Allegheny1600

Wow! Neat, unobtrusive and nice looking couplings that look reminiscent of modern unit couplings AND current carrying! I wish you every success with them, personally and possibly commercially? Cheers, John

Not disputing what you say, Phil - just what Jason says. What about the RTR stuff from DJH, OO Works and Union Mills? They might not complete with China and price but they must have the skills.

Confusing isn’t it?! BR42 = 2-10-0 BR042 = 2-8-2 As my learned friend EddieB says above but in the simplest terms. Nice video, thanks

That’s a bit like; Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me!

There are railway modellers in Ukraine too. Here is the story of one man from Vorzel, he only started describing his layout on this German forum earlier this year and look what happened in early March. https://www.stummiforum.de/t201109f64-Meine-Anlage-auf-dem-Dachboden.html German language but Google Translate does a decent job. Not as heart wrenching as the poor young nurse who lost both legs but still upsetting. Let’s hope it’s over soon.

Aha! Thanks for that, I was looking at the Silesian line in isolation. Clearly, having to start again, one would use the system one is used to in other parts of the country! Cheers, John

Hi All, I went to Poland in 1990, it was a cycling trip really but I did get to see some of the railways there. I think this link should take you to a small album of mainly Polish pictures, with I think just one Czech picture. Please excuse the blurry snapshot on the way out of Krakow but it was very hurried! When I’d passed under that bridge and could look back at the loco, the driver was shaking his fist at me! Edit: a question about Polish electrification is better served with a photo of an electric loco! Anyway - I subsequently took an interest in the mountain railways of Silesia in Prussian times. Back then, they developed an early full mainline electrification scheme, I understand it was started before WW1 but only completed after the war. This was at what became the German standard of 15Kv at 16 2/3 cycles (one third of industrial frequency). I believe that after WW2 when the area was under Soviet control, the entire electrification system, masts, wires, locomotives - everything, was claimed as war reparations and taken to the USSR (for research? I know that later, some locomotives were returned to what was by then, East Germany). My question, if anyone can help, is then - why did the PKP pursue its electrification with the 3000v DC system? I presume it’s because that was the system the Soviets knew and understood, I also presume that by then, there were no remaining engineers who understood the 15Kv system? It would be nice to have these suspicions confirmed, please. Thanks, John

I’m reading a certain amount of irony about this. Okay, the present war is raging fiercely thousands of miles away but it is raging nevertheless whilst railway modellers are debating really serious matters! Anyway, if a new body could be created, what standards would it adopt for 4mm/16.5mm gauge? Does it have to reinvent the wheel? Or should it adopt worldwide standards that are currently working? A while ago, I purchased an RTR Beyer-Garrett from an Australian outfit called Eureka Models - everything on this Australian prototype was built according to (American) NMRA standards. It was made in China too as are the vast majority of British outline models. My point here is that anything a group of people (a cabal if you will) can dream up, won’t make a jot of difference when it comes to Chinese production. Unless it conforms to either of a set of worldwide standards, NMRA or NEM, it won’t happen. Or, are you also proposing to bring production back to the UK where you can ensure standards are adhered to along with their associated costs?

Can we keep the discussion on here to what the title states, please. It’s difficult enough to decide whether or not to keep various statements visible when they do refer the original subject, I am NOT going to try and understand the full international situation in order to monitor recent posts. If you wish to continue to discuss international (non EU) shipments, please start a new topic in a different area. Thanks, JE

I can read that!!! (and me) - at least, that’s what I think it says. 18 months here not quite wasted.

Hi Tortuga, You’re continuing to make great progress. I can’t help with your three way electrical problem as I struggle with such points when they are RTR! But I ASSUME that one ought to bond them to their own adjacent stock rails as with the first set - hopefully someone can come along and state whether I am talking rubbish. Sorry I can’t say for certain. John

I could hardly do anything other than “agree” This is one of my favourite German diesel locomotives, which I really love and have several models of. I knew they were “Soviet” built but in my ignorance, I never realised just where they were built, despite fairly well following the news since 2014 etc, I never connected the dots. I wish your positive contribution well. John

Are there limits on the content given for the “other” answers, please? I have listed my suggestions for improving content, the various magazines I buy and so forth but I don’t get anything when I try to submit. Apologies if I have written too much! John

Hi Tim, I can’t help, myself, see my location! But I have heard good things about Trevor who works Saturdays in Arcadia Models, Shaw, Gtr. Manchester - if you’re close enough to call in (it would be awkward posting such a model especially if you didn’t buy it there). I used to be a regular customer. I imagine most well known and established model shops should be able to help or at least recommend someone who can help. Also local clubs may be willing to assist but probably only if you’re a member. Finally, you would need a very close visual inspection of any split gear, it’s only under load that it’s noticeable and of course, then you can’t see it. Cheers, John

PS Sometimes, it can be a slipping traction tyre that makes this noise. Be very careful not to over oil as the oil will cause problems with the traction tyres. If this is the case, clean everything in the area and fit new traction tyres

Hello Tim, Oh dear, it sounds like a gear mounted on an axle has split. You should be able to remove the keeper plate underneath the bogie to verify this. It is VERY difficult or impossible to repair this if this is the case so you can either remove the gear wheel from the axle and run the loco with five driven axles* or (properly) order a replacement from Roco or your importer. Best of luck, John * Maybe switch the affected axle to be a final axle in the bogie else the drive won’t pass along the drive train otherwise, it’s usually the centre axle that is affected.

That or the earliest Maerklin models. They were decent enough for their day but when you see what say, AZL can produce, they do seem pretty crude.

Herein lies the problem with this truly awful prototype. It is so ugly, it doesn’t matter how “good” or apparently accurate your starting point is, you’ll never be able to build a convincing model. The thing is so ugly, it can be completely accurate to the 1st June 1956 or any other date but you’ll never make a nice model out of it. @xm607 - you’ve done as good a job as any I’ve seen but the model is still ugly! In this respect, the KR models version will do just fine, not that I want such a thing soiling my tracks.

What about these though? Introduced in 1964. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCF_CC_40100 Cracking scenes, you’ve modelled ‘Barry’!

Hello Ian, That’s lovely! I really like the French name too, very clever. Cheers, John

Hi Duncan, Wow! That really looks the business, well done. That can’t be the same model that Farish brought out in the eighties, can it? I’m guessing it’s been updated, as per the 4mm model. Cheers, John

Hi Rob, We had a similar problem with one of our late girls. We bought a brand new litter tray and through the vet, we obtained some small plastic pellets that give a similar effect to regular litter. This, after several goes, was sufficient to fool the patient into going somewhere where we could then collect it. HTH, John

That’s rather good, thanks. The rockfall it caught was quite spectacular.

Oh, yes! Japanese stuff is lovely! A friend of mine has a Zoukei-Mura series 0 Shinkansen in 1/87th H0 scale and that is quite expensive but at Ally Pally once, there was an 0 scale model of an EF58 - that was a case of “if you have to ask how much, you can’t afford it” Most “American” brass seems to be made in South Korea now and I know from when I had a dabble in US 0 scale, their prices are rather eye watering. They do run a lot better than the old Japanese brass now though. Sorry! We’ve drifted rather away from the OP.

Probably Patak Philippe or A.Lange & Sohne. TAG Heuer possibly. Maybe the first two brands would be reserved for the likes of Micro Fein Mechanik though. http://www.microfeinmechanik.de/index.php?PHPSESSID=ed72543235d7845fb430b93a3ade9099 Don’t - unless you’re VERY well heeled!