Steven B

Farish: Standard 5MT Standard Class 4MT WD 2-8-0 N Class Duchess 64xx LMS 4F Ivatt 2MT Jinty Class 40 (latest model) I believe the Dapol OO Gauge class 73, 121 and 122 have a coreless motor. Steven B.

If your Digitrax command station and Sprog work with the decoder then it may be a problem with the ECoS. Do you have any problems with any other decoders (sound or standard). It could be that the sound decoder (LokSound 4 from your message) is drawing more current than the ECoS is happy supplying. Is it possible to change the output current or change the short-circuit detection time? Steven B.

Do this mean that the Severn Valley Railway got one of these Mk1s from Bachmann and the other from Hornby? I wonder if the wish of many to have matching colours across different manufactures is more about having something nice to look at rather than modelling what actually happened? Just like most trains you see at exhibitions will be of matching liveries, i.e. all crimson & cream or all maroon with no mixed rakes. Steven B.

Every other form of transport manages if the infrastructure is managed separately from the machinery. The airlines don't own the airports. The container ship operators don't own the ports. The Highways agency don't own the road freight operators. Why does there need to be single ownership of track and train for them to work? Steven B

Am I alone in being more interested in the possibility of a N Gauge class 85 and 304? The race is on to see if I can can get my APT and class 304 finished before the RTR ones arrive..... Happy modelling. Steven B.

I visited on Sunday with my tame two-year old. We both very much enjoyed ourselves; Wakefield is the highlight of my exhibition going calendar - I'm rarely disappointed by a visit. Coppell was probably my favourite. Unfortunately I couldn't stop long enough to see all the trains in the fiddle-yard make their way along the scenic section - someone wanted a ride on the Wakefield Model Engineers train running in the park (at 50p a ride it would be rude not to!). Keep upthe good work! Steven B.

The Farish LMS BG at 50' is 7' (about 1/2 inch) shorter than the BR equivalent. Otherwise the NGS Stove R would fit the bill. Steven B

Only if you're applying Rule One. If a preserved railway was modelled to the same standards as Mostyn or Lime Street then you won't see a rake of Mk4s for example. That's not saying that a preserved railway doesn't give you more opotunities to run a wider variety of stock. I'm guessing the SVR didn't see too many rakes of LNER coaches, and the KWVR certainly never saw and HST before BR closed the line. Whilst there's no real shunting of freight going on, I'd be interested to know if there's much difference in the contents of demonstration freight trains when compared to say the 1960s. I'm guessing that most pre 1960s freight on the lines preserved wouldn't have been much more than a few opens and vans each day. If there was more freight (and passenger) traffic then there would have been less reason to close them down, allowing them to be preserved. Steven B.

A great bit of tech to add more intest to one of my favourite layouts! Am I alone in wondering why SO (Saturday Only) trains are running on the same day as MSX (Monday/Saturday excepted). Has Mostyn moved to the international date line? Steven B

Have you booked the normal wintery weather? Steven B.

Some formations from the 1978-9 diagrams: Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness: BG CK TSO TSO CK TSO BG BG CK TSO TSO RMB TSO TSO CK TSO Mallaig to Fort William: BFK TSO TSO BFK RMB TSO TSO TSO TSO (& on to Glasgow) - summer only TSO BFK TSO TSO TSO TSO RMB BFK (upto Sept) RMB TSO BFK (after Sept) Wick/Thurso to Inverness: TSO BCK TSO (Wick) + BG TSO TSO CK (Thurso) BCK TSO RMB(Wick) + BG BG CK BSO (Thurso) A few years later (82-83) the Wick/Thurso trains lost their first class (BSO replacing the BCK on the Wick section; The Thurso section was often BG TSO BG TSO). The KoL trains again has lost their first class (BG TSO TSO). Several of the Mallaig trains had dropped down to BFK TSO. All were vacuum braked Mk1s. Unfortunately the BFK isn't available in N Gauge. All the others are. Steven B.

Double check the wagons in the photos. Searching for "United Molasses Menstrie" on Google returns plenty of images but most appear to be the later air-brake wagon as per the NGS kit. All the photos on railscot.co.uk show the later wagon with the three bands on the tank, metal strips between the solebar and tank, and most telling they're air-braked only. The brake type can be seen from the pipe. Vacuum braked wagons usually have the brake pipe to the left of the coupling hook, air brake pipes are to the right (looking at the end of the wagon). I'd be interested to know when the Class B type were replaced with the TTA. Steven B.

Erm, a lump of brass acting as a fly-wheel is not the same as inertia on a DCC decoder. The flywheel acts to keep the motor turning when the power is interupted, either because the brushes moving between different poles on the commutator, or because of breaks in supply (e.g. traversing insulfrog pointwork). DCC controlled models benefit from having a flywheel fitted. Inertia on the DCC decoder limits the rate at which speed can be changed - it simulates the physical bulk of a locomotive & train meaning you don't go from 0-125mph in 2 seconds. A Keep alive capacitor can be fitted to DCC models allowing them to keep moving during small breaks in power supply. Steven B.

I think they're great and I sincerly hope that several of each type get preserved. Travelling around the Oldham Loop is nowhere near as fun on a Metrolink Tram. Watching the two halves bounce in different dirrections through the corridor connection is something I'll never forget. I wonder how much better they'd have been if they'd been built to run on three bogies though? I.e. one at each end and a shared one in the middle. Steven B.

According to Paul Bartlett's website they were built from 1954, finally being withdrawn in the "Later 80s". Being un-braked (hence the O part of the TOPD code) they would still need a brake van on the end of the train. Steven B.

The closest you'll get to a prototype unit with standard Mk1 coaches is the Class 116 parcels unit. The centre car from a standard 2-car class 116 were replaced with a pair of GUV vans. If you want to convert a 2 car unit to a three car then you might be better off getting a class 121 or 122 to strengthen the train for your peak services. Steven B.

Are you sure those tanks aren't the later air-braked ones converted from caustic soda tanks (as per the NGS kit?), rather than Class B tanks? Steven B.

Any idea what all the black and white egg timer shaped reference marks are used for? Steven B.

How about anything to help you detail a model today? Mk1 couplings & pipes:

N, OO or O??? Steven B

Blocks would be carried in open wagons such as the OBA. Vans would be used for bagged cement that needs to be kept dry. Either way, an 08 and a couple of wagons wouldn't look out of place. Steven B

Most rtr models have their motors surrounded by plastic or metal and don't spontaneously burst into flames so I suspect you'll have no problems. Steven B

My two year old daughter enjoys watching the first series of Thomas (complete with Ringo Star's narration) as much as she does the latest version. However, given the choice she'd rather watch Ivor the Engine.... She also enjoys other classics such as Trumpton, Clangers and Mr Benn. Kids haven't changed that much. Steven B

60 037 waits under the footbridge at Hereford in April 2003: A short time later it was joined by 158 821 (Manchester to Cardiff) and 150 002 (Hereford to Birmingham NS). This is the view from the bridge:

The problem with BR Green to BR Blue is the number of locos involved. BR Green carrying TOPS numbers would be more do-able. The photos & captions with the current MoD/Speedlink are enough to model the formations as the trains are quite short. Adding the nice graphics would have only added a few more trains. I'm finding it hard to find info on passenger services towards the end of BR (late 1980s onwards). The BRCoachingStock Yahoo Group archive runs out in 1985 and apart from WCML trains there's not much available for the tail end of BR. Articles covering WCML and secondary services (Provincial/Regional Railways) would be of interest. Similarly, something covering Cheshire & North Wales chemical traffic would be of use. Steven B.