LNERandBR

Issue there is if you lock up going into a turn where there is run off you can release the brake and just go straight to avoid losing as much time. If you lock up going into a turn where there's grass and gravel on the outside you don't have that option and thus loose more time by being forced to stay more on the track. The drivers will always go for the easier and quickest option so just saying 'don't go there' wouldn't work. You'd get more penalties for track limits which the 'go around the bollard' method is supposed to remove. Thus we as fans will be more upset that there are yet more 5 second penalties for what we see as good hard racing. Tarmac run off areas are safer than grass or gravel as you have a chance to keep the car out of the wall. Grass takes away grip and modern F1 cars tend to bounce over gravel. That's why so many tracks are ripping up the grass and digging out the gravel and replacing it with miles of tarmac run off. Issues with cars abusing track limits are always going to be a thing at certain corners and the ways to punish it are always going to be a compromise.

I think many would prefer Grass or Gravel in the run off areas. Certainly, that's what most old school tracks seem to have. There's an automatic penalty involved there given that if you go off the track you loose grip and could crash. Granted, they are more dangerous which is why the tarmac is there. Although I think having the barriers set up right next to a wall was a little silly. Was't it just a bollard before or was that another track where cutting a corner is done too regularly so a 'penalty' track is needed?

Plenty of time to get a good look at front and rear wings in the pit lane. They wouldn't be able to hide anything for too long.

I think the main thing that can put people's noses out when it comes to N vs OO prices and how close they are is the feeling of getting less for your money with the N gauge version. Simply because of the smaller size of N, one can be forgiven for thinking the cost should be lower than OO. However, the amount of fine detail being packed into N Gauge stock now is often just as much if not more than the OO counterpart.

Oh for sure when entering the section of track where the incident is happening the field must be slowed down. I think the issue is more when the incident has been cleared and they are waiting for the lapped cars to unlap themselves and getting ready for the restart.

The main gripe I've heard from Drivers about the Safety Car being too slow is that it makes it very hard for them to keep temperature in the tyres. Low Temp means they have no grip and no grip means that come the restart there's more likely to be another accident. The overall issue being that F1 cars have gotten a lot quicker and the Safety Cars just can't go fast enough. At least the current Safety Cars are actually built to be sports cars and not a typical family hatchback like when they were introduced

Also see races when Hamilton was punted off at the first corner and then cut his way though the field. He's pretty good at doing that.

It will be like that race in Canada when all the tyres wore out and they thought 'we should do this every race'

Personally, I don't think any rules need changing regarding Quali. They have a system that works and I don't think they should be worried about adjusting it. What needs to happen at Monza is the teams and drivers just need to sort themselves out so that they can get a clean lap. They are only themselves to blame if they are tripping over each other. Yes, having a slipstream is an advantage but the Mercs showed that you don't have to have one to get P1 and P2 in quali.

How long until they're randomly doing reverse grid starts after that race? Like Sunday morning suddenly make an announcement and get the top teams all twitching?

https://www.westhillwagonworks.co.uk/couplings-new-c-2/hunt-couplings-elite-oo-gauge-new-c-21/hunt-couplings-elite-mk1-mk2-pullman-stepped-close-coupling-couplings-for-nem-sockets-oo-gauge-p-84 These are what I would recommend for Bachmann Mk 1 coaches. No affiliation other then a very satisfied customer

I'm another very happy bunny when it comes to the Hunt Couplings. My experiences of them thus far have been very good and I'm slowly converting my fixed coaching rakes over to them. The Elite type are certainly a step up from the standard ones given they don't have the polarity differences. They've even got a specific type for Bachmann Mk1 coaches to deal with their odd coupling height in that range.

I can confirm that microphones seem to pick up any little noise very easily. I remember filming trains at Quorn and Woodhouse station during a GCR Winter Gala many years ago. They had a fairground organ over the far side of the yard, where I was stood I could barely hear it but when I started going through the footage to edit the camcorder had!

A lovely video with excellent editing and a nice compilation of footage. Personally, I did like the shots where you were trackside and you could see the trains approaching from a distance. However, the 'helicopter' shots also conveyed the sense of space that Little Bytham has. I'll admit, I was surprised at the amount of whining that some of the locomotive motors were making. However, I suspect they aren't quite so noticeable to an actual human ear from X number of feet away. Camcorder microphones do have a habit of picking up noises far easier than you would expect. On the subject of audio, I think this is indeed proof that 'DCC Sound' is not needed on Little Bytham. The trains carry a sense of weight and presence as it is without anything extra being needed.

In my experience you need both good raw footage and good editing to get a great video. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the results of both here

Regarding the engine modes, the beeb have a good explanation as to why: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/53906072 Personally, I think there should be 3 modes, Low, Medium and High. Teams would be free to set what those modes were and they'd be locked in from the beginning of Quali though to the end of the Race. This allows for teams to adjust depending on engine lifespan. Switching engine mode allows for more attacking and defending as you have to choose when to use it. Having just one mode for the entire race weekend lessons that aspect and I'm sure we don't want to stop overtaking now

I completely agree that in the case of Little Bytham, and most likely Retford too, DCC Sound would be completely superfluous. The natural sounds of the trains are all that's needed. My main reason for this view? Steam sound decoders have a long way to go before they capture the intricate and complex sounds a real steam locomotive makes at high speed. DCC sound for steam is far better on a smaller layout. There the sounds add to the experience though whistling when appropriate and though adding atmosphere. A country branchline station for example. Additionally, for a smaller layout DCC makes operating easier in that your not having to worry if a loco is isolated. You can park a loco anywhere on the layout and leave it to move another one. Granted, it's therefore far easier to forget to switch a point and run though it the wrong way! For Little Bytham, you would hear the train long before you saw it and unless the run up from the fiddle was as long as the layout you wouldn't get that. Plus, I'm certain that there's no issue with wanting to leave locomotives isolated on the scenic section. Unlike a smaller layout when you can find a train is only just too long for the siding or platform you wanted to put it in.

To say it's your first go at scratch building a bridge it's very good indeed. I very much enjoy watching your videos too, they're very well filmed and informative. I especially like the one's where your upgrading rolling stock.

Another way to mitigate the risk when loco doctoring would be to wear disposable gloves. There'd be no need to sanitise the models before you touch them as the gloves provide you with protection. You would however have to sanitise them before returning them. It would also be advisable to wash your hands before putting the gloves on and after taking them off. This is what I'm having to do at work when going to schools to maintain their IT equipment.

I'm also an optimist, I've also been contacted by a show organiser to say that a layout booking for late 2020 has been confirmed for 2021. They are very optimistic that the show will go ahead in 2021 given all information at their disposal. Fingers crossed for at least some of next year's shows going ahead.

I don't think it's a 'requirement' that all shows are cancelled. If a show's organisers are happy that they can comply with all the relevant government requirements then they are completely entitled to go ahead. As to if they get enough visitors though the doors to justify it is a different matter.

I think in the current situation with different areas having different amounts of cases local control is a good thing. It allows more targeted solutions to help keep those case numbers down and finally defeat the virus. Local areas have been wanting more control for years.

The Boston Model Railway Society are sorry to announce that our 2020 exhibition due to take place at Stickney Village Hall on the 26th and 27th September 2020 has been cancelled. All exhibitors and traders have provisionally been booked for the 2021 exhibition. The reason being the Hall informing us that the number of people allowed in the building at any time has been restricted due to the virus. This being a small village hall, I think its going to be the main issue stopping the smaller shows from running. The Boston Club are also thinking of holding an open day early next year at our club room depending on the situation with the virus.

Liverpool Central certainly looks interesting. I found the page on Disused Stations for it: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/l/liverpool_central_hl/ A few more photos on there and a map with the basic track plan. You can't see it in any of the photos but looks like there was a turntable there too.

I suspect it will be no different to the street circuits which are very green at the beginning of the weekend.