Stentor

Jonathan, Thanks, I have the red issue but your picture of Barmouth Station correctly appears black and white to me. iPad Pro 11”, iPadOS 16 using Safari. // Simon

I bought a N7 from Eloise on eBay and I was very pleased with it. The faults were not as bad as the description suggested but obviously your mileage may vary. The loco was very well packaged and it arrived very quickly. The listing had an “Submit Offer” button but that proved to be pointless as only the full asking price would do. I have no connections to Eloise, Oxford or Hornby, just a satisfied customer. //Simon

Such sad news, my condolences to his family and friends. The word legend is often used nowadays but in our hobby Iain was fully deserving of it. He balanced that rare combination of being inspirational whilst being utterly approachable, no airs and graces just friendly conversation and good ideas. He is at peace now, freed from the grip of Parkinson’s and it would be nice to think that he is now reunited with Bob Barlow, sat in some remote cottage planning layouts over a hot cup of tea.

I believe that this is going to be a “TTS” version of a steam generator. So it will consist of a TTS sound chip and a linked smoke generator, using the same smoke generating technique as vaping. If you’ve ever sat behind a Corsa at traffic lights then you’ll know just how much smoke vaping can produce. They will call it “TTSteam” or something like that. It will retail for around the £99 price point although knowing Hornby it might be nearer £129.

“Some really hot news” it must be a Hornby version of Noch’s Sexy Scenes figures.

A 50% cut on all retail prices ?

As ever thanks David to for posting some fascinating pictures. Is that a former GWR Toad between the BR standard brake wagon the flat wagon in C3712 at Laindon?

Thanks to everybody who has read my question and especially to those who took the trouble to reply, it is appreciated. There were a couple of questions about whether it is made of aluminium and no, it is tinplate as there are a few rust pinpricks and a magnet sticks to it. I have the bad habit of getting sentimental about and feeling sorry for neglected models which regularly results in me buying basket cases. I think it comes from my Dad telling me bedtime stories about the old rusty lorry that was replaced and ended up down the breakers yard only to be repealed from the cutter's torch at the last minute when its replacement broke down. So now that I know what this coach is supposed to represent and nobody is telling me I have uncovered the "missing link" in the evolution of model coaches I will do something with this but I won't throw a large budget at it. Thanks again to all. //Simon

I have acquired this OO gauge coach body as part of a job lot from eBay. It is made of tinplate and has quite prominent internal lugs to hold the glazing in place, the ends are quite roughly finished. The way that the vents are soldered into the roof makes me think that it might have come as a kit but I am not certain. A quick browse on Google gives me a shortlist of Jaypee, Westdale or BSL - but none of those makes exactly match in terms of materials used. I'm not very knowledgeable on GWR coach stock so can anybody identify what the prototype is, real or generic. Can anybody share any insight into this mystery coach. Any help much appreciated, thanks, //Simon

Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boy? - no, that was on a Great Eastern match wagon. Looking at gwr.org.uk there is a shot of a model by Ted Kanas where the match wagon has CRANE No. XXX W on the left end of the plank above the sole bar and Tare 5 - 3 on the right end. But that’s a model and sometimes models aren’t what happened in real life.

Sorry to hear your news David, my condolences to you. Although I never met your Mum I felt like I knew her through her many appearances in your photos and the many anecdotes you shared about her. She was obviously a very special woman and Mum. Take care of yourself and draw strength from the knowledge that she is now at peace. Simon

Glad you’ve got the all clear David but sad to hear the news about your Mum. Both of you are in our thoughts.

I’m acquiring speakers and like all my stuff squirrelling them away into drawers prior to fitting. The magnets in them attract and I get clumps of speakers sometimes. Is this harming them by draining their magnetism and if so what is the right way to store them prior to fitting them? Any advice appreciated. // Simon

Squires Models are offering spare parts for models. They are very friendly and helpful but they have little knowledge of the range so you need to tell them the kit number and the part number - which is fair enough as it’s all new to them. The issue is the wait if your desired part is not in stock as they are batching casting runs so it will be a couple of months before you get your parts.

Thanks to everyone who took the trouble and time to reply, especially to Redgate Models, I’ll add this experience to my lessons learned and just use cold water and hand soap from now on. As Il Grifone says it is probably my best ever attempt at weathering, maybe, maybe as Bob Ross says “we don’t make mistakes in railway modelling, we just have happy accidents “. //Simon

I have been restoring an old Triang Class 47 that I bought recently, it's an early unpainted R060 with the metal chassis and the Fleischmann style ringfield motor. The body had some sandy dirt in the grilles and some oil/grease on the inside of the body shell so I decided to give it a gentle wash in some warm water with a little Ecover washing up liquid. But when it dried I noticed that the body colour has gone dull and patchy - see photos - it's as if the washing up liquid has dried the residual oil out of the plastic. I've washed many plastic parts like this but never seen this problem. So to prevent me making this mistake again is this down to the washing up liquid ? Can I fix this by buffing up the body with a little T Cut to cut back to a fresher layer of plastic or do I need a repaint ? Any advice much appreciated. //Simon

I remember being on a railtour many years ago and being told “that’s Ged”. He was a celebrity gricer amongst gricers, respected, valued and appreciated for his knowledge and his dedication to our hobby. May he rest in peace. //Simon

Here they are coming back through Bruton. Apologies for the quality as it's a grab from video. // Simon

Many thanks to Ian T for sharing the drawing which is very well executed and full of detail. //Simon

I've just bought this locomotive body off of eBay. It is made of tinplate and looks to have been carefully assembled. It looks to be 4mm scale. What I don't know is what it is a model of. I am guessing a Sentinel of some kind but please can anybody enlighten me? Thanks for any information. //Simon

Happy Birthday David your dedication is so appreciated and the photographs you post form a valuable reference source for us all. I hope both you and your Mum enjoy the day. //Simon

David, please wish your Mum a speedy recovery. //Simon

Measuring from the top of the rollers to the bottom of the bracket which rests on the railhead it is 13.56mm. The spacing piece between the two rollers does not touch the railhead at all. //Simon

I can wholeheartedly recommend these, not cheap but they do the job very, very well. https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/wire-strippers/3822847/

Very sad to hear this news, my condolences to his family and friends. All of Geoff’s shows I attended were impeccably conceived, planned and run. When you saw him at the show he always looked utterly in control and at the very top of his game. A sad loss especially now with the prospect, hopefully, of shows restarting and we would have seen him back in action, entertaining and bringing a smile back to faces. //Simon