coronach

Lovely work

One or two. I know kit built locos are much heavier but this comparison is between two Hornby models isn’t it?

Is it simply down to weight / weight distribution over the driving wheels or is it something more subtle such as the flange profile, metal used in the wheels etc. it is amazing the difference in performance

Very nice. In my experience, subtle weathering can turn a shop bought item into an individual model. Here is my unaltered Hornby Black 5 with some weathering applied to make it look less plastic. Here is the Lima Crab with the Brassmasters detail applied - total cost about £100 The main issue I have with both is lack of adhesive weight

Dapol do a class 29 and the class 21 predecessor

In 1976 I participated in a school railway society trip to Frodingham depot and Doncaster works incorporating a journey across the Humber from New Holland onboard Tattersall Castle. The ferry journey took ages as it was low tide. I assume the coal wagons stabled at New Holland provided fuel for the ferry

Privatisation resulted in the OFCATs raid trains such as Manchester to Waterloo via the Marches line and South Wales. I’ve also travelled in a London Paddington to Manchester Piccadilly train. How about Birmingham to Ramsgate ( behind a Deltic)

I recently purchased a second hand Mailine Siphon G with the intention of giving it an upgrade. It looked a bit naff in glossy chocolate brown with yellow G W lettering but after cleaning it and giving it a spray of Halfords grey primer, I realised that it is pretty good with lots of fine detail. I’ve decided to simply repaint and weather it - an excellent layout vehicle. To be completed ……

Ahh! Triang Big Big Train. I grew up with the gauge 0 Hymeks. I recently visited a gauge 0 garden railway that included a very fine battery operated GWR 14xx 0-4-2T that was constructed around the Hymek power bogie. The motor drove the small trailing wheel but it had no problems propelling an auto coach

Definitely agree about the Mainline Mk1 buffer restaurant car. At about the same time, Replica produced the Mk1 BCK and FO, which were good but lacked flush glazing. The problem with these new models was they stood out from the rest. IMHO the worst Mk1 coaches were produced by Mainline in their early years. The windows were completely out of proportion and the wrong shape.

I still have and operate a Lima Class 27 on Whinburgh, which I purchased for my original Mallaig layout. It must be more than 30 years old and retains the original mechanism. Although rather noisy, it does sound like a diesel. The basis shape is pretty good - all I did (30 years ago!) was flush glaze the cab and engine room windows, reduce the wheel flange depth and weather it. I’ll have to dig it out and take a picture

Saturdays only through trains were once more diverse. In the 1970s, there was a through train from York to Tenby. in the latter days of BR, some novel services were tried out, for example Hull to Brighton, Hull to Cardiff, which I think were portions attached / detached at Sheffield

In the ‘good old days’ when the enquiry office at Birmingham New Street included a European desk, a Polish gentleman asked for information about travel to Warsaw and was surprised to hear that the next train was at 12:45 in platform 5. Of course the person behind the desk misheard ‘Walsall!’

Given that in the 50s and 60s, British Railways owned about a million goods vehicles, what were the arrangements for routine maintenance and repair? Would wagon examiners routinely check wagons for condition, were repairs based on usage - how was this monitored? How would wagons be checked for fitness to run - springs, flange wear, brakes etc? Were wagons subject to regular overhauls in the many wagon works dotted around the country? Were they sent for repair only when a fault was found? Pre TOPS, how would a specific wagon be traced - was it simply down to paper records and wagon number recording when trains arrived into yards?

Ah! I’ve often wondered why some Mk1 stock appeared to have a lighter coloured roof in the 1970s.

The BR collection and delivery parcels business was closed down in 1980, which reduced the demand for vans. Those which remained were needed for GPO, newspaper and Red Star traffic. The first to go would be the non- standard vehicles

Yes it is an LNER extra long CCT, that has been repainted and therefore must have been overhauled late in its life. These remained in service until about 1978

As a signal engineer, I agree. Signals are only needed to protect the depot exit to the running lines. All loco movements within the depot would be authorised by a shunter or depot chargeman

London to Stranraer patronage was significantly reduced by the withdrawal of soldiers from NI and the moving of the ferry terminal away from Stranraer Harbour The Clansman day train to Inverness was replaced by a faster service on the ECML The boat train to Harwich was swept up in the changes when Regional Railways was set up - more frequent short trains. Although these seemingly long standing traditional services have gone, we now have frequent services between the north west and Scotland that connect with the Inter7City HSTs to the North East. Interesting to recall that what is now the Caledonian Sleeper, prior to 1974, departed London KX and travelled to Glasgow QSt via York and Newcastle, probably as several separate services. There are no sleeper services from York now

http://www.railsigns.uk/sect5page1.html this is a useful website

I can’t confirm what was provided at Exeter but many locations provided a square illuminated limit of shunt indicator. Double red GPS are a more recent development. I would doubt very much that a red/white GPS would be used.

It isn’t, but one of these teenagers could have been me, watching train operations with school friends in the late 70s on a wet Saturday morning

A bit of modelling therapy this week :). I spent a couple of hours each day constructing the Cambrian kit of the LNER coal wagon. Having plenty of time on my hands at the moment, I avoided the temptation to just put it together and then paint it. Instead I treated each part as a sub assembly, painting and weathering the body, frames and brakes separately before assembly. This wagon will go into the set of vehicles used for the pick up goods.

Does (or has) a manufacturer produce a ready to run 00 gauge model or kit of the Wagon Lits Type F sleeping cars that were used to operate the Night Ferry service between 1936 and 1980?

And we can still enjoy seeing 61306 working hard in 2023 - albeit a little cleaner. https://youtube.com/watch?v=j60dbdaj8t4&si=Rt8ldhJbGiIU8oPo