Bob Reid

The sound won't work as noted earlier, but DC operation should - well according to Hornby it should.

Certainly the main instructions show an 8-pin (NMRA Std. apparently) blanking plate under section 6. DCC Ready / Sound however no reference is made to removing the factory fitted sound decoder just that there's space in the tender beside it for a 28mm speaker.

Reading the instructions the decoder is supposed to have CV29 set to a value of 6 to enable DCC and DC running - if I'm reading it correctly it needs to have 4 added to the DCC only value of 2 for this to work - the CV Notes supplied explains this but having read it, I'm confused already though that's through ignorance of the more complex bits of DCC decoders on my part! The short answer is you would need to check the loco on DCC to see if it is set with CV29 to a value of 6 to enable running on both DC & DCC. I couldn't find the Sound Decoder Manual on the Hornby Website otherwise I'd include a link to it but I'm sure Hornby's service department will oblige. I'll try mine shortly on DC and DCC.

Have you switched your spellchecker off for the weekend already? It's SHIRAZ not C’yaz for goodness sake

Reduce the size of that image and what looks like a brake block carrier with the adjacent wheel (back) seen behind appears - either my vivid imagination but rather than a disc braked HAA it's a tread braked TTA or similar - full of diesel no doubt

I can still imagine with all this talk of unpowered but helping to power many others, it'll be a modern MGR wagon in one of the many variants HAA etc. I could of course be talking nonsense.

Perhaps you might want to add proofreading after this missive. Good to see a mistake now and then!

Thanks. Perhaps my point clumsily made was, in terms of development of carriages none of those that went in to the Grouping should be considered second string - only for fear that in some way it pushes the history and the importance of its place someway down the line. Anyway here's to more books on carriages. Of course, having worked in the former Drawing Office, I'd thoroughly recommend Caledonian Railway Carriages by Mike Williams and published by Lightmoor! Bob

Just who determined this?

Caledonian - second rank? Good grief man it was the True Line - between the Caley and the Premier L&NWR ran the WCML Any company carriage books are most welcome here.

No idea. The gearing on it makes it fairly easy work anyway - a dam sight easier anyway than it was as built - just two big levers to push the table round - one at each end. I've no idea whether they'll follow the LMSR's example and at some point reinstate the original vacuum motor with of course the modern air equivalent! Bob

As a side note, this was only made possible by the sterling efforts of the Ferryhill Railway Heritage Trust. Without them the 1906 70' Caledonian Railway turntable was sure to have gone elsewhere, or for scrap! Here, courtesy of Aberdeen M.R.C. is a video of 60163 being turned at Ferryhill.

Same here - different topic (mine) hope I haven't booger'd it and now it's working again - it's been York'd I think.

Well it's not the original Aberdonian, what with the absence of most of the Caley main line from Glasgow and no Buchanan Street, but this A1 does a good job of impersonating it... Stonehaven (1Z63 10:14 Edinburgh to Aberdeen) 14/3/2019 Last engine of this ilk up to Aberdeen was the Peppercorn A2 60532 Blue Peter in 1994! - okay different class, but maybe one day it'll be back, and then there's the P2 to come. This A1 however, makes it look all so easy. Bob.

Many thanks Andrew, it's all working fine now.

Thanks Andrew. It looks like it's partially working at the moment. Selecting Carriage Kits and Components or Wheels etc. although showing a number of items available seems to remain on the main menu, and the search box doesn't appear to do anything. Bob.

Thank you Mike. Even at £45 a bottle, it sounds like I'd easily recover the cost in postal savings fairly quickly. Bob

Mike, these are fantastic prints. Before I end up committing myself to one, can you say (relatively) how much cheaper these are working out when compared to using the services of the likes of Shapeways? At face value and given how much it cost for my last order from Shapeways I'd wager these work out more than 50% less expensive. Many thanks, Bob.

Looks like the problems at Wizard Models got a lot worse yesterday unfortunately. Hoping it'll be back soon! I've one order pending and I am looking to place another. A classic case of you don't know what you've got (till it's gone)....

For the undercoat you could probably do no better than what the 12" to the foot version did, and use pink. There were more than one supplier in BR days of Maroon, in fact no less than four though they all used BR provided paint panels as a match. Bob.

that's a hard one to Swallow..... Have to admit though, they never looked better than they did in that 1991 livery. Wore it better than APT-P

They were Vacuum Braked as built but were retrofitted with Air Brakes in 1987. Not sure what the restriction on Class 87s was.

No, 5A72 is the ECS to form 1A72 - if you read the caption it explains "Here on May Day Bank Holiday Monday 7th May 1990 91006 stands in the centre road at Wakefield Westgate with 5A72, the stock to form the 1703 Leeds Kings Cross Relief whilst 91001 approaches with the 1603 Leeds Kings Cross Relief." - both on or to form a passenger working. Why admit you were wrong and then do a complete about turn. No RTC stock or test trains.

No test trains to be seen...,., Where's your proof? There's only one charter in there - the Pullman the rest, if you took the time to click on each photo, is a regular working.

Time to back off guys - whenever you say it never happened, you can almost certainly guarantee it did and someone will find it for you. I worked for INTERCITY East Coast & GNER but I can still get it wrong. Lets see what Cavalex have in store.....