davknigh

I was the recipient of some very sage advice from a mentor of mine over 50 years ago. It was quite simple, “don’t build anything that you are not prepared to maintain”. If the layout is a club effort with members with specialist skills that’s one thing but if you are on your own it is a different kettle of fish. Cheers, David

Those advocating a British “NMRA” would do well to remember that the NMRA has been around for 60+ years and has gone through a number of growing pains but as a consequence gained great influence in the hobby. FWIW the NMRA standard gauge for 00 is 19.05 mm. New can of worms anyone? Cheers, David

ISTR that the glue used to secure the lead in the 45XX in question was PVA rather than cyano. Cheers, David

Courage, William, the boffins are apparently trying to restore images but it may take some time. Cheers, David

As an addition to Covkid’s post about Rapido’s buses. When modelling the GM “New Look” bus Rapido did not just go with a generic model but paid attention to the variations to be found. For example, the Toronto version has a double width rear exit and other versions have air conditioning units as appropriate for the company modelled. The liveries are spot on too. There have been other versions of the GM bus but none have captured the shape as well. The same attention to detail applies even to the underside of coaches as well. Rapido does their research. Usual disclaimer applies. Cheers, David

I just checked the instructions, I was wrong. The rear axle is fixed if built as supplied. Apologies for any confusion. There is also a helpful article by Tim Shackleton in MRJ 160 on using the chassis and super detailing the Bachmann Jinty with the High Level chassis and a Brassmasters detail fret. Cheers, David

The thing that separates Nansen and Amundsen from the rest was their willingness to learn from the experts in polar travel, the Inuit. Cheers, David

The HighLevel chassis is set up with a rocking front axle and twin beam compensation for the remaining wheels. Chris’s kits are very well designed and if you follow the instructions to the letter it is difficult to go astray. Read the instructions a couple of times and carefully examine the excellent drawings as well to get the best start. There is some useful information on the CLAG website should you wish to go full suspension :http://www.clag.org.uk/pannier-csb.html It is for the pannier but the chassis is very similar to the Jinty. Cheers, David

They only had sail for propulsion and given the wind, weather, and the weakened state of his crew following the coast was not an option. The Caird was in rough shape too and the south coast of South Georgia is strewn with hazards plus they would have had to weather the south east end. Time was of the essence and the overland route was shorter. I suspect that Worsley would have had a say too given his experience as a sailor and navigator. Shackleton was a hard taskmaster who demanded absolute loyalty but gave it back in return. Remember that he could have had the pole in 1909 but turned back because he knew the team was too weak. Those were different times that we find hard to understand but those men were totally on their own with no prospect of outside help so there was no room for dissent or division. It was not a democracy. Cheers, David

Right here: https://jamescairdsociety.com/the-james-caird-today/ Cheers, David

Authentic steam era passenger equipment for Canadian railways generally involves kit/scratch building as the existing rtr stock comes from Rapido and it is all post 1960. As for locos, consolidations were not unknown on branches but ten wheelers (4-6-0s) were more common on CP but moguls could be found on the CN. Cheers, David

Canadian steps? No problem: https://www.miniaturesbyeric.com/collections/ho-detail-parts-r-to-w Cheers, David BTW, usual disclaimer for MBE, no connection.

A little bit of help hopefully from these links: https://soundtraxx.com/reference/locomotive-airhorn-history/ https://www.miniaturesbyeric.com/collections/ho-detail-parts-h-to-k?page=1 http://photos.nerail.org/photos/2000/07/25/2000072512260101105.jpg HTH David

A little bit of help hopefully from these links: https://soundtraxx.com/reference/locomotive-airhorn-history/ https://www.miniaturesbyeric.com/collections/ho-detail-parts-h-to-k?page=1 http://photos.nerail.org/photos/2000/07/25/2000072512260101105.jpg HTH David

I agree with those who have suggested an Athearn F7 as the source for the chassis. The lack of flywheels would probably make it mid to late ‘60s vintage as flywheels were adopted by the ‘70s. Cheers, David

What flux are you using? Usually if the solder will form into balls the iron is hot enough but if it won’t spread then the surface is dirty or there is a lack of flux to break the surface tension. Cheers, David

May I recommend this site for prototype pics: http://railpictures.ca/ And this site for detail parts: https://www.miniaturesbyeric.com/ Job one, unless you’ve already done it, would be to get the headlights down on to the nose where they belong, job two would be the steps which were designed by EMD for sunnier climes. GMDL who built the CN and CP models listened to the Canadian crews about how the snow accumulated. Speaking of which, snow shields over the intakes are a comparatively easy job, but check your pics! HTH David

FWIW, CTM has been on PBS in the US for ten years now. Cheers, David

Great news Marc. As I suspect I’m not the only one who will be ordering from across the pond(s) and hoping this post may save you from having to respond to a dozen emails, how would you like to handle the postage? Cheers, David

A link to the Platelayers site on the page that features member’s layouts. Look for Mike Walton’s name. http://theplatelayers.org/members.htm Cheers, David ( a different David)

Not for the faint of heart. It puts me in mind of some of the Fred Dibnah clips I’ve seen. Cheers, David

I have a question regarding safety cages on ladders attached to buildings. The building in question is the Scalescenes water tower illustrated here: https://scalescenes.com/product/t024d-industrial-d-water-tower/ It has a hatch on the roof which, to my mind, would be accessed by a ladder on the outside of the building. Given that the roof scales out at 40’ above the ground my 21st century mind says that the ladder should have a safety cage around it, but my model is set in the early ‘50s. Can anyone give me some hints as to what the standards would have been at the time? TIA Cheers, David

Waiting with bated breath. Cheers, David

That’s good news Marc. I look forward to seeing them and the modifications you’ve made. Cheers, David

Annealing the metal first by heating it to dull red and allowing to cool slowly will help cut down the springiness. Test drive the technique with a few bits of scrap first. HTH, David