John Isherwood

Mine is currently undergoing a repaint into unpainted wood / BR grey body ironwork / black chassis; which is my best guess as to how it would have been finished when built. It is interesting to note the body-mounted couplings - which avoid the problem of conflict between the outer bogie axles and the NEM pocket. It remains to be seen how this arrangement works in practice - especially as mine will have Peco Simplex couplers installed in the NEM pockets. CJI.

Great, I can assure you that a pair of Black Beetles in the cab ends of the power cars will drive your BP in a most realistic way. If you have any queries concerning mounting them, do ask. Regards, John Isherwood.

It looks as if all the non-fitted vans are wrong on this side, at least. CJI.

I solve the light jib problem on cranes by incorporating a spring of phosphor bronze strip between the jib and the body. CJI.

See the photos in my Vintage Blue Pullman thread; https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/155216-a-vintage-blue-pullman/#comment-3991886 John Isherwood.

Careful - such talk can have serious consequences !! Your name too vill go on zer leest!!l CJI.

My Black Beetles were ordered directly from Australia - but that was some considerable time ago. Avoid the Tenshedo bogies - a bit 'sprightly / gutless', by all accounts! John Isherwood.

There was a time, though, when you could swap it for five gold sovereigns. CJI.

The buffers on mine are sprung Hornby (Class 60?) ones - they come sort of rounded rectangular, but are easily filed to match the prototype ones. The inter-coach couplings are magnetic - the buffing plates are mounted on close-coupling units let into the coach floors, and have tiny rare-earth magnets in holes drilled in the actual buffing pads. John Isherwood.

Roy, Two Black Beetles - one in each power car; High Level Models may well have something suitable if you can't get BBs. The BP transfers are listed on the Cambridge Custom Transfers website - BL62 and BL63. John Isherwood.

The BP coaches didn't have buffers as such - just a single buffing plate below the gangways. John Isherwood.

Well - as OR is owned by Hornby - probably !! CJI.

Fifty years ago, the technology to build affordable tiny motor bogies didn't exist. If you think about it, there is usually a very good reason why manufacturers don't produce something that seems to be an obvious choice. CJI.

Considering the rear truck appearance alone - definitely not. Sorry - you only need to mess around with one feature of a model and it becomes a toy; your 60700 is exerting its full (not inconsiderable) weight on the track; Hornby's version is floating around like a balloon on a string! John Isherwood.

Further research in LMS Wagons 1 suggests it may well be from one of Diagrams 1808, 1812 or 1830. CJI.

The DM prefix indicates a wagon of LMS origin; the secondary suspension is also an LMS characteristic. CJI.

I was referring to that sector of the DCC camp that seems to be primarily interested in the electronic aspects of the hobby; not DCC users in general. CJI.

I certainly do - because they feel that the extra cost and complexity provides additional interest for them. It just doesn't do it for me, and it's not my idea of railway modelling; (with intentional emphasis on that last word). CJI.

For my part, I AM NOT sure that I did use a stick to beat DCC - I AM sure that I merely observed that there is a sector of the current market that is more interested in electronics than prototypical authenticity. I certainly didn't say that this applied to the entire DCC fraternity. This does not have to be a DC / DCC battle - I simply set out my own perspective. Let's not let matters get tribal! CJI.

If it's a glue based on French polish, a soak in methylated spirits may work. If, however, it has a slightly 'grainy / gritty' texture, it could be a two-part epoxy or Cascamite - in which case, I haven't a clue; sorry. CJI.

I can't accept that - though I would agree that a whole sector of the current market, that is primarily interested in the latest electronic gizmos and not much concerned about prototypical authenticity, would never have existed. Whether that would have been a good thing is a moot point !?! CJI.

The basis of my scepticism over DCC is based on the deemingly endless queries / debates / confusion expressed here, concerning the minutae of installing chips and 'tweaking' the apparently endless CV settings - not to mention submitting models, which are already way more expensive than the DC version, to the tender mercies of expensive milling machines in order to cram in better speakers, etc., etc. CJI.

Tony, You must have missed the lengthy debate in the Clan thread !!! There are those convinced that the model is authentic, but most seem - at best - sceptical; (and I am amongst them). Regards, John Isherwood.

That's fine - but functionality to me is forward / reverse and finely graduated stop to fast. I don't need lights - they weren't visible on / in daytime trains until the late 20th century. Sound - it needs a few more years yet before it'll convince me. The DC/ DCC price differential is such that it would significantly reduce my ability to own the range of stock currently at my disposal. DCC has never been a remote possibility for me - I prefer to spend my money on the wherewithal to build and improve models. As to the relative complexity of DC / DCC; I built a fully operational, 2.4 x 5.0m. roundy-roundy, based on a prototype location, in three months. OK, no scenery - but, from bare basboards to running trains on all tracks, including building the transformers / rectifiers and controllers. I doubt that an equivalent DCC layout could be operational in less time. Anyway, my choice - each to their own ! CJI.

Cars - features and entertainment; mine does all of that and more. When I get a new one, the radio volume is turned to Mute, and that' s the way it stays until I sell it on. The hands-free phone connection and the cruise control are useful - but by no means essential - but that's it !! DCC - no danger of me being mis-sold; I wouldn't go near it with a bargepole ! With DC, I put a new loco on the track and away it goes - no buying or installing extras; no fiddling with CVs, etc, etc. That's the way I like it, and I'll not change this side of Hades / the Pearly Gates. CJI.