TheSignalEngineer

When I got back into modelling I bought quite a few secong hand items. Some had faults obvious from the photos, which I accepted I could do something about. The worst tended to be ones subsequently shown to be prone to zinc pest or axle failures like Mainline split chassis stuff. A couple were returned for refunds when they obviously couldn't be fixed. I've had problems with three new locos bought new. One was a T9 which succumbed to zinc pest and was returned to Hornby for a free rebuild, a Dapol Flying Banana which wouldn't run smoothly replaced by the shop and a Hornby B1 with faulty valve gear. In that case the shop couldn't supply another so refunded. I actually bought a perfect s/h one for less on ebay a few weeks later. S/h or old shop stock can also suffer from oil or grease drying on the motor, gears, axles or valve gear. Best to check these out when running in. The biggest problem with both new and s/h has been wheels and pickups. Now I always clean both check the back to back measurement and pickup alignment. Not had a failure (yet) after that.

For other computer / Solid State electronics applications BR was fairly well advanced. I remember our payslips going over from hand-written to computer printed just aftrr I started in 1966. Solid state was being used for TDM and FDM remote controls and transistor logic was being trialled for interlockings. I actually removed an experimental one of the latter which had been ghosting a working relay interlocking in 1970.

And the time of conversion to 4-track. East Coast Main Line tended to have either of the paired by direction versions on long open country stretches. Areas where there were frequent junctions and a lot of local services such as the GE near to London, GN around Leeds sometimes had pairs by use such as Main and Goods, Fast and Slow, especially if the latter fed a branch. Whether the 10 foot was one in the middle or two on either side of the centre lines depended on how widening took place, two new tracks down one side or one each side.

Separate round Spagnoletti indicators on the blockshelf close to levers locked by the TC. I don't know how the GWR decided on how many track circuits justified an illuminated diagram but on the LMR in the 1960s it was 6 IIRC. I have seen GWR illuminated diagrams with six on them. Regarding indicators and blocks, in 1948 you would find many old ones. In 1966 I took out a combined arm and light repeater made by the LNWR Signal and Electrical department at Stockport works, which closed c1905.

Amazing. I was flicking down the page and noticed the top photo. Did a double take and had to go to read the thread.

Could be anything between 9657 and 9662. The Longworth books will give the withdrawl dates so may be more clues there.

When I worked at Bletchley, so long ago it seems like a former life, we graded the MK roundabouts as 2nd, 3rd or 4th gear depending on the approach alignment. The speed limits were such that the main road was say 60mph with a 30 mph local road on each side of the roundabout. There were 60mph signs on the local roads at the approach so in theory you could come up at 30mph, accelerate to 60mph going round it then brake to 30mph on the exit to another local road. A great playground for boy racers.

I had one recently from a professional lady who wanted to exchange some personal photographs with me. I decided that a quick deletion and block was the preferable course of action as I value my life.

In our railway careers we all probably came across some bit of historical treasure we wish we could retrieve now. One of mine was a proposed train performance graph for the Coronation Scot from Euston to Cheddington. It had been produced manually probably based on some dynamometer car data. The times were calculated per quarter mile in minutes to 3 decimal places, thus 1/4 mile at 70mph was shown as 0.214 minutes

They were the built in 1925 as kitchen cars for dining triplets, originally numbered 10003/11/19/27/35/43. Rebuilt by GWR in 1937 to kitchen cars 9657 - 9662. Rebuilt by BR 1956 to Cafeteria Cars 9657- 9662. Sources J H Russell and Michael Harris

I'm just into what my railway enthusiast / clergyman father referred to as my 4th orbit as a member of the Official Coffin Dodgers Link. I'm hoping to emulate his 20 years of membership. He got me into model trains with Hornby O gauge clockwork and Dublo 3-rail about 70 years ago. The latter I still have and occasionally get out to run. I don't know what will happen to my trains, our children aren't interested but I have some hopes of the younger grandson who has been operating on my layout since the age of four. Whatever happens my collection is catalogued with a notional ebay price to assist with my periodic surplus disposals and pictures of most items exist so hopefully there will be an orderly exit.

Think it may be one of these. https://rcts.zenfolio.com/coaching-stock/gwr/other/hA86FE772 Cafeteria car W9660W, rebuilt from Diag H49, ex Diag H31 articulated stock of Lot 1358. Away from my books at the moment so I don't know how many there were.

Certainly looks to have a double door for the pantry at the far end and a roof tank filler over the centre section.

My wife had a job where the organisation was controlled by volunteers who all seemed to be stuck in 1956 and she was the only professional business person and administrator trying to drag it into the 21st century. An absolute nightmare, and her successors are still struggling to achieve it nearly 20 years after she left.

Superglue will react with moisture, that's partly how it cures with moisture from the air. Things that do that will form all sorts of nasties when reaction with moisture in the nasal passages or on the eyeballs.

I did wonder that as well. My collection has certainly improved greatly in number and hopefully sometimes in quality with more time in retirement and better materials/RTR availabble to work with.

Or is it just the better communication now through the internet? I now know more modellers albeit some 'Penfriends' and their work that I did in the days of just paper magazines and getting to the occasional exhibition. I've had a lot of discussions about various projects with modellers I would never have known about without RMweb

Likewise, but I managed over half of them. I have done No.8, but it must have been about 50 years ago. I've not taken a loco to Tony but he did give me some advice on using etched sides on RTR donors. I don't exhibit but one of my scratch built buildings is on a layout which has been exhibited and featured on here. Oh, and the last time I did grass I don't think applicators had been invented. I don't have use for one at the moment as I am doing Black Country in the days when we were an industrial nation and the only signs of green were the canal water and the Bournmouth-Birkenhead train.

About 40 years ago I built a Ks 6-wheel Siphon. It wouldn't go through my points so I glued the centre axles in position and filed off the bottom of the flanges. Didn't have a problem after that. Indeed it is. Tatlow's Historic NPCCS book shows 8'6" over body and 9' over the duckets. The model scales at about 9'1" and 10'1" respectively. It is certainly evident when coupled to a Bachmann 50' BG. The body of that is more or less correct width but unfortunately the underframe is about 2mm too wide. I don't know the dimensions of the Hornby one.

Stanier 8Fs could make a similar noise when they had a few miles on the clock, especially the ones without the star on the cab side which IIRC actually had the wheels correctly balanced.

TTTE quarry locos?

Generally arms would be the same height for routes where the speeds differed by no more than 10mph.

Around 2003 I had decided my retirement date and was sometimes travelling to meetings around the country from my future retirement home whilst we finalised the sale of our house close to the office. Sometimes I drove to Dinting to catch the train into Manchester. One morning a neighbour who caught the same train pointed out a cannabis plant growing in the disused trackbed on the Glossop side of the triangle.

I'll raise you a Class 47 Hednesford in 1981. Spot the stop block. At that time the line was used for Class 1 drags for about three or four months of the year when Wolverhampton to Stafford was blocked for weekend engineering work.

You obviously didn't do Stockport platform 1 in Railtrack days. Around the time of the Hatfield derailment it had a tie bar every third sleeper.