingly survived after being an agricultural store (God bless the NNR) - funny that, I thought there were only two such bogie coaches??

Going back to something Zomboid said, a while back, I thought the Acton incline to the WLL was indeed to be wired, after all it isn't vary far, or was this cancelled amidst all the other cancellations?

Re: Cambridge and Norwich Thorpe working together for early diesel maintainance. Geoff Ford DMP at Norwich had a lifelong friend in Teddy Kerr at Cambridge, (and indeed another in Terry Miller at Stratford, they called themselves 'the three musketeers', if you want to why and how the Eastern Region actuallly made money in their day then thats why!) Geoff and Teddy worked together very closely and sorted it all out between them. When Geoff died and Teddy's wife died, the two survivors then married. Thats how close the families were. I should know, Mrs Miller tried to teach me play the piano!

Re Traction change times, I think everyone has forgotten what was routinely achieved at Rickmansworth in the days gone by, with LT 4th rail locos changing to Steam. It was amazing to watch.