Coppercap

Not a lot of people realise it, but GWR shovels were also designed for use by right-handed men. To the uninitiated, a right-handed GWR fireman's shovel may have looked like any other shovel, but it took a GWR fireman to show it to it's greatest potential.The GWR drivers only allowed their firemen to use the left hand side of the cab, and trying to put coal through the central firehole is not easy if the shovel is held in a left-handed manner, hence the right-handed shovel. Incidentally, the GWR only employed right-handed firemen, but when they were promoted to driver, they had to retrain to use their left hand for using the regulator. Some drivers apparently used to draw a chalk line along the centre-line of the cab (with a no-mans-land near the firehole), so the fireman knew his place exactly, and how far over he was allowed to go. If coal was spilled on the drivers side, the fireman would be in deep trouble, and if he got coal on the drivers shoes, then he'd find all his hard work would really go up the chimney!

Think you'll be disappointed - have a look at google maps. The Streetview image of July 2012 shows a new building under construction, and the aerial image shows the depot being demolished (actual date not known).

Yes, born in Isleworth (West Mid), then lived for my first twenty years in Heston, so I know (or at least, did know!) the area quite well. Thirty years on from then, it's all a bit different now, isn't it?

That'll be Kingsley Road.

Here's a WD on Southall shed................ http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/southall/index31.shtml can only take their word for it that it's 90520 though.

Looks 'straight' compared to the cab, but the complete cab's tipping forwards. Isn't this a common 'feature' many of these Stars have?

Odd, as I saw plenty of them hanging on the display racks in several shops before I realised having one would be useful. Later, having had difficulty with these plugs, I realised I'd better go and buy one - no problem.

Get you magnifying glass out - it's a capital T underlined!

I got a Bachmann 'Old Oak Common' version today. Seller said they arrived with him on Thursday. Very nice it is too, and it seems it's better assembled than the Hornby one (mine has poorly-assembled/glued handrails, so they are bowed - easily corrected though). The Hornby one does seem a little weightier than the Bachmann (I haven't actually weighed then yet). There also a bag of small parts included; lamps, vacuum pipes etc, but no indication as to where they fit exactly. I'll have to check out the photos......

The point I was making here was that the Piccadilly Line's stations (at least, as far as the old Hounslow West station) were originally built for District Railway surface stock trains (steam), with the District later being part of the UndergrounD group (which did actually include some of the genuine 'tube' lines). The line was not built for tube stock trains as running today, hence my reference to the UndergrounD. As for Heath Row, oh yes, it really did exist. Why do you think what was originally called London Airport was renamed Heathrow? It was located roughly where the Queen's building used to be, within the central area. Heathrow (or Heath Row as it was before) was all flattened during the latter part of the war when the government stole Fairey Aviation's Great West Aerodrome to create a new airfield for B29 Superfortress bombers (which never came to Europe in WWII as it turned out), and then afterwards decided it would be perfect for an urgently-needed civil airport (which wasn't actually that urgently needed, they just used it an an excuse to get their airport approved). There was even a Heathrow Hall, also demolished, but the Great Western missed that one! I don;t remember the Edmonds cash tubes, but mum told me about them. Co-op shops had them too, I believe.

Really, I'd have said they are UndergrounD stations, with tube trains running through them! Is that the Heath Row village that's now under the concrete? (That went during the war.............) Is it Edmonds you mean, in the High Street? That was on three floors and had a lift, and an escalator (in it's later years)?

Hornby Westerns did have a valance - of sorts. They clipped under the couplings, and moved with the bogie. Yours is (are) missing.

The NRM currently has Commonweath of Eisenhower and Union of Canada in it's care at the moment. At least, I think that's what they are called............ Yes, indeed! *Union of South Africa

Weel, I phoned them around lunchtime on Friday. I mentioned this forum, and your suggestion, Dave. The guy semed to understand what screws I was on about, and said he was certain they had some. Six screws arrived FOC in the post this morning! Excellent! Many thanks for the advice Dave.

I have a blue FYE (Venturer) and recently managed to obtain one of the last maroon SYP (Legionaire). Today I decided to have a look at putting on (or in) the train indicators. Body off the blue one, fine. Body off the maroon one, and I find that the chassis' top plate has not been screwed down onto the chassis. The brass inserts are all there in the chassis, but the six screws are all missing. They're smaller diameter and length than the body fixing screws. Anyone else had these missing? I'm reluctant to take it back whence I bought it (what's he gonna do with it, there's none left for him to swap it with!), so Dave, is there any possibility these can be supplied, please? (I've since checked DCC supplies website - they only list body fixing screws in their spares for the class 52, not the ones I refer to)

Last week, my local stockist's website listings for Dapol Westerns was a bit of a mess in that the loco numbers/names/catalogue numbers didn't match other stockist's listing, so I wasn't sure what was what, therefore I didn't get round to pre-ordering. Once they arrived in stock later in the week, the website was updated and matched other's listings, but showed only 3 in stock when I looked..........and unfortunately, the price had gone up a fair bit. Hey ho. So after reading this thread regarding the shortage, on Saturday morning I bought their last but one maroon SYP one (Legionaire) 'off the shelf', and they were all sold by Saturday evening!

Got my Rail Blue version the other day (to be named 'Campaigner', as that's what pulled the 'Western Requiem relief' train on which I travelled in 1977), and a maroon version will follow when it's available. A terrific model, really looks the part, and is sooooooo smooth, powerful and runs beautifully over pointwork. Only slight disappointment is the previously-mentioned indicator boxes, but having followed the thread, I think I'll get that sorted. Those lifting eyes looks a challenge for my eyes though! Now, regarding performance. Could it be mine, or is it geared just a tad slow? I haven't yet done any proper 'speed testing' and adjusting for scale, but while I certainly don't want 'train set' speeds, it's not up to express speeds at it's maximum. What does anyone else think?

I too remember Bailies Dailies. Wasn't the first shop half way up the hill on the left, then it moved to a much smaller shop further up the hill? Spent a lot of money there, and while not in the same league as the 'Alladin's cave' that was Max William's shop, it was well stocked with lot of bits and pieces you just can't get nowadays. I think John Baggott used to run one of the Bristol exhibitions, the one in the old Temple Meads trainshed. It's nice to know he's still around, but I've not seen him at any show for years. He always used to greet me and my dad, (who always tagged along with me to exhibitions) with a bold "Good morning, gentlemen!" (difficult to put it in his voice here!).

I like that one too. My great great grandfather could well have been driving that Large Metro tank. He was based at Southall from 1900 to retirement in 1924 (after the usual GWR wanderings through promotions, after starting on the broad gauge in Frome), and I know he drove these Metros quite regularly out of Southall shed. My grandmother worked at the Aeolian Company in Hayes, and used the train to go to work. She apparently usually cut it fine time wise, and often missed the train, even if her dad was driving. If he had the 'right away' and saw her running down the steps, he made a swift exit from the station, rather than let her get on. On arriving home, and on getting an earful from his daughter, he used to say to her "Time's time, my girl." I'd like to think he drove the (now restored) Railmotor too, but will never know. Sadly, I have no photo's of him in the usual pose of 'stopping his engine from falling over'.

Bachmann do (did) an "Isleworth Coal Company" wagon, and the company is listed at Brentford Docks in 1914, but it's not clear how long after then that the company existed. They also do a "Firestone Tyres" coal wagon, which would definitely have appeared on the Brentford branch, as Firestone's was rail served, even if only for incoming coal supply. Naturally I have both, me being an "Isleworthian"!

Well, I thought the same as you. But where I was sat my view wasn't that clear, so I kept quiet!

I did, in the early days after it came into the possession of the GWR Preservation Group at Southall. It was pretty knackered by then really. Don't think it's physically in much better condition now, despite the bodywork repairs! We never really mastered on-the-move gear changes in the four-speed box, and it would only ever seem to go into one gear from neutral, and it could be any gear, not just the same one! It would still easily pull away in top with a Toad break van in tow.

About what year would that have been?

Ah, so how much was the parking ticket back then?

That not a MkII escort, looks too small for that. I'm sure it's a Singer Chamois (sporty Hillman Imp).