Andrew F

Thanks fellas. I'll have a look at that.

Does anyone know if there exists such an embossed plastikard fine-lined sheet that is suitable for cutting out to make diesel/electric loco (or similar) grilles in 4mm? In the past I've just chopped up old loco bodyshells, cut a square and fitted them in but It would be easier if there was a plastic sheet available. I'm thinking along the lines of Class 81, RTC stock etc. I don't think there's anything in the Slaters range. Maybe there is another solution for making grilles that aren't available. Cheers Andy

It could be lube contamination on the wheel backs (that pink stuff does creep around) where it picks up electrical contact or the pick ups themselves that are not maintaining the right pressure against the wheel backs. I'd clean (and tweek if necessary) the pick-ups and wheel backs then see what's what. Replacing the Hattons decoder with a Zimo would be a good idea anyway; they're much better.

Yes, this log is very handy. Mine is just a hardback lined note-book as to me this is better and more reliable than storing info on the laptop and can be held when operating. I also write in a performance evaluation of each loco from time to time and list any work that needs doing/detail missing etc. It's also good for listing DCC sound functions for each loco so you're not guessing when you operate.

It could be a lot worse. The main thing is that the ride height between OR and Bachmann looks spot on and they close couple nicely. I'd be happy with them and time wasted on this thread could have been spent re-spraying the bottom part of the coaches.

They are the unloved and unsung heros of the ECML. I can imagine them disappearing into history unnoticed (unlike the A4,Deltic and the HST) which is strange as they are so distinctive and make a lot of noise....and they're British. I was at school when they were introduced and remember seeing one on IC livery mk1's coming past the school . Time flies by so fast but it's nice to see and hear them still everyday.

That's something I've noticed. Whenever there'e a PC agenda to entertainment, it's at the detriment to everything else; the plot, the script, any wit, humour or subtleties and the actors can't seem to get into character. It's as though PC just sucks the soul out of everything else and can't co-exist with anything that's entertaining.

4 Wheel engineering wagons around that time in those areas could be Mermaid,Catfish or Dogfish to name a few and bogie hoppers could be SeaLion/Cow. I remember some of these bogie wagons being shunted in Lairg station yard in 1989. It's worth remembering that the far north lines were cut off due to the collapse of the bridge at Inverness, marooning three 37's and stock, 416/417, the other I forget. Was any freight stock marooned?

To me, Capaldi will always be Uncle Rory from Ian Banks' "Crow Road". Now that was quality TV.

I don't think it's head grot on the headrests; looks more like different striped blue/grey fabric on some seats which was probably the original material. Regarding the curtains; were they ever orange?; looking at the picture on post 1782 with the Deltic....must be 1979?

You can use 600 - 1200 grit abrasive paper in conjunction with T-cut to remove the curtains. Then polish all the glazing up to the same sheen with a duster/T-cut etc.

Hell yeah! Lima invented the Class 87 after all.

The mk3's grey band never matched the mk2's in real life. The mk2f's band goes quite a bit higher and quite a bit lower than the mk3a's so I'd say they both go together pretty well and the liveries match well enough. I can see the later extension of the the top blue band that Bob Reid was on about. All I'd do is smooth that paint join out, mask and repaint the rooves; you'd want to weather them anyway as both the OR and Bachmann coaches look plasticky.

Ah, Ok, I suppose SE finecast don't do flushglaze for HO stuff. It would be nice to see a rake of HO Lima mk2's with flush windows; I opted for the SE ones with my OO Lima mk2's and I think they look good. The trick was to paint the thickness of the plastic out with a light to mid brown instead of using black which stands out. Another option for you is to snip out the upper window light frames and use hand cut glazing, replacing the upper frame parts with micro strip (I chickened out of this) but it would take about a week of spare time and be mind numbing. The BG would be easier to do this way but then would maybe look out of place. One massive bonus for your 81 is that you can use all kinds of HO international ferry stock

Looking at the Colin Marsden coach recognition book, it states that in most cases the all blue ones (NCV) had the guards compartments removed. I don't think they ever had B4 bogies either. I'm not totally sure but think only the NE(A/V/X) had B4's so they could be used on the 100mph expresses. You may also want to alter the gangway ends on yours to remove all but the bottom step and shorten the vertical conduit as these should be just handrails in this era. Nice projects by the way; something I'd considered too. Any thoughts for flushglazing for the mk1's and 2's? or converting the Lima mk2's to 2C?

Why not use enamel varnish to avoid the reaction Richard? I'd go with what Pete said about 1 week to properly cure for enamel; even then it may smell which may mean it's not fully cured.

I had a few of these live Kennedys tracks on a tape when I was a kid and never knew there was an album of the performance; nice and clear too.

I'm similar but I'd rather read the arguments and ignore the bargains.

Anyone remember the Crystal Maze puzzle with the Lima 09 that had to be shunted about through points? I often wondered why it never stalled. Lima loco's can run pretty well if you have a decent DC controller and an electronic track cleaner or Relco type thing wired between controller and track; I wouldn't dismiss them.

The wheels fitted to those coaches were 11.5mm diameter (the same as on Lima coaches) and are noticeably underscale.

It's probably the mk1's that are a bit high. When the Bachmann Mk2a came out, that sat on too small wheels and really didn't match the Mk1 's height. The thing is the Deltic like the 37 is too high so the wheels won't catch the body on 2nd radius curves and set track points but the Mk 1 looks Ok with these whereas a scale height coach may look much lower with a Mk1 or Deltic.

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned or really matters that much but the power cars are different. 41001 has bogies with diagonal dampers and 41002 had standard production HST bogies. They have differing cantrail grilles too and 41002 had standard HST large side grilles unlike 41001 which has finer grilles. The blue band also didn't penetrate 41002's grilles. It wouldn't bother me if the models were the same but it's a bit annoying having just sliced the dampers off my Lima bogies and fitted the the diagonal type to my ADB975813 when I could have left them standard and it would have been right.

Aren't 2C's are about 6 inch longer than the 2 - 2B on account of the extra gubbins for the air-con they never carried?. A whole 2mm in 4mm scale; some folks have actually lengthened their mk2's to replicate this....respect!!

I prefer stuff like that. There was a lot of mish/mash in BR days but that may be improbable ......or not! I've seen far more unconvincing stuff in real life.

Stenson models for the brake discs. There are two sizes though depending on your wheel size (Lima or Hornby) They are happy to answer your questions. You could get oval buffer heads from Replica and make the rest from styrene rod/tube or maybe the whole things from MJT models or try googling the buffers.