GarrettTheThief

I might wait for another year before claiming my free upgrade, but I'll probably switch from 7 in the future.

In this thread, I will probably go into detail on certain topics, but the idea is that we can talk about our experiences with (or as) transgender and gender non-conforming people. If you would rather keep that aspect of your life separate from your hobby and refrain from discussing it here, that's fine. I'd prefer it if this was geared towards a more serious discussion and any jokes made at the expense of transgender people kept in the Forum Jokes Thread. No, I'm not trying to violate your rights to free speech. Before I continue, here are two very good and informative articles: I Was Transgender and I Didn't Realize It - 6 Weird Realities http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1756-i-was-transgender-didnt-know-it-6-weird-realities.html 5 Shocking Realities of Being Transgender the Media Ignores http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1302-5-shocking-realities-being-transgender-media-ignores.html Now, just to reference my last sentence in the opening paragraph: I agree that no group should be free from ridicule and you should be able to tell the jokes you please as long as you accept that some/most people won't like you for it. However, I need to talk about a specific type of joke which makes me uncomfortable. You know, where the punchline is that a guy kills or beats up a woman on finding out she was assigned male at birth. It bothers me because it's a real problem which has gotten many transpeople killed while their killers use the "trans panic" defense. The second article I linked to (5 Shocking Realities) covered this nicely and I'm going to copy a block from it: There's no denying that this IS a pressing issue. Why does it bother me in particular (apart from basic empathy)? Well, I'm gender non-conforming. I have no desire to change my sex but I like to present as a member of the opposite sex and there's a real risk this could happen to me. Frankly, it's dangerous being people like us. When I present as female, it's not an act so it's not as simple as "well, don't dress up then!" (which just gives bigots a free ticket to behave like terrible people). An even bigger issue I have when it comes to jokes about transgender people is the complete and utter lack of creativity. My OTHER main gripe is less with ignorance (I would blame media portrayal, but with Caitlin Jenner, Laverne Cox and Chas Bono in the spotlight and this becoming more of a recognised issue, that's not much of an excuse). It's the infighting in transgender communities. If you aren't full time, you're seen as a crossdresser i.e. a fetishist (crossdressing refers to the act and not the psychology, but that's how it's seen by some members Of our community). I've had to cut ties with some groups and people because of this. Obnoxiousness and divisiveness don't care much about gender. Finally, I'll talk more about myself. I've never experienced any major discomfort over my body but I have been distressed because I was never able to express that side of me and there were societal and environmental factors which stopped me. Eventually, I came out to myself early last year when, on a whim, I googles "how to crossdress" and read a wikihow article only to suddenly realise this was something I always wanted to do. I then started questioning my gender identity and in the process, knew more about myself and gained a lot more self confidence. The questioning phase isn't entirely over and I'm thinking of seeking therapy again, only with someone who is more knowledgeable about gender issues. My experience is far from negative, though. My family, close friends and some of my colleagues accept me and I love having that side. I would delve deeper into the causes of transgenderism but I've already made this post too long so I'll go over that in another post. Feel free to chip in with your experiences and ask questions (obviously, how you ask them is important because this is a really sensitive area, but don't refrain from asking at all). I think the best way of making the world a better place is to spread understanding rather than be more divisive, something I sadly witness in the trans community.

I've just gone through all pages of this and given so many Likes and Agrees. Waverley, this is one of the best layouts I've ever seen. This is stunning modelling. Now, I'm not sure the words I come up with could ever do justice, so I'll leave that there.

*hits himself* Sorry, it was late.

There are no words to describe how absolutely AWESOME this is! I'll have a few HSTs myself so that's a lot of jumper cable work there. Where did you get the corridor connectors? I have trouble sourcing them from ebay and figures I might as well make my own.

L49, that's a brilliant conversion! Which Alan Gibson parts did you use? Because, at a cursory glance, there's an array of components but I don't know which is which as I'm not all that versed in steam locomotives. Cheers. I might go for the models without all the extra pipes (unless I can get hold of/scratch build them easily) to simplify things for me.

Thanks for your reply. I've had a look at the Thomas model and i see where you're coming from. I could cut and shut various parts of both my LMS Jinty loco and a Thomas body (and have a better idea of which parts). The Jinty has seen better days and the motor makes a horrible grinding sound. I'd rather sell that as spares and use a fresh Chassis from Thomas. The alternative is to modify my LMS Jinty. There are certain parts I can't get rid of that easily and I might have to end up creating some kind of "hybrid" between this: https://basilicafields.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/mr-2441-2444.jpg http://www.vectis.co.uk/AuctionImages/336/4590_l.jpg(right model) And this: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/47231_Whitacre%2C_1964.jpg http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/82/20/2822011_b3d10314.jpg Of course, I wouldn't have an accurate roof and I can forget about the "window" frames so I might go with that option. I will still have to scratch build that brass exhaust and extra piping.

I'm interested in modelling a Midland Railway 0-6-0T and I've noticed a few differences like the tank at the back. What are the major differences and are they easy to do on an LMS Jinty or are there too many differences? Has anyone else attempted this? Cheers.

I placed an order for mine. I just had to.

Thanks for the link. Chopping is a possibility. It looks as if I could fill in the guard window and as far enough so that only half the bogie spans the end of the coach. Additionally, the centre articulated coaches appear to be 3m shorter, judging by Wikipedia's page on the Class 373. With the coaches at that length, I might actually have space to fit a full White Rose rake in a 4.5m space (might! I could be wrong on my calculations). The only fear then is chopping the coach too much and making it grossly underscale. But it's possible, and not as daunting as I thought it might be. I'd have twelve coaches to do that to in a 14-car rake! How long will it be before I start to hate it, I wonder? Thank you both!

As I want to model a Regional Eurostar set in GNER (albeit a shorter version with nine coaches and a mix of trailers from two sets which are coupled in the prototypical rakes), and as I want to do it properly, I'd like to create the articulated bogies present on all intermediate coaches (minus the Guard First). However, a cut/shut would be too pricey with lots of spare parts which become useless to me, and Hurst models are out of brass sides, which are pricier than the two-coach packs alone! So I'm stumped, because I really would like a White Rose set (with a DIY bar/buffet coach and guard first). Keen Systems Carriage Ends don't appear to do these. Are there alternative methods, or kits in the pipeline? A possible request for RealTrack, perhaps? Or would I just have to make do and use an even number of coaches in my rakes? Cheers.

Those InterCity Voyagers are amazing. The livery looks nice on them. Nice work!

Provincial is basically the blue and grey body with a cyan stripe: http://members.madasafish.com/~dysgraphyk/156/photo/RA_156448_Carlisle_230897.jpg. These units kept their "Sprinter" branding when Provincial became Regional Railways. Regional Railways is a similar colour scheme but with three small stripes on the cab doors and "REGIONAL RAILWAYS" branding in a serif font: http://www.pacerpreservationsociety.co.uk/uploads/1/0/5/2/10525174/7018768_orig.jpg And then, let's not forget Express, which was a light grey and dark grey body with a blue and cyan double-stripe on the side. They carried "REGIONAL RAILWAYS" branding as per this picture - http://www.petersspares.com/images/_lib/Bachmann-31517dc-class-158-2-car-dmu-158732-regional-railways-dcc-on-board-9025232-0-1363719966000.jpg- but when first introduced, they had "EXPRESS" over the stripes under the second window from the cab. Some units kept this livery into privatization but the "EXPRESS" branding was changed to Central Trains. Then you had Regional Railways North-West which had a green stripe instead of a cyan stripe. As far as I know, RR Transpennine was just Provincial/RR with "Trans-Pennine" branding instead. That's to the best of my knowledge. Yeah, that used to confuse me too.

I made a mistake in my original post. The coaches I'm talking about in Ex-Executive running with Regional Railways are Mk1 coaches.

It's a difficult one - I've tried sourcing numbers for some Mk2A/B coaches transferred to Regional Railways in Ex-NSE and Ex-Executive and I've had to guess them.

Went to the library today and found out I could have my tackle enlarged. Ended up getting kicked out for 'inappropriate use of the photocopiers' -- An Irishman is hunting for gold when he stumbles upon a chalice, to which a genie bursts out of. As usual, the genie grants him three wishes. For his first wish, the Irishman says: "I wish for an everlasting pint of Guinness." The genie grants it, and hurries the Irishman to name his next two wishes. The Irishman replies: "WELL JAYSUS THIS IS GREAT, I'LL HAVE TWO MORE OF THESE THANKS" -- I came home from work early one night to find my wife and my best mate, sweaty and breathless in the living room. I said, "What's going on?" My wife said, "Erm... We've been playing on the Wii Fit." She winked at my mate and said, "Dave did VERY well." As I walked out of the room, I heard them giggling and calling me an idiot, but I had the last laugh. I checked the next day, and none of his scores had even registered! -- Got back from the pub last night and saw 2 young lads running out the back door. Had to ring the police to let them know I'd been robbed. "What's been taken?", said the officer "A TV and a couple of mobile phones", I said "Anything else?", she said? "Yeah my laptop as well, and if you manage to get it back, they looked like the type of sick b*stards that would put loads of child porn on it." -- Why did the Irishman drive into the river? He wanted to dip his headlights.

I think they still do chassis, motorised bogies and dummy bogies. At least, I can find them quite easily on eBay. I don't think they're hugely difficult to get hold of.

I finally cottoned onto peanuts' joke. And I like it.

Oh my word, THAT IS AMAZING! Seriously, that's a brilliant project! I need to repaint a couple opf HST cars and a few standard coaches into FGW Fag Packet for my Project Rio rakr and I bought most of them in Great Western Merlin livery to make the repaint easier, but it's great to see that someone has taken the time to convert from scratch. That's some real inspiration right there!

My first thought on learning about this project was "will it be comfortable to travel in them?".

If RealTrack ever do a Class 180 or such a kit becomes available from other third-party manufacturers, I might paint it in Virgin Red/Black.

I use a mix of Lima and Hornby coaches for my BR Blue, Virgin, FGW Project Rio and GNER rakes, and my MML Pullman rake is exclusively Hornby, so I'm gonna have to do some work. Thankfully, it looks easy enough and I can avoid Hornby Mk3s in the future.

I think I made that mistake because the few pictures and videos I'd seen showed First coaches (which on checking their numbers were Mk2Ds) and not getting a good view of the standard coaches and (incorrectly) making the assumption they were also Mk2Ds rather than Mk2E/Fs. EDIT: that and having not read a an earlier post in this thread. Anyhow, conversion between the different types is doable without having to resort to buying Hornby Mk2E coaches.

Thanks again, I appreciate the help. I took note of the toilet windows (I've bookmarked the thread on detail differences). I also went through an old Platform 5 book dating back to 1984 and there are a lot of Mk2Fs based at either Etches Park or Cricklewood. That's why I've decided to go with those. Converting Mk2Ds to Mk2Fs will be interesting, but apart from moving the toilet window and remove the pressure ventilation cabinet which are doable. I think the roof detailing on old Hornby and Airfix Mk2Ds is more akin to Mk2Fs, no? I'm not sure on the external differences between the friction dampeners on 2D/2E coaches and hydraulic dampeners on the 2Fs but I imagine they stand out too. EDIT: Southern Pride to a bogie side with hydraulic dampers and I've sourced RoeVac vents and hatches. Thankfully, it looks like I can avoid buying the Hornby Mk2Es entirely.

Thanks for the information. It would appear that the Mk2D coaches I've seen in various images were First Class coaches. I just saw this picture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/auchlander/5244863966 It looks like they are either Mk2Es or Mk2Fs. I might wait for the Bachmann coaches and if they are too pricey, I'll go for Hornby's and Airfix's Mk2Ds and take out a modeller's license. I don't mind mixing Mk2Ds and Mk2Fs for MML services. I'm happy to run with 1983 formations.