Bill

Troubles with WiFi in Widowers Ten - cured by rebooting - sometimes... usually - well not always but mostly if you get what I mean - It's not really that scientific.. But if when it does go off and you ask for help, you get this weird notice saying that you can choose a connection - then it offers no options when clicked!! So something majorly wrong here - hence the only solution is to reboot - do not under any circumstances press "restart... " Windows X seems to have a memory of previous mistakes and likes to repeat them... Trouble with video/audio playback - repeatedly cured and uncured by successive downloads of upgrades to the Radeon Video card - I have never had so many upgrades to a video card driver in the life of any computer before. Radeon really must be having a real hard time of it with this Microsoft "Downgrade" to Windows 10 X (X is for unknown solved only by using Newton's method it would seem) Now It may appear that Windows Ten is driving me mad - criminally insane.... But really I am taking it all my stride - really! Honestly - Believe me - I am you know - I really am....

Hey I'm running some carmine Gresley suburbans - they seem to be the nearest thing though they should be brown.. or Teak The third class coach needs an extra compartment, the tops of the doors need to be rounded - plus a few other rather important details But nothing really stands in for the actual dreadnoughts.. I'm saving up for some kits and then I'll try to fine someone who would really enjoy (and get paid) putting them together for me - my alias where painting is concerned is Klutz! But I do think that pulling a rake of Gresleys looks better than having it pull a rake of containers round the layout..

Hornby got back to me.. as follows... Dear Sir Thank you for your email and apologies for the delay in responding to you. If you can supply me with pictures of the damaged parts, and also list the parts that you will require, I will see if we have them, and if not, then what you will need to do from there. Kind Regards, XXXX XXXXXXXX (name redacted) Customer Care A customer has made an enquiry on the Hornby site. Enquiry type: Complaint XXXXXX Redacted I have sent them the photos and now await their reply. I'll keep you posted.. Bill

I received an email from Rails today saying the Metropolitan versions were now in stock - They look terrific and are very tempting indeed...

This is superb - it's a real work of art in the making!

I noticed that a TTS sound version has just been released - does anyone know if this is just the Railroad version with noise added? Or is it a proper working version of the P2? Thanks...

I just gave this a go - Superb - Stuff I have been looking for - for weeks fell out of the web at my feet - stood up and started quacking! Thanks... Google can sometimes give good results - but it has been jumped on by the 'money' people... So the results are very skewed and often padded with rubbish sites - and like music long since ceased to be "Authentic" as a genuine search engine..

Sherlock Holmes arrived from Hatton's on Thursday - which is a pretty impressive turn of speed for Postes Canada - (Which sometimes seems to delight in slowing down parcels if and whenever it can...) It arrived in excellent condition, with no obvious faults. Right out of the box - It ran smoothly in either chosen direction... As usual Heljan's Idea of correct coupling height seems to differ from everyone else's, (including their own) (I suppose they must have some kind of random process in play when they select the height for the couplings in each model!) But the coupling supplied - although a little on the low side was able to successfully mate with the coupling on a Hornby Gresley Suburban. It is a superb model and Heljan are at the top of their game with this My only regret? - getting a set of EFE Northern Line 1938 Underground cars - I should have gone for the Bakerloo when they were available. (For the very young - Before the Jubilee there was the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo which ran in paralell with the Metropolitan Line) Now - about crowd funding some Dreadnought coaching stock????

I like the excavator - very promising.. Now if only they would add to the range and do a JCB and something like a Drott for the earlier layouts!

With the imminent arrival of Sherlock Holmes, it is time, once again, to dig out the London Transport Underground stock and give it a whirl. Having put together the four car Northern line set - powered by two Tenshodo motors courtesy of Metro-Models. John did the conversion on a Bakerloo non-driving power car in London and sent it over the pond. All that then had to be done was to replace the body with the Northern Line version already here. So I now have a spare Bakerloo Line non-driving power car... I now wish I had bought the Bakerloo Line set, as it can run alongside any Metropolitan Line stock.. Ah well - I suppose it might be possible to convert it? Did the Bakerloo submarine service ever run with grey rooves? Now in running the Northern Line train it ran like a pig as I had not replaced the wheelsets. It was fair jumping around! The EFE wheels are for show only - they are for all intents and purposes 'square'. The profile is off, they are not cast true, and some are not even set true on the axles.. So it is amazing they can run at all without derailing - especially over a code 100 short Peco point - followed by a code 83 Tillig crossover followed by another point in quick succession... well they did. Anyway the decision, a real no-brainer, was made to re-wheel. Fortunately I had enough spare Bachmann USA H0 36" wheelsets (ordered by mistake..) which were an exact match. All that needed to be done was to use the Xurons to remove the pin-points. (The pin-points flew off in all directions during this operation but have yet to find any of them!) A little filing to smooth the result.. And to cut away the excess insulation on the inner face of the insulated wheel. They then plopped in quite easily.. The re-wheeled cars now run as sweetly as any modern Hornby RTR coaches.. When Sherlock Holmes arrives the proposal is to run it with four Hornby Gresley suburbans in tow... I have no dreadnoughts - and until some kind person makes some RTR the Gresleys are the best fit I have so far found Especially when compared with Mk1s... Unless I decide to dive in the deep end and find an inexpensive Dreadnought kit(s) to assemble.

Thanks for putting me straight - and Thanks then to the good people who labour that Gimp may succeed... ...... On a further note - After another 4 hours or so online with the good folks at Microsoft - repairing stuff etc.. . The problem has now - of this very hour - been resolved and all is now working - Touch wood - and I sincerely hope that is the last of it! And that no one else has to waste their valuable modelling time in such a fashion..

By way of being informative and parallel to this topic - the Mazak rot has now spread to the T9 - I bought a Southern Train pack many moons ago and took the T9 it out for a run only to discover that the innards had disintegrated - So I am now wondering how responsive Hornby will be to this issue. Perhaps a separate thread should be started? Anyway I now know what it feels like to have owned a Hornby Class 31 and you all have my sympathy.

The basic idea it would seem is to turn your computer - whether you like it or not into a cash register... More news on the update front - I am now back having the endless wait for Microsoft tech support to get in touch - A whole bunch of utilities have now decided to shut down for no reason. The chiefest being that I can now no longer calibrate the monitor - which is Key to getting Photoshop to work correctly, for reasons too technical to go into here. The petty annoyances continue... Which brings me back to the cash register business - The next update for Photoshop is to subscribe to a cloud version - minimum 1 year at $10.00 US per month. It appears that everyone wants a permanent piece of your credit card these days. Kerching! So I am now trying out GIMP - not only is it free but it seems to have much of what Photoshop has.. It probably won't stay free for long - much freeware is a ruse to build up a user base... ( Mind you, If it works well and I can get used to its interface, then I would be more than happy to pay for it..)

Well mine obviously did - I have acquired some impact glue as suggested.. But have also contacted Hornby, via their site contact page, about this issue. So I am not going to try to bodge up a fix just yet.. I'll wait until Hornby replies - (unless it looks like Hell is about to freeze over!) Many thanks for all your advice and experiences so far..

By way of confirmation - I tried running my T9 - it is the Southern version from the train pack - today. (It had not been out of its box for almost 4 years.) Now it worked wonderfully well going forwards - But backwards was a shock - it juddered Then eventually ran but it sounded like the proverbial box of rusty spanners. I found this worrying - an investigation seemed to be called for... SO I tried to remove the body as per Hornby's instructions.. It was a little stiff - but a bit of gentle prying and it eventually separated from the chassis. What then happened was a story in several parts. Bits fell out.. The front motor housing was nowhere to be seen. The rear motor support had literally rotted off.. The front motor housing was jammed up in the body - it must have swelled slightly.. And it took a bit to pry it loose... So my advice to anyone who has this model is to check it out - It might well effect every single last one of them. ( If it happens to me then the general rule is it also happened to everyone else!) Glue.. Now what kind of glue will make a good fix -as this one has rotted both fore and aft. Will super glue do the job? Or do I need to hunt down some Canadian equivalent to EVO stick - (What would be the name of the type that I would need?) But even if it is glued the fix may only be temporary as the cover over the worm gear may not have finished expanding and it was already jammed tightly into the body... I saw what happened to the Hornby 31 diesels.. In general I really do not seem to be having much luck with Hornby steam!

The point is for some it appears as if they are still Beta testing it, moi included - For some it may be the answer to your operating system prayers but for others its like living with a cranky Mother-In-Law - you don't know when she's going to lose it next!

Yup! We are all being taken for a ride by Microsoft - With Windows Ten I believe they are looking to get into the Guinness Book of records as the worlds Largest Beta test Ever! They clearly knew it was not ready for prime-time - that is probably why it was free.. Thankfully things will remain stable around here - but I'm not holding my breath...

Justification - For acquiring Sherlock Holmes.. (1) Its a Study in Scarlet... (Maroon if one were to be more precise) (2) There is no RTR dreadnaught stock currently available for it to pull - but if we all get one then someone who owns a model train company will know there is a real demand out there and make some... (3) It will run beautifully on an Innsbruck styled Tram track, (4) It will look terrific in a cabinet where it will make for an interesting talking point amongst one's 'Canadian' friends.. (who will never understand..) (5) For those who can't afford the new S stock - It will fulfill their urge to go LT along with ... (please feel free to fill in the blanks!) (6) It looks kind of scary.. especially emerging from a fog bank.. (memo to self - get some dry ice and test this out). (7) It would be more than a 'Bohemian Scandal' if one were to miss this opportunity and later crave one and find that they were all sold.. (-8-) .... Please add to this list...

By way od being informative.. The Microsoft representative called me as scheduled on 28th August. Which was excellent. He proceeded to take control of the computer and told me to ring off, as what he was doing would take a while. He would contact me when next he needed to talk. So I rang off and went to have supper... I took a peek about half an hour later and saw he was 2% into downloading a new build of Windows Ten. Three hours later - Bingo! Windows Ten was re-installed and up and running. And so far the computer has stayed up and running - along with everything else being fully functional by 97%.. I say 97% - I have a Microsoft Life Cam - Windows Ten prompted me to download a software update for it, that it then refused to install. I could no longer access the camera as it had removed the previous programme.. But I did discover an 'App' in the Start Menu called 'Camera' that works it. And I can now make a movie of myself - should I wish! In homage to Pavlov... I now need to re-programme myself not to cringe whenever I click on the Start Menu button!

A short update.. Bridge building has begun. Here is a knocked together mock up (or an artists impression) of an Iron Girder Bridge. The main bridge structure is a simple piece of 3/4" ply that spans the 30". The girders were designed to drop in place. They were built using odd scraps of wood - Ply, Balsa and Bass.. And are minus about 2000 rivets... The abutments and sidewalls are made from 1/4" hardboard and covered with brick paper printed using a laser colour printer. They, like the girders slide in and out. Producing a bridge effect or illusion rather than an actual bridge... Having decided this would make a good project.. My mind is now turning to the possibility of building an actual model bridge - one that functions as a bridge. One better way to get a good representation of an old Victorian era Iron Girder Bridge - might be to use plastic.. (Another would be to make one from soldered brass - but lets not go there just yet The realm of plastic strips, sheet, I sections etc., is now under investigation I have been researching pre-formed plastic rivets in strips - but so far come up with zilch! A problem that has occurred by building the bridge in O gauge is that it intrudes on the space of the H0/H0e layout.. One idea to help blend the two different scales together, is to board up, probably using corrugated Iron and wood fencing, the lower part of the bridge? All ideas welcome..

The saga continues - So as nothing seems to work in Windows Ten as it was stated it would work - Lets contact customer support... Well.. It's not as easy as it looks - Microsoft drops a series of endless loops in the way of the pilgrim for truth.. Not to be daunted I eventually (with the aid of Mr Google) found this dandy link https://partner.support.services.microsoft.com/en-us/contact/chat/4/ Opted for phone support.. They would call back in 33 minutes.. Whilst waiting I had the brilliant idea to reinstall Windows Ten, and started the download BUT An hour or so later the phone rang (when the download was only 60% complete ) - It was Microsoft's outsourced help on the line.. A very nice lady spoke to me and really tried to help.. But after much toing and froing... The best she could come up with was to uninstall Norton.. Which I explained to her was a pointless exercise, It was Norton that caused the reappearance of one of many of the ghostly apparitions of the start menu! But since I was feeling kindly disposed, removed Norton to humour her. This final solution did absolutely nothing at all so... She transferred me to a higher authority... SO... I was now in for two plus hours of cheesy music intermingled with repetitive ads singing the praises of Windows Ten.. ( I have an appointment with my shrink tomorrow... ) Eventually - (And only just before I had decided to give it all up and live with a crippled system until I needed a new computer...) Hope! The phone changed modes and it started to ring. The next level was on the line... Again a really nice Lady - a charmer - and for another hour we had great fun as she riffled through the entrails of my computer.. But alas to no avail - Some light at the end of the tunnel? NOW when I left click on the start menu - absolutely nothing happens.. This believe it or not is a real blessing! So yet again My case has been escalated, to, believe it of not, "Tech Support"... Which is where I thought I already was, but apparently not... It would seem it was but a filtering system where only the truly desperate get through to the holy of holies.. Where the high priests and priestesses of Microsoft's operating system reside.. At least that is what I am assuming.is the case - but well aware I could be in for a big disappointment when they finally call me. Which will be sometime in the next 48 hours... (I even have a case number and an email from Microsoft confirming it - progress indeed!) If anyone is still interested in this strange and rather prosaic saga... I'll let you know what happens next - if anything!

The latest update from my experiences with Windows Ten is: Wow - I got lucky and somehow the Start menu came back - open a bottle of Champagne!! But... The Joy was short-lived.. Since.. The internet connection proceeded to disconnect in a way that appeared to be permanently non-recoverable... ...... But after many frustrating hours - all was not lost There was found a way to get it back - The sign-in page (The one with the nice cave and rocks and peaceful vista looking out to sea...) has a link to the internet on it. Down in the bottom right hand corner Click it and a list appears of the various networks in my locale - thankfully including mine. So I could reconnect - (Using the normal Windows option has by now become an exercise in utter frustration.. I cannot even begin to describe the antics it got up to...) Well now the internet was restored - Guess What? Yes you got it - the Start Menu promptly vanished - yet again. And this time with a new twist .. All evidence that the Edge browser had ever existed on my Computer - vanished too... Welcome to the wonderful world of Windows Ten - probably the biggest time waster since politics was invented!

Well I did not take my advice and upgraded to Windows Ten Now it worked wonderfully well for a while - Then everything started to go south with a vengeance.. An intermittent buzzing and slight hiccup began when streaming videos.. I downloaded latest drivers and it went away.. Ok - minor hiccup.. Then yesterday something wanted to upgrade somethings and wham - NO START MENU... You click on it and it tells you that you have an error and will fix it when next time you sign in. Only there is no fix and you are now stuck in an endless loop if you left click on the start menu.. There is no current solution - and all the new apps are no more.. Then today the intermittent buzzing and hiccupping was back.. So in my opinion - Windows Ten is still being Beta tested.. It does not appear to be stable in anyway. And because there is no start menu it is now impossible to revert back to Windows 7 and wait a year. Never look a gift horse in the mouth - unless it comes from Microsoft.. Now I found I could and still can right click on the start menu and get back some of the functionality. But I am still at a loss as to how to get rid of this monster! My advice - In no way should anyone upgrade to this thing!

Hey - Somehow I think somewhere I might have the coaches that go between these book-ends! Should I get them? - they look darn good - yellow grills and all... Another good effort from Hornby... Very attractive.. But... Just then I fell asleep and had a dream.. ..... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Where a familiar voice then spoke to me words of wisdom - For another 70 quid you could get the Bachmann S Stock - and have an underground railway! Where both is not an option - perhaps neither is a better wisdom? Decisions - Decisions! How can you decide - About two models you might never run...? What about all those Pullmans gathering dust? Just waiting for King Alfred to give them a tug... And.. The endless list of over-optimistic purchases you made - stored rack upon rack.. Enough coaches and trains to take the entire population of London on trips to Brighton and Bournemouth and back.. All manner of railway wagons.. Just waiting for your imagination to again take flight... SNOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Grunt Then waking up with a jolt.. I took another look at the idea of a yellow banana train rushing around the layout taking non-existent measurements from a non-existent overhead line.. on an newly laid SR layout converted to run trains from the ÖBB - and thought, "Your love of trains is getting weirder by the minute.. Next you'll be wanting to reproduce the railways of China ." - and giving a shrug - thought - "Why not?" Life is far too short, and should it tickle my imagination. Then perhaps I should go for it!