GWR-Fanatic

I don't know if a similar story has been posted before for elsewhere but I remember hearing one person at one of the Tonbridge exhibitions ask a layout why they weren't running any Southern Railway locomotives when they were exhibiting in a Southern Railway town, put it this way, I recall it being possibly an LNER or LMS layout, definitely of Northern origin, can't remember exactly, nor can I recall the name. However in this case it was a scenario of "If looks could kill" I remember it specifically because of the question more than anything. I also got asked a similar sort of question with my layout Fiddlers End at the Tonbridge Exhibition in 2012, though it was to do with the fact I had been running GWR livery and Late Crest BR livery locomotives (I have at least two early crest locos as well), at the same time when that wouldn't have happened, to which I replied "If you read in the show guide, I think you will find it's a fictional preserved railway", to which the viewer shuffled off rather sheepishly (I of course said it in a most polite and diplomatic manner, It doesn't pay to be rude towards paying visitors, however much you feel like you want to chase after them with flaming torches and pitchforks for asking daft questions!).

Hi all. Well it seems I've survived another year without the concept of being lynched for railway modelling misdemeanours, though I still seem to drop the odd "clanger" here or there. Might have been one or two this year, but off the top of my head can't think of anything directly to hand. Still I can say I've survived and am just as enthusiastic about the GWR as ever. As always most of all "Churchwood's" designs !

When it comes to locomotives from the GWR similar to this, every one thinks of the Churchward "City" Class, (as in of course "City of Truro") which were actually rebuilds of the Dean "Atbara" class locomotive, so it's most refreshing to see a locomotive designed by Dean in it's original form, especially considering that the four "Armstrong" class locomotives built were in fact prototypes for the later designs such as the "Atbara". As far as I can recall from the books I have read into the history of the GWR, 16 "Brunel" became a member of the "Flower" Class locomotives in 1915, which of course means it did indeed receive a Belpaire boiler as part of it's rebuild.

I did say "visiting excursion". In theory and speaking rhetorically, it could appear once as if on a circular route journey, similar to how rail tours operate today. :)

I'm actually considering a conversion project to create an N-Gauge "Fell" for my layout (using the BR Class 37 as the basis), I think it would make a rather fetching novelty, and yes it does go into my list of favourite (if not best looking) locomotives. GWR all the way of course for "best looking" all round.

Totally agreed in regards to the Grange. Perhaps a nice Hall on a visiting excursion.

I have to say that I actually quite like this conversion, it's very well executed in my opinion and would not look at all out of place on an American layout.