meil

The Tortoise pre-dates the Colbalt by some years. The Tortoise, I my opinion, remains the superior product. There are no fancy electronic components in a Tortoise - there is simply a well made stall motor. As has been said the Tortoise can be moved by hand, which can be a benefit in a number of circumstances when setting up.

The problem of course is Orthographic photographic emulsion - as would have been used at that time. Thus making the Brown and Red look almost identical. In my view the "Chocolate" would be the usual and typical Venetian red ie a Haematite based paint mixed in the paint shop from dry ingredients.

How are you switching your frogs? if it's by frogjuicer then your new DCC is more sensitive than your old one.

No it doesn't - reg14 governs the situation. the rescue engine enters the obstructed section on a written authority given by the signalman. That is only given when the signalman has been assured by the broken down train that the necessary protection has been placed. That is detonators have been placed in rear and front of the train at 1/4 mile intervals to 3/4 mile where 3 are placed.

Yellow - Distant Signal White stripe on signal lever - Released by block (or ETT on single line) Blue over brown - special lever usually to release a lock such as a switching in lever or a direction lever etc.

Correct. If the order value (including postal charges and VAT) is below £137 then the VAT is paid at source (and it is duty free) and your delivery should just arrive. If the value is above £137 then the VAT is paid by the recipient and in order for someone to collect that VAT they charge a fee. So moral of the story - make sure your order is below £137 or if its not you will be required to pay the VAT, any import duties and a collection fee.

See here:

Well quite but I get the impression that a lot of people think that iron oxide looks like light rust. By the way I meant to mention - Indian Red (as used by the GWR) was a Haematite based paint but used a grade of Haematite that has a distinct purple hue. This haematite was imported from India (The Punjab?) and was used by the GWR - hence the name Indian Red. Venetian Red is actually the same stuff but used a normal Haematite ore and so lacks the purple hue of Indian Red.

It's reasonably easy to do it yourself and is generally straight forward. Obviously if your loco has a DCC socket then that's the easiest conversion. If not then it's simply a case of taking the red/black wires to the track and the Orange/Grey wires to the motor and so you would use wired decoders in those cases. Split chassis can be a little more of a challenge but can be done but may require some hole drilling and tapping and insulating motor connections. There are guides but the basic principles remain for all locomotives and it sounds like you are not looking for fancy lights, which makes it simpler.

I don't know what colour you think Iron Oxide is but I would paint your crane Venetian Red , which is a Haematite based paint. Haematite is of course Iron Oxide but it doesn't seem to be what folks think Iron Oxide paint is these days.

Venetian Red I would suggest.

The question was: "I wonder what a Whirlwind might have been like with two Merlins?" and I gave an answer in relation to the Hornet which was powered by Merlins.

All ejector seats rely on the person being firmly strapped to the seat otherwise arms and legs tend to get cut off. Also a high percentage of these young fit pilots suffer from spinal compression injuries. Some ejector seats have explosive seatbelt tighteners. So train drivers would need to sit in a purpose designed seat for long hours firmly strapped in with the remote possibility of having to use a seat, that has the more than likely possibility of causing serious injury and may lead to them being in a wheel chair for the rest of their life if they use it - if they survive. Remember also that most ejection seats do not work on the ground i.e. they don't eject far enough for the parachute to work. So train drivers would be subject to far higher stresses than fighter pilots who are younger, and considerably fitter and far more highly trained. The risk analysis simply does not stack up.

What do switches S1 & S2 do?

You could also have a look at the Welsh Highland Railway.

I've used Grainge and Hodder and they make nice modular baseboard kits. However if you know what you want in birch ply then take a look at Woodshop direct (www.woodshopdirect.co.uk). They will supply birch ply cut to your exact requirements.

Well the DH hornet was basically a Look-a-like produced 4 years later, which was fitted with Merlins. That could do 475mph.

Yes, that's the normal routing but what stops me pulling 10 reversed, 9 reversed then 2 reversed?

What stops 2 being reversed with 9 & 10 reversed? Also, if I read this correctly, why should 9 be reversed to reverse 23? You wouldn't normally put a FPL in for a trailing move.

As long as you don't confuse them with men of the Black Country.

Just one matter - I would have expected a running dummy relating to point 15.

I'm afraid that the phenomena is prevalent everywhere on YouTube. There's a guy called 00Bill who spends his time repairing 00 locomotives, and to be fair he does get them running, but it is evident he has little knowledge of real railways. But people are for ever sending him models, not to repair on their behalf, actually sending him models to keep for himself - out of the blue. Other sites are just the same - model engineering sites and machinist sites get people sending tools and such like out of the blue. WHY?

Yes - Precision Paints G.W.R. Coach Cream in 150ml Aerosol.

I had assumed that double blocking simply meant offering the train on when offered to you rather than waiting for the TES?

He's the cameraman's assistant. Often seen in films of this type. You will see him trying to marshal the crowds towards the camera.