LNERandBR

Let's see what next years rules do to the whole 'dirty air' problem. The swap back to more underbody downforce generation will either work or not in that regard. All we can hope is that it does and it gets easier for cars to pass on all tracks.

Especially when it goes from dry tarmac to ice to snow and back to dry tarmac again

Depends when they want the season to start. The season opener for the WRC is Rally Monte Carlo and that's famous for ever changing snow/icy roads. Granted, the stages are up in the mountains but F1 is known to chase the sun.

Lewis may have felt that he should have stayed out and could have made that call. However, whilst he's done that before and it's worked he's also ignored the team in the past to his cost. Ultimately, the Team have more information about what's happening in the race than Lewis has access to from the cockpit. Therefore he has to trust the calls they make are the right ones and is bound to get frustrated if they turn out to be wrong. Ultimately, they win as a Team and loose as a Team. I'm sure they'll all feel the same frustrations and will have big discussions about what they did wrong and what they should have or could have done.

I'd say that pretty much every rally stage is like a lap of Monaco, lots and lots of things to hit. You have to have 100% concentration 100% of the time if you want to be on the pace. A Lot is mentioned about having the rhythm and drivers who are well in the lead tend to still set fast times because they're comfortable at that rhythm. Backing off and 'cruising to the end' often isn't the best thing to do in rally.

Well, the Monaco GP was pretty boring wasn't it. About the only on track overtake by Vettel after coming out the pits was never even shown properly on TV either. A very bad weekend for Mercedes and I'm sure there will be some tough questions being asked around their briefing table before the next race. There was action in the WRC this weekend too. Rally Portugal that had far more intense action over the last three days in my opinion. Multiple Driver's trading best times and a few crashing out from good positions. It was won by Elfyn Evans which I'm really happy about I personally feel Rally Drivers are far more talented than GP drivers. Being able to do the speeds they do on loose surfaces requires a huge amount of commitment and talent.

Amazingly, it looks like he didn't crash in FP1! Is he going to turn out be a Monaco specialist

Ah, now will Mazepin even survive an entire session over the weekend? Or will every single one see him buried in a wall somewhere!

I really, really enjoy your videos and I feel like I'm picking up so many hints and tips from them. I love the two lockdown's at each end of the street with all the little details you've packed into them. The only thing I keep wondering is on the end of the One Way street if there would be the arrow road marking you've added or if it would be a 'Give Way' triangle? That said, you mentioned you'd done some research into them so I expect there's a prototype for that somewhere

To be completely fair to Bottas he wasn't told to 'let Lewis by' he was told 'don't hold Lewis up'. As to if he complied with that instruction is debatable as Lewis did lose time behind his teammate and the pass wasn't as easy as it could have been. However, there was no instruction to jump straight out of the way. If Red Bull and Verstappen continue to make things hard on Hamilton and Mercedes then we will be in for a good season. The main question is, can Perez start to consistently challenge Bottas and will Bottas be able to meet that challenge if it happens?

Anyone still struggling to get your heads around this new Quali? I found this video much easier to understand then the previous one due to the graphics used.

Completely agree with barriers being the last thing to be added at a show. Not every layout is erected the night before, some only arrive on the Saturday Morning. You can't put the barriers in place until all the layouts are present and more or less erected. Adding more complexity to the Barriers would only serve to cause more issues I feel. Especially as many shows rely on barriers provided by the venue or hired in from other sources.

Perez was in an unfamiliar car in challenging conditions. Many drivers were in the same boat of course and you also saw them spinning off the track more than others. I think he'll do better later in the year when he's got more experience with his new Bull.

Clearly a case of adrenaline running full on after such an accident. Many Drivers have done the same in the past and many will do the same in the future. Personally, I think George saw Bottas move towards him initially and overcompensated, that's what put him on the grass. DC mentioned experience and I think this is what really played into George moving as much as he did. He's not had the experience of making that many overtakes in F1 due to the low performance of his Williams.

I feel Hamilton just has more racing instinct than Bottas. Lewis will go for the gaps and take the risks whilst Valtteri seems to be less 'instinctive' and needs a bigger pace difference to effectively make an overtake.

1) York - Pretty much the same as above. A top quality show which I (normally) attend every year. Enjoy the mix of layouts as it tends to include more interesting scales/gauges and trade here hasn't got too many box shifters. 2) Caistorail - Mainly because I regularly exhibit there and the guys putting the work into it always look after you and put on a lovely smaller show. 3) Ally Pally - Partly because of the group of people I travel to this with. We visit the same shows each year and this is the best of those.

Completely agree here. Even the NEM pocket that everyone thinks is 'standard' really isn't. Any company making couplings is hard pressed to design something that will work first time every time in every NEM pocket design.

The issues you describe is more a problem with NEM pockets I find. They're supposed to be standard but I often find them to vary depending on manufacturer. Using Kaydees is an example, I often find that packing or glue is needed to hold them in the correct position. Very important when positioning is vital to their operation. Therefore, the problem is not unique to Hunt Couplings. Have you ever tried taking a Bachmann tension lock and putting it in a Hornby NEM? It fits but it's not as snug or tight as the Bachmann NEM. Therefore, getting a coupling like this to fit in every variation of NEM pocket precisely is going to need many different designs. That not only makes it expensive for the manufacturer but confusing for the customer.

Love the wagon there with the missing buffer head. Proves there's a prototype for anything

So a bit like the Joker lap in Rallycross.

I've purchased many packs of Hunt Couplings now and fully intend to continue doing so. They are an excellent product and the service I've received thus far has been completely fine. Everything I ordered has arrived in good time and in good condition. I think from the above it's clear that West Hill Wagon Works has gone through some growing pains. I'm glad to hear that they've been able to expand to meet the demand for their products given the current economic climate.

Have to admit, the front end of the photoshopped one there looks better. Not accurate to that drawing but it looks more 'right' to my eye.

A crewmember in the rear cab could be the Guard. Crew in the 'inner' cabs of trains made up of 'multiple' units could just be travelling and making sure they're not taking up seats for passengers.

In my experience finger pressure should be enough to gently ease the wheels into the correct position. It can be annoying sometimes when some wheels decide to stay put until a lot of force is used and then move by a large amount or come off the axle completely though!

The only time I have enjoyed watching Lime Street was when the barriers once got pushed right up to it. Wait your turn to get to that position and you could see into the overall roof and the movements taking place within. I do agree that at shows it is important to try and keep something moving as much as practically possible. Everyone's opinion of 'correct' operation will be different of course but you get far more people seemingly interested if there is plenty of movement. I hate seeing layouts where the operators are stood around doing nothing looking board whilst nothing is moving on scene. Even if Stoke Summit's operation was boring at least it kept something moving.