New Railway Modellers Forums

I was sent to look at a machine that was to be refurbished, I was to compile a list of all the things that needed additional attention. One of the items on my list was "PSU1 mains lead damaged, has been repaired with adhesive tape;- Must be changed" When I checked the job report my comment...

Yep! it's the weight that's the problem, empty they derail with the slightest side force on the coupler. I packed the hollows beneath the deck with ersatz Blu Tak which someone ordered then abandoned in the back of the stationery cupboard when they discovered why it was so cheap. I spotted that it w...

Some managers are absolute numpties, but that doesn't stop them having a mean streak. Working in the network planning office we were housed on the top but one floor, the drawing office was at the top 'cus they needed the light. Our need for light was judged to be nearly as great so we were on the fl...

I traveled in a couple of those conversions, it was quite interesting, If they weren't coupled up right you either got powered vestibule doors and no lights, or had to struggle to push the doors open, they would then stay like that for some time before closing very slowly. The time to close seemed t...

You can't keep a good plan down. This is a good reworking of C.J.Freezers "Minories", his vision was express tank locos and short tender locos (4-4-0s and Atlantics). The mode of operation is for a train to pull in. and its loco uncouples. A new loco emerges from the shed roads or one of t...

Coming out of Moor Street on Sundays Shakespeare Express I spotted that there is now a genuine "Birmingham Screwdriver Company." It's name along with an "arm and hammer" graphic emblazoned across the upper brickwork. It will go a long way to educating the younger generation and i...

My father's occupation on my birth certificate said "cylindrical grinder" He was nothing so mundane. So many jobs that they struggled with ended up on his bench. Once the plant went to shift working there was always a queue of special jobs which along with the assistance of his brother in ...

Ah The Brumagem Screwdriver.
Adjust to fit, = "'it it wi' 'ommer 'til it guz in.
Call out fee = " 't aint for 'itting it wi' 'ommer, 'tis for knowing weerr to 'it it, 'n which 'ommer to use."

With apologies to my past workmates and their practical skills.

Out of four grandchildren it has been the two girls who's interest lasted longest, but it was solving the logic problems of shunting, when certain locos or stock would not fit every headshunt or loop. Once those problems were solved, there were no new puzzles or problems to solve. I should have expe...

Alergic to Peco points! check the wheels' back to back is 14.5mm, or use a back to back gauge block (very useful tool). Older Hornby or TriangHornby wheels have a poorer wheel profile, either adjust them by tweak and test or replace them.

Don't know of a site for authentic liveries but there are several that do fictitious ones. Here's one to get you started
http://www.25kv.uk/fictitiousliveries.php

Polishing and abrasives. The surface of the rails we use leaves the manufacturers unpolished, Under a microscope it looks scratched to *****. It needs polishing to a degree, how much? No one will tell you. A had some carborundum papers the finest of which was 2000 grit. There was a joke among us tec...

That picture is deceptive, I just checked the gradient of Hatton Bank which definitely looks steep, it's 1 in 105 which is slightly shallower, the old first generation DMUs struggled to restart if they were checked on the bank. Fortunately they'd been replaced by Sprinters by the time they deemed it...

Whiston incline quoted as being. 1. in 98. Prior to Rocket most locos had trouble pulling themselves along, so 1 in 98 was regarded as an incline to be overcome. Found it on here!

Hi Geoff, what were the climatic conditions when you poured the failed mix? Long time ago we had a problem with the resin mix that was poured into the end of multipair cables to form a gas seal. It was part of the process to make the big cables airtight. WE then pumped dry desiccated air into one en...