Red passenger train

 

As part of the preperation for the NGRS, I've been sorting through the 32mm gauge stock to assemble a (hopefully) reliable collection for the day. I'm going to run through the trains, as much as an aide memoire for myself as anything else. I plan to update these posts with details of how reliable each loco was, so I can remember to do something about it.  

First up, the IP Engineering passenger train. I built most of this in a weekend at Peterborough show year ago, then finished it for the NGRS years later. On its first outing, it ran perfectly, and for a long while on its single pair of AAA batteries. 

Emboldened by this, the next year I tried again, and the coaches kept leaping off the track. Adding weight by pouring stones from the ballast in through the open windows helped a bit, as it did the following year, but we really need proper weight. I've now stuck sheet lead under the floors to see what difference this makes. 

The loco could do with some better switch gear, all we have is an on/off on the battery box floating around in the cab. That will have to wait as I can't work out where to mount an easily accesible switch yet, but it would make operation a little easier. 

At the show: Not good. The guard's coach kept hopping off the track, for no obvious reason, so the trains spent the day in the box under the layout. I'll need to have another serious look at this coach. Maybe it's unsavable? 

The loco on the other hand worked well. Towards the end of the day, we put it on some Big-Big skip wagons, and it handled six of these with ease. One of the axleboxes is delaminating, but that's an easy fix with PVA another day.

Farewell EiM

 

So, Engineering in Miniature magazine has reached the end of the line. This is a shame, but not a great surprise. 

I have an affection for the publication, because I edited it for six months, back in 2017. At the time I did my best, but knew I wasn't the right person for the job, Andrew Charman, who took over the editors' desk was a far better fit. 

During my time, the biggest struggle was to find people willing to write for the magazine. Repeated enquiries at shows were met with very little success, and not a few rude responses as though it was wrong of me to even ask. Andrew enjoyed more success, but the regular appeals for new content in the editorials, suggests it was hard work. 

One problem is that this isn't a big market, and it's not growing, but is served by three magazines. EiM, Model Engineer and Model Engineer's Workshop. I suspect that very few people subscribed to all threee, yet there were a trio of outlets looking for content every month. Content that is highly technical and often needs to include working drawings. 

So, while I'm not privy to all the details, my understanding is that the magazine was losing a little money, and no one could work out how to reverse the decline, not helped by the readership (judging by the attendees at the Midlands show) being on the old side, so it was time to close. At least there was suficient notice for Andrew to wrap things up properly, something that the publishers didn't have to do, but care enough to do so. 

Hopefully, the readers will transfer to one of the remaining publications. Perhaps it might even remind the market that if you don't use it, you lose it!

Saturday Film Club: A tour of Killybegs model railway

Large scale? Unusual? My sort of layout!

Off to the NGRS

 

 

This weekend, it's the biggest garden railway show in the country - and handily, it's moved just down the road from me!

This ought to be good news. Normally I have a bit of a drive with a van-load of material to build our "Garden railway in a day" display. Sadly, the limitations of the venue mean I can't get the van in the building, never mind to the stand for loading and unloading. 

This means a much reduced garden this year as lugging half a ton of material the length of the building on my own isn't an option. Even if it was, the job would take so long I'd not have time to build the layout!

Never mind, I'll still be around to chat all things garden railways, and be really pleased to see anyone who drops by. The show looks like it will be as terrific as ever - loads to see and buy!

Full details of the show on their website.

Selly Oak lives!

 

Long term readers will remember my Selly Oak project - a commission from Rapido during lockdown, that gradually became a burden to me, rather than a joy. When I delivered it to them, and then the person whose garage it was in left the company, I assumed that would be the last anyone would see of it. 

But no! Looking in the latest newsletter, there is a Fleetline bus posed on the model. 

It seems that the layout is now safely in Kent, and should be seeing more bus action later in the year.