19 hours ago, SED Freightman said:

The 1926 Railway Year Book lists GWR steamships operating between Fishguard & Ireland (SS Great Southern, Great Western, St Andrew, St David, St Patrick) and between Weymouth & Channel Islands (SS Reindeer, Roebuck, Sambur, St Julien, St Helier).  Perhaps the Channel Islands services had onwards connections to France.

I don't think there were ever any onward connections out of GWR ferries to the Channel islands.  As already noted there were at various times GWR ferry services  (apparently using cargo vessels) between Weymouth or Plymouth and a variety of French ports but the GWR never settled down to being a serious ferry operator between England and France.  Its traditional routes were Ireland and the Channel isles plus running connecting tenders for transatlantic liners at Plymouth.

I've got 30+ existing BSL/westdale kits so that another £300 .  Also it only seems to be a jig for end detail and possibly door hinge positions. 

The ones for the coaches?   These are cheapo Chinese off of the ‘zon, intended as xmas etc. party lights, warm led chains powered by pairs of CR2032 batteries in small holders with switches, 12 of ‘em for £12.99 free next day postage. They are a bit of bodgerigar solution, but the battery holders are out of sight inside the roofs of the coaches.  They are only suitable for coaches on which the roofs or bodyshells are or can be made to be easily and conveniently removable and replaceable, which precludes most modern RTR (which needs more expensive magnetically switched lighting).  I looked at mounting the battery holders under the floors so that the switches are accessible, but they’re too bulky. 
 

The low cost means that you can cut off as many leds as you don’t need on each string and throw the rest away; those left will still work.  The wire is very thin and difficult to strip back for connection for further use, though the melty solder technique suggested by DCC Concepts for their loco lamps might work.  The Clifton Downs compartment trailer has the wire looped about a bit inside the roof so that each compartment is lit from the centre of its roof; bit of a challenge because the wire is a bit stiff and the Dean roof profile is not the most spacious when it comes to tucking things up out of sight, but the mess is hidden from a ground level viewing position. 
 

I’ve so far lit 4 auto trailers this way, the Clifton Downs, a K’s whitemetal A31, and two Airfix A28s.  The other 8 strings have all found homes inside buildings and as exterior lights around the colliery.  They needed dimming a little in the auto trailers, more so in the gas-lit Clifton Downs and A31. The wires need careful hiding and/or camouflaging or they stand out a bit; as I say they are very thin but are insulated by shiny plastic coating.