robertcwp

No SR hauled passenger stock carried blue/grey but there were SR-designed carriages that carried the livery, such as TPO vans and some departmental stock and lots of EMUs with SR-design bodywork, mostly 2 and 4 EPB units. Three Hawksworth SKs carried blue/grey. There are photos around of them - one in 'Profile of the Warships' shows all three.

I believe there were two porthole corridor seconds and only one composite that carried blue/grey.

1970s blue is the first era I remember too, although I can remember seeing green diesels and units and a few maroon carriages. My layout spends part of its time in the blue era, up to around 1980: P1080863m by Robert Carroll, on Flickr One of my major issues with models depicting the blue period is the huge variation in shades of blue between manufacturers and sometimes within their own product ranges. The colour did vary, becoming a bit darker over time I believe. A former railwayman informed me that some works mixed black with the blue to make the colour more durable, which also made it darker.

Apologies if I missed this, but does the Bath Green Park layout still exist? I recall seeing it several times at shows. The layout itself looked good but the stock never quite said 'S&D' to me.

That's departmental stock not passenger stock.

I'm only aware of post-nationalisation LMS designed passenger stock carrying blue/grey. Some non-passenger stock such as TPO vans might have dated from the LMS period.

There are a couple of twins on Retford which have etched sides, modified with extra doors. They are in The West Riding set. The other two ex-Coronation twins on Retford are Mailcoach plastic kits, also modified with the extra doors, and there is a metal Silver Jubilee dining triplet, possibly RDEB etches. As Hornby are soon to produce the Coronation/West Riding streamlined stock RTR, I'm not sure that £850 would be worth paying for etches.

This is the list of standard lamp codes from 1950. It's LMR but I believe it applied to all regions except the SR, subject to local variations such as the S&D as mentioned in a previous post. The codes were changed in the early 1960s and possibly prior to that.

It's moved on since Tony's 2020 photos too. Engines now have lamps - although I noticed that the K2's lamp had fallen off - and the named trains have headboards. Most passenger trains have carriage boards too. The fleet has moved on a lot, with new motive power and various gaps in the stock plugged, although there is always work to do. Buildings, signals and other details are moving on and the broken ground signal in one of the photos has been replaced - I found the broken off bit in a wagon! The Elizabethan might soon have an A4 more typical for 1957 than Merlin, which did not receive a double chimney until after the 1957 summer, good though Roy's one is. Incidentally, the 1957 Elizabethan A4s, with number of workings, were: Source: 'What's on the Lizzie?' by John Aylard, Tommy Knox and David Percival.

The Thompson K1 was another example of using a lower number, using the old LNER K1 - ex GNR H3 - designation. The old ones had all become K2 by then anyway so there was no reclassification of other engines. Here is the only image of the Thompson B3/3 that I have in my collection: 1497_Gorton_12-3-48 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr The Thompson K1, later K1/1, was a rebuild of the Gresley K4. The production series of K1s built shortly after nationalisation are usually attributed to Peppercorn but apart from the gap in the running plate ahead of the cylinders, they seem to me to have been pretty much the Thompson design. Thompson rebuild: 61997 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Production series: 62005_Westgate-in-Weardale_3Dales_20-5-67_m by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

The Thompson B2 was a B17 rebuild and the ex-GC ones would have been reclassified much as Thompson did with the original A1 and L1.

The photo I had in mind is by Keith Pirt and is on page 58 of the Booklaw Steam Memories 55 on Retford. The caption does acknowledge that the train might be the boat train. The image shows 61363 heading west about to cross the flat crossing. Date given is October 1958. The reason it's clearly the boat train is the visible stock, notably the Gresley RKB second carriage behind a Mark 1 open second. There were only a few such RKB conversions and one was often in the boat train.

I could not find the train referred to in the 1957 summer timetable but there was a dated Fridays and Saturdays Ely-Manchester Central and return, which appears to a have been a relief train for the boat train. The relief train did not call at Retford in either direction. I have seen a photo of a B1 on the boat train at Retford. It is not captioned as such but is very clearly the boat train.

I like the Thompson B2 models. Does anyone know of any evidence of the type working the Harwich-Liverpool boat train, please?

Yes, the combined listing was J67, J68 and J69.

On 142 votes, the J6 was in the top 50 but a long way short of top spot, which went to the Maunsell U with 254 votes. The highest placed LNER and Constituents' entry was the J67/J69 and J68. Retford could do with another J6 or two. I would like a U for my own layout. My new year got off to a less than perfect start as I had a points failure on my layout on New Year's Day. The drive shaft in a Peco point motor snapped - the second time this has happened in 22 years (and with over 100 motors - two others having died on one side and been replaced). I managed to fix the failure with a new piece of wire which I threaded through the holes in the motor and the point at the first attempt. Normal service was then resumed.

Some recent video clips: Another video of an Austerity on a coal train. Jubilee on a mid-1950s express. This one is a slightly shortened formation for 'The Midlander' which includes four Lawrence Scale Models carriages recently acquired second-hand via Tony Wright. A shortened representation of The Pines Express including several Lawrence Scale Models carriages. Hornby A3 on Bachmann Thompson stock with two MJT Gresley carriages in the middle. The Gresleys were built by Derek Shore and formerly ran on the Shipley MRS layout 'Leicester South GC. This formation is of a Manchester-Marylebone service from the early 1950s. Bachmann Patriot on a set of Lawrence Scale Models carriages forming an excursion working. Hornby Clan on an overnight service including three Lawrence Scale Models carriages. Kernow 10203. I moved the layout period forward to the early 1960s last week. Here is a Bachmann Warship on a parcels train.

One of the first twelve Mark 1 RMBs on the left, in its original form without the cupboard. Note the seating bay to the left of the middle door.

Thanks. I like the EMU formation in the background of this image. I have never seen a photo of the real thing but it represents the formation with a baggage car at each end and converted hauled stock in the middle which was, I believe, used for those making trips to the seaside. The baggage cars were handy for prams etc as well as luggage.

Thanks, of those I only have 58 but will look out for the others. North Shields was certainly an impressive piece of modelling. I suspect that at the MRJ show it was almost impossible to get near it without waiting ages. I recall that I could only visit the show for a short time, possibly after work, but the reasons are lost in the mists of time. Does anyone know what became of the layout?

Full list of Class 87 names and other engines that carried them here.

As well as the 30 carriages acquired via Tony earlier this year, I was also fortunate to be able to acquire some stock from Derek Shore that formerly ran on Leicester South GC, most notably this pair: IMG_0337am by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

I don't recall seeing North Shields at the MRJ show but probably did unless it was so crowded that I could not get near it. I believe it was featured in an edition of MRJ, which I may have somewhere, but I cannot recall which one. Didn't Highdyke appear in an auction listing a few years ago? I thought someone who posts on this thread saw the listing.

Serck shutters: 47_dn-Hull-Pullman_WoodGreen_31-5-68 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr No Serck shutters: D1523_WoodGreen_1N56_31-5-68 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr I have exactly the issue with tail lamps that you mention as my own layout has a terminus with overall roof. I decided that the lesser of two evils was tail lamps on both ends. I don't have working signals but have non-working ones, which I concluded were better than nothing. I don't exhibit my layout, although there are some photos elsewhere on this forum.

I wonder who one of those might have been. I think I had 30 carriages, many of which are now earning their keep on my layout. Here are two of them: P1090009m by Robert Carroll, on Flickr