Silver Sidelines

My first Bachmann Portholes have been unpacked and are installed on the layout, topped and tailed with a pair of Hornby Stanier brakes. Bachmann Portholes topped and tailed with Hornby Stanier brake coaches My first impressions were very positive, good looking light weight and free running coaches. However I had issues with the couplers and the ride height. Bachmann Portholes straight out of the box Straight out of the box I was disappointed with the large gap between coupled coaches. I tried my usual trick of swapping to Hornby R8220 couplers as used on my BR Mk1s but the gap in my opinion was still unacceptably large. Undersides – Bachmann Porthole left, Bachmann Mk1 sleeper right Comparing the underside of the Bachmann Porthole with the underside of their Mk1 sleeper provides the answer. Bachmann appear to have used the same coupling extension crank for both the Porthole and the Mk1 coaches with the result that the coupling pocket for the Porthole coach p...

The Peco Streamline 3 Way point is an extremely useful space saving device. This Post is prompted because I had to sort out a couple of problems with the installation of my own three way point. I was also aware that other modellers   were finding difficulties with the operation and installation of their 3 way points. The design of the point is symmetrical and has the appearance of a LH point being placed directly on top of a RH point. As a consequence the construction of the point is quite complex and the point requires careful handling especially during installation. When first marketed by Peco the point was only available with ‘Insulfrog’.  The view below shows my first ‘Insulfrog’ point but reinstalled on my second layout. Peco Code 100 3 Way Insulfrog Point – the Park View Layout 1990s The big advantage of the ‘Insulfrog’ point is that it does not require any separate electrical switching and hence is suitable for manual or simple mechanical operation. My...