hmrspaul

Still looking good a couple of years later https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/class60/ea94949bb Paul

Sitting with some RMWebbers at The Tap 60066 came near to a halt and then took off, video at https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/class60/ecb5f6319 and This appears to be a standard Class 60 booking. Class 60s are common through York - I caught 3 in five minutes on the avoiding line earlier this summer. https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/class60 My favourite diesel loco, so good they are making a comeback. Paul

The construction of split spoke wheels ended during the 1920s but they went on being used into the 1980s. BR was using anything they could get their hands on post WW2 and there are plenty of official photos of newly constructed wagons with split spoke wheels - Shildon seems to have specialised in this, there are officials of the single bolsters with them - and I have a number but all late in life when they were in internal use https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/singlebolster A couple of others https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/bropenmerchandiseowvcorrugated/e1651d78a https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/lms3plankopen/e25e30d1b Paul

I was fortunate to see the 5 huge tomes of RCH drawings that BP had at their archive in Hemel Hempsted some 30 years ago. Wood bound and some imperial size possibly equivalent to A2. I have no idea what happened to them, but no one has come close to publishing or apparently archiving the RCH drawings. There were hundreds of them. As mentioned Tony Watts came closer than most but it is only a tiny proportion of what the RCH published. And it didn't 'die' in 1948. There are a whole series of 'how to write your wagons' in the early BR period and they are all RCH. I have a few copies, but there are a lot more at the Scottish museums. It is unfortunate but there is no clear publication on what the RCH actually did for wagons but it is very complex. And then there is the ignoring of the requirements. Wood frames for tank wagon was unacceptable after, what 1927, but these wagons are plated a decade later https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/rofbishopton/e11c95b07 https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/rofbishopton/e148fb70 We concluded they were hanging around the back of Chas Roberts and then were permitted for use with the WW2 shortages - but pure guess work. Paul

I have 5 photos of KX service suburbans near the end of their use such as https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brmark1/e35275217 Paul

Yes, see diag 1/435 in http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/BRBDocuments/BRFreight2Issue.pdf I don't have photos, there were similar Coil F (not very similar) https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brcoilplate/e2f3fce97 Paul

Toton in 1978 there were two of them to photograph, including one of the early ones with Morton VB as the new model. https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brgunpowder/e2293db43 I can remember one of the LMS 2xxxxx series when passing Cricklewood in about 1980. Gunpowder vans weren't common and did have some places where they were more easily found, but they did tend to disperse remarkably widely. Paul

With the grain wagons having adverts, so pre 1973 when did Shrink wrapping palletised loads begin? Certainly no sign of it in my student days working at a Schweppes delivery warehouse. I remember going to an enormous young plant nursery in northern Italy in the late 1990s and they were shrink wrapping pallets and I'd never seen that before. I agree they do look good. Paul

Yes, the BR records have clear calls for the return of the fruit vans from general merchandise use by certain dates to their big collection yards such as Whitemoor for East Anglia. And never seen a banana van with side vents - side vents are what BR and LMS fruit vans have. What often gives away a fruit van is additional roof ventilators because some - such as the LNER fruit vans are difficult to distinguish when the specialised end venting is hidden. Paul

Paul Thanks. There is a better southern connection, two were on show at the Bluebell Railway seen in 1975, I believe they have been moved north since, but there are so many conserved chaldrons on the listings I'm not sure if they do still exist. https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/bluebell/e1d3a9b37 Paul

Sorry I suspect I gave that photo to Mike King to use in a book, not to be spread around without copyright acknowledgement. Photographs are pointless if they don't have dates and places on them - not least if you interpret as you have done despite the clear NRM stencil. Paul Bartlett

Please look at the links I supplied. Paul

I remember reading some official BR minutes at the NRM about how many containers were 'lost' in Ireland and what could be done to get them returned more readily. Paul

BR had a single prototype in 1964 followed by production 1966-7 https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brcartic4 https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/matcartic https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/silcockcarticpja https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/matcartic4 https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/tolemancartic4 And some ideas for how to load them https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/carramp Paul

This is now available. Lots of information on the prototype on the associated topic about the 4mm version. I have received a couple of examples as a "thank you" from Dapol. I am impressed. The finish is excellent (I'll take some credit for that as I spent a weekend when many of you were at Telford going over the artwork and correcting the minor mistakes on all 6 of the wagons). This extends to some of the alterations on these wagons after a few years of use and the number plate is fully readable and has the correct building details. All of the bolsters are, correctly, moveable and each bolster has 3 positions for the stanchions. The stanchions themselves have a very fine loop for chaining which is fully moveable. The 7 per side round chain loops on the solebar are also able to lift up as individual items. Underneath is well modelled as a metal casting giving weight with the twin vacuum cylinders with suitable linkages and a vacuum pipe running the length of the wagon. I haven't measured across the bogies but do accept they may be narrow, although they are finely moulded versions of the Ridemaster. The ends have the fall down vacuum pipe, an instanter coupling (correct) and the large headed Oleo buffers which are sprung. The large buffer head is a key to the use of these wagons. As mentioned on the 4mm topic early traffic was for 32ft bar from South Wales. It has been mentioned that the works couldn't even take a Bogie bolster C without damage so severe were the curves so this was a replacement of the GWR Macaw G and H (Bogie Bolster A) which were only slightly longer at 35ft over headstocks. The BBE is only the same length as the longest of BR Tubes, and shorter than some 4 wheel parcels stock. Cambridge Custom Transfers have packs for these Sheet BL57 - BR diagram 1/479 BOGIE BOLSTER E wagons; (as-built lettering style). Transfers for 10 wagons. https://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm A brief history of these wagons was published as Silsbury, Roger & Mann, Trevor., (1983a) The 30 ton Bogie Bolster E. Model Railway Constructor vol. 50 (part 587) pp 165 - 169. and in Bartlett et al 1985. Both include a drawing of the wagon, the MRC article also includes several conversions to Coils. Paul Bartlett https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brbbe