SRman

In more recent times (the noughties) there was much encouragement to get overseas movie makers (read Hollywood) to make films here in Australia (and, for that matter, New Zealand also did this). The result for me was that I witnessed two Nicholas Cage movies being made. Ghost Rider was partly filmed using a car park right behind where I was teaching at the time. Being on the third floor, we had a good view of proceedings, although much of it was done at night. They closed Little Lonsdale Street off for filming. Some of my multimedia students actually filmed the blowing up of a set of (false) shops and cars. The used car lot and garage were also built on the same car park, adjacent to the shops. When I started work in my current high school, I had to work during school holidays. The school was hired for filming of another Nicholas Cage movie, Knowing. Do you think he's stalking me?? The school has some cream brick buildings dating from 1941 and these became the facade for the movie's 1958 Boston scenes, with one of our computer labs converted into a 1950s classroom, complete with blackboards. Some false cupboards hid all the power and data points. I nearly ruined one shot because they were using the passageway between that room and the library (also used in the movie) and I was moving computers about - I couldn't hear them in my office when they shouted "Action" and came out at the wrong time! That could have been one for the people who pick up errors in movies: a 2000s computer in 1958! I got invited to use the catering facilities the film crew had set up in our assembly hall, and scored a bottle of scotch (Haig Dimple) from them as a 'thank you' for assisting them. There were several outdoor shots in Knowing also done at the school, including one day when the wind got up a bit and nearly blew their banner away, with several of the film crew hanging on for dear life. I'm not a fan of Nicholas Cage, finding the movies rather 'B' grade, but I had to own DVD copies of both of these movies simply because I was so close to them.

I'm not too worried now I know it works. I was getting quite adept at getting the body off by the end. All sorted now. Even though the decoder actually accepted the programming originally (no readback on the programming track to verify due to the lack of a motor), I found that it worked correctly after I reprogrammed it while installed in a locomotive, then reinstalled it in the TC. I had tried all the combinations of functions earlier and there simply weren't any headcode lights, regardless, but it is fine now, with the same decoder fitted. One small trick I do is to run the TC with the speed set above zero, to ensure the Lenz decoder doesn't switch the lights off after standing for a while. Does anyone know the CVs required to change this behaviour? It seems to be peculiar to Lenz decoders, and I have observed it in all of my 2 EPB and 4 CEP units, which are all fitted with the Lenz Silver+ 21 decoders - when left standing for some time, the lights switch off, but come back on again as soon as the controller is moved off speed 0. I do intend consisting the 33 and TC but I need to set the functions that work in the consist, something that can be done more easily using Decoder Pro.

Funnily enough, given your forum name, I have ordered the Caledonian one with a view to removing the C-crest-R lettering, and have pre-empted the announcement of these locos by ordering a few sets of nameplates from Narrow Planet for my fictitious industrial group of locos - I ordered some extras to allow for future additions to the fleet, so the A-B will receive one of these extra sets. I can thoroughly recommend the service provided by Narrow Planet, with this being my third order from them. They even send a link to the artwork so you can check that they are what you had in mind. I have no connection with them except as a satisfied customer.

Without going back through the whole of the topic, someone earlier suggested that if Hornby mould the window ventilators as part of the glazing, they could do both shallow and deep vent stock. That would be an excellent idea and give a lot more versatility to the range. It would also be a lot easier to accomplish in the factory than having separate lines for the separate body shells of the high or low window Maunsells. There are a myriad minor variations between batches of Bulleids with ostensibly the same body and seating arrangements, though; things like step lengths, single or separate steps on brake coaches, short or long roof tanks (mentioned earlier), one or two gutter strips, and so on. All of those should be achievable relatively easily, though, but the potential is there for lots of wrong combinations ... not that that would worry me too much, but some people are more concerned than others for absolute accuracy.

Oh dear, that's another hit on my credit card already! I had a friend drop over today very keen to see my blue unit 416 in action - he also has 404 on order. He was very impressed, particularly with its stability being propelled for a good half hour at near scale speeds. I also ran it through crossovers, both in pushed and in pulled modes. My only comment on lighting now relates to the Heljan class 33 needing a red tail indication in its headcode lighting. I must jump onto Kernow's email and ask them to include a Lenz Silver decoder in the package.

Sorry Chris, I had forgotten that. I even tagged it as "Informative/Useful" before. Where's that red-face emogee gone??

2nd post: Going back to the idea of loco-hauled Bulleids, I wonder whether Hornby could use some of the tooling they already have for the Maunsell coaches to do the 59' multi-door Bulleids. The old Ian Kirk kits did that with all of the components bar the sides, which were still incorrectly done to the Maunsell profile. I have been seriously considering building my last one of three using Comet sides, and, if successful, converting the two earlier ones I built to the Comet sides.

I have actually got a 4 SUB, but it's not finished yet. Murphy's Law says that when I do get my act together, a RTR model will be announced or released just afterwards! Edit: the commercial one will also be better finished, have flush glazing and generally make mine look somewhat amateurish. However, I still want one .. or two ... or more. I won't enumerate all the multiples I have of EMUs from Bachmann and Hornby, but suffice it to say I will take more than one.

Further to yesterday's post, I spent a fair amount of time swapping decoders and trying different brands. I programmed each decoder in a locomotive with a 21-pin setup before installing it in the 4TC. I eventually ended up with the Lenz Silver+ 21 back in it, but this time everything worked properly, so I am now happy with it. I'll have to do the same thing when the blue/grey TC arrives.

I have tried several different decoders in my 4TC so far. A Hornby Sapphire worked the headcodes but not the interior lights. Ditto a Hattons 21 pin decoder. As both are 4 function decoders, there are no surprises there. The interior lights do work on straight DC. I now have a Lenz Silver+ 21 in it, and the interior lights have worked for the first time on DCC. However, there are now no headcode lights whatsoever. What is going on?? I will have to investigate further, but any suggestions would be welcomed.

The other day I opened the 'hatch' on one of my older 450s to seal the speaker properly (it was a bodged job earlier on!), but with two kittens running around, I can't put anything down within their reach. They try to pick up and eat or chew anything small and fiddly, including screws, couplings, decoders, and even screwdrivers! The male has to push them around first to see if they move, whereas the girl just goes straight for the items with her teeth.

I like the John Day kits and have built quite a few over the years. Current owner Daryle is great to deal with, friendly and helpful.

A bit o' Blu-tack (or equivalent) will hold the cover on until you eventually find the screw again. Seeing as the screws are steel, try running a powerful magnet over the floor. That's how I often find dropped screws myself, both at home and at work. It doesn't work for brass screws though, unfortunately!

Interesting that both of the Merlins had the earlier low driving position that the drivers so disliked. I can remember when Rockhampton City Council (in Queensland) got their first two AEC Swifts that all the drivers commented unfavourably on sitting "down among the cars".

Well, the bus news has escaped permanently and can be found on the British Model Buses website http://www.britishmodelbuses.com/ - click on the news link at the left.

The "trick" with the Mainline Mk1 coaches is that they have a slightly lower gutter ridge. Mounting the Bulleid brass sides with the top on that gutter line moves the upper sides outwards slightly, giving a better representation of the classic Bulleid profile. Of course, one can simulate that on the other manufacturers' Mk1s by simply gluing a length of microstrip along just below the gutters.

Don't forget another Glenn Robbins character, Uncle Arthur. At the school I work in, one of the teachers is a dead ringer for Glenn Robbins, and it has been remarked upon more than once by new staff coming into the school.

Adders!

Correct on amoebae - I meant to type the plural but missed the 'e'! As for the poisonous snakes list, we scored 21 out of 25 there, so does that mean we passed the test?

"Contains the amoebic responsible ..."?? Or do they mean amoeba?

The BR(S) green was only applied to stock after 1956, and even then, was unlikely to have been applied to too many of the birdcage coaches as they neared the ends of their lives. For the 1948 - 56 (and beyond) period, the Southern Railway green would have survived with revarnishing until they were repainted into the BR crimson ... if the individual coaches ever were (some might have survived to the very end in ex-SR green). If you can get the pre-1948 green (malachite) you could debrand them, but at this stage Bachmann are only offering the earlier Maunsell green, which would not have survived into the BR era, or if they did, they would have been painted crimson very quickly. Of course, all this may not be relevant if you are doing an alternative history for your Guildford. You could even paint the coaches in BR blue if you so desired!

Some figures I saw in print a while ago: XA class buses were failing roughly once every 12,000 miles: RTs at the same time were failing once every 72,000 miles - all averages, of course.

There's no help for the likes of you and me - I thoroughly enjoyed it too!

Watching the panto raising and lowering at Farringdon Thameslink, some of the newer trains seem to do it at those speeds, and they drop with quite a clunk too. Link to YouTube (not my video):

I think I'm beginning to see the faintest glimmer of the start of a pattern, there, Monkeysarefun!