paulbb

Love the Heljan shirt Ben!!

hello 21C1, unfortunately I live around 200 miles from you, thanks for the offer though regards Paul

The website referred to by 21C1 above seems to be in a state of flux and does not do repairs to old analogue units which mine is. . The Gaugemaster unit from kevinlms is a panel mounted and would need some modification to become a hand held. Thanks for the suggestions though.

I have a KPC (kent panel controls) handheld analogue controller, model KFS O -specifically for O gauge and good for up to 3 amps- that has suddenly expired, so does anyone know of any companies or individuals that fix these type of units ? Failing that does anyone know of a good hand held controller (analogue only please ) that can be used for a small O gauge layout (10' x 2') ? The ordinary gaugemaster ones for OO aand N seem too slight for O gauge.

Nice looking layout there F-Unit. Any more images or has it featured elsewhere? Sorry about no text in the above regards Paul

Overall a good and interesting read. My main criticism concerns the sightings on Swindon Works in the 1960's. There would appear to be no class 22 diesels in for repair. There was always 2-3 on there when I visited then in 1962, and also very few Hymeks, again seems odd for th 1960's.

It looks great and runs smoothly on straight track, but it is prone to stalling on Peco insulfrog points, despite clean track and wheels. Perhaps there is a way to improve this, tho as all the wheels seems fixed and geared there seems little opportunity for introducing compensation.

In the spirit of the times, should'nt it be 'Lock Doon' ? Nice layout plan , crisp and tidy track , just enough to provide a lot of fun to operate, cant go wrong with Birmingham Sulzers (26,27) -suppose you could multi mode with different eras too.

great stuff Max! More images please. Cant go wrong with a class 26 and an Inglenook; how big is the whole layout , fiddle included?

It was noted that the BR Clans were probably no match for the Bulleid Light Pacifics in terms of performance, but how did the Brits compare to the rebuilt WC's abd BB's? I suspect that the BR machines were more economical and reliable(like the Clans) , with the SR machines having the edge in performance, but is there any evidence or data of this?

It would be interesting to know the price for this small panier had it been produced by Hornby or Bachmann. At £150.00 I am able to afford it but unwilling to pay. This company undoubtedly produces high quality/high spec locos but their prices are always eye watering -see their RDC in HO scale. Had the 16xx been closer to £100 i would have bought two!

My money would go on a class 31diesel , as the existing model does not fully capture the complexities of its body shape, especially around the side window cabs and the tumblehome of the body itself, and would be an excellent companion to the forthcoming class 37. Of course you have an awful lot of variants to pick from in terms of body details, especially if you go for the class 30 early variant too. Livery wise, the sky's the limit really.

A lovely layout, almost a case study in 'How to build an Inglenook', and certainly better many layouts on the web purporting to do the same. A bit more on the electrics would be nice and how you sorted the wiring for the points, as at first you were going to use surface mounted point motors and it looks like they are under the baseboard, with push to make switches.

You are quite right Baby Deltic , just like on the class 26 batches, where if memory serves the bogies/springs on the 26 changed slightly too.

Will they do the Scottish variant with the recess for the tablet catcher that was on the prototypes second batch that went straight to the Scottish region; does anyone know if Dapols tooling is flexible to allow for this? Perhaps we will have to be 'real' modellers and make our own tablet catcher recesses, tho many will be reluctant to carve up a £120 plus loco...

Will Bleat Wharf, Mutton , and Sheep Dip now , in view of the PM's announced changes today, come out of Flockdown?

I bought this loco some time ago and I an aware that this and other locos from Heljan in the earlier batches had component problems, particularly the gears to the wheels from the motor. Both sets of gears on this loco have been replaced (by Howes of Oxford) and are fairly new, and when it runs it is now as smooth as the other ones from this firm. However around 50% of the time this loco seems to overload the controller and trigger the cutout on the handheld ,which is a Kent Panels Controller KFS-0, designed for O gauge. The transformer used is an old Lenz 'digital ' transformer delivering 3 amps. I have not seen this problem on my other Heljan locos -or any my Dapol locos. Just before it cuts out there is a slight noise coming form inside the loco-possbly from the pcb, and I am wondering if the pcb too needs replacing! Has anyone else had this problem, or is the solution to get a beefier controller-I believe that Helmsman ones are good, but as they now are owned by Peco they may not be available for sometime. Disconnecting the fan drive motor reduces the current draw but has not solved my problem .

An Irish Deltic , as the great Sean Connery, famous for his Irish accent in the Untouchables would have put it, is simply 'Shex on Shix Axshuls, junior '

Many thanks for the links F-UnitMad, and your thoughts David. I will probably bite the bullet and get the NWSL sets if I can , as its an old and personal favourite. Failing that I will try an engineering service somewhere and get the wheels turned down. Its a favourite as well, possibly it reminds me of a time when I was younger,slimmer and had lots of hair!

I bought this item from Victors on Pentonville Road back in the early 1980's. I also bought a job lot of Lima track and points (2' radius!) from a swapmeet when you could buy cheap second hand stuff. The loco runs quite sweetly on this coarse scale track. Having now built a layout using Peco bullhead track the loco is fine on straight/curved track but the flanges are a little too wide for Peco points. Does anyone know - or better still have- any replacement wheelsets for the loco so I can run a US style Inglenook operation on it??

There were some limited trials on coal trains in the Dalmellington area around 1961 ish; the loco involved was D6112 I believe, and there were images in Trains Illustrated that year

I agree with Brittania , above, a very pleasant show with friendly exhibitors and a good selection of trade stands and some nice layouts . Whithorn and Baston Rue De Clervaux were my favourites. A hearty thanks and well done to Macclesfield MRG for putting on a show in such adverse circumstances, hope to go next year!

I found that taking each eyebolt on the sprue and impaling it on a pair of fine pointed tweezers and then cutting slowly from the sprue; sometimes the bolt comes away without any cutting. Then opening the hole for the bolt in the locos roof ever so slightly ; insert impaled eyebolt into hole still holding the tweezers and then quicly drop a tiny amount of mek liquid adhesive on it when it is in position. Slowly remove tweezers. Repeat about 20 times. I have done this on two class 43's now. Very character building...

Marlyn you could be right, but the 3 jinties and 3 standards and a crab suggest somewhere else; the shed in the background looks big for Barry tho Paul