E3109

As far as I know they are, their website is still live. I don't have any more info than this though. Edit: Whoops, thought you meant Auscision then. Dunno about Austrains

Thanks for that sir Yeah I'm also sceptical about 76015's supposed run into Piccadilly, but as you say it was kept in running order long after the others were lobotomised. This alleged working did get a mention in Rail Enthusiast mag at the time, but that's hardly a credible source. Regarding the flickr shot I linked to above. Why would they gas axe the air brake pipes off, and yet it still has enough juice in the batts to at least illuminate the marker lights? Pure conjecture on my part here but the photo would suggest it was still in use until very recently at the time the photo was taken, and I'd suggest that the air brake connections were severed immediately after GMPTE spat their dummy out that it was using 'their electricity'. I've never worked on 76s, far too young for that sadly but if my experience of class 86s is anything to go by, once the 110V batts drop below 50V you lose all lighting within minutes/hours. I did post on the photo owner's comments section, asking if he knew the exact date of the pic, no reply as yet. Incidentally the guy who mentioned 76010+760xx entering Piccadilly on 18th July 1981 posted it on that very Woodhead group you've referred to, perhaps 6 months ago. Re the light engine moves into Picc when the line and locos were still operational, as I said above it would be great to see such pics. Thanks for the update. The plot thickens?

I just found this on Flickr, re 76015. Brake pipes missing, yet charge in the batteries. I do wonder.... https://www.flickr.com/photos/9460122@N06/6005134525/in/photolist-iaqkzj-5kD2W7-4nutkF-FU4xRY-7VRf5n-dMSkzN-qsPZT4-a9DTha-7VUvbq-n7oHjF-f2t9mt-dMSkx7-9X4rgA-o7wBPy-zBveSd-o1h2vA-yTbmYq-dAfvMp-5ZcBPn-9QTgPk-94WJXU-f2t9jc-97eHKb-B8fGqT-8UEwLL-FVdo6U-qF94ry-8UEwFY-eoSJoY-8Vw4fb-zQZ2CW-7VUwbC-4Y4cd4-jJgVuV-vdJ6AX-fNgMvr-vv2Paw-9hqMby-7VUv9j-azn6LE-2yAtNu-tMSUJx-GkT55h-qRdZsE-9sHSZu-AropkH-Bbo8mW-8UC5NB-wYJbwF-MFaVFk Ironically, if the legend is true, 76015 was one of the first locos to be dispatched to CF Booths and was, I think, cut up by March 1983. Note it still has its vac pipe in place. Mind you (and if indeed it was being used as an unofficial pilot) the other 76s would probably been 'swingers' by then anyway. The air braked ones had the kit removed for use in class 31s IIRC (the ultimate indignity, in my opinion haha).

Bear in mind that BR had very close working relationships with BICC et al, so the 'copper firebox return' may well be true, at least in a roundabout way. Re 46243 at Ince Wagon Works, I did hear in the pub recently that a cabside flamecut survived... now I do reside in Wigan, so this might not be the usual 'bloke in a pub told me so it must be true' yarn! Reversing the roles a little, ages ago I did see a pic of a steam loco taking one or more Metrovick Co-Bos for scrap... one can't help thinking it was a disgruntled shed master who allocated such a move! If anyone has a photo of this, or a link, I'd be pleased to see it. Can't recall whether I saw the pic online or in a book. By the way. This thread reminds me of Saxon's 'Princess of The Night.' She used to be an ironhorse Twenty years ago Used to bring the mail to me Through the ice and snow I've sat alone and watched her Steaming through the night Ninety tons of thunder Lighting up the sky She was a princess of the night I saw the writing on the wall She was a princess of the night I take a ride across the sky Speeding, sparks like lightning Engine working hard Furnace on the foot plate Shining in the night Iron striking metal The sound of racing steel It's all I ever wanna hear It's music to my ears She was a princess of the night I saw the writing on the wall She was a princess of the night I take a ride across the sky She was a princess of the night I saw the writing on the wall She was a princess of the night I take a ride across the sky Ninety tons of thunder Lighting up the sky Steaming red hot pistons See the wheels flash by Hear the whistle blowing Streaking down the track If I ever had my way I'd bring the princess back one day She was a princess of the night I saw the writing on the wall She was a princess of the night I take a ride across the sky (sky, sky, sky)

An update, sadly not with the model (been busy with other non-railway stuff) but with loco 1207. This engine is preserved by the Sandstone Trust in South Africa, as is the doyen, 1200 at Bulawayo Railway Museum. 1207 was bought from a Zimbabwe scrapyard and it's the intent to restore it to working order, I assume there are only these two locos in existence now (unless anyone knows different?) As I said earlier in the thread, they sound exactly like BR Class 40s, which isn't surprising. http://www.sandstone-estates.com/index.php/general-news/3071-sandstone-s-ex-rhodesia-railways-de-2-locomotive-for-possible-restoration http://www.geoffs-trains.com/Museum/number1200.html

I have heard from (elderly!) railway colleagues that the Co-Bos were actually a very good engine, i.e. very strong for a Type 2, I can't vouch for this one way or the other as they were taken out of traffic around the time I was conceived... I do recall reading that there was a proposal to repower them as per the abominable Brush Type 2, but as there were only twenty of them the standardisation mantra killed them off (also I doubt if the red circle MW did 'em any favours). Speaking of red circle MW, Co-Bos and Peds, I think I'm right in saying that it's only D5705 and D5500 that can multi with each other these days. If that ever happens the train will be full and standing... first off, every man and his dog needs D5705 for haulage (including at least one of the resto team) and most ped neds also need that obnoxious contraption. I predict brawls in the vestibules....

Okay, I'm a sucker for wirescrapers of all descriptions. But the Auscision models of the VR 'L' Class and the NSWGR 46 Class look absolutely superb. Minded to obtain at least one of each (in the non-gaudy liveries) if only for the mantelpiece. http://www.auscisionmodels.com.au/46%20Class%20Locomotive.htm http://www.auscisionmodels.com.au/L%20Class%20Locomotive.htm

Gents As some of you know, I work for Freightliner. A couple of guys I work with are ex Guide Bridge men. We got chatting about 'their Bo-Bos' again the other week, as you do (I'm always jealous of course!!). The discussion was prompted by a Facebook comment a few months ago, where a guy said he saw 76010+760xx drop into Picc around 10am on 18 July 1981, just behind the signal for a quick turnaround to RS/GU and withdrawal (18-7-81 was of course the day the MSW closed). I mentioned this to my colleague who then offered up some very interesting info. He was telling me that 76s used to work light engine regularly into Piccadilly up to and including 1981, when they had come off maintenance/exams at Reddish. The booked test run route was Reddish-Picc, Picc-Hadfield, Hadfield-Reddish. These moves took place in the small hours so it's unlikely many people ever witnessed them, apart from the traincrew. They also went just behind the signal, rather than to the block ends. Obviously I won't be alone in wanting to see photographic evidence of this, and it would be fantastic if anybody actually has any shots. My colleague is a genuine guy, he worked on those engines for a good few years and there is no way he would be making this up. In fact he also said "Control let us do pretty much whatever we wanted." I've long had the impression it was like that on the MSW regardless. I then mentioned the alleged working of 76015 into Picc (or at least Ardwick) as late as Winter 1982/83 (!!), if you recall '15 was kept in working order and occasionally used as Reddish depot pilot (until GMPTE saw it, and spat their dummy out as apparently they were paying the leccy bill by that time!). Although he was sceptical whether this ever happened, he still said it certainly wasn't beyond the realms of possibility. Any further info most welcome.

Slightly off topic I suppose, but I was a HUGE fan of the Portuguese EE 1800 Class, and I believe they worked (just) across the border during the 1970s. Maybe the same is/was true for the CP 1400 Class.

Hello sir. No, I've been abroad for the last few weeks, just got back, and still in UK adjustment mode! I'll certainly continue to update progress via photos though. Just as a quick edit. The small cantrail grilles that can be seen easily in EddieB's photo, the grilles included in the Dapol/Kitmaster prototype Deltic are ideal, and are what I will be using. Don't think I'm wasting an entire Deltic kit just for the grilles though! The other bits have come in handy elsewhere...

Forgot to add. Yeah I know this is an 87 thread. But 86s received class 87 doors in the 1980s. Well, most of them did. But not all! It isn't just a case of double handles. The window radii are completely different and in fact the original class 86 cab doors had droplight glazing. Here's a work photo. To this day, a handful of FL's 86/6s have the original cab doors. 86612/637/639.

Been reading this thread with interest. Like many others, I've found the old Lima 87 to be more than adequate, once it's improved (mechanically at least). Same goes for the trusty old Hornby 86. I bought a Heljan 86 and was left very disappointed... sold it on. The main reason was the bodyside grilles which lacked definition. In case anyone isn't aware, the 'rim' around the 86/87 grilles is in fact a gutter, and while nobody could reasonably expect any manufacturer to produce this on a plastic moulding even now, the fact remains that both Hornby (86) and Lima (87) got the gutters pretty much spot on back in the 1980s. One more request please, Mr Hornby. An original AL6 without zebedees. Pretty please? ps the colour you're looking for is Monastral (Rail) Blue, and ***NOT*** Electric Blue. Thanks ;-)

What a fantastic thread. I work for Freightliner, and lucky enough to get on class 86s regularly. Of course I take photos when possible, so I hope these are of interest. Incidentally and it was mentioned further up the thread, AL6s were built in Rail (Monastral) Blue rather than Electric Blue. Very few of them received red buffer beams and going off my own research, the only ones that did were the same locos that were built without a yellow warning panel. The yellow panels were applied to these within a matter of months if not weeks. The locos with red bufferbeams were the first handful outshopped from Vulcan Foundry/Donny Works, i.e. E310x and E316x. Perhaps half a dozen from each batch. There was a proposal to repaint one of our locos into their original livery, but sadly this did not take place. However as part of this proposal I took paint samples from all of our locos, which would confirm the above. Enjoy the photos. I update this gallery fairly regularly. Cheers https://www.flickr.com/photos/barang_shkoot/albums/72157629690211192

Some updates. I've thrown a bit of paint on from rattle tins, just to see what they'll look like. It'll be getting flatted down soon enough but I couldn't resist the temptation to throw a bit of paint on (the cream isn't even the correct colour for the locos depicted). Still some way to go, but 'step-by-step', as they like to say in Cambodia, my second home. Incidentally I have a couple of Cambodian locos on the way, but photos of those can wait until they've progressed. Cheers E3109

Some pics of the class 45 butchery. Had to splice it down the roof centre and part way down the body, in order to get the right dimensions. Reminds me of some of the old-school modellers who did that with early Lima HO class 33s! One of the pics shows the makings of a KTMB (Malaysia) EE 20 Class next to the DE2, these are actually the same scale, which goes to show how gargantuan the DE2s were.

Hello again I'm only an occasional poster on RMweb but here is a loco I've been working on. It's S Scale i.e. 1:64. As some of you will know, I'm currently constructing various locos, wagons and carriages based on South East Asian prototypes. However, as I love all things EE (especially class 40s!) I decided to build one of these beasties. My friend visited Zimbabwe several years ago and he confirms that the locos sound exactly like a BR Class 40, indeed eight of the class were repowered with ex-BR class 40 power units when the 40s were being dismantled. As it's Cape Gauge, which isn't much different to metre gauge, the temptation was too much in the end! Will I build an African layout? Unlikely, I haven't even started with my Asian layout yet. But Rule No 1 applies The DE2 is absolutely massive compared to typical Asian locos but never mind, I'll just have to take that into account regarding clearances and so on. I had a rummage through the scrap box and found that a Mainline Peak body was near enough dimension-wise. The only issue was building the noses up, Peaks being rather 'snub' in this respect. I've used an old Jouef 40 chassis, maybe I'll come to regret that but for the time being it'll suffice. Conveniently enough, the wheelbase for the OO class 40 matches the wheelbase for the DE2 in 1:64 within 1mm, apart from the pony wheels which will be 'fettled' appropriately. Still some way to go, but thoroughly enjoying this little project.

Thanks for that! Shortliner, that tutorial is excellent, although it isn't suitable for my loco it will be great for decrepit shed roofs and so on, I assume it's PVA he used in the vid. jpachl, I think the problem is with my computer, as (on this site only, for some reason !) I can copy but not paste. Just tried it again, no joy. Also tried uploading from my saved pc pics, no luck with that either :-(

Gents I finally went for S Scale, as expected. Got a few photos here, but I can't seem to post either the pics themselves, or a link to my Flickr album with them in. Please help! Thanks. (edit: you can actually see them in my original Flickr link at the top of the page, but I wanted to post the photos themselves and can't seem to do it!)

Looking forward to seeing the progress on this, Mr S. I spend a lot of time at container terminals, usually on the resident 'Jocko' if the truth be known, carving up bits of styrene to resemble locomotives.... I work for FL and am lucky enough to drive the remaining 86s regularly. Sadly, 'Wulfruna' isn't one of the survivors....

Also try an eBay search for 'Tomica 1/64'. Mostly Japanese prototypes, these are wonderful models, out of your era I know but even so. They make a rather nice early Hillman Minx too (1955?) and of course being Japanese models, are already RHD. Not too cheap, but not breaking the bank either. Perhaps £10-ish. Good luck!

Gents, thanks for the comments. I'll keep plodding on, and post pics as the first model progresses. Just a thought. The Thai GEK locos have ribbing, as seen on photos above, spent a few hours around Thonburi Depot a bit back, taking measurements. As I mentioned earlier, the pitch of the ribs is 4", or 1/16" in S Scale. 1.5mm is near enough, though I'd prefer 1/16" (1.6mm) if available. Evergreen and Slater's seem to be the first port of call, I have had a gander at their websites but I'd also be happy to use brass or aluminium if need be. Corrugated sheet is what I need, although the profile on the real locomotives is slightly different to standard corrugated sheet in that the raised portions are sharper i.e. not particularly radiused. The ribs are deceivingly shallow too, not much more than 1/2" deep, or about 0.2mm in S. I can live with using normal corrugated stuff though, if nothing else is available. See here:

After a great deal of thought, I've pretty much decided to change scale/gauge. The realisation that I'm happier building bodies, rather than messing about trying to adjust HO/OO to 12mm gauge, or adapting (expensive) HOm/TT chassis has brought about this decision. From now on it's larger scale on HO/OO commercial chassis for me. Makes life a bit easier. I'm looking at S Scale, or possibly 5mm/1ft as used by some Malaysian modellers (and indeed, KTMB in the past!). Not much difference between the two frankly, although I suspect 'S' has won me over. I was round Thonburi Depot (BKK) recently taking detailed measurements of an SRT 'GEK', published drawings are ok but they do lack some detail arrangements. No surprises what my first 'S' or 5mm scale SRT model will be then.... Given the ribbed sides of an SRT GEK, I'm looking for a supplier of ribbed brass sheet with a 1.6mm pitch and 0.2mm depth. 1.5mm will be acceptable, but the depth of the ribs is somewhat deceptive, it's only 1/2" (or 0.2mm to scale) and that's where I may have an issue....

From a modelling perspective, they had a few ex LT trolleybuses many years back when it was still Ceylon. Some RTs too I think. Food for thought?

Chaps, thanks for the comments. I'm in Siam now, visited TWO model railway shops in Bangkok today, first one was 'Model Train Shop' in Chatuchak (thanks to Apollo), the other was 'Modelrailroadsiam' in Silom. Got some rather nice SRT decals too, these will come in handy. Respective details are www.rocothai.com and www.modelrailroadsiam.com , may pay a visit again tomorrow, should I decide not to go out on the bash. Those GE Shovelnoses aren't getting any younger, after all Kev, sure I've seen your work before somewhere. Stunning.

I've seen something similar in MG Sharp ages ago, should've got them at the time as I think these are only made in small batches. japanese stuff is 1/80th scale isn't it, that'll do fine. Phil, I didn't want to go with HO/OO track, yeah it would've made things a lot easier but I've been used to seeing 'too narrow' track as a long time British OO modeller and I thought it best to continue the theme! By my reckoning HOm/TT track in 4mm/ft is 3' 0", 3 3/8ths" too narrow is a discrepancy I can live with, whereas HO/OO track in 4mm/ft is about 10" too wide, for metre gauge. Apollo, thanks for the tip off about the model railway shop in BKK, will seek it out this time.