Stephen Rainsbury

I feel the same, so only buy stuff that looks a bit scruffy and there seem to be loads of them on eBay. Dundas (formerly Parkside Dundas) are great but it took me a bit of time to get used to the level of skill being required is much higher than kits from Revell and Airfix, often relying on teh builder gluing things together by eye. The Pizza track I built for my wife is based on N Gauge track with alternative sleepers removed. It works well, but that doesn't work very well with points, where you have to eave more sleepers, so I use Peco Setrack points which look better but have the legendary "dead fog" which means my small locos running at slow sped can stall on them. I havn't ballasted it yet, but plan to give it a really overgrown look so hopefully it won;'t be too obvious.

I have one of those but find it a bit fiddly to use on my track, so I end up putting it in my bench vice and using some crocodile leads on the brush to get power to the wheels. I think I would actually prefer something that holds the loco up side down and allows me to use cotton buds soaked in IPA.

I have a 109 and can vouch that it dropped straight into my tram loco and its lower speed is much smoother, especially when under load. But now I have started another kit bash to use the spare 103 :-)

Has anybody tried this? Is it worth £25 or do I just make one from some packing foam, some conduit, two old Biros and the two little wire brushes I have in my box of unused dremel accessories? https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Peco-Lectrics-Servicing-Kit/dp/B00C4SAJBQ/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=loco+kit&qid=1583619434&sr=8-4

I was planning to go to that, so will look out for you. Are you the only model railway?

I have some from a nondescript packet but they are a bit short so I like the idea of bending plastic, however I am going to glue mine under the guttering so you won't be able to see if there is a hole of not. I just need to make some brackets to support it now

You have one thing in common my new engine shed where it was pointed out that I didn't have down pipes from the gutters. I am not sure about tackling that one yet, I need to work out how to bend plastic pipe nicely

Thanks, did you buy them recently? My last lot were from eBay but that seller doesn't appear anymore. Stephen

Thanks, that's a good way of doing it, and I have just saved it :-) I was planning on doing something similar but using a s square of steel on the roof rather than a magnet, as it will be cheaper, so i am I missing something? Stephen

I thought that recent studies showed that if yo compared career experience there wasn't that much of a gap. It comes back to the old argument, if a man and woman start at the same job, at the same age, at the same time, but she takes a year off for maternity, should she expect to come back on eh same salary as her male equivalent or what she left on? How does performance related pay increments come into this? If the bloke got a promotion during that time, because he was there, should she be able to apply for the same job and expect it to be kept open until the end of her maternity period?

He and Jo Whiley were sacrificed on the altar of political correctness. I used to look forward to listening to him on teh way home from work, but when he was forced to take Joe Whiley(?) on board the programme seemed to scripted and forced so I stopped listening and just play music from my phone. Having said that I stopped listening to Chris Evans almost immediately. I really didn't care what his kids said the previous night or what his wife was doing, and I especially didn't like the way he spoke down to his assistants. There was an item about something and his sidekick gave him some stats which I seem to remember sounded about right. Evans comment was "Do we really know that? We want t find out, so if you know send us the details.." how must the bloke sitting there who had just told him have felt? That and his pathetic jingles every morning at the same time. I really don't like him and laughed my self silly when he failed dismally on Top gear.

Perhaps they will stop sending "roving reporters" to stand outside what ever they are talking about. We really don't need to see the political editor standing in the Palace of Westminster, or the royal correspondent at the end of the Mall, it isn't as if he is going to pop across and get a quick quote from her Maj. And I bet the emergency services just love having a film crew watching them and getting in the way.

Did you aks him first? SBR

That's very interesting, thanks. How big do you reckon it was 4'x2'? Stephen

Thanks for this , is that 12mm ply? I noticed that you use advocate adjusting the positions of the modules with the feet and holding them in place with G-clamps, is this instead of using the bolts or as well as? Stephen

Thanks, I will convert that to the file format our machine uses and ask the bloke who runs it to make a couple for me. How thick was the original plywood please? I hadn't noticed until just now but my modules, which are based on fitting into a Christmas Wrapping paper really useful box, are exactly 20cm wide.. spooky :-) Thanks again, I will let you know how I get on Stephen

Hi, I am intrigued by this idea for my home layout which is modular but I want to expand. Is there a downloadable version of the endplate that I could use with the laser cutter at work and have an experiment with please? Are these really only 20cm across? It looks bigger :-)

I haven't done this one but have done several other Eggerbahn locos and for something that old I think they were very well made. The only generic problem I have found is that the pickups tend to be worn and I haven't found a good source or replacements. Noise normally seems to come from the armature, if you can get it out and give it a good clean with Iso-propyl alcohol and a soft baby toothbrush then re lubricate it with a synthetic oil it should go quite a bit quieter. The problem you might find is that it is probably 40 years old now and if it has been well used the bearings might be slightly scored and that is going to be difficult to fix. Another issue is the brushes might be worn and loser in their holders, so free to vibrate more and get a bit noisier. Unfortunately short of replacing them I can't think of a solution for that. :-( Grot in the armature can make them noisey, try a bit of alcohol on a cotton but to shift that, or very VERY carefully clear the grooves out with a pin. Good luck, I am on the look out for a good one one of those too. Stephen Edit: Just a though, I have seen one of those with a Transfabriek motor upgrade and it was incredibly smooth, I can't remember what it sounded like but they are normally very quiet. https://tramfabriek.nl/motors.html The owner is very helpful and will offer very good advice if yo ask. It should cost around £30 but will run like a dream afterwards.

Thanks. I have tried using some flat nosed tweezers but found that if I wasn't careful I could twist the coupling as I bent the pin. I just read that somebody else cuts the pin almost flush and holds it in place with a drop of humbrol matt black paint all around pin head, then another drop over the far end. I might give that ago too : I have been using superglue gel too, but the nozzle always seems to jam up however I store it so it works out quite expensive

Hi, I am hoping that you can help I am new to 009 and have been having issues with the pivot on Greenwich couplings. Do you use a bent track pin as supplied? If so how are you bending them so tight to the coupling? I can't get even my snipe nosed pliers that close. I have tried cutting the pin close and then using a tiny dot superglue to hold it in place but every now and again it bleeds through and jambs the whole hing up tight. And is that Araldite that you are using to fix them in place? Thanks. Stephen