James

Might some more somewhere but for now I hope these help!

Like this? http://eastmoor.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/western-brakegear-final-conclusion.html Works very nicely with the Heljan model. Having looked at the Dapol model I think it too would benefit from selective use of the brake gear from the Brassmasters set.

The old child proof tops turned out to be quite James proof too most of the time!

Stirring full tins only makes it go off quicker! Unless you're doing a large job I would do the following. Using something like a a screw driver, remove a lump of pigment and place in something like a plastic bottle top (I use Diet Coke tops as they're white and good for mixing colours in) and then thin either with some of the carrier from the tin or your preferred thinners. Doing it this way works everytime for me, regardless of when I bought the tin. Hope this helps.

The rumours we hear aren't quite so optimistic! The Hensall and Sudforth resignalling is now back on track for August too now that Selby has been postponed. That's exactly what it shows - tells you which bit it is and the Points number, whic will refer to the number on the panel.

To my London based friends the 'norf' is anywhere north of Watford so to them at least, Yorkshire and Tyneside are very, very close!

York's A2, 60526 Sugar Palm? 60526 Sugar Palm by Gonzo-Geezer, on Flickr

Andy, of course people can change their mind. I do constantly. I've known Tim for a long time and for most of that time Mold has been discussed; just curious beyond the change of, rather than an additional project. That was all.

What happened to the Mold Junction project? You've been talking about that for years!

Two good value for money kit built wagons - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-D-S-KIT-BUILT-00-GAUGE-12Ton-VENT-VAN-BRASS-/400407347953?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item5d3a2342f1 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-D-S-KIT-BUILT-00-GAUGE-LOWMAC-BRASS-WAGON-/400407347718?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item5d3a234206

GBRf were previously using scrap wagons on 6B70 when it was running from Hull - they were rather optimistacally loaded too!

My box!!!

The colour light signal in the photo is the inner home - I didn;t say you clear it with the crossing open. Operation is clear the outer home, it shows a single yellow, and the 'distant' shows a double yellow and the inner home (the colour light in the photo on the approach to the crossing) is at red. Saves the signaller having to watch the board for the train to track and speeds up the train's approach into the platform. It also allows a relatively busy road (well at times due to British Aerospace using the road for access to be held up only for a minimum amount of time. They can end up with some nice long queues there at times! Brough East's signals also incorporate Brough West's signals to a certain degree so its station limits are much greater than you'd expect on the Down.

Just like much of Midland Mainline which remained traditionally signalled?! Remember that semaphores aren't normally replaced wholesale without other major changes than enthusiasts either don't see or don't notice - complete replacement of mechanical signals is normally the result of a switch from Absolute Block to Track Circuit Block. AB lines can be rationalised by simply closing boxes and making the sections longer or replacing them with Intermediate Block Sections. This is an 'express route' (mainline) in 2010 - TPE Class 170, 170304 at Brough by JamesWells, on Flickr Two signal boxes in view and one just out of sight round the corner! For the most part semaphores remain (and there were more for the slows once) but the signal on the approach to the crossing is one of a small group which has been installed. It allows the signaller at Brough East SB to pull off without having to bring the train to a stand at the home board with the crossing open to road traffic - it's exact positioning wass, I think, determined by the length of an HST. It's a good example of selective replacement of seamphores.

Not at all - mechanical points can be very heavy and over long runs require careful adjustment and maintenance. There are also regulations which state the maximum distance (440yds IIRC) from the box for machanical points. there's no limit on powered points.

Only those a long way from the box - all my semaphore signals are mechanical aside from the distants which ae powered. Even then there are some quite heavy pulls!

In N you'd get away with just the wire run posts I think. They''ll be quite small in N as they're quite small in real life! All is not what it seems... by JamesWells, on Flickr

Say the points, other than those just outside the box, are power points! And you'll need troughing whatever you do by this time!

There's so much variety then that could work just as well as some other solutions! The key is that follows a logical progression with the location's development. You might find that some of the existing semaphores could have been reused, even in their exisitng locations. Or even the odd retained signal may have been replaced by a colour light - in this case from a signalling point of view it would be treated in the same way as its machanical predecessor. And I'm sure people will help you as you get to that stage

I'm not an expert but here goes... What you describe sounds like the change from Absolute Block to Track Circuit Block. In this case you may not even be aware of the change from one to another. My box works AB on the mains one way and TCB the other and AB round onto a branch. As the mode of signalling changes on the mainline, the avergae enthusiast wouldn't realise that the box wasn't just as it had been for years. The first semi-auto colour light are some distance from the box - on a layout they probably would be some way off the scenic section. Other boxes I know offer a similar impression where the immediate area appears all traditional semaphores and only further away do colour lights take over. The nice solution maybe a mechanical box still working but have mostly semaphores with the odd signal replaced by a newer colour for variety? The box next to me had its section signal, a semaphore, repalced with a colour after the original blew down in a storm!

I actually wonder if it might just be annoying!

Not mine but a location I know very well http://www.flickr.com/photos/55769227@N03/6219697747/

I'm just passing on what I get told at work - so it depends weather you'd rather listen to someone there or the BBC. It's always possible but the cost implications would be considerable. It might even mean that it would be pushed back 'til next year.

Swingbridges are tempremental creatures - I probably have more experience of working on railway swingbridges than anyone else on here. There's a (non blockpost) signal box on top of Selby bridge too so it's a very complex beast. And it's not being repaired as such, more refurbished and renovated. Even if a new bridge was to be fitted it would be more than a weekend - the old workings/foundations would need to be removed and new ones installed in its place.

No it's not. The resignalling scheme has been put back specifically to allow the service to be maintained. The Selby blockade is going ahead. The cost of postponing auch a major blockade would be enormous. Remember the key services that way were due to be replaced with buses in part already - the York - Hull service will run, I believe, as York - Selby and Hull - Howden shuttles and the traffic for Potters will run via the Hull line either reverse at Gilberdyke (if top and tailed) or, more likely, use the Docks Branch and Walton Street to turn at Hull. We've recently had a weekend blockade on Selby which saw the coast - Sheffield/Donny trains using the single line alongside Hull Trains and a freight service - and we did it quite well too. TOC crews have the route knowledge for these diversions. A few timings were a little generous in parts - better this way with short term planning than too tight. frustratingly the last Hull Trains service on the Sunday night sat at Goole for 25 minutes waiting its booked departure time having arrived 23 minutes early!