railroadbill

This was on BBC 4 on Tues 10 Oct at 9pm. Looks like it was made in 2014. It covers the BR Modernisation Plan and some of its results. Lots of clips from British Transport Films, Blue Pullman, prototype HST and APT, production APT, 50s/60s steam and so on. Also some interviews with people involved in developing the APT (recruited from the motor and aviation industries) and the HST (experienced railway engineers) and a journalist who had to experience the APTs initial passenger runs, which did not last long of course. The HST on the other hand was rather more sucessful.... Whether you think the Modernisation Plan really did lead to a golden age or if it was a excuse by road lobby pressured Governments to shut down a third of the railway network, there's some interesting train footage here!

Inside K166. Ply bulkheads and hardwood beams to strengthen the hull. The hull comes in 4 pieces and the seams are reinforced with epoxy resin inside. MFA 385 motor (others have used a bigger motor but this has more than enough power for a scale-looking speed). Standard 7.2 volt battery pack which I just happened to have but hull has plenty of room for say a lead acid battery and needs ballast anyway. The steel decks were sprayed with Peugeot steel grey (Halfords), the camo colours are airbrushed Revell acrylic (with matt varnish over them which has lasted well) and the wooden decks are planked with very thin wooden strip I got from a dolls house shop (run by a lady who has a unit in a local craft centre). Lots of other fittings painted and kept in plastic bags but there is a danger of them falling off while transporting/operating the ship so for the moment...

Indeed there have been some, found a Howes catalogue which is about 2015 which has some Graupner RTR models including a 1:48th Corvette. Not exactly cheap, these are "ring for price" but Graupner did a square rigged R/C sail training ship that was around £1000 I think. there are some much cheaper but more "toy like" models around. Pre-covid there were more. At one point there was a range of R-T-R R/C models of fishing boats etc that seemed to be based on Billings kits designs (nothing to do with Billings though) but they've come and gone. Still plenty of kits around from Deans Marine etc. Again from old Howes catalogue, Revell did the corvette with better detail. There's also a 1:144th scale kit, which could be a better proposition if not wanting a possible working model.

Ah, dust! The idea of just a corner of an airfield (which could also be an aircraft museum ) is great, only needs a bit of grass and a fence and no other detail! Then easy to change aircraft around. I've been using EZ-line (this all started during lockdown) which is fine with longer lengths like Shacketon aerials but a real fiddle with 1:72nd Tiger Moth rigging.

A while back I was building a 1:48th Bristol Fighter which had a very detailed instrument panel. When on a visit to Duxford, one of the guides there very kindly let me go right up to the one they've got there to take pictures. You can't see into the cockpit from the ground (which is perhaps a clue) so I held my compact camera above me at arm's length to take pics of the cockpit(s). After a long modelling time painting wood effect on the instrument panel, detailing instruments, "glazing" them, adding various details like throttle, rudder bar, etc. etc. I found having fitted them in the fuselage and joined it up that I couldn't see any of this. The panel is set low and forward ahead of the pilot in the Bristol, holding my camera almost in the cockpit of the full size was fine but it wasn't possible to get that angle with the model. So now unless you can see it I wouldn't put it in (also some of my builds are old kits that didn't have much interior detail anyway, such as Airfix DH88), so it's more a question of what to make and add rather than leave out. I saw at an exhibition a very nice airliner model that was clear on one side to reveal the fully fitted interior, rather like the large aircraft models that travel agents used to have in their windows years ago. As an aside, anyone who makes biplanes, do you always rig them, and what scale becomes too small to do this?

Halfords Vauxhall Burgundy Red is also a good match for BR maroon, did get a new can several years ago so it might still be available. (Halfords will mix up a particular paint colour at a price). Recently on another thread here I was advised to use Halfords Volkswagen Mars red (I actually wanted a DSB red for a Danish loco, which is a mid red). Mars red is very close to Tamiya XF-7 red imho which is a paint colour I use a lot so useful for all sorts of things (civil Tiger Moth wings etc. perhaps, also buffer beams...).

Well, answer is "other" mainly, I'm just in-filling different groups of stock now. Space (and running it all) is the problem. I'm concerned that I've found locos that I didn't know I had and can't find locos I think I've got...so more sidings could be the answer - or not buying too much new stuff! For instance, an LSWR cross country set would be just great, but then there's all those Maunsell coaches I've already got. This issue applies to second hand stuff as well, if something you want is up for sale how much do you bid or pay? Martin Lewis the money guru has a mantra, If you're skint, Do I need it? Can I afford it? Have I checked prices elsewhere? If not, don't buy it. If you're not skint, Will I use it? Is it worth it? Have I checked prices elsewhere? If not, don't buy it. But...if a T3 came along, or indeed a T3, (see what I did there) out would come the credit card. And that's the truth. Bill

Recently I had another run with this long running project, HMCS Snowberry, Revell kit, ex Matchbox. Nice calm day. It has an MFA 385 motor with a standard 7.2 v battery pack, enough power to get out of trouble, but quite happy trickling along at a scale speed, with a very long run time. It's in a sort of "trials mode before having armament fitted" at the moment. I have got quite a lot of fittings to go on, all assembled and painted, liferafts, boats, depth-charge rails and so on, but the problem is that it's all too easy to knock fittings off while at the lakeside operating it. Railings being a case in point, the kit plastic ones are rather flimsy, etched brass (if available in 1:72) would look good but get damaged easily, overscale brass stanchions would be more rugged... so it goes on! There have been some very good models on this thread with etched brass fittings. The trick is probably to wait until the ship is retired from lake excursions and then complete fitting it out as a static exhibit. My original idea was to have it as a "museum ship" at a dock in the corner of the layout, but as the Flower class model is nearly 3' long that's been more tricky to plan. One day...

Before they go... I managed to travel on an XC back in March from Exeter to Plymouth. Certainly a comfortable train to travel on as a passenger. Here it is at Plymouth. (13/3/23).

This looks like one of the final runs for the XCs. Sort of farewell party. https://www.modernrailways.com/railtour

Just spotted this, apart from the castle and stations with the ever popular hats and raincoats being worn, the docks were interesting with paddle steamer and steam tugs, plus the "clean modern" coal mine. The end with the great Richard Dimbleby flying off in a DH Dove of Cambrian Airways was another good bit. Both new and old are long gone. Thanks for posting about this, it was an interesting bit of history.

As an aside to this, when Scotrail HSTs were going to be left in a terminus platform for some time before working their next train, one power car was shut down and the other left running. Noticed this several times - could Brinkly or others say if it's necessary to leave one engine running (perhaps it keeps a/c or heating going?) with all HSTs or is it just a Scotrai! thing?

Just come across this very interesting thread. This is a Scotrail HST at Perth on 10/6/23, taken recently while I was using a 4 day "Spirit of Scotland" rover ticket. A lot of miles for your money. A major purpose of the trip was to travel on HSTs while they are still running, although I hope from both a "railfan" and passenger point of view that they do continue to at least 2030. From a passenger perspective, (regardless of how difficult it may be to operated stock that is getting pretty vintage, although having had various mods over the years), the great advantage is it's comfortable, quiet, lots of luggage space and imho has best seats in current trains. You are in a hauled coach, not sitting over a diesel engine. Azuma seats make you feel like you are sitting on an ironing board by comparison. :-) On some routes, such as Perth-Inverness, a lot of cyclists used the train, and were able to store their bikes ok, but that wouldn't be at all easy with say an Azuma or equivalent, or indeed 170. So HSTs good for tourist areas of Scotland, the railways seemed well used there. We had some good chats with Scotrail staff who were all very friendly and helpful. So- I hope Scotrail can keep these running at least until the end of the contract, I'd like to have another trip!

Also just found this thread, and like Peter I've got a Panasonic compact camera, a TZ80 which is almost the same - good zoom range and excellent for 4K videos. I've also got a Panasonic bridge camera, a FZ200 and the results are indistinguishable between the two. But the TZ goes in your pocket and is ready for that rare train you see coming... Better results than my clunky old Nikon dslr really.

But the list of parts shows all the components that made up the motor bogie each with its own reference so they must have been available from triang at least to a dealer who could carry out repairs. If an armature had a broken wire, let's say, a replacement one was available - so the item could be repaired rather than needing to be replaced. Also that mechanism had quite a good sales life then.

Hey, look what I found tucked away! Power bogie still going strong in 1968 apparently. And yes the lead from the pick ups does go on the insulated sleeve on the right hand side of the brush spring looking forwards... It has more parts than I'd expected, from an era when things were expected to be repairable...

Interesting topic about standards being originally set for 2 rail model railways. Back to my double cab TC diesel...Well I just swapped the insulating sleeve over to the other arm of the brush tensioning spring and moved the wire from the pickups over to that side. The bogie now runs in the same direction as every other loco... also since I'd unscrewed bogie from the body I oiled the motor bearings and gears, runs a little smoother than before. Having put the loco back together, it looked quite impressive running round the layout, but it does need to run fast to avoid stalling.

I can only find the trailer on youtube but the opening title sequence has a very good "steam train leaving the terminus" shot which has stuck in my mind. The rest of the trailer just goes through most of the plot, really. Fonda and Redgrave were good and Meryl Streep's first film. There was later some controversy about it because the original story by Lillian Hellman was claimed to be a true story but that was shown to be not totally the case. And this one Murder on the Orient Express - train departs. This is the 1974 film with Albert Finney as Poirot - and great cast. Better than later ones imho.

Well, it was a sunny day for photos... collectable, vintage and Triang. Lower left, original Triang Minic ships, cruiser HMS Superb, frigates are Torquay and Vigilant, minesweepers are 2x Repton and 2x Picton. In front of those, tug Turmoil, 2 harbour tugs, Isle of Sark (Channel Islands ferry) and Verne lightship. Battleship Vanguard and carrier Bulwark are second series Hong Kong made. At the top back, the carded ones are lightships and pilot boats, plus customs and rescue launches from the revived Triang range that Oxford sold. The original liners would probably be the best to have, I've got several of the second series ones. I had an original SS Nieuw Amsterdam liner which disintegrated in a very bad case of mazak rot, but the rest have survived ok.

Well, here's my "running backwards" motor bogie. The insulated wheels are to the right and the brown lead from their pickups goes to the left hand, (looking forwards), brush with the insulated sleeve. Not sure about the red wires, they go to lights but the soldering looks more of an afterthought.

Just spotted your thread. Just a thought but you could try one of these, a Hornby Railroad power bogie. This one has frames for a 121 but I've also used class 43 ones, they also are used in class 73 etc. it's just the bogie frame moulding that's different, the mechanism is the same one. This one is going to repower an old Lima DMU. It would certainly fit into a van body. Shorter wheel base but not too much shorter than this 40mm wheelbase van. You'd just have to clip the side frames off. They are moulded in one piece with the under chassis which keeps the axles in place. They do need wiring from the pickups (on all wheels) to the motor. I bought mine from Lendons of Cardiff, very good and helpful service, they carry lots of Hornby spares, I've had 4 wheel and 6 wheel power bogies from them. These are a reasonable price as well. Good luck with the project, I remember Kitmaster did a powered van to propel their plastic loco kits around (in early 1960s). No idea how sucessful it was though.

Great, thanks! Looked up Scalecraft and they are indeed the kits I was thinking of. They did quite a range, there was a Cessna floatplane that I had, also a Lotus racing car, plus the MTB. Their advantage was that they gave you a good chance of assembling a working model in a reasonable time, even if the performance wasn't great. From what I can find, Scalecraft were based in Twickenham, started in 1950s and were taken over by Airfix in late 1970s, some of their kits may have been issued by Airfix. From box end illustration of Lotus F1 car kit on Brighton Toy Museum site.

Spot on, brings the operational nightmare back! 👍 I had an MTB, not Triang, made from a clip together kit in rather flexible plastic, I think. Had an electric motor that fitted inside right at the back so the motor shaft was the propellor shaft. They also did racing cars, think Woolworths sold them but don't know the make.

Thanks for the info about the freighter, Captain Slough. I had a Triang trawler and a tug as a child, (sorry, junior modeller), both boats clockwork which shared the same hull design, long gone. I also came across a Triang lifeboat in a museum, also clockwork, which looked very good but haven't come across another one since. I vaguely remember problems with clockwork boat range, at least with batteries you had a fair chance of your vessel making it to the other side of the pond! (Unless the prop got covered with weed). Every park seemed to have a model boating lake once, more difficult to find now but I'm lucky to have one not too far away for my occasional model boat sideline. I guess triang, original Hornby, Sutcliffe etc. boats would be another potential collection.....

From 'Tri-ang Railways in Canada and the USA' . Site states it is ok to show content from their website as long as they are quoted as the reference source. The freighter is in the middle. Lots of accessories but I'm not sure if they are all Triang. Looks like the station waiting room (got that) is just in front of the freighter's bow. Also the power pylons (which you can still buy now, R.530). From 'Tri-ang Railways in Canada and the USA' . Link is https://tri-ang.weebly.com/. as posted above by GoingUnderground.