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It very much looks like that, a picture elsewhere shows it carrying the name “Eastleigh”. interestingly the choice of Cream, rather than White bands… the very opposite of what 33008 Eastleigh was, and the opposite “mistake” that Heljan made in its recent model of D6515. The GBRF branding is white though. Either way its now an authentic livery for 69005. i’m begining to think Bachmann has sponsored the liveries of this fleet. weve not had plain Rail Blue yet, or Railfreight red stripe, Sectors or Dutch… as weve gone RTC maybe BRT or Technical Services liveries might make a comeback ? i’m hoping for a Tonbridge yard openday in the future, with all of them on display. (Its a bit like that at weekends now).

Not as high as Americas.

I doubt they would need to run any freight down to Strasburg, its only 5 miles or so. The reason it exists now was Strasburg is the only general purpose unloading point in the area. If they are building a new unloading point at Paradise, then the freight hauling need from the mainline is gone…

The Americans like to say that Britain talks so much about other peoples money, but never seem to be able to find its own pocket.

I’m very surprised the 150 toolings werent variable enough to turn out things like a 317, 318 or even a 455/9…unless the best is yet to come.

Yes…, theres white sloshed all over the wagon, but the levers are yellow. (not my image/ flickr)

Nah, Flying Scotsman has more parts that say made in Lancashire, than made in Yorkshire.

You can take a sleeper to Paris, just not from London (though you could domestically). I've slept my way around Europe…from London to Moscow. In Eastern Europe its interesting to goto bed on one train, and after a night of shunting enroute, to wake up next to strangers in the rake next morning, as multiple stock of different nationalities joined / detached in the night. Poland has an attractive domestic sleeper service too and makes it easy to sleep around.

Interestingly in modelling form its probably one of the few UK combinations in HO that might be viable. The EPS stock has run in Canada for decades, and I may have thought to be a Rapido candidate. The 92’s have been in France, Austria, Czech, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and now just moved to Hungary, and some European company may pick up on these at some point.

Oddly Olivias are giving them away for £0.00… https://oliviastrains.com/product/Hornby-r30231-hm-the-queens-platinum-jubilee-west-country-no-70-elizabeth-ii-only-to-existing-customers/ good luck with that 😁

Errr… Lion in 1980… was the oldest working steam locomotive at the time, I doubt anything will beat 142 years old for a while yet… (1880 would be the current qualifying year). Isnt the GNR Saloon the oldest mainline certified coach at this point ? The Queen of Scots set, definitely, has some old wood in that rake. At 110 the GWR steam railmotor probably qualifies as oldest steam loco in recent memory on the mainline.

Does 80080 shunting Mermaid wagons at Coalville in 1989 count ?

The NS schedule is unreliable, as freight schedule runs according to local business needs, and drop off schedules, so loads and dates vary. I got lucky, in that the Monday / Wednesday freights both failed to arrive, culminating in that 500+ ton load on friday, which was beyond any of their diesels ability to haul, without disrupting the scheduled passenger services too, hence 90 was used. The whole trip working was done between 6 and 9 am. This is the NS connection at Paradise..

I’m not sure it still runs regular schedule steam freight any more, but the diesel freight business continues 1-2 times weekly. But its continuously operated since 1832 as a private railroad, and considered the worlds oldest continuously operated railroad company, its not “preserved” in that sense, but its operations today are around freight and as a heritage attraction, blending with local Amish beliefs, (hence steam/gas, rather than electric), plus a considerable steam heritage restoration business. but it was an amazing experience, a few dollars got you in the caboose. i keep meaning to make a youtube video of this footage. Unloading facilities, with local hauliers waiting… The whole area, and Amish community is fascinating, including daily widespread use of Horse drawn carriages. a different sort of “servicing station”.

May as well just put them on ebay. I’m sure other retailers will do.

Fwiw I have a bank branch 2 miles away. I have a cheque in my wallet now, been there since January. Each time I goto that village, I walk past the bank, into the Butchers, bakers, veg shop etc. Get in my car drive home unpack. Then I see that cheque in my wallet, think about a different branch 6 miles away and how its a pain to get to, and how I must get around to paying it in. Someday my brain will kick in and remember.. my local bank is actually right next to the butchers….not in the other town… even worse, the butcher discounts the credit card fee if paying cash, and as I card everything I actually goto that bank to specifically withdraw cash !!! odd creature of habit.

Scotsman is a definite next year, much of it regurgitated ideas from previous years. Maybe they do a special “2023” edition, not sure what this entails but if a purple Bulleid is an option in 2022, maybe some form of plaque, commeration, headboard or unique 100 year embellishment on the real thing replicated in model form. has any plans for Scotsman in 2023 been published ? … its mainline jollies may need staggering levels of security if the media gets carried away.

your looking at it from a SE Asia buyers angle, i’m looking at it from a western european sellers angle. but agree, in SE asia no one take first offer, and both sides price in the negotiation factor at very wide margins, much wider than the west. Indeed an excess of horse trading over amounts of much lower quantity can take place, and getting to the point can take a while. From a western perspective, often viewed as not worth the effort. This applies to much of Europe too where some markets can be much lower volumes and longer sales cycles than in the US or UK which are geared to faster turnaround. organisations often choose between chasing those markets in dedicated teams, or focussing away from them. More than price I find US/UK is concerned more about efficiency and speed and are more tolerant (doesn't stop a moan, but doesn't block the sale either), towards issues and faults. I find Europeans rely more on the contract to be met, and take a more sedate path getting there, but pay a higher price for it. As an example how many posts on here do we see about delays, and acceptance (but moan) of faults/issues to self correct … yet on European models delivery tends to be longer, but more accurate and minus the faults…but at a much higher cost. Maybe more value in the UK/US is in having it now, where as more value in Europe is having it as expected ? value is defined as utility and warranty. Translated as fit for purpose and fit for use. A pencil you can write with is usable. If the pencil is bulky, heavy and odd shaped it may not be fit for purpose, even if you can use it as a pencil. A broken pencil isnt a sign of cheapness, its a sign of not being fit for use, even if its lightweight and shaped for its purpose. if the pencil was made out of gold and studded with diamonds, but still have broken lead its not cheap, it just doesnt work… thats not fit for use, even if its fit for its glamorous purpose. Cheapness implies it doesnt cost much. Quality and cheap is mis-noma. Value is usually a trade off between Time, Quality, Cost, Risk and Benefit… you drag the line from one of those aspects, it immediately affects the others… Increase time, may increase cost, increase quality, but if it arrives late and you dont need it, youve increased risk and lowered its benefit to you… and hence your same perception of “cheapness” is met in a different way via very different outcome… but its still no longer fit for use or fit for purpose and therefore has lowered value… Hornby imo has evolved a strategy of duplicating competitors by being first, even if the product isnt neccessarily as feature accurate. They are sensing that Time is more important than Quality, and being later is a risk to sales as being later has lower customer benefits. (Notice there how Cost isnt a factor.. Terriers, 66’s, generic coaches cost less but still deliver value, just as much as the Prarie, mk3’s, 56’s which costs more). Piko imo has evolved a strategy of duplicating competitors by quality and cost, as they are the later comer, but trading that against time and benefits of a newer tooling. Here “risk” isnt a factor, they've accepted being later and existing duplication into their decision making. Both make locos of similar price ranges so “inexpensive” or “cheap” isnt relevent.. a £160 Hornby 87 falling apart is no difference in price to a £160 ET22 which doesnt, its a matter of Quality, and its value to you. on that note, this discussion is going off topic and maybe lowering its value to others…

Look for them on ebay. Whilst they are fantastic models, their resale value is pretty poor… A class 90 respray went for c£80 recently. Trust in respray quality on ebay is really bad and many avoid it, even if in Rainbows case its unfounded as theres so much dross out there, and many people simply don't know to look for that particular diamond in the rough.

I really dont think its a UK/US thing. In my experience I find the hardest bargainers are in SE Asia by a long shot, followed by Mid East, and the Africa/Eastern Europe in 3rd. (Budget too fits in that order). US I find is more likely than anywhere, to accept the cost of doing business, and have more lucrative margins for it. The UK tries to compete with this, but falls into areas thrice of “make do and mend solutions” (a natural reflection of creativity) or acceptance, or seeking of discounts. Ultimately much of UK business operates on smaller margins or higher barriers (tarifs, taxes etc) than the US. This gives less room to move, and hence price discussions creep in. I will say though decision making, and volume is faster and more efficient in the UK than Europe, by factor of 6x. I’m in IT of course other experiences may vary. its probably better to think of it in terms of value. Value is a measure of how useful it is and ease of use. Many cheap and inexpensive things have high usage and easy to use… a pen and notebook for instance… much more cost efficient than an ipad for making notes.. This is a personal perception of value. Its nothing to do with cost, or quality (cheapness or expensiveness). If you look at it, and you don't like it.. the value is £0, if you don't actually buy it. Similarly if you buy it at any cost, as we have seen with oversubscribed items, like Rocket, Dublo you end up paying above rrp, as your value is higher, irrespective of the quality of the build materials. what were seeing in the market isn't price obsession, its over supply of products. People are attaching comparative value to items, as they are needing to choose one over another, and in turn are prioritising and thus attaching higher / lower levels of value to each in turn… they might not value a discounted £160 for a loco, but they might pay £160, higher than its rrp, for a coach instead. They might value a £2000 holiday greater than 10x£200 locos. It doesn't matter if last year they were £160 locos, because the £2000 holiday wasn’t possible due to covid… of course nothing stops one moaning about price, even if the reality of 10x£160 locos was still lower value and lower cost than a £2000 holiday even if it was an option. We are seeing similar stimulating factors in Oil, Energy and food currently too… I personally don’t care for the price of sunflower oil, so its value to me is £0, irrespective the rising “headline news” price tag.. I don't care* (*indirect purchases excepted), however olive oil.. thats a different story.. and ive bought a bit extra now as I sense incoming pain as a result of sunflower oil down the road and its value to me is higher…

Rainbow resprays are fantastic, Ive 2 class 90’s todate, Greater Anglia, DB Backbone and Northern class 156 (Realtrack). As side of those ive an @Squirrel Rail GC class 90 and a Mainline one too which come highly reccomended. The quality is right up there.

Gatwick to Reading is 90 minutes, hardly “express”. https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:L87313/2022-04-26/detailed#allox_id=0 Reading to Paddington is 20 mins, Victoria to Gatwick is 30. You can get from Paddington to Victoria, clumsily in 10 -20 minutes.. ive done it many times. Addin wait time, your around 90 minutes.. but agree avoiding central london on one train today with luggage is easier… ok so.. given this “vast” demand for a 90 minute trundle across the hamlets of Surrey, how come the white elephant that is ooc has no designed in south bound feed ? Its very well placed to connect the GWML, LHR with Clapham and Gatwick in the south. Yet its design completely ignores all of the South East in its entirety… the best bet is a mile long walk to other local stations..it doesnt even have a motorway connection… if passengers “hate connections” they’ll run screaming from this. Now given HS2 goes to Euston (rather than through / across london) it also means connections for gatwick.. very uncomfortable ones.. OOC and Farringdon. if it had been built it is possible Reading to Gatwick, one change at OOC could have been a 1 hours journey… a considerable improvement, plus addin HEX and northern feed too… So If the feed at Reading was so lucrative, is this a HS2 oversight or an exaggeration of Readings “connection” demand, given passengers “hate connecting”. Theres been countless millions consumed by experts on the financial benefits of HS2 by lots of very well paid qualified professionals. Surely if LGW feed was so big, a quick spin to OOC followed by a Gatex feed to Gatwick (Brighton and anything beyond Clapham) would have been desirable to build ? - easy to justify if adding Northern feed, and access to the South East surely ? i suspect its not, and still think its an after thought feed, Reading Redhill is fine it serves its local communities. Gatwick is just an add on, could save a unit, several drivers, minimal revenue difference to say to passengers “Change at Redhill”, if it that inconveniences them Paddington and Victoria connections still exist, and I bet countless people do this today without thinking, those going “local” are just trying to save a few quid. i’m sorry but i’m still seeing an argument full of cracks, this service still feels to me like hanging onto history… that or has HS2 missed a big one ?

I still return to my original point… it’s not as if there is a poor service between Redhill and Gatwick. additionally Gatwick express passengers are by far in greater number than this suburban shuttle, yet no one questions why they need to change (as the population of Sw1v is quite small)… so why does Betchworth qualify as a must have direct service route ? Alternatively say, why does the Milton Keynes - East Croydon (we sorry that’s Watford-Clapham now) service not extend to Gatwick, afterall it is the remenants of Manchester -Brighton, and aims to serve northern customers to Gatwick… but letting them change twice (oh sorry now it’s thrice) is ok ? That change killed the convenience of North and South london to Westfield passengers too Southern is about to axe a huge volume of its services in the coming weeks in the name of savings, which is going to inconvenience far more than this protected quirky shuttle. I note Sutton lost one way of its TL services to the north too (turn back at Blackfriars).. another one of those “over the MPs body things” has passed. cutbacks are coming, and lots of short truncations to connections seem to be the dft’s latest vogue. The argument Dorking must have a direct Gatwick service doesn’t stack in my mind. It’s an argument for a wasted cause on one area, but politely ignored in others.

i think thats were we differ, a bespoke fleet of tri-modes is a fortune in investment, for a 6 mile run to Gatwick. A DMU (or BMU) would suffice, and dump that last 6 miles.

Seems to be the complete opposite of the purpose of HS2 then, as I see it virtually no one can use it without changing…its designed for changes, even though its not exactly over flowing with suitable connections either. You cant have the argument both ways. Brighton to Manchester is long gone and dead, nothings bringing that back… dft doesnt do things for convienience, they are doing it for cuts and savings right now, and this is a duplication, and an awkward one at that. Plenty of people travel from across the UK to Gatwick, but most will have to change, and do so today, why is a leafy village line a special case ?.. Is Gomshall a hot bed of Gatwick activity ?