Bomp

Waiting for a cheap MSC one to come from Hattons for repainting to Bass No. 7 or 12. I think the Huntley and Palmers Peckett will join it in Bass livery too.

Also 2112, according to my book (Brewery Railways of Burton on Trent, Cliff Shepherd, 186) and 1585 (same book, p184). I have been scouring it to find one... and there may well be more.

I meant to add that mine is run in and looks good on my rake of ten HAAs. I'm on MiPad so I can't diminish the photo size to post on here.

Mine's here! I wasn't sure my order had gone through so I was pleased to get the invoice.

I may have missed them, but so far I've seen no pictures of an APT-E with more than the two coaches. So here is my video of my five car set. I think the two motors and all the lights are too much for my single Gaugemaster DC controller, so I'll have to get it chipped so I can try full speed. https://youtu.be/CBtpdf2RuwE I hope this works - I tried embedding and then pasting the link but I can't paste anything into this box.

I've just snuck home for my lunch and found that the Locomotion parcel was the train and the three extra trailer cars . The second box was my 1/16 scale RC Leopard Tank . How am I supposed to work out which to play with first when I get back home?

And in today's post (which came while I was at work but my wife at home) I have the extra coaches! I really need to go home now. Only another five and a half of my twelve hours remain...

I got a note from the post man when I got home last night. My wife has been to the post office to collect it and has sent me a photo of a parcel labelled Locomotion! Just got to wait until my twelve hours are up and I can go home and read my book and look at my train before setting it up in the morning. I really can't wait to get home!

The Bachmann USA Website shows out of stock and no indication of when or whether there will be more. I'll be ordering Rheneas as soon as he's available.

I'm pretty sure I saw one of these locos in GWR livery on the Cambrian Coast at some exchange sidings with a narrow gauge slate line. Just have to pin the photo down. I'm pretty sure there were a couple of NCB Austerities there as well.

At the moment, my intention is to Talyllynify the Minitrains 1042 0-4-0, meaning, to my mind, paint it green with yellow lining and add some buffers. I'll take the lights off as well. It looks pretty Eigiauesque already, so it fits with the general area. I'm going to call it Bryn Eglwys as a geographical feature associated with the line, after Talyllyn and Dolgoch. I would hate to have to choose which person deserves the next loco... I can't upload the picture from work, so I'll have to edit when I get home.

Now you tell me! For future reference, will you be doing green ones for Dolgoch in due course? I'm aiming for a full fleet (changing Tom ROLT for a different No. 7 because I find the loco ugly despite what it represents) of 1980s green locos.

Here's my one finished above the footplate. Handrails may follow but I was a little impatient.

Any hints as to where Bachmann are at with this? I seem to have hit a mid-late 90s time slot for my "modern" stock, so this will be right up my street.

Can I just check whether I was supposed to have had an email or similar to confirm my order? I (think I) ordered a while back, but I haven't heard anything. Also, does VAT come off for us decadent Channel Island types? Thanks Tom

I hadn't thought of the variable height thing. I have some copperclad board for exactly this purpose, so I'll have a go. And while I've got the track up, I think I'll paint the MDF. Still toying with lifting the lower circuit and going full on 009... could be a challenge to get that across the gap, but so many others do N gauge with joints it can't be insurmountable.

It's been a while... I have several new locos since the last update, including four new 47s - ViTrains Intercity (Derby and Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Heljan green, and Bachmann Diamond Jubilee in Railfreight Distribution and London Society for the Blind in RES red. All very pretty. Also a Hornby 56 in Metals sector, and just now a Heljan 58 in Coal sector. And a Hornby 42xx in Great Western green. I think Princess Alice (Star) is new since my last post too. And definitely new is my MiniTrains 0-4-0 Eigiau lookalike in 009. I had to lay a circuit for him to go on. I think his chassis will fit under the white metal Douglas body I have, but at GBP119 I'm reluctant to pull him apart to see. I should have the Rapido APT-E soon as well, with 3 extra coaches. The joy of Mrs Bomp having a job after all these years! The Bad News, however, is that my track is getting less and less reliable. The entrance to the station loops at the bit where I can't reach is not good at all, because I haven't got it flowing properly, and track joints at the lifting section aren't good either. I need to rebuild at least those two bits, but do I do that before or after my APT-E comes? Bearing in mind also that I'm going to be laid up for a bit soon having my hip shaved again so it'll be sometime before I can sort the track properly. Can one get those curve guides for four foot radius curves? I'd like to get mine smooth and even but I'm not sure I can get them that big. I have a nice four foot metal rule for the straights. I may have to look into supports for my trackbed as well, as I think my inch thick MDF is starting to sag between the supports I've already got. It's in a basement which is dry and adequately warm, so it shouldn't be environmental. How does one best sort track across baseboard joints? I've never done it before this set I have now, and they don't seem to work that well. It goes from the Woodland Scenic foam underlay onto brass screws and the gap is about 1mm, and it sounds like a sudden jolt and almost like it lifts a bit. Something to think about and research during my 12 hour night shifts. That's all for now. Thanks for reading and for any advice that may be forthcoming.

I asked a question on that review and got an answer. However, I couldn't then reply to say thank you. On the back of that review and being impatient I have ordered one from Bachmann USA via an address in France. It comes to the same I paid for my Minitrains Eigiau lookalike from the FR shop so I'm happy enough with that. And I'm on the waiting list at Tootally Thomas as well.

I got to Loughborough Model Centre. They had nothing I needed (but lots I wanted). So I went to the Tutbury Jinnie, and came away with a load of paint and a Bass grain wagon. I also went to Butterley, and came away with three Midland coach kits. All part of my Midland train to go with my compound.

Thanks Jintyman. I'm still changing things that aren't glued down... so I may come up with a new arrangement that does away with the bit that's problematic at the moment. I have got a signal working and worked out that the other one is broken - but I may keep it to use the control board for a home made one using bits from work (plastic tubes left over from taking samples and bigger ones for hoods). There now follows two weeks of holiday including a visit (I hope) to Loughborough Model Centre in Derby to get some bits that can't be posted.

I'm taking a brief break (overnight...) out of frustration. I have to relay some bits because they aren't lined up right and there are kinks going into and away from points. I mainly get round kinks by soldering the yard lengths of rail before I bend them. I can't do that with points where I need isolating joiners. I have a pair of signals from Traintronics which I can't make work - the green aspect never lights up. The red one is fine, but the green doesn't show. I've tried all combinations of wiring, both signals, both control boards, and different switches, but I can't make it work. In response to my email to them for help, I had a phonecall - which I missed, so I'm getting a call on Monday instead. So I'm leaving it for the rest of today while I get over the frustration of things not quite working as they should.

I've looked at this post in great detail, it's where I got the idea for chopping the roof out. I'm still dithering about which surgery to go for - I honestly can't see the differences mentioned in the replies on here. So I'll look again, very closely. It may be, though, that I go for what appears to be an easier swap (cabs) and have a look at the completed loco. I'm not saying the differences aren't there or don't matter, but if I can't see them and I'm content with what I have (at least until I get to know the AC electrics as I'd like) then I may just go with good enough for me for now.

Trying a new format and a new venture in one. I have a Lima 87 and a second hand Heljan 86. I was initially going to cut the roof out of the 86 and put it on the 87, but then I checked the body shells, and it seems that they are the same. Certainly the same enough for my eye - which is along the lines of "if it looks right, it is right". So I plan instead to cut the cabs off each and swap them round. I'll use the 87 body and 86 cabs to practise and do the other way round for real. As it stands, I think I can do both cuts/joins at the inner door handrail recess, so it'll just be the roof to fill and sand back. I just happened to have some nameplates from a previous plan to do just a repaint. But that plan is about 20 years old, so it's bound to have changed by now. The photo shows the kit I have so far.