DCB

I'm planning a 2ft ish X 5ft ish 00 layout on an x N gauge layout baseboard I blagged off a skip ( yes Honestly it had track as well, got £20 for ithe track on eBay!) with 12" radius flexi track curves, In 00! Now Bekra Models Newton Abbott used to have one running and Sew Much More at Teignmouth have one so I'm not mad. Just a bit of fun, more fun than a plank or Inglenook even if 0-4-0 and maybe B B diesels are its limits. I;m basing mine on a fictitious Isle of Skye railway, std gauge, ex col Stephens, all sorts of stuff he bought cheap. Maybe even a Dean Goods converted to a 2-4-0 or 4-4-0, loads of Triang Clerestories cut and shut 4 wheelers and Triang wagons. Good excuse for random stuff if its Col Stephens era or Preserved or both.

Looks like just about impossible to get the drive connectors off to even start to start taking it apart and it has a bespoke case with mountings it seems to me with all the spare x9863s sold and no more planned you are basically stuffed. Like Monty Python's Norwegian Blue Your class 43 has lived its life and should be en route to the the scrapyard. Plenty of old Pancake motor chassis around on eBay. It's the modern way, the old repair it mantra is old hat, Hornby can't make money by making models which run for 60 years with just a replacement pair of brushes , That's why the old 1960 Hornby Dublo went broke, their models just kept going and one family sold the kids redundant train to another family for their kids for Christmas. Modern Hornby falls apart so people buy their kids new Hornby for Multi Faith Midwinter celebration day in theory, in fact the Kids get a Hex Bok or some such and the average age of Hornby buyers hovers around 70. The 1960s Hornby Dublo Bo power unit wont fit a 43 sadly

The best way in my experience is to make up bespoke sections from set track rail and flexi track sleepers. The Set track rails stay straight or curved whereas bits of flexi in with set track tends to distort up and down or sideways. I habitually chop set track around but find it necessary to use a couple of flexi track sleepers at the cut rail ends as a minimum to allow the fitting of fishplates. I would usually avoid set track in fiddle yards as streamline 2ft points give similar length but considerably narrower track spacing and hence width. On the other hand I chop and live frog set track down to 44mm track spacing . Set track straights make great straights when you want straight straights, its a real sod to get long lengths of flexi dead straight but its a doddle with 3ft set track

The key requirement as I see it is that the train does not stop when it loses the radio signal, generally R/C is arranged to fail safe as you want planes to circle and cars to stop when you lose line of sight but a train stopping in a tunnel is a darned nuisance. Track power is OK with LGB as they generally use plunger pickups but even so Battery avoids a huge heap of hassle and wiring and Power supplies...

The Germans heard about your Grandfather and his mates and decided to attack Russia instead. My Dad and his mates protected Chedworth Tunnel on the MSWJR from attack by German Paratroopers with equal success.

They could revive the racing between two trains like Capt Howey etc did pre WW2, or get the armored train going and charge people to dress up like WW2 conscripts and play soldiers.

The Bachmann Manor chassis is essentially the same as the Bachmann 43XX chassis except for the longer con rods and bogie at the front. I'm pretty sure the Mainline body is a direct fit on the Bachmann chassis which is an easier option than adapting a 43XX. The Bachmann 43XX chassis under a 5101 is interesting, something I have planned myself as the Bachmann is a lovely smooth runner while the wheels stay on, Strangely the 43XX seems better than the Manor wheel retention wise, but gutless for my 20 Hornby Dublo wagon freight drags. The Airfix 61XX is dire, I have a feeble 2010 era Hornby 51XX and an older one "Limping Lulu" with a wonky middle wheel , but a pair of Triang Hall chassis, 5 pole Romford wheeled 61/81XX prairies from Wills and Farish have been my go to bankers for 40 years. They pull well over 30 Hornby dublo wagons, and push 20 up a 1 in 30 . What my plan is is to nick the Bachmann chassis from my 93XX, fit a Triang based chassis and a load of lead to get some grunt, as per my Mainline bodied triang 43XX and put the Bachmann chassis under a Hornby 51XX principally as a passenger loco but with a lot more ballast. I have a K;s 43XX which runs beautifully with its huge cab filling flywheel, a Dapol one, feeble and needed reprofiled wheels to remain on the track. It must be 40 years ago I put Romford wheels on Triang Hall chassis for my original Mainline 43XX and Manor, it was when only unlined green livery was available for the Manor so I sprayed it and lined it with PC lining. Both are still on the layout and in service hauling trains, Several Bachmann versions have appeared and died / had replacement Bachmann chassis in that time.

I wouldn't think a "Colliery" Band would add anything to a WW2 enactment. They play to a select audience of Brass Band enthusiasts who rave if the Euphonium player hits a top D and bore the pants off anyone who is not a Brass Band enthusiast. Grass roots bands Non Contesting not a full 25 member ensemble playing a program of quasi WW2 music would be more appealing, and I know this as we at Chedworth Silver Band ( chedworthsilverband@gmail.com )are definitely not outstanding technically but often get complemented on our program, this is in contrast to other bands we help and whose players help us. Away from themed events we blatantly steal "Andree Rieu's" repertoire, It is hard to get WW2 music which sounds "Right" to modern audiences, They only know the main themes/ chorus not the intro and verse. WW2 was 85/79 years ago, It was UKs finest hour and has all been downhill since, 1966 excepted (Two world wars and one world cup Doo Dah) Sadly many Band gigs dried up with Covid, Fetes Flower shows with 150 year histories ended, Fees, well we charge £200 for a nominal 2 hr gig, no reduction for less as its every bit as much hassle to do 10 minutes as 2 hrs. We get £100 plus a bucket collection for a local "Bands in the Park" event from a local town council. For longer events, Airshows etc, we often find more than one Band is engaged , Maybe you would need three to cover 10am -6 pm and even at £200 a pop that is a lot of passenger receipts effectively "Wasted" A 4 or 6 piece ensemble playing Carols on't train for Mince Pie special is a much better idea.

For an 00 model an old spit chassis Triang underframe with Bachmann split axle wheels will provide pick up with no added friction

It is a very long time since Mainline locos were last made. That said I think most Mainline locos used these springs, I suspect they were bronze. From memory the Mainline chassis has two springs one in each chassis half which press the center axle down for better power pick up, at least in theory. The Bachmann Manor is different and has larger axle journals, and drive on the middle axle not rear, they don't have traction tyres on the rear axle or springs and have square axle ends. The Mainline motors are hopeless and the wheels lose quartering, while the Bachmann has a nice drive train and the wheels fall off. My Mainline Manor (now retired) had Romford wheels fitted and a Hornby Powered Tender fitted which cured the quartering issues, My Bachmann Manor has extra pickups fitted between chassis and wheel backs which stopped wheels falling off. I really think fettling a Mainline Manor chassis is a waste of effort My latest Manor has a Hornby Hall Chassis with Hornby 2-6-4 T wheels, but really the current RTR offerings are in a different league from Mainline so funds permitting I would park it on a siding and get a decent one.

Enlarging the holes is just a fudge for quartering, or rod length or crank pin issues. I have had all 3. If it has been getting worse and quartering looms right and the wheels look to run without wobbling I would suspect a bent rod or wear in the axle holes. The wear is usually an issue for compensated chassis which wear like fury but can affect RTR.

Classic case of sorting out what matters and what does not. Direct Point frog operation of LEDs can be done with DCC as line voltage is pretty constant though the point frog changes relative polarity when the point is thrown. Can't work with DC as the LEDs would go out when trains stop and barely glow when trains go slow or go supernova at full power. For DC you need a separate switch to sense point direction with a separate power feed 9 volt etc I use 3 Volts for LEDs LEDs look pretty. If the panel is for a portable / exhibition layout then a single wire pair between panel and Baseboards or daisy chained baseboards makes a lot of sense. Likewise on an existing layout it might make sense to build an autonomous panel with a single pair connection, I have never built a control panel, I just put switches on bits of board. Or through baseboard framing, always mouther vertically so as to minimise the space used. Rotary switches for route selection, will give up to 12 routes per switch on the common or garden £2 - 12 way type while using a diode matrix for Slow action motors or with CDU(s) Diode matrixes and energise push buttons for solenoids. These give a visual indication and with a double gang (fancy) rotary can give power for route indicating LEDs I prefer stud and probe operation with a CDU or CDUs as its incredibly cheap (can also have LED route indication from accessory switches. Like Government Policies any choice giving any advantage results in all sorts of unexpected problems. My Loft layout was abandoned when the cost of the control system proved un affordable, rather like 35 decoders added to the cost of 35 tortoises rather skews the finances (certainly from my position as a Pensioner.) What one can't do is mix and match without understanding what is and what is not compatible. Stick to one persons advice, better still get them top come round and do if for you,

The CD Motors I use are no wider than the original Lima motor and don't affect the swing, there are wider ones so maybe the answer is a narrower motor. Twin power bogies is better and prototypical each class 42 or 43 Warship power unit drove one bogie, so on one engine they were a 4-4-0 or 0-4-4

I would go for a double track oval and just enjoy watching the big locos haul longish trains around through the scenery. That is basically what I built in 00 for my son and he had a lot of enjoyment from it, There are no medium size locos available or planned for a proper realistic layout, the J50 was a shunter and seldom if ever hauled a passenger train other than as empty stock. Things may improve but we thought the same about Triang TT...

Why not have a high level terminus continuous run and reverse loop.