Brian D

Great idea, Dave. Super modelling, given the constraints, and really well presented (editorially speaking). A "must visit" post on RMWeb! Regards, Brian.

Received from Hattons at 16.22 today. This is an automatically generated email to tell you that Heljan UK 2300 Class 23 Baby Deltic diesel D5900 in BR Green livery with Small Yellow Panels and 4 character headcode. is now in stock and ready to purchase at http://www.ehattons.com/StockDetail.aspx?SID=31976 for £96.00. I think the first batch went very quickly. Regards, Brian.

Dear LNER4479, This is a magificent layout and I am truly jealous. Another fantastic ECML project that I must follow on RMWeb. Early in this thread you mention the use of underlay to give the high speed "whoosh" effect. May I enquire whether you will be adding nicks in the rails at 60 foot scale centres to replicate the "diddlydoo-diddlydah" or did all welded rail exist on the LNER pre-war? I am looking forward to seeing this potential masterpiece develop. Please keep us all informed. Regards, Brian.

Hi Craig, This is a fantastic model railway system and you have obviously devoted many, many hours of work to bring it to such a high standard. However, I have a tiny gripe as a (retired) Charted Structural Engineer with some experience of bridges. There is a bridge which appears in your photos and videos which is lacking a central support. It appears to be a two span bridge spliced together to make one span without benefit of a support in the centre. I have taken the liberty of photo shopping one of your pics to show the missing supports (red arrows). A steel braced trestle would be best provided at mid span to prevent the bridge deck collapsing under imposed (highway) loading at the position of these arrows but this position may block one of the tracks beneath. You may need therefore to consider a replacement bridge deck, perhaps another girder type bridge. You are not alone in duplicating this error of splicing two (Wills or Peco?) girders together to double the span - I have seen it done countless times on other layouts and it always jars with my professional eye, sadly. I hope therefore that you are not overly offended by my comments because in all other respects this is a marvellously scenic and complex layout which must give you and your operating team great pleasure. Regards and apologies again if you think my comments unwanted. Regards, Brian.

The new roof is a fantastic addition to what is already an outstanding layout. You must be well pleased with Peterborough's successor. Regards, Brian. PS Hopefully this post will bring the 100th page that little bit closer!

Interesting to read the remarks about "industrial" back scenes for the southern end of the ECML. My recollections of steam days trips back up to Durham in the 50s & 60s are that there isn't much industry adjacent to the line this far south. The pit heaps didn't really kick in until the Doncaster area (heading north). What I do remember are the London brickworks around Petreborough and fields full of ex-WW2 vehicles lined up awaiting disposal. It depends on your definition of "southern" I suppose. Plenty of scope for outer suburban London house backs maybe. I hope this is useful and is in no way meant as criticism. This is really a fantastic layout. Can't wait to see some trains run. Regards, Brian.

As I recall, the D61xx class was also promised by Dapol. Any news yet? Regards, Brian.

Couldn't agree more. The retaining walls in particular will add a genuine urban feel to the layout and are for more realistic that what is available from the trade IMHO. Keep up the good wiork. Regards, Brian.

Yeah, right. I had one of these emails about my pre-ordered B17 stating this delivery date. I would really love an O1 but am not prepared to pre-order at present. The real "elephant in the room" is whether the Hornby O1 project manager is the same one involved with the B17 project! I think the Margate company has a bit confidence building work to do with their customer base. Regards to all. Brian.

Excellent layout Coronach. Can I ask whether your loft has had any "special treatment" (insulation between the rafters, etc) to help with climatic variations? Keep up the great work. Regards, Brian.

Rats! Should have seen this thread earlier, if only to talk you out of using the name "Hawthorn" for obvious reasons :-) Seriously, as others here, I know the area very well, particularly Easington, and used to spot J27s and Q6s before the diesels took over. Just a suggestion - the cutting on the main line could incorporate the "White Steps", a pedestrian crossing consisting of white painted steps and I think a timber hand rail let into the embankment sides down to a boarded track crossing. Good luck with this - can't wait to see more. Regards, Brian.

Yes, fully realise what you are saying but all I am suggesting is there might be a market for center/centre or however it is spelt, mental or otherwise, cars being provided by the original manufacturer, Bachy in this case. I assume you are suggesting this is non starter, manufacturer wise. I must find my slides taken at the time, somewhere in the loft, to establish what dmu "consists" ran between Newcastle and Middlesborough via Sunderland and Hartlepool and whether they were "typical NER 4-car" sets. Regards, Brian

Surely there is a market for "centre cars" as Tri-ang used to call them. I would certainly love to (re)run a 4 car North Eastern Region Metro-Cammell dmu train of the type I remember seeing on the Durham coast line. Regards to all, Brian.

Apologies if this has already been raised in the 22 pages or so of this thread but I do have one minor concern about the otherwise entirely excellent Hornby B1. The front cab windows are so obviously “mint†brass framed on the Hornby model ,and I assume this is how they looked ex-works, but I wonder whether this is a bit too much “bling“ on an otherwise exceptional model - shades of GWR loco chimneys. I do not recall ever seeing them in this condition on B1s or any other BR(E & NE) steam loco, albeit in the dim and distant of my 50s/60s spotting days, but then everything was covered in grime and dirt. The so-called pristine Bachmann B1 does not seem to be so brassy in this respect, if you’d pardon the expression. I’d welcome fellow RMwebers’ comments. I also think the Hornby L1 is similarly “blessed/afflicted (delete as appropriate)â€. Regards to all, Brian.

Words cannot express the envy I feel for your fantastic "train set"! And the narative takes me back too - in my case travelling from Kings Cross to the North East, loco spotting note book to hand everytime the train passed the big sheds enroute, egg sandwiches. Those were the days.

Dear Arthur, What a fantastic layout and a great selection of NER stock - I especially like the A8 - but the whole combination is really atmospheric. I was up in Durham last October and briefly visited the Weardale Railway and was really taken by the station buildings at Stanhope, not dissimilar to your model but with a platform canopy, really in great condition. There was even the "archetypal" NER footbridge. Very inspiring as this layout is for anyone contemplatying modelling the NER or BR(NE). Well done Arthur - I couldn't get close to your modelling standards. Regards, Brian.

Sorry, transfer retailer - just got back to this. The words that particularly disappointed where... How very patronising of you. It's all part of life's rich pattern - perhaps precipitated this time by a delayed decision to purchase a Baby Deltic that revealed an increase in price when the decision was eventually made?" I really don't believe that increasing the price of an item by 24% in a fortnight can be desribed as (your words) "normal trading practice" . Just because you don't believe it doesn't mean it's not true, perhaps some evidence to support your dismissal of others claims would be well served here Yeah - totally familar with "life's rich pattern" and was seriously thinking about streatching to the earlier price (which I thought was steep for a bo-bo deisel probably based on well tried Heljan bo-bo technology - I've already got three Heljan OO types and they are beautiful runners) but certaily not the new price - much too steep. And Hattons also say..."32-430B Bachmann UK Class 24 diesel D5061 in BR Plain Green. OO Gauge (1:76th scale) £52 "...for goodness sake!!! At the risk of repeating myself, I am a consumer - I buy model railway stuff - I don't sell it, as I am becoming to think quite a number of RMwebbers do. The fact you seem unable to grasp is as a consumer you have the choice of purchasing or not, you do not have the right to dictate the price Royaloak's comment "Or maybe we have all been around a bit longer than you Brian and understand better how the retail world works especially in a "global" sense" is also a "tad" distasteful from my end but, hey ho, such is life. As someone said earlier, you really need to know who you are talking to on here. Thinly veiled threats are not received too well here, if you would care to share with us your vast experience we would welcome it, otherwise WIND IT IN. this is my final input here. There are quite a few members who will be pleased to here that, you have already come to the attention of the admin team far too many times for a newcomer, please take the advice you have been given. Regards, Brian.

Apologies, Baby Deltic - I do not include you amongst those, almost a clique (all "liking" each other's posts), on this post appearing to stand shoulder to shoulder with the retailers. Andy Y - This is just a quick final response - haven't got time to cut and paste each comment and write a paragraph as some of the clique have. Am now fully wound in, but you could equally have tipped cctransuk the wink about some of his OTT comments here I would have thought. Regards, Brian.

OMG! I seem to have unearthed a nest of capitalists! Up the workers!!....and don't forget the consumer. End of. Regards, Brian.

Well OK, the Savoy reference was a bit obtuse but surely you can see what I.m getting at... It's Christmas - time to rip off the punters big time - nowt to do with supply and demand, just retailer greed. Hornby may well have missed a trick with late to market products like the B1 and B17. The general (I think way above inflation) increase in the cost of RTR model railway items - and I mean "model", not the Hornby Railroad range which is looking exceeding good value for money when compared to the (actual) price of say the co-bo or the forthcoming Dapol 22 (£125!). I was hoping for a Hornby Railroad D49 before Christmas but I'm not expecting that any time soon now. My "Model Railway Grey Pound" point is made in all seriousness. We are a niche market targeted by the retailer. cctransuk - I fail to understand why you are quite willing to accept a 24% price hike in a fortnight without wanting (like me) to sound off about it. My heart bleeds for the poor retailer - not! I'm a customer - perhaps retailers have a different view point. Perhaps you are a retailer which might explain your "Oh please - join the real world !!" opening gambit. Regards, Brian.

Smacks of "Rip Off Britain" to me! It was only a fortnight ago that they were selling for substantially less. I remember when I ordered my NRM Deltic and paid, I thought a lot at the time, around £100, but was happy to pay it for a genuine limited un-repeatable edition. This, IMHO, is not comparable (other versions are still abvailable at the lower price and more are promised in the New Year) and unbuisness like - a 24% price hike in a fortnight! They are profiteering in the Christmas market in my view, just like the price you have to pay for the annual work-place Christmas Do!!! I've just seen an advert in today's paper for a Do at the Savoy on New Year's Eve - £995 a ticket, not including a room. I think the Grey Model Rail Pound is being taken for a ride here. The point about "stock control" and "turnover" means that when Tesco run out of sausages, the next lot are 24% dearer? I think not. Rant over - back to Strictly! Regards, Brian.

Hattons have a new stock of "Class 23 Baby Deltic diesel D5900 in BR Green livery with Small Yellow Panels and 4 character headcode" at £119. Extortionate in my view when the previous batch cost £96!

I don't think that Hornby's webmaster keeps the site all that up to date. One of the items so-called due in the next 31 days is already available at Hattons (R3007X Weathered L1 DCC fitted). So, I live in hope that the proverbial slow boat from China will arrive sometime soon. Regards, Brian.

May I enquire who told you, David? I was told by a nice lady on the Hornby stand at the Peterborough show that the D49 would be available this month but still no sign (a few days to go though). Regards, Brian.

What a splendidly evocative description, Coachmann. How times have changed in all aspects of life, not all necessarily for the best IMHO. I don't think that detonators are used in this way now. In fact the only use I know for them is to protect a p-way work site under possession, really as the last resort warning to a train and track worker in the vicinity that a train has entered the possession when it shouldn't have!! Regards, Brian.