NZRedBaron

Would these two gentlemen happen to be named W. V. Awdry, and E. Boston?

Grand to hear; that idea for bogie vans sounds like it'd be good to put together, since I bought an L&YR engine the other day.

Do you have a step-by-step for this? This is giving me rather a lot of very interesting ideas.

Well, either way, I just bought an appropriate engine for a Batch 2 rake; now I just need to decide how many coaches to get for a plausible rake; I'm thinking five or six coaches, plus a luggage brake, but does that sound right?

Got to say, the L&YR coaches look right smashing, they do; kind of makes me wonder/hope if Bachmann could be persuaded into doing another run of the Aspinall Class 5's in LYR colours. EDIT: Also, is there any chance we could see another set of formation guides for these Batch 2 coaches?

Far as I can see, the main differences are cosmetic, depending on the time period; initially they were outshopped with six-wheeled tenders and small wing deflectors mounted on top the smokebox; Highland Chieftain then was the first to change, as she got Sir Ralph Wedgewood's 8-wheel tender in 1945 (the standard six wheelers being too small for purpose), with the other getting 8-wheel tenders in 1949; and then after 1946, the A2/1's began to get large smoke deflectors like the new A2/3's that were coming into service.

You jest, but I am considering getting a second pre-order in.

Actually, on that point; how many more orders are needed for each of the models you mentioned?

Fret not; for I decided to get her as well.

Ugh..... I'm undecided now; both 'Wallace' and 'Efficient' look like good choices for me, but I can't choose between them.

Are you sure that the links are correct; the link for 'Wallace' goes to a different model.

So, quick question; I have many loose ideas floating around my head- and one of them is painting up a rake of coaches for a light railway; how good are the Hornby coaches, in terms of 'bashability'?

Cheeky update here; I've just purchased my first ever A4 for my layout- a second hand 2008 Hornby 'Railroad' tooling of Falcon in LNER condition. I'll let you know when it arrives (if I remember to do so).

Where was that picture taken, might I ask?

Yeah; the list does get a little longer if, as I said, you differentiate between renamings; for just one example, you can have three different models of 4901- Capercaillie from new until August 1942, Charles H. Newton from September 1942 to June 1943, and Sir Charles Newton from then to withdrawal.

Like I said, this was drawing from the Hornby Products Database, so it's likely out of date/not fully complete, but according to it, the following A4's have not been modelled for mass retail by Hornby in OO gauge: 4499/60002 Pochard/Sir Murrough Wilson 4462/60004 Great Snipe/William Whitelaw 4496/60008 Golden Shuttle/Dwight D. Eisenhower 2510/60015 Quicksilver 2511/60016 Silver King 4900/60032 Gannet My information, again, is likely to be inaccurate, and doesn't take into account if the engines were renamed at any point in their careers; for instance, I've seen models made up as 60034 Lord Faringdon, but not of her original form as 4903 Peregrine.

Fair enough; my own best estimate (going off the Hornby Products Database) was that there were six A4's that had never been done by them (possibly more if you included engines that were renamed).

Actually, that does also give me a thought; how many of the individual A4's have been modelled over the years, in whatever version of LNER or BR livery?

Aw man, the FOMO is strong now.

... Well, I am familiar with them now, yes.

I was just curious, you see- one idea I have running around my head is that the (fictitious) light railway that I'm planning to create has an unusual 'house style'; due to the fact the light railway has some limited running rights onto the mainline, many of their locomotives are industrial tank engines that have been rebuilt and mated with second-hand tenders from old main line engines, turning them into tender-tank locomotives not unlike the George England locomotives originally built for the Ffestiniog Railway.

"Hey folks, Tex of the Black Pants Legi-" *cough* Sorry about that, couldn't resist the compulsion. Anyway though, I was looking at some old Electrotren 0-6-0T's on Hattons and elsewhere, and I had a sudden thought; were there any British-operated, or British-built 0-6-0 tender engines with outside cylinders? If there were, what were they, and how many of them had been built? Thanks.

Well yes, but those are 7 plankers; I meant 5 planks.

I'll take your word for it then. But on the subject, are there any plans to have one or more of five-plankers be produced in rail company liveries?

So, I admit I'm tempted.... but aside from the obvious mineral traffic (and possibly seasonal agriculture loads), what might these wagons have been used for?