Ian Hargrave

An A1 did in fact make it to New Street once on the Newcastle-Birmingham turn,due to a failure of the rostered LM loco at York.The Saltley (21A) turntable being too short,it was turned on the Camp Hill triangle.Source....a Trains Illustrated "Motive Power Miscellany" ,sometime in the late 50's.In September of 1961,travelling on the07:35 New Street -Newcastle,instead of the usual ( by then) new Peak (Class 45 later) diesel,I was surprised to see it steam in behind Hull Dairycoates B1 61215 "William Henton Carver".It stayed on at least as far as York. In the transition era on that particular cross country link anything goes!

Bachman are,in fact,doing just that with their Farish airsmoothed Merchant Navy....lucky you,then....

I seriously question "major improvement" and ,regarding damage,I have never experienced any problems.....whereas,it is all too easy to cause a break in the wiring with the plug & tender awkwardly placed socket.Once installed,it is best left undisturbed.Removing it either requires nimble,supple fingers and hawk eyed vision or Hornby's special tool. ...which I must invest in,I keep reminding myself.Thus,for returning the model to the original Hornby box,you are stuffed,unless you indulge in polystyrene carving with a craft knifePerformance? On DC analogue,to compare ....A4 drawbar & wiper versions run better than plug & socket Merlin,a later version. It would be helpful if Hornby adopted some consistency throughout the range with semi-permanent coupling and new style packaging.We currently have a mixture of both,...viz: Great Gathering A4....plug & socket....new Star & recent version Grange...semi permanent and new clear bubble packaging.The new sound version rebuilt Bulleid does use the new system,thus,hopefully,what should be on the market in future will adopt this method.Fingers crossed.....in my case,literally.

A comparison between a late 60's Kestrel and a mid 70's APT-E is ,quite honestly,a meaningless exercise. If we really want this model...and it is on the face of it a desirable item,then we'll buy it,chronology notwithstanding.Kestrel was behind the Iron Curtain and a speck in the memory by the time APTE ran on BR.What will sell is accuracy and quality.Reactions so far on this forum would suggest that that is the way that heads are turning....deservedly so,it must be said.

With regard to the deposit,I think £50 is modest and reasonable.Bear in mind that when Locomotion launch a new "special" on the market,your order is usually with full amount upfront.,although the run-in time is a matter of a couple of months (give or take a few weeks) rather than next year.

The dawn of a new era in r-t-r....a much needed fresh sparkle and cause for optimism for the world of rail enthusiasts...Welcome to Rapido Trains and congratulations on a truly spectacular UK debut. Once again,Locomotion Models NRM are setting the pace and are a driving force in reviving what some may think is an ailing market....proving that there's plenty of life here for some time to come. Their pro-active marketing presence is producing positive dividends and there's plenty more to come from this source,I'm sure.Bouquets and champagne all round!

Oh,that damned plug........why,why,oh why ?

For those of you still contemplating a purchase of one of these superb sets,Model Railways Direct have them on special offer. R 3161A & R 3162A at £87.50 until 30 June.DCC versions too.

By my calculation,July is just 10 days from now.Heljan are usually less with the fairies on delivery dates than other manufacturers,so it's fortunate that it's only a month Hattons are quoting,rather than the usual movable feast from,as Andy Y roguishly quotes,Planet Thanet.

The outstanding railway book of the decade.A masterpiece of scholarship,beautifully presented and lavishly illustrated.It brings four decades of history vividly to life .

With excellent prototypical haulage capacity...a case of handsome is as handsome does.

I'm certain they will.....but strong ,silent types that don't look the part have no place in my scheme of things,I'm afraid,regardless of performance......henceI will not look to augmenting my stock of Hornby Princess Royals.....poor cab and front end....verdict....must do better than this mediocre offering.

I have to confess that this is one Hornby model that does not do it for me.....sorry to say so....but...too many faults,particularly in the cab area..Smacks of toy town..I know I am expressing heresy but I speak as I find. A "Lizzie" but NOT as I knew them...we can do better than this....surely?

Remember the Yorkshire saying...."Where there's muck,there's brass."

The time to worry is when it is delivered with square wheels.Eventually,it will turn up....after the usual panic of not enough of original delivery to go round.....remember last year's 2-BIL saga,now of faded memory .....at present being shipped out at reduced prices from Margate Direct.?

Er....no.Edge Hill used its Lizzies on prestige turns such as The Merseyside Express before the advent of D211 onwards and they were reasonably clean in their red livery into 1960/1.The new diesels were both unreliable and underpowered in any case .The rot set in when they were transferred to secondary duties

Chateau 12A/B 1962?

As a coincidence,that is exactly the spot I saw my first Deltic....standing at the end of platform 10.Wind the clock back to Sept.1959.This one was in blue ...with "Deltic" embazoned on her sides.Yes...I can still hear that sound...amplified by the bore of Gasworks Tunnel.For a split second,before she burst into the sunlight,at the head of an up express from Doncaster,all heads turned,jaws agape.....thinking what on earth......? The original...on trial on the ECML.before the order book opened. You never forget moments like that.

As my namesake says....sign up to Kernow's weekly newsletter.Arrives each Friday p.m.....is reliable and friendly.In fact,just like Kernow.Other useful newsletters from Hattons and Rails.

First one I spotted was in blue....Shrewsbury 1952...on a Liverpool--West of England turn.As you say,a long beast but exciting for a ten year old accustomed to GWR favourites.

Encouraging in that it is,perhaps,a sign of a new determination to involve and engage with their client group.

Ian....Gaugemaster have R 3162A&B on at £89.99 ATM. They ship .

Merl retired last Christmas.....a nation stands acquitted.Had my hands on a sample last month.Delicious .Were any of this trio either Abercynon or 86J up to 1958 ,I wonder? I would love to recreate the Aberdare-Abercynon auto train of my schooldays.