jwealleans

They were - 63' (in the main) against the 61'6" of the standard Gresley design.

Ian's kits are a joy. I'd recommend them to anyone.

Yes, we bought it after his mother passed away in 2005.

I don't have my books to hand, but I believe the initiative to design a new carriage came from Newton late in the War. The first one was commonly known as the 'Newton coach'. As to who did the actual design, I'm not sure I've ever come across specific names, though as CME Thompson would have approved it. There was an attempt to design a cheaper bogie at the same time, but trials showed that it was inferior to the Gresley design and so it was dropped. Would the minutes of the Rolling Stock Committee, if they survive, throw any more light? Whoever was ultimately responsible (and there were probably many hands involved) they are an attractive vehicle.

I heard an interview with Norman Greenbaum a few years ago and he said that it wasn't unusual for them to go to do a gig and just play their hit all night. It must get terminally dull for the artist, though.

C20029 - unmistakably the late Roger Barker (Locomotive Manager) second from left. I bought my house from him and his brother.

There, fixed that for you.

What buffers and axleboxes have you used?

If it's inside the bore of the worm and not too tight, you may be able to push it round with a flat bladed screwdriver. Chris will supply spare worm wheels, I've had a pack from him in the past.

You're right as usual, Stephen - it was identified underneath. Just as well as I have some of the Noel Coates books but not the one I'd have needed. Does that make it a David Geen kit?

Chaining up all those bolsters last weekend motivated me to go through the various boxes of half built and acquired wagons in the corner of the workshop and drag out a few more. I'm going to end up with a fairly substantial train by the look. I had to identify a few and then work out how to replace the missing parts of which there were a number. I've pottered on this week putting them back together and the end is starting to be in sight. The back pair are LMS/LNER Twincase wagons from ABS. This was a wartime conversion of underused mineral wagons. Front left is a GW Mite, also ABS, I reckon and front right is tentatively identified as an LMS single, quite likely also Adrian's work. L&YR. This is the twin bolster from the Ratio Pway set, which makes it LNWR. I had to replace an entire headstock and buffers on this, so having no LNWR buffers to hand or readily available ( does anyone do them at the moment?) I used RCH standard ones. The brake levers were also almost all terminally damaged so I've used NB ones unless and until I find some better looking replacements. The inter wagon coupling isn't my favourite, but it's very solidly assembled and works well. I may replace it if I decide it irritates me too much. One other thing I have started is this Cambrian C107 D178 5 plank open which I bought at Warley. I've had one in the Thurston/Wickham Market stock for a few years but it's disappeared. I imagine someone else has packed it away inadvertently and it wil reappear, but in the meantime another one can't do any harm. This kit has the one piece underframe so it was a very quick job to assemble. It's hardening off as I write. As a bonus you end up with quite a few spare bits off the sprues as you can see. Some of the models from last year's Warley display are being finished off. These were part of a sequence showing an Airfix 16 tonner being revived. This is all Geoff Kent, I can take no credit for any of it, but these have had detailing as per his book and new (LMS) buffers. You can see on the left hand one where the hinges have been recreated. The right one is yet to be done. One thing I don't correct if present is the reversed brake push rods. It's too destructive getting them off to turn round if they've been glued anything like effectively. I need some more coal wagons for the Wickham Market train (some of them have moved to Shap) so these are a quick and easy route there. I might look at some of the more exotic variants next year. Modeller's Backtrack did an excellent summary of the different diagrams which is still as authoritative a source as any. Also for Wickham Market, this Airfix cattle van. This came to me in a very sad state, but I reckon salvageable. This is also being detailed according to the Word of Geoff. I need some additional adaptor vehicles for the BB couplings I use on the corridor stock on WM and this will be one of them, assuming I can get it both heavy and free running enough. For the moment the extra bits are hardening off before they're trimmed and shaped. From the same job lot as the Mex, an Airfix LMS van. The underframe went straight in the bin and I've started a Parkside PA16 kit to replace it. The body is not LMS, but is right for BR diagram 1/204 with some very minor alterations. You can work this back to LMS condition (Andrew Hartshorne very kindly explained how to me at Warley) but it's more work than I really want to devote to it. This should be another straightforward job, especially as the floor can be filed back to an interference fit inside the body, so it should just all glue together. Finally the remaining shackles for the Flat T came from Andrew at Wizard Models, so they've all been fitted. As this wagon has steel solebars and buffer beams it's exssentially going to be black all over, so I thought I'd get a picture in primer before all that detail disappears.

Windows and vents match E21484, which is the only one I've seen with the louvres extreme right.

Further to Bill's post, Dennis Seabrook photographed the following: E5118E as Kitchen Car in Crimson/Cream - photo undated. E5118E as above at Wood Green. Photo also undated. E5127E as Kitchen Car in Crimson/Cream at 'W. Works' (Wolverton?) - undated E5127E as Kitchen Car in Crimson/Cream at 'W. Works' (Wolverton?) - undated (different view to above) E5136£ as Kitchen Car in Crimson/Cream at 'W. Works' (Wolverton?) - undated E5136£ as Kitchen Car in Crimson/Cream at 'W. Works' (Wolverton?) - undated (different view to above) E5315E as Kitchen Car in teak at Hornsey Up Sidings, 1955 E5705E as Kitchen Car in Crimson/Cream at Hornsey Up Sidings, 1955 E5705E as Kitchen Car in maroon at 'W. Works' (Wolverton?) - undated E5707E as Kitchen Car in Crimson/Cream in a train. No date or location supplied. E21484E as Kitchen Car in all over plain livery at 'W. Works' (Wolverton?) - undated On the subject of green and cream dining cars, the NE Area painted their ex-GN 12 wheeler in this livery. It's the only one I know of having been identified.

Good evening Tony, I can't claim any authority either, only what I can see from the pictures the LNER Society hold. Bill has already stated that the coach is in pre 1930s condition, so I didn't try to match windows and the Seabrook photo captions and notes don't always quote diagrams. I can't therefore say for certain that I've looked at a picture of the same diagram of carriage as yours. In short, though, all windows are whited out and they're branded 'Kitchen Car'. Livery could be any one of the variants already mentioned up to and including maroon.

We've been here before, Tony, with your GE Restaurant Car. Catering vehicles were repainted as they were estimated to have a medium term future at least. The GE ones were in traffic long enough to be painted maroon. However if this particular type was already being withdrawn at Nationalisation then even an all over repaint seems unlikely as Graeme suggests. I've had a quick flick through the Seabrook photos and all the former GC catering cars he photographed had been converted to kitchen cars as has already been said. A few are in a plain all over colour (presumably brown), one or two are visibly teak (one at Hornsey in 1955) but most have been given blood and custard and at least one is in maroon.

What about a chassis on it's way to Plaxtons at Scarborough for when you're in East Yorkshire, Clive? With driver in flying helmet,

Three words for you, Gilbert..... Trimdon Motor Services.

They're just converting to open plan offices. It's all the rage these days.

Time will come when only one C32 remains, hidden away on the Framlingham Branch.

I looked at that but then forgot about it so didn't bid. I was going to break it up to use to build an F3 - still am, when I find a suitably rough one.

Mine was built as the LNER Toad D, the ancestor of the BR diagram. I did 3 in total; the red one I've kept for my demonstration display as the modifications show up very well. The other two now run on Grantham.

I would recommend anyone to use the older Airfix kits rather than the newer Dapol versions; apart from mould wear, the plastic is much better quality. The Dapol ones I've bought have been soft, soapy and often distorted. The Airfix plastic seems to stay hard without being overly brittle, even in kits 40 and more years old. I used the Airfix brake van as the main feature of my wagon building demo at Warley last year. Still very much worth the effort. I have one of these attractive yellow Lowmacs in the pile, so I shall be watching with interest.

Mainly the material, I think, but he was quite disparaging about them in general. It's a range which died out before I even started modelling so I've never looked closely at them. They were mainly pregrouping and LMS constituents, am I right?

Comet do a couple of brass etches for a pony truck if they're at all suitable; LM2 and LM3. Soldering a flat brass piece on top of the break if you do repair it will give it extra strength and act as a rubbing plate for the spring. I've also drilled either side of a break and inserted a piece of brass wire to strengthen a repair joint, but that may not be practical if the material is quite thin. One professional builder of my acquaintance would have suggested the bin, but most people I know who have used them have gone the epoxy route. I have not done anything with the set I accidentally acquired.

I'm reliably informed that you've been looking into weathering them so they are less easy to spot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkDb6QhPTaA at 1 minute 20.