colin penfold

Is that just an extension of the Norwich-Cambridge service as was Dave, or new extra trains?

Refreshingly straightforward statement, not trying to blame signalling problems or colorado beetle....Abellio N.B.

I observed a 4 car set crossing the A1075 near Thetford this morning. The crossing operated correctly but the unit was vislibly travelling very slowly, unusually so from my limited experience.

Croydon aerodrome anyone? https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/254445534503?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=254445534503&targetid=522579855063&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9044862&poi=&campaignid=6744139863&mkgroupid=78343141366&rlsatarget=aud-629407026665:pla-522579855063&abcId=1139126&merchantid=6995734&gclid=CjwKCAiAob3vBRAUEiwAIbs5TvaEGgJda_y7pMltJjfzL1xY09ymC0GiAtPZmNMVd0ldwqlIAvkptxoCBpQQAvD_BwE

better than having shingles

Today as planned I got the boiler bands on I then tested the mating of body and chassis And then got on with cleaning up over-soldering, and drilling holes for handrail knobs, boiler fittings etc. Here's a preview with some major ones loosely fitted... No updates for the next few days as the inconvenience of work is about to be reintroduced into my life

today has been spent on the boiler. I had to cut rather more from the bottom than I had hoped, to clear the motor and gearbox, but it doesn't really show once it's in the frames. Smokebox wraps and supports and firebox front added. Just boiler bands to add, then the frames and boiler can be united as one unit.

A good day today Picked up where I left off yesterday with the cab. Roof shaped and rain strips added, all soldered up Cab front soldered to footplate, sides soldered to front Then got the splasher parts together, shaped and soldered into place The splashers inside the cab were tricky. I folded up the parts and tried them in position. They looked a bit odd as a gap was left in the floor When I tried joining the chassis and footplate together I found the splashers fouled the wheels. I cut away the offending face and remade the splashers to bridge the gap that was previously left. I had to make a small allowance for the backhead which fitted fine when I had the splashers wrong! Notwithstanding that little remake, I have had a good day and ended up with something that is starting to look a bit like a loco

Today I fitted the brakes and painted the underframe as planned. Here is a close up of how the brakes are fixed to the frames. 0.05" plastic rod through the brake blocks and plastic tube sandwiching the frame giving spacing, fixing and insulation all together Here's a pic of the assembled frames, painted black I then moved on to the superstructure. First job is the under-footplate valance. The instructions saycto use scrap. I had some thin strips of brass left unused from the Ford railcar kit so i sweated them together to double thickness. Filed and cleaned they look just right I had enoughh time to cut out and shape the cab front and add the spectacle frames and add the beading on the cab sides. Positioned as a dry test it looks pretty good

I fear the wurst....

I'm selling them for £50 less but I haven't got any... And if my Auntie had boll-*cks she'd be my Uncle.

Hattons advent offer today https://www.hattons.co.uk/newsdetail.aspx?id=626&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=mar-0459-12dealsday2&fbclid=IwAR08rLYxVcO5_1pseFR3ecQFInpZk9YXpG-eswNNYvrqyjmFdZZyqCQJ24E

Welshpool & Lambfair ???

some decent progress today on brake gear and pick ups mostly. First though, my query from yesterday was partly solved. I had a look again at the etch and found some components which were not shown in the parts list or in the instructions, but do in fact provide the relief detail on that bare area I was worried about, thus I then gathered the brake components together to have a bit of a plan. There was a thin etched option and a big chunky cast option for the brake blocks and although the shape of the etched ones is better, the appearance of the cast won the vote. I had to open up some hoes in the castings and then I looked at how the arrangement would work. There is a nice casting for the brake cylinder and two for brake adjusters. No idea where they go so I soldered them inside the pull levers, as they give a secure support for the brake rod I then assembled the pull rods and brake blocks with supporting pins made of plastic rod and Plastic tube, in an attempt to insulate the metal brake parts from the frame When I tried the brakes in position, the coupling rods fouled on the brake rods when the former were at their lowest point of travel. I then had to solder the pull rods to the very bottom of the brake blocks to clear, instead of using the drilled holes to make a more secure join I also soldered the brake cylinder in place and ensured that the actuator rod would fit across from pull rod to pull rod via the cylinder Having now got sub assemblies for each side of the brakes I put them to one side whilst I did the pick ups (Slaters sprung) That's it for today. I think I will fix the brake parts into position tomorrow, and give the frames a coat of paint before moving on to the superstructure.

Antics latest advent offer may be of interest Rob https://anticsonline.uk/N750_GWR/105152904_Bachmann-32-007-GWR-4920-Dumbleton-Hall.html

It lives! Really pleased now that the chassis is properly soldered up with all the cross members in place she runs nicely in both directions. Pick ups and brakes to fit before I move on to the superstructure. I do feel this bit of the frames needs some detailing. I'm going to ask Laurie if there is something I've missed in the kit and if not, see if I can make something up Portion of photograph c DL Bradley

The prescribed method for legitimate re marking of previously marked items is to add an x before and after the marked code, and then add your own mark below or next to the original.

Again today I have put in lots of hours and achieved very little. I am unsure as to the positions of the firebox front and ashpan which in turn need to fit in between the folded chassis spacers. I'm also uncertain as to how the firebox is supposed to sit in relation to the footplate. I've emailed Laurie for help with these questions as there is no exploded diagram with the instructions. I have managed to solder the front and back spacers today and the chassis is still nice and square and a bit more rigid than it was with the screw-in ones. Whilst waiting for some guidance from Laurie i decided to do a couple of easy bits so I have soldered the draw bar to the footplate and the buffers to the front buffer beam. I also added the cosmetic overlays to the springs.

Oh

Hi G, 1 I assembled the chassis with the screw-in spacers and wanted to test the coupling rods for fit and free movement before committing to soldering the frames permanently. As I said earlier, the spacing of the holes in the coupling rods didn't line up with the spacings of the crankpins. My original "solution" to that was to open out the holes until the rods fitted onto the crankpins and turned without fouling. Unfortunately that introduced too much slop which then caused problems. I have now soldered the bearings into the outer ends of the rods and just left the centre one slotted now. That's removed the slop and the middle one just moves enough to allow free movement. Yeah I know it's a bodge but.... 2 Unfortunately I think it's going to be too tall but I will have a look at it when I am a bit further advanced with the build - thanks for the idea 3 I attach a quick sketch which hopefully answers this although you'd probably be better to look at the MSC site http://www.mscmodels.co.uk/motor-gearboxes which has all the dimensions

This looks like a useful little gadget for positioning your smartphone for layout photography. No @Andy Y its not a bag of rice, sorry https://www.sevenpaper.net/products/portable-pocket-card-phone-holder?fbclid=IwAR3f7soRiMhHWUiMgbkx5sUrVTmvU0EHAYrizmTr3TPw2ghWtlTp_0R8amY

Apologies for the slow progress but remember I'm very much a beginner. Spent some time this afternoon thinking about the location of the final frame spacers. I checked the chassis against the footplate. There are two holes in the footplate, presumably for bolting the two assemblies together. That dictates/guides the position of front and rear spacers. The third one will be placed centrally and in conjunction with the rear one will provide a mounting point for the plasticard mounting plate for the speaker. That will prevent shorting the speaker on the frames. Jeremy at Digitrains will be pleased at that as he's getting a bit fed up sending decoders back to Zimo when I fry them! I learned from this exercise that the motor can't face rearwards as it will foul the cab. It will need to face forwards towards the smokebox. I have provisonally poitioned the additional "flat" spacer in front of the centre spacer to act as a limiter for any movement of the motor/gearbox. Not sure if that's necessary as the motor will be in the boiler and if I wrap it in foam insulation the boiler will hold it in place. Here are two photos of the planned arrangements, from above and below. Views/thoughts welcomed.

I have now assembled a rolling chassis with coupling rods. It's still on the screw-in frame spacers at present. I am reasonably happy now to go forward and solder the chassis. The chassis currently runs well down to a slow speed on the rolling road. It is slightly odd in that it runs smoothly for a while and then starts to "catch" when one rod is at dead center. I think that might be down to flex in the chassis so I need to solder it up to eliminate that as a potential cause. I do honestly believe I have eliminated any tightness in the rods now. If anyone observes any issues in the attached video I would welcome the input.

It's like everything Ian, it's not the rucksack Per Se, it's the individual wielding it. Happens everywhere in crowds, not just in model railway shows. I take a rucksack myself, but it's small and frameless. Change of underwear, sponge bag, travel items and the odd purchase(!) fit in nicely. I take it off my back and when I get into a crowded area I hold it in front of me where I have control of it and then it's in my personal space not somebody else's. I pop it on the floor between my feet whilst watching layouts. One alternative I saw a couple of yesterday was a shopping trolley on wheels and they are certainly no better. I also saw someone wheeling a suitcase around. Wide berth given! I agree with you that rucksack are a part of modern life and banning them is a ludicrous idea.

Reading the article about the layout in Railway Modeller, the spelling is authentic and as it's their first exhibition I'm guessing they were getting pretty sick of smart remarks about the spelling by about 10am yesterday.....