Wheatley

I suspect they formally ended with the 1972 Rule Book changes but I doubt there were many places still using them by then. I started in 1987 and they had been replaced by double block working where semaphore distant were still in use.

If IPA removed it then I suspect it is acrylic of some sort, IPA or meths will remove several factory finishes including Mainline and Lima with very little effort. Oven cleaner should remove most acrylics, apply liberally and seal in a plastic bag overnight. Brake fluid (cheaper the better) will remove enamel but it's foul stuff to use, dunk in the container and leave to soak overnight.

Must admit I've been enjoying this, it's one of the few programmes I was allowed to stay up late to watch (the other being 'Danger UXB'). I'd forgotten how dark it was though, Lifeline seem to have bumped off more people than they've rescued so far! Mrs Wheatley, meanwhile, who was not allowed to stay up to watch it, is still wondering when Le Clerc appears.

Around 1988 a chap called Kevin in Sheffield AMO had a bright idea to equip signalboxes with some redundant PCs and printers rather than skipping them, and creating a local network to improve train running information. It tied in with the creation of the shortlived Sheffield Control. The idea was, I think, that we could send information to Control faster than by telephoning and constantly getting the engaged tone when it was all going wrong. So this thing was shoe-horned into a 32 lever box already crammed to the rafters with kit, some of it essential, and off it went spewing out paper. We got a test message every morning, the Control log and the occasional "2F04 CAPE DEMIC". That was as far as two way communications went. We enjoyed reading the Control log each morning (I still have the printouts of some of their more bizarre entries) but as no-one had negotiated this with the LDC or even asked us, no information ever flowed back. However, it did flow between the boxes in the form of long lists of filthy jokes, a sort of prehistoric blog listing the many failings of the various managers inflicted upon us, and some quite inventive ASCII porn. Eventually the combination of hi tech equipment and the soot and heat from the pot-bellied stove got too much and our PC expired. I don't think taping up the air vents to stop the soot getting in helped.

People can only make you suffer for a hobby if you let them. I decided a long time ago that I didn't give a toss what anyone thought of my spare time activities (the other one is aircraft modelling) and it's very liberating. I'm not particularly thick skinned, it used to bother me a lot what people thought, but once you decide you really don't care it gets a lot easier. Even at work people have got used to the fact that my screensaver usually reflects what is currently on the bench and it unearths quite a few closet train/aeroplane nuts. Admittedly it's not a brilliant strategy for pulling, but at 50-odd and married that's less relevant now than it once was. Even then it had it's moments. "Why is there a massive aeroplane on top of your wardrobe ?" "Because it doesn't fit on the shelves."

Can't remember when I ordered it, but mine arrived today. Apart from the Tri-ang tender top it's very nice.

Not only NPR but Leeds and Bradford City Councils are involved. Neither of them has a stellar reputation when it comes to local transport planning for new infrastructure (as opposed to re-opening stations on existing routes) or planning generally come to that. Leeds spent 40 million quid not developing a Supertram line then Lord knows how much more not building a trolley bus route. The best I can say about them is that they're marginally less inept than Selby and York Councils. "West Yorkshire devolution deal provides the region with access to the Government’s £4.2bn fund for urban transport" So there's no funding agreed yet. "... the blend of technologies which are most likely to meet the needs of our region." We'll end up with electric buses and cycle lanes then.

CMSC went to Kingfisher and Wee Friends apparently, not tried to order from either so no idea as to availability, sorry. Butler's looks like it might be worth a look, thanks !

JB for the 105mm gun, FC Landover and Bedford 4 tonner, not sure which of those ended up with Airfix. M109 -Revell 1/72 AS90 - Trumpeter 1/72 The following are all 1/72 and (I believe) out of production but here goes: Bedford TL (build your own drone) BW Models, whitemetal. Towed Rapier, Landrovers of all shapes and sizes, Leyland DAF DROPS- Continental Model Supply Co (CMSC), resin, and top quality.

At that date, apart from marker lights left on by accident, locos or vehicles left on running lines including in bay platforms had to exhibit a red light after sunset or during fog or falling snow. For the reasons mentioned above concerning battery life this would invariably be an oil tail lamp. 1972 Rule Book rules B.7 and J.2.3. In sidings - no lights at all. The spangly LED lights fitted to RTR deisels are largely superfluous on layouts set before the introduction of WIPAC lights on the 80s. Even when they were on you couldn't see them in daylight, and they weren't much better at night.

I'm with Mr McCann on this one. I could do with one of these, two in fact, as 78016 and 78026 were signature locos for the line I'm modelling. I've had the DJH kit almost finished for years, the continued delay to Hornby's means it's back on the bench for finishing off. And without wishing to re-open the "How much ?!!" debate, at £200 (at least) a pop I won't be adding the second one if and when Hornby ever get round to it. It can wait until I find a decent second hand Bachmann Ivatt and get the plasticard out. Unless Hattons end up with a load of overstocks wedged somewhere dark with the doors open and have to start discounting them, I'm out.

File down the sides to remove all the surface detail and roughen the surface, dont try to thin them down by exactly the thickness of the brass. You will probably find you need to enlarge the window openings too otherwise you'll be able to see the old sides where they don't quite match, and they'll be easier to glaze. You may well finish up with just the bottom half and a couple of uprights but that's fine, as long as two of the uprights are at the ends of each side.

Regional Railways did something in the 1990s with Overdrive (?) fuel cards, they were accepted almost* everywhere but were swapped almost overnight for Esso cards. At the time there were not a lot of Esso garages in the wilds of Cumbria. "The van is in Penrith station car park. If you want me you'll need to send a taxi." *Except Pinkneys in Appleby. But then she didn't take cash in denominations greater that £10 either.

Anybody else notice that the people getting paid to build Mosquito kits for a living (Jealous ? Moi ?) were using Tamiya Thin rather than the in-house product to stick them together ?

So yes as it turns out, but by commercial users which is a bit naughty ! When my archeaology course finished several of us asked if there was an alumni rate for NUS membership, or whatever it was we had to be in to get access to the library. "So you can all spend all day at work playing with Digimap ?" "How did you guess ?" "Someone asks every year."

At least he wasn't running it under water this time. I'm not certain because Spitfire wings are even more of a nightmare than where the topfeed goes on a Black 5, but I don't think the clipped wing is specific to one mark, it could be done on any mark. It was role specific rather than mark specific.

Well they were doing so well, and then "Sam's Trains" appeared. Noooooo !

Somewhere on this forum there is chapter and verse on the operation of Freightliner flats on the Far North line, the question was asked before a few years ago.

Pubs and chip shops notwithstanding, usually option B. If the train crew were ready to go then it would be up to the signalman to decide when he had enough of a margin to let them run without getting in the way of anything else. If that would involve arriving early at a terminus or similar where capacity might be a problem it may involve a phone call to check there was room first. Learning what could be allowed out in front of what with sufficient time to avoid distant checks to a following higher classification train was known as 'margining' and was part of the signalman's box knowledge.

Yes, almost everywhere including model shops. My local one carries the full range but the 'full' range in the new acrylic squeezy things seem a bit sparse - they all have 163 RAF Dark Green but there aren't even spaces in the rack for dark sea grey, medium sea grey, light aircraft grey or camouflage grey. Painting RAF anythings from the 1960s onwards is getting challenging. Other non-model shop stockists have dribs and drabs.

Alternatively, secure it in the passenger footwell of your shiny new boy racer hot hatch and wait for your then girlfriend to accidently kick the nozzle off with her Goth panzer driver boots. We got out looking like the ruddy Be-Ro flower men. She did clean it up though, bless her.

EM is still thriving, the track looks better than OO but many people find the slightly wider wheels and deeper flanges of EM more practical than P4. It is a good 80/20 compromise. Track building isn't the only factor, some more modern RTR steam locos can be converted to EM by pulling the wheels out slightly on their axles, which isn't usually possible with P4, and many more can be converted by swapping wheels and axles without the full chassis rebuild usually associated with P4. Of course if you can build reliable chassis in the first place this may be less relevant but I can't (and I have tried). I write as a former EM modeller who went back to OO for my Last Great Project when it became clear that Hornby and Bachmann could do Walchaerts valve gear much better than I could, and I'm a member of the S4 Soc so no gauge wars here either.

I have the same issue with them, if electromagnets aren't an option try a less powerful magnet or sinking it further down into the board. Also I angle the hooks back very slightly to make coupling up more reliable which seems to help. What I haven't tried yet is adding more weight to the other end to increase the force needed to pull them down. They can be a bit temperamental but, having tried most if not all of the alternatives, the simplicity of these wins every time for me.

If I'd ordered a black it would be getting cancelled too but Mrs Wheatley wanted a blue one to sit in a case because 'it's pretty' and she won't notice the tender top or the Stillbrew cab sides. Also I thought I really ought to do my bit for Scottish RTR. Won't make that mistake again, not by pre-ordering anyway. My existing Caley Coaches one and the as yet half-started Caley/Sparkshot hybrid one will do for my layout needs.

Agreed, and even then you'd have to scratchbuild the tender. The Tri-ang coaches at least save having to do the panelling, no matter how much else you do or don't do the the rest of the vehicle. The latest Hornby releases also save having to paint a very complex livery. It took me two weeks to build my two Caley Coaches ones and another 21 years to paint them.