Kim

Not sure about fear. The MR built a one off special to a very similar design. The main difference was that it had a pair of side doors. It was based at Toton and was built and used to carry the men injured there passing between wagons to pin down the brakes on "the other side of the vehicle. Not sure they were laughing. It seems then that "duty of care" was to provide a vehicle to get them to hospital rather than stopping them being injured.

I was referring to the post above mine in relation to referring to the UK as that poster is in the UK and was talking about emails. As to the first post, I have messaged the author and offered to phone Jim on his behalf.

In reply, a couple of comments. Firstly, communication is the key but it does work both ways. If you are in the UK, a telephone call costs most people nothing other than a small amount of their time. I do believe it is better to try and find a resolution with the supplier before airing any problems on social media. As to auto replies to emails etc, I have no idea how to do them. As I said before, I have never had any problem in contacting them by phone. It is quite clear from their website that if you are in the UK, they would prefer you phone rather than email. However if you do email to include a contact number so they can phone you as they only reply to overseas emails. Therefore I think it "unreasonable" if people start running them down because they haven't replied to an email. At the end of the day, you are dealing with a person and hopefully we are all human beings and it is one of our traits to make mistakes. It feels as though many negative posts in threads like this one are based on "me, me, me" rather than being considerate of the person at the other end. We are in "exceptional times". I have had delays from many suppliers over the last 18 months or so. Not least due to the fact that the lockdowns have meant many more of us have been at home and placing many more orders than usual. Many suppliers have run short of stock and are having problems replenishing because their suppliers have had covid related problems.

I spoke to Jim today. I had placed an order for some Dublo types plates earlier in the year. He could not have been more helpful and polite. There had been a long delay, mainly because there had been a huge delay in an order from the etchers. I have dealt with Modelmaster for quite some time and although it is sometimes not the quickest, it has always been reliable and the range contains many items including some specialist items like the "Dublo" size Coronation nameplates. I believe it is important to remember that in our hobby, there are quite a few "cottage industry" suppliers. They produce items which would not be available if it were not for them. Yes, they are businesses but they also provide a service. They are not big companies with lots of staff, quite often just a single person with perhaps help from their partners. So illness, holidays and all the other vagaries of life will take a toll. They are not multi-national companies offering instant dispatch, next day delivery or even large model shops with a number of staff. It seems in these days of almost instant communication and Amazon style delivery, that many fail to remember that there is a real person behind such suppliers and are quick to complain but slow to praise. I will continue to deal with them with confidence. A few years ago, Jim did make a decision to retire but was persuaded to continue because of the service he supplies and the "loss" that many would feel if his products ere no longer available. Personally, I would not be happy if he reversed that decision because of certain comments in forums such as this. True there have been serious problems with a very small numbers of suppliers but there are very many more who make our hobby a better place. Modelmaster are one of the latter.

The overwhelming benefit of a temperature controlled soldering iron.

I'm not sure it is "Health and Safety" concerns. Your point is very valid and most of the current law is justified and good. However, H&S is about making sure employers keep their employees safe from harm as far as possible. It also works the other way and it is the employees responsibility to make use they work safely ie using hard hats, machine guards etc. However, it is not about manufacturers protecting their customers. A while ago, if we ordered a cup of tea or coffee, we "expected" it to be hot and in most cases would complain if it wasn't. For someone to be able to sue for damages because she, by her own fault spilt it and managed to claim damages because she was not warned it was hot is crazy. It has led to a culture where people "faking" or causing accidents to be able to claim damages. And in those cases, you are guilty until proven innocent. It's not H&S being talked about here, it is the litigation culture which I do believe has gone made.

I am not surprised even though it is a shame because TTTE just about saved Hornby from going under at one stage. However, I do not agree that TTTE toy trains brought that many youngsters to the hobby as such. 20+ years ago, the thing that attracted my son was not the Hornby train sets but the TTTE series on the TV with Ringo Star. That and the series of books based on the TV series with audio cassettes which were based on the TV series rather than the original books. At the time many said that it was that TV series which kept the ailing (at the time) Hornby company going and got them over a bad patch. Once over it, mainly by closing the Margate production and out sourcing, they have become what they are today. Yes my son wanted a trainset but it was or had to be to relive the TV series rather than the books. So it had to have the windmill, the nixells (signals) and other parts of the more common TV series. He also wanted to go to the preserved railways to see Thomas as he had seen him on TV. If Peppa Pig and or other more current children's TV characters can attract youngsters' and their parents to the preserved railways on "special" days, then that is probably more cost effective for those railways.

I defer to your knowledge. I haven't fully investigated it for the simple reason I have no wish to go DCC.

Well that will mean yet another hike in prices on a certain auction site.

I am not a fan of PWM or feedback controllers either. The main reason is that I use a lot of coreless motors and they do not like either in the same way they don't like digital.

Not really. It may be a combination of the threads on all the forums but not just one thread on one forum with just a few members taking part.

Having seen this thread, I'm tempted to sell mine. Not long after I got it, I managed to get a very nice Escap powered DJH one.

The Mainly Trains rods are etched in nickel silver.

I must admit I do like the Jidenco/Falcon Brassworks kits and it is good to see that Dart Castings have taken them on. Whilst I agree with many of the comments above ( especially about the solebars), their website does say they are in the domain of experienced modellers. To me the effect, especially on earlier wagons is much finer and more pleasing than any of the "cast" wagons, be they in plastic or the rather crude white metal ones. As to the chassis, I have found the best way is the use the MJT W irons with one fixed and one rocking. This diagram was one of the gas lit series. The early ones would have had full lining but the later batches were turned out in plain crimson and by 1939, even the early ones were most likely be in plain crimson without lining. It is also often stated that it was not unusual in the later years for the non passenger coaching stock to be turned out with the varnish applied directly over the undercoat giving a "brownish" appearance. Though if the horseboxes were run in passenger trains, I suspect this was less likely than some of the other vans such as the fish ones which would be more likely run in express fitted freights. I do have some pics and other details but for copyright reasons cannot post them here. If you would like them please message me and I could email them.

Not sure if they did though I suspect it is likely. From your photo, it may well be lined. Toward the end of steam, cleaning became almost non existent. All they did was to wipe the number and BR symbol which looks like it's been done in this pic.