BG John

It might have been me being stuck in the stone age of DC and 3-links! I just found the DCC over complicated, and took away part of the pleasure of operating it. It was better when I was told that I could press a button to increase speed 10 thingies at a time, and press another one to stop it, rather than lots of mad fiddling with a thumbwheel, but a simple knob and reversing switch seems much better to me. It kept having to be reset too, by unplugging it, as there seemed to be something odd about the loco. I think I'll bypass DCC, and wait to see what happens with radio control! I'm not aware of the loco, or the layout, having any sort of noises, lights and things. I couldn't get the Kadees to uncouple with the magnets on the traverser, so had to fiddle with them with a pointy thing. I got the hang of that in the end, but they didn't seem to couple reliably either. I've got a similar thing with my Bachmann On30 coaches, so it's rather put me off them. Both these things have confirmed to me that I want simple operating, and reliable coupling and remote uncoupling on my layouts. If someone comes up with a complete set of miniature proper steam loco controls I might learn to drive it properly, but making totally unrealistic electronic controls more complex is nuts! Nice layout apart from that though, and it's encouraged me to get Cheapside Yard working so I can do some more shunting!

Don't rush. I've got plenty of other things to do!

I knew there was a good reason for not rushing into trying these techniques. I'll have to schedule a suitable building project for just after publication!

Sorry, I'd forgotten that. Someone on RMweb sent me there, and the temptation to register was too much to resist!

I went to the exhibition at the Woollen Museum, but the only decent layout was The Teifi Gorge Railway. I didn't take any photos, but there's a thread about it here.

Some photos from Carmarthen: Inglewood Sidings. Despite having planned several shunting puzzles, and almost having one of my own running, this was the first one I'd actually played with, and my first experience of using DCC. The shunting was good, the Kaydees annoying, and the DCC too complicated! Highmead Bay. West Wales O Gauge Group's layout Penfold Priory, by Bridgened Model Railway Club I might have to investigate whether WWOGG can put up with having me as a member!

Hopefully heading for the bus stop shortly, having recovered from a brief visit to the other exhibition at the Wool Museum.

News from Tower Models dated 19th October: "Latest news from Dapol in regard to the BR and KESR Terriers is that they should be flying out of China on Monday. Allowing for transit, clearing customs and transportation in the UK this should mean that hopefully Dapol will have them on or around the 2nd of November. If this is the case we will start despatchs of the none sound equipped advance orders from Tuesday the 3rd. Once we have a better idea as to when they are arriving we will begin contacting all customers to organise suitable days for delivery." I've decide that I must have a working layout on my birthday on the 2nd, so it's lucky I've got my Ixion Hudswell Clarke to play with!

I've just had an e-mail to say that Yolo have 10% off everything in their Silhouette Store this weekend. Enter the code SILSTORE when checking out. http://www.yolo.co.uk/

A1.

Does that include Bodiam?

Ah, but it doesn't mean that it ends on Friday. It's just means it's happening all day Friday too, and could be continuing on Saturday, Sunday....... It doesn't actually specify when it ends, so is no more precise.

On the subject of thru, or through, in the land of Traditional English we do things from, say Monday to (or until) Friday, but in the land of Simplified English they say Monday through Friday. But they never say when it will actually end. If you're on a train that goes through a tunnel, you expect to come out the other side, and not end your journey in the tunnel!

The grouping that interests me happened in 1876. The 1923 one is way off in the future! I was just making an observation really, about how this thread can wander from the early 1920s back to the 1830s. It's like posting stuff about the introduction of the GWR Castle Class in the Great Western Main Line Electrification thread! I'm a bit concerned about my thoughts of modelling the 1950s, as it's the dominant period. Having given up on my OO Gauge Western Region BLT, I'm finding it hard to get my head round selling the stock I bought for it, so might have to build something else to run it on. And I'm thinking the O-16.5 layout it's evolving into might be set in the mid to late 1920s, so I can do overgrown track, rust, and an general air of decline. My other projects are remaining firmly pre WW1 though.

The problem with "pre-grouping", as I've probably said before, is that it spans around 90 years, compared to the 25 of the grouping. It starts with the invention of the railway, and ends with something that didn't change hugely until the 1960s.

As you're obviously struggling to convince yourself, we look forward to the photos of it running on Dock Green .

I've read that it's in the condition as delivered from Brighton Works, and is therefore an A1. It had better be, as it's what got me started in O Gauge, and I'm aiming for around 1905! I agree. Dapol told me on 14th September that they'd be here mid October, but someone in the Colonel Stephens Society was asked to advise on the correct shade of blue at Telford, as they knew they'd got it wrong. So a lack of photos is rather worrying. I've been tempted to order a second one to convert to Rolvendon, but I'll wait to see Bodiam when (if?) it turns up, and hope there are some still available, before deciding.

Now why didn't I think of the sector plate stop when I built my Small, Broad and Totally Pointless while I was living in my motorhome . I think I could do something similar with the traverser on Cheapside Yard too, where I was planning to just align it by eye.

Here are 75029 and 92203 at the open day in 1969 Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway "Gazelle" was also there, but my photo must be filed in a different place to these two.

Pete Waterman was a member of the Broad Gauge Society many years ago, so it's not impossible.

I don't want to worry anyone, but the cover of this book suggests that followers of this topic maybe experiencing a particularly difficult time in their lives http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ladybird-Mid-Life-Crisis-Books-Grown-Ups-x/dp/0718183533/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TZGA4Q89C25FBSNGMKS&dpID=51vyihBCP-L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_

When I was little, everything I had was Tri-ang, but a friend had a mixture of Hornby Dublo and Playcraft. Playcraft was for people who couldn't afford Tri-ang! Incidentally, I've got a Wrenn N2 body. Could I retire on the sale proceeds? I've also got most of the chassis, but it's buried inside an EM gauge Airfix Prairie kit!

Could be useful if you refill them yourself, like I do.

I've got some 7mm track to build some time, but have decided against using the chainsaw for it, as I think a razor saw will do!

I used a chainsaw for cutting full size sleepers in half for the real L&B!