Fixair

AJM Railways currently have a County Court judgement against them for refusing to refund  £125 for faulty goods and keeping the returned item.

On 11th May Northampton County Court made judgement against AJM railways in the sum of £125 + costs. They had supplied a  faulty Hornby Patriot loco via ebay.  All communications with them failed to address the issue. The item was returned under Ebay returns policy. AJM Railways did not return the money and stated that they were entitled to keep the returned item as well. Ebay and Pay Pal were as much use as a cat flap in a submarine. I would advise all modellers to avoid any dealings with AJM railways. There have been many other complainants and I fail to see how they have 100% feedback but in any event they are clearly not fair traders and a real risk financially.

Are you referring to Amanda  and the dealer when you say..........

I'm going to close this topic off as I haven't got the time to be dealing with her when she moans she's getting negative publicity again. The name crops up too many times. 

Ebay said nothing other than that the case was closed. Pay Pal said it had closed the case because I had not supplied sufficient information. The guy who I spoke to had all the information needed when he said that they would take it over and I was never asked for anything further. I appealed the decision but I have heard nothing since. I suppose the excuse is 'the virus' as it appears to be for all other customer services failures. Both of them have been as much use as a cat flap in a trident submarine.

I opened a case with ebay. Ebay provided me with the postage label for return. The item was tracked and received by AJM Railways and there was no communication from them thereafter only gobbledygook replies to my emails asking for and explanation. I had messaged them on ebay saying that I liked the loco and I would be happy with a working replacement. They never responded. I then looked at my pay pal account but could see no transaction. I phoned paypal who said that the transaction had been handled by them but as a 'guest' whatever that means. They suggested that they take over the case and my money would be returned. Both ebay and paypal simultaneously closed the case(s) on 10th March both saying I would not get a refund. I have written to both complaining of the manner in which I have been dealt with. Neither have acknowledged nor explained. I had no alternative but to go to law.

You are suspicious? How do you think I feel?

I have not used this site for a while due to family commitments. I restarted  modelling and looked around the site. I found a thread relating to AJM Railways which almost exactly mirrored my own experience. I purchased a Hornby Rebuilt Patriot Rhyll

listed on Ebay as new and unused. When tested it locked up in both directions an then fell off the track. I discovered that a con rod was detached and no screw and the screw was nowhere to be found. I would not have tried to repair it anyway as the motion was tangled. I contacted the and Amanda told me to open a dispute. The loco was duly returned and from then on it was nothing but obfuscation and reams of type about ebay and paypal protocols. They stated that they were entitled to keep the returned loco and the £125 I had paid. When I said I would use the county court to recover my money they resorted to claiming that I had dropped the model and they would make a counter claim. I am a retired police officer and I do not cheat people and expect to treated in the same manner. In a telephone call to them he referred to me as an idiot. I am currently waiting for a response to the Northampton County court claim served on them on 7th April. 

I’ve just bought a set of curved 1’6 radius baseboards from Tim Horn to serve as a test track for N gauge that could also then expand into a bit of a modular layout. I’m seriously impressed by Tim’s service, and the boards have gone together pretty well. I literally cleared out my local branch of Screwfix of 12” and 18” speedclamps, and it still would have been more comfortable to have a few more though!

 

When I build (bodge) my own baseboards I always use birch ply, but for these curved boards, Tim’s ply option still seemed to include a lot of MDF components, so I just went with the full MDF option.

 

I know MDF likes to act like a sponge, and can warp quite a lot if left anywhere remotely damp. These boards will live in my integral garage workshop. It’s much drier and more stable in temperature than most garages, but in the winter when it’s very cold and damp, the air in there can still feel a little cold and damp compared to the rest of the house. So I figure I need to make sure I seal the MDF carefully! What’s best for this?

 

I’ve seen that a specific MDF sealer product does exist, but I haven’t seen it stocked any of my local DIY shops, including Screwfix. What exactly is it? I’m imagining it might penetrate the MDF a bit to seal effectively?

 

Screwfix sell a Zinsser primer that is shellac based. Would that be a good option for a hard wearing seal? I’ve got some normal Crown spirit based primer that I’ve used for DIY jobs, but while I’m sure it would be damp proof, i can’t help but think it would be a bit vulnerable to chipping etc?

 

Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated!

 

Justin

Justin

As a general sealer I have used Johnsons Klear (Floor sealer/polish) for many years. I think it is marketed under a new name but the same formula. It is an acrylic and I have painted over it with any number of different coatings. I have also used B&Q Diall grey primer where ballast is to be applied. However in general terms I would avoid MDF if possible.

I recently purchased a used example. As a model it is pristine but I have found that reverse running is very smooth and quiet but forward rather hesitant and noisy.

Before I even think about having a look inside I would appreciate tips on how to safely take the body off and then what I should be looking for to solve if possible the problem.

Ron

All of the heritage railways I have visited to research my first layout since boyhood have an overhanging lip of varying widths projecting from the basic platform.. Was this a universal feature of platforms on all regions? A magazine article suggested for 00 gauge using 18 mm MDF as the basic platform but no mention of a lip. I am really very new to all this so help would be most appreciated.

Regards Ron

I once saw at an exhibition a sign on a layout that went something like this. "This is my layout built for my own pleasure. If you see anything that is technically or historically incorrect keep it to yourself"

I liked that I really did.

Have used cascamite in the past.

 

Sets like concrete - make sure the track is correctly aligned before ballasting!

 

Phil

O.K. Phil I will give it a test shot ff the actual layout. Sounds good to me.

Ron

Cascamite is a water activated glue. Worth an experiment, not tried it myself.

You beat me to my reply to Pete's post. I think for a Fiver a tub I will try experimenting with it. If no good it will still be useful for something. Your blog looks as if it is a layout like mine in a converted garage minus up and over door with window and door.

Wallpaper paste flakes. These can be crushed into a fine powder.

Their disadvantage is that they swell when wet then contract again when fully dry. They may look ok when touch dry after a day but can leave cracks in the 6' when fully dry after a few days.

I always recommend experimenting new techniques on a small test track before committing them to your layout.

 

BTW, I hate PVA for ballasting. I think it is totally unsuitable for the task because it dries too hard & makes granite ballast turn green.

Pete,

Thanks for that. I have just looked at Cascamite resin powdered wood glue. Looks promising and inexpensive. Any opinions?

I know that DeLuxe manufacture an excellent product of this type but in such small quantities at a relatively high price excellent for tender coal and wagon loads but not for a big layout. Does anyone know of a source of bulk powdered glue that is perhaps used in industry that would behave in the same way as the Deluxe product. I have looked for powdered PVA which I believe is the DeLuxe product without success.

Ron

My first thought is that perhaps at those points where the loco stalls and reverses, you've accidently reversed the dropper feed wires going to the bus wires (assuming you have bus wires of course).

 

I've done it myself before in a tailchaser type layout with DCC, as I forgot the orientation of the bus on each side of the layout.

 

How have you wired up the frogs for your points? Are they using any polarity switching, or just using them out of the box (assuming you are using Peco).

I am using the Peco switches that fit under he point motors and following the wiring instructions for that arrangement.

If you plan to operate using DCC, why not test with DCC right from the get go?

 

To explain, DC is very tolerant of faults like brief short circuits and poor contact, and DCC isn't! You don't want to trouble shoot for DC and then have to repeat the process for DCC; and especially if the build has been made in some way permanent - such as by ballasting - on the basis that it worked satisfactorily on DC, thus making shortcomings with DCC difficult to correct.

OK I will connect the power cab and proceed from there.

I would check and confirm your frog polarities initially.

 

Mike.

I have wired them all according to the Peco turnout instructions downloaded from their website.

Does the loco that you are testing with have a decoder fitted?

Yes it has a DCC chip fitted.

I have laid the Peco Code 75 track and it has been wired in accordance with Peco instructions for DCC operation. I have been testing the running of locos on it using a Bachmann controller and 12 volt D.C.just to make sure that all is well before connecting up a Power Cab operation. The weird thing is that occasionally a loco will stall very briefly at various places on the layout and reverse its direction. My layout is a tail chaser around the perimeter of a converted garage with pointwork allowing trains to move into and across three circuits of track.

Can anyone shed light on this before I go any further?

Regards 

Ron

The photo shows what I use. The tool is as described by Colin. I have run out of black iron florist wire (from ebay) but used the plastic coated for the photo. When wound, I only do about 8 at a time slide them off after releases from the hole and clip them into individual links with the nail clippers. Then assemble them. The wire is so soft that the job is easy. Make sure you round off the edges of the bending tool to make the sliding off off the wound links easier.

Sourced from various Cheona and Dave Larkin books

Esso was known as the Anglo American Oil Co until 1951

The BP wagon is late 50s-1960s

The Shell wagon is 1930s so only that one is appropriate

Thank you for that. Most importantly it tells me that the actual tank wagon construction is basically O.K. for the era I am modelling. I could not find any references or drawings or dates of construction for these wagons. I am a recent re recruit to the hobby and my library rather limited. I am sure what I need to know is out there but it is knowing where to look.

Regards  Ron

I picked up 6 of these cheaply in the hope that they might be of use on my planned layout of LMS  1938 to 1947 albeit with modification to the livery.

I cannot find anything on the web

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Regards Ron