t.s.meese

Okay, so is it that with split spoke wheels you have the rims and spokes as separate parts and fit them together, whereas with solid spokes, they are cast as a single unit?

Okay RM folk - this one has bugged me for years. So, first what I (think) I know: 1. Solid (three whole) wheels were introduced before WWII and used widely from the beginning of BR (though I understand that some old spoke wheels continued to be used on some new BR wagons). 2. Early wagons (e.g. pre-group) and POW wagons used split/open spoke wheels. 3. Big 4 used a mix of all three. And I've seen it written that all were common (Perhaps Essery somewhere). However, this is not my observation. Solid spoke are common on GWR, but split spoke seem to be rare. I think this is well known/accepted. But in spite of what I hear/read, when I look in Tatlow and Essery, I find solid (three hole) and split spoke, but little or no evidence for solid spoke (sometimes the photo angle makes the judgement difficult). 4. I had intended to review my collection of SR group and pre-group books, but find myself writing this having not done it, so I can't be sure there. I think plenty of solid (including Mansell (wooden insert large diameter smooth riding) type - also on MR vans) and also spoke - but I can't remember whether those were split or solid. So - my questions: 1. What was the history of split and solid spoke - why is one preferred over the other, if indeed that is the case? 2. Contrary to my observations, were solid spoke wheels (distinct from open spoke) used widely in regular LMS and LNER traffic (i.e. vans and opens)? 3. Why did the GWR favour solid spoke over open spoke? (I guess they were better for some reason, and GWR fans will be quick to tell me this ;-) ) Thanks in advance, Tim.

My question refers to the small yellow charts (some type of stick on label, I think) that can be seen on the sides of many of the wagons on Paul Bartlett's site. (e.g. 16 ton mineral wagons; but many others). They are available from Railtech Transfers (6403). Evidently, they were in use during TOPS, but were they introduced before then? (Railtech call them early BR, but I see no examples of a late BR version.) And were they intended for all wagons and vans? Thanks for any help. Tim

Thanks for that - I too thought about the PC63 kit. I am surprised that Parkside don't package those underframes separately, as they do for various other kits. But good to know that Peco will supply the sprue nonetheless. In fact, I tried the Ambis Engineering link provided by Alan above. They provide an entire underframe kit for the 9' unfitted (WSi09 £3.00), and brass brake gear (etc) for the fitted version (VV6 £1.80). I'm going to give the VV6 a shot and hack it for the unfitted. It is for a single fitted wagon, but with a bit of creativity - the drop link parts look like double thickness with a fold, so perhaps I can get a total of four per fret - I'll see what I can do... Cheers Tim.

Okay - so I have a bunch of 26 ton iron ore tipplers - a mix of Bachmann and, I assume, old Airfix, judging by the under gear (bought on eBay) and some further Parkside Tipplers on order. I plan to run some as Iron Ore (unfitted) and some as Stone (mainly fitted, a couple unfitted). But now I look at Paul Bartlett's web site, I find that that the brake handles for the Bachmann and the Airfix (but not the Parkside) are wrong. All of Paul's images (fitted and unfitted) show a lift-link brake lever (the type available from Red Panda). From what I can see, the fitted have different arrangements on each side (i.e. a crank arrangement), whereas the unfitted do not, as in a dual brake arrangement. Two questions: 1. Prototype. Why have this complicated drop link arrangement for the unfitted wagons when the regular 16 toners do not? (Something to do with torque?) 2. Model. Does anyone know a source (or quick fix) for the lift-link brake levers? I've checked the usual outlets (e.g. Wizard, Dart, Bill Bedford at Eileen's) and found nothing. The Red Panda underframe provides the requisite lever (which probably needs shortening by 2mm for this application), but at two underframe packs per unfitted ore wagon where all you want is a single lever from each pack, that's a lot of wastage! Hacking some together from bits of scrap brass strip is looking like the only option at the moment...

If they did, it is not evident any more (unless you include the Rail Grey that I mentioned in the OP); at least, not in the acrylic range. They do/did do three different versions of the bauxite, all of which I have, though the last time I looked (at Howes?) I could see only two of them. Amusingly, I have two pots of Railmatch 2322 BR Early Freight Grey, and they are totally different - one a shade or two different from LNER grey (approximately correct), the other much darker, a bit like GWR grey (I can only suppose this was a mistake in the mixing process, both carry the same name and number on the pot!)

I have also suspected that phoenix is probably more accurate than railmatch. I think I probably had a tinlet of the light grey about 20 years ago, but I switched to acrylics a long time ago and haven't looked back. Interestingly, the phoenix website cites 1964 as the transition date between greys. I don't think this can be right. I have several photos of grubby but uniform pale grey wagons from before then. I have wondered whether it happened at the time of the BR rebranding in 1956, the transition being largely complete by 1964?

Okay - so unfitted wagons were painted mid grey by BR. Not the same as, but not a million miles from, the LNER shade. This is the colour that the Bachmann 16T wagons appear in, also Oxford 6 plank and many others... However, photographic evidence shows that many 16T wagons (and others) were painted a much lighter pale shade of grey - like the Accurascale shade for their unfitted 21T wagons. I know grey faded, and the paint mixes varied and all that, but it seems there is good evidence that this lighter shade was real and widespread. However, I've never found any mention of it - e.g. the railmatch paints have only the mid grey. I tend to use railmatch 2206 Rail Grey for my 16T repaints. I don't think this is strictly correct (I think it is intended for some aspects of diesel locos), but is close enough as a practical solution. My questions are, 1. does anyone know what the pale wagon grey shade was called (perhaps it never had a special name, just one of 50 shades of wagon grey!) and 2. when this shade began to be used? I think it was quite widespread by 1961, and was not being used in 1948. Thanks Tim.

Ah - interesting thought. But on the Fox sheet there are none of the \/ symbols (white on black) to indicate bottom doors. Was that marking removed at the time of TOPS?

Yes - I had noticed that. So perhaps the Fox Transfers MHO is a mongrel offering of MCO meets ZHO. Hmm...

Yes - this is my primary source - but no MHO...

I've puzzled over this for several months now. MCO and MCV are the typical TOPS codes for 16 ton mineral wagons, unfitted and fitted respectively; MDO and MDV for 21 ton minerals, and so forth. But what is MHO? M = Mineral; O = unfitted. H = some detail, I don't know! They appear (plentifully) on the Fox 16t transfer sheets , but I can find no reference to them on Paul Bartlett's site, or on any (detailed) TOPS lists I can find. My only thought/guess was that maybe the H is for rebodied wagons, but I've found what I think are rebodied examples with the middle letter C, so perhaps not, or maybe that was a later tweak? Or did they run out of suitable running numbers for MCO, so the H is an overflow character? Dunno. Any help appreciated. Cheers Tim.

1. A set of LNWR coaches, including a restaurant car. In LNWR and LMS liveries. 2. The two LNWR Royal Saloons. 3. A Claughton in LNWR and LMS guises. Plus a fantasy BR version with the unused number that was allocated. (Hornby have form for this creative fantasy work). Okay - I can find no evidence that the Royal train was ever pulled by a Claughton, but is it known that it never was? Alternatively, a parallel boiler Royal Scot - but that rather defeats the LNWR livery of the coaches. I've seen a lot of posts for LNER's The Coronation set. That would be great - and I think it is likely in the future - but I'm not sure this is the right year for it (i.e. it's the wrong coronation/wrong Elizabeth!). The Royal train above is a more respectful fit, I think. Plus, wouldn't the LNER Silver Jubilee be a more likely Hornby follow-up to the LMS Coronation Scot, being a totally different colour? (Also, lots of options for those short on cash or space for a full train: 3, 4, 5 & 7 coach purchase versions of the original full 7-coach set.) But an odd release for a platinum jubilee year (and the wrong head-of-state). So no, my guess is the Royal Saloons... Cheers, Tim.

The question is pretty much covered in the title. I'm interested in WWI and WWII and wondering whether WD trains (tanks, rail guns, and anything else) had brake vans in WD livery, or whether regular brake vans were used, local to the region.

I must take a look at the 4-track versions of these. But wired remotes - a bit twentieth century? (Not that I need them for my plans...)