Horsetan

Funny you should mention Guinness. I looked at the Geoghegan engines and wondered how it might be possible to cram in all that motion and a motor and drivetrain into something that small. Fancy drawing up a Geoghegan etch and see where it takes you?

The price isn't that far short of Continental HO sums so the sooner everyone gets used to these price levels, the better. No mention of 21mm gauge compatibility, so I'm carrying on with the SSM kit.

Ah. Shame.

Still not quite the same as being able to accelerate and brake at will.

One thing I forgot to ask about 3D printing generally: what happens to all the leftover waste sprue? Can it be recycled?

Clockwork is probably more exacting than other systems as it doesn't have the same kind of control that you have with electric/electronic systems, so acceleration and braking - which you can do at will anywhere electrically - isn't so easy. Some have invested considerable effort in the larger scales I think it would be particularly effective in the context of a FREMO modular network, where some very long runs are possible.

We don't hear much about clockwork models nowadays but, many years ago, the Norman Eagles layout was one of the best-known.

What would be useful is a book of coach diagrams - a selection, perhaps, of common / everyday stock that were frequently observed. I'd like a Bredin one day - there's at least two still with us, one of which is unlikely ever to run anywhere again, whilst the other....can't.

So has my lot. Looks eminently useful; just add rail. I suspect there might be some repeat orders as various people discover that what they have just isn't enough!

Never mind quality; what we want now is quantity!!

Beats building it from scratch. Means only pointwork to worry about.

That looks suspiciously like my lot.....

Let me have a think about that, and then send you a bill for the work.

Supposedly, but it's easier not to start than to rely on loopholes.

Just say this part again, very slowly....

Ah, but some of us are a bit more....Catholic

I gave up Lent for Lent. Although I managed to observe Lent for two years, what killed the whole sacrifice thing for me was realising that St. Patrick's Day (and the drink that is sine qua non) always came before the end of Lent.

Likewise. Need to acquire some FB Code 75 rail now....

Will we set the timer going on this? Let's play County Down! The value of your investment can go up as well as down.

Might be the NCC "W" 2-6-0 which has quite a lot going for it. An 800 wouldn't be enough to tempt me away from my SSM kit - at least I'm building that in 21mm gauge from the start.

That's a bit like the whole "helping Ukraine" thing.

Nothing has changed since then.

Only Piko and Gützold (still) use plastic for outside motion. That's been a thing ever since the 1970s when the East Germans had to make the best of whatever resources were available. I'm not sure what grade of plastic they use, but they have perfected the method over the years and, in the rare event of anything breaking, spares are cheaper to buy. I've only ever had to replace one coupling rod on a Gützold DR Br65.10 2-8-4T, costing no more than a fiver. The "clip-fit" technique makes the motion parts easy to fit, with no riveting required. The upside of all that was that the shop prices were about a third to a half of their Western rivals, so offered UK modellers (traditionally notorious for short arms and deep pockets) a cheap way into Continental HO. I remember testing a Piko Br.03 Reko which was priced here in 1985 for thirty quid brand-new. The nearest Western equivalent, a Fleischmann Br.01 (they didn't start making 03s until later) was already above £70.

The famous Japanese technique of "lean production" isn't always appropriate...