by Bob Leggett

The show aimed to please just about every collector of toy trains and the variety of layouts and displays was stunning.

In the entrance hall we had four layouts. Bachmann were showing their latest stock on a layout built by Milton Keynes Model Railway Club. This included a monorail built by Kader, the Chinese owners and manufacturers of Bachmann.

Alongside was an Underground Ernie layout with some of the television stories being shown on a screen alongside. The public were able to operate this set.

Opposite Bachmann was Nick Gillman operating his c1958 Tri-ang Standard track layout complete with hundreds of contemporary accessories.

Andrew and Elaine Hyelman were on duty on the TCS membership stand, with help from Ian Ramsey-Connell. It was a very successful weekend with 9 new members (including 4 previously lapsed ones) and 40 renewals including Bruce Thompson who came over from Australia just to renew! Behind the stand, Andy and Elaine had their colourful Faller Hit Train layout operating, complete with an excellent German shop display.

Pat Hammond had a wonderful display of Tri-ang and Hornby Pullmans including a rare North American (Tri-ang Hornby) 'Flying Scotsman' set by Amro.

Moving into the dinning hall we passed Steve Knight, who had a display promoting the Kitmaster Club, and Ashley Barton with his impressive Kitmaster and Airfix scenic layout. It takes a while to absorb everything on this layout but it is a joy to watch.

Derek Smith, with others, was operating his Dublo/Wrenn layout, 'Bowlers Croft', with his speciality of running long trains often made up with rare Wrenn wagons. Alongside, David Embling was flying the flag for the Hornby Railway Collectors Association by manning the information stand.

Bruce Garwood was operating 'Westcastle', a lovely N gauge layout he had made, set in a rural environment with a castle overlooking the railway. Also exhibited in this hall was 'Melford', a fictitious junction set in the Midlands.

Miles Rowland and members of the Tri-ang Society were operating his two-level Super 4 layout with a variety of stock from Tri-ang Transcontinental to modern Hornby. Members of the newly formed Ace Owners Club also had a layout for running member's stock. David Lyon had his excellent Tri-ang Minic Motorway layout operating, with some interconnected Tri-ang railways also featured.

Bryan Pentland and Paul Williams made sure the weekend was full of fun with their miscellaneous tinplate 0 gauge. They had fixed a camera to the front of a train and visitors could view the video on a screen alongside. On Sunday there was a rare sight of an electrified Chad Valley 4-4-0 with a glowing firebox chasing round the outside track. They also had 24 Marx elevators for the high level track and were also running some Belgian Jils stock.

In the third hall we are met with several TT/3MM displays commemorating 50 years of British TT. Dave Coddington had a neat display of Tri-ang TT with some excellent shop display items on show. Keith Gowen had his lovely GWR 'Helston' 3mm layout, set in the post-war era. The layout has featured in Railway Modeller and British Railway Modelling and was chosen by the public to win the Favourite Layout competition run over the two days.

Brian Smetham was promoting the 3mm Society, Eric Large had a superb display of Tri-ang TT and Alex Garfield was operating his 'A' type track TT layout which had the rare Kays golden train running.

George Rutter represented the Friends of the National Railway Museum and was promoting forthcoming events at the museum.

Brian and Gill Arnold and Trix Twin Railway Association members flew the flag for Trix with a lovely layout which featured both AC and DC systems. Star appearances included a rare pre-war Princess presentation set and a German Trix Express 2-4-2. They were also busily promoting the Association.

Alongside, Roger and Barbara Burnish were operating their Dublo/Acho 2- and 3-rail layout with stock moving from 2 to 3 rail through special track pieces constructed by Roger.

In the next hall, Sandy Transport Society had a continuous slide show as well as photos and magazines for sale. Also, Hugh Bennett was displaying his collection of Dublo Dinkies and Ivor Walton had his Meccano display - and what a terrific display this was. Using modern Meccano, he had produced a Concorde with a squadron of Red Arrows set 'in the air'. This was a beautifully display with a full sky and a selection of Meccano Motor Cars on the ground.

The rest of this hall was filled with Mike Fowler's excellent 24' x 10' layout. Based on models available around 1963, it consists mainly of Hornby Dublo and Tri-ang stock. The scenic effects had been beautifully crafted using contemporary models such as Merit and MasterModels as well as Tri-ang and Dublo accessories. All these provide 'busy' set piece scenes around the layout. I paid several visits to this wonderful layout, as Mike has decided to sell it along with his collection. Some of this layout is featured in Mike's video about Hornby Dublo.

We now move into the sports hall for the remainder of the layouts and the majority of sales tables.

Robin Throp was displaying his superb range of Bayko buildings and the Country Club was particularly excellent. Also on display were other construction systems including Aifix Betta Bilda, Minibrix and Tri-ang Arkitex. David Holt was showing his late Trix and Lilliput layout complete with Trix card buildings and contemporary accessories.

In the far corner, Peter Dunk was again waving the flag for early gauge 1, running mainly Carette, Bing and Marklin stock, together with some of Peter's home made engines. I was particularly taken by a very Bavarian style Putney Station!

Lionel Standard gauge was operated by Richard Bingham. The layout depicted the era 1930-40 and was very colourful display with operating accessories activated by the public. Phil Goater, with help from his son, was running a lovely Tomy layout complete with a spiral and a drive-in Thomas!

Dave White had set up his fantastic Tri-ang Super 4 layout c1963-1972. With some unique Tri-ang Model-Land buildings, including a neverwazza Castle, and trains running under catenary, this was a much admired piece.

Steve Guest was operating his neat 13' 6'' x 8' 0 gauge layout with Atlace track. The size of the layout was chosen to fit into an average domestic garage. Stock operating on it over the weekend included Bassett-Lowke by Corgi, Ace Trains and Hornby.

The Lego railway system was represented by the efforts of John and Pauline Foreman. No less than 10 trains were operating at once with a variety of stock. I was very impressed with a Lego church which had been built from the castle set.

'Granddad's Trains' was the title of Terry Durrant's 3-rail 0 gauge layout. Using a variety of stock by Hornby, Bassett-Lowke and Ace Trains, this was a lovely layout complete with Hornby lineside accessories.

Reg Harman and helpers were operating a Transcontinental system on his Tri-ang Standard and Series 3 layout. He had maroon, green and yellow versions of the bogie switcher running and he had brought along his display of Cresent, Gaiety and other diecast 4mm scale play trains.

Simon Culverhouse had his British Minitrix layout and display. The neat layout ran well and Simon, a knowledgeable historian in his own right, had set up a large display showing the development of Minitrix from 1968 until production ceased in 1997.

Bassett-Lowke and Carette were to be found on Geoff Spriggs' 6' x 4' layout along with a lovely 1928 Bing station.

One of the best exhibition classical layouts on the circuit, in terms of presentation, is Richard Deas' Tri-ang Super 4 layout which has a frame in the style of a Tri-ang Hornby Box and has that 'wow!' factor when first seen. Richard was also running a variety of stock showing the full variation available from Tri-ang in the mid sixties. Particularly impressive was the way that trains were automatically swapped when out of sight so that when one disappeared behind the back screen, a different one emerged at the other end, in place of it.

Mike Flye and Neil Hunter had their excellent American Flyer trains running and paid no attention to the smoking ban introduced nation-wide on the Sunday. Their Santa Fe steamers were producing smoke all weekend!

Although mainly in the sports hall, but also scattered around the rest of the exhibition, there were over 40 traders selling a variety of toy trains. Most dealers did well on Saturday but, as is normal, trade was very slow on Sunday.

By Brian Macdermott

On 23 February 1957, Class A4 No.60028 'Walther K. Whigham' returned tender-first (with express headlamp code) from Hitchin to King's Cross with the Queen of Scots Pullman stock. This was following a test of the braking effect of the new ATC equipment on Pullman trains. A similar trial (but without photographic evidence) was run the previous Saturday.

Snippet No.2 - Drivers’ Names

The Western Region has begun to introduce the practice initiated by the Eastern Region of allowing drivers to display their names on the cabside when working certain principal expresses. It was first noted on the Cornish Riviera Express early in November 1957 and has since spread to other routes.

Snippet No.3 - 46245

I write with regard to your comments: "to the best of my knowledge there is currently no public museum, specialising in model railways....It could be a focal point and depository for research material and archives which many collectors and historians have accumulated in their lifetime and which, too often, are scrapped when it is time for them to pass on."

What about the Historical Model Railway Society and its Museum & Study Centre (MSC) based at the Midland Railway Centre in Derbyshire. This has a large amount of research material on the prototype together with a number of layouts and is open to visitors to the Railway Centre. The MSC was built by the society at not inconsiderable expense and is a magnificent facility that needs to be used by all that have an interest in modelling the railway scene.

As a member of the society myself for the past few years I would encourage anyone with an interest modelling railways to join, see www.hmrs.org.uk.

I've just received the set of snippets from Brian, except for the first four snippets which he said he hadn't kept. Actually, he said the first five but Snippet No.5 was on the list he kindly sent me (Nos.5 to 105).

I printed off the Snippets at the time he posted them from the first time I came across them, which was No.8, in order to re-appreciate the gems of information. Thanks again to Brian. I now have Snippets nos. 5 to 7 but would you allow me to ask if any other MREmag reader, who has kept a record of what must be the first four Snippets, would be kind enough to e-mail them to me at Dwynnejones@aol.com

David Wynne-Jones

See above - Ed.

Am I missing the point regarding double headed trains?

I successfully run pairs of 20s, 37s and 31s (Bachmann and Hornby respectively) and they all run perfect in pairs - even nose to nose 20s and all powered.

If I am doing something I shouldn't, and could potentially damage either loco or controller, could someone please enlighten me?

Peter Gundel

The Hornby website shows 'The Red Knight' with a Lemaitre blastpipe and wide chimney. Does this point to some research on alternative versions for a revised Schools class model?

It was reported that as the locomotives were withdrawn, one of the nameplates was presented to the school. At places where the masters appreciated such mattes, they remained treasured items but there were stories at the time that in some places they were not understood and some of the boys acquired them. It would be interesting to know which Schools hold the nameplates at present.

Nicholas Rothon

With the almost imminent release of the Hornby Maunsell coaches and preview pictures appearing in the model press as well as Hornby's own website, I am at a loss as to why there is not a hint of a mention of the passenger van that is to accompany them.

My local dealer is urging me to order my Maunsell sets in advance to avoid disappointment, but why would I place a order when part of it is a unknown.

So come on Hornby why the big secret, otherwise I will put my order in without it.

I don't know whether this will help Robin Johnson in his quest for information about using DCC for point operation, but has he considered analogue control?

I am committed to DCC but have found wiring the layout to be a major task. So much so that at an early stage I decided to simplify my system by using panels with a stud and probe method of switching. Of course, I can use CDUs and the wiring is tried and tested having been used on previous layouts (which is why I call it simpler).

However, the biggest plus for me is that I feel that I am in a 'signal box' and it is therefore more fun. There is lots of scope for development (train detection, interlocking etc.) but I can now concentrate on making sure that the locos run well. This currently involves tweaking track, fitting decoders and developing the scenery.

My first DCC powered train ran last week - a Bachmann Deltic with a TCS decoder and ten Mk1 coaches. It moved smoothly with excellent slow control. However, I realise that there are many refinements to be made in the use of the chip and this will keep me busy for a while yet.

I feel confident with my panel control and this allows me time to 'play' with the other gizmos. No doubt one day I will look into using DCC to run my points and other accessories but, for now, the solution that works for me is to blend old and new technologies, especially as I have to work hard to fully understand either! Help from fellow modellers through these pages has been immensely useful and welcome over the past few months. Long may that continue.

Graham Hobbs

I, like many others it seems, fully agree with Anthony New. However, I feel that we are undermining the merits of DCC in the operation of our layouts. With DCC we can be drivers and signalmen at the same time! We can drive our locos and change the signal aspects ahead of us to what we want at the push of a function button! Not only that, if a single line is bi-directional, our fellow DCC operators can drive towards us at the same time and also change signal aspects. How good is that? Try doing that under DC control!

Bill Francis (with tongue in cheek and not sounding off) .

While I don’t pretend to understand the joy some of the MRE readers get from being a signalman rather than a train driver, I see no reason that those that do should be unserved by the electronic control manufacturers.

It is perhaps instructive to look at how DCC came about.

Although it has been said here that it stems from the 1970s, the sets that I was seeing, that aimed at a unified standard of some kind (and with 20/20 hindsight and access to cutting edge LSI components yes the standard seems naïve), in point of fact, as recently as the late 1980s, the only way to get an affordable DCC rig was to build it yourself. Probably the most popular one in the USA was that offered by Model Railroader magazine. The hobby electronics crowd did more than provide the skilled hobbyist with a viable way to get into the DCC market; they showed the major controller manufacturers that there was a market for such things.

It is perhaps not surprising that the emphasis for the original DCC control would be on driving the trains, which must rank as the most popular 'imagined function' a model railroader takes when he or she fires up the layout. I imagine the next most popular would be the lineside rail fan, judging by the amount of people here who have said they just want to watch the trains run. That side of the hobby can be achieved with a battery and a simple loop, but might also benefit from a true 'train aware' system.

The would-be signalman who wishes to run a layout as opposed to a signal box simulation (which I’ve actually come across and it didn’t use a layout or a computer of any kind) is left high and dry by the fact that the DCC systems have not been designed to deal with unattended trains running in unplanned patterns. Perhaps the time has come for a new standard.

Of course, someone has to step up to the (foot) plate and actually start specifying what it should do to other people who care enough to agree and start the process of getting it built. Is there a working group of any kind that is currently trying to arrive at a design for such a system? If not, surely we have the core of such a group in the MRE readers who are looking for it.

Anthony New and the others should definitely not be criticised for their perceived modelling needs. That said, they also shouldn’t expect anyone else to care passionately enough to get it done for them. I doubt any support would be forthcoming from the industry to add a second standard as opposed to broadening the applicability of DCC but, until we know what’s involved it is hard to see how to proceed. I freely admit I have no idea what the 'signalman control system' (to coin a politically neutral term) would involve or require.

It isn’t enough to decry the lack of something better. We’ve established this in any number of earlier threads, from liveries to lining, from rivets to roof lines, criticism must be constructive in order to bring about change. Many of those involved in the thread so far have a relevant engineering background. They should be able to 'speak the language' when it comes to drawing up a revised DCC specification - and to get the attention of the manufacturers when they have.

I look forward to seeing this interesting discussion yield positive results.

Steve Mann, USA

In reply to all those who emailed me yesterday about the non-appearance of a Monday issue of MREmag (until quite late in the afternoon), the answer is as follows:

Having caused the disruption we experienced a fortnight ago when Demon closed down websites without warning their owners, the revised system has resulted in the MREmag website being less than half the size it was. On complaining that I could not upload my magazine on Sunday night I was told that the account I had with Demon included a 'free' website of 20MB capacity. MREmag had grown something nearer 50MB.

The choice left me was: 1.) buy more space, 2.) transfer to another supplier or 3.) cut down the size of the magazine. For the best part of Monday I have been pruning material from the magazine and was eventually able to load it again. What we have lost is 95% of the book reviews and half the model reviews. Everything else should still be there. This means that the book review section contains only books released this year while the model review section contains 6 months of reviews instead of the usual 12 months.

Bearing in mind we have shrunk from 50MB to 20MB, surprisingly little real damage has been done. We even have the four pages of news back again!

Hopefully, this is the end of our troubles and we can get on with communicating and helping each other as we have done in the past.

It is worth getting hold of Richard Blenkinsop's books Shadows of the Great Western, etc. published in the 1970s by OPC. One includes a photograph, dating from 1954, of a West Country Pacific hauling a train of Gresley teak coaches up Hemerdon Bank (yes, Hemerdon bank) with a Newquay-Cleethorpes train. Copy that on a layout and someone will say you are wrong!

The Southern Region Plymouth based footplate personnel needed to maintain 'route knowledge' over the Western Region lines to Exeter (and vice versa) in those halcyon days before Paddington did away with the competition and the relief line via Okehampton. How they could do with it now!

Aside from the politics, it is an interesting picture.

Stuart Morris, Tregony, Cornwall.

Let me say from the start "I am not having 'a go' at Dapol.

Over the past week, or so, I have been conversing with Dapol and they have been very helpful and have offered to have my wagons back for rework. But, as I have modified my wagons, I don't think it would be fair to return them.

The other week, I was purchasing a Dapol milk wagon and struck up a conversation with another customer about running problems with the milk wagons. We both love them, but had experienced derailing and an absolute refusal to their being reversed without derailing.

This person had improved the running qualities by fitting H... (you know who I mean) coupling bars (R8099). These are a straight fit and are the smaller coupling. I fitted these and experienced an improvement. As some of my wagons were still not as smooth running as I would have liked, I changed the wheels to (you've guessed it) Hornby wheels. Again, they had a much smoother ride. Also, I can now reverse with the exception of occasional derailing on points.

Full of joy, I took a bundle of couplings and wheels to a modelling friend who was experiencing the same problems. The fitment of these items again helped a lot but he still experienced frequent derailing.

At this stage, I advise that my layout is fairly large with large radius curves. My friend's is just as large but fuller, with many sidings and sharper radius curves.

Pondering the problem over coffee, we had the inspiration to remove the centre wheels and, hey presto!, there was instant improvement and no derailing. Our theory is that the short wheelbase, with three fixed axles, means that on sharp radius curves the wheels are fighting the bend. We have observed the centre wheel acting as a pivot, causing the forward or rear wheel to lift.

Of course, one cannot run a six wheeled tanker with only four wheels, hence my subject about flangeless wheels - where can one buy some? Alternatively, one could reduce the 'back to back' measurement of the middle wheels, but you might then experience electrical shorts on points etc.

John Jeffery

Just to add to the thread about School, I have a very nice 'Marlborough' in wartime black with the yellow lettering, it is a fine model and runs and pulls despite having tender drive, the only thing that lets it down slightly is the bright shiny valve gear and connecting rods. I would value any readers suggestions for toning these down to a more realistic look. I know there is a chemical method but I am not too enamoured by the use of volatile chemicals. Even though this is a limited edition I am of the (I was going to say 'school', but two puns in a week...!) opinion that I bought it for use and its looks - not for its potential value as a collector's item, which I doubt would be much anyway.

Andrew Carter

-----

Just a short note regarding Steve Rhodes' comments on the Schools Class.

The NRM example is 'Cheltenham', not 'Repton'. The latter crossed the Atlantic for preservation but eventually came home, albeit to Yorkshire rather than the Sunny South. If Hornby were to revamp it, then I agree an NRM Edition would be attractive because I have a soft spot for the Class that could certainly punch above their weight.

Frank Spence

I have followed, silently until now, the recent messages regarding the need for new ready to run locomotives for North East area. I do rather sympathise with the absence of key items but, following a review of books and videos, after a recent holiday in that area, I was surprised how many items are available for, say, a layout based on the Co. Durham/Teesside area.

There are B1s, J72s, J94s, WDs, V2s, V1/3s and J39s, all available and I even found a picture of an A1 on a Bishop Auckland to Middlesborough football special. Add to that Ivatt 2-6-0s and the Fairburns. The latter worked the last steam hauled parcels workings Darlington-Saltburn.

To me the main omissions are the Q6, J27 and K1 - and possibly the B16. The former three classes do all, fortunately, have one preserved locomotive for us to still enjoy. I also feel that models of preserved locomotives are a good selling point as people have a closer association with them - being able to see and travel behind such locomotives. When they see the model, there is a temptation to buy it.

Unfortunately, these three classes were solid workaday locomotives and not glamorous as the 'namers' and so it would be a brave manufacturer to take them on board. However, I feel any persuasion would be better in Bachmann’s direction as they have already done the J39 and K3.

My crystal ball predicts another Southern models year for 2008. Those who want new North Eastern items should concentrate on the next poll and try and rally support for one particular class.

My final thought - now Hornby have done the M7 it does seem the basis for a very nice G5 0-4-2T!

John Cherry

Mark Wiles makes the perfectly valid point that enthusiasts without practical skills operating unmodified ready-to-run are entitled to call themselves modellers; it all depends on your personal interpretation of the word. However, there does seem to be an increasing cry of "why don't they make" for pretty well every conceivable prototype and variant.

In today's MRE, we have requests for "a series of 40ft and 20ft containers"; "twenty foot chemical tanks and forty foot standard height containers"; a DRS Class 37; non-powered locomotives; "An NRM version of Repton" and "operating lattice post semaphores". That's in *one* edition of a five-times-a-week e-mag. What chance do the manufacturers have?

It is an unfortunate fact that, as far as mental and physical skills are concerned, we are not all born equal; I will never be a concert pianist, for instance. That said, none of us are born as skilled modellers; we learn by trial and error (and often bitter
disappointment).

Soldering, for instance, is not a black art but neither is it instinctive. I too burned many a finger; melted many a whitemetal casting and got in one hell of a panic whilst wielding a hot iron in close proximity to a cherished new model - but there's no other way to learn. Yep - the odd model did acquire unintentional 'dimples' but, indirectly, that's how I learned to use modelling filler and to touch-up paintwork. There really is no easy way!

I accept that some people feel unable to face the learning curve. Fine, each to their own. However, and it's a big 'however', those people have to accept that the range of prototypes available to them will inevitably be quite limited unless they have the wherewithal to employ a professional modeller.

There is no chance whatsoever of the ready-to-run manufacturers producing anywhere near the range of subjects open to those modellers who are prepared to learn to adapt commercial items, build kits or to scratch-build.

This basic fact is not confined to railway modelling. If I want a showpiece garden I can employ a landscape architect and a gardener. Or, I can teach myself by much study and trail-and-error to master some of the skills of these professionals. The learning curve will be long and littered with frustration and disappointment but, at the end, hopefully, I will have earned the right to call myself a gardener.

Much the same applies to railway modelling. Enthusiasts who choose to confine their activities to using just off-the-shelf products may well call themselves modellers, but their interpretation of the word is by no means the same as when it is applied to someone who has faced the trials of learning hard-won skills and can therefore enjoy the satisfaction of having any chosen prototype at their disposal.

What I am saying is that we all make our own choices in our choice of hobby and the way in which we approach it; that's our privilege. However, if we limit the level of our involvement, then it's unreasonable to expect to be able to enjoy the same results as someone who is prepared to become more practically committed.

John Isherwood

Recently some of the track in the Haymarket area of Edinburgh was re-laid with steel sleepers. Nobody seems to have asked for this in 00 scale! They have weathered to a light orange-brown rust colour. So now, in this area, we have a mixture of steel, concrete and wood, with some of the points having wood sleepers and some concrete. I'm sure somebody out there can tell us why.

David Fairgrieve

My many thanks to all who responded to my comments about the possible manufacture of new 00 gauge semaphore signals. In particular, Brian Macdermott’s comments regarding component parts were very interesting and it was good see an overall constructive flow of ideas. Graham Plowman’s photos were all most welcome but, with respect Graham, I deem your railway as a professional exhibition one - but it does show what can be achieved if you really try.

I also agree, and would also assure you that I have not underestimated, that there is a vast diversity of actual requirements. In particular with Dick Flower and his 'Seaton Jn.' layout, I do appreciate what you would require, Dick, but my initial comments were to at least try and get a manufacturer to provide something new on the market. It will never be possible to meet everyone’s needs but, if we could start with a common base type, as suggested, it would be of help to newcomers and, I feel, the average modeller.

Comment was also made about good layouts being displayed without any signalling, something I have seen on the exhibition circuit. I have also seen layouts fully signalled but with signals that did not actually work. I feel that this is the better option as, at least, it shows how signals should be placed.

Obviously, time will tell if one the key manufacturers takes up the challenge and offers something more in line with today’s models.

John Cherry

While I probably shall not be buying any of these models (since I do not model modern UK prototype) I have to say that I disagree that Dapol should sell the container spine wagon without a load.

As for those people who are in the happy position of having enough containers and not needing any for dockside 'clutter', while they run empty multimodal trains, I’m sure there is a market for the containers on eBay.

Speaking for myself, I have only ten double-stack 'well' cars. Finding enough containers to fill the trains, and give me some to pile up at the multimodal facility, has been an expensive nightmare. Oh how I wish Walthers had put loads on those cars. I would have paid for them willingly rather than have to look at the rather sad sight of a half-loaded train.

What I wish Evergreen (or someone) would make is a sheet of N scale container sides, one of container ends and one of container tops, so I could build a quick stack of scenery containers at my dock and on the ships.

Steve Mann

I have no problem whatever with Anthony New's right or inclination to play signalman or train driver or whatever he chooses to be.

I would be fascinated to see what degree of automation Anthony has developed. I cannot say whether it has been published or not and there are, no doubt, others. Can we really call for divisions of "what we would prefer" in this hobby. A lot of the time I operate alone; I am driver, shunter, signalman, traffic co-ordinator, train controller (like signalman not driver) as well as the maintenance man.

On a real railway, I have also multiplied my role many years ago to be electrician (which I actually was on the Indian Pacific), to sometimes driver, fireman, conductor, waiter (on one occasion), cook, yard hand (for watering), fueller and diesel fitter. Oh yes, and plumber when the toilets did not work properly. I enjoyed all of it!

Similarly, I enjoy the variety of my hobby from all of the first mentioned group plus being the 'grand designer', performance tinkerer and general poohbah of my own railway - and a few others I have helped design besides!

Anthony, hats off to you that you have designed such an electronic system as you have, but please, if you have not done so, please share it. Please don't try to divide us into categories so that signalmen or drivers dictate the priority of products. Our trains are actors on a stage. We can control them in either mode and we can enjoy either mode for what it is... the great fun of this hobby!

Trevor Gibbs, Melbourne Australia

In answer to Robin Johnson, it is possible to use capacitor discharge units with some accessory decoders, and with some others it is not possible.

Probably the best solution is to purchase accessory decoders with capacitor discharge built in, such as the MERG kits.

Most accessory decoders have a configurable pulse width, where the default setting may be for a pulse which is too short, so there may be some value in playing with the settings to try and increase the pulse a little on the existing unit. Solenoid point motors, in my experience, come from the factory with no lubrication. It is amazing how much better they work in the DCC environment when they have been oiled.

Paul Harman

The Middleton Railway in Leeds is holding what it hopes to be the first of many model railway exhibitions in the newly opened, award winning, engine house, this coming weekend. As it is their first attempt at such a venture they are expecting only a minimum of 4 layouts and a sales stand from the Deltic Preservation Society. However, visitors will be able to see the Bachmann proving model of 47408 'Finsbury Park' in action for the first time in public. There will also be a display from the EM2 Locomotive Society.

I would like to thank Bachmann UK for their excellent customer service. I bought a Green Class 45 D163 L.A.D.Y. some 3-4 years ago when it was first issued along with 3 or 4 other Peaks. I collected lots of locos back then but had nowhere to run them. So, after a cursory inspection, without removing it from the polystyrene tray, I put it away for later use. After I moved to the USA I began building my DCC layout. A few months ago I opened the boxes again to 'chip' the locos and found that the above mentioned had a headcode and headcode glass missing (it was not loose in the loco) and I hadn't notice this when I bought it.

I went on the Bachmann website and emailed 'customer service' looking to get a replacement part (as this part is not assigned a part number on the sheet that comes with the loco) and was delighted when my email had a reply within 24 hours and the part was despatched to me for no fee despite the fact that the guarantee had expired long ago.

I have to say that was great customer service and I will continue to invest in Bachmann products. Interestingly, I have the Hornby Select unit here in the USA and it works very well with the Bachmann 00 locos. I am looking forward to trying the Elite unit, but I have had no problems with the Select unit so far and it seems very reliable with all locos into which I have inserted Hornby (R8215) chips. It is also fine with the Atlas prechipped US image locos. I think I will try a Bachmann chip when the new sound equipped Class 24 arrives.

Simon Gibbs, New Hampshire USA

I was the one that raise the original question of the pathway of this train and, yes, I would also like to see Peter Gomm's photo of this train, please. Very sorry to hear that Brian's 'Snippets' will be no more as they are always very interesting.

I read with interest the comments made by George McKie in his posting on 27th June regarding a possible National Model Railway Museum (contained under headling EMU Pricing).

If I remember correctly, Pete Waterman held a press conference some 7 years ago stating he had his sights set on building such a museum in the Basford Hall area of Crewe. Suffice to say, this set the pulses racing, as I live in Basford itself! Has anyone heard of this proposal being taken any further? Certainly there have been no postings by the local Council regarding development for this particular purpose.

In any event, I think this would be a wonderful idea. However, if this is to be implimented I feel we need to learn a lesson from two particular sites (one manufacturer and one retail outlet) who had or currently purport to run 'railway museums' that I have had the (mis)fortune of visiting :-

1. Ensure that the static models are not encrusted with dust;

2. When layouts are shown let them be working layouts (i.e. not have one single tank running at high speed round and round on a short loop when longer trains stay stationary with I dare say more interesting rakes behind them);

3. Do not simply focus on one particular gauge or era;

4. Please do not expect the consumer having paid the admission fee to fork out additional monies to see exhibits running!

I am sure there are others who would be interested to see a focal point for the hobby created and developed by modellers - for modellers.

I have been following the discussion on the number of Stars rebuild as Castles.

In Locomotives Illustrated number 140 Swindon's New Century Part 111, I found the following:

The solitary Pacific No 111 'The Great Bear' and five Stars were rebuilt as Castles in 1924-29, without a Lot number, but when the process was repeated with the last ten Stars, in 1937-40, the work was undertaken under Swindon Lot 317.

This was confirmed in Brian Stephenson's Great Western 4-6-0s and O.S. Nock's The GWR Stars, Castles and Kings.

Below are the locomotives concerned

Rebuilt

100 A1 Lloyd's 4/1925

(Previous Shooting Star)

4000 North Star 11/1929

4016 The Somerset Light Infantry 10/1925

(Prince Alberts)

(Previous Knight of the Golden Fleece)

4032 Queen Alexandra 4/1926

4037 The South Wales Borderers 6/1926

(Previous Queen Philippa)

5083 Bath Abbey 6/1937

5084 Reading Abbey 4/1937

5085 Evesham Abbey 7/1939

5086 Viscount Horne 12/1937

5087 Tintern Abbey 11/1940

5088 Llanthony Abbey 2/1939

5089 Westminster Abbey 10/1939

5090 Neath Abbey 4/1939

5091 Cleeve Abbey 12/1938

5092 Treslo Abbey 4/1938

So the answer is 15 Stars rebuild as Castles.

I enjoy all aspects modelling with a bias towards GWR in South Wales and would like to see a model of a 42xx/72xx or Aberdare from either Hornby or Bachmann.

Gwilym Thomas

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Oh dear (or oh Bear)! When rebuilt to a Castle, in 1924, this engine was not renumbered 7037 (Swindon) but 111 and named 'Viscount Churchill'.

David Gill, New Zealand

So do I! And I'm not prepared to spend considerable sums of money to prove the point either! But, neither do I want to use up that most valuable resource, time, on understanding anything even more complex. The true value of technology is to make life in general and model railways in particular easier and more fun, not less so.

David Wilson

Until today, I had not really seen a view that reflects my own interest in model railways, on this or any other forum, although the working signals debate has come close. The technology exists now, although I suspect that interest will never be strong enough to usurp the DCC battlewagon commercially. I know DCC is versatile, I know I can squeeze some aspects of its functionality to fit, but I still have doubts that I would be investing wisely. My layout adopts traditional electrical DC control. It is ironic really, because section switches and isolating sections get me closer to replicating my signalmans dream than the current DCC systems ever will.

By Brian Macdermott

This is the last of Snippets and shows how steam had declined by 1962. On May 17 that year, Royal Scot 4-6-0 No.46106 worked the 2-coach 5.35pm Rugby Central-Woodford Halse tender first. Previously named ‘Gordon Highlander’ she was the only one with straight smoke deflectors.

Just a short note to congratulate you on achieving over 5,000,000 hits on the magazine. I'm one of those that really missed my daily read when you were 'off the air' (that sounds better than being 'down' don't you think?). I was very pleased when the magazine reappeared after such a long break.

John Simmonds.

My advice to Martin would be to give everything a good clean and, if you feel you cannot do this yourself, take it to your local model shop. Perhaps the brushes are worn.

If it is a Lima ringfield type motor which is getting long in the tooth, there are some superb replacements available from Australia which are imported by a model shop in Cornwall - the name of which escapes me at present. They are fairly easy to swap and give a marked improvement in performance. Incidentally, I asked the chap in the Cornish shop if these motors would be available for Hornby locos, he told me it is highly unlikely as they originate from components related to telephones which are obsolete and the motors just happen to fit the Lima ringfield. Clean everything and lightly oil the parts that will not interfere with the motor. The squeaking could, of course, be something rubbing which may be another answer to your slow running problem.

Andrew Carter

I quote: "Like Martin, I’d also like to say to Dapol that I want them to produce the spine wagon. However, if Dapol want a louder cry, I think that they need to provide us with more details including an indicative price and confirm that the ‘spine wagon’ is in fact an FEA-B twin set, each of which will carry up to six twenty foot containers."

I honestly thought they already had given more details. From the information I received when talking to a gentleman from Dapol at the recent 'DEMU Showcase' in Burton-on-Trent, I understand that they will be the FEA-B pairs (can they operate singly - I don't think so!) and the price is expected to be in the region of £20 per pair which, to me, compares well with the Bachmann Intermodals.

They are to produced in such a way as to accept current model containers without modification. With this in mind, and considering the quality of their N gauge releases, I have already ordered five pairs with my local model emporium to give them a chance. Subject to pre-orders, Dapol will be producing this model in time for Warley, or thereabouts.

Should this further venture into 00 be successful, they would also possibly consider the KIA telescopic steel hood wagon with two sliding covers. But, as it has been suggested, they will produce - subject to reasonable pre-orders. So, get down to your local shop and tell them you want them!

Chris Barker

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David Laing makes some good points about containers for Dapol's possibly forthcoming 4mm scale FEA-B wagon. However, what would really make it attractive would be for it to come with two different 40ft containers. Bachmann makes 20ft and 45ft containers but 45ft containers are rarely seen on Freightliner trains, which normally have a 40ft and 20ft on each 60ft deck, or three 20fts.

Dapol have done very well on the private owner coal wagon front in doing a myriad of liveries. Doing the same for a series of 40ft and 20ft containers might be a nice little earner in the future, as they could be sold separately.

Robert Stevens

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I totally agree with David Laing's letter (27-6-07), especially the part about Bachmann weathered flats and twenty foot containers. To Bachmann I would like to add, what about twenty foot chemical tanks and forty foot standard height containers?

On another issue, I read a review of the latest Bachmann Class 37 yesterday and it looks very nice! I hope they do a DRS one while the real locos are still running? I like the idea of non-powered dummy locos as Dapol have done in N gauge. This may be a good thing in 00.

Nick Knibbs

In answer to the query from Mark Kitanov, I received a new footplate here in Australia for my Bachmann N Class loco about two months ago. I emailed Bachmann through their website as soon as I heard that they were running off a batch of replacements and it arrived a few weeks later. I was really impressed with their service.

Patrick Peake, Perth, Western Australia

I wish to re-wheel my early Tri-ang rolling stock so that lengthy trains can be run without the engine struggling to overcome the resistance of those open axle bearings. I recall an article in the model press many decades ago where the author cut through a metal 4 wheel wagon frame alongside the coupling at each end, before fitting top hat bearings and gluing the two halves back together, with Araldite, to capture the new wheels. This has to be an extreme solution!

What seems to be the obvious route to success, particularly on the metal wagon underframes, is to press flangeless brass bearings through the axle boxes to trap a pinpoint axle inside. Ideally, but not necessarily, the brass bearings would be a tight press fit so that the operation might be reversed if required.

I note that Romford and Kean-Maygib produce flangless bearings cups, but I do not have any to hand to test the fit. If the Kean-Maygib flangeless type is of the same outer diameter to the main body as that firm's top hat bearings, which I do have in stock, the fit will be too loose. Do Romford flangeless bearing cups fit the bill? Or is the simple answer another way which I haven't thought of?

I don't doubt that more than one of your knowledgeable readers will be able to assist me.

Robert Telford

Can I just add my voice to the clamour for better signals.

Modelling the LNER(NB), as you all have gathered by now, I need the lattice post signal. If, like me, you have a partial handicap, then trying to build the ratio kits is well nigh an impossibility. Just as I get it together, my right hand goes into spasm and I crush the blooming thing!

I also gave up in disgust after having managed eventually to build half a dozen and then was going to put them on my layout. However, I then thought that I would make them operating signals to find out that, from the outset, you needed to put the operating base on instead of the nonoperating one. Trying to change this at this stage led to more crushed signals.

All it would take from ratio would be a wee sentence at the beginning saying: if you want these to be operating, build them on the alternative base provided with the add-on kit. Much frustration could be avoided in that way.

Since my layout is partly fictional - imagining what would have happened if the NB or LNER had built the coastal line from Edinburgh to Dunbar through North Berwick - I have decided that colour light signals would have been added at an earlier date since the Eckon signals snap together easily. But, if we could have operating lattice post semaphores, I would change back in a heartbeat.

Graham Crawford

1E Promotionals have released their sixth Norfolk wagon which is in the livery of B Raywood of Gorleston-on-Sea. The second June wagon release is from Kent and is produced at the request of their distributor in the South of England, Dave Wills from Margate. It appears in the colours of Deveson of Ramsgate.

These wagons were produced for 1E Promotionals by Dapol. The Raywood wagon is restricted to 150 examples, whilst 200 Deveson wagons have been produced. Each has an individually numbered certificate.

The wagons are priced £8 each (+ £1.45 postage) and are available from a number of dealers including KRS, Unit 3, Rook Tree Farm, Hulcote, Milton Keynes, MK17 9AH, Dave Wills, 41 Crow Hill Road, Garlinge, Margate, Kent, CT9 5PF or from the North Norfolk Railway Station Shop on Platform 1 at Sheringham Station, Sheringham, Norfolk, NR26 8RA. Wagons can be purchased on line fromwww.krsmodelrailways.com or www.nnrailway.co.uk .

By Brian Macdermott

Congratulations on making the 5 million hits. It's not that long since the 4 million passed by. I didn't quite hit the magic number but missed by 367.

In response to Martin Crossley's Lima 'Slowing Down' problems (27 June 2007), I have the following advice and comments. Some may not agree with the techniques, but I have found that they have worked for me over the last 20 years or so.

The squeal is due to a lack of lubrication on the armature; basically the model is asking to be lubricated. The difference between the directions is caused by different contact spots on the armature bearings caused by a different 'armature wobble' when spinning in the opposite direction. The cure is a very small drop of 3in1 oil followed by a smearing of Vaseline (or other brand of petroleum jelly) as per Hornby's advice for their Ringfield motors.

I find that the use of Electrolube as a lubricant to be problematic as, over time, it goes sticky and reduces performance.

Other issues that affect the performance of a Lima Super G (Pancake if you must) motor is a build up of dirt on the ring magnet and armature faces. What is required is:

1) Remove the brushes and springs. Inspect the brushes to see if they are tapered or if they are getting short when compared to new ones. Check the springs to make sure they are not too bent or damaged.

2) The brushes and springs need to be wiped with kitchen roll/toilet paper to remove any loose carbon dust.

3) Remove the two screws at each side of the motor and lift the face plate off the armature.

4) With a cotton bud/kitchen roll/toilet paper dipped in white spirit or Isopropanol (or a similar decent contact cleaner: Do not use WD40 or Electrolube) clean the face of the armature.

5) Clean the gaps between the plates of the armature with a cocktail stick or small jeweller's screw driver.

6) With a cotton bud dipped in white spirit, clean the faces of the magnet that surrounds the armature (rotate the armature by hand to get to all places).

7) Replace the motor face plate, brushes & springs.

8) Lubricate as mentioned above then test run the motor with the body off for a few minutes.

I find with models that have been stored for a number of years it can take 30-45 minutes for the model to warm up and regain it's old performance.

David Millard

Is the 'crimson & cream' livery the same as 'Blood & Custard'?

Would any of your correspondents know in which year trains from Cardiff to Portsmouth were hauled by Britannias from Canton (86C)? I’d never heard of 46162 being on the 'Esso', living then as I was in Wilton. 'Niners' were the usual fare. However, 46141 did pull a Fyfees banana special through Salisbury in late 1963(?) and I saw Patriot 45509 heading light though Wilton in the same year.

Ian Johns, Toronto

Apologies if this has been asked before but how do Dapol know that sufficient volume of this wagon will sell in N gauge and do they intend to produce containers for these in this scale?

I have been watching the correspondence on the proposed 00 version and wonder why so many would theoretically be put off by a lack of container. Do people really want to run the same as everyone else? Let's face it, there are a number of modern exhibition layouts on the circuit running the Bachmann offering with the containers as supplied. It is colourful but it certainly does not impress me going to an exhibition to view what I can see in a box at a local model shop.

Apart from that, the spine wagon, as it is now referred to, is used by a number of infrastructure companies fitted with anything other than a 20, 40 and 45 foot containers. A trawl of Fotopic will throw up a number of sites showing these wagons used for carrying engineering materials and track panels amongst others.

C-Rail makes a small number of suitable 20 and 40 foot containers in kit form and there are a few suitable sheets in the Evergreen range to assist in, dare I suggest, making your own containers!

Come on; are we modellers or do we just rely on the offerings from the major suppliers!

I will be purchasing a lengthy rake, should Dapol go ahead, and will enjoy 'chopping plastic' to put my own stamp on the loads they will carry. It will be something different for the exhibition layout. Have a go; you may actually enjoy it!

Roland Turner

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I noticed a few people have been asking whether containers would be produced for the 00 Spine wagon. The answer is, I don't know - but containers will be available separately for the N gauge model, as shown on page 9 of their online catalogue. One might assume that the situation for the 00 model would be the same.

I hope this helps.

David Lucas

I'm sure I'm not alone in thoroughly enjoying Brian Macdermott's regular 'Snippets'. I find them fascinating reading and they make a really handy reference source for those 'prototype for everything' moments that many of us enjoy on a layout.

However, as the Snippets have now past the 100 mark, it is becoming increasingly difficult to go back and refer to them, having to scroll through many pages of MREmag just to find each one.

So, would it be possible for Brian's Snippets to be archived on a separate page in the left hand menu of MREmag, with that page updated (for example) weekly with Brian's latest pearls of interesting operational trivia?

This would make them so much easier to refer to when looking for the perfect excuse to run an unusual service or formation. The Snippets are an excellent reference source, so please can you make access to them all a bit easier?

Also, in the Power of the Castles by OPC, it states that: "The Great Bear was one of 16 locomotives rebuilt as Castle class locomotives". Presumably the other 15 were the Star rebuilds.

Quizmeister

Julian Martin has probably missed the point that some people collect model railway items not particularly for their value but for the nostalgia and memories that they bring back for various reasons.

I have just found a EM2 'Electra' on eBay. I never wanted this loco 40 years ago, but I want one now for purely nostalgic reasons. Some people will pay the money no matter how high, for what they want. This goes for all people who collect anything.

I think that a really good idea would be a model railway museum, perhaps in the NRM somewhere. I will be prepared to loan some of my items if they fancied the idea. The NRM does have quite a few models on display.

George McKie

I am at the front end of a very slow path into DCC. ZTC's 'factory' is but a short drive for me, across country, so I found it an easy first decision to support my local and UK company for my starter pack. My decoders are both ZTC and TCS M1. As to the performance of this mix, I cannot yet tell. I am pushing ahead with my layout at every opportunity. Track is going down, but it is not yet ready to run a loco.

What I have found is that fitting a loco decoder entails a significant degree of risk both to the decoder and to the host locomotive. To date, I have chipped one '21C123', one Q1 ('C8') and four Bachmann N Class (two of which have been repainted Bulleid black). Awaiting their turn are two M7s (one also in Bulleid black) for which I have just received two ZTC 4007s.

With this risk of damage to the components, I am loath to fit a decoder which has received a poor press. So part of my purpose is to lift the tone of the debate, get rid of the Hornby-bashing fringe, draw out some informed opinion and find out the actual state of affairs. I shall be more than happy to choose DCC-fitted when it becomes an accepted fact that the decoder is as good as the rest of the package, and will work with my ZTC 505.

Have I missed something?

Peter Bedding

I am in the process of 'converting' to DCC and have a question for those who are much more expert than I in the details of the system.

The accessory decoders I am using don't put out enough current to push over a conventional point motor. I have learned of the DCC Concepts MasterSwitch which, I'm told, will solve the problem. However, these units are not especially cheap (not with the number of points I have), so please can someone tell me if I can use a conventional capacitor discharge unit with DCC, or does the use of accessory decoders, etc., mean this is not possible?

Robin Johnson

Andrew Carter is much too kind to me in his comments, but I do admit to trying to provoke discussion by putting forward views that I know will not be popular. What is the point in only saying things that everybody will agree with? As someone once said, the truth is seldom pure and never simple, and what may seem right to one person will be wrong to another. When it comes to assessing the future, the problems are more difficult still. Certainly we can see trends and extrapolate them, but what we can't always see are the forces that make people reject one trend and long for something else.

For example, for many years I despaired of ready-to-run model locos ever getting a decent chassis, because I thought the manufacturers were too deeply wedded to cost-control for the toy market. Yet, here we are with all-wheel drive and all-wheel pickup as the new norm. Wonderful!

In electronics, I admit to having my own agenda. I developed my own electronics for my model railways long ago, yet I find today that it can become a distraction from what I think of as the fundamentals of model railway operation. It was fascinating to walk around the GWR expo last week and see wonderful layouts with a huge variety of control systems, some modern, some old, but all adequate.

Electronics is burgeoning today in all walks of life but since we are mostly modelling the past - often the long past - we need to be careful, I think, to avoid being pushed into technology just because it is available, and instead ask ourselves what it can usefully do for us. It is too easy to be captivated by the gewgaws of technology. I know many modellers look at DCC and think how wonderful it is. I look at DCC and see a poorly-designed solution to a question I never asked, using a minor variation on an obsolete 1970s' technology that is fatally limited in its evolutionary capability by the very standardisation that made it popular.

So what, you may ask? If it does what you want, then fine. I've no problem with that.

But it doesn't do what I want, and I feel entitled to say so without being abused for it. In terms of today's technology, bi-directional hi-speed data links with high bandwidth and large memory are the area. Lithium-Poly battery technology offers enormous capacity in small volumes now. Computer processing power and artificial intelligence have developed to the point where a chip little bigger than a DCC chip could operate with the skill and flexibility of a human being, rather than simply changing speed according to rigid instructions.

Position sensing and reporting, interactive control, train-signal interaction, automation, point interlocking, fail-safe train control, all these things are where I would be looking if I was working in this area: Methods to get a layout with several trains running at the same time and behaving like real trains, not just running around in circles.

As I've said before, I don't want to be train driver, still less trying to drive three trains at once - I want to be a signalman. I want an electronic train control system that allows me as a signalman to accept trains and control them in my block, then hand them over to the automatic control system on the rest of the layout to do something sensible with while I continue operating the same block. I think a system that did that properly could be very popular, but I don't see one available today that does it in a fashion easy enough for non-electronics experts to manage.

There are, of course, different approaches to solving this. The old fashioned system of automatic control (dating back to at least the 1930s) was a fixed program, either using relays and GPO uniselectors as A. Duncan did in the '30s, or computers as many did in the 1980s. A better approach is to give each train enough intelligence to enable it to drive itself according to signals in an adaptive manner, without a fixed program sequence, and if it could be controlled according to a timetable in the manner of the real railways too that would be perfect. You can argue, of course, whether the intelligence should be centralised or distributed. I prefer distributed, as the system is usually more robust and doesn't need to be designed so carefully. If I had the time I might look at this myself seriously, but I haven't. Perhaps somebody else will, but is there a demand for it? How many people want to drive trains, and how many want to be signalmen?

Anthony New

More railway books have been reviewed and these will be found in the Book Review section which may be accessed by clicking on ‘Books’ to the left of this page and then picking the title that interests you from the index. For quick movement through the index, click on the appropriate letter in the letter index at the head of the column.

If the book interests you, there is a live link at the bottom of each review which will take you to the equivalent page on the Amazon website where you will find comparative prices for new or second-hand examples gathered from booksellers around the country.

My thanks to those who drew my attention to the announcement on the Hornby website concerning those extra models planned for this year - which were mentioned in MREmag a few months ago when they started appearing on some retailers' websites. The additional models are to be:

King Arthurs: 746 'Pendragon' post-war malachite green and with an 8-wheel tender, 30799 'Sir Ironside' in BR weathered green with a 6-wheel tender and early small insignia, 30778 'Sir Pelleas' in BR green with small early insignia and an 8-wheel tender and 30755 'The Red Knight' in BR green with large early insignia, an 8-wheel tender and a Lemaitre blastpipe with large chimney.

Bullied Light Pacifics: 34026 'Yes Tor' with a 5500 gallon tender, 34036 'Westward Ho' with a 4500 gallon tender, 34109 'Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory' with a 4500 gallon tender and 34088 '213 Squadron' with a 4500 gallon tender.

The positive responses to Brian Macdermott's insightful call for working signals seem to indicate that there really is a market for them. I don't see this as surprising when one considers the enormous upgrading to locomotives and rolling stock over the last few years. Also with DCC as an operating system which should allow such railway like procedures as setting routing for groups of signals - just as we know it can with sets of points. In fact, if there was ever a time for working signals, the introduction of DCC surely makes that time now.

It's interesting (and perhaps quite understandable) if, to date, British manufacturers have seen signalling as a low priority. I think it is a reasonable statement to say that, apart from illumination for night operation, the single aspect (pun unintended) of British layouts, that modellers are most likely to leave unfinished, is the signalling. Most of us electrify our points for automated operation, most of us operating from 12 volt DC use isolating switches to automatically control our sections while those of us using DCC use automation for everything. In this environment it seems rather antiquated to be manually adjusting semaphore arms with a long screwdriver or some kind of home made prod; so it is little wonder that modellers aren't actually rushing out to buy manual signals.

So perhaps this is the whole point the manufacturers are missing when they are reading the market. We aren't buying signals because there really isn't much to buy. On the other hand, if a reasonable range of automated signals was out there, it seems, from the responses to this subject, we would certainly be out there buying them, specifically because they would enhance the automatic operation of our layouts and substantially increase the complete credibility of our operations. I don't think we expect a whole range overnight - just start with a few common examples and take it from there.

Dave Brindlesmith is absolutely 'right on the money' when he talks about the Viessmann range of signals as a European example. I can give you an older one - Marklin. When I first started modelling in Marklin, as far back as 1960, there was even then a range of no less than eleven different kinds of automatic signals which, as Dave correctly states, are in many cases much more complex than the British ones. I have some which still operate today, with the range being further increased by another six signals when Marklin introduced their K-Track range. As many of these are still being produced, alongside Viessmann, maybe the European manufacturers can see something in the market for automated signalling that the British manufacturers can't. All I can say is they certainly add credibility to operation, even in analogue mode, and look fantastic in night operation.

So, maybe this is one side of the hobby where the Germans are still fifty years ahead. Surely, however, the potential that automated signalling has in enhancing layouts and creating another distinct area of fascinating viewers at exhibitions, accordingly attracting more people to our hobby because it is even more interesting, should no longer be overlooked.

Richard Whitmore

I wonder if I could ask some of your expert contributors for a bit of help for what I fear is an embarrassingly simple question.

I have a Lima Euro-Sprinter, bought nearly 10 years ago now, and recently it has started to go slower and slower. With the (DC) controller on 'full' it runs at just over half the speed of a recently bought Heljan Hymek.

Also, in one direction of travel, it makes quite a squeal, suggesting a need for lubrication. However, I'm puzzled that the squealing occurs in only one direction; put it in reverse and it's very quiet. Does that mean there's something else wrong?

Any advice would be gratefully received. I suppose I've been unnerved by the comments over the years about the damage that over-lubrication can do. I've never been sure when to use the oil can and when to avoid it.

Martin Crossley

Martin Russell stated (22 June) that, in conversations with two local model shops, they both - "made reference to the fact that the Bachmann container flat without containers did not sell very well and they believed the (Dapol) spine wagon might suffer the same fate".

I appreciate the concern but don’t think that reportedly poor sales of the Bachmann product (without containers), is really any indication of potential sales of the FEA-B that Dapol are proposing. The problem with the excellent Bachmann model is that it was not available without containers until relatively recently and after the vast majority of modellers had already bought all the models that they are ever likely to want. Having bought most of the early releases myself, I now have a couple of rakes of EWS Intermodal wagons with an extensive enough range of containers - although I’d really like more of the 20 foot versions. Consequently, while I can’t say that I won’t buy any more Bachmann Intermodal wagons in the future, from now on I’ll definitely be restricting purchases to those that come with containers that I really want. Hence, I don’t envisage buying the Bachmann models without containers - although I would have done if they had brought out the weathered version at the start.

However, as the Bachmann product is the only decent ready-to-run model on the market (I don’t think much of the dated Hornby model), both my DRS and Freightliner Class 66 locomotives are currently left to haul EWS stock (they must be on hire). If a quality alternative Intermodal wagon, suitable for either DRS or Freightliner, were to become available, then I can state that I would purchase a rake of around four twins. Also, as Freightliner haul more Intermodal trains than EWS, I would have thought that demand for the FEA-B would have been higher than for the FIA produced by Bachmann.

However, I agree that there is a need for, "a range of suitable containers sold either with them or as separate items". Hopefully Bachmann choose to capitalise on Dapol’s investment (if they make it) by producing a significantly larger range of 20 foot containers to accompany both their own models and the Dapol FEA-B if it sees the light of day.

Like Martin, I’d also like to say to Dapol that I want them to produce the spine wagon. However, if Dapol want a louder cry, I think that they need to provide us with more details including an indicative price and confirm that the ‘spine wagon’ is in fact an FEA-B twin set, each of which will carry up to six twenty foot containers.

David Laing

I have just bought the Dapol Class 66 dummy unit and it makes a terrific double header. A Class 20 motorless unit from Bachmann would be ideal to allow a nose to nose double Class 20 train. Hopefully Bachmann might consider this possibility.

Kennedy Howden

I was wondering if anyone in Australia had yet received their replacement footplate for their Bachmann N Class Moguls?

Mark Kitanov, Australia.

The correct number is 15 as you stated. 4009 'Shooting Star' had already been rebuilt into a Castle in 1925 when she was renumbered 100 and renamed 'A1 Lloyds' in 1936.

David Gill, New Zealand

Yes, next Saturday and Sunday will see Britain's largest vintage trains exhibition when Sandy Upper School opens its doors again. The school is in Engayne Avenue, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1BL.

There will be over 40 layouts and displays to see and over 20 traders give a good selection across the whole range of toy train and model railway scales which should satisfy most people's needs.

Travel: There is free parking on the school site which is a few minutes from the A1. Download a map from the internet using the postcode SG19 1BL. If travelling by train, Sandy station is on the East Coast Mainline from Kings Cross and Peterborough. It is about ten minutes walk from the station. There will be a vintage London Transport free bus service to take you to and from the school.

And don't forget, anyone joining the Train Collectors Society during the weekend will receive a refund on the admission charge!

By Brian Macdermott

I was pleased to see Grahame Wareham's posting about the later batch of 26s (D5331 - D5336) which spent a short time at Finsbury Park. I didn't mention these in my previous message as I was not certain of my facts about them. I have no written records from this early period but only my memory and the underlining of D5332/33/34 and 35 in my Ian Allan book to rely on.

I could not recall where I had seen them - if it had not been at the 'Cross'.

The only other 26s I saw were on the Inverness to Kyle Line, but this was not until 1976, by which time they had all acquired their TOPS numbers.

Tony Eliott

Some while ago there was a discussion about the route the above took. If the enquirer would like to contact me and give an address, I have a photograph which might interest him.

Peter Gomm

Robin is seeking discussion of this subject, but I must stress that the outcome will in no way affect the result of the quiz which has already been determined - Ed.

I think Martin Russel has hit upon a possible sticking point with the proposed Dapol spine wagons when he brings up the subject of whether or not containers will be included with them.

Years ago, I wanted to build an N scale multimodal facility (the American name for a container facility). These things do not have to be huge - like the Baltimore dock facility that one can see clearly from the elevated road next to it. But oh, how the track plans formed in Mr Noggin, as I drove past each week. Indeed, I used to have a roadside container stop in a side street about a mile from my home (now used for something else and fenced off, sadly). I did some drawings and settled on a plan.

I duly bought two packs of the excellent 5-car articulated 'well-car' sets from Walthers (one in TTX livery and one painted for Santa Fe) but then I hit a snag. They came with no containers. I would need at least ten large and ten small containers. I forget the actual sizes involved - possibly 60 ft and 40 ft. Not just any manufacturer’s offerings would do, since these cars were machined to require a highly accurate representation in the containers themselves. These proved hard to get and expensive when I could get them.

I think it is interesting that the next time Walthers offered a well-car (non-articulated and in CN livery) they included a container load.

Of course, these containers will raise the price of the final product - possibly considerably.

The response in these pages is interesting, although probably not representative of the market as a whole. Perhaps people are really not interested in modelling this aspect of modern train operations?

David Laing reports being unimpressed by out-of-scale features on the Bachmann wagons. I followed my Wathers purchases with one of an older five-car prototype, designed to take only 40 ft containers. These had beautiful etched brass ladders and grab irons that had to be bent to shape after unpacking. These are closer to scale than injection moulding can produce, but are so fragile that one must be extremely careful in handling the cars. I’m guessing Bachmann chose to go with a more 'thumb friendly' design to broaden the appeal of the wagons.

I hope that Dapol get representative data on this one. They are too small to be able to afford taking a bath with an unpopular model.

Steve Mann

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I can't agree more than with the sentiments that Martin Russel has expressed.

If we want Dapol to manufacture this item then we have to get into the shops and indicate what we will eventually purchase subject to certain conditions. Having expressed a wish each year to get a wagon of this nature, to ignore the opportunity to indicate a desire to buy is folly.

I appreciate (and agree) that to make the flat without a container is not too clever but I guess this may be down to production timetables more than anything else. If you would buy with container but not without - tell your retailer. Get the feedback going and see what Dapol can do. Maybe they will delay production until they can get the combination together; that's better than the plans going in the fire.

Remember that there is no commitment to buy, no requirement to part with hard earned cash and absolutely no commitment to take an item irrespective of an indication so to do. No one is asking anyone to part with money. Dapol need an indication of what we would purchase if they produce it, if it is up to specification and if it is priced right. Their only immediate way of understanding demand is to talk to retailers - and I know this is being done.

"Retailers are being negative" - they see themselves as not wanting to take a punt on items that may not sell. Major retailers are not completely sure that Dapol will produce what they say, in the numbers required and at the standard needed. Hence they are sitting on the fence or simply ignoring the manufacturer. It is up to us to convince them, or otherwise.

I can but make a further statement that is harsh but fact.

Chris Day

Has anyone out there got any information regarding the old and now discussed, gasworks rail site situated just north of Hitchin in Hertfordshire? Information in the form of photos and details of siding, amounts and lengths taken and recorded during its operational years, is required.

If you have any prints of this site that you would be willing to post to me, you can let me know via the "contact me" link within my website and I will supply you with my home address.

If the campaigning of both myself and the local Councils can bring about the near future reinstatement of this rail yard, it would mean a significant increase in rail borne freight, both to and from the Hertfordshire area, in the future. This, as all rail enthusiasts will agree, is a worthwhile cause indeed.

Bob Hart

Unfortunately, I no longer have a photograph but, when I was a child living in Luxembourg between 1977 and 1979, there was a bright yellow steeple cab electric loco which was an absolute dead ringer for the Tri-ang model. It lived on a siding by the Villeroy and Boch porcelain factory north of Luxembourg City. I went looking for it again in the mid-1980s, but it had gone.

There was also a toyshop full of Kitmaster kits, but I made the foolish mistake of telling a friend's father about those and he bought the lot!

Glad to see you back online.

Paul Dryden

I am sure many have welcomed you back an line, it was interesting to see just how many people miss this site when its down - which is rare, thankfully. While you were away I looked at some of the other sites and it made me realise how having you as the 'moderator' ensures that everyone has a say and is able to contribute in a way that is non-derisory, which cannot be said for some 'forum' type sites.

Before the advent of technology we now take for granted the lead-time for magazines meant publishers could not respond as quickly as they do today with up-to-the-minute news items. Traditionally March was the month when news from the British Toyfair became general knowledge and the Railway Modeller for that month carried a banner to show it contained the British Toy Fair News Special. This featured a rather cheerful cartoon-style illustration of a white and yellow lion as a patriotic symbol. The cover illustration was of George Mellor’s ‘TT-3’ Rhos Valley Railway and superimposed on it was a roundel declaring ‘TT-3 is Three’. Given the growth of the Tri-ang range and trade support it would have seemed impossible to realise at that time the proprietary system was almost halfway through its life-span.

The inside front cover featured Trix with illustrations of the Britannia and 56XX tank locomotive whilst the Southgate Hobbyshop announced it had increased its conversion allowance for those wishing to change from Hornby-Dublo three-rail to Dublo two-rail. For those who wanted to make their Kitmaster models operational the Hobbyshop had motorised the Tri-ang Utility Van by fitting it with a motor-bogie. This was an ideal solution being suitable for inclusion in both passenger and freight trains. The cost was 45/- (£2.25p). A second advertisement from the Hobbyshop offered a Special Service for Trix Owners based on the six-year support the Southgate premises had provided to back-up the Trix production. The extent of this was demonstrated by the conversion of over 2000 AC motors made after 1950 using special one-piece Beatimagnets for which demand was still continuing. These conversions took around seven-days but it was stressed the old power-units could not be converted and therefore had no value. The full advantages of the Trix DC system was outlined and the locomotives and overhead catenary parts were listed.

Bradshaw Model Products Ltd. of Hove, Sussex, featured Rivarossi American rolling stock and the 1959/60 Catalogue that cost 2/- (10p). Also on an overseas theme, Bradford Model Railway Centre Ltd. continued to promote the Eheim Trolleybus System and invited readers to send for a bumper packet of news from the Nuremburg Toy Fair. The King Charles Sports Centre in Leeds featured the Pocher four-wheel Swiss Coach with end balconies for 29/6 (£1.47½ p). Another importer was John Underhill of 32, Minster Street, Reading, Berkshire who had a two-page advertisement listing the various makes he offered. The Max Gray 0 gauge 2-rail Sante Fé 2-10-4 weighed in at 13lbs and was 30¾" long. It had ‘deflanged’ centre-drivers and an AC/DC motor. No price was given but I doubt if I could have bought it out of my pocket-money.

Peco continued to advertise their Wonderful Wagon range with an enlarged illustration of the detail included on a three-plank wagon. GEM listed their Flexi-Trak range as well as lever-frames and Flexible Lineside Fencing. We have come across Blacknell’s shed advertisement, as well as that for CCW Wagons and Vans, in earlier issues and the same applies to Tri-ang’s Progressive advert with the station components, catenary and rake of freight wagons hauled by the Steeple-Cab 0-4-0 locomotive. Also in this category are those for Airfix with the Norman Church, Bassett-Lowke’s back scenes and Hattons of Liverpool with just a half-page that compares to the small-print multiple-pages of today. Allan Brett Cannon were promoting their Chairway Track with the price of an 18" length reduced to 4/3 (21½ p). The Romford ‘Terrier’ and ‘Phantom’ Motors were 22/2 (£1.11p) and 39/8 (£1.98p) respectively from W & H (Models) Ltd. S. French & Sons Ltd. trading as the Surrey Model Railway Supermarket featured the Trix ‘Britannia’, EM1 and 56XX locomotives and reminded customers’ it was able to supply goods on either three or six months credit post free.

Moving to the back of the Modeller the Model Railway Club’s 35^th Model Railway Exhibition was advertised. The venue was the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster and it ran during Easter week from Tuesday 19^th to Saturday 23^rd April. Ballard Brothers of 133, School Road, Moseley, Birmingham listed the new Kitmaster Coach Kits at 6/6 (32½ p) each. They were available with the sides moulded in either red or green plastic, a useful feature especially if you wanted to paint them in Western Region colours because the green versions provided a better base for the cream paint. Gamages and the Model Shop, Birmingham were also promoting the coach kits. Tyldesley & Holbrook of 109, Deansgate, Manchester 3 had their usual selection of ‘O’ gauge locomotives including a coarse scale GWR 4-6-0 ‘County of Pembroke’ priced at £23/10/- (£23.50p). A useful supply of second-hand for 00 & TT Gauges was available from Robert Denny and he listed a variety of items including a Trix DC 3-Car Meteor’ Set for 67/6 (£3.37½ p). Welkut Flexible Track was sold by the Harrow Model Shop with two-rail yard lengths priced at 4/4 (22p), points at 10/4 (52p) and curved points at 12/4 (62p) each. George Webster (St. Helens) Ltd. offered the Kitmaster ‘100 Years of Steam’ Presentation Set in stock at 27/6 (£1.37½ P) and stocked GWR Pannier Tank bodies for 9/8 (48½ p). I imagine these were the diecast Gaiety examples. A vertical half-page advertisement from Peco’s Technical Advice Bureau listed those back numbers of the Modeller obtainable from their Office. Hornby Dublo’s range of building kits were featured by Baker’s Model Shop of 14, Canterbury Street, Gillingham, Kent. Described as quick and easy to assemble without the need to paint or use plastic cement, the Suburban Station with Booking Hall cost 22/6 (£1/07½ p). The Island Platform with awning was 9/11 (50p), the Goods Shed and Platform with the Dinky Crane fitted cost 25/- (£1.25p) and the two-road engine shed 17/9 (89p). The latter could be extended width-wise by the addition of an Extension Kit to provide four roads at a cost of 12/6 (62½ p). I often wonder what happened to the kits because that for the Engine Shed provided a good basis for detailing even today. I believe it was based on the prototype at Chester.

Taking his opening heading from Super Mac, Cyril Freezer in his Editorial reflected on the Toy Fairs and the quantity of good inexpensive equipment becoming available to the amateur. He observed that those modelling the 1955 – 1960 period now had a selection of appropriate locomotives and rolling stock ready-to-run. It had become possible to purchase items for around the cost of less detailed pre-war models despite the effect of inflation. Mr. Freezer’s commented that it is not human nature to be satisfied, and it does seem that the more the trade presents the more enthusiasts demand. No doubt this observation will receive nods of agreement from both Barwell and Margate as well as other manufacturers offices. He also, without wishing to be taken out of context, hoped that it would never be possible to get every conceivable item for model railways because that would lead to the loss of encouragement to try scratch building with the great personal satisfaction it can generate. Sentiments that are as true today as then.

Frank Riley will be well known to those of my era as the Editor of Meccano Magazine and it was reported he had retired the previous January. The Modeller offered him best wishes for his retirement and acknowledged the pleasure he had given to his readership over the years.

Keeping the TT3 theme was an article by the Rev. Edward Beal on Some Industrial Buildings. Edward Beal had been sufficiently impressed with the advent of TT3 that he abandoned his 00 activities to concentrate on the smaller scale often utilising Airfix building kits. Despite being intended for 00 some kits proved equally useful for TT. His designs for this article were a Creamery, Lime Works and Chemical or Oil Storage Depot. The Airfix Service Station, Footbridge and Booking Hall provided a useful source of parts, the girders from the Footbridge having uses in various scales. Wing Commander K.H. Burns was an acknowledged expert on track work and his article dealt with Double Junctions for his TT3 Milton, Drayton & Port Sutton Railway. Detailed drawings guided the reader through the electrical wiring and arrangement of linkages for operating the points. This article was equally applicable to any scale being of universal interest.

Jim Lawton described The Hawthorns Railway in Junior Modeller. This was a large club layout located in a school with an overall size of 24’ x 6’, the mainline being in the shape of a dumbbell. Provision had been made to provide a branch line and goods yard at a later date. During tests a nineteen coach train hauled by a Tri-ang ‘Castle’ and 97XX Pannier Tank had successfully negotiated the layout including the climb to the higher level.

Scaffolding is an aspect that is not often modelled but M.G. Trestrail offered a page on the subject with an illustration of a Bilteezi Factory with scaffolding in place. Some dimensions were offered as a guide. The Tri-ang 0-6-0ST was a somewhat large model in terms of appearance for 4mm scale, no doubt due to the need to fit a clockwork mechanism in some examples, but this was a good starting point for anyone wanting to start a 7mm scale narrow-gauge system. An article by A.R.G. Dow described the construction of Doris by his Father to create an attractive saddle tank from the Tri-ang model, albeit without outside cylinders that the majority of narrow-gauge locomotive feature. It was a relatively simple conversion, the donor locomotive having been purchased for £1. Hamblings wheels were fitted, the running board widened and cab enlarged. New boiler fitting and other details plus a repaint completed the job.

The Aerial View featured Church Fenton with a suggested model version of the prototype track plan that would have required a baseboard length of 17’ in 4mm scale before taking into account curves or fiddle yards at either end.

As was traditional, the March issue of the Railway Modeller reported on the Toy Fairs held in London and Brighton and headlined the news that Die Casting Machine Tools Ltd. (DMCT) were introducing 000 Train Sets. The British outline locomotives were the English Electric Baby Deltic (Class 23) and BR Derby Sulzer Bo-Bo (Class 24). An American Bo-Bo was also to be produced. I remember my school friend, Mike Claydon, was given some equipment when it first appeared in the shops and I was impressed with the appearance of the Baby Deltic. Sadly Mike passed away unexpectedly earlier this week and our hoped-for reunion, after finally tracing each following a gap of some forty-five years, will not take place. When we first exhibited our Hornby Dublo 3-rail layout at Ardleigh Green School for the 1958 Christmas Bazaar Mike was the third operator with my Father and myself.

The Modeller commented on the programmes of the various manufacturers and observed 1960 would be really wonderful for railway modellers. They were certainly right and there was no sign of any letup in the drive from Meccano to revitalise their fortunes with Hornby Dublo. It was accepted their 1959 Programme had overrun and releases were still outstanding. The legacy of adopting live-frog points had not been appreciated and with Tri-ang launching their evergreen ‘Britannia’, EM2 Co-Co and Southern Region L1 the chances of their catching-up was doubtful especially when purchase costs of models was considered. Notable introductions planned for Hornby Dublo were the Deltic Co-Co, that promised so much and delivered little because the details of the full-size Production Batch had not been resolved, and 350hp Diesel Shunter. The latter, with its prototypical outside frames and cranks, would prove to be more popular as would the start of the range of Super Detail coaches that combined the use of plastic and tinplate. Compared to those models having plastic sides the retention of tinplate enabled almost flush glazing to be achieved and, whilst slightly short of scale length, the effect of overhang on proprietary curves was mitigated to some extent. New wagon introductions planned included Presflo bulk salt and bulk cement wagons and an Esso tank wagon in black livery. As a prelude to 1961 news was given of the intention to release a Rebuilt Pacific although there was no hint as to whether it would be a ‘Merchant Navy’ or ‘West Country/Battle of Britain’.

I have already mentioned Tri-ang and a further introduction would be a Pullman Brake Coach in 00. TT was not forgotten because it would also benefit from the introduction of a ‘Britannia’, bogie luggage van and BR Coaches in Western Region colours. Interiors for both 00 and TT coaches would be available by the Spring and wagons loads for 00 were illustrated.. An interesting note was that, in addition to a diesel depot, a diesel horn was to be produced for TT-3. I wonder what happened to that project? Those interested in the Transcontinental range were promised a Budd Diesel Railcar.

Trix had decided to fit finer wheels but were still handicapped by their use of 3.8mm to 1’ scale that meant their products were smaller in comparison to those of Tri-ang and Hornby Dublo. The new Trix locomotive was the Western Region ‘Warship’. In order to overcome the use of proprietary curves the buffer beams and fairings above the bogies was made to pivot with them. If the model had been to 4mm scale I think it would have sold better. The new Western Region 56XX 0-6-2T had been delivered and the Modeller was able to test an example through the good offices of the Southgate Hobbyshop. The combination of a robust motor, diecast body and plastic treads on two driving wheels ensured the model performed excellently with good slow-running characteristics. Plastic bodied rolling stock was to be introduced as well as interiors for coaches.

The plastic revolution was gaining ground and Airfix announced they were intended to introduce rolling stock kits, the first being the Park Royal 4-Wheel Railbus (3/- ~ 15p) and then a Presflo Bulk Cement Wagon and Long Wheelbase Oil Tank Wagon (Both 2/- ~ 10p). Kitmaster’s move into Mk1 Coaches was to be welcomed with a photograph showing the giant-leap that was about to be made with flush-glazing in a plastic body-side. These were to be available in both 00 and TT-3. Peco had responded to the lack of interiors by introducing cardboard kits for the purpose. With the coaches priced at 6/6 (32½ p) and interiors at 2/9 (14p) the cost for each vehicle was modest and they were to scale length. The question that has always puzzled me is why, having established a market for coach kits, Kitmaster did not develop that aspect of their business. In contrast to what Hornby would eventually offer, Kitmaster’s Prototype ‘Deltic’ was a superb model perfectly at-home amongst a steam stud and happily both the 12" to 1’ example and the kits are still with us today. Forthcoming kits on the locomotive front were the German 2-6-2 (June), BR 9F 2-10-0 (September), SNCF 4-8-2 (October), ‘City of Truro’ (November) and Beyer-Garrett (December). In TT-3 a ‘Royal Scot’ was promised.

The range of Perfecta power-drive kits for motorising Kitmaster locomotives was due to be expanded to include the Italian Tank, Western Region 2-6-2T, SR ‘Battle of Britain’ and ‘Princess Coronation.’ The kit for the Italian Tank would cost 8/9 (44p) and those for the other three 11/8 (58p) to which the cost of a Tri-ang XT motor had to be added (12/10 ~ 64p).

Every year the Railway Modeller holds the Railway Modeller Cup Competition and the results for 1959 were announced. In terms of Railways of the Month they dominated the Competition with C.H. Philo’s Magnificent System being just that and taking the Cup. Another elaborate model railway, Cheshire Fact and Cheshire Fiction, owned by Col. Bellamy took second place with the Rev. W. Awdry’s Ffarquhar Branch being the third most popular. For pure character and grittiness G.D. Austin’s Stephenton was a well-placed fourth followed by John Charman’s Charford. The remaining placings were County Donegal by G.R. Hanan (6^th), Still in the West Country, A.S. Taylor (7^th), The Denny Touch, Rev. P.B. Denny (8^th), Milton, Drayton & Port Sutton, K.H. Burns (9^th), More Trams, P.D. Hancock (10^th), Variety in TT-3, Rev. E. Beal (11^th) & Highland in O Gauge, O.E. Bankins (12^th). It was said to have been the biggest poll for the Competition.

Frank Spence

A healthy number of responses this month and a good number of entries that scored the full ten out of ten. However, there were two questions that caught a lot of people out but more of that later

We thank Rails of Sheffield again for their continued sponsorship of the quiz.

Here are the questions and answers. The Quizmaster’s decision is final.

Aristocraft have announced that due to a world shortage of copper and ever increasing prices of the raw material, the future cost of G scale track is to double in price from the 1st July. Copper forms 70% of the raw materials used in brass rails.

Graham Hubbard, Managing Director of Bachmann Europe, the distributors of Aristocraft products in Europe, said:

"Aristocraft have held prices for as long as they could and were confident that the price of copper would reduce. The price has risen from $1 per pound in 2005 to $3.40 today and Aristocraft can no longer hold the price."

Graham Hubbard continued:

"We and Aristocraft are aware that demand for their track products has escalated in recent months due to the demise of LGB, but the stark reality is that without these price rises, brass track is no longer commercially viable and we are faced with price rises or stopping track production."

He added:

"If the commodity price of copper changes then we will review prices accordingly."

By Brian Macdermott

Monday 25 June: Sky Three, 19.00-20.00. Crash Files. The US NTSB investigates a 1996 head-on train crash in Maryland.

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Can I just say that I totally agree with Brian Macdermott on this subject.

Peter Gomm

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Ready made working signals shouldn't be too difficult to produce. Viessmann have been producing exceptionally high quality signals for the German/Austrian market for years. These German signals are generally more complex than British prototypes, production of which should therefore be at least as feasible.

Dave Brindlesmith

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Almost 70 years ago, Meccano Ltd were producing Hornby Dublo electrically operated semaphore signals and offered colour light signals from around 1959. As far as scale is concerned, these are still far superior to the former Tri-ang signals offered by Hornby today, although in fairness to Hornby I believe these items are offered as 'childproof' rather than as scale models.

Surely, with modern technology, it should be possible to update these signals, certainly for steam era layouts where colour lights were often simple replacements of the traditional home and distant signals, with the signal post going through the baseboard to be secured on to the 'electrics' (colour light) and 'mechanics' (semaphore) circuitry which could be hidden.

Presumably it is Dapol who will have the original drawings of the Hornby Dublo signals unless they were destroyed in the fire.

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I agree that there is a real need for good robust ready-to-use signals. However, when you suggest it to the major producers, they say that their priorities are rolling stock (Bachmann) or that they do not have enough capacity (the others). Colour lights would be easier (and OK for me), but the same 'above' applies. Small market - limited production run, I guess.

Paul Burke

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I'm very much in agreement with Brian Macdermott's comments, on the 14th June, regarding working signals. I'm part of a team building a 1930s (DCC powered) GWR exhibition layout and we're about to embark on the task of signalling, with at least the running lines having working signals. Life would be much easier if a system such as described by Brian were available. Following this year's poll, I'm tempted to wait to see if any of the major manufactures are tempted, but I suspect that the soldering skills are about to be brushed up, working on the currently available kits.

Bob Powell

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I too was interested to read John Cherry’s comments on the lack of operating semaphore signals, along with some of the follow up comments. With all due respect to John, I think he has over simplified the situation which, to some extent, he acknowledges. Just like the hobby is demanding more detail and accuracy of locomotives and rolling stock, the same demands would be made of manufacturers if anyone were to go into producing operating semaphores. Not only are there BR tubular posts, there are also wooden posts, rail posts, lattice posts etc.. Then there’s all the different styles in signal arms; do we go for upper quadrant or lower quadrant - the list of possibilities is endless. To put an LMS style signal on a SR layout would be like having a Fowler tender behind a T9.

We then have all the different complexities of junction signals, gantries etc. For modellers whose layout represents a prototypical location, there is really only one option and that is to build, or get someone else to build, signals that directly relate to the track diagram of your layout. The alternative, if you want ready made operating signals, is to design your layout around the availability of ready made signals. Er - no thanks.

My own layout is based on Seaton Junction is East Devon. A relatively quiet rural location but just look at the complexity of the semaphores there, especially that double posted up starter with home and distant arms on both posts and home and distant sight repeaters on both posts. Nightmare!

Sorry John, but the I think the reason no manufacturer has entered into this market is because there are so many options, it may not be economically viable and, although there are rumours about someone taking the initiative, there is a limit as to how much they can offer. The existing Hornby signals offer an acceptable solution for the younger end of the market or those with simple track layouts. Beyond that, it’s hand built I’m afraid.

By the way, I do agree with John and Nicholas Rothon about the fragility of the Ratio kits. They do make up into a nice fixed distant though.

Dick Flower

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John Cherry and Brian Macdermott have raised an interesting topic (week ending 15 June) regarding the limited range of signals available for (mainly 00) scale layouts.

Apart from the distant days [no pun intended] of those made for Hornby Dublo (Upper Quadrants in single arm, double arm, and junction types) and those made by Tri-ang, later Hornby; there were also a limited array of Lower Quadrant signals made by Crescent Toys: these included single arm, and junction types (2- or 3-post), also a gantry over two tracks.

Accurately positioned, they would at least contribute to a layout's character before the more detailed ranges of Ratio's ready-made (later their kit-built) versions arrived.

Whilst signal-parts have long been available to create the desired displays (I have used them myself over 50 years ago), there certainly could be a demand today for having a set of basic components to put together, to create the desired configuration as dictated by the track layout they 'control'.

Over the years I've observed many excellent layouts at exhibitions, but regrettably some would be spoilt as they lacked a realistic atmosphere owing to ...(wait for it)... they were totally devoid of signals! Some others would have a few signals more than likely and they would be incorrectly positioned.

It is surprising, really as, in all other respects, the modellers' attention to detail on the layout was superb!

So, when I see a layout which has got realistic signal coverage, perhaps even enhanced by dummy ground discs, catch points or point rodding, then I've no hesitation in congratulating the operators involved.

We all seek realism with our locomotives, rolling stock and scenery so don't let this be spoilt by overlooking the basic requirement for any railway, that of 'controlling' signals - unless you just operate a 'one engine in steam / one train only' branch line. Even that would have a 'fixed distant' signal or 'warning' board on the approach to its terminus!

I'll remain silent on the question of whether to use 'hand' or 'electric' operation. Even the technicalities of 'prototype interlocking' would be best left to the more skilled experts!

Stephen Derek

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I see we are nearing the magic 5,000,000 hit mark. I have been with MRE since the beginning and have never missed a day. Well done Pat for providing a superb online magazine that others aspire to.

Andrew Carter

Just as a bit of a further antidote to the sometimes negative comments on manufacturers, I must say, I have just received a Hornby 70045 'Lord Rowallan' from a well known supplier in Liverpool (I've no trade connection, just a satisfied customer). In this case - very satisfied indeed.

What a superb piece of kit. Whether l will ever fit the brake rigging I don't know but Hornby have certainly covered all their bases with this one; it looks terrific and ran smoothly and powerfully once put on the track. It wasn't always like this - I can still remember my disappointment at the poor running of a Hornby Dublo 'Barnstaple' all those years ago!.

Some six years ago I got what was by then the best ever Britannia I'd had. It was a Hornby 'Firth of Clyde, made out in China, and had a lot of excellent detail. It ran reasonably well (still tender drive at that time) but the front end still owed too much to the ancient Tri-ang model which first appeared in the early 1960s. A picture of the Tri-ang original was in my Tri-ang Railways - the First Ten Years book - which says something about when I first got into modelling and how long the Britannia bogie mouldings, in use in 2001, had been around.

I made some modifications to 'Firth of Clyde' and had a short article published in Railway Modeller about them. It looked well with a scale coupling, steps etc.. In that article I said I expected Hornby would soon bring out a new model addressing some of the issues I'd raised. They did, very soon after, but exceeded even what I'd expected.

You may be surprised to hear that I am gong to made a little modification to my new Britannia. No, not the trailing wheels. I have no problem with these - they look fine, even on 2 foot radius curves which are my layout's minimum. However, I like my locos to be as close-coupled to their tender as possible. I had done a modification to a previous model, cutting a few millimetres off the tender chassis, along the lines suggested in MREmag a while ago. I thought that I would not have to do that with the new model and it's much too detailed to get away with that sort of thing anyway. Hornby have kindly provided alternative positions for the tender drawbar.

The only snag is that, in the close-coupled position, the model won't take a 2 foot radius curve. I reckon it might be all right with a 3 foot radius curve and I wish I had the space for larger curves, but I haven't. Since Hornby clearly state that the model needs a minimum of 438mm (about 18"), the outer drawbar hole is bit too far out for me. It's still pretty good, but not quite as close as I'd like. So, in due course (once the engine is out of warranty) I am going or remove the little buffer gear on the tender (which is barely visible under the tender fallplate, anyway) and use the close coupling position.

None of this is a criticism of Hornby. Short of providing an infinitely variable position or something more complicated such as a sprung drawbar (which would probably give trouble anyway in regular usage), I don't see what we could reasonably expect. Also, it is doing some of these little extra things that add to the pleasure we get from running our own railway, which make modelling so satisfying. I build 4mm Northern Irish DMUs for fun and, believe me, getting some of these things to run at all properly, underfloor engines et al, is a real challenge!

Colm Flanagan

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I have fitted the Hornby 4-function decoders to almost 30 Bachmann, Lima, Heljan and Hornby locomotives and have had no trouble with any of them. The improvement in running for the older Lima locos is significant, with a reduced top speed and increased control over acceleration and deceleration. Bachmann locos run as sweet as ever as do Heljan locos (classes 35 and 47) and no decoders have burnt out. At £8 each, these decoders are an absolute bargain. Some oaf at the recent Chatham show said they are not NMRA compliant to which I replied they are Julian's layout compliant and that is all that matters!

Julian Saunders

Ian Reynolds asks if the Hornby decoders he has are OK to put in his Class 50. The answer to this is, yes, they will be OK. I have put one in my Class 50 and it worked OK.

Julian Martin

Again we have three layouts reviewed in this issue of BRM. The first is a long-lived 00 gauge GWR layout built by Brian Yates. With the second, Neil Burgess has relived his childhood at Warmley on the Midland's route to Bath with an 00 continuous oval stocked to date it to the early 1950s. Our final layout is the concluding article on Karl Crowther's EM gauge 'Cornwallis Yard', originally built by the late Bob Haskins. In addition there are pictures and descriptions of four different layouts submitted by readers.

Practical articles include the detailing of a Dapol N gauge EPS Class 73, modelling GCR station buildings and overbridge, building a pair of 0 gauge tank engines, the use of lead-free solders and new ways of making signal arms bounce realistically.

There is a one page feature on Steam, the museum of the GWR at Swindon, and a 4-page black and white picture gallery devoted to the Southern King Arthur Class, compiled by writer Eric Sawford.

A free Model Trains Study Day, for those 14 and over, will be held at the V&A Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green, London, on 30 June. The times are 10.30 - 4.00pm and early booking is recommended (tel: 020 8983 5205 or mocbookings@vam.ac.uk)

Learn about the history and evolution of model railways. Discuss the dilemma between 'using' verses 'preserving' model train collections. Enjoy demonstrations from local clubs and an object handling session led by the Museum's Collections' Manager.

Speakers include:

Tony Wright
The Assistant Editor of British Railway Modelling, Tony will talk about the history and evolution of model railways from a personal perspective.

Robert Forsythe
A former Museum Curator in West Yorkshire, and author of articles in British Railway Modelling, Model Railway Enthusiast and Model Rail. Robert will speak on ‘Model Railways and the Thomas the Tank Engine Phenomenon’.

Robert Kaufeler
Robert is an enthusiastic amateur and member of various collectors’ societies. Robert will show us pieces from his own collection and discuss how collectors balance their desire to enjoy models through actively running them, with the imperatives of conservation and preservation.

I went to two local model shops over last weekend to enquire about placing orders for the spine wagon. I was disappointed to find that neither were actually taking orders but would just put a figure into Dapol based on what they thought they could guarantee to sell. They both made reference to the fact that the Bachmann container flat without containers did not sell very well and they believed the spine wagon might suffer the same fate unless there are a range of suitable containers sold either with them or as separate items. I also phoned a couple more dealers and had similar conversations.

From the recent posts, some modellers are worried it may not be of a high enough standard or might be over priced and now I get the feeling some dealers are thinking the same way.

If we, modellers and dealers, keep thinking this way, then the new high cost developments will be shelved and manufacturers will keep trotting out the same old items with a slight livery or number change.

Every year wish lists generate a lot of debate but if a manufacturer does try to bring out something different and is met with too much negative comment, who can blame them if they don’t take the plunge. I just hope that there are some modellers and dealers out there who, like me, will say to Dapol we want the spine wagon.

Martin Russell

Dick Flower

The motorail dock in Stirling is south facing. The train could have been pulled into the through platform. The Stirling CCTs would then have been detached and deposited in the loading/unloading dock. Then the Inverness portion would be detached. I notice that there are no through coaches at Inverness and so, maybe, that was to allow passengers a wee bit more time to get organised and then to get on other coaches waiting in one of the bay platforms. These now had the CCTs attached to the front for offloading at Inverness.

Again, this is pure conjecture, but a bit of fun.

Graham Crawford

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Regarding Neil Rodger’s remembrance of his journeys to Scotland, I can confirm the Car Sleeper ran from Sutton Town station, not Sutton Park, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The Tuesday service was in high season only. I saw this train most weeks in the 1962 season and the CCTs could number up to 10 or 12 in July/August with, if memory serves me correctly, three sleeping cars and two or three corridor coaches.

In high season it was quite a load and I think the ‘train’ engine brought the coaches from the Vauxhall & Duddeston coach cleaning depot. There would be either a Fowler 2-6-4T, an Ivatt 2-6-0 or a Class 4 standard on hand at Sutton to shunt the CCTs onto the back of the train once the cars had been loaded. All this took place in the bay platform and adjacent siding to the north of the Lichfield platform.

In 1962, I have recorded, in early June, Royal Scots as the train engine, but to echo the words of your other correspondents, by mid-June, Britannia’s took over with few exceptions until the end of the season. 70046 was the most regular performer. I still have a copy of the sales literature that BR used for this service.

My pals and I would watch the train being assembled in Sutton station and then cycle to Four Oaks station to see it come through. It was a terrific sight, on the 1 in 100 up gradient, given the load and the ‘cold’ start. The best spectacle at Four Oaks was, I think, in late 1961 when a Jubilee and a Black 5 double headed. Four Oaks station shook with the noise!

In the late fifties I suggest Neil Rodger’s green engine was probably a Royal Scot. I guess an A3 would be flattered to be mistaken for a Royal Scot! I’m not sure that the opposite would be true!

David Cull

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I saw a comment on your site yesterday, from Ian Breeden, regarding sleeper services. Ian quoted from the London Midland Region Passenger Train Marshalling Circular for 7 May 1973 to 5 May 1974.

Please could you pass on to Ian an invitation to join my Yahoo Group, which he may find of interest (I don't think he is a member)?

The link is: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/BRcoachingstock/

He will need a Yahoo identity (which is free) and, with one, can subscribe by e-mail to: BRCoachingStock-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Brian Macdermott mentioned the Sutton Coldfield-Stirling car sleeper and listed the formation taken from my Yahoo Group.

The most recent edition is the 1971 Western Region Coach Working Programme (all 437 pages of it).

Robert Carroll

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There is a track plan of the station with the car loading ramp on page 146 of An Historical Survey of Selected LMS Stations - Volume One, by R. Preston Hendry & R. Powell Hendry and published by OPC. According to the book, the Motor Rail service started in 1967.

The equivalent of "Motor Rail" still exists in France.

Joe Cassidy

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As a 'born and bred' resident of Sutton, I have fond memories of the Stirling sleeper service. It ran from Sutton Coldfield station-not nearby Sutton Park.

The motive power, formation and route changed over the years, but around 1962-4 it always departed in the Lichfield direction. The cars were loaded by end ramp during the day into a mixture of BR GUVs and CCTs in one of the goods yard sidings. The sleepers and 'day' vehicles (all Mk1s as I recall) were brought into the bay platform from the Birmingham direction by the train loco.. This had a low platform face and portable wooden steps were provided for passengers.

As the train loco was effectively trapped at the buffers, a shunting loco was sent by Aston (usually a Black 5) to put the car carrying vehicles on the back of the train. The whole lot, train loco included, was then hauled out onto the main line for the train to depart via Lichfield.

David Jenkins

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This talk about car carriers reminds me of our trip to the big city by Motor Rail - Perth to London Kensington - in the late 1960s. The cars were carried on flat wagons, old coach chassis maybe, with no protection from the elements. It was a good trip.

Alastair Robertson

I missed purchasing King Arthur by a day, a couple of months ago, at my local stockist. Subsequent to that, I noticed that the price rocketed on certain well known websites and none are now available. My local dealer says that Hornby are running another batch which should be due in around 2 months time. Presumably it's the name that's the cause of the popularity as other versions are still available.

I write this as I was at the Brockenhurst show recently where I heard that 'Sir Lamiel' had arrived and departed from stock very quickly. I may be completely wrong but I believe that the NRM edition locos tend to be limited in their production run so you can draw your own conclusion if you want one of these.

Robert Inns

The Tri-ang item always seemed a bit odd-looking to me though it appears to be a quite reasonable model of this 4-wheel prototype. Note the original even had regenerative braking - in 1924! I rather thought the Tri-ang model was inspired by Swiss prototypes as much as the ES1, as a way of using the 'Polly' 0-4-0 chassis and perhaps getting some continental sales, but I could be mistaken. I'll have to reread our esteemed editor's tome to check this!

Paul Gittins

Paul Jansz

I am guessing that, as the only available ready-to-run sound chip for the Class 50 is the Swd one, the recording was done using a loco that is currently preserved - probably a refurbished one. Swd http://www.southwestdigital.co.uk/ have just dropped the price of the 00 sound chips down to £85. That is £20 cheaper than a year ago!

Simon Evans

The following Hornby models should now be in the shops: Class N15 777 'Sir Lamiel' (R2638), Class 101 BR green (R2578A) and blue (R2579A), Pendolino coaches standard buffet (R4271), standard open (R4274A) and trailer standard open (R4272) and, finally, digital power track (R8241)

Also, on their way from China are the following Graham Farish models: 3-car HST in GNER Mallard livery (371-480), 46T POA Yeoman Tiger with reinforced ends (373-975), Mk1 BG BR maroon (374-027B) and Mk3 TRFB in the new blue and grey Midland Mainline livery (374-375A).

This weekend, 16 June 2007 to 17 June 2007, the exhibition will be at East Halton Village Hall. There will be approximately 10 layouts plus trade. There will be a period bus connecting with Cleethorpes, Barton-on-Humber trains from Thornton Abbey station to East Halton (small extra charge) and there will be a conductor on bus.

The opening times are: Saturday 11.00 am - 5.00 pm and Sunday 10.00 am - 4.00 pm. Prices are: adults £3.50, OAPs £2.50 and children £2.50.

By Brian Macdermott

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I found John Cherry's letter interesting and mildly amusing. John does not live round here as the local main line has a mixture of colour light and semaphore signals. It may surprise some modellers that semaphore signals are still erected to replace life expired examples - one being replaced locally, with a new example, only a few weeks ago. This signal is used many times a day to control an assortment of trains, including Voyager and Pendolinos.

Merfyn Jones

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John Cherry makes some interesting comments on signals. I have also found that Ratio kits look fine but are too delicate for a working railway. The Hornby signals can be improved with some black paint to the cap, lamp and the lower part of the post. It is possible to add a platform and rail and possibly a counterweight. Also, some white paint can be used to cover the cream plastic. Hornby must have this in mind from the images in the current catalogue.

The recent book Final Years of Isle of Wight Steam has some splendid images of Southern equipment including rail based signals.

I note that the Old Smokey set includes two of the old GWR coaches. With new roofs, these would provide a splendid basis for an Isle of Wight set. I hope Hornby will release them on their own once again or even consider a version with a revised roof profile. As is well known, the catalogue shows an 02 with the Maunsell coaches. Is this just a dream or can we live in hope?

Nicholas Rothon

Neil Roger's recollections on Monday 11th, brought back memories of the car-sleeper trains - in my case seen on the East Coast main line rather than travelled on. The midlands service operated out of Crewe for both Scotland and the South West, if Titled Trains of Great Britain by CJ Allan may be trusted.

I hope Neil has a large loft layout to accommodate a model train, as these were some of the biggest passenger service formations of the time. The make-up on the East Coast was GUVs, sleepers, a restaurant buffet and a BSK. These were typically in a ratio of about 10 GUVs to 6 or 7 sleepers. On the East Coast service, the GUVs were prominently branded with two full vehicle length lines of text: 'Anglo-Scottish Car Carrier'. Beneath this, if my memory serves me right, was 'Motor Vehicle Transporter'. Was this style used elsewhere?

Paul Jansz

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Further to my earlier e-mail regarding the above. Apparently 60088 remained at Aston until July 6th after it was realised that A3s were barred from the section of line between Wichnor Junction and Sutton Coldfield. It then ran light to Crewe South on 6th and was subsequently understood to have worked a train from Crewe to Carlisle on July 7th (Motive Power Miscellany - LMR - Trains Illustrated - September 1961).

If any RCTS members have copies of Railway Observers for this period they may be able to shed more light on this topic, including whether the earlier visitor operated northbound.

Ian Breeden

Many thanks to Martin Cowgill for his detailed information and the excellent website he suggested. I totally agree with him, too, that Hornby should bring their liner flats up to date, i.e. cast frames as opposed to plastic and a 4-set as well as buffer beam fitted singles.

Bob Hart

Does anyone know where I can purchase suitable continental transfers to make more blue Tri-ang (ghastly non-prototype etc.) to go with my sole example. I have tried Peco and Model Rail but drawn a blank.

An excellent read as ever Pat. All quiet from me on the blue Pullman front because I have eventually acquired a full Kitmaster set.

Mike Lester

Hi all! Thanks for the advice, I have already purchased two of these decoders. I presume these are OK to go into my Hornby Class 50s?

Ian Reynolds

During my visit to the DCC weekend at Pecorama in Beer, I picked up an interesting Peco leaflet - Wiring Peco Pointwork for DCC. Essentially, this leaflet gives advice on wiring points for DCC. What surprised me was the advice that Insulfrog points should use insulated joiners immediately after the point. Three-way points are also recommended to be treated this way. Also, Insulfrog diamond crossings should be insulated and are energised via a points PL-15 microswitch only when that 'path' is being used. Basically you treat Insulfrog as Electrofrog.

One other thing, Peco recommend that, to avoid voltage drop, you have feeders every 6 foot for each track.

I must admit it was far easier to comprehend than the instructions they give out with Electrfrog points.

John Jeffery