Jim Martin

That would be me. I did look at my order last night but I couldn't see anything there about the set number Brilliant! Like I said, I'm 99.9% certain that I have actually registered my choice, but I'm getting pangs about it now. Jim

Ben, Mike Firstly: Great Job! I think it's quite illuminating to see how much scope for delay there is in the process. Although I'd expect the big manufacturers to be better-placed to deal with unexpected hold-ups, your bulletins go a long way to demystifying the entire business of getting from the initial idea to actual production, which seems to cause so much difficulty to just about everyone in the business. Secondly: will there be a "confirmation" stage where (for example) the record of my order will be updated to say which set number I selected? I am 99.9% certain that I did my set selection more or less on the first day that I could; but that was a while ago and now I'm having pangs about whether I did it or not. Jim

It's very good indeed and the running of the 08 is astonishing! I'm very interested in the British Finescale track. If it was available in flat-bottom / concrete sleepers I'd be all-in on it right now. As it is, I've identified a bit of my planned layout that could credibly have wooden-sleepered track (an Engineers' siding) and I'll be buying a test length of bullhead track in the hope that I can use it for that siding at a later stage. Jim

That's very nice! Is the slip a kit or did you build it from scratch? Jim

Interesting. I think the bigger L&Y locomotives are very impressive apart from the weirdly undernourished tenders. Jim

The 158 looks really interesting. Is WSF more amenable to sanding than FUD? I don't find the finish of FUD acceptable, to be honest; and I gather it's very difficult to sand smooth. Also, have you tested your 158 shells with the Electra vinyls? I know that they're designed to work with the Farish model, but if they are compatible it would certainly help with some of the more complicated liveries. Jim

Ben I was thinking about the final decision about which of the four set numbers I wanted. The one I voted for isn't being done. I've just seen that your reply covers this: I actually logged-in to my account yesterday, but didn't notice anything about amending my order to one of the selected names. I'll have another look tonight. Jim

Will the final choice of names follow on some time after 7th June? Jim

Modern Locomotives Illustrated no.191(Oct-Nov 2011) covers the early AC electrics and includes drawings of classes 81 to 85, plus the testbed class 80 (converted from the Western Region's Brown-Boveri gas turbine). The drawings are by Graham Fenn and are, I think, the same as in the Marsden/Fenn book; although I gather from the notes appended to the drawings that the book contains other detail views which aren't in the magazine. Jim

Holy Crap! I watched that and I thought "look at them all right up to the tracks", but it wasn't until the end that I twigged that some of them are actually ​in the four-foot​! Jim

Sadly, we all know that's probably not true. In any sphere of activity, there's an understandable desire to separate oneself from the more nobbish elements (e.g. "those people invading the pitch aren't real fans": well they've all got season tickets and attend every match, so what are they?) but there are plenty of examples in the RMWeb archives of people who seem otherwise pretty normal and whose love of trains - and steam locomotives, in particular - seems real enough, yet who behave like total bellends in their pursuit of the perfect photograph. Jim

I'd like to see a clearer shot (I mentioned it on the Telford thread and I'm hoping that someone photographed the 142 as the actual subject of a photo, rather than as something in the background) but the signs are encouraging. Jim

OT, but quite a few people went to my senior school on a 115. I didn't (I lived quite close and walked up a big hill to get there) but I can't help wondering if we went to the same school. Jim

Graham Thanks for that. I'm quite tempted by Finetrax and I may well invest in some plain track and a point for test purposes. I could probably justify bullhead rail and wood sleepers in a siding but I really need concrete sleepers and FB rail for my planned layout. If they made that I'd probably go "all in" Jim

It's easy to have a pop at the MP, but he's probably just articulating the views of many of his constituents. Assuming that other people are incompetent is a fine old British tradition. Jim

Is this the old Potter Group terminal? Jim

A lot of Mk.1s were fitted with air brakes, either as well as or instead of vacuum. Among the catering vehicles, in the 1980s the RBR fleet was all dual or air braked, as were the RKBs and some of the RMBs. Jim

The thing here is the evidence we know is... not evidence at all. It's a totally one-sided account of events. That's not intended as a criticism - the union is supposed to act as an advocate for its members - but it's a fact, nevertheless. What strikes me is how fantastically cross people are getting here over something about which they have so little information. Jim

James See reply to your post on the forum. Jim

I almost always buy a "London Midland only" ticket when I travel between Liverpool and my mother's house in Berkhamsted. Depending on when you want to travel and when you book, it costs between £12 and about £30, as opposed to £79 and upwards on Virgin. Given that even on the "Virgin" ticket, you actually do Liverpool to Crewe or Stafford and Milton Keynes to Berkhamsted on an LM train, the difference in time is negligible. Jim

Genuine question: what makes you think this will happen? I googled "Virgin to lose west coast franchise" and got loads of hits to news articles from 2012 and a single reference in the "comments" section of a news website. I don't see an authoritative reference anywhere. Jim

I'm very excited about getting one of these, even if it isn't going to be City of Lichfield. I've already started buying the odd electric locomotive to keep it company! Jim

At the Solna, by any chance? I lived about 50 yards from there for a couple of years (86-88, as I recall). Actually, there are some very nice areas within a few minutes' walk of Hattons. The streets around Menlove Avenue and off Rose Lane are very desirable. Jim

No worries. There's another, similar file that's linked from http://www.renfe.com/empresa/mercancias/intermodal/vagones.html which covers intermodal wagons, including the various 4-wheelers used for carrying swapbodies (the "catalogo vagones" link on the right). http://www.pecovasarenfe.com/EN/parque_vagones.html has some info on vehicle-carrying wagons (Pecovasa is Renfe's auto-business subsidiary). When I went searching for this stuff a few years ago there were similar data sheets for hoppers and tank wagons, but I can't see them any more. It might be worth poking around the website though. Jim

Hi. Go to http://www.renfe.com/empresa/mercancias/siderurgicos/parque_vagones.html and select the "Cerrados(PDF)" link at the top right of the page. It goes to a pdf of wagon data sheets, including number ranges. "Cerrados" are covered wagons, including coil wagons; "Abiertos" are opens and "plataforma" are flats. I developed a minor side interest in Renfe after a trip to Port Bou a few years ago. It never went anywhere but I did find some interesting wagon data! Jim