Dunsignalling

Just a change of wheelsets on the one I did, and I hadn't tried it round 30" curves. I can't revisit it unfortunately, as the pal I did it for is no longer with us and the loco has been moved on. I reckon the West Countries might do 30" so long as the curve was laid without any dog-legs

Good Morning, Tony, FWIW, Hornby Britannias and Rebuilt Bulleids with the fixed trucks and flanged wheels will go round 3' radii, presumably because of the copious sideplay in the driving wheelbase. I can't help where LMS & LNER types are concerned though, purely because I've not had the opportunity to try any out. Regards John

No need. Any requirement for a "Tubby Duff" was fulfilled by Heljan's first attempt at the 47. I still have one, but the Class is currently on the edge of being a Rule One anachronism for me. Have they over-compensated with the new one, then? My only recent diesel-outline purchases have been small industrial types and a Southern 1Co-Co1. John

No Kevlar mittens either....😉

If you mean the cattle wagon, can we have the 10' wheelbase version, please. The 9-footers became extinct (or very nearly so) between 1945 and 1948 and there's no evidence of any lasting long enough to receive BR livery. I have seen one picture of WB 9' 0" ( and XP! ) markings in the mid fifties but, on closer inspection, they turned out to be incorrectly applied to a 10' wheelbase vehicle. John

The big difference between steam and diesel/electric is a proliferation of models of the latter representing rare or one-off liveries. I've gained an impression that the market may be somewhat polarised where those are concerned. A case of collectors, and those who have personally observed the "exotica" desiring a reminder of the occasion, snapping them up but with little residual interest from those who didn't "cop" them, if production runs were a bit optimistic, perhaps? John

The only proper r-t-r Cattle wagons are the Hornby Southern ones, everything else has significant errors. Everything in your final list, plus the Wrenn/Dapol fish van has its origins in the Hornby Dublo Super Detail range which were all deliberately made over-wide to fit the rubbish existing chassis castings from the tinplate stuff. They all looked reasonable until you put a ruler anywhere near them. Such a wasted opportunity, tooling up for expensive injection mouldings and not the cheaper low-pressure ones for chassis castings. John

Anachronisms don't just apply to rebuilt Bulleid Pacifics, or even just to the locomotives. 21C123, Blackmore Vale, for instance, was renumbered 34023 in April 1948, and went into BR green in March 1950, but only received the wedge-fronted cab in October 1954. 34072, 257 Squadron completed its entire BR service paired with high-sided tenders, whereas (TTBOMK) it's only ever run cut-down examples in preservation. 35029, Ellerman Lines, sectioned in the NRM along with a cut-down 6000 gallon tender, had a high sided one of that type when originally built, but had acquired a second-series 5100 gallon version in 1952, which was cut down concurrently with 35029's rebuilding and remained with the engine until 1965, when it received a cut-down first-series 5000 gallon example for its final year in traffic and two years of storage. John

Sorry, Tim. My typo (albeit among others), I think.... Duly corrected. John

Also why anything one writes on the laptop should always be examined from a printed copy. It's amazing how consistently the brain auto-corrects ones errors when only reviewed on-screen.

Having witnessed, and participated on expectational grounds from early-on in this discussion, I concluded about a month ago to re-examine my older Hornby 5MTs. The conclusion? That, for me, the older ones are perfectly adequate "layout locos" that have been trouble free for twenty years or thereabouts. Any real improvements to the new ones are unlikely to be evident once they are working, but the dodgy "upgrades" may well be. My pre-order for the Caprotti one will stand, despite me anticipating the need for removal of the lighting and modification or replacement of the tender coupling and connections. Doing that to more than the desired variant not represented in my current fleet will not be acceptable so, if I need any more "ordinary" ones, I'll be buying second hand. John

Easier nowadays, though. Markits offer axles in alternative diameters, including 5/32".

The Hornby one is the other diagram, (as were the older Dapol and Hornby Dublo models) and lack the diagonal strapping to the sides and ends. The two types were freely mixed in traffic, so the models are complementary to one another. John

I think the ice blue livery and data panels came in, if not concurrently, within a few months of one another. However, IIRC, data panels were added to existing stock quite quickly, independent of overhauls and repainting. so I would expect "transitional" examples of white vans with data panels to be running around in the company of blue ones for at least two or three years. John

AIUI, it was to mislead enemy pilots making low-level attacks as to their true altitude, in the hope they would fly themselves into the ground.

There's a Polish version, too. The board is the same as regular Scrabble but comes with half the number of vowels and a lot of extra Zs.

I, for one, await the next announcement with "baited" breath. U know what I mean..... John

I have no objection whatever to things like the Tri-ang Giraffe Car or Battlespace series; they are clearly toys, and not presented as anything else. My problem is when ostensibly prototypical features are applied to otherwise excellent models in ways that detract from the overall portrayal of the locomotive. FWIW, I consider over-bright carriage lighting just as bad. Hornby get acceptably close to realism (IMHO) with their lit Pullmans, of which I've rarely seen any criticism. Do all their other lighting to similar standards and they'd get no quibble from me. Paraffin lamps on real engines and gaslights or 110v bulbs on the ceilings of coaches, are barely noticeable in daylight. "Night" running is supposed to take place in the dark, or under very subdued lighting, not the glare of fluorescents or LEDs. However, Hornby (in particular) seem to think none of their customers are aware of the availability of dimmer switches for their room and/or layout lighting. Please, do it right or at least stop wasting time and effort doing it wrong. John

Shouldn't be a problem to disconnect the LEDs for my purposes and I have a nice new, sharp pair of Xuron cutters and a tube of filler for the one on the tender. How much hassle is involved will decide the fate of any further orders for Hornby locos with this feature. My gut feeling is to ignore them on release and pick them up cheap after the initial purchaser has lost some of the bits... John

Trouble is, if you put instructions on gates, some people take offence.... Sorry, somebody was bound to do it, and the suspense was killing me. John

You've obviously never contemplated a Nikkor long telephoto. Tony....😉 Regards john

A Milton Jones gag, I think!

Ditto the Channel Islands, or at least Alderney (AY plus 3 digits, so it looks like a cherished number; Jersey and Guernsey are more obvious). My stepfather had a Rover 214 he bought off a relative who was visiting and had found a car he wanted over here. He wasn't made aware of the need to re-register until he scrapped it.

I was OK with the reversed format (e.g. C 515 CTA) but, the present layout, I can barely carry in my head long enough to write it down. It even takes a few months after changing before I can instantly recall that on my own latest vehicle! I've only had three cars with the current registration format. I generally keep them a long time and I can remember their plates with a moment to think about it. The older formats, I can as quickly recall all but a couple dating back to SYB 642, my first bike at 16! Oddly, it's only bikes I had concurrently with cars that have "gone"..... John

Thanks Mike, The ones I remember coming down from Southampton for Exeter and beyond were often formed in a block train, though not necessarily a very long one (some having been detached at Salisbury, perhaps?), with a shorter string of vans at the front of the next through fitted goods. I'd think even a biggish depot would have an optimum number of vans it wanted to receive at once, purely on the basis of the time and manpower available for unloading. I never saw how many vans continued on beyond Exeter Central but from various conversations, I gained an impression of not more than five or six, if that. I interpreted the block train as consisting of as many vans as were loaded and ready to go in time for the first available Q path, with the remainder following by the next scheduled general working. John