Broithe

Methodical elimination - it's often the best way.

Try just shoving individual wagons round the curves, empty, and see what happens. Is it one wagon? Does it happen at the same place? Etc... It can be all sorts of things - misaligned track joints, debris/ballast against a rail, duff wheels, a nick on a flange, the list goes on...

Six and a half pounds seems quite a lot - is that just the rake of wagons?

The parking issue has reached critical levels there now - something may have to be done... A new sign has appeared on the fifth lamppost from the Dublin end of the Branch Platform. The access ramp on the northbound platform has notes about only being used on Mk 4s. Too wide for the branch trains? But the similar-looking one for the southbound trains does not. Whilst I was there, 222 pulled a southbound train through at a fair speed - there were no leaves on the platform when it had gone.

The back-to-back distance, for 00, should be around 14.5mm. Back-to-back issues will also contribute to derailments. The magnets fit under the motorised units and are attracted to the steel plates that need to be fitted under the track, increasing the force the wheel exerts on the track, but without adding (much) to the weight.

As long as the wheel rim is in contact with the rail you should have current available - the flange contact isn't really an issue. For the derailing aspect, it can be worth checking that nothing (wires) obstructs the swing of the bogie. This - https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/powerbase-mini-magnet-pack-x24-smaller-magnets/ - can be a way of getting greater contact force on the rail, without adding mass that makes the climb even harder. Always worth cleaning the rails (and wheels) and seeing if things are any better then. With the Pendelino, one of the problems was that sudden power changes, from a cheapo set controller, coupled with traction tyres on one side only, caused the bogie to 'climb out' and derail. A flywheel would have helped a lot, but wasn't really practical, a bit of 'slide' from metal wheels was the answer in the short term. A bit of extra mass, over the driven bogie(s) was also a possible benefit.

Do what you like, in general. Your station is in your world.

Beeston, Nottingham - yesterday. "Get yer knee down and twist the throttle, you stand a good chance..." I hope it was empty.

This is a 'good' example...

The box picture is of the loco in its original state, with the smaller marker lights, too, as well as the catcher.

1 - It is actually quite bizarre that we're having ridiculously niche items made for us on the other side of the world, in a place that was essentially totally inaccessible only a few years ago. 2 - The basic groundwork for any future transport disruptions is already done now.

Shame there's no tea clippers left running, you could get a few days back with one of them... Waiting for the boxes to arrive for dispatch.

OSI aerial pictures show the conveyor still there in 2005.

I'm "sure" that I remember a conveyor over the road there not that many years ago, but Street View only goes back to 2009.

Done.

There are Chinese copies* on eBay at around four quid, but they look a bit rough. As bizarrely expensive as the US ones are, the material is top class stuff. *a 'spring punch' search will bring them up. There are ones out there that will take a masonry nail as a replaceable point. I would say that, for site use, as the nail-punches would probably be used, they are a very 'losable' item, and it's no fun at the full price. I'm also a fan of having a square somewhere on things than don't need to be fully circular. Screwfix are good for what they're good for - and there's a shop at the end of my road now, so no 'building an order' is necessary..

Two small points, surely? One each end...

Eek! You're not going to like these prices.... This is the same principle, although this set is intended for nail-setting. https://www.screwfix.com/p/spring-tools-wwa1105-spring-tools-woodworking-set-5-pieces/8831X?kpid=8831X&ds_kid=92700031336051899&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1249484&ds_rl=1249796&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj8vVjbLK3QIVAuh3Ch2fcgV6EAQYASABEgK7gfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CLeoxpCyyt0CFYnk1Qod96UNRA I think I paid four quid for my centre-punch/chisel set. http://springtools.co.uk/ (Screwfix is not always the cheapest...)

Ah - I got mine at the boot sale about fifteen years ago. They were a set of four, in a red vinyl wallet, including the chisel, which is actually the most used. I will go hunting - I'm fairly sure that they were an indigenously produced US product.

Broaches will often also produce a much better finish on the inside of a hole than a plain drill will, especially useful when the hole is a bearing surface. Drill a touch under-size and open up as appropriate with a broach, where it really matters. There will be a very slight taper on a broached hole, but it's rarely of any practical significance. Doing it from both sides can be an idea, if it's possible.

Practising on stuff you're not too bothered about first is often a good idea. It's not easy to explain how to avoid excessive side-loads on the finer drills, but gentle practise will reveal it fairly quickly.

As I said, "Not immediately useful in this application".

Not immediately useful in this application, perhaps, but this sort of centre-punch / chisel set-up can be very useful. You hold the working end exactly where you want it and then pull back the 'loose' end, letting it go to provide the impact. It can be used as lightly as you like, depending on how far back you pull the 'firing end' and can act rather more delicately than the 'compression' centre-punches that are a bit more common.

A handy weathering exercise, when IRM produce the models....

No more jokes about the wind...