wainwright1

I wonder if Kernow's have any plans to produce any more 02s. We could certainly do with some more Isle of Wight examples especially a couple in malachite livery and maybe another couple in olive green. The only issue might be with the motor and gearing and more critically the weight of the model which on the original examples was insufficient to give the locomotive enough traction to pull an appropriate length Isle of wight train of six coaches. (Ryde to Ventnor). I was talking with the owners of the Ventnor West, St Lawrence and Merstone Junction layout at a show a little while back and they said that the performance of their Kernow models was very poor in comparison with their South Eastern Finecast kit-built ones. With Model Rail's E1's coming next year, this would certainly complete the picture. Any support for this. Ray

Well, they needed a back-up.

Very sorry to hear this sad news. I knew that Vernon had been very ill over the last couple of years, but hoped that he would improve enough to stabilise for a reasonable period. We always looked forward to seeing them at exhibitions to find out what new limited editions they were going to commission. Sending our sympathies from all the members of Southwark and District Model Railway Club to Kerry and the children. Ray B

He did the same with my Hawkhurst layout at the East London Finescale Show, that is also 00.

The mane of the 4th person I sadly cannot remember. Could that possibly be the late Alan Garden ? He used to be invovled in the battle recreation movement, hence the long Cavalier hairstyle.

This is starting to get very depressing, obituaries for two people I knew in two days. First John Sneyd and now Tony Adams. I saw Tony with his LMR layout on several occasions and discussed the operations of the Longmoor Military Railway with him. He was a very knowledgeable and informed source now sadly lost. I can only echo the condolences expressed by Bill and Colin RB

I remember John very well, he having been a member of our Southwark Model Railway Club for a number of years, one of many I believe he belonged to all over the country, although you might say we were his home club as he lived in our borough. We took part in his East London Finescale Show which he ran up in Wanstead for a few years and consumed many a pint, both after exhibitions with the likes of Alan Browning and Alan Garden also no longer with us and at the end of club nights, in the early days in the Sultan on St James Road, now bulldozed and replace by a block of flats. Not seen him since I think Railex last year, but he was looking o.k. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend his funeral as I will be at another one on the same afternoon for a member of the vintage bus group which I also belong to. God bless John. RB

On the Hornby Website the LSWR and Southern versions do appear to be the wrong colour. Not LSWR/Southern wagon brown. Similar to the multiple runs of the 2+2 planked van which also sported large lettering which having been built post 1936 they never carried. RB

The crystal ball definitely says a Southern L1 coming using an existing tender, but can't quite see which manufacturer. There is also a possible competitor..... Now its gone all cloudy.

The grapevine says that the new birdcage coaches are now in Bachmann's warehouse, so distribution should start next week. RB

Big step from the platform to the footboard. Not very high, but still risky for the less able !

I have three of the H's and two out of the three have had problems. The first one in original full Wainwright livery was used on my exhibition layout. It did one complete run with its train in and out of the station without problem,. The second time it emerged from the tunnel giving a very realistic cloud of smoke from the chimney, unfortunately without a smoke unit ! Fortunately it did not do any damage to the body. The dealer I bought it from was standing in front of the layout when it happened and saw everything. He returned it to Hornby for me and they replaced the motor. No problems since. The second one was the collector club model, also in full Wainwright livery. This one faired worst and seemed to get hot much quicker causing the boiler in front of the dome to sag. I phoned Hornby and returned the model. They replaced it completely and I have had no further problem with it. I have seen on another thread that there may have been issues with the assembly of the motors causing problems. Screws not properly tightened up ? RB P.S. Also had one of the front steps fall off. That went back into its slot with a spot of superglue.

I would just mention in passing that one of my club colleagues recently built a replacement Ratio signal for a club layout. The kit was moulded in white and black plastic parts. The white parts were fine, but he found that it was impossible to cut the black plastic parts from the sprue without them shattering. Luckily he was able to replace the cranks etc with brass ones and was able to complete the kit. So problems with plastic are not a thing of the past. RB

I believe that they were also used by the ROD, so another livery option. RB

Hi Mallard. That is very interesting about the shingles starting other things off. About a week after my shingles started I got an arthritic type flare up in my left knee. I had experienced some problems previously with arthritis in both knees, but not too serious and it had been more or less negligible for about four years. I had the knee x-rayed and they compared it with an x-ray taken five years ago and the they said that there was no change in the joint. So perhaps this is also being caused by the shingles. The shingles are in their ninth week and very slowly dissipating and the knee is up and down, improving for a few days and then getting achy again. At the moment I cannot straighten my leg properly, so have been very careful on stairs and avoided carrying anything heavy or awkward, especially model railway layout boards. I am also restricting my driving to fairly short trips. I would finally say that I have yet to find any pain killers or other treatment which has given any real relief. All the best RB

Another three years to go until I am eligible (aged 70), but once I am clear of this bout I may ask if I can have it earlier to prevent another episode. All the best RB

Interestingly, I saw my neighbour across the hallway from my flat yesterday and she got shingles about a week ago. Her's is nasty as it is high up on her back and going around onto her face. Apparently she got taken into hospital in an ambulance and kept in over night on a drip. She was released the next day, but they did not give her any medication. I told her what I had been through and gave her the packets for the medication that I had been given to stop the spread of the shingles and prevent it getting infected. She has been to the doctor and her has given her the same thing. She is only in her thirties and going around using a spray on everything she touches to stop the spread of it. Her upstairs neighbour is currently pregnant with a risk to the baby and we have warned her about the problem. All the best RB

Hi All. Many thanks for your comments and kind advice. It is now eight weeks since my attack started. My kitchen is now looking like a chemists shop with the selection of treatments that I have tried, some over the counter and others prescribed by the doctor. It was quite aggressive, painful and debilitating when it first started, but after a couple of weeks it eased a bit and and I got my energy back. Unfortunately, it seems to have got stuck at that level and nothing seems to shift it. I am currently on Gabapentin (400ml) tablets and EMLA Cream (5%) (Lidocaine) a mild anaesthetic. Unfortunately neither of these seem to be doing very much. I might try the antihistamine tablets to see if they help. I also have what appears to be an arthritic flare up in my knee which started about a week after the Shingles. I had an x-ray last week and Interestingly, when compared with an x-ray five years ago there would appear to be no change. This does not seem to be responding to the medication either, so perhaps the Shingles virus has got in there as well ? I suppose I shall have to ride out the storm and hope that this fades away after not too much longer. (Failing that, I will call out the vet). All the best RB

Hi DaveF. Thanks for your kind regards. I have tried paracetamol and ibuprofen, both without success. I am currently taking the Gabapentin with pararcetamol+codene at doctors instruction for a week, although still without any apparent effect. Have another appointment with the quack on Tuesday. I am retired and have adopted the loose clothing strategy which helps. Braces are also useful set at just enough strength to keep your trousers up. I am sure that there must be something out there that will soothe the soreness, its just finding it. All the best RB

Hi All. Trying to get our Crystal Palace High Level layout ready for the Gravesend exhibition at the beginning of November. lots of jobs to do, but mostly painting cobblestones at the moment. As a large percentage of our membership are shall we say in our late middle age, I am sure that many of you have suffered what I have got a the present time, in fact over the last eight weeks, the dreaded shingles on my right side. I have tried a variety of things to ease the itchy/sore irritation from this, but so far have not found anything that really eases the problem. Has anyone found something that does the job ? I have tried: Calamine Lotion, Witchhazel Gel, Ibuleive (Ibrofrofen gel), and Piroxicam gel (prescribed). None of these seem to do anything, although I do find that Deep Freeze last thing before bed seems to calm it down a bit. I am also on Gabapentin tablets (prescribed) which are supposed to be specifically for nerve pain, but they do not seem to do anything either. Any suggestions gratefully received. Now back to the modelling. RB P.S. I also have an arthritic knee on my left side which is not helping. Don't know which way to turn, literally.

I know a modeller who used to scratch-build wagons in gauge 1 from polystyrene and he found that after a couple of years that these tended to fall apart generally where they had been stuck together using solvent. I think that it was the plasticiser in the styrene that had evaporated out of the material that caused the problem. I am not sure if the problem is the same with ABS type plastic as used in Plastruct or Evergreen. The type of solvent used may also have implications. He now builds his wagons with wood and metal. I built many Airfix kits over the last 50 years and do not recall any of them falling apart, although they were mostly constructed using the old polystyrene cement rather than solvent. I suspect that once they were painted it substantially reduced the migration of the plasticiser. I also have many old Tri-ang and other brands of plastic bodied locos, coaches and wagons and do not remember any of then going crumbly or soft. Obviously prolonged exposure to direct sunlight would be likely to cause damage on more than one level, but perhaps storing models somewhere where there might be exposure to some kind of fumes or vapour which might otherwise be considered innocuous might cause damage over a prolonged period of time.

You are probably right about Ratio clearing old stock for the LNWR kits, I recall that there was either a small add or part of a main ad in I think the Railway Modeller stating they had a limited quantity of the kits and that they would be discontinued. The transfers were definitely PressFix which I use for all my Southern pre-grouping wagons and I think I still have the remains of some of the LNWR ones. I think that they even had made up very small tare markings for the solebars which I found useful. These transfers seem to adhere very well to most surfaces, but satin and gloss are best, and I find that if I apply the smaller lettering lightly, I can manoeuvre it with end of a cocktail stick to get it into perfect alignment with no carrier film. RB

I recall that the Ratio LNWR wagon kits that were withdrawn were offered in a plastic bag without instructions, but with the standard transfer sheet which was PressFix and very good, maybe just before the range was sold to PECO. I bought some and and have built them. I have not bought any kits recently, but I think that the current kits have water slide transfers which are not so good. Other kits which were discontinued were the NBR Open Cask Wagon and GWR Tube Wagon, although these may have been withdrawn earlier. I have an unbuilt Open Cask kit somewhere to add to my pre-grouping collection. RB

It is a pity that they are doing Basra again as the Longmoor loco which was previously produced by Bachmann for Modelzone, although this will obviously be a more accurate representation. They could do the other one Bari, which was the one that was involved in the serious accident on the railway involving a number of fatalities. RB

An interesting thread with some fairly local connections. I recall using Cow Gun in the mid-eighties for mounting materials, maps etc, to some display panels for an exhibition. Also seem to recall that it went mouldy after a while and stained through the displays, obviously due to it being a natural organic material. Always found the original Evo-stik contact adhesive very good for woodwork assembly and sticking on Formica laminates. I also use it for sticking brick paper onto scratch-built card buildings using the wall paper system. Coat both surfaces, allow to start going off, apply brick paper. It gives you time to straighten things up and any excess can be rubbed of cleanly after it few minutes when it goes rubbery. RB