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On 29/07/2022 at 10:37, hayfield said:

 

Without getting into too much details how many panels have they quoted for and appx what is the cost please. Reason being is my granddaughter is interested in a scheme but (not through Solar Together) I was shocked at the price of the quote 14 for £10k

John @hayfield

They have quoted £8500 for 11 panels, battery (can't remember the KwH rating) and shade optimisation (whatever that is).

My neighbour used the same scheme and same configuration but one less panel for £8000.  

So £10k for 14 panels seems about right

Steve

In a similar vein, a large local supermarket rejigged their store to put sweets and other "bad stuff" in the far corner of the store.  On inquiring why, the staff told me it was something about a government initiative to put the high sugar goods as far away from the entrance/tills as possible.  Is the theory to get the sugarholics to get burn more calories to find their poison?

But another large supermarket chain nearby haven't done the same?

Ironically, the store restack has displaced the alcohol section, which has been relocated right next to the tills!

🤔

My Solar Together survey is booked for Monday!

The nearest you might get to a station pilot would have been the private locos that shunted and marshalled trains in the quarries off the line (e.g. at Horton-in-Ribblesdale).  

I think there are some pictures in Rails in the Fells.  These locos may have strayed beyond the boundaries of the private lines to ready trains for the mainline.

Not sure if this is helpful.

Steve

i got some super cheap ones from Lidl which come with a small clip to hold the LED strip in place, this can be screwed in place and is very unobstrusive.  They can be wired in sequence using one power supply and have proven very useful.

Only trouble is you will have to wit for them to come back round! 

Not sure this a paradigm shift, just a series of inflection points in the normal evolution of the market. 

Emerging players will always push the market to new heights, that is why they come to the market in the first place.  We saw it in the 1970s with Airfix and Palitoy launching some truly outstanding models (for their time).  Hornby responded and upped their game, eventually, otherwise the alternative was to ignore the competition, lose sales and risk of going out of business. 

The Bachmann 47 was a risky play if only for the pricing, but must have been commercially successful as we now have the imminent arrival of the new 37 at a similar price point.  We should be grateful that the price of British outline RTR remains considerably cheaper than continental equivalents. 

The established players will always be less nimble than the new entries, they have longer product development times, production cycles and carry a lot more overhead or debt that needs to be funded - hence their higher prices.  Ultimately, the new players are a good thing as they will drive the market onto bigger and better things.

Of more concern may be the impact on the kit makers - who often found a market plugging the gaps left by RTR.  I suspect their audience of modellers that eschew RTR is somewhat on the wane, as the like of Tony Wright now applaud the latest RTR offers and are often consulted on their development.   So, their market seems to be shrinking, as the RTR players produce more eclectic prototypes in the quest for something a bit different.  That said, the same changes are at force with smaller more specialist suppliers and technologies (3d print) emerge to drive the more established players to improve their offer.

All part of life's rich tapestry!

Steve

7 minutes ago, Tony Cane said:

Does this look suitable?

Make unknown.

Hi @Tony Cane

Looks good to me!  Please PM me how much you want for it, assuming you are prepared to sell it!  :-)

Steve

32 minutes ago, ozzyo said:

Have you tried Markits themselves?

 

OzzyO.

@ozzyo

Not yet, I have ordered from Mark in the past but it is a bit of a pain for one axle!

Steve

try moneysavingexpert.com they usually have good advice

Hello Everyone,

I have been trying to find a shop that sells these wheel sets, but to no avail.  Everyone seems to be out of stock with no indication of when they will get any more.

Would anyone have one (internal or external bearing) of these wheel sets that they would be prepared to sell me?  I already have three, but need the fourth for a LNER tender build. 

Any assistance would be gratefully received.

Many thanks

Steve 

On 03/07/2022 at 05:28, georgeT said:

Hi Rob, They are too flimsy and ill fitting, so l have got Dave at JPL Models to make me a set up, he says this is not the first set he has made for the DJH Fairburn ? ...

I try to use Comet valve gear on my DJH builds - much more resilient.

Steve

11 hours ago, kipford said:

You can never have enough loco's or rolling stock.😀

The real question is: "how many layouts do I need for my locos?"🤨

15 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

If their absence bothers you, a small rectangle of clear plastic will be more than adequate at normal viewing distances.

 

CJI.

Hi @cctransuk

Thanks for the steer, I wonder if this would be more susceptible to damage that the original?  

I have tried using very small brass channel cut into small strips to hold the clear plastic.

I wondered if 3D printing could be used to produce these components to a standard pattern?

Steve

Hello everyone,

I am sure this question has been asked previously, but does anyone know a source of spare cinder guards?  These things are so easy to damage or lose, so finding a source for replacements would be great, especially if the replacements are a bit more resilient.

I have checked Hornby.com and Petersspares.co.uk, but not found anything.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Steve

3 minutes ago, ianmacc said:

Funnily enough I Googled this very topic this morning on the back of the nostalgia thread unaware that this thread existed! Lendon’s of Cardiff comes in at 1944 I believe. Monk bar is 1963. We lost Gee Dee recently and that was 1956. 
 

I also visited Harburn Hobbies on a work trip last week for the first time in a double coincidence. 

1944 for Lendons is great, shame I am in SE England, otherwise I'd pay a visit. 

Thanks Ian,

1 hour ago, Physicsman said:

 

Hi Mike.

 

Really good to see you back on here.

 

Just don't feel obliged to keep the punters happy. The mojo WILL return and remember it's a HOBBY, so enjoy as little - or as much - as you can manage.

 

Best wishes,

 

Jeff.

I second that - welcome back Mike.  I am sure you have been through a lot in the last year, but I for one will be looking forward to seeing your posts.  

Steve

1 hour ago, hayfield said:

 

 

I did not think ovens fry food !! shows how much I know about cooking and I guess like pressure cookers there are many efficient ways of cooking

John,

They don't but air fryer is a bit of a misnomer, but air fried chicken is really good!  Its also a steamer, pressure cooker, saute pan, etc.... quite a good bit of kitchen kit.

Steve 

On 08/07/2022 at 15:03, hayfield said:

 

 

I am no domestic science expert so I have just Googled how much does an electric oven use in an hour, just as I did before, this latest search seemed to conform my previous search

 

An electric oven uses on average between between one and 2 kWh of electricity per hour. Hence, if we look into the average cost from electricity providers, the average price of electricity units is £29 per kWh Also when I look at my electric use during times when we cook (and its not shining brightly) we are not using too much electricity think it is nearer 1 kwh per hour than 2 kwh, but if you use 4kwh to cook a chicken its £1.17p not £10, the expensive part is getting the oven up to temperature (10/15 mins) then its just a matter of maintaining it at a constant temperature. I would guess if you used 5 kwh per hour you would be running a furnace 

 

I am not looking into how much a meal costs to cook, just a statement on the radio which was well out of sync with reality, if it takes 2 kwh of power to run an oven for an hour @ 30p per kwh that's 60p per hour, at that rate £10 would allow you to run an oven for 16.66 hours, I like my chicken cooked But not incinerated

 

As you say/imply one can be frugal/canny when cooking, my wife cooks most of the vegetables in the oven at the same time. My daft sister told me she has to use 2 ovens for a roast as she cannot cook a Yorkshire pudding with the roast. Well my wife has done so for the past 46 years.  

I recently heard that Air Fryers are less than 1/3rd the cost of using an oven - bought one (£150) and haven't looked back.    

1 hour ago, AshleyH said:

Kernow have just restocked the Hornby R4534E BR Push Pull coach packs at £49.99 plus p&p

 

https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/56094/R4534E-Hornby-BR-Pull-Push-Coach-Pack-Set-number-601

 

I think it’s fair to say we are not going to see these at this price again once sold out. 

....and Hornby Bulleid 59ft coaches for £20.99!  £37.50 saving on retail, apparently.

26 minutes ago, Aire Head said:

 

Ivatt 2MTs, Stanier 3P tanks, Midland 1P were used on local passenger trains aswell as Fairburn and Fowler 4MT tanks making appearances. The 4MT tanks did sometimes feature on the longer distance workings.

 

Given the longer distances involved on the S&C tender engines were in use for a lot of smaller workings with Compounds, Black 5s, Ivatt 4MT, Jubilees etc remaining a common sight on local trains.

 

A particularly interesting example is the afternoon Bradford - Carlisle stopping service which also carried parcels going northbound and parcels and gastanks southbound. This service was popular with the local spotters as it tended to get a named loco with Jubilees, Clans and Rebuilt Scots all being sighted working a slow service.

 

Generally speaking the tanks weren't used on local goods trains which was the territory of the 3Fs and 4Fs although some 2Fs were still present until the 1950s.

I agree.  Tank locos were typically used on branch lines in the area.  Given the length and gradients of the S&C, I suspect the limited coal/water capacity and lower power of tank locos precluded their use.  The locos listed are found on branch services, but even local stopping services between Bradford/Leeds and Carlisle were tender loco hauled, as noted by @Aire Head 

You could add ex-LNER G5 to the list for the Hawes branch, whilst 3MTs and 4MTs could be found working the ex NER lines in the area and may have strayed onto the S&C from time to time?

Steve

Greg,

It depends what you want pictures of, if its trains you can try the following:

Houghton and Foster's book from 1948 has some pictures, by virtue of the publication date most pics are pre-nationalisation.

Jenkinson's Rails in the Fells also has a preponderance to MR/LMS/early BR - primarily because those were his interests.

Donald Binns The Scenic Settle Carlisle has some LMS/early BR pics

The Bradford Barton books (Steam across....., Steam in....etc) also had early BR pictures, not sure they had any LMS though?

If you want period pics of the stations and infrastructure, then Anderson and Fox's Stations and Structures of the S&C is excellent.

Steve

13 hours ago, russ p said:

The train shop in Scarborough has been around for a long time. A great shop but I think Jeff is winding down now as its not open too much now

An all too common occurrence.   

My local, the Model Shop in Woodchurch (Kent), has been around for some time but Veronica and Harry aren't getting any younger and are also starting to run things down :-(.   They can't afford to have much UK RTR on the shelf, in the past they specialised in French RTR and had a stand at the SNCF Society expo in Lenham for many years, which has not re-emerged after the health crisis, yet.  But, it is a treasure trove of spares and other bits and pieces.  They don't advertise and are off the beaten track, so often have things long since out of stock at other spares outlets. 

I guess the moral of the story is to support your local model shop?

Steve

On 12/07/2022 at 22:41, CUCKOO LINE said:

Train times in Eastbourne been around since early 60s.

I have an occasional foray to Train Times - lovely little shop, but under new ownership since I last went.

Everyone has RTR, I enjoy finding the bits and pieces that may have been on the shelves for years.  Its a bonus if the price hasn't been updated.  

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Steve

Jeff,

Great to see your progress on Gill Head, apologies for radio silence recently. 

You will have finished the layout, gotten bored, ripped it up and started a new one in the time I take just to finish my track and wiring!  Awesome work on your part - always great fun to watch your progress.

Hope you are not getting too distracted by the amazing James Watt telescope imagery?  Thought of you as soon as I saw it.

Keep going - looking really good - as usual!

Steve

Glass worktops - I use glass kitchen worktop protector - £10 from Amazon, John Lewis and others.