SM42

If, just before you jump, she shouts PULL! be afraid, be very afraid Andy

I've been quite lucky really as Mrs Sm42 has tolerated me buying some new trains with the proviso that I build a layout for them. Only snag is she hasn't indicated where in the house this layout can live. I suspect the lounge will not be a good idea. Andy

Many moons ago when I converted some Airfix 21t hoppers into Topes, I used florist's wire for the vacuum pipe along the frame. I found it easier to mould to shape as it is quite soft. I used the (paper?) covered version as it was thicker and something about the paper outer layer made it look right to me. It also takes paint better than bare metal too. Andy

It might be close but she has left out all the exceptions, caveats and small print that exist to eat into valuable modelling time. All you can do is own up and hope for the best. (perhaps not on the first few dates though) If she walks away, she probably wasn't worth it anyway. Andy

Best bet with this is a Parkside underframe kit as CloggyDog said. PA09 or PA36 should suffice I think. May need to check the axleboxes though. (Can't remember the type in the kit off the top of my head. ) At a couple of quid a pop they are always useful to have in stock. Which reminds me. Andy

There are some aerial images in the RMweb archive apparently I hope the link works http://rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=786&start=25 Andy Edit: It does

Roundhouse mentioned services to Harrachov a litlle earlier. Back in 2012 Mrs SM42 and myself made an interesting (I use the term in the tiring sense) excursion to this town from Karpacz in Poland. The station has a cheek to call itself Harrachov as it is at least a 45 minute walk from town. Whilst there and between beers on the 3 hour wait for a train back to Poland, I did take a couple of photos of the units in use. Here they are. I hope they are of interest. This train is from Liberec I believe. Note the umbrella from the convenient bar The single car train to Jelenia Gora (Poland) The two trains face to face Harrachov station a funny little place clinging to a hillside and extremely modelable. Traffic is a bit limited though being railcars as far as I could tell, but the arrival of two trains from opposite directions in quick succession was a surprise. Andy

Some more pictures I hope Across the big door and past the palm Second radius curves fitted nicely around the cill on the corners Andy

Here goes with some pics I hope, after a bit of headscratching. Door bridges were simply constructed from two 21mm battens wider than the door resting on the cill either side and 9mm ply screwed underneath. Crude but effective and much simpler than my original idea of putting the ply on top and notching the battens and screwing to the bottom of the cill overhang to keep the top surface flush with the cills. It can be seen in some of the pics. Andy Edit as managed to add same picture 4 times. Will try again soon

If I could I would but it never seems to work for me. Technology is not my strong point (how many KB in 1 MB? Is the answer that obvious?) and I have checked the help section but I can't get it to work.. Will keep trying though. Luckily the railway only took a couple of hours to build, once I had worked out how to bridge the doors after an unsuccessful (and in hindsight un-necessarily complicated) attempt. So now with the civil engineering pre built, it could be up and running in about 20 minutes. Andy

Yes Mrs SM42 has found out. Hard to hide it really. "Oh sweet man" was the response. Lucky me! Not sure how long I can stretch it out though. Might be able to make it till the end of the week I'll keep it going till she starts asking questions. What I do know is that it will only take about 30 mins to set up now the woodwork has been done. For a brief moment last night I did start to think about scenery, but then that may be taking things too seriously Luckily the conservatory doesn't get much use this time of year. Andy

Further to the opening of my play railway I can report that I have found the Bachmann 8750 has superior haulage capacity to the Hornby J94 by about 30%. Currently running class 25 with 37 on the hook. Wagons wheels squeaking and rattling over some horrendous rail joints. Me sat in the middle with coffee, cake and BRM. What could be better, except perhaps a beer instead of coffee. An SM42 also had a few circuits last night. Looked very good in the dark with its 3 headlights and 2 illuminated carriages on the drawbar. If you can, give playing trains a go. I'm still smiling here. Andy

SM42 is a happy boy as he is playing trains tonight. A temporary railway has been built around the conservatory window cill with bridges across the doors. A J94 has performed the opening run with 8 vans on the drawbar. Joy The only problem is Mrs SM42 hasn't seen it yet. Andy (Still buzzing)

Quick question Has the flat bed had the chassis extended or is it an optical illusion? So far all looking pretty good. I especialy like the glass carrier. Andy

On the contrary Kenton. No such implication was intended . I simply meant that when playing trains these things become secondary. The modelling bit, for me, comes when it all comes together in some form of context, be that as a single item, a whole layout or anywhere in between. Playing trains has no such constraints. Just the trains whizzing by and our imagination. I too find scenery and detail (or inability to recreate it ) often drives me to distraction, but all that is forgotten when I play trains. Which is not as often as I'd like. Andy

I'm sure it's not just us railway savvy folk who notice such errors. After all there is a whole series of programmes on movie mistakes. Mind you having said that, not seen many train mistakes mentioned. perhaps there are too many. Andy

I remember another Heartbeat episode where they needed to stop a train. A quick shout to the signalman and the lower quadrant signal fell from the horizontal to a nice off position. Strangley it worked. Perhaps the driver thought it so unusual to get a green that he'd better stop to report this irregular aspect. Andy

This may be due to the fact that the people who make the uniform think they are making a sack for spuds. Andy

Apparently Adolf Galland used his fame as a fighter pilot to have a model railway set up in his quarters. Seems the Luftwaffe were quite keen on model trains. Andy

I think the fundamental difference between modeling and playing trains is that playing trains is just that. Train, track and controller and being transported back to the simple pleasures of childhood. None of this scenery and detail stuff to worry about as with modelling. The joy of seeing a train go round and round at warp factor 9, the wheels barely staying on the track is a joy to behold, and if your train is old enough and built like the Hornby tanks (army type rather than engine type) of old then if it falls off no harm is done. Andy

Looks pretty good but the load looks a little insecure to me. I would add chains on the other two bolsters, or one of them at least. Andy

Hasn't it been moved to the channel tunnel. Easy access to the continent to keep out exports going. Some subterfuge about turning one of the TBMs off to the side and leaving it down there was used. What else is down there with the TBM? Ghost of engines past? Andy

At SM42 towers we occasionally used to buy a box of four large cup cakes. On the box it said "Fabulous Baking Boys Four King Cup Cakes" Always made me chuckle Haven't seen these in the shops of late though. They may still be out there! Andy

I am now looking at the kitchen worktops in a whole new light. Might have to go N gauge for this play area though. Water (sink) and fire (gas hob) hazards built in and at an ideal play height. Might need to use something cheap though. I will play trains again. I miss it. Now where's that old Hornby HST set? Andy

Used to do this with any new purchase, either round the dining room floor or up and down the mantlepiece for some nailbiting shuttle moves. (Buffer stops are for wimps) Don't have much chance now though and the wooden floor is now carpeted. Sometimes getting back to basics is quite refreshing. One thing I did notice about a wife free 2 hours is that as the trains go faster then time passes more quickly and the wife free time ends in what seems a lot less than two hours. This disproves one of Einstein's theories that the faster you go the slower time passes. Andy