34theletterbetweenB&D

Think of it in terms of an aspect of the core interest that has brought us together here. Although many of us see RTR as a starting point, for a great number it is the only thing, and should it exit the box it came in, is not to be altered in even the smallest detail. Perhaps her RTR 4x4 came out of the box like that, and superfluous fitting though it may well be in Southern England, nevertheless the vehicle will remain in original condtion.

Not a bit of it! Won a disputed insurance claim hearing as a result of a lawyer's grammatical and spelling inadequacies. Among other things, that the claim concerned a house and not a nouse - whatever that might be - and underpining has no known meaning; and the continuous reference to the nouse - whatever that might be - not having been constructed, demonstrated that the defendant was referring to some hypothetical future event, which was not in the least relevant to my insurance claim. The guy hearing it agreed that the defendant's case was vexatious, and the insurer threw the towel in at that point, with something extra for my trouble.

Dealing with the news that all four of the parental units appertaining to my wife and myself are now in significant health difficulties. Not too surprising with a combined age of 356 between them, but problematic as we of all their progeny are far and away positioned most closely to both couples, (as in living in the same country) but there's a 200 mile distance between their respective homes, and neither will relocate... When I re-read my secondary school reports after decade or thereabouts of experience of real life, it was clear that many of the teachers revealed more about themselves than the pupil. Had this insight been available earlier there were several chains that could have been jerked more effectively. Probably a good job that I was ignorant of this at the time...

It's 'some modelling' alright if you can fit good looking and robust brake gear to a 4mm 9F yourself. Been there, got that sweat soaked T shirt, and the end result not as tidy as the Bachmann. If you can do it successfully, then you are qualified to build most kits, so you won't need RTR anyway... Whatever, the first - and much simpler - jobs, are to bring the cylinder blocks inboard for scale width and add representations of the ashpan chutes and doors. If Hornby persist with the old tender with the overlength front frames, shortening this to scale makes a good improvement too, for a quick half hour of cutting and cementing.

That will work for a while, but the paper will crumble and the trouble will then return. I have been through all my class 105s soldering on really fine wires to make all the connections, rock solid running. On the positive side, the pick up from the pinpoints on these DMU's and the Met-Camm Pullman cars is a complete delight, free rolling with robust current collection. The Pullmans will 'detect' gradients on nominally level layouts, one of them gets away on what I estimate to be a 1 in 350. Since my set is decoder fitted for light control, I am thinking about a motor operated parking brake in the brake ends.

Delighted!

The best detail in the world goes for nothing if the body shape is wrong: which it clearly is on this model (cab side windows not properly recessed). One of the worst models Hornby introduced in their 'Sanda Kan' period. Hornby could cheaply improve by taking the Lima 31 body suitably flush glazed and finished, and combining this with the main range running gear. A body that is overall more accurate, fine running gear, Hornby's excellent paint job; best of all worlds.

Easy make

Best to all those in difficulties. After somewhat over a week away, and an intray that looks like skyscraper, serious duties must take over once I have completed all the phone calls around which I can be online with MR stuff. I now offically declare that the M5 has the worst drivers in the UK as users. It is consistently used by people who shouldn't have driving licences, the most notable of this year's exhibits eight caravan operators in a group continually attempting to overtake each other with 0.1mph speed differential, causing repeated bunching of the traffic; and some plonker in a Volvo with what looked like floorboards propped up at an angle on a trailer. These were unsecured and as he accelerated he got them airborne all over the motorway. I hope no one had an accident - no time to look behind as I wove through the falling timber.

For those with the bashing inclination, the 700 strikes me as a near ideal starting point for the Jumbo/812/Barney family and quite possibly also the J36, such was the long term influence of Drummond on loco design in Scotland. Good luck with the 4-6-0 outperforming your large 0-6-0, as received. With three extra unpowered wheelsets to move as compared to the 0-6-0, and typically a less favourable distribution of weight on the coupled wheels, it will do well to match the Q1. Some adjustment, and extra ballast installed likely to be necessary.

dandruff

The ensemble will look yet better with this set to the shorter position. There don't look to be any protrusions on the drag box faces, so probably just a question of anything that might foul the fall plate on smaller radius curves.

Colour photos of the sets transitioning from largely QoS cars to the Mk1s show a colour difference between the cars in both the brown and the cream. The older cars were a warmer tone. Between the Bachmann and the Hornby it's the other way around though...

28'6" or 8.7m would be a credible length for an 0-6-0 locomotive alone, (have no drawing for this specific class) and just needs a slight decimal point misplacement to misinform the customer...

This was the fantastic moment in the UK's railway development: the best part of a century of its complete history still on view, while the traction and stock was changing to what would be standard for the next fifty years. Never again would such variety be on view. Carriage stock that was pre-group in concept was still working out of KX - in fact DP1 would go out of service well before the Quad-Arts - and DP1 out on the ECML would pass locos like Hitchin's J15 of a design that dated to the mid 1880s. Born too late to see the LNER's stock in varnished teak, a railwayman I asked about it pointed to a Gresley full brake which was covered in dust and thus grey brown all over, no trace of the BR paint. "Once the varnish was badly worn, that's pretty much what it looked like" said he.

Grouchy

That's disappointing. The 'two hole' drawbars on the most recent preceeding tender loco models (K1, J15) were screw attached. But all was not quite well: on the K1 the drawbar had to be turned around to successfully locate on the shorter setting without fouling the wires; on the J15 I made a replacement drawbar, shorter setting only, to avoid the supplied drawbar on the shorter setting slowly sawing through the wires while in operation. Hornby seem to be thinking of the closer setting as 'for display only'; rather than for operation which is perfectly feasible if not using set track radii. I'd drill out the rivet on the 700 and make my own attachment arrangements, but then I do like altering things.

Morning all. For those familiar with the railway operations concept an analogy is possible. Embarkation happens in a church (= railway station) on their schedule of operations (= timetable) the sole exceptions being for outright emergencies (= train wreck with immediate risk to life). Personally I would struggle to get my sib's birthdays correct better than two out of five without careful prior calendar inspection, so maybe that acounts for poor choice of day?

Given that the overall impression of the model is so convincing, they are going to get away with the detail of the incorrect handrail pillar/stanchion angle. Pleased to see the coal slide neatly represented: having waited so long to see coal spaces in tenders, to start losing them for the sake of easy speaker fitting rather narks. Is this the breakthrough moment? That's the first time ever that OO RTR has boasted availability of 0-6-0 types in double figures (Dean, 2251, 3F, 4F, J11, J15, J39, 700, C, Q1) nearing parity with pacific classes; which in reality they well outnumbered both in variety of classes and numbers built. It's a very pleasing development, and I feel the charm of the older designs are getting proper exposure at long last.

Busy, busy day. Goodnight. Maybe. That's the back pedal brake equipped unit, which dumps the inexperienced straight into the nearest watercourse when there is a little frost on the cobbles. The lack of toe clips, and floatable traditional footwear ensure that the wayward fietser resurfaces.

They may well come from different factories, the K1 (TEC05) and J15 (LOT01) did, and reveal constructional variations. The K1 looks more like a Kader design in some key respects: style of motor mount, 3 pole motor, gear train arrangement, pick up wipers; the J15 generally following the pattern usual in Hornby's Sanda Kan period. (The staffs for these new outfits must have come from other places where they got their experience.) But on track these two models both run beautifully. So, evaluate running performance when it is on the layout; I would suggest that Hornby have got the message about what is looked for from a goods machine based on the specimens I have. I guess the 700 also has the cast metal boiler found on the J15 to give the model enough weight. If so the horizontal handrail knob position are a production compromise for diecast tool release. Aftermarket opportunity for some cranked handrail knobs?

As someone who rode a bike as their preferred means of personal transport from age 10 to 40 but then gave up riding on roads because it was patently too dangerous in the South East of England, I feel pretty well qualified to comment. Vehicle driving standards are slightly down, but greater safety provision compensates. Cycling standards have plummeted. Twice already this year a cyclist has 'manoeuvred' in the path of my vehicle against all the tenets of defensive cycle riding on the road. Both occasions it was the ABS on the car that prevented a collision, having the ability to mash the brake pedal with complete confidence. You do not ride out of a concealed entrance looking the wrong way and eating a banana, you do not swerve out of the opposing lane directly into the path of two lanes of oncoming vehicles. The second twerp had the decency to fall off attempting to mount the pavement so our local constabulary are at least able to remonstrate with her, about the tail end collision this event occasioned (not to my vehicle thankfully, I was only a witness). So, sadly, when I hear of a cyclist killed / seriously injured my first thought is probably either ignoring simple defensive riding rules for cyclists or even ignoring the highway code completely. See I love Monstrous Regiment, right up there for lambasting idiot jingoism; but Unseen Academicals, now that is total dross, what's it even about? (Not bothered with Nation.) Good Omens is fun. Disentangling Neil and Terry is an endlessly engaging sport.

I would add the thought that 'not planning' is just that. If there are no/insufficient orders from retailers for this product, then of course Heljan are not planning a production run. Wait a year or three for a time when there are practically no new Westerns available on sale and retailers perceive the demand to be such that they are placing orders for the product, and then see. The business about spares is what it is with all the manufacturers as already pointed out. There's no holdings of unprofitable inventory against a trickle of demand, so less popular models for which there isn't constant demand require a DIY approach to sparing. I find without fail that the locos for which I hold a 'breaker' for parts never go wrong...

Much sympathy for those with eye trouble, I am in the deep and sticky myself despite excellent care and consultancy. Astigmatism that varies with light level in short. Have pretty close to 20/20 unassisted in bright sunlight, but as the iris opens to accomodate lower light levels the astigmatism kicks in. There's no light level varying astigmatic correction equipment at present so I have to go for the closest corrective set per light level. Real PITA, and has put a crimp on a lot of modelling activity, with each eye telling me things are a different shape under normal artificial lighting levels... Wild praise for most everything she most favours, but should there be something among her choices you find at least acceptable, be fairly dismissive of it. The available UK foot soldier accounts of all phases of the Napoleon-Wellington slugging match are harrowing. A major wound to head or torso was rarely survivable, to the limbs about 1 chance in 3, and always with major disability thereafter. Even a lesser but disabling injury could easily prove fatal from infection, or inability to quickly get out of harm's way; the fallen regularly burned or choked to death as the vegetation of the field they fought on took fire. But that was the warfare of the period, the combatants moved into close contact, then remorselessly slugged it out until one side realised it could no longer hold its ground. No systematic provision for care of the wounded, as it really wasn't possible among a heap of casualties completely embedded in near static and engaged combat formations Despite impressions that one might glean that the Royal Navy was as bad as being in prison with the added benefit of risk of drowning, it was the more survivable UK service in that period. This by the supremacy of better practiced RN ship handling and tactics, with the much more effective RN gunnery then exploiting the resulting position. The latter an early consequence of aspects of the industrial revolution resulting in better ordnance and better powder.

My first 'career position' employer wasn't having any truck with that. They showed their new up to the minute exec suite equipment apparently being operated by a chimp: "So your secretary will have no trouble at all'". Truth as ever far outdistances fiction.