34theletterbetweenB&D

Go for it. Every H-D/Wrenn 'N2' body attacked minutely increases the standard of realism overall of 4mm models. (Let's face it, this item not only fails to look anything like an N2, but also fails to suggest any alternative UK steam loco class...) I would suggest a careful measure up of the body against whatever drawing you have of the TVR A class, to ensure that the relative positions of footplate, boiler centreline, tank and cab dimensions and positions are not too far adrift. While savaging an N2 body will hopefully boast the attraction of economy, I know where I would look first for the basis of a RTR bash to arrive at a TVR 0-6-2T. That would be Bachmann's LBSCR E4, a very typical example of a late Victorian 0-6-2T design.

I would suspect it represented an economical opportunity to probe the market potential. Had the research from a popular OO model to hand, and a suitable drive plus design and manufacturing resource from the Arnold operation. Make it, see how it does in the market. No further N product from Hornby says to me that the return was insufficient to justify continuing. That doesn't mean it didn't sell or failed to return a profit. Just that there are alternative more profitable opportunities for their investment cash.

Why Bachmann have failed to exploit their BDA tooling to produce the 'steam period' Bogie Bolster D baffles me. The earlier bogies used by the LNE, LMS and BR are tooled in their range, a new set of bolsters and a paint job are the principal changes required (If this item were a BR mk1 coach, it would be akin to producing it in sectorisation liveries only.)

Sadly the last metallurgist I knew has succumbed to an Alzheimer spectrum complaint (there's more of this brain rot about than there used to be as well) so unfortunately I no longer have an expert consultant on tap. I don't know what the current picture is on zinc supply - all of ores, refining and recycling processes - that being the main constituent of Mazak, let alone the alloying components. But it can be surprising what changes to finished materials properties may be caused by any and all of: different ores or ore sources, changes to refining methods, and contaminants introduced by recycling. I once had experience of a very unexpected degradation of an alloy's properties that proved to be due to organic polymer contamination introduced by recycling: which organic material made it through a metal vapour distillation process which should have completely thermally decomposed it. The science proved 'very interesting'. Great life lesson: stuff which 'cannot happen' sometimes does, keep an open mind on causes until all the evidence has been thoroughly examined.

Layouts chock full? Among the small group of friends local to me, one of our number has a layout rather like the little 'one space only' puzzles of my childhood, (now totally superseded by computer games) which results in much shuffling of stock onto shelves when anything new is brought over for a test run! A product of the surfeit of the past two decades...

My wife and I have been watching a pair of crows at various times over the past week and a bit, clearly attempting to build a nest in the top of one of the sessile oaks behind our garden. Much to my wife's frustration she has had trouble locating the nest site to observe progress. But today we saw the explanation. They had managed a fair mass of twigs in the 'Crow's nest' position by yesterday evening, but today at about 11 am the whole lot came tumbling down. So I conclude we have 'Jerry builder' Crows. Do we suppose it is a pair of inexperienced juveniles learning the how of nest construction?

Cannot argue with a retailer acting on his perception of what the customers will actually purchase. Possibly you are one of very few customers using that outlet likely to purchase these items?

I would say they are possible subjects for mainland European HO, which British HO users might find attractive; and of course the two highlighted in red have HO models and are augmented by the 08. What they do not constitute is a coherent collection of items from which a collection or model railway broadly attractive to the majority of potential UK purchasers can be assembled The golden rule of UK model railway product: there shall be Gresley pacifics. It is not possible to make these in HO both looking externally correct, and able to run on set track curvature, with current RTR standard parts. If it is externally correct in appearance P87 standards of curvature will apply in short. (Disbelievers are invited to try and assemble such.) It's interesting that Fleischmann's HO probe was the Bulleid coaches, but mysteriously accompanied by a Western hydraulic. Had they done the original condition Bulleid pacific, either species, which is possible in commercial RTR HO thanks to no outside valve gear or splashers; they might just have got a different outcome. I have no idea if Bachmann even considered UK HO, and Heljan were dissuaded despite intending to enter the UK market with HO product. That either or both could have turned out post-steam traction models in HO to a better standard than the contemporary OO competition is in no doubt. But that boat has long sailed. I believe the real window of opportunity was the opening of the Channel tunnel: 'there's rails between the scale zones' etc. and Bachmann's entry to the UK market was well timed for it. The low cost manufacturing in China of the time would have enabled a cut throat pricing strategy to carve great holes in Hornby and particularly RIKO/Lima's OO market shares, and had it gone ahead by now 'everything' D+E would be in HO.

Had the early 1990s 'new entrant' to the UK model railway market - almost simultaneous with the opening of the Channel tunnel - made the decision to make all post steam models in HO, it might just have 'flown', because they had the capability to offer something new which would have knocked all the then existing OO product into a cocked hat. Didn't happen then against very poor competition, and with the advantage of truly low cost Chinese manufacturing available to secure its UK beachhead with predatory pricing: so not a hope now. As already mentioned UK steam has to stay with the OO compromise if it is to be commercial RTR standard to run on set track. Practically all of the locos have wheels inside splashers just for a start, and the result is hybrid scaling where width at footplate and below is 1:76. Teh Rivarossi Royal Scot is permanent testament to what happens if it is attempted. (It's the dirty little secret of HO, a great many HO steam models are necessarily inaccurate for the same reason. Well engineered mechanisms, excellent detail and finish, but significantly deviating from prototype appearance: forced by the need to fit in the commercial mechanism parts and retain small radius curve capability.)

One of two things then. Either the front securing screw above the pony truck wheelset is still in place, or the close fitting metal parts of chassis and body are binding on each other. (Sometimes Bach's steam models are assembled with the paint still soft enough that they are 'tacked' together; had a real wrestling match with all the Ivatt 4F 2-6-0s I have opened as a result of this.)

Michael, if you are sure that the securing screws are all removed, then - gently - use the drawbar as a lever to start moving the mechanism out of the body. As soon as there is a little movement the drawbar will come free from the boss inside on which it pivots, and may then be withdrawn allowing the body to lift clear of the mechanism. The majority - and possibly all? - Bachmann tender locos from the start of the Blue riband introductions have this feature of the drawbar through a slot in the body engaging body to mechanism; until the 9F was introduced.

A quick and easy test is to remove the loco to tender link with the contacts on it, and make a temporary replacement drawbar from a piece of plastic and hitch on the tender; then see if the shorting problem is eliminated. In which case permanent soldered wire connections, and a more permanent drawbar, and you are done. But what if the shorting is still present with the temporary drawbar attaching the tender? There is a lurking problem in versions of the Hornby Gresley pacific (and other's!) model mechanisms, which is that the loco's chassis block is live to one rail. That can lead to shorting on the loco. You might think you have covered that as the loco alone is not showing the shorting problem, but its dynamics when moving are altered by having a trailing load. It's usually a side rod live to the chassis block contacting a wheel rim or axle end when this problem arises; watching the loco running in the dark will show the location with a small spark should this problem be present.

My wife is the gardener. She gathered seed from those in our previous garden (and from many other plants of course), and slung it round all the locations where they would be desireable in our current garden. The fritillaries 'took' and are thoroughly established in two places, and are going a storm this year.

Regrettably this proved to be the truth for all the larger split chassis models if operated frequently - only the small types like the 0-6-0Ts had reasonable longevity thanks to lighter weight and less running mileage at speed. In my experience of the Mainline and Bachmann versions of these mechanisms it was a race between wearing through the plating on both the tyres, and the axle to chassis half contact areas, resulting in very poor current collection; or the plastic components in the drive train failing, resulting in various mechanical failures. Generally some plastic component failure(s) would be repaired or replaced before the plating was all done, at which point the mechanism was a throwaway after salvaging any serviceable components for the 'replacement parts' pool. Acceptable enough when these models were available cheap, for an 'operator' like myself whose primary interest is watching trains running to a timetable service. Bachmann's provison of replacement complete mechanisms was in my opinion an acknowledgement of the short life characteristic of the materials choices and construction found in these mechanisms. As the better steel axle wheelset with wiper pick up mechanisms displaced the split chassis mechanisms in their range I extracted the last of the life from the old, and 'moved on'.

You want the road vehicles to stay put while the train is in motion, but also easily removeable. Stop all the road vehicle wheels rotating is the first thing, and assess. If they don't stay put when the train is in motion I'd think magnetic for this application; ideally iron strip on or under the load deck, small magnets under the road vehicles, so you have complete freedom to position the vehicles.. For your proposed eight to twelve carflat trains, on a level layout: since that loco will easily shift 4kg, the carflats can gross 250g each on the longest proposed train. Body mounted couplers would be better if you get up to that sort of weight. There's also the little matter of plastic bogie frames spreading under load on the pinpoints, just have to assess that in operation.

If any of these models have the white/pale grey cased 'pod motor' then the Replica motor spare RS1000 - if still available - would be an option. http://www.replicarailways.co.uk/spares-and-accessories/spares However, the general fragility of the Jubilee running gear, especially the brittle gears and tendency of the driving wheels on round stub axles to slip out of quarter, would incline me to the thought of trying one and seeing whether the near forty year old mechanism parts are still up to the job.

The attractive young lady canvassing, Had a leaflet that made interesting reading, June's plan of attack, Gauge O plastic track, And battery powered or steaming. That's the easy bit sorted out...

Back to late winter here today. Yesterday was sunshine, shorts and t shirt, lunch outdoors listening to the birds all shouting away, Brimstone, Peacock and Speckled wood butterflies flying about. Could almost watch the hornbeams coming into leaf, they started the day with bare twigs, ended covered in a fuzz of pale yellow-green. Put new protective feet on the aluminium garden furniture using some parts from a Texan manufacturer that 'really work' according to a US based cousin. I can definitely use some more of that sunshine.

Trying yesterday evening to explain to a group of girls in the 10-12 age band, how a full and enjoyable social life was possible in the stone age. That would be before 'everyone' had a mobile phone you understand. My greying beard and lack of mobile phone, combined to convince them all of my troglodyte status. It did provoke the thought that we might might benefit from a national 'mobiles disabled' day, on which the only numbers that would function would be exclusively for emergency and essential services use.

They are nesting here. there and everywhere. My wife's ever-optimistic use of garden twine is resulting in plants unsupported all over the garden as so many of the birds shred it and take it in beak loads for nest building. (My mother being a great knitter would put her wool ends out at this time of year, and it was a great entertainment when the blue tit box was cleaned out at summer's end, to see what they had taken and incorporated. There wasn't much on the telly back then...)

I read that plainly in everything that Love Productions have put out so far. We want people with the knowledge to work on a project to make us a lot of money. Anyone contemplating involvement should particularly keep in mind that the 'personality presenting' is an unknown quantity. Could be a Dan Snow, that might be OK; or it could be something in the Chris Evans category. I don't believe there is any significant financial obstacle, you only have to thnk about the budgets that must be involved in getting telly entertainers, 'name' specialists, and locations with all the necessary crew, kit and support together, over weeks of filming for the likes of Great Throw-a-Bee Off the Island Challenge.

Fourteen wheels for the complete ensemble, 3 shots = 15, leaving one 8' wheel spare I suppose? I guess someone has done the calculation for the lowest cost trade between tooling and net materials use.

I had to be in the bank this morning, and while there 'someone' dropped something very heavy in the adjacent retail unit which is having a refit, A significant thud, floor shook a little, some dust came down from the suspended ceiling; no shouting or fire alarm so hopefully no one hurt. And then I became aware that my right leg was encumbered. I had grown a firmly attached small child. On looking down a little face was looking up, so I said "Hello". Got a most accusing look accompanied by the reply "You're not my Daddy.".

That's the effect I would expect, with a multistage gear train it takes a while for the lubricant to get evenly distributed on all the working faces of the gears; no substitute for running at moderate speed in both directions so that it is 'exercised' in all the positions the gears can take up against each other, especially as the wheels shift about to take curvature. Alternative version on this theme: film could always record colour, but the real world was originally monochrome. (This must be true because we know that the ancient greeks described the sky as a shade of grey, and anyone who has been on a Mediterrean holiday knows that isn't true any more.) The US government spent a fortune getting Walt Disney and others with proven expertise in their domestic film industry to have theatres of combat 'coloured in' during WWII, because it made photographic detection of camouflaged equipment much easier. And that's why most of the WWII colour film of combat operations is of US origin.

I think Bunnings may have opened a store in St Albans, from what I read of an advert on the back of a bus motoring off into the distance, seen during this morning's amble. Shall have to take a look sometime. Gone for a well heeled locale, but with much competition already in place.