ChrisH-UK

The earlier version used Rail Grey, I think this version does too but I'm not 100%

Yes. In the earlier livery the band of darker grey only came down to the top of the red and yellow pattern, it was the later version where it reached the bottom of the red square as shown in the picture. The large "Railfreight Distribution" lettering is a telltale sign for the later livery too. Cheers Chris H

The photo posted by HillsideDepot to your thread about that specific loco is of the later scheme even though the roof doesn't look particularly blue in that picture. A quick check of images on the web suggests that a different loco carried the plates wearing the earlier triple grey livery.

Yep, will fire up the scanner in a little while. Done, message sent.

Pretty sure this is well covered by Griff's link and Simon's post but the way I recall it 703, 704, 706, 708 and 712 went to Parcels, 3,6 and 12 got Parcels livery. They did still appear occasionally on Wessex services. I want to say that for the later 47/7 the answer to your 2nd question is yes. I believe they were in RES by the time they were converted but I have this nagging doubt, even though some 47/4 were already in RES before they were designated 47/7 so it would make no sense for them to be in anything other than RES at that time.

How modern? IIRC there were two warehouses across from Neasden LUL depot, one had a road running through it, the other was canopied. They were in use during the 90s but not much after that.

Are you looking for things to see out of the window or reasons to stop and explore a local area? I can't think of too much to see apart from crossing misc lines and thinking "I wonder where that goes"

When Railfreight was divided into Loadhaul, Mainline and Transrail it was switched from Carlisle to Cardiff. IIRC the stencilling changed to Canton.

CDA Wheelsets, according to the caption in a copy of Railway Magazine from 1991/92

That is a rail grinder and it was in Woking on Saturday lunchtime. It grinds the rails to the correct profile and is quite a sight, particularly at night.

That's not how I remember it, not for the first 2 or 3 years anyway.

Agreed on Berlin Hbf, Different parts of Washington Union could win for most exciting, most average and most depressing, front of house is magnificent, train waiting area varies between average and depressing, the through track "platform" areas are a bit depressing. Philadelphia also has a great building but track/platform areas are just ok, a common thing for large US stations. In this country I'd vote for St Pancras for the building, the trains and the variety of destinations, also Carlisle has a special place for me (so long as it's not windy).

Would that be a short-term scrap flow or was there a terminal that I've forgotten about?

The plan of the vehicle is one I drew from photos and measurements. The best example I can find of an image is a different type of vehicle but the same grille - https://youtu.be/mdFwdPn1tkk?t=16

And that might mean an extra certification that has to be done after all the EU stuff is finalised even though anything we do is likely to be derived from CE and other applicable certifications.

Have now spent 3 days reading the Emblaser thread and being suitably impressed. I feel like laser cutting is the way to go. I've attached an SVG file of a pair of grilles (dwf is not an allowable type) and I would be grateful if anyone has the time to tell me how feasible it is to make. Whether the cut in this case can be any wider than the 0.1mm size I've used for the line (I can live with it just being relief if that's all this design allows). grille cutting.svg

But being the MIDlands means it's not too far from London and the Northwest, ok Tyneside is a bit more of a stretch. If the choice was a few Tyneside pieces in the Northeast, a few bits from Liverpool/Manchester in Northwest and things from the Southeast in the London area all diluting the effort and being marginalised or one central museum bringing it all together I know what I would choose.

Andy, do you think 0.3 is the realistic limit for any cut or score or do you think if it was a half-cut it would be possible to go finer as the uncut stock beneath would support the area between the half cuts?

Nick, How wide are the lines between planks on your platform shelter in posts 90 and 95, they look thinner than the window frames and you said they were 0.2mm. Currently I have an SVG and a designspark file, both marking the slats rather than the gaps.

I've been working on a model of On-track plant that has a prominent side grille made up of horizontal slats. Originally I tried to produce a reasonable facsimile using etch but the minimum thickness of full & half etch meant losing 1/3 of the slats in the design. Next I considered a 3D print but the sizes seem too slight for that as well. I'm now wondering how fine the scoring cuts of a vinyl cutter (such as a silhouette) or a laser cutter could be and how close together it is practical for them to be using styrene for the vinyl cutter, I do not know enough about laser-cut materials to even suggest things there. Thanks Chris H

I'm assuming that was from its time as part of the HST development program when it was fitted with the aerodynamic cab but I fully expect to be proved wrong.

Brake vans were still in use after 1989. Trains carrying certain classes of hazardous loads required them, some trains that had long propelling moves still had them and for a few years stone trains on the Redmire line used them so they could close crossing gates after the train had gone through. Not sure when they became a much rarer sight because university then work had got in the way of my interest from 1994 on.

That could well be in the other copy of this thread which has an identical first post

AFAIK the Mk3 Pullmans were only superficially different from Mk 3b FO. A very quick image search does find a few images of the single-piece window, all are Mk 3b and they are also modern pics. This is not at all conclusive due to the small number of images checked but it's possible it's a Mk 3b thing. Here's a page about a specific Mk3b coach, formerly one of the named pullman coaches which includes a picture of its toilet with what looks like a standard 2-piece window from the inside http://www.125group.org.uk/our-fleet/11074-mk3b-tfo/#

Outside of Carlisle the only spot I would attempt is an overbridge in the village of Scotby, on a road called Lambley Bank. Looks to be room for a couple of cars to park safely and you would get a straight shot down the line. There is a house next to the line and maybe they might take pity on you and allow you to take pics from their garden (unless of course it's happened before and resulted in damage). At any other spot in that area or in Cumwhinton you would be either a traffic hazard or be taking a chance with tracks and paths that may not be public.