roythebus1

ISTR one loco had different ends! One with headcode discs, the other with headcode box on the roof.

Has anyone mentioned the oddball 31 we had at FP, trip cock fitted and token catchers. I didn't bother keeping numbers of locos I worked on.

I ended up ordering 2 Black Beetle motor bogies from Australia. they arrived in the post yesterday so work has commenced on making the motor bogies take the sideframes. Delivery from Australia was about 3 weeks so not too bad.

Metal stitching is still commonly used to repair cracked blocks. I had a vintage Rover P3 engine done in the early 1980s and an RF bus engine done about 12 years ago. the P3 got written off when ex wife crashed it into a lamp post, the bus engine has been rebuilt again and is still running under a preserved RF somewhere.

The other boat train service we've forgotten about has just been re-introduced, that on the Isle of wight. with the new half-hourly trains ervice, I beleive all trains now connect with boats during the summer peak season.

I used to drive them on the SW when they were new. Draughty awful things, brakes were a problem.

All of which reminds me of the tale of the very well-to-do Lady who was on one of these ships, in the days when one required one penny to use the lavatories (or bathrooms in modern parlance). Being a Lady she didn't have coins of low denominations, so needing to "go" she politely asked a steward if he could assist bey lending her a penny. To which he replied "madam, this is Cunard, not P&O". There used to be a duty at Addiscombe when I was a driver there that had "boat train" connections. We worked down rush hour train to Sevenoaks and would usually pass the UP "Night Ferry" between Polhill tunnel and Sevenoaks. Highlight of the day.

Which reminds me of a trip I done on a late Saturday Waterloo-Portsmouth semi-fast in about 1986, I had a couple of friends visiting from Gothenberg Tramways so they came a long for the cab ride. As it got darker, past Guildford it was dark. they wondered when I was going to turn the headlights on. Well of course being the Southern we had the route indictor to light the way. They asked "well, what happens if you see something on the line? You won't be able to stop in time." " Well, even if I can see it, I still won't be able to stop in time, and it shouldn't be there anyway." In Sweden they have a clear lineside of something like 10m either side of the running lines and huge headlights to see any obstruction. but still can't stop anyway. Apparently the most common thing the SJ trains hit are Elks.

UK short wheelbase wagons weren't generally used on the mainland but, many years ago Ron Platt showed a slide of a BR box van in Hamburg! The Belgian Railways SNCB/MBNS acquired a fleet of UK wagons post-WW2. Quite how the mainland railways coped with unbraked freight is not know to me!

6BA I think, maybe 4 BA.

Nail varnish remover is good for getting paint off.

Modern trams will go round 8" radius curves at 1:87 or 1;76. :).... At Canning Town most buses are through services which arrive at one side of the central island then run through the centre lane on the other side to depart. some through service arrive at one end and depart from the other end. I'll have to do that rough sketch with the ideas. Of course just round the corner and over the bridge from the current bus station was the last remaining conduit change pit. I believe it got rescued and is now at Crich. Interesting to learn that the UK minimum curve on the old tramways was around 45' radius. That works out at about 7" radius, but a lot of UK tram modellers use much tighter radii than that. But then it's not much less than the continental minimum.

This looks remarkably similar to an etched kit I bought bak in 1973, probably Kemilway, made by Tony Dyer who worked at the Kings Cross model shop at the time. He done the inside and outside frame versions. I suspect I sold mine many years ago. I don't think I ever finished them as the then new "superglue" went off too quickly and my soldering wasn't up to scratch then. I don't know what happened to the artwork for his efforts. I know he used ABS cast metal bogies. Made by the late Adrian Swain these were superb castings and may still be available from whoever took over his range.

I've been driving rail replacement buses round east London for the last few years and going in and out of Canning Town bus station. the traffic flow for buses is quite complex with 2ways in and 2 ways out. The station is laid out as a central island with 3 lanes all the way round. Now I thought what if..this was to be replaced with tramways. 3 interlaced ovals with the central platfor, the outer circuit for trams on layover, the middel one for trams serving the inner circle stops on the opposite side. Speaking with my friend Tony Hultman of Gothenberg Tramways he reckons the minimum radius a real tram will negotiate is about 8" radius, so the layout would be at least 18" wide. there would be some interesting scissors crossover midway along each circle, were any actually use don real tramways I wonder? Once I've done a few sketches I'll post the basic idea on here. the idea being to use modern European trams maybe using some form of digital control but that stuff isn't my forte. Have a look at Canning town on the google maps satellite view and you'll get an idea of the traffic flows round there.

I've been driving rail replacement buses round east London for the last few years and going in and out of Canning Town bus station. the traffic flow for buses is quite complex with 2ways in and 2 ways out. The station is laid out as a central island with 3 lanes all the way round. Now I thought what if..this was to be replaced with tramways. 3 interlaced ovals with the central platfor, the outer circuit for trams on layover, the middel one for trams serving the inner circle stops on the opposite side. Speaking with my friend Tony Hultman of Gothenberg Tramways he reckons the minimum radius a real tram will negotiate is about 8" radius, so the layout would be at least 18" wide. there would be some interesting scissors crossover midway along each circle, were any actually use don real tramways I wonder? Once I've done a few sketches I'll post the basic idea on here. the idea being to use modern European trams maybe using some form of digital control but that stuff isn't my forte. Have a look at Canning town on the google maps satellite view and you'll get an idea of the traffic flows round there.

We had a day trip to de Kusttram about 8 years ago in January. Luckily we live about 10 minutes form Eurotunnel and had Frequent Traveller ticket. We got to Vuerne and parked the car, asked for 2 day tickets and the man said €12. Each? Not bad. No, that was for 2 of us! It was a wonderful sunny day and we just about managed a trip the whole length of the line with a couple of stops off for lunch and a look round some shops. One of the vintage trams had a quick foray out of the depot at de Hanne but I didn't manage to get a picture of it. Something to beware of is that not all trams go "through" even though the timetable says they do. We had to get off one and get on the one in from somewhere along the way. But it was a nice day out, very sunny but cold. Plenty of free parking just across the border at Vuerne and a nice bar opposite the staion where we had a bite to eat and hot chocolate before coming back.

There's a Trix boxed AL1 in mint condition but the motor doesn't work for £250 oneBay at the moment! I wish I'd have bought more of these in 1968 when they were under a fiver each. But then my part-time wages were only thirty bob a week!

Thanks John, I'll give you a shout when they get here.

I asked here or on the other forum about motors, the black Beetle motors are still available from Australia so i'm ordering a couple from there for the Blue Pullman. quite a good price, but I don't know what import duty of any there will be to pay. the owner of black Beetle says he bought a few hundred Mashima motors before they closed down and needs to maximise his return on the investment so can't afford to sell them a wholesale prices to UK retailers. I know the feeling!

I'm planning on using the Kean close-coupling system on mine. The buffing plates have already been glued firmly into place on mine many years ago with Kitmaster glue! The joys of buying ready-made off ebay. Also, mine don't have any handrails or door handles, presumably some must have been fitted on the prototype? do you have any details on what they are and where they should go? Maybe there's some on my Triang Blue Pullman that'll give me a clue!

Thanks, none of the UK suppliers seem to have Black Beetles in stock, no Tenshodo, I'll try High Level Models. Otherwise scratch-building! I've got a broken Bachy Hymek which may provide the answer of I can shorten the wheelbase! I'l have a look on your website for the transfer.

John, what did you use for motor bogies on your one? and can I buy a set of transfers from you? I've got 3 or 4 coaches bought built and will need to be stripped of paint and transfer.

Thanks John I'm aware of that, it's the outer end buffer heads that have gone missing! Maybe if anyone has any Tri-ang Brush 2 buffer heads they will fit the bill. I used to get them as spares from Tri-ang years aho to fit the Mk1 coaches which for some reason they sold with round buffers.

there's been numerous discussions about the various shades of Underground red and bus red. Williamsons paints in Yorkshire who can match any paint sample and provide paint for the majority of heritage railways list at least a dozen shades of London Bus Rd, 5 Chiswick Creams, at least 4 Bus Browns plus a host of other LT colours. don't ask for the RAL equivalent, LT had their own paint codes. Paint mixing in those days was very hit and miss, dependant on who mixed it, the quality of the base colours, and the day of the week. The finish was also affected by the undercoat. So don't worry too much about slight variations.

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