dube

The only problem with these wagons is the couplings leave a BIG gap between wagons made worse by the smaller size of these wagons, anyone tried the Bachman short coupling hooks to reduce the gap

Need to replace the old fluorescent lights in my 22ft sq garage, looking at LED battern tube lights any recommendations?

How many MR D299 wagons would have been in use in my time period which is late 30s ? Relegated to dept use ? And apart from loco coal did the LMS have large numbers of company coal wagons in use at this time ?

Looks like Hornby messed up when they put new chassis on the old Airfix 3, 4 and 6 plank wagons which I think are to 1887 RCH designs, unlikely to have 4 shoe brake gear, brake handles both sides and oil axel boxes, made some Cambrian kits a few years ago and not too impressed with the poor fit. Surprised no one does RTR coal wagons to 1907 RCH design the most common wagons on the railways between the wars.

Is this an accurate wagon for the GWR in the 1930`s ?

Then there’s the bofors guns which need some work, like cutting the barrels off and putting through the rest and glueing back on, probably had covers on, and it looks like there loaded with live rounds, think the Airfix bofor had a magazine cover. As oxford do the CMP LAA and the Bedford QLBs could do a train from LAA regiment / battery. The fit well onto the mainline / Bachmann bolster wagons but I would have thought the wooden bolster would have been removed and may have been more usual loads for warflats / parrots

Next up what to do with the dingo scout cars, probably repaint without any decals to look like they had just come from the factory and cut the aerials off. I like these dingos and as there reasonably cheap could have quite a few, was going to put them on Bachmann 1 plank wagons, until I realised Bachmann did the usual and tried to make a BR design which I think should have had 8 shoe clasp brakes anyway into something used by the LMS. The Bachmann 3 plank wagon is more like an LMS design but I think these were mostly unfitted with brake blocks on one side but that’s an easy fix, also Parkside do a 1 plank wagon which might be better

Looking for some help with putting WWII vehicles on appropriate wagons, layout when built will be based on the southern area 1944. Firstly the airfix / Hornby lowmac is I think very similar to a design used by the big 4 so I need to repaint, source transfers for these, looks like the Matador would be out of gauge but the Bedford and CMPs Oxford make look good, need to be tied down and wooden chocks used, although not sure if they would have been typically moved by rail

Looking for some help with putting WWII vehicles on appropriate wagons, layout when built will be based on the southern area 1944. Firstly the airfix / Hornby lowmac is I think very similar to a design used by the big 4 so I need to repaint, source transfers for these, looks like the Matador would be out of gauge but the Bedford and CMPs Oxford make look good, need to be tied down and wooden chocks used, although not sure if they would have been typically moved by rail

Looking at the lines through the Woodhead Tunnel, other than the following LNER Locos RTR B17 K3 O4 Q6 A1 J11 C1 V2 D49 D11/1 J39 Any others and any LMS Locos on the woodhead route in the late 1930s

I want to run some GWR locos at the at the end of the 30s, I know not all types got the shirt button logo and there would be a mix of both GREAT WESTERN and shirtbutton, any info on what types got it ? assuming that most passenger, new builds and repainted got the shirtbuton

Thanks I’ve looked through some books but most photos are BR era and much more LMS than GWR, still waiting for a crimson compound, occasional S&D 7F there was probably a very good variety it was on the SW - NE cross country route

Looking for a 4 track mainline to run my LMS and GWR trains together, the area around Standish Junction looks good as it’s straight track running between 2 bridges and I would need to go to 2 lines the other side of 1 bridge so the junction would work for my layout. I think the LMS locos would be Jubilee Patriot Black 5 Compound Crab 2P 3F 4F ? not to sure about the GWR locos Castle Hall ?

Thanks although I think the Devon Belle Pullman was after the war, and I’m really looking for places I can run my rolling stock together as I have most of the coaches from my OP, just been looking at Plymouth to Turnchapel / Tavistock as this is where my ExLSWR gatestock Set 374 worked, interesting area

Just says “allocated to Didcot late 1930s”

In my big 4 in colour book there’s an Earl (Dukedog) 3215 allocated to Didcot late 30s, bringing a Southampton local into worthy down, not sure how far down the loco travelled ? I think during the war years there must have been other GWR types and maybe even B12s on Ambulance trains going down to Southampton

How about other types running from the DN&S - Southampton, Dukedogs, 28xx, 43xx ?

Just looking for a section of mainline running through the countryside, between 2 bridges would work best, been looking closer towards Bournemouth I could add the Hornby ExLSWR Coaches which I think ran between Christchurch and Bournemouth, but not until the late 1930s but my coach formations could be late 30s Bournemouth Belle 10 Pullmans set 243 maunsell BTK-TK-FK-BTK set 329 maunsell BTK-TK-FK-TK-TK-BTK (sometimes Dining car added) SW District Special Traffic based at Wimbledon Park GWR stock (shirtbutton) BTK-CK-Dining-CK-TK-BTK-BTK-CK-BCK LNER stock BCK-BCK-TK-RC-TK-BCK-TK-BCK ExLSWR Coaches Problem with Basingstoke to Oxford is that all the SR maunsell sets I`ve found from Bournemouth to Birkenhead / Newcastle mid 30s had a dinning car and then my pullman and SR coach sets don`t fit other locations where the could run next to GWR trains Bournemouth to Birkenhead / Newcastle mid 30s set 458 BTK-TK-CK-Dining-CK-TK-BTK set 459 BTK-TK-CK-Dining-CK-TK-BTK or set? BTK-CK-Dining-CK-TK-BTK-BTK-CK-BCK Still looking elsewhere, west side of Salisbury looks good

I`m looking for locations where I can run my SR and maybe a few GWR trains together in a prototypical way running on a 2 or 4 track mainline in 1934 (all my GWR is GREAT WESTERN) I have a long wall but only about 18" wide baseboards, so for example looking at Basingstoke - Southampton as I have the Bournemouth belle Pullman train if I have it running down to Southampton I could also run all hauled by SR locos ? Bournemouth Belle 10 Pullmans set 243 maunsell BTK-TK-FK-BTK set 329 maunsell BTK-TK-FK-TK-TK-BTK (sometimes Dining car added) GWR stock BTK TK CK Dining CK TK TK BTK LNER stock BCK TK BCK RC TK BCK BV Regular Locos seen RTR *Lord Nelson King Arthur *Schools S15 700 *N Class M7 T9 * Not yet available in correct livery Other Southern locos ? although not sure of if any GWR locos (28xx 43xx Halls 2251) ran through Basingstoke or down the DN&S - Southampton, also looking at Basingstoke - Oxford where it would be mainly GWR locos with a few SR but not sure what types and don`t think any pullmans ran that way

What livery should my coaches by in 1944 ? I’ve looked at the gwr.org website but how long did the brown cream with gwr shirtbutton logo last ? they repainting coaches in plain colours in 1942 but not sure when they went back to brown cream with different logo “sometime after 1943”

for a WW2 layout I would need 38-725 WD 50T 'Warflat' Bogie Wagon WD Khaki Green With Cromwell MKIV Tank (I think the tank is a Centaur IV Close Support version with a 95 mm howitzer which saw service in small numbers), seems odd as the much more common cromwell tank with the 75mm gun is on the WD Bronze Green Wagon which is in post war livery ?

Yes it looks good not sure about 24 sleepers / 60ft in OO, 26 would have looked better IMO, it’s on the C&Lfinescale website at £33 for 5 meters of track base or 2 meters with self assembly rail for £16.50, not sure if it’s available as flexi track yet

Anyone have any experience this new track base looks like its supplied in 2 30ft lenghts, with 24 sleepers / 60ft and wider end sleepers and a choice of key direction. Same height as the new peco Bullhead points ? How does the HiNi Nickle Silver Rail compare better traction ? looks more silver ? Easy to Solder ? was thinking of using it with Palatine Models Rail Droppers

From all the books I have there’s just one photo of a single 14 ton tank wagon, freight seems to be mostly vans, opens and minerals

Yes they can’t both be correct from a search on the internet; “ In Britain 14in was not a standard military calibre so following the end of WWI the barrels were removed and eventually scrapped in 1926. Their carriages, however, survived. In 1940 HMG Scene Shifter was given a new 13.5in barrel and HMG Boche Buster a new 18in barrel. However, there is some confusion about this and it is possible HMG Boche Buster was also given a 13.5in barrel, this only to be replaced later with an 18in barrel which itself had been developed in 1920. “ Gladiator also had a 13.5” gun in WWII, So it depends if the models have the same gun barrel, Boche Buster had a 14” gun in WWI, so maybe not much difference