Dunsignalling

As this thread seems to have developed an exclusive leaning to the 517 class, the earlier suggestion of separate ones for it and the 48/14xx and 58xx looks increasingly sensible.

But in BR days all were to be seen all over the country. Only in the case of United Dairies/Unigate on the Western Region was there anything resembling a monoculture, getting on for 90% ex-GWR by my reckoning, whereas ex-GWR vehicles were less common in the other major fleet, that of Express Dairy. It is, though, somewhat misleading to ascribe milk tanks to individual railways, who only owned the underframes; the tanks themselves were the property of the dairy companies. John

There's a hotel in Cornwall that's bought a warehouse and converted it into a hostel because they can't get enough staff without offering accommodation for single youngsters from "away". Local kids have left or are wisely learning trades in order to exploit the second-homers. Trades are in such short supply in some bits of Cornwall that "Flying Plumbers" etc. from Plymouth and beyond are filling the gaps and their customers end up paying almost as much for travelling time or accommodation as they do for the work. There was a TV documentary a week or two ago featuring a holiday park in the Lake District that has to bus most of its staff in daily from de-industrialised towns sixty-odd miles away, outside the National Park. Something has to give; and it surely will.

And once you drive out enough of those who service it, the whole edifice begins to collapse anyway. Most pubs and restaurants in popular areas have had "Staff Wanted" boards out continuously for the past two years and one beach front cafe I formerly frequented only plans to open during the university summer break this season. None of that is sustainable.

Unfortunately, too few of those active in local economies see much benefit from the dependence on tourism. The seasonal nature and mainly low pay offered by tourism leaves many scratching for a living for the other half of he year and depresses local wages in general, whilst the demand for holiday accommodation and second homes inflates housing rents and in recent times has pushed owner-occupation beyond reach of most. For those determined to stay where they grew up, Japanese-style multi-generational mortgages will soon be a thing. I always made damned sure of working for national businesses on national pay rates, but even that is no longer enough since Covid rammed demand for country and coastal living through the roof. John

But what is the significance of the blue arrow sticking out of the car roof? 😉

Not least that the weight of the fuel and water are carried separately on tender classes!

It may well have been so branded by the BR blue era but, in SR design terms, the closest parallel is the GLV, but with a higher roofline, end doors in place of the gangways, and one fewer pair of side doors. Nearest parallel from elsewhere might be the GWR Diagram O.12 Siphon H or the Monsters, all constructed with similar rooflines to accommodate the scenery of touring theatre companies when required, and general traffic when not. The "GUV" designation became much more widely used in BR days, but normally indicated a vehicle of typical coach-height. The LMS referred to their 42' bogie vans (modelled by Lima) as CCTs with the high-roofed variant designated as an Aeroplane Van! John

They are only objective to the review sample as they will not inevitably be present in all specimens of the model. The criticisms of the lamps and coupling arrangement are objective because it matters not how many boxes are opened, every model will have them. John

Some criticisms remain objective even when an overall review may be subjective. On the Black 5, the lights are objectively excessive in both size and brightness, irrespective of any stronger views one might hold on the tail lamp. The so-called close-coupling device is objectively nothing of the kind. Both are inherent in the design and tooling of the model. By contrast, mentions of stray glue, ease of (re)moving the lamps or running plate distortion will (hopefully) be subjective to the review sample. John

As the delighted owner of a brace of Dapol's excellent B4s, they had me down for replacing my two old 14xx at the word "compensated". I rather fancy an open cab 517, too, but that's definitely Rule One territory for me. A pretend survivor to preservation will be my best excuse! John

The further East any Cornishman or Devonian moves, the better chance he stands of making a decent all-the-year-round living.

That must have needed a serious supplementary fuel tank! ⛽️

All aimed at people with time on their hands but lacking the imagination to find a use for it...

Hornby? Topical, too the 68xx.

Self-answering question?

Congratulations and thanks to all involved in staging yet another excellent day. Commiserations to all unable to attend. Thanks, too, for all the interesting chat with old friends and new acquaintances. Excellent food for thought and body alike, along with the plentiful seating for when the latter flagged a bit! All that and a couple of useful bargains from the bring-and-buy! Roll on SWAG '25. John

Good to hear. I'm pretty much resigned to "deleting" the lighting when mine arrives unless somebody (Modelu, perhaps?) comes up with fine scale replacement inserts. If the tender won't close-couple, the link will also be for the chop, so it doesn't matter how well (or not) it conducts electricity. Any non-Caprotti purchases will be deferred pending redesign. John

The outers seem to be the well-known Really Useful Boxes, which are tougher than anything we should need. I've bought several of the 10 litre size, from various suppliers at shows over the past few years. Mine hold either 8 or 9 coaches, depending on how much foam was removed. There's also a firm (link unfortunately mislaid) that supplies sheets of high density foam that's diced, but not cut quite all the way through. One cuts through the last bit to make custom outlines. It will thus allow almost anything to fit into the box or tray of ones choice. Something like pluck-foam in the name, I think. John

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!