Theakerr

Re the Bachmann 9F, have you checked that all the con rod bolts are screwed all the way home. On both a Bachmann and a Hornby i have found situations where one nut was firm but not all the way home. This resulted in a small gap between the nut boss and the wheel that allows the con rod to "drop" into it. Rather difficult to see.

An for this in the GWN remember the A$ is about the same as the Can$

Last night a friend brought over his J50 to fix. He had literally run it for less than 5 minutes up and down his plank layout when one of the centre con rod bolts (screws?) dropped out resulting in an out of quarter set of wheels. After removing the keeper plate it was an easy fix with the nut driver and a dab of blue locktite. Also, we found two more con rod bolts loose, one so loose that I could back it off with my fingers. Removed and put back in with a dab of blue locktite to stop them coming loose again. Test ran it and it was rather jerky in both directions. Now to the really interesting bit. Inspection showed that whilst screwed in firmly, one of the con rod bolts on the rear wheels was not screwed all the way home such that the con rod could slip down into a gap between the bolt boss and the wheel face. Rather hard to see. Anyway, screwed it all the way home and almost all jerkiness gone. After running for 1/2 hour in each direction effectively all the jerkiness is gone and it is now a very nice runner. As a matter of interest I had exactly the same problem with a Bachmann Butler Henderson a couple of years ago.

Re Bachmann split chassis B1s, I have not had any fail completely, but have replaced three with new type chassis. What I found was that the "bearings" wore resulting in very poor slow running and controllability. At speed they were OK. Interestingly, while the new chassis run pretty well additional weight is necessary such that they can hail the same load as the split chassis ones. Also, the slide rod is completely at the wrong angle on all four that I have bought (Sir Harold Bibbey) and it is a bit of a pain to correct it. I suppose that could be the reason I got a very good price on them.

Very impressed with the fields. You have captured the undulations in the grass running along the length of the field that were quiet common when a field had been returned to grass from arable usage. I had completely forgotten about this feature (living in Canada does have its drawbacks) which was a very common feature where I grew up in Liconlshire.

Very Sad and I wish Mike well. I am so pleased I took the time out to see Monks Bay last time I was over. Not only did I get to see a superb layout but got invited "inside" to see the workings.

Headstock, on 03 Jan 2016 - 05:08, said: Over the Christmas period I too have spent some time watching videos of various shows and like Headstock feel that a significant number of layouts are let down by their stock. Common examples include, the mixing together of bright shiny pre-war PO wagons with BR wagons behind a blue diesel, 10 coach trains with 6'+ gaps between each one, no attempt to fit a corridor connector, horrible hook and bar couplings on the front of express trains, holes left in the buffer beam of locos where the coupling and vac pipe should fit, the list goes on.

Since I now have El Capitan on my Mac I went out and bought a 4th generation Mac TV box (You don't need WiFi with El Capitan). After some tribulations and swearing I was finally able to sit down and watch some u-tube videos of Little Lytham on the big screen. wow, is about all I can say. I thought it looked good on my hit res Mac but it is so much better on a 1080 dpi wide screen. One really gets a sense of depth. However, I do have a couple of questions. Are the full length coal trains representing coal trains (the first block trains) running to the new power stations that keep the lights on in London? If so shouldn't the end doors all be facing the same way?

So far I have just observed this debate, but I think your comment, Tony "meets my need" sums up the situation very succinctly. Living where I do, I am a one man band. And since I wanted to watch trains go by as I remembered them I built a layout allowing 9/10 coach and 30+ wagons trains. Only a 1/3 of the layout is sceniced, but even that and the other 2/3 of fiddle yard and associated track work have been a rather large task. if I had to add loco construction I would still be waiting for the 1st train to go by. I have built a number of locos from kits because they were unavailable at the time (the A5 still is) but the majority of stock is RTR although much has has been weathered and detailed. For me the satisfaction is watching my trains go by and the ultimate compliment was when someone at a BRMNA open day said (when I was out of the room but within hearing) "its just like trainspoting". Thus, the combination of RTR and kit built locos meets my needs

Will be visiting a friend on Friday who is experiencing valve gear jamming when in reverse. I understand from a search (of this thread) that this has been reported as an issue with the Garret. However, the search doesn't give me any more info. Suggestions on what to look for would be appreciated as would a link to further info. Thanks

Steven, thanks for the pictures both here and on Flickr. The latter well worth looking at for someone who doesn't have access to Warley

Tony, It is most interesting that you had to fix a jammed valve gear on a Coronation. Over here in the Great White North I have now repaired/fixed four sets of valve gear trains on Coronations for friends.

I read that one of the reasons people purchase a Golden Age model is for the hauling capacity. Further, I read that the reason they are such good haulers is because their driving wheels are all independently sprung ensuring all wheels are in contact with the track. So, does the collective feel this is valid as far as the impact of the sprung drivers?

Was going through some of my books last night and came across one most appropriately named "Great Northern". Cant find a date on it but it cost 2/6 and is an Ian Allen publication. Some pretty neat pictures including a couple of Peterborough North, one of which shows your telegraph poles rather well.

To add to the DC vs DCC debate, I suggest we need to look into our respective crystal balls. At the rate technology is advancing I suggest that in 10 years our locos will be battery powered. Said locos will either use direct inductive charging (as the loco runs) or direct charging from some sections of powered track where only two wires really WOULD be the case. The technology is actually with us today in the developmental stage (see this forum). I will not list the advantages because they are so obvious, but as an example the exit from Newcastle with all the curved crossings could actually be made to work. Also since track contact would be a low order priority it might even eliminate the need for compensated chassis. Thats my crystal ball anyway

The reason I ask is because I have done a Hornby A3 as 60103 flying scotsman and have practically packed inside the boiler with lead and the cab is virtually crammed with lead too and even with all that she just about manages 10 mk1s ( 9 Bachmann & 1 Hornby ) when pulling them but when it comes to reversing the train she just sits and spins her wheels and my A4 ( 60029 Woodcock ) barely manages to start or reverse the same train ( clean wheels & rails ) so if there is a way to modify my locos to enable better haulage via the booster method I would certainly be interested to know how to do it. I also have the latest Bachmann B1 and it barely pulls a rake of 5 Bachmann mk1s or 14 wagons ( mostly box type, all moderately weighted to prevent major derailment ) so I am certainly interested in giving my locos some serious haulage capacity because I have found a lot of recent steam locos to be very light footed as though they wouldn't pull anything without sitting down and spinning wheels although I do keep up with track cleaning as much as possible. Suggest you look at how and where you have added your weight. All my Hornby A4's as received will easily pull (and push) 10/11 Bachmann Mk1s and with minimal weight added one it will pull 13 Bachmann. My A3 again with minimal weight will pull 12 Bachmanns and an A1 with some weight will pull 13/14+ Bachmann. On to the B1, I have added weight to the new version so that it is equal too or slightly heavier than the old split chassis version and they will pull 11 Bachmanns and 13 Hornby Gresleys. The trick, as others have said, is to make sure the weight centre line loading is over the centre line of the drivers drivers and to check that a) the tenders are sitting correctly, the pick-ups are adjusted correctly and the front bogie spring is not lifting the front drivers. Also, check coach wheel rotation and dirt on the wheel tires. Having two dogs over time I will get "fluff" build up on the exles. Dirt on the wheel tires has a much bigger effect than one would expect. I can tell when i am getting build up because the 9/10 coach normals will visibly slow down on the entrance to curves. Sometimes one wheel will be so bad I can peel the crud off with a craft knife as though I am using a lathe. It does seem that once one wheel starts to pick up crud on the tire that wheel almost becomes sacrificial in that the rest of the tires on that coach will often be almost clean.

Excellent site, thanks for the working link. Sorry, didn't mean to be a tease (She said)

On another forum, a rather neat miniature socket and plug has been reviewed. It is supposed to be available through Squire Tools and a web link is given. Said link takes one to a page that says the web site is under construction. Noting that the same message appears to have been seen almost a year ago, one has to wonder what is going on.

Oh - that John Elliott, aka The Laird on RMweb. Excellent footage as we might expect from his camera. Is it me or was the WD early in the sequence making nasty noises? Its funny you should notice that! When I heard it I thought it is just like my oldest WD and rather like a second one. I assume it is the gear train. Having said that the WD in question is many years old and has done many many circuits but is still going strong. I did wonder if the WD on Gilberts layout was a Tetley's Mills one and as such fairly old - like mine. The third and forth ones also make a bit of a noise but not as noticeable. You may gather I like the WDs. To me they are a case where Function and Form really come together.

Came across this video last night by John Elliot. Apologies if it has been mentioned. I was away for just over a month. https://youtu.be/HySHbTc33Pw

All I can say is "Eh". Its all just to to much for me.

Just watched "Return to Little Bytham". Excellent. I really enjoyed it. Tony, you are looking good, "ruddy" would describe it best if I remember my English correctly. When you make the next DVD, and i am sure there will be another, could you include some shots of the fiddle yard in operation. To me the fiddle yard is the unsung hero of our hobby because without it we could not effectively watch trains go by.

Re the Microscale Micro Krystal Klear as it is known in Canada, some regular PVA type glues (Weldbond is the one i have used) will work in exactly the same way. Note that the Krystal Klear generally does not give a perfectly clear glass type finish but more a sort of effect you get with the very thick glass found in older windows. It is fine for cab spectacle windows and cab windows that are going to be weathered.

I really believe this is the stuff of the future. One thought I would have is based on the experimental program the Koreans are doing for a bus transit system (assuming I understand the info provided correctly). Specifically, could several sections of track be powered with a fixed voltage that is picked up by the loco and used to charge the on board battery. You still would not have to worry about continuity or polarity and it would allow for the use of smaller batteries.

I don't think I would ever attempt to add telephone/telegraph wires because I don't see how you could get the "droop" that was always there in a consistent manner between each wire and each length. The odd layout I have seen that puts in wires always show them as "straight" and they were not and look so wrong. A bit like a WD with an A4 sound chip