CWJ

Visitors to the K&WVR can avoid irritating or amusing the staff (depending who's on duty) by pronouncing the stations correctly: Keighley = Keeth-ly Ingrow = exactly as in 'ingrown toenail' Damems = Dam-emms (emphasis on second syllable, as if in French) Haworth = How-uth (not Hay-worth) ...and as for Oxenhope, just be careful not to ask your coach driver to collect you from Oxenholme at the end of your ride. It's been done. Cheers, Will

As you may have discovered, Alnwick station is now an excellent second-hand bookshop (with an equally excellent station buffet). Their website contains some interesting photos and information from when the station was still in use: https://www.barterbooks.co.uk/html/About Us/About the Station.php Cheers, Will

When my W&M railbuses suffered cracked final drive gears I was put off by either the price or the lead time for Ultrascale replacements (can't remember which). So I worked out the gear type from the diameter and number of teeth, and ordered brass replacements from China via Amazon. These only came in a wider size, so I had to reduce them to the required thickness. After a few false starts I did this by mounting the gear on a temporary axle, cutting it crudely in half with the junior hacksaw, then mounting it in the pillar drill and pressing the cut end down on a piece of sandpaper to tidy it up. If you have a lathe you could of course just use a parting tool. It worked a treat and was quite satisfying to do something that could be very broadly described as engineering. If anyone is equally desperate here's the link to the gears I used: https://amzn.eu/d/3woBKzG Cheers, Will

This is my kind of modelling! And very impressive that you were able to cut and file neatly enough to avoid major repainting. I want one. (Although I want it slightly less than I did before you got there first 🙂) Cheers, Will

I'd like to see how you built that, Chris! I have a second-hand Realtrack 144 on the shelf ready for such a conversion if I ever find a second unit at a similarly low price. Cheers, Will

"Yes!"

Hi Richard, As someone who's given up trying to find the time and space for a layout, sold off most of his 00-gauge stuff and is now planning a display cabinet for the remaining models that are too precious (to me) to get rid of, I can empathise with your point that not all models need to be working to be enjoyed. As for building from wood, perhaps most of us are put off by the extra skill needed to make something that stays straight and square, compared with the more stable favourites of styrene or brass. Or perhaps the fact that laser-cut wood is essentially a 2D medium so it takes a bit more effort to make something that would conventionally be cast or moulded. It's refreshing to see someone using different techniques from the norm, so please keep posting despite the limited feedback! I have no intention of building a loco from wood but I'm more likely to learn something new from this thread than from someone using a more well-known method. Cheers, Will

Two ugly sisters from Fordham Took a walk one day out of boredom On the way back A sex maniac Jumped out of a bush and ignored 'em. Is this my own work? No! Is it the work of John Cooper Clarke? Yes! Is it more appropriate for this topic than talking about the depressing cost of motoring? Definitely! Cheers, Will

I've travelled many miles by Pacer and have rarely found them much worse than other DMUs. Just don't sit facing the gangway between vehicles if you suffer from travel sickness! On my local line Class 144s have been replaced by 150s, which have cramped 2+3 seating and hardly any window seats. In my opinion (and probably nobody else's) this is not an improvement. The absence of bogies is only really noticeable at speed and/or on poor track geometry, so I think the ride quality problem may have been amplified by the times Pacers have been used on unsuitable lines. What LSL is doing seems quite a clever idea. They're not using 142s for comfort, they're using them because the public have heard in the mainstream press about how comically old-fashioned they are. A bit like visiting the Victorian dentist at Beamish, riding a hard, wooden-seated carriage or going to one of those gory dungeon 'museums', people may be attracted to the novelty of something that's famous for being awful. Cheers, Will

My thoughts, for what they're worth... Pros: For many families, just having a train ride is a novel and enjoyable experience. I've heard countless parents say that this is little Johnny's first ever train ride, and it turns out little Johnny is about 12 years old. Pacers have nice big windows with narrow pillars between which make them good for sightseeing. Despite what some enthusiasts may think, Pacers are not in any way 'modern' just because they don't boil water. Most trains on the main line network have bright LED lighting, air conditioning, no opening windows, digital information screens, CCTV cameras everywhere, accessible toilets, smooth air suspension, silent disc brakes, etc... A Pacer by comparison has more in common with a 1st-generation DMU! The Pacer you ride today may be much older than the 1st-gen DMU, or even some steam engines, you happily rode earlier in the preservation era. People of parenting age remember Pacers so they may feel a connection with them (as passengers or volunteers), in a way that many of us don't feel familiar with steam engines built 60 years before we were born. Cons: Most families visiting a heritage railway would want the novelty of a steam train (and this is probably the most important point of all). A Pacer even in original 1980s condition will clash with the steam-era ambience most heritage stations try to emulate (the KWVR being a particularly good example even though 144011's red and cream livery is not unpleasant). The majority of enthusiasts seem to prefer BR transition-era traction (although that will gradually change - when ai was young, older chaps were interested in the Big 4 because they could still remember them). In summary, I'd agree that Pacers may be better-suited to the low season or enthusiast events, but we should also remember that railways might not have the luxury of other stock on the day which is defect-free, ready to go and has a traction-competent crew. Cheers, Will (Serving railwayman, heritage railway veteran and life-long Pacer sufferer/secret admirer)

Humbrol No. 15 Midnight Blue and Revell 32154 Night Blue are both RAL 5022 according to their colour charts. Phoenix Precision P298 First Group Blue should also be RAL 5022 according to some information I have on a FirstGroup livery. I have a tin of the latter and it looks right for Northern livery to my eyes as a regular passenger. Cheers, Will

Next I decided to start from scratch with fresh saltwater that hadn't previously been used for etching brass. Someone online had recommended not using the same electrolyte for etching different metals. I mixed 500g of table salt with 2 litres of tap water, just slightly more concentrated than I used for my successful brass etches. It felt as though the water wouldn't absorb much more salt than this. I turned the voltage back down to 3V to minimise toner damage, which meant about 2.3A was flowing. After 50 minutes I had to stop, as half-etched areas were breaking through while some of the holes had not formed at all. This was the same problem as my previous attempt with stainless in saltwater: heavy etching around the edges but not enough in the middle. So that was it for today. The question is how to make the etching more even and consistent? I might try a weaker salt solution or a lower voltage and allow more time. Cheers, Will

I've been tinkering with electro-chemical etching stainless steel today. Any easily-offended chemists please look away; I'm trying to do this without having to teach myself about the detailed chemistry and I may well be using the wrong terminology. I read that for best results the electrolyte should contain the principal metal element of the material being etched, i.e. copper sulphate for brass or ferrous (iron) sulphate for stainless steel. Ferrous sulphate can be obtained from garden suppliers as a lawn moss killer and for increasing the acidity of soil, but I couldn't find a convenient way of obtaining a small quantity. Instead I found this: According to the label it contains 12% ferrous sulphate and 4% nitrogen, but it doesn't say what else. It's a murky yellow colour and slightly thicker than water. I didn't know what effect the nitrogen, or any other ingredients, would have on the etching process or indeed the health of anyone sharing the same space, but I was gripped by the spirit of adventure... I used the product neat as the ferrous sulphate seemed a similar concentration to the saltwater I've been using. I changed the plated steel barbecue grille, which was getting rusty, for a cheap stainless fish slice cunningly modified to hang over the side of the tank. Stop me if this is getting too scientific! I started etching at a lowish 3 volts, and the first thing I noticed was that bubbles were emitted from the stainless workpiece as well as the fish slice. This wasn't part of the plan so perhaps it's something to do with other chemicals in the fluid. I opened the windows as a precaution. After leaving this for nearly 2 hours, rotating the piece every few minutes, it basically looked completely unchanged. The current flow had been fairly low, around 0.2A, so I had another go but at 5V this time, which caused about 0.9A to flow. There were more bubbles this time which seemed encouraging. The results after just over an hour weren't very encouraging. The toner was coming away but the steel wasn't being etched at all. The fluid still looked clear and the same colour, so I poured it back into its bottle and gave up on this experiment. It's difficult to work out what's going on without knowing what chemicals are in the electrolyte. To be continued...

I am contemplating building one of these kits so thanks very much for sharing your experience and recovering the photos - very useful indeed. May I be Mr Annoying and ask if there's been any progress since your last update? I speak as someone who last finished a project in about 2012 so have no grounds to complain if not! Cheers Will

After work today I tackled the job of cutting out the cast passenger doors. 3mm holes crudely chain-drilled to and bulk of waste removed. I could have done this much more neatly to make a prettier photo, but it doesn't really matter. I then went into all four corners with a round needle file. I could have used a square file at the bottom as only the top corners are rounded, but the radius gives a little protection from the big flat file I was about to use for the edges. I only have two sizes of file in my workshop: big ones for DIY and tiny needle files for modelling. Thankfully I could get a big one in to tidy up the vertical edges, but for the horizontals I had to just use a tiny file. It still needed a bit more tidying up at this stage. The door etch loosely plonked in position. It won't be recessed quite this much when finished, and I'll add a strip of styrene around the back to cover the gaps. I don't claim that these doors look much better than the original cast ones, but hopefully their flush glazing will be a big improvement and being a separate part they might not look like they're sealed shut by an inch-thick layer of glossy paint! I needed some light relief from filing so just for fun I put some of the parts loosely together for some work-in-progress photos: Cheers, Will

Going back to the bodywork, the cab corner window frames are shaped in such a way that the actual glazed area is much smaller than it should be. I'm hoping that by filing out the window frame and flush-glazing, I may be able to make these windows look much more convincing. Here's a corner window as manufactured. As you can see, the frame is kind of bevelled so the opening gets narrower towards the inside of the tram. I imagine this is perhaps a limitation of the casting process. The outer edge looks about right to my eye (see prototype photo in my previous post for comparison). After opening out with needle files this window (at the opposite end) looks much more like the real thing, with a finer pillar between the corner window and the windscreen (etch to be added). I know it looks a mess with the chipped paint... maybe one day I'll learn to only take photos after everything has been either stripped back to shiny metal or painted nicely. I've bought some 'Glue 'n' Glaze' from Deluxe materials and will have a go at glazing these small windows by applying the glue across the opening, but they might be slightly too big for that, in which case I'll have to cut them to size, which will be tricky with only one straight edge! Next I cut back the cab ceilings to make room for saloon lighting. I'd like the lights to be dim but evenly distributed along the whole saloon. Not very exciting and it won't win any metalwork awards, but it's another job ticked off the list. Marking out the cut with a marker pen and scribed line. I used the left-hand one of those two beads on the bodyside as a guide for my try square to get both ends identical. And this is what both ends now look like after removing the ceiling with a cutting disc and tidying up with files. I've left the cab ceiling in place because it gives the body a lot of strength and I won't be having any cab lights. Cheers, Will

This adds an interesting angle to the OP's question... current and future OLE installations may stop and start with the intention of being used by bi-mode trains which can use diesel traction through the sections which are too expensive to electrify. Take the Transpennine Route Upgrade for example, I'm still not sure if Standedge Tunnel will be wired because the OLE is expected to be used only by bi-mode trains for the foreseeable future. Someone on here will point out if a decision has since been made, but the principle could apply to other routes in future. I may have read something about the South Wales Valleys too. Not very future-proof, but I suppose some wires are better than none. Cheers, Will

Another practical consideration might be train length. If the only regular electric traction arriving into a station is 4-car EMUs, there would be little justification for electrifying a 3-car bay. Similarly if there enough short platforms to accommodate all the electric services it might not be worth electrifying longer platforms. Cheers, Will

While I put off filing out windscreens for a second week, I shall relate the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Pantographs. The Corgi trams come with two types of pantograph depending on the age of the model. The better of the two doesn't look bad, but it's a non-functional plastic part. My tram had the worse one which looks very crude; it went in the bin so fast that I didn't get a photo of all of it, but you're not missing much: I don't have any drawings or dimensions to confirm the size of the pantographs on the Balloon fleet, but even if I did this wouldn't help because model pantograph manufacturers don't always advertise all of their dimensions. So it was a case of trying to find something that looks right. Copyright Stephen's Transport Photos (CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) Compared with a heavy rail vehicle the pan looks quite small in proportion with the vehicle body, so I ordered an N-scale pantograph. Forgive the masking tape and missing details while my bodywork conversions are underway. To me this pan looks far too small, so I ordered a 00-scale one... This one seems too big for this tram. So finally I ordered a TT-scale pan: Although I would like to say that this one is 'just right' to complete the Goldilocks reference, I think it actually looks slightly too small, but a much better match than the other two. Unless someone makes an extra large TT pantograph or an unusually small H0 one, this is probably as close as I'll get. It was only available in red but it will be getting weathered to a mucky-brown colour anyway so that doesn't matter. Just in case anyone is taking notes, here they are side-by-side: Left: Sommerfeldt No.966 for N scale, ordered online but I can't find any record of where from. Middle: Sommerfeldt No.881 for TT scale, from modelmasters.co.uk Right: Halling PAN-SDS for H0 scale, from https://themodeltramshop.sumupstore.com/ (listed as '00 scale diamond pantograph', Halling packaging describes it in German as 'scissor pantograph with double contact strips') If you're wondering, no I don't have an unlimited budget to buy loads of pantographs! It's just that without a convenient model shop to go and measure them up, buying online was my only practical option. The unused ones will have to go on Ebay. Cheers, Will

I don't normally use fiery language like that but I as a Northerner I felt confident in assuming that the good folk of Northern England and the Midlands would find it useful to be able to catch a direct HS train to Heathrow rather than having to change trains, drive or take a connecting flight from a Northern airport. It would certainly appeal to me as it would be quicker than all the other options if you take into account the delights of parking your car or enjoying the various queues at two airports. If the business case isn't there then I happily take back the words 'completely ridiculous' but IMHO it still feels odd that what should eventually become the backbone of the UK's long-distance rail network passes close to one of the world's busiest airports without actually going there. It may be that very few Northerners currently go to Heathrow by train, but surely there's potential for a 'build it and they will come' outcome? Admittedly to a lesser extent when it comes to St Pancras / HS1. * With apologies to anyone irritated by the thread drift: I should never have mentioned HS2! * I wholeheartedly agree about the Castlefield corridor, by the way, having endured the effects first-hand on many a weary journey. Let's hope the eventual arrival of HS2 at Piccadilly justifies the full 4-tracking and resignalling originally proposed 👍 Cheers, Will

Woodenhead, Edwin M - anyone would think there was a shortage of long-term, vertically-integrated strategy in the rail industry, wouldn't they? 😉 I wonder how many decades it will take to go back and electrify the gaps this project will leave, thanks to the current fad for bi-mode trains. Still, the TRU will be a positive step change for the route and it doesn't seem to have any completely ridiculous omissions (like HS2 not going to either HS1 or Heathrow Airport) - although Hull residents may disagree with that! Cheers, Will

I've just discovered this thread and layout for the first time; what a great example of smooth, gentle, superelevated curves*. I can't be alone in wanting to see an HST gliding around it at a scale 90mph or so! Cheers, Will * sounds like something from a ladies' moisturiser advert - apologies for any embarrassment caused!

Oooooooh, don't get me started on that! (This could turn into a grumpy old man thread...) I once nearly missed a train on the Ffestiniog while ringing up an automated parking payment line which required me to enter my car registration using only 'yes' and 'no' to establish each digit... all because I refuse to 'download an app', i.e. install software on my phone and set up usernames and passwords just to make one transaction. Technology doesn't always mean progress, does it? I'm happy to add that the FR has since made it clear that free parking for their visitors is available at the far end of Porthmadog's main car park. Cheers, Will

Hard to tell at this stage, but I think those loose panels are just waiting to be laid in the middle of the three through platform roads. There's no ballast bed prepared for a through line down the middle (but that doesn't mean one won't be added later).

Haha, this is a bit like that horrible scenario when you drive to a remote car park in the Lake District to go walking, no towns or villages for miles around, and then discover you only have £3.90 in cash for the £4 parking meter. We no longer live in a world where people can reasonably be expected to have an amount of cash on them at all times. Admittedly this isn't a direct analogy because the car park is providing a public service whereas the small model railway supplier is, as others have rightly pointed out, free to balance the customer's ease of making payment with the supplier's ease of taking it. Cheers, Will