Steadfast

Whilst firmly post National Power, the 59/2s also have worked off Margam in EWS and DB colours, working the Murco oil trains from Robeston. When not needed for this, they also turned up on steel trains, particularly the trips between Llanwern and Margam. Jo

Quite, it makes you wonder if it'd be easier in the big picture for them to get on board with pretty much the entire rest of railway, fit air brakes to their kettles and run the CDL off the main res pipe as all other air braked BR loco hauled CDL does. Several mentions have also been made across the 60 odd pages of this thread of the electromagnet system fitted to the Swanage DMUs and Chiltern bubble cars before they finished. They have the benefit of on board engines able to supply rather more electrical power than a BR 1960s dynamo can manage. Again not impossible, but another hurdle to overcome if not running air brakes and ETH and using the standard BR system... Jo

Depends if you're pre or post 2005 😉 Jo

Almost... would need the horn grill and lamp bracket changing too. Jo

Another one where I watched the highlights on YouTube, just under 20 mins worth on the Sky F1 YouTube channel. As others have said, not bad behind the Red Bulls. As for Ferrari dropping the wrong driver - absolutely, and I think it's mad that they're dropping either of them to be fair. They've kept each other honest the last few years. Jo

To be honest, other than the buffer beam area, 66001 and 002 are pretty much standard bodyshells now. 001 had the lamp bracket moved, and both have the revised horn grill. The class 59 style bufferbeam arrangement is unchanged, apart from 001 having two tie downs removed to allow the tripcock equipment to be added. For comparison, 002 still retains all tie downs Looks like the model is missing the small rows of 4 black holes either side of the draw gear, I guess that's simple enough to add if you're keen enough. Jo

An alternative to the firmware updates for anyone who is struggling post Windows 10 is to use a USB 2.0 hub. Plugging the Silhouette directly into the laptop you get the issue where it doesn't work with Windows 10. However l, I use a USB 2.0 hub, and plug the Silhouette into that. Because the laptop sees the USB 2.0 hub, it detects the device no problem. Jo

Two blue and yellow cars off into the horizon tomorrow I reckon. Big battle gore P3 perhaps, but hopefully Lando can hang on Jo

No problem Dan. Always easy to add a few extras in too while its work in progress, particularly little things like extra number plates, small logos etc. Jo

Thanks for the recommendation Rob @37114 Dan, some really lovely modelling going on here, nice to see some different vehicles being done! Absolutely I'd love to assist if I can. If you can send an email to steadfastmodels@outlook.com whenever you're ready, we can have a chat about some custom bits. All the best, Jo

Correct. GPL to exit the No. 1 Loop line, with a main aspect signal (plus the protecting point the loco derailed on) not far after. Jo

Just after 6 this morning it was chaos at Acton Main Line with various Crossrail trains stacked up on the Relief lines. Advice was to go to Ealing and come back, I ignored that when I saw a late running class 9 ex Heathrow crossing over at Acton west on the maps, lo and behold it got me to Padd. What would have been the 06.10 from Acton ex Heathrow was stuck at Hanwell, and the GB train was sat in West Ealing loop as I overtook it about 5.45. Travelling home on an IET, the lead bogie of the loco was clearly in the dirt. Edit to add, the BBC article now has pictures of it. They didn't earlier. Jo

66001 and 66002 can't be fitted with buckeyes due to differences in the drag box area. If you look, these two look a lot more like a 59 in the bufferbeam area Jo

I can't remember where I read it, but my understanding is that WCRC loco maroon is the same as on the Royal Scotsman coaches, as the contract stipulated matching locos, hence why EWS had the matching 37s and GB now have the maroon 66s. It also shows what a bit of lining and a grey roof can do, as the EWS Royal Scotman 37s looked a lot less drab than the WCRC machines. Originally WCRC locos were a similar shade to their own coaches, and had a black stripe down the side, like a reverse Fragonset livery. Jo

That looks great Mike. I reckon a bit of airbrush work to tint and tone the bushes and you'll be there. I find scenery in N, particularly greenery, is more about getting the overall look right, whereas in larger scales you may want to model individual leaves. As soon as I saw the pictures I thought "yeah that looks right", and it reminds me of the embankment around Heywood Road Junction. This is sat on the chord between Hawkeridge and Heywood, waiting to follow an IET, and is exactly the scenery your work reminds me of. Keep it up mate! Jo

They look to be the same design as the wagons (non - chute) in the Long Welded Rail Trains, indeed the photos on Paul Bartlett's site show wagons with the bridge rail folded in the stowed position. So, are they from disbanded LWRT sets, or were they built with that future use mind for flexibility? Edit to add that on another look, the machine that worked with them used the rails to shuffle along. Looks to be the same design of rails as the manipulator on the LWRTs run on. Interesting none the less! Jo

59001 - 004 built with them driver's side. Later locos built with it on the secondman's side. 001 - 004 were modified, around the time 005 was delivered from memory. This change was to prevent exhaust fumes and particles getting drawn into the clean air compartment grill that is directly below the exit when on the driver's side. Jo

Sadly they're completely different wagons. Possibly only the bogies that are common (maybe bought in bits like buffers, air pipe taps and label clip too?) Jo

All the other companies have plans bound by timescales to fit CDL and comply with the ORR requirements. WCRC had no plan, hence the heavy handed action to get them to comply. It was highlighted in the notes from the court case at the time. Whether their previous attitude towards safety helped sway the judgement, I don't know, but some of the WCRC incidents RAIB have published reports on previously don't instill confidence in their safety management. The fact the company had improvement notices slapped on it and was caught multiple times not complying beggars belief quite frankly. The railway industry is full of professionals, from those of us hands on with the trains right up to board level of the companies, and this kind of slapdash behaviour makes a mockery of those playing by the book. I can't ever imagine the company I work for ever having such a complacent throwaway attitude to safety. Yes, there have been recommendations from RAIB reports in the past, but incidents happen and companies learn from them and constantly improve and make the railway a safer place. Jo

Try Bachmann spares website, and if its not on there, send them an email? They normally reply quickly. Jo

In 2019, 60055 was fresh out the box and so were the wagons. DCR did run with silver ones mixed into their bright blue ones, until the rest of their batch was delivered. As Mike says, the DCR blue ones are brighter than the "standard" navy blue VTG general lease boxes. Jo

When I did similar to a 47, I used some scrap brass etch fret, maybe 6 - 8 mm long, drilled one end to take the PCB mounting screw. The wire was soldered to this brass tab. Jo

Good spot! The lift and B.O. is on the wagon, but in a different position. The Balanced Maintenance should be next to the Lift and B.O., as the Balanced Maintenance replaced the annual dates. These wagons have lots of variations in sticker positioning, but the Lift/ B.O. and Balanced Maintenance should be together, so one of the two elements needs moving Jo

Adam, just noticed on the samples the Balanced Maintenance sticker on the Hanson wagons is too wide. It's nearer to square on the real things. Is it too late to adjust that? Pic linked from Flickr. Other than that, those samples look rather tasty! Jo

Absolutely. That's the light orange rust colour after a day or two of inactivity. Brand new cheek plates can be a red oxide or black colour depending on manufacturer, but this coating wears off quickly, much like surface rust, after an application or two. Jo