I've been playing around with a rolling road from Aliexpress and not having much luck with it. The locos will run but not well enough, stop and starts or hesitant running. This is the complete opposite from the 00 gauge version from Aliexpress which is trouble free. Anyone with one of these that have experienced similar problems. 

I know Opera isn't the most popular browser, but there may be one or two of you out there who can help.

Opera has recently started refusing to co-operate. I can usually open one website, but when I try and open a second it crashes. Then if I try and close the first one it sulks and refuses to do anything, so I have to close Opera completely and start again. Until now it has been very reliable, but this has me stumped. I've run Ccleaner, switched off a number of start-up programs, I've even reloaded Opera, but nothing has worked and, yes, I've checked and I am running the latest version. I initially wondered if my laptop was failing (it is 5 years old) but everything else works just fine. I don't think it is the internet connection either – we are on full fibre and the router is in the same room.

Looking at various online forums, this doesn't appear to be a new issue but nobody seems to have an answer. If I decide I can't bear it any longer and go for a different browser, what do folks recommend?

Any advice gratefully received.

Cheers,

Chris

Smooth

This popped up in my Discover Weekly selection from Spotify Yesterday.

Probably not to everyone's taste but I was rather taken by it :

I generally do not weather stock but I have over the years weathered the odd wagon using gouache colours which are entirely water washable. A warm water wash and a baby's toothbrush for any stubborn bits in corners will return the wagon to original condition.

Anne is now at home and being looked after by a rellie. Rumour has it George will be released next Tuesday but, basically, he'll have to be on the strongest painkillers below morphine level as they've done nothing to his back

Everything is expensive these days...

As far as model railways is concerned I think it the trend to produce more detailed a featured models to replicate full size operation that is pushing prices high.  Years ago manufactures made a big thing of having separately fitted hand rails to give better realism compared to the previous tooling that had moulded parts.  These days its not uncommon to find the dials inside the cab illuminated, and even (in 00 gauge at least) pantographs that raise and lower via servo control.  All these features and very fragile detailing features result in a £400 loco, which with equally detailed coaches can mean that one train cost upwards of a £1000.  Most manufactures claim its because their customers "asked or demanded" this fine level of detail which may or may not be the case.

Personally I've never purchased a brand new loco.  These days you can pick up decent second hand bargains for less than the cost of a take-away for the family. Then there are the kits that NGS produce, adding fun of putting them together but still producing a detailed and valued addition to the collection.

I came across Ozric Tentacles a year or so back.

I'm not sure about them. Not really my kind of thing but some of their stuff is ok.

Many good points already made.
Yes, expensive if you set out to build a large layout from scratch with all new stock.
But generally models last.
In my case I can go right back to the age of 4, which is now 65 years ago, to my first Tri-ang Princess Victoria train set. I built up a large 00 collection which I sold off in 1977 to fund N Gauge, which I have continued with ever since.
So, although it would cost a considerable amount now to replace my current collection with all new models, the cost has been spread over 65 years.
Over the last 25 or so years I have probably spent more on guitar lessons than trains.
And it's easy to spend lots of money on other hobbies. Sailing has already been mentioned, how about Hi-Fi, Classic Cars, travel, Stamp and Coin Collecting, etc.

Sorry, Tim. Not my cuppa tea