Grampus

Evening all, a brief sortie to Barnetby this afternoon - I was in the area so it would have been rude not to - gave me an opportunity to photograph 60 015 on empty iron ore wagons. The sound effects as it accelerated through the station were just brilliant and made such a nice change from the ever-present 'ying-ying-ying' of the more usual fare. The DB red is kind of growing on me too - looks rather good on a grey day and a nice contrast with the scruffy wagons. Just wish it would warm up though - forgot my heavier coat. Roll on summer! Best wishes, Paul

Evening all, an attempt at an 'arty one' from a wild and windy Barnetby earlier today - I do like to see semaphore signals and listen for the wires as the signals change. I am sure that there must be an unwritten law to the effect that railway stations are the coldest places on earth ( - well, second only to airfields!) Best wishes, Paul

Evening all, one from me: a slow day at work so I managed to contrive to be in Lincoln this afternoon, by the crossing on Brayford Wharf, at just the right time to capture 66 740 accelerating westwards on a container train. Makes a nice change from the usual diet of units and coal/oil drags. Best Wishes, Paul

Evening all, whilst trawling through some more slides this evening I came across the attached shots of a very shiny D120 at the Crewe Heritage Centre. Not sure exactly when these were taken but as best as I can recall it was probably circa 1989/90- I was there on a Friday morning and they were preparing for some forthcoming event: 'Green Arrow', Brittania and Sir Lamiel were also present. Kind Regards, Paul

50042, what a wonderful selection of snaps! I particularly liked the one of '012 on Salisbury in its 'ice cream van' livery: I remember the frothing it generated at the time amongst the local enthusiast fraternity - what I think would be known as a 'marmite' livery these days! Funny how tame it now looks in hindsight. Happy days! Best wishes, Paul

Evening all, hope the attached picture is appropriate to this thread ( - Mods, if not, apologies and please feel free to move it elsewhere): I hoped it might be of interest as one of the more exotic liveries I ever saw at BTM. The occasion was the Saturday of the early May bank holiday in 1984: I wonder whether anybody on here might be able to shed any light on why a Strathclyde-liveried '101 would be at Bristol, please? Recently outshopped fm Swindon, perhaps? - It certainly looked pretty shiny at the time ( - or was it a common occurrence and I just didn't notice?!!!) Kind Regards, Paul

Evening all, a few peaks from me this evening, all taken on a trip to Bristol in 1984 on the Saturday of the (I am fairly confident it was the early) May Bank Holiday. Apologies that the quality of the images is not brilliant, but hopefully they might evoke a few memories. Happy reminiscing! Kind Regards, Paul

One from me: 37 231, complete with sheep emblem, outside Bath Road, in May 1984. Not completely certain of the date, but it was the Saturday morning of one of the two May bank holidays - almost certainly the later of the two! Think I liked it better when 37s were available in blue, blue or blue! Kind Regards, Paul

Of course - that would make sense. Hadn't noticed the (lack of) a juice rail! TVM. Regards, Paul

Luvverly - funny looking TC though! Was there a story behind the Crompton towing the plastic pig? Kind regards, Paul

A couple from the Woking 150 event in 1988. Regards, Paul

Eastwestdivide, thanks for the gen re the double Cromptons on the ARC turn: that does ring a bell - its lovely to be able to fill in some of the blanks. Found another couple of images from the same batch: quality is not brilliant, but they are still Cromptons, hard at work! Best wishes, Paul

A couple from Salisbury in summer '83/'84 (Hood plus 2 unidentified) and one from a blisteringly cold Reading in November '86, again sadly unidentified. Oh for a Tardis ( - and possibly some warmer socks!!!) Best wishes, Paul

Evening all, Having recently purchased a scanner, here are a few from me. All were taken at Salisbury, my old stomping ground, during the summer of either '83 or '84 as I recall, though I stand to be corrected - ie immediately after I left school but before I went away to college, beer and all the other usual distractions: sorry that I cannot be more precise about the dates! Funny how you much things have changed but you don't notice at the time. Happy days! I will post some of the other images in more appropriate threads, but hope these will be of interest. Best wishes, Paul

Paul, with liveries and traction like that, I don't feel any need to modernise or keep up! Cromptons are supposed to be blue or Dutch in any case... and besides, I've always enjoyed history! Kind Regards, Paul

Wonderful that Tonbridge West will be back on the circuit. Like others on here, I decided to model the (then) contemporary scene rather than the steam/diesel transition period as a direct result of having seen this marvellous layout in action. I look forward to being inspired all over again! Best wishes, Paul

Thanks for the steer re the AFV kits. I am aware that getting hold of Cromwell stuff these days can be a challenge; rather bizzarely, it had not occurred to me to look on 'that' auction site for them - doooh! I will have to keep an eye out - don't worry, I'm only after one or two! Military vehicles were regular through-traffic in my locale during the period I am interested in. I will look forward to seeing more of your progress. Kind Regards, Paul

Hi Freebs, Many thanks: sometimes its the simplest things that looks the best. 'Less is more', as they say. I have been wondering how to achieve a similar effect on a small station building I am fiddling with. Probably best get on with it now! Thanks again. Cheers, Paul

Freebs, Very nice job indeed on the Dover Priory box: I particularly like the roof - the yellow moss is very effective. Can I ask what you used, please? Kind Regards, Paul

Very nice. Please could you advise on the origins of the fitters track (FV438?) and the CVRT? I am assuming Cromwell? Many thanks, Paul

Great snaps of Ramillies, thank you. A minor observation: think your second picture is possibly Andover, judging by the platform canopy in the background (and the trees). The canopy is the wrong profile for Salisbury. 72B for ever! Kind regards, Paul

Brilliant! The picture of the black van in post #36 clears up a query of mine re said vehicle. I started a thread in June last year in 'prototype questions' to see whether anybody could positively identify the black ferry van that used to hang around in the vicinity of the exhibition train stock at Salisbury in the late '70s/early '80s. A couple of members on here were kind enough to supply the number 21-70 214 0 144-3 (also S99648 and previously B787017) for the vehicle at Salisbury: the picture appears to show the same vehicle, judging by the number. On that basis I agree that the van was indeed black. I had assumed (always dangerous...) that the livery was a local application at Salisbury, presumably to tidy up a scruffy vehicle. However, from the picture the livery appears to pre-date its period with the exhibition train. I feel a model coming on..... Incidentally I am also fiddling with a Hornby VIX. I have made the chassis rigid, replaced the wheels, added some additional weight and fitted Kaydee No 26 couplings, all of which has resulted in a sweet running chassis: I have not had any issues going through my point work or (limited) curves to date. I just need to extract a digit and get on with the body-shell now!.....this thread has reinvigorated my interest in the model, so who knows?! Thanks Chaps. Kind Regards, Paul

Glad the pictures were helpful. Beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder, but I at least think the new version represents (qualified) progress when compared to what is currently available. Granted it is not perfect - little ever is - but I would far rather address detail anomalies such as the numbers and the grille ( - I strongly suspect that an etched replacement cannot be too far away) than try to sort out something as fundamental as the overall body shape. In my subjective eyes the predecessor model never really nailed it because of the roof profile issue, though folks on this forum have admittedly done wonders with them: indeed I laid in several 'bagpipes' with a view to modifying them back to 33/0 condition ( - or at least that was the excuse for a shopping spree when interrogated about what the postman had brought this time!) Now I don't think I'll bother and just enjoy them as they are. I guess 'you pays yer money and takes yer choice...' Happy modelling. Best wishes, Paul

Evening All, Crompton '002 duly arrived on shed in Lincolnshire, light-engine from Liverpool, yesterday morning, so I thought a couple of pictures might not go amiss ( - with apologies for the quality of the photos: taken with the 'phone.) A head-on shot first, with a similar view of the real thing taken a while back at the GCR. For my money at least, it captures the essential 'Crompton-ness' (-not sure if that is a legitimate word?!) of the original: it certainly has the Crompton 'smile'. I also thought a side view might be appreciated: to my eye the number font looks a little squirrely, the mesh on the grille rather heavy (albeit the cruel close-up accentuates it somewhat) and the two little panels below the grille are printed on. However, overall I am rather pleased with it and looking forward to adding some etched brass and/or styrene bits and bobs in due course - a little light modelling is always a welcome relief from the real world! Hope the snaps are of some use. Best wishes, Paul

Dear Jim, thanks for the warning! I have ordered 4 wagons over the weekend, so looking forward to making a start. Best wishes, Paul