Miss Prism

John Lewis is of the view that goods brake handrails did not begin to be painted white until sometime during WWI.

I feel the hump in the overbridge is too much. It might be an idea to reduce the vertical radius, or even continue the gradient of the road slightly toward the front as it disappears into the screen.

Fantastic weathering, but, being hyper-critical, I feel you've overdone the rust on the body ironwork a little bit.

Did T34s (built 1894-6) have those tall oil pots?

If you could make that A5 into a B5, your locos will thank you.

The IKB V2 is better than the Colin Waite version because the latter incorrectly included a bunch of panelling on the long waist panel. I had assumed all V2s were fitted with 'outside-rigging' clasp brakes. Maybe some of them were updated with more modern gear later?

The point of contention is whether the red should extend to metal solebars and headstocks. Given that many/most vehicles of the era (c 1880) had wooden underframes, and that it was common practice for body colour to be used on solebars and headstocks on private owner wagons, the use of red on metal solebars and headstocks would seem to be a logical and consistent choice. Not that logic has any connection with history of course!

45' was a common table size in that era.

Yep. Nice.

The AA16 could probably benefit from a depot branding (in script letters), and maybe a tare weight branding as well. (I think in the era depicted, they were still 10T.) * * Hmmm. Looks like goods brakes didn't get marked with their weights until after WWI.

Sorry my comment last night on lettering size was a tad brusque. Nick's clarification is quite correct. It does however point to the need to sharpen up the generalisation of the wording on gwr.org.uk, which is not always easy, since there are, sometimes, exceptions to the 'general rule'.

You should have 16" G W

Without the right reference material convenient for me, I think that might be a K19 rather than a proper K22. (The differences concern the provision of the number of toplights.) That livery is conjectural. All K22s (and K19s for that matter) were shipped in lined crimson lake. The last batches were delivered into service a month before the new brown and cream edict was officially 'signed off'. It's an interesting historical supposition that a couple of them might have been whisked back in the paintshop to have their livery changed so that they would not look out of place topping and tailing the Cornish Riviera Express (the showpiece of the new brown and cream livery). But that is supposition. The more likely scenario for the average K19/K22 was a life in crimson-lake followed by either the post-1927 'plain' livery or an all-brown introduced mid-1930s for full brakes. The bogies bear no relation to anything GWR. 9' Americans were de rigeur for these very handsome vehicles.

The problem with the Cotswold 3-coupled solid chassis is not so much their motoring with newer motors, it's the middle axle holes being drilled higher than the outer ones. Throw them away.

I've got a PC bootup problem. System is XP with a PS2 keyboard with a PS2 connector into the PC's PS2 keyboard port. The system hasn't been used for several months. I suspect the motherboard battery is flat, but I'm not convinced that would explain what happens when I boot. On booting, the keyboard flashes its lights, which seems to indicate the PC is capable of communicating with the keyboard. I get an initial screen that says "Press DEL to enter setup" (i.e. the BIOS). My problem is that pressing DEL does not result in any action, i.e. I can't get into the BIOS. (Nor do ESC, F1, F2 etc for that matter.) I have tried alternative (known to be working) PS2 keyboards, but there is no difference. It is possible the keyboard PS2 port is blown in some way? (But if so, why does it flash the keyboard's lights?) I have tried booting with the keyboard plugged into the PS2 mouse connector port, but the symptoms remain the same. Could it be the main power supply in the PC? Would replacing the motherboard battery help or is this a red herring? (I haven't yet had time to take the cover off and look inside, although this is the inevitable next step.)

Isn't the Hornby T9 all on 2mm axles?

Looks like you needed the the deeper-drilled Markits bearings in that first Bill Bedford unit.

How does the size of the casting compare with the size of your master?

No. Mikkel, I meant on the back wall. (The wall behind the figure in the above pic.)

I'm amazed you put a 0.4mm drill right down the axis of those handrail knobs. Was it tricky?

Not sure what you mean by 'close off the view along the mezzanine'??

Fantastic Mikkel - you've been a lot more adventurous than I had envisaged when making the suggestion for the mezzanine, but this is even better. It's become wonderfully busy, and I like the odd angles of the structure. I'm just wondering whether some kind of closed trellis on the back wall on the mezzanine level (indicating an entrance to a covered way going somewhere else to the back of the scene) would enhance the mystery. Great pictures.

The earliest Hawksworth coach working on the DN&S I know of is 1952. Generally, they were rare on the line until 1956, and even then, they appeared only as a single Hawksworth in the (usually) 3-coach rake, the other two being early or late Colletts or even old Toplights. DN&S 3-coach trains were a brake 3rd or brake compo plus any two of compo, all 3rd and brake 3rd, subject to their being only one coach in the rake with 1st accomodation. In later days, the order of the coaches in the rake varied, often diverting from the 'classic' DN&S rake with the brake in the middle. The shifting nature of the actual makeup of the DN&S rakes reflected the availability of newer stock relieved from mainline duty, and anything suitable left in the west bay at Newbury was considered fair game. P.S. Nice curtains, Brian. A complete improvement over Hornby's!

I do like those fishplates - could have done with some like that recently! Presumably attached with a quick dab of the iron, but how do you keep them aligned nicely when attaching them?

I think it reflects freight being increasingly concentrated on bulk products, for which bogie vehicles makes sense. Interestingly, there has been a considerable increase in 4-wheel passenger stock over the last generation or so.