Huw Griffiths

Sounds fair enough. In case you're wondering about the references to research, some people would know that, for a number of years, I was a "lab rat" in a university - where research (and publication of reports, findings etc in peer reviewed journals) was often used as a "shop window" and a mechanism for obtaining funding. As for my own time, I have experimented with other types of models beside trains. A number of years (actually decades) ago, I had a lot of fun with some 27MHz radio controlled cars - an activity which I sometimes jokingly referred to by the euphemism "serious research". (This might tell some people something about my sense of humour - which has been rather dry for as long as I can remember.) Of course, the only serious bit about these things was ensuring that I never lost control of them when the battery packs were plugged in. (If this had happened, I reckoned that trying to explain "what went wrong" might get slightly tedious - but I had no intention of finding out.)

I'm sure they'll publish their findings in due course. They're currently at the "peer review" stage. Judging by the rain threatened for some parts of the country (and the downpour round here a few hours back), I'm beginning to wonder if "in at the deep end" might be closer to the mark. Fair comment. I suspect any features about working OHLE might create a buzz. Seriously though, if the abuse my first model train suffered (about half a century back - ouch!) is anything to go by, something along these lines might be well suited to some very young people. The awkward bit might then be the move to something slightly more prototypical in appearance. Exactly what that might be is a matter of personal preference.

Ah yes ... "serious research".

That doesn't look right. After all, I always thought track was supposed to be laid on the carpet. Of course, I could be very much mistaken ... . Seriously though, I could imagine a number of those sets being used on lawns (most probably looking a lot rougher than that), AstroTurf, or patios - perhaps even with their new owners doing their own personal attempts on a land speed record. Saying that, if these help to get some kids "trained", there probably won't be too many complaints (at least until the batteries run down!). Huw.

Joking aside, I'd imagine that a model of the Blue Pullman clone might be more likely. It's got a Crest. Anyway, I'm sure we'll soon find out, when they "open wide" for business. In all fairness, some jokes on this theme were probably inevitable. I can remember when I was at school, one local dentist even had a newspaper cartoon prominently displayed in his office - in which a sadistic looking "practitioner" gleefully informs a patient: "In my spare time, I shoe horses.' My late mother thought this was hilarious. Strangely enough, I took a slightly different view. It would be fair to say that this line in humour did little to ease my fear of dentists. Whatever the score, I've been around long enough to know the drill: "Hat ... coat ... ."

I hope that HST isn't waiting for a Signal ... .

A visit to "West Ashfield" could also be interesting - although I'm not convinced that trainspotters would find too much to interest them ... . Huw.

Definitely was to me. Your new loco looks rather good, too. Of course, this now leaves me with a difficult decision: Do I get myself one - or do I make a start on the planned DMU "cut & shuts", once I've sorted out some other issues and have time to spend on hobbies? Decisions ... decisions. Regards, Huw.

I suspect that news will be like catnip to some guys round here. Huw.

Wrong photo? I get the impression that some people round here might regard that photo as "purr-fect". At this rate, I wonder how long it will be before this place starts copying "Wheeler Dealers: Dream Car" - with "Dave" the cat wandering into the workshop every so often - and online talk of a "Dave appreciation society". OK - perhaps not - but some people might think it's starting to look that way. Huw.

Due to caring commitments, I've never been able to get to these in the past. Now that I no longer have these commitments, I'd really like to get to this event, if I can find some way of getting there (I don't have access to a car). Since I don't have a layout - and I wouldn't be able to promise any demonstrations (mainly because I haven't had chance to do any modelmaking recently) - I'm talking as a potential visitor. Time will tell if I actually get there - and if we're even allowed model shows etc - although I obviously hope so. All the best, Huw.

Was this device "3 phase"? The reason I'm asking is that electrical supplies in the UK are essentially 3 phase. In other words, power generation and transmission involves 3 phases - a third of a cycle apart. Even when the "juice" is transformed down to the "low voltage" supplied to most customers, it still comes in these 3 phases - by now often identified as "red", "yellow" and "blue" - with a typical house being supplied from one of these phases (doesn't matter too much which). In case anyone is wondering, the "neutral" black wire in domestic supplies is connected to the earth at the substation. However, this could still be far enough away for this wire to "pick something up" by induction (and proximity with the live) - so I wouldn't want to touch it! Huw.

Sounds like a good call - but then I might have a reason for saying this. You might recall that I had to drop out of entering this challenge - because I realised that external factors meant that I was going to run out of time. In the long run, of course, I intend to complete the stuff I was working on - stuff which might not be too relevant to my other projects - so it would suit my purposes to post this stuff here. Huw.

This all depends on how long ago this was - after all, that photo doesn't look particularly recent - and this could have been an issue. Although he seems to have been "trained", he could have been interested in a certain event on the site of the former Foleshill gasworks, in September 2014 (an event which the guys who run this site might not be too keen to talk about). Otherwise, a trip to Coventry would probably have been a complete waste of time. Huw.

Shame our feline friends can't read warning signs: " DANGER! EXTRA LOW TENSION!! TRACK ENERGISED AT 12000 mV. DO NOT TOUCH!!!" Still, I'm sure this would add a new "buzz" to "points duty". All that's missing is some catnip. Huw.

"Now then ... now then ... now then ... " (Strangled sound.) It could have been worse. They could have called it "Operation Yewtree". "Now how's about that then, boys and girls?" On reflection, having adverts fronted by Jimmy Sa-vile might not have been British Rail's finest hour. Huw.

I don't recall seeing other people using it on models - but it wouldn't surprise me - I certainly didn't mention it in a spirit of "hey look at me". In a previous job, I frequently needed to fix strain gauges to various specimens - using cyano adhesives ("superglues") or, preferably, 2 part epoxy ("Araldite" etc). The gauges were small and very thin - and usually initially positioned on the sticky side of "Sellotape" or other plastic adhesive tapes, before a small amount of adhesive found its way onto the back of the gauge and everything was pressed down for a few minutes. If we didn't want glue spread over a wide area of specimens, it was common practice to mask the specimens - using tape - and leaving uncovered the area where glue would be allowed. The tape was effectively being used in a similar way to masking tape. As I was already doing this sort of stuff in work, it struck me as reasonably logical to use a similar method for masking windows on models, when gluing them into place. The best bit was that it seemed to work - certainly for me, anyway! These days - with me being quite likely to use cellulose thinners instead of "official" solvent cements - the basic method still works for me. Once the windows are fully fixed, I tend to go round the edges with the tip of a scalpel - remove any tape outside the windows and leave everything in place until I also finish painting. Of course, this doesn't mean that everyone else needs to do the same. Just for information, a similar idea seems to be a regular feature on "Wheeler Dealers" - generally when a car is being prepared for the spray booth. Of course, they're not likely to use tape to cover all of a full size windscreeen - so they use the tape to hold newspapers in place - and trim the tape before they start mixing the "two-pack". Returning to the Smallbrook "Cardea" kit, I think it's possible that I might get round to building one of my own. It looks like it could be a very enjoyable project. Huw.

I hope you don't mind me butting in here. In the past, I've sometimes used plastic tape - either "Scotch" or PVC insulating tape - to mask windows. Essentially, after trimming and test-fitting the windows, I've attached a layer of tape over the windows (preferably both sides) - then trimmed it to the edge of the windows using a scalpel. The windows were then inserted from behind - and some solvent cement "run in" from the outside, using capillary action. The tape stayed in place until after I'd finished painting - then the tape was carefully removed, initially lifting a bit of an edge using a pin or the tip of a scalpel. I can't guarantee this will work for everyone - but it worked for me (although it's a while since I last built any models, you can safely assume I'll be using this method on my next "build"). Would I be correct in assuming that the same version of the kit works for both the Hornby "Toby" and the Bachmann "Junior" chassis? Actually, mention of the Bachmann "Junior" 0-6-0 chassis brings me to another point. I've come across this chassis in 2 basic "flavours" - the "kettle" version, which you're using - and the "Diesel" version, which is of more conventional construction. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of them at present, but they are very different. Saying that, the wheel sizes, positions (and perhaps also the footplate cutouts you'd need to use them with this kit) appear to be the same. It goes without saying that I'll be interested in seeing your progress with this kit - partly because I've sometimes wondered about getting one for myself - partly because I've also wondered about building my own freelance Oe "Diesel" shunter, using one of these chassis and a homebrew bodyshell adapted from a German card kit downloaded from the Jagsttalbahn website: Instructions (in German): http://www.jagsttalbahn.de/bastel.html ; Card kit (PDF - editable in Illustrator etc); http://www.jagsttalbahn.de/uploads/media/BastelbogenV22.pdf . As for potential colour scheme, your guess is as good as mine - perhaps drab grey, olive or dark green - perhaps also wasp stripes. If a similar loco were to be operated a NG layout, I could imagine a "driver" adapted from a 1:48 "military" plastic kit. You probably wouldn't want too big anyway (NG locos and stock aren't always to full "standard gauge" sizes) - but there's also quite a bit of variation in sizes of people, even in the same family! Huw.

Let's guess: The teams get supplied with flat-pack MDF baseboards, with names that most Brits have no chance of pronouncing correctly? At the end of each heat, two of the teams meet their Waterloo? Seriously though, I wish Channel 5 (or one of their Freeview spin-offs) would stick the original series on as "box sets", over bank holidays - and then tell us when they intend to commission some new series. OK - they might not be exactly what some of us might call "museum standard", "fine scale", or whatever - but that isn't what series like this are about. HMRC seems to be about imparting a novel spin onto "the World's greatest hobby" - making the hobby appeal to a wider, non-specialised audience - drawing new people into the hobby and giving it more of a future. As for people filming new TV programmes, I wonder if one member of this site might have found his way to the 3rd floor of an office block in the Lillie Bridge area? (Don't worry - I don't expect an answer!) Huw.

That's exactly how they got their "name" - diameter in mm - followed by thickness, this time in tenths of mm. This system's been in use for decades. I remember seeing this in a Duracell data book - complete with dimensioned elevation drawings of all the battery types they produced at the time - early in 1984. Huw.

Well, the BR Modernisation Plan was post war, wasn't it? (Yes - I know - anything post-1950 was described as "modern image" at one point - but quite a few people here probably hadn't even been born then!) Fair comment. In theory, they could have called it something like "Diesel & Electric Motive Power Illustrated" - or even "Modernisation Plan Compatible Locomotives, Railcars and Multiple Units" - but I think "MLI" or "MLI Plus" probably rolls off the tongue slightly easier. Could be interesting - and a title like this sounds much more "customer friendly" than something like "Postwar Kettles Illustrated"*. (*Other titles also available.) Huw.

There's just one problem here - due to the seemingly endless lockdown cycles, some people are getting even less human contact than usual. We'd love to get out more - we'd love to be allowed to, but ... . Please note, despite my continuing intense frustration with the lockdowns - and my suspicion that further lockdowns in future can't yet be ruled out - I still think they're preferable to what could potentially happen if they weren't imposed. A number of people (including me) have lost friends and relatives to the Corona menace - and I don't think we've yet reached the point at which it can be easily managed. Until then, a number of sociable people are likely to get and remain very lonely. When we can, finally, get out more, I'm sure we shall - until then, I don't see things changing anywhere near as rapidly as some of us would like. Edit: Perhaps at this point I should apologize if this post comes across as a bit snappy. Recent events have made this difficult to avoid. Most people in the UK have been in lockdown for the last 3 months. For me, it's been longer - and felt much longer still. Some people here already know that I lost my mother to hospital acquired Covid, about a fortnight before Christmas. The night before her death, I was invited to visit her in hospital - so I then needed to quarantine myself for a week or two, as a precaution. The moment I would have been allowed out of the house, the whole UK was plunged into the current lockdown. Before my mother died, I'd been stuck at home - dealing with stuff required because she was in hospital (or trying to sort things in the hope she'd be fit enough to be released, following the fall that put her in hospital). Even before she went into hospital, I'd been kept busy - pretty much round the clock - caring for her. I hadn't been able to leave her for months. I'm not saying this to attract sympathy - but just to explain why, right now, certain comments that would normally be innocent (possibly even humourous) are not likely to be too well received. I'm sorry about this - I'm also sorry if my reaction causes offence - but at least you've now got some idea where I'm coming from. Regards, Huw.

Absolutely. Apparently something to do with a concept called "human contact". Some of us used to enjoy this, before all the lockdown cycles started. Some of us also enjoyed being able to buy things using proper banknotes and coins - we found them easier to keep track of than plastic. A number of years back, banknotes and coins were sometimes referred to using descriptions like "L.s.d". No - I'm not hallucinating. Huw.