Wickham Green

Yes, I note the Model Rail website has suddenly started warning of despatch up to 28 days from receipt in the country - never seen that anywhere before ! : maybe 'cos I've never seen a docking date published before ? ( Surely it makes more sense to check the goods at the factory rather than ship potentially duff items half way round the world !!?! )

Sorry you omitted the word 'Midland' ........,.. I associate 'Railex' with Aylesbury - and that's done for this year !

May I - belatedly make a slight revision ? : - Rule 11a: If / when you've ALMOST completed your scratchbuild, you'll find a little known kit manufacturer offering a more accurate version of the same model - thought his lead trimes are notoriously lengthy ... . Rule 11b: If / when, eventually, you've ALMOST completed your kit build you'll find a well known RTR manufacturer offering a more accurate version of the same model at about a tenth of what it cost you to build your version. Rule 11c: If / when you've decided to bite the bullet and you've scrapped your scratchbuilt and kit built models you discover that said RTR model has already sold out ... .

Thanks .... I'm sure I've seen Imperial Smelting tanks in one of the books ( Turton volume umpteen ? ) - but I didn't want to put words in anyone's mouth ! ( From what I remember of failed 'O Level' chemistry I'd guess H2SO4 results from scrubbing the furnace fumes.)

another OOPS, perhaps, Paul ......... did you mean RailWELLS by any chance ?

There are a number of shots of Cowburn & Cowpar acid tanks in one of the Cheona tank wagons books but the only others I've found - so far - with side boards are Dorman Long ( possibly internal users ) ..... frustratingly another set of three appears behind a Q6 on the title page of the other Cheona volume - but they're far too small to identify. Cranking-up the eyesight, am I imagining that the second word on the Bylines tanks is SMELTING ?

OOPS ! should've checked that ........... I'll get chucked out of the H.M.R.S. if I'm not careful !

............ and the bad news is - that's the one that's supposedly sold out !

Yes, I'd certainly not query the dirty-blackness of that image. ( Better not say anything about the Bulleid coach that's now in Maunsell green, though.)

Only real trouble with the Kirk sides is the understated turn-under ......... I stuck a strip of 40 thou Plastikard inside mine at the base then re-profiled 'til there was nothing of the original body left at the very bottom - also has the effect of pushing the lower edge out so that the top half of the side is no longer vertical ...... looks far better that way ! ( Gets complicated with the various different profiles on Restaurant Car / Open Third doors and Brake Van ends though ! ............ memo to self : Must have another go at Restriction 0 stock from Kirk sides. )

Is that black under the weathering ? ......... looks green on this screen ! ( thank God it's not pink/purple anyway )

Once again 'Oil On The Rails' is the 'bible' you should be studying for oil traffics etc. ........ probably not in your local library but you yuor local club ( if you have one ) might have a copy ............ and no doubt Ebay would have one from time to time !

....... and the one you didn't mention, of course, is that the Southern Region had a handful of green-painted Gresley Buffet Cars ! ( Of course Hornby DO do a twelve-wheeled L.M.S. Restaurant car - but I don't think it's quite up to current standards ! )

Which is a timely reminder that an addendum to the Livery Register was issued after first publication ( not to hand, unfortunately, so I can't put a date on it ) admitting that the shade of green that had been THOUGHT to be malachite - and was reproduced in the colour samples - was PROBABLY the shortlived 'Dover' green ......... so be very careful with malachite green from the original Livery Register ( and any cans of paint or ready-to-run models that might have been based on it ) ! The LSWR/Southern Livery Register was first published in 1970 and the Addendum - whilst undated in itself - refers to 'twenty years since' .... so must have been 1990 or thereabouts ....................... seems like half a lifetime ! ( probably 'cos it IS )

Probably why my Bulleid-liveried seven-set has Brake Thirds with water pipes, repainted roofs and waist-level scratch marks where numbers have been removed whereas the full Thirds and Composites have a slightly different shade of green on the droplights !!?!

Must have a closer look at that photo ...... they can't possibly be 'Class A' products BECAUSE they're immediately behind the loco ; they're very small tanks with a prominent - though totally illegible - board along the side ; obviously a very heavy product so may not be hydrocarbon of any sort .......... maybe sulphuric acid - or such like - lead-lined tanks would be heavy in themselves and would dictate a lower payload.

Careful !- you're implying that there was a significant difference between "BR" green and SR Malachite with BR markings ....... I think the jury's still out on that ! ( Until the new H.M.R.S. Livery Register p'raps ? )

That sounds like re-writing history to expunge inconvenient facts ............. anyway, so far as I'm concerned anything marginal to topic is acceptable if not welcome : in a way it's analogous to spotting some hitherto unercognised gem in the background of a familiar photograph.

...... just to wake up the cat among the pigeons : "I am working on some southern BULLEID coach sets, and have looked at the Bachmann range and they do not seem to make the restaurant coaches"

Ah ..... that makes sense then : "6 of the liveries are expected to arrive in the UK on August 3" = SR No.68, BR black No.30069, BR green No.30064, NCB No.36, KWVR No.72 and Rosie pink with purple boiler !

...... or you could be wholly accurate and paint an old Pullman car green ! ( thanks for reminding me of that option )

Just came across this rather elderly thread and must confirm that Darren's not the only one hankering for a ready-to-run Maunsell Restaurant Car ..... are you listening, Hornby ? Appropriate kits are available from Phoenix ( NOT the paint people - but the Southern Railways Group ) or you might find an old Ian Kirk kit if you're lucky ................ as a very good alternative and probably 100% authentic ( depending on your modelling period ) you can use what Hornby DO make in profusion - a Pullman Car ( most likely a Kitchen First ).

.......... the ship's probably sailing past the Isle of Widget at this very moment loaded with Dock Tanks thinking of jumping ship and swimming for home ...................... er - maybe not !!?! ( Silly boy - that sort of think only happens in Thomas books ! )

As discussed somewhere above, it should be possible to backdate B.R. green - IF Hornby ever produce them - to Bulleid insignia ( but not so simple t'other way ) ....... window labelling would be a hassle as nobody does the late S.R. 'NO SMOKING' triangles. White windows are, indeed, a pain ......... IF that section of the glazing strip can be separated and removed, a dip in Model Strip ( or whatever it's called nowadays ) will get rid of the paint - DON'T as I once did leave the windows to soak overnight as they'll end up completely white throughout ! Use a fibreglass pencil to frost the inside of the 'glass' before returning to the coach or - if you can't extract it in the first place carefully / patiently scratch the white off with the bent end of a scriber.

Yeah ....... depends what you mean by 'another dimension' though : if you mean we could add a few lagged tanks to our fuel oil trains - probably not ! ....... as I understand it small blocks of bitumen tanks, at least, would have operated from refineries to specialised roadmaking depots around the country and would rarely have fraternised with unlagged tanks : not so sure about other traffics such as ( extra ) heavy fuel oils. ( check out a copy of 'Oil On The Rails' )