Chamby

Hi Jesse, Have you made any modifications to the Peco bullhead turnouts? I recommend that you test each of your loco’s over them several times... they can short out where the tolerances between the frog and the opposite polarity blade rails are very fine, also sometimes where the frog check rails extend beyond the electrical break in the running rail. Problems are more likely with RTR flangeless trailing wheels on the curved track, and too tight back-to-backs, especially with longer wheelbase loco’s. There are workarounds documented on the relevant thread in the Peco section of RMweb.

Similar comments about available liveries of assorted RTR stock appear from time to time here. I do wonder why the relatively straightforward task of re-liverying an available RTR product is so commonly seen as a problem, rather than an opportunity?

You might be wise to have a chat with the Hornby magazine chaps about the merits or otherwise of photoshopping smoke and steam effects on photographs of featured model railways... they have a habit of doing that in their layout articles.

Easily overcome with a little packing under the SMP sleepers towards the transition. Once ballasted, it is unnoticeable. I can recommend Peco’s Code 75 bullhead track.

I would have thought that Hornby have most to lose from this scrap, by establishing a precedent. Rapido should announce their new Flying Scotsman and IC125 models next week.

Yes the handrails do look a different shade to the flat sides of the loco and tender... but then compare them to where the panels curve in towards the cab, which will definitely have been painted from the same pot of paint, at the same time.

Might I suggest retaining the “Barry’s buffer” and also continuing it along the side of the sidings that faces the adjacent walkway, to protect the trains parked there from being accidentally dislodged by passing persons.... something like this:

Oh dear, that cylinder definitely more like Hornby Pea Green than anything coming out of Doncaster or Darlington....

Last night I had a further play around with my new V2, to see how much the locomotive could pull before the crabbing tender effect kicks in. Using Bachmann’s Thompson coaches, there was no noticeable crabbing with a rake of up to four coaches, but adding a fifth coach introduced the full crabbing effect. The physics of this, is that the weight of the train overcomes the strength of springing between the loco and tender, resulting in the coupling opening up and therefore moving to an offset position. Surely, this is something that should have been picked up during development and testing of a product with an RRP over £300?

Point taken, Melmerby. I was referring specifically to the changes made to the V2 model and expressing a personal opinion about perceived longevity: the new models run well for now, in their brand new condition. My comment was solely based on my experience of plastic axles on older models, which deteriorated over time. Time will tell.

I do not profess to be an expert about the details of the V2, so will refrain from adding comment to what has been posted already about this model. As a purchaser I thought I'd post some of my own observations here, and show a comparison with Bachmann's previous model, which I also own. I have purchased 60845 in BR lined black livery with the early crest, this particular locomotive spent 18 months allocated to Woodford Halse between Spring 1950 and Autumn 1951 - so apart from the shed code used on Bachmann;'s model, it is an ideal model to run on my Eastern Region (ex-Great Central) layout. First impressions are very favourable, it is crisply modelled and runs very smoothly straight out of the box. As Bachmann's DCC sound version of 60845, first impressions of the sound file are good, perhaps not quite up there with the best but perfectly acceptable, although some adjustment of the relevant CV's will be required to properly synchronise the 'chuffs' to the wheel rotation. Whistle sounds are crisp and bright, albeit unusually operated using F4 and F8. A couple of issues emerged during running in. Firstly, the model comes fitted with flangeless wheels in the 'trailing bogie' (Cartazzi truck), hanging low enough to run on the rail surface. Surprise surprise, these bridge the insulation gaps on Peco Code 75 Bullhead turnouts, consistently shorting out and stalling the loco. Fortunately the supplied replacement 'flanged' wheels were fitted and fixed this problem for me, though modellers with R2 curves on their layout will also find this fix problematic as the flanged wheels require a minimum R3 (505mm). The second issue I'll come to later. Some comparison pictures then, between Bachmann's new V2 and the model that it replaced: Firstly looking at their faces: 4771 is the 'old' model on the left in LNER green, 60845 the new one in BR lined black. 60845 has yet to have its front coupling hook and vacuum pipe added, as it is still undergoing acceptance trials following its receipt from Kernow Models! The re-tooling here is obvious, much crisper mouldings, much greater detail and generally showing the level of refinement that you'd expect in 2021. As I said before, I won't comment on its accuracy as a model, just those points that are obvious to the 'average' purchaser. The only obvious thing to me on the new model is the minor loss of crispness in the rivet detail on the top of the smokebox, presumably a consequence of the moulding process. A similar level of detailing is observed around the cab and tender area. The tender itself is substantially different, although it bears a 'family resemblance' the detail differences are many and obvious. To my mind the coal load is poorly modelled, though this plastic component falls out easily and will be replaced with the real stuff as and when the loco passes its acceptance trials: I also thought it worth illustrating the revised arrangement between the tender and loco underneath - new model on the left (below). This is very different - the Cartazzi (trailing bogie) arrangement is simply a fixed axle with a lot of play, it is lightly sprung and goes round R3 curves (20" radius). On the right, the old 'swivelling' arrangement. The tender wheels clearly have been remodelled to allow electrical pick-up, though why have Bachmann reverted to having a plastic section in the middle of the axle??? I can only see this giving reliability problems in years to come... The electrical connection between the locomotive and tender is very different to the little white 4-pin plug we have become accustomed to. The arrangement used here is large and unwieldy but mostly hidden from the normal layout viewing angle. Its design will be familiar to modellers who also have the 'Blue Pullman'. Bachmann have also supplemented this with the same pivoting arrangement that they use on bogie coaches, that opens up the gap between loco and tender on corners... : That rigid connector and its pivoting arrangement leads me to my main issue with this model, from a running perspective. As a light engine, the model runs very freely and well: first impressions were excellent and the model traversed the entirety of my layout without issue. However after the obligatory 30 minutes running in, I put the new V2 on the front of a train, a freight totalling 34 axles of RTR stock (5x 4-axle bogie bolster wagons and 7x 2-axle open wagons). This relatively modest load pulls on the tender to such an extent that the coupling between the tender and loco becomes stretched even on straight track, and consequently gets swung off-centre as if the loco is traversing a curve. On straight track, this results in the tender 'crabbing' behind the loco, offset from centre about 4-5mm: this effect is very obvious, occurs with both examples of the new V2 that I have seen, and occurs every time the train travels on a straight section of track after traversing a reverse curve. I'm still scratching my head over how to fix this... any ideas? Apart from that, it is a lovely model, runs well and it looks great in the BR black livery. But I'm definitely scratching my head about what I can do to fix the dodgy tender coupling....

Proper job! Just needs seagull sh!t spattered across the window panes now.

I know that the original thread on this has been locked, but I just wanted to thank Andy for the improved functioning of RM Web on tablets now. Yes, it’s still not perfect but I can navigate the site properly and read everything. I get the impression that this wasn’t an easy fix... your efforts on our behalf are much appreciated, Phil

Strangely there’s nothing really floats my boat from the proffered list. Probably an indication of how much quirky stuff is already available now! Regarding other suggestions, how about the Janus missile train from James Bond’s Goldeneye film? Should be a relatively straightforward modification from a Class 20...

It might be something to do with this problem, that tablet users have been experiencing for some weeks now:

Annesley, from September 1962 until withdrawal.

I would add Locoman’s Q6 and 8F sound files as ‘state of the art’ steam sounds too. His A3 file on the LS5 chip also beats the other available versions by a country mile. I understand why some folks slag off sound, especially steam, because there is some awful stuff out there! But I would also point out that there are also some awfully put together locomotive kits. So don’t write off sound universally, just because you have heard RTR stuff making puny toy-like noises. There’s an art to it, of course, with a steep learning curve just like any other aspect of the hobby. That said, adding sound to a layout like Little Bytham would be mostly wasted, owing to its predominantly high speed running, where ‘steel on steel’ is the overriding sound. I would just fit sound chips to the loco’s that stop/start in the station, shunt the yard, or chuff along slowly with a heavy freight. Slow chuffing and communication whistles are where steam sounds work best. Even with sound equipped models, I often turn off the sound once my models get up to speed. The exception on LB might be the Deltic. That is one high speed runner that probably would be worth chipping!

I’m now using my smartphone instead of my tablet to view RMweb. It’s an annoyingly small screen, but at least it avoids the tablet format’s advert problem.

Adding my voice to the frustration. For example, it is now impossible to click on the notifications button because of overlaid advertising, and the workaround site navigation is both tedious in page count and further impeded by adverts. I understand and accept the need for some advertising... but being incessantly bombarded with mindless cr@p at the same time as being unable to access the content I actually logged on to view, I find myself increasingly logging off prematurely these days.

Tony, as recently as this weekend, you included a picture of 60993 running on Retford among the photo’s in your virtual exhibition article! It was one that Andy took.

Some stunning photographs of Retford on today’s virtual exhibition, thank you, Tony. In one of Andy’s photo’s I spotted 60993 en passant, a certain Mr Thompson would not approve, I think! Is there a bit of a story to be told there?

I had a similar situation recently, only in this case the widow had been married to a club member so I helped out. Not being savvy with internet selling platforms, I found the best place to sell such modified loco’s was in clubs. I contacted three different clubs relatively local to me, and after a couple of visits to each, managed to sell the whole collection. Inevitably, some sold quickly and for better prices, the last few for rather less, but the collection made rather more than I had initially anticipated. The club members got items for less than the resellers ask, and the widow got rather more than a reseller would have offered for the collection, plus the knowledge that her deceased husband’s treasured items had gone to fellow modellers who would similarly appreciate them. That said, it is not a task to be undertaken lightly. Every item needed to be thoroughly test run, parts checked and in some cases repaired, then catalogued and assigned a reasonable value, then each item demonstrated to the potential purchasers. Throughout it all, is an awareness of a commitment made and a responsibility to deliver the right outcome. In my case the widow received a four figure sum for which she was very grateful. But I will think carefully about taking on such a task again, given the amount of work involved.

The site lends itself to either an engine house, or something along the lines of St Michael’s Chapel on Roche Rock outcrop. With an Antarctic explorer performing a fly-past overhead, of course.

A 'Steel' Train The first named storm of the season arrives this evening, Arwen brings with her an amber weather warning for wind . The heating is on, this year's record numbers of tourists have mostly departed Cornwall and after a few weeks painting the outside of the house ready for winter, the modelling season is here - hooray! The timetable research I did over the summer months, together with a browse through all my reference books and associated photographs, has given me a better understanding of the freight workings of the GC. Freight really was the 'bread and butter' of the GC London Extension. Lots of it, conveyed at speed between the yards at Annesley (North of Nottingham) and Woodford Halse (NE of Banbury). So straight through Leicester. Freight wagons were occasionally routed direct from source (eg: colliery) or more typically marshalled together at Annesley from the Industrial North and the Midlands coalfields, forming dozens of trains southbound each day. From Woodford, the trains either ran on to London, or entered the Western Region via the Banbury link. These fast Class H Through Freight trains were known by the engine men as 'Runners', they significantly outnumbered the passenger services on this stretch of line. Other traffic accompanied the returning empty wagons northbound. Several had their own name, associated with the cargo carried: The Grimsby Fish, The Rabbits, and The Newspaper, for example. It is abundantly clear, you can't model the GC properly without a substantial representation of freight! I was very familiar with the amount of coal carried, and have amassed about seventy or so wagons, a mix of wooden ex-PO wagons and the more modern steel types. Enough for two 35 wagon trains, one loaded with coal and one of returning empties. This Summer's research also made me aware of the number of steel trains that also travelled the line: flat wagons carrying steel from the foundries in the North East, to the industrial Midlands and South Wales. A representative steel train was called for, one that I could also run on my club's layout based West of London. Bolster and plate wagons were acquired from various retailers, a mix of bogie and 4-wheeled varieties. The bolsters were in pre-war LMS bauxite, so had a repaint into LNER grey and renumbered accordingly. I have since learned that the Bogie Bolster E lettering I used should read C for these particular wagons... they will be amended accordingly. Loads were produced from the MDF offcuts of a laser-cut kit I had saved as 'something that might come in useful': Cut to length, painted metallic gunmetal and streaked with light rust, they look the part though the dimensions may offend a more knowledgeable purist. A fine chain was used to secure the loads, held in place with a dab of 'Super Phatic' glue: Here seen on the club exhibition layout 'Old Elms Road', the new steel train is hauled by a Standard 4 running under Class H (through freight) lamps: In the background you can also see a breakdown train that also accounts for some of my modelling time over the Summer. A lonesome Bachmann 45T Ransome and Rapier steam crane demanded support vehicles, so I assembled a representative train from repainted RTR stock rather than scratch build one that would be fully accurate - that can come later. The basic formation comprises Hornby's GWR clerestory brake coach, The Hornby 4-wheel brake coach, an open wagon and a well wagon carrying a few lengths of timer for chocking the crane's support struts. Painted black, the colour scheme is a little late for my home model but suits Old Elms Road nicely. It still needs a good weathering, shown here being hauled by a V3 simply because it was correctly lamped, but it will normally be pulled by a J11: As for this Winter's projects, there are a number lined up: installing a turntable; constructing the central platform building and extending the station canopy; completing the bowstring bridge installation at the North end of the station, and maybe re-routing the rural half of the layout to make full use of the available space, if I get the rest done in time. In the meantime, I have another 20 locomotive crews to paint and fix into their cabs, and about a third of my loco fleet still needs lamping up... less taxing work that I can just go to for an hour or so when in the mood!

A reminder to wash sand before using it on model railways... it removes the salt residues that can leach out and cause damage over time.