TonyA

The comments seem to have worked. The listing is ended with the comment "This listing was ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing." Tony

A nice BLT? Tony

When I was a lad it was a brisk walk! Not easy but still a relief after six years of boarding there. Tony

Strange. I was there all day and I am fine. Maybe modelling just in 00 and H0 protects you from 0 scale viruses. Tony

A Longmoor version perhaps????

Hi Phil, Take the fast line for one station south and you will be in my back garden! This is my third house backing on to that line. Bill and I both model German railways but also have British interests. HG sounds interesting. I used to watch it every day when I commuted. Tony

A couple of interesting eBay items related to Longmoor. The first is for a book currently available new at £25.00. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Longmoor-Military-Railway-a-New-History-No-1-Christensen-Michael-David-/360981869682?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item540c323472 Why a second hand copy is valued at more than 30 times the original price, I have no idea. It is the second time that it has been listed at this price so it cannot be a typo. The other is a very weathered Hornby J94 in Longmoor livery. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hornby-R2151-J94-LMR-SADDLE-TANK-WEATHERED-SUPER-ITEM-BOXED-/380945294395?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item58b21be43b It was listed four times at £54.99 without any takers before it was re-listed at £64.99. As the description says, it is a "typically workstained J94 tank". However, I knew this loco towards the end of its career and I am sure the powers that be at Longmoor would never have allowed it to appear in that state! It seems such a shame as it is a "permanent finish". Tony

John, Sorry to upset your plans. The best reference is Güterwagen, Band 4, Offene Wagen in Sonderbauart by Stefan Carstens, published by MIBA. This says “the Bavarian Staatsbahn purchased from MAN in 1905/6 as “Regiekohlenwagen”, after a prototype built in 1903, 50 self-unloading wagons from an American design. They were for the supply of the large coaling station at Bw Munich Hbf and the transport from Rheinhafen Gustavsburg (near Mainz) to München-Laim and to München Hbf.” There is also a reference at the bottom of this webpage. http://www.hs-merseburg.de/~nosske/EpocheII/fg/e2f_gwse.html If you would like more information, send me a PM. Tony

John, What sort of Bavarian hopper wagons are you planning to use? I believe the Bavarian hopper wagons from Trix/Märklin were used for the import of coal from Rheinhafen Gustavsburg near Mainz to Bw München Hbf, because of the poor quality and limited quantity of the local Bavarian coal. This would imply an unloading facility rather than loading one. Tony

Lightmoor Press have announced a new 2-volume book on Longmoor. It is by D.W. Ronald and M. Christensen and the first volume, which covers the period to 1939, should be available soon. I believe rolling stock will be covered in the second volume.

Jimmy, There were no gunpowder vans at Longmoor, only regular vans. I started with the RCTS stock list from their visit in April 1966 and then tried to identify the original diagrams from the photos. This was helped by the number now preserved and documented on the relevant websites and stock books. Many of these wagons are available as kits or RTR. Examples include WD47777, built SR/1940 to diag. 1458, and WD47773, built LSWR to diag. 1410. The hardest bit will be obtaining the correct transfers for the numbers. Tony

Marvellous photos. That was five months before I did a CCF course there. However, all my photos are black and white. Models of some of those wagons are awaiting painting after kindly being built by bbishop of this forum. After an abortive attempt in the past, target is now to complete a Longmoor layout in time for the 50th anniversary of my course. Many thanks, Tony

The vans built for the MoS in 1941/2 had double end windows so my guess is that this was an SR feature. As regards the possibility of removing the roof, has anyone tried dismantling one yet? I would like to do a complete repaint to army green when I get one and that means completely dismantling as well as making various other changes.. Tony

There was an article on the Farnborough line in the May 1967 issue of Railway Modeller. It included a drawing of Invincible. Tony

The Longmoor loading gauge was only "enhanced" in height, not in width, compared to the Southern Region. Basically the roof radius was 6ft 0ins from a centre point height of 7ft 9ins, compared to 5ft 6ins from a centre point height of 7ft 10ins. This is from the diagram in the 1959 edition of the Technical Orders and Working Instructions. I believe the flat wagons are the experimental ones described in the June 1966 Railway Observer as follows. "One of the prototype tank carrying rail wagons arrived back at Longmoor w/e 12th March for metre-gauge trials, and its suitability for end-on platelaying techniques was also assessed. The two wagons, 502200/1, built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (registered B.R. (W) numbers 1 and 2 of 1965) for the Ministry of Defence are a masterpiece of design. The bogies can be changed to give either standard, 3ft. 6in., or metre-gauge, and the wagons are suitable for work on B.R., in Western Europe and on: certain strategic railways in Africa and the Far East." In The Longmoor Military Railway by D.W. Ronald and R.J. Carter, it says that a metre gauge third rail was laid at Longmoor Downs in 1967 for test purposes. Tony

The Museum of Army Transport at Beverley closed in 2003 and the stock was disposed of to various military installations. The ramp wagon went to COD Bicester which is not accessible to the public. Tony

Belgian, A number of USATC tanks were at Longmoor during the war. There were differences between various batches as they could be supplied as either coal or oil fired. Modifications were also made to the initial locomotives in the UK and these were incorporated into later batches when built. As the SR changed their original order from a mixture of Porter and Vulcan built locomotives to all except one being Vulcan built “to facilitate the interchangeability of partsâ€, I assume that there were other differences between suppliers. USATC 4382 went to Longmoor in August 1946 and stayed there until it was scrapped in April 1959. It was named “Major-General Frank S Ross†in 1949 and numbered 94382. It was renumbered WD300 in 1952. Most of this information comes from R. Tourret’s book, Allied Military Locomotives of the Second World War, which includes several photographs. On-line photographs are rare. However, WD300 did appear in the film, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. Photos have also appeared in various magazines including Railway Bylines, May 2002. Tony

Are these photos of the ramp wagon at Beverley any use? I took them in 1994 and show the disconnected wheelset. Ignore the grey object behind the wheelset in the second photo. That is part of the Schienenwolf. Tony

How long do I have to wait for a Longmoor version - or could I get an unpainted one? I know WD300 was scrapped in April 1959 and would be too early for my line but I could change my modelling period. Also, it was one of the first locomotives to be painted in Longmoor blue after the end of the war. Tony

I understand that the Beverley ramp wagon went to COD Bicester, which effectively puts it out of reach for research purposes. Tony

I have found an article entitled "Chilmark - the end of an era" in Rail issue 255, Jun. 21 - Jul. 4 1995. It includes a diagrammatic map of the tracks from Chilmark to Dinton and Baverstock sidings. Other articles mentioning stock and operations are in Railway Modeller June 1996 and The Railway Magazine March 1976. There is also a description in the IRS handbook, Industrial Locomotives of Central Southern England. If you want any more information about the contents, send me a PM. Tony

The Austerity referred to by Poor Old Bruce is definitely ex-WD150 as shown by the works number Hunslet 3892/69, carrying the name that it previously carried in 1955/6. There are a couple of problems with tracing the Austerities. Firstly, Hunslet allocated new works numbers/dates when they rebuilt the locos in 1964 and presumably removed the original plates. This includes both Austerities at the HST, WD150 (Hunslet 3892/69) and WD139 (Hunslet 3888/64). However, I do not know why the HST website only mentions one of them, Hunslet 3888/64, previously HE 3192/44. Secondly, a number have been allocated numbers in the 68xxx series, even though they were never owned by BR. As mentioned, WD150 is now numbered 68013 and WD196 is still numbered 68011 at Stoomcentrum Maldegem, the number it was given at Longmoor when filming The St Trinian’s Great Train Robbery. I may be biased but I find it hard to justify a preservation society pretending that an ex-army locomotive is really ex-BR when it does not have any of the fittings that the BR locomotives had. After all the work done for this country by the army locomotives, don't they deserve preservation in their own right? Tony

It is all quite simple – honestly! WD 75186 was built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns Ltd. as works no. 7136/44 and went to Donnington. In 1951 it was renumbered WD150. In 1955 it went to Bicester where it was named Royal Pioneer. In 1956, it went to Kineton but without the nameplates, which belonged to Bicester. In 1963, it was one of fifteen locos sold to Hunslet who rebuilt it with an underfeed stoker and gas producer system and gave it a new works number, 3892/69. It was then sold to the Bahamas Locomotive Society who moved it to Dinting. I believe it was named Warrington there but I do not know why - mainly because I cannot find the relevant book. It was then sold to the HST. When WD150 moved from Bicester, the nameplates were transferred to WD113 which retained the name until it was scrapped in 1963. The name subsequently went to Andrew Barclay 0-8-0DH 895, which became ARMY 624 in 1968 and was scrapped in 1985. A very useful book on this subject is Locomotives of the Ministry of Defence by R.K. Hateley, published by the Industrial Railway Society. Tony

Dave, The loco was not named Warrington until after the army sold it back to Hunslet, who completely rebuilt it into the form depicted by Dapol. The external difference is the chimney. Royal Pioneer was the name it carried between 6/55 and 4/56 in army service at Bicester. The name was transferred to WD113 when WD150 moved to Kineton as names tended to stay with the army depot. Tony

If they were available for sale and could be converted back to original condition, I would be interested. I believe bufferbeams with jacks may be available from Gramodels as they already do a Warflat kit. Tony