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As usual - sorry for the long spell of no news. Busy busy
busy.
Workshop News
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This year has been our busiest yet.
Having had 10 Hercules bodies manufactured and delivered
in July I only have one left. It seems the Hercules is
hitting all the right notes. Building on its sucess PNP
Railways took a display Hercules to the Midlands Show. Un
numbered this loco has no motors but demonstrates the
kind of standard we can now supply the engines to.
We are now able to offer a choice of 5 standard
colours. See the prices page for more details.
Why weren't we at the show?
1. I simply can't afford the time away especially with
a heavy order book
2. It is expensive. Not only the show but 5-6 days
accomodation. All this would have to be paid out from
sales.
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No.4 comes to the workshop. Over six
years old and about to carry out a series of public
hauling/parties, I bought it in for an overhaul. The
gear sets are in excellent condition for 6 years of heavy
running and required only a clean and light oil.
The main modification was to convert the battery leads
for round post batteries. Having lugged the loco around
with batteries on board we decided to actually do what we
recommend -fit quick realease connectors.
Left - note the cables are zip tied
to ensure they correct lead goes to the right terminal.
The paint was only supposed to have a touch up but due
to a mishap it had a re coat on the roof and bonnet.
Despite rubbing the defect of crazed primer from all
those years ago came back. More rubbing down and buffing
managed to hide most of it.
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Out and About
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It seems we end up with bookings for
weekends in the Autumn. The first was for a private open
day at the Britvic bottling plant at Beckton. Originally
it was intended to run indoors but as the weather was
great we ended up running up and down a lorry yard. We
used all our straights which seems far shorter in the
open than running in a school corridor.
Below -
An interesting conversation a few days before arose
from an insurance broker. Having seen the public running
coaches the statement was - you will need to fill the gap
between the running board and the chassis to stop people
putting their feet under the wheels.
I am not against safety but I do object to people who
spout off these ad lib comments and then hide behind
wishy washy statements like "we just don't want
anyone getting hurt". Having taken offense at thise
comment I thought I ought to just check out if it was an
actual risk.
Well unless unless you can swivel your feet 90 deg to
your knee it is impossible to get a foot under a wheel.
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The offending insurer would not be drawn
that his statement was claiming my coaches are not
"fit for purpose". I would suggest if you
want insurance use a broker that knows the real risks and
can provide an appropriate policy at a proper price-
suggest Walker Midgley.
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| Ilford
& West Essex Model Railway Club |
Chelmsford |
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| This exhibition is held at my old senior school.
Large venue over two days. For whatever reason this
exhibition feels to have a low attendance. If anyone has
any ideas to help then please get in touch. Everything is
there to make a great show, but it can feel a little
empty. We took 58 rides on the Sunday. |
In contrast this exhibition is held in a school on
the city's door step. Last year we did in excess of £200
at 50p a ride. This year the charity pot felt equally as
heavy. For a change we took a second train which helped
in the busy times. It was quite fun waiting with a loaded
train for the other to arrive. A big thanks to James who
came and helped drive for most of the day. Meant I
actually got to see what was yet again a really great
show - full of model railway action. Big thanks for the
two school meals they provided. Really made for a great
day out.
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Parties
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For those of you that have been following
these pages over the years. Clark had his 6th birthday
and Jasper his 4th in October. 
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| As Clark happened to have an Inset day
(Baker day to us oldies) on his birthday, we had a party
for him and his school friends on a Friday and a combined
birthday party for Clark and Jasper on the Saturday. While
it is great having a railway it is also a big
distraction. Who want to play musical statues or pass the
parcel when there are trains to be played with.
Still we did plenty of runs and Clark go to show off
his driving.
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Other Work
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After years of helping me run RoR I think
my dad decided to trade in some of his credits. Having a
1930's house the render was all cracked and in need of
repair. Seeing the neighbour's cracks re appear in a year
or two after painting we decided to take the opportunity
to have external insulation fitted and have the house
rendered in a modern render system. 
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| While the house was covered in scaffold
the opportunity was taken to carry out a long list of
other jobs. - Plastic fascia and soffet, paint the loft
dormer, renew loft flat roof, new extended windows cills,
new lead flashings etc.
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Why am I writing about it here. Well most
of the time RoR is just me. So while I am working on
roofs, I am not working on RoR. So apologies if your
items are a little late. |
Open day
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Our September open day was good for one
reason - trains. we managed to clock up 812 trains in the
day. See Picture page
If you want to see action see Video on YouTube . Look out for a very,
very near miss between Jasper (the boy) and an engine. It
is about 2mins in.
When we visit railways people often say your boys are
obviously used to trains and are very good around them.
Well what can I say.
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PRICE INCREASES
Just to add confirmation our VAT return form arrived with big
letters on the back "VAT standard rate returns to 17.5% on 1
January 2010". Sorry but margins are tight so we will be
putting prices up by 1.5%.
If you want to beat the increase we will be happy to take
orders before the deadline. Payment before the deadline will be
at the 15% rate. As usual if outside the EC Fiscal (VAT) area we
can ship with out adding VAT.
Coming soon
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Why are the wheels on the outside of the
frames. All will be explained in the coming months. Like
all good projects, I can hardly finish new items when I
have got a lot of cutomers work to finsih. After 3
Hercules, a Hunslet, 3 panel coaches and 2 Trojans I may
get to finish the loco on the left.
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Paul
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