TonyA

Thanks to my late father's diary, I know exactly where he was on D-Day. He was in 80 AA Bde and was involved in planning the locations of radar posts. After landing this involved touring the area on a motorbike to physically check the sites. The only thing I know was that he was very seasick. He landed on Juno Beach and his helmet has a massive dent where someone dropped a tank exhaust extension on him. Sadly he died when I was ten so I never had the opportunity to discuss any memories with him. I will be thinking of him at 09:00 tomorrow. Tony

I first visited the back cupboard in Chapel Market around 1970 then followed it through the upstairs shop and on to Pentonville Road. A great source of inspiration and supplies for many years! Tony

Didn't know you were off to Australia where Whitfield Mount is. A better destination would be Whitfield's Mount in Blackheath. Happy Easter. Tony

I believe there are some photos of Ynysybwl in the Dick Riley Collection on Transport Treasury at https://www.transporttreasury.co.uk/page126.html I have not seen them personally so I do not know how useful they will be. Tony

It was done on the Lulworth Camp layout by Mike Walshaw. Here is a photo with apologies for the quality. The blockman (army term for signalman) came in and out as required. Tony

The green Silberlinge modelled by Kiss were the prototypes from 1959. Strictly speaking, they were not a batch as they were all individual prototypes, most of which, if not all, were painted green. They were classes AB4nb-58, AB4nb-58a, B4nb-58, B4nb-58a, B4nb-58b, B4nb-58c, B4nb-58d, B4nb-58e, B4nb-58f, B4nb-58g, BD4nf-58 and BD4nf-58a. I don't know the Direktions offhand. They were in this topic on the Railways of Germany forum, https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/germanrailfr/silberlinge-t142.html , from post#18 onward. However, on Höchstädt, Rule 1 is a frequent visitor. Tony

In the original classification system, the number is actually the number of axles, the number being omitted for 2-axle vehicles. For example, the AB3yg Umbauwagen was first/second class, 3-axle with enclosed rubber connections. Tony

There is a screw in the funnel and reassembly is tricky as described here. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/60934-problem-reassembling-Hornby-j94-loco/ Tony

Try here. https://www.warners-shows.co.uk/indoor-shows/the-london-festival-of-railway-modelling/the-london-festival-of-railway-modelling-trade-plan/ Tony

The short answer is no. The only transfers are for WD878 from Cambridge Custom Transfers set BL161 as discussed here. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/141736-longmoor-military-railway-tender-lettering/ I have seen discussions about people commissioning sets in the past but have never seen any products. One problem is the lack of standardisation over the years which would make it a minefield for any supplier. Tony

It was the Borg, not Lieutenant Worf! Tony

It depends which locomotive and at what date. When there were Sappers trained as "Painter and Decorator" tradesmen, there were taught basic sign writing but after 1965 a civilian tradesman did it. There were also subtle changes in style between individual tradesmen. The most noticeable difference was the letter M where the central vee was normally written to the full depth but sometimes it was only half depth. The latter is the style in Cambridge Custom Transfers sheet BL161. This style was used on the tender of WD601 in 1952. The full depth vee can be seen in my photo of WD400 in August 1964 when I was on my CCF course. Tony

When I worked in Nürnberg, I talked to someone whose brother had refused to join the Nazi party in his late teens. Although he qualified at the top of his class in the post office exams, he was unable to get any job because he was not a party member. The need to earn a living is a very strong motive for toeing the line. Tony

Sorry but I am not sure where I found the index. I suspect it was on a free Peco DVD around 2001, possibly the 50 Years of Peco one. My copy was saved in 2005 and needs Microsoft Works, which shows how ancient it is (or I am). Tony

According to the index, it was June 1996, page 256. The title was Running the Meece Valley. Tony

Walter Rothschild is the editor of HaRakevet magazine, http://harakevet.com, and a regular contributor to the Bulletin of the World War Two Railway Study Group. Some years ago when I edited the Bulletin, I was in regular contact with him and found him a constant source of information. I must find this programme online, and see Walter again. Tony

Touring Austria in the early 1970s, I did not see class 2091 very often. Here is one I found at Gresten in June 1975. It was built in 1936 and you can clearly see the luggage compartment. I also found one at Gmünd in 1976. However, at that time the class 2095 were much more common, being that much more modern. The early 1970s were a great time to visit the narrow gauge lines in Austria with a wide choice of lines featuring steam, diesel and electric motive power. Tony

Only the chassis of the pre-war coaches were used for the Umbauwagen with a specially designed standard body being fitted. The 6-wheelers were produced first from old 4 and 6-wheel chassis, being rebuilt to an approximately standard length and with the addition of an extra axle to the 4-wheel chassis. After the initial success, bogie coaches were then produced using old bogie chassis rebuilt to a standard length. No parts of the original bodies were used. Somewhere in the piles of paper at home, I have a copy of the original design specification for the 6-wheelers that the Nürnberg Transport Museum sent to me in the early 1980s. However, I need to do a major clear out before I can find it. Tony

I was planning a trip to Canada to see my grandchildren and made enquiries about cover with my bank account. The addition of cover for type 1 diabetes and a previous heart bypass seemed high until I got a quote from Age UK for full cover that was double the bank's quote for the supplementary cover. The fact that my bypass actually should have reduced the risk was not taken into account. However, just before I was going to book, another problem put me in hospital for a week and showed that nothing is certain in risk assessment. The trip is now on hold for at least six months and realistically probably more like a year. I now expect to pay a high premium in future, even if my doctor says that I am fit to travel, and I will be very grateful for whatever I can get. Whatever the cost, it will be less than I would have to pay if I do not declare something and then have a problem. It is just a matter of balancing the cost of insurance against the justification for the trip although I will still shop around to try and find the best deal. Tony

I had the same problem many years ago, coincidentally wanting to model the GWR. After retirement, I realised that I could never find the part of the GWR that ran on 4ft 1 1/2in gauge track and started modelling German railways with the stock I liked. I also agreed to produce a layout to accompany a club sales stand in just 3 months. That cleared all concerns about ultimate accuracy. It ran well although I did have to correct some problems later. The main thing was that I had fun with it. Just go for something that takes your fancy today and leave the accuracy for retirement - or later. Tony

The nearest rack lines to your area are the metre gauge electric Zugspitzbahn and Wendelsteinbahn in Bavaria and the metre gauge steam Achenseebahn in Austria. You could use the Bemo rack railcar promised for 2019 and say that your line either bought or borrowed it from the FO. Further east, there was the standard gauge Wegscheid branch which used rack railcars before it closed in 1965. These railcars were similar to the standard Uerdingen cars. Tony

I have always used expanded polystyrene from various sources and have in the past covered it with coloured plaster. However, I recently helped my granddaughter with a school project. We covered the polystyrene with papier-mache made from kitchen towel and diluted white glue. This gave a surface better able to withstand rough handling. We then applied ground cover and added some spare trees. I am inclined to use this in future although using newspaper to get a smoother surface. Tony

Bill, It's hyGroscopic. And that's after failing Chemistry A level over 50 years ago. Tony

I just received a package from Contikits. From the labels the box had been used at least three times previously. Full marks for recycling. Now who can I send it on to? Tony

This one featured on the Carl Arendt website. http://www.secondintention.com/pleasure/tanis/ Tony