Ian Hargrave

Aberdare was the Cinderella service of the valleys and indeed suffered the Beeching axe quite early in the 1960’s before resurrection,albeit following a track diversion away from the old TVR route to the now demolished Low Level station to the site of the former GW High Level “terminus” aka Vale of Neath. The current replacement bus service to Treherbert causes a great deal of inconvenience locally,given the congestion and road conditions between Ponty and Treherbert. So will it be wires or batteries from Taffs Well or Ponty ? Or will the WAG run out of cash before completion? The days of the auto train waiting in the siding at Abercynon for the up Merthyr to clear are bur a memory. Aberdarian. 1942-1965

Appears to have just been through The Works,judging from its unusually clean appearance . Great photo.

Bearing in mind that some regulars to this thread will be eyeing Rapido’s Titfield Thunderbolt extravaganza and accessories a 14/58XX might be tempting,especially with its W&U “prop” colourful coach & Toad.I refer you to Simon Castens (of this forum ) excellent newly published book.

Of that,I’m unsure.Except that I never saw a single example . I think their allocation was mainly In Scottish sheds.That is not to say that they didn’t stray into England. It might be safe to say that they didn’t work into the WR & SR. Having posted that ,there’ll be someone here who’ll quote chapter & verse dates & times they were observed on the ACE & CRE….Even the Belle between Brockenhurst & Southampton…. But one final thought…if the locomotives themselves didn’t work south,then their tenders might have during the 1948 Exchanges due to their extra water capacity,the SR not having any water troughs.

Talking of the WD,any attempt at a sound version must include the clank. You always heard it before you saw it.

Weren’t the 2-10-0 WD’s to be seen mainly in Scotland ?

But for complete ANTB chronological accuracy no Brits whatsoever. They weren’t delivered to the WR until 1953.However as Rob runs a Heljan/Rails 18000 Gas Turbine already,I suspect that won’t deter him.

But in its day it was no “oddity “ and was widely recognised and known for its place in the British railway scene prior to the wires going up over the Woodhead and subsequently as a less than successful Lickey Banker. Every locospotter and enthusiast of that generation knew of it. My only qualm is what exactly do you do with the monster on the average ( if there is such a thing ) layout ? 2X pony trucks + 16X driving wheels to rail Plus what will be the challenge of a lifetime for arthtically inflicted wrists and fingers. Still I’m sure it’s set to be a cracking model. Now where’s Lady of Lynn,Saint David and County of Cornwall ( Hawksworth ) ?

And Bachmann will probably do the WHR Garratt in OO9 in due course I would think.

I think with the modified hand grip smoke deflectors ( as a result of the fatal 1956 accident between Swindon and Didcot when the crew were apparently unsighted by the previously installed handrails)

I think yes. L/C 70015 Apollo. Surely an E/C Canton example ( 70025-70029 ) is due ? When originally allocated to Laira,one had the North Road -Penzance duty on the CRE,taking over from the King at Plymouth.

She was an 83D resident from new I think. I remember copping her at North Road from my train which had stopped there en route from Penzance to Cardiff…August 1953. Later in the 50’s,like all WR Brits,she moved to Canton.

Anyway,I had a great run behind a WHR Garratt just last month….

Oddly enough,mine’s ok,after some discreet weathering to tone the lining etc.down.It’s a powerful 4mm beast,like its prototype,so performance wise is outstanding. Don’t also overlook the ER O2 which is another mighty beast. Ben is I think aware of the issues of past failings and is doing his best to reassure us. As to whether any of us can find “space” for this new mammoth is entirely a different matter.

I think there’s one in preparation isn’t there ?

Both the O2 and the 47XX are excellent,very powerful models….well at least mine are anyway….and their grunt will outpull most other machines.So given this BG (I think ) was designed for banking duties and spent its working life assisting heavy goods trains from the rear,I ponder just how it will operate in 4mm model guise ( DC only ) behind such a train with,say,a Hornby 8F or Bachmann O4 at the front. I imagine that could be interesting .I wonder too if its arrival will stimulate the construction of split level layouts . Top marks to Ben for engaging with us straight away ,dispelling concerns that we may have.

Bling ! Bling ! And to think I ascended the Lickey on Wednesday evening in an XC voyager ( then running 20 minutes late ). It was not a success there.The one hope I have for this is that it doesn’t meet with the disasters that their LMS BG did some years ago.A bold and brave venture which hopefully will be a success

Indeed they do. This specific model is however an NRM Locomotion special edition.And they use UPS. It appears that the delivery service you receive is dependent upon your locality.

And the actual model ? As expected….is rather wonderful and recalls Liverpool Street in early 1961.

My Locomotion D 6700. Delivered 13/11.Parcel left at rear door. Recovered by neighbour who kindly keeps an eye on the house when I’m away. Note left in letter box by driver. No advance notice by email given . I did advise in advance that I wouldn’t be home.No UPS documentation received other than the note from the driver which was a bit scary arriving just now in the dark after XC ran 39 minutes behind time from Bristol.A phone call to Dave next door put my fears to rest and the model is now safely in my hands. I sincerely hope someone is reading this.For the record,this is the second time UPS have left an incoming Locomotion model outside the house. Please do not let this happen again. Stuff happens,I suppose and listening is a somewhat neglected art. One actually worth cultivating though,believe it or not.

What ( in some ways) is time out of joint. Great post.🙄

Question: to add variety & interest to 93 ( just checked my order with Kernow) what prototypically would one couple to it ? Maybe Dapol could be induced to produce trailer 92 ? Or what else ? Intriguing….

More expensive news for ANTB. Kernow’s Railmotor is due to arrive between Christmas & New Year.Advice to pre order now as a price hike is imminent.

Which I have just done to arrange delivery of my Accurascale D6700 as I’m away for a few days & don’t want it left on the doorstep…Yes it has happened believe it or not ! Phone lines are apparently “open” Tuesday to Thursday.I am trying but so far receiving soothing “Muzak” .Now let’s wait & see if this post is read & my email answered and acted upon appropriately

A CAF product.Which seems now ,with the Hitachi 800 series,to be the preferred choice of DafT. Rough ride & sore backsides.I sampled a TFW set last month.Not impressed.We need a change of direction and thinking