Buhar

I wouldn't bet on it. Alan

Why did they fit Washinghoose pumps to a few of these? Was for a particular joint working? They seem to have all gone when they were rebuilt. Alan

You probably are, you just have an excess of trepidation in the way. That's standard etching procedure (turned bearings are usually a tad undersize too) and necessary when you have the inexactitude of chemicals eating the metal away. A set of broaches from Squires or similar is a good investment anyway; you just twist them in the hole and keep trying the part until the bit that you want to go through does just that. It'll only need a tiny bit of metal removed and in practice if you go a turn too far it'll still work. They'll help with bearings, handrail holes, ventilator mountings spectacle holes (if big enough). As with a drill bit, if you're doing a few holes you can put a wee bit of tape round the broach to mark how far you need to go up the taper. Aldi and Lidl both sell these from time to time for a tenner or so, I think Lidl have them in the middle at the moment. Very useful for boiler diameters, back to backs and "what size is this drill bit". Put the kittens away, man. It's not a tricky job, honestly. Just read the instructions (without glazing over or raging wildly, Jacob Rees-Mogg had no involvement in them), follow them, work carefully and use a little set square to get things at right angles. It'll be comfortably done in an evening. Have a watch of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UadhuvguOJQ That said, that Northwest Shortline box looks a possible way forward. Alan

And a brake van at either end of the train was sometimes used to make life easier if the train had to reverse direction en-route so again not an indication of requiring increased braking. Thanks for those examples so far. Alan

Thanks Stephen, I'll amend my post appropriately. It was the Wellingborough accident I obviously had in mind, but I mentally dated it 20 years or so earlier. Alan

If you have a valance on the front of the train shed, saw-tooth pattern or something fancier dangling below the main cross beam, you could have a cut-out at the chimney position. This is on the premise that early locomotives on the WNR were lower, but later purchases fouled the roof and, being parsimonious, the solution was a man on a ladder with a saw. Alan

If CA has been recently (last 5 years) been rebuilt any slope should be the other way with the rail edge of the platform higher than the building side so barrows will not roll onto the track. But imperceptible for our purposes, I think. If not rebuilt and likely to have low platforms, the slope will go t'other way. Alan

Thinking particularly about unfitted trains, the weight of brake vans generally increased before WWI up to 20 tons with some companies developing six wheel variants. Presumably, the weight of the van and therefore the braking force available determined the length of the train that could be controlled.* Was 20 tons reckoned to be sufficient or were there circumstances where two brake vans were used in tandem to increase the force available? Associated with that, was there a limit on the weight of train when a 10 ton van was used? *I am aware that gradient profile and the length of loop/lay-back sidings were also important considerations in determining train length. Alan

Are you going to use both ends of the shaft, eg a flywheel? I doubt the LR mount is a critical size where the shaft exits, in which case Chris at High Level can supply a sleeve to bring the shaft up to 1.5mm. For other locos, fear not on the HL gearboxes, they're not entirely idiot-proof, but reasonable care will produce a sweet running unit. Did John Redrup not have a solution for you, I remember a chat was on your list. Alan

Lovely to chat to you @Edwardian(too briefly) yesterday. I really enjoyed Kettlewell, it was my third look at the layout when we met. Probably not quite enough D299s but a good attempt. The layout really looked fun to operate too and the owner has it erected at home, lucky begger. The modelling was first class but I found the running on Bridgwater too slow, it's satisfying to have locos that perform well, but they are allowed to exceed walking pace even (or especially) while shunting. Alan

My first time on a train and my first exhibition since Covid emerged. Also my first time to York. A truly excellent show and to my surprise I ended up quite enjoying it being spread across various floors and rooms. Only a couple of hours of confusion to overcome! The presence of Gibson, 247, Dart and London Road was really welcome. There were some standout layouts too, obviously Hills of t'North, Kettlewell and Chapel but some excellent other contenders. I've half a mind to travel down on Monday for a second look. It was also a pleasure to encounter folk I knew witha special mention for @LNER4479 for his talking a small group of us through the Shap sequence, it really added to the enjoyment. Could do with some more Duchesses though. Alan

There's some serious lining out looming ahead, good luck. Alan

I thought the LNERly gave a new class number when the loco was cleaned. Alan

This might have to be the answer for small locos at least pro tem unless hardwiring is an option. The hobby having spent years getting motors out of cabs is now faced with stuffing electronics in there.🥴 Alan

The crunch issue for me is size of these decoders. Above there is an indication that smaller components especially the antenna were in short supply recently which is understandable. I don't mind using harnesses to get the decoder somewhere else in the model but these are big units. Small tank engine, decoder, speaker and stay alive; not a promising mix at the moment. Any educated guesses (@Ron Ron Ron) about how much smaller things might get? Alan

SE Finecast Flushglaze doesn't appear to provide for this model (probably not enough made) but there's a good chance their glazing for the Replica/Mainline 57' (SE85) would fit. Might be worth a punt. The underframe improvements are pretty standard for a coach of that vintage and Bachman LMS bogies are available as spares. I think you're in with a good chance. Alan

Linking the cost of living and cruises, there's a three year cruise available for £75,000. That's £25,000 a year. If you've got minimal outgoings at home or can sell up that's actually quite good value if you restrain yourself on onboard extras. If you ask nicely they might let you form a model railway club with a layout down one side of the gym. If Hattons/Rails can deliver to the ports - even better. Alan

Is that dependant on the image being named in a way that the search facility locates it or did it find it by association with the post containing the search term? Alan

Adrian Chiles has an short piece in the Grauniad which mentions producers' demands that the content be made simpler in the documentaries he was presenting. He complained that "it's not Playschool" but had to acquiesce. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/30/why-are-todays-tv-dramas-so-devastatingly-difficult-to-follow Alan

I would prepare a dropper wire from the frog as @Lacathedrale suggests just in case four-coupled locos stutter, easier to do off-layout rather than after installation. You don't need to connect it if all is well, but you just need an unexpected undulation or a dodgy pick-up on the loco for mishaps to appear, That said, if you're fitting stay-alives you'd probably be completely fine. Alan

Light grey, but darken it to different degrees on each coach as they swiftly moved to being really mucky as the roofs were never cleaned. I think the black below the rainstrip instruction had changed by the time the PIII coaches were introduced as they didn't have continuous rainstrips on corridor stock.

I did do history beyond school, thank you for asking. My searches for Dukes of Lancaster didn't turn up anyone holding that staff and I would have thought that would have been a point reference for people looking at the arms. Alan

I think the cavalcade style layouts are easier to watch than more discreet movements on a large layout simply because everyone gets to see the train running past them, but only a handful are near enough to appreciate the shunting or loco exchange if they know or are lucky enough to be in the right place. On Leighton Buzzard shown alone it's small enough that the whole crowd can see the action. The banker coming off at the summit of Shap is only visible to a few, but the move is swift and everyone else gets to see it coming down the hill. I enjoy watching both styles of operating (plus others) and also enjoy watching fiddle yard activity. Alan

The bloke top right is a puzzle. He must be derived from something. I can't find an image of Henry VII or VIII that matches and that's it for adult Tudor kings (also one's generally illustrated in a way that's too fat and the other's too thin). Is there a relevant saint? The only significant towns along the line are Carnforth, Oxenholme (at a push) and Penrith and I can't see a connection with those, unless it's someone with a flaming torch lighting Penrith Beacon. Alan

The only possible origin for the caboshed stags' heads I can find is from the Duke of Devonshire. An investor? Alan