The Evil Bus Driver

This is great news. Means I'll (probably) be able to retire the 10 or so older tankers I have as they are decidedly toy like. 

Hi Richard. I was watching the video where you showed the wheelchair ramp going up to the station ticket office. It got me thinking about lighting (That was the subject being discussed before I got called away) would this area not have had those rectangular wall lights with the tubular cable pipe above or below them? They were definitely a very early 90s thing. You'd usually see them work, then over time you'd see one out, then the covers missing etc. 

1 hour ago, JohnR said:

 

You can adjust the volume for individual sounds, and I tend to reduce the volume for sounds like coal shovelling and coupling compared to the main sounds. 

OK. I'll have a play around once I start adding sound to my locos. I need to get my layout started before anything else. Then see about DCC/sound etc. Like I said, for me that's something for 2024

On 13/01/2023 at 16:17, JSpencer said:

 

As I am partly deaf, I do the opposite. Mind you I do wish coal shoveling and people speaking noises were lower, they should not drown out the steam noises.

Very very true. Lets face it that's always been an bit of an annoyance with DCC sound. If you imagine where the eye is in relation to many model railways you're watching them from the perspective of being across the road and maybe at second storey level. What would you be able to hear from that distance? That is the volume at which I would set the sound.

Also you wouldn't be able to hear the door alarms or the guard;s buzzer. Plus I plan to mimic what I saw and heard on the real railway and not use the horn ever time a train moves unless they are loco hauled of course but then loco drivers are more used to being in yards where there are people around who need warning. Not criticising since if those are the rules then those are the rules.  Multiple unit drivers out on the main line seem to be less 'horn happy' (No sniggering at the back) and so that is what I'd try and recreate. I'm not too sure about the horn sounds so maybe I'll read up on it a bit before this comes out or someone from the 1:1 railway can do a post on this

Looks like sound will be my main focus for 2024 hehe

On 13/01/2023 at 15:14, Andrew P said:

And some Bonus ones from my Visit in March 2014.

 

Best day out, playing Trains and ????

 

 

 

 

There's definitely something about natural light on a layout isn't there. 

4 minutes ago, Jason T said:

I was just telling people at work that it’s fish & chips night

It's always been Fish and chips on Fridays round my way. Braunston village has an excellent chippy if you like them cooked in beef dripping. 

22 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

North. Grim. Cliche.

Chips and gravy? 

In newspaper.

Actually that sounds quite tempting 

16 hours ago, melmerby said:

The venerable BBC Micro had an RS485 serial port but you can't control Xpressnet devices with it😄

Oh blimey I remember those... Seriously retro nowadays.

1 hour ago, AY Mod said:

 

Slides in the OP for some products say 'available' but I believe the app is at beta testing stage. Could be a while yet.

Hopefully it could be ready for next Christmas,  or even Warley. It certainly looks interesting and if its in Beta at the moment then hopefully by the time my boards have serviceable track on them it should be more or less ready to go.

It certainly looks good though and plug and play for those less confident at soldering is a big plus. I've seen DCC Concepts do a plug in Stay Alive so this is great news.

I've put in a couple of preorders too. Looks like 2023 will be the Year of the Preorder for me hehe

This is great although I did use the Engine Driver app on my Android phone at Warley on our layout (Snowy River if anyone saw it) and that worked very well. (It was linked to a control box using a Raspberry Pi through a Sprog. You can do that using a laptop loaded with JMRI as well.)

I do wonder if this is a more plug and play version of that however for those who are nervous of soldering then this would be ideal and might give a boost to other decoder manufacturers. It might spur on more DCC sound and make more conventional sound decoders cheaper as the tech moves forward so I'll keep a very fascinated eye on the developments and see what happens. 

Looks like I'm going to need to get 6 Brake seconds and modify them into TSOs. I've checked the underframe and they're the same  moulding on brake and non brake vehicles. Might need some milliput as well. 

10 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

If you are talking Bulleids, three or five make a set where the ones currently on offer from Bachmann are concerned. 6-sets were rare and included dining cars. Five with an extra SK tacked on the end is the way to go if you want a six coach formation.

 

John

That's good to know as I know they were strengthened with 'loose' coaches during the summer. Thanks for the info. 

On 29/11/2022 at 20:21, 2ManySpams said:

 

I still think Bachmann have missed a trick in better broadcasting what prototypical sets the separate coaches will make up. They went to the effort of producing all the right variations and fell at the final hurdle IMO. If the folk selling the coaches aren't aware, how can they help those buying them?

When I bought my Hornby 3set I actually looked up which ones to get in order to make up a proper set. There was only one CK in the shop so it had to be an SR set. 

Bachmann could do the same but I'd only forget on the way to the shop so I'd still do a little research and write down what set's can be made. I'd probably put a note on my phone and use that. I'd becstarting with a 3 set anyway as I'm unlikely to afford anything more in one hit but I can always add to it later and go up to a 6 coach rake later. 

2 hours ago, hayfield said:

 

Speaking as a kit builder rather than a buyer of ready to run, eBay has been a breath of fresh air as far as kit building stock is concerned and the spin off for both companies like Eileen's and suppliers of kits is the additional business in both spares and materials this development has bought, in face it is becoming more common for some retailers to use eBay to move on s/h stock they cannot easily sell locally. Yes it has its faults but also don't for get its benefits

 

No doubt there will be a glut of unmade Coopercraft items on eBay next year, which will please quite a few

Heh I hope so. I'm after 2 Brake second mk1s to make a 3-set. I've got plenty of kits to keep me going for now though. I do tend to check feedback on there. You can get some great bargains but there are some who have had less than positive experience there. That said my reference to it as Evilbay was a bit tongue in cheek, especially since I've bought a fair few bits and pieces on there over the last month. 

47 minutes ago, Colin_McLeod said:

 

What's Evilbay?

It's Ebay but we all have our opinions on its merits or otherwise

On 04/08/2022 at 18:45, rapidoandy said:

For those who would like to see it here’s the photo…

 

Some are for current projects, some for future things. Any ideas? 

No French Blue? Obviously no Brighton Corporation Atlantean AN68s with East Lancs bodywork in the offing. 

Are there any plans to create a motorising kit to allow road vehicles to follow a steel wire a la Faller? That'd be really impressive. 

I saw these on Heljan's stand at Warley (and my shopping list went up by several items hehe)

On 04/12/2022 at 13:00, Dominion said:

This is one of Wayne’s OO-SF single slips installed. It runs well. It goes together easily and fairly quickly. The single slip beyond was hand built with Exactoscale chairs before Wayne produced 4mm kits and it took for ever in comparison.

Looks really good! I'll be going for some after Xmas. 

On 05/05/2017 at 20:55, Mike Storey said:

Quite so - why on earth no-one has yet produced a 4SUB, probably the unit with the greatest time and geographical span of all (bar the EPB maybe), continues to amaze me.

 

I wish you well in your quest for a RTR 319!

A little birdie has whispered things about a Southern unit. It wouldn't be fair on them for me to spill any beans though. A blue SUB could operate alongside EPBs and 508s, evidence for this is the 1983 Waterloo documentary where there is a montage of both types running together. 

As to a 319 they've certainly become 'the train we came here on' which always gets the public at shows so they're likely to be good sellers. Maybe Hornby or Bachmann have done a bit of research and put it in the 'to do' list. I did mention the class 74 to KR Models at Warley and he said never say never. Or words to that effect. Apparently the next four years is going to bring good things from them and Accurascale so definitely exciting times. 

Good to see developments on here. I've been following with interest.  And the commander in chief needed to collect the fuss tax too.

36 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Fingernails!

 

They are not clipped in as such - the shields are a friction fit into the moulded corridor ends.

 

Ease one fingernail behind the cover where its at its loosest (usuaslly towards the bottom) then work your finger between the cover and the gangway towards the tight spot (usually mid way up the side). Lever the cover with the fingernail and the cover will pop off.

 

 

Ah thanks. I'll give it a go when  I next have them out. I've been going through my Warley goodies haul and I'm really pleased with it. 

On 08/07/2022 at 18:48, Dunsignalling said:

This set of the old Bachmann Bulleids, * [fitted with Keen Systems CCUs and inverted Roco coupler heads] *, has had the plastic/rubber gangways replaced with home-made paper concertina ones. There is enough "Spring" in them to remain in contact whilst going round 2' radius curves and I think they would probably tolerate No.2 radius Set track, though I've not had chance to prove it.

 

I've done the same to one of my Maunsell sets, successfully liberating an intact pair of the more detailed Hornby gangways and covers to further upgrade the outer ends of the Bachmann 5-set.   

 

Question for you. What's the best way to remove the Maunsell gangway covers? Are they clipped in? I'm reluctant to use too much force on mine as I don't want to break them. 

On 09/07/2022 at 08:36, RFS said:

 

I simply replaced the internal conductive coupling on the 4-CEP with those for the class 101/150 (part 36-062). They are shorter and mean the gangways touch on straight track.

 

 

Top two here were supplied with my 4-CEPs, next is the class 101 and bottom is the 2-EPB. The 4-CEP now looks like this

 

 

I've also used the 101 coupling internally within the 2H Thumpers which also greatly improves the look. 

 

Here's my original topic on this with pictures re-inserted.

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/107625-close-coupling-Bachmann-4cep411-and-thumper-units/

 

 

I have some cl. 101 coupling bars somewhere. Probably I've put them somewhere 'safe' meaning they'll never be seen again lol

I am also fairly sure my Cep is at my mum's house so I'll have a look and bring it home next time I'm there but yes that definitely looks much  better. I really don't know why they don't just use those as the shorter couplings as they work really well. 

On 01/08/2022 at 22:01, RFS said:

Have been following the threads on Hunt couplings and decided to give them a try. I've fitted them to a couple of rakes of Bachmann MK1s and I'm very pleased with them. At first I had a couple of derailments, but these were caused by the bogies being a bit loose - just needed a tightening of the fixing screws.  I used the Elite Close version and the corridor partitions touch on straight track which looks very realistic. Up till now I've been using the Hornby-Roco coupling for Bachmann MK1s. These do give good close-coupling like the Hunts, but are an absolute pain to couple up, whereas the Hunts couple simply even on curved track. Coupling to locos is via Kadees. 

 

However for my second batch I decided to use the stepped, buckeye version as they looked a better option. But I was dismayed after fitting the first couple of coaches that there was clear daylight between the coaches. Both versions of the couplings are described as being 9.5mm from NEM socket to front of coupling. This is correct for the plain couplings but for the buckeye it's actually 10.9, hence no close coupling. 

 

Called West Hill today and the guy knew they were longer but could not remember the reason. He agreed to replace them with the plain close couplings. I did politely suggest they really ought to correct their description and state the correct length. 

 

I've also been fitting some of the ultra-close NEM couplings to Hornby Maunsell coaches which also run well too. Again corridor connections touch on straight track. 

I've fitted the Airfix version to my mk2Ds and I'm very pleased with them. That said they could be closer. I also bought some NEM Elites at Warley and have had a play around. I reckon with the Keen systems floating gangways and these within my rakes they are far better than anything else.

I even tried them out on my Hachette mk1s and these got the best result of all. Really close with virtually no gap at all, plus these coaches have a good strong spring so they pull together well. I'll have to add them to my third Hachette and see what happens. I've lost the kinematic drawbar from one but it doesn't really matter as these are my 'experimental' coaches so its not such an issue. The Hachettes will be the first rake to receive floating gangways so I'll see what happens once they're fitted. 

On 11/11/2022 at 17:06, Oldddudders said:

I hope we all realise that running any sort of business since Covid, and now with a predicted/threatened recession, is tough stuff. Difficult times demand drastic measures, and if the Bluebell has to substitute diesel for steam to cut costs, we should support them.

 

DEMUs were the power for more than 40 years on the Oxted group of lines. Hopefully a 3D will appeal to a certain sort of gricer, who may relish the novelty of travelling south of EG on one, although these people alone cannot balance the books.  

To be honest it was a long time coming. These units are as much heritage as any steam engine now and there's a strong connection to the area. 

That said if the news came up that they's bought a Fireless loco to maintain services I wouldn't have been surprised hehe