John Isherwood

Thank you for your kind comments; whenever possible, I try to despatch orders on the same day that they are received. I also always use First Class post. John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

What a shocking state it has been allowed to get into - and I do know about the difficulty of recruiting lower grade staff at that time; (so what has changed in sixty years)?!? John Isherwood

Thank you - I have just placed an order with PS, and asked them to despatch in a padded envelope so as to minimise postal charges - I await their invoice! John Isherwood.

I recently made reference to Precision Scale in another context, so I will repeat my enquiry here. Does anyone know of a UK importer of Precision Scale products? Alternatively, would any kind person in the USA be prepared to purchase Precision Scale valve gear rivets for me, and forward them to the UK? The international postal rates charged by PS are prohibitive, just for tiny valve gear rivets that can be enclosed in a letter. I would like to purchase five packs each of Precision Scale items 137, 139 & 318 (HO valve gear rivets). If anyone is willing to do this, I can reimburse you via PayPal Friends and Family; I can also make it worth your while with some of my decals, free of charge! Thanks in anticipation, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

You may find my post amusing, but it is a serious point - what can't you do that I have done? John Isherwood.

But - you are then relying on the electrical integrity of the push-fit between the joiner and the rails, and the onward electrical reliability of joiners and rails as the current progresses away from the electrical feed. What is immeasurably better is to solder the wire and the rail directly together - for EVERY length of rail, regardless of how short. John Isherwood.

There was an article in one of the MRJ compendia on building a Sayer-Chaplin LMS diesel shunter kit. John Isherwood.

Oh no! The evidence shows that they won't!! I await your response to my post above. John Isherwood.

OK - please enumerate those skills which you imagine I have, and which you lack, that prevent you from doing what I have done? I have cut and glued cork underlay; cut RTR track to length, joined it with rail joiners and pinned it down. I have cut wire of various thicknesses and fixed it to walls and baseboards with cable clips. I have soldered wires together. I would love to know how anybody manages to build a layout WITHOUT these ultra-basic skills - please enlighten me! John Isherwood.

Ronny - you miss the point! There is NOTHING verging on craftsmanship or clever about what I have done - simply making the effort to do all the basic work thoroughly, without any shortcuts or 'that'll do' attitude. ANYONE can do the same, and achieve the same results, if only they can be bothered yo do so. John Isherwood.

I've said it many times before - but will repeat it once again in the hope that SOMEONE at Hornby is listening : - Every Hornby fixed trailing truck Pacific that I have has been converted to swinging truck - via a lot of needless, fiddly hacking, etc. IF ONLY Hornby would mount the flangeless trailing wheels in a swinging inside-framed truck, locked with an additional screw. For those of us without trains-set radii, all we would have to do is fit the flanged wheels and remove the locking screw - job done! PLEASE, if anyone here has the ear of Hornby, could they point out this blindingly-obvious solution to a problem that didn't need to exist in the first place?!? John Isherwood.

Why do we constantly get the complaint that people "don't have the skills to lay perfect track"? My garage-sized layout is the first that I have built - aged 73. The layout is split into ten baseboards, each hinged to the wall for easy access to the wiring. There is ZERO physical or electrical inter-baseboard connection - each board is effectively an independent layout. I have minimal electrical knowledge or experience. The baseboards are quality plywood screwed to quality softwood framing, with standard cork underlay attached with spray adhesive - nothing whatsoever exotic or skilled here. The track is standard Peco Code 75 flat-bottomed, and I learned how to convert the turnouts to live frog from an enquiry here. The only thing that I did, which some modellers may not do, was to fix a continuous ring bus main of THICK copper wire, right round the room, for each control section. These bus mains were connected to EACH AND EVERY, length of rail by stout copper dropper wires - ZERO reliance on rail joiners for electrical continuity. If you can't be bothered to go to these lengths to ensure electrical integrity, don't blame your lack of skills - what I have done is ultra-basic but thorough, and no amount of 'stay-alives' or track / wheel cleaning will compensate if the power to rail connection is less than 100%. ...... and all the above applies, regardless of whether you use DC or DCC - I use the former, so no 'stay-alives' for me! If you want perfect running, put in the time and effort - it's not rocket science! John Isherwood.

Agreed - though I find that laying track carefully, with no dodgy feeds via railjoiners, plus live frogs, makes track and wheel cleaning a very rare necessity. CJI.

That may be what I recalled. What is definitely true is that the footbridge was the subject of some extensive refurbishment in recent years. Nothing changes - the arrival of the maintenance crew heralds imminent closure! ☹️ CJI.

I believe that this is a non-metallic colour known as 'Old Gold'- basically a cream / buff. CJI.

I thought that I'd heard that the footbridge had been Listed. CJI.

It certainly captures the character of Bodmin Road (Parkway). The only improvement since those days that you can now get a nice cup of tea / coffee in the signalbox (cafe). John Isherwood - of Bodmin.

January 1939 looks remarkable like July 2023, weatherwise !! 😦 CJI.

They are probably referring to the kick-plates below the doors which, I seem to recall, had ENGLISH ELECTRIC cast into them. CJI.

Also - look at the front steps. The early production did not have running board cut-outs and shunter steps as per the Airfix kit - these came towards the end of production. Exhausts varied too - none / pipe / tapered pipe / plant pot. A bit of a trap for the unwary! CJI.

Feel free, old darling! It is an unfortunate factor in the human condition that there are those amongst us who like to make life more difficult for themselves. (Spoken in the plummy tones of 'Rumpole of the Bailey' - with whom I have just had the pleasure of reliving the past)! My verdict for perfect running? Live frogs, and EVERY single length of rail directly connected to busbars by heavy gauge copper wire. JMHO, CJI.

Whaaaaaaat?!? CJI.

Anyone know what the Kitmaster model represented? I don't recall ever having seen a motorised kit. CJI.

'Iron Mink' of Thingiverse is in the process of designing files for 3D printed BR SOLE and HADDOCK wagons. The diagrams in question are LMS 1953, 1954, 2095 & 2098, and BR 1/565 & 1/621. I have produced a new sheet of transfer to cover the BR 'unboxed' liveries carried by these wagons; Sheet BL208. The sheet provides transfers for thirty-six wagons, and full details can be found on the Cambridge Custom Transfers website. John Isherwood.

A slight confusion here - there were, apparently, underground toilets at the Catholic Church crossroads, with access from a traffic island in the centre of the junction. Not to be confused with the Market Square toilets - which I have used in my time. My recollection, from before we moved from Cambridge eleven years ago, was that the toilets had been closed to the public, but available for use by the market traders, so this accords with your impression. John Isherwood.