Dominion

The thickness and width of the 2 bits of evergreen strip I used are in the original post. The length of each was just a little less than the width or the Rapido recess. The holes were located based on the boss position rather than a specific measurement. Was there a different specific measurement you were looking for ? I can’t remember if a 146 would work, my hunch is not otherwise I would probably have used it in preference to a 141, but that is only from memory.

I was idley wondering about that too. I guess we will not know until 2007 with the steam generator is released. Tom

I have loved my time searching the Hattons pages over the years and anticipating the arrival of parcels in Canada. The team there has always been a pleasure to deal with. I analyzed my spend for 2023. Hattons received 1/3 of my budget. I had thought it was higher and it has been much higher in previous years as they had brilliant service for overseas customers. Fully another third went on Hornby preorders and Bachmann purchases I could no longer get from Hattons. In the past I would have relied on them for all of those purchases too so their revenue from me would have been double what it actually was under "normal" conditions. However the real shocker for me was the average purchase value. It was dramatically lower at Hattons, between a third and quarter, without the higher value fast moving new loco items. I would imagine for a retailer the cost of picking items and making up parcels and customer service is quite tied to the number of transactions, not the item value. Much lower per item and per parcel value would dramatically drive up the cost of operations as a percent of revenue if a similar pattern played out amongst many of us. The first time Hornby cut Hattons allocations and I scrambled to get my preorders elsewhere I tried hard to get them from other stores and not Hornby directly. The second time it happened I was less careful to do that, and I allowed Hornby to cherry pick some of my spending. I regret that. I have expressed my heartfelt thanks and best wishes to Hattons employees directly where I could. They made UK modelling from this great distance practical and low stress. Hattons service in my experience was so good they will be a very tough act to follow. They will be very much missed.

It is a bit fiddley but I prefer it to the complex recent “dynamic” types. If you bought them second had it is possible the draw bar has been bent downwards and perhaps that is preventing it from engaging properly. As-new the draw bars are straight. If you do need to straighten yours it can be removed from the loco by loosening the rear mounting screws and creating a small gap between the loco body and chassis.

Have you tried the loco on its own ? That type should work as the tender is just providing extra pick ups. you could also try one of your other tenders with Sandwich and your Sandwich tender with one of the other locos to help narrow down the source of the problem. The 2 sprung contacts on the top of the loco drawbar should only touch the plate on the underside of the tender, not the metal post. The 2 prongs under the drawbar should only touch the tender post and not the plate on the underside of the tender.

I have seen at least 9 identities of 12 wheel Hornby Pullman models and they all had grey rooves. There are "umpteen" white roof 8 wheel lit Pullman's. Their convention seemed to mostly be that the ones with the early Pullman crest were white or cream roofed and the later crest ones were grey rooved, but I suspect that is not systematically the case. Tom

Like Johan DC I have disconnected and reconnected the tenders on 4 of this type a few times without incident so hopefully most are ok. I do however prefer the previous version as it was easy to make a replacement drawbar for closer coupling. I have not figured out an easy way to do that on these yet.

I would love Union of South Africa in LNER livery. I would have to try to renumber a Hornby model as I don’t think that has been done yet either.

The pictures on the individual product pages of the LNER ones look like the actual models to me, as they have the new loco to tender coupling, and other features of the previous Dublo A4 I have. Sorry about the screen shot, I couldn’t get the link to work. There is an another picture 3 to the right that shows it on an actual layout.

Ah but the Woodcock you have in purple was the one that carried that name for almost all the time. The grey Woodcock mentioned above is a different loco that used the bird name only briefly, 4489 more commonly known as Dominion of Canada. So you can have both :-) For extra colour fun I think I read that while in that grey scheme 4489 had green lined wheels ! Tom

I have a similar question about single chimneys :-)

Reminds me of Douglas Adams ... "But the plans were on display…” “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.” “That’s the display department.” “With a flashlight.” “Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.” “So had the stairs.” “But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?” “Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”

I have just come to fit a decoder into to the latest LNER A1, 4478 Hermit ( R30270 ). This one is fitted with a 21 pin socket. It runs nicely, I have run it in for a little over an hour. There are no assembly or decoration defects I have found yet. It is to GN loading gauge, so taller chimney, higher cab roof, and square front buffer beam, which I had not noticed when I preordered it. It has other early features like short travel valve covers and the lower cab cutouts and flat seats. The seats are painted in a leather like light brown colour which is something I had not noticed on earlier releases. The feature combination is like the much earlier Great Northern release but with the numbers on the cab side. The model has the improved boiler molding with no visible top seem, metal running plate and flickering firebox. Apart from it being in earlier condition than I had anticipated, I am very pleased with it.

Incidentally on vents and lamps, they would differ between types of carriage both in the Genesis models and in real life. I was thinking that instead of pre-forming the holes or including dimples for locating the drill positions, it would be more versatile to have a smooth top. However there is nothing stopping location dimples or collars being molded on the underside of the roof. Tom

Hi Graeme, I would certainly be interested. In fact I have one disassembled right now having removed the roof to take some measurements and photos just last week. I had been in touch with someone in the UK about 3D print models and I asked if they were interested in doing GNR shaped rooves for Genesis coaches ! I don't know if that will materialize or not. I would be happy to discuss further if you are giving this serious thought. I have several Genesis coaches that would look much more GNR like with such a roof. You have my email address. Tom

I get 14.5 mm measured with a ruler, not callipers. Do you need it more accurately ?

Here is a right hand and left hand B7 I have just assembled. However the right hand is the one in the foreground, and the left hand is the one in the back ground ! I did it this way as I wanted to maximize the minimum radius. The central of the 3 routes is laid out on a transition curve. Wayne’s kits are versatile to fit curved locations with no problem.

I don’t think they have been announced, only the LNER livery so far. Tom

Oops, thanks for correction, quite right it does. In a way the firebox glow is better as it is only on when running. In Harvester it is on even when stationary if the DCC power is on.

Knight of the Thistle is also very nice and still at a very reduced price at The Model Centre. 126 pounds I think less vat for you. Versus Harvester it has earlier features, lower cab cut outs and short travel valve covers, and no super heater covers as it is an A1, but overall it looks very similar. From a model spec. point of view it does not have a flickering firebox.(Oops. Sorry was mistaken it does. Thank you Legend). However it still enjoys the improved boiler moulding with no visible top seem, and the simpler earlier tender connection which I prefer as it is easier to modify to close the gap. It also runs extremely nicely. Sorry to suggest beans and noodles for a while longer. Tom

Sorry for the long delay Mark, yes they are. It Runs very smoothly.

I am just experimenting with the magnetic couplers that came with these. It turns out they handed for polarity. Each pair has one north and one south. Not a problem but it means the carriers will only couple one way around. I have got used to the Hunt Elite and Hornby couplings that work either way around. The Hornby buckeye seems a bit long for these. ( R7398 ) The Hunt Elite ultra close is a little shorter than the Hornby Buckeye and seems good. For context, my mainline minimum radius is 34 inches but as there is a close coupling mechanism I don't think that matters much.

Lots of the wagons you mention will have Nem pockets. I use number 18s in those instead of fitting kadee draft boxes. If you have tight radii you may need 19s. If you are doing Bachmann wagons with the cranked tension locks in Nem pockets then the Nem pocket is set too high from the factory. You can bring the coupler head back down to an acceptable height by turning the small Nem pocket component on the wagon upside down. Good luck. Tom

I can confirm they are quite weighty and glide along very nicely. Tom

The few times I have experienced something like that and wondered if it was the NCE throttle it always turned out to be a failed decoder or an installation/socket problem. Once it turned out to be a decoder I had bought by mistake that had no motor control, only functions. good luck with the issue. Tom