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There isn’t a right and wrong school in Edinburgh - say I, as someone who went to one of the schools mentioned. But those of a certain age remember the model railway shows held many, many years ago in George Heriot’s School, and if you go there on 1 or 2 June, you have definitely gone to the wrong school that day! John S

Rapido seem to have gone distinctly quiet about the Bedford OB. And so apparently has everyone else - we’ve only had one comment, from 5Dublo2, in a whole year! Newsletter 43 dated 19 April says the OBs are about 3 weeks behind the Fleetlines, which suggests factory completion in early June. It would be nice to see photos of decorated samples in the next newsletter ….. please! John S

I would happily endorse Nathan’s suggestion of the Worsdell NER Class C/LNER J21 …. also BR J21! And the preserved J21 should be back in action next year. John S

The Classix range of diecast vehicles was wide, with an interesting mix of cars, vans and lorries. Their Austin A30/35, Vauxhall saloon, and Triumph Herald cars; Morris Minor pick-up, Fordson and Morris J vans; and Jensen Tug and battery powered milk float are still fully up to today’s standards. It would be lovely if Bachmann reintroduce this range. The Fordson van is particularly useful to railway modellers - in BR crimson and cream or maroon liveries, and as a Post Office van - and the detail in its radiator grille is unmatched. Most of the vehicles mentioned have not been duplicated by others. John Storey

Superb - thank you! John S

What ho! NER hoppers on Little Bytham - wonderful, as I’m rather partial to them. I don’t think we’ve seen them before - presumably they arrived with one of your visitors? Unless, of course, Accurascale have forwarded early samples of their forthcoming NER hopper wagons? I am delighted to see them, even if in real life they are unlikely to have reached as far south as Little Bytham. John S

It strikes me that’s a pretty good essay on why many of us aren’t into kit building. So much can go wrong! And unless you know at exactly any point just what the right thing to do is, you are lost …. John S

Not sure what I saw there, but, goodness, it had that visceral feeling of being beside the line as trains whistled past, close, at speed! Superb effect! John S

Would suggest you charge the full postal cost. You aren’t a charity and have to make a living and return on investment: if we buy a hard copy catalogue, we are prepared to pay the postage. That still leaves you with the preparation and printing costs: even though you put these to your publicity budget, they will be significant. John S

Accurascale had copies of their Spring 2024 catalogue on their stand at Model Rail Scotland over 23-25 February. As folk have said above, it is a very useful reference, though it doesn’t include absolutely everything. There is no mention of OO gauge HUO wagons, for example, presumably because they are completely out of availability. John Storey

Looking through the thread above, I should add that Pop Up Designs have a lot more railway buildings than are shown on the previous page. Small and large Highland stations, the distillery shown in the previous page, even Fort William station with its unique structure and shape. On the distillery, if you are modelling the pagoda roof, how on earth do you work out all the angles to get the roof sections right? Pop Up Designs has worked it for you! I say all this, but don’t have space on my railway for any of their kits - alas! But I was impressed by what I saw at Model Rail Scotland a couple of weeks ago. John S

Pop Up Designs are definitely still active - they had a significant stand at Model Rail Scotland over the weekend of 23-25 February, with an impressive display of their models. The canopy work around some of their railway stations is amazing - very fine and detailed indeed, but also remarkably strong. I was impressed by the Scottish tenement block (shown above on 30 October), in raw assembled form, and in fully finished form. With the latter, looking up at ground level, it was hard to believe it was a model. Stunning! Unfortunately I didn’t take any photographs. it was a pleasure to meet the man behind Pop Up Designs, and Ian Ross, who designs the railway kits - and does it on a voluntary basis. John Storey

How will we cope - no news for a whole week! Welcome to the world of social media, and instant news and updates and reactions! I hope you enjoy your time away - I’m sure you deserve it. John S

And Bob and Gillian Baird of Harburn Hobbies here in Edinburgh have returned from the show with the news that they have been awarded Bachmann Retailer of the Year. Congratulations, and very well deserved! John S

I was there on Friday, and yes, it was a fabulous show. So much to see, and to such a high standard. Lots of trade, and I picked up a number of second hand items I hadn’t expected! Manufacturers, yes, but not Oxford Rail. Plenty of new items on show but apart from the Revolution 320/321 mentioned above by Legend, no new announcements at the show. A couple of folk I spoke to on Friday thought the venue was very busy, almost too busy. I didn’t feel that, but I would be interested to know if visitor numbers were up on the last two years. I hope they were substantially up, for the sake of the hobby and of AMRSS the organisers. There must be a financial risk in setting up something so big, so all power to them. Thank you! John S