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I use a Tam Valley juicer for a crossover, the reason being once the first frog is triggered it automatically changes the second. An auto-reverser ought to do the same thing but don't quote me on that. I've only ever used DCC80s for individual frogs but have read about issues where a loco is entirely sat on one and transitions to a second, which is why it is always a good idea to bond the switch and stock rails together and only use the juicer for the frog V.

My first vote would be for CAD and 3d printing. The ability to scratchbuild and repeat without starting all over again at home and not rely on RTR companies timescales, unrealistic collectors prices or availability for items nobody is going to produce anyway is a godsend. You of course need some commercial parts, but aren't necessarily tied to one manufacturer for these. 

The yellow Steeplecab was made from stretching a kit and has a number of home-made details from brass and styrene that would be about the limit I could produce accurately. The black one is 3d printed and although has a number of "design clever" compromises for details, these are smaller and less apparent. The only downside I find is as soon as I finish a loco, I find a new photo showing something I hadn't seen before...

My runner up would be for static grass. There are some photos of brilliant layouts from 40+ years ago that would eclipse most "that'll do" standards today, the only give away being the scenery would benefit from static grass to give it some close up definition.

6 hours ago, CKPR said:

 - have a look at RM for 1976 and you'll see some marvellous modelling that didn't all come from a factory, let alone one in China.

That's why I think CAD and 3d printing is the revolution of the century- to end up with a model that has been made entirely at home with only a few generic bits (wheels, couplings, motor, etc.) and can accommodate subtle differences without having to cast from a master or work from flat etches. You can even then share them worldwide and earn some pocket money from them if you're so inclined.

Unfortunately though there are downsides, not only with models themselves as I've found details that are clear on new photos that I'd missed on blurry ones, but newer layouts- less time spent making stock doesn't necessarily mean more time to improve in other areas such as scenery and operation, and punters seem less tolerant to seeing the same layouts over and over again and always want to see new ones instead of the lifetime projects...

3 hours ago, PaulaDoesTrains said:

A nasty experience at a rip-off price. Hated it and will never ever go back there for any reason.

I think I preferred it when you had to send off with an SAE for tickets...

1 hour ago, toby_tl10 said:

7027 was being restored by volunteers at Loughborough GCR before it was sold to the 4709 group. Not sure how you define "no prospect of being restored to working order".

Unfortunately that's volunteering for you. Unless you have enough of a share to have voting rights over a future sale, it's ultimately up to the owner to do as they see fit.

18 hours ago, Metr0Land said:

 

56098 tnt 50007 - not sure which way round @ COV

Thanks, from what I could see it looked like the 50 was leading.

*EDIT, just seen a video from that idiot with a camera on his head and it was the  large logo 56 leading...

On 28/03/2023 at 18:28, big jim said:

While i was waiting on the goods at washwood heath earlier I spotted a 747 heading into Birmingham so had a look in flight radar to see what it was, turns out it was a National Airlines fight to savannah that turned back due to a technical issue, won’t know what but looked impressive!

I heard something different departing Birmingham yesterday and checked FR24 to find the same Aircraft. I didn't realise it had turned back, will have to check for a departure time. Most of the modern stuff is barely noticeable once at 10,000 feet but the current stand-out are regular AN-26 operated flights.

I was also going to go out today for the 5Z11 Eastleigh - Leicester LIP GBRf move but RTT wasn't showing the formation and there was too much horizontal rain so I hung out of the loft window to see it. Due to the miscalculated undergrowth I only saw a GBRf liveried loco from about half a mile away but could hear it for a couple of minutes between leaving Coventry Station and slowing for the 20mph TSR over a week bridge, I think it was a class 50...

1 hour ago, big jim said:

I wonder how long it will be before the residents of those new apartments being built in your class 350 picture complain about the walkway and yard lights? 

They're for students, so they probably wouldn't notice.

On 17/03/2023 at 20:13, Barry Ten said:

 

When I was a kid the civil aircraft always seemed like poor relations to the military ones, but I'd very much welcome a 1/48th Dragon Rapide, surely one of the most elegant aircraft ever designed?

Just market it as a Dominie...

On 17/03/2023 at 22:44, wasabi said:

Railway Air Services, formed in 1934 as a joint venture between the 'Big 4' and Imperial Airlines, operated some Rapides so if modelling that period than an aircraft in the right livery could be of interest.  A model could be suspended from lighting supports perhaps?  RAS was nationalised in the late 1940s, ending up within BEA.

 

One of the magazines had an article some years ago on the Great Western's first airline ventures.    

I'm surprised the iconic Corgi brand hasn't featured in the series, even if the aviation side of things seems to be playing second fiddle to Oxford. RAS Rapides are available from the latter in their comprehensive (but incomplete) DH range. Maybe Paramjit doesn't like rigging? My own Rapide from a 1/72 Heller kit stalled because I didn't like it or the way it went together.

19 hours ago, luckymucklebackit said:

 

Theses and the official diagrams which I believe are now in the public domain.  It appears to me that there is no loss of capability to split or combine compared with the old layout.

 

Jim

Turns out what I thought were official drawings were actually blank sheet thinking using Google earth and the unlimited time and money that passengers think should be done instantly instead of building HS2, and no way achievable for the budget quoted. 

I've seen some basic plans on t'interweb, but nothing that explains how the sleepers wil continue to split/combine or if anything will replace the current down main or up Edinburgh loops...

6 hours ago, DavidH said:

There are so many of the Ratio van available second hand, it's dead cheap to modify them and repaint rather than cut up/modify a nice new Rapido Mink. 

Unfortunately these aren't the days of spending your pocket money in Woolies on a Saturday on an Airfix kit, and the markets between buying RTR and doing your own kitbashes are quite separate.

I hope these don't end up being regarded in the same way as Hornby's Hull & Barnsley van, will Rapido be doing a KitKat liveried one?

2 minutes ago, GreenGiraffe22 said:

Not for me, but I'm surprised it's taken this long for someone to do it! Bound to be popular, no denying that Metropolitan Railway livery is pretty stunning! 

It was on "the list" from a good few years ago of prototypes that had been scanned so I'm surprised it has taken this long (like the class 84 AC electric). And it's almost like Rapido Trains are stalking me, no.1 daughters first ever train ride was behind no.1 and in coach 353 at Quainton Road, and is called Beatrice-the subject of another Rapido model.

I do feel however that without a supporting train for it to pull, E class models will be consigned to dragging whatever early teak bogie or 4 wheel coaches can be cobbled together to represent a steam on the met working, with or without a Heljan Met electric. I'm sure Rapido have something on mind but will it be the Chesham set or the Dreadnoughts that the latter loco desperately needs.

It just a question now of deciding which version I need to join the six Met electrics...

45 minutes ago, 2E Sub Shed said:

Just had a re-banding for Council Tax here, 2 years after moving in,  extension was completed over 5 years ago by owners who sold to the vendor we bought from after a year, so 2 sales since the completion of works. Re-banding done from 350 miles away.

Ours was re-banded after a building inspector visit last year to inspect the new roof tiles... 🤬

Anyway, enough about lofts- this isn't series 1 again...

Swim slowly by Meltt:

2 hours ago, Bucoops said:

Blur was the only other one I could think of but you got that one.

Cromford:

This image came up on the car radio display whilst sat in a traffic jam:

https://www.discogs.com/release/2879591-Jan-Delay-Wir-Kinder-Vom-Bahnhof-Soul/image/SW1hZ2U6NDM5MjA3OTQ=

I'm blaming the Wife and Daughter for their Eurovision fixation currently on the MP3 stick).

I thought it would make a good cameo subject for a model railway/diorama (I can't remember the exact location, but it's somewhere in Hamburg). So apart from this, Blur's Modern life is Rubbish and a few 7" records of steam engines, which other album covers would be modellable...?

When passing on items to Nephews or looking for secondhand Hornby buildings to fill up a trackmat I was careful to ensure they were accepted as gifts for them and therefore under their ownership, instead of "lending" items that they might have a duty of care to look after and return, although they were happy to accept any old tat that might otherwise be seen lingering under a table at a swapmeet. Even then it was difficult to shake off any pre-conceptions that anything in an old Hornby red box was good because the green 06 I couldn't otherwise get rid of was such a dire runner when compared to newer trainset locos.

One mistake that beginners seem to make when transitioning from a train set to a scale model railway is to try to find a prototype that all of their collection to date will fit into, when in fact such compromises are awkward and unnecessary when you can sell on superfluous items or just run them occasionally, or keep them for future projects...

Sometimes referred to as an "Air motor". It looks to be in a different position to the position used on AC locomotives. 

21 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

I did wonder if it is vaping technology that's making smoke units more feasible. They do produce large clouds of vapour and I saw on one of her videos Kathy Millat using one with a non nicotine charge to generate a morning mist effect to photograph or film one of her dioramas. Though most "vape juice" (E-liquid) consists of  vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, nicotine (optional), and artificial flavouring (none of which I particularly fancy breathing) there are "water based"  versions that include about 30% of distilled water. I'm wondering whether the Hornby unit uses water alone. 

The innards themselves are available for a few quid from eBay. I'm currently playing with one using just water and it'd look quite good for drain cocks and safety valves but would need VG for smoke, which would eventually mean a residue over everything. 

The white stick sucks up the fluid and the whole lot is definitely small enough for a 4mm scale smokebox. It also reacts very quickly when turned on and off. Definitely better than the smoke in my R392 County of Bedford....

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

I'm no Al Fonzo fan, but that was a good drive. As for everything else...pah.  

Williams need no longer worry when they are going to score their first point this season.

My claim to fame is I once tried to talk to Lisa Rogers in a nightclub in Newcastle. 

The Megalomaniacs went into business and undertook fabrication for my employers for a while, my Dad knew Kosher from previous work anyway and I was in the same car club as Daz- I haven't seen him for a few years tho and unfortunately Nosher passed away about five years ago.

I recently saw the expert "Hadrian" in his day job as a landlord of an industrial estate on Richard Hammond's new car restoration program.

3 hours ago, rogerzilla said:

 Do electric train systems work away from the wires/3rd rail, or do the brakes lock on, as with a Tesla car that's run out of juice?

The "coasting" technique is used for electric traction through engineering possessions and can be several miles long. I'm not sure how far it has progressed due to bi-mode traction but there was a plan to dewire emergency crossovers and use the same technique.

I've never known a Tesla lock it's brakes on, you get enough of a warning and the separate 12v keeps the car alive. It might be possible in the event of a terminal failure, but that's what usually happens to Jaguars and Land Rover cars.

Mamod SL1 set, for about £30 at a swapmeet in 1988 when I was a teenager and it was still alot of pocket money. I probably would have found out that they are dire and I've since scratched that garden railway itch with an Edrig. 

I can't say I'm too bothered about anything recently, if I've wanted something I've built it myself. It just takes longer...