sirwilliamfrs

The Wild Swan books on the Coronations are a two-part work, one a highly detailed description of their design, liveries and all the minutiae, the other an excellent photographic album and are what I would consider the definitive work on the class. The RCTS book is equally entertaining, has some different angles on the history and work of the class and of course includes the Princess Royal class and 6202. However, as would be expected, some information is duplicated in the later publication.

I just remembered this manufacturer, expensive but high quality http://www.wawiko.com/.

You were overcharged, it was The 15 Guinea Special!

Hornby 46228 BR Green (semi-smokebox) Wrenn 46229 BR Red (repainted & lined, scale wheels) Hornby-Dublo LMS 6231 x 2 (1 with & 1 without deflectors) Hornby-Dublo BR 46232 x 2 (1 gloss & 1 matt) Hornby 6233 Royal Train with 3 coaches 1980s Hornby LMS 6233 1980s Hornby LMS 6234 Wrenn 46235 BR Green Wrenn 46242 BR Blue Wrenn 46243 BR Red (renumbered/renamed) Hornby-Dublo 46245 BR Red Hornby-Dublo 46247 BR Red Hornby-Dublo 46252 BR Black (repainted/renumbered) Wrenn 6254 LMS Black Hornby 46256 (new) & Hornby 46229 (NRM-new)

And will the Lord Nelson be officially announced?

David Jenkinson wrote a two-part article in "Railway World" April & May 1966 on the liveries of the Coronation Pacifics. The error regarding 46256's livery appears in a table in the article. The true answer would appear to be that mentioned in later publications. In OPC's "Profile of the Duchesses" there is a photo of 46256 in 1958, clearly in LMS lining style maroon. In the photo the loco still has it's electric lighting set, which was removed during September 1959, when the loco was again repainted. Therefore the original maroon livery applied was that which 46256 carried for the rest of it's life.

Neither "The Stanier Pacifics", RCTS 2017 or "LMS Locomotive Profiles No.11", Wild Swan 2008 list 45256 as ever having carried BR-style lining on the maroon livery. It was repainted into Maroon, lined LMS-style, in May 1958 and remained in this livery until withdrawal.

Page 61 of "Locomotives of the National Collection", Ian Allan, 2008, has an excellent colour photo of 46229 in the BR-style lined maroon. "Looking Back at Stanier Locomotives", Strathwood, 2009 has two photos of 46247 in the same livery.

The frames of 46202 were different in several ways to Coronation Class frames, the most noticeable being the unequally spaced driving wheelbase as per the Princess Royal Class. 46242's frames were repaired and sections were replaced as necessary. It has been reported that a Crewe Works fitter recalled that the front part of 46202's frames were used in the repair, but there is no firm evidence of this. As regards double heading, the rule was that Duchesses were forbidden from being leading engine, but photos exist of 46249 and 46256, both leading Black 5s!

There were persistent rumours at the time that 46245 City of London attained 118 mph down Stoke Bank on 9th June 1963 with a Home Counties Railway Society returning special from Doncaster-Kings Cross after a works open day. There appear to have been no accurate timing observers on the train, only stopwatch times taken at random. Unless someone knows different.......! The last reference I can recall in print was in an early issue of RAIL magazine about 1981.

If only Royal Scot biscuits were still made...........!

60539 Bronzino would be the "odd one out" as it had a double chimney and Kylchap double blast pipe from new but no multiple-valve regulator. I would imagine Bachmann's tooling of the standard boiler could be fitted with a double chimney fairly simply. Bronzino was often said to be the best A2 for the reasons given, therefore an excellent subject for a model.

I too have a query regarding Jubilee nameplates. In around 1962-4 I saw 45581 Bihar and Orissa several times on the Bootle Branch from Liverpool Docks on freights to the Yorkshire area. I am convinced that for a time it had at least the L/H nameplate (I always saw the left side only) background painted half-white, half-orange split vertically half-way. Does anyone else remember this or have I imagined it?

With regard to the names carried by 86259, at present it carries the name Peter Pan on one side and Les Ross on the other. From October 1995 until April 1998 86259 carried the nameplates "Greater Manchester-The Life and Soul of Britain". SWFRS

The real 68002 was delivered with the logos on the cabs reversed so the Dapol versions are correct, only the livery stripes on one side are incorrect.

Well, obviously I'm pleased! I once saw 46256 alongside 46220 both facing south at Crewe in 1962, a sight I'll remember for ever. Great news about the Class 87 too, spiritual successor to the Duchesses.