thegreenhowards

This kind of arrangement is common in O gauge. As I understand it, this is more like the bogie does on the prototype as it actually helps steer the loco round a curve. I’m away at the moment, but I’ll post some pictures later. Andy

I find Ellis Clarke are always very fair. Their prices are reasonable to start with and they definitely put customer service first. No connection…just a happy customer. Andy

I’m going to play devils advocate here. I accept that a well built kit stuffed with lead will massively outhaul a RTR loco with no added weight. But that’s not a fair contest. I add some weight to all my RTR locos and very few have to be limited because of lack of haulage ability. My Bachmann and Hornby LNER Pacifics will mainly haul 14 (admittedly mainly plastic) coaches OK. I say mainly because some of the earlier Bachmann A1s won’t haul so much. And my RTR 9F, O2 and WDs all manage my 46 wagon mineral rake. I have several kit built locos which won’t pull so much. Probably for one or more of the following reasons: - they’re made of brass rather than white metal; - they have an inferior motor/ gearbox combo; or - they haven’t been built very well (certainly true of one or two of my earlier efforts!). In O gauge a lot of kits are predominantly brass and therefore not so heavy. I find that they often don’t haul too much without a lot of added weight and that RTR is sometimes better. My RTR Ellis Clark Black 5 will pull anything I ask of it - but it does weigh about 3KG and has a top of the range ABC helical gearbox! Having said all this, I do accept that in the extreme situation of Tony’s rakes of 14 metal coaches, something heavier than is possible with a plastic body is probably required. All this is a rather long winded way of my saying, let’s try to be more balanced here. The difference is not between kit and RTR, but based on weight, quality of construction and power of motor. Tony’s Pacifics are built to pull and they do so very well. But a modern RTR pacific suitably weighted would not be that far behind and would be able to cope with 99%+ of model railway tasks that are thrown at it. I, for one, am very grateful that the RTR we have today is far better than it used to be in haulage terms as well as detail. I guess I should say ‘Trigger alert ‘ at this point! Andy

Maybe it’s too similar to a B17 and regarded as a mutilation of one. However that very same similarity would bring economies should Hornby decide to make one.

All this talk of class 47s makes me very uncomfortable. It’s worse than the Russian doll 4-6-0s from the ‘other railway’ which occasionally crop up. I’ve gone to great lengths to set the end date for my layout, Gresley Jn, at 27/9/62 - the day before the first ‘duff’ arrived at Finsbury Park. In O gauge, I’ve gone later, but chose Glenfinnan because no 47s were allowed there…at least in the good old days!

Tony, You missed the two most glaring (at least to me) RTR omissions off your list - a B2 and a B16. Andy

While this generation of timber may be in the atmosphere as CO2, one has to remember that, provided the trees were replanted, the next generation is soaking up an equivalent amount. That is one of the beauties of building from timber (speaks a forester). Andy

If every eBay purchase came with a free service from ‘sir’ then I’m sure they’d go for a lot more! It’s the knowledge that 90% will need significant attention - probably beyond many modellers - that puts people off.

She brings back some memories. I had 37104 on the 0800 Oban-QS on 13/7/85. Seemed pretty ‘big’ at the time! Andy

Wow, that is quite a change from what I saw just a few weeks ago. Andy

If WCRC are not providing stewards when they ought to do so, then they don’t have a leg to stand on, and I would accept that as a reason to take action against them. But not against all operators of such doors. I don’t think I’m being selfish to ask whether £10 per ticket is a reasonable price to pay for a tiny reduction in risk. I can afford it, but the Jacobite is already quite expensive and there are many who I will be put off by the price. Even worse, if the end result is the end of Mk 1s on the mainline, then I probably won’t be paying the fare in the first place. Andy

Andy, I appreciate that ‘shades of grey’ are difficult in a legal process. I was trying to make the case that the public at large make (probably sub-conscious) risk assessments with a very different weight put on the risk of an accident than safety professionals. And, as a liberal at heart, I would like to see the state allow more personal responsibility rather than less. And any laws should be in line with how society views risks rather than dictated by those who I would regard as safety zealots. As for getting discounts from someone who cuts corners, it depends on your definition of cutting corners. I wouldn’t go to someone who was clearly unsafe. But a discount from someone who doesn’t ‘gold plate’ the solution then definitely. For example, I use the local garage for my service, rather than paying extra for a Jaguar service. Regards Andy

So very few since manual bolts were put on the doors?

No, but there might be a common sense approach which applied different rules depending on speed and traffic density.

How would my child be hit, if there is a steward by the door and a bolt across it? Yes I know that someone once overpowered a steward, but the risk is minuscule and the cost not so. My child is in far more risk crossing the road. For the avoidance of doubt, I am not a reader of the Torygraph!

This thread seems to have come down firmly on the side of the ORR. To my mind we have a classic David v Goliath situation, with the ORR being an arrogant, overbearing, undemocratic beaureacracy which is completely out of touch with how ordinary people assess risks (for example look at the different attitudes to working on ladders at home and at work). WCRC have clearly made some mistakes but thank goodness that some organisations are prepared to put their neck on the line and stand up against unnecessary expenditure and state sponsored bullying. I for one, don’t want to travel in mark 2s or spend an extra £10 for a useless safety initiative. I apologise if I’ve missed it in the 70 odd pages on here, but how many people have been injured in the 40 years of running steam on the West Highland? Andy

I deliberately bought mine without sound because, while I think the sound project is great, I wasn’t convinced by the speaker set up which sounds tinny to me. So I’ve bought a Zimo MS950 from youchoos and one of their dual sugar strand speakers. I haven’t fitted it yet but it just plugs in. The difficult thing is getting the body apart but Ellis’ instructions are clear. I’ll report back once fitted. Andy

I saw it at the cinema last summer. Sound was excellent there. I’m out in Vietnam at the moment (chasing Alco diesels) and the friend I came with watched it on the plane coming out. He struggled to follow it on a small screen and plane headphones, so you’re not alone. Andy

Maybe I’m easily pleased, but I found Oppenheimer very interesting and well worth watching. I didn’t know much about the history, certainly not his left wing sympathies, so it filled in some gaps in my knowledge. Andy

I’ve got a quiet couple of hours, so one photo from before I left. This is my attempt to back date the station building in a similar way to the signalbox. I’m trying to recreate this look (Irishswissernie to the rescue again - thanks). In terms of a ‘spot the difference’ competition, I can see that I need to remove the station name, add an advertising board and add the toilet walls. The bit I’m struggling on is the colour of the chimney stacks which are rather nondescript in all the photos I can see. Does anyone have any ideas on the chimney stacks or any other things I’ve missed? Andy

Superb Rob. Now just needs that F5 to fot on it!

The coaches, yes. The locos are Czech built and they obviously had to pay extra for styling! They sound similar to the Czech 751 ‘Grumpys’ if anyone is familiar with them. Surprisingly, they do have retention tank toilets!

That’s the one. There are very few trains during the day and none in the rush hour because of all the level crossings, so for large parts of the day the track gets buried. But there are three trains between 2115 and 2205, so that’s the time to take a seat for the spectacle. For the first video I tried I was standing next to the line with a guy shouting at me to sit down. When the train came I took a rapid step back - it’s b….y close and big! Andy

I couldn’t resist one more image from my Vietnam trip. This is of Hanoi’s northern ‘train street’. All the trains from Hanoi’s main station pass through a narrow street on their way out of town - there’s one to the south and another to the north. This has become a tourist attraction with bars lining the street and everyone jostling to get the best video of the train passing. It’s truly a bizarre scenario with parties on the track just before the train is due. We tried videoing it at ground level first but you’re just too close, so tonight we chose an upstairs beer balcony. This video shows the train coming through. I assure you this really happens, several times a day and seemingly with no accidents. The ORR will be pleased to hear that the trains all have central door locking….so that’s OK! Andy

Great video. What’s the latest on whether this is going to work this summer? Andy