SRman

A rare sighting of Hawker-Siddeley's Kestrel on a test train. P_20181226_134431_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Well, Mrs SRman and I had a lovely evening with DougN, Mrs DougN, and the mini DougNs. I took my Bachmann H1 Atlantic in LBSC livery over for a trial on Doug's gradients, and it acquitted itself very well. I took a small amount of video on my phone, with Doug's D11 also running. Excuse the slight shakiness - using the stabilisation filters tends to make the motion slightly stuttery instead. I have posted this on DougN's own layout thread too.

If all else fails for the windscreen, buy a large soft drink (Coke, etc.), drink the contents, then use the bottle to get the necessary curved pane. The beauty of this is if you make a mistake with your cutting, there is plenty more material to try again, and again.

Yes, we went up to Forest Hill Chase fairly early to do the last minute shopping. It was busy, and getting busier by the time we left, but I'd bet you would hardly be able to move if you went there now (mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve). For those in cooler parts of the world, Melbourne's predicted temperature today is 34 degrees C. A good day to stay indoors and do a little quiet railway (or bus) modelling. I received a nice little Christmas gift to myself today; three white metal bus kits arrived on the doorstep. Two are RTC Models kits, for London Transport pre-war types, a TF and 11T11 (for those who understand LT's codings), while the third is a kit of a type I have been after for a long time - usually when one becomes available, I don't have the spare funds! - a 'tunnel' STL, a type that was specially modified to work through the Blackwall tunnel on route 108.

Just a couple of posed shots today of a couple of my models that haven't been photographed in proper scenic surroundings before, or only on the old layout. First up is D0260 Lion, an unmodified Heljan model fitted with a Soundtraxx Econami UK diesel decoder, using the class 47 sounds with horns from one of the other diesels (definitely not the 47 'spoon' sounds!). This is probably as close to a white Christmas as I'll get this year! P_20181224_130811_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr The Swindon class 120 DMMU was built many years ago from a Lima class 117 with Craftsman brass sides and ends. It is numbered as a Cardiff-based unit, which did work onto BR(S) metals, at the very least, to Weymouth. In more recent years, I replaced the Lima chassis on the DMBS coach with a newer Hornby class 121 DCC-ready chassis, which only needed minor hacking at the trailing end to get it to clip neatly into the existing shell. P_20181224_131014_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

They certainly got down as far as Weymouth. As these were usually on Cardiff to Weymouth workings, the units were Cardiff-based ones from all the evidence I have. That was more than enough justification for me to have my Craftsman kit converted unit on my Southern-based layout. It also means they almost certainly worked through Bristol Temple Meads on the way through. P_20181224_131014_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr In view of Jamiel's original postings on the myriad differences between individual units and vehicles, I'm not sure my unit has all the correct details for the numbers I chose.

I successfully motorised an Airfix (ex-Kitmaster) Battle of Britain using a Triang Princess chassis with Triang Bulleid wheels installed. I also still own a Merchant Navy made from two Airfix BoB bodies, a Wrenn/Hornby Dublo tender with scratchbuilt brass sides and a Wrenn/HD West Country loco chassis with the valve gear cut down (that's almost sacrilege except I didn't do the cutting down myself!). Sorry if this is taking us away from the MTK topic a bit. Merchant Navy 35015 Blue - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I forgot to mention, the K's Merchant Navy wheels were absolutely useless as most of them were not even concentric. The tender wheels were so far out they would have been better on a clown car.

I have had one success with an MTK Bulleid diesel, although it was labelled as 10203, the side grille details are wrong and better suit 10201/2. This one had etched brass body shell with white metal end castings and cab roofs. The latter took an awful lot of filling and filing to get them to blend in, but I got there in the end. The chassis is now what lets it down (not MTK's fault), with a drastically pared down Mainline Peak chassis fitted. I also have an MTK Bulleid 4 SUB (class 405), but that never progressed much beyond the aluminium body shells being painted. As for K's, I was able to build quite respectable bodies and tenders, but I could never get their motors to run properly or the chassis to build into anything runnable. The Bulleid Q1 0-6-0 went through several attempts to get it running, even to fitting a tender drive, before I tried again with Markits' wheels, and a decent motor and gears with a two-stage Comet gearbox. It now runs well and can almost pull the side out of a house. I have not converted it to DCC though, as that might be tempting fate with a white metal body and not much spare space inside! The less said about my attempts with the Lord Nelson and the Merchant Navy, the better! The LN still doesn't run properly, and the MN is on a Hornby Flying Scotsman chassis of uncertain vintage. Bulleid 10203 MTK kit - 2 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Some random observations and ramblings from me: The two-tone green sits very well on the 27s. Modelling a Southern bias, I cannot justify a class 27 at all (they were extremely rare on Southern metals even before being sent up north), but the one Heljan did in that livery, D5382, was almost too tempting. I say almost, because I didn't buy one in the end. The only reference I have of a class 27 on the SR was D5381, which was in multiple with class 25 D5183 - a fascinating pairing in its own right due to each being an anagram of the other. I have done a model of D5183, using a Triang-Hornby body on a Bachmann chassis. I can't help wondering whether BR might have treated some class 33s to the two-tone green livery, if the blue hadn't come along when it did. That could be an interesting might-have-been. If I can get a cheap Heljan 33 (how likely is that?? ) I may just try it, using the 27 as the 'template' for the livery colour divisions.

That wouldn't short it out. The decoder and socket wiring alignments are fail-safe. All that happens if you insert an 8-pin decoder wrong-way-round is that the locomotive moves in the opposite direction to that expected, and the lights don't work at all.

Glad you've worked it out. Sounds like you'll need to do a hard-wiring job on one of them. If you do that, it will give you the opportunity to separate out the tail lights to work them independently of the headlights.

Follow the light wiring and check the bulbs themselves to see if anything is touching the metal chassis. I had something similar happen in a Heljan 47, but only the lighting circuits on the decoder burnt.

Some of the earlier Bachmann 6-pin decoders weren't able to run on DC, but later ones can. If yours is DCC-fitted and has an earlier decoder fitted, then that might account for the lack of response when you tried to run it.

The very clear canopy on the pink Messerschmidt car has been annoying me as it shows just how empty the cabin is. I found a suitable seated figure and amputated his legs from just below his knees, and glued him in. No photos at this point, but it does look much better as a car actually on the road rather than just parked. While my back has been limiting the amount of time I can spend leaning over the layout to do further work on that, I have been working through some of the bus kits I have languishing partly done on the workbench, or still in their boxes. Yet another 'delayed' bus kit is this original Aubrey white metal kit for a Bedford VAL with Duple Viceroy bodywork. It has been languishing in the 'to do' pile for a good few years. I had glued the body shell together, and started the painting, but that was as far as I had gone. I am doing it as a Shamrock & Rambler vehicle. It has now had another coat of paint, although there is much tidying up to do. One of the beauties of the white metal is it is much easier to 'polish' up the trim, which is also very convenient in tidying up the paint lines where they join. P_20181221_182522_vHDR_On cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20181221_182538_vHDR_On cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I haven't specifically resprayed the Bachmann containers, but I have done quite a few of the C=Rail=Intermodal kit ones. They could be worth a look for ideas and suitable, high-quality transfers. https://www.c-rail-intermodal.co.uk/ (I have no connection other than as a satisfied customer).

There was also pair of 18mm 50 ohm speakers available with sound chambers. Wired in series, they would do the job. I have such a pair intended for a class 20, but never used them in the end. I believe 100 ohm speakers are still available, but the choice of sizes is limited. I would like to get a 100 ohm 'sugar cube' speaker for use with a v3.5 myself, but as far as I can ascertain, no such thing exists.

There is a photo in one of my wagon books of a container in a steel high wagon. I have not checked to see whether a Bachmann container will fit into a Bachmann steel high. For obvious reasons, the model's sides and ends can be a little thicker than scale, which may be just enough to prevent the container going in neatly.

For those of you who are Maidstone & District fans, here is the latest progress on the Little Bus Company AEC/Harrington Wayfarer II I have been working on. The paintwork is all but done, with just a couple of minor fixes needed. It is still awaiting number plates, destination screens, and the AEC badge (for which I have a few transfers). P_20181219_145545_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20181219_145600_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20181219_145636_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Just have a game of foot-the-ball going somewhere; you can use as many combative figures as you want then!

I would assume so, Ian. On the mobile phone or tablet, on the rare occasions I use them instead of 'proper' computers, I constantly have the problem where I intend to hit one icon but the device 'decides' that I have hit a completely different one. The tablet is worst for this. Honest, guv, I wasn't laughing at you. I meant to hit 'craftsmanship/clever'!

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Major accidents involving trams (or trains, for that matter) are rare. Here in Melbourne, with lots of street running, there are frequent minor bingles, mostly between trams and cars (trams have the "right of way" and usually come out of these better than the cars involved!). Occasionally there are bigger incidents involving two trams, or trams and trucks or buses, but when all is said and done, the chances of being injured in a tram accident are described in absurdly small numbers.

For all the jokes about drop bears, it looks like we had a real-life one in Australia until around 35,000 years ago. Since the indigenous Australians have been around for longer than that, it may well have been a hazard for them. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-12-13/thylacoleo-marsupial-lion-tasmanian-devil-on-steroids/10609922?fbclid=IwAR03DGVCEWWGZ5m3wUvDJHomGvH0RizlQ4WB0WQbGJ4tzXehnfBE9ZitmkQ

Nothing! His next post says to ignore the previous one.

In some areas of the SR, the Schools were referred to as 'three-quarter Nelsons'. As an aside, somewhere a while ago there was a photo of a prototype model of a Lord Nelson to be produced by Triang/Triang-Hornby/Hornby (I'm not sure where they were at then!); it may have been in Pat Hammond's book and/or collection, but it took me along time to figure out why it looked so strange. Eventually, I realised it was the cab. They had used a Schools cab on it. Anyway, it never reached production and the model remained a one-off. It is nice to see this new and superb looking rendition from the current Hornby.