Golden Fleece 30

There were 69 full lengths(some an odd inch shorter) with 25 brand new still with card inserts of GEM track. There is a slight issue with it compared to Peco that 1) the rail top is higher (if you watch carefully on the videos I have done the rail used is slightly larger and the wheels will jump), 2), The base of the rail is lower and wider therefore will not accept the finescale fishplates, 3) the sleeper spacing is not the same. I agree it looks really nice but will be used only in the loco/goods yards and fiddle yard. If I was not using the Peco points then this would have been fine for the main layout. I have not tried every loco I have across the point work but have not come across any issues yet even using a Standard V with open spoked wheels. I will say that gently pushing a loco for test I can possibly feel the chairs being touched but the same loco has run across them without issues as such. The hardest point to do is the curved one on the inner curve where a little material needed to be ground away on the running rails at the frog section due to the length of the tighter part which does not happen on the other points, or the outer curve. Garry

Ortogo was the large layout with all the small working cameos and automatic shunting etc on a couple of different levels, quite long but narrow I think. The folding layout was as far as I can remember just a demonstration item that was just placed in front and I don't know if it had a name as such. Garry

As a youngster without knowing anything about "Foreign" railways I always thought the Blue livery was South African (maybe as I had heard of the Blue train) and that the green were Australian (possibly as the cricketers always had the green hats lol). I knew the silver version was American as that is all America seemed to have and it did look American but as you say it did add some colour. I think the silver version also appeared with a red stripe or am I mistaken on that one? Garry

Now ordered thank you. Garry

I came across one of these 5 pole armatures fitted to a second hand Castle recently which does run very nicely. Garry

I thought I had bought one a couple of months ago then realised mine was the Edward Beal one so still looking for this. Garry

Hi David, I always liked the K's motors having had a few in 00 locos a long, long time ago and in a scratchbuilt chassis I made, I never had any issues with any apart from the later ones, HP2M? that had a plastic frame and bearings. Those were terrible from day one with the shaft not spinning true before any gears etc were fitted. The Jinty chassis motors are quite strong especially with the whitemetal bodies fitted. Similar to a K's bodyline on a Dublo R1 chassis. The only issue is the pole piece width making it very limited to what it will fit, even Tri-ang made their Castle with a flat sided firebox shape instead of the Belpaire one but for tanks its a good little chassis to use. Garry

Hi David, I have no idea about the locos etc as they were a charity organisation sale but whoever did it and built the locos was skilled. The K's motor has whitemetal castings attached to it to enable it to be used on a TT Britannia/M.Navy so it most likely will not be the only one to look like this, K's must have designed the castings for regular use. This motor looks unused. The XT60 in the Jinty chassis I guess was to try something different as the standard motor (not XO3 as far as I know) would be strong enough with a whitemetal body on it, my others are. The Jinty/Castle motor may not have a designated number as it was not a complete motor unit. The bearing end plates were held in the chassis by small lugs with the armature/commutator a separate piece. It is fitted with possibly a slower gear ratio as there is a large fine pitch gearwheel added. I did fit an XT60 to a Castle chassis in the 70's as seen here. Garry

Having bought an old Railway Modeller recently there was in it an article by Jack Dugdale of Ortogo fame. How many remember this layout and his fold up one? Both layouts had Series 3 and possibly standard track used. Ortogo was full of gimmicks like a rabbit disappearing in its Warren when a train passed. With the fold up layout Jack would start a Jinty going and unfold the four sections or more as it travelled onto each new part. Once at the end he would do it in reverse folding it up while the loco went backwards. The article was not about his layouts but a write up from him about one of his friends building a working 5 way point. Garry

I have now received four of the Railway Modellers mentioned regarding TT layouts and they make some interesting reading. One of them also had a second TT layout in it which was quite a nice set up too. What was interesting regarding the Lydney layout is that it was mentioned that a 2-10-0 and a 14xx had been scratchbuilt by BEC themselves. These are two locos never made by BEC although GEM did manufacture the 14xx at one time. Although not TT another interesting item was a 5 way scratchbuilt point, now that is something I would like to see in operation. Garry

Far too pricey for me. Garry

Each to our own but I certainly don't class it as rubbish, far from it having used it many times for Dublo 3-rail, Tri-ang TT and Peco flexible in both 00 and TT. It is certainly the easiest to use. Garry

Until the weekend it was still free. All that has happened is in the last 6 months it has been upgraded. I tried to open a previous plan and got the error message no longer compatible. All I did was re download, no registration key or anything, and my drawing opened up. I certainly have had no bother or problems with Scarm so has it changed in the last couple of days? Garry

I knew of the CKD sets and had the Princess and a few coach ones but never knew it was to get around Purchase Tax. Garry

Hi Robert, The 14xx is available and I will send you a PM. Since the video was done I have also modified a couple of curved points which work just as well, their only issue to me is the length of them. I have had to modify my track plan to fit them in so doubt I will get anymore of them for a while. I wondered if Peco would make some set track too which would be handy, curve wise especially. I am surprised how nicely the stock runs through the slip and crossing without any check rails installed yet opposite the frogs. Today's collection is on the new thread something like "When TT3 was the next big thing". Garry

Had a lovely day today meeting and making friends with a member then being able to obtain these items. 3 of these locos, Royal Scot, whitemetal BEC Brush 4 and WR King, I had not got so really pleased that now I think I only require an LNWR 4-6-0 to have a full set of kit locos from the "good old days" while Tri-ang TT was still alive and kicking. The track is very nice but as it is slightly different to Peco with sleeper spacing I will be using it in the goods yard and fiddle yard. Garry

If in 1960 it was £7.7/- it certainly came down a lot when Trix got it as I have just received a November 65 RM and it is now only £5.19.6d RTR and 79/6d in kit form. Ray, even Ebay's prices have gone up, my twin motored one was only £60 about 3 or 4 years ago. Garry

That is very interesting Rod, adapting the Airfix crane to TT so something to look out for. I wonder what finescale was at the time. I remember my father buying the Castle when it first came out with maroon coaches as he had recently bought the Jinty set which was regularly set up on the table top as was intended. Garry

Is Signal Products the same as S & B that did the signals etc? Garry

I have found old copies on Ebay of RM with Lydney, Longacre and Gransmoor Central and agreed a good price with Make an Offer so hopefully they will be with me later this week. Garry

Here is my 3-Rail Exley EMU showing the wire pick-up Ray mentions. It was removed soon after for a standard centre rail pick-up to be fitted.

I have been playing around with Scarm altering my TT "portable" layout from Type A track to Peco, included are 3D views from it one showing the station entrance and the other from the buffers. It is slightly different as I now have the use of the double slip and crossing but basically a similar design. Once I get the baseboards out then it might have to be slightly modified. Note it is hit and miss on very small sections using the flexible track on the PC in the 3D view but it will be smoother in real life. The layout is initially going to be Terminus to fiddle yard, the loco depot will be further on on the next two boards before the turntable fiddle yard itself. Garry

https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/50801/page/71 A couple of photos which may be of interest. Garry

I know very little of S&B, who they are or what they made, but recently there was a TT loco lit, possibly 45xx of theirs on Ebay. I think there was also a signal but unsure abut that. There was a GEM signal, offset junction style, that looked similar to mine in a GEM box with proper description so you could be right whoever S&B are. Garry

Unfortunately BR never had two more lol. There was a 35th, the original Sir Ralph Wedgwood, which was destroyed in the war at York loco depot but it was LNER. I do have a Dublo valanced Gresley body so one day I may get to do that version too but I am a BR man having grown up in BR days, and seeing all 34 A4's before scrapping started. Here is a close up of 3 of them. Garry