alibuchan

There was the option to save it, but NR wanted a contingency fund in place so that it have maintenance done on it to keep it safe for X number of years. This fund included building a safe walkway coming off the bridge so people could access it without walking off the end of the platform. Unfortunately the amount wasnt reached, but it brought it some time to be used for tours for a month. NR then bought 2 containers, for the group to store all of the parts that NR hadnt removed first, so they can keep other boxes going. These other parts will be used in the Banbury museum, in the box at Princes Risborough, or at the place where they are talking of rebuilding it. NR arent in the business of heritage and with 5 other boxes on the Network, of the same type as Banbury North, that are still working daily, you can sort of understand why they havent saved this one. Alistair

I remove all of the springs from pantographs, because they constantly smack the posts and break the wires, posts or themselves. You cant keep a wire constantly taught enough and still have the boards break down for an exhibition layout. All it needs to do is for the loco to hit a rogue piece of ballast or mis-aligned track, the loco tips slightly and the pantograph jumps off the wire and precedes to rip the whole lot down. A poseable one in N is much better, as you can set it just below the wires and it still looks right. The 00 you could get away with it as there is more head space for the wire to move around.

That's just the way that I read it. They could have been started then, I don't know. Alistair

With some of extra features that haven't been done before, so they aren't announcing what these extras are until they have got them working and to a reasonable cost first, hence the early stages comment, not that they are in early stages of the project as a whole. If they are announced early there is also the opportunity for them to be copied. Alistair

Ok you twisted my arm! I think I could be tempted to get a DB Schenker one. Alistair

The delay was due to the DRS livery being a nightmare to get right. I'm sure you would prefer it to be delayed and be right, rather than rushed and wrong. This has now been sorted and will be going into production by the end of the month. Plus at least you are not waiting for the N gauge one, we have to wait until the 00 model has finished its production run before the tooling is even started. Alistair

The big question is ... When will we see the first ones on ebay for those who didn't order them? (Already set up the notification to see what happens) Alistair

Looking at the state of the orange trousers, I don't think they've been worn outside to get mucky! Alistair

That's because video equipment picks up the flash rate of LEDs, which the human eye can't see. t's exactly the same with videos of cars with daylight running lights looking like they flash. It's a human eye issue rather than a loco function. Alistair

Almost missed seeing the TRU in Banbury, caught the relection in the glass so ran down the stairs! (I was in the blue Chiltern HiViz) But got a few pics to help with doing my model. And now have a perfect excuse to put a Little Jim in the cab of it too. Alistair

If you are going to think like that then you may well be very disappointed. If it doesn't meet your specifications but still gets produced then you will have missed out on the option to buy it as only the number requested will be made. Which brings the second point, which other manufacturer is going to make a competing model, where all of the people that want one, have got one, that is called bad business and commercial suicide! If the DJM model doesn't progress, then why would another manufacturer make a model that they may not sell enough of. If it isn't up to the specification that you want, that's why there are aftermarket parts manufacturers that will enable you to make it better. Alistair

Im not a 00 modeller either, but when a model is announced in both gauges, then keeping an eye on both topics would give you an insight in to the progress being made. Giving plenty of opportunities to point out any issues that may have come up with the 00 CAD or model and give plenty of time to put them right before they work their way into the N gauge one. I have done the same with the 92 threads and when I was interested in it, I kept looking at the 00 gauge J94 thread as well. Yes, Dave has announced lots of things, but he has been very open with the fact that he was having to wait on funds from a models sales to start on the next models. I don't see any issues on snapping up a few models, as he doesn't want to do loads of work on a model, start to cut metal then have to scrap it because one of the big boys has decided to do it too and shows it as a final painted sample, already in production. Unfortunately gone are the days when farish used to do that, as they now have some decent competition, with the un-modelled loco pile becoming thinner by the year, then they have to get their stake in to the ones they want, so that we don't see more repetition like the Voyager and the B1, which only damages the hobby. Alistair

The 59 has been cancelled as Dapol got the permissions to use one of the main liveries. I would assume that the 92 is being done to give a modern loco to the DJM roster as there is nothing in the current loco announcements that would appeal. And that as research and some basic design will be carried over from the 00 work. Alistair

might have to stick my name down for 1. not sure on which livery i would go for, as I already have EWS, GBRf and Cali sleeper CJM ones, probably a DB Schenker or a grey beasties one. Alistair

If you log in to your account on the site it should give you the option to see your orders. However this doesn't appear to be working on my iPad. Alistair

Plus the slam door set will now only serve Banbury on a Friday afternoon. As the place it's being stored on a night in one of the new depot roads, doesn't have access to any of the platforms at the moment, so it will be starting and terminating at Bicester North. It will only continue on to Banbury in service, on a Friday night as it will return to Wembley for the weekend maintenance. Alistair

It happens people change their preferences. I had the same with some old Ltd Ed 00 stuff which was ordered before I went N. Ended up selling them on, at the end of the day you've paid for them you can do what you want. I'm sure that some people will be kicking themselves that they never ordered one and will be willing to pay to get one. Alistair

The payment page is still live. I'd log on and pay as they haven't had the final sample I don't think there would be a problem. Alistair

All of these years waiting for a Pendo. So close, then they start to get them ready for a new paint job. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/traction-rolling-stock/single-view/view/alstom-to-repaint-pendolino-fleet.html Alistair

I had the same issue so sent a message to the contact us email stating the order numbers. Alistair

Ok thanks for explaining that, I will sort out and pay for them now then. Alistair

Hi Ben/Mike, I have just been looking to try and pay for my Pendolinos. I just want to check, on the website it says that you have to add postage for each pendolino that you have ordered. Is that the case? As £30 to post 3 in one order seems quite high. Or have I got the wrong end of the stick? Cheers Alistair

Looks good so far. I think that's the best way to go, treating it like a flow of points rather than seperate ones Given me something to think about, for when I (eventually, at some point, in the hopefully not too distant future) make my track work up. Looking forward to seeing this progress Alistair

Technically the person taking it is a manager at Dapol, so possibly was only taking them so magazines could get a sneak peak so that they didn't have to post it out to them. Alistair

Just been on the site to sort it out and decided that it's a job for earlier in the day! Alistair