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Pacer hunting in York
I've never ridden on a Pacer train.For most people, this would be considered A Good Thing. Apparently, they are horrible, rattly, uncomfortable things to travel on. As they are being phased out, most...
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A pointless loco build
There is no point in building a OO gauge LNER J72 steam locomotive. Â With the Bachmann model on the way, you would be wasting your time.But, I have a box full of bits including a rather nice Mainline...
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Setting up a Hobby Holidays chassis jig
Clever people don't need jigs to set up a chassis. I can do it, but as I own the tool, why wouldn't use it? One issue I did remember from the dim and distant times when I last did this is that the...
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Waterborne Wednesday: BD 6074
My parents brought these photos back from a recent trip to Falmouth where they enjoyed a spin around the bay. I assumed it was a crane, but technically, this is a Dumb Barge. You can read all the...
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Hogwarts Castle pickup repair
I've been passed a Hornby Hogwarts Castle to take a look at. The loco has been in the wars and one pickup is pointing in distinctly the wrong direction. Now, I should be able to wave a magic wand,...
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Classic Covers: Die Bundesbahn
Picked up at Warley for free simply because I love the cover, Die Bundesbahn is a German trade press publication for the rail industry. And that's as much as I know - but it is a brilliant cover....
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: P4 Pre-grouping model railway
If you've been watching the Great Model Railway Challenge, you might have spotted the little video inserts either side of the adverts showing model trains running. These were shot at the L&WMRS by...
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Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition 2019
Lots of good things at the MMEE this year as usual. The biggest surprise was a 7 1/4 inch APT-E with working tilt system. It must be fun to see that working around a model engineering track, even if it...
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Keeping old magazines
I have a copy of every magazine I've had work published it. Over the years, this means I've amassed a huge pile. An office clearout last week saw this pile bundled up in plastic and moved to storage....
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To compensate or not?
The biggest decision of the J72 build was whether I should fit the chassis with compensation. A relatively long wheelbase 0-6-0 is rarely going to find all 6 wheels touching the rails. Ideally, at...
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Waterborne Wednesday: A ship called Isis
Isis is a goddess from the polytheistic pantheon of Egypt. In more recent time, the name has acquired some less savoury meanings, but it's not that uncommon to see it used. There is an Isis recovery...
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Romford wheel preperation
Romford wheels enjoy a well-deserved reputation as the most user-friendly locomotive wheels for kit builders. Metal centres, self-quartering axles and nice bolt-together assembly make them perfect for...
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Book Review: Plastikard Handbook
Dating from 1971, this 9th Edition of Slater's booklet on Plastikard is both instruction manual and catalogue. While the prices may be useless now, there's still a lot of helpful information in the...
View ArticleSaturday Film Club: Kings Cross and Cameden town in the 1950s
Excellent filming and a fascinating subject, this look at the Kings Cross area appears to have been largely shot from the top of St Pancras station. There's plenty of architecture action at the start....
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Exeter Garden Rail show 2019
A slow start to this years Exeter show. For a start, England were beating the All Blacks at Rugby, and the wet and windy weather wasn't conducive to queuing in the car park. I left it ten minutes...
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Wheels in the chassis
I love the Hobby Holidays chassis jig. The wheels were fitted to the chassis, rods fitted to the wheels, and it runs smoothly when pushed around first time. I can't remember the last time I was able to...
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Motor in
Even I can't go wrong assembling a High-Level models gearbox. I soldered the main parts up OK. Put the bearing in. Cleaned it all up in the sink and then filed the top hast back flush with the gearbox...
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Waterborne Wednesday: Discovery Rose
The Discovery Rose, pictured in Cornwall, is a dredger according to the Marine Traffic website. I'm not convinced!She is apparently 19 metres long, which looks about right, and IMHO would make a very...
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Billy roundup in BRM
It's a quiet month for me in the December issue of BRM. My only contribution is a roundup of the Billy Bookcase project where I explain what went right, and what went wrong...That's not to say that...
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The Great British Model Railway Show this weekend
Today I'm busy packing up some models for display at the Great British Model Railway Show taking place at Gaydon this weekend.I'll be bringing along most of the projects I've built for the Hornby...
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