Roger Sunderland

Yeah it wins every time! Still anyone know what they were?

A bit of urban West Yorkshire.

How will it soon be safe to go to an indoor model railway exhibition. The virus thrives on close contact in an indoor environment. Visits to Zoos etc are outdoors, that’s what makes them safer. Greggs and Costa are a 2 minute visit, not hours or a whole day. Coronavirus has not gone away , it’s still around, just being held at bay, although judging by the numbers still dying, not that well. People attending exhibitions tend to be elderly, the highest risk category, one infected person, even though they may not be aware of it, would be like a time bomb being set off. i do think exhibitions will return - once there is little risk, ie either a vaccine or a drug that can stop the effects. Until then why are we so desperate for them to return? Isn’t it enough we have our health (hopefully) and can still do some modelling.

Thanks again, very useful. Steven B - do you have any numbers for the 10 class 24s at Longsightedness in 61?

Many thanks for that guys. Does anyone know when class 24/25 were first seen in the area , particularly on freight? Clearly they didn’t have to be allocated to a West Yorkshire base and could have been incoming from anywhere. There were furling facilities at Holbeck I think by the early 60s and at Bradford Hammerton St.

Hi all please can anyone help in providing some sample numbers of early examples of class 24,25,40,45 at work in West Yorkshire, period 1960-1963. This could be a photo reference or knowledge of where they were shedded in their early years. In connection with a new layout I’m building. The layout will be almost entirely steam but I’d like an excuse to run some green diesels. Many thanks.

Brilliant guys, thank you so much for replying. Masokits it is! These really are the most amazing etches, detail is stunning.

Please can anyone help me track down the suppliers of the etched fret in the photo? Without a doubt, the best signal arm etch on the market. Not the usual culprits, MSE, Wizard or Scalelink. I bought these some time ago and can’t remember where. The wording on the etch reads “ upper quadrant 4’ signal arms - copyright Mac 2007 “

Sorry I was trying to make the point that any indoor gathering of people, at the moment is a huge risk, mainly because of human contact and human nature. I too have exhibited many times over the last few years and both I and my fellow operators have experienced all these things, Particularly being coughed and sneezed over,although not necessarily at the same time. There are many things I love about exhibitions and I wish that we could all be enjoying them now But as per my original point, I just think it would be sensible to put them all on hold and review the situation at the start of next year.

You clearly have not spent 2 days being coughed and sneezed upon from the width of the layout away - in our case 2' 6". Perhaps you haven't seen the scrum to obtain some of "Bachmanns " bargains. You may not have queued for the toilets only to find the floor covered in urine and toilet bowls filled with faeces ( but not at the best exhibitions). As I said - a bio hazard! And no I have nothing against rucksacks. if everybody followed basic hygiene rules then these things wouldn't happen - but then some people don't like rules and don't follow them.

Hits the nail on the head entirely. You cannot hold a model railway exhibition and maintain social distancing. And even if the government relaxes it to some extent, as I've said before, exhibitions are a bio hazard at the best of times and many people with a mind of their own will choose to exercise their own judgement and stay away, leaving organisers with a large shortfall. Appologies to Phil Parker, I know you want to maintain a positive slant on things , but lets all just be realistic. For everyones sake, in my humble opinion, the sensible thing to do would be to halt all model railway exhibitions until January 1st 2021, and then review the situation. At the very least everybody would know where they stand and we could just concentrate on the modelling!

Hi Tony Saw your article on building the Isinglass pigeon van in BRM recently and thought I would purchase one. Very pleased overall but a question please. The resin parts have an oily feel which I suspect is to do with the 3D printing process. Did you clean your model before painting? And if so, what did you use ?

Does anybody know which, if any, locos were unlined. I thought the whole class carried mixed traffic lining?

Ah ok it’s a fictitious scene, not that that makes it any less valid than any other. Be interesting to see any progress though.

Well I’m intrigued Mike. You may be aware of our Bournemouth West exhibition layout. Having done all the research and produced the layout I’m not aware of any turntable at Bournemouth West, except at Branscombe shed. Is this an ongoing project???

You are right. Most operators on layouts work closely together and are not from the same family group. However the issues around social distancing for the public is even worse . Our layout is 10 Metres long- 5 people allowed to view at any time? And where does the queue to view wait? Some layouts are not even 2 meters wide - one to view? And how close would they get to the layout to remain 2 meters from the operators. And that’s before you start on traders - imagine trying to social distance the “scrum” at the Bachmann stand. We need to be realistic it isn’t doable for things like exhibitions.

Life is for living. Not for dying. Model railway exhibitions are one of the most unhealthy things I know of and I speak from experience as both a visitor and an exhibitor. People gathered 3 deep round a layout, coughing , sneezing, touching, pushing everyone around them, touching everything in sight, not washing hands, even after the toilet - and all in an indoor overheated environment. Can you seriously contemplate that now or even in the near future? Look at the deaths announced every day. You cannot put pressure on people to risk their lives (exhibitors and traders) just for a model railway show surely? As someone who’s wife is in the very high risk category, shielded, I will not go near any indoor function until both of us have been vaccinated. To do otherwise would be like playing Russian roulette. But, hey, maybe some get a kick from that.

Regarding coaching stock have you tried semgonline.org? A very useful source of info on all things Southern.

Hello David 1956 is a bit before our research period so I can’t be definitive. It was around the time when BR was changing its colour scheme to maroon and the Southern had ideas about a return to green so very much on the cusp. Sorry no access to a 1956 timetable, in fact, at the present time, I’ve no access to anything regarding BW, sadly!

Think this affects all products under the Pecorino umbrella eg r Ratio, Wills etc

Looks really good Dave, still kicking myself for not getting a set of etches in the first batch, I’d asked often enough when it would be ready!

Hi John No manufacturer Does the BR North Eastern colours which were Oriental blue and an ivory white. Presicion do the station sign tangerine and many manufacturers do station signs in that colour, some will customise to your chosen station. To recreate the blue and white I’ve used Humbrol Matt 89 (this quite old so not sure if number is still applicable) and Vallejo acrylic ivory 70.918 Hope this is helpful.

Can't believe I missed the first batch! Please add me to the list for Stanier 3P in 4mm Michael.

Good to hear from you Frank. Hope you are keeping well during these difficult times.

Yes