The Pilotman

If you have a look at this video: at 1h42 there’s a shot of the loaded train leaving Burngullow with a mix of clean and dirty wagons. However, if (as you say) you’re getting a bit precious about what you can and can’t run, you might have to overlook the fact that the wagons are of two different types and it’s only the dirty ones (TOPS code ICA) that are the type that Dapol make (the clean wagons in the featured train being TOPS code TIA).

Diagonally opposite the picture by @Trev52A above and forty-four years later, a ScotRail three car class 170 DMU at South Queensferry in October 2021.

He’s on the up Westbury so it’ll be a local from Newbury or Bedwyn

Unless they are in development/tooling/production and haven’t been publicly announced yet then the answer is “no”. I know I am not the only person who would love to see them produced in N. I hope it’s just a matter of time…

A few views of my local area. Spring Autumn Winter

David, J4125 is an absolute belter; one of the very best images you’ve posted to date!

It’s a long time since I’ve cared much about doing either of those

C9318 Does anyone else think the driver looks like the inflatable autopilot from the film Airplane?

Are you sure about that? In the period with which I’m most familiar (the early 1990s) the first up HST from Penzance was the Golden Hind (0519 from Penzance) due into Paddington at 10:00 and the last down Penzance was the 1835 ex Paddington. Between those times you could fit in a Bristol or South Wales round trip but not both; there simply isn’t enough time.

Could it not be just a bog-standard Newcastle to Liverpool train with an erroneous headcode in the box?

So, it seems this arrangement was more common than I realised. Many thanks to all the relevant contributors.

Welded zigzags were also to be found on the exit road at Didcot Power Station for a time. It was an attempt to reduce the number of point failures at Foxhall Junction caused by the slides becoming clogged with coal dust falling from the discharged wagons. The idea was that any loose dust would be dislodged as the train passed over the zigzags before reaching the junction points. I don’t know if this was tried anywhere else.

I recently came across a picture on here taken at West Worthing where there appears to be a turnback siding between the up and down lines used by terminating services. Until I saw this picture, I was only aware of such a siding at Bedwyn on the Berks & Hants route; the limit of the “suburban” service from London/Reading/Newbury. Are there any other examples of such sidings just beyond a station where services terminate but the main line continues? I’m thinking particularly of British main line practice (ie. not the London Underground etc.) in the last fifty years but I don’t mean bay platforms where some trains terminate at larger through stations.

That is one of the funniest things I’ve read in a long time. Brilliant Mr.W!

There’s a lot to be said about living in Switzerland, even their flag’s a big plus.

It’s on their very own website too: http://www.revolutiontrains.com/revolution-round-up-2021/

You didn’t say how long ago you sent the emails but to add to what @Chris116 said above, Christmas, New Year and the “many pallets” of wagons (that need to be sent out to scores, if not hundreds, of eager buyers) that arrived with them just before Christmas are likely to be occupying the “two man band”* that is Revolution Trains. It wouldn’t surprise me if they are doing some sort of “business triage” and prioritising the dispatch of the recently arrived models. If they are expecting another shipment to arrive soon, they may well have no choice to ensure they have enough space to accommodate the next arrivals. When I had to cancel an order with them last year it was dealt within about week which I thought was good going all things considered. * Posted before I’d seen this: http://www.revolutiontrains.com/a-new-face-for-the-new-year/

Those look really good now, John. I hope I’ll be able to do a similarly good job when I get hold of mine. But you’re absolutely right, it should not have been necessary.

@Lochgorm is correct. It is Palermo, but it does often get mistaken for Gibraltar. Well done for avoiding the trap

To deviate briefly from the “favourite three” theme and because I know some people like a little challenge, I wonder how long it will take for someone to correctly identify where this picture was taken:

I think @stewartingram was referring to this post:

That’s great, thanks for doing that. They don’t look too bad height wise.

The picture by @John M Upton of the apparent height discrepancy between these new sleepers and Dapol’s earlier MK3 is hardly encouraging. I’m not going to be coupling mine to other Mk3s, but I would be interested to know how they compare height-wise relative to a Farish BG or Mk2F.

Have to agree with @John M Upton ; the blue/grey coaches are, at first glance, disappointing. Personally, I can overlook the CDL lights (the inclusion of which was presumably a tooling compromise) and the overhead warning flashes (which are tiny) but from the pictures I’ve seen, the depth of the grey band spoils the whole look of these coaches. That said, some carefully applied blue paint along the top of the coach sides should go some way to making these look more presentable.

I have some of these on pre-order and had an email from the shop yesterday to say they will be in stock “on or after” today. Read into that what you will but it certainly sounds to me like they’re imminent. EDIT: Order now processed so they’ve arrived.