Benn

I'll look forward to seeing the new wagons at Warley. I'm hoping that if these are a success, then the chassis will become available for kits (the NGS kits are let down by the 1970s Peco chassis!) and we might see a few twin-axle wagons that are missing from the Farish range. The GWR box van, and a big one, an LMS/BR 5 plank open with steel chassis, suitable for use into later BR years, would be nice starters.

It's not as simple as that, unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your interest in thrash...). It's as much down to the exhaust and silencer arrangement as anything, which varied considerably. For example, a Derby 108 usually has virtually no exhaust sound, mostly engine noise, but a BRCW 104 with the same engine, will wake the dead within a 20 mile radius in 1st gear with its exhaust. Also, AEC engines sound different again...

Saw the livery sample 128s at TINGS, looking good! I had assurance that some of the minor assembly / livery application issues visible, especially with regards to the headcode displays, will be tidied up for the production models too, which was welcome news.

I'll look forward to seeing how you get on! I'd certainly be interested in a few in Black when they get round to them, to liven up my rake of Dogfish with a few differing body heights.

Bump... As per the several comments above on the same subject? I asked the GM stand staff at the Glasgow show back in Feb, but no one knew what the hold up was, or why. I'd be very grateful if anyone out there could advise as to whether or not they will eventually appear. Odd that it's only this one that hasn't arrived. Thanks.

A big thank you to the organisers and staff of MRS from Barton Road. It was a great show as usual, the layout behaved after a 2 and a half year rest, it was nice to catch up with a few people and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was also an honour to be voted 1st place as a visiting layout, especially when there was such a high standard overall. We appreciated the heritage bus service put on for the exhibitors as well, that sort of thing goes a long way to making a show more enjoyable when we don't have to think about parking and driving between the hotel and the venue each day!

I sincerely hope that Peco introduce a new 9, 10 & 12ft steel, leaf spring chassis to modern standards. It would also be nice if they included a sprue with optional vac pan and key brake parts to fit if required, and even oil or roller bearing axle boxes, but that might be pushing it. I'm not aware of any decent chassis available in N if you don't like building with brass.

I have asked. He has also asked. We have asked. We appreciate the shop and society are run by volunteers, they have a lot going on with the amount of orders going through, especially since the marvellous Hunslet models landed. We might be N gauge modellers, but we aren't unreasonable, and we do have a sense of humour...

Hi Paul, Yes, I agree, it was possible in the past by that method, and a great service it was too. However, that option would no longer seem to be available unfortunately, judging by a recent, less-than-great transaction a friend of mine experienced a couple of months back... Nevermind!

Is it? Not with the Peco chassis provided I don't think, and that was my point really. The other flat costs, as you quite correctly state, time and ability aside, are minimal, but if you genuinely want something that looks as good, runs as well, is accurate and detailed to the equivalent Farish SR Van standard, from that NGS kit, you do need to put another chassis under them, the two are totally incomparable. I'm not aware of any plastic chassis kits in N that are suitable for the NGS kits, that hold their own when in a rake of Farish wagons. I have a load of kits that I'm building up for wagons that aren't available RTR, so I would be grateful if you can point me in the direction of some, as you mentioned above? I don't have the skills or tools to go down the brass construction route. Sly 70s funk reference there, as well...

Hi Graham, What are these finer chassis you speak of, please? I'm after some decent 10ft steel chassis for some kits. I am aware that Peco are doing new tool N Scale wagons, and I think that includes some new chassis kits as well, hopefully, and all with metal tyred wheels. The 40odd year old Peco chassis' (9ft ex.) offered with some of the NGS kits aren't great, and the fact you have to butcher them to such an extent to make them appear even remotely prototypical is not something I class as enjoyable... The plastic used isn't easy to work with. It's a shame you cannot buy the excellent NGS body kits without paying for a chassis that you don't really want, or indeed the NGS don't invest in their own, more accurate series of chassis kits. Once you have paid around £5 per van for the kit and paid for a new set of wheels and a new chassis because the ones that come with the kit are unsuitable, how much is left before you factor in the cost of the glues, varnish, decals and paint..? Even then, will it look as good as a Farish van after you've spent a few hours working on your kit? Unless you specifically want something that Farish don't do, depending on what level of accuracy you're aiming for and how much time you want to spend on it, I don't think £18-20 for a fully finished vehicle is that unreasonable really.

Reading that link 4630, under the heading for Tube marker light codes, it does state, "Codes for tube lines were only introduced in the early 1950s. Their implementation was slow and sporadic and they were not regularly insisted upon in the way the District did theirs. They died out within ten years and were never regularly seen after 1962." So, looking at a few pictures of the product, everything seems to be accurate and as it should for what's on offer.

You aren't, I too noticed that all the late '60s-mid '70s ones dissapeared. However, I was planning on getting a BR(M) one in Blue with full yellow ends, and a BR(W) one in green with a yellow gangway door. Thankfully, the BR Blue (M) model has dominoes and not plated lights, which, as Mike has said, can be fairly straight forward to change, and the BR Green (W) model should be fairly easy to mask off the gangway door and paint yellow. Job done. So, Pre-Order placed for two units... A nice heavy chassis please, so I can max out the tailoads!

I can confirm that VW Pargas Blue can be ordered at your local Halfords, along with any other colours that you have the code for. I picked up one today, just done a test on both white and grey primer, and it comes up with a nice finish.

Is anybody able to post a picture of the new '2nd Generation' Next18 Class 33 chassis please, from above and from side-on? I am looking at putting sound in to one, and I have a 6-Pin chassis, which looks fairly straight forward; plug chip in, remove lighting unit from one end of body, put speaker in cab space, body back on, job done (he says...) - similar to a Farish 25, near enough. However, I haven't yet seen what these new Next18 chasis are like. Has there been any alterations to the chassis-block outside of the electrics at all, i.e. room for a speaker etc, or has the 6-Pin PCB simply been swapped over so that it's now a Next18 socket? Thanks

Thank you very much gents, most appreciated. I'm 'doing some work' on a Farish 20, and I'm re-buffering it with some finer examples in the process. I've fitted some oval Warship buffers, and they measure in at bang on 4mm when fitted, so that's close enough for jazz in my book. I thought at first glance that they stuck out too far, the original ones certainly did, and pictures are never quite at the right angle, so I can now satisfy myself that they do stick out a fair bit anyway! Thanks, Benn

Hello all, I am hoping someone can help me with this one, it's a bit specific..! I'm after the measurement from the face of the buffer beam to the furthest point of the buffer on an early build, oval buffered class 20 please. Thanks, optimistically, Benn.

Hello all, I'm looking at doing a couple of repaints to BR Blue in N, and I'm going to have a go at ordering a can of VW Pargas blue from my local Halfords (I rang up to check, and as long as I've got the number I can order it for collection next day), a question to those in the know, as I haven't tried a loco repaint yet...; I'm guessing this paint will come in a gloss finish, will passing over the finished model after painting and adding the transfers with Halfords Matt Lacquer be the right way to go, or will it still look rubbish? Thanks

That picture of M55990 in blue above with an SR PMV in tow is outrageous.

Hello Ron, Many thanks for those pictures, that's an excellent start, I will have a look on that website and see what else I can find. I guess the problem with finding shots of inside these facilities during operation or even after their closure, is the usual one of that people aren't actually allowed to wander around freely, and that at the time, they wern't really remarkable places anyway. Thanks

Hello all, I am doing some research on the inner city goods depots of Manchester in the post-steam period for a new project I'm looking at doing in 2mm-FS, what survived and what ran where etc. More specifically I'm looking for images in and around the Ancoats goods and Oldham Rd. Goods depots, please see this map for clarification; http://spellerweb.net/rhindex/UKRH/LNWR/OldhamRdMap.jpg Ancoats was supposedly closed in '72, and Oldham Rd in '68, but I cannot find any images of either of these two premises taken anywhere near their closure, and what I can find isn't very useful. A few survive of Manchester Liverpool Rd Goods, as expected with it's historical importance, but most of the other facilities would appear to of long been forgotten! Ancoats goods seems to of been a particularly interesting site, especially with it's approach; https://www.flickr.com/photos/29644579@N07/6990503774/ ...most goods facilities seem to of been elevated on viaducts, this one being the exception - burrowing underneath the viaducts around Ardwick. Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks, Benn.

Thanks again gents, sounds like a B7-8 size will do fine for what I want which will be a station throat scene and a few sidings. I usually only use the large radius points when I've modelled in N as they look the most realistic with coaches passing over, everything I have is close coupled.

Thanks gents, I plan to just purchase the Easitrac kits for now, along with the relevant jigs, so if a Peco large radius turnout is between B7 and B8, then I will probably purchase a couple of B7s and a B8 to start with and see how I get on. Cheers

Hi all, I've just joined the 2mm Association with a view to starting a small project to get used to building the track. Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but I am interested in having some sort of comparison between the Peco large radius code 55 turnout, and what is/are it's equivalent in the Easitrac range. I wouldn't really want to use anything tighter than this as this is the standard point that I have used when modelling in N gauge and it doesn't look out of order when running bogie stock over it, so I would like to continue with whichever is closest in the easitrac range. I understand that the Peco points have their own geometry, so knowing which size (B7 etc) is just sharper than and which size is just larger than would be very helpful. I can't find any templates to print off so that I can use my eye! I'm just getting ready to put an order together, so any help would be most appreciated. Thanks, Benn.

I'm looking forward to getting a BSK in maroon for my local Peak Time capacity boost vehicle to run with my Blue/Grey Mk1s, that otherwise sits about the place, neglected and filthy. If anybody asks, one survived in the Bristol area into '69 still in Maroon... Okay? I might repaint one into blue and grey if I gain the confidence to carry out such wanton destruction to such an excellent model. Benn.