BMacdermott

Hello everyone Congratulations to Accurascale on the announcement of the Class 37! This was one of the two items that came up with good votes in our Post-2005 Suggestions category. We wish Fran and the team every success with this very interesting and wide-ranging project. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Paul Thanks for writing. The 'Pig Iron' was listed new in 2015, probably at the suggestion of a voter, but it may have been The Team in our attempts to 'balance' various types. Looking at the Don Rowland book, there were: Diag.1/003 13-ton version Diag.1/004 & Diag 1/007 two 20-ton designs Diag.1/005 Hot Pig Iron 30-ton The wagons within The Poll (no matter 'Hot' or not) have been consistently Low Polling. This year, they were =18th from bottom overall, so we won't be in any rush to list variants. Some of the basic designs were later amended to Coil Wagons, which would add even greater complexity and variation. If anyone cares to write to us with why we should list any specific vehicle, we will always listen. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Budgie We are fortunate to have that very same John Lewis as a valued member of The 00 Poll Team. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Mark I'm not sure if there is any 'groundswell of demand' for the 14xx, but the reason it is being talked about here is that it was one of only two locos in the Post-2005 Suggestions that polled more than the overall lowest-voted item (the other being the Class 37). A number of respondents noted concern that DJM was no longer in business (although we didn't report on those comments as they were OT as far as the Results were concerned). I agree that the real 14xx were generally short train motive power, but many modellers have severe gradients...any additional tractive effort would no doubt be welcomed by them if not by many more. If there is more drawbar power, is there not less strain on the motor? But I'm not a motor engineer. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Iain I have attached a very rough schematic plan of my 25ft x 10ft layout in the hope it might help your thoughts. In essence, it is a looped eight with two reverse loops (each Radius 1, 2 and 3). The yellow areas are 'scenic', the remainder 'off scene'. The station is a 4-platform + bay affair, about 20ft long, akin to Exeter Central or Oxford. It has a loco depot on one side, rather like Bournemouth Central. To explain...a train leaves the station towards the right of the plan and enters a 180 degree tunnel. It has climbed to about 1.5 inches off base level. When it emerges from the tunnel, it is on a double track section which has a 'slow line' to one side and two 'goods loops' on the other. The 4-road carriage sidings are to the far side and the 6-road sorting sidings are towards the operating well. The train climbs towards the next tunnel where it is about 3 inches above base level and passes over the station throat (still hidden). From here, it can enter the reverse loops or avoid them and continue forward, gradually descending until it reaches the station. A train can run in the other direction and take the same actions. Most trains will go round the loops to form firstly a Down service, returning as an Up service or vice versa. The layout easily handles 20 'service trains' ranging from double-headed 10-coach expresses to a short pick-up freight. Loco shed handles at least 20 locos without looking crowded. The same goes for the sorting and carriage sidings. The Radius 3 right hand reverse loop handles two double-headed 10-coach expresses. The left hand loops, slightly less. The tracks in the hidden sections are used as 'linear storage' - one train stores behind another very closely (as if in a sort of 'hidden permissive block' scenario). The layout can be operated in such a way that 'the spare space' gets filled up with trains'; I then move them all along so that they are ready for the next session; this frees up the space as previously. Rather like the Americans undertake what they call 'staging'. Brian

Hello Mark Thanks for writing. We first listed BR Pig Iron Wagon (Diag.1/005) in 2015. A voter who knows a thing or two about wagons suggested we change the title to BR Hot Pig Iron Wagon and that is how it was listed for 2019. Both were listed under Freight Stock: 1948-1963 and have been consistently Low Polling. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello GordonC We shouldn't get 'into politics' here...it was just a 'merry quip'. Brian

Hello Frond Thanks for understanding. Some Polls only give you from 0700 to 2200 on one specific date...such as that planned for 12 December () Brian

Hello everyone Andy is dead right (above). In our early days, we really only had Bachmann and Hornby announcements and they were generally 'new year period'. Since then, numerous players have come onto the field and RMweb has become part of Warners/BRM putting more pressure (so to speak) on Andy's available time. Running in mid-October has worked well, but GETS has now come into the picture. We could never run at a time that suited absolutely everyone, but the current method is good for most of us. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello LNWR18901910 There were five categories of Steam Locos. Naturally, ER attracted the most voters but LMS was only a comparative handful behind (and others close behind that and similarly with Diesels). The difference is that LMS voters had spread their votes across the many and not the few. Big Bertha has long been high up in Poll results and one can imagine that many votes there came from collectors. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Frond Press Releases appeared in numerous magazines and websites from late summer. We gave Advance Notice here on 29 September. We posted the Q&A on 11 October (which had links to The Poll). The Poll went live early on Monday 14 October and closed late evening on Saturday 2 November - just under three weeks running time. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Mike Agreed. Many photos I have seen seem to indicate to Weston-super- Mare but I haven't seen one actually at that location. I have seen three photos on eBay that seem to be Oxford (as noted in my earlier post and as noted by another respondent here). Brian

Hello gwrrob This shows 18000 on 'The Merchant Venturer' in 1952. Brian https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p790798754

Hello gwrrob The Railway Observer for May 1957 says: The 'Merchant Venturer' joined the ranks of chocolate & cream trains on 1 April, but the set is spoiled by a maroon slip and occasionally an extra red and cream coach for Reading. The Gas Turbine 18000 has been working the down train recently, returning with the lightly loaded 4.15pm from Bristol. Probably not a named train per se, but the issue for October 1958 records that on 29 August, No.18000 worked a special 8-coach train from Paddington-Oxford conveying delegates to the Seventh International Symposium on Combustion. Departure was at 10.08am and one hour was allowed for the run. It returned light engine (LE) at 12.15pm. Brian

Hello everyone Many congratulations to Rails on the announcement of No.18000 Brown Boveri Gas Turbine A1A-A1A! The loco has been in The Top 50 of The 00 Wishlist Poll since 2013, apart from 2015 when it was just a handful of votes outside. This year, it came it at position =30. We wish Rails every success with the project. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team, but will be buying one personally )

Hello everyone Many congratulations to Rails on this announcement! The loco has been in The Top 50 of The 00 Wishlist Poll since 2013, apart from 2015 when it was just a handful of votes outside. We wish Rails every success with the project. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team, but will be buying one personally )

Hello Ian Indeed...but they can't say we didn't tell them. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Oz Many thanks for writing and for the kind and supportive comments. As noted, Category 21 wasn't answered fully in the spirit in which we intended it and that was fully expected. Not that voters were 'silly' or 'nasty' - just unfocused. We know from experience that - no matter what the criteria say - people will write in what they want to say. We imposed a 6-word limit which a number felt didn't apply to them - they were instantly discounted. Some suggestions were in the wrong boxes - again instantly discounted. Others were totally off topic - see where I'm going here? Overall, there were about: 500 responses to Steam, Diesel or Electric Locos 300 responses to PCCS, DMUs, EMUs 200 responses to NPCCS, Freight and General Railway Service Out of that c.1000, I'd say about 400 were actually valid. I'm sorry, but it would take a lot of work to go back to my summary sheets and count up and I don't see it as a valid exercise. There is no 'absolute data'. On 29 September, we posted our thread Advance Notice - The 00 Wishlist Poll 2019. We alluded to the new category and its content. On 11 October, we posted our thread Q&A - The 00 Wishlist Poll 2019. As is usual, that included the following paragraph (my italics): If you are an experienced modeller who knows what you want, you can ‘dive straight in’ via the links. However, whilst there is no actual need to access The Guide, we strongly urge you to do so, as we give you a summary of all the items in each category. You will be able to get an overall feel for what you want to vote for before going into the voting section – especially the Freight Stock categories. The Guide was immediately above that. We used to run The Poll for four week but reduced to three as we felt that was long enough to cover most people's availability over any given period. If you are still reading this, I hope it has helped! Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello mdvle We were duty-bound to report on the top three results of each Post-2005 type. If voters felt it was one that they wanted to see re-made, then we had to report it. As noted, we went into the subject 'eyes wide open' but it is clear that many voters didn't. We can only lead horses to water... Simon Kohler has often said that modellers will come up to him at shows and ask: "When is Loco X coming out?" His reply will often be such as: "Do you mean Loco X that we released in 2016?" Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Clive I am happy to put them on the Agenda for you. They wouldn't have been listed under Industrial as those locos are BR General Railway Service (Departmental) and would fall into that category. I will say here - as I have said to others - that we are on maximum permitted load with many items already on the Agenda. I we look at those locos we will need to consider these too: BEL 1 and 2 DS 74 & DS 75 DS 400 & DS 600 DS 1169 ED 1 as well as ED 2 - ED 7 20 52 81 88 & 89 91 & 92 209 (number not carried) And that doesn't include the numerous departmental steam locos. Sounds fairly easy when just one type is mentioned, but we have to maintain a balance across the years, regions, steam, diesel etc etc. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Gilbert It was more for those who might be interested in the articles. Brian

Hello Gilbert and everyone Trains Illustrated May and June 1958 contain a 2-part article entitled Day-Trip to Grimsby which might be useful. The subjects of Fish Trains and Milk Trains are crying out for books to be written. Brian

Hello Chris Many thanks for your support and kind comments which are appreciated. It might be a case in point that Hattons has produced the first 3D-printed Pre-Grouping wagon (for boxed release and general availability in a number of guises that is) as well as the 4- & 6-wheel coaches. Pre-Grouping Freight has been High Polling since we grappled with how to list them all and they now sit firmly in The Top 50. Perhaps the preserved examples at the Bluebell Railway are an influence? The RCH Coal Wagons were broadly a voter suggestion although The Poll Team had to grapple with how to list them, too. Our split of Freight into four from three categories has helped You are welcome to submit suggestions with 'supporting evidence and reasons', but we have to say that 59 of the 112 new entries ended up Low Polling. With a potential 30,000 items that could be listed, we have to be careful of overloading - and we are at max permitted load with about 30 items already lined up on the Agenda. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Baz I think I have reported many times that the WD 2-10-0 has been in The Top 50 since 2013 and the S-160 since 2014 (having been around position 75th in 2013). I have also reported many times that The Poll is for modellers and collectors, so layouts per se aren't a prerequisite. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

Hello Nova Scotian Many thanks for writing. We, too, hope that the smaller makers will be able 'to spot the gaps' where the big boys won't fear to tread and sneak in with suitable models. Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)