The Evil Bus Driver

On 19/01/2024 at 14:59, maico said:

 

That middle chap is how I imagine AY Mod dresses....

Not the Columbo style filthy flashers mac surely! 

The end really must be nigh...

On 15/01/2024 at 20:43, wombatofludham said:

And there is the problem which leads to the moronic press wailing about the end of model railways

Go look at the crowds of youngsters filming 66s, 70s, Pendolino, Desiro and Voyagers at Stafford Station.  Go look at the hours of video of modern rail operations on YouTube.  Look at the numbers who paid to go on the last 313 emu railtour, and the first preserved Class 142 mainline railtour.  Even I paid good money to go on the last 150 railtour of the Midlands which, of course was not the last in the Midlands as the 150 keeps coming back like an eggy burp.  It was maxed out and no doubt a source of complete befuddlement to those rail enthusiasts who thought the railway died when Sprinters took over.  Whatever.

You may not like the modern railway but I can assure you as someone who has dipped into these videos and actually noticed the numbers of young enthusiasts out filming and taking photos that in a few years time there will be crowds bashing the last Voyagers and Pendolini to the bewilderment of their older brethren for whom the railway ceased to be interesting when the last 150 and 158 went for recycling.

And yes, if I have an hour to kill in Rugeley I enjoy parking up at RTV to watch the trains go by, I don't care if they are not my beloved Classes 81-90, 47s and 56s, I enjoy watching a railway which is more relevant, busier and faster, and the fact Rugeley has it's best train service since the days of the LNWR and is used.

Some enthusiasts need to bin their rose tinted pebble glasses and matching white cane and take a broader view.

To be fair they're watching and filming what they know and what's around them just as there's of us filmed and watched what we knew back in the 60s, 70s and 80s it's not really all that different. I do still consider the railway a poorer place since privatisation,  however there will be those who considered it the same after Nationalisation. The model industry can't please everyone at once and thus popularity will come in waves. Especially as each new generation becomes old enough to go spotting.  I reckon it might be the same with Bus enthusiasts, probably truck and plane enthusiasts and slot car racers too. 

I actually had a conversation with my wife about hobbies and 'nerdy interests' and whg I do railway modelling. She said she doesn't understand the fascination but she also doesn't expect me to understand her interests but it's these things that keep you sane. Probably a good thing as I've got around £500 of preorders coming...

But I wouldn't say the hobby is dying off and I don't think anyone is actually trying to kill it off, it's just changing according to circumstances. 

1 minute ago, 37114 said:

I was chatting about this with my old man last night who while not a modeller is interested in Railways and has modelled previously. He had read the news re Hattons and Warley and we broadly came to the same place;

 

- It is sad to lose Hattons for both the people who work there and it is a famous name but there have been other famous names (eg W&H) who have gone before and the hobby survived

- It is sad to lose Warley as it was a popular show but it is not the first big show to so and the hobby survived

 

I probably see more young people who are modellers at shows now than I did 20 years ago, and the "older generation" is still being replenished by people who are starting the hobby later in life. You only have to look at the advent of new players into the market such as Rapido, Accurascale to name a couple to see there is demand there as why would you bother to commit finance in such business ventures.

 

I saw a really good mix of younger and older people at GETS and that was so rammed they had to stop entry for a little while on both days. I'll be interested in how this new show at the NEC goes. I'll definitely try and go. 

7 minutes ago, C126 said:

 

There is Squires of Bognor Regis (no connection, but a contented customer at a few exhibitions).

 

http://www.squirestools.com/

 

I used to do rail replacement buses right past their door...

They own SE Finecast now too so they're a good place to get loco kits as well as handy tools to help build them.

It's either one way or the other. On the one hand we've had a 2 or 3 of good TV shows about model railway, saying how the hobby is becoming 'cool' again (not sure I'd go that far, myself) and those were things like Pete Waterman's series about celebrities who have model railways. There was The Great Model Railway Challenge where teams competed and there were a reassuring number of younger people doing some pretty nice layouts. There were the documentaries about Hornby as well so there was plenty for the public at large to get their teeth into.

On the other hand we get sensationalist headlines that don't really tell the whole story. 

I really enjoy following the Scratch/kitbuilding threads so not exactly mainstream.

As to Hattons I don't know what's caused that however their closure will leave a big hole in the market for a little while, which no doubt another retailer or three will fill. It's the staff who have found themselves unexpectedly looking for work who I have sympathy for. 

I think the changes in the hobby are natural and while the Internet might be an influence I wouldn't say its good or bad on its own, after all we've got YouTube and a good number of model railway channels, Jenny Kirk, Sam's Trains, New Junction  Chadwick Model Railway and Everard Junction, Oscar Paisley  and 00Bill are some of my favourites. It would seem the interest is there but it might manifest itself in a different way 

According to a comment on the video the crossing barriers went in where a road was planned to be built but never got put in. Apparently its an arduous process at Federal level to have it removed and more paperwork than can be healthy for anyone.  

19 hours ago, The Bigbee Line said:

Good afternoon,

 

Not posted on here for a while.  I've succumbed to a 4mm model, the first for a long time.  As a Brighton Boy it was a classic.  Vague memories of them in the 'middle road' at Brighton and a very few sights of them passing on the line between Brighton and Lewes.

So 20002 in green has arrived today.  It looks quite smart.  The buffers are slightly odd as the plunger behind the buffer face is a bit skinny, not the classic 'Heavy Duty' look.  I was thinking of swapping for a set of Hornby spares from stock, or simpler, wrap that part in a strip of black electrical tape, until the desired diameter is obtained. 

I looked underneath and noted that all the wheelsets have a vast amount of side play.  Not sure why this is...  I understand the need to get around the toytown curves, but is this much side play necessary.  I think some 'guides' from black styrene could be knocked up to give some restraint, keeping the outer wheelsets in each bogie with minimal side play, and a touch more on the middle wheelset.  I would be interested in what other users think?  By the way I will use a Kadee as the coupler.

Just need to look through my OO remnants to scratch together a couple of trains for it to pull.....

 

All in all though, a fine looking loco.

 

 

 

A Brighton boy eh? We get everywhere hehe

Brighton MRC still meets at London Road Station. I was a member for a few years. 

Wow I'm still digesting this piece of news. It's certainly been out of the blue. My sympathies go to the staff and I really hope they all manage to find another job quickly. It does look like it'll be a slower 'winding down' process rather than suddenly finding the shop locked up one cold morning. Even so they were one of the more 'together' businesses that looked strong. I suppose when one element falls down it's like a Jenga tower, that one element causes all sorts if carnage.  

I've just finished transferring my pre-orders over to Rails of Sheffield.  I just hope they don't all come in at once...

My booster has arrived minus one buffer. Nothing in the box or the plastic tray. Pity. 

I'll have to phone Rails tomorrow and get it boxed up and sent off or see if a spare buffer can be sent. Since they're removable it would be easier that way.

EDIT: I've just spoken to Rails and a new buffer is on its way. Thank you Rails 😀

Construction is on hold for a couple of weeks while we move the club to a new venue. NBT will be set up again and new boards added as soon as possible. I envisage the layout being 4 boards long eventually, but with the option of operating as a 2-board* 'Core' layout. 

*plus a makeshift fiddle yard. Probably the Cartridge type.  have revised the track plan a little bit too

On 28/12/2023 at 13:09, Grizz said:

It is fair to say that Rule 1 is firmly in place on my railway and always will be. However having grown up with corporate BR Blue and started work just before we embraced sectorisation, I have a soft spot for loco hauled trains particularly with MK2 coaches. I spose living in the Deep South of East Sussex the daily Intercity loco hauled trains from Brighton to such exotic locations as Glasgow, Derby, Manchester Piccadilly and Wolverhampton were an escape from the hum drum short haul to Victoria and back.

 

Then of course there was the Gatwick express with it’s MK2 stock….with the usual Southern Region practice of make do push pull. I’ve yet to get around to modelling a full set, but I would like to, maybe converting some gubbins from a Bachmann DBSO to make it DCC with all the bells and whistles. 
 

But in the mean time back to the latest project, this is the seating area of the next four conversions / mods. As can be seen I still need to make the loo smaller, centralise the door and add the extra seat.
 

But my big question is….these are spose to be MK2Es TSOs before ‘Intercity Swallow’….so what colour should the seats / tables be please?????? Also externally do the roofs of MK2Es and MK2Fs have the same or similar roof detail? 
 

 

These are the modifications to the Replica Railways B4s. The one at the back being the original and left to right are the stages of conversion.
 

 

 

The ones with the white plastic inserts are a batch for RTR Bachmann MK1 coaches but I’m using them for a pattern for now. 

 

Deepest East Sussex. Sounds pretty dark.

To be fair I once took a ride on the Sussex Scot. Brighton to Reading via Olympia then a Thames Turbo to Didcot for the railway centre. The second time I went via Guildford on the Gatwick to Reading and managed to bag a 47 + mk2s from there to Didcot. Happy days. 

I grew up in Shoreham-by-Sea so within earshot of the West Coast way line. Back in the 80s there was a good mix of stuff going through,  the 33 and 5 mk1s to Cardiff or the 47 and mk2s to Plymouth, the odd engineering train now and then behind either a 33 or 73. The two signal boxes at Shoreham up til 85. 

5 hours ago, Brian-1c said:

You haven't missed out yet on the N gauge model, they are in the Revolution web site with the order book open.

 

Orders close 31st December 2023, so you have just a few days left.

Perhaps, although I'm after one in 00 as I don't really have the dexterity for N gauge. 

I've probably missed out on one from the first batch. Hopefully there will be a second run and I can get one then. 

I'll be getting a couple of these kits in after Christmas. Just one question for @Wayne Kinney. Are the kits handed or can you build turnouts to suit if you needed 3 right and one left, for instance?

Obviously I still need to move the boards for New Brunswick Town to the new club room before anything else.

16 hours ago, Grizz said:

😂 yeah it is, it’s a Bachmann class 25/3, one of two that I gave fictional liveries. The other is in Railfreight Grey with large logos and red sole bars, like a 26…

 

 

 

That sits really well on that. 

I've got all the mk2Ds for my rake now and they're awaiting attention, ie new wheels etc. I actually bought one TSO more than I needed (A Mainline one) so maybe I'll have a play around with it. Looks like I have a lot of metal wheels to buy in the new year...

Looking good. Do you have a shot of the 'business end' the coupler? 

I do need to tweak the plan a little bit to get the turnouts away from the board joints. A bit more plain track can help here. I'll have a play around in a couple of weeks when I'm next at club and bring in a few. I should be able to get the turnouts I need in a couple of weeks . Then I can get to actually fixing the track down and start sorting out wiring. Then (shock horror!) It'll be time to start chipping my locos for DCC. The control system I'll be using will be JMRI and my  smartphone app (Engine Driver) as I don't have a Powercab yet. I will get one eventually. I've been on the cusp of going DCC for a while now and I thing this is the impetus to actually do it. My credit card will not thank me, however 🤪😎

1 hour ago, Trainnoob said:

Sounds like a fun layout. I will be interested in this.

Heh thanks. I need to get some rail joiners this week and hopefully some turnouts. Then I can look at getting track fixed down and holes drilled to take dropper wires. I haven't decided yet how I'll be working the turnouts though. I was hoping to use wire in tube off a lever frame. 

A night at the club armed with some Peco track has yielded a track plan and some ideas. Plus I can use only 4 turnouts instead of 5. Only problem was I forgot to get any rail joiners 🙄 

I definitely think some more track is needed. The concrete sleepered stuff is a placeholder 

The end plates were set with 1mm of gap between the resin gangway face and the back of the end plate itself. These fit into the aperture left by the old rubber 'gangway'

The 'plank' above the gangway was also removed. Even when these were a thing I do think they were removable (anybody???)

A Mainline buffet gets Keen systems floating gangway end plates. These are very similar to Replica Railways coaches so should fit. There was s little bit of filing and fettling to get them to fit

I have one with a slightly...erm....jigsaw like quality to it. I've rebuilt the chassis and used Butanone to stick it. Next step might well be to stick a piece of plastic strip on the thinner part of the chassis to strengthen it. This type of plastic does not stick well using superglue, although that can be used to tack it. Another plan might be to make a mould and use epoxy to make an entirely new chassis if it doesn't work. 

2 hours ago, Melly said:

Lolling - missed that as well.  The top box of my order only contained the model! I can only opine that perhaps loading the extras got missed. 🙄

To be honest I nearly missed mine, check the box it came in and make sure you haven't dropped it. Mine now adorns my tool box. 

Mine arrived today and what a work of art it is too! Theres a little pack of brake rigging and pipes, possibly 3 link couplings (Fran?) A leaflet with info on the prototype and an exploded diagram. There are sprung buffers on it as well! 

You even get an Accurascale sticker so that's going to adorn my toolbox soon. 

Well done to everyone at Accurascale Towers, another fantastic model!