Broadway Clive

Drivers were taught to pause the master controller handle at series before moving to full parallel once that speed had been attained. Many would ignore that and just move the handle right round, but the idea of listening to the RPA on the front car and responding to a fault is a fantasy. In the case of wheel spin one would just shut off and move the reverser key back from forward 2 to forward 1 position, which gave a slower rate of acceleration.

Brian Brown was the founder of Westward Models in the early seventies when he was producing white metal kits of buses and coaches. I constructed 122 of his Metro Scania single deckers and 50 of the double deck version. I also had a few of his Seddon Pennine midi buses too. I met him a couple of times and if memory serves me he was based in Gloucester and was some kind of professional, but I wasn't aware of the Westward loco kits back then and only learnt of them many years later.

Good to see its got a proper 5 pole motor, rather than a modern coreless type that can't be used with analogue feedback control. A few years ago DJ Models were claiming the future would be coreless, and Bachmann were using them in all their new releases. So what has caused the change of policy?

I'm confused why they are described as 'black' by Oxford Diecast when they are grey. Does anyone know if they will produce a black version later?

They should be able to put up quite a lot of blue plaques for immigrants at this rate! There must be hundreds of 'firsts' that are just as, or more 'important' than a steam engine driver. Personally I find this kind of identity politics nauseatingly racist, as if its so much more of an achievement for someone who is non-white. I had a 35 year railway career and found no differences between people related to their colour. I suspect one of my old colleagues, a steam engine driver from Uganda, who was expelled from that country by black people because he had Indian ethnicity, would also have found this plaque nauseating.

The Bachmann coreless motors dont suit DC feedback controllers. Its deplorable that Bachmann now seem to care so little about some customers that they've also ditched the sprung centre drivers that made other 0-6-0s reliable on all systems.

The Kingsway Models site was recently supplied with a faulty cookie banner that only works if one clicks the 'Accept All' option. If one clicks either of the other options you are given a blank white screen on that and all future visits. John Howe has emailed me about the problem which he is working on but is reliant on getting information from the website host. I've just tested it and found it to be as stated here:-

I don't believe Phil Radley has much appetite left for exhibitions so that's no longer a realistic expectation. I'd suggest phoning or emailing him. His website has always been rather user-unfriendly and inflexible, but that doesn't apply to Phil himself so I'm sure he'll give you a cheaper postage rate.

Class 02 Yorkshire Engine Co. 0-4-0 diesel-hydraulics D2850-69 weighed in at 28tons 3cwt and are noted as being permitted on some wagon turntables in Liverpool docks (P124 The Diesel Shunter by Colin J Marsden has an official view of one standing on a wagon turntable ). As direct replacements for the L&Y 0-4-0 saddle tank 'pugs', it would seem logical that they too were allowed. I dont know about other locations and locomotive types, nor whether they were actually allowed to be turned, so perhaps others may have the answers to that.

Another idea for detailing might be for the Hornby D49 Hunt to replicate the rotary cam valves. That should be quite simple compared to what you've done already.

Brilliant work Andy. You seem to have blown open the lid on a subject that others have been trying to keep shut for years now! Could you post an updated diagram with the list of components so we can source them locally and try it out please? I'm wondering if it will tolerate HF track cleaners and feedback controllers. Any ideas about those?

I have this one which I bought wrongly packed in a Rocket box!

Large London Transport depots would usually have a spare train prepared by the crew of the first trains into service, morning and afternoon. This enabled a dud to be cancelled at short notice and replaced by the spare without losing time on inspection and testing. IIRC this established the principle of a test certificate being valid for a period of time after being conducted by someone other than the driver who takes the train into service. Certainly there were many crews and drivers who neglected their preparation out of lateness or laziness, so reducing their input in favour of depot staff became one that was hard to resist.

Were there any steam MPDs where a ground frame operated signals?

I've had trouble with body mounted couplings on London Transport Q stock (EMUs with two trucks) as they make the cars lean inwards when rounding curves. In this case the couplings are simply a short straight wire bent at each end to locate into holes in the car rubbing plates. It made me think that having the train's weight and coupler forces put through the trucks as is usually done with models was maybe preferable.