stewartingram

I cannot think of a better or cheaper L1 in 4mm scale. Plastic RTR manufacturers get their income from a toy market and scale model market, and we all win if we are prepared to alter things to suit ourselves. That pony truck alteration sounds good.

And don't forget, the term for doing this is sometimes known as 'modelling' I believe.

Causes me an expensive problem this one! I already have a pair of Hornby 21's, which I wish to replace. Thing is, I want them as before, D6110/12 as seen on delivery as light engines through Cambridge, with the communication doors connected. With the Hornby pair, I used the motor bogie elsewhere. Any chance that Dapol will do a dummy loco cheaper for the 2nd one I wonder?

That red is rust I rust I reckon.

Mine is on order, ready for use on the Leicester-Norfolk weekend holiday train via the M&GN(!) a mixed rake of Hawksworth & Stanier stock.

Now I'm getting worried - there's got to be a cost to this?

Ideal bit of kit for the modeller of mid cornwall in the mid 60s

One of them on the passenger side and an 03 shunting the yard should get the Tweed twitching ....

Sorry but NO! The W&M's were based at Cambridge from new until withdrawn & stored there. 2 (may have been only 1?) were then moved to Derbyshire for a short period. They never worked anywhere else. Incidentally, Cambridge was a bit of a magnet for railbuses, as I saw 1 of most if not all types there (can't check numbers as I'm at work). We always thought this was for maintenance or comparison tests, as they were quite successfully used in the area until lines closed.

I stood on the ECML footbridge at Everton Crossing, north of Sandy one day with a tape recorder. Heard the sound of an approaching n/b Deltic, but all I could see was a Brush type 2 - which was piloting the Deltic. Wierd experience, great recording, I still have it on tape somewhere, must dig it out!

Impressive loft ladder, what about showing us the layout next?

I believe the notifications on 'in stock' & 'due dates' on the Bach webpage actually refer to the Barwell stores location? Having said that, I'm eagerly awaiting the 2 green versions of the Cravens unit (yes I know, its not an A2!) which I've pre-ordered with Trains4U; these have been reviewed in all the mags (presumably airfreighted) and are shown as delivered in the last 30 days, yet none of the dealers appears yet to have them delivered!

One of the Yahoo groups had a contributor who is a professional consultant in the rail industry. Though he couldn't give much away, he claimed a while back to have been approached to quote/consult/whatever on replacing the rail track, probably on top of the new concrete. Don't know any more than that, but his many postings on subjects seemed to point to him being genuine! Let's hope so anyway!

And Cambridge has plenty of these rising bollards as well. Been one or two nasty accidents where folk have tried driving through by tailgating a bus or taxi!

 

They are spreading as well, York has some, so does Peterborough ......

Be cheaper to lay some explosive down, bit like a big railway detonator...

Misguided busway, St.Ives to Cambridge line. How dare you post such rubbish on a respectable forum.....

No picture I'm afraid, but maybe a thought-provoking- er... thought?

There I was yesterday, sitting on the Embankment (honest guv, I was working...) watching the Eye, the boats, the scenery (lol very pretty girls), and of course the occasional train crossing the bridge in the distance to Charing Cross. A 465 went over, it was in the shadow of the metalwork of the bridge, and looked stunning! The whole bodyside appeared to be in a Maunsell-ish shade of dark green, with yellow doors, white roof, and white cab ends. Now the normal South Eastern livery actually suits these units I reckon, being one of the less "trendy" styles, but can anyone do a photoshop in the style I described just to see the effect of what I appeared to see?

That 92028 reminds me of the old Triang Transcontinental loco for some strange reason!

Lime Green & Chestnut - stylish! Much better than the later insipid blue with the ends dunked in school custard!

That sounds a lot like heresay or media rumours concocted to fill column inches. Neither the EU nor the DVLA would ever be that daft. Not least since it directly counters their existing drives to cut fuel use and emissions.

 

Not that it stops some numpties anyway.

As I've heard it, there is no EU directive at present requiring headlights to be on in this country. However, interpretation of "Elf & Safety" by bus garages (initially, followed by their parent companies making it "official") has led to all London buses adopting the idea. It has also been mooted that the EU is considering making it a legal requirement for all vehicles to have them on in the not too distant future, though how true this is I don't know. A sore point with me on 2 counts. Firstly I've had an eye op, which means my left eye doesn't "shut down" as normal so I suffer greatly from dazzle off these lights, particularly from vehicles following me, and secondly, I belong to the school of thought that if everyone has lights on, you actually see less of the surrounding objects, as your eyes ( & half of mine!) shut down with all the bright lights present, so you miss the adjacent unlit objects.

Have you noticed btw, the drivers that insist on having them on are usually a) poor drivers; B) the ones more likely to have poorly adjusted lights?

The History Revisionists in Somerset are going to be busy in the near future.... Co-Bos at Shepton Mallett, 1500v DC on the Highbridge branch, Blue Pullmans at Radstock, whatever next??!!

 

Whatever next, I say!!

7F2-8-0 on enthusiasts special trying to recrate a historic scene aka todays photographic specials?

I'll get my coat...

Anything GE section that lasted into BR, also W&U tram coaches

Is this the one titled "better control for small dc motors" or similar? It has two variable resistors one for speed and the other for feedback and uses a 12V car bulb in series with the motor as an overload protection device.

If it is I have also used it in the past (I'm DCC now) I even adapted it for a computer controlled model railway using a BBC micro, pre DCC

 

It is very good at maintaining speed under varying conditions of load and gradient although I have heard it can cause pitting of the motor commutator due the high instantaneous current applied in the on period. 12V is always applied to the motor but the duty cycle is reduced for low speeds.

Yes that's the one. I've built up to a dozen of them over the years, still use my original "bodge" trial version now and again!

From memory - I don't have the circuit in front of me, and I'm trying to sort out a PC problem (read one message in Outlook and it freezes, needs CTRL/ALT/DEL to stop it then restart, worse problem than the old RMWeb!) - I believe the circuit to be a PWM with adjustable feedback. Based on the then new drill speed controllers. Has the option of adding accelaration and decceleration. Built in overload protection (simple bulb). For my uses I've "designed" (if thats the word) a veroboard layout, with a handheld contoller box (speed control, direction switch) coupled to a fixed main unit (the majority of the circuit). Components such as transistors are dated, but modern equivalents are available. I've plenty of stocks so haven't needed to source new. There is a 2nd potentiometer, mounted on the main unit, which the article describes as a "max speed" setting, but I find it better to fine tune the "min speed" setting with this. Seems to work ok over a range of motors, though the pedantic might adjust it with every different motor! To be honest I'm not up to speed with the latest types available, I've found this one suited my needs for all these years, if it ain't broke don't fix it, so I've not bothered to look elsewhere. You're welcome to a copy of my notes, if it suits you, fine, if not, well nothing lost.

I use a DIY circuit from Wireless World 1973, have built quite a few of these over the years. Fairly complex, but very good. My Wills J69, with a 5 pole motor and 60:1 gearing takes 30 minutes to traverse a 1/2 circle of Hornby track. My old Triang 0-6-0 chassis as built can been seen, with the body off, to show the motor "cogging" over between poles. I've scanned & rewritten the article to aid me to construct the units on a production (!) basis if you want a copy?

And all those lovely GER kits......?

Which RTR coaching stock would be suitable for the class 23's? Also were they known to haul freight too?

 

Paul

1B66 Cambridge Buffet Express: BR mk 1, with usually a Gresley buffet car, sometimes a Thompson, later on eventually a Mk1. Don't forget that for at least one season, 1964?, the CBE was extended to Ely.

The Mk1's in general replaced Thompson or Gresley vehicles.

Suburban trains had "lesser quality" ie older stock for distance runs such as Cmbridge, but more usually the suburbans didn't get as far and would be Quad-Art sets or non-corridor Mk 1's.

Yes they did revenue freight; I have memories of them on goods trains at Sandy and Peterborough North. They were also used on engineer's trains; don't forget Hitchin was their base for a long while (the present-day engineer's yard is the purpose built diesel depot). There was a pw depot at Hitchin in those days; I think it worked in collaboration with the rail depot at Chesterton Junction north of Cambridge (pioneer of long-welded rail). I remember 20's working between the 2 depots.

Unlucky Steve!

 

As the first person to get one you're now duty bound to photograph it, give feedback on dimensional accuracy, note any deviation from the prototype, full mechanical test and report, test with several decoders, install sound, write an article on detailing and inform everyone how to deal with duff locos, establish a feedback hotline to HJ and collate information on replacement parts.

 

Boy, are you going to be busy this evening.

 

Either that or you could just ignore me.

You forgot to add - remotor/regear/strip chassis/whatever if it uses Clayton parts....

I've thought for a long time that these sites should be better "organised", if that is the word. Take locos; Those locos available for traffic (call them category 1) should be the ones that are available to the public gaze, though restrictions of access for safety reasons may apply. Category 2 would be "out of ticket" locos, ie now effectively museum pieces, available for much closer inspection. Category 3 are those actually going through the works process, with category 4 the "reserve" collection which would be all kept together, more out of sight than now because of the scrapyard appearance, but available to view on request if possible. Same applies to coaches and wagons. I'm sure that this would improve the "satisfaction value" at all sites for punters, and probably railway staff as well. A better environment all round.

I think I remember seeing it in the Haynes manual: Swindon offered metallic paint in 1966, but the Factory vinyl roof option was only available from 1967, whiplash aerials were a Bath Road trademark, and Rostyle wheels were a cheeky aftermarket extra dreamt-up at Stratford

What - no fluffy dice?