Another area that is moving very slowly is the scanning of my old prints and slides. Still, I`m in no rush to get them all done, it`s just nice to add a few every once in a while as way of a change.
Above is a small collection of photos from the early 80`s, these particular ones were taken at Rugby, Cathiron and Coventry. I may get these uploaded one of these days......

Anyway, typing away at this keyboard is going to get little done, so I had better crack on! Oh I forgot, the latest Rail Express came through the door today, so maybe I`ll just browse through that first......

On my Stereo: Future Sound of London - Lifeforms

To be honest, I think I already knew the answer before I started, but after constructing some Parkside Dundass VEA Vanwide kits, I wondered if the old Hornby versions which I`ve had boxed up for many years could be used in any form. Maybe with some extra work and detailing they could be used alongside the newly constructed Parkside models?

I had never noticed before, but the Hornby wagon is a lot shorter when compared to the more recent kit. Having done no research into what the correct dimensions are, I am unable to say which one is wrong, but I have my suspicions....... Maybe that crude underframe which has also housed fictitious 'Weetabix', 'Kit-kat', and various other child attracting wagons may have something to do with a shortened VEA?
So, it looks like these Hornby offerings have no use for me at all, and will be erased from my collection. You`ll be able to see some of the kit-built wagons once painting is complete.

On my Stereo: Thom Yorke - The Eraser

Never being afraid to experiment with 'new' gadgets, I picked up a packet of Hornby`s recent R8220 NEM Couplers to see if they would be of any use to me. Some quarters have described these couplings as 'Close couplers', probably due to the similarity to the excellent Roco close couplers which I use in great numbers. However, to be fair to Hornby, these couplers do not have any mention of 'Close coupling' on the packet, or on their website. Should these couplings be judged on how close they can couple, or should they be seen as a commendable effort in moving away from the tension lock system?

Before I go any further, these new couplings are not rebranded Roco couplings. The Hornby offering is longer in length by approximately 2mm, so when a pair is coupled, the distance between wagons or coaches would be 4mm more when Hornby couplings are used.

However, this does not automatically rule the Hornby version out. Just look at the result (above) when using Hornby couplings between Bachmann Mk1 coaches.....

And just look at how useless the Roco ones are for this purpose. They are so short that they don`t even lock together.

My next experiment involved the first wagons which came to hand, these being a couple of Bachmann MFA`s. This time round it`s role-reversal. The Hornby couplers have actually spaced the wagons further apart than if they had been linked by tension lock style couplings, so not much use here! Whereas the Roco couplers are ideally suited to this wagon as can be seen below.

My experiments will not end here, but we can already see that Roco couplings can suit better in one instance, and Hornby scores points in another.
On a final note, The Hornby offerings are compatible with the traditional Roco coupler. The coupling action may not be as smooth as Roco to Roco, or Hornby to Hornby, but they join together well enough all the same.

On my Stereo: The Dining Rooms - Versioni Partiscolari

Tuesday lunchtime - 1st August 2006

Opposed Expansion!!

Most of the tracklaying on the layout was done during the winter months. It was nice and cool in the loft then. However, it`s not nice and cool at the moment, and the heat has been busy wreaking havoc!
Here we can see the result of some rails expanding due to the heat. The affected area seen here is on the upper fiddle yard, so cosmetics are of no real concern. This little problem should be rectified with only a small amount of work and time, but it`s very annoying nonetheless. The sleepers in the middle of the join are dummies which were glued into place.

There are a few other sections of trackwork which have been affected, but the severity is minimal. I wonder what the outcome would have been on ballasted sections of track. Would the track be forced upwards, or would the expanding somehow be contained?

I`ve also been working on overhauling some of my AC locomotives, and finishing some wagon kits, although I don`t think the progress is interesting enough to justify regular updates. However, here we can see repainted 86233 finally nearing completion.
Will I get all of my projects finished before Christmas? Maybe if I get a 'month of Sundays' thrown in for good measure!

On my Stereo: Puddle of Mud - Come Clean

Sunday evening - 23rd July 2006

Kits and pieces.

I have spent today doing a few odds and ends. About time I got round to doing some of those finishing touches, and getting round to completing a few half finished kits.....

I`ve had numerous wagon kits which have been in limbo for many months now. Uncomplete wagons included some Turbots, Rudd, Clams, OBA`s and some VEA`s. I also had some ZKA 'Limpets' earmarked for conversion, but it will now be a lot easier to simply wait for the Bachmann release!

Unfortunately, I`ve been unable to take the OBA wagons any further as they seem to be winning at the game of hide and seek! A job for another rainy day then!

I`m also slowly working through my locomotive refurbishment programme, albeit running about 3 months behind schedule. Here we can see some 86`s which are receiving bufferbeam improvements.

On my Stereo: Placebo - Meds

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