Twintop

The last in first out is likely to be related to targets, which in various jobs I have had really do distort how work is done, especially if they are linked to monetary rewards. The last in first out will be because the parcel that is sat there for 5 days is a lost cause already, the target is already missed. The newly arrived parcel is an opportunity to hit the target on that particular parcel. So, in a target driven situation the new parcel will get the attention. Simply no point looking at the old parcel. I have seen so many instances where unrealistic and often meaningless targets are set by management and workers soon derive ways of "achieving" them. Often the main fault is that speed of processing and volumes are targets and so they are met - but as quality may not be measured, then the quality suffers as jobs are rushed through. This is often because computers can measure speed and volume, but cannot do quality ! But, on the computer report the manager gets all they see is that targets are met !! So likely similar with parcels. The target will be "deliver 80 parcels today" - so the last few will just get dumped, result target met, quality of service - well that can be worried about later. Meanwhile the manager is reporting to their manager that 80 parcels have been delivered ! Everyone is happy !! Apart from the last few customers !

I think we should have some sympathy with the drivers as they are working in a very pressurised business at any time and much more so at Xmas with huge volumes. Pay is poor. A few years ago, a drive had broken down in winter outside our house. I went out to assist as it was freezing and the mobile signal is very poor here. Eventually he did accept and came in to the house - this was around 9 p.m. and he had been there for a few hours. He was rescued at 10 p.m. We had come difficulty communicating, but essentially he said he had to hire the poor condition van off the firm, had to deliver all the parcels he was given that day and was paid a pittance. Hence the pressure is on, so rushed deliveries are no surprise. I also think that whilst there are many unacceptable horror stories, there must be millions who are happy. One parcel company delivers 3 million a day, I understand one main player has 30,000 employees so statistically there must be quite a few rogues in that number. I used to work at a financial institution with about 700 employees and I investigated and recommended for dismissal on average 3 staff members a year for theft or corruption. Re parcel deliveries, last Thursday I ordered from a faded but once major retailer a present and they said it would come on the 22nd - fine. It was actually attempted to be delivered on the 19th, I got an e-mail from the courier to say it would be delivered on the 20th and it was, so, no issues with that at all. Contrary to that I had 2 parcels delivered in a week and they were left on a neighbours doorstep and in a neighbours outbuilding. They insisted they were delivered correctly and I had signed for them !!! Contacting them is a nightmare. Luckily one neighbour brought my parcel around as by chance he had been in the outbuilding and the other we recognised the picture being the other neighbours door, so I could retrieve it. I personally wish the shops would have a come back as there is no dispute when you hand over your payment and you get the goods there and then. In the case of locos, my retailer used to test every one whilst you were there.

The main issue I have is that when the parcel is missing, you cannot speak to anyone, just in general hopeless chatbots, programmed to fob you off. If you can manage to get in an on-line chat with a person, they just say we will investigate and it will take 72 hours. Then they come back with here is the photo, it was delivered and you signed for it ! Of course it is a photo of somebodies else's door, but they still won't accept you have not got it. On that occasion we recognised the door, being the only white one in the village ! So I retrieved my parcel abandoned on their doorstep. On another, they insisted it had been delivered correctly to the cafe. I do not live at the cafe - it is 100 yards away. It had been abandoned in an outbuilding and luckily by chance the owner found it as he infrequently goes into this outbuilding. As someone said, it is about time we went back to visiting shops. There you can pay your money and collect the goods, no dispute or errors. Issues are arising in general with chatboxes that are useless for anything but the most basic enquiries. You just end up with being directed to the website, which is not good enough hence why contact was attempted. Look on many sites and phone numbers are non existent. On-line chats can be useful though, for financial institutions, I have to admit.

I had a problem with some Xmas tree lights the other day. I soon found the root cause. It had "made in china" stamped on them.

Could it be that when it was first imported, hornby quality control did pick this up and then the model was released into the trade as a "second". Maybe hornby have duch a policy. After all, the rest of the loco has a value. In future there will be the same loco with a blown motor or wrecked valve gear that could donate a tender. Maybe, the packaging has reacted with the paint if it has been in contact for years with the tender.

Having another read, maybe my part is not what you require. There is also the number R064*010 stamped on it. It also has Hornby and made in China stamped on. The railroad 9F tender seems to me to be the set up off a tender driven loco, but without the motor fitted in the tender of course. My issue was the part that the wheels locate in to. The axles would not spin freely. I had to break bits off to free the outer axles a little, ( the centre one sits a bit higher) but essentially the 9F drags the tender along but is so powerful you don't notice !

Pictures posted, awaiting approval of course. RDS Mod Note: Your picture was posted twice. The duplicate has been deleted.

Maybe not so vain. I have a new S9887 that I got for my railroad 9F. Turned out it was not what I needed after all. My problem was the wheels seized up, and I though this part would be the answer. I got mine off hornby. Quite happy to let you have mine for a thank you, as no use to me. No idea how we communicate about it though! RDS Mod Note: If the correct item is located. We will find a way of communicating!

It may have been an inexperienced modeller who painted it. When I was 9 years old in 1965 I received the Tri-ang Freightmaster set with a green class 31, 6 wagons and a brake van. I then got a green class 37 and a Blue Hymek. I decided I wanted to have the 31 as blue so brush painted it !! It looked horrendous of course, so I brush painted it back to an odd shade of green - again dreadful. Years later I tried to strip the paint off, doing a small area, but whatever I used was affecting the plastic, so stopped and I still have that body shell, now 57 years old. The motor and chassis live on with a new body, that I acquired from a friend. So, it was my inexperience at 10/11 years old that caused the issue ! I imagine that as I did Airfix kits that I thought I would be able to paint the body OK. What is really needed is another cheap class 31 with a good body and jiggered mechanics/chassis to make a good one out of the two.

I always limited my buying to 1960-1968 BR as what I remembered as a child. Mainly engines that would have run in the North West but some exceptions such as a heljan class 15 because I like the quirky looks of the early diesels. I also knowingly run locos that were all gone before my blue Lima D400 that I first saw in September 1967 at oubeck loops South of Lancaster on an oil train, not strictly correct of course. By limiting the region and period, it does mean the collection is kept to a reasonable level of around 60 locos/Dmus. They soon add up after 57 years or so!

Three peco points, for modifying with jumper wires to eliminate the inherent weakness in ageing points of the pieces of metal under the relates that form the connection. One point was giving a lot of trouble so just thought I would also do the two adjacent points as easy to remove once the first one was out. They are crucial as they form the station throat so no services on the two branch lines at the moment. Good job I have a fleet of Ribble buses to deputise. So just like the real thing with rail disruption! Also have a Tri-ang buffet coach side that I have sprayed in maroon with a rattle can to change colour fron blue/grey. Needs a second coat. The coach came with two sides of the same type, but I did not complain as it was only £7! Essentially I am trying to make one good one out of two. Also a tri-ang GWR toad brake van. No idea how, but I had a metal chassis and a roof, but no body. So years ago bought a body on line but it was one of those with a box for a lamp on the verandah. So, have hacked that box away and made a floor of card. Next I need the wall with the door in so will conjure something up from card. Not really worth doing it, but keeps me busy. Still have 4 locos that need substantial repairs, but baulking at them as I know they will be tricky to do. Bman 04 with spilt axles, triang brittania needing a wheel conversion finishing, bman peak with split drive shaft Cup and bman std 4 again with spilt plastic axle bearings. Also a tri-ang 2-6-2 T that needs building back up after chassis work. All do-able, just involved.

I have also decided that I have all the locos and stock I need, so won't be buying anything else at these very high prices. Pity, but at my age, I also won't get the use out of any new items! I am concentrating on running, maintaining and repairing what I have. I do keep looking at used examples, but even those prices are high especially when some are described as poor or non runners and they are asking £50-£60 for them, which is a gamble not knowing precisely what is wrong. Never say never though I suppose.

Slight correction, the brake van is different in the catalogue to my 1965 set. Mod note - you can amend your other post . . . 

I have found my catalogue from pre decimalisation priced at 2 shillings! It shows RS651 Freightmaster with the same wagons but a blue class 31 with full yellow ends. Still numbered D5572.

I received a freight master set for Xmas 1965. That had a green class 31, which I still have, 6 assorted freight wagons and a brake van. Wagons were, horse box, cattle wagon, triang toys container flat, 3 small container conflat, UD milk tank and drop side wagon. Don't have the milk tank anymore. I was silly as saw an article in MRC about how they were too high so I butchered it and wrecked it. Next buy was a shell lubricating oils tank in yellow I still have that.

I have recently finished basic servicing of all my locos and DMUs, putting aside any that needed more complicated repairs. During this exercise I have been adding vacuum pipes, brake rodding etc. that came with the locos that I never fitted. One lesson learnt was to be very wary of removing bodies as on a few examples I ended up damaging parts. Worst example was a Bman std 5 split chassis. I removed the pickup plate to get access to oil the gears and did not realise that the wires to the pickups were attached. They came away and now I have a tricky repair to undertake. What I should have done was to release the PCB and that enables about a couple of inches of slack, but hindsight is great! One bonus is that after I had serviced a Tri-ang Britannia and a Tri-ang class 31 I looked again at why the locos were bouncing over certain Peco points. I had always assumed the wheels were too coarse, but not so - it was simply the back to back measurement. I eased the wheels wider and now they run perfectly on a basic circuit with around 5 points to negotiate. I had read about this on the forum years ago but was convinced it was the coarse flanges. So - the Britannia is now merrily roaring around the track with 7 Tri-ang mk1s in tow. I must get the smoke to work on it next. Likewise the Green class 31. Both handle 7 coaches with ease. I have been refurbishing a rake of 10 Dapol 20T tanks. Oiling the axles, cleaning and reattaching ladders, brake gear and couplings that had come adrift over the years and touching up paint that I had missed during construction. I have also pressed on with adding weights and coal loads for another 4 Dapol 21T hoppers to add to the 3 I did a few months ago. Other minor repairs include re-attaching the tender scoop to the Hornby Britannia and steps to a Bman 08. I have also started on the more complicate repairs, the aforementioned std 5, and a Bman class 04 with spilt axle bearings. Others needing work are a Tri-ang 2-6-2T, another Tri-ang Britannia and a Bman class 46 with what will be a split coupling in the drive train. I

Drilling a pilot hole will help with the screws as less force will be needed to screw them down. I drill pilot holes for PECO track pins as well as otherwise they have a tendency to bend as they are quite thin.

When I was in my teens, I cut a hole in Airfix aircraft bodies, inserted a firework, hung them on the washing line and blew them up ! I did keep the military vehicles and 50 years later recently salvaged spares to replace missing parts on brand new identical kits !

I am pretty sure mine had a brass tube around the screw/bolt.

An update on the Bachmann Std 5MT. I started on my other one, 73110 in black and avoided taking the baseplate off. The body was easy, I had previously broken the speedo cable, so no need to unscrew that ! I did twig that there is another way to get to get to the worm gear without the risk of removing the baseplate and disturbing the wiring/brake gear. There is a metal block held in with two screws above the worm and although wires pass over it, it can be eased up sufficiently to oil the worm and the front motor bearing. If the PCB is unscrewed, then the block can be fully removed and access is uninhibited. It was already well greased so I guess it did not need doing anyway. I did find my note in the box - "May 2011 - oiled, but not the gears" I also found metal nameplates in the box - The Red Knight - which I had completely forgotten about, and must get them put on. I was looking at one on Hattons the other day and wondering why the loco was described as named !!

More woes on the servicing, I am beginning to think I should just mend them when they stop working ! I managed to get the body off a Heljan class 28 Metrovick easily enough as instructions were in the box. However, I spotted some loose piping and when glueing back in the locating hole, managed to break about half an inch off. It is back on glued, so OK, but I seem fated. I still could not get to any gear wheels though, but did get to the motor bearings, which were well greased anyway ! Worse was to come when doing the Bachmann STD 5MT 73014 in green. t Looked in the box and no instructions but an exploded diagram of the motor parts etc., so that gave me confidence to take the body off. No problem. Next stage was to take off the baseplate to get to the gear wheel which I have done on many locos. However, a pitfall. The wires from the PCB to the motor are a tight fit and so as soon as I took the baseplate off the wires separated from the base plate. No mention of that in the box. I think I have a solution as I have unscrewed the PCB and that releases 2 inches of the wires so it looks accessible to solder now, but won't be easy, so into a tin to await a day to be able to spend some time on it. It really is getting to be a case of leaving well alone save for oiling axles and cleaning. I did look in my class 20 boxes and I had put a note in to say I could not be sure that I had oiled the worm gear at the nose end, that was in 2011, so the same difficulty of course persists. Do you service the locos and have the same problems that I am encountering on most locos ?

I moved on to the bachmann class 105 DMU. I managed to get the body off. Just clips and inserting thick paper once a clip was released seemed to help. Not worth the risk though as whilst I could get to a bearing it was still well lubricated. Always a risk of disturbing the interior lights and directional lights as well. I did have a lot of trouble with the motor bogie pick-ups. They worked fine, but had a lot of grubbiness around the wheels. So i used a brush with meths to work around the wheels and lost the current flow! It took a while to ease the pick ups away and clean between them and the axle bearings that they pick the current up from. I must have with the meths transferred dirt to effectively insulate the bearings. All is well now, but at the moment it seems like I would be best to leave the models well alone as there are a few fraught moments as opposed to having fun!! No such issues with the Lima 40 47 and 50. Bodies easy to come off and access good. The 47 needs the buffers removing to get the body off. I have also fitted a couple of modified peco points on the layout, so the Up relief line is back in full operation to enable final testing of my serviced locos.

Now on with a bachnann lightweight 2 car DMU. I have the instructions and to get to the motor, it says one screw then ease the body off from the cab end and gives positions of body clips. I can't do it. I can get the cab end up slightly, but after a lot of creaking I dare not do it, especially after I have broken off an underbody part. I can get to a gear "axle" but not to motor bearings. Is it just me or do others have similar issues ? The dmu runs OK, so I don't think it is worth the risk trying to remove the body.

I have been carrying on with servicing the fleet and encountering issues with body removal and/or access to motor gears. I tend now to just leave them as opposed to extensive dismantling. Example are the bachman 20s. One bogie gear is readily accessible but the other is under the Pcb and is tightly wired, so this time round I'm leaving it be to avoid the risk of issues. I did wonder about the hornby class 101, so looked on the Internet and it says no lubrication needed anyway. The railroad class 31 is the same. I have the instructions and they also says no maintenance needed. The heljan class 15 defeated me as well. I managed to get the body off with difficulty but no easy access to the motor so did not even bother trying with the Clayton as last time i could not fathom out how to get the body off. The bachman class D193 is back on the bench. As suspected, as I could get slipping in the drive train just by using the peco wheel cleaning probes, when on the track, it soon started to slip to a halt. It will likely be the "drive cup" . I have glued one successfuly on a class 44, but access on the 46 seems a lot more difficult. I have decided to put these awkward jobs to one side, pending servicing all the fleet and then I can order all the spares I need in one go.