JCClark

Hi RichardIt mentions the consisting on one of the leaflets that comes with the TTS set that I have just received. Regards John

Hornby suggest you give different numbers to the two power cars and then run as a consistent on DCC. Makes sense as you can then independently start engines, work lights and horn only sounds on front Power Car. John

Hi Lee Noted your comment about tightly glued windows on bubble car. I had same problem with a newer Bachmann 37 and a friend advised me to put body shell in a plastic bag and then in freezer for 20-30 minutes. Glazing popped out no problem and no cracks. Maybe teaching Granny to suck eggs but thought I would post in case anybody else was having glazing removal problems. John

]Hello everyone Yet another long period since posting but you all know how busy summer is for us all these days. Not a lot done on the layout itself other than a few electronic tweeks and Roy managed to spend a day up here and took some 80s theme video of stock running. You can view the video on YouTube under "Tractorclag". However, I have managed a bit of loco work which entails Expess light kits fitted to two Heljan 47s and two re-sprays - photos below. The first re-spray was of a class 47 with flush ends at number 1 and 2 ends so there were limitations on what loco I could depict. I was short of a Railfreight Distribution liveried 47 so, rather that shell out for 47209 Herbert Austin, thought I would do 47299 which is the only double flush ended 47 I could identify in that livery. The other re-spray is a further money saver! I had a spare 37068 Grainflow so thought I could jump the Bachmann Reps Limited Edition and turn out 37104 in Railfreight General livery. This livery was intended for locomotives not allocated to a specific business or sub sector. Its usefulness proved limited and the re and yellow bars were only applied to four locomotives - 37104/50149/86501 and 86502 for a short period. Thought it would be easy doing a re-number etc but could not get rid of the shadow where the Grainflow name had been so ended up with a full strip and re-spray!! Nose end doors also had to be modified as 37068 had flush ends. The doors were kindly done by Roland Turner, Decals etc are a mixture of Fox and Rainbow Railways and the re-spray was done by myself using Railmatch enamels with a final coat of Rainbow Railways excellent enamel based semi gloss varnish. Any comments, please feel free to pass on. John

Definitely have some in 00 as already ordered the TPE 68

Hi Lee Thank you very much for your reply, it is very much appreciated. You are obviously well versed in model loco electronics and also very innovative in your approach. I would never have thought of using the material you suggest. I have a few class 37 locos that could do with a bit of car headlight addition so may well have a go. As I said before, your re-spray work is superb and, since retirement, have taken up the airbrush myself but yet to achieve your standard. You can see some of my locos in the layout section under “Parkway” and the layout I am building is also on YouTube under Tractorclag - my friend does the videos. Currently, I am completing a double flush ended class 47 in Railfreight Distribution livery (47299) and nearly completed 37104 in Railfreight general- a re-spray of Grainflow as I could not fully get rid of where the name was. A friend helped with the end doors which are not flush as per Grainflow. If you look at Parkway, I did do a 37099 Merl Evans in Colas and quite pleased with the hi intensity light move I had to do. Best regards and thank you John Clark

Well cctransuk An unexpected response from yourself from what I thought was quite an innocent question. Lee, on His website, gives a very detailed account on how to re-spray a Heljan 86 into Intercity livery which I thought was just as valuable regarding trade knowledge as my question. I had no intention of either embarrassing or offending Lee and if His answer was that He would rather not share the knowledge, I would have accepted His response. There is no harm in asking politely any question you feel you would like an answer to if you are trying to further your modelling knowledge, I thought that was what this forum is all about? Regards John Clark

Hi Lee Your re-working on all the locos you do whether re-spray or weathering is superb and my aspirations are to reach your levels but a long way to go. I wonder if you would care to share how you make and fit the car headlights to your Scottish class 37 locos, you really seem to have “cracked” the method. Regards John

Thanks for the advice Matt, I will give it a go and see if I can get some better success. Regards John

Hello Dunedin After seeing Aberdeen Kirkhill at Glasgow and having a chat with you guys, I have been converting my Joueff and Lima Scotrail Mk 3 coaches to body fitted Kadee couplings and the rake runs great with a nem pocket fitted Kadee on a Heljan class 47. However, I am really struggling to haul the coaches with a nem fitted Kadee on my Bachmann class 47/7 locos. Although the coupling appears to be more or less the correct height, the loco uncouples once the weight comes on to the coupling. I am finding this very frustrating as cannot come up with an answer. It looks to me that if I removed the nem pocket and built a Kadee number 5 to be body fitted it would foul the bogie arrangement. I would really appreciate and advice you may have to get round my problem. Best regards John

Thanks Owain - will try it. Must admit, like you, I reckon the Heljan 47 is a better looking model. John

Hi Owain Like you, I think Kadee couplings are great. Having a problem at the moment trying to get a Bachmann class 47 coupling to the correct height, wondered if you had any thoughts on this? Inserting a Kadee number 19 and offering up the coupling to the Kadee gauge shows the knuckle needs to sit a little higher. John

]Hello Everyone Glad to see a few of you enjoyed the video of the latest running session on Parkway. As usual, not as much progress on the layout as I would have liked but, as they say, always time yet!! I thought I would add a few photos to let you know what I have been up to. I have added photographs of 3 new editions to the layout in the way of Rails LE 66727 Maritime 1, NRM LE Evening Star in gloss livery and 47714 Regional Special 47/7 in Anglia livery. I have also added some photographs of recent re-sprays I have completed. These are 37116 Comet in large logo, 47813 in Rail Operations Group Livery, 37608 in post DRS Europhoenix livery complete with Rainbow Railways nose end a cab top light conversion and, finally 56036 in Large Logo. All decals are by Railtech and so easy to use and unobtrusive when all complete. Finally, just to show that I am doing some scenery additions I have added pictures of the new retaining wall built for the South end of layout where access to future industrial estate is from road overbridge and the twin tunnels at North end of layout for main line and North access to TMD (South access to TMD is over canal.

Hello all One of the details on the Intercity Mark3a coaches is the coach letter next to the door. Maybe my memory is letting me down but I don’t remember these coaches with designated letters as they were not fixed rakes. I think that a train of these coaches tended to have a white square of paper with a letter printed on it and stuck on the inside of the door window. Have I got this right or is my memory indeed letting me down!!! John

I just received the RMB coach and having to return!! All steps were floating around in box plus couplings drooping and one spring missing on coupling centraliser! Shame really as they are superb coaches. John

I used Lenz for a good few years but became frustrated with their stack system. I made the plunge and purchased the ESU ECoS and what a difference. Totally in to the system and cannot see past it, an unbelievable bit of model railway kit. John

I doubt it will be a pup! Long awaited upgrade for this loco when you lay it alongside the Hornby 56 and 60. If Dapol are the manufacturer this should be a superb model if it is the same standard of their outstanding class 68. I think the pricing is reasonable if you look at the specification in Hatton Dave’s original post, especially this been the first off the shelf loco with independently controlled tail lights for DCC! Well done Hattons - ignore all the negative comments, this is a really positive announcement. John

Hi everyone As Roy says, been a busy time, including a family visit to Australia! I have spent far too much time on stock rather than on the scenics but probably because it has been too cold to work in the shed!! I have re-numbered a lot of my Oxford Rail Mark 3a coaches, completed a Rail Operations Group class 47 (47813) from 47535 University of Leicester as this loco had double flush ends but had to get class 57type roof grills from Rainbow Railways to complete. I have also got to gloss varnish stage with Large Logo class 37 which is a re-spray from 37041 and will become 37116 Comet. I am also at the gloss stage of a re-sprayed Bachmann class 158 which will be Scotrail saltire livery once complete. I also bought some JHA blanking patches from Railtec Models and they are excellent. saves messing about masking, spraying etc. Just applied the blue blanking patches and, one dried, a quick sweep of Halfords satin rattle can spray to seal. Very pleased with the result. Have still got a few locos to go through the re-spray process - a Hornby Arriva blue class 67 to Pullman livery, a DRS class 57 to WCRC livery and a Dellner fitted Bachmann class 57 Thunderbird that will become DRS 57307 Lady Penelope in Cable Thieves livery. However, as Roy said, need to concentrate on a bit more scenic work now. Will also be thinning down my stock again as still sitting at 200+ locos and over 700 items of rolling stock!! I will post some photos of my ROG 47 and 37116 in the near future. Regards John

Hi Martyn I do all my resprays with either Howes or Phoenix enamels after stripping the loco and priming with Halfords Grey or White paint, which is acrylic of the high performance variety. Having said that, I would not recommend spraying enamel over normal acrylic paints, I would use one or the other and not mix as you may get a reaction that cracks the paint. John

Hi Jonnyuk Just a thought - have you checked the back to back measurements on the wheels? Seems strange unit stops on corners and you have thoroughly checked all other suspects. John

Hello fordman When renumbering my Bachmann rolling stock I use Brasso liquid on a cotton bud and lightly rum until the number disappears and you are left with a polished area ready for applying your replacement decal. I mostly use Railtec Models decals and you can hardly notice the carrier. Once dried, I give a blow over the area with my airbrush using either satin or Matt varnish depending what the factory finish is. You cannot even tell you have renumbered the stock. If no Brasso available to you, Automobile T cut does the job just as efficiently. Hope that helps Regards John

Just removed the number on one of my Intercity FO coaches. Used my usual de-numbering method of a cotton bud dipped in Brasso. The lightest of rubbing removed the number easily with no damage to the main paint underneath. Just to apply the replacement numbers which have now arrived from Railtec Models - so easy to use and no sign of carrier film once applied and a quick flash of varnish to seal the number. John

Sad to hear some of the negative comments, especially regarding staff at exhibitions. I had a long chat with a couple of representatives at the Glasgow show and found them extremely friendly, positive and knowledgeable with regard to their products and the current railway scene. I have a substantial collection of modern image stock - 14 pairs of HST, 17 class 67 locos, 40 class 60 locos and 25 class 56 locos. They will pull the pants of most other manufacturers locos and are superbly made. I even bought a Duke of Gloucester and a Duchess for my WCRC rake! I hope they can move forward positively and keep on delivering more great stock. I would love to see them produce some more modern rolling stock to the quality level of their Seacows. John

If the class 59 is of the standard of the class 68, I am very excited! The 4 class 68 locos I have are absolutely top drawer, well done Dapol! I have already ordered the new GBRf box wagons and two 59s - one in National Power which I thought was an awesome livery so hope we have wagons to match!! John

Spot on Phil, you have done a lovely job. What did you use for the cantrail as you have done it to an extremely high standard. John