Caledonian

I'm inclined to wonder, given the obvious scale of the enterprise, whether it is in fact Gretna

Good Lord! And which one was that ? Any Clues ?

Oh Dear, is 965001 a Ministry if Munitions one ?

On the whole pretty pleased with mine too this morning, but when running the offer again in the future it would be nice to have an option of non-diesel era items in the random selection

Beautiful !

It might seem a touch obvious, but... Looking through the Rapido catalogue [and ignoring the new stuff] to see what isn't marked out of stock will give a good idea as to what's likely to be available.

Don't mind me, I'm just grumbling - though in answer to your question I'd like an early 439 in dark blue, please, pretty please

There aint, in this instance, cos they're being sensible and presenting originals. The trouble is when, like Hornby, a manufacturer turns out the modern version but not the original. Mind you, that's a symptom of the way things are moving and more power to Rapido. Once upon a time modellers were expected to model what they see now or remember from a few years back. However, now that original steam is getting back beyond that horizon there's more scope for pre-grouping modelling. I can remember seeing a very distant B1 when I was a kid, and a Peckett shuffling around the yard opposite my Uncle's house, and that's it, so I model steam now because I'm interested in it as a historical event, not to recreate a memory, and from that point of view pre-grouping railways are far more interesting than BR

That, I've always thought pointless and even silly. Let me be more explicit. If anyone [you or anyone else] wants to run a railtour recreation, pairing say a Jones Goods with a Class 37 and blue and grey coaching stock - great. Its your layout and it'll no doubt look good. The problem I have is with manufacturers producing 60s railtour stock in place of originals, a perfect example being the NBR Class C/J36 which Hornby produced a couple of years back. Maud not only has a "modern" livery, but lacks the Westinghouse pumps carried in North British service - yet there is an LNER version which does.

Aha! Casting a spell to encourage an announcement of Caley stock Mind you, a 439 would be nice

68089 [the Sunderland Light Railway] one does have British Railways plastered along the side

The slide-bar covers were very easy to pick off the Hornby ones I have

Very tasty ... though mine don't normally go chuff

Never being afraid to admit my ignorance... So what is [or was] Bramble ?

Here's one preserved at Gretna [the Devil's Porridge Museum]. I understand that long long ago it was built for the Ordnance factory there but otherwise i don't know its history

No having a camera at the moment makes photies kinda difficult. However... plasticard is probably too thick brass sheet is dead easy for this job as no bending or shaping is required. Its just a flat rectangle cut to size - on a cutting mat. Then undercoat it, and paint the inside face black. As to glue some kind of cyano [superglue] worked fine for me. Run a thread along the side of the footplate and on the outside of the motion bracket and Bob's your uncle As to the base model. I picked the Burnley Corporation Gas one as the blue livery looked about right and it had the combination of spectacle plates that I needed for No.3. I don't know whether its still available so you may need to settle for another and do a whole new paint job. There is [or was] quite a variety of cab arrangements offered by Hattons so be careful to get the nearest available One thing that you will need to do is discard the casing for the handbrake and cut a rectangular hole in the back of the cab to access the firebox - you'll see it in photies of the original, but be warned you may need to cut it a touch oversized on account of the hole for the handbrake, but hey, we can't have everything

I've made up a model of No.3 myself [goes nicely with the wagons Hornby did a couple of years ago]. Used brass sheet - left over from the etched parts for a tank so can't be specific as to thickness - and adding the skirts [with glue] was quite transformative

Looking forward to it 👍

I hate you... I feel compelled to give it a go

Very nicely weathered !

Have you acquired a new camera for Christmas ? I've always enjoyed your photies but these seem a lot clearer

A great post for Christmas. Have a good one.

Looks great - really must get my arse in gear and try to sort out mine

Thanks - so presumably those intending to haul a coach [or two...] behind their splendid Rapido C53/J70 will need one

Minor digression... What's that flat round thing on the front ?