Hot Fuzz by Phil Cooper

Hot Fuzz

by Phil Cooper

There’s a lot of work going on in Highland Railways this week. In case you didn’t read the last blog, “Black Friday” I’ll bring you up to date. I bought a new Javelin train pack, but I didn’t realise it would not run on Hornby 1^st Radius (R605) track. I bought it primarily because it had 2 coaches which I could pair up with my older Javelin coaches and give me new locos too. BUT Hornby had changed the coupling on the new coaches. My older Javelin had couplings which were a ring and hook, but this new Javelin had different coupling which were male, and female pushed together, similar to the Pendolino and GWR Class 800 couplings so couldn’t be used with the older coaches.

So, my brilliant plan failed miserably. Things got even worse when I put the new Javelin on the track, and it derailed on the 1st Radius (R605) curves. I later found out from the friendly people at Hornby Customer Support that the train would not work on 1^st Radius curves. So, I have had to alter my layout. It was something I was thinking about anyway. For those of you new to the hobby, please try and “future-proof” your layout. It took me 2 years to eventually set up this layout and I have been running it for about 4 years now adding extensions to fit in a container base and a TMD and a branch line and mainline station, Harrison City. So the plan I decided on was to completely remove the inner oval with the offending 1^st Radius curves and then shorten the old outer oval and move it to become a new inner oval and then put in a new outer oval with 3^rd Radius (R609) curves.

I’ve had a stroke (Ed comment-surely you could have got the first paragraph done without the usual hunt for sympathy) so my memory and concentration have been badly affected; keeping track of this new beginning was difficult. To make matters worse I’ve got a tumour in my vertebrae (Ed comment WHAT, this is new. Is there any bit of your body that actually works?) I better answer the editor here -YES. There’s a wee bit that works very well.

Back to the blog. The tumours give me horrendous back pain so I can’t stand too long. So I will be drafting Jimbo in at some point and I’m sure he’s looking forward to this. Working with Jimbo is like playing with a small puppy. Fortunately he won’t have to think too much because I’ll do that for him. That’ll be helpful to my simple-minded Irish chum who hails from Londonderry. Or as he calls it, “Derry”. The town is famous for terrorism and the brilliant Derry Girls. Who’s your favourite? Mine is the naughty one with the curly black hair! She’s not really a teenager by the way in case you were thinking I was getting seedy. The main one (Erin) has a piggy nose but she is blonde which is good. However the piggynose is rather off-putting. Anyway, that’s Londonderry for you. A very strange town! Nannybarb has just told me that a Mr G Adams has been on the phone and he’s not happy about something!

Just so you can see how I’m doing I’ll take photos as I go along. Speaking about photos, you’ll be pleased to know that I have more photos from Sean Selley-West and David Styles to show you . These guys really know what they’re doing. You can quickly scroll down past my stuff to get to their much better bits.

The inner oval (R605 track) has to be completely removed

I’ve removed the first piece of track from the original inner oval

I’ve been watching Youtube videos about ballasting and found a good one – “Ballasting & Trackside Infrastructure”. These Youtube guys always make it look so easy! So, I’ve primed Jimbo to “help” me. I understand he’s very excited at this new task. I think it’s best if he does most of the track and I’ll show him how to do the straight nearest my driver’s seat. It’s difficult for me to get right round the board because the (Ed Comments; Here we go yet again) tumours in my spine are very painful and standing for more than 60 or 70 seconds is impossible (Ed Comments: So, it’s not the stroke. It’s a new ailment – a tumour in the spine. Does that mean you’re spineless (LOL)?)

Once I’ve got the track down, I need Iain to clip it all together (Ed Comment: I suppose this is the tumour again). I’m going to use the Proses ballast “thingy” to actually lay the ballast.  

I should tell you that my first attempt at ballasting went horribly wrong and there was ballast all over the place, I had to rip out most of my track and turn the board over to start again but first I spent a week using my heat gun to “burn” off the hardened ballast.  Sean has given me some tips which I’ll pass on to you- use a 50/50 mix of water and PVA glue with a wee drop of washing up liquid, use a teaspoon to gently tap down the rails to help the ballast settle, use the teaspoon on the inside of the rails to clear away any unwanted ballast. That’s where I went wrong last time and ended up with lots of ballast glued to the inside of the rails. So, I’m all set and soon so will be JImbo

As I was researching the art of ballasting, I found a new piece of machinery which excited me, It’s the Bachmann 31-577 Windhoff Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) in Railtrack Livery. 

Apparently Dapol sell one also but I was unable to find any for sale on the Bachmann or Dapol websites, but they are available for sale on eBay! I don’t mind admitting that I’d just about had it with eBay because of the faulty locomotives I’ve received. The buyer has to pay the postage for any items returned but it’s the pain of finding that a locomotive is faulty which really annoys me, but eBay were about to get into my good books because I’ve stumbled over a seller who is genuine and helpful. He services and tests all his locos for sale and the GNER Class43 he sold me really does “run well”. I have no hesitation in recommending him as a terrific and trustworthy seller. His eBay name is “99sml”.

He offers locos at a fair price. He tells me that he often has more locos for sale alongside the advertisements for his own locos. So, click on “View seller’s other items”. I paid £125 for a superb, very clean, well maintained Hornby GNER Intercity 125  (Class43) with LED head and tail lights and internal lighting in the 2 accompanying coaches . It was like buying a new train pack but at a fraction of the price of a new unit. This sort of pack would have cost about £450 new from Hornby.

Right onto the Windhoff Multi-Purpose Vehicle. I want one! It does actually work and tamps the ballast down as it moves round the track

The real thing

The Model Which actually works

I’ve no idea of the cost new from Bachmann or Dapol but eBay  have a new one for sale at £140 and a used one is up at £145 which is weird! While I’m talking about eBay here’s a wee tip. If you’re interested in any locos click the button to “WATCH THIS ITEM”. BY doing that you can click your way through an unlimited number of locos that interest you and if the seller cuts  his asking price you get a direct notification via eMail. There is no commitment to actually buy any of these items you are “watching”. If you see the auction is close to ending you might find it a good idea to suggest a lower price to the seller. I would suggest an offer 10%-15% less than the seller’s price

A few days ago I received some bits and pieces from Hattons that I had ordered online. They offer a very good service and if you order in the morning there is a good chance your items will arrive the following day. They also have some good bargain offers and with every order they send one of their catalogues. This time they sent me their Diecast Collectable catalogue. Do you recall in a recent blog that I mentioned a Morris Minor police car which I thought was ridiculous. I found some more crazy police cars in their catalogue. What on Earth persuaded the police to use some of the following vehicles. These models are based on real police cars. Here are just a few:

The Americans were always a bit more flasher with their logos and flashing lights

It looks like I spoke too soon when I announced more and better European rail journeys because after just 2 years in service the direct service between London and Amsterdam could be put on pause indefinitely. This is due to renovation work at Amsterdam Central station meaning the Eurostar lounge which contains security and passport control will no longer be available.

So, boys, no more of this

Back on Hatton’s. Their online purchasing system is very good, and they carry a massive amount of stock. They currently are offering a great deal on Hornby Class 71 for sale at just £99 -RRP £206.99.

But have you seen it????

I really don’t like it but there will be someone somewhere who loves it

You’ll be pleased to know they regularly have other bargains available on their adverts in the model rail magazines.

OK I’ve kept you waiting long enough so it’s time for some more great photos from Sean Shelley-West and David Styles who continue to build everything a lot better than me!

Don’t forget that Sean welcomes any requests for advice from other railway modellers so don’t be shy. His profile can be found at www.facebook.com/selleywest.sean

It’s best to contact him via Facebook Messenger.

Please check back on the 11th of July for Phil's next blog post.

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The views and opinions expressed within the content are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of Trackside Signs or its affiliates.