Chamby

I'd be tempted to take a 'bite' out of the top of the L-girder, just enough to ease the Eemecks through. Using a padsaw. Looks like you might have enough room to do this without over-compromising the L-girder's integrity?

Humorist had the same tender from 1929 right through to scrapping, and early (1930’s) photo’s show the same feature, so it was possibly present at construction rather than a later modification. It should be possible to use Yeadon’s and available photo’s to identify the tender numbers carrying the extended plating, and follow the records of which locomotives they were attached to at any given time.

The basic problem lies with conflicting standards between manufacturers of course. Some Current models from Hornby in particular have crabbing front pony trucks, wide flangeless trailing wheels and wide treads that exceed the tolerances requires to successfully traverse the unifrog without shorting. Hornby will of course argue that these product features are designed to facilitate the negotiation of unprototically tight curves required on model railways, they are well established and we’re all extant well before the Unifrog was introduced. Meanwhile, Peco claims to have a universal trackage system but it is clear that they have moved away from this this with the unifrog... Peco’s new design introduced tighter tolerances that doesn’t accommodate some current RTR product features. So it isn’t all Peco’s fault, in fact the sloppy standards lie with the RTR manufacturers... but I still question Peco’s thinking behind implementing unifrog on the bullhead trackage system, which is clearly not a product intended for ‘train set’ customers. Why abandon the excellent, proven electrofrog design, that doesn't cause any of these problems, all for the sake of adding a dead frog option to a trackage system aimed at modellers who mostly don’t want it anyway? I think they ended up with a product that has tried to be more clever than it needed to be, with unexpected consequences. But at least we have a work-around, and it is also pushing me further towards having a go at building my own turnouts, which is no bad thing!

Well summarised. I was disappointed to see that the new slips have the same issues with proximity of opposite polarity rails. I don’t think that the bullhead trackage system was a good candidate for unifrog anyway. It is most likely to be used by more discerning modellers seeking prototypical sleeper spacing and reliable operation… who are more likely to want the frog to be live. There surely won’t be many folk choosing the dead frog option with these turnouts? In my humble opinion, the modified design as specified by EMGS for their 18.2mm gauge version, is how these points would have been best configured in OO. But the cost of going back and changing mouldings etc. now would be prohibitive for Peco, and it would be a public acknowledgement of a design flaw, so they will probably stay what they are… a bit of a ‘curate’s egg’. At least the majority of people using this trackage system are likely to have sufficient modelling skill to modify them as required.

It depends very much on your circumstances and modelling interests. Your question basically asks, which is more important, enjoying the modelling journey or arriving at the destination? I agree that enjoying the journey is absolutely essential, but when the destination is to build a good sized model railway, and the project was only started upon reaching retirement, in my case I have to accelerate the journey in places. That means, for now at least, using RTR where it is deemed good enough, and build the other essential parts that aren’t available. A bit like Tony's girder bridge... it’ll do for now but if I am blessed enough to have sufficient time available to me, then there is plenty of scope for an upgrade down the line. Right now, something like a Barnum coach kit is relatively low on my list of priorities. Scratch building a station has been my focus of late, consuming much of last winter - and expanding the fiddle yard will come next. I guess that makes me less of a kit builder and more of an ‘operator’ for now, as that seems to be the priority driving my activities at the moment. I am sure though, that as my model railway matures, taking more time to build bespoke items of stock will become a much greater emphasis re: what I do.

I think you will not regret getting the sound version... you'll only get the running sound with DC control but it is most excellent! The first time I ran mine, it gave me goosebumps. The only thing missing (understandably) is the doppler effect when it passes you. Before running a DCC chipped loco on DC, just remember to turn off any Relco's or similar if you have them, otherwise the chip will be fried!

My Tulyar arrived today, this time from Rails, all good except for the speaker rattle. The rattle is very noticeable when compared to my model of Meld. Is there a user work-around for this rattle, or is it a returns job? If you have two sound-fitted versions and haven't double-headed them yet - try it... The reverberation is awesome!

Mine arrived this lunchtime. Very nice indeed. No issues with footsteps or chains, very secure in its generous packaging. The sound gave me goosebumps on first firing her up! Impressive weight, and very smooth running straight out of the box. H&B are definitely being shown the way... Looking forward to also receiving the white cabbed version still awaited from Yorkshire.

This is the new single slip: similar frog structure as the turnouts. The conversion will just require a little more thought re: where the new rail breaks can be sited, owing to the position of the blades:

It very much depends upon the locomotive fleet that you are running. As already stated, the Hornby L1 front pony causes issues with its crabbing pony truck, but is OK if you run the loco bunker first! If you have any Pacific loco’s with flangeless trailing bogie wheels, if these wheels touch the railhead, they will usually short out at the frog - especially when the back end swings out whilst taking the curved road. Fitting flanged wheels can fix things. The turnout modification basically replicates PECO’s electro frog design re: rail breaks. I have re-instated the photo’s I took of my own workaround earlier, posted on page 46 of this thread: I have also acquired a single slip recently but have not laid it yet... looks like it has the same frog format, so will likely suffer the same problem, but the workaround does not look so straightforward. 🤔

I too had Covid a couple of weeks ago, after four vaccinations.... It was like a heavy flu for five days, and took 12 days until I tested negative again, and I certainly didn’t feel up to any modelling for the first five days! My wife also had it, she had three vaccinations but only had mild symptoms and tested negative after just six days. It really does affect people differently. My wife and I caught it off my 91-year-old mother in law, whom we have been very careful to protect for the last two years. We think she caught it from a carer. Sadly the Covid infection pushed her into pneumonia and she passed away, just after having tested clear. I checked the statistics, Covid is still killing 200 people daily in the UK. So although we might only get it mildly ourselves, it can still be passed on to others and may prove fatal for them. I urge everyone to still be very diligent about self-isolating if you do get this nasty bug.

I use a slightly worn Stanley knife blade or curved scalpel. Very gentle sideways strokes over the lettering will slowly wear it away, with less background degradation than a fibreglass pencil if you are careful. T-cut also works but can leave a raised ‘shadow’ where the lettering was. However you remove the lettering, as @andytrains says, a thin coat of gloss varnish can be used to smooth over any surface damage and improve decal adhesion, and I finish off with a thin layer of satincote over the replacement lettering after application, using a sable brush.

Good call, I think. The video is listed on the Hornby Magazine website, but when you click on the link it says it is for digital subscribers only.

The internet has many alter-ego’s and people with names who are not who they claim to be, on specialist forums like this as well as the commonly used social media sites. The type of person who uses the internet for the primary purpose of self-promotion and collecting ‘likes’, I tend to avoid wherever possible. Empty barrels, as they say. Thankfully, RMWeb does seem to have a good proportion of genuine people, some using their real names, others using a sobriquet. I don’t draw any distinction between the two: it is their posted content that earns respect, in my view. The people who need need to know the ‘real’ me on here do, as do a few others who have earned my trust. Friends who know me in real life have quickly worked out who I am on here: I don’t explicitly hide my identity, but I feel much more comfortable keeping a low profile generally.

A5 ?

As well as BR database, for those checking out specific locomotives re: time and place, I can recommend: www.shedbashuk.blogspot.com

Trevor, I travel on the A3058 through Trewoon and Lanjeth every time I visit my model railway club, so am happy to stop by at Burngullow or other location, if you need any details photographing. Not a problem this time of year with the lighter evenings. Phil.

Well it’s far too flat for normal Cornwall, unless it’s for an airfield, but then you’d need to have built a suitable four engined plane to park up on it.... Else it’s for the operating crew’s Rattler and paasty lunch?

It is an odd mix... the railway architecture, colliery, mills and grey stone all ooze North midlands to me, but then there’s a few oddities such as a Brunel timber viaduct thrown into the mix! The builder does state that he’s not been absolutely meticulous about the time and place, so fair do’s.

There’s always somewhere to sneak in a decoder... under the cab roof, inside the tender, under the coal load... just needs a bit of creativity. 😉

The club that I attend has just taken the decision to cancel our long-running show for this Autumn. And yes, we fall smack into that 'middle' bracket in terms of show size. As a medium sized club (24 paid-up members) we have traditionally covered our running costs from member subscriptions, and put the annual exhibition profits towards building/maintaining our club layouts. Factors involved in our decision to can this years exhibition were several, including: Increased venue (school) hire costs. A new requirement on us to 'deep clean' the venue after use. Anecdotal evidence of a likely reduction in attendance. A major retailer advising us that they would not attend our exhibitions (and most others) in future, following a review. The loss of their attendance (and implied endorsement of our event) will undoubtedly reduce the appeal of our exhibition to some. Continued hesitancy regarding Covid and social mixing, among our older demographic. We assessed that there was a significant risk of an exhibition operating loss this year, that we were reluctant to accept. As a consequence, we took a vote last week and decided instead to increase our (below-average) member subscriptions by a modest amount, to both offset the lost exhibition revenue and contribute towards the anticipated increase in electricity costs that our landlords are already warning us about. Additionally, we have had some recent success in raising funds from other community sources, to support our activities as a club, so we are financially secure without the exhibition for now. For us, 2022 will be about watching, learning and assessing, and liaising with other clubs so that we can make a more informed decision regarding local exhibition prospects for 2023. Our large club exhibition layout remains active on the circuit and we greatly look forward to supporting other exhibitions as an exhibitor, both locally and nationally, as before.

Woohoo, I finally get back onto RMWeb, to find that Wright Writes has lost a year’s worth of photographs... and now features pannier tanks! There must have been a strange transmogrification occurring in the transition. Does this mean ECML Pacifics can now be found on St Enodoc’s thread....?

The Heljan O2 is much improved visually if a dab of black paint is put on those shiny drive-wheel axle ends. Would be worth doing, Rob, if your main use for it is photography.

I think we are all more appreciative of what we have, right now. The freedom that we still have to enjoy our hobby, also keeps the light shining at the end of the tunnel for those now travelling through it. Fortunately we also have channels through which we can give more tangible help, for those who are able and feel moved to do so.

If the trains are going to be handled in the sidings, I would suggest going for 55mm. I have 52mm spacing in mine, it’s a tad tight when you want to lift a coach, and that’s with lean fingers! If you are going to have multiple trains parked up in some of the sidings at the same time, it will very much depend upon how you run the sequence as to whether having nine or ten sidings will make much of a difference. You might find that adding a couple of ‘kick-back’ sidings for the shorter trains will dramatically improve things, operationally.