Model Railway - What's your latest acquisition?

[Postman Prat]

Hi BB

 

I hope you give your postman a big tip at christmas. All these parcels and having to meet you down the road - I bet he wonders what goes on in your house!!

[Bulleidboy]

We don't appear to have a regular postman -whether its shifts or holidays, but they do seem to chop and change alot. Caerphilly Castle caught me out, I saw the email saying the coaches had been shipped, checked where I was with the "plastic" - as you commented - a number of parcels this month. The statement was a little larger than expected - so checked the "shipping" email again, and there was the Castle tucked in at the bottom of the list. It is the last of my January 2014 pre-orders. 

[The son of Triangman]

An R.140 signal gantry. It's yellowed with age but this is easily sorted. Another 3 good ones to find. It's a pity Hornby don't make this range of signals today, they went out of production in 1977-1978 which is a pity are they are closer to scale than their replacements that came into the range in 1978 and which are still made today./media/tinymce_upload/DSCN0816.JPG

[NFSCARBON]

My latest purchases were a Triang Track Cleaning Car for £3 and a Hornby Dublo R1 tank for £15 (which runs like it's brand new!).

My latest aquisition however is a Triang Nellie that once belonged to my girlfriends late grandfather. It needs some tlc, some motor brushes and a neo magnet, but otherwise is a lovely little thing

[Fazy]

An R.140 signal gantry. It's yellowed with age but this is easily sorted. Another 3 good ones to find. It's a pity Hornby don't make this range of signals today, they went out of production in 1977-1978 which is a pity are they are closer to scale than their replacements that came into the range in 1978 and which are still made today./media/tinymce_upload/DSCN0816.JPG

 

 How do you sort out the yellowinS.O

T?.

 

[the flying hodor]

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my  first  full  sized coach

[The son of Triangman]

Two ways Fazy, you can treat it with a special bleaching solution for the job which will return the surface colour unless the yellowing has gone too deep, or spray the gantry with two or three coats of acrylic Matt brilliant white spray.

The later is the safe option and I prefer it as the first option doesn't always produce a good result.

[Fazy]

Cheers for that SOT. I thought you my have used some dark arts that only model railway shop keeper's knew. 

 

Oh I brought another super detailed black 5  for £30 just needs a tender smoke box darts.  And a renumber. 

Wonder how many black 5's are too many? Up to six and still don't have one with the topfeed on the frist boiler panel so another is wanted for sure

[Teedoubleudee]

Bought 4 2nd hand locos off eBay over Easter weekend including a couple of non-runners - I fancied a challenge ;-)

[choralc]

My second order of late February containing half price Skaledale arrived today:

R8711 Cememt Hopper

R9755 Low Relief Warehouse

R9762 Holiday Coach Access Steps

R9774 National Merchant Bank

R9784 and R9798 Butterley Extension and Loo Buildings (to go wth other Butterley pieces I have)

R9788 Loco Shed Lean-To

R9790 Derelict Coaches

R9791 Crescent House

R9794 Barn Workshop

and one more R8247 Accessory Decoder.

Now if only the order the week before with a red 'Hall' and other bits and pieces had arrived too! Soon, Grasshopper, soon!

[choralc]

The message above should have read late March (which took 11 days from order to delivery. The first order from the 20th arrived yesterday after three weeks of placing the initial order. I had put in a variation and it  obviously took took awhile to do a new invoice (same price but different item).

 

The main contents being:

R2672 CR 0-4-0

R3064 'Smokey Joe'

R3169 GWR 4-6-0 'Olton Hall' 4900 Hall Class

R9644 x 2 Terrace Townhouse (Unpainted)

R9777 Weighbridge Office

Other items included two spare motors, County Class Valve Gear Coupling Rods for the 4-4-0 model as I bent the rods on one side when refitting a traction tyre that had come off (don't ask me how!!!), three setsof Ringfield brushes one set with springs, two sets of the tender connectors and plugs and the plug extractor tool.

[rayarpino]

It arrived on Tuesday 14 April after a very long wait: a GNR liveried Atlantic from Shildon. It really is elegant and exquisitely detailed and runs ever so smoothly. A bit pricey but still well below the prices charged by German manufacturers (though they are generally superior in many ways but I am out of railway modelling if engines start costing between 400 and 600 quid)). I am convinced Hornby's Atlantic will be equally good if not better but that one did not travel in my territory. So it's another long wait now for someone to produce GNR coaches(can also be liveried in LNER and some in early BR). Something for Atlantics and Singles to pull, though the long-awaited latter remains another long wait away.. 

[VESPA]

Just got another 12 wheel dining car in BR red/cream S/H @ £16 (new will be £44.95 in a few days time) and fitted 14mm metal wheels (New also). A s/h Lima cct bogie van in BR red/cream and another BR long CCT van at £12.49 new! My last one about 5 weeks ago was £19.99, or full price. Also the new Bachmann catalogue to go with my Hornby catalogue of this year, for reference use.

[The son of Triangman]

Duke of Gloucester, 4 BR MK1's, signals(wish Hornby would make these again as they are close to scale compared to the current ones) and a Tri-ang signal box./media/tinymce_upload/d5b0bcb3b04dd36bf68125ce95ccd712.JPG

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[Twintop]

 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. 

. 

[The son of Triangman]

I remember the earlier ones. They bring back so many happy memories, I'm slowly increasing my stock of them for the new layout. Finding good ones is difficult at times, they go for silly money on ebay alas.   The brackets are also on the list as well, got to find quite a few and some "dollys" for an R.140 as well.

Sad to here your local retailer is retiring, I hope someone takes his business on or it's another little model shop gone.  I'm planning for my retirement as well. 15 good working years left but I shall probably carry on until I'm 70, just need to find a job now I'm no longer in the trade but it's proving somewhat difficult in the current economic climate, jobs for retail, business managers and CAD designers aren't about in my neck of the woods in any quantity. I've ruled out going back into IT as it changes too quickly and there's nothing locally in that field.

[choralc]

Two lovely locos today.

R2745 SR 4-4-0 Schools Class 'Wellington 902' now fitted with a DCC Concepts decoder (with stay alive provided still to be added)

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and 31-715 LNER 4-6-0 B1 '1123' from the other mob with decoder fitted

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[Coronation_Streamliner]

 I am looking forward to the delivery of a Bluebox Billinton E4.  Hope the Hornby Class 700 are released soon (also the Crosti-9F's).

[Graskie]

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Just look at what I recently managed to fabricate from a small piece of one of my gold bars! I hope I've gauged it right.

I used this for the first time the other evening and it's great. It beats the old cold common steel ruler, being much quicker to use and saving eye strain. Its round edges tapering inwards make it extremely easy to work it into the inside of wheels and, for some reason, it is a real pleasure to use. You can gently ease wheels wider apart (which seems to be the more usual adjustment required) or, presumably, press any wheels which happen to be too wide apart onto it.

 

[96RAF]

I find mine invaluable Graskie. I had to bevel the outer edges to help insert it in the gap as it came with square edges.

A tip for people new to using these handy tools - watch out you don't damage any pickup wipers on the backs of the wheels.

My latest acquisition has nothing to do with model railways, except it has diverted my attention from the layout. A boring pressure switch for the water pump on my roof - got to be fixed even in 27 Deg heat else I have no water in the house.

When I was in the UK the site where I have a lodge was selling off an old holiday caravan, about 40ft long by 10 ft wide for 200 quid. It would have made a great railway room, but the site owner said no way could I park it up behind the lodge and call it a garden shed even if I painted it brown - so its back to the drawing board on that project.

[cooped]

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Just look at what I recently managed to fabricate from a small piece of one of my gold bars! I hope I've gauged it right.

I used this for the first time the other evening and it's great. It beats the old cold common steel ruler, being much quicker to use and saving eye strain. Its round edges tapering inwards make it extremely easy to work it into the inside of wheels and, for some reason, it is a real pleasure to use. You can gently ease wheels wider apart (which seems to be the more usual adjustment required) or, presumably, press any wheels which happen to be too wide apart onto it.

 

 

 I could do with one of those, but what's it called and where can I get one?

 

[96RAF]

Its a back to back gauge Cooped and you can get them from several places including Gaugemaster. Some  have slots for gears and some not. They come in different widths to suit your scale e.g. N, 00, EM, etc.

Being usually solid brass they are not cheap - about 15 quid, so I wouldn't want to put a price on Graskie's gold one.

[RB51]

Gauges are about £5 here

 

http://www.markits.com

 

R-

[walkingthedog]

Just got a solid brass Markits one from Peters Spares for a £5-84 +p & p. 

[Graskie]

And I thought you were a steel ruler afficionado, WTD. Mine was really £6.56 plus p&p from the same place. No regrets, it's probably better than your cheaper version.