Stephen Warrington : Reference your interest in the Flying Scotsman

If you click on the Bachmann Union Jack you will see the Flying Scotsman Limited Edition in O Gauge contributed by Bachmann Europe to the National Railway Museum, York, to raise funds for the Museum.


A very nice and appropriate gesture by Bachmann Europe.

..... and what do you do when you become proficient?

Move on to Etched Brass/Nickel Silver Kits for some really unique items on your layout.

LD303 : I was serious in my comment. If I am to learn about GP30's, 38's & 40's, do they have some abiding technical feature.

I think there are other threads on the board to post pretty pictures, this one was to bring out a learning for me and for others.

What is the horsepower? What is the tractive effort? What makes them your favorite diesel loco beyond just a pretty paint scheme and a pretty picture: or as another wag would say, "a boxcar with a motor".

Scot : O'k, now you know.

I was hoping this string would be for Steam only.

Diesel bores the socks off me; unless it has some abiding technical feature of being the first at something!

The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) operated between Bath and Bournemouth in the West of England from about 1862 to the 1960's. There were spurs to Bridgwater and Burnham on the Bristol Channel Coast with the major engineering and repair works at Highbridge. There was a separate wagon and coach works for the railway.


© Colin Maggs 1984

Throughout the life of the railway locomotives were bought-out from major builders in the UK, and other railways locomotive works. No25A is of particular interest because it is one of only 3 locos undertaken as a complete build by the Highbridge Works. It was built in 1885, rebuilt in 1897 with modifications to the cab and the saddle tanks. The "Dazzler", as it was known, saw service on the railway until 1930, making up coal trains and shunting empties to and from coal mines in the Radstock area. It  completed 421,712 miles doing these meanial tasks.

I think small is beautiful, and this engine represents a real workhorse that has style and an attraction about it; with a long history too.

No one has suggested bedding-in a new set of brushes. Often the spring arrangements become slack after a certain amount of wear on the brushes
- like 20 years!

Bill : I think this reads as making a mould of an original: not making copies from the mould itself.

If it will not damage the original, I would sieze it with shellac judiciously applied, to ensure the latex compound does not pull away any of the original.

Rocks on the line!

Has anyone heard of leaves on the line to shutdown traffic?

That is what they have every Fall in the UK. Track is laid with rubber insulation pads in the sleeper chairs, so that any short curcuit will set signals to red. The Guard has a rod to otherwise set across the rails to short them out, and set the signals to red, to avoid oncoming trains meeting an incident. I have never understood why the mass of the steel wheels and axles does not perform the job too: but a belt & braces system operates in an emergency.

The Fall season of leaves falling on the track also does a pretty good job, when a train is not present.

As you all know, we in Arizona did not have to change our time.

However, WE DID HAVE PROBLEMS !!!

The local NBC affiliate could not record Tim Russert's "Meet The Press" without making a complete pigs-ear out of it.

This is a serious request.

Is everyone just too busy playing trains?

Stephen : I'm interested in your O gague AC set-up. What is the direction changing system. I had AC Trix and it was a real toss-up as to which direction the engine would move when the voltage was increased!

Terry : Business does move its hours to suit needs. It is only 9-5 on the East Coast.

In the West we have always altered our back office hours in business to run in unison with the East Coast, to 7-4.

Have you tried a dab of DAP silicone sealer. It is powerful stuff, fills the gap, stays flexible - but you have to have clean surfaces without any sweaty finger grease, and to be patient to give it the full undisturbed 24 hours to cure.

Be sure to keep it away from moving parts, best applied on the end of a wooden match stick. Surplus can be removed with wet rag immediately.