LNERGE

@truffy The GOP will never ban coal, no such thing as Global Warming to them.

Gas price is up again, so coal is probably cheaper...

@woodenhead just don’t let Greta Funtimes hear you say that! 

eBay, then.

I've found some Maygib Ref4M21 coupling but can't get on with them.

We etched ours - allows for variations in size to suit awkward buffer sizes/lengths.

Make a train shaped rattle one of the early toys then a Brio set as the first more train set like purchase, but regarding the Brio not for a year or so yet.

Give her the gift of the joy and encouragement of creating with her own hands.... railway modelling is just one way of expressing that joy. 

Once she's crawling, you want the ELC Happyland Train. Here's an unboxing video: 

twenty or more years ago, we had two sets, including points and a diamond (well, square) crossing. It could be set up with two trains circulating in opposite directions on a dog-bone layout with passing loop. With care, it could run for ages without a collision! You can probably get extra track or complete sets second-hand.

I've got TPOs that operate with

HD 3-rail

HD 2-rail

Triang (and Hornby) mechanical ramp

As mentioned above the HD offerings have a socking great solenoid that whacks the "net" and the delivery door open. Only a tinplate coach could survive the forces involved!

The benefit of the HD setup is that it only operates when you want it to, if it passes the apparatus without the button being pressed, the doors stay closed. The Triang and Hornby version opens the doors each time it passes, whether there are mailbags to be collected/dropped or not.

My first post should have had a "tongue in cheek" smiley after "I think its been done before...."

Unless you have some sort of a lineside trigger, you'd have to have "net" boards at a suitable distance before the apparatus to remind you to deploy the pick up net in time....

I can't use an extra rail with dcc so it will have to be something else. Magnets may be worth a try.

Reed switch?

It seems so. Apparently long covid is declared after 12 weeks. I'm not quite there yet and don't intend to be.

Good to hear you are almost there. I have a good mate that says he is OK for a while and then jusy gets extreme fatigue out of the blue for a few days and then is OK again; fairly typical Virus after affects I think? Hope it sorts itself out soon buddy.

Thanks. I can relate to that. The sudden wall of tiredness presents itself and I can’t get over it. 

I lived in Redhill at the time and they were regular for a couple of weeks. Last maroon one was involved IIRC

There was a stone terminal near Gatwick back then.

IIRC Westerns were also used on these workings.

Just wait 'til they're 30 and still haven't moved out.

But do move out, then MOVE BACK IN, then move out, we then SOLD the big house and said NO ROOM at the INN, hahha

enjoy while they are little

I hate doing it but least the frame is safe, Alistair will make good use of the wiring and i got a trinket or two. Another one to do in two weeks time. I can't believe it's two years since closure.

Not the only redundant signalbox to have received notice of demolition...

There's a lot of it about. I may be on the GNGE to recover another frame soon too. Installing a groundframe on that line hardly redresses the balance..

There is a new group of Signallers training at York at the moment. Would he/she be one of these by any chance?

Young blood - excellent.

Seemingly taken on to work mechanical boxes wherever they can.

Karma is a real bitch if you are.. here's hoping their knees meet a speeding baseball bat in the future..

agree

Utter pond life. I believe a speeding drill bit was the preferred method used on kneecaps by PIRA when I was in Norn Iron. Either way, it'd still smart.

Guillam-Barres disease?

Neck injury apparently.

Treatable easily I hope

We'll see how long it lasts once it actually starts going 'clunk click'

The Clock 36 makes a lovely sound, the control relay-set for the clock pulses is mounted in the loft and it runs off solar panels and batteries. Mine does between 16 and 22 swings before it toggles..

Ah that's handy. You nearly got a call to ask about that. It'll make you cry what i had to do to the toggle to get it to work.

uax6 It wont be able to mate its got a coil fitted

Never stopped me. 9 and counting.

spring has sprung

I had major issues where they lied (the words of their own engineer) about the fault on our line - caused by one of their subbies cutting the cable whilst clearing trees. Eventually I phoned them and told them there were bare cables as a result of the line being cut and any deaths were down to them - an hour later they were there, the next day the cherry picker turned up and the fault was fixed.

As an ex BT employee I'd have expected my boss to have lined us up in front of a firing squad for a simple repair to take this long.

If you have hassle with BT send a polite e-mail explaining the problem in detail to:

libby.barr@bt.com

. . . and things will usually speed up appreciably!

Near miss report duly filed?

Near turned round and went home again. Persisting rain and the prospect of a 12 hour shift ahead sorely tested the motivation.

I know the feeling...

Why are you taking pills from Africa?

Confirmed. You are meant to swallow them, they're not a suppository.

Keep a stiff upper lip old chap

Illegitimi non carborundum

Relpace the wheels. I replaced all of mine EXCEPT the ones on the power bogie with a pack of newer Hornby ones, the other two coaches run smoother and the pick up is much better on them than the old 'silvered' wheels, made a huge difference. I only did those as that's how many axles were in the pack, and it is a huge improvement. No doubt better drive bogie wheels would improve it more.

Fully agree about pick-ups and wheels. I quite like the motors (someone has to), but they benefit from a good clean along with the gears, then a careful oiling/ greasing on the gear spindles, plus a smidge on the motor spindle. I find then powerful, and in this regard better than the new Hornby bogie drives.

When I used one to convert to a Class 104 I replaced the m/bogie with one used in the ex Lima Cl 101 and 121 and fitted pick ups to the trailing bogie. The bogie adaption was straitforward as I cut out the original bogie side frames and stretchers in one piece and fitted around the new m/bogie. I also changed one power bogie wheelset so there was only one traction tyred wheel, sufficient for a 3 car dmu. I've also done the same with an unconverted Cl 110 and my Dapol Class 150 and 155. V...

Who is Number One?

You are Number Six

I wish

How about that new stovepipe-roof adapter?

Make a cake, and eat it yourself.

Yup a coat of paint, a new stovepipe and a cake.

Have you considered putting a railway line next to it, as an accessory?

It is alongside one of our heritage railways. My own version on NSKT where you can plunge at any one of the four locations on the circuit and get your own key.

You can of corse still use it as a conventional circuit with a signalman at each end.

Excellent stuff.

Signed in at 15:30. Later than planned mainly due to chin wagging and tea drinking.

But now I have to dress a point ready for the tamper before I nip home etc.

It is booked back light loco later

Could be the 019G off Wembley this afternoon?

Yes indeed. Here it is passing Three Counties...

Hmm I was led to believe that it wasn’t supposed to go off. So I’m assuming that this wasn’t an unmitigated success. 

Apparently the idea was that they were trying to do a slow burn on the contents and the 76 year old Torpex was feeling a bit frisky!

That's the problem with 76-year olds; when they feel frisky they fall apart.

We had 3 drops of rain - and then it stopped

About the same here. Good job i watered the railway anyway (keeps the moss alive etc)

Some evening rain. Storms forecast for tomorrow evening.

Ho hum. There are good days and there are bad days. I do at least build signalboxes too.

Moss earlier this week..

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