P.C.M

Nice one Merf, No reason why a 128 might not turn up at Llanbourne with a 101. Cheers Peter.

Thought you might like that one Lee. Lucky someone else was there with some colour film. Cheers Peter.

Thanks Mark, I am going ok with the DCC I can chip locos no problem and change CV 2 to get them running well. The class 47 fitted with the Bachmann 21 pin decoder have to have function 3 'Shunt mode' on to make them run well though. I haven't played with the settings on my sound stuff yet but will get around to it. I need to get a Speaker for my Biffo chipped 33 so once I have done that I might start playing around with the others. Cheers Peter.

Hi Phil, The helix is coming on well, and I like the red stripe line up. It looks like Ian has done a bit of weathering on 47322, very nice. Wiring is not my strong point, the underside of Llanbourne is a real mess, the spiders love it. Cheers Peter.

Back in the day I used to buy the Rail Enthuiast mag, and while taking a few pics the other night I took a B&W picture that reminded me of the ones that used to appear in the Mag. Remember those little B&W pics of rare workings, and the caption below the pic telling you what you had missed. On February 9th and 10th Llanbourne's resident Station Pilot 08695 was sent to Crewe for attention and no replacement 08 was sent out. The yard Pilot 08472 did do some stock moves but most of the work was done by 97407 ex 40012. Happily Whistling away in Llanbourne's platform 2 is 97407, about to take out the stock from the Ex 1M53 York. Cheers Peter.

Hi Lee, I only saw 40060 a couple of times, living down South ment that I didn't get to see many class 40s. The few I did see I remember really well. I remember 40060 being withdrawn and cut up in weeks while some had been sat for years waiting to be cut up. If you do find a time machine come via Oz and pick me up, we could go for a bit of class 40 haulage. Cheers Peter.

Hi Jeff, I will catch up with you at Rogers, look forwards to seeing your Crompton. Cheers Peter.

Thanks Lee, I am pretty happy with 31323, 31s always seemed to get really grubby. Hi Arnie, Thanks mate I do like my 20s. 169 and 121 are actually modelled in the condition I saw them in in 92 when I went to Barnetby, by this time they both had ploughs fitted which wasn't the case during the 80s. Modellers licence well and truly being waved there Larry, It's a pitty they didn't get along the Coast being as some were based at Chester, though my model was a Newton Heath based machine so probably never got near North Wales. Thanks Ian & Scott, I will change the wires over as I need to take the body off again to move the chip as it's pushing the roof fan up and it's touching the grille. Useful to know I can change the CVs though. Hi Lee, You have seen her before it's 97407 40012. I only have the two D200 being the other one. Hopefully Bachmanns 40 will be out soon as I want to do 40060 and 40135 as 97s. Thanks Terry, As Beast said it's point rodding, I bought MSE rodding stools and cranks then used them as a template to make my own from plasticard, the actual rodding is Evergreen plasticard rod. I read an article in an old Railway constructor which gave the basics on how point rodding works there was also an article in the MRJ on modelling point rodding which was a great help. It's a real pain to do but well worth the effort. Hi Doug, Pitty you can't make the next meeting, I am going but will have to leave early, it will be interesting to see what Roger has been up to. I am sure I will be talking to Jeff re sound chips. Hopefully he will bring his new Zimo sound class 33. Cheers Peter.

Hi Scott, I have been meaning to post on here this week but have just been a bit slack to be honest. It's been fairly warm here so not alot has happened really. I have done a bit in the few cooler days though, my decoders and some other bits eventually arrived 29 days after I had ordered them, the day before a Hornby class 31 arrived which had taken nine days to get here. The same day as my decoders arrived my Biffo sound chip arrived from DC kits. So now chipped and running are another pair of 20s, 20169 and 20121 both are Lima bodies one is a dummy and the other is on a Bachmann chassis. 31323 and 31403 both Hornby are done and Heljan class 33202 also running but needs a tweek. I also hard wired two Bachmann Peaks and a Lima class 40. One of the Peaks runs a different way though, but I am sure that could be fixed. The Biffo sound was fitted to my well travelled 33010 but I think there is a loose conection on the speaker as it sounds a bit crackley and muffled I think a better speaker will make a difference too. Also on the workbench is 47570 which has had headlight fitted and bufferbeam pipes, I gave the yellow a quick repaint and have put on the overhead warning transfers and headcode discs at one end, a Heljan class 47 arrived with my decoders and I will use that to power the Lima body. Another re chassis job is to use a broken Hornby class 31 with dodgy chassis that I pick up fairly cheap. This will go under an old railfreight grey Lima class 31 i did years ago. I took a few pic this morning before it got too hot. Cheers Peter.

Hi Arnie, Great set of pics, I really like the Dutch Cromptons. 37798 looks nice too, it was one of the first painted into the Mainline liv I remember seeing it at Eastleigh when it was Ex works. Cheers Peter.

Hi Jeff, I hard wired a Lima class 40 on Friday and it runs ok, but not as good as when it was DC and I was using a feedback controller. Alot of websites say to remove the capacitor, I am not sure if that would help. Cheers Peter.

Hi Jeff, The senics are looking fantastic, can't wait to see a 9f storming out of the tunnel. Cheers Peter.

Thanks Phil, We had a great time in Scotland, the wife really loved it. It was her idea to do the steamer to Mallaig. We were lucky with the weather too it only rained the day we headed back down South. Cheers Peter.

Hi Mark, Great pics, the layout is looking superb, all those extra little details really make a difference. What number is your Black 5? We went for a day out on the Jacobite when we were over last year. There are a couple of pics on my Flickr site. Cheers Peter.

Hi OzzyO, You are right re the class 25s having no ETH fitted, The work done on the class 25 during the early 80s that Kev mentioned could be the fitting of Air brakes as they were all Vac only when built I think. I had a quick look at the Derby Sulzer website and found a pic of 25083 which has the later body with boiler grille unplated, this loco along with 084 to 087 were built with boilers so have the extra tank underneath, all other class 25s built after this were none boilered which still doesn't answer why some locos had the grille, or even the plated over grille unless they thought some locos might get a boiler fitted at a later date. Cheers Peter.

No worries Jeff, It would be even more effective if I took more time marking in the stonework. lol I am going alright with the DCC only problem so far is I need to sort out the best decoder for my Hornby 101s as they didn't like the gaugemaster ones. Cheers Peter.

Hi Jeff, The stone walls on Llanbourne are made from DAS. Cardboard from cereal packets forms a basic frame then cover a small area with PVA and push on the DAS. I normally do about two foot then mark in the stone with a cocktail stick. DAS takes a while to dry so you can mark in the stonework hours later if you get bored and want to go and lay some more track. Cheers Peter.

No worries Rick, I think the one I have is an old type one, plus I have spares, wheels armatures etc. Happy to have a look at it for you, I have had a few over the years and managed to keep them running. My double motored class 25 has extra pick ups and no traction tyres with added weight it's really not too bad. Cheers Peter.

Hi Rick, I do like the Hymeks, the Gresley looks nice too. I might have a spare power unit for your Hornby 7067 if you want it. Have you thought about two motors I did it to a class 25 it runs quite well. Cheers Peter.

I was guessing an N but I am not sure, ooops. Cheers Peter.

Hi Kev, The ETHEL is looking good so far, I have a spare body to do one of these days. 25904 had unplated boiler vents. Cheers Peter.

Hi Phil, I missed out on haulage from 20090, it was at a Severn Valley diesel gala one year but only worked a couple of trains before being parked up. I am not sure how long 20090 lasted but I remember seeing 20104 in 92 it was one of a few outbased at frodingham for working steel trains. Another disc 20 in railfreight liv was 20059 which also last until quite late. It was one of a few 20s based at Wigan for working coal trains. Hi Ian & Scott, What about a blue pair 20169 20092 paired with 33114 in NSE liv. This railtour was in 93 I saw the 20s at Salisbury and took a pic of the train at Dinton I am pretty sure they went to Exeter. I think I posted a pic of the train on RMweb somewhere I will try and find it. nearly forgot 20007 20032 and 33116 went to Bournemouth early 92 aswell. Cheers Peter.

Only just found this, Can I ask where you did the recording. My brother works for DBS as a driver and mentioned having someone come down south and do some recordings of the loco moving about the yard. Cheers Peter.

Hi Phil, The layout is coming on well, and you are building up a nice fleet of sector locos. The red stripe 37 looks nice too, always like that livery. A few blue locos lasted until quite late in the 90s so you could get away with a couple. Cheers Peter.

Thanks Rob, I quite like the livery, I might get myself another one some day and do it in blue. Cheers Peter.