adb968008

Eurostars class 374’s have some compartments in passenger use. ive used them for phone calls while travelling.

thats pretty uninspiring as a livery, I Remeber the Lima version also years back and it was equally bland in model form... i’ll pass... however if someone was to do a BR Blue head code box, orange cantrail stripe with headlight, or a Dutch with headcode box as a 31/5, or a Mainline 31/4, or a 31413 in Ice Cream van livery, or a plain railfreight livery or or or.... so many liveries to pick from, so few done.

I can put it differently... I think it unlikely we will see a new class 155 model produced, given theres only 7 of them, which have lead a fairly long mundane life in Yorkshire. When originally built they were supposed to be on par as, albeit a slower speed, long distance 158 and ran a range of long distance journeys, such as Portsmouth to Cardiff, to Manchester, to Leeds, to Carlilse & Transpenine, Caldervalley but it only lasted 3 quite troubled years. They were a Class 17 waiting to happen, I remember riding on one where the doors opened in Farnworth tunnel at speed on one occasion. Still it contributed to North West loco hauled being in existence.

For me it was a surprise to see not one, but 2 class 155’s the other week i’d forgotten WYPTE hadnt converted theirs.. it was nearly 30 years since I last saw class. 155’s, though back then they were in Bolton, Preston and Manchester in Regional Railways colours.

R2108 has the Dapol era pancake motor in it. probably not the hobbies finest hour. you’ll probably find its a weak puller, possibly poor pickups. if its cheap its ok, but don't expect the smoother running of the 153. The Lima era class 156 was much better than the 155 ever since introduced in the 1990’s, the Hornby motor in the 156 isnt too bad. I had thought of putting a class 153 chassis into the older 155.

My 9 year old is all excited as shes had confirmation shes on tonights show.

Has you given thought to acquiring a Hornby one ? i know how it feels, my fathers Duchess of Atholl arrived a few weeks too late.

Mines arrived. But as the package has been handled by a dozen or so people between Liverpool and London or in the last 24 hours, I’m going to let it settle for a few days before opening. I know the ministers say it’s safe for parcels, but the scientists say it can live on cardboard too.. Theres a conflict. I can wait a few days to let nature resolve that.

Heljan spares do seem to have suddenly become exceptionally expensive. i’ll be looking after my collection of acquired sprues..

So here we are... 5 days since probably the most eagerly anticipated announcements of one of the most cult popular classes running in the UK today.... and only 2 pages of comments, and all thanks to some weird rat like scaly creature 6000 miles away that most people have never seen or heard of, and probably associated to a depressing Nicholas Cage film... what makes it worse is that creature is endangered and right now most people probably wished it was extinct. As soon as a 37/4 sound file emerges, minds will be refocused to more happy events in life.

although its a nice morning, I was going to take a picture, but alas the haze has returned, I guess now weekend has passed daily life is catching up. I’ll take a picture later, but it was nice to see green hills on north London. Were towards Banstead in Surrey, elevation (according to google terrain is 100m), it looked comparative on the otherside, if theres any experts that are more informed.

Sounds like my house. weathers nice, my wifes taken my office, i’m working from the garden, wearing shorts and sunglasses. I work in sales so normally want to keep conversations secluded, but my neighbours are a BBC journalist, A Royal protection expert who likes my whisky too much, A Corporate Lifestyle guru (just don't ask), retired ex-spy (her stories are fantastic and she has a few medals and given script details to a Hollywood film), a Bank manager and an ex-Falklands serviceman who legally possesses a rifle and doesnt like foxes... oh and a neighbour who hides his interest in model railways, denys all, yet gives away way too much in any basic conversation. so IT discussions are largely of no relevance around here.

We use web conferencing extensively at work (Zoom, Teams, Hangouts etc). today we turned it over to our kids at school, my daughters class had a 40 minute session, able to see each other, talk to each other, it was free to use. it wasnt structured, each kid just talked of what they did, whilst at a desk and on the screen. Its password protected, and obviously needed a parent to log in, and we know each other anyway. It completely lifted her mood to see her class mates, we are going to do this 2pm each day. The difference to a youtube channel is the bi-directional discussion. if a club wanted to go virtual, or something similar setting up a meeting is very fast, visual or just voice. if anyone wants some help on this, feel free to pm me and I can advise (I’m not selling it, i just use them all daily) , it ranges from free to £25 so hardly a budget busting way for people to convene, talk, argue, see each and discuss in a virtual way.

Well its been very quiet around my way today. The air quality over London has improved remarkably...(either that or my eyesight has)... on a good day I can usually see the vague outlines of London tower blocks as planes circle into Heathrow above, a good 14 mile north from my home, and a wide view that must be 40-50 miles across london. From my house today I can view all the way from Surrey to the hills of North London, its been a bright couple of days, but the green hills on the other side are easily in sight.. I’m guessing its Edgware or Barnet I’m seeing, 40 miles or so away... usually thats lost in a haze.

Maybe the now dormant macDonalds delivery lorries could be used as common carriers for supermarket deliveries ? on the subject of lockdown violations, perhaps rather than telling people, who seem set of working around it... Tax it instead.. if people are found outside, adjust their tax codes to reduce the 80% payment, benefits, pensions etc they are getting... it could be long term alteration too.

Whilst your exploiting loop holes already for your own gain, dont forget other loop holes exist. cardboard.. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200317-covid-19-how-long-does-the-coronavirus-last-on-surfaces Not everyone uses Royal Mail, measures may vary. The virus can get on your shoes and clothes, no one is disinfecting feet. Theres a remote transmission route there, each time you go out, take off your shoes and hang up a coat. To use an IRA phrase... the virus only needs to get lucky once, you need to get lucky everytime. The definition of infrequent shopping is subjective, but explicity... as infrequently as possible (not as an excuse to nip out to do whatever else you want as a cover story). just because your symptom free, doesn't imply your not carrying symptomlessly spreading it... which is precisely why we are in lockdown. Boris said tonight “You must stay home Shopping infrequently as possible, one form of exercise a day, any medical need, and travelling to and from work where absolutely essential”. Theres no need to be tripping out packages every few hours, grabbing a few quid, saying I feel ok and I need a Packet of crisp each time. its seems a bit hypocritical saying second homers should not be going out, yet somehow doesn't apply to you. lockdown means that. i’m doing my bit, were staying in, shutting down and interacting as little as possible. Reducing need to have packages sent or recieved...its a shame not everyone is doing the same... as its those that could make the difference. The aim is to save lives, predominantly those who are elderly. The economy is being sacrificed for them, one hopes they appreciate it, as the rest of us will be paying for it years after they've, hopefully, naturally gone after an extended life beyond this virus. if everyone does their bit, sit tight, the lockdown will be shorter and normality closer. At least supermarkets might now get chance to stock up.

Unless your planning to eat the parcel, I don't see how it is essential to be wandering the streets and be posting model railways about. personally, I removed my remaining listings yesterday.. I dont want to be exposing me and my family to risk in a post office. Nor do I want to expose myself to incoming parcels either. The virus can live on cardboard for up to 24 hours, google yourself, how many times will that parcel change hands during the delivery process ? by all means selfishly carry on.. but Its safer not to.

Ive panic bought a few model railway bits, in anticipation of this lockdown. I hope they made the post today, otherwise I guess there is going to be a 3 week delay at least. A lot of ebay ads may disappear tonight, as private sales and the nations model shops consider their options, whilst manufacturers now have to shut down. I hope the retailers survive this shutdown, but it is for the right reasons, and a little overdue.

Ive dismantled Heljan locos plenty of times, it only takes a few minutes to build a bogie tower from bits, the motor drops in, theres not many screws. The hardest part Ive found is securing the bogie towers to its pivot, which I think is an art Ive not learned properly... motor and circuit board are the dead easy bits. from experience on my other locos, making a dummy wouldn't require anything specific to be tooled, just remove the shafts and unplug the motor. If you went whole hog, you could remove the gears from the tower, lights, motor, board. But i’ll leave my ethel motorised, it’ll be assisting my elderly Lima WHL Scottie / White stripe 37’s on my mega gradients, just as my Bachmann Intercity ethel does today. I dont do DCC, but I’d guess a number would want an Ethel power unit running away unpower whilst standing still... thats why steam enthusiasts Nationwide clubbed together to buy a generator car and see the Ethels off... you couldn't hear the steam loco for it.

Hither Green, then Barry.

Oh thats a whale of another subject for the Ethels and other train heating Locos... The class 28 was Hattons.. TDB 968006 perhaps ? if SLW were to do my username, it would be very confusing for me.. I’d have to figure out what colour I am and if I moved in that colour.

Try taking out the DCC board, motor and shaft, stick it on ebay and see if you get £75 for it. As I said, you can buy a whole motorised chassis, wheels, dcc board all in for £40 new. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heljan-Replacement-Class-26-Chassis-OO-Gauge/283440784769?hash=item41fe632581:m:miNO6H71ePY9vw3QjdQNF-Q even without the motor, you've got more detail, paint detail and of course packaging and parts bags than an ordinary coach. You dont get many coaches with brake pipes, sprung buffers, ploughs, separate hand rails, etched parts, screen wipers etc all factory fitted... The economics of n gauge and oo gauge are completely different... Lima did try this with twin packs of class 20’s, their cost was £80, when individually they were £50, but take up was generally restricted to limited editions. The advantage they had the body was only 2 pieces (body and glazing)+ 4 buffers... the limited editions they made were the same livery, just different numbers...(much like your Dapol examples) so saving on numerous paint masks, print patterns too, unlike Ethels which is unique to 3 locos, that just happen to be unpowered. As I said, if you so confident in your math.. buy it, strip it, sell off the bits and then you’ll get an idea of the cost difference... i’ll give you £2 for the motor.. thats what I paid for replacements to fit my 15/17 & Garratt in the past, i’ll give £1 for the DCC blanking plate too.

This is a fantastic idea... it means I can work at home tomorrow and guaranteed the only distractions will be amusing ones from the little one !

how much cheaper would you expect it to be ? I admit the price of Heljan spares just went through the roof, whole sprues used to be available for the shafts for around £3, now you only get each individual piece for circa that price + p&p and handling charges, But previously I bought replacements motors for my 15/17 and Garratt for £2 each, direct from China. i’ll put it another way, theres a source of new online chassis for 26/27 at less than £40 for some years... thats a whole motorised chassis..inc lights and DCC bits. so if you want to see how much the savings are.. take out the motor and shaft.. you might get a £10 on ebay, taking advantage of those recent price rises. So think of it as a unmotorised 25 with a free motor in it..its still got the electronics, dcc and other gizmos.. so its still much more than a coach.

Brilliant, instead of an argument about wrong paint shades on a model, here weve a barney about paint shades wrong on the real thing.