Alex TM

Hi Tim, Try dropping a PM to @backwaterscotland . Andy has a 'bit of a thing' about 15" gauge and similar lines; he's also fairly knowledgable about resources, etc. He hasn't logged in or posted in quite some time however a PM may give him a nudge ... Hope it gets you some useful info/insights. Regards, Alex.

😱😱😱

Hi Jim, Yes, your discretion was noted. The creator of one of those 'inn' names is a member here. Regards, Alex.

Tut tut Jim, reusing an old layout name from your past!

Knowing Nestle, the location and function of the siding will be a trade secret!

Hi again, Many thanks for those bits of information and further references. @hmrspaul, I must admit to having seen the book before but did not realise that it contained information on TOPS reporting etc. I will look out for a copy in the coming weeks. Again, many thanks. Alex.

Hi everyone, Although the following questions springs from markings on a model, it relates to a prototype feature of which I can find little to know information. Allocations (1970s/80s): The van was marked return to New Cross Gate - was this an allocation, in the same way as a locomtive, or was it to indicate traffic flow start/end points? Pool Codes: It carries the pool code 87603 - can anybody enlighten me as to what traffic this was? New Cross Gate: So far the only informaiton I can find relates to either the steam era or London Transport. The vehicle in question is a BR Std 20t Brake - air piped. What traffic originated from this location in the 70s/80s? As ever, thanks for any answers or pointers to further information. Regards, Alex.

Nope!

Hi, A few years ago somebody on here offered an etched brass detail kit for this; it was a small fret as not much was needed to be done to truly enhance the model. Sorry, but I cannot remember the member's name. Regards, Alex.

True - DHL fly parcels from Edinburgh to Liverpool!

HI @njee20, About four or five years ago I sprayed a few Hornby PCas using a Halford's VW colour. Sorry that I can't remember the colour name but it is worth looking at. However, as @Mark Saunders has just written it has also got to look right to you too. Good luck. Regards, Alex.

Hi, Also look out for WHSmith, especially when they have them on a 3for2 offer. Regards, Alex.

Going off topic (sorry) Marrying across the Scotland/England border is not as simple as many think. Not sure that an sixteen or seventeen year old coming from England or Wales would be seen as having no impediment to marriage. I fully expect Scotland to follow suit with this legislation, From my own experience of over twenty years of celebrating marriages I have never been approached by a couple where either was under eighteen. Gretna will simply have to reinvent itself! Anyway, back on topic, Happy Birthday RMWeb! Regards, Alex.

Hi again, Many, many, thanks to all of you for the information, reflections, and memories shared. All of this will go to help me choose what stock to purchase to run in my chosen period. Picking up on @hmrspaul and his use of the word 'nadir', my own memories of the railways of this era may be summarised in one word, 'grotty'. Again, thanks to you all. Regards, Alex.

Hi again, Thanks for the reponses all of which are most helpful. To answer the question from @hmrspaul my query is in relation to 'pukka' engineers' wagons such as Dogfish, Grampus, Sturgeon, etc. Again, thanks. Regards, Alex.

Hi again, Thanks for that suggestion. I have gone back at looked at my one Farish wagon, prototype photos, and paint charts, and the colour you refer to seems rather dark. I would have said that Redland green seems rather 'mint' in hue. Did you use a very light primer or add a lightening tint to the Sherwood Green? Thanks again. Alex.

Hi everyone, I am looking to model the above timeframe. I am also aware that there would have been samples of wagons in black, gulf red, and olive in service with the engineer's fleet. What I wish to know, though, is the following: In the period 1974-76 what would have been the rough proportions of each engineer's department livery in use? Thanks in advance for any help with this. Regards, Alex.

Hi everyone, I have finally succumbed to modelling BR blue. It's the era I grew up with. I have tried before, in 00, and given up the ghost for a range of reasons. This time around I am working in N and have some definitive ideas about time and place to model. It'll be around the summer of '76 and somewhere in the Midlands to North-West. The year is because of my soft spot for Class 24s that were withdrawn with increasing rapidity after then. The place is also because of the 24s and the fact that I have purchased a Midland Region 101, and Eastern region 108 in plain rail blue. Once I have an outline trackplan I will start a thread elsewhere. Thanks for reading. Alex.

Hi, From experience, both work and pleasure, the OS really do get it wrong from time to time. Their usual error is to 'update' a map but forget to let you know that it's only partial, thus creating a range of anachronisms (aka errors). Regards, Alex.

Hi @tubs01, Who did it first ... BR or Peco? Sorry but can't help directly but could it be coal for one of the preservation societies? I seem to remember that the GWS at Didcot had something similar though that was painted up in GW livery. Regards, Alex.

Hi @bazzer42, Really like this little layout. The following may amuse you; it's a suggested plan for another layout based on the same prototype. If you follow the link and scroll down the page a little you'll see what I mean: https://paxton-road.blogspot.com/2022/07/a-quart-into-pint-pot-looe-branch.html Regards, Alex.

Hmmn ... so another part of the design flaw was a lack of hiking boots. Your comment would also make sense of a few other lines in the west where they were tried out; not so much tight curves but never ending climbs.

Hi, Only a part of the Fife Circle direclty impacts on that line, and there is a lot more to the former Scottish Region than Fife and the ECML. I missed out on the trial runs on my local line (Springburn to Cumbernauld), but friends who did travel said they were like a bus but less comfortable! That was on a line that was around thirteen miles long, formed of contiinuous welded rail, and had no intermediate stops; i.e. the unit had the best opportunity to run on smooth rail without a stop/start journey. Regards, Alex.

Hi again, Wanted to say thanks for all the answers, links, and interesting side chat. I have now managed to track down a couple of the class 24s via the usual online sellers. A new layout project, in a new scale, and using these should appear sometime soon. Regards, Alex.

Hi everyone, In my possession I have a number of Farish PGAs in a range of liveries that I am looking to repaint into one, unifrom, colour scheme. These are of an earlier prototype than the recently released models. One of those I am considering is that of Redland however I cannot identify a shade of green paint that would be suitable. Transfers are readily available. Can anyone suggest a reasonably close colour from one of the main manufactirers of paints for models? Thanks for any advice or pointers. Regards, Alex.