Andy W

Modellers in the USA, where houses and layouts, and trains both model and prototype can be very large indeed, sometimes use graphite as a lubricant for axle bearings.

One thing worth noting is that the pre-Worboys sign for a school changed at some point between the early 1950s and the early 1960s. Both signs can be seen in different posts in this thread. The older one was a red triangle surmounting a black-on-white plate showing a flaming torch, with the word School below. Later the torch was replaced by the the much more logical two children (triangle and wording remained the same). Changeover was very slow, and some torch signs could still be seen right up to the campaign change to install Worboys signs. So if you have a school that needs roadsigns, better to use the torch version if your setting is 1950s or early 1960s unless you have photo evidence showing the school you are modelling or the school is meant to be new-build.

Well of course only a very limited number of porthole coaches ever gained blue/grey livery on the real railway compared to the total built, and not all types ever got the repaint, predominately brake 2nds (by then). Memory, and earlier posts on this thread, suggest that the repainted ones were captive to the southern part of the WCML because they'd also received a conversion to electric heating. So it isn't surprising that Bachmann only produced a small run, there aren't that many people who model the WCML south of Manchester/Liverpool set in the late 1960s.

According to the instructions that came with my model, the DCC lighting functions also work automatically with an ESU LokPilot V5, the much cheaper non-sound equivalent to the LokSound. As metadyneman doesn't want sound anyway, that might work well for him.

But since Brassmasters state very clearly on their website in bold type that they are not an online business "NOTE - we do not operate an online shop and do not have a business telephone number.. " what has this to do with the discussion? And they don't claim to be a limited company either....

Like in so many other areas, the volume of complaints on RMWeb can only be used as a way of measuring quality if you can relate it to the volume sold. As Hornby is still the market leader in UK model railways and sells in large quantities, there are plenty of complaints. But there are also plenty of complaints about some of the smaller "manufacturers". Just look in the Dapol section of RMWeb for wagon wheelsets not to gauge, couplings that don't couple, railcars that run better if you disconnect the drive from one bogie and so on. I'm not singling out Dapol here, you will find other examples, just suggesting that unless a business is small enough to be able to actually inspect product itself before it is shipped to customers instead of just passing it on as received from the far distant contracted actual manufacturer, problems are inevitable, and the more you sell, the more problems. Some of them could be reduced by better inspection procedures in China, but these cost money. If you've beaten down the factory on price and play one factory off against another (which Hornby are known to do), you won't get much pre-delivery inspection.

Now this explains a lot. Hattons do have a shop, in a partitioned off part of their warehouse, in an industrial estate effectively accessible only by car, so presumably they are Band 3'd on the basis that hardly anyone will want visit it. Kernow, who have been mentioned several times as still able to supply to preorder, have not one but two shops, both very presentable and in streets with other shops nearby. Looks like Hornby's version of Bachmann's long standing "no bricks and mortar shop, no account" policy.

What it saved on particularly was time. No need to uncouple loco, run round the train, and recouple loco at terminal points. Given the track layouts at many stations they also avoided the need to propel trains out of bay platforms to where there was space to do the running round. Staff savings - well, less running round might reduce the number of signal lever movements and so drop a signalbox into a lower grade, with lower pay. Where rolling stock was used that allowed the guard to move through the coach, or even the whole train, ticket issue on the train became possible, saving on station staff at some locations for all or part of the day. The GW in particular opened completely new halts specifically served by auto trains that never had anything more than a waiting shelter. Coming back to the original question, on mountain railways it was and is customary to have the loco at the downhill end of the train, the only example I know of in the British Isles is the Snowdon Mountain Railway. Plenty of examples in Switzerland.

Slightly off topic, but New Street's roof varied a lot over the years. As built the LNWR and Midland sides had several separate arched roofs covering the tracks and platforms, to different designs, the Midland side being on a curve as well adding to its distinctiveness. During the Second World War the LNWR side roofs were destroyed by bombing and eventually replaced by canopies covering just the platforms. Finally today's vast concrete slab appeared in the 1960s. So you need to check the dates of photos carefully to make sure they cover the right period. One useful thing about this picture, it includes a Birmingham City Transport doubledecker bus. These were 14ft 6in high so may help with scaling.

They certainly did, in fact if you look at a track plan you'll find some tracks in the station approaches designated as "backing out roads"

Yes there were, a Peco product. with separate designs for each of the Kitmaster Mk1 types. (maybe not for the RFO which I seem to remember had tables etc in the Kitmaster kit).

Yes, you'd certainly need water, either from column or troughs, but heading south coal would probably be OK. There were plenty of tender locos that only carried 3 1/2 tons or even less which made the trip. Depends on the load. Coming back however, there's the climb up the Lickey, or the nearly as hilly line through Redditch and a cautious driver wouldn't want to be running out of coal there. Of course there was a shed at Bromsgrove, plus bankers to lean on!

Surely most pointwork in the UK is actually on wooden sleepers, not concrete, anyway, even if the track either side uses concrete. As far as I know nobody makes a 16.5mm gauge concrete style turnout.

Also depends whereabouts in Yorkshire! For example, there are/were lots of real-life branches in South and West Yorkshire where the surviving railway and general stone buildings are heavily soot-blackened. Head into North Yorkshire and the buildings are much more lightly weathered.

Plenty of time yet - this announcement only covers the next 3 months, not the whole of 2021!