Coppercap

Not quite...........the GWR received its Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838. It only opened all the way from Paddington to Bristol on 30 June 1841.

Is your eyesight so good that just because you can see what you think is a gap (and not shadowing) on an image that is umpteen times larger that the model will actually be, you will be able to see it on the real model at a sensible viewing distance without any use of magnification? As far as I can see from that image, it looks rather like a real plate in that the raised outer 'bead' and numbers are in brass finish, while the surrounding area is in black, just as the real thing. Like this (except the outer part on this example is painted green here, not black):

When? I make it as 1781!

While 20+ years daily riders are rare here, an exception I often see here is an elderly Enfield (not Royal Enfield) Bullet being ridden in morning traffic on the A38, all year round. It's rusty, dirty, looks bodged here and there (but obviously roadworthy) and even sports an Indian registration plate on the front (though probably illegal to do that). It's probably been imported from India. The owner wears 1950's style clothing (but a full face helmet). He does look a bit odd among the traffic, and he's obviously doing it all on the cheap (well, parts are cheap!) but I'd guess he is an enthusiast to want to ride the thing as it is! Isn't a winter in Oz warmer than a UK summer?

Something a bit like the Children in Need's Pudsey Bear. That's also supposed to be a little teddy bear that's a child-friendly size, not some 6ft bloke in a furry outfit who also never speaks, and just waves at everyone.

Most of the bikes in the OP could well be seen almost any day on the road. I like any old bikes, Brits, Jap, Yanks, whatever. Anything much over 20 years old tends to be owned by an enthusiast anyway, and is probably not a daily rider anymore.

Really? There's not many properly old ones there, as far as I can see! They're not even particularly iconic models either. I've got three old Hondas - oldest is 1978, one is 1981, and the newest is 1990. All in great condition and still used regularly on the road on club runs, and even to the continent.

It was suggested, on a thread when the original Bachmann model was announced, that maybe the 8-car Western Region set would have been just that little bit too long for most prospective buyers, that is, their layouts may not accommodate them. It would also have been even more expensive than the 6-car Midland set that was produced. It would have been risky to have sold cars individually and not as complete sets - some might sell better than others, leaving unsold and unsaleable stock. It's a complete unit train, not something that was designed to be remarshalled. (Yes, that happened to the real thing in later life, I know.)

Nice photos - better than mine! Anyone experience the T9's 'heavy shunt' after running round it's first train at Parkend on Sunday? I was in the first coach, sat down - it was a heck of a thump! Out on the platform one chap said it was being driven on an open regulator until it hit the coaches hard. Not one member of staff even walked down the train to check all were OK, or apologise. I mean, there were plenty of old folks on the train and on the platform, and if any had been getting on or off at the time there could have been a serious personal injury. Fortunately my 90 year old dad was checking the station's plumbing at the time, and was unaware of it all until I told him. Apart from that, it was a good day with no other incidents. Oh, there was an issue with some crossing gates, and that disrupted the timetable.

Certainly, no self-respecting Great Western BLT should be without it's Ocean Mails through coach....

Yes, they look a bit 'Tri-ang Hornby'.

Interesting. It's no doubt been in the works and they fitted the bunker from another loco that was in works at the same time that hadn't yet had the steps fitted. Maybe there was another running about with the bunker steps but no handrail!

The old footbridge may be going, but a fancy new bridge is planned to replace it in the near future, as well as a modern station.

Even the old Airfix 0-4-2 had six-wheel pickups, despite one pair of drivers having traction tyres, so I think you can be certain it has!

Trains were going a wee bit too quick!

I too would have preferred the 'as delivered' condition, but am still going to have my pre-ordered 'Great Western' 48-er.

A note regarding the corridor connection end doors. Two different designs are supplied with each coach - one has two door flaps with a vertical join meeting in the middle, the other is of a plainer design with no obvious door. Even when the Roco style couplings are fitted to give closer coupling than with the tension lock couplings it seems these doors are still needed to be fitted between coaches to close up the gap between the corridor connections. Does anyone know if this is Hornby's intention, and is the 'plain' end to go between coaches and not on show at the end of a train?

The MIDLAND Pullman drivers wore a dark uniform (a sort of jumpsuit), whereas those on the WESTERN Region Pullmans wore a white overcoat, hence them being nicknamed "ice cream men". Check out the films "Blue Pullman" (Midland), and "Lets go to Birmingham" (mostly Western, but with bits of the film "Blue Pullman" cobbled into it) to see the drivers.

That would need to have the end jumper cables fitted and the bottom of the front valance modified. Maybe Bachmann will do that eventually, but I expect it would be a few years yet, if at all.

It's not new mind, just a (admittedly better) repackaged alternative Pullman unit to the one previously available. Plus a rather higher price...

He sent a lad out to buy some Plasticene....

Hovis was actually a brand of flour, long before even sliced bread was invented.

Looks pretty filthy too!

I think that all the Westerns were eventually painted blue before scrapping.

Thanks Dave, As I've pre-ordered 4825, I would have liked it to have been in pre-war, pre-bunker-steps condition. I realise that these locos spent more of their lives with bunker steps than without, but it's a pity not to be able to have any in as-built condition, and I understand why you've done what you have.