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I’ve been led to believe it may involve a milling machine. I’ll be investigating as soon as I’ve got one

Phil, can i be the first pedant to point out that the loco with the head board is not the right sort to match to their announcement :-) Looks to be Sybil Mary which is a Penrhyn Large Quarry Hunslet not an Alice class.

Apparently, the bootie is cancelled for Saturday. Reason given being poor ground conditions. If it’s a swamp then it probably doesn’t help with the parking.

It is and I tried the decoder on the previous version and then in looking for an answer to my issue upgraded it to the latest.

Is anyone aware of an issue with ZIMO MS series decoders, specifically with the cv 153 limiting the run on on loss of DCC signal when equipped with stay alive capacitors. I have used this feature with MX decoders without problem but now have a loco with an MS450 in it and despite setting cv153 to 15 which should stop the loco after 1.5 seconds it has no effect. the decoder is a new MS450. It has the latest firmware installed. I am running it on a rolling road, powered by an NCE PowerCab and linked by USB to DecoderPro on my laptop. I have no problem reading or writing to the Decoder either by handset or DecoderPro it just doesn’t seem to have any effect with this feature.

Over the years I bought several of the twenty quid headband magnifiers in a quest for seeing what I am doing but never really got on with them. Then my shortsighted eyesight got to the point of two pairs of glasses, one for near and one for far. This properly did my head in with all the constant swapping. This renewed my quest for something better and it turned out you get what you pay for (Quelle Suprise) Proper Genuine Optivisor - well made, lightweight but strong and comes with glass not plastic lenses. Eyesight has moved on to varifocals but still with my Optivisor when doing fiddly stuff.

Not that anyone’s counting……..

BACKWOODS MINIATURES INSTRUCTIONS – CONTRIBUTIONS WANTED. A recent request for instructions on a Facebook forum has started a bit of a side project, an archive of scanned Backwoods Miniatures instructions in all scales. I was able to help the original enquirer anbd found the easiest way to do get it to him was to add it to my blog. I have added to it the ones I have, or have found so far, and a few others have contributed. If you have a Backwoods kit we’ve not added yet please consider scanning the instructions and sending them to me so they can be added. If you have instructions but no scanner get in touch and we can try to work something out. Please check your kit stashes. What we have so far can be seen here Backwoods Miniatures Instruction Archive

Mol, no milling required. Rewire the loco, decoder goes where current pcb is, speaker on a laser cut spacer and keep alive go in the chassis. Nothing is attached to or requires mods to the body.

If you want sound Mol give us a shout. I did the sound installs for Ixion and have Paul Chetter originated sound projects recorded from a close relative of the model.

That needs clarifying a bit. We* lock outward opening doors only. This was a requirement predating all this ROGS stuff and is because of the very limited clearances on the original parts of the line. It was adjudged that an open door or an opening door on a moving train could hit the wall/rock/Wales an tip a carriage over. With much of the line on a ledge with rock one side and drop the other this was deemed undesirable. This is pretty much limited to the historical and older modern stock. The new carriages on the FR & WHR have inward opening doors which aren’t locked. This seems to confuse many. * by we I mean the railway I drive on.

Certainly at some point it was between 15” & 12 1/4” as that was the justification for the narrower gauge. I expect that ‘loophole’ has been closed now.

If you read the news article on the Accurascale website it explains that in delaying whilst they tried to sort the sound from the 89 it’s missed it’s production slot at the factory.

In the days when the Alan Gibson company was run by Alan Gibson Alan himself told me that superglue was a no no as it reacted with the plastic in a way that loosened the press fit and that nothing more than the press fit is needed.

Do try them on branchlines100@btinternet.com. I had trouble contacting them in the summer on the sales@ address and was getting mailbox full messages. IIRC I wrote to them, got a phone call reply in which they explained there was a problem with sales e-mail which needed sorting by the hosting company and was given the btinternet address since when I have had responses at worst next working day.

I’m afraid that’s not true Andy. Despite still claiming it in the propaganda, (mainly because they haven’t updated the original release) Lionheart have stepped away from the 014 provision. 014 on the locos was to be by replacement wheelsets to the narrower gauge. They first started backing away from the provision when they realised the risk of damage in disconnecting the rods and valve gear. Next was an exhorbitant quote from the factory for the alternative wheels with a large minimum order against an unknown demand. The final straw was realisation that the wheel profile used on the die cast wheels being a 00 one won’t work for 014. The profile of the flange & root radius is such that you can’t satisfy both the gauge and back to back measurements. I have 30+ to convert. Wheel reprofiling starts next week

Does anyone know when the sound fitted versions will be available, maybe by Christmas perhaps? My sound fitted stock is arriving tomorrow.

I don't think that is true at all. The ones I used to attend as a trader, all be it they were mostly narrow gauge shows stopped because: - A decision by the ageing organisers to finish on a high at a landmark 25th (NGSW) Lack of new blood/Ageing organisers (SWING) Loss of venue (EXPONG and DERBY) Not enough organisers (or the same few got fed up) (Chiltern NG) I dont think many have Failed as such but then I may be misunderstanding what you mean by failed. I see failed as "gone bust" or "made a loss" whereas I think failed here is being used to describe the concious decision to not put a show on in the current financial climate. Not quite the same thing.

A new loco kit is in development that will have a 14mm option The model being developed is Earl of Merionet aka The Square but a lot of the initial work is concentrating on the cradle and drive to make it a sound platform for many Fairlies Above are a 16.5mm and 14mm gauge bogie. This is achieved by having a double flanged bearing with a thick and a thin flange. As the design develops it may be neccessary to have some other components specific to the gauges. Definatley the brake gear but it might also end up with different cylinder blocks

White River Productions have announced the 2023 0n30 annual They are doing a pre-order deal in the USA EDM Models as a UK dealer are doing a similar offer. List price is £34.95 Offer price is £30.00 Both plus post Delivery September/October https://ngtrains.com/shop/product/2023-0n30-annual/

I’ve struggled for something to say. Not at all like me but the news when Panda called stunned me. Neil’s loss leaves a big hole. We’ve been friends and co-conspirators in model matters for a long time and I, like the rest of the modelling group, are going to miss him. The Trent Valley Group is affiliated to the 7mm NGA but in truth its a bunch of mates that do narrow gauge modelling stuff with all the beers, mickey taking, pranks and silliness that goes with that. Pre covid the TVG met once a month in a pub in Derby which, truth be told, wasn’t all that inclusive. During Covid the group went online fortnightly by zoom, met more regularly and got some modelling done. Imagine a gathering in a room with a beer and some modelling stuff to spend a couple of hours taking the mick, having a beer and building something. This is what we did just in our own rooms and on zoom. The TVG has a wide reach, so this inclusive meeting had the Derby regulars and visitors from York and South Wales. It was in this format that we watched Neil build Elsbridge whilst I took the mick that the tram locos that came for DCC & Sound needed mechanical and electrical rebuilds first – engineer he wasn’t. Post Covid the TVG relaunched its members day and revved it up with a targeted spam campaign. Neil was key to organising this. It debuted his layout and he and partner Dan were also a key part of the catering. We were planning our new group layout, his layout at the 7mm NGA do in June and the next modelling day for January. Since Panda phoned me on Monday afternoon with the news there has just been a hole. I, no we, will miss him immensely.

Nothing or the graphite pencil or powder is best for pin point bearings. The idea of them is the minimal conctact point to give them their free running characteristics. If you add a fluid lubricant there would be very little of it in the contact surface but a much larger amount surrounding it even if you are really mean with the application and that will have the effect of adding a fluid blob around the axle it drags round as it rotates, effectively a hydraulic brake. The thicker the lube the more signficant the effect and the last time i used electrolube, admittedly a long time ago, it was pretty gloopy.

A sad loss. As other have said he did loads for narrow gauge modelling, I was going to write more, and might yet, but for now I'll just refer you to the tribute I wrote after the last Small & Delighful Show HOWARD MARTIN Tribute Paul Martin EDM Models http://www.ngtrains.com My 0n3 Layout - The Brymston Railroad My Blog

My first train set when I as four (1964) had one of them and the North British diesel. With the playcraft controller they were both quite controllable. A few years later Dad bought me a 2nd hand Triang Princess Elizabeth as compo for a hospital stay. It wouldn’t run with the Playcraft controller so it was another trip to Sheila Hames shop in Reginald Street, Derby for a second hand controller. Now the Princess ran but the Playcraft engines now had just one speed somewhere close to warp 10. I suspect the Playcraft controller current limited in some way.

He then ammended it to the mother as that wasnt going to change :-)