letterspider

A running session to check the rails after spraying them; as it seems to be all good the next step will be ballasting the viaduct.

Playtime and time for some simple modelling The Knightwing portakbain is a simple kit to assemble. I have added some interior detailing and lighting. The lighting is powered by a coin battery controlled by a reed switch. Unfortunately I could only source reed switches on Aliexpress which are closed when in a magnetic field Neodymium magnet glued to the underside of a pallet Lighting on and off just by moving pallet above the reed switch Also had time to fettle a locomotive inspection platform from West Hill wagon works - still needs final painting The 3D print is incredibly fine but very flexible and robust

They are a very small outfit, and it is very tough tines

Received this update today from The Model Centre "We have just heard from Bachmann that due to problems with lorry driver shortages and customs clearance the tube stock will now not arrive until mid January." So as usual it looks like no tube trains running over Christmas!

Had a similar problem with a Class 90. You can get dry solder joints on the chip causing intermittent working like you describe. In any case you have manufacturer's warranty on the loco and the chips themselves have 1 or 2 years from Zimo but you need proof of purchase. I don't think that will be an issue here as the model is less than a year old.

The blue Class 73 looks really good Jerry and it is a mystery why Dapol didn't produce that livery (corrected) in the 2nd batch.

At that scale maybe corrugated strip? Something similar to this https://evergreenscalemodels.com/collections/0401-0mm-opaque-white-polystyrene-corrugated-metal-siding

We should not be considering or running vital infrastructures as a business. Every national asset so far privatised is in crisis. And too often there have been tragic mistakes. What the government has achieved by privatisation is to shift legal liability from itself to the businesses and that hasn't worked because the government hasn't the levers or the guts to put company directors in prison for long terms for corporate manslaughter. And without a Constitution, laws are created by MPs that all too often have vested interests. Grenfell shows in detail how a business has little incentive or capability to look beyond itself and call out other contractors for taking short cuts, it's 'none of their business' Perhaps the public are greatly to blame for taking too narrow minded a view about politics

Focusing solely upon operating costs and passenger revenues is short sighted. If you factor in the value of saving to the environment in preventing pollution related diseases inflicting expenses upon the NHS and CO2 damage to the environment and the boost to the economy from commuters and tourism, then the metro and bus system is in healthy profit. The government is at fault because it is not quantifying this value added, keeping that revenue to itself instead of giving back some to tfl in subsidies. Certainly not if it is going to the passengers (if it was then fares should be getting cheaper) If we solely concentrate upon counting beans, then London would be congested and full of filthy polluting vehicles and fares would be sky high.

I have bought something like this (a Bachmann large logo class 37) from the Far East and it was a fine bargain. However with the current custom duties and no warranty - wouldn't think it would be worth the trouble.

Amazing models and amazing value Another manufacturer recently stated they were producing 'the pinnacle in British OO scale Electric locomotives' but it looks like soon that title will be going to this Class 92

The benefit of the Bachmann 2f is they will always attain a good price when you sell them, once you customise a coach by adding lighting - it depends upon how well you do it as to whether it will sell well. Adding a rectifeir, capacitor and resistors would be a good conversion - and partly this is the disappointment with the 2f; not just that there is no capacitor but apparently no easy way to put one onto the PCB

A lot has happened since my last post - I sold the APT power car once I heard about the new tooling If the 7 car set has two NDM's and one is non powered - then that is ideal for this project. So I will post updates once that arrives (hopefully before Christmas)

Looks great how did you couple the NDM to the Mk1 coache?

Spotted on the North London Goblin line Nice to see the LU celebrity 66s together; hopefully we may see more of these being renewed in model form.

Thanks. Looking at the photo, does that mean the capacitor will have to soldered off the pcb wires added to allow it to be concealed in the toilet area?

Have you been able to open a coach and see if it is possible to move the capacitor into the toilet area? Is there space?

How much weight do the coaches have to them - they look very light

Could it be one of the inebriated journalists on the press run?

Why not just tell it like it is? "We don't have any new liveries in the current quarter - we do not (or cannot) reveal details about many or all of our current projects until 3 months before release"

"We have not announced any further Class 90s at present and we now announce new products on a quarterly basis via our British Railway Announcements and only when new models are within three months of release. The best advice that I can give is to keep a lookout for future announcements for details of any new items that may be of interest to you". I think I am reading to much into this but why should the best advice be to keep a lookout for future announcements - when I told them I was thinking about getting a respray done ...? Wishful thinking ... I know! However it is useful we can see how the model might look thanks to the resprays showcased on this website..

I have just asked Bachmann if they are producing the EWS livery or whether I should get a respray done

This Class will be extinct if they keep as waiting any longer, we may be too

Class E636 Camilla is a very popular locomotive with Italian modellers, the story and the livery gives it a sort of celebrity status. It is a different Class but the cabs are the same after rebuild, so I will be comparing those areas The Roco box is carboard with foam insert, not as slick as other manufacturers but perfectly adequate. Straight away you see the separate buffer details and the ploughs with comlete or slotted option for couplings. The user manual looks almost identical to the Rivarossi one, and would make you think that both models are produced from the same factory, however the model itself suggests otherwise. Looking at the cabs we can see straightway there is a driver and secondman - which is nice addition. However the plastic handrails bow out and also they break - even worse is that this particular spare seems always to be sold out. The windscreen wipers are to scale but moulded but they are painted so look good. The window heating elements are also well represented. Livery application and fine printing looks very sharp, the grilles on the side of the cab look better moulded than the Rivarossi The level of detailing upon the bogies are exceptionally fine, the speedometer cables look fragile but in fact will stand up well to handling. You also notice the considerable weight of the model - the bogie towers are metal however there are traction tyres on one wheel each end. The roof detailing is separately applied and looks good. The areas which have been moulded are sharp. The quality and fineness is the same as with the Rivarossi. However little details here and there put the Roco ahead. (The side windows on the E636 are rectangular not round) We can see inside a nice touch - there are representations of the inner mechanics of the loco and so we won't be seeing the wiring harness of the decoder or the flywheel of the motor. The body shells are held on by clips which are easy to prise off the chassis. The decoder slot is 8 pin just next to it is a pin selection for pantograph or rail operation. Again things are tight and sound fitting will require some skill. The lighting arrangement is robust, there are flush lenses in the body shell and a light box is cut into the recess of the chassis -so no fragile perspex light guides.There is no cab light. The cab is again very basic but wins over the Rivarossi because of the driver and it is just better fitted - not falling on the floor every time you pick the shell up. The directional lights appear more prototypical whereas the Rivarossi loco is overly bright; only one of the tail lights are illuminated during movement - which I assume is how the prototype works. There is not much light bleed. Also present beside and under the left tail light is a representation of a small green light which is used in certain situations (shunting?). I was unable to find a function key to turn that on (so far). On the Rivarossi this light isn't present. Overall this is another loco which has a strong motor and good to play with hours on end. There are good levels of detail and in many places the Roco model pleases you a little more than the Rivarossi with added details in areas where you don't normally look. I feel that Roco have applied a little more thought to please the modeller and so it is a ahead of the Rivarossi especially when the price is again around the Euro 170 mark. If Roco had put in metal handrails the model would have little to disappointment as far as the appearance is concerned.