john new

Personally, even though the noise is unrealistic, the fact you actually hear it go over and the propellant force ensures it goes over makes the traditional PECO and solenoid option the one I will continue to use whilst it remains available.

23 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

 

But how many layouts offer such a viewpoint against a plain background?

 

On my regular operating patch, we run a number of Hornby rebuilt West Countries, which will go round the minimum 3' curves with flanged wheels in the rear truck, as will Britannias.

 

Some have had the flangeless wheels replaced, others not, and eye level is about 15" above rail height.

 

Can't tell one from t'other without getting in really close.

 

I consider the subterfuge to be the lesser of two evils compared with a floppy rear truck swimming in unwanted daylight.

 

John

Fair point regarding your view but personally I prefer the wobbly rear trucks (despite them being wrong) having been brought up with them. My brain expects that.

4 hours ago, Covkid said:

 

 

I am not totally sure but I think I read somewhere that the majority of seats on the two Jacobite rakes (hitherto) were in open stock, and just one coach of compartments was a premium charge. 

 

Opening picture windows are a clear advantage on scenic lines and behind steam locos, but when WCRC operated the Cambrian Coastline trains back in the oughties they used MK2 pressurevent stock, albeit probably vacuum braked.

 

It is possible to have CDL on vacuum braked vehicles - obviously as that is what Vintage Trains are going to be doing at Tyseley, as I believe their business model retains vacuum brakes. Also the DMUs based at Swanage for operating o nthe mainline to Wareham are fitted with magnetic CDL. 

 

In my view WCR  have taken a gamble (still) and it hasn't worked for them but..........  I am sure I have read somewhere that WCR regard the Jacobite as their most profitable operation .  If it is there is a reason why it appears not to be their highest priority. 

I understand for commercial income reasons the Swanage DMU option as a regular has been dropped. Extremely informative post, thank you.

13 minutes ago, Torper said:

They all seem to cost the earth these days - now there's a surprise.  In 2020 I bought a 6L ultrasonic bath through ebay from a firm called Industry Press. It cost me £83.  The same thing now costs £137. Ebay has quite a selection of 6L ultrasonic baths, most of which look remarkably similar and cost around £137 upwards.  The 6L bath is 30cm long (Interior measurement) and therefore big enough for most 4mm coaches.  In conjunction with the appropriate fluid it has worked very well as a paint stripper and is also useful for cleaning up etch brass kits, etc before painting.  However, useful though it has been, I'd have to think quite hard about splashing out £137 on one today although if I was to be doing a lot of paint stripping I probably would.

I guess that is this one. - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304988694066

7 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Good evening John,

 

From memory, there were troughs at Scrooby (one of the homes of the Pilgrim Fathers), the sidings were at Ranskill and the level crossings were at Torworth, Sutton or Botany Bay, all just of the (old) A1. 

 

I wonder how many other families with trainspotting sons turned off the A1 from time to time between Bawtry and Retford? Mine certainly did!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

It had a mill alongside the gates if I recall correctly. I may be conflating two spots as at least one of them had sidings. You could often see the steam rising from there where the A614 up from Nottingham met the Gt North Rd.

We certainly did use things like station car parks for picnic stops. We lived near Winchester at the time and two regulars going north for breakfast stops were either Wantage or Steventon depending on Dad's choice of route. Both good spots for fast running WR trains. Wantage at that time still had the loco plinthed on the platform.  Blisworth was the usual mid-point stop, not that good for numbers but plenty of trains passing over the viaduct. I remember too that the line just south of there through Towcester was used to store mineral wagons.

On 20/03/2024 at 09:53, gr.king said:

If the annoyance with modern sports commentary extends to Rugby Union, and your only fluent language is English, try watching the "Clwb Rygbi" on S4C. You won't understand any more than the very occasional word of the commentary...

Luckily as I don't have the necessary pay-TV subscription the Wales v Finland soccer game is free to air on S4C tonight. I can live with no sound/no commentary. Thanks @gr.king for the reminder about S4C covering Welsh sport.

5 minutes ago, Bob5860 said:

Tony,  Following on from your post with regards to layouts that never leave home I attach photos of BOB my loft layout which is “Based On Bawtry” on the East Coast mainline.  Bob comprises a scale half mile from the 5 arches over the river Idle up to the station signal box to the North.  The attached ordinance survey map indicates the actual area modelled.

 

BOB was started in 2018, the fiddle yard was first and reused boards from 2 previous railway layouts going back to 1980 & 2000’s.  The fiddle yard comprises  a total of 35 loops, the scenic boards were all new build by myself Christmas 2019 and from there on progress continued up to Christmas 2023 when I started on the station building.  Unfortunately I have been unable to find definite information on some of the buildings.  I have used Metcalfe houses for the houses fronting the A614, the industrial building is pure fiction but I do need to re-visit the houses on Queens Crescent and the water treatment plant as more information has become available.

 

The track is Peco 100 in the fiddle yard and Peco bullhead on the scenic section.  The scenery is a joint effort with my 12 year old grandson, my wife and myself.  The signals are by my friend Greg.  The stock is probably 95% RTR but nothing goes onto the railway until it has been detailed, close coupled, weathered and in most cases lamps and crew.

 

At 72 I still have a lot to learn about train formations so BOB is definitely a work in progress.  It is just a simple layout to watch trains go by and especially by our grandchildren.

 

Thank you for the inspiration that is Writes Writes and thanks also for Peterborough North, Grantham and the West Hill wagon works.

 

Regards Nik

In the days before the A1(M) when Bawtry was still on the main route north and the Great North Rd a stop for the toilets there and then a quick drive under the railway bridge for a sandwiches break in the lay-by. A good spot to watch the trains traverse the viaduct with the PW slack (due to subsidence) was a regular. All a long time ago now but this layout is a nice reminder of those past times. Very occasionally if time permitted we went down to the level crossing and sidings a bit further south (Screwby?). Thanks for triggering these memories.

.

10 hours ago, Ragtag said:

Maybe too late now, but Mark Hughes models have vac formed replacement screens suitable for a VR3.

Thanks, he isn't a supplier I was aware of. Now noted for any future needs.

Many of the above suggest IPA in an ultrasonic bath works. Can anyone recommend a sonic bath that doesn't cost the earth but is big enough for a loco or coach in 00? My next stripping project isn't that big (3 badly painted Dublo Dinky buses) but the stuff I last used to strip an EFE bus was slow and not that effective. Oh for the past days of useable off-the shelf Nitromores for stripping anything metal not the modern domestic sale watered down stuff.

Additional trader added to the Traders page - ModelSigns Their first visit to the York Show,

2 hours ago, Scottiedog@5 said:

I have ordered Early Bird Tickets via Eventbrite but when I try to print them I keep getting a Code 403 error. What am I doing wrong?

Do any experts know and if so can you help Scottiedog please.. I've only printed tickets once and had no problem. They should be scannable by our door stewards from a mobile phone when you arrive. 

On 25/09/2021 at 23:18, john new said:

The paint stripping was successful,. Although it won't be an absolutely correct fix a strip of Code 80 rail is available to fill the above the windscreen gap. To fix it in place I will be trying the baking-powder & superglue method for the first time. For a windscreen replacement the packaging shape from a 2 x Scotch Egg package (Sainsburys) looks hopeful with the same shop's beef mince pack a back up option.

Finally got around to doing a bit on this project, why the delay, just lots of other things getting in the way. In the end for the missing windscreen glazing I have used a strip cut from Co-op Turkey slices packaging. Several unsuccessful goes at doing two half sections using the curves moulded into various types of clear packaging so in the end I found it just bends and stays bent. Central chrome strip, a bit of cooking foil. It can go to one side now  to let the glue thoroughly dry. Hopefully, what was the last of my Bostik white glue will dry clear as I remember it doing. The screen is wrap around, as per the prototype, but is flat not the slightly bulbous shape of the original. I am guessing (a) most viewers won't know so won't notice and (b) if they do it is local accident damage repair. [Looks better out of the photo]

Not in these photos, also some work done on painting the interior sub assemblies. Logic says The front windscreen needed to be in before doing much more on the inside and putting it back together as if the glazing doesn't stick etc., it will be harder to redo with the bus reassembled. One strategic decison to make - will it have a crew and passengers to be on the open road or left as an empty one for a depot parked up spot?

13 minutes ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

Didn't really solve the issue, just cut off that end of Castleton to all but light vehicles. Only way in and out is Wynatt's Pass. It pleased some high-ups in the National Park and National Trust as they no longer had lorries past their mansions 😉

One at Ventnor's Underciffe in the news today. Too expensive to repair, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-68597533   The gist seems to be there were funds available from the national highways pot but not enough to actually fix it. One sniffs an air of political jiggery pokery, namely announce a substantial (but not big enough) wodge of cash just before an election. The hope being it won't be taken up but might sway the electorate your way. Just suspicious, it might not have happened that way obviously but how many times have the same projects been announced but no bulldozers ever hit the ground. Cynic, me!! 

Minor update, change of demonstrator on Stand 98 – Richard Dalimore replaces Martin Pennington. N finescale.

5 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning John,

 

From the days of the great cricket commentators; along with Brian Johnston, there were the likes of John Arlott, Peter West and Jim Swanton to entertain and educate us about the gentlemen's game.

 

Last night, I watched a 20-20 final on telly from Pakistan; certainly entertaining and exciting (though being non-partisan, I cared not who won), but some of the commentary was akin to being excoriated! Good (even great) cricketers the commentators might have been, but there their talents ceased (this is even more so with football commentators). 

 

What about the other great cricket quotes, such as 'The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey' or 'He's just got his leg over' or 'Botham has just clipped one of Thompson's balls all the way to the boundary'? At least one is attributed to the 'master'. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Fully concur. Across the board sports commentators on TV are so bad these days I usually watch with the sound off. The other thing for cricket is the stump mikes picking up inane comments, often in the language of players who don’t speak English plus bursts of unwanted (by me) stupid music blaring in the ground. Fortunately radio is generally still listenable to.

13 hours ago, lezz01 said:

 Well Clive it's something my old dad set up back in the 70s before we got 3 phase in for the Colchester lathe. I have a Unimat so it's not something I do now. I can draw you a sketch if you like though.

Regards Lez. 

Back in the 60s the first power drill we had (from Wolf) came with various bolt on attachments, including a hedge trimmer and significantly a casting that fitted onto a bench. The drill sat in that so you could add a grinding wheel into the chuck.

1 hour ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Stop making excuses - rules is rules!

 

Lines have to be drawn somewhere. There is substantial profit to be had from the Jacobite operation so if WCR don't want to lose out on lots of revenue they will find a way..... Its not as if their entire coach fleet consists of Mk1s after all.....

Not sure exactly what flavour of Mk1 coaches they have previously used but for Harry Potter fans it ideally needs to be Mk1 side corridor compartment stock to be authentic to the books. Not fitting CDL on their Mk1s is rather like Mother Goose shooting her golden goose.

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

A request, please.

 

Does anyone have a spare Bachmann B1 tender body for sale, please? It needs to be in BR lined black (the BR device doesn't matter - early or later). 

 

The reason for this need is that I sprayed a Bachmann V2 BR lined green tender body this morning with Halfords car rattle can acrylic satin black, and it 'attacked' the lining/BR device; it just blistered! I've cleaned it off, but rather nasty marks have been left and re-spraying hasn't disguised these (do you see why I usually leave painting to those who know what they're doing?). I've never come across this reaction before - not with acrylic. 

 

I'm happy to buy a complete tender if necessary.

 

I recall at one show, a trader selling RTR tender bodies (including Bachmann B1s), but who and where are lost in the mists of time.

 

Many thanks in anticipation. 

Unexpected reactions can be weird. I have used 50:50 mix PVA for several years as a base coat/primer with no reactions. On a recent open wagon no problem with the outside surfaces but after drying the inside layer peeled off as a thin sheet. Weird as inside and outside must be the same plastic - it is one moulding. It will be a scrub off and restart at some point and see what happens second time around.

2 hours ago, John of York61 said:

Google Earth images of the Saturday overflow (free) car park which will be signposted and staffed by Constant Security Ltd. 

These pictures are also included on our show travel page for arrivals by car plus one showing the Sunday & Monday site. As per the travel page suggestion anyone mobility impaired, but not with a blue badge, will have a shorter walk on either Sunday or Monday.

Navigation glitch affecting i-pad and i-phone users also discovered and fixed. The Arriving by car page link from the main menu was not opening the current Arriving by car page. It worked on desktop and laptop PCs and Macs but for some reason not with Apple's mobile software.

Two more late changes as we count down to the Show.

One amendment on the Traders page (Powerbond Adhesives replacing Booklaw/Santona on stand 120) and The Scalefour Society added to the Societies listing.
Pre-paid tickets available until Good Friday. Book ahead, spread the cost, grab the discount. Hoping to see you all over Easter. #YMRS2024

On 14/01/2024 at 04:10, SteveyDee68 said:

The traditional Inglenook uses a 5-3-3 pattern of sidings with a headshunt capable of taking 3 wagons plus a loco but for an absolute minumum Inglenook you can reduce that to a 3-2-2 pattern, with a shorter headshunt of two wagons plus loco.

 

Reducing the “main train” length to 3 wagons might let you fit your loop in. Adding a second siding at the top off the left hand loop would allow a siding to complete the Inglenook design, negating using the lead line into the loop at the right hand side as a “siding”’ for the puzzle).

 

Shunting using a “minimum Inglenook” according to Wymann.info (the home of “The Model Railway’s Shunting Puzzles Website” by Adrian Wymann) gives 120 different arrangements of wagons to create 60 different 3 wagons trains; okay, that’s down (a lot) on the 40,320 arrangement possibilities and 6,720 different 5 wagon trains of the original, but that’s the trade off for minimum space!

 

That fourth siding - running parallel to the layout edge - could be serving the dock itself; finish the front edge of the board as a dock wall; rear sidings could serve industries or warehouses.

 

When I’m not so sleepy I’ll be drawing it for you!

 

Steve S

 

 

Might copy your insulation foam layer but overtopped with cork to avoid any glues or paints dissolving the foam. My own inglenook started without any sound absorbent layer and it is noisy.

On 17/01/2024 at 02:45, brynnydd said:

I made some small progress today. Last night before bed I was reading the LNER150 book and read that they carried sugar beets in coal wagons. I thought this would be a great idea to fill up some of my wagons while adding some variety. So I used some white glue to affix a mound of quinoa to some foam board. I then made a wash with some brown paint and put it all over. Once that had dried I did an over-brush of a khaki, and finally a dry brush of a light khaki. I think it turned out pretty well!

 

 

Also, the building behind the wagon in this shot I scratch built as a loco shed for my last layout, but felt very out of scale. So I'm hoping it can work as a dilapidated warehouse/shed/etc for this one.

I will be interested in how well this lasts without showing signs of mould growth etc. I have always been wary of using organic matter after past problems.

On 15/03/2024 at 23:25, TEAMYAKIMA said:

I have been quietly working on some relatively minor issues which came to light at the Abingdon show and some longer term issues which we are finally able to deal with. 

 

Consequently, I am pondering a (rather anal) issue which I've had at the back of my mind for some time. Should the layout attempt to be be 100% accurate or should the layout have some 'artistic license'? And if so, how much? 

 

I'm mainly thinking of the choice of locomotives. The first priority has always been reliability and that has largely now been achieved with the large range of locos in my collection. Let's face it, by 2001 the vast majority of China Rail trains were hauled by green DF4B's and yet I have tried to vary things by including locos which you MIGHT have seen in 2001, rather than locos you were likely to see in 2001. 

 

Having thought about it, I think I will tip the balance slightly more to what you would have definitely seen in 2001 rather than what you might have seen if you were very lucky. The change won't be great, let's say from 60/40 to 70/30.  I'll simply prioritise the usual and keep the unusual in reserve if things go wrong or just to spice things up. 

I know very little about the detail of Chinese railways therefore to me if the outline of what I see matches my limited knowledge the variety option is best. As @CameronL says above most people won’t know. Perhaps add into the show guide blurb, .. and features rolling stock you might have seen if you had visited China in 2001. You can get away with things an equivalent modeller of a UK layout attempting accuracy can’t because of the comparatively limited audience knowledge. 
 

There are two approaches by modellers within the hobby towards divergence from modelling place X exactly at period dd/mm/yyyy - (1) those who know what it should be and, for whatever reason, relax things (your might be seen approach) and (2) those who either haven’t yet learnt enough to avoid howlers and mismatches or don’t care because they just like running trains of any make/format. The small local show scene across the country has a lot of type (2)s, which is still a good thing because they are doing some modelling.

4 hours ago, john new said:

Since the post above I have not had much time for test running or work on this layout; however, have done some general modelling work on other projects (for example see on Wright Writes). Test running on this has identified the oldest point on the layout (an old PECO Y) has become problematic.  Diesels seem to go through it OK but the longer wheelbase steam locos shift the point when set to the right hand divergence to slightly open. The outcome the front flange pushes it across enough for it go through swinging left or it just derails! The problem I am pretty sure is the point motor and associated surface mount motor rodding being a smidgeon out.

 

A bit of ballasting has also been done. A trial of chinchilla dust plus a bit of budgie grit and chinchilla dust alone. Prefer the latter. Lots still to do but scenery on hold until the track is sorted.

 

Final updates - the Hornby Rowntrees livery Ruston loco has finally arrived - three years since I pre-ordered it! The truck and bucket excavator were picked up at a garden centre and don't seem that far off 4mm. 

A bit more testing led to the decision to add two check rails with timber infill for a foot crossing. Method, bend rail to fit and file a notch for the pins, shorten two brass panel pins by snipping the head end off - solder to new check rail - position and hammer down into place. A minor adjustment also made to the point motor's base position.

The limited testing before adding the timbering suggested the issue is now resolved. Planning to leave the Araldite to dry for a decent period as have no wish to get on onto wheel treads. In place but not yet given any wood staining. The timber is just plain coffee stirrers trimmed to fit..

1 hour ago, Pmorgancym said:

If it's for exhibition rather than personal use you will have to purchase a license off the original.modeller or you could find yourself in serious legal trouble.

I doubt Brunel will sue!