Captain Kernow

As a small child I clearly remember the Blue Pullman accelerating through Sydney Gardens in Bath, on its way to London. I found the presence of a noisy power car at the rear very unsettling!

Mine has arrived today. Been rather busy this afternoon but first impressions are very positive. Very professional presentation with individual parts in their own bags and labelled and a set of comprehensive looking instructions.

I mostly soldered the whitemetal parts together using low melt solder. Where I had to glue, I used 5 minute epoxy. I haven't got the other kit you mention, so I can't help you, I'm afraid.

Well, I've had all sorts of B2Bs on RTR models, from circa 14.4mm to 15mm. The consistency that you appear to think is present (in theory, perhaps) is not there in real life. I am not in the habit of changing the B2Bs of RTR models. Most of them come as 14.5mm (perhaps it's 14.4mm but perhaps I've measured them incorrectly). However, many wheelsets are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to adjust. And I have tried, almost to the point of invalidating the warranty. Until I tried OO-SF on a couple of points on my most recent layout, I have never, ever had any problems with any RTR running on my track (with the exception of some deep flanges bumping on older C&L chaired bullhead flexitrack, but that isn't the issue here). With the very limited OO-SF that I have, I've experienced problems with two separate and recent steam releases. Both feature over-wide flanges and both were made in the same Chinese factory, albeit for different manufacturers. Also two examples of older Heljan diesels gave the same problem. Well, that's fine in theory, Martin, but there are certainly instances, at least, where it doesn't work in practice. I would refer you to my previous comments above. Many RTR wheelsets I have encountered do not take kindly to being adjusted. I'm sure they are and good luck to them. I completely 'get' the idea behind it, but I'm happy to stick with the P4 side of my modelling if I want more authentic looking clearances. As for OO-SF, I will never use it again. I have had a bad experience with it, trying to mix RTR and more scale wheels. I may or may not have 'read the instructions', but as far as I am concerned, it is an abomination.

Definitely, definitely avoid OO-SF if using a mix of RTR locos. Rob knows my reasoning for this...

I've said this many times before and I will continue to warn folk - beware OO-SF if you want to run a mix of RTR locos and stock. I know from personal experience that certain RTR locos really don't like the narrower gauge of 16.2mm and that's even before you get to the bits where there are check rails and crossings etc. This is stock that has the B2B of 14.5mm, but features thicker than average flanges. If you are only planning to run OO stock with the likes of Markits driving wheels, then OO-SF should work fine, but I will never, ever contemplate using it again.

Actually. no, I was wrong. Not CBBC, not at all. Try presenting The Arts on Radio 4.

Oh no, not at all. I think he would be great presenting the Nine O'Clock News! You might be OK as a CBBC presenter, old chap...

Well, send 'em back to sleep, then!

Don't you mean SheepBloke on TV in the world of 50 years ago?

Let me say straight away that this is a bit 'old school'. Thanks to the kind offices of @NHY 581 and Lord & Butler in Cardiff, I recently bought two of the old SMP point kits with plastic bases. They are described as 3' radius and the bullhead chairs are moulded integrally with the plastic base. They have been around for a long time and I actually built my first one back in 1976 on a layout that was eventually to become 'Engine Wood'. This is what you get: Apart from four lengths of Code 75 bullhead rail and the plastic base, you also get two strips of metal (for effecting the necessary electrical contacts between rails) and a tiebar. First of all I cut the two stock rails to length and inserted them in the plastic base. I applied some gentle curving pressure to the curved rail, prior to threading it through the chairs: I then filed up some point blades. I have the Portsdown point blade filing jigs and in view of the 3' radius applying, opted to file up a pair of 'A' switches: Once I'd cut the switch rails to length and threaded the straight one into the plastic base, I began to have misgivings that the part of the base where the switches butted up to the stock rail may suffer from gauge problems, so I substituted the entire end section of the plastic base with copper clad sleepers: The inward-bending curved stock rail would be later put back in gauge when the rail was soldered to the sleepers. Cosmetic bullhead chairs will be added later. I then filed my own tiebar to shape from a section of copper clad sleeper. This is now my standard way of doing this in OO: I then file up the crossing rails, threaded them into their correct position and soldered them together: The SMP instructions mention quite specific lengths for the two closure rails and wing rail length, so I followed these to the letter and completed the turnout. The electrical connections between the various rails were then added and the copper clad sleepers gapped. I then had misgivings about possible gauge narrowing on the curved section, so I replaced quite a lot of sleepers here as well, with copper clad ones. The use of copper clad sleepers may be a slight overreaction on my part, but I have experienced gauge problems with plastic-based points in hot exhibition halls in the past, so I decided on this 'belt & braces' approach. I then tested a number of locos over the point, with it temporarily wired up for the purpose: In conclusion, this was a pleasurable exercise and resulted in a very usable point for a future OO project. I think I will assemble the other kit that I bought without most of the copper clad sleepers that I put in on this one and compare the two. Having said all that, it is quite evident that the hobby has progressed some way since the days when these point kits were first introduced. I am thinking in particular of the British Finetrax point kits by Wayne Kinney. I think these really set the standard for others to aspire to and I will be getting more in due course. My thanks to Rob G for alerting me to the possibility of buying these SMP kits. These were 'unused old stock', so I'm not sure if you can still get them from Marcway. There's nothing wrong with them really, it's just that the British Finetrax product offers you more (such as ready-planed switches and crossing rails).

I think you are mistaking me for someone else. I'm not the Grizzled Old Quarryman. I'm the Grumpy Old Railwayman.

Have you got a grizzled old quarryman figure to drive it, Tom?

What particularly gets me is how high those Herring are loaded!

He's in a fenced Green Zone, under the supervision of a COSS...