3rd Rail Exile

56 minutes ago, Melton Works said:

Who would like to see an Accurascale Hoover in revised NSE livery?

Most definitely!

I'm sure it will be announced in due course, but it's actually very kind of Accurascale not to announce all the different liveries I want all at once - I couldn't afford it! 

Patience is a virtue (yes, even in this "I want it now" world we seem to inhabit these days!)

1 hour ago, Ian Hargrave said:

However,on the haulage front,not all is lost until their appearance.As I’ve posted earlier,bringing my Heljan Met. electric out of storage would be a suitable alternative. Now that will pull the skins off a whole batch of rice puddings.

Exactly what I've been using with my rake of six - handles them no problem!

2 hours ago, franciswilliamwebb said:

Signs of activity at Rails, large hole reported in bank account😎

Similar activity in the Camborne area, resulting in a hefty hit to my credit card... 

Now to patiently await delivery to Didcot...

13 minutes ago, brushman47544 said:

What's that BR blue vehicle on the shelf below 50014?  I can't see anything on Accurascale's website that looks anything like it.

Is it a Mk1 Suburban CL?

8 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

I'm guessing you may still have some "heritage" No.1 curves?

Not personally - it's almost all flexitrack with approx 900 mm minimum radius curves, plus a variety of short and long Streamline turnouts. I wasn't saying I had a problem, but I was envisaging that a sizeable number of people might. 

I fully agree with your comments regarding the necessity of ensuring that kinematic coupling linkages are rigidly connected, and concur that set track which is too tight for current-spec models to traverse reliably should eventually phased out! But I don't think we're yet at a point where that is feasible...

28 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

TBH, I think it would be a good idea if coaches sold in sets, like these, were provided with more appropriate internal couplings as standard, leaving it to the Rule One mob to fit tension-locks if they really insist on breaking up authentic formations!

Something more appropriate and better-looking provided as an option would certainly be great, but providing it as standard would cause problems for those who have tight Setrack (or equivalent) curves (even if hidden in fiddle yards). I've managed to get "one Roco one Hornby" to work well with these on my layout, but can imagine other people having issues. Given that a fair number of these sets might be bought on the basis of "that's a nice, short, pretty train" it's probably still best to cater for the worst case scenario as standard and leave coupling modifications to those with sufficient knowledge and understanding of the potential pitfalls (and/or the time and patience to experiment). 

5 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

It wouldn't, Torquay Manor is the Dapol product.

It took me a little while to work that out, until I eventually noticed that the Torquay Manor depicted was in GWR Shirtbutton whereas the Accurascale Torquay Manor (which I have on order - it's making a return trip to Cornwall before arriving in Didcot) is in BR Late Crest. Then I noticed the tyres...

A very interesting direct comparison. 

17 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Just a bit of fun,

 

From the little evidence below, does anyone know which station I've taken a picture of?

 

 

No prizes, I'm afraid..............

Chester...

Also being discussed here...

I've also had a similar email as the auto-renewal has just gone through - looks like the same email might be sent to anyone who makes a payment, either new Premium member or renewal...

3 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

If he sticks to obscure prototypes, there's much less risk that he'll find himself in direct competition with one of the big boys.

Which is why their Class 40 EoI announcement is so bizarre... 

I'm in for a Leader and a 4DD precisely because they are obscure, but I probably would go elsewhere for a Class 40...

2 hours ago, great northern said:

...Why do I choose a view which requires six lattices to be photoshopped?

 

Because the picture looks that good with six lattices in it...

6 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

Only those who haven't moved house or had other cause to renew their driving licence since the photocard ones came in should still have a paper one.

 

I'm not sure how long ago that was because I haven't relocated since 1983, but I have acquired the current type by reason of age.

 

Renewal at age 70 is nowadays compulsory, and one's new licence will be a photocard. The paper sort should therefore be disappearing fairly rapidly. 

 

John

That's if you call 12 years "fairly rapidly". I last moved house before photocard licences came in, and won't hit 70 for just over 12 years.  Assuming I don't have to send it away for points to be applied, I'm still OK with the paper licence...  But at least I have a passport for ID purposes...

3 minutes ago, black and decker boy said:

I suppose a question to those saying technology is going to deprive people of using the train. How do these people find out train times these days? There is no printed GB timetable and many stations don’t have facilities for the little booklet versions. Any posters on display would just be for that local line.
 

 

Judging by overhearing conversations whilst waiting in the ticket office queue at Didcot Parkway, "these people" still ask for train times at ticket offices.  Which, of course, they won't be able to do if all the ticket offices get closed...  

For whatever personal reasons, there seems to be a surprisingly large number of people who are very unwilling to join the herd-like rush towards compulsory technology, or at the very least will do it to their own level of comfort/security, and at their own pace. And that's in addition to those for whom modern technology poses very genuine difficulties in use. 

I know people who think a smartphone is just something else they are likely to get mugged for, and that's without it having banking apps, train tickets and the like on it.  Also, it only took one sudden catastrophic battery failure to convince me of the need to carry printed out backups of tickets wherever possible... 

53 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

...I expect that Network Rail's level crossing replacement programme are prioritising them; consider that between Paddington and Bristol, there is only one... 

 

I thought there were two in close proximity in Steventon, or have I misunderstood something?

F/  Neither 😁

1 minute ago, nightstar.train said:

I don’t need a third deltic, I don’t need a third deltic. 

Nor did I, but then they announced D9000 in its VXC condition... 

But I'll leave 9016 for others...

1 hour ago, ERIC ALLTORQUE said:

Ive cancelled my pre order with Hattons as its just taking too long and i have looked forward to the car train for so long i dont want left high and dry missing out,should see them today by tracking of Kernow,they have all the variations ex stock.

I did the same last week as I was also worried about missing out.  Arrived from Kernow a couple of days later.  Moved about a grand's worth of other pre-orders at the same time...

1 hour ago, melmerby said:

What would you have preferred, A DJ designed model at £149.99 or a Kernow designed model at £179.99?😄

Fair point. 

I did say a lot had happened in 7 years...

10 hours ago, melmerby said:

No, that's wrong

The original price was £169.99 for pre-orders, which has risen to £179.99 if you pay now against £189.99 after the deadline.

Depends what you mean by "original" 😀 

When I pre-ordered in August 2015 (and I'm sure there are some who did so even earlier...), it was £149.99.  

Happily paid up the £179.99 a couple of weeks ago - I can understand that a lot has happened in 7 years to increase costs...

6 minutes ago, Hilux5972 said:

Asking yet again if anyone has figured out a way to fit the coupling bang plate on the front. The front of the bogie sticks out too far and doesn’t allow the plate to sit properly. Surely someone must have fitted this piece and sorted the issue. 

I agree that this piece can't be fitted without significant surgery to the front of the front bogie - you'd need to mill off the cylindrical protrusion at the front and then take the whole front face back a bit. 

Having found out the hard way that it couldn't be fitted properly, I decided to remove it completely as I don't have the necessary tools to make a decent job of the bogie modification.  I suspect most people who tried to fit it will have come to the same conclusion, and therefore there will be a lot of unfitted bang plates still sitting in the accessories bag, or similarly discarded.  

I can't remember if this issue has afflicted all iterations/modifications of the rebuilt West Country model - it does seem strange to supply a part that it's impossible to fit...

Hi Castle,

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to drop out of this - just too much going on at the moment, and I need the time for other things! 

Sorry for the short notice...

3rd Rail Exile (aka James)

Also the link from the first post on Page 1 of this thread...

But not exactly hard to find other ways to navigate to the appropriate pages...

I think it's an interesting and imaginative exercise in "what if", and I can see it appealing to some sectors of the market, particularly collectors, as it actually looks quite good (glad they didn't put yellow ends on it!).   

By the same token, I can also see why other sectors of the market will be avoiding it like the plague - some people just can't abide neverwazza liveries, even though there does seem to be a bit of a fad for them at the moment.  There will always be people who think that their particular interest would have been a better use of the manufacturing slot / body shells.  

It will be interesting to see how well it sells, but agree that it would probably do significantly better if it was available now rather than as a pre-order! 

Personally, If I hadn't already sated my need for a Jubilee memento by ordering the (temporarily) defiled West Country then I would have seriously considered buying a Jubilee HST...

5 minutes ago, EddieB said:

(I note the Freudian slip to a closed Great Western branch terminus - the interchange is at Farringdon with two r’s!).

An unfortunate mistake - I paused, fully aware of the difference in spelling, thought deeply and then chose the wrong one!  Possibly because I've got to head out in that direction later...

14 hours ago, EddieB said:

Oddly enough, the trains running through the recently opened section of the Elizabeth Line have similar configurations and levels of comfort to those introduced on suburban services out of Liverpool Street and Paddington around five years ago!

8 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

And once the whole thing is up & running I - like I suspect many others who've sussed things out- will change from a semi-fast GWR 387 to a Liz Line 345 at Ealing Broadway (and vice versa).  Obviously that won't be possible for passengers on GWR long distance trains  and fast commuter trains from/to  the Thames who would change to  the Liz Line at Paddington and if that only takes 3-4 minutes it will be a good interchange time.

 

They're nothing at all like the Electrostar 387s running out of Paddington apart from the fact that they are bogie vehicles running  on the same gauge track drawing power from 25kv overhead.   The noticeable thing about the 345s further out on the GWML is that passengers avoid the longitudinal seats if they can and, from experience, I don't think the ride at speed is as good as that on the 387s.  

 

The general level of onboard passenger facilities is completely different as the 345s are basically an UndergrounD train while the 387s are properly equipped for the longer journeys with only one shortcoming - the hard seat 'cushions' (which I, if no one else, have got used to).

I might be wrong (and apologies if so), but I think @EddieB had his tongue in his cheek slightly and was referring to the "all stations" Reading and Shenfield services which acquired 345s on their transfer to TfL Rail in preparation for Crossrail.  

I agree that they're nothing like the Electrostar 387s in terms of comfort or facilities (particularly the lack of facilities!). 

And yes, the Ealing Broadway change had occurred to me as well - I often catch the semi-fast 387 from Didcot into London as there's never any problem with seat availability, unlike some of the fast services...   But until full opening occurs, the hike to the Elizabeth Line from a terminating semi-fast arriving on Platform 14 at Paddington means the H&C/Circle is still a viable option to Faringdon and Liverpool Street.