jamieb

I'm sure you'd know better than anyone Andy but it seems an arsey versey way of doing research to me! I'll bow out now,as I think we've gone away from my original point ,as to why some manufacturers don't choose to engage on here as much as some others do

Absolute nonsense. Do you honestly think a manufacturer proposing a new model is going to start their research by asking on here? Basing £1000s of R&D costs on the word of someone hiding behind a nom-de-plume on an internet forum Sure,there is a probability that the people they turn to for assistance are members of this forum but that is by accident rather than design. Yes I know most of the manufacturers engage,which is a good thing, Accurascale seem particularly good at this and I have no doubt it enhances their products.But to think that RMWeb as a total entity ,rather than an expert who happens to be a member on here,is the first port of call is highly unlikely

In fairness,I have been on this site for a very long time,and I'm well aware of the amount of expertise on here.Most of the manufacturers quite rightly liaise with these people,they know who the experts are and are happy to engage However they engage with them because they are acknowledged sources of information,not because they are members of RMWeb The problem is,that as with every other online forum,there are the self proclaimed 'experts' whose knowledge comes from other less reliable sources on the internet ,rather than the original source material,and much like Chinese Whispers,the truth becomes highly diluted.I've seen several of these 'Worlds Expert' types come and go over the years and if I was a manufacturer, I wouldn't pay much credence to Fred Blogs on RMWeb telling me the number of washout plugs or anything else is incorrect.Instead I'd ask Bert Smith,who is an acknowledged authority! If Bert Smith is also on RMWeb,and shares his knowledge,that's a bonus for the rest of us,but please don't think the manufacturers read this site and take everything as gospel, nor should they.

I can understand why Dapol don't engage with this forum,it can sometimes get very toxic,with self proclaimed experts pontificating about minute details ,their word being taken as gospel It seems at the moment that Dapol and Hornby get criticised for everything,yet Accurascale and Rapido have their fanboys drooling over every thing they do. I have no issue at all with Accurascale,and their Manor may well turn out to be the superior offering,but it doesn't mean that the Dapol one is rubbish. There's always a whiff of Emperor's New Clothes about some of these new manufacturers.To the best of my knowledge, Accurascale are yet to release a steam locomotive into the market,Rapido were the best thing since sliced bread,until a few brave souls actually questioned the pig's ear they made of the 16XX bunker. If I was a manufacturer,I'd avoid these kind of forums like the plague as very little constructive criticism comes back,and as Dapol found out,it can actually get nasty

I realise I'm probably in the minority here but I think the Accurascale one looks a bit chunky in the boiler,to me one of the most noticeable differences a Manor has amongst the GWR 460s ,is the smaller boiler,at a slightly steeper taper than its bigger kin

No,the caption is correct.In this case No 1 refers to the Bishops Castle engine No1 which was a 517 they purchased from the GWR

I'd say that the motor being dead falls into the good news category as you will now save yourself a lot of time and frustration trying to get it to work! Cheap replacement motors are easily enough obtained online ,also worth looking at Hornby spares,I got a couple of M7 motors for £6 each a while back,the advantage of these is they have a thicker shaft which may well fit the existing worm As for a mounting bracket,a strip of metal with a hole the size of the motor shaft,bulked up either side with a couple of washers,will double up as a bearing,as well as a securing bracket which can be fixed to the frames to keep the gears in mesh

A gear puller is a good investment if you're going to use it regularly but an expensive one to salvage a solitary worm gear. If you're binning the motor anyway,I'd try and knock the shaft out as described above A gearbox is another idea but you'd be unlikely to be able to adapt it to the split chassis wheelsets and probably end up replacing the wheels,and then rebuilding the chassis to accommodate them!

Why don't you just replace the motor to a smaller Chinese one? You'd most likely have to sleeve the worm but it would run a lot smoother

Thanks to Morello and Stationmaster for your information.The Steve Banks site is new to me,but I shall have a good peruse of it. The GCR van at Weymouth is just the sort of confirmation I was hoping for,and I can justify,to myself at least,the presence of a Western fish van at an East Coast port

So in theory,a van load of Cornish pilchards could have been sent by the GWR to a wholesalers in Hull?

Thanks,an interesting read but I would guess that fish traffic in BR days was a lot more joined up than it would have been in pre grouping days I am guessing that the East Coast ports would be quite protective of what would have been a lucrative traffic for them,which is why I'm wondering if 'foreign' fish vans would have been common at rival ports For instance,I'm sure that the NER or the GCR would have hauled fish trains well into rival companies territories,in fact it would have been essential for the trade to flourish,but would their vans have made it to rival companies fishing ports?

Thanks for the replies so far . I would assume that in general,trains such as the Lowestoft to Feltham would have been bulk trains from the ports to the marshalling yards,where they would have been sorted onto their final destinations Becasse's theory about herring traffic,fits loosely with what I was hoping was the case,that the destination companies supplied the vans,which would give me an excuse to have a couple of GWR vans sitting on a small North Sea dock. I've scoured pictures of various Humber docks but pictures of fish vans are surprisingly hard to come by!

Hi all A simple question really.I have a couple of GWR fish van kits which don't really fit in with anything I'm planning layout wise. However for the future I'm considering a small Hull dock diorama type layout,with fish traffic.Would a GWR van be seen there,I'm thinking maybe for specialist traffic,such as transporting East Coast herring to the west of the country perhaps,or would all the traffic be handled by local companies,in this case NER/HBR .Era is circa 1921 if that makes a difference. Should I keep the kits or get rid as non prototypical Thanks in advance

If Hornby did it in LBSC livery,they would be accused of creating a coarse model which was incomparable to other locos such as the E4,Terrier and Marsh Atlantic's,whereas this livery defines it as intended as a toy for kids

I believe freight on the Grassington branch was steam hauled until the end

Don't worry,once the exhibition season starts in earnest,there will be an endless supply of previously unknown Fell experts imparting their untapped knowledge To me,it just looks like a Class 37 with special needs!

I didn't get where I am today by not knowing if he was the Reggie Perrin of Sunshine Desserts

A lack of drawings for the older prototypes need not be a problem,as there are undoubtedly people out there who will criticise what is produced to the minutest detail.If a prospective manufacturer can just tap into their vast knowledge BEFORE they start work on anything,then problem solved! (Slightly tongue in cheek post but no doubt a self proclaimed'expert' will show up after the event)

Terriers got everywhere,even as far as Invergordon in the far Highlands,working for the admiralty.You could probably find 50 different liveries,as many as there were locos

For starters the 2721 was bigger,and had a longer wheelbase.Many of the 850 class also had H-spoke wheels

It's a D11 motor, you may be able to use a short length of pencil lead as a brush,very unlikely you'll be able to source any spare parts,the motor is probably near 40 years old

A little bit of Google indicates it's a J6 chassis ,from the 521 series.Means nothing to me but apparently something from Gladiator models,there's a thread on here if you search

Try and leave the springs intact then you can use them as bearing retainers. Cut diagonally through the axle holes on the hornblocks then you can gently bend the etch back and forth to cleanly snap them off

Guilplates possibly,if they're still in business.They have no website unfortunately