BernardTPM

Oooh, a B set from Clive?

Compromised or not, it's a saddle tank. As it is, the major error on that one is length. Yes, those diesel bonnets are too wide and the spring clips forced the adoption of spurious boxes to hide them. It didn't stop them from making them though. As shown on TV the revised chassis's motor arrangement is much more compact anyway which should make it easier to fit a wider range of bodies with less (though probably not without some) compromise. The inference was that it would leave more room for other features (sound, smoke, DCC, battery remote control? etc.) to be fitted on more expensive versions, but the cheapest version would just be more compact. A boxy Avonside would have been a good alternative.

Except that the second body fitted to the chassis under Hornby's 1978 GWR Holden tank was the Caledonian (NBL) saddle tank in 1980.

You're dead right about the Tri-ang suburbans, they have very generous legroom. Other than the curved, Mk.1 profile I think they look rather like early Collet GWR in both window shape and for those little horizontal handrails each end, but cutting and shutting to create Third Class compartments would be a truly heroic (and now quite a pointless) exercise.

I'm sure the more compact drive arrangement will make that chassis more useful as conversion fodder too. Goodbye to those dreadful spring clips!

Well, we know they are working on an LSWR B4 as a basic starter loco. Obviously it's not going to be anything like as detailed as the Dapol model but I suspect it will sell more in sheer number terms over the next 40 years. Not necessarily to serious modeller though.

How does being in or out of the EU have any bearing on the use of Great Britain (GB) or United Kingdom (UK) as a designation? We used GB before we were in the EU after all.

With all the guff each election they roll out about reducing red tape, why the Hell did they do this?

At least 5 planks of that period were generally 17' 6" long rather than 16' 6" like mineral wagons.

I would hope those were berth windows, rather than birth windows (for mobile midwives?).

C244 FR Tan y Bwlch, showing the car park can't be August 1970 as there's a Mk.3 Cortina in dark maroon on the right which weren't on sale until late October 1970. I think the yellow estate might also be a Mk3 Cortina. From your earlier 2014 post, perhaps this one is 1972.

The only Hornby Dublo loco to get a Tri-ang mechanism was the AL1, which got the chassis for the never released Tri-ang AL2. The Co-Bo and Rebuilt West Country both appeared in the main 1966 catalogue but were existing stock with HD couplings. By 1968 a wider range of ex-HD locos and wagons were listed under the Triang/Wrenn banner.

Back when I first did N, over 40 years ago now, there was only a limited amount of R-T-R anyway. There was very much more in 00 than N then but even that was just a fraction of what is available now in either scale; indeed there's probably more 0 gauge R-T-R now than there was N then. As a result a lot was kit or scratchbuilt, but I enjoyed (and still do) making things anyway. I don't see what others do really matters, regardless of scale, gauge or prototype. Just do what makes you happy or satisfied.

I combined a Triang cab section (picked up cheap: broken side, no roof or bogies, painted silver!) with a 1970s Farish 00 suburban coach body to make something more like an Eastern Section 3-SUB or perhaps 4-LAV.

Servos would be the only way of keeping the movement realistic. Physics doesn't work to scale in models. Same with anything that swings freely; they move much too fast.

The paired and shallow windows show it's the compartment side of a Mk.1 sleeper.

They did have slightly upgraded suspension, with J hangers rather than plain spring mounts, but so did the Cemflos and they proved to be less than stable in service. Another possible advantage of filling the 'empty' spaces with empty containers would be a reduction in aerodynamic drag.

Given BR were actually delivering and collecting their own containers at each end of the journey I would guess they would have quite tight control over their use or at least know where they were.

A Continental ferry van. Someone with more knowledge might be able to tell you where from.

More info on a later service from Modern Railways March 1962: A second "Condor" service was introduced in January between Birmingham Aston and Glasgow Gushetfaulds depots. Its consist differs from the Hendon-Gushetfaulds prototype in including in the fixed formation three MacGregor-Cormarain sliding roof wagons*, which are 'sold' to consignors interested in such a facility; recent despatches in these wagons have consisted of steel sheet. The remainder of the train..... is composed of flats with accomodation for 30 containers, of 700cu ft and 300cu ft capacity.** Charges are per container and include road collection and delivery. They are not fixed, as in the Hendon-Glasgow service, but are negotiated commercially with individual customers... A special "Condor" freight section has been set up at Aston, with its own telephone number listed as "Scottish Condor Service" in the B.R. section of the telephone directory. * shocroof A ** so 15 conflat wagons Photo with the piece shows D5083 with a "Condor Glasgow-Birmingham" headboard, though as it is said to be "ready to leave Gushetfailds depot" it is presumably Southbound. The shocroof A wagons are immediately behind the loco.

Playcraft sold a "009" Decauville train set back in the late '60s that featured expanded polystyrene. The wires for this sometimes react with either the styrene or the paint applied to it as can be witnessed by the white marks in this photo.

Some kept it, in worn out, run down and grubby condition right to the end. See Paul Bartlett's site.

And large numbers built throught the 1950s into the early 1960s. After that came the Speedfreight and then Liner train containers before the ISO types took over. We're the similarly sized Insulated containers ever recorded on the Condor service?

From British Railways LMR Freight Handbook (1964): 1. London/Glasgow "Condor" "Condor" express freight services between London and Glasgow.... ensure that containers collected from premises.... one afternoon are delivered in any part of London or Glasgow next morning having travelled through the night at express train speed. ... The total rates per container.... include collection and delivery within defined limits. 2. Birmingham/Glasgow "Condor" A "Condor" service also runs each night, Mondays to Fridays in both directions between Birmingham and Glasgow. Charges are per container and competitive rates which are all-inclusive, door-to-door, will be quoted on application. .... By this date there was also a "Speedfreight" service between London and Manchester using the new alloy "Speedfreight" containers, designed to suit standard eight 48" x 40" pallets.

Pressfix have a sheet of waxy paper to stop the glue sticking to the plastic packet. This will pull away with a slight 'Velcro' sound to reveal the gluey back of the transfers. With Methfix the underside of the transfer should be visible through the packet as it doesn't need the protective cover.