GordonC

They normally have the models available pretty soon after announcement, if not a sample visible in time for Warley, so it may be something where the normal, catalogue run has only just hit the shops. I'm not sure which new models would stand out other than the LMS observation saloon perhaps - Could they have extended the production run with a 'special' livery and kept it quiet?? Loadhaul perhaps? Intercity? Scotrail? drool!!! Or maybe the Class 37418 run from the Highlander set to include another Class 37/4 in Large Logo perhaps? although in that case I'd be surprised if the other announced 37s were waiting until the middle of next year from their due dates

Having a pantograph that goes up and down with DCC is a neat gimmick, but on seeing how difficult it seems to be to even get models of the AC Electrics produced or upgraded to current standards then I'd think it would be an unnecessary expense on already high purchase prices. I'm perfectly happy with something that looks the part, but is powered through the rails!

does your solution work ok if you turn the loco round? Presumably you're replacing one of the rail pickups with the pantograph one, but if you turn the loco round wouldn't you be picking up from the same rail and get no power?

Did that line join up with the Airdrie-Bathgate line? I'd seen the bridge at Coatdyke many times but never really paid any attention to where it would have gone

That would have been the station at Glasgow Cross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Cross_railway_station) which was replaced by the Argyle Street station when the line re-opened in 1979. As a visible marker at the surface, the tower at the cross https://www.flickr.com/photos/61144479@N06/6166861186/in/photolist-aoWLYS-7eYt7G-k7tcoe-6dFdcL-9vSSQz-7V1td-ovHDhf-obhv57-obmUHV-83jX6i-HpkXW-g9k1s2-g9kEUa-ovxnWY-ov2DbU-HpkHq-Hpuxe-dd6iKf-Hpuxz-Hpkvy-Hpm35-HpuwK-Hpkby-HpopM-HpgHq-HpuwX-HpkCY-HpouB-HpoMr-4K7Cgy-Hpkom-HpoZc-HpkUs-Hpksu-HpkKq-HpoEx-HpkjJ-Hpp74-Hpk2y-HppqB-pMgTBi-oDsUMQ is on the opposite side of Argyle Street to where the station is and there are vents in the middle of the traffic junction which let daylight down making the columns visible from the trains as they pass.

There surely couldn't be enough of a market for Class 07s to support two manufacturers making a profit on them???

If the Bachmann 2Fs are that far behind you've got to wonder how much of the market Hornby could claim first with its 2Es if they're to a good standard and cheaper to boot

They tend to make a habit of rare combinations. Look at 47535 in large logo blue with flush fronts on both ends. 47301 in Railfreight Large Logo livery but with large numbers and a white stripe above the red. It'd be nice to get a bog-standard one that is easy to renumber to loads of others and they could sell in large numbers.

I wouldn't have thought the cost of having a separate Mazak chassis block for Class 90's and 87s would have added much to the complexity or cost of producing one model from another. Personally, I'd probably find the light-up corridor a bit of a gimmick and I'd prefer the extra weight so the model can handle realistic length trains better.

Thanks Paul, my dad has a library of 35mm slides that he's been trying to scan but so far we've been unimpressed with the results from a cheapie USB slide scanner so have been looking for better equipment!

Those photos look superb Paul. can I ask what kind of equipment you used to scan those, presumably, slides in? do they come off the scanner like that without any need for photoshopping or touching up?

I'd be surprised if a Class 87 didn't follow up the 90 if sales were ok and there were some common parts that could be re-used. .... But feel free to get started on conversions and it might hurry a Class 87 up ... I always find as soon as I've finished a kit or a conversion then a RTR version gets announced!

I just hope that Bachmann have a look at the dark Falcon grey they use on the Intercity Swallow version. It looks a little light to me and more like the dark executive grey as used on the Intercity Executive when it should be different. That has put me off buying the 47835/47834 models when the Heljan ones look closer to the livery. It would be a shame to affect sales of the Class 90 if the colour doesn't look right or to need to respray the dark grey and re-apply all the details and printing

Which liveries did these observation saloons carry in the 80s and 90s? Am I right in thinking I remember seeing photos of one in Scotrail livery (as in the 1980s blue stripe version of Intercity Executive)?

I'd be more surprised if you didn't get 1000 stakes on an updated AL6. If it included some of the earlier Class 86 versions I'd order several ... just dont tell SWMBO

Yes please Carl!!! I'd never seen a Trainload Construction Class 47 hauling a DBSO Push-Pull set. Was it just an ECS from Cowlairs? or had they ran out of 47/7's that day and something else hauled it out to Edinburgh?

Going on the fact that the existing models are still on shelves and at greatly-reduced prices I doubt Bachmann will be in a rush to produce any more liveries like TPE!

Was that 47704 or 47706? 47706 was the one that kept its Scotrail livery forever and did get really tatty while working NSE services. Wasn't 47704 repainted into RES fairly quickly? It was the one which had the large cabside numbers while in Scotrail livery

ouch!!!!

37418 in LL Blue? Isn't that the one pictured in the Bachmann Highlander train pack with 2 Kyle line Mk 2 coaches that are due this year? Would be an odd choice to commission unless they're adding to Bachmanns planned production so it'd be sold generally in the train pack or exclusively on its own from Olivias

Is there not different kinds of china clay traffic though? I'm no expert, but were the clay hood wagons that were so distinctive not replaced by the CDAs, presumably more a powder or pellet form. Where are the bullets not for china clay slurry i.e. in liquid form?

I think your logic is a bit flawed. If DC locos are so popular like the Class 71 and 74, well why has it taken so long to get a Class 73 up to modern standards? They dont even need third rail track to run on when on diesel. Would a 73 not have far better sales potential (time period, lifespan, number of livery variations) than 71/74's? Is the same Lima/Hornby Class 73 any newer than the Hornby 90/91/92 models and its been getting rolled out for the past 20 years too? It may have been one of the better Lima models, but it still hasn't been replaced until the planned Dapol model. Its a big assumption to make that Heljans shunter will sell at £100. I've got 3 85's but absolutely no plans to get a Class 05 And you're forgetting the Class 92's are overhead and third rail, they would look perfectly sensible on third rail tracks on their own too. It wasn't just the model Class 92's expectations that were over-optimistic - how many years did it take to get the real ones in service and have some of them not still to do a days work now 20 years later? Had the real ones been more visible and better travelled, the models may have sold better too. I cant disagree with your assessment of the manufacturers priorities, but when you look at some of the things that have been produced and seeing the steam and diesel classes getting ticked off, I am amazed that more of the AC locos and units haven't been produced in all this time. I'm not saying every AC loco class should be produced, but some of the larger classes have to have potential for long-term sales. It has got to be an untapped market while the rest get increasingly crowded

The difficultly with selling catenary could be the time lag between people knowing they're there and available and then getting around to making use of them in their next layout. Not many folk are serial layout builders so it could take quite a while for sales to start building up. I just hope Dapol are in for the long haul with them and dont give up too quickly

There are plenty of double-track sections of the WCML that could be modelled either as core WCML sections or diversionary routes, urban or rural if you're looking for real locations. I dont think its unique to AC modellers to want to have a gallon in mind but only a pint pot of space in practice!!

Those classes also touch on quite a large geographical spread of the country as well along with numerous livery options over the past 35 years since they've been around