brian777999

I have already spread the pickups slightly and that has not helped. I am fairly certain that it is the rods/valve motion but I am not sure where to start with that. There is a stiff point that occurs once per cycle but I do not know which side.

My newly acquired Peckett (from an Australian hobby shop) is binding somewhere ; it is very hesitant at low speeds. Any suggestions as to how I can find and eliminate this ? Twenty hours of running in has not improved things at all so I am going to have to start searching for the problem. NOTE : I usually buy second hand locos and so I have not encountered this problem before. I am not sending it back as the postage costs would make it not worth while.

No track plan as yet ; we just bought a house yesterday and move there about 35 days from now. I am thinking about what I can fit and where in one of the spare bedrooms.

The finished product at last. The weathering does not show up much on the photos. I would not bother fitting an interior if I built another one of these as it cannot be seen through the windows ! It might be visible if the signal box was lit from within on a ''night time'' layout.

Can I have a look underneath please ? Which Kadee did you use ? I will have to work out why my Peckett is so jerky and rough in its running before I fit Kadees though. I have already spread the pickups a bit as per previous suggestions but that has not helped. What else can I try ? I have attempted to remove the body from the chassis as per the instructions but it is not coming off ; I am reluctant to force it at this stage.

My Hornby Peckett has arrived today. Has anybody fitted kadees to their Peckett loco yet ? Could you post some photos please ? I have a few ideas but I want to see what other people have done.

Pre-grouping locos then : we rarely see anything that did not make it to BR days.

How about GWR Broad Gauge : Complete sets of locos, wagons/coaches and track ?

Green Pecketts in Australia before the UK ! Who would have thought that ? I have ordered mine from Metro Hobbies. https://metrohobbies.com.au/Hornby-peckett-works-livery-no-560-1893.html

Okay, thanks for that information. I understand now.

Really .... left over right on one side and right over left on the other side ? All the other wagons I have built were one or the other ; they only came with two sets of brake gear, not four like this kit.

Yes, but the enclosed instructions do not say anything about why there are two different sets of brake gear. I think the answer may be on this website but I will have to read it a few times to get my head around it. He does mention that there are two sets of brake push rods in the Coopercraft kits so I need to sort out which are to be used. (I think it is left over right for the W1 wagons and brake push rods on one side only) : http://www.gwr.org.uk/nowagonbrakes.html

I have picked up one Coopercraft W1/W5 cattle wagon kit on ebay. I am in the process of building and fitting it with Kadees. I am a bit puzzled over the two sets of brake gear supplied in the kit : two of them are right over left and two of them are left over right. I am building the W1 version with DC cross cornered brakes so which set should I be using ? I have cut off the tie rods between the axle bars. Note : I have searched the internet for images of this wagon and it is built in every possible configuration so no help there as I don't know who is right and who is wrong !

I fit the Kadee #146 and its draft box on all my wagons and locos. It is a pity they do not make it in a bulk pack but I can usually get a good deal buying from a hobby shop in the US. I do not use the NEM pockets. I glue a polystyrene block to the underside of the wagon, paint it black and screw the coupler and its draft box to that. Coach bogies can be a bit tricky but I have done them also. Start with a few wagons as are they are much easier to fit. NOTE : buy the Kadee height gauge as it is a very cheap and useful bit of equipment.

I have received my GWR Cordon from Shapeways which was printed in versatile plastic (nylon). I was surprised at how rough the surface is but I am hoping that it will not be as noticeable after painting. Is there any reason that they do not print in ABS plastic ? This is what I intend to do eventually when I get my own printer because I can then use acetone for surface smoothing. What sort of glues work best with nylon ?

I have received all the parts for the GWR Cordon in white nylon plastic. I am surprised at how rough the surface is and there will be a lot of work smoothing it all out before asssembly. If it was made of ABS then I could have used the acetone smoothing method. Is there a similar trick with nylon using some other chemical ? What sort of glue can I use for nylon ? I intend to use super glue unless somebody has a better suggestion.

Does everybody else have to go through that stupid ''click on the road signs'' and then ''click on the roads'' every time they sign in ? It is driving me nuts and I could not be bothered any more.

Plus there are people like me who have mobile internet which allows only 20 GB per month. So for that reason I am using offline software : 123Design which unfortunately is no longer available.

My signal box is almost complete : I just need to glue the windows in. I was thinking of putting some lighting inside. What is a safe ''bulb'' to use so that there is no danger of the plastic melting ? I would have thought that modern LED's produce little heat but I am not sure.

Card kits are cheap and most of them are quite easy to build... a lot of fun too. I would definitely stay away from the Ratio Signal Box #500. I am building that one at the moment and it is a bit of a nightmare !

I have also bought the Ratio signal box interior : How many levers would typically be in a signal box of this size ?

That looks brilliant but you still have to pay $240 every year to use it. I don't mind paying for the initial purchase but I don't like the idea of continuous yearly payments

Did the GWR mix their own paint ? How consistent was the green colour on their locomotives ?

Model trains 4mm/OO gauge.

Thanks. How did you get the effect of concrete between the bricks ?