Hello there Ian Great to see your new arrivals, fine additions to your ever growing collection. I got some great goodies for my railway too. And will be shown in an upcoming video. Looking forward to seeing how the wheel cleaner goes as I have been considering one. Happy modelling. Nat🚂🚂
Good morning Nat! Yeah, pretty pleased with my December haul for the most part! Looking forward to seeing what Santa brought you! :) Yeah, I'll be trying out the wheel cleaner soon, so watch this space!!! All the best, Ian.
I’m starting an n gauge layout in the new year and have been following your channel and progress for a while now and it’s given me a lot of inspiration and some great ideas and tips. Looking forward to seeing your progress in the new year and hopefully making a lot of my own. All the best for 2025
Hi Wayne! That's very kind of you to say! Thank you! Good luck with your layout! I'm sure you'll have a great time building it! Best of luck for next year! Cheers, Ian.
Hi Ian, resistance is futile! I’m almost 100% certain that there will be a Royal Mail brake van at Shelfington at some point, lol! I think I have a Graham Farish one and a couple of Peco brake vans, y to be honest none of them have run particularly well although running improved by adding a little weight to all of them. I have another SR Peco one to make up but I’m saving that as I want to put metal wheels on it and add weight and have a go at weathering but that is a project for another day. I have a wheel cleaner similar to yours but I think mine is a Roco one, it works ok, I actually found it a bit fiddly bit to be honest I haven’t really used it yet! Nice electrical items, i shall look forward to see how you get on with them. I’ve actually had a couple hours laying track for the test circuit in the cabin today which has gone quite well! I’ll be out there again tomorrow too. I’m currently laid out stuffed in our conservatory room as Call The Midwife is on in the main front room, Mrs Exehaven loves it I’m not so keen, lol! Hope your Christmas has gone ok, cheers for now mate, John
Good morning John! Haha! You're probably right! I definitely see a Royal Mail brake van in my future! Lol! Yeah, I usually add a little weight to them too, but I can't get the roof of these new Farish ones! Maybe I'll have a go with a scalpel later, but previously they just used to pull off under light pressure! I can definitely recommend the Peco metal wheelsets, as they run much better than the plastic ones! They're quite expensive, but I buy mine in packs of 40, to help to ultimately reduce the cost! I've only had a quick go with the wheel cleaner so far, but there'll undoubtedly be a video about it in the New Year! Lol! Haven't watched much Christmas TV this year, other than football, of which I had a mega-session on Boxing Day! Likewise, I hope you've had a good Christmas, and are looking forward to the New Year! Cheers, Ian.
I have a Peco Railfreight van which perplexed me. It kept derailing/uncoupling. I added weight to it with liquid gravity and it still ran poorly. I got so fed up I got a Graham Farish version, which ran much better. I think the Farish one is better detailed even if it lacks NEM pockets. Treat yourself to a Queen Mary Brake Van, they are really nice!
Hi David! I had a Peco van that had a buckled wheelset, which I only noticed after filming it wobble around the track! It used to derail, and I couldn't figure it out until then! I tend to give Peco a bit of slack though, as they produce reasonably detailed wagons for an economical price! I expect the Farish ones to be much more detailed, and have features like NEM coupling pockets when they're almost twice the price - their Dance Hall Brakes are fantastic, for instance! I'll have to take a look at the Queen Mary vans, but, of course, I've got plenty now! Lol! All the best, Ian.
Hi Ian, nice to see you have come out of the closet with your Brake van fetish 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 so many more to collect! 😁 Nice to see the electrical odds and sods coming to Shelfington, it will be interesting to see how you progress over the year. Now we just need a Shelfington review of the frog juicers and see how they compare to the Gaugemaster 😀 Happy New Year to you and the family, All the best Tony.
Morning Tony! Haha! Yes, my fetish has been revealed! Not sure I need any more brake vans, but I suspect more will be arriving! Lol! I've got a plan to test the frog juicers in the New Year when I modify my DCC bus, so it shouldn't be long before we know if they're any good or not! Happy New Year to you too! Cheers, Ian.
Evening Ian. I'm getting worried - definitely your suffering from a brake van fetish😂. How many brake vans does a man need 😅. I do like the power distribution boards and those nifty wire connectors. Nice running session. Cheers Euan
Good morning Euan! Haha! I may well have a brake van fetish! In my experience a man can never have too many of them! I actually have one more that you didn't see in the video, as it had a buckled wheelset, but that's been replaced now! Yes, the power distribution boards look like they're gonna come in handy, but I'm not convinced about the T-Tap connectors yet! Time will tell! All the best, Ian.
Hi Ian Well in my humble opinion you can never have enough Brake Vans...lol you will always need at least one more and don't forget you might need two on ballast train (Sharks...lol). Although yes I wholeheartedly agree that Bachmann/Farish ones are very expensive, I generally try and get them when on special offer at various retailers. I have also been buying up a few frog juicers too, although s/hand ones (usually Gaugemaster ones) from various shows etc but I also agree the 'plug and play' of the DCC Concepts AE ones are a good idea. Hope you hada very Merry Christmas and have a very Happy New Year too.Thanks
Hi Pete! Haha! Thanks for enabling me to continue with my addiction! Lol! Yes, these were all on special offer, although only a couple of pounds off! I scoured the stands at GETS this year, and couldn't find any at all! I can't wait to try the AE Model frog juicers out, and hope they'll work with the PowerCab, where the Gaugemaster ones didn't! Hope you had a good Christmas too, and all the best for 2025! Cheers, Ian.
Of course Railfreight Speedlink freight services didn't use brake vans........ unless they were going down a branch with manually operated crossing gates so the guard needed a ride at the rear. Nice purchases and video.
Hi! Thanks for the info! I know that Railfreight wagons were air braked, but wouldn't they have had brake vans for longer, or overnight services, for guard accomodation? I'm sure I've seen them working on services, other than on branch lines, back in the day, but I may be misremembering! :) All the best, Ian.
@@iansngauge I'm sure you will find a photo somewhere of that if you look hard enough, but by the time of the air braked services guards were booked to travel in the back cabs of locomotives and long distance work would be done by changing crews. There was quite a battle between the unions, crews and management back in the day, with the management fighting hard to get rid of brake vans and engine crews not wanting guards on 'their locomotives'. Some guards also complained about being vulnerable in the back cabs of locomotives in collisions, as the loaded train would often use the back cab to take any impact. At the end of the day it's your railway and rule 1 always applies, just thought I would mention it for info.
@@KellinoRail - Thanks very much for the info again, all very interesting! Rule 1, yes, they'll definitely be running on Shelfington, but maybe not on every Railfreight service! Maybe I'll have to create a branch line for them to run on, with crossings, or just keep them in the marshalling yard / depot yard where I'm assuming that air brakes wouldn't necessarily always be in operation! Thanks again! Ian
@@iansngauge air-braked wagons work by the air pressure forcing the brakes of the wheels, hence why if you lose air-pressure the brakes are instantly applied. You can hand crank the brakes off, but nobody would want the hassle! (lol). If you had two yards you could always trip them backwards and forwards as part of servicing, keeping the wheels turning, etc, waiting for the day they are needed...
Hi Ian, you certainly now have a great collection of brake vans, I think you need to put a stop to this 😉🤣! Regarding the power jacks that’s a great idea that I will now consider for connecting my baseboard modules together. Happy New Year, Cheers 🍻 Gary
Morning Gary! Haha! Not sure I can stop mate! It's too addictive! Lol! The power jacks are a neat solution as they can easily be connected and disconnected! I'm currently using them to switch between DC and DCC controllers on my test track, and to connect different DCC controllers to my DCC bus! All the best for 2025! Ian
Nice collection of wagons, brake vans and indeed all those electricals. Think you'll need a few more brake vans though, for curiosity sake more than anything else, lol. I don't have any I'm afraid, so can't comment. I am intrigued by the frog juicers though, how much are they? (AE from DCC Concepts I guess?) Merry Christmas, what's left anyway and I guess we should start saying happy new year. 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!'
Hi John! Haha! You rascal! More brake vans? You know I'll end up with that Royal Mail liveried one I mentioned, don't you? :) I think the AE frog juicers were something like £25 for the triple pack, including postage, and yes, from DCC Concepts, but I believe they're also available from other retailers, such as Coastal DCC and Peter's Spares! Thank you, Merry Christmas and Happy New year to you too! :) Cheers, Ian.
you need a full rake of brake vans, with a 16T unfitted mineral wagon on the tail end.. those power boards are pretty easy to make, stripboard and sets of three pin terminals, has the advantage of the track down the middle as a third wire (e.g. if you want a ground connector when using them in pairs). soldering to stripboard is easy :) an excellent year and good luck with the next one :)
Ah, yes, I like the idea of a full rake of brake vans! I should definitely do that! :) Yeah, I've made similar DIY boards in the past, but liked the convenience of these - and you know my soldering skills! :)) Yes, it has been a good year, and good luck to yourself for 2025! Cheers, Ian.
Hi Frank! Yeah, the Jack plugs and sockets will come in very handy for me, but I've yet to use the T-Tap connectors, so will reserve judgement on them for the time being! All the best, Ian.
Hi Ian, for me the information about the Graham Farish brake vans is particularly useful - I'm waiting for another run of GWR TOAD brake vans from any manufacturer and am slightly worried seeing the prices of the other designs entering the realms of bogie tank wagons or coaches! It's worth knowing the higher GF price doesn't deliver anything extra. Thanks 🙂
Hi Jonathan! Yeah, considering I raved about the quality of the Farish 'Dance Hall' brake vans, I was incredibly disappointed with the 20T vans, considering the price! The only advantage I see is that they at least provide some nice livery variations, but is that worth the extra money? Two of the three vans have "wonky" running boards, and all have missing paintwork on those railings! It's difficult to see with the naked eye, but once you know it's there... it's annoying!!! I think I'm still going to go for the Royal Mail brake van despite this, but, you know, I'm sort of addicted to buying brake vans at the moment! :) All the best, Ian.
Hello Ian, hope you are well. I’ve also been in the market for brake vans. I’ve bought three in total, all pre-owned via eBay. I’ve had the same issue with one of them as you have outlined, that one came in the newer style of box. The older two though are faultless. I guess there might have been a change of factory making them at some point?
Hi Richard! All of the Brake Vans I showed in the video are 2024 models, as can be seen from the date printed on the inside end of the cardboard box! They're all stamped Made in China on the base too! Haven't heard any news that Bachmann have changed factory, but that doesn't mean that they haven't! I believe that the earlier Farish models were made in the UK, before Bachmann acquired them! All the best, Ian.
Hello there Ian
Great to see your new arrivals, fine additions to your ever growing collection. I got some great goodies for my railway too. And will be shown in an upcoming video. Looking forward to seeing how the wheel cleaner goes as I have been considering one. Happy modelling.
Nat🚂🚂
Good morning Nat! Yeah, pretty pleased with my December haul for the most part! Looking forward to seeing what Santa brought you! :) Yeah, I'll be trying out the wheel cleaner soon, so watch this space!!! All the best, Ian.
happy christmas and happy new year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too Tim! :)
I’m starting an n gauge layout in the new year and have been following your channel and progress for a while now and it’s given me a lot of inspiration and some great ideas and tips.
Looking forward to seeing your progress in the new year and hopefully making a lot of my own.
All the best for 2025
Hi Wayne! That's very kind of you to say! Thank you! Good luck with your layout! I'm sure you'll have a great time building it! Best of luck for next year! Cheers, Ian.
Hi Ian, resistance is futile! I’m almost 100% certain that there will be a Royal Mail brake van at Shelfington at some point, lol! I think I have a Graham Farish one and a couple of Peco brake vans, y to be honest none of them have run particularly well although running improved by adding a little weight to all of them. I have another SR Peco one to make up but I’m saving that as I want to put metal wheels on it and add weight and have a go at weathering but that is a project for another day.
I have a wheel cleaner similar to yours but I think mine is a Roco one, it works ok, I actually found it a bit fiddly bit to be honest I haven’t really used it yet!
Nice electrical items, i shall look forward to see how you get on with them.
I’ve actually had a couple hours laying track for the test circuit in the cabin today which has gone quite well! I’ll be out there again tomorrow too.
I’m currently laid out stuffed in our conservatory room as Call The Midwife is on in the main front room, Mrs Exehaven loves it I’m not so keen, lol!
Hope your Christmas has gone ok, cheers for now mate, John
Good morning John! Haha! You're probably right! I definitely see a Royal Mail brake van in my future! Lol! Yeah, I usually add a little weight to them too, but I can't get the roof of these new Farish ones! Maybe I'll have a go with a scalpel later, but previously they just used to pull off under light pressure! I can definitely recommend the Peco metal wheelsets, as they run much better than the plastic ones! They're quite expensive, but I buy mine in packs of 40, to help to ultimately reduce the cost! I've only had a quick go with the wheel cleaner so far, but there'll undoubtedly be a video about it in the New Year! Lol! Haven't watched much Christmas TV this year, other than football, of which I had a mega-session on Boxing Day! Likewise, I hope you've had a good Christmas, and are looking forward to the New Year! Cheers, Ian.
I have a Peco Railfreight van which perplexed me. It kept derailing/uncoupling. I added weight to it with liquid gravity and it still ran poorly. I got so fed up I got a Graham Farish version, which ran much better. I think the Farish one is better detailed even if it lacks NEM pockets. Treat yourself to a Queen Mary Brake Van, they are really nice!
Hi David! I had a Peco van that had a buckled wheelset, which I only noticed after filming it wobble around the track! It used to derail, and I couldn't figure it out until then! I tend to give Peco a bit of slack though, as they produce reasonably detailed wagons for an economical price! I expect the Farish ones to be much more detailed, and have features like NEM coupling pockets when they're almost twice the price - their Dance Hall Brakes are fantastic, for instance! I'll have to take a look at the Queen Mary vans, but, of course, I've got plenty now! Lol! All the best, Ian.
Hi Ian, nice to see you have come out of the closet with your Brake van fetish 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 so many more to collect! 😁 Nice to see the electrical odds and sods coming to Shelfington, it will be interesting to see how you progress over the year. Now we just need a Shelfington review of the frog juicers and see how they compare to the Gaugemaster 😀 Happy New Year to you and the family, All the best Tony.
Morning Tony! Haha! Yes, my fetish has been revealed! Not sure I need any more brake vans, but I suspect more will be arriving! Lol! I've got a plan to test the frog juicers in the New Year when I modify my DCC bus, so it shouldn't be long before we know if they're any good or not! Happy New Year to you too! Cheers, Ian.
Evening Ian. I'm getting worried - definitely your suffering from a brake van fetish😂. How many brake vans does a man need 😅. I do like the power distribution boards and those nifty wire connectors. Nice running session. Cheers Euan
Good morning Euan! Haha! I may well have a brake van fetish! In my experience a man can never have too many of them! I actually have one more that you didn't see in the video, as it had a buckled wheelset, but that's been replaced now! Yes, the power distribution boards look like they're gonna come in handy, but I'm not convinced about the T-Tap connectors yet! Time will tell! All the best, Ian.
Hi Ian Well in my humble opinion you can never have enough Brake Vans...lol you will always need at least one more and don't forget you might need two on ballast train (Sharks...lol). Although yes I wholeheartedly agree that Bachmann/Farish ones are very expensive, I generally try and get them when on special offer at various retailers.
I have also been buying up a few frog juicers too, although s/hand ones (usually Gaugemaster ones) from various shows etc but I also agree the 'plug and play' of the DCC Concepts AE ones are a good idea. Hope you hada very Merry Christmas and have a very Happy New Year too.Thanks
Hi Pete! Haha! Thanks for enabling me to continue with my addiction! Lol! Yes, these were all on special offer, although only a couple of pounds off! I scoured the stands at GETS this year, and couldn't find any at all! I can't wait to try the AE Model frog juicers out, and hope they'll work with the PowerCab, where the Gaugemaster ones didn't! Hope you had a good Christmas too, and all the best for 2025! Cheers, Ian.
Of course Railfreight Speedlink freight services didn't use brake vans........ unless they were going down a branch with manually operated crossing gates so the guard needed a ride at the rear. Nice purchases and video.
Hi! Thanks for the info! I know that Railfreight wagons were air braked, but wouldn't they have had brake vans for longer, or overnight services, for guard accomodation? I'm sure I've seen them working on services, other than on branch lines, back in the day, but I may be misremembering! :) All the best, Ian.
@@iansngauge I'm sure you will find a photo somewhere of that if you look hard enough, but by the time of the air braked services guards were booked to travel in the back cabs of locomotives and long distance work would be done by changing crews. There was quite a battle between the unions, crews and management back in the day, with the management fighting hard to get rid of brake vans and engine crews not wanting guards on 'their locomotives'. Some guards also complained about being vulnerable in the back cabs of locomotives in collisions, as the loaded train would often use the back cab to take any impact. At the end of the day it's your railway and rule 1 always applies, just thought I would mention it for info.
@@KellinoRail - Thanks very much for the info again, all very interesting! Rule 1, yes, they'll definitely be running on Shelfington, but maybe not on every Railfreight service! Maybe I'll have to create a branch line for them to run on, with crossings, or just keep them in the marshalling yard / depot yard where I'm assuming that air brakes wouldn't necessarily always be in operation! Thanks again! Ian
@@iansngauge air-braked wagons work by the air pressure forcing the brakes of the wheels, hence why if you lose air-pressure the brakes are instantly applied. You can hand crank the brakes off, but nobody would want the hassle! (lol). If you had two yards you could always trip them backwards and forwards as part of servicing, keeping the wheels turning, etc, waiting for the day they are needed...
@@KellinoRail - Thanks again! It's fascinating what you can learn while building a model railway! :) Ian
Hi Ian, you certainly now have a great collection of brake vans, I think you need to put a stop to this 😉🤣! Regarding the power jacks that’s a great idea that I will now consider for connecting my baseboard modules together. Happy New Year, Cheers 🍻 Gary
Morning Gary! Haha! Not sure I can stop mate! It's too addictive! Lol! The power jacks are a neat solution as they can easily be connected and disconnected! I'm currently using them to switch between DC and DCC controllers on my test track, and to connect different DCC controllers to my DCC bus! All the best for 2025! Ian
Nice collection of wagons, brake vans and indeed all those electricals. Think you'll need a few more brake vans though, for curiosity sake more than anything else, lol. I don't have any I'm afraid, so can't comment.
I am intrigued by the frog juicers though, how much are they? (AE from DCC Concepts I guess?)
Merry Christmas, what's left anyway and I guess we should start saying happy new year. 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!'
Hi John! Haha! You rascal! More brake vans? You know I'll end up with that Royal Mail liveried one I mentioned, don't you? :) I think the AE frog juicers were something like £25 for the triple pack, including postage, and yes, from DCC Concepts, but I believe they're also available from other retailers, such as Coastal DCC and Peter's Spares! Thank you, Merry Christmas and Happy New year to you too! :) Cheers, Ian.
you need a full rake of brake vans, with a 16T unfitted mineral wagon on the tail end..
those power boards are pretty easy to make, stripboard and sets of three pin terminals, has the advantage of the track down the middle as a third wire (e.g. if you want a ground connector when using them in pairs). soldering to stripboard is easy :)
an excellent year and good luck with the next one :)
Ah, yes, I like the idea of a full rake of brake vans! I should definitely do that! :) Yeah, I've made similar DIY boards in the past, but liked the convenience of these - and you know my soldering skills! :)) Yes, it has been a good year, and good luck to yourself for 2025! Cheers, Ian.
I like the Power Jack and Socket and T Wire Joiners. I'm 100% Kato so I can only conceptualize the granular electronic details of your system.
Hi Frank! Yeah, the Jack plugs and sockets will come in very handy for me, but I've yet to use the T-Tap connectors, so will reserve judgement on them for the time being! All the best, Ian.
Hi Ian, for me the information about the Graham Farish brake vans is particularly useful - I'm waiting for another run of GWR TOAD brake vans from any manufacturer and am slightly worried seeing the prices of the other designs entering the realms of bogie tank wagons or coaches! It's worth knowing the higher GF price doesn't deliver anything extra. Thanks 🙂
Hi Jonathan! Yeah, considering I raved about the quality of the Farish 'Dance Hall' brake vans, I was incredibly disappointed with the 20T vans, considering the price! The only advantage I see is that they at least provide some nice livery variations, but is that worth the extra money? Two of the three vans have "wonky" running boards, and all have missing paintwork on those railings! It's difficult to see with the naked eye, but once you know it's there... it's annoying!!! I think I'm still going to go for the Royal Mail brake van despite this, but, you know, I'm sort of addicted to buying brake vans at the moment! :) All the best, Ian.
Please do not use that wheel cleaner on anything with traction tyres or delicate pickups
Hi! That's a really good point! I'll make sure I mention it when I do a servicing video! Thanks! Cheers, Ian.
Hello Ian, hope you are well. I’ve also been in the market for brake vans. I’ve bought three in total, all pre-owned via eBay. I’ve had the same issue with one of them as you have outlined, that one came in the newer style of box. The older two though are faultless. I guess there might have been a change of factory making them at some point?
Hi Richard! All of the Brake Vans I showed in the video are 2024 models, as can be seen from the date printed on the inside end of the cardboard box! They're all stamped Made in China on the base too! Haven't heard any news that Bachmann have changed factory, but that doesn't mean that they haven't! I believe that the earlier Farish models were made in the UK, before Bachmann acquired them! All the best, Ian.