LCDR

Didn't Anne Boleyn have this feature (five fingers and a thumb)?

RT said - "If you look at some of those early Tri-ang box covers you can see that some of the tracks don't actually go anywhere and there are usually at least one pair of trains on a collision course. Of course, Tri-ang aren't alone in this, many other manufacturers did something similar. I wonder if they'd be able to get away with it now as it clearly doesn't show the contents of the box. " This was the case from day 1. The first Princess passenger sets had a box cover illustration which were presumably made with the original non-universal track and where a set of points might be the track was concealed by a train. Only the 6" LMS carriages hauled by a Princess and Trackmaster N2, vans and opens were visible. The later cover pictures continued these fiction as Rana correctly points out. The objective seemed to be to include as much stock, track and scenery as possible. Things got better later and the Primary Series sets introduced after Series 3 track appeared did include viable layouts. /media/tinymce_upload/6ae0c05ab345e5a2be66f7ed46a9bdee.jpg I actually built this one and exhibited it! /media/tinymce_upload/ab1570748d1e60682fbd3d2894f3054b.JPG

/media/tinymce_upload/848bcc3b8fba4ef4d169e8e0621478bb.JPG This is the original R41 Triang Battery Box which took 2 x 6v lantern batteries. It gobbles up batteries at prodigious rate, and is probably the most expensive way to run your trains. There are quite a few options. Avoid the modern train set controllers which are designed for modern motors which have very low current demand but cannot cope with older less efficient motors. The Hornby HM 2000 has already been mentioned and I have one which I use with older models fairly successfully. Gaugemaster and Morley are two other contemporary controller makers. I have Gaugemaster controllers too and these are also good. If you don;t object to second hand older Hamment & Morgan Clipper or Duette are still available on the second hand market but you need to get them tested by an electrician before you plug them in. I have both of these too and they still give sterling service.

I have successfully done this using both Modelmaster and Fox plates and transfers to give model locos a new identity . A GWR locomotive is very easy because the new plates (name plate and number plates) can usually be stuck on top of the original which if already a transfer will present a smooth surface. You may need to carefully paint over the original transfers if they are larger than the new etched plates. If the original locomotive already has etched name and number plates you will have to remove thgese carefully with a sharp scalpel, before applying the new ones. If your model is in BR colours you will need to add a smokebox number plate which usually comes with the etched name and cab side number plates, but if you loco is in GWR colours you omit the smokebox number plate, but using transfers replace the numbers on the front buffer beam. You will need to repaint the buffer beam first. Any areas where you will be adding transfers should first be painted with gloss paint, and after the transfer has been applied and allowed to dry and harden, you should then seal it with satin of matt varnish to match the rest of the livery.

I think I have told this before, but my best puller was a Wrenn "Clan Line". We were exhibiting the club layout "Highley" at the Sheffield City Hall, and it was getting near the end of the show. So just for amusement we set "Clan Line" away with twelve carriages, no problem, so kept adding six at a time until we had used up our entire stock of 36 by which time the rear coach was about a foot from the front of the loco. Clan Line didn't stall or slip!

You do not say if the set was new or pre-owned. A new set should usually come with a trackmat, and a plastic envelope with instructions for the set and the locomotive. The cheap controller which comes with the set doesn't have a lot of stamina but with a new set ought to work for more than ten circuits. Check out the sticky post at the top of the forum which should have a link to a pdf which describes basic fault finding. One useful tip is to use a PP3 9v battery to test the loco. Usually touching wheels on both sides with the battery terminals should get a reaction, the wheels should turn. If not there may be a fault in the motor. The cheap controllers have a thermal cut out and after a while it warms up enough to trip. If you leave it for five minutes to cool down nine times out of ten it will start up again.

I rather liked the fanciful Triang Set box pictures of layouts we certainly could not afford! /media/tinymce_upload/b6adb3db347dc52df1d7a8efc616302c.JPG

This is one of mine there are four brass screws in the roof. /media/tinymce_upload/3a542b0b2619cca4f9ff71b21f5b4ee7.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/2b30ab99e57e1355c44da89c1f01f95a.JPG

The roofs of Hornby No 2/3 and Special Pullmans and the Metropolitan coaches are attached by four thumb screws in the roof which screw into roof supports which also support the sides.. Soap and water and a gentle soft brush can be used to remove dirt, but must be dried off thoroughly afterwards.

Airfix kits were a very important part of my youth. I built many Airfix aircraft, ships, cars, and of course the Railway rolling stock and buildings*. With Meccano construction outfits and Triang Trains it occupied most of my spare time, and taught me how to put things together and make them work. *Kitmaster railway kits too came along at the same time and added to my delight. Of course there are modern equivalents (almost) with Parkside rolling stock kits now marketted by Peco, and Slaters too. I have moved up to building wagons in 7mm scale (eyesight isn't what it used to be) but I do have a bit more pocket money nowadays.

Has to be time now to produce the J69. Looking back at a past wishlist where the J69 was requested it can be seen by the fact that having over 4000 views that this is an endorsement of just how popular this small engine is.

Link may not work, post is a 'sticky' at top of forum.

Yes you can add tracks to the basic set to make the run longer. There are in fact Hornby extension Packs to help you do this, although you can add track pieces you choose yourself. Chrissaf’s guide can be found here: A Guide to Getting Started with Track Extension Packs

/media/tinymce_upload/b540eae2f5837876d5ae7b029c3f8453.JPG Wooden sleeper points in stretches of concrete sleeper plain line was (and still is) very common. Concrete rail bearers used in points have to be specially cast to accomodate the fastenings used to hold down the rails so it is cheaper just to keep a small number of sizes and use standard turnouts than to put in bespoke sets of P&C. Where non-standard geometry is required it is still normal to use wooden point timbers.

It has been raised here before, but the NER was one of the most important pre-Grouping companies having a monopoly in the North East of England including all of Northumberland and Durham and a significant proportion of England's finest county, Yorkshire. Unlike the LMSR the LNER chose to continue using pre-Grouping NER designs so many survived long into British Railways service, and in fact the J27 proved to be the last pre-Groupiung class to work on BR. The NER has to date been poorly represented in ready to run models, with for a long time only the J72 being available. The Q6 from Hornby was a complete surprise, and at last someone is going to add a J27. A little anecdote about the B16 class. In my days working in the Regional Controll Office at Newcastle upon Tyne, I worked alongside many railwaymen whose experiences went back to the 1950s and were able to speak with personal experience Part of our job was to tell signalmen which trains were to be given preference over others and usually this meant sidelining a freight train to allow an express passenger train (EP) to get a clear run. Our patch extended from Northallerton to Berwick upon Tweed, and out to Corby Gates just outside Carlisle. Using huge graph paper charts we monitored the running of all trains, and by looking at the slope of the line we drew in coloured pencil we could tell if a train was doing OK or if it was in difficulties. In my time there every thing was diesel hauled, but many of my colleagues had their roots in days when trains were all hauled by steam. A freight train running well might be allowed to run ahead of an EP with tighter margins than were officially allowed, and 99 times out of 100 they got away with it. They said however that the B16 did not perform very well, and if York Control informed them a down freight train had a B16 on the front, they would be prepared to side line it at the first opportunity. Giving a B16 a 'run' would nearly always result in delay to following services. The V2 was always the preferred option for a fast freight train.

Certainly there is a good jusification for introducing a RTR B16 being one of the more numerous classes of mixed traffic LNER locomotives.

Oh dear! Terminology garbled again! The track piece where one line passes over another is called a CROSSING, or more correctly a DIAMOND CROSSING. A crossover is a combination of two points (two left, or two right hand points normally) which allows trains to cross over from one parallel line to another . Like this - /media/tinymce_upload/a16ea1abc593530586d20f1c6e6713da.jpg

Most modern train sets use OO gauge "Set Track" which follow a geometry adopted by Triang / Hornby many years ago. The rail section is "Code 100" and the distance between the rails is 16.5mm (which is the same as HO as used in the USA and Europe) . Track which conforms to this standard is sold by Hormby, but also by Bachmann and Peco and which are mutually compatible. Hornby track is identified by stock numbers with an R prefix. Peco on the other hand has a prefix ST, Bachmann track has a numeric code starting 36-. The straight track sections are all thge same length and curves are of similar radii. Most modern trains need second radius or larger. Some track can be found from other European and US makers, but before buying this you need to check that it is Code 100 rail. Also the geometry may differ It is safest to stick to Hornby, Bachmann or Peco. Peco offer alternative track systems, most notably Streamline, which uses a different geometry and a larger range of points and crossings. This is intended for modellers who want track of more realistic appearance. It can be used with train set track but adjustments will be needed using flexible track, cut and bent to shape, to make it match the rails in the train set. This is intended for the more advanced modeller.

I did once use a Princess Elizabeth chassis with a Kitmaster Biggin Hill kit to create 34033 "CHARD" . At one time you could buy brass covers to stick on to the outside of the wheels to represent the Boxpoc wheels but I used car body filler and painted the shapes on. (This was the early 1960s) . The Biggin Hill kit is still available from Dapol.

This forum isn't that good at getting a value on an old, probably pre-War, train set. These are very specialised items and are only of interest to collectors. Condition of the items is vitally important, it should work, and should have very little or no damage, scratches or faded paintwork. All accessories such as keys should be present. The original box will also affect the value lack of one will reduce the value by between 50 and 75%, and a damaged box will affect it by between a third and a half. Items that have been repainted especially by unprofessional practitioner will also be valued very low. If you want a value you should look on the auction sites to see if anything similar is being offered for sale, If you can get hold of a Ramsey Guide you may find the model listed but the values in there are for items in good to mint condition.

Hornby made a pre-production model of the Z many years ago but it never made production. Many railways had a small fleet of hump shunters usually with eight driving wheels for pushing 'cuts' of wagons over the hump from where they ran down by gravity into sorting sidings. The North Eastern Railway had the T1 4-8-0T, the Great Central Railway had the S1 0-8-4T which were also built by the LNER, and also converted some Q4 0-8-0s to Q1 0-8-0T. The LNWR had some 0-8-2T and 0-8-4Ts of Webb design. The London & South Western Railway had the G16 4-8-0T . Maunsell's Z class 0-8-0T were the last of the steam hump shunters to appear. By the end of the 1930s diesel shunters were beginning to appear in marshalling yards to perform this duty, and displacing steam. The LNER and LMSR started to use these sometimes two in tandem. BR went one better in 1965 with the introduction of the class 13 which was created by coupling two diesel shunters together and controlling them from one cab. /media/tinymce_upload/33c18de9e1ba6f4407fedf7e61126c24.JPG

The problem with hump yards is rollability, this applies both to the real world and to models. I worked in Tinsley Yard where we had a hump, but it was one of the few places with the Dowty system which speeded up or slowed down wagons as they ran down the hump and into the sorting sidings. This was achieved by a series of hydraulic pistons attached to the rails which retarded or boosted the wagon accoding to the speed which in part was detected by radar. The pistons are visible here, and these acted on the flanges of the wheels of passing wagons. /media/tinymce_upload/fabf8bfb2cf6dba1a88b03039194c880.jpg In older marshalling yards retarders were long clamps which squeezed the wheels of passing wagons if they were going too fast, but were unable to speed them up. Wagons that stopped had to be pushed down by the shunting engine. In the model world the wheels need to be free running, and modern pin-point axles will normally give you this. Old Triang or Hornby Dublo stock is unlikely to run quite as free.

I seem to remember the thread of the thumb screws on the back of a H&M Clipper / Duette is 4BA.

Sounds like the motor needs rewinding check out www.scalespeed.co.uk

Great stuff JB, you HAVE been busy!