Pteremy

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'.

There is a 1935 25 inch OS map on the Library of Scotland Website which shows a short bay platform next to what is now platform 1 (and of course detail of the junctions and goods yard) https://maps.nls.uk/view/103314421

Looking at the Kernow website for something else earlier today it looks as if Heljan may be about to do a new run of 07s - has there been an official announcement to that effect?

A slightly different but related issue. I have noticed recently that some searches default to the most likely category. For example, if I search for 'Subbuteo Cricket' it shows the items listed under that category. But if I change the setting to search in 'All categories' I get roughly 3 times the number of items. So it definitely pays to have a wide search in some circumstances.

So, so far as tunnels are concerned, if i have understood correctly, a tail lamp would have been lit at, presumably, the station before the tunnel, and then extinguished at the next station on the other side? Or might it have been lit at the start of the journey even though only needed on a section of the line (i.e. the tunnel)?

So the red light is correctly modelled, because it was fitted, but should not be used. Fortunately there are switches to turn them off. Which leaves us with a more generic issue - fitting (working) tail lamps to models. And in this case an interesting modelling challenge - could the red light wiring be reconfigured to feed a tail lamp on one of the lamp irons provided?

Spot on then.

Very convincing - what time of year are you modelling?

Phil - interesting to see you using hunt magnetic couplings. How strong are they? I am currently building some Comet coaches (albeit very slowly as it is my first attempt) destined for a fixed rake, and was wondering whether to try some sort of magnetic coupling concealed within the gangways. Probably a mad idea as I suspect the need for significant flexibility to go around curves will mean it wouldn't work. But the strength of the magnetic coupling would also be a critical success factor.

Out of curiosity I have bought one of these, W69552 in BR grey. As my period of interest starts with the winter timetable 57/88 I will have to find some 'non service' use for it. But I was interested to see what a printed wagon looked like in the flesh. I have not run a ruler over it, so these comments are just visual impressions relating to construction. The printing striations are not visible at normal viewing distance. Close up they are most visible on the underframe (vertical striations) and the roof (which has a swirly pattern on it). The sides are pretty smooth, more so than I expected. At a certain angle there is some slight horizontal undulation just below the roof line. The vertical striation is more visible on one of the ends. As to thickness, then the roof and V hangers are thick, but the rest of the underframe looks reasonable to me. (Ironically the thickness of the V hanger probably reflects the need to have the brakes in line with the 00 gauge wheels.)

Very nice composition - the guy looking across from the shed brings it alive - think i might rotate the guy with a shovel a touch, so he is also (more obviously?) focusing on the bench

Thanks for information.

Has anyone else seen this? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124816196311?hash=item1d0fa002d7:g:e3cAAOSw1A5g9H7y Claimed to be Ratio EM track bases at '18.83mm' gauge There is also this - Alan Gibson branded EM track bases - but described as C&L: Contents appear to include lots of small pieces. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124805284606?hash=item1d0ef982fe:g:vPIAAOSwpNtgaED2 Both listings look dodgy - but could these be genuine EM products, lost in the mists of time?

I wonder whether Heljan will ever revisit their 47xx? As a WR modeller I might have considered one - albeit on a rule 1 basis given the section of WR I am interested in. But I would not touch it with a barge pole given the design/QA issues that have been well documented in this thread. Perhaps it is destined to be a 'lost opportunity' - unless you happen to be one of the lucky few who got a good one.

Yes it does. It appears that there was still some Oil traffic in 1960 - see p33 of Welch, Devon Steam, where at least 3 tankers are visible on 24/4/60, 2 silver, 1 black. One of the silver tanks appears to be '4258'. if so then I suspect that is an Esso tank (ex Air Ministry), but I have not found anything to confirm, one way or the other.

Slightly pedantically 3 - there was also a slightly smaller National Benzole depot, next to Shell/BP - the large sign on the boundary wall visible in photos at that end of the yard. The sign is still prominent in early 1970s, by which time the yard was reduced to little more than a siding, although whether the site was still in use by National Benzole (or successors) I don't know - if it was it must have been serviced by road rather than rail.

There is a payment delay if you sell privately on Amazon. It has never bothered me, but I don't do it very often now as I am not very fond of the fee system, particularly in relation to postage.

The real 1061 looks like it has a larger diameter tank - and for that reason, as well as the diagonal stays, I agree that 2794 looks like a closer match for the design that Oxford have modelled. Interesting to note that on the smaller diameter tank 2794 the word 'Shell' is offset to the left of centre, so maybe the choice of 1061 instead was for aesthetic reasons. But I am not going to lose any sleep over a degree of artistic license - they are lovely 'near enough' wagons.

Truly 'Wow' - exceptional modelling.

There was - but it was serviced via the GWR line from Taunton. I think that you can be generous in terms of delivery via that route after the closure of Barnstaple Victoria passenger service in 1960 (for a couple of years - rule 1) but not in terms of delivery via the SR route.