Ian Hargrave

From my own personal observation,Idid see one work into Crewe in June 1965 and that on an out & home working.Canton D1500’s ( aka Class 47 ) had by that date also taken regular turns to Crewe on N&W trains.

Drove to the Rails Weekend Event today to look at a Dapol Mogul which was duly purchased. And then….in a small display cabinet cunningly situated on the counter were these……..I honestly wasn’t going to but I did.The beast in its original form seen by me as a state of the art exhibit at the railways part of The Festival Of Britain ,Waterloo East,August 1951. I’m now fully into my dotage… Whatever the motive,it is a cracking model.

Picked up one of the new release Moguls at Rails today ( along with a couple of useful £10 vouchers ) . Have to say I’m immensely impressed by the improvement in performance and yes with the overall finsh ,despite qualms about the livery application. For me a lesson in seeing what you’re buying in a display cabinet rather than the usual virtual experience online. Worth the drive,the ghastly weather and 3 way traffic lights at the road junction outside the rebuilding works at Totley station. And then over Baslow Edge with glorious views to indulge myself at the Chatsworth Farm Shop. Haven’t done that for years. Still have that £10 voucher which is redeemable with online purchases.

Some of you may have heard of OO Works.They don’t “do” DCC. They supply high quality hand built models in all metal construction. You want DCC ? Then you do your own conversion which will negate the warranty. Highly conventional I know and off putting to digital specialists,some of whom have given their thumbs down to them on this forum. Well then,fine….their choice of course. The models are simply superb in terms of both finish and performance. One of them ,an SR liveried Adams Jubilee 0-4-2 ( and please note the wheel arrangement in terms of haulage capacity….it’s 4 coupled kiss of death ) has been hauling my rake of Accurascale Banana vans since they arrived yesterday very sweetly indeed. So then ….finally…….we come to the motor used by OO Works. It’s a “ high quality coreless motor “ gents. And I have no complaints as a non DCC user.

Just a thought. A general election looms later this year and the Scottish vote is likely to be crucial to the result. I just wonder whether or not this might influence events and maybe bring it to a successful ( ? ) conclusion. Time will tell…..

TBH,I think it’s meant only for use in the box initially in transit. As you say,the box does the business in any case.The problem with the film is that it’s adhesive and that can have unforeseen and undesirable consequences .

I did. The stuff is lethal.

Yes,I realised that extra care must be taken with the protective film and needs to be dealt with slowly and with soft surfaces around. There is a seam on each one ….barely visible I know….so pull apart carefully from that with the wagon securely on your lap,making sure that the delicate bits don’t come off with it. I’m assuming that the SR vans operated from Southampton Docks presumably serving at least in the first instance Covent Garden .Thus the train would run ( fairly rapidly ) to Nine Elms for onward transport of the contents to the market. So motive power is the next decision. Here,Mike Morants LSWR collection is helpful though there are no images of the vans. It being the western section of the SR,then IMHO that’s where you need to look and then consider what’s available. If you have kit built models that’s one thing. In rtr,I can source a T9,an Arthur,an S15 a Drummond D15 ,an Adams Jubilee and a Maunsell N. The list obviously isn’t in any way prescriptive and it would be good to have further input on this .

And the expectation is fulfilled. I now understand exactly what the applause these have received is all about.They are indeed very special in every respect. The stone/yellow SR livery throws their detail off to perfection and their running quality is feather smooth. I believe Paul is once again the guiding genius behind these. Bravo !

A fascinating photo. And just maybe a reason for using the Heljan loco ?

Hopefully not Icelandic in origin 🙏

Now featured on the BBC News App. Essentially it’s become a PR standoff with WCRC portrayed as the wronged party by “ a spokesperson “ . No response as yet from the other side.You have to wonder exactly how such a response ( should there be one ) would read. Pure gamesmanship.

Compensation for yesterday’s hiccup in ordering comes in the notification of delivery tomorrow. .An OO Works Adams Jubilee and a Bachmann Dance Hall brake await the pleasure.

He was a Merthyr boy and a natural charmer too. We once enjoyed a post show supper with him at Stratford many years ago.

Well,perseverance has its rewards after multiple barred gateways courtesy of those inane picture puzzles which tbh are a totally unnecessary disincentive for completing a purchase ( 30 + pieces of asinine nonsense negotiated ) . With discount & reward points applied ,yes I do have 6 SR banana vans successfully ordered for just over £ 98. But please tidy up access to ACC website & tell Mr. Shopify as well. I’m not asking for entry to GCHQ.Ta !

ATM I’m attempting to order .I cannot complete access to the website as it is blocked by “I’m Not A Robot” . Could you please investigate this interference ?

Indeed,sometimes,the world passes us by and we fail to recognise its passing.Confusion is perhaps a state of grace . Look at it this way…….I’m still here enjoying my “confusion “.

And changing trains at Crewe yesterday afternoon,I heard announcements of the cancellation of a number of Avanti services due to “train crew issues “ which is a daily occurrence apparently,so you were perhaps lucky to complete your journey. Earlier in the week,one of our party was marooned coming down from Carlisle on the WCML to Chester. So if any of you are thinking about a journey with Avanti make sure you thoroughly check your train will run.As one who’s been there & wears the shirt.Often these are quite literally last minute cancellations which really throws the gubbins into the works.

I read all of the above with acknowledgement to the knowledge and experience of forum members. This particular model has been on sale now for barely a week and I have to wonder how many of the above observations are based on a viewing of it on plain sight rather than a website based a digital image. I’m suspending my own opinions until I see one “break cover”. That won’t be for a while

So at the end of a dreary,wet day,maybe it would be good if we turned to the top of the page and read the heading title that Robin initially posted there and restored the friendliness and frivolity…….if you please gents.

The only serious discounting IIRC with Rapido UK has been with the late lamented Hattons Black Friday sale last November. Other than that there is the imaginative bargain bundle pitch.It’s a small and fledgling company springing to life at inauspicious economic times and has already been blighted by a couple of unfortunate mishaps.So don’t expect other than the “normal” % discount. They need and deserve encouragement for the lines of developing products. Our opinions are being canvassed.Let’s be grateful for that and cut Corbs&co some slack.

And there was me going to post my usual quip about the horsehair too….I can’t see it. But seriously,thank you gents for going the extra mile for the GW freaks here. It’s much appreciated.My first ever train ride….c1946….was in a Pannier hauled B set.That’s when B sets ruled the Aberdare-Abercynon branch. And another new pair of spectacles is ordered for delivery soon..Rimless ones…much better for my image

Bravo. From one who saw them weekly ex-works from Brush in the mid 1960’s ….which includes ModelRail’s 48…then cast as D1702.

OK….in what way ? The size of the headcode panel has given cause for concern on the main Heljan 47: thread I am aware but I have yet to have any cogent reason given for this. It would be good if someone would enlighten me.

Interesting set of images. Particularly the Voyagers which…..sorry to be pedantic ….are ,if 5 car units ,designated 221 . EMR operate 222 units which aren’t compatible with the XC Voyager for some strange reason. Last week I had the dubious pleasure of similar services on the route operated on both out & return trips by a single 220 4 car unit. There seems to be no reasoning in diagramming these sets by XC to correspond with passenger demand.I’m sure my expectations are naive but my experience on the route further north demonstrates that there simply is zero consistency in this.