Islesy

Absolutely spot on with that observation!

Sorry, going to have to disagree with you there. Apart from the lighting functions (which I anticipate Hornby will change to 21 pin shortly, anyway), there is very little that the 60 requires. One can always find small areas of detail to improve, but that doesn’t translate into a commercially viable model, as a manufacturer will need to look beyond the initial (but limited) wave of ‘shiny new thing’ buyers. For now, for me, the Class 60 is one of the leading diesel models currently available in 00.

Absolutely!

And there was us thinking of them as informative updates on our stunning projects! Glad you succumbed mind….

As we progress through additional runs of these vehicles in the years to come, we’ll certainly be picking up on any ‘missing’ liveries, as well as producing further examples of each type. The priority for the first run was to include a good spread of the Siphon’s diagrams, with liveries covering each of the periods. Best wishes, Paul

I have found some references (which is why we have body coloured and black ended examples in the first run), but there is an interesting anomaly with the Siphons that makes them out as being treated slightly differently to other stock. As a [very] rough rule of thumb, it seems that those Siphons engaged in CET and Ambulance Train duty received body coloured ends when they returned to GWR traffic, whereas the remainder retained black ends. Now there are exceptions, as ever, but it was interesting to note...

They are, indeed, separately fitted elements. Best wishes, Paul.

Anything specific Phil? The three I’m assuming you are referring to are W1023, W2774W and W2768W, and the branding is taken from reference photographs of these vehicles. All the best, Paul

You are quite correct Tony, now you have pointed it out I can see it clearly! The artwork will be duly amended to reflect this. Best wishes, Paul.

Yep, that was fun rabbit hole to disappear down @JSpencer! Everything I have read points to BS381 224 Deep Bronze Green being used for main body parts during the 1943 period of operations, which is when these vehicles were prepared. It gets quite involved, and changes during 1945 and into the Korean War, but the US Army Directives would tend to support the use of this colour... Best wishes, Paul.

Hello Tony, good to hear from you again, although a little different from when we discussed the SR CET trains at the beginning of the year! I have some extra details and drawings I can share with you, so shall we take this over to direct messaging to discuss further? Best wishes, Paul.

It goes a little deeper than that as well Dave, but it's all in hand to be amended...

How do Dave, thanks for your feedback here - this is one of the issues central to my EP feedback, there is some degree of adjustment needed with planking which will be in place by the arrival of the decoration samples.

Fill yer boots pal!

Not just any 73, it's 73109 Battle of Britain 50th Anniversary... Dapol body on a Hornby DCC chassis, which is in the process of being detailed and rewired.

Have to ask Michael, how do you uncouple your rolling stock on your layout at the moment?

There is anecdotal evidence that Chaldrons were formed as sets of four waggons for braking, but even that seems profligate in terms of manpower. Certainly something for deeper research…

"...by 1904, barely 1000 remained on the NER’s books". Being on the NER's books does not necessarily equate to them being in service Stephen, even on an irregular basis. They were not banned from the mainline until ten years later, so some would have lingered on in the odd block train, or serving as rubbish skips, as seems to have been more common!

Morning Cameron! Looking back over my notes, there is no definitive issue date for the blue hoods, however, their fitting does seem to be consistent with the air pipe conversions from around 1983 onwards. One point to note though is that they were not a wholesale replacement for grey hoods across the fleet - I have shots of trains with a mix of grey and blue, as well as wagons on scrap lines with old worn grey hoods, as well as worn (and new) blue hoods. So if you're looking for a timeframe for introduction, I would take 1983-85 as that date... Hope that helps, Paul.

I (think) I have the details for you Cameron, but if you can wait until tomorrow, I’ll let you know then - need to access the office HD!

Hi @ChicagoNick In the 19th century, Chaldrons would have moved coal from the colliery to the Staithes on the Tyne, the Tees and the Wear (among others), as well as being formed into block trains by the North Eastern Railway. The NER actively tried to offload its fleet of Chaldrons during the latter part of the century and by 1911, had banned them from the mainline, however there were collieries that had running powers over the main line, like Backworth and Ashington, and they could have been operated in transit as block trains. By this time however, larger hoppers, such as the P7s etc, would have been used for their increased load capacities and so the Chaldrons would have been used internally for moving smaller loads around and clearing out waste. Unmarked wagons do not traditionally sell well, despite the ongoing myth that 'loads of people will buy them' and so we won't be doing that. There are still options for certain colliery's markings, which we have not yet got around to featuring. A second run may address those gaps as well as continuing existing liveries. What you choose to run with your Chaldrons is entirely your business, but the use of small 0-4-0s like the Peckett W4 is entirely in keeping with the spirit of the wagons and the region.

‘Fraid not Colin, at least, not from us, sorry!

Indeed Paul, and as you know, I value your contributions, however I was unaware of your contribution and believed it to be part of Mike’s collection. Regardless of the fact that the Lift Wagon had, by this point, been absorbed into the NRM’s collection, something I was entirely aware of, the fact is that the wagon is ex-LSWR, and the reply was given in a light hearted matter regarding a ‘Southern’ connection as I’m sure everyone knows. There is always room for humour within the hobby and online, it counteracts various other tendencies… As it has caused you offence, I have removed the photo from the original post, hopefully that will sit better with you.

Define ‘intact’? But it’s certainly back in Accurascale Towers, just the South-Eastern branch!

Well, it was great to finally get the chance to talk to those of you that stopped by the stand today, thank you all for your time and I hope I answered your questions! It was good to be at a show again….