wainwright1

Received mine yesterday. Very nicely done. Ray

Is the main body of the coach moulded in clear plastic as well ? If not, how do they go about producing the clear windows in the side of the coaches. Ray

I was hoping to get the ROD liveried version of the 4300 and have not seen the livery samples in the flesh. Don't know if anyone else has commented on this, but looking at the recent pictures of this model, the livery looks rather anaemic, more like desert yellow than Khaki. I took a picture of the loco at Didcot some years ago which I cannot currently access, but from memory, I am sure that it was darker than than the model. Ray

I hope that none of these new metal bodied models develop the dreaded Mazac rot. Ray

When first introduced, would these wagons be painted in an RAF or War Department livery for war time use ? Did any end up at Longmoor ? Many thanks Ray

We are exhibiting at the Spa Valley show this year and will have several layouts at Eridge. All the best Ray

Yes, as far as I know it is the Chatham & Dist. MRC, and I did attend most of their shows going back over a number of years. I think that the show at Fort Pitt organised by the Gravesend Club is now defunct for a variety of reasons. I had heard a murmur previously about a new show at the Dockyard and someone mentioned yesterday that their layout had been invited for next years show. All the best Ray

Been hearing some good rumours that the well known Chatham show is coming back next year and will be returning to the slips in the Dockyard. Has anyone heard what date it will be ? All the best Ray

We went yesterday and had an enjoyable day out. We have been exhibitors at the last three shows I think, but not sure if the same layouts as last year were there again. Operating a layout last year I did not really get a chance to have a good look around. Yes the areas mentioned were not in use, and the platform nearest to the station building at HK was out of use as the platform surface is being substantially renewed and the building canopy and frontage restored. Also I think that there was less space used in the workshop at SP this year. Nice to see progress on the Atlantic. I believe that they are hoping to have that is service sometime next year. Hopefully the exhibition will back to normal next year, as we hope to take one of our larger layouts. All the best Ray

Will there be a shuttle bus or is there a convenient local bus service from the station to near this venue ? Many thanks Ray

Hi. Just remembered this. Have you seen these 3D printed items ? Westgate Models by derekesmith - Shapeways Shops Derek Smith has also done a book on the Ramsgate Tunnel Railway. I have a copy, but cannot locate it at the moment. If you contact him, I am sure that he can be of assistance. All the best Ray

Gave my SE&CR grey a test run last night up at our club. Ran very smooth and quietly with a couple of Hornby Mk1s. Only fault we found was that the main hand rail on the offside did not seem to have been fixed in place and was sliding in and out. Will have to put a small drop of superglue in an appropriate place.

I think that the Crampton Tower Museum in Broadstairs have a model of one of the stations and the rolling stock. Just opposite Broadstairs Station.

Certainly looks nice in that livery.

These issues come up periodically. I use mostly Precision Paints or Railmatch for painting rolling stock or specific company building colours where regular handling is required, but still tend to use Humbrol enamels for most scenic jobs, buildings, figure painting etc. and have a large stock of it. Acrylics I like to use for weathering, where they can be thinned and applied in almost transparent coats until the right amount is in the right place. All my work is brush painted as I have nowhere that I can use an airbrush. Tamiya is also good, as it mixes very easy and thins down well. Certain Humbrol enamels have always been a bit wishy washy, matt yellow and red stick out, and matt white has always been strange, perhaps a different smell to the others, and once opened it does not seem to keep as well. There have always been problems with some colours or batches of matt paints not drying matt, or at all. Two of the worst are matt black and matt varnish. The black can dry with streaks in it and the varnish can be patchy or cloudy. I have a procedure for preparing and checking paint before I use it: Open the tin and stir well for at least ten minutes using a flat wooden coffee stirrer. Larger tins such as Precision 50ml will require at least 15 - 20 minutes. Test the paint on a piece of non-porous card or plasticard. Wait to see if it dries properly, especially important with matt colours. If it does not, repeat the stirring and test again. I once had a tin of Precision Track Colour which required to be stirred for nearly half an hour each time I used it before it would dry matt. But Humbrol tins should be a lot less. I also have some cards with colour patches which I specifically use for checking varnish, as I also use tainted varnish with some paint mixed into it for overall weathering finish and this needs to dry both matt and with an even cover. Important note. These days Humbrol put a label on the bottom of the tins which quotes the paint number and a batch number. If you get a dodgy tin, take it back to where you bought it, tell them what is wrong and ask for a replacement with a different batch number if they have one. They can then send the dodgy ones back to Hornby for replacement. If you get a good tin you get a good un. But please test properly before using it on a valued model. All the best Ray

That's very informative. In the second drawing there are wagons with two different wheelbases, the second row apparently being longer than that of the coaches. However the bodies are perhaps slightly shorter than the coaches. For any manufacturer the viability of making models of these vehicles must be by making some economies in terms of the number of standard chassis. So the direction that Hornby have gone is sensible, but they could perhaps provide for a longer wheelbase version to add some variety to the range.

Looking at these most recent post showing all the types and the slightly earlier Rapido Corbs ones, the two single veranda SE&CR vans definitely appear to be the wrong colour. They should be lead grey as per the preserved example (left hand end third picture) not the darker grey from the Maunsell period.

Very informative. Now, would these have been similar in appearance to a contempary coal wagon ?

I think that the train crashed through the end on two occasions and on one of them it killed the seafood seller who had their stall just the other side of the wall. I recall that Ashford MRC had a model of this station in 00. Saw it several times, including in the building adjacent to the former station site on one bank holiday weekend.

No not touched their links or paid anything. Would also note that I do not receive many parcels and this email was received within the projected one hour delivery period. So this seems more than just a conincidence.

Hi Jamieb. Thanks for that. Having looked closely I think that you are right, it does appear to have come form a scam source. Now that leaves one problem. It means that there is a breech somewhere in either Rails or DPDs systems for someone to be aware that I have been sent a parcel. All the best Ray

I might be wrong, but I think that I can recall Mike Sharman producing period coal wagons by converting Airfix Rocket tenders, basically the same as what Hornby has done. So if they were good enough for Mike Sharman, they are good enough for me. All the best Ray

Any chance of 4mm kits for these ? All the best Ray

This end served the Dumpton Park Greyhound Race Track. Never saw this end, although when I was a lad I did see the bottom end down at what had been Ramsgate Harbour Station, with the little train sitting there waiting for passengers. Regrettably, never had a ride on it.

It gets better. First I get this from DPD: Gabriel-Marius will deliver your RAILS OF SHEFFIELD LTD parcel TODAY 17th June 2023   between   10:58-11:58 Then I get this at 11.24: DPD Courier - Package Rescheduling Dear Customer, We regret to inform you that your package delivery was unsuccessful as there was nobody available at the specified address. To reschedule the delivery, a small fee is required. Please note that the first delivery attempt was free of charge. Please click the button below to proceed with the rescheduling process: Reschedule Package Thank you for choosing DPD Courier. Best regards, The DPD Courier Team I replied within ten minutes against the email address it came from complaining that they had not tried to deliver it. (This would probably not reach them). Then low and behold, five minutes later my door bell rang and there was the DPD driver with my parcel. He booked it on his tablet and said he did not know where the message had come from, although there was another DPD driver in the area and perhaps his machine had misread the reference. I have opened the package (SE&CR Grey). The model is all present and correct with no damage apparent. It looks very nice, although I cannot test it at the moment. All the best Ray