John Isherwood

Years ago, I discovered that one of the aluminium tubes in the K&S metals display is an exact fit over the Airfix half-axles. So it is possible to get them to run true, and they did run acceptably on three-rail Hornby Dublo track. John Isherwood.

Sorry - typo !! John.

Coincidenally enough, I have just descended from my workshop - known to SWMBO as 'The Play Room' - where I was applying etched plates and real coal to the 16XX, and coal to the 94XX; they are now standing adjacent to each other on the test track. Having been unable to resist the temptation to trundle a few recently-built wagons up and down the tracks and admire the latest loco acquistions, I have to concede that they might easily have come from the same factory. Nonetheless, I feel that the 16XX has the edge where fidelity, sophistication and running qualities are concerned. As a confirmed OO Luddite, the 16XX does all and more than I could wish - with the sole exception of the front coupling arrangements. Fortunately for me, I use the Peco / Hornby Dublo Simplex coupler, and I have managed to fit this in such a way that it is optimally located in relation to the buffer faces. I have no problems whatsoever with those who choose to adapt RTR items for P4; I just felt that an outright dismissal on the basis of the exploded diagram in the instructions was a tad 'tetchy'. John Isherwood.

I refer my honourable friend to my earlier response to his original statement. I strongly doubt that the achieved level of 'out-of-the-box' detail and running capability could have been achieved with a less complex design - no capable designer would introduce needless complexity. What my honourable friend wishes for is a less detailed / capable design for the majority of purchasers, so that he can more easily throw away the most expensive part of the model in order to spend more money achieving the niche result that he desires. I'm afraid that I cannot characterise that stance as being reasonable. John Isherwood.

I was thinking more of some of the early electrification schemes - NER, LBSCR, etc., etc. I think that I am correct in saying that electric traction preceded the invention of diesel traction. John Isherwood.

Out with the Klear, then - a couple of coats should sort that out! John Isherwood.

Not sure that 'unique' is quite the right word; commonplace until very recently in many parts of the world, EXCEPT the UK. John Isherwood.

The mistake is often made that the chronological sequence was strictly horse / steam / diesel / electric; some simple googling will reveal that electric preceded diesel; albeit in relatively restricted geographical areas and applications. John Isherwood.

Not sure that I follow that - could you elucidate, please? Thanks, John Isherwood.

It might have been as well if you had qualified your original dismissal, to the effect that it only applied to those who wished to dispose of the chassis and fit an etched one. The situation might be annoying for you, and the minority of modellers who would wish to do so, but it is irrelevant to the vast majority of the target market for this model. Those few who choose to depart from the mainstream can hardly expect the mass market to change its design choices, in order to accommodate their requirements, for the sake of a few additional sales. John Isherwood.

A sweeping dismissal by someone who has only seen a sketch of the subject! An opinion "to pass by". John Isherwood.

The infrastructure removal is really a non-issue. The hinges will be spaced off the walls by 18mm., which is sufficient to clear the track and cork underlay. All such considerations are now academic; the specifications are set in stone, as the work has passed the point of no return. John Isherwood.

Captain Haddock? Sorry - I was just on my way out ....... John Isherwood.

Waterslide - old and cracked. You need this - https://www.models2u.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p8449_micro-liquid-decal-film.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAj9iBBhCJARIsAE9qRtAjiPMAiGYpaVeCiCstWcVXB_iVNJ1CnBI0W-cjyQAmkaP5zl8JzRgaAoYXEALw_wcB Paint it over the transfer whilst still on the sheet, and allow to dry. The transfer should now work as intended but, if not, apply another coat of the liquid to the sheet. John Isherwood.

A perfectly reasonable question. The layout will cover little more than the railway and its immediate infrastructure, but there will be scenery; ground cover, anyway. There will be buildings, too - in fact, such buildings as there are will be duplicated in most cases, to allow the layout to depict the S&DJR, the Midland Mainline, and SR / WR Cornwall; all in the late 1950s / early 1960s. The buildings and other infrastructure will be removeable, and the builder and I have today established that the baseboards will be able to hinge up the full 90 degrees and be restrained there by spring catches. The primary purpose of the hinged baseboards is to permit a 70+ person to fit point actuation and wiring from a standing, or even sitting position, and to thus remove the need to fiddle around beneath baseboards. Once the under-baseboard work is completed, I would hope that the need to raise the boards again will be extremely rare - and therefore, the need to remove buildings etc. should be equally infrequent. In addition, by having each board electrically and mechanically independent, a fault on one board will require only the raising of that board, and therefore the removal of buildings etc. will be very localised. When you get to my age, you realise that the time left to you is finite, and the need to 'get on with it' makes any necessary compromise much more acceptable. The layout will be a pastiche of the several locations that it will represent, and the use of kit-built buildings is all part of 'getting on with it'. In the end, all I want to achieve is somewhere to run my excessively large collection of models, but my accumulated knowledge of all things 1950s / 60s BR means that I will need to produce something that has as few anomalies as possible. As a final note, you will see that the marshalling yard headshunt has been extended round to the fiddle yard, and is provided with a run-round loop at that end. This will allow the headshunt to represent a mineral branch in its Midland and Cornish manifestations; ironstone in the former case, and china clay in the latter. Regards, John Isherwood.

It is indeed - I will ask Andy to move it to the appropriate location. Regards, John Isherwood.

I'm afraid that I couldn't say - they are the correct-to-prototype size. The sheet was designed directly from the original Metro-cammell works photos supplied to Kitmaster, and now in the ownership of Pete Waterman. You will find that the sheet contains a huge quantity of lettering, etc. which you probably didn't know existed on the real thing. Regards, John Isherwood. John Isherwood.

Five months have now elapsed, but the builders did start promptly after the New Year; and the garage / railway room conversion is now well advanced. A complete, free-standing room-within-a-garage is now completed, with copious insulation between the original and new structures. First fix electrics are installed, as are wall storage cupboards down the two long sides. Today, the base drawer units were installed that will support the (hinged to the wall) baseboards; construction of which commences tomorrow. Second fix electrics are scheduled for Thursday. By the end of next week, all should be complete, bar the laying of floor covering. Meantime, I have been keeping busy. Thirty-eight Peco Code 75 Unifrog points have been modified so as not to rely on point blade contact; and a similar number of tie-bar actuators have been fabricated from brass hinges and rod. All necessary wiring, switches and wire-in-tube actuating materials are in stock; and a considerable number of structure kits have been acquired, many of which are now assembled and await better weather for painting. Once the builder moves out, (and I have reclaimed the contents of a storage container and relocated them into the new cupboards), tracklaying will commence. I am about to have the trackplans printed at 1:1 scale, so that the track centrelines can be marked-out. Point control; point switches and section switch locations have been plotted, and these will be transferred onto the electrical trunking that will form the front edges of the baseboards. I have also built two controllers, based on Chinese voltage regulator modules, together with a pair of 15vAC / 50VA power packs that will supply the AC bus-bars. The AC bus-bars will be accessed at any of four pairs of plug-in points for the controllers, which will feed back to the controlled DC common return bus-bars, for connection via section switches to the running rails. All of this is keeping me on my toes - though the real fun will start when the finished garage conversion is handed-over. Photos soon! John Isherwood.

When Heljan do something properly, it is the best !! John Isherwood.

If Model Rail wishes to deal with customers' problems, the leaflet should give the appropriate detals. If it doesn't do so, it is Model Rail's fault - no good using the 'he's no longer with us' line. It is for Model Rail to decide, with its supplier, the correct procedure in the event of problems; to make sure that this is conveyed to the customer; and then to ensure with its supplier that the procedure is adhered to. The worst thing from Model Rail's perspective is for the customer to follow the published procedure, and then to imply that it is the customer who is at fault. This issue has arisen because the leaflet is ambiguous - Model Rail's problem; period! John Isherwood.

Of course they do - they want the profit on your purchase, but not the hassle of your dissatisfaction. Legally, it is THEIR responsibility to deal with the manufacturer, not YOURS - but that costs them time and money. John Isherwood.

See Sheet BL63 at the Cambridge Custom Transfers website. John Isherwood.

I had a flattened halfpenny, 'processed' by a Patriot passing on the freight avoiding line at that exact spot. We travelled to and from South Wigston (south of Leicester) via the Wigston to Rugby branch, which departed from one of the bay platforms at Rugby. As these bays had platforms on either side, one return trip we boarded an ancient non-corridor coach at the rear of the train from the 'wrong' side. Arriving at South Wigston, we found that the doors on the platform side were locked out of use - and we could not attract the attention of the guard. In the folly of youth, we detrained on the 'wrong' side, onto the track, and beat a hasty retreat - to the sound of loud cursing from the platform! John Isherwood.

Exactly my approach to Evercreech Junction, which will be entitled 'Creech' - being a much condensed form of the original! John Isherwood.