Derekl

Quite - the Gautrains are the 375s. My mistake 🤔

Gautrain was to be straightforward following tried and tested methods and materials. I suspect it was easy to adopt easily obtainable British standards, rather than creating a new standard. It has always struck me that there are no "bells and whistles" - signalling is straightforward and the trains are effectively 376s - even the seating is more or less the same - there are a few enhanced luggage areas. The front end treatment differs, as there is no through gangway between sets, which are 4 not 3 carriage. The first set was imported fully completed, the rest were in "kit" form and assembled at the Heidelberg factory (it was Union Carriage and Wagon, I am not sure who owns it now). Note that Bombardier Transportation was one of the partners in the consortium that constructed the lines, which may have something to do with vehicle selection. There is also a fair amount of sub-surface running and it may be that a reduced loading gauge (as opposed to the usual SA gauge) was attractive - much of the tunneling is through rock. I was impressed by the stations and the ticketing system, although that has glitched once or twice. There are fairly high levels of security, with plenty of security personnel at stations and in the trains, which avoids one of the big problems that PRASA has (had, I suppose, as it isn't very effective at present).

A part of the answer to this sort of scam may be not to use a phone to deal with this sort of activity. The small screen may make it less easy to see oddities which might otherwise serve as a warning and may be more obvious on a larger screen.

I didn't get very far, but I thought I would post. I checked the on-line manual, which is helpful. CV5 was set to 255, CV53 to the default setting (130). I altered it up a bit (to 150) to no effect, other than to decrease the range on the controller (that is, maximum achieved at around speed step 20, or below, with no perceived speed increase above that). I ran the automatic calibration as recommended in the manual (basically setting CV54 to 0, leaving programming and pressing F1 - the loco runs fort about 2 seconds and that is supposed to set the CVs 51 to 55 to optimum settings). The loco seemed a bit smoother after that, but it is difficult to tell. I noted that the ESU decoder will detect and run on 12 volts DC, so I stuck it on a rolling road and did 20 minutes in each direction at a modest 12v DC setting (ie, not flat out). Result is that it is smoother, but still fairly slow - about the scale 50 mph mentioned above (although I do not have the equipment to check that accurately. There we are - looks like I will have to live with it, although ti is not a serious problem.

Many thanks for the helpful replies. To deal with each in turn: "Can you replace the decoder temporarily with the blanking plate and see how it performs on DC?" I don't have the blanking plate - the decoder was fitted by the supplier and the blanking plate was not supplied (it should have been). It occurs to me to try it on 12v DC through the decoder - most are supposed to work on DC. "I presume you mean an ESUI decoder. I believe they have a means of resetting the speed. Have a look on their website and look for references to (I think) CV54" "If its an ESU decoder, CV5 is maximum speed, 255 is maximum, cv53 can also affect the speed, make sure its above 100" Thank you - CV5 is set to 255 - I will check CV53 or 54 (possibly after having a look at the manual). "Is this the Bachmann Standard Class 5? The gearing on these locos is quite low so they are not very fast to start with. have two of these and, using Traincontroller speed measurement, their top speed is no more than about 55 MPH. I'm happy with that on my layout. " It is the Standard Class V. That is interesting - I would be OK with around 55 mph, but my impression is that it is a lot slower than that. (Okay, my impression may be wrong.....) Many thanks for your helpful replies. I will do some more investigation and post if I get anywhere.

I have a Bachmann Class 5 with an ECU (non-sound)chip fitted by Olivia's Trains before delivery. The loco runs very slowly on my NCE Powercab. Maximum speed appears less than about 20 mph equivalent. I have reset it by setting CV8 to 8, but that made no difference other than reprogramming it to address 3. There are no speed problems with any other locos, including Bachmann. Any thoughts?

I kind of wonder about some of these advices. I am now 70 and having been using various enamel paints - Humbrol, Airfix (as was) and others since age of about 15 and I am still alive. I don't think any of the health problems I have had have been paint related. I suppose if you are younger it may be wise to be cautious.

Well, totally off-topic, but then most of the above is and some of it a bit ill-tempered. Reading it prompted my thoughts on slightly erratic running through pointwork of a fairly new Bachmann Fairburn 2-6-4T. And lo and behold, on checking back to back with a gauge, the front driving axle is a minuscule too tight - pushing the gauge in resulted in a slight adjustment so that it now works. All the other wheels were correct. I do know I will have to keep an eye on it - the wheel-set may well be loose. On topic. it does seem to me that not only was this answered on about page 2 or earlier - no we don't need a new standards setting body as nobody will bother to follow it, not to mention the additional argument about what standards to set......... It is quite amusing watching people who I presume are grown adults squabbling in public, though......

Sorry - I didn't notice the link. It would be helpful had it been stated when listing admission cost, which is where it is most relevant. But there we are - to each his/her own......

It would be useful if, when posting this sort of advice, you could specify whether cards are accepted or it is cash only. I suspect many, like me, no longer carry cash as it usually isn't needed.

I renewed last year on-line without any problem, although I d have a valid passport. Arrived two days later, as somebody mentions above. The recommendation for bi-annual eye tests is a general health recommendation after age 60 or 65, I am not sure which. I have been having them for a while, as I need reading glasses. Also not a bad idea for identifying possible eye conditions early. I was a bit taken aback on one of these tests a few years back to be told that my previously very good distance vision had deteriorated to be marginal for driving, something I had not noticed. So now I have driving glasses as well. Not really a problem, but if your vision has deteriorated and you manage to have a little accident, and then you get asked to read that number plate in the near distance and you can't, things might get interesting....

It is noted in one of the magazines (after CJF took over) that the intention was to go to monthly publication, but that the shortage of paper prevented them doing so.

What are you using to power the CDUs? I am not sure whether that makes many difference, but my own experience with these motors was that two would throw on a 16V AC supply without a CDU with no problem, so this doesn't make sense - there must be something wrong with the power supply.

Could you swap the two left hand points and see what happens (if you haven't tried that already).

As others have said it is the positioning of the point motor under the point. It is slightly off so that the inbuilt switch in the motor is not properly moving from one contact to the other. You should be able to see that on inspection. Replacing the motor doesn't help, because you simply put it in the same position and so replicate the problem. The loosened motor works with the board in the "wrong" position (presumably held vertically) because the motor can move sufficiently to enable the switch to work properly. It is a bit fiddly to adjust the motor but that is the way out - I have had a similar problem in the past.

Following on he point about a Jinty not fitting in the Airfix shed, were these sheds used for storing "off duty" locomotives or were they provided so that there was a covered area in which to work on them? I suppose steam raising and preparation are probably done more comfortably under cover (although I suspect "comfort" here is relative) and I suppose also that any serious work was done elsewhere, but were these sheds (that is, on the end of a branch line) actually used as an overnight parking spot?

The film is available on Youtube - search for "Obsession 1949 Youtube" on Google and it will appear. It is an interesting watch - apparently the US TV detective in Colombo based his character on the Brett Newton depiction. RM handed out a copy of the first issue with their February print subscriber issue this year, although that is not of much use to you. For those interested, teh print subscription also gives access to the digital archive.

I had the impression that she/he did not realise that the train could not stop and expected it to do so. Must have been quite a frightening experience.

Sorry, although I hesitate to correct such a detailed and clear exposition, but this isn't right. The HD 3 rail system was positive centre rail and return via outer rails, which were electrically connected. You could only stop a loco moving by putting it into an isolated section. Trix Twin used 3 rail plastic (Bakelite?) based track with all rails electrically isolated, which enabled one loco to return to one of the outer rails and operate independently of another returning (or feeding) from the other rail. Meccano Limited seems to have been taken over by Lines Brothers in about 1964, as far as I can make out.

Union Castle had two services to Cape Town - the Southampton mail-boats which did the trip in 10 days, calling at Las Palmas en route (one famously managed to ground itself there). The other service was from Tilbury Docks and ran to Rotterdam, Las Palmas and Cape Town, taking 14 days. I went to South Africa on that service (Durban Castle) in December 1956 (aged 5, but I do have some memories). I suspect it was cheaper which is why we were on it. I think both services carried on up the South African coast, calling at Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban, so the turn around times would not reflect those on the New York crossings. A post above mentions the Dominion Monarch - my late mother and part family went out to South Africa just after WW2 on the ship. It went via the Suez Canal and they alighted at Durban. She had fond memories of the trip - she must have been 14 or 15 at the time.

Not quite, as usual there are complexities - it requires that the insurer not charge more than the charge to new customers coming from the same "channel" - so if you bought through a price comparison site then the renewal premium should not be greater than the charge to new customers on the site at the time of renewal. But if you bought through a different comparison site, or, as happens, checked the policy price on the comparison site and then went to the insurer direct, they do not have to match the proposals to new customers on the comparison site, but proposals to new customers that come to them direct. So if, like me, you have received a renewal proposal, found the police cheaper on a comparison web-site, then reverted to the insurer direct to secure the lower premium, the insurer is not bound to offer you a price at the same or lower level than the comparison site, only at the same or lower level than a new customer in your position approaching them direct. You describe it as "illegal" - it is a breach of an FCA rule. I cannot see what the penalties are.

Yes, the law has changed, but the OP's quote complied - it was lower than the price he paid last year. Was it LV? I had something similar - renewal quote for £x - checked on-line and LV offered to insure me for £x - £50, which I sorted out with a phone call. The impression I had was that this is not exactly unknown - the call handler expressed no surprise.

There was and is statutory provision for govenment owned bodies to self insure, which is the Indemnity shown by the disc. Not uncommon and used by many government type authorities - some police, for instance, self insured, although I think most at this sort of time made use of Municipal Mutual (now defunct). BR self insured for rail related risks, although I would not be surprised to hear that they had insured for a £1 million excess for road accidents. All claims went initially to BRB Claims Office (based at Paddington) who dealt with a negotiated settlment much as any insurer would (this includes claims against BR as rail operator). If litigated, the claim went to BRB Solicitors Office (based, I think, in the office block at Marylebone) who dealt with it as a solicitor instructed by an insurer would. BRB paid the claims if settled - if subject ot an excess (which would apply to very few if £1million), they would recover the balance above that amount from whoever insured. BRB were instructed to go to the market at sometime in the 1980s to get insurance. In the event, the best proposal they received was more than twice the cost of meeeting the claims and running the Claims Office and Solicitor's Department, so it didn't happen, probably because insurers were unable to assess the risk and unwilling to take any chances. Later, of course, following privatisation, TOCs took out insurance (they could not self insure under statutory provision). I don't know what sort of quotes they got. Railtrack/NR must also have insurance provision, although NR could fall wihin the statutory indemnity if it so chose. Sorry this is way off topic for colour of BR road vehicles, but sionce the insurance issue was raised I thought I would clarify. Information comes from discussion with ex BRB Solicitors Office people.

Good idea, but thing like ship's propellers come from outfits like Sheffield Forgemasters, the size of which is likely to more than dominate the average model railway. The bells seem to be going to a church in Uckfield, which is presumably a bit of a one off. Interesting that all but one are placed, as one might expect, on end, but one seems to be placed on its side.

I am also starting a layout with DCC. I found the use of the controller (I use NCE) to change points unsatisfactory and am busy installing DCC Concepts panel as ITG above. Not particularly difficult although some parts are fiddly. There is superb guidance in manuals which makes the task fairly straightforward. There is a wide range of information on their web-site (under Manuals/Advice) and you would be well advised to look for answers there. Their support service is excellent if you have any specific queries or problems. Their producsts also seem to be well-made and well-designed. I have only been using them for about a year but I haven't noticed any potential probkems. No connection other than satsified customer.