RateTheFreight

Quick question based on the above; how easy is it to remove the 'face'? Can it be prised off or does the body need to be separated from the chassis? Greg

I'm hoping they do 'Duncan' after Rusty (i too can't wait for him but hope they manage to deliver in 2018). As you say, I think Duke would be incredibly popular! On a separate note I'd be intrigued to see if, with the growing popularity of RTT OO9 one of the retailers such as Hattons or Rails or someone like Model Rail takes the plunge to develop their own OO9 models. Greg

Great vid SDJR. Were these some of the first examples of diesel narrow gauge locos? It would be interesting to know if any ended up in the UK post war. You could imagine an enterprising narrow gauge line investing in them in the immediate post war period. Even if they didn't, it makes a plausible story for which to excuse running one! Greg

Got mine today (thanks Tootally), haven't had chance to run it yet but it looks lovely. I'm slightly confused as to the livery though as it seems to neither match the original books or the tv show where Skarloey and Rheneas share the same livery. Had they produced Duncan in this livery (based on the TV show vice books) it would have looked more likely albeit still incorrect. Either way it represents a relatively cheap but ruddy good 009 loco. I'm half tempted to turn mone into Dolgoch's short lived stint as 'Pretoria'. Slightly non PC but interesting all the same

Thanks all! It's does all sound somewhat complicated (well to me it does). So far as I can glean from the helpful comments above and trawling YouTube, there are a number of compromises/issues with both the basic Hornby select, it not being NMRA compliant which as far as I can tell can lead to issues with non Hornby decoders (although confusingly not always) and the basic Bachmann EZ which has limited functionality but seems a solid starter option. I did wonder whether the abundance of second hand Selects had been from those who had used it as an entry to DCC and then progressed from it. This may be a good start for me (either with Hornby or Bachmann) to see how I take to DCC and then as others have suggested progress onto something more sophisticated if needs suit. In general I don't have a computer (work laptop suffices but can't download) software onto it, will this be a limiting factor in entering the world of DCC? Apologies if this has gone off topic slightly! Greg

Thanks for the responses all; much to consider. Am I right in thinking that the basic Hornby and Bachmann dcc controllers allow you to utilise the sound function of a sound fitted loco albeit less effectively than a more expensive one? I'm slightly reluctant spending wIse given this will be my very first forray into DCC combined with the layout only being able to house 2-3 locos. I half considered going down the cheaper route whilst I get used To DCC and what it can do. That being said if I'm going to buy one or two sound fitted locos I'd want them to still make a sound! Greg

Evening all, I'm in the process of building a 4x1.5 OO gauge inglenook styled shunting layout (with a few more sidings to allow for more than one loco etc. Having initially planned to do it in DC, I thought that he prospect of using DCC sound fitted locos could make a real difference to the feel and enjoyment of operation. I'm assuming at this point that DCC isn't limited to larger layouts than mine? Being a complete DCC novice I wondered whether the type of controller you had impacted the functions such as sound within a loco? For instance, if I purchased a basic Bachmann or Hornsby dcc controller as supplied in their train sets, would I be able t access the sound functions of a sound fitted loco or would I need a more advanced and expensive controller? Thanks in advance Greg

Afternoon all, silly question time; Are these locos going to be classed as 'DCC ready' or will they need work to enable them to be DCC ready. I've seen mention of them having provision for sound but wasn't sure (as a new person to DCC) what this actually meant DCC capability wise. Cheers Greg

I'm pretty sure I once saw it on the the North Norfolk too!

Email sent, be great to see this come to fruition. Presumably they need to be confident of shifting a fair few before they will commission. That being said, did they do a similar expression of interest for the special liveried 66's or take a punt? A 20 in this livery would find a home in many a collection I'd wager. On a side note, who owns the real life version of 20142? Greg

Thanks both. Greg

Afternoon all, Probably not the right place to post this (apologies) however does anyone who went to Warley last weekend remember a stand that was trying to promote interest in producing a limited edition Bachmann OO model of Class 20 'Sir John Betjeman' in its two 'Metropolitan Railway' guises? I can't for the life of me remember who it was (London Transport Museum?) and didn't pick up a leaflet sadly. For anyone who does remember was their an internet link to express interest/find out more info? I've got the old Lima version of SJB but would be keen for a modern tooling version. Thanks G

Evening all, I made a somewhat knee jerk purchase at Warley today and ended up buying a discounted Heljan Metropolitan Met Vic loco (number 19 in Met livery). Whilst I mostly model in N I'm in the throws of building a 4x1.5 inglenook style layout in OO that I plan to detail. Back to the question, does anyone know of these locos working any freight or engineering trains during their service or being employed as shunters? If so, what RTR wagons could I use on the aforementioned layout. I'm a fan of 'rule 1' but always like to have some prototypical basis where I can. G

Does anyone have the dimensions of the model, particularly its length? Thanks Greg

For anyone like me deliberating over which era model to get, I found a really interesting pic of an number of J70's at Wisbech in the excellent 'Branchline to Upwell' book (photo by A.F.Cook). The pic dates from 2nd July 1946 and shows a number of J70's; some are in 'NE' wartime livery with skirts however there's one in 'LNER' livery without skirts. Either way it convinced me I could mix and match the two liveries and skirted/non skirted versions. Greg

Am I right in thinking the previous livery issues are now sold out and won't be re-produced? I'd ideally like an LNER liveried one but m appreciate I may have to settle for one of the new 'British Railway's' liveried ones. Greg

Evening all, Am I right in thinking that the 'skirts'/underfames on the models will be black as opposed to dark grey as they appear in the livery mock ups? Either way, I can't wait for this model to the point where I'm going to order two and take a sojourn from my usual n gauge modelling to make a small layout for them (and a sentinel) to run on. I just can't decide what era to buy or whether to get one with skirts, one without or both with skirts. Speaking of 'Toby' I always loved the illustrations in 'Toby Trucks and Trouble' particularly those in the story about the seaside that depicts several Toby's working at the docks. Greg

Thanks for the responses all; defnintely a possibility then. My layout isn't necessarily set in a specific geographic region as it has the ability to change dependent on the stock I'm using likewise the era although I prefer to model late '40's - early 50's. The village itself is fairly generic in that is has some cottages, a church, pub, butcher, baker and candlestick maker. It could also technically double as somewhere like Crich in the preservation era! I've got a couple of Oxford Ngauge trams on order to see how they fit on the layout. I went for their Birmingham one as its my home town and a London one too (as I've been reading a book on the lost voices of London trams) but will likely get others to add variety especially as from the above responses most rural tram stops seem to be associated with North of Birmingham.

Hi all, I'm keen to include double deck trams on my small N gauge layout with a view to the trams serving the small village at the heart of the layout. My question is, how prototypical would this be? Did any of the major city's tram routes extend out into rural villages either as 'end of the line' stops or otherwise? Greg

Afternoon all, Does anyone have or know of a link to historic maps of London's various tram routes? I've looked online but can't find anything specific to what I'm after. It doesn't have to be a geographic map, I'd settle for a London Underground style map with route numbers on too! Thanks in advance. Greg

Hello, Is anyone aware of a USA city (could be specific city or generic) backscene, preferably in N gauge? I've had a brief look online but can't see anything yet. My small layout is essentially set in the suburbs/country but I want a city backdrop on the back scene to give it some context. Given the layout is set vaguely in the 'streamline' era, I've been inspired by the various posters of the time depicting services such as the 20th century ltd departing big cities. Thanks Greg

Evening all, Does anyone have a brief description/timeline that covers the Santa Fe's use of the red, blue and yellow warbonnets? I'm specifically thinking about their use on early diesels. Did the colours denote typical duties, i.e. Freight and passenger? Thanks Greg

Thanks for the info all, very useful as is the suggested website. I also managed to pick up a couple of cheap second hand books on the line, namely 'the story of the North Warks Line' by Alan Bevan and 'The North Warks Railway' by CT Goode.

Evening all, Is anyone aware for any regular freight flows/turns during the (primarily of interest) GWR or BR era that ran on the section of the North Warwickshire Line between Stratford, Henley in Arden and Shirley, Yardley, Hall Green etc? For an bonus point, does anyone know when the last freight working on this section of line actually took place and what it was? It's only ever been a passenger and steam (Shakespeare express) line in my lifetime (starting mid 80's) but aware that most stations on the route had small freight facilities. Thanks G