Wheatley

Sectorisation started in 1982, Scotrail came along in 1983. Most of the liveries might have come later and the coaches might only have been used on dedicated Sealink services for a few years but as a potted history of one of the more complex and confusing bits of BR history it isn't that bad.

If their vehicle range is anything to go by I don't think they'll be doing "everyday run of the mill" anything.

Not necessarily. Until 1994 at least for routine inspections they were simply signalled on the block as a Class 9 train (Class 1 if not requiring to stop) and the time they needed to be clear of the section was agreed with the signalman. A lookout might be provided but that was as far as it went.

A pair is no odder than any of their other releases, test trains normally had more than two coaches and the Royal Train definitely had more than a SLF in it. I think a second run of 2 SKs is a good idea though, if I thought there was a reasonable possibility of that I might even join the CC and buy the first two ! (They fit in with a 'nice to have but not so nice I can be bothered respraying a load' idea). As it is I'll just keep an eye out for them on Ebay.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/92766-news-from-warley-2014/?p=1672631 Not sure what you would do about the half a dozen or so other SKs in the set, I expect a lot of BSKs will finish up on Ebay.

Yes. The sidethrow on the front of the loco was greater than on the rear. More likely it's to stop their less sane customers stalking them and posting dog sh** through their letter boxes etc. I have a collection of name badges from my customer facing days, none of them have my real name on.

I don't believe I suggested anywhere that the reduction was solely down to yellow paint ? I suggested it was the start of doing something about an identified problem. I believe the full story is in "British Rail - A Journey By Design" by Brian Haresnape if you care to go find a copy.

A lot of dead P.Way men would suggest otherwise, steam locos ran over plenty of them. Not only were diesels even harder to see and hear coming because they simply had less visual and audible presence than a steam loco, the whole railway was getting faster. Faster passenger trains, more 40/50/60mph fitted freight, less 25mph unfitted freight. These days it's been a bad year if trackworker fatalities are in single figures - the last time I looked this up (and of course I can't find the link now), the annual death toll in the 1950s and 60s was frequently over a hundred. Something had to be done.

Dimensionally accurate would have done.

Both pics taken in September 1957 on the Styal line, LMR. Single black headlamp on the LH lamp iron. Saloon is M45045, no steps under the LH buffer.

There are two photos in Steve Bank's article which appear to show saloons being propelled, both have the lamp lower left, i.e. Class 8. As they clearly aren't Class 8s I suspect the position was not critical as long as there was a headlamp on it somewhere. Could the two extra bits be footsteps ? There are a couple of photos in Bank's article and also the 1998 Model Rail walk-around article showing steps under the left-hand corners of some saloons but not others (BR modification ?).

Single headlamp on either bracket, judging from photos. No sign of guard irons on any of the photos I've seen.

Various 6-wheel vans were used as 'Cell Trucks' conveying coach batteries to and from the main works. A number of photos of the earlier LMS 6 wheeled fish vans appear in Dave Larkin's books (and elsewhere), and the later slab-sided vans (your second link) went into departmental use too.

The side control springs are indeed for a steadier ride when propelling, without them the vehicle tends to 'hunt' from side to side. Not all the saloons were fitted, some were retro-fitted later but at lest one was never fitted. The details are in Steve Banks' article.

Normally I'd agree but in this case I beg to differ. Trying to judge intensity of lighting levels from a photograph must be even more fraught with booby-traps that trying to work out exactly what shade BR Maroon was. Just about every setting on the camera affects the result, as does the film and everything you do with it afterwards. In this case, like Mickey, I prefer to rely on my personal experience of stopping DMUs outside the box on sunny days to check that the tail lamps were actually lit. It does sound like the OP might have a duff one though.

My SIIa had all new steering as part of its rebuild. Reconditioned steering box, new track rod ends, new relay, I had everything done except my chrome balls. I still shut my eyes when an artic comes the other way. Quite a few of the articles in Land-Rover Owner when it first started were concerned with fitting new steering boxes to series Landies, the donor vehicles being anything except another Landy.

I think the stripe is just the light catching the barrel top on the sides, the dark green and yellow scheme didn't come in for RAF kit until the early 70s as part of 'Survive to Operate' or whatever it was that preceded that. As for painting everything in the same pattern camo, was that not to make it impossible/difficult for the Russians to tell how many of anything you had by identifying small differences ? A friend spent the greater part of the 1980s poring over 8x10s of intercepted Soviet 'Bears' and 'Bisons' trying to identify tiny differences in airframes to find unique identifiers.

Agreed, the 'bumperettes' at the back are the sturdier square type rather than the grab handles fitted to the civvy spec ones. However, I think they're 109"s (long wheelbase), as they have three hoops for the canvas tilt. If you look at the 88" in will5210's link it's only got two uprights. They look like 88"s in the photo because it's foreshortened. (Unless mil-spec 88"s had three uprights of course).

I concur with Jim (I was looking for pics when he posted !) Five or six per wagon, loaded with the tow hitch lashed down and the back end of the trailer up in the air, with the hitch of the next one lashed down underneath it. Airfix do the Sankey version in the ex-JB Models LWB Land-rover kit. It's rather nice, which is more than can be said for the Land-rover. http://www.ehattons.com/36800/Airfix_A02324_Long_Wheelbase_Landrover_Hard_Top_GS_Trailer_with_British_Army_marking_transfer/StockDetail.aspx http://tk4666.moonfruit.com/communities/9/004/006/892/339/images/4529891458.jpg

Possibly being used as skips. It's possible there was a general clean up / clear out going on, also the engineers occasionally had a 'scrap drive' and cleared up all the detritus of old chairs, bolts, fishplates etc that they habitually left lying around the place. Cracking layout !

You've got two now. Mine was because I'm struggling to see where there's any actual criticism, as opposed to pointers to which model it might be a copy of, and identification of some bits which might need attention to make a runner.

Is this the one ? I'm really enjoying the stories - I regret I never knew the shop, just saw the adverts and mentions in RM, but it's fascinating learning of the connections between the various people involved. Thanks !