LNERandBR

All good things 😅 I'm sure they will be here as soon as they can. I'm equally sure Accurascale will let us know if they have any news to share.

Not F1 but the Racing world has lost another Driver today. World Rally Championship driver Craig Breen has died following a crash during a test for the upcoming Croatia Rally: https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/craig-breen-passes-away-in-testing-accident/

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/craig-breen-passes-away-in-testing-accident/ Thing that gets me is there's so little coverage outside of Rallying Media. If you go on the BBC Website it's on their sports page but nothing on the News pages themselves. Saw most of the 6PM news and didn't see it mentioned. I fear it's a symptom of where Rallying is as a whole. As a test, I asked up at my Model Railway Club tonight if anyone could name a current WRC Driver, none could. Plenty remembered Colin McRae but none even knew who the current champion was.

I've had a wonderful day at the York Show today. If you are on the fence about going tomorrow then hop off the fence and go because you will not be dissapointed. Got a few bits from Squires and very happy to see some of the other specialist trade appearing. A friend of mine has always said to me that 'York Show is just a swap meat'. A claim I've always told him is completely untrue but I admit the number of second hand dealers seemed a little high this time. In fact, I don't remember any of the stands being actual 'box shifters'. Most of the traders I saw with the generic RTR boxes were second hand stock, I don't really remember seeing brand new apart from Locomotion Models and their exclusives. The layouts as always were excellent, I very much enjoyed Central Works, Reevy Road West, Splott, Shap and York 😄

If they had arrived in the Accurascale warehouse I'm sure we would have been told about it. 🙂 Just the same with all their previous releases. They are very forthcoming with information when things start happening.

By the time we packed the layout away, loaded, driven to the clubroom, unloaded, driven home it was 9pm. 😊 From an exhibitors point of view it was very well organised. The large doors on the main exhibition hall allowing us to avoid the massive rain showers that kept appearing on the Friday. Some swift rearranging of parking plans ensured to avoind the sodden grassed areas. However all was well come Saturday and Sunday. I understand there are plans to improve the Exhibitor lunches. 😉 Overall a very enjoyable show to exhibit at and I look forward to coming as a visitor in future years.

Finally home after a wonderful time exhibiting Tytton Hall Yard. Thank you to everyone who stopped by for a chat. We all had an excellent time at an excellent exhibition. We had one techical gremlin with our Lenz DCC system but swiftly swapped from our clubs command station to mine. We think the fix is a minor one but at a show it's quicker to swap rarther than troubleshoot 😁 I hope the Statfold Model Railway Exhibition becomes a mainstay on the exhibition calendar.

Whist I'm exhibiting this year, the price I think is excellent. You are effectively paying for entry to a Model Railway Show but also getting access to a Narrow Gauge Railway and Museum. Having had an excellent day today I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Only problem is having to pack the layout away and take it home. 🤣

Never said it affected their development to this point. It's their ongoing development this year and development of next years car that will be affected. Not only by their penalty for breaching the cost cap but also for being 1st in the constructors. This will be the test for these regulations. To see if they can stop Red Bull running away in the ongoing development race and see if any other teams can keep up.

They not only have the cost cap penalty, they have less testing time due to being first in the constructors last year. I'd argue that Merc being 3rd last year will put them in a better position for making improvements this year. Granted, they have less prize money but I'm sure they've still got plenty of investment moneys.

What I didn't like was that I had no idea why Lando was right down the bottom of the field until they finally showd him getting air at a pit stop. A lot of the midfield pit stops are not shown by Channel 4 as a result of their highlights. I do hope that the effects of the lower cost cap and aero testing time clips Red Bulls development. We need a closer field and no one team with a massive advantage. It was good to see the slowest qualy time was only 1.something seconds off 1st but clearly Red Bull's race pace is too high at present.

Don't see this posted anywhere so thought I'd start a topic. The Statfold Barn Railway are holding their second ever Model Railway Exhibition on the 1st and 2nd April. https://www.statfold.com/modelrailwayexhibition I went last year and enjoyed it and this year will be exhibiting with my clubs layout, Tytton Hall Yard.

When I saw this announcement was going to be made I thought it would either be a 58 or a 60. Would really like to see a price before I decide to take the plunge or not. I have one 56 on Pre-order but the lack of price on the DCC Sound versions of that also puts me off. I'm sure it will be made kown as soon as possible however 🙂

Will the Sound Decoders be available seperately for if you want to fit your DCC Ready version at a later date?

I personally and firmly believe that it's not the increase in detail that has pushed the price of models higher. There are more factors in play which are having a greater affect. You only have to look at the prices being asked for older tooled models. In some cases, older tooled models from one manufacturer are the same price as new tooling from another. Yes, the models are more detailed and that detail takes more time and effort to implement. However I think there has also been a leep in technology which has driven that increase. Prices are rising due to many, many more factors.

I wouldn't read into who ordered when as I would think it also depends on which version. Not much longer to wait and I'm sure everyone will get their long awaited model 😁

They charge your payment card and you get a dispatch notification.

Unless the 'OK' means they fixed it 🤔

I think the pickups can catch somewhere on the rear of the wheels. My Linda (with tender) had a small 'click' sound which could only be heard one way. Took the keeper off and adjusted the pickups and it disappeared.

I'm very much a luddite when it comes to coaching formations. Would it be possible to get some of the possible formations in one of your wonderful graphics?

Suspect it would come off pretty easy 🤣

Are those the ones with the Kinematic couplings? I believe they upgraded the Mk3's recently to have them whilst the earlier coaches did not have them. If so, you may in fact need one of the standard NEM socket types which will be of a different length.

The couplings are supplied in different lengths so that different stock and layouts can be catered for. This is why there is no 'minimum radius' as it will depend greatly on which stock you are attaching them to. If you get buffer lock then you need to try longer couplings or mix and match (A short on one end and a long on the other) My understanding is the HST sets are for the retooled Hornby HST before they added the kinematic couplings. I don't think they are designed with Railroad or other Hornby HST's in mind. I have heard that people have successfully bent the legs on the Hunt Couplings outwards to give greater purchase. However, you must be gentle or you will snap them like any other NEM coupling. My advice would be to use glue to firmly attach. I've now fitted Hunt Couplings to countless wagons, coaches and two HST Sets. I've been very happy with them given I've been able to close the gaps between stock. More importantly for me, they make setting up and packing away at shows far, far easier than any other close coupling that I have used. I'm also impressed with the flexibility of the range. They do take a little bit of fettling to get the best out of them but I expected that going into converting my fixed stock rakes. I have no connection other then a very satisfied customer.

Only going on the estimated arrival of the new batch of Deltics is Q1 2024. Does that mean the next run of 37's will be produced before them?

Why not opt for both? Accurascale aren't going to copy the exact example that Bachmann is offering and you'd normally see multiple of a class if you are in an area that they are common. Bachmann's will appear shortly because that's how they operate now. Whilst based on the new batch of Deltics there will be time to either pay in installments for the Accurascale version or wait until they appear around next year. Sorely tempted by the Dutch Bachmann's 37 but I've spent too much just recently so can't really afford it appearing right now. Accurascale's pay in installments option makes it far easier to justify in my eyes as it spreads the cost out nicely and makes budgeting easier.