Richard Pike

My Colas 60 nearing completion.

Vin, what did you use to strip the cab, I have tried Superstrip which only removed the paint off the roof grill and then tried Brake fluid and made no headway at all.

Question to the guys who have already done repaints, do you recommend stripping the Heljan finish or have you just flatted down and painted on top of the existing livery.

I am told by a leading name plate supplier - Yes.

I am currently installing Tortoise motors to my Tillig points and find they are working very well.

I have walked many times along the old track bed between Eassie and Glamis, I have always wondered the history of the line, thanks for the insight.

Drawbar trailers are limited in their versatility by the fact they can only carry 20' boxes, which is good for domestic retail deliveries, such as Argos etc as mentioned above but restrictive in Intermodal operations where a standard arctic skeletal trailer can carry anything from a 10' - 45' Box. Drawbar trailers are also notably much harder to manoeuvre requiring a much bigger turning area, especially for reversing. Retail deliveries favour swap bodies on 20' chassis / drawbar arrangements, this allows them to drop off the trailer and just use the 20" chassis to deliver to shops with restricted delivery facilities, i.e. high streets, the driver can then swap the trailer body for the chassis at a suitable area if needed and repeat the delivery process. This is not possible with Intermodal boxes.

Not had much time at home recently and what I have has been spent on layout building, I must start a Layout thread. Managed to make a current loco out of one of my old stock loco's in the form of 37401, minus its air horns I hasten to add. This loco started off what I thought was a simple renumber and decal job, but the prototype has had four livery variations since entering service with DRS in the summer, so ended slightly different then first started. Next up, keeping with my GBRf theme, 20905, this started off as the Bachmann factory model and then I replaced the disc head codes with some home made resin cast box head codes, added a set of Shawplan extended range fuel tanks and finished off with a NRN aerial, pleased how the loco has come out. Paired sister loco was straight out of the box with just a NRN aerial attached. Having grown up seeing 20's on a daily basis, they have always been close to the top of my favourite loco list, so with the recent Bachmann release of 20118, I thought I had better have another pair of GBRf chartered 20's in the form of 132 and 118, both of which only needed NRN aerials and some cantrail lining, along with 132 having Barrow Hill Depot nameplates fitted. Finally my 2 sets of 20's along with Barrier wagons available for Exhibition spot hire should anyone need any "S" stock moving.

Good to see you are back in the thick of it Nick.

This afternoons 6V80 West Burton to Portbury Gypsum being worked by GBRf celebrity 66721.

Yesterday, substituting for the NMT, 37057 and 37219 worked 1Q19 Derby - Derby Test train, captured at Clay Cross South junction.

A few taken yesterday at Clay Cross North / South junction. 66765 with 6V09 Tinsley - Cotton Hill empty stone hoppers. 66709 working 6X73 Doncaster Decoy - Toton north yard engineers train. 66619, looking ready for a repaint, hauling 6M49 Immingham - Rugely PS. Finally, 66601 with 6L89 Tunstead - Thurrock Cement.

66762 working 6V80 Cottam - Portbury Gypsum passing Sutton Parkway on Friday evening, 9th October. 66132 working 6L45 Carlisle North Yard - Garsdale engineers train, caught at Carlisle on Saturday 10th October. Ex Fastline machine 66303 running with 4S55 Daventry - Grangemouth also seen at Carlisle.

Hi Marcus, Been following your thread for a while and your layout is really coming together now, some great scenic work, well done. Incidentally, slightly OT but do you ever get to work the Gypsum's down the Robin Hood line ?.

Correct observation, the 1933 side of the Loco has always been cream rather than bright white, I believe the original 1933 Tube map was printed on cream paper.

A couple from this evening, caught at Muskham just north of Newark. First was 6S94 Dollands Moor to Doncaster which I presumed to be steel empties that normally runs as 6E32, although I did think the S code was unusual, anyway turned out to be Silver Bullets headed by 66019. Shortly after came the train I had gone to catch, 66742 working 6H80 Doncaster Decoy - Whitemoor Sand empties.

Spent an hour at Doncaster Decoy this morning. First up, 66723 and 66716 with 66733 and 66725 in the back ground. Apologies for the poor picture but this is the best I could manage of 66711, 66746, 66765 and 66756. 66517 on 4L85 Leeds - Ipswich. 66588 arriving at the Railport with 4E62 from Felixstowe. Finally 66728 arrived with 4R76 empties from Cottam.

Just wondering how people manage their DCC loco roster ?, I have been just using a spread sheet and refer to that when I want to run a loco but now my layout is progressing to where I can actually run trains, my chief assistant driver, who happens to be 5 years old, wasn't happy with the spread sheet, so I have come up with a Cardex type system, where we have a physical card with the Loco address printed on and we keep that alongside the designated controller. It seems to be working fine. I just simply photographed each of my loco's, edited the details onto the image, printed them off and then laminated them into A6 folders.

I am busy with my WBB Minerals PAA hopper project but at times finding it hard going doing a rake of 30 wagons, so I find I have to have other little projects on the go to keep my mojo going, I guess most of us are similar, whilst I do try and discipline myself to only have a couple of projects on the go, realistically I always have half a dozen on the go at the same time. Anyway a project I have just finished, a rake of Tanks, all but two based on the dreaded Hornby TEA, love them or hate them at least they do have a few current liveries in their produced range, even if they are far from the authentic prototype. One thing I did find they are absolutely atrocious runners out the box, I have replaced all the wheels with 12mm disc's and spent a fair amount of time adjusting the tension lock couplings but perseverance pays and now they are running very well. Here's a few pictures of the livery and weathering. Murco Blue and White. Murco Red. Another Blue and White. Ex Freightliner rebranded into VTG And another Blue and White Murco. Bachmann TEA in plain grey. Finally a video of the entire rack in action.

66754 working this evenings 6V80 Cottam - Portbury Gypsum, captured at Sutton Parkway.

66731 on this afternoons 6E81 Portbury - Cottam Gypsum empties being held for 55 minutes at Kirkby junction on the Robin Hood line.

Hi Mick, Any updates ?.

Here is my recent effort of 59003.

I'm gutted....just read that my favourite liveried Balfour Beatty class 20's have just been repainted into BR Blue.

47812 this evening running as 0Z47 Norwich - Doncaster after working yesterdays GBRf staff train from Scarborough to Norwich, captured being held in Carlton loop whilst 1D23 Kings Cross to Leeds service races past. A few moments later 47812 is given the road and and a clear non stop run back to Doncaster Decoy.