Steven B

No RTR Class 45 or 46 (44 due from Rapido at some point, with others to hopefully follow). No early AC electrics or class 89 or 91. Plenty of early mainline diesels and shunters to have a go at too. There's no decent Mk2b,c,d or e or the later refurbished mk1 catering cars. No Mk4 carriages either. There are plenty of air braked wagons missing - more than have been done. BBA, HEA, VAA, VBA, VDA, OTA, FFA/FGA are missing from the BR owned fleet. Add in privately owned depressed centre PCA, SSA Scrap wagons, numerous designs of PGA and dozens of chemical tanks and there's plenty to go at. We've only seen one Mk1 based third rail EMU with no OHLE based units from the same era. We're also missing most 63' Mk1 based DMUs with only the promise of a class 120 from Revolution to look forward to. Add in breakdown cranes, engineers cranes, tampers and other on track plant and I'd suggest there are still plenty of holes to fill.

Perhaps it's more the case that you'll find more comments about TINGS on the N Gauge Forum.

If someone wanted to reach out to me after I'd fallen in the water I'd be quite pleased... Language changes - whilst there are plenty of grumbles on this thread by people who no doubt talk and write differently to their parents and grandparents) I've yet to see anyone suggesting we resurrect 16th & 17th century English which would make studying Shakespeare much easier. Steven B.

You're changing the shades of grey on Intercity liveried models to match the prototype rather than existing models so do the same on the hoppers. If silver is done I'd imagine many would upgrade - releasing grey models onto the second hand market for those who are happy to expand their trains. Steven B.

You forgot: High inflation. Public services on strike. Problems with Europe. A Prime minister who wasn't leader at the last election. Numerous political resignations. 2023 or 1975? Steven B.

There are a number of books that will provide good track-plans for a first layout (some of them are actually possible to build!). Get yourselves off to a model railway show and see what you can find. Make a list of what you see on layouts that you like, and just as importantly what you don't like. You'll soon get a feel for what you want to build. For a first effort, have a look at Hornby's track mats - they're supplied in some train sets but you can find many versions on eBay. One would give you a good starting point for building and developing your layout. The other option is to look at Lego trains! Steven B.

RAAC has been in use since the 1950s - if the 30 year life-span was known then I'd have expected the governments of the 1970s to be putting plans in place to replace buildings that used it. A report in the 1990s identified that RAAC planks were seen to be deteriorating - plans should have been put in place then. I can't compare the current 50 schools per year to numbers from when Labour was in power as I've been unable to find the numbers of schools being rebuilt under Labour's program nor if buildings with RAAC were being prioritised over buildings from the first half of the 20th C (or earlier!). As I said, all governments of the day should take some of the blame, as should the opposition parties for not holding them properly to account. Steven B

Really? I know a good number of people who currently (or have) work in the public sector all with qualifications and many years of experience in the job. The public sector isn't just made up of media studies drop outs - there are plenty of very talented individuals working hard despite what is often said on RMWeb. Steven B

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Being new doesn't mean a material won't stand the test of time - look at Shropshire's Iron Bridge for example. Successive governments of both colours are at fault for not replacing these structures (nor pushed for its replacement whilst in opposition). Steven B.

Pin 1's also closest to the "1" in NEM651. This and Nigel's * method apply to the older pre-Next18 version of the ESU decoder tester. Steven B

Cash and cheques for personal accounts can be paid in at most Post Offices - might be worth checking if society/club accounts will allow this too. Steven B.

The Lima Mk1 CCT and GWR Siphon had decent bodies on "interesting" chassis - the CCT looked like it was on tip-toes. The Siphon can be much improved by fitting the Dapol chassis. The overscale Lima brake van fits nicely with Tomix's N Gauge Thomas the Tank Engine range. Steven B.

The mines rescue tractor units were used to haul emergency winches and generators around. I've only seen photos of preserved vehicles with flat-bed trailers. It could of course be being tested following maintenance . Steven B.

They're not Farish tooling - they're EFE tooling (with involvement from Kernow Models I believe). The EFE range allows Bachmann UK to get models made outside of the normal Kader Bachmann/Farish factory. Steven B

Mid-train help works with passenger trains too: S&C Rescue At Foredale (Michael McNicholas) by Neil Harvey 156, on Flickr 47644 giving 34092 City Of Wells a push up towards Ribble Head. Steven B.

Were first generation DMUs popular on preserved railways whilst the last few were still earning their keep for BR and its successors? Turn the clock forward a decade or two and perhaps folk will be asking why anyone would want to ride on a newly preserved class 195 when they could travel on a Pacer. It'll be interesting to see how well current units fair with preservation - a Pacer can be fixed with a hammer, not sure the same can be said for a class 800! Steven B.

The silicon power leads also have the advantage that they're more heat-resistant than the PVC version. 90% of my soldering is done with an Antex CS18 that I've had since 1995 (with one replacement element fitted three years ago). Otherwise I use an Antex temperature controlled soldering station. Antex produce chisel bits with 0.5 and 1mm (1105 and 1106) - there should be no need to file bits. Steven B.

The ones on eBay will sell. Two reasons come to mind: people think eBay is cheap and don't bother shopping around. regular model shops will sell out leaving the more expensive eBay ones left available. Often the more expensive of the latest releases found on eBay tend to be smaller model shops that can't afford the discounts offered by the bigger names. You'll also find many shops (not just model railway) have higher prices on their eBay store compared to their own website - I assume the extra covers the extra eBay fees. Steve B.

If you want the lights on Caroline to function alongside the lights on the loco using the loco's address then they either need to have the same loco address or consisted together (and the consist address used). Setting the loco and Caroline to the same address will cause issues if you change loco, or want head lights on on Caroline but not on the loco. Probably simpler and more flexible to set the address of Caroline to something unique. Steven B.

Class 120 has been announced in N Gauge by Revolution Trains - there's always a chance it may get scaled up if enough folk ask nicely! For Accurascale, Mk2D fits their MO as they also ran in the Republic of Ireland. HEA domestic coal hopper must be a low hanging fruit for their "Powering Britain" range - with options for the CEA, RNA and MEA conversions. Both would fill gaps in what's available in 2mm and 4mm scales. Steven B

I'm convinced life-boat crews would much rather a short rescue of someone who's fit and healthy just after they've been cut off. The alternative could be a having a hypothermia case to deal with (and potentially much worse weather). If in doubt, call the coastguard and let them make the decision! Steven B.

Pictures of the PCB posted on Tuesday show the PCB to have Motor+ and Motor- connections. I'd guess you could connect a resistor across those to act as a motor load. Probably best to set the speed curve to zero across all speeds so you don't accidently end up with a heater in the coach! (and remove it if running on DC). Steven B.

Those lights are bright! Have you seen what they're like from the operators side yet? Will you issue operators with sun-glasses? (or a welding mask?) 😀 Steven B

Use of the built in tail lamps varied. In green and early blue periods, you'd be more likely to see a standard tail lamp on a loco with no train. Sadly no one has a F number to get the little people to fit and remove one yet...

I'd have suggested white with "Kensington Olympia" in black to replicate the station signage, but as you're already doing that with the double-arrow logo I'd go for more elephants. Steven B