PatB

I suspect that Triang's success was primarily based on price, and producing a wider range. The corollary is that a major factor in Trix's lesser reach was also price. IIRC a Trix Pacific was roughly double the price of its Dublo equivalent, which was, itself, very expensive in comparison with a Triang Princess. 

Trix probably also suffered from its lack of interoperability with anything else. Regardless of any merits of its bodies, and the both-sides insulation, a Trix AC loco wouldn't have been much use to the "serious" modeller using the de facto standard 12V DC, so that's another little bit of market gone. 

16 hours ago, Rob T said:

Resurrecting an old thread whilst searching for something completely different…

 

A layout that I haven’t seen mentioned but that I think fully fits this thread  (although I’ve only seen it in print form) would be an 8’ x 4’6” layout by Saffron Walden MRC that was Railway of the Month in Railway Modeller December 1971 - I would challenge anyone to fit a longer run into the space…  

 

My copy of the magazine disappeared during a house move some years ago, but I’d love to see the layout again!

I've always liked that one a great deal. IIRC the article was titled "For Amusement Only". I do have the issue somewhere, but I think it's in a box buried under a hundred others, so it might as well be on the moon. If I was going to be overly critical, I seem to remember that the platforms of the terminus station were so short that 2 coaches and a GWR 4-6-0 (Dublo Castle?) overhung the ends by a substantial margin, but that's not really the point on something like this, is it?

17 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

Found this…..amazing it cost just £17.50p   then again I bought the car for £50 

My Spitfire had what I think was one of their aftermarket bonnets with the GT6 bulge. It wasn't a very good fit and was rather floppy, making lifting it either a gymnastic exercise or a 2 man job. Whoever fitted it had also omitted to drill or cut out the heater fresh air intake, rendering the already somewhat feeble heater somewhat non-functional.

5 hours ago, MrWolf said:

I ended up driving and working on mkIII / mkIV Escorts and Orion's quite a bit when they were current. They all felt very light on the back end and if you braked sharply before a bend the back end would lift off then step sideways. As the rear axle wasn't driven, you couldn't power it back into line.

Still, it kept me busy straightening them out!

I remember Hot Car describing a road test XR3i's handling as "bordering on dangerous" for exactly this reason. Can't remember exactly what year, but it must have been prior to July '83 as that was when I stopped buying the mag because I needed to pour every spare penny into a terrible Austin 7 special.

Ejector seats, whilst they have saved lives, are not kind to the human body. In their usual application, most users tend to be young and with a high level of physical fitness, and can still suffer significant injuries due to the g-forces of the vertical acceleration when the seat fires. I'm not sure what the effects would be on a driver who might, say, be a bit overweight, lack muscle tone and be in their 50s or even 60s. Practicalities aside, I can see there being significant issues with weighing the risks involved in an accidental or unnecessary firing vs the rewards of such a device in a potentially fatal collision.

Screenshot from page 17 of the 1985 edition of 27 Circuits for Scalextric. I mean, it could be an entirely innocent oversight but....

11 hours ago, Talltim said:

Some Gallic crossing stupidity. Low loader with boat on grounds on a crossing near Rumigny in the Ardennes. Hit by tank train, some cars carrying phosphoric acid leaked. Train driver has minor injuries.

 

Can't see much left that's boat shaped. Did it burn, leaving that debris mass on the right (as viewed) of the track at the crossing?

10/10 for the classic Jouef station/crossing keeper's house though.

On 15/06/2021 at 03:53, lmsforever said:

I would ask for my money back if a Pacer turned up at a preserved line as the train in service !

I don't see it as much different from the WSR, in their early days, running a lot of services with repainted Park Royal(?) DMUs. It seemed very mundane and a bit of a disappointment at the time, but in hindsight, they were quite interesting vehicles, and it's regrettable that they've since had to be scrapped. And it was certainly better than no trains to Minehead at all, which seems to be the preference 40+ years on.

3 hours ago, AdamsRadial said:

I think these are the snifting valves?

 

 

A prominent feature on Maunsell era engines. For those who do not know what a snifting valve is, when the regulator of a steam locomotive is closed, a partial vacuum can be created in the cylinders which, in the absence of any other openings, can suck ash and other abrasive residue from the smokebox down the blastpipe. This does the cylinder bores, piston rings and valve faces no good at all. To alleviate the problem, one-way valves (snifting valves) are incorporated, which remain tightly closed under pressure, but open under vacuum, admitting fresh air to the cylinders, rather than the grinding compound that's been through the firebox, tubes and smokebox.

2 hours ago, zarniwhoop said:

Wine glasses! Many years ago I had some basic flutes for white wine or fizz, from Woolies (and if that doesn't show my age, what does ?  ) - 125ml, or 6 glasses per bottle. Not so long ago, the last of them broke. No problem, supermarkets have wine glasses - I got the smallest I could find (silly huge stems so they won't fit on the shelf, about 200ml each). Now I need to buy a second bottle to get my 6 glasses. 

 

 

I can do you some very nice, though I say it myself, handmade porcelain goblets which are (astonishingly, as we didn't aim for it) exactly 185 ml, if that helps at all [/shameless plug]. 

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

Well my feed is now well and truly full of drain unblockers, there's a guy in Australia whose skills I am not so sure of, filling an already full toilet with a jet and watching it overflow into the bathroom and all over the furniture seemed a bit wrong to me.

Sounds like every Australian tradie I've ever encountered. Which is why I've spent a fair bit of both time and money, and considerable effort in arranging my life, to become as self-sufficient as possible so I don't have to depend on them. Or, at least, can fix the inevitable lethal bodges when legally obliged to engage a "professional". 

12 hours ago, Chris hndrsn said:

I suspect NW would be great for you.

 

Too many people think the panels MUST be orientated South or North only, furthermore rooftop solar installers rarely take into account the distance from the Equator (ie: sun angle) for peak efficiency.  I read a few years ago that in California a lot of initial installations were orientated South/East and there was a drop in solar power feeding back into the network in the afternoons with peak demand during air-conditioning.  The solution was requiring more West facing panels.

 

I have had my 5Kw system for eight years, it faces ENE and paid itself off in six years. During summer it often produces 30+Kw a day, so about 15-20Kw to the grid at 6c (3p) per Kw.

 

When I extend it, I will place about 3Kw facing NNW and 2Kw WSW for the late afternoon sunlight.  If I was in a daylight saving region, more Southerly (or Northerly in the case of the UK) latitude, I would put more facing West.  Batteries at this point aren't viable for me, as the lithium batteries would need to be replaced after about eight years 

Under ideal circumstances I'd agree on the orientation, but we've got a couple of big trees immediately to the west, which give some shading in the afternoon. Not a disastrous amount, but enough to make output drop noticeably after lunchtime. As I can neither afford, nor wish to have them taken down I accept the limitation. The installation still generates about 5x more energy than we can directly use. Battery storage, and lots of it, would make sense, but I can't afford that yet either. When prices come down a bit and my superannuation becomes available it'll be something I seriously consider. 

Whilst I haven't published any model railway vids, I occasionally get energetic and film aspects of our pottery business to post online. Given that the most popular video so far has been of a minor disaster when a big mould wasn't quite as well sealed as I thought it was and consequently dumped 100 kg of porcelain slip on the workshop floor, I've come to the conclusion that what people like is seeing stuff go wrong. 

2 hours ago, petethemole said:

I recently dug out from my collection/hoard a number of sweet cigarette packets dating from the mid-'50s.  Some of the packs even imitated real fag packets.  'Junior Service' 10s had train pictures on the back, Kiddicigs had cards in, including some trains.  You could also get (often in a 'Smoker's Set'), chocolate cigars, liquorice pipes and 'sweet tobacco' (desiccated coconut dyed brown). 

Whst I don't remember those particular products, I do remember two distinct varieties of sweet cigarettes being available at least until ~1978. First was a thin, brittle, white stick of slightly sweetened chalk, with a dab of red food colouring on one end. T'other were sticks of something almost recognisable as chocolate, wrapped in what purported to be rice paper, but which was actually slightly less edible than actual Rizlas. 

I remember the latter variety being given as a class prize, at primary school, for something or other. Even as an 11 year old, my critical thinking faculties found this difficult to reconcile with the regular lectures on the evils of smoking, delivered by the same teacher as presented said prize. 

A recent rekindling of an interest in 70s and 80s Scalextric products has made me realise I may be of the last generation to consider it perfectly normal and healthy to emblazon children's toys with ads for tobacco products . 

12 hours ago, polybear said:

 

I didn't realise until recently that Artex actually stands for Asbestos Reinforced TExtured Coating. 

My own precast concrete shed has a corrugated cement roof, no doubt containing some degree of Asbestos.  When that was found to suffering from condensation and/or leakage issues I did look into disposing of the sheets; the Council simply referred me to an Asbestos removal company who wanted silly money - the Council wouldn't accept it at the tip.  So I re-roofed the shed with box section galvanised steel sheets, then put the cement sheet back on top (with battens in between) - problem solved.

 

How many of us spent Sunday mornings "doing the brakes" - cleaning them out and fitting new pads & shoes, blowing the dust out in the process?  No idea of the type etc., but that was asbestos; the composition was changed some years ago and asbestos outlawed.

 

 

I've successfully insulated 2 large sheds (both with tin roofs) by attaching battens/beams to the outside of the existing roof, laid insulation between and then putting a second layer of tin over the lot. The first was 16 years ago and the second 10+. Both remain dry and comfortable. The only downside I can see is that it might raise the height beyond permitted limits in some cases.

22 hours ago, Nick C said:

The previous owners of our house decorated the whole thing in black and white, with grey carpets. It looked awful!  We're slowly working our way through making it actually homely again...

In my experience, all carpets end up grey in the end.

11 minutes ago, alastairq said:

That all the buses I first drove, have examples in 'preservation?'

Or that today folk think a Morris Oxford is brilliant???

It does seem to be a feature of ageing, that one finds oneself mystified by the reverence shown towards what one remembers as pretty awful vehicles. I now know what my father felt like at old vehicle shows .

6 hours ago, BR60103 said:

Finding that the subway cars that replaced the ones I rode to work are being replaced.

 

On a similar note, seeing Newcastle Metro stock, which I rode on when it was brand new, and which seemed astoundingly spiffy and modern, described as old and outdated. Ditto Sprinter DMUs.

Seeing buildings you watched go up demolished as obsolete.

19 hours ago, jonny777 said:

This is bit steep...

 

https://tinyurl.com/39at92xu

 

I would not have thought the book was that rare. 

Having put the title into Google, this seems to be the cheapest of Amazon's options. Waterstones list it at 23.99 but haven't actually got it. So, if someone really wants it, at the moment that seems to be what it will cost. Whether anyone does actually want it that badly, of course, remains to be seen. Me, I'd be waiting to see if it turns up in Waterstones again.

Realising that you are older than the majority of senior ministers and shadow ministers in government. And considerably better equipped to run the country, obviously . 

Seeing vehicles you still think of as impossibly modern advertised for sale as "nice old classics". 

Last time I looked, on Google Earth, it was still possible to discern marks on the ground left by various features of the camp. Felt a bit odd that something that was there well into my lifetime now looks like something Time Team might feature. 

1 hour ago, mdvle said:

 

That will be part of it - but an equal if not bigger part will be the reality that most people in the hobby are simply playing trains and not attempting to accurately recreate a specific part of the rail network with trains to match an actual timetable.

 

For them any DMU in the livery they like will do - they don't care if it never operated in the someone generic part of the UK their layout represents.

 

So when you look at multiple units in the 3 / 4 / 5 unit range, that only ran on a limited geographic area, and only had a handful of liveries, you will struggle to find a market.

 

It is in a way telling that those willing to spend the money creating new models are so far (for the most part) chasing after pre-grouping prototypes to turn into models instead of these apparently much-wanted longer multiple units. 

 

It is possible that someone who risks the investment on a longer multiple unit will see success - and start a stampede of others into the market.  But it is just as easy that the current market is correct about the real demand for those models, and the price customers are willing to pay.

I tend to agree with you. I suspect there are far more, more or less scenified, set track ovals out there, with Southern pacifics running alongside unwired 91s, hauling brightly coloured PO Wagons, than RMWeb could collectively cope with . As an indicator, Sam's Trains YouTube channel, which is currently receiving some stick elsewhere for its "train set" approach, is massively popular, in model railway video terms. 

On longer units, even amongst "serious" modellers, I think there a limitations to the market for them. I haven't done a count, but I very much get the impression that, on RMWeb at least, photo planks, micros, dioramas, and other small to very small layouts, vastly outnumber those which can reasonably accommodate longer trains. I think 'twas ever thus, it's just that fewer of us pretend we can depict a portion of the WCML in 6x4 than hitherto. Anyhow, it comes down to why would you pay several hundred scarce model railway quid for a unit you can only actually use about half of? Yes, maybe because it's a nice thing to have, in itself, but how many can afford such an indulgence? Enough to cover the manufacturers' costs, and offer them the possibility of a profit? I don't know, but I suspect the manufacturers have a reasonable idea. 

7 hours ago, alastairq said:

I have been known to adopt new technologies [unwittingly, no doubt?]

However, I have always held the view of, ''if there's a need?''

I get the impression far too many people put the cart before the horse, adopt the new technologies, then try to justify a 'need?''

 

Therefore, I haven't ever had a satnag....as I don't have a 'need', being able to read a map very adequately thank you [and being the sort of person who visualises....which a satnav doesn't provide for me]

But I can see the benefit of a mobile phone, so I have one. It happens to be a basic smartphone, but I rarely connect to anything internettty on it.

Yet, one of my banks has ceased with its online presence, and gone over entirely to ''apps'', whatever they are...so, if I want some money, I have to connect my 'smart' scruffy phone to the wiffy thing at home...Which is a nuisance indeed.

 

I have a PC computer, and always have had from the get-go...but largely as a result of the brains of who I was married to.

I get microsoft trying to tell me I can do this that or tuther with windies ten thingy, yet all I use it for is to connect to forums like this, and get emails.

I refuse to pay for Office, as I have rarely if ever used it, and cannot see why I should pay for summat I'm never going to use? [Like, cheques?]

 

Thinking of mobile phones, m landline never ever gets used, at all at all at all...I have to 'have ' it, apparently however....so i make sure I don't actually find myself 'paying' for the pleasure of having something else to dust.

 

I've never used any of these food delivery thingies, or pills delivery thingies, or virtual books, etc..indeed, I have no time for virtual magazines either.

 

With technologies doing so much for us these days, I am hard pushed to find something I can do for myself...

Heck, we don't even have to know how to drive any more....

I've left my family DIY instructions and tools for when the find I've karked it.  [Spade in shed, can o petrol in garage, matches in kitchen drawer...or do a DIY creation on the beach..unless they've banned bbq's?

 

 

I wanted a sky burial on the roof of our shed, but the local council called security when I went to ask them about it. 

I suspect that, in austerity, post-war Britain, most demobbed military vehicles would remain in their original colours with any insignia removed or painted out. Any that did get a coat of civilian paint would likely be either whatever could be had surplus (so still military/naval colours), or something from Woolworths' range of gloss. So black, white, forest green, bright red or royal blue, basically. 

I do wonder if the reluctance on the part of the manufacturers to expand the range of MUs is maybe because collectors make up the portion of the market that makes it profitable to make a model, and people don't collect MUs. Or, at least, not ones that didn't/don't sport a wide variety of colourful liveries to chase. Hence no obscure 1st Gen stock that only came in green or blue (notwithstanding variations on yellow warning panels).