Les1952

I'm wondering about this concentration on building kits and scratchbuilding.. Looking at the various TT:120 forums on Facebook, the combined membership of which (at least the ones I know of) is over 5000 members, the vast majority of active members seem to be newcomers to the hobby. Indeed the majority of pictures posted show layouts that are little beyond train set ovals with short trains running at unrealistic speeds. Technically the most common question after "better controllers" and HM7000 appears to be "will Peco track join to Hornby?", followed by "what make of track pins should I use?" On at least one of these groups having come up with answers to a lot of these questions (repeatedly) I've been called a guru. This might be flattering but is far from correct. I think the majority of scratchbuilding and fine quality kit building will remain in the scales where it is now- 4mm and 3mm scales. That would mean 1:120 scale will tend to mostly use r-t-r stock which may be weathered and renumbered. The impetus for scratchbuilding and kitbuilding I believe will be on the scenic side- though an awful lot seem happy with ready to plant. Personally, I'm moving up a scale from N gauge. I spent about two hours yesterday struggling to persuade an N-gauge Hobbytrain coupling spring to go back into the ridiculously small enclosure it came from so I could sell the loco as a runner rather than as spare parts, so I'm not regretting moving upwards. I have mild dyspraxia which helps explain why OO gauge loco chassis I built in my younger days never ran well enough to satisfy me. I also now have repetitive strain injury and have arthritis developing- I often need a wrist splint. Those like NCB who "don't see chassis as a problem" I can only admire. But these gents are a minority in any scale, and becoming more so. Les

demonstrators Cardboard Works - John Fownes and team showing how to make magnificent model stock with the cheapest materials. Tony Wright Loco Clinic MERG- Model electronics for railways. 3D Printing demonstration, another stand from MERG. Weathering - Roger Garrett (subject to availability) Les

It won't look a lot like the real Broken Scar. It also refers to an injury I picked up in 1967 on what later became St Cuthbert's way when I hit a parked Mark 1 Cortina on my bike having flinched when someone roared past within a couple of inches of my pedals.... Les

Just about to get NO PLACE off the bench to get it ready for South Notts show on April 1st and 2nd. It will largely be without me for the weekend. Since I'm doing club sales the layout will be in the capable hands of Geoff Warren and Eric Beech, with Alf Hodkin on Saturday and probably Pete George on Sunday, allowing three new operators to be trained (Eric, Alf and Pete). Just as well as the layout appears to have a longer future than I'd planned for it. With bookings now to September 2025 that means I think that Broken Scar will be the eventual replacement, some time in 2026. The show will be 100% sound with stay-alive, the last non-sound locos having now been laid aside for sale or upgrade. The latest one back from Digitrains was the Hardy's Hobbies Hunslet 16", which will take its turn on the passenger side, replacing the 1361 and the IOW O2, which are up for sale together with the railbus. It is likely that the Janus will follow them, together with the 56xx and the 57xx, but I've not yet decided what to do with these. The indulgence might well make an appearance. Yet to be photographed is a second Lambton WD, this time using a 3D printed cab from an eBay purchase swapped onto my ancient Dapol WD Saddletank. The rest of the eBay purchase with a flowerpot chimney is in the queue for sound fitting, with an appropriate Walkden name applied. The front of this one is in the first pic. First priority after getting the layout set up is to check that the uncouplers all work properly. After that I'll investigate the use of Hornby point clips to see if I can get the front shed road back into use. There might not be time. More later, in about 10 days or so. Les

"or you can wait until we've made it and read the excellent reviews of the real thing...."

Worth looking on the Modellbahn Union site- apart from their own 3D prints they list Igra (laser printed building kits and sheets of doors/windows etc) and quite a few others. Rather than complete scratchbuilding I'm up for the next best thing, assembling kits in the wrong order and cross-kitting with bits of several in one structure. Les

That justifies my decision to do the German Bregstadt layout before the UK Broken Scar - too much risk of having a completed exhibition layout and no appropriate locos to run on it. Broken Scar will need up to seven J94s and a couple of other 0-6-0 locos (08 or Jinty most likely). With R1 planned for the end bigger locos are out. Les

There was a packet from Peco this morning. The two points returned to me repaired rather than replaced. There was a note in with them. "Dear Mr Richardson. Our apologies for the delay in returning your turnouts. On examination we have found an issue with the tiebar, so we have now fitted the new version, strengthened tiebar. Kind regards..." Looking at them I can't see a difference between these and the unused one I have of the second batch of four. Perhaps my second batch have the strengthened tiebar already. The two survivors of my original four are fixed down. As the layout is now complete I'll keep these in reserve in case of another failure- though I'm going to be ballasting them when the layout gets re-erected in mid-May, so sod's law says that if those are going to fail they'll wait until then... I suggest that if anyone else has points that fall apart like those two they return them to Peco for replacement under warranty- I made the mistake of not asking for warranty replacement so got them back repaired. Les

Traders (with apologies if I leave anyone out) Malc's Models (Ilkeston) Sherwood Models (Nottingham) A2B Models (Matlock Bath) Book Law Publications (Nottingham) Rocket Railways (Coalville) Starlight Models (Wellingborough) Railstuff (Cheadle) J&C Models (East Goscote) Railway Correspondence & Travel Society plus our own Club Sales stand (which I'm in charge of this year despite having my own layout there....) Les

Two more views of the track plan. Today has been spent first going to town to Access Models to cancel a TT gauge diesel that they had on pre-order with Gaugemaster after the latter shifted its status from "new item not yet released" to "not in stock but can be ordered" - the same status as a Roco 4-6-4 I had pre-ordered direct from them which after a long wait turned out to be out of stock at Roco (yet was still in Gaugemaster's catalogue last time I looked). I've substituted an order for a pair of Minitrix sound-fitted locos that Gaugemaster reckon they have in stock. These will form part of an upgrade to Bregenbach's fleet. Why go through the Local shop for stuff on Gaugemaster's website? Doing it this way I get 10% discount that I don't get from Gaugemaster, and the shop makes about fifty pounds on the deal. Worthwhile doing it. Les

First of a few new locos- a Roco Taurus by Fleischmann. Even sounds like a Taurus.

The different way that model shops operate in Europe. These big shops expect to keep the whole range in stock, unlike in the UK where dealers choose which bits they think will sell. Les

I think the advantage of being able to get stuff from Continental dealers will only really be apparent when Hornby runs out of stock of certain items. I can see it possibly interesting me when I wish to add (say) the fifth J94 of one version, only to find Hornby hasn't any left. I must email SK to see if we'll be allowed to (explaining the circumstances we might want to). Les

With the camera in non-co-operation mode and juggling a head torch with the camera to get some light onto the subject here goes... This is the back of the BTTB coupling. This hook goes into the horizontal slot in the bufferbeam. It then engages with the spring. Typical that I didn't get the thing the same way up in both pics. Looking into the end of the loco from underneath you can see the end of the spring- looks like a pin. You can see the end of the coupling with the point of the hook carrying out of sight to the right and the pin is engaged in the coupling. Pushing this to the side (upwards in this picture) allows you to pull the coupling out from the loco. The first one was tricky, the second worse as the coupling had broken off at the buffer beam, but the third and fourth one took hardly any time at all. Looking at the loco, I might have found why it runs better one way than the other- the axle appears a little bent. Next job is to change the wheelset with one from the V36 I bought for spares.. I'm pretty sure that enormous screw and its twin give access to the wheels and pickups. I'll dismantle the other one first......... Les

Quite easy. The existing coupling is held in by a spring which engages in a hook at the inside end. Push the spring to the side wit a small flat screwdriver and pull the coupler out of the slot. Then just push the new coupling into place. I'll try to remember to get a couple of photos tomorrow. Les

That makes yours about a foot longer than I've got for Bregstadt. Curves R2 or R3? I've gone with a mix on the ends so I can throw a right on entering the fiddle yard followed by a left at each end- this has the advantage that the straight route is the second from the back and the first two roads are the same length. I also used a radius 6 curve where the end turn gets to the front so that when the line appears from the tunnel/bridge I'm using to hide the exit it doesn't seem to be turning so sharply. It does, however mean I don't get the luxury of sidings between the running line and the board edge. I envy you the extra bit of length, but I'm limited to two boards to get the layout into the car to go to exhibitions. I'll watch this one with interest ready to nick ideas. Keep up the good work. Even at this early stage it already looks much better than the mass of trainsets that are appearing Les

presumably eventually? I'm making the move to TT, and have a pair of exhibition layouts planned. Broken Scar will be UK outline and branch/industrial but there's not a lot of point in starting it until I have J94s at the very least- the big stuff from Hornby won't run round Radius 1 end turns. So Bregstadt is being built first. I get to build a TT layout which will be different to anything I've built so far (5 layouts 5 completely different to the one before so far) and I'm enjoying learning new skills, clearances etc. As Hornby and Peco bring out stuff on my wish list it can be aqcuired and tested through the Hornby and Peco pointwork on Bregstadt. Eventually Hornby or maybe someone else will have produced what I need, either r-t-r or as bodyline kits- I'm not up to building chassis any more, if I ever was. Les

Nothing other than "soon" from the rep when he visited our local shop recently. Likewise the TT gauge wagons, even though they've all been advertised in Railway Moddler. Just keep looking on the website.... Les

If it is the same reason as the different sized cab numbers on Dapol's 2750 Papyrus it will be because the Chinese factory have found a photograph of it in that condition (which in the case of Papyrus Dapol didn't know about and at least one of the authors of the RCTS Green guide hadn't spotted....) Les

... but I seem to remember the J69 was too small to take it... Les

I rather foolishly bought three ancient Berliner TT Bahnen locos on eBay last week. The date written on one of the instruction leaflets is 1979, so definitely East German in origin. I think this one is the newest but it is quite old. It looks as if it hasn't had any lubrication this century. It has now been DCC fitted- not difficult for this loco, and is running in. Relevance to Hornby? It runs through Hornby's dead frog points like a dream, but occasionally catches the plastic check rails on Peco points and tries to stall. Video shows it in action. I suspect it won't need sound fitting, this racket is after a lot of oil. Eventually it will work alongside J94s etc as an industrial shunter on Broken Scar, and pull odd trains on Bregstadt. The Tillig van behind it has had one coupling swapped temporarily for a Roco one until some new type couplings arrive from Germany. Les

I bought (rather foolishly) a trio of very old Berliner TT Bahnen locos on the e-Site last week. I've now got round to chipping the first one. That wasn't difficult but it hasn't been oiled this century so it is still very noisy and a little reluctant at times nose first. It isn't 100% happy with Peco points- running through well sometimes and sticking at the flangeway on others. The video gives the idea. The leading wagon is running as a converter at the moment until some replacement couplings come from Modellbahnshop Lippe in the next week or so. Then the real fun will begin- fitting them.... Les

I had a chat with Jakub at Doncaster. He said he is intending to expand the 1:120 range, but it will be a little slow as he is learning new techniques as far as joining parts together is concerned - the scale is too small for their previous method of interlocking bricks to work. From experience of their OO kits they will be good, and their after sales is brilliant. I did buy one of these but I'm still at the tracklaying and testing stage so it might be a few months before I get round to building it. Les

The point was that with locos being built in small batches that changed between batches, and being rebuilt periodically changing their appearance, the class is a nightmare for the R-T-R manufacturer, especially in these days when we want so much fidelity. When Graham Farish released their generic J69 we were so glad to have any 0-6-0T at all its visual imperfections were overlooked, and remained so because its mechanical imperfections were far worse.... Les

The A4 is a classic. Silver Link was being built before the drawings were finished. Indeed some of the final drawings of the streamlined casing were done after the loco was complete by measuring what they'd made. "Looks Good, now lets make 34 models at 1:1 scale...." Les