Claud Hamilton

I try to be an ambassador for good mental health, and work part time in a Recovery College to further that end. So I’ve rung Samaritans (though not for several years I’m glad to say) and have found the service extremely valuable. Suffice to say, I’ve preordered this 66, sound-fitted. regards, David

So I did attend Paul’s fascinating lecture at the Model Railway Club last Thursday and so can reveal that the third clue… ….rhymes with “weasel”….

Ebay have a 20% discount that applies to a list of selected sellers until the 31st of July. The list is long and varied, but I found this seller has a huge range of new and pre owned model railway items: https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/footplateofkidderminster?_pgn=4 minimum spend is £20, maximum discount per transaction is £60, limit of 3 transactions. Code is “APPLY20”.

Thank you, wirey33, for the nod to KMS. They also had 2 Rapido APT-e at a good price (£275), now just one:-)

eBay are offering a 20% discount code - PNY2018 - today until 6pm. Maximum discount is £75, but you can use it on multiple purchases from multiple sellers, providing you purchase all in a single transaction (please see eBay t&c's).I hope this is helpful.

In trying to ascertain whether Hornby were correct in their livery I learnt a lot more, which is always good (and one of the great things about this hobby), and so very much appreciate your query. Another, much better photo of "8900" can be found here: https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LNERSteam/Holden-Locomotives/James-Holden-Tender-engines/Holden-Claud-Hamilton-Class-D1/i-j7k5Kqn/A I think "62614" is a highly likely choice for Hornby and would, I think, be very popular in that livery. I was shown a lovely (if weather-beaten) 0-gauge model of it (or very similar) at the Model Railway Club yesterday, it used to run on the now-retired "Happisburgh" layout. I'll endeavour to take a picture and post it here.

In reply to the livery query, the link below contains an image of "Claud Hamilton" in 1937. https://chasewaterstuff.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/steam-locomotives-of-a-more-leisurely-era-1900-claud-hamiltons-great-eastern-railway/ Though not the best quality, it shows the loco in much the same state as Hornby's model, complete with shaded numerals and lettering, albeit maybe a little finer. As for my model, I ran it with a train of (anachronistic) Thompson suburban "teaks" for about 2 hours on the Model Railway Club's test track last night. It performed beautifully and I am very pleased with it. I had already purchased an LNER black Claud last year but was eager to get this example. It wears a similar livery to the loco shown in my avatar, a painting by my father of a "Royal Claud" (one of the versions with a decorative valance). The protype also provided me with my RMWeb nom de plume, and in my opinion is a particularly handsome engine, perfectly proportioned. It is a great shame none were preserved: an MRC member explained to me that one had been marked for preservation at Stratford, but on one side only and the scrap team approached from the other side... The group building a new one have started work on the buffer beam. http://www.claudhamiltonlocomotivegroup.co.uk/blogger-feed

My tablet does not take fantastic pictures, but here is my newly-arrived apple-green "Claud Hamilton" (and my first post here).