Jeff

Hi Frank, Thanks for this further clarification. Appreciated. I always prefer to articulate rods on shared crankpins rather than by making a hinged joint. Usually works every time with no problem but not with this particular loco for some reason. I'll have to persevere. Regards, Jeff

Hi Lez, Thanks for that thought. The drive is via a 45:1 High Level Road Runner Plus gearbox with a Mashima motor so yes, it does have a grub screw on the final drive gear and a flat filed on the axle. The worm is fixed using Loctite 603. I'm doubtful this is a possible cause as the gears are not the fine cut type and have plenty of play in the mesh to accommodate a slight off centre effect due to a grub screw and in any case the whole shebang hangs on the axle. At worst this might cause the gearbox and motor to move around a bit more, rather than bind the motion, I would have thought? Regards, Jeff

Hi Frank, Can I clarify that you are saying the driven axle, or is it perhaps the centre axle (of 3 when fettling an 0-6-0) is always left as a circular hole broached just enough to ensure a working fit, so that any others are filed towards an oval or slot if they are found to be binding? I ask because I am struggling with a large Prairie just now, using Comet components and Markits wheels. This has been built once as a sprung chassis using the current Comet nickel silver etches for frames and motion. Having failed to get rid of a knock I decided to eliminate the possibility that any play or inaccuracy in fitting the hornblocks might be the cause, so I built a second pair of frames with rigid bearings only to arrive at the same impasse. Regards, Jeff

I look forward to that Tony. Though realistically this will now have to wait until 'afterwards'. That mythic time when everything is back to 'normal'. Alan is 82 now, though like me still modelling actively. Here in tier 2 we are not allowed in each other's house, let alone sharing a car together all the way to Lincolnshire. We meet for a quick chat on our drives occasionally to exchange goodies for our respective railways, taking turns to put our vehicles to brief use. The likelihood that we will both be early recipients of a vaccine might hasten the process perhaps. Next spring or summer, hopefully. Regards, Jeff

We are in tier 2 just now, but don't ask me to define what that means. I know it means our kids can't visit, and I have a choice of only 3 days per week when the library is open. Nice to see some of Geoff's stock has found a good home. Our previous visit could have been before the visitors book then as I don't remember signing in. I do remember a nice lunch in the pub, a stroll from there to your front door, an absorbing afternoon of playing trains and sitting with a cup of tea and biscuits in your lovely garden. I was interested in the discussion of gearboxes earlier in the thread. Over the last 18 months I've been building quite a number of High Level gearboxes to replace noisy Portescaps in my loco fleet and also in Alan's. They do go together beautifully, and the Road Runner plus in particular is very adaptable for use in a wide variety of loco outlines, as well as having a grub screw fixing final drive and an easy fit between OO frames, even with sprung hornblocks in there. The coreless motors which Chris has sourced give a good account of themselves lifting heavy trains up my gradients. Jeff

Hi Tony, My goodness but this thread moves along at a fair old clip! As one of doubtless many elder persons pretty much confined to the house by the virus just now I have enjoyed catching up all the way to the end, which of course it won't be for long unless I type quickly. In the spring of last year Alan and I were reminiscing and decided that it would be lovely to make one last visit to Retford and to Little Bytham whilst we "still could", only then to catch up with the sad news about Roy Jackson, and also Dave Cleal, just a few short years on from the loss of Geoff Brewin. From memory Geoff was with us when we did visit you, and also on the second of our two visits to Retford. Great to see that it has been saved. Also nice to see that the products we generated are still being received and used with approbation. Frank at Romford Models still putting in a shift at 88 eh? Remarkable. I was glad to step off the treadmill at 65, and so pleased with the progress of my loft layout over the past decade which was, of course the mainspring for the Comet range, together with Alan's layout. Not sure what the protocol is in these bloggy places for contacting other members privately, but it would be good, if we are spared, and if visiting other people in far away postcodes ever becomes the norm again, to be able to book a place in your oversubscribed visitors book. Best regards, Jeff

Enjoying a weekend at a show? Then out at a 'doo'? This is not good enough. Does he not know I'm still waiting for my latest valued order? *harrumph* Website still giving me an error 404.

This was a rational decision. Pressing out a half etched hole from the back, as with any other pressed out rivet detail on an etch, works for those modellers who are sufficiently well versed in working metal so that they avoid distorting the front face. Where rivets (or coach door bump stops) are pressed through and not done carefully in terms of having a sufficiently hard support to the front face of the metal, or some means of ensuring that the same force is used at each point (such as a rivetting tool) then it is all too easy to spoil the side through distortion. Our view was that the discriminating modeller who seeks absolute fidelity would happily drill through and solder in a short length of wire, then file back the face carefully so that all such features are rendered to exactly the same depth, finishing with a stiff wire brush to take off any sharp corners. We reasoned that those satisfied with more ordinary standards (we ourselves chief amongst them) would be quite happy to see a surface mark suggestive of a door stop. So the half etch had to be on the outside for the sake of the lazy majority. Same thought process applied to hinges and why we did not incorporate them with matching slots in the door part lines. This would force the builder to include them whether he wanted that level of detail or not. I suppose a lot depends on the aims of the modeller and etch designer. If you want a museum quality model you can spend many happy hours gilding the lily. If you want a fleet... I have around 200 coaches assembled into 8 or 9 coach rakes down to suburban 3 coach sets. No hinges on any of them and I can't say I ever notice the lack of them. Too busy watching the loco. Valve gear and balance weights are hypnotic and draw the eye. Door stops are just sooooo boring.