Dunsignalling

TBH, the older Bachmann model was already the best OO Class 47 out there.

OK if they use something like Tacky Wax, but wouldn't it be simpler just to put them in the accessory pack for the retailer or purchaser to insert?

I know the kitchen is where the best socialising takes place during parties, but that's plain silly.

I have emailed Hornby for clarification and received an acknowledgement but not, as yet, a reply. John

Watch Sam's review, he found them to be glued in.

And R.074 was variously one of the fifty versions of Flying Scotsman, a Hymek, 41 Squadron, and probably a couple of other things beside!

Reconfigurable lamps on the W1 and Turbomotive are less important because, except when running light, they seldom carried anything other than Class 1. Black Fives worked virtually anything, so the lights need to be frequently and therefore easily, moveable by the user. The last thing we need is having Rule One imposed on those of us who care about prototypical operation. John

9' American bogies were transferred to both the "Airfix" varieties of Siphon. A small batch of Dia.O.22 inside framed Siphons had them from new, and a pair also ended up under at least one of the BR-built Dia. O.62 vans, No. W1332W. The HMRS volume on the subject lists no fewer than eight of the twenty Dia. O.12 Siphon H vans being so equipped, mainly from the late 1920s, at least some of which were still in place on late survivors at withdrawal (mainly by 1960) but also one of the final pair (W1430W) that lasted until November 1962. There seem to have been a dozen or so Dia. O.11 Siphon G's that had them, a rather smaller proportion than on the H type. John

The usage of lamp and light is (nowadays) generally interchangeable in both the rail and automotive spheres, but there are individual examples that don't quite seem "right". In the past, "light" was often reserved to devices that one can see by, e.g., in the interior sense we have strip-lights, not strip-lamps. Don't get me into "Hurricane", "Bardic" (usually lamp) or "Tilley" (seemingly either), though..... Head, side and tail lamps were usually referred to thus in car owners' manuals until quite recent times (and may still be, by some makers), though "light" has come into more common usage. I think "daylight running lamps", is grammatically preferable to "daylight running lights". The latter always seems a bit "clunky" to me, whilst "Daytime running lights", sounds perfectly OK! 😉 Living English is such a delight, with subtle differences some latch on to while others remain unaware or indifferent; we don't just have an unwritten constitution! Getting back on the rails, Bulleids have many more electric lights; in addition to the front headcode lamps, there are six more on the tender. Nestling among those, there's a downlighter to aid coupling up, various gauge lamps/lights in the cab, and assortment of built-in inspection lights/lamps up under the air-smoothed casing (running plate on rebuilt locos). ** TTBOMK, though, the red option illustrated earlier is a preservation-era addition. John ** Please, Please, Please, Hornby, don't even think about it.....

Just a change of wheelsets on the one I did, and I hadn't tried it round 30" curves. I can't revisit it unfortunately, as the pal I did it for is no longer with us and the loco has been moved on. I reckon the West Countries might do 30" so long as the curve was laid without any dog-legs

Good Morning, Tony, FWIW, Hornby Britannias and Rebuilt Bulleids with the fixed trucks and flanged wheels will go round 3' radii, presumably because of the copious sideplay in the driving wheelbase. I can't help where LMS & LNER types are concerned though, purely because I've not had the opportunity to try any out. Regards John

No need. Any requirement for a "Tubby Duff" was fulfilled by Heljan's first attempt at the 47. I still have one, but the Class is currently on the edge of being a Rule One anachronism for me. Have they over-compensated with the new one, then? My only recent diesel-outline purchases have been small industrial types and a Southern 1Co-Co1. John

No Kevlar mittens either....😉

If you mean the cattle wagon, can we have the 10' wheelbase version, please. The 9-footers became extinct (or very nearly so) between 1945 and 1948 and there's no evidence of any lasting long enough to receive BR livery. I have seen one picture of WB 9' 0" ( and XP! ) markings in the mid fifties but, on closer inspection, they turned out to be incorrectly applied to a 10' wheelbase vehicle. John

The big difference between steam and diesel/electric is a proliferation of models of the latter representing rare or one-off liveries. I've gained an impression that the market may be somewhat polarised where those are concerned. A case of collectors, and those who have personally observed the "exotica" desiring a reminder of the occasion, snapping them up but with little residual interest from those who didn't "cop" them, if production runs were a bit optimistic, perhaps? John

The only proper r-t-r Cattle wagons are the Hornby Southern ones, everything else has significant errors. Everything in your final list, plus the Wrenn/Dapol fish van has its origins in the Hornby Dublo Super Detail range which were all deliberately made over-wide to fit the rubbish existing chassis castings from the tinplate stuff. They all looked reasonable until you put a ruler anywhere near them. Such a wasted opportunity, tooling up for expensive injection mouldings and not the cheaper low-pressure ones for chassis castings. John

Anachronisms don't just apply to rebuilt Bulleid Pacifics, or even just to the locomotives. 21C123, Blackmore Vale, for instance, was renumbered 34023 in April 1948, and went into BR green in March 1950, but only received the wedge-fronted cab in October 1954. 34072, 257 Squadron completed its entire BR service paired with high-sided tenders, whereas (TTBOMK) it's only ever run cut-down examples in preservation. 35029, Ellerman Lines, sectioned in the NRM along with a cut-down 6000 gallon tender, had a high sided one of that type when originally built, but had acquired a second-series 5100 gallon version in 1952, which was cut down concurrently with 35029's rebuilding and remained with the engine until 1965, when it received a cut-down first-series 5000 gallon example for its final year in traffic and two years of storage. John

Sorry, Tim. My typo (albeit among others), I think.... Duly corrected. John

Also why anything one writes on the laptop should always be examined from a printed copy. It's amazing how consistently the brain auto-corrects ones errors when only reviewed on-screen.

Having witnessed, and participated on expectational grounds from early-on in this discussion, I concluded about a month ago to re-examine my older Hornby 5MTs. The conclusion? That, for me, the older ones are perfectly adequate "layout locos" that have been trouble free for twenty years or thereabouts. Any real improvements to the new ones are unlikely to be evident once they are working, but the dodgy "upgrades" may well be. My pre-order for the Caprotti one will stand, despite me anticipating the need for removal of the lighting and modification or replacement of the tender coupling and connections. Doing that to more than the desired variant not represented in my current fleet will not be acceptable so, if I need any more "ordinary" ones, I'll be buying second hand. John

Easier nowadays, though. Markits offer axles in alternative diameters, including 5/32".

The Hornby one is the other diagram, (as were the older Dapol and Hornby Dublo models) and lack the diagonal strapping to the sides and ends. The two types were freely mixed in traffic, so the models are complementary to one another. John

I think the ice blue livery and data panels came in, if not concurrently, within a few months of one another. However, IIRC, data panels were added to existing stock quite quickly, independent of overhauls and repainting. so I would expect "transitional" examples of white vans with data panels to be running around in the company of blue ones for at least two or three years. John

AIUI, it was to mislead enemy pilots making low-level attacks as to their true altitude, in the hope they would fly themselves into the ground.

There's a Polish version, too. The board is the same as regular Scrabble but comes with half the number of vowels and a lot of extra Zs.