DavidB

OK, here goes: Observers Book of Railway Locomotives of Britain (Casserley 1966): and yes, you've guessed it, it's an IS 24/1 that's been chosen to represent all the hundreds of 24s and 25s, with D5118 in GSYP on p164 of the 1966 edition. How's that for picking the cream of the baby Sulzer crop to illustrate the type! BR North of the Border (Ian Allan - Nixon and Robinson 1983): P66 D5123 in GSYP at Kinbuck June 1966 P96 5120 BFYE Plockton June 1973 P97 5126 BFYE Duirnish June 1970 P98 24121 Kyle March 1973 The Heyday of the Scottish Diesels (Ian Allan - David Cross 2002): P53 5115 and 5132 BFYE Strathcarron undated P54 D5132 GSYP Ness Bridge April 1968 P55 5116 BFYE Georgemas J Sept 1973 P57 D5131 BFYE Culloden April 1970 P59 Skinhead HBS wannabe 5018 BFYE Newtonmore August 1973 Branch Lines in Britain in the Diesel Era (Bradford Barton 1975): P95 D5123 BFYE Thurso undated British Rail Fleet Survey 4 (Ian Allan - Haresnape 1983): P7 Skinhead HBS wannabe D5050 GSYP Kyle July 1967 P36 D5132 GSYP Speyside June 1967 P39 5128 BFYE Dalnaspidal April 1971 British Rail Fleet Survey 4 (Ian Allan - Haresnape revised Batty 1989): P16 D5130 GNYP Helmsdale undated P36 5117 BFYE Lairg April 1973 P37 5120 and 5124 BFYE Ferryhill March 1974 P37 24125 BFYE Loch Carron Sept 1975 Blue Diesels in Landscape vol 1 (Cheona - Newitt 2006): P39 2 unidentified 24/1s BFYE Lochgorm July 1973 P40 Skinhead HBS wannabe 24112 BFYE Lochgorm Sept 1976 BR Class 24/25 Diesels (Bradford Barton - Oakley 1982): P7 D5116 BFYE Wick Sept 1974 Diesel Colour Portfolio (Book Law Pubs - Pirt 2006): P46 Unidentified 24/1 BFYE Lochluichart May 1974 David

Ah yes - this must have been Colin Boocock's lovely Weybourne as featured in RM and also mentioned here: http://www.rmweb.co....isused-layouts/ This was a stand-out layout for me in the late 70s, despite being squeezed into a box room and hence having tight radii, short trains and steep gradients. I thought it was a very atmospheric recreation of the western extremities of the SW Division in 1966/67, with blue hydraulics and 33s, blue/grey, maroon and green stock, colour lights and semaphores, and a wonderfully scruffy selection of BR standard and SR steam locos. I've always assumed that the builder's dual status as both a professional railwayman and an enthusiast was a major factor in the well-observed recreation of this fascinating period, and per Mike's comments, for me this layout captured some of the excitement of the time. As a teenager, it inspired me to attempt an overly ambitious N gauge layout based loosely on Basingstoke in 1967, with concrete sleepered third rail track, a maroon Warship, an early blue ED, a BRIF Standard 5 converted from a Peco Jubilee and a Farish WC rebuilt with 9 foot cab, cut down tender and brass smoke deflectors - the lure of O Gauge put an end to that project, but I still have the stock in boxes in the loft..... David

Top job Brian - the full-size W55991 was an old Thames Valley friend of mine for more than 15 years, and you've got it spot on. I once had it for haulage from Reading to Oxford when it was standing in for a Pressed Steel DMBS in a 3 car unit - it had a cracking exhaust rasp from the Albion engines, and those extra horses made the unit shift along very nicely. Happy memories, and a superb model! David

Love the 128 Brian - RG's W55991 and W55992 were favourites of mine from my earliest spotting days, as per the attached picture (from the Old RMWeb) of me at the ripe old age of 2 in a red woolly hat enjoying the Leyland Albions ticking over in platform 5 at Didcot in 1967. I recently bought a part-finished Westdale 128 off eBay, which will also become one of Reading's duo. I'm looking forward to seeing your version finished - proper tatty banger blue, I hope? They looked far too flash for me in their final shiny Post Office red! David

Are these the ones that you're referring to Ian? http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=50613&p=777179&hilit=pennine+wr+parcels+128+116#p777179 Great photos - they bring back very happy memories of WR unit-spotting (definitely a minority sport in those days, so I'm loving the contributions on this thread from others who clearly shared the same interest, from both amateur and professional perspectives). David

I remember we had a discussion on the old forum about this one-off 123 trailer in blue, based on a black and white photograph - it's the 7th photo on this thread http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10590&hilit=+swindon ,with the discussion further below (dated 4 - 6 December 2007): David

I can't remember the sounds produced by 210 002 - as it had no first class accommodation, it never seemed to operate west of Reading and I only ever saw it from other trains at speed. By contrast, 001 was a regular between Reading and Oxford, and very nice it was too. Having read about it in the magazines, I was expecting it to sound like a baby HST power car with its half-sized Valenta, but there was no turbo scream - instead, it made a deep-throated mumbling while idling and a decent throaty roar while accelerating. The closest modern equivalent to my ear is the MTU engines in the rebuilt HST power cars, although they are smoother-sounding with their 16 cylinders - which is all a bit ironic considering that it was 210 002 that had an MTU engine. Eastwestdivide is spot on about the riding qualities of the power cars - noisy, bouncy and rough, compared to the silky-smooth 317-style ride in the trailers. As a bit of petrolhead (dieselhead?), I therefore always preferred the power car, loving the rough ride while accelerating hard over the junctions at Didcot East and Moreton Cutting. A cracking piece of machinery while it lasted. Love the model of 002 - looking excellent! David