cctransuk

I think that you will find that the EE Type 1 is mounted on accommodation bogies; ie. it is incomplete. It certainly doesn't carry its finished paint / varnish coats. Regards, John Isherwood.

What happens today on heritage lines bears no relation whatsoever to what happene in the British Railways era; see http://www.preserved-diesels.co.uk/pdf3/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2323. Is there any evidence whatsoever that BR ever used the terms 'Dark Brunswick Green' and 'Dark Bronze Green'? Regards, John Isherwood.

I see nothing there to indicate different shades of loco green - just different degrees of weathering. Take a model finished in matt or satin and apply coats of Klear - the base colour doesn't change, but the perception of shade certainly does. Regards, John Isherwood.

Now you're getting into VERY deep water - and I'm not qualified to say anything more than there was more than one shade of DMU green! .... and then there was EMU green(s?). Regards, John Isherwood.

Having attended numerous 'Derby Open Days' in the 1960s, and seen ex-works steam locos immediately adjacent to ex-works, brand new diesel locos, I can state without a shadow of a doubt that the shade of green was identical. What did produce a perception issue, though, was that the lining, if any, applied to most diesels was quite different from that applied to steam locos - with the honourable exceptions of of the early prototypes. This is how 'fake news' / railway myths arise - someone challenges the facts known to those who were there at the time, and saw things with their own eyes. Regards, John Isherwood.

You really can't be that naive !!! "free tickets to concerts, festivals etc, but that's PR providing a relationship builder" A bribe for a good review. "five star hotels and with private jets taking you to and from the UK" Ditto "It is a generally accepted rule to that in order to review something, the publication won't pay for it - be it a concert ticket, a new vehicle or what have you. This is not a manufacturer paying to advertise a product". Absolute rubbish !!! I know that you don't actually believe all this, but I suppose that it salves the conscience to say it. Regards, John Isherwood.

You are missing the critical point - magazines carry separate paid-for advertising for the manufacturers of the products that they are reviewing. If you are suggesting that this fact in no way influences the tone or content of their reviews, you are a lot more naive than most of us here. You may or may not be correct in stating thet Will does not receive any payment, in money or kind, from the manufacturers of the models that he reviews. That cannot be said a great many bloggers who are most certainly well rewarded for their inclusion / reviews / promotion of branded products. Hence my statement that all reviews / blogs should be regarded with the utmost scepticism. Regards, John Isherwood.

Oh dear - the 'celebrity' word ! Famous for being famous ? Let's remember that anyone can set themselves up as an online reviewer, and that there are thousands of potential viewers with even less knowledge of the subject that the reviewer. Get enough views, and you're suddenly a 'celebrity expert' - and manufacturers will flock to your in-box, wanting you to review their products. Of course, there's going to be the 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' element involved, and many 'online celebrities' / bloggers can and do make a full-time, comfortable living from this activity. On-line reviews are simply manufacturers' publicity, and should be regarded with even more scepticism than magazine reviews where the magazine is paid to advertise the manufacturers' products. Regards, John Isherwood.

..... and a nice shot of an ex-LMS BG in unlined crimson / blood livery; (as opposed to the later maroon). Regards, John Isherwood.

Pretty much - it depend on how much force you're prepared to use. I'd cut through the wheels / axles at their midpoint - they'll come out easily then. Then fit new bearings / axles / wheels. Regards, John Isherwood.

The original release of this bogie had the axles dropped in and the lower edges of the cast frame slots crimped / pressed over to retain them. I can see no evidence of crimping on this bogie, so I am surmising that the axle slots have been modified for later production to allow the axles to be pressed / forced into the slots, so that the force fit retains them. Regards, John isherwood.

Such a waste ............. Regards, John Isherwood.

.... and the obvious question now is - can you / will you sell the faulty ones at a reduced price to those of us who don't mind making our own corrections? Perhaps the factory can recoup some of its losses in this way? Regards, John Isherwood.

...... or undertake the relatively easy conversion from fixed / flangeless to pivotting / flanged. Regards, John Isherwood.

Rob, I can't help but think that your location, and the extended delivery journey to which most / all of your purchases are subjected, MUST have some impact (!) on the condition in which you receive them. I do not purchase in anything like the volume that you do, and those that are delivered to me by mail only travel a short distance within Cornwall, but I cannot recall a single item that has arrived in a damaged or incomplete condition. Regards, John Isherwood.

Internal use locomotive boiler carrier - the raised bolster is there to support the smokebox end. Regards, John Isherwood.

Very nice, and superb workmanship. However, Tony is the staunchest advocate of rigidity in chassis; (and, in steam locos, coupling rods). In that, I am in total agreement with him. Regards, John Isherwood.

Tony, There can be no doubt that, for your purposes, big motors married to chunky gearboxes are exactly what you need. However, for most of the rest of us, what is needed is a far more flexible (in application, not construction) solution. The older generation of motor / gearbox combinations simply cannot provide a suitable drive system in anything other than the largest of locomotives - which, frankly, few of us can justify. Even for, say, Standard Class 4 and 5 locos, multi-stage gearboxes and smaller motors are necessary if we wish to have the mechanism contained wholly within the superstructure of the model - which most of us do. I am not trying to convert you - you have found your ideal system - but to advocate utilising the best of the more modern drive systems for the type of motive power on which the majority of us rely, by virtue of the space available to us. Regards, John Isherwood.

I do sympathise with the time constraint aspect, but HL gearbox assembly really does take minutes after you've done a couple. What I like best, though, is the flexibility that the broad range provides - below are a few solutions to widely different chassis designs. Regards, John Isherwood.

Tony, If you can build Walchaerts valvegear, a HL gearbox will be a breeze. Just follow the instructions the first time - after that, it's instinctive. Since you are the arch-advocate of 'having a go', I will (respectfully) issue a challenge to do just that; (surely you don't want to be reliant on RTR gearboxes)? .... and, practicing what I preach, I am about to install three HL gearboxes, in three Comet / Markits chassis, to go in three ancient Airfix 4Fs. With Mashima or Mitsumi motors plus flywheels, I fully expect the performance to be exemplary. Next will come two Airfix 2Ps to the same formula; that's how confident I am in HL gearboxes. Regards, John Isherwood.

Regrettably, not that good; the information is there - either they don't know where to look, or they can't be bothered !! It's only a wagon, after all ! Regards, John Isherwood.

Jason, That argument simply doesn't hold water. No-one's suggesting that Hornby should tool up a correct model for every livery, but it would make sense to make a model correct for at least one livery. A hybrid model is never correct, though it does sell to the less discerning in as many spurious liveries as Hornby apply. A correct model would sell to the more discerning in the correct livery, as well as to the less discerning in as many spurious liveries as Hornby apply. I simply cannot see the reasoning for NOT making a model that is correct for one prototype, and up to three authentic liveries; and then use it the colourful fictional ones. Regards, John Isherwood.

I gather that a couple of the ballast wagons survived until 1952. Regards, John Isherwood.

Discuss !! Even if one accepts that Hornby are trying to represent the wagon later in life, the principal features that the model and the prototype have in common are the lettering and number. The fact that the prototype was a wagon with a central drop door, and the model has full drop sides, is apparently immaterial. The odd thing is that the Hornby model bears more than a passing resemblance to the SECR 8 / 10T 3 plank ballast wagon to SR Diagram 1743. Moreover, these ballst wagon were commonly seen in long rakes, so the potential for multiple sales must be far greater than for a non-existent dropside traffic wagon. The thinking of Hornby when it comes to wagons has always been odd, but this latest example defies logic !! Regards, John Isherwood.

You may well ask - perhaps someone from Hornby might care to comment? Regards, John Isherwood.