checkrail

Thanks Miss P. Even expanding the pic to max. and looking through the bottom of my varifocals and a hand-held magnifier I couldn't make that out. So well done Rapido for including such microscopically fine detail (which I'm afraid is now about to be obliterated with matt black).

While on the subject of PO wagons can anyone tell me what the lettering/symbols on the axleboxes of all three of my new Rapido items signify? John C.

Thanks Robin. I've seen a 'Beer & Co.' wagon somewhere on a layout in the past but hadn't connected it with Kingsbridge. I note that the POWsides listing describes it as 6 plank but uses a Slater's 7 plank as a base, presumably because there's no kit or RTR 6 plank item available? In spite of my stern remonstrations to self about no more PO wagons I'd find one of these impossible to resist if a RTR model appeared.

Wow! What a layout. Thanks for alerting me to it. Who's the writer? I see that he bought it in fairly embryonic form but has made a lot of progress with it since. This is Pendon-standard stuff isn't it?

Robin @gwrrob, please tell us more about the Kingsbridge coal wagon. It's a new one on me. John.

Talk of POWsides reminds me that having built some of their kits in the past, often supplied with Slater's or similar kits as a base, I already had some 1907 pattern RCH wagons. An example ( two in fact) is the Renwick Wilton wagon below (left). I always wondered why it and its companion were slightly different dimensionally from my two Bachmann versions. The new Rapido RW wagon has a different lettering style to those others. Here it is sandwiched between the aforementioned POWsides one and one of my Bachmann R, W and Dobson ones. I realise I've got quite a mix of periods here for one firm's wagons, but they're interesting and hopefully add a bit to the sense of place, I guess the Rapido one is the earliest livery, the black ones next in age and the R, W & D one the final version after the merging of the companies? Any further light on this would be welcomed. There's a good picture of the black ones (if they ever were really black) in Tim Bryan's 'A year in the life of the Great Western', showing three of them in the yard at Bodmin in 1925. John C.

Shortened couplings so that the front of the coupling loop is in line with the buffer heads, and weathering. The RW wagon (of which more anon) will also get the Alan Kirby coupling modification and some added friction as it will from time to time work in and out of Stoke C. yard so needs to be 'shuntable'. That won't apply to the other two which will go into the returning coal empties train.

Some more new toys arrived yesterday. Suitable cases for treatment. Rapido have done a great job with the complex lettering, workplates etc. They've allowed for variants too - the Bwlch wagon here is the only one of these three with brakes on both sides, which I'm assuming is prototypical. One thing I note is that the end-door hinges are an integral part of the moulding, unlike the Bachmann 1923 pattern models which have the hinge rails separately applied. I think the Bachmann ones look better, though they can sometimes be dislodged when putting removable 'coal' loads in or out (by me anyway!). John C.

I did Robin. Great photo with plenty of locos stock in the frame. Hadn't come across 'Acorn' PO wagons before.

Yes, got one of those on order Robin @gwrrob. Looks very nice. I have two of the Bachmann 1923 RCH pattern ones and two from POWsides kits. Also a couple of the Bachy Renwick Wilton & Dobson ones. I didn't know that Replica had done one (and with the same number as the new Rapido model!) The R,W & D ones are a dark red. My existing RW ones are black. The new Rapido 1907 type is a dark reddish-brown. What colour was the Replica one? It's got me thinking - were RW wagons perhaps always dark brown, misinterpreted by modellers and manufacturers looking at b & w photos? Or did RW start off painting their wagons dark brown, subsequently change to black, then change again to a dark red after merging to become R,W & D? Spent an interesting half hour the other day googling the history of the firm. Among other things I found a nice pic of their 1951 Hull-built collier "Renwick" passing Portishead out from Bristol. It was converted into a sand dredger in 1969. And surprisingly the company later branched out into running a. travel agency, having a shop in Torquay. Some stuff too about the company patriarch Cliff Wilton. But nothing more about their wagon fleet. John C. PS. Nearly forgot - it seems that Dapol once did a 5 plank R & W wagon in light grey. But I've never had much confidence in the accuracy of their PO wagons.

Inspired by recent gorgeous pics of 4930 Hagley Hall at Bridgnorth taken by @gwrrob Robin's daughter here's my 4975 Winslow Hall. A bit dirtier than the SVR one! It struck me that I don't remember seeing a preserved GWR 4-6-0 with the 'shirtbutton' monogram before. Nor do I think that Bachmann have ever issued their Hall model in this guise. (I customised mine a bit, and toned down the rather garish Bachmann lining.) There was a time when the monogram was widely disliked by GWR fans but that seems to be changing, probably in part a fashion thing with a revival of interest in 1930s modernism. Anyway, I like it and when I saw the pics of 4930 my immediate thought was, 'I've got one like that!', so out came the camera. John C.

Ordered some yesterday, plus a loco crew, so let's see how the new type lenses shape up.

The sequence ends with 5557 and train heading down the branch to Earlsbridge, wherever that might be. John C.

Now re-coupled at the branch end of the train ... ... and down goes the starting signal. John C.

Funny you should say that Phil. I found this morning that I had just one red Modelu lens left in stock, so I put it on the E95's tail lamp very carefully - using superglue! This where the compact and capable Panasonic TZ100 comes into its own. And its 'post focus' setting does half the work of focus merging for you. (My iMac and ffworks do most of the rest.) If I was using a big dSLR to try these kinds of shot I would probably have knocked half the layout down by now.

As 5557 runs round its train I note that another lamp lens has fallen off, this time from the E95 van compo. Now, where's that gloss red paint? John C.

Interesting. Might need a bit of surgery to handles etc. but maybe worth investigating.

5557 has just cleared the up end pointwork and is about to set back into the branch platform Nearly there ... Now just waiting to be uncoupled before running round its train. John C.

Here's a sequence showing 5557 retrieving the down Earlsbridge through coach for attachment to the branch train. John C.

I know what you mean - they drove me to distraction . I used to go through about 6 lenses to make one lamp. The other five either de-laminated, lost their sticky stuff or ended up disappearing from knife blade or tweezers. I now use gloss red or gloss white with a blob of gloss varnish on top when dry. It doesn't look as good as the original Modelu lenses but it's better than their current ones with their weird colouring. A pleasant young chap on the Modelu stand at Warley gave me a long account of the economic reasons they could no longer supply the original type, but I forget the details! I seem to remember that donkeys' years ago people used little coloured brilliants. Next time I'm in Hobbycraft I'm going to have a look at the craft jewellery section.

No, it was installed as part of a new roof and loft flooring job while Stoke C. was nought but a glimmer in my mind's eye. Wouldn't have wanted to install one above an existing layout! Perhaps it was a dull day when you visited. Lord knows we've had enough of them. Btw, it's pleasing to report that the nice double and single slips you built for me are still working beautifully.

Back to express passenger action. Launceston Castle heads for Plymouth North Road as a fitful gleam of sunshine* lights up Stoke Courtenay. * coming through the Velux window. John C.

Really enjoying seeing views of your layout again Jon - it's always been a favourite of mine. More please! Great looking track, regardless of your current ballast issues. And neat looking Mogul.

Lovely looking carriage Neal, finished beautifully. I think the 1934 livery suits them well.

Nice backscene.