One for the railway heads

[tobester]

According to a reasonably reliable source the class 334s have been removed from service due to them not
being able to cope with the snow, other sources suggest that there is only one in service. Can we have something that is reliable in the snow - like this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8428097.stm Lucky barstewards.

I was on the 1112 Milngavie to Motherwell service today, and ran as a 6car 334. Although when i jumped onto the rear 3, half the lights were out, so i was going to cab-to-cab the driver when they all came on.

The 334s are a pile of crap, BUT i didnt know (until today) that they were originally built for running on 3rd rail, and the pan had to be quickly added.

[tobester]

In addition to the 334 comment, they are suspended on the lines to ayrshire outta central as they are freezing up...but still on north clyde/argylle lines

[BrigitDoon]

I have my eye on this wee beastie:

Hornby Clan Class Locomotive "Clan Buchanan" >>

I'm walking into the unknown here. What should I watch out for? Would I be better off buying one in town than over the internet? I don't want to buy a pig in a poke.

Do I understand that DCC means you can run more than one locomotive on the same layout? It says DCC ready for £104.50 when usually this is a £15 extra.

[BrigitDoon]

Ahhh... DCC Ready means DCC is *not* included - likes batteries didn't used to be. Hmmm...

DCC fitted >>

[tobester]

Few pics from a couple of shifts, this train is 334010, on monday it was heading through dalmuir platform 3, en route for the sidings to come out onto platform 4 to be the 1053 Dalmuir-Lanark service, when for no apparent reason, the pan dropped and caused it to fail at the start of the platform. Another set was sent to couple up to it to push it out of the way, this was taken as it came to a stop at platform 4 awaiting a green to head back to yoker depot


This is an unusual site of a 334 working on High Streets (~i know the display says Artidrie), this is the 1627 airdrie Express service, runs as a High Street, then fast to Blairhill, theres always someone who ignores the PIS and driver announcements and has a ticket for Bellgrove

[tobester]

Today working the 12.31 Dalmuir-Larkhall, we were coming into central, when i heard...thump, thump, thump, looking up, i noticed an arsehole with his hand out banging it off the windows as were coming to a halt...bearing in mind my train weighs approx 150tonne and was doing approx 20mph.

Does the weather fuck peoples brains up? or alternatively he was a junkie/pisshead/chav trying to be a smart arse.

Best part was when i got to larkhall i found out hed had his hand up knuckles facing the train at first, as the train hit him at 30, i hope the train fucked his hand. We dont need arses like this causing problems, we could have easily taken him under the train, and had my first fatality (wooyay)

[BrigitDoon]

...we could have easily taken him under the train...

Many years ago, a friend of mine was travelling home from Reading to Bristol having been to an orienteering meeting. The train pulled into Swindon and he asked the guard how long they'd be stopped for because he wanted to phone his dad to get him to pick him up.

"You've got five minutes, lad."

He hadn't and the train started pulling out while my mate was in the phone box.

"Gotta go, dad..."

He legged it across the platform and pulled the door open and was just swinging himself in when the driver piled on the power. He couldn't hold on and bounced his way down between carriage and platform. He woke up intact in hospital with just bruises and a few open wounds. I suppose he could easily have been killed or lost some limbs.

We knew him as "Stuntman" thereafter.

[Alycidon]

I have my eye on this wee beastie:

Hornby Clan Class Locomotive "Clan Buchanan" >>

I'm walking into the unknown here. What should I watch out for? Would I be better off buying one in town than over the internet? I don't want to buy a pig in a poke.

Do I understand that DCC means you can run more than one locomotive on the same layout? It says DCC ready for £104.50 when usually this is a £15 extra.

Couple of points to note here (Extreme Geek Alert)
1) DCC and standard 12V DC are not compatable, so if you already have a layout with several locomotives running on 12V you will have to either convert them to DCC (not always possible with older models) or create an elaborate switching system to run the DCC fitted model separate from the 12V DC models - you cannot run both together. I have 50 12V DC locomotives - DCC aint happening on my layout!!
2) You will have to buy special DCC controllers (not cheap). The basic idea is that on a 12V DC layout you control the loco by varying the voltage output from the controller, whereas on a DCC layout the voltage is always on, and a digital code is overlayed from the controller and is decoded by the engine. This does mean that you can have coach lighting on all of the time and that some locomotives can be fitted with a very convincing sound chip. The downside is that the track needs to be spotlessly clean, and dirt on the track interrupts the signal and the locomotive will not run
3) As already stated many locomotives are being sold as DCC ready, that just means that the plug is in place for easy installation of the chip, with old locomotives an adaptor needs to be fitted first (assuming there is room)
4) For more information try http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/forum/21-dcc/. It is possible with DCC to have the whole layout connected to a PC and run everything (trains/points/signals) pre-programmed, there is normally a stand at the Model Rail Exhibition at the SECC with demostrations of what is possible.
My advice is to shop around, go into Smiths and pick up a copy of the Railway Modeller or other railway magazine, these are full of adverts from all the bg mail order stockists, and you can see the prices, other thatn that keep your money until the end of February and spend it at the SECC

[BrigitDoon]

Great! Thanks for that

I have the last two issues of Railway Modeller so I'll go through them again.

[BTJustice]

My dad is currently converting all his loco's to DCC and its caused something weird to happen. A die hard steam modeller has started running diesels

Here is the wee video of what can be done with DCC (probably on here allready);

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNMN1RtfhTE

He now has the 37, 2 20's and a 24 and the station is going to be a model of muirend.

The diesels are Bachmann and the steam locos are scratch or kit built as are most of the coaches.

Taken him 40 years collecting and planning to get the layout this far and its on hold again while he builds an 0 guage Duchess.

Dave.

[BrigitDoon]

Very nice. I'd like one too but I don't know what colour scheme yet. Anyway, it can wait a while. I'm having that Clan Buchanan first.

I like the idea of running the whole plot from a PC.

[flyman]

taken him under the train, and had my first fatality (wooyay)

If my memory serves me well my old dead da had three,indeed at one point it seemed as if every train he drove would have wee dead folk painted on the side like some plane during the war.His most memorable was a double dunter,he hit a tramp on the line just outside some station and the ensuing mess caused a wee wummin to have a heart attack and drop dead on the platform.Well thats what my old pissed up dad told us but i reckon he mounted the platform and chased her with his train...............three humans dead yet strangely the most i ever saw him upset was when he wiped out a German Shepherd because it looked like the family dog.Hardy breed the old train men,btw uninteresting fact ,he was the first driver to derail the test runs of the 225 bendy train thing sorry any enthusiasts but thats about as technical as i get

[moonbeam]

In the days of the steam trains once saw a women "from a local hospital" jump in front of a Helensburgh
bound express as it ran non stop through Anniesland Station. The poor engine driver slammed on the brakes and the whole train-nine carriages long I think- sort of slid if that is how to describe it- in a squeal of metal on metal-
- right through the station. The carriages ended well past the womans body.

[Alycidon]

Going back to the model them (perhaps a new thread is needed here), I have been putting together some structures together to create a little flavour of Glasgow in my loft.

Goods Station, still a lot of work to do, can you guess where it is based on??


Tunnel mouth, needing a few finishing touches but it again is based on a Glasgow prototype

[hazy]

The reason all the Glasgow main line north trains are chucking it , is because the diesel int the tanks is become congelled. I have been on the night shift all week and we are using space heaters trying to heat them up. Losing battle folks