Joseph_Pestell

An update long overdue. Having made an offer in October 2020 and confirmed in December 2020, I finally managed to start work on the building in April this year and finally bought it (legal complications) in July. Unfortunately, ill health has led me to the decision that I will not be able to complete the project and I should put it back on the market. Signed up with an estate agent on Tuesday last week and it was sold on Friday. I don't know where I will be moving to but it will certainly not have space for a layout unless in N - and even then rather simpler.

Any sort of modelling activity surely on the back burner now for some time. I have been suffering for the last couple of months with bad health (long Covid?) and, in particular, a severe attack of tendonitis in both shoulders and both arms. So, with immense regret, I decided to put the house, with its huge model railway room, on the market. It sold within three days. The regrets are not just about the house which would have been a superb retirement home, and profitable investment, but the fact that it leaves me with no project, nothing to base my life around. So now, a third move within two years, more storage bills, more admin! Damn Covid and damn Brexit, both of which have made my life so much harder.

I am no expert on the domestic front but surely one dusts before vacuuming.

So you have established which coach is causing the problem - that's a good start. As I said initially, I have not had enough acquaintance with this product to see how it is set up electrically. It still sounds to me as though there is an axle that has been installed wrongly or perhaps even a bogie installed wrong way round.

I do know that much!

I don't know the product that well but the symptom suggests an axle installed the wrong way round.

Series 3 and 4 are very different. Series 3 has black sleepers spread a long way apart. Series 4 has brown sleepers to HO spacing. Running through the turnouts other than at high speed was always problematic. If this is just for an expo layout, probably best to cheat: just have the points in a fixed position and add some metal strip for conductivity.

Plenty of Triang TT stuff usually available from the 3mm Society, and very cheap.

Maybe French barn owls (chouettes effrayes) talk a different language to their English relatives? Definitely a hoot rather than a screech.

I watched Sam just the once. I can't even remember now what it was that he was showing. It was so awfu. I will not be watching another. Not that he is the only one. Have they not thought about preparing a script in advance? Rehearsing? Editing?

Following the Peterborough North thread, I have become aware of how many ECML trains involved changes of loco at various points along the route. To what extent was this also the practice on other railways and what would be the preferred distance? The LSWR changed locos at Salisbury/Wilton and Exeter but it had the handicap of not having water troughs. The Midland changed locos for Scottish services at Leeds - but the trains were reversing anyway. Similarly the GW changed locos at various points around Plymouth but that was necessary because of the Royal Albert Bridge. What was the situation on other lines?

Looked at from a modern perspective it might seem odd to have carriages attached to the rear of an Up train and also to the rear of a Down train. We are used to trains arriving at their London terminus and being rapidly serviced before departing again. But back then, trains would be taken away to carriage sidings for servicing and carriages could be shunted into the correct position in the train so as to be in the right position at the junction station.

by Ringo

A lead article in one of the weekend papers here (Liberation) about the situation in Africa where the vaccination rate is currently 2%. So a huge reservoir of unvaccinated people for the virus to spread amongst and mutate. We cannot control, let alone eliminate, COVID-19 unless more is done to protect people in Third World countries. Also alarming infection rates in Caribbean territories. Low vaccination rates there in part due to local customs and beliefs.

I think that Trog was referring to facts, not opinion. Most of us have, at some time, experienced press/TV?media reporting that was inaccurate as to facts - not least in our own field of railways. Which paper was "The driver steered the train from danger"? Not to say that all reports are wrong but one can be forgiven for losing a bit of confidence in the media. Where that leaves us is another question. Social media is likely to be even worse with misinformation being deliberately disseminated.

Class 210 may well have succeeded if they had put a more modern engine in it. 600hp was OK for 3 cars but not enough for 4. But having an engine compartment does take up a lot of space in a 3-car unit and makes access between two or more units difficult. The 150 used essentially the same Mk3 bodywork components but sensibly hung the engines out of the way below the floor. Just a shame that makes for a lot of noise and vibration throughout the train. As I recall, the 210 was fitted with much more comfortable seating than subsequent BR diesel units.

Beginning of the Autumn term and teacher is asking pupils what they did in their Summer holidays. "Your family went to Spain, didn't they?" "No, Miss. We went to Benidorm"

As regards the wires, compound catenary should still be available from ScaleLink. If not in stock, Helen will probably be able to get some etched. The original is actually 1.5kV French and scaled to HO.

Yes, I appreciate the issues involved in launching a complete range at once. But the alternative is no better. You create part of a range. Most buyers hold off from buying until they can get all that they need and you end up holding a lot of stock. There is also a trade-off between development cost and manufacturing cost. The cheaper methods of production involve more investment up front by way of tooling. For my part, I would stick with low development cost and go for etched components. Well designed, you could get a lot of components on an etched sheet. The issue here is making it easy for folks to assemble, whether by soldering or gluing. It may be that 3D printing becomes a lot cheaper/quicker which would alter the equation.

I have been thinking on this one for several hours now, not having access to any reference books. Outside of South Wales, where traffic was rather different, I have really struggled to find a BLT without an engine shed at the terminus. Falmouth is one (but arguably not a BLT, the branch being to Penzance.).

Only the most basic maintenance, within the competency of the loco driver and fireman, could be carried out at a small sub-shed like this. The loco would be scheduled to return regularly to the main local shed for repairs with another loco coming out to replace it. The GWR definitely seems to have favoured loco sheds at branch termini. Quite difficult to find one without. Bit more varied on other companies' lines.. KESR is an interesting exception with shed in the middle (Rolvenden) but then it was usually worked in two parts.

We will all miss following your projects here on RMWeb.

I am the first to recognise that creating surveys is difficult. So this is not meant to be negative in spirit. But I find it almost impossible to answer. How do I put just three items for that first question? All, with the possible exception of four-track portals, would be needed for a realistic rendition of OLE on a large layout. One could leave out the transformer equipment and tensioning on a small, simple layout.

This a typical chicken/egg situation which seems to arise frequently with model railway manufacturers. Will they never learn? They bring out half a range of equipment. That does not sell because half-a-range is of no good to anyone. They then conclude that "there is no demand" and end up selling off at discount.

Perth - Inverness - Thurso/Wick. The loops were very long for military freight traffic to Scapa Flow. So yes, the one signalman would use a bike to get from one box to the other.