MG 7305

I cannot say how much I approve:

111 The Great Bear became 111 Viscount Churchill. Viscount Portal was 7000. You would be amazed at the ex Barry bits I saw in the late 70's sat in the dirt or on shelves with interesting numbers but with the relevant locomotive far away. Did you know that Castles and Kings apparently have the same smokebox door?

Looking at the Sam's Trains review, where on earth did those slide bars come from?

Hmm. I would suggest that the mystery can be solved by considering what Swindon would have done. Swindon did not spend money when it did not need to, indeed as I pointed out when a similar wild goose chase was started over the first batch of 72xx appearing with Great Western on the tanks rather that the contemporary roundel; they changed the rear end and painted it but did not need to repaint the essentially pristine side tanks with Great Western on them. Here we have the emblem being changed and I suggest the whole side was repainted up to a vertical seam or door as appropriate but not the nose. Therefore the photographs above show that the orange cantrail lining remains on the nose of the locomotive after the second emblem was added but not on the sides which would have been over painted. The aim being to keep repainting costs down (noses not repainted) but to avoid an obvious change of shade around the new emblem. I refer to those who renumber model diesels and then weather the model to hide this issue.

I have just bought w2 economy packs of the Gaugemaster platform and building lamps. Knowing nothing of how to wire up LEDs I rang Gaugemaster and the gentleman who answered was incredibly patient and knowledgeable. He explained how to wire them up in great detail. I recommend you give them a ring.

http://www.railpictures.ca/upload/general-motors-diesel-hydraulic-switcher-600-a-gmdh-1-is-seen-here-on-trial-on-the-canadian-pacific-at-st-marys-ontario-in-1958-an-experimental-locomotive-concept-that-never-caught-on-a-tota And someone has started to steam (well diesel anyway) punk it by sticking bits on it, have a look at the leading bogie......

I love the way the horn faces backwards to reduce frontal area.

I recognise the issue. If I recall correctly the instructions recommend you hold the arm (gently) in the down position while operating the signal and the gears should reengage. I have done this once or twice and it has been successful.

The gestation period of Kernow Model Centre specials may be extended, however I am more than happy to wait if the quality of the steam rail motor matches that of the D6xx series (diesel locomotive model of the last 10 years). As I was told as a small boy, patience is a virtue.

The pony truck pivot has a short screw which goes into a short pivot and if you screw it up tight the relatively thick pony truck goes solid. This contributes to both poor running over anything but perfect straight track in that it can lift the drivers off the track and also derailments as you noted. I have filed down the pony truck pivot hole so that the pony truck can actually follow the track by going up and down. I run DCC so I also added one of the big stay alives from Digitrains, a belt and braces approach. This latter went into the bunker which was a right ****** as I had to take the bunker floor out to get it in. Not the easiest thing I have done to a model. Best regards Julian

Am I the only one to be amazed by how gawdy Hornby models have become over recent years? In the case of the GWR 61xx I record, a not exhaustive list: 1. The all brass cylinder relief valve mechanism. Most of this is steel and should be black and no one was polishing the cocks and exhaust pipes on a 61xx. 2. Injectors and associated pipework. These was/is black, refer to recent repaint of 6106. A 61xx was not a King, assuming Kings were so polished. 3. Injector feed pipes on top of tanks to clack valves. No one was polishing these, assuming they were copper in the first place. 4. Hand brake handle, fireman's side in cab. No, it was not red, it was black. See 6106 again. 5. Unpainted and polished brass pipes to the whistles. Some of these, serials 1 and 2 for example, are also evident on the 42/52/72xx classes and 28xx/2884 classes amongst others, Not so gawdy but should be correctly presented: 1. Reversing lever handle and reversing lever releasing handle, drivers side. The tops of these should be polished steel, not red. Other issues on request. On the plus side correcting these issues on my railway increase sales of Humbrol paints! Best regards Julian

Height (please.)

1. Give Heljan a call (see their facebook page for number. I have done so concerning both a traverser and turntable. I found them incredibly helpful and I was able to return failed elements for a replacement if they had one. 2. For the future, switch everything off before working on it, I found that soldering Dapol signal wires when they were powered killed them! 3. Make sure you have a dedicated quality transformer your turntable, the output from a redundant DC controller killed one of mine. Julian

Try Markits, from their online 2013 catalogue:

I have read that the 94xx were meant to replace the pregrouping 0-6-2T, and perhaps the 56xx , a process I cannot track. My understanding is that the post 9409 locomotives were part of an effort to provide various builders with business. The new design offered no improvement over the 57xx and significant demerits. Indeed the subcontracting involved and delivery rates are indicative of this. It took a long time for the contracted locomotives to be delivered. Cook was a GW man and I suggest that his views are of great value, given his great seniority and works experience He had enormous workshop experience and become the BR(W) CME before his successful move to Doncaster. The essential question is what improvement over the 57xx did the 94xx provide? I for one cannot see what it was and I bow to the views of the very senior (top of the tree) engineers of the time.

The 94xx was also criticised by KJ Cook in his book Swindon Steam, see pages 151 and 152. In summary:

They are not DCC dependent, they detect shorts and switch not AC or DC.

I have been through both of these and am now onto Gaugemaster DCC80. Easy to fit, solder to appropriate places and therefore do not need accurate adjustment as per PL-15. I am told they are not solid state so may be or not be reliable over the long term but so far so good (4 years plus). Both the PL13 and 15 suffer from either or both contact oxidation or (PL-15) contact movement. Time will tell. Best regards Julian

I have a D827 Kelly, 32-056DC which runs pretty well but sounds like a permanent clap of thunder. I would like to get the bogies/gear towers out and apart to give them a good clean and grease up, I have already oiled the carden UJs and what external bearings I can get at. However I cannot see how to do it. A steer would be gratefully received. Best regards Julian

The magnets will be fine, my issue was that there was an interference fit between the doors and the crane itself. Once the doors were out and replaced properly, the key gets them in and out perfectly well. I used the pin to get them out (overcoming the interference fit) and ensured that they were replaced correctly. Best regards Julian

Yes, the tool should remove the covers without hindrance. However I took the "if all else fails, read the instructions" route to lowering the jib onto the jib runner and they became jammed when I refitted them, lesson relearnt. Of course you can exchange the model but as I wrote, judicial use of a pin to remove the covers if they are jammed such as to defeat the magnetic effect of the tool will get them out and you can ensure that they go back in correctly. At least that is what I have done and everything now works as advertised. Be warned, when applying the metal notices it was easy for me to let the jib and hook cables off their pulleys and it took an evening to get everything straight again so I recommend you keep the cables gently taught at all times. I find it rare that a model is perfect out of the box and am usually confident that I can effect necessary adjustments. However on occasion this is not possible. Sometimes the defect does not manifest itself until after I have done detailing, crew, headlamps, decoder and so on so perforce I am on my own. However being a loyal customer of a single outlet (Paul at the Alton Model Centre) means I get a very sympathetic hearing when necessary. Best regards Julian

They do work as advertised but ensure you read the instructions before proceeding. They are not the same and if you put them in incorrectly they will jam. Further, once you have identified which is which do not force them in. make sure the manhole door clamps in the plastic are vertical (as in real life.) If you have put them in and they are stuck then I suggest you use a pin as a lever to get them out as I did and learned the lessons above. Just wait until the cotton cables for the jib come off the pulleys; you will need a lot of patience to get it all back working again, trust me, I know! It is a great model. My layout is in an uninsulated loft and the cotton cables keep shrinking a little in the heat lifting the jib off the runner so I have to lower a little form time to time as the days get warmer. It will settle down I am sure and I do not intend to use it as a crane, just as another piece of rolling stock, normally stabled in a long siding in my depot. Best regards Julian

I always thought that the BTTF3 locomotive was completely imaginary until I got hold of a copy of "The Fairlie Locomotive" by Rowland A. S. Abbot 1970 David and Charles ISBN 0 7153 4902 3. But the locomotive as seen in the 19th century scenes is a Mason-Fairie and the screen capture above is truly a steam punk version.

But I have already got Castles 4073 narrow Vauxhall front frames, 4073 wider Vauxhall front frames, 5013 Collet tender and 5013 Hawksworth tender. It is the Star family that is missing a variation. Please do not shatter my dreams!