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Many thanks to Les and 34 for your suggestions, both certainly worth considering. The weight factor on the Wrenn is amazing. not only the cast body weight but a large piece of lead screwed into the boiler makes it one very heavy model. Like you Les , I wondered about just changing the wheels etc but also wondered about the possible use of a Comet chassis. It would be nice to lose the intrusion into the cab of the original motor but then, naturally, you make a bigger job of the upgrade. I`m sure I have a set of tender wheels somewhere so that shouldn`t be too much of a problem. Best of luck with the paving 34, I have to say, I thought I`d get a lot more modelling done during this lock down but strangely, I`ve only just found the enthusiasm again after, like you, doing other things first. Many thanks to you both, Jim.

Now that i`ve almost finished modifying a couple of loco`s that needed looking at, I`m wondering if it`s possible to do the same to an old Wrenn 8F that`s been sitting in it`s box for longer than I can remember. I stripped the paint off it a long time ago and looking at it again realised there is some nice rivet detail on it that might look quite good when spray painted. My question is, does anyone know of a suitable chassis kit that might work or is it going to be a scratch build? I realise the dimensions aren`t as accurate as modern models ( slightly narrow on measurements I`ve looked at ) but I still think it might be worth a go. The tender will definitely need a scratch built chassis. I just wondered if anyone else had tried this and thought it was worth it or not. Many thanks, Jim.

A very nice end to all the work. I would echo Mikkel`s comment regarding the photos and painting. It`s good to see some still have the skill and patience to produce a model like that. Great stuff.

My first proper attempt at a layout was in the early 1970`s, in the loft, following articles in the Railway Modeller written by David Jenkinson on modelling the Settle and Carlisle. I had boards up between rafters and and managed to start building Dent station with a circuit of track going right round until Mr Jenkinson stopped writing the articles and changed to 7mm. The loft started to fill up with the usual clutter after children came along so the railway was dismantled. Further modelling was in scratch building two model boats and then in 2008 decided on building an end to end railway in the garage, which is in very slow progress but has given me more skills than I thought possible at the start. Prior to all of this was seeing a friends tinplate layout in his garden making a lot of noise as it ran ( this was late 1940`s ) and a train set from Canada, ( a circle of track with a loco that shot sparks out of the chimney. ) All this started the interest which has never gone away.

Thank you Mikeg and Redgate Models. I don`t have the facility for checking CV readings so now I know there is a guarantee I`ll get in touch with the supplier. Many thanks for the information. Jim.

Been watching your progress over time and it`s seems to be going well. Now you`ve added the scenery and colour it`s looking good. Beginning to come together nicely. Jim.

I have a Zimo MX600R decoder that I`ve been trying to use in a loco I`ve been rebuilding. My problem is that I`m getting no signal from the decoder to the motor. Power is coming from the track to the decoder but nothing is happening beyond that. I`ve tested with another decoder and things work fine , but trying with the Zimo again there`s no drive. Is there any other simple test I could do at home or is it a bin job? Many thanks, Jim.

Anyone attempting a scratch build in brass/nickel silver etc. is always interesting, but to see what you`re doing in tinplate is something else. I remember my father taking me to a model engineering exhibition put on by Aldershot Model Engineering Society way back in the 1950`s and seeing a great number of tinplate models on display, quite a large proportion of them being ships. Seeing that at the age I was fired my interest in model making, settling on railways which is still as strong at 77. Great to see your progress so far. Jim

I`ve been using graphite sticks on the rails now for sometime. My layout is in an integral garage with the usual lifting door which when opened can let in all sorts of mother nature so the top of the layout requires cleaning fairly often. I use graphite sticks after reading a mention by Phil Parker about a layout in Australia that used graphite because of difficulty reaching some of the areas on their layout. I`m not sure what the grade is but it`s pretty hard and does wear a groove in the end after some use. Obviously the usual cleaning of wheels etc. still takes place but I find it works well.

In answer to the original post, for me, I get pleasure from reading the printed article. As a geezer of advancing years, with all the attendant gradual failings, eyesight and fingers that aren`t what they once were, taking time to read and absorb the magazine articles have helped me no end over the years, whereas I`m not a huge user of the computer so reading online might not suit, but each to their own. One thing I am grateful for though is being able to use the computer to access RMWeb and the help are we able to get from it. I`m sure my modelling ability would be far less without either. Jim.

HI JeFFP, I have to hold my hands up and say, " you were correct " . I have absolutely no idea why but three drivers were un-insulated. I hadn`t checked that thoroughly because I don`t ever remember buying non insulated. Anyway, your suggestion proved me wrong and I thank you for that and while everything is stripped down I`ll renew all the wheels. I`ll go and look for the hat with the big D on it!! Many thanks once again, Jim.

Hi JeffP, Thanks for your reply, I`ve always fitted insulated drivers simply because it hopefully reduces the chance of any problem that might arrive in that area. However, you could be correct and time has dimmed the memory. I will double check though. Jim.

II GRIFONE and 34theletterbetweenB&D Many thanks for your replies, I understand totally the need for insulation on the brushes, having two other metal bodied/brass chassis locos which work fine. Further checking has revealed only one wheel appears to have insulation that is working. all the others are live to the axles. One of the reasons I stripped everything was the fact that I noticed the valve gear was live as well so my feeling was that I was looking at a possible list of problems as you say. All the axles have washers fitted so I`m pretty certain nothing is in contact with the chassis from that point. The last thing to check is the balance weights , which are etched brass, but are inboard of the insulation band. If that proves ok then a new set of drivers will hopefully put things right. Like 34, I`ve never come across this problem before but I suppose it can happen. Best wishes, Jim.

Evening all, While installing a dcc chip in a loco the other day I noticed that the chassis was live. As the driving wheels are insulated Romfords, could it be that the insulation has broken down ? (if that`s possible ) and is making the chassis live through the axles? If that is the case my other question is , does this affect the use of the decoder at all in any way? The loco runs fine on DC and has also been running using a basic Hornby decoder on a Portescap motor. The intention is to fit a ZIMO decoder once things are back together. You might say, if it`s running alright just carry on, but I wondered if there was a problem in the future it might be difficult to decide if it was the decoder or the live chassis. Changing the wheels will be a thing I will do but I was curious to know the answer to the other questions. Many thanks, Jim.

Thanks Pete the Elaner, I`ll note those down as well.

Thanks for your reply. No I haven`t tried that. I`m going to have another look later to see if there`s anything else going on that I haven`t spotted.

Evening all, I have a loco with a Zimo MX600R decoder in it that has suddenly decided to run at one speed only. Prior to this it had been fine but now wont respond to the controller. It`s also not responding to the emergency stop. Having never come across this before I wondered if anyone might know the reason why. I have another similar decoder but I`m reluctant to try it in case I end up damaging that one. Many thanks, Jim.

Pleased to be able to help John. Best of luck with your re-installation. I have a portescap in my scratchbuilt Duchess that`s going to get a Zimmo decoder in it. Like yours, my loco and motor are both 40 yrs old. Cheers, Jim.

High John, I`ve sent the picture as a PDF. Hopefully it`s arrived at your end and it`s of some use to you. Let me know if there`s a problem. Cheers, Jim. RG4.pdf

Hi John, I have the circuit diagram in relation to a Portescap RG 4 motor. It`s a very basic outline and may not be what you want. I can take a picture on my phone , but I need to figure out how load it to be able to send it , not having used this new system before. Let me know if it might be any use to you. Jim.

Thankyou DLT and Gordon A. You were both correct, I should have said a 1/8th axle, not 3mm. Many thanks for the information. I`ll follow that up and see what happens. Many thanks once again, Jim.

Afternoon all, I`m in the process of trying to convert a loco chassis that held a Romford Bulldog motor into one that will take a Portescap motor. So far, things have progressed well but I`ve now come to a halt because I need to locate a final drive gear for the motor. As far as I can tell , I would need a 10mm dia, 15 tooth gear with a 3mm dia hole to take a Romford axle. I`ve checked various sites but have not found one yet and I wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction. If all else fails, I`ll have to go back to the other motor. Many thanks, Jim.

Very sorry to see the news about Paul, Tim. My condolences to you. Pauls good humoured blogs are going to be much missed on here.

Can`t see anything bad about that weathering Paul. Looks pretty realistic to me. I`ll remember that method when I can get round to weathering some of the coaching stock I have. Good to see you back blogging again. Jim.

Enjoyed the program last night with all the differing sides to the hobby. Most of us realise anyway,but I thought more mention could have been made regarding the skills that the hobby gives you that young people could learn, modelling , electrical, woodworking, artwork and patience. How many other hobbies have such a range? I think in this day and age of almost instant everything ,the challenge of the modelling companies like Hornby is to encourage youngsters to stay with the hobby longterm and that might be difficult. I`m 77 and come from a generation where in railway terms we had a lot going on around us every day, but for todays youngsters, not quite so much. I agree with an earlier post regarding the program that followed, it would have made a bigger impact shown the other way round to see the progress made over the years. Looking forward to part two.