PJT

The parts department is fully operational, though on reduced hours for phone contact. Repairs and service is currently only taking warranty repairs - though this is better than a few weeks back, when no repairs or service were being carried out at all. Advice on model care or repairs carried out at home is available, but through email or website contact form only. See here: https://www.Bachmann.co.uk/page/service-request As an aside, I enquired on availability of six spare parts at the end of last week, all six were in stock and have arrived here this morning. Nine times out of ten this is the result I get from Bachmann's spares and service department. I've said it before, but it's worth saying again (in the hope that Hornby read this!): they put most other manufacturer's spares availability to shame. Pete T.

Good point, especially with models that have become progressively more detailed and intricate in their mechanisms. Additionally, I often look at 10-20 year old models categorised as 'new' on eBay ('new old stock', actually) and laugh, knowing that a few hours of complete chassis strip-down will probably be required before you can run them because the gears (sometimes) and bearings (often) are siezed with solidified lubricant.

My buying outnumbers my selling by a ratio of about 1000:1, so not dissimilar. I also keep all my models in plan chests, for easy, accident-free access, so neither they nor the boxes suffer from frequent unboxing. The boxes are all in warm storage, ready for the fateful day (err - more like fortnight) when I have to box everything up again to move house... or to try to ensure a reasonable resale value for Pam, once I've gone.

Well done; I like that. It's a thoughtful way to deal with the situation. I think I shall do the same. Pete T.

I loved that photo when Tony posted it before. I think it's the best portrait of a Thompson pacific I've seen in a long time. Pete T.

Of course I agree with you, Tony; a chassis design that pretty well ensures that the axles fall apart after a few years, or the wheel centres expand to foul the coupling rods, or the plating on the driving wheel tyres wears through, eventually reducing electrical conductivity to zero, couldn't be regarded as anything better than 'flawed'. In fact, that's being very kind to it in an almost diplomatic manner! Actually, the knock out blow is the last one. The splitting axles and the expanding wheel centres (causing a curious wobbling movement) can be rectified reasonably easily and quickly, but ultimately if you do manage to get a reasonable working life out of old split chassis locos, they then reward you with the worn driving wheel plating problem. Unfortunately, because of lack of availability of new wheelsets for most of the models concerned, this usually means the end unless you're prepared to build a new chassis or, as in the case of the B1 and one or two others, source a DCC ready chassis from a later version. However, there is a place for old split chassis and it's not always in the bin. My partner Pam's grandson and the children of friends of ours have all benefitted from my buying up loads of cheap old Bachmann split chassis locos and getting them working acceptably smoothly again. For a small fraction of the price of, for example, a secondhand Hornby Railroad model, you can buy and repair a dead or dying Bachmann split chassis loco, often with far nicer finish than Railroad models and with half-decent detailing that is still durable enough to withstand unintentionally over enthusiastic handling - ideal 'proper' models, the next stage up from pure toys, for kids from 7 or 8 years upwards. Pam's grandson is now 11 and he's very proud of the fact he also has, alongside his original toy trains, a fleet of 'grown-ups' models' that he treats with as much care and love as an 11 year old could possibly do. Occasionally one fails again, and I fix it again, and back it goes for a few more years of love and excitement on borrowed time. Pete T.

They certainly still do for the B1, Std. Class 4 4-6-0 and A4, because I've bought them all in the last few months from Bachmann for repairing various locos for friends. As for other Bachmann split chassis locos - J39, V1/V3, V2, J72, Jubilee, etc. - I don't know, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they still did sets of muffs (or as they call them, insulators) for them all. Pete T.

Hi Richard, As far as taps are concerned the difference between the three types is the aggressiveness of the taper, I.e. how far you have to insert the tap before the thread is fully cut. Unless you are working in restricted space or a blind hole then a taper is sufficient for your needs. The die is used to cut a male thread e.g. the thread on a bolt. You will need some kind of die holder to ensure the die is 'squeezed' shut sufficiently to cut the required depth of thread. If you have a lathe and money isn't an issue then a tailstock die holder is the ideal but I get away with a normal die holder and if I'm using the lathe I just rest the back of the die holder against the face of the tail stock. You need to ensure the die holder is the correct size for the diameter of the die you are using. Frank To the excellent advice of Chuffer Davies and St Enodoc above, I'd add the following. If you've not really used taps before, don't make the error of trying to wind the tap all the way through the nut in one go. As it cuts, the tap creates waste and swarf which will clog the threads and possibly cause them to be recut incorrectly unless you remove it. Actually clogging with waste may, at worst, sieze the tap in the thread and you'll snap the tap if you continue to force it through (and good luck removing the snapped end of a hardened tap afterwards!). The best way is to only wind the tap into the thread until you meet a bit of resistance, then back the tap off by half a turn, which gets the waste clear, then wind it in again. Just keep going, in increments of a quarter turn, half turn or even a complete turn or two until you meet resistance, until the tap is all the way through. Normally I'd say put a drop of oil on the tap, but if you're clearing solder out of the nut thread, the solder will work as a bit of a lubricant anyway. If you remember that thread cutting or thread cleaning is a slow and gentle process, you'll always do ok. In fact, it can almost be theraputic! Reminds me of an instance in my car fatory days when a chap on the production line hit upon the idea of cleaning paint out of the threads of the steering rack mountings on car bodies to make his job of attaching the steering racks easier. Off his own back, he used a tap in an air gun to clear the threads, not realising that whacking a tap straight through the thread (not at high speed, fortunately, but the air gun forced the tap through without stopping or reversing) would devastate the form of the thread, which, we found out later, was as a result only about half the height and pitch it should have been. This unofficial process continued over several thousand cars before it was discovered. Of course, then the car manufacturer very quickly found itself with another humble pie-eating vehicle recall declaration to the Department of Transport and all the equivalent European authorities. Pete T.

Oh, I doubt you're missing anything. I guess it's quite possible that SLW's couplings came from different sources at different times, or some similar scenario. Perhaps the best way for me to rephrase my statement is to say that currently (as of my last order, a month or so ago), the SLW couplings are of the single curved top link type. You have to keep your wits about you and assume nothing in this hobby, don't you? There's a banana skin waiting for you on the floor around every seemingly insignificant corner. To be honest, I'm just happy to know I don't now have to try to work out which steam locos I fitted SLW front couplings to, so I can do a 'recall and replace'! Have a great weekend. Pete T.

I've just got out a pair of Sutton Loco Works/Rail Exclusive screw link couplings to use this morning and was surprised (and happily relieved) to see that they're the opposite to the way you described, having a single curved top link, so would be quite appropriate for the majority of steam locos. The Hornby R7200 screw link couplings, however, are of the 'pair of straight forged top links' type. Whilst emptying out the contents of my couplings tin over the table to look at all the examples I have picked up from different manufacturers over the years, I came across a couple of sets of Romford screw links in the old Jackson Romford packaging. Given the discussion here about their impending demise and the passing of an era, I think I might save them like that for posterity. Pete T.

Ok, by your description that would be the case for the Hornby R7200 couplings that I've used before (and others mentioned in this thread a couple of pages back), too. Something else to stay alert to. Thanks! I don't know how I missed those. Thank you again. Pete T.

I've found the Masokits screw couplings to be a very good compromise between robustness and appearance. You have to older them up, of course, but it's quite an enjoyable little job for those says when I'm feeling too ham-fisted to go nar anything delicate. You get a choice of bottom link - near-scale or usable. For cosmetic use I've often used the Sutton Loco Works (they of the lovely Class 24 model) ones. The only drawback with them is that the shank behind the alloy hook is a bit fragile if you're enthusiastically (stupidly?) trying to push them into a slot that makes a bit of an interference fit. I broke a couple early on; I learned my lesson and I haven't broken any since (touch wood). The trade off for the lack of robustness is a very to-scale looking screw link coupling, to my eye anyway. They're £10 for a bag of eight couplings, including postage. SLW's Oleo hydraulic buffers from the Class 24 are also available as a bag of eight for £10 and make a great visual upgrade for many 4mm diesels. To find them, scroll down to the bottom of this page on the Rail Exclusive website: https://railexclusive.com//products.php?cat=14 Pete T.

That's exactly what it looks like to me, too, Robbie: the slidebar bracket from the right hand side of the loco, which would neatly tie in with the damage to the vacuum pump you mentioned in your original post. I reckon the loco probably received an accidental blow in that area at some time between being assembled and put in the packaging. If the bracket was twisted by the blow, that would account for your 'sticks every half a revolution' observation - as the crosshead fouled the bracket as it slid back and forth. Eventually, as you handled it and dismantled the loco, the weakened bracket broke off completely. Whatever, at least you have a working loco now. Result! And for the most part, a satisfying one - I suppose you've still got to decide whether to repair the broken bits yourself or leave them for someone else to do. Pete T.

I agree! I don't know if you're of my generation or not; if you are, you'd understand me saying it'd be a bit like finding the much rarer Thunderbird 2 model in the little plastic bag down the bottom of your box of Sugar Puffs cereal instead of the usual (and very boring) Thunderbird 4. Pete T.

Oh heavens, I should have known, shouldn't I? I'm sitting here laughing at my own stupidity in stating something like that on RMweb without exhaustively checking my facts first. Hoist with my own petard. Eating humble pie and all that. Sorry! Andrew of WM said, in passing conversation, when I was buying some kits and looking at the notes in them, that all the kits had notes in them. Certainly all mine have included them, loco kits, carriage kits and wagon kits - and the kits that came in bags had been resealed with the header cards stapled back on the top, usually reusing the original staple holes. All the best, and I hope the ones you bought live up to your expectations anyway, included notes or not! Pete T.

Thought you'd enjoy that little flashback to a simpler world with simpler modelmaking. On the back of each one, in Tony's pencil, is written '22p per pair'. Bargain! Enjoy making your full brake kit. Pete T.

Just to expand briefly: My school was 5 minutes' walk from the Sally Port, at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. Come lunchtimes, we'd be down there, come rain, shine or winter storm. Every day there was something interesting to watch, either entering or leaving port, whether it was a Royal Navy vessel or a foreign one (usually French or US Navy). And that's apart from the Isle of Wight ferries, the cross channel ferries, freight carriers and the dear old Gosport ferry, all of which were coming and going all the time. Absolute bliss for a group of teenage lads. Contrast that with today, where the dockyard seems, from the outside anyway, mostly silent and static and when a navy vessel does actually move it's a cause for celebration. Last time I looked, the Royal Navy could muster a grand total of 18 ships, though I think that may have increased by a couple recently. See, your lovely impressive model of Nimitz really got me going! Pete T.

What, you mean like these? Yes, I still have them, too! Pete T.

Something I forgot to mention in the WM Collectables conversation in the D&S thread (and much better that the conversation continues here, rather than there): The original collector of all these kits was a banker, and an accountant by training. Each time he bought a kit, he opened the packaging, meticulously checked the contents and, if there was anything missing, he contacted the manufacturer and organised replacement parts which would then be added to the kit. Some of the kits you buy will still have his check list in them, or his verification slip that the kit is complete! One or two kits that were checked by the owner and found to be incomplete he never managed to obtain replacements for but he left a note to that effect in the packaging. Where that's the case, the WM Collectables description reflects it. The original owner of this vast collection of kits is apparently still alive and is delighted that the kits are being fed back into the market to be built and appreciated by enthusiastic modellers. Pete T.

You're right about Holts, they were the cheapest for K's kits. A lot of mine came from them. As I got better at it, some actually progressed from being whitemetal buffer stops into half decent rolling stock. The one I never got right, though, was the K's Terrier. I should have just thrown the wheels away and got Romfords instead. The K's wheels never even looked like Terrier wheels. Some K's kits were better than others and were actually so successful I still have them now, 40-odd years later, and they still work ok, a Lord Nelson (very, very heavy) and an LBSC K class included. MTK - I built several more MTK kits but was never satisfied with the proportions or the general look of them. I still have one I never got around to building - a 4-SUB or Bulleid 2-HAP, I can't remember which at present - and I doubt I ever will get around to it. You're right again, Paddington was a treat in the hydraulic era... but then so was King's Cross, straining your eyes to see what was in Passenger Loco yard! I once got thrown out of Old Oak Common twice in one day, by the same foreman... Pete T.

Certainly in modelling bulk the equivalent of the real thing. I was in Portsmouth in 1977, when the Silver Jubilee Spithead Review took place. Nimitz attended, but spent the duration anchored off Seaview on the Isle of Wight. She was too big to get into the Solent, let alone Portsmouth Harbour. Lovely stuff, Al. Pete T.

And I'd absolutely agree with you. Some are worth paying a bit of a premium for - it depends on quality and how passionately you relish the opportunity to buy them again. Desirability, in short. However, some are pretty awful and don't bear scrutiny, or price parity, with modern equivalents. I remember many decades ago getting all excited as a young and impressionable teenager about getting into 'proper' railway modelling with my first kits, some bought as Christmas presents for me, so the pressure was on to really do something with them. The disappointment (and embarrassment, on behalf of my dad's wallet) of, no matter how long I took and how careful I was, not being able to turn them into something recognisable and capable of running on my railway was palpable. Looking back on them, they were a bit of a baptism of fire: an MTK class 52 Western, a K's Q1 and a K's Palvan were among the first. The former, in particular, was little more than an expensive fishing weight. I see kits like these from that era still being exchanged for somebody's good, hard earned money these days and I grimace inside. Some really are not worth more than the value of the raw material and can't hold a candle to modern equivalents - or better quality kits of their own era. Please excuse a quick digression that follows my memories above. Some of the kits from my early attempts came from Tony Collett's wonderful old shop in Winter Road, Southsea (others came from Holts in Swansea). He had limitless time for his customers and gave me loads of advice, teaching me several skills including how to solder whitemetal neatly. If he had the back door open in the shop, you could see Great Western nameplates and cabsides all the way up the stairwell, as far as you could see. A shop full of wonderment for a teenage railway enthusiast. A genuinely lovely man to deal with, too, who never looked for favours by return and one who encouraged me to save and improve many of my early somewhat shambolic attempts at kit building. Pete T.

I'm laughing because I did just the same with a Phoenix/BSL 4-COR kit, 4-RES kit and a 2-HAL kit some years back. A fine metal scribe and a fettling tool are almost indispensible. The older kits can be a bit of a challenge but you can get them to scrub up very nicely... eventually. Pete T.

I've known Andrew at WM Collectables for a few years now. Up until a year or so ago, all his business was in old collectable-condition Triang and Hornby Dublo etc. with a little bit of modern Hornby mixed in. Then he got the opportunity to purchase this huge collection of mainly unbuilt kits (and I mean huge - full polybins up to the ceiling filling a large room). Andrew has no real background in dealing with this sort of stuff, other than the occasional dabble with a few items. As a result, he doesn't have the benefit of years of knowledge of the marketplace, or a library of back catalogues and price lists, to work out reasonable current values of the kits. Basically all he has is (to generalise the description) a handful of 'cottage industry' websites that sometimes aren't easy to find if you don't know where to look, plus the circling sharks on eBay and a few other similar sites. I know from conversations with him that he's invested a very great deal of time in trying to research prices but, dealing with such a big quantity and variety of kits he can't afford to do exhaustive research on each and every item. He needs to get the stuff out in the market and start getting his investment back. Nor can he afford to employ people to do the research with him or for him; he's a sole trader and this is his livelihood. Sometimes he's got prices spot on. Sometimes he's got prices too cheap (well done Tim, I hope you're happy with them). Sometimes (particularly in instances where he's relied on eBay for guidance, as you alluded to, Mick) he's got prices too expensive. Sometimes way too expensive - being reasonable, you would expect to pay something of a premium for product that is otherwise no longer generally available, but I'll admit I looked at the ABS wagon listings after you mentioned them, Mick, and I winced too. But I'll say it again: he's not greedy, he's very affable to deal with. He's not a masked bandit, he's a sole trader who's all of a sudden got a lot of stuff to sell (including a lot of stuff that many of us would like a second chance to buy again) that's a little bit out of the ordinary for him and if you approach him in the same pleasant way that he'll always approach you, then I am sure he'll take reasoned guidance on some of his pricing. And after all that tub thumping for Andrew's benefit, I feel the need to say again that I have no connection with WM Collectables other than as a fairly regular modern Hornby customer, usually at the Sandown Park toy fairs, for some years. Furthermore, more recently I've taken the opportunity to buy (quite a lot of!) things from him that I've been kicking myself for years for not having bought when they were originally available - and I've bought them at, I believe, fair and reasonable prices. And I'm absolutely delighted with them. Pete T.

It'll be 45049 The Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own) for me. It was dog-eared and filthy but gave us the best run ever between Exeter and Truro. I can still hear it now, 43 years later. No wonder I get tinnitus. Also loved it for the double-liner nameplate. Pete T.