john new

Have also had that issue of following the next bus finder option as displayed on the bus stop only to find after entering the displayed code for the stop the system didn't know it existed. (Barlby N. Yorks when visiting my daughter). The local First buses aren't too bad on the route No 1 out to us here on the island but there are still a fair few unexpected issues.

Sadly we have to report the loss of three Show regulars in recent months. Links to our relevant website blog posts are below. Colin McCallum Ken Gibbons and John Ross We offer our sincere condolences to their families and friends; their presence will be sorely missed when we reassemble for the 2024 Show.

Recall a class 37 on one of the Weymouth Harbour specials several years back slipping and sending sparks flying off the rails. Generally flat track but twisty and without any regular trains.

I don't find them having been posted a problem Clive and if others like them fair dos to them. I wouldn't stop posting them just because a few of us ignore them.

Not me, follow the thread for the modelling not the tunes which I mostly ignore.

Personally I believe there are two issues running simultaneously. One is on the doom and gloom spectrum the second is moving towards a lightening of the outlook. Taking (1) first modern enthusiasts and modellers in the rail interest groups are getting involved in a different way to the traditional routes those of us in the baby boomer years still followed. A trend I have also seen in some other areas of interest my wife and I are involved in. Societies etc., geared to those traditional areas of recruitment are struggling hence the expressions of doom and gloom. Conversely you only have to look at fora like this one, YouTube etc., to see that despite (1) railways still have a good following. It is one reason for outlook (1) you don’t need to join a society to get your fix. The specialist societies are likely to be the last to founder. TV shows on railways are also indicative of the interest in the topic and a further example of why you don’t need to join a club to consume railway related content. At least Pete Waterman has both the media clout and interest in trying to encourage new modellers to enter the hobby via the various Making Tracks projects etc. For me the jury is still out on whether the rise in (2) is also leading to heritage lines struggling but as an example, Swanage are struggling as Severn Valley also recently announced. I haven’t needed to visit Swanage to see the newly restored loco. I have ridden on it this year but no longer need to physically visit to easily see what’s going on.

Interesting concept. Will watch progress with interest.

Just opens FB, not any video.

The most irritating, but minor issue, is the loss of the ability to switch channels, for example to check on a sports score in the advert break on something else. On the old box it was a single button press. Other than that more than happy with ours after several years of use. Don’t want to switch away from satellite to internet as ours is still not yet available as a fibre option so a bit flakey.

The screws are now out after a lot of wrangling. What finally worked was, as discussed above, application of a lot of heat pumped out by my 75w soldering iron and applied to the block and screw head as at that point there was an option to keep the iron in one place. Photo below shows that to aid any future readers of the thread. I think the screws (bolts?) now they are out may well be the originals as they are parallel on the shank not coned like a self tapper would be. Given they were screwed in so tightly I wonder if Locktite (or similar) had been used by a previous owner/even Tri-ang originally; they certainly were not going to come out by accident! Photo shows where I placed the iron as the corner allowed the iron's tip to stay in one place. So the job got finished off with a bit of scaled down prototype practice - appliance of heat to expand the fitting to loosen it, albeit with a soldering iron in 4mm not a blow torch as in 12" = 1". Hoping this will help anyone facing a similar issue in the future.

Like the speed you build things. Good work too.

I was thinking along similar lines of putting a hot iron alongside the bogie frame to see if expansion can ease the pressure. In a real full size scenario a blow torch to warm things up could free it off. I haven't the right tools to accurately drill it out and re-tap the holes; again something the real full size mechanics could attempt. I am wondering if before I bought it (and I have had it a long time), a previous owner has forced small self tappers into the holes having lost the original Tri-ang sold screws. Annoyingly, before the original supporting plate broke it ran well on loan to my grandsons.

On the opposite side though BRM is currently encouraging people to have a go at revitalising older models. As you can see from the paragraph below though it doesn't always go smoothly. I have spent the afternoon fettling up an older Hornby Class 37 bought for £10 2nd hand (successfully I think) and a very elderly Tri-ang Class 31, so far unsuccessfully, as I have the replacement part but can't get the four small holding screws to budge so I can get the old part off and the new one on! Time will tell on the 37, it runs on my rollers but will it run round the club's test track tomorrow evening. The two loco's aren't dead scale but I'm happy with them because looking at them I see what they are supposed to be and the faults don't shout out too much.

Thanks all for the tips already given. As requested by @kevinlms above an update with the steps taken so far on the stuck screws/replacement keeper plate attempt:- 1) Several attempts to unscrew with miniature cross-point screwdriver - all failed. 2) Some GT85 added in hope it frees off any rust. No difference after three hours. 3) Gentle tap on screw head, no difference to any of the four. All remaining stuck fast. 4) Realisation that as the existing keeper plate was already broken if it would come off then the answer should be pliers on the screw head. The existing broken plate disintegrated easily for removal. 5) Still unable to shift the four screws - more GT85 added and it is going to be left for a few days in the hope the GT85 does the penetrating oil trick it says it will on the can (First time I have tried it for this purpose). 6) The warmth of leaving it on a radiator for an hour to see if expansion loosens the screws not yet attempted as for obvious reasons the loco needs a bit of additional dismantling first to avoid any body warping from the heat! As a general point I hadn't noticed before that underneath the underframe block (Part S.6332) there is a Brush Traction builders plate neatly moulded in. A nice touch if invisible most of the time. NB: The other fix this afternoon, and roughly still on topic, was an attempt at resuscitating a dead Hornby class 37 (Ex Lima version?) bought untested from a local 2nd hand/book shop for £10 a couple of weeks ago. Although vendor had been told it ran when tested the following Monday it didn’t run on the club test track. Examined today, absolutely filthy wheels etc., and it now runs well after a good dose of GT85 and a small amount of wheel cleaning.

NERA member and watched it on zoom from the south coast. Excellent talk, thank you.

Just similar thinking, wasn't at Stafford as it would have been a circa 500 mile round trip from down here on the west Dorset coast. Looked a very good show from the videos I have seen.

I’ve thought for a while that most scenery however fine-scale is often under weathered and at exhibitions over lit. That is not to say there isn’t excellent work out there, because there is. I sort of agree with the OP but then I see a layout like Hills of the north depicting Shap ( we had it at York recently) that gets it right. For me I like watching trains and a bit of shunting, basic but looks right scenery and a mix of older models would suit me. One thing though is crucial, basic doesn’t mean unrealistic, for example use of obviously continental and/or US architecture on a UK based layout. All seen recently on layouts, it shouts wrong to me. Even a cartoon like flat, but clearly British, would work. Look and think stage scenery principles, scenery and lighting is there to set a scene for the actors or in our case our trains.

As an alternative do Sharpie do a correct colour? Personally I would find the solid nib of a pen easier than a fine brush that is flexible for small lettering. I have done brush letters for chalk names on wagons, isn't that I can’t, just don’t find it easy and am intending to try Sharpies on a recent cheaply bought parcels van as an experiment.

Sadly for an urban church boarded up more likely than in use. Edit: or being used for something else. A couple here on the island are now residential; either flats or houses.

Aware of that issue, what I was pondering was how effective tiny amounts are as a penetrating/loosening aid. What works on a 10mm nut and bolt doesn’t necessarily scale down to a 1mm screw.

Yes, the new mini-t/ls are a nightmare.

Loco is out of reach at the moment. Memory of the one that needs removing from trying earlier today during WMRA exhibition is that it has crosshead type screws lying flush at the head.

Sorry for reactivating an old thread, the only one even close that search found! I have a replacement keeper plate to replace a broken one. The four tiny cross-head screws are stuck fast, don't want to wreck their heads so I can't refit them. Any tips for freeing them up? All the tips I know of for freeing bolts and stuck screws are for big items not models. Would a drop of WD40 work? (Spray into something then drip on not a total spray over the bogie) I know I could possibly cut through the plastic then use small long nose pliers to unscrew them by gripping the heads but it seems a little over kill.

Lateral thinking. The ideas above are interesting. An immediate suggestion to do it without buying anything you won’t already have. Work in the kitchen next to your cooker not the workbench for that job, with the water in something suitable like a small saucepan boosted for warmth at the very lowest setting over a hob spot for short bursts.

Weymouth show going well, several wagons weathered and also a few road vehicles. Some links to images needed for tomorrow. https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/essopickeringa - single wagons The folder of TTA and TEA tank wagons. - https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/fueltankwagons Relevant RMWeb thread. Video link jumbo freigthliner hoppers. -