New Railway Modellers Forums

It looks wrong because it was wrong! The firebox was too small in volume and the boiler barrel was too long. That was why it never performed in proportion to its size. If not quite "a complete and utter disaster," it was certainly the nearest thing to a failure that Churchward ever built. ...

Many thanks for all your encouragement and comments, which are giving me plenty of food for thought. I think I'm weakening, especially as the missus, bless her heart, has just told me she's been investigating her finances and thinks she can afford it. Mind you, I've no intention of letting her bear ...

Well, time passes by, as it has a habit of doing, and Ifind I'm on the run up to (gulp!) my 60th birthday. This being, like it or not, a bit of a landmark, it's been suggested that it ought to be a bit special, and one thought that occurred to me was: "Hey, now, I've always wanted to drive a st...

Ah, but for me the West Country isn't the same without the Castles and Kings (Cries of "When d'yer get yer pension, mate?")...

Just found this thread, and am deeply appalled. I think HonestTom got it right. From Wikipedia: "The prototypical psychpath has deficits or deviances in several areas: interpersonal realtionships, emotions, and self-control. Psychopaths gain satisfaction through anti-social behaviour, and do no...

Reminds me of when we were on holiday last year, myself, the missus (SWMBO) and my son, who, as some of you might recall, is adult but autistic, and LOVES trains. Said son was delighted to find that the holiday site was right next to the line between Swansea and Carmarthen, which is on a low embankm...

Has anyone ever built a Metcalfe coal stage kit? What I'd like to know is how much room you'd need to allow for the ramp up to the high level track.

I was refering to what used to be called split shifts on the busses when you do an early morning, and then back for the late afternoon to end of service. Well, in London we call them spreadovers. Don't mind them myself, as I live within walking distance of the garage and can go home for lunch (if y...

Thank you, Bigmet, for the (as usual) lucid and interesting reply. I am indeed using Setrack, but it is pinned down to a baseboard. Nevertheless, I will check the connections.

The last time I got a chance to play trains, last Sunday, my N15 started doing something rather odd. The loco was bought last Christmas and is therefore only about three months old. It was fitted by the vendor with a common-or-garden Hornby decoder. So far I have been very satisfied with it - beauti...

I've voted "no," because it doesn't fit in with what I'm doing. I find it intriguing, though, to see the amount of interest that's been expressed from time to time in this forum in the LMS Garretts, considering how profoundly unpopular they seem to have been in real life with those who had...

I'll keep mine plausible...I want to see Union Pacific #3985 running at full track speed (about 70mph) with a decent load. Its not a matter of if it'll ever happen, it's just a case of how much, where and when? :lol: 487 tons of brute force! Hey there, Zunnan! I've posted this before, but I'm posti...

In addition to the spreading of weight using bogies front and back the size of the driving wheels is also critical, if you want high speed then you need bigger driving wheels, so freight locos tend to have driving wheels of around 5' (8fs, etc), mixed traffic locos (such as Black 5s, Halls and B12s...

A couple of late-ish comments on various things in this thread. Personally I don't mind the Q1s. Odd but purposeful is how they strike me. Mind you, I can't help thinking that Bulleid (in his other designs as well as this one) must have had a bit of a penchant for doing things differently just for t...

With typically sardonic Scots humour, the salvaged Tay Bridge locomotive was ever afterwards nicknamed "The Diver." I've never seen the dramatisation of The Signalman , but I have read it, and a fine, creepy story it is too. It's said to have been inspired in part by Dickens' involvement i...