acourtrail

My start with model railways was when I was six (and my family felt I was "grown up enough" to have trains) in 1988. Childhood was spent firmly in OO gauge territory with plenty of 2nd hand Hornby stuff from the 1970s and 1980s, and later on in teenage years the Hornby stuff was bolstered with some Bachmann, Lima and Replica Railways products. Fast forward to adult life in 2003 (and my own home), and the OO gauge is too big. So, I took myself off on a trip to the much missed Hendford Halt model shop in Yeovil to investigate (and begin my first flirtation with) British N gauge. There wasn't much N in stock (Bachmann was only just getting the Farish products back into production), but among the 2nd hand stuff was a Farish class 33 (33025 Sultan in 1990s civil engineer's "dutch" livery) as well as some Farish "Poole era" MK2s in Network Southeast livery. While the class 33 and MK2s were nice, I didn't stick with British N gauge (eventually going for American N gauge for a few years). Fast forward to 2008, and I visited a model shop in Bristol to find that Farish had started doing Warships......

There seems to have been some variation with the shade Farish have used for the carmine over the years. Your MK1 there is from about ten years ago, and was one of the earlier runs Fraish did, which used a brighter shade for the carmine. More recent batches of the MK1s have used the darker shade like that on your Thompson. I am not sure which shade is the right one.

I agree, indeed, I read somewhere that the Cresta was only made for one year (1965, I think) and that (apart from a small number that slipped through the net) the Rambler was almost entirely allocated to the export markets. Most of the Austin 1800s that Minix made were exported to Australia (although, they do turn up in the UK fairly often). The Minix car I see the most often where I am (Somerset) is the Vauxhall Viva HA, with the Ford Anglia the next easiest to find. I used to see Triumph 2000s (usually the 1982 - 1990 black base ones) all the time, but they have become as rare as hen's teeth where I am (the full size "Trummies" were popular with banger racers, so perhaps the 1.76 scale people have banger raced them!!). Having said that, I have a mint but unboxed red Triumph 2000 (it actually came in a sealed but crushed and torn beyond repair box, but the car inside was 100% OK) that I bought last year.

I didn't know the Victor 101 was rare, thank you for telling me. I managed to find a set of five unboxed Minix cars (including two Victors) in my local antique shop for £6. While the red Victor was missing it's wheels, it was otherwise in very good condition. The blue Victor was complete and in very good condition. One of the other three cars (a Triumph 2000) was in poor condition apart from it's wheels, so I salvaged the wheels and used them in the red Victor.

This is very useful information Gwiwer, especially regarding later on after the line from Exeter to Plymouth via Okehampton closed. When the Brighton service ran as a Brighton - Exeter train (and used one set of coaches for both the outward and return workings) there would be no point in changing the locomotive, so working it with a class 33 throughout would make sense. However, in the early years of the Warship era, when the train ran right through to Plymouth, it DID have Warships west of Salisbury. Circa 1966. Heading west, the Warship allocated to the 1B43 11.00 Waterloo - Salisbury (arriving at Salisbury at 12.46) would then wait at Salisbury for the 10.12 Brighton - Plymouth (arriving at 12.57). The class 33 would come off, and the Warship would take over for the run to Plymouth (departing Salisbury 13.06). The class 33 would then wait at Salisbury for the 1O86 10.40 Plymouth - Brighton (arriving at Salisbury at 14.27). The Warship on that train would come off, and the class 33 took over for the run to Brighton (departing Salisbury at 14.45). The Warship taken off that train would then work the 14.36 Salisbury - Waterloo.

My prediction for the 2020 Farish Range is :- No completely new toolings - but more of the existing loco range upgraded to chassis with speakers - plus a few new liveries and some more batches of existing liveries with new numbers. Although partly a wish of mine - an extension of the range of Bulleid coaches could be viable (if not in 2020, then maybe fairly soon). While there are already some Bulleid coaches (4 variants, post 1949 with 15'' ventilators BTso, CK, TK, TO) in the Farish range, there is a bigger selection of Bulleids in the OO range (we already know that the following are planned, Post 1949 BTso, CK, TK (but no TO like there is in N), plus four pre 1949 with 10'' ventilators BCK, BTso, CK, TK).

Good video HRH_Dan_Hull - and a nice layout coming on there. One thing I have noticed with the C class (both the real one at the Bluebell Railway and model ones) that puzzles me - there appears to be no reversing rod. Usually a tender locomotive has noticeable reversing rod above the running plate towards the cab on one side - but that doesn't seem the case with the C class.

I bought a BR black C class at the Weymouth model railway show at the beginning of November, and I have been fairly pleased with mine so far. Its not a very good puller (eight 16ton mineral wagons with the Farish Coal loads in them plus a pillbox brake van is the maximum it has wanted to pull), but so far it has run well otherwise. While I am sure in real life the C class would have pulled a lot heavier trains earlier on in their lives, I would have thought that they would have been relegated to the branch lines in BR days, so my model's lack of pulling power shouldn't be much of an issue.

When the Warships were used, yes. The Warship that hauled the 10.40 Plymouth to Brighton had to come off at Salisbury so that it could haul the connecting 14.36 Salisbury - Waterloo. In the other direction, the Warship that worked the 11.00 Waterloo - Salisbury then would take over the 10.12 Brighton - Plymouth from Salisbury.

The Salisbury - Exeter line was I think singled in June 1967. Unfortunately - I don't know much about the steam era - but Standard 5MTs and Bulleid lightweight pacifics would have been the most likely locos used on the Brighton - Plymouth during the early 1960s. Once the service was dieselised - the Brighton - Plymouth trains would have had Warships west of Salisbury and a class 33 between Salisbury and Brighton.

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but I have been doing further research on the "Warship era" Waterloo - Exeter trains, and hopefully I can add some more information that could aid people modelling these trains. I can add some more information. From the research I have done, it would appear that the Waterloo - Exeter service running Monday to Friday in the summer of 1966 (just dealing with the trains hauled by Warships) was basically as follows. One (two day) cycle working one return trip between Brighton and Plymouth (10.12 Brighton - Plymouth (day one) + 10.40 Plymouth - Brighton (day two)). Because a set of coaches would take two days to complete the cycle, two nine car sets of coaches were required to maintain the daily service. Each set of coaches used a 6RB set (either 516 or 540 which, according to CWNs of the time were 6 MK1s formed BSK, CK, TSO, RB, TSO, BSK). A 3 car set (usually a Bulleid L set formed BTSO, CK, BTSO) was coupled onto the Plymouth end. One cycle working one return trip over the whole route with a short working half way through (06.15 Exeter - Waterloo + 11.00 Waterloo - Salisbury + 14.36 Salisbury - Waterloo + 17.00 Waterloo - Exeter). The Salisbury "shorts" connected with the Brighton - Plymouth route workings at Salisbury to maintain the roughly bi-hourly service between Waterloo and Exeter. As this cycle always (all being well!) would see the stock end up back where it started (Exeter) each day, only a single set of ten coaches was needed to maintain it. The set of coaches used was formed of 4RMB set 66 with a 3 car set coupled onto each end (the 3 car sets used were usually MK1 K sets formed BSK, CK, BSK). The 4RMB set is worth a bit of explaining. Set 66 was built as a Bulleid (10'' window vents) 2 car R set formed BTSO 4374, BCK 6703 - it then had two coaches added into it to make it into a 4RMB set (formed BTSO, CK, RMB, BCK) - these were Bulleid (15'' window vents) CK 5916 (taken out of three car L set 838) and MK1 RMB 1849. One (two day) cycle working three return trips over the whole route (07.24 Exeter - Waterloo + 13.00 Waterloo - Exeter + 18.03 Exeter - Waterloo (day one) + 09.00 Waterloo - Exeter + 14.10 Exeter - Waterloo + 19.00 Waterloo - Exeter (day two)). Because a set of coaches would take two days to complete the cycle, two ten car sets of coaches were required to maintain the daily service. This cycle used 8RKB sets 701, 702 with two loose coaches (CK, SK (they could be either Bulleids or MK1s, and to confuse things further Bulleid TOs and MK1 TSOs were often used instead of the SK)) coupled onto the Exeter end of each set. One cycle working one return trip over the whole route (10.15 Exeter - Waterloo + 15.00 Waterloo - Exeter). Because this cycle always (all being well!) saw the stock end up back where it started (Exeter) each day, it only needed a single set of ten coaches to maintain it. This was the cycle that used 7RKB set 703 with a 3 car set (usually a Bulleid L set formed BTSO, CK, BTSO) coupled onto the Exeter end. Now just to throw confusion into the mix, we have the problems of 8RKB sets 701, 702 and 7RKB set 703! It would appear that these sets didn't stay how they were meant to be formed according to the CWNs. I haven't studied the formations of sets 701, 702 much because it is impossible to tell which set is which in photos - but because set 703 was unique (and clearly easier to identify in photos) it has been easier for me to research it. According to the summer 1965 CWNs - set 703 was formed (from the Waterloo end) of Bulleid (10'' window vents) BTSO 4378, unallocated RKB, unallocated SO, unallocated FK, MK1 CK 15568, Bulleid (10'' window vents) BTSO 4380, MK1 SK 24307. By around 1966, set 703 seems to have been formed of Bulleid (10'' window vents) BTSO, Bulleid (rebuilt Tavern Car) RKB, Bulleid (15'' window vents TO, MK2 FK, MK1 CK, Bulleid (15'' window vents) TK, MK1 BSK. The set was in green - apart from the MK1 CK which was maroon. Also - both brake coaches are "inside out" with their luggage vans facing inwards. By early 1967, set 703 had changed again with the MK1 CK replaced with a Bulleid (59' Multi Door CK), the Bulleid RKB replaced with a MK1 RKB and the Bulleid TO replaced with a MK1 TSO. This means that set by this stage was formed of Bulleid (10'' window vents) BTSO, MK1 RKB, MK1 TSO, MK2 FK, Bulleid (59' Multi Door) CK, Bulleid (15'' window vents) TK, MK1 BSK. The set was still in green - apart from the MK1 RKB and TSO which were blue and grey. Also - both brake coaches are still "inside out" with their luggage vans facing inwards. The Gresley RBs did turn up quite frequently in Waterloo - Exeter trains (especially after the rebuilt Tavern cars had been withdrawn). They were not the only ex Eastern Region restaurant cars to see use on these trains. At least three ER RUs (1927, 1930, 1933) were moved to the WR, and, because they were on Gresley bogies, the WR seem to have been "offloaded" them onto the Waterloo - Exeter route. These RUs probably had some sort of modification to their kitchens to provide some kind of buffet counter. As far as I know they didn't get rebuilt into RBS vehicles (an RBS had two seating bays replaced with a buffet counter and therefore lost two windows on the kitchen side), they might have been given the RU(B) modification which just saw four seats taken out and a transverse counter put into the existing kitchen (these coaches didn't change on the outside, so are next to impossible to tell apart from an as built RU). Another interesting catering vehicle that seems to have fairly regularly turned up on the route is W80040, the WRs D.702 RK (Restaurnant Kitchen). This coach is worth going into a bit of detail about. For people who are not already aware, there were TWO main types of MK1 full kitchen car, the more well known is the RKB (1500 - 1569), these have a kitchen and a buffet counter but no seats. These coaches were the most useful version of the full kitchen car because they could be used either as a restaurant car by using an FO, TSO etc next to them as the dining area or on quieter trains (or if an RB or RMB was unavailable) just the buffet area could be used without the need for using an open coach next to them. The second variant of the MK1 full kitchen car was the RK (80000 - 80040). These were just a kitchen inside (there was a corridor along one side for people to safely walk through) and HAD to have an open coach next to them to be of any use at all. They also had absolutely no provision for counter service (so could only provide at seat meal service). Putting W80040 in a Waterloo - Exeter set must have caused all kinds of problems because from what I gather, all the journeys on that route was meant to have buffet service (with restaurant service also provided on most of the journeys).

Thank you.

Thank you for that robertcwp. Out of interest - which groups has this been discussed please (so that I can find out more).

While all the gangwayed passenger carrying main line loco hauled coaches were meant to be given blue & grey - I have a feeling there may have one or some done in plain blue. I am sure I read somewhere that when the B.R corporate identity was introduced - Eastleigh works saw the order that main line coaches were to be blue & grey and took it to just mean coaches that were to be used on front line (ie Inter - City) trains with all other passenger stock to be done in plain blue. Supposedly they did at least one main line loco hauled MK1 (and I don't mean a suburban (ie non gangwayed) or a TC conversion) in plain blue before finding out that ALL gangwayed passenger carrying MK1s should be blue & grey. I have never seen a photo of this alleged plain blue MK1(s) - so I cannot be sure that what I read is true - or if it did exist - weather it ran in service.

The Blue & Grey ones got around a bit. If you can find the DVD "Changing Trains volume one" there is some nice footage of D818 Glory at Bristol Temple Meads with a Weymouth - Bristol train - and the first coach is a Stanier BG in Blue & Grey (I cannot quite make out if it still has it's gangways though). Be a bit careful with the RCTS list. While I don't doubt that it is 99% accurate - accidental mistakes can creep in. According to the list - the last Stanier BGs with gangways had gone by 1981 - but I remember finding a picture elsewhere on the web that must have been taken in 1982 at the earliest (there was a Y reg (ie Aug 82 - July 83) parked car also in the shot) showing a Stanier BG (couldn't make out the number though - but it appeared to be one still in revenue earning service) in plain blue with its gangways still intact.

Those Warships look temping - especially Grenville - as that livery (Green with no warning panels) was only previously made as part of a digital train set. More nice coaches coming by the looks of things - I missed out on the Chocolate & Cream BG first time around - and at last the RU is being done in Chocolate & Cream.

While there may not be much chance of a lot of completely new models - it would be nice if there could be some more batches of existing stuff. I would like Farish to do the blue riband MK1 RU in chocolate & cream (they haven't done it in that livery and I could do with one for when I run my WR named trains). Some more Bullieds in the 1960s version of malachite green would be nice (maybe with a yellow stripe on the CK). Another run of the blue riband MK1s BSK, CK, TSO in green wouldn't hurt. Perhaps they could do a three car K set (BSK, CK, BSK) like they did with the Bulleids (they did those as a three car L set 830) a couple of years ago.

Correct Wickham Green. The Southern Region had just one of those 3 car MK1 dining sets - it consisted of D .36 RFO S 9 + D .700 RK S 80009 + D .56 RTO/RSO S 1006. It was issued to them for the Royal Wessex train (one of the "Festival of Britain" trains) - but didn't stay in that train for long.

I am glad that Hornby are doing these coaches (or more accurately the Club I belong to will glad - as they are modelling Yeovil Junction roughly 1945 - 1965). Now if only Farish would do these in N - I already have some of the nice "later build" ones - and some "multi door" stock would give me some variety.

Ron Lines has pretty much become my local-ish model shop (there are not many good model shops left in the Yeovil area that do N scale). I go down to Soton every couple of months or so and have a look to see what is in. They are always nice to go to and I usually manage to find something nice to buy. A lot of the models I need were produced years ago and hence have sold out. The only way of getting those models is hoping that someone has traded in their unwanted ones. Over the last two years I have managed to fill several gaps in my fleet - and thanks to this shop I have managed to obtain: A Farish class 42 "Warship" D827 "KELLY" in blue. Four of the latest Farish MK1s in chocolate & cream (BCK 21080, SK 24747, BSKs 34855, 34885). This has allowed me to complete a four coach set by adding two of these coaches (24747 and 34855) to FK 13185 and SK 25200 which I already had. Several Farish wagons (extra grey 16t mineral wagons and an LMS design cattle wagon).

I always look for second hand coaches to cannibalize, often the only way to get spare parts.

The coupling would have been a clip fit onto a spring loaded cam. If it is just the coupling part you have lost, you should be able to replace it with a clip fit coupling from any Stanier, Hawkesworth, Bullied or MK1 coach.

The last Stanier BGs were withdrawn from revenue service in roughly 1983/1984. I have seen a photograph elsewhere on the web of one still with gangways in 1981 that had only just been withdrawn (although I cannot remember the number off hand, I know it was a vehicle withdrawn that year). The RCTS website has a list of all the Stanier BGs that ran into the 1970s which includes their withdrawals and weather they lost their gangways or not (although, I might take the info re gangways with a pinch of salt because there are at least two preserved vehicles with gangways that look like they have had little or no restoration (so most likely were withdrawn still fitted) yet the RCTS list has them down as having their gangways removed).

I like that idea! The weight limit for my branch would need upping later on for my N class, 4MT tank and class 33. Of course, I will need to find a reason for my class 22 and Warship to be turning up with 4 coach (chocolate & cream) portions of Paddington express trains! The class 22 is easy to explain (they turned up in the Yeovil area frequently), and the Warship even easier. The chocolate & cream coaches will be another matter!

Yes a 700 would be a better fit, but I do N scale, and I prefer the C class (having seen 592 at the Bluebell Railway, even though it most likely never ran over that route in SR/BR service).