Pint of Adnams

It's worth remembering the following sequence of events wrt LNER liveries and numbering - the preceding style would usually last until the next General repair, but any succeeding style could not be applied before the date that standard was to be implemented. Information readily available in the RCTS 'greenie' Part 1 and tailored here for the GE Section. Note too that Stratford continued to paint some locomotives in the Grey (the darker post-1921 shade) with the 1921 GE control numbers as late as 1927. From March 1923 - L. & N. E. R. (square full stops) in full in 7.5” shaded letters with numbers in 12” shaded letters . At the same time the GE oval numberplates were replaced by smaller oval works plates (Doncaster did not apply the full stops). From May 1923 - L & N E R (full stops now omitted) Numbers also shown on the front buffer beam in 4.5” letters, and also rear buffer beam for tank engines. Lettering in this style was gold for passenger, shaded red to the right and black below, and yellow for goods engines, shaded red to the right and brown below, through until the introduction of the Class A-4 and streamlined rolling stock when Gill Sans was first introduced. Subsequent changes during wartime and under Thompson. Numbers on the buffer beam, either gold or yellow, were shaded black. The inside of the frames, frame stays and axles to be painted red. Full livery specifications are in the RCTS 'greenie' part 1. From June 1923 - L N E R - the ampersand now also dropped. From September 1923 - sectional suffixes applied (E for GE Section) in 4.5” letters. From February 1924 - sectional numbering introduced (+7000 for GE Section). 7000 was added to the existing number, such that locomotives with single or double digit numbers had a prefix of 700 or 70, whilst those with four digit numbers had the first digit of 1 changed to an 8. Initially, rather than the existing LNER number being centrally reapplied the additional transfers were placed in front, so that the number was no longer centrally positioned, or in the case of existing four digit numbers the 1 was substituted by an 8 and this is often quite discernable in photographs. From Summer 1928 as an economy measure the number of classes that were to be painted green was reduced and the red lining was supposed to be omitted from goods engines. To complete the picture, tender engines initially carried the lettering and number on the tender side until someone twigged that made tender exchanging a pain, then from November 1928 the numbers were transferred to the cabside and nominally both the number on the cab and initials LNER on the tender were now to be 12". Where beading had been applied a number of work arounds appeared, including the use of smaller height figures or subsequently removal of the beading. Other useful references include: Railway Liveries - LNER, Brian Haresnape, Ian Allan 1984 The Big Four in Colour1935-50, Jenkinson, Edginton & Smart, Pendragon/Atlantic, undated LNER Locomotives in Colour 1936-1948, White & Johnston, Colourprint 2002 LNER Locomotive Liveries, Nick Campling, Model Railway Constructor October 1967 LNER Locomotive Liveries parts 1-3, RE Hillard, Model Railway Constructor May, June & July 1979

There's also The Wisbech & Upwell Tramway, Chris Hawkins & George Reeve, Wild Swan 1982, ISBN 0 907087 20 5. The publisher notes that the Centenary Album mentioned above and this book are complementary.

The Hattons product is one of several versions of their generic 'Genesis' range, this time finished in Stratford Brown livery. Hornby have announced similar products but not yet in a suitable GE or LNER livery. The goods van is the Oxford Rail product.

Streamlined B17s, catalogue states Q4 and no news posted on RMWeb since July, no hints in the Engine Shed. LNER Coronation streamlined sets already pushed back until mid-2024. Hornby might do better if it concentrated on less models at any given time rather than taking a scattergun approach.

Still none...

I can answer some of the points raised. Although I cannot give an exact date, Simon Kohler approached me (as editor of the LNER Society Newsletter and Journal and a GER Society member) for information about the J15 class. As it happened the class had been recently described in detail in the GERS Journal with all its many variations. Accordingly I directed him to Lyn Brooks, the GERS Locomotive Coordinator, who had prepared all of the CADs and the text. I understand from Paul Goldsmith of the GERS and this Parish that he was similarly approached. So the source of the information was the GERS. As I recall, it was only later that Bachmann's intentions became known. It would be pure conjecture to suggest a 'spoiler', but it did result in a burst of non-Pacific LNER locos and rolling stock appearing - the Claud was also based on Lyn Brooks researches, whilst with lessons learnt from the Gresley main line coaches, Mike Trice offered to act as consultant on the so called 'suburban' (i.e. non-gangwayed) coaches. One of the problems with the J15 production was the very visible error with the boiler handrails, another was not maximising the tooling for obvious variations in the type and promoting those produced as such. I think that this was around the time of 'design clever' but memory plays tricks.

Mrs Pint (or rather half of Wild Wave cider) also enjoys watching railway programmes, although the now ubiquitous Bill Nighy commentaries are considered very shallow and uninformative. Certainly on a recent visit to London we both paid much more attention to our surroundings whilst on the Underground, although she sat drinking coffee whilst I toured the Museum at Covent Garden.

Surely CTMK should be rated First Mate, or is she really in charge? As to Portillo, they should put him on Strictly Come Dancing as the comedy turn.

Actually I think that you will find that it was the use of steel panelling on new coaching stock that prompted the change to crimson paint; the use of steel being to reduce the risk of fire whilst incandescent gas lighting was still in use. Certain carriages were given trial finishes, including Carriage Brown and Crimson Lake, to compare with the varnished finish. The reasons are more complex but the Director's were not against it, so AJ Hill rapidly put the livery change into effect. See John Watling's article in BRJ11, which suggests that 352 carriages were newly constructed from 1915 and together with most if not all of the existing stock finished in Crimson Lake before the LNER reverted the livery to varnished teak. One further point is the addition of the GER armorial device, which was applied only to main line stock having 1st class accommodation, and Royal Mail vehicles. As such, only the W&U Composite would qualify and only then if considered to be main line. Edit: the contemporary photograph on the Rapido website confirms that the armorial device was applied to Car No. 7, the Composite.

Noting that Dapol are producing yet more variations of the Stroudley coaches to accompany their Terriers, a complementary announcement that Accurascale will be producing GER coaches to accompany their 7mm scale Buckjumpers would be amazing.

All three! Corridor stock, non-corridor stock such as the Ilford sets that found their way later to such backwaters as the Mid Suffolk, and the Jazz. Since the last comprised short stock and bodies first widened and then later remounted in pairs on the standard bogie underframe, there would be plenty of permutations...

It would look even better if attached to some genuine GE coaching stock... 🤭

As it happens, during and following WW1, the GER painted its locomotives in a grey colour being [as I understand it] unable to source the blue pigment that was manufactured in Germany.

Probably less so on a J68, but yes, these are three of the types fitted and, the centre set with the balance weight below the crank is correctly positioned. The principal difference was between the 'Goods' or 'Shunting' engines and the 'Passenger' ones, the former originally having 15-spoke unbalanced cast iron wheels whilst the latter had 10-spoke balanced steel wheels. The 10-spoke wheels on the centre or driven axle had the balance weight below the crank whilst the outer wheels had the balance weight opposite the crank. The earliest form of balance weight was actually a wedge shape in between a pair of spokes rather than the more common crescent shape. Later still, replacement sets of wheels had 12 spokes. With all the changing between types over time the wheel types did not always match the function (or class) of the engines. Edit: I should add that the 15-spoke wheels had an 11" crank throw which necessitated the brake pull rods to have a drop of 1.5" to clear them; the 10-spoke wheels had a 10" crank throw so the brake pull rods remained straight. As an aside, for those modelling in 7mm scale, Slater's only produce 10-spoke 4' diameter wheels while the present Alan Gibson Workshop has dropped the 7mm range of wheels. Wishful thinking mode on: Perhaps the Accurascale 7mm scale 'Buckjumper' will remedy this? Wishful thinking mode off.

Is the email from Crecy or another bookseller? I've not received anything from Crecy regarding my order with them...

It's curious that the licencing refers to the builders/owners of the new-build locomotive, who in turn had to receive permission from the then HRH Prince of Wales to use his title but that is not mentioned. And now we have a new HRH Prince of Wales; have the builders got his permission? Oh what a twisted web they weave...

Compare the text of: LNER Passenger Trains & Formations 1923-67: The Principal Services: Amazon.co.uk: S Banks, C Carter: 9780860936497: Books with LNER Passenger Trains and Formations - The principal services - Steve Banks (steve-banks.org) For those familiar with his writings, 'plethora' and, elsewhere, 'major tour-de-force' (a tautology) are classic instances of Banks expressing his superiority in the English language. Other examples are scattered throughout his contributions to the text in the first volume, which renders them distinguishable from Clive Carter's and recognisable elsewhere.

The Crecy webpage has now been amended to read Autumn 2023... LNER Passenger Train Formations Vol 2 (crecy.co.uk)

As did many Great Eastern fans when an E4 was announced... 😕

But they were the original designs and hence the only ones accurate for the initial period for anyone modelling it. So did Triang...

Which may be another way of suggesting the handful that meet your requirements? The underframes may have been similar but not standard. The braking arrangements differed even between the LNER types, the LNER uniquely tended to plate over the underframe, as has been pointed out the wheel types differed as did the axleboxes and presence or absence of a stiffening bar between the axleguards. And are we proposing the earlier 4-wheel as well as 6-wheel underframes, the former lasting well into the 1930s?

Point taken but, on the GE Section, the Milk Tanks or Mobile Milk Tank Wagons were invariably pictured next to the locomotive...

And when it reached Ipswich it would wait for and be connected with the (notionally) UD Milk Tanks sent from North Elmham Dairy via Norwich for onward movement to Ilford via Stratford. Interesting that its tail traffic rather than coupled immediately behind the locomotive.

The challenges are in the complexity of detail. Between the 8 types listed by Brian there are 42+ Diagrams, and visible differences between the company designs for each type. Also Dairy Companies were known to swap tank types from time to time. The good news is that, because the Dairy companies owned the tanks, after a while Milk Tanks (as opposed to the Mobile Milk Tank trucks) tended to be sent where needed for the volume of traffic rather than sticking to the same route(s) on 'home' company lines.

And not forgetting the 4mm scale RTR ex-W&U tramcars due later this year from Rapido...