What About The Bee

No wonder Rocket lost. Speed is restricted to 16 mph on the mainline. Driver fined for arriving early. Bee

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Apologies @atom3624 That rant was not directed at you, although in retrospect, I can see how you might perceive it that way. Not my intention. I do suppose a gapping device could be made, but it would need to be "per wheel profile". Hallelujah, no! The problem with this is that the inside of the flange is at a steep angle, with a relieved inside corner to the tread of the drum and the thickness of the flange at root is per manufacturer. So to accurately set the gap, our profil-gap-o-meter (trademark pending) needs to match the profile. What do I think the actual solution is? The fierce British Independence you lot are known for is working directly against us. We need a standard, like the NMRA RP-25 standard for wheels. We need a track and point standard. Once that is actually in place, and the cats to be herded¹ obey, then the simple back-to-back gauge will absolutely work. Alternatively, the crystal clear discussion over the proper back to back, Like this one, will continue. Bee ¹ Herd of cats: British manufacturers of model railway kit. Accurascale, Peco, Bachmann, Hornby, Dapol etc al.

The problem with strictly relying upon the back to back is that it ignores the wheel profile and how that engages the track. The thickness of the flange and the interior radius from the flange as it transitions to the drum of the tread will determine how the wheels sit on the track. The width of the drum of the tread is equally ignored when merely setting back to back. Yet the width of the drum, when considered with the front to back, will control how the wheel transitions through a frog. As a first order control, setting the back to back is very useful. Yet under the British Model Railway system, no manufacturer follows any standard other than their own, and each is poorly documented. The entire conglomeration of rail profile, wheel profile and frog profiles is a holistic system. A system. Not just a standard back to back setting, independent of random manufacturer. Rant over. Bee

That's my view as well Aussie Fred. His hand motion is "move to the side, move to the side". At the very end, he gives the ubiquitous American hand gesture of thanks (two fingers), when the very last id-10-T finally gets out of the way. Bee PS never in the Navy. Just very well read on naval matters.

@Ilmson I did see your post. Full Forum Guidelines Rule 5: "We strive for a family-friendly atmosphere." Rule 10: "Posting ... pornography ... is strictly forbidden. Please do try to remember that this is a corporate sponsored forum, occasionally viewed by children. What you posted was entirely unsuitable for children. And a bit of friendly, if completely unsolicited, old man advice¹: Arguing with moderators is a really bad idea. They observed your post, deleted it for obvious rules violations and admonished you. Why are you arguing? Let this go and please read the rules. Have fun, but stay inside the lines. Friendly advice over Bee ¹who doesn't love that

No problem finding the post Fishy. I do understand the urge to categorize posts and sort them into the appropriate bins. It does make for an orderly appearance. I'm just not sure it is useful as a search function, when other far more powerful tools are available. @Skelton JunctionGot the pun before the explanation! 😁 Well played! Bee

Union Pacific has warned folks of the danger https://youtu.be/2kPeGesVXXA?si=NsdnQTkCw3jVLhfc Bee

Hi Mark R604 and R605 are 1st radius curves (371 mm). They are on the track plan you presented. Almost all modern locomotives and rolling stock are designed to 2nd radius curves (438 mm). Small 0-4-0 locomotives and short wheelbase rolling stock excepted, they will make the curve. Modern locomotives will likely not make it around that bend, either stalling because the wheels are binding against the track, OR derailing because the wheels do not fit. 40 year old locomotives handled 1st radius, today, not so much. Even if they do, that's a lot of strain. Bee

I could not find any reference to Hornby Track Plan E5. Hornby Track Plan 5E does exist however. I think this the plan @Mark-1276278is referring to. Track Plan 5E 6 × 4 layout. Purple denotes the elevated section. This will include 1st radius curves. The inclined planes will be very steep indeed. As to the "number of sleepers" in the elevated section? I'm not certain what you are after. Sleepers in each piece of set track could be counted. Would you kindly clarify what you are trying to achieve Mark? Thanks Bee

https://youtube.com/shorts/uPxWe4n0LXI?si=9Vs8Pjxxh85fuoG2 UP, up Donner Pass Bee

Probably quite innocent. You can delete private conversations if you feel uncomfortable. How I purchased an expensive bit of kit. I was studying the specs on a piece of highly desirable equipment. It was made in the 1930s. This one was in ideal condition. Needed it for a project. Fell asleep while examining it. Three days later, the gentleman asked when I was to pay for my purchase. Sure enough, I had opted to purchase in my sleep. Tapped the button, apparently, but did not notice that when I woke up. I completed the transaction. The Admiral had me keel hauled. Most unpleasant. Bee

The Rev. John Brewster, "The Parochial History and Antiquities of Stockton-Upon-Tees...", first edition, 1799. He updated and revised the tome, a second edition, which was published in 1829. An exciting lead, indeed, because of the railway! When I first reviewed the second edition, I was incredibly disappointed. Whilst he does use the word "railway", there are only 16 occurrences. In hundreds of pages, only 16 occurrences of the word. Further, those 16 are clustered in a yet another re-telling of Opening Day. One I had seen repeated many, many times. The typical recounting of passengers and freight. The recounting is only interesting if not previously encountered, anywhere else. Apparently, the Rev Brewster did not care much for railways. So I bid the Rev Brewster a good day and moved on. How wrong I was. Tucked away, in an appendix, is this marvelous sketch. The text refers us back to the text about Opening Day, so we can be sure that this locomotive operated on the S&DR. Yet, it cannot be Active. It cannot be the locomotive used on Opening Day. Why not? Because it depicts the parallel motion which only came on later locomotives. The double criss-cross of that motion betwixt cylinders is fairly distinctive. The slide bars depicted for the Killingworth Engine and Active are quite a bit different. If you go back through this thread, you can see many depictions if the slide bars, but almost no depictions of the parallel motion. Here is one and it is from 1829. George Stephenson's exarsting pipe (blast pipe) is present, connecting the exhaust from both cylinders to the chimney. This feature can be observed on the Hetton Colliery locomotives, so it is no surprise here. Further, we have a depiction of the coupling rod, the successor to the chain. Proof that coupling rods were used on S&DR locomotives, but given the 1829 date, not proof of use on Active. The drag chain is shown behind the chimney, implying chimney to the rear as it dragged chaldrons. Interesting. See my yellow arrow in Brewster's sketch. That vertical rod centered between the sweep (connecting) rods is apparently to control the valve timing. There should be two rods, of course, one each for the slide valve timing of each piston / axle, both on the same side, as depicted in better drawings. On the whole, the drawing is exciting for the 1829 date and what it portrays. It is so inexpertly drawn that details may not be vacuumed from the sketch. The piston rod closest to the chimney is not centered. The parallel motion is grossly incomplete. Where is the footplate running down the side? The public's attention was turning to that vast new Stephenson project, the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. Grand tunnels and new locomotives. Elegant new rolling stock. The S&DR seems rather quaint by comparison, even if only 4 years old. A drawing of an S&DR locomotive, after 4 years of railway evolution, even when poorly drawn, is priceless. Bee https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044081229080&seq=7

Hear Hear! Pink might interest little girls. Rosie, of Thomas fame, is pink and that is perfectly fine, if that is what they want. Or Stephan. Or Thomas. Who are not pink. But for adult women? Bee

Hi 96RAF This is how I end up with 'spares'. I can't find the part? I just get another one. The lost one will turn up eventually. Instant spare! Bee

Hornby is a leisure time competitor to hiking, gardening & etc. Fundamentally, what will a person occupy their time with, when chores, work, sleeping and eating are over? One of those activities is model railways, in competition with book clubs, knitting, train spotting & etc. The Admiral is an avid gardener. Part of that hobby is attending Flower Shows (conventions). One show, in particular, has a competition called Miniature Worlds. Dioramas with small plants, creating a scale model. Wildly popular with the crowds, the lines to see this competition are enormous, all day long. Comments from the crowd revolve around "did you see the...". Based on decades of observation, women love this competition. Essentially the doll house experience. At the risk of making all the men here wince, the parallels between the doll house experience and a well executed scenic layout are fairly strong. Both are a miniature world. Both demand a strong emphasis on accurate details. Scale matters. Aside from actually asking women what Hornby might do to interest them in model railways, the miniature world is a possibility Bee

Hi @Dawn Quest The magical moment in that interview was when Ollie could not (would not) articulate how he expected to attract women into the hobby. He resorted to that time worn diversion of suggesting that he could not reveal his plan because "competition" Hilarious! Bee

Hi LesXRN May I mildy disagree with that statement? 1) If / When the Black 5 becomes available, you will have it at the 2022 price, not the 'new' price. Instant cost savings. If you were going to buy it anyway, why not save the delta? 2) Unlike at retailers, Hornby does not demand a down payment. Contrast this with the major US manufacturer Lionel. 10% down at preorder. A Hornby pre-order costs nothing, and you can always cancel. Perhaps you would explain the downside from your perspective? Bee