ruggedpeak

Arrived in the post the other day. Really like this issue, especially the longer articles like the ones about Paul Rolley and Digitrains. Haven't read the layout bits yet but Lomond looks really good. However............for some reason the typesetting has gone to pot. Normally magazines have the type offset by about 8-9mm from the centre of the pages. This months mag it is only about 5mm and it makes reading the print copy problematic as you have to pull the mag apart and flatten the pages to read it comfortably, or keep twisting your head to see all the text. Hopefully this is just a one off printing problem but spoilt the reading and was very noticeable as soon as I started reading. So much so I got the ruler out to compare with last month's BRM and Model Rail! Both were the usual 8-9mm so that even with the natural curve from the spine all the text is visible. Hopefully it will be sorted for next month.

And now the RMT are now trying to extend their self serving drivel onto GA lines to potentially make even more people's lives a misery. Using the new trains as an excuse to bring their members outf rom under their rocks. There are guards on the Norwich loco hauled services and the branch lines. The commuter trains work perfectly well without some RMT member leaning out the window thank you very much. GA staff are actually pretty good on the whole - would be a shame if the RMT destroyed that goodwill. http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/rmt-to-ballot-members-over-extending-doo-dispute-to-greater-angl

Nets and the posts the right way round? Hardly realistic or prototypical. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-40900519

Is that at least in part down to the skill of the modeller constructing it? I can assure you a Peckett will run better than any kit I make!

There is a small derelict NCB tank engine in a photo of a Class 40 shunting on p.51 of the latest issue of Traction magazine. To my very untrained eye it might be a W6?

In case anyone is interested there is a natty picture of the H&P Peckett as wallpaper on Hornby's website https://www.Hornby.com/uk-en/downloads/view/index/cat/35/

Whilst I agree, and on the assumption that Rapido have not decreased their North American output of models whilst expanding their UK range, then capacity is an issue. However capacity costs money, and clearly Kader haven't got spare and won't/can't invest in more. Again the Rapido approach of only making models with a guaranteed return (and like the Prototype HST if there's no money in it they don't do it) means they can invest in capacity with less risk. The extent of their involvement in the UK market is growing, as here, yet the only model that Rapido themselves are taking all the development/tooling risk they have delayed, as Bachmann have done with the 158. Does this mean Rapido are also land grabbing? http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Rapido-News-UK-Vol--10.html?soid=1101318906379&aid=6dazJANxFxE This is more consdiering the situation from other perspectives, but if I was Bachmann I'd be seriously considering using a pre-order/crowd fund route on say the 158 to reduce the risk and get it delivered. I suspect they don't want to go down this route, but the proof is in the pudding - these alternative business models are delivering good models. There are so many livery permutations on the 158 that it can then go into the main range through retailers as normal, something Bachmann are better placed than the new upstarts to do.

I think the delays are in part due to the challenges that Bachmann and Hornby are facing from new entrants. The 158 requires a substantial investment with no guarantee of a decent return, whilst others like Rapido and DJM are entering the market at little real risk because others are carrying the bulk of the risk through crowd funding, commissions etc. This is also why in the time Bachmann haven't delivered the 158 and 90 etc they have delivered a lot of commissions and continue to do so. Why would you divert time and money into the risk of a new tooling unless a return was guaranteed (eg Kernow's 4TC). Far better from a business perspective to take the low risk profits with numerous 66 liveries etc. I also feel the success of the smaller outfits like Realtrack is making them more risk averse. There is a natural support for the new entrants, yet the irony is much of these are in fact just fronts for Rapido in various disguises. Smart business strategy, and making life difficult for the incumbents. Bachmann are reacting - why are criticising Bachmann for not putting cash at risk whilst lauding Rapido for not putting it's cash on the line? Our behaviours as customers no longer support the traditional model development model (sic) as we are busy pre-ordering the latest Rapido (aka Realtrack/Revolution/Rails etc) commission. If I was Bachmann I'd be looking for pre-orders for the 158. Edited for format.

Although there haven't been any updates on here for some months, there has been quite a lot of action on the layout. Scenic work stopped and the focus has been on track and electrics. 1.5mm cork sheet has been laid across the entire layout, painted with black craft paint. Track has been laid out, checked with the viaducts etc, and then droppers soldered onto every piece, including all ends of the points. Used plumbers flux initially, now learnt that lesson and used IPA to get rid of the corrosion or whatever it is. Proper electronics flux now in use. Learnt quite a bit about soldering, and bought a few replacement bits as well! Wire is a mix of 0.2 from Ebay and 0.1 from Expotools. With no return loops there are no polarity issues, so simple colour coding of black and yellow. Wiring is probably overly complicated (in part due to using proprietary track in short lengths rather than flex so more droppers) but has been designed to allow DC operation using one controller (so only one movement at a time), or full DCC operation. At the same time I wanted an inexpensive method of point control. A visit to my local model railway emporium and I found Phoenix Precision 0.9mm bras wire in 300mm lengths and Evergreen 3/32" Stripstyrene tube. 300mm is more than adequate for the width of the layout, so I have wire in tube, the tube cut into the cork base. The ends are bent up into the hole in the centre of the point, and the handles are just the brass wire turned into a loop. Simples. With track down, holes drilled for droppers I decided to have a running session with various locos from my collection. This threw up some interesting results - the Hornby type points with insulfrogs and tight curves really showed up the good runners from the bad. My Hornby 67's all ran beautifully, as did my Bachmann MPV. However a number of my Bachmann 66's and 40 were not happy bunnies. A 66 and the 40 would both push the front axle off on one bogie when turning off on Hornby points. Another 66 just stalled on the points. The derailing is only a problem in one direction, but not good as locos will come in and then reverse out. Have not had time to investigate further but sadly they did not perform anywhere near as well as other locos Something to work on later. However it is clear Bo-Bo’s (Hornby 67 and Dapol 68’s) are by far the best runners on this layout. Which is great as I love both classes J and can run them with DVT’s etc as short sets. What was good news was that the locos that did work properly had no problems did so even without the droppers connected, so power was getting through. Hopefully bodes well for future running. The ultimate test re: power & running will be how my Sentinel and Peckett get on! That's for later. Power is distributed along the lines of the points through switches, so every point has 3 pairs of wires soldered to them. After initially thinking of Peco or Hornby switch levers to switch with the points, I remembered cost was an issue and went for simple two way switches from Rail Room Electronics. 50p each so a lot cheaper than the proprietary levers. I have one isolating section in the main platform, which is controlled by a lit rocker switch which was removed from my Lidl soldering station when it died. Switches are cut into the shelf on the edge of the baseboard. Not elegant but just needs to work.

What a load of old cobble®s! Best road braking surface in the dry and worst in the wet.

I guess you saw Chris' reply to your other post? http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/122813-great-british-model-railways/?p=2753678

I think I will leave my H&P in the box - if its worth that now imagine what a pristine version will be worth in 10-20 years time!

How many people run full length trains? Probably not that many, and with a lot of interest in short trains and plenty of prototype examples of a loco and a few wagons etc there will be plenty of people for whom this is fine. Indeed the 3 foot OO version is ideal for microlayouts, and overcomes the limitation of limited fiddle yard space on a micro. I can certainly see a use for it on mine, although I don't have the funds for one at the moment Good luck to them. I think this is useful innovation.

The biggest problem at the moment is the price of some secondhand versions. The Arriva Wales versions now have asking prices of £150 (Ebay) and £140 (Hattons). The sooner Bachmann get into gear and offer the new model the better. £150 for a 10 year old fairly basic model with no DCC socket? Not surprised they aren't selling (the Ebay one has been around for weeks), but no one seems to be offering a realistic price. Only cost £80 new.

You only have to look at contemporary stock and locos to see there is no consistency even with modern paints. Network Rail stock is essentially yellow and grey, but how many variations of yellow and grey do they manage in a single train? I was looking (bored due to delays) at the bottom of Greater Anglia 321's and Mk3's the other day. Consistent white on the body sides and roof colours, but the Mk3's have a thick gloss black strip along the bottom of the coach side whilst the 321's had a shiny dark grey and much thinner strip. Why is the livery consistent except for these strips?

For the uninitiated LTM Shop do have clearances periodically - worth signing up for their newsletter. I reported discounted Westerns earlier in the year on the the Bargain Hunters thread (which amazingly was complained about!). Whether S Stock gets discounted, who knows, but recently they discounted some steam engine and IIRC a class 20.

Excellent service from Rails and in particular Simon when a brand new loco I ordered was noisy going in one direction, replaced very quickly and painlessly by Rails.

I assume the Hornby set is likely to end up in high street stores that don't stock a niche brand like Marklin eg Argos, John Lewis etc I also think clockwork is due a resurgence. It has far more interactive value then a simple electronic device.

At 6 foot 4 I propose we start the 'Full Sized Cameo Layout Builders Association of Great Britain' so we can set some proper standards on height and other critical matters. Shall we say a full 6 foot is the minimum height for members? I'm working on my micro layout on the lounge floor at the moment, which is doing my back no good at all! Having not spent very long thinking about the issue of height, and reflecting on museum displays, these tend to be lower and deeper than your average cameo layout. You can stand facing the glass at a museum and still see the contents even if a horde of small children have their noses pressed against the glass. Well I can, so it seems to work for tall and short alike. The lack of depth plus (from experience) the proscenium totally messes up and constricts the field of view into such cameos. I guess there is a danger of becoming all arty farty and designing something that is outstanding but only if viewed from a precise viewpoint. That, as has been evidenced, can be exclusionary. Note Hornby's display layout - compact, securely mounted at a low level and redaily visible to be both kids and adults. Different concept as a roundy roundy with no fiddle yard but where cameo's are a possible entry point for new blood into the hobby there may be an opportunity, and why does it have to have the view blocked off on 3 sides and possbily from above? Or perhaps a small loop based layout visible from all sides is a different concept from a cameo?

Having opened my print copy now I agree, I don't at all like the lack of the author's name at the top of the article, having to search in the small print in the factfile box. And I really, really hate the yellow clipart font used used in the dark green boxes. Looks cheap, and completely jars with the rest of the page and 'proper' fonts used in the articles. Why spend so much time taking amazing photos then allow that mess on the page? Ruins the visual impact of the Heaton Lodge spread for example. Articles are still good as is photography, but the editorial was too chatty for me. Feels like people are trying a bit too hard to change things - the basic never change. Needs to be visually coherent and we want to know who wrote the articles at the outset.

As another who dreads soldering, the biggest issue I've found is trying to work without melting the power cables to the iron. Cables just get in the way. Having just soldered droppers onto my track for my micro layout, I've found this little gem to be highly effective. Small, easy to use, heats up rapidly and on trickier areas using a small amount of flux have meant the job was easier than previous attempts. Spare tips are a couple of pounds. Just need a can of lighter fluid. Only melted a few sleepers, and that was on points where the gap between sleepers was small. I've got a proper station on order to learn how to do it properly, but working on the baseboard the gas iron was ideal.

Done. And took out a subscription offer a few weeks back

Maybe a bigger issue is the overbearing sense of entitlement and urge to complain at the most trivial and irrelevant things? Cool, as I suggested t'other day, especially for those of us with multiple magazine subscriptions http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/122889-brm-june-17-extra-interactive-features/?p=2728749 How about Golden Backstage Passes for Ally Pally? Unlimited free drinks/hospitality? The possibilities are endless....

Thanks Andy - I have literally just subscribed to Traction to start with the next issue so didn't want a duplicate BRM and Traction subs, hopefully there's a Warner's loyalty scheme

Out of interest, do print subscribers get the free issue of Traction - if so which issue please?