Twintop

A Crosti 9F 92023, railroad breakdown crane - the grey one and a Railroad Brake Van. I have from many years ago a lima MK1 "Engineers Mess Coach" and Air Compressor 50' van - both in Olive Green. When was that livery valid for ? I runs a 60s layout - would they be suitable for use with the crane ? In the late 60s there used to be a regular working South from Lancaster of a breakdown crane on Saturday mornings - pulled by the Ivatt 4MT - 43106. I cant remember the formation though. What would be typical wagons to go with a crane ?

Re the maroon Mk 1 Triang Brake second - it was from a local model shop. Onoy other one I found was also from another model shop. Whilst writing, a local outlet is selling off Postal Express and the Highlander sets for just £50 each. I am wondering if they are closing as they had mainly sets left and no engines or coaches - just a few wagons. The other wheels I got for the Mk1 have gone on the worst running bogies of the Dapol Stanier 57 ft coaches kits jthat ran poorly on their plastic wheels but are fine now.

An unboxed maroon Tri-ang MK 1 Brake second for £6.95. After having got it home I realised 3 of the axles have spoked metal wheels so I had to buy 10 Hornby axles for £13.50 - so not as cheap as it originally seemed, but I can use the other axles on another coach and the wagon wheels on a wagon, so OK really. . .

My Triang Midland 3F 0-6-0. I converted this with Romford wheels inc the tender about 10 years ago and added extra pick ups to the tender. However, I had not run it for 2 years or so as it had stopped working, but then I tried it again a few weeks ago and it ran fine, Then suddenly it stopped working again so I have been having a look and have deduced its shorting somewhere. So, I have been testing it to see where the shorts are and its the tender pickups so out came the wheels to have a better look and I promptly lost a top hat bearing..... Not amused, but I did find it eventually after much annoyance. Plus, the screw holding the motor in at the rear would not tighten so I was not happy at all, but then realised another screw on the loco was the same thread but slightly longer so swapped them over so I am on the road to recovery after a frutsrating couple of hours when I had contrived to make matters worse than when I started.. Hopefully now I can start to put it back together again. Then I should get on with my Triang 2-6-2 tank that I also converted, but less successfully as I had trouble with the main gear fitting on the new axle. I ended up opening out the gear - big mistake as it ended up fitting but slightly loose so slipped. I did try and sort it out and the loco is now dead - so will have to go back to basics with it - I suspect I put the wheels on incorrectly and have got a short. In hindsight I should have recalled my engineering training and put the shaft in the freezer and the plastic gear in warm water and then maybe it would have fit without opening the sntre hole out. Needless to say after the experience with the 2-6-2 tank I never got around to doing my 2 Triang Britannias with similar conversion kits ! yet another example of money wasted ! Plus I bought a DC Kits class 101 and that is half built, last being touched about 10 years ago, as I could not get the motor bogie to swivel in the chassis - so it runs in a straight line only !!! I have no idea how to get round that one at all as there just does not seem room at all - I have opened the chassis up as much as I dare. I should complete it though and have it parked up in a carriage siding. Otherwise I have been buiding a SQuck station building, bought mainly for the canopy to go over a subway, a better solution than an island platform building kit. I have bullt the station but needs a baseboard extension to site that, so the camopy and its two waiting rooms will do for now. I have also built a rake of Dapol Stanier 57ft non corridor BR naroon coaches. Nice kits, but they dont run well, so will have to look further into that - must be either the plastic wheels or the couplings that droop too much. Or maybe more weight is needed. It was interesting to see that the "non-corridor" are actually "part corridor" with some of the compartments in the centre of the coaches sharing a lavatory in the Brake and sharing 2 lavatories in the composite. And finally, I still have not sorted out the binding tender wheeks on my Railroad 9F !! It has not run for 2 years now and its about time I sorted it out. .

I went to the model shop today and bought 4 x Railroaf MK1s in maroon for £12.95 each. (2 composites, 1 open second and 1 tourist open second). Also 2 R6712A packs of 3 BR 5 plank wagons. Bargain at £16.50 for each pack. That will have to be all I spend for a good while now as I have spent £220 in the last 3 weeks and its too nuch really.

From a model shop, 2 railroad MK1s - a BSK and CK in maroon, 2 x 9 plank loco coal and a Fowler 2p 4-4-0 late crest 40602. The 2P is rather nosiy though, it was quiet when first run but has developed an annoying intermittent screech. I have oiled where it says - axles and coupling rods, but to no avail, so the body will have to come off to see if there are any gears to oil. RR Mk1s were only £12.95 each, and the wagons £6.00 each so happy with those prices..

I received this for Xmas. Bargain at £42.99.. RailRoad BR Class 31 Diesel Electric LocomotiveR3067 However it does have a TOPS number but as I cant see the numbers as the engines pass by, I may leave it be althought its 3 years plus past the date of my layout. Bit wary of attempting re-numbering.

A couple of Hornby catalogues in very good condition from a charity shop found by a friend at work. Both with price lists - Feb 1994 with Sir Ralph Wedgewood on the front cover and Jan 1988 with an IC class 90 on the front. I ran my new rake of 5 maroon MK1 RR and just one was derailing, but oiling the axles cured that. They do look absolutely fine to me. It was maroon all over last night with other rakes of maroon Triang, Lima and BMan MK 1s and parcels stock filling all 7 platforms of the station.

Well, I spoke too soon saying I had ordered 2 x R4251 at £9.99 each and a full price R4352 from Hornby as I have been another victim of the order system that takes your money on the credit card when the goods are not there to be supplied. So - looks like I will only be getting the full price R4352 which I no doubt could have bought cheaper locally. I only ordered that to make the order over £30.00 and get free postage. I am wondering if they will now charge me postage as the order is now below £30 !! This may be why the share price has dropped 12% in the last couple of weeks? Mind you they do say that if it sounds too good to be true it usually is and coaches at £9.99 were obviously too good to be true !!

Not a brake 2nd on last chance to buy - a corridor 2nd MK 1 in maroon - ordered 2 as only £9.99 each and a brake second at normal price to gain free delivery. With the bundle of 6 and another BG bought earlier I can now have 2 rakes of 5 Railroad Mk1 s in maroon.

Two SQuick Island Platform building card kits and a station platform card kit. Had to buy on-line via Amazon as my usual retailer closed, another 2 did not have them in stock, and another is linked with Metcalfe so naturally does not stock them. Having a think about the Railroad last chance to buy Mk1 brake 2nd. .

A Tri-ang MK1 brake 2nd in maroon - good condition £7.50.

No chance - the loft is an absolute tip at the moment - total mess. I have never learnt -always untidy and things get mislaid and lost ! And still I never learn. Wont change now been like this for all my life ! It was in theory just a monor upgrade to convert 2 bay platforms to through ones and add 2 more bays but it seems to be a lot more work than anticipated. I have planned it to renew interest as opposed to totally building a new layout.

A single slip and a metre of code 100 wooden sleeper track so I can rectfy my planning errors when I re-modelled my main station. The approach is to be changed to allow the 2 branch platforms to exit to the down relief as well as the branch and also to extend the branch platforms to accommodate the terminus building and allow 4 coach trains to be run round. Plus a Hornby 9 plank loco coal wagin in grey. The bundle of 6 Mk1s in maroon landed this week - delivered at the 3rd attempt as they could not "find" my village ! Rubbish of course - it translates to "could not be bothered to deliver the parcel".

I have ordered the Maroon MK 1 Railroad 6 coach bundle - seems good value at £75.99.

A Superquick Terminus starion building kit that is now about 2/3 constructed - excellent model. I have one I made into a through version but its 20 years old at least and was looking tired and I needed it to be a terminus this time and could not convert it back. Oddly enough I made the same mistake as I did first time around. On the curtains I failed to read that you cut out the black bits in the middle thinking it was there to represent a darkened room - until I got to the ladies waiting room one where I then noticed the intruction on the card.l looked on the old one and I had done exactly the same ! Plus a SQuick Island platform kit and a Peco surface mounting for a point motor. I am thinking hard about the bundle of maroon MK1 s - 6 for about £75 - seems too good to be true at £12.50 each.

A day rail trip Giggleswick - Lancaster - Warrington - Llandudno yesterday so I sought out the model shop and got a Hornby MK 1 BG in maroon and a pack of 3 Railroad mineral wagons. .

I think point motors work off 16 V AC ? - but please check this out as I use Peco ones and may be giving incorrect info!

We went on a £12.50 each Northern Rail Day Ranger yesterday - Hellifield to Lancaster then to Carlisle via Barrow and the West Cumbrian Coast, then back to Hellifield down the S and C. We had a few hours in Carlisle so the cheap rail tickets were more than offset by spending in the model shop. 2 double slips s/h but like new at £25.00 and £22.50. 7 point motors, 2 points, 7 passing contact switches and 6 section switches - I am non DCC - for controlling the vaious sections. These items are so I can continue with converting 2 bay platforms to through roads and then adding 2 new bay platforms. As the double slips were available I am changing my plans to use the slips as opposed to a pair of points and enable trains from the branch to terminate in the new through platdorms and for locos to run round full length trains. The previous plan was to use the old release crossover in the old bays that I had kept but this pair of points will now be re-located to serve the same purpose in the new bay platforms. In the new bays the double slip will also enable a loco to run round without fouling a through platorm, or to stable a loco to back onto an incoming train and depart as opposed to running round. Just need to find the time to get on with the upgrade.

Remind me what Arkitex is - was it those bases with lethal steel vertical rods that you slotted bricks into to build houses and had varios sizes of hipped roofs to go on top of the walls. ? Or was that Beiko sp ?

I remember the signals well as I still have a distant and a home one - but I think an earlier version as mine have metal bases and dont clip fit to the track. Still have a box for one as well - must be about 48 years old I would think. I dont use them on the layout - ratio on there - but have them in my hobby room on display as they give me fond memories. . I also had two splitting home bracket signals, but they are plastic posts and the bits on the end of the dolls that fasten to the gantry bit are broken and I think the posts themselves are snapped as well. On a slightly related subject I have heard that my local retailer is retiring in August - I am hoping he is able to sell it as a going concern - will be few further purchases from there unfortunately. .

Further to my 12 Jan post I have examined the MKI parcels and it is not a Railroad model - it is r4619 - I thought all MK1 s were in the railroad range ? Therefore, the price was fine - less than on this site as I was previously comparing it to the Railroad version of the parcels coach. I simply had not realised that there were main range MK1s ?

A Hornby MK 1 Parcels in Maroon, but having checked on this site, as I paid £23.75 I think it was a bit expensive from the retailer - not my usual one. It was not boxed as Railroad though ? - I thought the MK1 s are Railroad ? However I also got a triple Railroad pack of stone mineral wagons for £12.00 and they were a lot less than this site. Three Oxford vehicles as well - a LWB Land Rover - VW Beetle and an Austin Healey 3000. At Xmas I got a DoG - Railroad. I note it does not have tender pick ups - does the expensive version have these ?

For Xmas a Railroad Duke of Gloucester. For my birthday next month a maroon inspection saloon and a BG mark 1 in maroon. Plus - for now a Corrdor Brake Second MK 1 in maroon. Not just sure why I need any more coaches really - I am sure I promised myself I would not by anymore. .

A Crossley Lancaster City Transport Double Decker bus - destination Scotforth where I grew up. Plus some Lima traction tyres for my class 117 and class 121 DMUS - both direct from Hornby. The 121 has not run for about a year so I will be pleased when I can get that sorted out again - although as it has "speed whiskers" I may trade it in before too long as I prefer half yellow warning panels.