Wheatley

3 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

 

Shared legal responsibility is a recipe for confusion, buck passing and legal wriggle room. 

Viz. buying a new car from a dealer. Has anyone ever managed to get a full refund or exchange on a substandard new car without being passed back and forth between dealer and manufacturer ? I expect the answer is 'yes' but not very often and  not without an awful lot of effort. 

1 hour ago, G-BOAF said:

I really don't see what was wrong with the previous small electronics plug and wire between loco and tender. ... The only problem is if you need to separate loco and tender and are cack-handed enough to damage the pins/dislocate the wires. 

Agreed about the neatness of that arrangement, but I wonder how many returns which did get as far as Hornby had the plug still firmly attached to the tender but not to the wires ? If you aren't familiar with sub-miniature electronics connectors it's not obvious how to get them apart without causing damage. 

Yes, often with long interruptions. Portwilliam (BLT) has a basic timetable/sequence of three passenger and one goods train a day; when it was first built 30-odd years ago it was operated before and after school, now it gets run as and when I remember at weekends. If I'm going upstairs for something I might run the next move in the sequence while I'm up there. 

So far I've managed to avoid operating it while I'm working from home despite it being in my office/study. 

5 hours ago, Fireline said:

 

They are glued in, but using a very light glue, so they are easy to remove. This was apparently done to stop them detaching while they were in transit from the Far East.

5 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said:

Not according to Sam.

Bernard

He could always soak it in the bath to see if that weakens the glue.  

3 hours ago, Dungrange said:

.  For an Insulfrog style design you either need a way to create a plastic frog (eg injection moulding) or you end up with a very small all metal frog,.

3 hours ago, brossard said:

 

Not that I would go the insulfrog route myself, but in my mind I can see making the non metal nose from plastic strip and epoxy then filing after curing.

 

You could make up an insulfrog on a piece of sheet copperclad then cut to shape afterwards, or even by infilling between sleeper with offcuts. This is a flat crossing so far less acute angles, but the crossing noses on here are lumps of 60thou styrene superglued in then sanded and filed to shape. The bits coloured in red are all the same polarity, bare copper is the opposite polarity. Unfortunately there was no photo of the crossing noses in place but without the four foot infilled. Insulation gaps were cut with a slitting disc. The lumps of solder scattered at random are the connections for the wires underneath  which connect areas of the same polarity. 

It's hidden in a tunnel so it doesn't need to be pretty but it does need to work 100% reliably. (It can be accessed if need be !). 

14 hours ago, Ben Alder said:

 

We present day detail modellers have so much to thank John Boyes for.......

Indeed. Most of his contemporaries would have taken a 3/4 view of the engine and ignored the rest. He took some of Balmenach and Dailuaine distilleries where you have to look hard to find the distillery pug in amongst all the "fascinating industrial semi-grot set in magnificent scenery" of the rest of the picture. 

10 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Then please explain how the Bluebell Railway were able to hit back when the owners of the Thomas the Tank Engine IP sent threatening letters stating the railway was committing IP theft as regards Stepney and big monies had to be paid.

Because Britt Allcroft accepted, when told, that Rev. Awdry using one of the Bluebell's engines in one of his stories, and them in turn sticking a face on it with his blessing pre-dated her owning the TTTE rights. 

39 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

Unfortunately for my offspring, a mammoth task awaits on my demise - disposing of a lifetime's collection of model railway stock

All of which has been upgraded, modified, renumbered, repainted, weathered and generally made more realistic thereby reducing it's resale value even further.

Oh dear how sad never mind, not my problem. Like you I don't care what happens to it after it's finished working for me. My wife has a list of email addresses of people who might be interested in some of it (individuals and clubs), otherwise either bury it with me or (more likely) give it a Viking funeral. 

It was indeed the Gerry Anderson side of things.  

1 hour ago, adb968008 said:

how much does 3x 0204 leds, a bit of wire cost, and cutting a few 3x4mm pieces of plastic off a sprue.

Pennies, but the development costs don't. Someone had had to spend time developing CAD drawings for lamps, the socket, the light tube (or whatever the hell it is it's pugged into) - quite a lot of time if some of the conversations with Hornby staff recalled further up this thread are anything to go by. Then additional cost for the extra tooling EPs, revisions to tooling, etc.  As opposed to designing a 1/2mm hole for a stamped metal lamp iron to be pushed into. 

Ditton anything on a wagon between the solebars that can't be seen below the solebars, working cab doors on the Hornby 08 that have (I think) 5 additional parts each, interior detail which can't be seen on the current crop of Hornby brake vans etc. Save it for the things where the interior detail can be seen like coaches, or deisels with greenhouse cabs. The Heljan Class 17 looks ridiculous with the cab half filled with concrete. 

I might buy one of these if the BR versions end up being remaindered. I'm quite capable of cutting bits off a brand new £200 model, but I'd rather spend the time and money adding bits to two second-hand older ones. I had a good look at 5020 in my local dealer yesterday and wasn't impressed. 

10 hours ago, fezza said:

When did railway logos as intellectual property become a thing? Did Triang Hornby really pay BR to use their crest or Shell to use their image on tanker wagons in the 1960s? I suspect this was all quite recent. 1990s maybe?

When 'protection of the brand / brand values' became a thing, prior to that it seems to have been encouraged as free advertising. Since then corporations seem to have become polarized between those who protect their brand at all costs (Disney, MacDonalds) or attempt to extract every last cent from it (Boeing), and those who are more relaxed provided you aren't bringing them into disrepute.  Chris Green was famously relaxed about the use of the Virgin West Coast livery on model trains, I doubt he would have been quite so chilled if a purveyor of more adult goods had been using it. 

In some cases the decision can be down to one person, they may not even have a policy on it until asked. Someone on here once asked how my own employer would brand a rail-link minibus for a TOC-sponsored service should such a thing exist, Marketing were more than happy to provide advice (and a list of RAL numbers) but only because I knew who to ask. IIRC the response was along the lines of "We wouldn't paint the ends of the bus yellow because that's not part of the branding". Other times I've found Engineering colleagues checking Bachmann or Hornby livery artwork for a DMU off against our own labelling drawings. 

You can in theory recreate the geometry of Setrack points with (for example) copperclads and Code 75 rail. However, the geometry of Setrack points is so compromised compared to even the smallest pair of points on the real thing that it begins to look silly, almost like a scaled up version of 009 Crazy-Track. 

It's notable that Peco hasn't announced any intention to go below Streamline medium radius with the Code 75 Bullhead, even the BH medium radius points are pushing it a bit.  Setrack points are even smaller than small radius Streamline points of course. You can do it but it looks odd. 

12 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

 

While that is true of the "Mainline" or "Loadhaul" branding / IP was sold on to EWS along with the companies themselves - its NOT true with respect to the BR Trainload Petroleum livery or BR Trainload Coal livery for example both of which remained the property of the British Railways Board (i.e. the UK state) after privatisation and which is now 'owned by the DfT.

 

 

 

 

https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00001366470

https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00001366461

1 hour ago, phil-b259 said:

For example all of the UKs pre-grouping railways, Big 4 and of course British Railways related 'trademarks' such as logos, liveries, branding etc are deemed to have entered 'the public realm' by virtue of nationalisation and as such anyone is effectively allowed to reuse them on a model as a result.

Not necessarily, the Network SouthEast Railway Society owns the NSE trademark:

https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00003110943

Most BRB intellectual property passed to the DfT, for example the double arrow, which is licenced to Rail Delivery Group. But the freight operators were sold outright, not franchised, so their IP went with them:

https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmowner/page/search?domain=1&page=1&id=99325&app=0&mark=UK00002137670

We've done this before. 

Several of them moaning about not being able to lean out of the doors for photos too. 

The Victorian response to staff safety concerns was to add a couple more handrails (if aesthetically appropriate), e.g. extending those on the boiler side round the corner to join up with the one over the smokebox door, and the extra cabside handrail on the Compound pictured earlier. 

No doubt any request for compensation would be declined as anyone daft enough to fall off a footplate was clearly not exercising sufficient care for the task in hand.   

Edit - Completely off topic but i'm 99% sure the gent in the yellow vest on that Compound at Hellifield is the legendary Traction Inspector Bob Phizackerly. He once derailed 'Bahamas' coming off the K&WVR and then wrote his own investigation report ! There was nothing wrong with his conclusion ("The derailment occurred because I forgot to remove the derailer") but I had to politely refer it back 'for further work' - i.e. is there any chance someone other than the person who caused the derailment could countersign the report please ?   Absolute star. 

4 hours ago, Morello Cherry said:

 I am trying to workout how you would get out of a hardworking 4-4-0 at 30mph at 3am in the pitch dark with an oil can and lamp. 

As previously advised - out through the gap between the cab sidesheets and tender then round via the footplating provided for the purpose. Either lamp and oil can in one hand and the other on the handrail, or arm hooked over the handrail and one in each hand. The fireman would be more than capable of minding things on the footplate for the period the driver was away. 

Just because we've gone soft in the meantime unnecessary risks are no longer tolerated doesn't mean it can't be done. 

There is an Ivo Peters cine film of a Caley 0-6-0 on a railtour in 1963, the fireman is out on the footplate braying the Westinghouse pump with the coal hammer as the train approaches Whithorn, so it wasn't just a pre-grouping practice. 

Can't be British, there's no sign of an idiot wizard. 

15 hours ago, zr2498 said:

Sam maybe has a point, that it is no good adding gimmicks or supposed upgrades if it comes at the expense of the fundamentals.

Whilst I disagree with most of his Horribly Faulty reviewing (sic) techniques, he's right on that one. 

12 hours ago, Brocp said:

Come on Accurascale, annouce a proper gimmickless Black 5.

Yes. Yes please. 

I'll wait to see it in the flesh, I can use as many Black 5s as I can get my hands on but it's going to have to be good to justify the expense compared to the old model + aftermarket. 

On 13/02/2024 at 11:30, Michael Hodgson said:

Green flag waved slowly from side to side was an emergency signal given to drivers of trains which have divided, where suddenly stopping would run the risk of the back part catching up and colliding with the front part.  It was used at various dates, but whether or not it was appropriate would depend on gradients, and to a large extent also on the signalmans judgment on the best course of action.  When given, this signal authorised the passing of signals at danger, letting the first portion continue into a section already occupied, and the driver has to understand that he may have to stop because of the train that's already there; the hope however is that it is carrying on in blissful ignorance.  Train divided bells signal may been received from the box in rear to advise the signalman.

Sorry, only just noticed this. Yes you're absolutely right, apologies. 

Green waved slowly - train divided.

Green held steady - Warning acceptance - section clear but station or junction blocked. 

42 minutes ago, stovepipe said:

 Then they messed up the ice blue livery version.

Was that the one where they interpreted a black and white photo of "mostly dirty with a few clean bits" as "blue with white patches" ?

I shall have one of these to go with the Parksides. 

Of course !

1 hour ago, Dad-1 said:

 

Am I now addicted to oddball wagons - Probably !!

 

Geoff T.

https://www.departmentals.com/departmental/041707

I dare you. 

40 minutes ago, pheaton said:

The other one i havent seen mentioned...is in the early years of the 158s, they very very frequently seen with a sprinter attached...and the reason was that because they didn't have tread brakes, dirt on the wheels would build up and insulate them from track circuits, so a 15x was normally added to formation because they had tread brakes. 158s were eventually modified with a tread brake on the outer wheelset of each car to resolve this problem.

The 156/158 combo was a short term autumn-only arrangement (unless the 156 was deputising for a failed 158). The 158s have scrubber blocks fitted rather than a tread brake. 

This came up recently but I can't find the thread. Somewhere there is some old cine film of a couple of Black Macs checking the structure gauge by standing in an open wagon using tape measures and poles. If you know the distance from the top edge of a wagon of known dimensions you can extrapolate the rest. 

The only departure from 'normal' token exchange at St Bees is that drivers will, by local arrangement, take the token to the box themselves if it saves time and the signaller is doing something else (like putting the gates up and down). St Bees village is cut off from the north while ever the gates are down, the alternative route is 6 miles back the way you just came.