Phatbob

If you're going there by car, it's worth pinting out that the shop is only a few minutes drive away from Junction Number 21 of the M62 motorway, so easy to pop-in for a visit as part of a lonnger road trip. I've been known to drop in just because I'm on my way over the Pennines for some other purpose.

Challenge accepted!

I for one would make use of a Scotland - West Country sleeper service. Currently I have to get a Bendyleano to EUS and then across to PAD to get the FGW sleeper. Being able to go directly from Crewe later in the evening would be SO much more attractive, not least in being cheaper. The Scottish sleeper from Crewe at around midnight is very handy. :-) It would be nice to be able to do it the other way too.

Can I add something to the discussion on the value earned to local ecconomies by a sleeper service by way of an actual example? Last summer, Roundhouse and I, along with a couple of others, went down to Penzance on the sleeper on a Thursday night and spent a very nice long weekend spinning around the branchlines (and the pubs along those branchlines) of the west of England and south Wales on three day rover tickets. We stayed in local independent hotels on the Friday and Saturday night and injected a fair amount of our hard-earned in to the local ecconomies along the way. We had a great time, but it did cost us! The ability to travel overnight, after a days work, was the key enabler. If either the sleeper, or the rail rovers had not existed, the whole trip would never have taken place. Simples. Cheers all, Bob.

Yep, I'm looking forward to Stafford this weekend. I've been busy this last weekend fettling rolling stock for it. I'm hoping to get some more of it weathered in the evenings this week. Do come on down and say hello everybody.

Joseph, Given that FB is all that's available RTP, FB rail pointwork with a more 1:76 scale sleepering will get my purchase over FB rail poinwork with 1:87 scale sleepering and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. Something more like Tillig points that matches SMP flexible track will do nicely thank you. :-) Regards, Bob.

That would be a pragmatic way forward, speaking as a potential customer for 3Hs and 4EPBs. Problem is, it means getting commercial people and contracts and lawyers involved. So I doubt that it would be as simple and straightforward as we might think.

I like it. At least it has the engine at the right end (I drive a rear engined car). :-)

Catch 22 for me I'm afrad. Kernow won't do a three car unit unles they sell shed loads of two cars. I have no use for a two car set and consequently won't buy one. If they make a three car set, I'd buy at least three as a nine car consist would be right for Star Lane. :-(

Marian, Please don't infer that anybody here thinks of the Czech republic as a third world country. We don't. If we did, why would so many of us drive Skodas these days? ;-) The approach to safety is different, but not the end result. I've never felt unsafe travelling around the Czech Republic. Far from it. I love the pragmatism of the Czechs. :-) In this conversation "different "doesn't mean "wrong" or "inferior", just "different". Czech food is great, Czech beer is even better, but it's different to ours. Part of the fun of travelling is to experience those differences. :-)

Now then Dave, I've been saving my pennies and have enough to order an E5009 in plain green in addition to the two I've ordered already. So when are you/Kernow going to announce it, along with the green FYE E5010? "Cash waiting", as they say in the wanted adds. ;-)

Never mind "young David", at least an old Vauxhaull Astra isn't as plain damn ugly as a Porsche Cayanne. ;-)

Hello Dave. I have a Plain Green and Green SYP on order. I would definitely add anothe Plain Green to my order if one were going to be available. Might I suggest E5009 which, IIRC, went straight from plain green to blue in late 67/early 68. That would give you and your customers the widest possible time-span for a plain green 'un and maybe a few extra sales? Regards, Bob. Edited for important typo. should have read E5009, not E5003. Doh!

I've renumbered a number of green BR(S) Hornby 2BILs using Modelmasters sheet No. 4318. (yellow). I've also added SYP and the black triangle using the same decal sheet. I've seen the same pack in white with black unit numbers for blue FYE units. I'd imagine that they've also made one for SR green units as well. HTH, Bob.

Just picked-up my R3257 2BIL, green, SYP, from my local model shop. Very nice, lovely paint job etc, but annoyingly it still has the errant motor bogie under the trailer cab. IIRC we were told by Hornby that this would be fixed for this batch. Oh well......................

Unfortunately, this seems to be becoming a habit: A word of warning; (yes, it's another warning from Phatbob) I popped into my local model shop on the way home tonight and was delighted to discover that the new ex-LNER CCTs had arrived. So I bought an R6683 (E 1342 E) and R6683A (E 1326 E). I got them home and discovered that both boxes contained a model of E 1326 E. Doh! So folks, especially those of you in the mail order business, check what's in the box with these. Fortunately, my local model shop is very good and very local, so there's no problem in taking it back next time they're open. Others of you are probably not so lucky.

A word of warning folks. I finally got around to opening mine and getting it out of the box yesterday morning to fit the detailing bits and Kadees. Unfortunately, there was a conspicuous glue mark on one of the end windows, not visible while it was in the box. So it's gone back to the shop. So if you've bought one and not checked it yet, do!

Pair of green 'uns ordered :-)

Oi! Don't give him ideas. The rest of us don't want to be stuck behind his layout for the whole weekend you know! ;-)

Yipeeeee!!!! As Moses said, "I'll take ten". Well, maybe not quite that many and not all at one time, but just the thing we need for Star Lane. Dave, you've made my day. Just one question, will it have a working pantograph? Cheers, Bob. P.S. I'd be interested in a scanning party

Yes, it's great news and about time too. Well done to everybody at the North Cheshire Rail Users Group (including my old mate John Hobbs) for a successful campaign. Keep up the good work!

Yes please Dave. We need a few for this http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67894-star-lane-hooley/

Since Jason isn't spending today scanning the NRM's class 71, as I had hoped he might, how about it Dave?

At the risk of repeating myself, (I've passed on this tip before) I understand from a source at Heljan that they use Railmatch paint. So you should be able to get a perfect match for the original paintwork if you want to overpaint the SYP. HTH, Bob.

Pretty sure it was A that blue Peter blew up. It was the ones at B that got used in Terry Gilliam's film IIRC.