M.I.B

Vehicle loading - easiest summarized as "Make a cross - keep it straight, start low and end higher" You have three planes of movement (up/down, left/right and front/back") Crossing chains or ropes at either end gives control over "front/back, left/right". Un-crossed chains/ropes allow for a lot of sideways movement. Starting low and ending higher sorts the third problem. So crossed chains/ropes in a straight line from the floor to a shackle or suitable attachment point on the chassis of the load. Sudden braking on that load would see the top planks behind the Jeep being compressed and more slack available on the ropes = more movement. If the load were heavier, and thus have more momentum, the planks might even snap giving a lot more slack on the restraints. Wheel chocks nailed into the wagon floor help too. The Jeep would have rings or shackles fitted probably on the bumpers close to where they meet the chassis rails.

Dullcote is such a great product. As you say it gets rid of "toy green" and ages paint with little effort. Not tried it with powders - I prefer paint weathering, but I'm guessing on top of powder it would seal it in place? Dull cote can also help hugely with those trouble some water slide transfers which sometimes evade the work of Microsol etc. But be careful if you have real coal in the bunker - make a mask of paper to cover it before you "Dullcote".

Its long over due - some Red Box items have had a couple of re-tools since the early 80s era.

Fantastic card modelling John. Thanks for sharing. A new Grange will be available soon if your wallet can take it - Moguls and Prairies permitting. And did I see somewhere spoken of a new Saint in a red box?/ (At last!!!!!) My David and Andrew may soon be retired as DC models if that's the case. Regards,

You'll get let off easy as a first offense on the MONSTER because the GIANT has a corridor. (in the late 40s)

Will The pump on later weedkiling trains was sat in a longer wheelbase van (FRUIT D /ASMO size). Probably an allocated van with extra vents added - I'm guessing the pump was diesel powered so it would need cooling and venting, plus room for a fuel tank. A Toplight coach would have enough room for both a mess and a pump room.

But they are making one out of parts............which is what formed the question.

Just about everything on the GWR was "standard" so there were very probably set sizes for tarps. You certainly need a bigger one for opens with sheet rails than for "plain" opens. Then there are "long" opens like OPEN C As for lopsided - you have probably answered your own question - as long as the load was covered and the sheet was firm.........a wagon sized tarp was not a lightweight item, and once it was on, shuffling it about to get the "perfect" drop on each side was probably a luxury that manpower, time and strength didn't allow for. Imagine the effort taken by two guys to sheet 20 china clay wagons?

Going back to the OP: Dull as it sounds for the enthusiast, there is merit in the "standard" engine for preserved lines - commonality of spares, boilers on rotations etc: After all is not a high percentage of income at heritage railways from non-enthusiasts who are looking for a "railway experience", a clean set of toilets and a good set of tea and scones? Doesn't bode well for the "preservationist" does it: prices rising for new builds and restos, skill levels falling to get those repairs done etc. There will also come a day when there are no longer people wistful of engines, because all they remember of the working railway was a stripy bus-on-rails that went from city to city. As for Mainline Specials - space on paths anywhere near London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Brum - getting fewer and far between. "Mainline" locos retiring - perhaps there's space for a few = Tornado, Legend, 4709........ It's not looking good - sadly the decision makers in the preservation and mainline steam movements have some tough times and hard questions ahead.

This is great news. You have email via your website !

I didn't lose any money on the purchase and resale so I can't complain about that either.

My kit built 4700 looked stunning but had no traction and no pulling power.

Rich I was very interested to see your TPO and TSO work. I don't think that Hornby will spoil your day there - the venerable "Night Mail" in all of its liveries will keep going forever. Please do get on with your Saint... (: same happened when I finally got hold of a 47XX - Heljan announced theirs

John, 94XX is great for BR(W) modelers but not good news for many GW fans. Especially as the numbers of London based layouts isn't big. I am not sure of the volumes of each they are producing, but I did think that if they have done their homework, there would be many more BR(W) ones made than GW. Backdating a black one isn't just paint - the rear steps differ. Not insurmountable, but for the sake of ordering early and getting a discount I will have a factory green one. I can use 94XXs, and 97XXs (which I don't think will ever be made in RTR) but conversely I have no use for 42XX and 45XX. And everyone can use a 2251 or a Mogul. If I were in your shoes, I would swap the 94XX for another Mogul. Time the Saint got a retool.....................I think I have said that on here a couple of times. Stay safe.

Any updates please AmandaLee?

A 94XX is a must have at my end of the GW world. Forgotten how long ago I placed the pre-order!!!!!!! And just as the Moguls head North from Felixstowe, news is that the 94XX lands in the same month! I do have a beautifully constructed whitemetal one which had a Triang chassis up until recently. There is a recent DCC pannier chassis available to go under it. However, it is a very glossy green, with red lamps, and has the wrong branding for a late GW engine. As this was made by M.I.B Snr I cannot change the exterior - I always remember it this way even as a kid and thought how beautifully he built white metal kits in the late 60s and early 70s. So it will run, from time to time, albeit not correct. I have a coal ramp behind the shed, and this will run as a separate single track / no points layout within a layout. Maybe this needs to be DC............ I hope you are healthy and happy.

A 94XX is a must have at my end of the GW world. Forgotten how long ago I placed the pre-order!!!!!!!

Will - just add a little more weathering on the numbers if that happens............ This was't a light goods train. 95 tons for the tenders, 2 TOADS = 32-40 tons, an oil tank full of chemicals 12 tons, a mess coach 15 tons and a FRUIT D or BLOATER with a diesel tank and pump unit in it (14 tons) All up is approximately 180 tons. Nice job for a Mogul or a Collett 2251 or a Dean Goods..............

Will, Agreed Looked at some "older" tender weights last night. Adding a tiny bit for extra steel plating, hoses, extra buffers etc to give an empty weight.....and adding a 3000 gallon load (10 lbs a gallon for water) = 13ton 8Cwt of water So I'm thinking for the 2 tenders: Empty: 18 tons 1 cwt Full: 31 tons 9 cwt And for the cabbed tender Empty: 18 tons 5 cwt Full: 31 tons 13 cwt

Thank you both. The photos of the Wolverhampton set, which is a "late" GWR set are clearer via that link ("westernthunderer") I can see there that the text is something like Empty XX Tons XX cwt Full XX Tons XX cwt On the "Western Thunderer" link there is a link to a great Pathe film of weed-killing albeit on the LMS. The photos of the Taunton set are "posed" - you wouldn't want to get that close if it were operating. There is no oil tank so this is an "early" set up. A late ( with cab) set must have been a large consist: TOAD /Mess Coach (4 or 6 wheeler perhaps)/Pump Van (FRUIT D or BLOATER size)/ 12 ton oil tank. 3 x old tenders/ TOAD And with an operating speed of 25 mph, a lot of this work must have been done at night.

All of my references for weed-killing train markings are taken from the web and some are not particularly clear. I can see clearly what the main text is on the sides, but at the upper right hand side there are two short lines of text in italics. What are they? I am guessing that because they are italics, one is probably "Tare xx tons xx lbs" But is the other then "Gross Wt xx tons xx lbs" And what were the weights? Tare weight of an empty Dean tender should be easy to find, and add a little for the extra buffers, plated over bunker etc. And Gross will be Tare plus weight of max water volume. Or have I got this wrong? Regards,

Prairie weathering and detailing is looking great John. And your card modelling is exemplary. Looking forward to a few Dapol deliveries over the next 12 months. Will we ever get to see the Bachmann 94XX? Regards,

For the planking put 2 or three blobs of brown and fawn colours onto something disposable and non absorbent - like a magazine cover or an old birthday card. In a triangle formation with a little space between. Use it like an artists pallette and mix tiny patches of "hybrid" colours in the gaps between the blobs. Paint each plank a slightly different colour to the next. The planks just in from the end on the flat surface would probably do with a faded black stain in the centre imagine all the drips from truck or tractor engines and gearboxes accumulating.....a small speck of black and then a tiny brush in thinners working from the middle to the edge to thin it and spread it.

Probably all over dull brown. There is debate as to what colour ends. Some have said black, but these wouldn't have gone near the carriage wash so "black" may just be accumulated grot. Breakdown train vans and allocated Mess vans were a red oxide colour at the ends for a long time. But ancient stock for moving track gangs around have also been modelled in grey.........