Pteremy

Hornby still have an opportunity to revamp their earlier outside frame siphons, so Accurasacle's choice is quite cute on that front.

These do look mouthwatering. But surprised no M34 in an earlier BR livery given that the conversions were done before nationalisation. Some at least will have spent more of their life in a livery/liveries other than Railblue.

They do not have to go for peanuts on Ebay - you just need to describe them accurately - professionally built, not available RTR, suitable for.... - and price them accordingly. I have no use for non-corridor coaches or I would express an interest. But there will be a market for these coaches. I am sorry that you have had to sell the layout - it seemed to be rooted in a particularly deep emotional attachment for you. Maybe you feel the need to move on. But I hope that all your future ventures are just as successful.

I see that 6 new versions have been announced, although the detail is a bit vague. The first 2 have 'B' numbers suggesting that they could be as built. But there are 3 in the style XxxxxDL, e.g. W1413DL. Are these some later variant?

So, by chance i noticed that the 'orange' lining is like the orange that Gaugemaster uses on its e.g leaflets. And Fox do orange and black 'express passenger' BR lining. So bought some lining, albeit for N gauge. If it looks good, all will be revealed.

If I remember correctly there was an exchange earlier in this thread that concluded that the colour used would have been a 'standard' lining colour in use at the time. So what I was really hoping for by asking the question was that someone who has a green 18000, and also has some possibly appropriate lining to hand, could compare the two. The amount required is very small, and narrow - indeed, it barely shows up on most photographs. Trying to replicate it may be more trouble than it is worth. But then again who knows unless you try.

Is there a 'spare parts' sheet showing how the body and running plate relate, that might shed some light on this issue? Or are they shown as one 'part'?

Does anyone know what would be an appropriate match for the lining on the green versions? That is, if you wanted to add the very fine lining on the lower cab front that has not been reproduced. I wonder if Fox Transfers Old Gold/Burnt Ochre might be right, but it is difficult to tell with online images rather than seeing the product in the flesh.

There is a post a couple of pages back which appears to be a comprehensive guide. Have not tried it myself yet but it is where I will start.

901 and 903 have corrugated ends (and different numbers)

Thanks for this. Probably not critical to me in all honesty - but is this a difference that has been modelled before in the various RTR versions that have been made? Is there any indication that either Bachmann or Heljan already have it on their to do list? I don't have a fierce preference for any particular manufacturer so was going to hang on and see what the Heljan retool is like. But the new Bachmann version is getting some excellent reviews.

Is the two toned green SYP version that has been released suitable for renumbering as an WR named engine, Isambard Kingdom Brunel for example?

I have just set up mine using an iPad/Z21. I was concerned at first because most of the functions did not appear to be working on the rolling road I was using. Not a problem I have had before. But I persisted and mapped every function regardless. And when I put it on a track everything worked fine. So my rolling road must need cleaning, or the connections checking. A poor connection somewhere may be your problem.

Of course this excellent modelling probably guarantees a change of heart by Dapol, supported by their success in providing multiple versions of the 63xx mogul and, to come, the earlier 43xx version......

It is slightly frustrating - the £30 deposit is treated as independently 'despatched' - the sound upgrade is separate from the loco itself - but hey ho, I have never had a reason to complain about Rails in the past and, fingers crossed, will not need to do so now (that is tomorrow, Tuesday, in all probability).

Same here - except that I have had an email exchange with Rails who assure me that the delay is down to being short staffed to do the fitting and testing. If it means that it is properly tested before despatch I can live with the additional wait.

I don't understand why some people have big downer on lighting - as you demonstrate it can be really atmospheric.

I wasn't trying to rewrite history, merely to be helpful. But clearly there are better sources of information on the subject than the one I had closest to hand. These things happen. What I think is still unclear is whether 18000 did have two forms of early crest - and if it was changed from left facing to front facing, why was this done when the convention had been different for diesel/electric and steam locomotives?

As I said there is no date given for the CoH intervention - the issue might have been around for some time before they took formal action. But it explains the issue generally. And it might explain why there are photographic examples of both approaches for the early crest. Without trawling through photographic evidence i don't know whether the early crests were originally applied in the heraldically correct formation, but then at some point one was incorrectly changed to face forward, or the timing was the other way round. But you end up in the same place - follow a photo for the period that you are modelling.

The issue about the crest has come up before. The heraldic convention is that it should face to the left. But until the College of Heralds objected the crests were often applied so that they faced 'forward'. I am sure this is covered in various sources. But the one I have checked back on is p7-8 of the 1960 Railway Observer. There is no specific date given for the CoH intervention, merely that it was 'ruled recently'. So, as if often the case, photographic evidence would be the best guide.

Mine has yet to arrive so I cannot comment from actual experience. But - and I can only say this in hindsight - the unusually deep sides to the prototype would appear to make it very difficult to make an accurate, tight radius friendly model.

It is also mentioned in the magazine adverts. The interesting thing is that it looks as if they will only be available in three packs - there is no mention of individual wagons. Is this another first? I guess not unreasonable for short production runs.

I am not sure that i do. if you mean that the aesthetic enjoyment of a layout or model is scale independent then, yes, i would agree. But in assessing the skill involved in a particular layout or model then scale is relevant. So, for example, one of the things about the Moretenhampstead layout is the relative lack of compression - this can be achieved in any scale, but requires different amounts of space and therefore time and effort to execute. Personally I am curious as to quite how the excellency has been achieved. But the smaller the scale the more the constraints of modelling materials is relevant. Those figures are exquisite - the smaller the scale the more impressionistic things tend to be, but in this regard - and others - this layout appears to defy that logic. I think that we can all agree that it is a demonstration of modelling skill of the highest order.

I agree about Mortenhampstead - I still can't believe that those figures in the foreground allotment are only 2mm, given quality of detail and painting. Possibly the static grass is a give away once you start to look for clues.

Re recent service cuts Southern have said that the December timetable changes will see a return to the full timetable that was in place in May of this year. As I no longer have to commute I don't know precisely what that means. But if this addresses current concerns the cynic in me wonders if the local MP will claim credit. The 'relic' that I came across a couple of years ago is the curved embankment west of Waddon, that is the remains of a siding to 'Aircraft Factory No 1' - the first of a series of factories that Lloyd George instigated after becoming Prime Minister in WWI. The factory was located north of, and adjacent to, the Croydon Airfield that subsequently became the first London Airport. The embankment forms the eastern edge to a small recreation ground/green space south of the line, visible on Google earth/maps . There is also the kink in the lines at Wallington, which used to accommodate a head shunt between the running lines for shunting the goods yard. The asset plaque on the pedestrian bridge just west of the station still calls it the 'Coal Bridge'.