CEINEWYDD

Brilliant idea for wooden benches. Mrs T. already has trouble enough in stopping me "acquiring" these before your suggestion.

I did a gwr ex tvr brake van last year from a Jidenco kit and eventually threw away the sole bars, and replaced them with brass 'U' section of almost the right size. Eventually worked ok but not brilliant. Fortunately I have an unmade 'Dragon Models' kit to show me what it should look like, and what goes where. (later this year!!)

I can vividly remember standing on Hemel Hempstead Up platform When a long train of freight traffic came hurtling past (some kind of 'Leccy Loco on the front) , with long wheelbase 4 wheel opens bouncing around behind, and in a few of these wagons were wooden crates bouncing around. Not as much as the balls in a bingo machine, but enough for me (and others on the platform) to take a couple of paces away from the platform edge. There did not seem to be ANY kind of ropes or chaining.

Don't forget, milk needs transporting PDQ. Keeping a tank or two hanging around for a 'Full' load' before running a train is not going to happen, so in some circumstances single tanks will be shifted.

That solves a puzzle for me. Many years ago I saw (in Great Western Journal) a photo of Powell Duffryn 2 silo wagons, trundling around somewhere in S Wales. This week I have just finished reading the Pen & Sword book by Hodge and Caston on the Bassaleg/Bargoed/New Tredegar/Rhymney section of the Brecon 'n Merthyr railway. On page178 (I have just dug out the book) there is a photo of a row of these 3 silo wagons, dated August 1963, taken at Aberbargoed junction. My recollection is that the 2 silo wagons were described as heading to the Phurnacite works, but at my age memory is not reliable. I would agree that fine powders of any organic compound is highly flammable, and in the right circumstances will actually explode. (demonstrated in an edition of 'HOW' from Southern TV back in the sixties.) My dad had to sack a man from the NCB provender store in Llwynypia for smoking in the store! The place was full of straw dust and various fodders. Dad said it was his worst day at work ever.

Well plan 'A' was to remove the inner rod (aka the crankpin) in the bush, and replace this with 14ba bolts. Not possible so I removed the complete bush, and adopted plan 'B' (as in a cunning plan Baldrick) which was to use a Markits crankpin instead. Like most cunning plans it was not feasible, in this case because the hole created by the removed bush left too little material for a Marklin's crankpin to sit safely without breaking the adjacent spokes. So plan 'C' was to create a new bush from brass tube, by drilling and using a 10 BA tap to create the right thread for the new all singing and dancing crankpin. I was some what dismayed to find that tapping the brass tube resulted in the tube expanding so that the crankpin was a sloppy fit - i.e. it fell out! NOT a happy boy! So on to plan D, fill the hole with Milliput, drill a new hole and Tap the hole. Currently waiting for the Milliput to set, so I can drill tomorrow and use 14BA bolts as a crankpin........Good luck with that I hear more experienced people say. If it does not work, plan 'E' is buy new wheels and axles. Still worth a try though.

Has anybody out there have any (relevant) experience in assembling/ enhancing the Chassis for one of these??? I have just opened up a very second hand kit of the above, and looked closely at it. The wheels seem to have been "improved" by inserting a brass bush in the appropriate orifice. I have a packet of 14BA nuts 'n bolts to use as crankpins which is the correct size. (There are some other missing plastic nuts, bolts, bushes, spacers, none of which should bother me - I hope.) However has anyone out there used replacement (Markits??) wheels instead of K's offering?? And what issues cropped up?? If not I will have a go at applying the well known suck it and see principle with my fingers and toes crossed. My other hobby is being a contortionist.

Lovely edition, especially with emphasis on Morley, which is the birthplace of Titus Salt (as in Saltaire ). Last time I was in Morley the Goods shed was being used by a tyre replacement firm. Is it still standing? When I first went there I was told about the "Rhubarb Express" which went nightly in rhubarb season down to Leeds and then London for delivery to Covent Garden. I took some persuading, but the forcing sheds can still be seen to the west of the M1 before the East Ardsley exit. Good to see MRJ is expanding into Asian cuisine with Gas Woks being referenced in editorial !!.

I guess that the colour photo in the latest GWS Echo (no.244) is the same one as referred to in the Black Dwarf/lightmoor book. If that is the quality of pics in the book, then I will have a good look at that book when I am at Doncy next weekend.

Following from above, I have just come across another picture of the B&M. This is in the Dec 1982 edition of 'Model Railways' , and seems to be the same bridge as the above photo, but from a very different position. There is a great deal more of the surrounding area, including lots of stone walls. The photo is also present in the Ian Allan book Trains Illustrated No.4 on the last years of brit steam - Western region. I suspect that it will be easier to find on ebay than the Dec 82 edition of the mag. Yes the photos are in Black & White, but it gives an idea of the variation in the colours of the stone. Good luck!!

There are now three books on the B&M from Pen & Sword publishers, John Hodge & Ray Caston the authors. Absolutely full of delicious pics, enough to satisfy even the most nerdy of us (i.e.me) . Slowly working my way through combined Xmas and birthday pressies.

Oh yes ! Missed that . G'night all.

Billy Connolly used to tell a great joke about parking a bike, but I am sure I will get banned to submitting that, so you will have use your imagination!!

That really is a terrific upgrade - far better than I could do, even if I had won the thing! Well done you - through gritted teeth!

Don't know what impact DCC chipping will have but I can confirm that reversing the polarity of the magnet will (does) reverse direction of movement. Useful if trying to make all loco's move in a consistent direction.