Tight Spots

I was just reading a "Garden Railways" article on coupling LGB A-B pairs back to back. With off-set A unit reed switches for sounding the horns, whistles etc over track magnets, the author made a special wiring harness in one B unit so that the two B-unit sound units worked in concert. It's interesting seeing people solve problems I would never have known existed! =8^] I don't know what solution he would have come up with if he had more than two A-B units! I never realized Benny any Bjoern played on different teams! Mind you, I was always more interested in the A units.

Regards, Greg.P.

"Jane Sullivan" wrote

Driving ends inner or outer?

John.

"Wolf Kirchmeir" wrote

I don't know whether Hornby

Bit of both really, the more detailed models are (in the main) totally new tooling, whereas the rest are old tooling shipped to China.

John.

In message , John Turner writes

B units don't have driving ends... ;-)

Then it's possible that the tooling for the Triang Blue Pullman is also in China ?.

Is there any truth in the rumour that the Airfix tooling that Hornby bought from Dapol, was used inplace of the Triang tooling to produce the current range of super detailed Class 31's ? See photo

Wilson

Worked in local biscuit factory as a student (many years ago). All the main supermarkets and the companies own brand were produced on the same line but the best ones were taken first for M&S, then the next best for etc etc.

Not quite the same for model factories, but they can put best workers on best models and the less competant and trainee workers on the lesser models. Can also use different quality raw materials.

Cheers, Simon

What and say goodbye to all those wonderful LMS models for strange looking things - it may be just what were used to. Beauty being in the eye of the beholder.

Cheers, Simon

Jane Sullivan wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@yddraiggoch.demon.co.uk:

Yup, but the running qualities appear to be so much better, whilst I readily agree that there may not be much difference between modern UK outline diesils with the kettles it would appear to be a different thing altogether. I had a play with something the other day with more wheels than sense and it was fantastic, very, very smooth operation and of course very impressive.

It's all to late for the current layout anyway, it's nearly finished and I would like to run it as intended before it all comes apart to be rebuilt!

Yes, they do. There is a hostler's stand, so that the hostler can move the engine around the engine terminal for servicing. The road engineer (driver) does not do this.

The British factory tooling is unlikely to fit the Chinese moulding machines.

In message , John Turner writes

Eh? There ain't no drivin' ends on a B unit.

Yes, but the hostler sees where he's going by opening one of the portholes and looking out.

There's a hostler's window at that end of the B unit.

No, there isn't.

There is a very small window in the end doors (into what we would call the gangway connection in the UK, and Model Railroader calls the diaphragm). The hostler's control stand is by the first porthole on the right hand side (engineer's side) of the B unit. If you are telling me that the hostler can see anything out of those windows considering the equipment that is in between, I shall say some very rude words to you! See Jeff Wilson, "F units, the diesels that did it" (Kalmbach, 2000) p.19, which shows a diagram of a F3B.

See also

Some B units cannot be moved without a controlling unit attached, but most have some simple controls inside, and often a side window at that control station. For example, B unit versions of the EMD FT with conventional couplers had a fifth porthole-style window added on the right side only for the control station. Other models used existing windows. These controls enable a hostler to move the B-unit locomotive by itself in a yard or shops.

I've seen a picture of a B unit moving on its own in a yard, with a hostler leaning out of one of the portholes. I can't find the picture at the moment, which makes me think it is in a back issue of Model Railroader, as the answer to a "how did they move B units around yards" type question.

"Jane Sullivan" wrote

Oh yes there is, as others have already commented!

John.

"Wilson.R.Adams" wrote

That *may* still be stuck in Margate, but in any event it was a pretty inaccurate model and although I suppose a few would sell if it were remanufactured, I suspect demand would be small.

A far better option would be to update the EM2 tooling with a decent motor drive.

Totally new tooling as far as I'm aware.

John.

In message , John Turner writes

Oh no there ain't. There's a front end, and by implication a back end, and there's a hostler's stand where the unit can be driven from, but that ain't at one end or the other, so there ain't no driving end on a B unit.

A limited run of say 2,500 Blue Pullman models, on a first come first served basis. I think you'd find that these will sell out "VERY QUICKLY". I think the reason why Hornby won't release it is, It's a one off tooling, that can't be used to represent any other model, nor can the train be repainted into any other livery other than the liveries that the Blue Pullman operated under.

Yes, a EM2 would be interesting model to release. What about a Class 23 Baby Deltic instead ?

Wilson

How can a driving position _not_ be at one end or the other? Is it in the middle or in a variable random spot???

Greg.P.