AyJay

Apologies if this is already covered (not going to read 27 pages). How does the 3-pole motor compare with the 5-pole used by Hornby, for smooth start up under load and slow running? Very nice model, sorely tempted to add one to my engine shed. I wonder if the height of the coal in the bunker will allow me to add a layer of real coal?

What I think you're saying John is that those who are model railway enthusiasts, do not need Hornby to promote themselves. Those who are not, don't want it! Personally, the thing that really gets me p155ed off is these constant pop-ups that say things like: "People in <enter your town name> are all excited about this <funeral plan/life-insurance/senior benefit/medical equipment supplier>." Sorry, shouldn't introduce subject creep, please ignore.

I did apply to migrate after university, but did not have enough points. Good thing too as it turned out, for relationship reasons. Lemme see now, spiders, snakes, crocodiles, stonefish, sharks. Pretty much everything wants to kill you.

Morning! Just gone half past five. The missers is getting ready to go turkey hunting in Sainsbury’s and I’m pondering what revolting film / rowdy record to play while she’s out? It’s only one day, you would think that everyone was stocking up for a siege or the end of the world!!!

It does make me wonder what the take-up on this competition is and how all these ‘tagged’ people will view it? Well I don’t have social media ‘friends’, apart from my immediate family and I’m not going to p155 them off for something that I can live without. At least this is one thread that has a limited lifespan.

One practise that could help to combat this sort of thievery, would be job rotation. Never allow a person to stay in a single role, especially where that is a roll of trust. I also wonder, as well as references, if there are any additional checks that an employer could make e.g. credit reference checks?

So who can I annoy and incur the wrath of today? No thanks, the prize is not worth it.

I dug deeper into the terms and found a line that said 'we will contact you by email', so there we are. Well I have gone for the weathered Merchant Navy and the two Princesses. Although if they were offering the Playtrains set, I would have gone for that for my grandson. Had to think carefully about what to say though.

I also have 'misgivings' about the strategy employed in this years Advent Calendar from Hornby. I appreciate that they are a business, competing in very challenging times. They have to promote themselves and that means 'Social Media'. However, I am uncomfortable with the ask here. Clearly, the pattern is to connect with as wide a market as possible by the process on 'Liking' and 'Tagging', However, the majority of people that I know who do use social media in its various forms, would have absolutely no interest in model railways and if I start tagging them, or inundating them with anything relating to my interests...... Well, I think that their response would not be described as happy. So, this Advent Calendar is a disappoint for me. But not completely without hope, The only two items that have interested me, fortunately, have just required looking on Youtube and leaving comments. No social suicide required. But can someone please tell me... Hornby says that they will announce the winners and that winners must check-in and claim their prize. But it is not clear to me where one checks? Does anyone have an answer to this please? Thank you.

Mrs D used to in run a pub in a 'previous life'. She told me that they were near to finishing one evening and she was just about done with preparing meals in the kitchen when her other half put his head round the door and asked if she could rustle up a late order for food. She replied with something that appropriately reflected her mood, then next moment Rod Stewart popped his head round the door and apologised for the inconvenience. Well he got the food that he wanted. He was working on a recording project nearby and each evening for the next week, brought his custom there and played darts. I wonder if he remembers that occasion? I think that she would like to meet him, I know I would!

Is that Mrs TophamHatt speaking ? Like Monty Python, go and do something completely different and then come back to it when you feel ready. Don't worry, hits me from time to time. All the best.

I see that someone has already voted for Richard Trevithick's Pennydarren. I remember having the Airfix (?) working model of this as a youngster. I would love to see this, but think that there would be practical difficulties in reproducing an accurate working mechanism that is reliable. So may I suggest as an alternative, that other contender in the Rainhill Trials, Timothy Hackworths 'Sans Pareil'. However, if anyone did bring out 'Ivor the Engine', then it would really make me smile if it also has the correct 'chuff - a puff' sound. :-) A mention for the Casey Jones 'Cannonball Express' and Lady Penelope tied up in front of a monorail would cover my childhood :-)

We're staying put! I would so love to have a railway room that is a 'slippers on' solution, but the funds just won't stretch to the ideal property. Perhaps I might go and say 'hello' to my local club when I feel that it's safe to get out there.

Thank you for that Johnster, most informative. You have answered he question AND given me some useful background information. When I was in a club, I was able to run long rakes, so bought coaches like there was no tomorrow. Now, length is constrained and for most liveries, I can run two rakes. I guessed that the blue/greys did come later and would probably look better being pulled by a diesel, but then, I am into steam. The green livery of Southern with those brass door handles looks really beautiful, but I have no plans to go Southern. I also have a rake of blood/custard Collets and a rake of Pullman cars, but that's another story...

Apologies if anyone has mentioned this, life is just too short to read every page of a thread... The Rocket looks a lovely model and it opens up interesting possibilities for a themed layout, Rainhill Trials and the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester Railway both spring to mind. Although it would possibly be in poor taste to place the unfortunate William Huskisson. But then that leaves the question, would this be a good marketing opportunity to release other period models? 'Locomotion', 'Sans Perail', 'Lion' and 'Iron Duke' all spring to mind. Is there anyone from Hornby reading this? If you listen carefully, you might hear the groaning of my wallet...

My carriages are mostly Mk1's in various liveries, Blue/grey, Blood/custard, Chocolate/cream, Maroon. Also my steam locomotives are all BR marked and representing each of the big 4. As far as running passenger trains go, I have always preferred not mixing liveries on a single train and I can, at a squeeze, run a 6-carriage train on my layout. What I would like to know is, where should I place this carriage that I have? e.g. do I consider it to be a brake carriage and put it at the back of a train? It's the Lima equivalent of the Hornby full parcels carriage. R4845 BR, Mk1 Parcels, M80584 - Era 4 (Hornby.com) I ask because if I can use it, it saves buying another brake carriage; the money tree is taking a big hit :-( . Also, during the BR years, would there have been trains made up of differing liveries? Thank you

J-Cloths! Of course. I'll wait 'til the coast is clear, then 'liberate' one from the kitchen Thanks all, I will look out for the Ten Commandments product, in case it does not work. Yes I have used the dreaded track rubber, but the consensus is that they are not a good solution. Thanks all.

The subject of track cleaning has come up before, although I cannot find anything recent on the subject, so apologies for digging it up again. Well... remembering that I had a Triang Hornby track cleaning car, I dug it out to see if it could be pressed into service. I replaced the original wheels with Alan Gibson wheels, so that it would run on my finescale track. The original piece of felt was so badly deteriorated that it was no use; so searching on the internet, I purchased a sheet of 3mm thick wool felt. Cutting a strip to size, I fitted this and then gave it a try. That's where my plan all went wrong. Firstly, the pad pressing down was lifting the wheels, so I placed a couple of big nuts in the wagon to hold it down. Then it caused so much drag that I had to 'tweak' the position of the pad so that it barely brushed over the track, I also had to dig out a heavy locomotive to haul it. Now it moves, but comes to a halt over the points as the felt is getting snagged in the point frogs, It is also leaving threads behind, caught on the track. I also started looking at a sheet of cork, but it would not bend the 180 degrees without splitting. Is there no way that I can make this work??? Is my only realistic solution, the Dapol motorised track cleaner, B800? I do also have the modern Hornby track cleaning car, R296, but refuse to use it because the 'point of contact' is a pair of abrasive pads. My choice of cleaning fluid is IsoPropyl Alcohol. Any suggestions? Thank you

I am getting a little 'concerned'. Having seen the article about the development of the Winston Churchill Funeral Car on the 'Hornby' programme, I was so impressed by what I saw that I rang up my stockists and asked them to add one onto the order that I already have for the soon-to-be-released Flying Scotsman in BR green. Now my dealers have come back to me to say that this order is cancelled! I have just e-mailed Hornby to ask for an explanation. Really now! If a new product is promoted on TV, it goes without saying that it will generate a lot of interest (i.e. orders) in that product and that puts the onus on them to hit the floor running. Has Hornby missed the mark here? This also gives me doubts as to when I will see my 60103 ? Spleen vented!

I use six of these: I Hove made a frame from plywood strips that sits across them to support the layout. Needs foam pads underneath to protect the floor.

Well I finally was able to get to the 'mancave' and fettle about with my turntable. There were two problems. 1. Where had put brickpaper wound the well wall and then topped it with paving slabs, this caused one end of the bridge to catch with insufficient clearance, so some work with scalpel/file put that right. 2. I needed to reseat the motor so the worm was in best contact with it's cog. i.e angled slightly. That seems to have fixed it. :-)

Quite a few years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to someone that he knew, because this gentleman was also a railway enthusiast. When we went to visit him, I was absolutely 'blown away' by the size and complexity of it. His story was that he lived alone, his offspring having fledged many years back. Also, being an alcoholic, he built this railway as a kind of 'therapy', give his mind something else to think of. In our conversation about his family, he indicated that his Son & Daughter were not interested in having this when he passed on. So wishing to lighten the tone a bit I said, "Oh I'll bring a will form round when I next visit" The thing is, six months later, he died. What gutted me was that I had borrowed a tool that he had made, a worm-gear puller, that I used on one of my Triang Hornby locos and then had given it back to him at my last visit !!! No doubt, either his Son had just chucked the lot in a skip at the council dump; or some house clearance chap was rubbing his hands with glee as he smashed up the layout and sold the rolling stock. Mrs D and I keep talking about writing our wills. I will make it clear that my collection is to be first offered to anyone in the wider family who shows any interest in having it. Failing that, it is to be sold to one of the dealers advertising in BRM. I have no illusions that the resale value will not be very high. But I do hope that someone wants the card buildings that I made, they are too nice to trash!

Very true Andy. Each afternoon, I see beautiful properties with vast rooms, suitable candidates for railways. They stand in their own grounds and there is no danger that the next door neighbour will suddenly build an extra floor onto his horrible extension, casting our property into permanent shadow. Then I have to ask, when there is 4ft of snow outside, will this idyllic property be isolated until the thaw and the answer is , 'Probably yes'. Steve, I like your suggestion of making a list. High on my list is keeping the place warm and the cost of heating. I may suggest that we just move within the county, there are plenty of lovely places in Oxfordshire.

Hello all. My layout has a Peco turntable, the LK-55, which is currently operated by the Expo motor kit. However, this kit is now misbehaving and is proving unreliable. I see that Peco now produce their own turntable motor, the PL-55 and I would like to know how good it is? Does anyone have one and would that care to comment on it please? Particularly, I would like to know: How easy is it to retro fit? Is it supported on the base of the turntable, or does it require additional support? What is its speed like? Is its operation reliable? Is there overshoot? Does it make a lot of noise? A photo of it in position would also be helpful. Thank you, Alan

Very true Zomboid. That is why I'm thinking of market towns, local shops, Supermarket, lively church, Hospital. clubs. Hello Q. My eldest sister and hubby moved to Norfolk some years back, now he is very frail and their daughters live way down south. Even aside from the geographical separation, I'm not sure it's wise to go too far down the property price gradient; you can never come back because it's too far uphill. I suppose we could just abandon the idea and stay put. It's not a bad house, although the kitchen and bathroom are crying out for modernising, we share a driveway with several others and the only place I could build a railway was in an outdoor building (note to any nefarious persons: Nothing valuable kept there when unattended); so with increasing fuel costs, any visit to my mancave in cold weather generates strong protest.