DavidBird

Around 1980 or thereabouts, I remember hearing about a 40 that had failed on a freight around Leeds area. A "Jubilee" was pressed in to help out...

No, but I know someone who has a drone...

Interesting that H are calling the green one "NCB" but, as the info states, it was actually used at the Stanton Ironworks near Ilkeston Derbyshire. Stanton (Stanton and Stavely from 1960) was part of Stewarts and LLoyds, then nationalised as part of BSC, sold in the 1980s to the French Pont-a-Mouson Group and later part of Saint Gobain. So the loco was never National Coal Board. When I about 7 or 8, I'd badgered the Grandparents to take me to see the trains. We went to Quarry Hill, and I was "frit" by the driver of a train sounding the horn just as it went under the bridge. The only other thing I remember was being slightly disappointed it wasn't a "proper" blue and yellow loco, but it was a green shunter. It may well have been no57, so this Hornby, 50 years later, had to be part of my collection. For thise than have the evil that is FB, here's a picture from the Ilkeston & District Local History Society, linked from the The Stanton and Staveley Ironworks. Remembered Forever FB page. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1485135501845841&set=gm.1868904713287716

Not so easy, I think. Although I've not tried it (yet), you would need at least 8, rather than 6. Headlights, taillights, coach interior lights (all seperate circuits), lighting return, 2x pickup, 2x speaker. And that assumes the decoder would have the capacity to send sounds for horn only to the front speaker, diesel generator only to both front and rear and traction sounds only to the centre. Does such a decoder exist?

Sadly,since Monday 27th December 2021, the Bromsgrove Models' website is no longer avaiable. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/113156-bromsgrove-models-website/&do=findComment&comment=4686599

Email from FHR this morning, apologising for further delay on these. The release date is now put back to October 2022. They still have 4 of the "North British" available. When they do arrive, they will be holding the price at £94, despite the recent announced £10 increase from Hornby. So if anybody want a "North British", contact them at the FB address above, use the "contact us" at https://www.fifeheritagerailway.co.uk/ or email (FAO James Rankin) at enquiries@fifeheritagerailway.com

Thanks to all. So, from what you've all said, I can use masking tape, and maskol for the corner with any irregularity covered by the lining transfer. Seems like a good plan.

Does anybody have any tips on how to get the rounded corners on the grey window panel on blue/grey coaches? I have (somewhere) a set of Fox Transfers white lining, which includes the corners, but how do I get they grey masked off? I have considered packs of sticky labels, like Avery or similar. Are these suitable for use as masking? Does anyone know which version I should use? Thanks.

I got the Jouef ones around 1st radius curves quite happily... mind you that was on the carpet, with no platforms...

Indeed it did. It was removed from Marylebone with the aid of a large road crane, positioned very carefully over the bridge piers of the Rossmore Road bridge. There were plans for one at Mallaig, with one (ironically ex-SVR, not needed by them after installation of the original Fort William turntable) purchased and in storage for several years in a council depot in Fort William awaiting refurbishment. Unfortunately funding was not available without a firm commitment for its use.... I have recently come across in a box in the loft, some of the original documentation and plans for the installation. It was proposed to install the Mallaig turntable either on the site of the storage sidings to the south of the station or on the site of the cattle dock/oil storage tanks. The one installed at Fort William, whilst not used regularly, has been used on occasion for turning steam engines, and also (or so I've been told) for turning 156 vehicles and even 66s.

I will be able to check when mine arrives, but can anybody confirm how the pantograph is fixed? From looking at Shane's photos it appears to clip onto the bogies, so will remain upright when the body tilts, but does this mean it rotates with the bogies, or is it mounted somehow that keeps it in line with the body?

Well, embarassing admission time. I think - I'll confirm when I receive mine next week - that I'm looking at white-painted pipework...

Thanks, nice to know. That's what I first thought, but when the effect appeared on 3 different photos, all taken at different angles, I began to wonder.

Just by going on the colours apparents in these photos, there is a difference in the wheelsets in each shared bogie. One appears to be much shinier than the other. I'm assuming the shiny one is the pickup for the lighting, Can anybody comment on what the difference acutally is, and what causes the difference in appearance?

Unfortunately the "Quote" function doesn't include the reason for editing...

There is only the one route between Newark and Nottingham. However, between Mansfield and Nottingham, there were three routes, tormerly the MR, GCR and GNR. Is it simply because individually none of the 3 "made a profit", so they were all done away with, rather than any attempt being made to consolidate traffic onto just 1 of them, even though almost all of the ex-MR route was retained for colliery traffic? That idea seems to fit with the "what was required was a ruthless cull" mindset, as Northmoor siad above.

Of the references cited, [3] is to the Hansard article previously quoted. [12] is to here http://www.terrynorm.ic24.net/photo%20railways.htm, about railways around Ammanford, Carmartehshire, but also contains the statement "In 1959 Ernest Marples had given the go-ahead for Britain's first motorway, the M1 which initially ran from London to Nottingham and followed closely the London to Nottingham railway line. ... And when Marples then closed the railway line there was no other way for people or freight to get from London to Nottingham than by road." Perhaps this source is less than reliable? [13] is to "The Great Railway Conspiracy" Henshaw, David (1991). Leading Edge Books. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-948135-48-4. Not available online, but I have a copy of this, it does also contain the "shares to his wife" story, but doesn't provide a referencefor that part of it. [14] and [15] are also not-available-online publications, so I've not been able to check them. None of that means it isn't true, and the proven reports of his corruption in other areas lead credence to the idea that it is something he very probably would have done.

Probably there was, but it was not announced in HoC. From wikipaedia -(with references) "Marples therefore sold his shares to his wife, reserving himself the possibility to reacquire them at the original price after leaving office;[3][12][13][14][15] by this time, his shares had come to be worth between £350,000 and £400,000.[10]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Marples Ref [3] is from Hansard (link) "When I became Minister of Transport, last October, I realised that there was a risk of a conflict of interest appearing to arise in consequence of my holding a controlling interest in the company. I immediately took steps to effect a sale of my shares. It has taken some time to arrange this as the company is a private one engaged in long-term contracts in civil engineering, but I hope that it will be completed very soon. Then I shall have no financial interest in the company. But I think that I should tell the House that the prospective purchasers have required me to undertake to buy the shares back from them at the price they are to pay if they ask me to do so after I have ceased to hold office. I myself have no option to buy the shares back." The response of Mr Mellish and the Speaker is "interesting", in saying "It is wholly undebatable, and nothing may be asked about it", preventing anyone at the time from finding out whom he sold his shares to.

Announced to the HoC that, in order to be unbiased, he had sold his shareholding. What he didn't say was to whom they had been sold. For just £1. With a stipulation that, when he was no longer the Minister for Transport, he could buy them back for the same price he sold them for.

There are 6 flats in that block, 2 on each floor. At one time every one of them was occupied by a branch of the Coull family, my late father-in-law was one of them.

Wow, that is seriously good. Not just in the creation of a life-like scene, but the reproduction of the scene of "Coull's Castle". Extremely well observed.

Hi Richard. I'm rather late to your youtube channel and this thread, but I'll add my compliments to all the others. Inspiring stuff indeed. Watching your latest ( 15th August 2021) update video, you talk about the curve on the branch line and the off-scene return loop. This is worked by a turnout with the spring removed so it can be trailed through and a polarity switch unit to give completely automatic operation. Do you find any problems with the turnout blades positivley locating - or not - against the stock rail after being trailed through? Cheers

The first time I came up to the West Highlands must have been 1984 or 85, just after the Mallaig steam trains had started. We joined the train at Crewe and ran (presumably) to Mossend then into Glasgow Queen Street HL. We must have run into platform 1 as I well remember looking up at the blank brick wall, as seen on the left in this pic (not one from the 1980s I know, but the only one I could find!) I also remember the awful pulsing as we ran back up the tunnels, which I now know was the Cl37 slipping as it tried to climb the damp rails of the Cowlairs Incline... https://www.cpr-resurfacing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/queenstreet_video_coverimg.png

A google search for images of "Penmouth and Curzon" gives this, from PressReader.com, a digital magazine service. The sign in question is above the Western - it is to my mind a perfect fit with the scene. At that time (early 1970s), I was learning metric at primary school, so signs like this would seem to be natural - but of course the architecture and signage woud get absolutely zero attention from a 7 year old...

Back on topic, the picture I was referring to was certainly not a public road but merely a gap in a wall between two platforms in a station. So it was definitely railway signage, in BR Rail Alphabet