Chris Nevard

Looking at that I think I'd shut the door and go to the pub instead! Good luck getting your camera fixed/replaced.

As Chris L says, it sounds like a duffer, which I'm sure will be sorted out for you. I'm totally amazed with the performance, and that's with both Gaugemaster feedback and non-feedback controllers. The one in my posession is high mileage too (I'm guessing 50 hours - Chris L will know more seeing it's spent much of its like going round in circles on the Model Rail Towers Nürburg Ring and all weekend at Warley ) and it still runs stunningly well, unlike some other engines of mine that have 'dropped off' despite being well maintained.

Mostly I am quite friendly and very happy to chat to anyone who is interested enough to want to look at my 'Hornby'. I'd rather do than that play with the trains to be honest being keen to pass on any knowledge I have. But from time to time one has to take cover - actually, I don't think I needed to at RAILEX - it's not that kind of show. A couple of years ago I did have a follower for a bit who tracked me down for about 3 shows (I was not even exhibiting) in a row and once latched on wouldn't go away. We've all come across them, you know, one of those ones that gets inside that natural comfort zone we all have. The black teeth didn't help.

I always find it amusing that model railway exhibitions are at sports centres – the type of people that ‘do sport’ are generally the complete opposite to railway enthusiasts. I suppose the advantage is that the exhibition organisers do not need to invest in too many signs or arrows announcing its presence (ideally painted onto an old stripped baseboard top with splodgy white lettering on lumpy SR green) pointing to the show. They simply rely on the plastic bag toting unfashionable non-sporty looking middle aged single men to show the way. We've all met them, and they will have been to every show since the hall was built and most likely with the same Rumbelow's plastic bag that their mother gave to them in 1977 for their very first engine which would have been a Lima Deltic. As I go in through the sports centre entrance, I normally hold my stomach in and head towards the pretty sporty receptionist in a way that hopefully will make her think that I’m going to ‘do sporty things’ rather than heading for the nerdy ‘fug’, then at the very last moment fork a speedy left behind a suitably large ‘rucksack’ heading for ‘Model Railway Exhibition’. When exhibiting, we all know that ‘Rule Number 2’ (No.1 is ‘it’s my trainset...’) is to avoid eye contact with anyone suspect looking, this reduces the chance of being knobbled for anything up to an hour (and then regularly for the rest of the day because you're now their 'bezzy mate'). As revenge (often after such a knobbling) I like to pull faces at the weirdoes - it helps the day go faster, especially when bored of operating which is normally by about 10.03 on the Saturday morning. If when exhibiting you cannot see me, I'm probably behind the layout pulling a face at you because you smell, are socially challenged, have bad breath, or maybe simply just far too intense as you insist on showing me your sticky snot covered Triang Mk1 coach you paid £1.86 for. Frequently though all these traits go together. And finally the real reason for this post, a question aimed at the more southerly exhibition goer; what ever happened to ‘The Commentator’? I have not seen him for ages and miss his wonderful voiceovers “Here comes an LMS 8F, 48660 was based at Bath Shed from 1962-64, it’s going over the points to pick up some wagons… oh dear it has derailed, I imagine a breakdown crane will be along in a minuteâ€â€¦â€¦ <<edited to include the forgotten snot infected Triang Mk1>>

The body just pops off along with other details, which makes customization pretty straightforward. The industrial freelance possibilities are huge. Brian, it look like YOU ARE gong to do that crane version Now, I wonder where I could source some cow catchers from?

nevard_110625_BrewhouseQ_IMG_0275_webJPG, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. This ancient 0-4-4 Midland 1P spent much of its working life on 'the Branch' of the old Somerset & Dorset Line. The pretty loco was withdrawn in 1959 and spent much of the following year next to the water softening plant at Bath Green Park shed awaiting removal - or so we were all lead to believe! In November 1960 the Marriott, Dent & Foster Brewery bought the locomotive to shunt its extensive quayside sidings because of of the directors was a railway buff. Then in 1968 when Courage took over the brewery, the loco was bought by an American investor and has since been a stuffed tiger at a railroad museum in Arkansas in the USA. With the renewed interest in the former S&DJR becoming 'global' due to press hype in the British modelling and full sized railway press, it is hoped to repatriate to the engine to the UK for the fledgeling 'Moors Railway' project near the site of Edington Junction near Highbridge.

Artitec try www.hobbyworld.nl and follow the union flag/jack/bob or whatever we call it these days. Scalescenes has just introduced a decent look freighter too.... Langley stock too - but these guys are cheaper! Used many times.

I think that some Sentinels had vacuum pipes - well in preservation anyway. I don't know what's included with the production models.

Just........

Here's No.1 tweaked a bit, you'll have to wait for the printed page to find out more - cute isn't it? The woman posing in front of the loco is Ivan Locksmith's 18psi blow up wife rubber wife. Shortly after this snap was take the coupling hook punctured her and she flew off into the canal behind the photographer

Good times! No wonder the boys were happy for me to get the paint, powder and get the blades out onto '001'. There's huge scope to mess abut customizing these delightful locos for various industrial freelance variations. The HUGE plus is that they run above and beyond any RTR 4WD / 0-4-0 to date. THANKYOU Dapol for pushing the boundaries! (sorry, I've been wanting to use this 'emoticon' but not had the opportunity to date).

nevard_110708_BrehouseQ_1p_DSC_2784_BW, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Johnson 1P 0-4-4 No. 58086 eases a rake of vans between the hop store and the main brewhouse on Brewhouse Quay, summer 1957. It's thought that this photo was taken off the Bristol road bridge over the Avon - hence the elevated view. The eagle eyed will notice the privately owned Sentinel parked next to the wagon turntable that leads to the bottling plant. Here's a bigger scan of the above http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/5914988354/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Not quiet with toy chuff chuff, just here due to lack of time. Lots going on behnd the scenes for the printed page. I post a lot more stuff here www.nevardmedia.blogspot.com

nevard_110707_combwich_IMG_0068, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. I haven't done a 'Pic of the Day' for a bit, so here is my attempt to address that. We all know it's a modified Hornby 8F on my rather wonky 30 year old Combwich, but let's just pretend it's the following.... It's early September 1963, and our intrepid photographer Ivan Locksmith is firing off some Kodachome II on his Leica M2 recording Bath Green Park's 8F No. 48660 shunting in the yard. These engines hardly ever worked over to Combwich, this turn normally being reserved for an ex-Midland 4F, an ex-GWR Collett 22xx or an Ivatt 2-6-2 2MT, so a very worthy subject for Ivan's camera especially seeing it looked like it was a nice day. Bigger version: http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/

With this forum being so big I've somehow or other missed this excellent thread 'until now' after a birdie told me. I'll have to 'watch it' methinks so not to 'loose track' (rubbish pun I know). Chris

I too picked one up on Ebay 18 months ago to chop about. Much to my surprise it runs very well indeed over both Peco code 75 and handlaid C&L pointwork with very little if any *kerfingerkopoken required, though of course flat clean track and wheels will always help. I did widen the wheel back to backs out to around 14,7mm which I think reduces slop and waddle a little (and probably aids pick up too). The motor is pretty visible, so its effect has been reduced with a curtain (I've seen this on odd pics) of black painted tissue to give the impression of a windstop for the softer drivers. I see that Hornby are reintroducing it soon. *a 'CK-ism' for bashing a stalled engine.

Bleadon (7mm WCPLR inspired) has been the layout that's appealed most in recent times. Everything is just right, drawing the viewer into another space and time....