John Isherwood

But that was a highly edited sequence - in fact, it may not all be of the same train. It doesn't really tell us anything about the duration of station stops. Regards, John Isherwood.

A rectangular carbon track (that wears out) soldered directly to the main board with a sliding contact. Tomorrow, I can try and take a photo of the other side of the board. Regards, John Isherwood.

Here, here !!! If a source of / substitute for the H&M Walkabout slider potentiometer, then I have a considerable number of these controllers that could be rejuvenated. Any offers of unwanted H&M Walkabouts gratefully received at cctrans@hotmail.com. Regards, John Isherwood.

That comes as no surprise - my knowledge of these two locos started with ABC spotting books and ended with such photos as I've come across over the years. I hadn't realised that the Durnsford one had 'history' - we live and learn ! Regards, John Isherwood.

Surely the W&C loco, and the Durnsford Road loco, were two very different machines - or am I showing my ignorance of all things SR here? Regards, John Isherwood.

This will ring true for any local government engineer during the latter half of the twentieth century. 'We' were given tasks and budgets, and allowed to get on and produce the desired outcome by the most practicable and efficient means that 'we' could devise. Then, around the time on the Millenium, 'they' perceived that 'we' were 'unaccountable'; they found it difficult to 'prove' that 'we' were working efficiently. Moreover, 'they' needed bigger budgets to fund more of 'them', and so it was declared that 'we' were inefficient and 'we' had our budgets slashed. At the same time, 'their' budgets were greatly increased because 'they' were going to need much more personnel in order to make 'us' efficient. Fast forward a few years, and the budgets allocated to 'us' were tiny; 'we' had a whole raft of procedures to fulfil before 'we' could actually do anything productive, and then a further raft of procedures to fulfil in order to 'prove' that 'we'd' done the job 'efficiently'. Needless to say, by the time that I threw in the towel, procedures cost many times the value of the work done, and 'we' were being accused of being even more 'inefficient'. I'm SO glad that I'm out of the 'mad-house' !!! (No slight intended to anything other than local government 'administration'). Regards, John Isherwood.

Just a thought - and certainly no guarantees - putting a hot soldering iron on the end of the worm and the flywheel MAY release them, by oxidising the Loctite. Once they're off, you could apply the soldering iron to the motor shaft close to the bearings. IF you are lucky, the heat may destroy the Loctite bond before the it adversely affects the motor itself - or not! Either way, the worst case scenario is that you have to replace the motors. When locking worms and flywheels onto shafts, you can usually do the job by setting the item in its final position and then, using a piece of wire, applying the tiniest touch of adhesive to the interface of the item and shaft furthest away from the motor. The adhesive should enter the bore by capillary action and lock the item to the shaft. Never forget - adhesives are the enemy of all shaft bearings !! Regards, John Isherwood.

Start with the motors on their own. If they don't turn freely when current is applied, or turn easily when the worm is turned; you've found the problem. How did you fix the worms to the motor shafts? Superglue? Could a trace of superglue have got into the front motor bearing? Ahhhh !! Regards, John isherwood.

Do the axles turn freely before the motor / worm is fitted? If NO, ease the bearings some more. Can you easily turn the wheels by turning the worm (or motor armature) when the motor / worm is fitted? If NO, slacken the motor fixing screws; move the motor / worm away from the gear slightly; and retighten the motor fixing screws. There should be some play between the worm and the gear. Regards, John Isherwood. If the answ

..... and therein - for me at least - lies a source of potential stress. I have learned to regard the money that I spend on model railways as the price of the enjoyment that they give me; that investment is immediately written-off. I have impressed upon my family that they must not, on any account, regard the disposal, post mortem, of my model railway assets as an exercise in recouping my expenditure. Were they to do this, it would be a chore which would diminish the pleasure that they have afforded me. If I dispose of model railway assets during my lifetime, it will be merely a process of realising whatever the market currently offers - and if that is a fraction of my original investment, so be it. It does bother me that, in accumulating quantities of what others may well regard as 'expensive clutter', I am condemning those who remain hereafter to the unwonted task of disposal; all I can do is try and anticipate my eventual departure, and at least start the disposal process whilst I still have my faculties. A little morbid, perhaps, but worth considering - if only for the family's sake. Regards, John Isherwood.

Agreed - but putting the 'wrong' numberplates on a real car does not affect that car's effectiveness as a means of travel. ..... and if someone is modelling the current scene, the 'correct' numberplate for a model car - 'classic' or 2020 - is whatever the current regulations require. The fact that I advocate detail correctness in models has no bearing whatsoever on my views on 'purity' when applied to 'classic' real cars. Regards, John Isherwood.

Says the man whose car is for getting him A to B; not a status symbol, investment and / or a 'classic'. Regards, John Isherwood.

Can someone tell me why it matter what font a car numberplate is in ? It seems an odd thing to be 'precious' about ! Regards, John Isherwood.

I can't speak for Fox transfers, but my (Cambridge Custom Transfers) window labels are intended to be applied to the inside of the window. Nonetheless, I always apply a coat of Klear to the inside of the window in order to seal the transfer; once dried, the Klear is invisible. Regards, John Isherwood.

I can't speak for Fox transfers, but my (Cambridge Custom Transfers) window labels are intended to be applied to the inside of the window. Nonetheless, I always apply a coat of Klear to the inside of the window in order to seal the transfer; once dried, the Klear is invisible. Regards, John Isherwood.

That may well be so - but the wagons in the posted photo had certainly not been overpainted from "Stewart & Lloyd" to "S&L". Regards, John Isherwood.

Sorry, I don't follow - it always was STEWARTS & LLOYDS; never "Stewart & Lloyd". Regards, John Isherwood.

You may well already be aware, but my transfer Sheet S2A includes transfers for that crane. Regards, John Isherwood. https://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm

The plastic thread has stripped in the screw sockets in the roof. 1] Unclip top of ends from underside of roof. 2] Put some upward pressure on the roof whilst turning the screws. Simples! Regards, John Isherwood.

Regards, John Isherwood.

Since things seem to be getting a little 'tense' - perhaps we'd better leave it there? Regards, John Isherwood.

A quick Google search produced https://www.hattons.co.uk/19087/woodland_scenics_b78_bag_of_ballast_medium_dark_brown/stockdetail.aspx . Regards, John Isherwood.

'Switcher'? Surely not in the UK! Shunter, please! Regards, John Isherwood.

Have the chimney and dome been fixed yet - or are they just posed? Might I suggest that a little work on the saddles with a reasonably coarse round file will enable them to sit down much tighter to the smokebox / boiler? Regards, John Isherwood.

Because, as I've no doubt Tony Wright would say, it'd be 'yours'. ..... and I think that if there was the slightest danger of the Kernow model landing on your doormat tomorrow, they'd have announced the fact by now! Regards, John Isherwood.