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There will be people on here much better qualified than I am to answer those questions but I have a recollection of hearing of an A1 on test that had a drawbar horsepower of around 3,000 measured for a short while. That was measured starting a heavy train from a stand. A diesel loco which has a quoted horsepower doesn't, as far as I know, have that full hp available for hauling trains as some of it is needed to move the loco and to power electrics etc. O S Nock once calculated that the Deltics, with engines producing 3,300hp actually had a drawbar hp available for hauling trains of around 2,750. I don't know if Tornado has been measured but it is more powerful than the original A1s due to the change in boiler pressure and cylinder size. So Tornado is probably nearer a Deltic than a Class 47 in short bursts. The ability to sustain that output over a long period is another matter altogether which is why high steam power outputs are usually over a short time period.

I will be bringing along a collection of models from Buckingham, by the late Rev. Peter Denny as a static display. This year is the 70th anniversary of the start of the Buckingham layout and some of the models I bring will be the original locos and carriages built back in 1947. It is also the centenary of the birth of Peter Denny, so it will be a double celebration of the man and his models. Tony Gee

According to the report on the telly, she kept two firemen busy on the test run. That would be an answer rather than oil firing or mechanical stoking.

Many congratulations to the A1 team for this special achievement. I don't think that there was ever any doubt that the loco was capable of this speed as the originals were and Tornado is more powerful than they were. It is more a case of well done for sorting out the necessary permissions and for getting agreement to go for it.

Malcolm Crawley once told me of a time when, in his work as a locomotive inspector, he was tasked with having a look at a Stanier Black 5 that had ended up at Doncaster Carr Loco shed. The crew wanted it checking before they took a train out with it. It was probably a while since its last overhaul and the suspension was very poor but the worst thing was that the bolts holding the cab on were either loose or missing. So the loco and the cab lurched around but not always at the same time or in the same direction. He said it was the worst footplate experience of his career.

I get some suitable thickness plastic sheet, round off one edge, gouge a groove with a round file run along a straight edge and then slice the grooved section off the sheet. The inner side doesn't have a curve but is invisible from most angles.

Had a great night out last night watching the Eagles. Well, sort of. It was the Illegal Eagles and they were superb. They are on a huge tour at the moment and well worth seeing live.

Lovely modelling. My vote is for basing it in somewhere like Manchester or perhaps Nottingham. There were plenty of grotty little corners in both places.

Running to timetable doesn't have to mean two trains an hour. We used to run Narrow Road to a timetable which only lasted 1 hour but in that time there were over 50 arrivals and departures, plus various light engine and shunting moves around the station plus locos moving around the shed yard and shunting in the goods yard. It was common for between 2 and 5 locos to be moving at once and if there was ever nothing moving it was a coincidence that overlapping moves finished at the same time and it was no more than a few seconds before something else moved. It was hard work operating it but very rewarding and we usually had a good crowd round us. That was on a double track main line terminus with 4 platforms. I have seen that sort of running on a tiny number of layouts at shows and on none recently.

Whenever I log on to RMWeb this is always the first thread I look at and there has probably been more interesting discussion, good modelling and generally good natured banter on here than on any other thread. I agree that some subjects have been done to death but if we are all sensible about it and perhaps just stick to following progress on Tony's modelling projects and sharing what we others are up to, I reckon it still has legs for a good while yet.

Perhaps the famous MRJ show way back when. That queue looks very familiar.

I know what you mean Andy. It sometimes makes me wonder how some people survived before the web forum gave them an outlet for their angst. The modern way seems to be that if you give somebody a platform to express their views, then they have not just a right but almost a duty to do so. Whatever happened to the idea of sometimes it is better to say nothing?

As a general rule, the bigger and more complex a layout is the more challenging it is to keep something running on all parts of a layout becomes. In my view this is why The Gresley Beat always has such a big crowd at shows. 4 separate but easy to operate circuits plus the carriage sidings give many opportunities to see several trains moving at the same time. It is busier than any prototype that I know and in that respect probably unrealistic but that doesn't stop it pleasing the crowds. Operation on a layout means many things to many people but I tend to agree that interesting, prototypical and realistic operation is something that many exhibition layouts fall down on. Whether it is technical limitations, lack of knowledge or laziness, perhaps all these combined I don't know but many a highly attractive layout is let down by it. Edited for spelling.

I agree entirely but you can also sometimes pick up some lovely detail from a shot that is primarily a locomotive portrait. Several on the German web page have some fascinating details of lineside features, signals etc. I can understand it to some extent. In the days when colour film was expensive and your had a choice to photograph a scene showing lots of interesting background but with no loco, or or could wait until a train came along, most people would wait for the train to fill the viewfinder. You are right in that we should be especially grateful to those who chose to photograph the less glamorous side of the railway scene.

Many thanks for that link. Some superb photos there and I have passed details on to certain people modelling some of the locations, including Retford and Camden!

Many thanks for those. I will investigate. The bus on the layout is 90ft long, so it is quite possible that interference may be a problem. Especially as there are nearly 70 servo operated signals with wiring that has to run alongside the DCC wiring in some places as it is traditional to have signals next to the tracks. We kept them apart as much as possible but when you have a gantry with 14 arms over a scissors crossover with slips, the wiring gets a bit close.

Thanks for the tip but you may as well be writing in ancient Greek. If I knew what a "snubber" was I wouldn't know where to get one or what to do with it!

I know it is bad form to quote your own post but I thought that I should just say that our loco numbering problems have been sorted out! I spent a couple of days with the layout in question recently and having failed twice more to put the numbers we wanted onto a couple of new locos, we rang up the manufacturers and asked their advice. Apparently, we needed to reset the memory on the base unit. They couldn't explain why Flying Scotsman could be 4472 but not 0103 but resetting the base unit allowed it and the King, to be given the numbers they should have had from the start, as well as the two new locos. We still have the other problems but that one is sorted and I thought I should mention it in case the information is useful to anybody else.

There were two fine 7mm layouts at a recent exhibition that had nicely modelled but non working signals. It completely spoiled the operation of the layout for me as watching trains either run past signals at danger or running on a single line when a signal is cleared for the other direction just ruins any illusion of realism for me. It always surprises me when people say that they want to make a realistic model railway but aren't bothered or interested in signals. Good signals can really play a big part in setting the railway scene in a particular period or part of the country and making them work adds a whole extra level of operational and viewing interest to any layout (apart from those that shouldn't have any!). On those two layouts, they had done the hard bit by making some nice signals. Making them work after that is no more difficult than making a point work and they managed that OK. On Buckingham, the signals serve an extra purpose as the track supply is switched through them. So trains are isolated until you set the points, pull the right signals and turn the controller. There are virtually no section switches, apart from a couple that allow a yard to be switched to a second controller for shunting purposes. It makes the layout highly realistic and very satisfying to operate.

Was the Minories that ran best the 2mm scale one (or was there an N gauge one there as well)? If so, it is hardly surprising that it ran well. The people who built it are very good modellers and quite capable of building layouts that run very well indeed. I would have been very surprised if it didn't run well!

This may have been mentioned already and I may have missed it but part of the fiddle yard, bottom right on the plan, has a layout very like some sidings and the turntable on Borchester Town. Is there a chance that some of the original track layout was adapted and used or is it new?

Perhaps the letter was more about the number of articles about how to fit a chip and possibly a speaker into a RTR loco. Or how to tweak CV thingies.

Tricky that. How do I vote if I am involved with DC layouts and a DCC layout but don't like DCC? Does a tick in the DCC box mean that I am a DCC enthusiast? The step from 3 rail to 2 rail meant a great leap forward in realistic appearance that few could doubt. DCC is just another (and more complex electronically) way of getting electricity to a motor. So I don't see a parallel there. Perhaps the time will come when all RTR locos come DCC fitted and DC will be seen as a minority interest as clockwork and live steam are now. But I will always prefer the simpler electronics and easier fault finding of DC. I am not a luddite, just somebody who sees DCC as a lot of extra components that still put between 0-12 volts onto a motor, just like my DC systems do.

One tool that I have used for many years is a polishing stone. It can act as everything from a tool sharpener to a very fine file and is excellent at cleaning up the cusp on the edge of etched kit parts. I recently purchased a Proxxon pillar drill and in the 6 weeks I have had it, I have used it more times than my lathe and milling machine combined in the many years I have had them. Being able to drill 0.5mm holes with little danger of moving the drill and breaking it is lovely! The lathe and milling machine are very much in the luxury bracket but I wouldn't want to be without the pillar drill now. A decent radio/CD player is a big hep too. I ditched my fibreglass pencil a while ago and only use brass refills now. I hate firbreglass bits in my fingers and even wearing gloves doesn't stop some lurking on the bench until I am doing something else.

Having seen one in action in the capable hands of a fine builder of 7mm locos, I went mad and purchased the same iron he was using. It is a 150w temperature controlled iron by ERSA. Not cheap but superb quality. The actual iron is quite small, enabling it to get into small places, yet it has enough heat to laminate 3 layers of 18 thou brass. I can turn it down to 180 degrees and use it for soldering whitemetal with no problems as the tip temperature is well regulated. It has transformed my soldering. I got mine from a firm called Blundells, who usually have it included in their special offers. Last time I looked it was a shade over £200 plus VAT.