Hampshire Hog

Again my thanks to you Paul, we are exhibiting in 2011 - Basingstoke and Wilton (Salisbury)!! not a stones throw from where you are then It would still be good to meet if you could make it. Class 50 eaks out a living with the Civil Engineer. My thanks to both Pitbull and Temeraire, which reminds me of the Bocott 3? one of which is pictured below. And finally a busy time as Class 60 runs around a short freight. Bye for now Kevin

My thanks for your comments Darren, and it will be good to meet at the forthcoming exhibitions and perhaps you would like to have a go if you have time. Jaggzuk, (Paul)It is nice to hear from you again, and congratulations on the new born 7APT7, (Jamie) thanks for your comments I hope that you like these new photos as well. Pitbull, (Scott) I just beginning to recover from the effects of Sprouts (ok to much information) as for the photos it is the trusty Kodak 813 that does all the work all I do is point and shoot. Honest!! On another matter I have sought and gained permission from the lads at Model Rail to display the front cover of the very first stand alone edition of Model Rail magazine dating from (I think August or September) 1987 it started out as a 2 or 3 page addition to Rail Magazine (formerly Rail Enthusiast) One of the layouts featured was a layout of mine called Exford and I am sad to say that because I did not take pictures in those days this magazine and a literally a couple of others pickies are the only photos I have, I am wondering if there is anybody out there who may have taken pictures when Exford was on the exhibition circuit who would be prepared to contact me, perhaps a tall order after all of these years, needless to say I am proud that I have had a layout featured in the very first Model Rail and indeed the very latest – ok if only until edition 152 comes out. Happy New Year Kevin.

Hello, I hope that you have had a good christmas and if you are anything like me hoping that some one does not shove a plate of food in your hand, I think I have eaten more in the last couple of days than I would normally eat in a month, mind you I have had a great time with the kids and grandkids. Anyway some more nocturnal photos. Class 150 DMU waits for the road. Class 117 waits for custom on a Reading service. The early shift at Leaford, the Managers car is already parked. I hope that you like them. Happy New Year. Kevin See you Thursday Paul.

Hi Guys, I some times think we enjoy making life difficult for ourselves, I say this having built a new fiddle road for Leaford which is secluded behind the existing storage racks and fiddle roads, the idea being that a lot of the passenger trains now under the control of the computor are not taking up all of the roads in the existing fiddle road and therefore allowing more freight trains to run, Because of its location it has led to far more problems than buiding the rest of the layout put together, never mind it is now finished and and I am pleased to say working well. The new Fiddle Yard. Two of Pitbulls "Leaford 3" waiting for transfer to Bocott. And finally Merry Christmas to you all. Kevin.

Hi Jeff, I am not familiar with Lenz equipment and cannot comment but the NCE 5 amp Power Pro is a stand alone little black box, and the Power Cabs when used with the Power Pro just act as throttles, when used in this way each Power Cab can store 6 locos in its recall, and you can connect 63 Power Cabs to each Power Pro. At the present time I can connect 6 Power Cabs to Leaford which enables me to operate 36 locos or units at any one time (Personally I find 2 powercabs and a computor more than I can cope with ), However if I select a loco not in its recall stack then it will forget one of the previous six but only its last function i.e lights and sound it does not forget any of its basics like Max speed, Mid speed, sound volume, etc. When you recall the same loco you would have to restart the engine and turn the lights back on, although I am not sure but I think some loco chips can be programmed to remember their last functions. I hope that this helps Regards

Hello Peter, You could do a lot worse than the NCE stuff I actually use a Power Pro which is a 5amp system, I am not sure I actually need 5 amps, but it has the brain power to operate all of the points using macros, the signals, all of the sound and lighting on the locos and units, and of course all of the traction requirements of the stock, The Power Cabs that I originally purchased now just act as throttles, and to be honest the thing that impressed me the most was that when I first received the Power Cab within 10mins of unpacking it I had a train running on the layout using DCC - it is simple to use, maybe this helps you to make a decision , It is also compliant with Railroad & Co and apart from the odd hiccup works well if perhaps you were thinking of going down this route eventually. 0o00 wrote, " Good work on the RM article Kevin. I had a flick through in Smiffs at lunchtime and may purchase it over the weekend." Alex" Thanks for that Alex it was nothing really although I would very much like to take the credit for the article, It really is the Model Rail Team who did all of the hard work, I just answered questions over the phone. Kevin.

Hi Peter, I dont know whether it would a practical solution with the cost of postage etc, but could you send the Hornby Chip back to Howes for a re-blow, I am not familiar with the chips fitted by Hornby but they all seem to be ESU Loksounds and I sure it could be reblown, I am confident you both would be pleased with it especially with the Chips Start speed set to 001. Max speed 018. Mid speed 009. Acc rate 060. Dec rate 015. I accept that this may seem a little slow when you try it, but it is a good starting point. I know I didnt see many 31's in this area, and it sounds if they got rid asap when they did arrive. Regards Kevin

Watcher Mate, Well on the morning that the photos were to be taken, I took the overhead crane off in order to dust it and the layout, and forgot all about it until 3 days after Craig had left, another senior moment? Cheerio, Kevin

I must admit that it is tempting to purchase some of the excellent modern stock now being produced, but I am not so sure about a Class 70 as I dont want to frighten the grand children!! P.C.M. wrote "Hi Kevin, Well done on getting in Model Rail, I haven't seen it yet though, probably won't get here until late January. Love the Ped always liked them in railfreight red stripe. Did it come with Hornby sound or did you fit it youself? Cheers Peter." Thanks Peter, To be honest I have had trouble getting a copy myself, but not that much of a wait. It is a Howes chip fitted by yours truly, I have always liked the 31's ever since they used to run on the Cardiff - Pompeys, I always liked the sound they made and in my opinion Brian at Howes has captured that sound perfectly and it is driveable, I can certainly recommend it especially with a Base Reflex Speaker, unfortunately the revolving fan has to be given the heave ho, but that sound more than makes up for it, the chip itself has to be squeezed underneath the electronics board - it just clears the cardon shaft and flywheel, I know that 31's were not exactly plentiful in my area but the Hornby one plus sound chip is just so much fun to shunt with -- I havn't stopped smiling yet Grimleygrid wrote "Agree with Peter the Red-stripe Railfreight 31 looks superb I will definitely have to get one now after seeing your example! I am hoping that Hornby do a plain Original Railfreight version one next year!" Many thanks for your kind words Grimley, If I get another 31 it will probably be a Banger Blue one but saying that if Hornby do produce a plain Original Railfreight version in the meantime I will probably like it so much I will end up with one as usual. And PaulRhB many thanks for your help last night and that 60 and train looks fantastic. Regards Kevin.

Good morning Ian Many thanks I have to say that I am more than pleased with the fantastic pictures taken by Craig Tiley,and the article written by Richard Foster, I do not understand how after a few minutes talking to a moronic old fart like me on the phone can lead to an excellent article like that. Lets here it for the Model Rail Team. At the present time nothing has been finalised for next year. And yes the 31 is fitted with Sound Chip from the usual provider and very good it sounds to. See you soon Kevin

Many thanks to you all for your comments. A photo of my latest aquisition Hornby Railfreight Red Stripe Class 31 31105 my first in this livery, Obviously I have been good this year as it is my first Christmas present (I am not sure whether it is early for this year or belated for last) either way I am really pleased with it although you would have thought that they would have cleaned it first? I came accross another picky of the crane. And to celebrate my first year on RMweb one of the first photos I posted and one of my favourites. "Caught in the Headlamps" See you soon. Kevin

And another couple of photos of it here, the crane is a standard Dapol (ex Airfix) 15tonne Diesel crane and despite its age is still one of the best of its type on the market. The pictures show it being top and tailed by 73 128/138 along with its two support wagons to keep it company. My thanks to Craig of Model Rail for the excellent photos in the mag (far,far better than ever I can create)and for the comments to the rest of you who have. Kevin.

My thanks Two Tone it is now all beginning to fit into place and you know you will always be welcome whenever you are able to make it. Regards. Kevin

Thankyou for your kind comments Sean, I am pleased to have played my part in your return to active modelling, may I wish you good luck in the pursuasion of the misses - perhaps a meal in a local hostelry may just be helpful Regards Kevin.

briantwigley wrote, "That brings back some memories, being from dorset originally. Great pics. Ryan" Thankyou for that Ryan, I wonder do you ever return to this area? You never know br-nse-fan, you would welcome to visit Leaford if you did. Another nocturnal 37. My regards Kevin.

Hello yellowvanman, that is the first time that I have seen the Poole Sleeper without a Mk2 day coach, that is great news because with 4 coaches it is tight fit into Leafords plat- form - but with only 3 Many thanks for the picture. I thought I would try it in model form. Regards Kevin

Hi Peter, Thanks for that, I was just wondering is the 10 cents about the same size as a 10p? Coz she looks desperate enough. A nocturnal visitor to Leaford, looks like the driver is having a brew. Kevin.

Many thanks Sean, posted below is a previous post from earlier on in this thread I hope that no body minds if I post it again - along with a couple of photos that are my personal favourites. "My little Kodak Easyshare 813 is the very first camera that I have ever owned, and I have only had that for 18 months and that really is my only experience of photography, my misses taking all of our family/holiday photos over the years, here is a photo of my "lighting equipment" that I use. The only 'photoshopping' that I use came with a £39.00 HP Photosmart C4480 combined printer/scanner/copier and is called HP Photosmart Essential 3.5 in which enables me to carry out limited cropping and lighting improvement, what I do is experiment with different camera angles, zoom settings in both normal and close up modes, and turn the room lights on and off, draw and undraw the curtains and use the lighting equipment pictured above, and take loads and loads of shots - most have to be sent to the recycle bin but every now and then I like to think a good one comes out". Anybody got 10p? A similar photo to one taken from a few pages back, O0OO (Alex) commented on. A class 47 sets of for Eastleigh with a load of scrap. Regards. Kevin.

Many thanks for your kind comments roger440. A Class 58 places a couple of POAs ready for loading, these are some Appleby Kits dating from the early to mid nineties, it really is a shame that they do not produce kits any more. Kevin

I always thought that they combined the Poole and Plymouth sections at Brum NS for the onward journey to Inverness, I used to always see it at Basing I think it was about 8.30pm-ish by the time it got their, it was just such an unusual short train usually hauled by a 47 (I never saw anything else on it). A little bit later there was another 47 on a short parcels (about 2 vans) once completed loading/unloading it took off like a bat out of hell, it must have been an end of shift working, they were great days. Class 47 rests between duties. See you soon Scott with the ARC's Kevin.

Hi Peter, If my memory serves me I think the other part of the train was from Plymouth. Another picture: Class 47 at the tail end of a postal. Kevin.

A busy time at Leaford as the Inverness sleeper waits for departure time for the first leg to Birmingham NS, and a load of ARC stone heads for Bocott. Another shot of the sleeper stock, this time stabled. Regards Kevin

"Hi there Ian, do you run speedlink trains? If so were do they get taken to unload? Pics would be good". Thanks JackBlack Hi Jack, I do run speedlink trains, and they load and unload at the rail served premises of Exhaul Ltd (Pikestuff distribution depot plus extensions)here are some external photos showing the loading and unloading area, The Gantry Crane is two Ratio kits cobbled together. Class 33 positions vans ready for unloading. Class 37 arrives with more military supplies. Regards Kevin

Hello Scott, The jobs going fine thanks - a bit time consuming and gets in the way of modelling, anyway, yes when Ian returns a meet at yours would be good. To Agentskj, I am sorry to say no exhibitions finalised as yet. Regards, Kevin.

Thanks for that Alex. Visitors to Leaford. Temerair's excellent 33008 "Eastleigh" Pitbulls 37 408 "Loch Rannoch" came to Leaford on loan to cover for failures, sadly it has not been cared for as it is now filthy. Kevin.