Chuffed 1

Well, it appears that Dapol have cracked the problems that plagued earlier models - no reports yet of grinding/dead zones/bits dropping off. Fingers crossed. I haven't seen one in the flesh yet, so can't comment on the 010/014 early models shade of green. As I recall, from my vantage point above Gravesend West Street station, the early batch were painted the same green as the class 71 E5000's and that at least two* had the yellow-green band (as with the Hymeks) rather than light grey, and that initially at least, the first two had no band at all! Spotting one loco shunting on a Saturday morning gave you a lot of time to study whichever was the loco-of-the-day! Unfortunately, published data and colour photographs of the first year are not too prevalent or detailed. I can always repaint mine whichever livery I choose! *E6003 & E6004. Photos ex-works at Eastleigh

Looking at Hattons' web page, I'm not encouraged. On E6002 (4D-006-014) the roof grille isn't fitting true and one of the lamp irons on one end looks iffy. I shall hold fire on buying one for the moment.

Hmm... flush glazing that doesn't sit flush....the droplights remind me of the glasses Benny Hill wore in The Italian Job! I wonder if it's possible to infill the gap between window frame and glazing with clear glaze or some such? However, the livery is acceptable and the Maunsell underframes on a par with those on Maunsell coaches. Maybe a very light weathering will reduce the prismatic effect of the glazing? Or even a thin coat of matt varnish? However, the above hasn't put me off purchasing. Maybe we're just a bit too picky nowadays?

Maybe he hadn't done his homework, you know, read a couple of pages of Mike King? Certainly wasn't much of an attempt to sell them to a captive audience. Perhaps he was skating around the elephant in the room, who knows? One thing for sure, these are the 1945-65 'must-haves' of 2019.

Here's another query, this time on that hardy perennial, livery. Hattons have a picture of R4888B which they state is a BTK and Era 4, even though it's in green, has BR numbering, and strengthening beading. Hopefully this isn't the green the coach will be supplied in as it is far too light for a coach repainted from Crimson & Cream circa 1958. With the beading it can't be a coach that has evaded crimson & cream (the work involved would surely require a repaint) unless it is of a coach that was repainted in early 1957 when presumably old stocks of malachite were used up. Or am I missing something?

Great Chris, but some of the early Manning Wardles undoubtedly were. Certainly the first examples at one of the exhibitions (don't ask me which one) were, though subsequently they have been produced in the correct shade. To back up this assertion I call the cover of the April 2017 Railway Modeller. Compared to the M7 behind it and the Peco Composite coupled to it, the colour can only be described as Malachite with Sunshine (not gilt) lettering. In many cases shades can be in the eye of the beholder, or the light, or the printing, but not in this one.

Lyn was repainted in its final livery at Eastleigh in December 1928. It's unlikely the loco would need repainting prior to early 1935 when the line closure was announced, especially as it was less used than the Manning Wardles and several late photos are of the loco hauled out of Pilton shed dead, for photographs. There is no evidence of Lyn in black on the L&B; the Baldwins' records explicitly state that the disassembled loco would be painted green. As this was appreciably darker than the standard Manning Wardle light green of the other locos on delivery, it would be easy in retrospect to believe the loco was black. The L&B Trust had a hand-coloured lantern slide of Lyn arriving at Barnstaple Town with a two coach train, circa 1920. These lantern slides were well-researched before tinting, yet it has a dark green Lyn hauling chocolate and cream coaches. It had been suggested that was in confusion with the nearby GWR, however, God's Wonderful Railway had switched to Crimson Lake in 1912, not reverting to chocolate and cream until 1922. And Crimson & Cream can weather to a muddy brown and yellowy cream... The current L&B Lyn is not painted in the correct livery. It is not standard Maunsell Olive green, rather a compromise 'to the shade nearest available in the spray paint catalogue'. The lettering is also incorrect, as it should be gilt, and not yellow. For a far better authority than me on Lyn's liveries I would suggest purchasing (£17.60) Phoenix Precision Paints' 19001 'Lynton & Barnstaple Lyn Livery Data Sheets.' Interestingly, the early Heljan Manning Wardles were in a livery more akin to Malachite Green with Sunshine Lettering (i.e post War). If only the line had lasted that long!

While we're at it, perhaps a Restriction 0 set... or maybe some Ironclads even - according to SEMG's Coach Set database, four brake seconds, four seconds and a couple of FKs made it to 1963 on Special Traffic sets 432 and 433. The RCTS has a photo of SK 747 at Solihull in 1961. We can but dream...

FWIW, back in the sixties I had the Triang Albert Hall as a Christmas present, I think 1965 (just as the last Halls went for scrap). I was struck at the time how the shade of green was more accurate than the Hornby castle my brother had, having a blacker, flatter tinge. Brunswick Green was specified on an Airfix City of Truro I had around the same time. I remember it well as both my brothers and I hadn't a clue what shade this was. I also remember that the few ER locos I saw had a seemingly lighter shade of green (as did the maroon Mk1s). A different cleaning regimen perhaps? I fully endorse the previous statement re: City of Birmingham. Maybe Lode Star is a different shade, and then again Caerphilly Castle should be in Swindon Dark Green as well?

There was no BR black livery. All of the 'Nelsons' had been repainted malachite green by Nationalisation except for 30862 which was repainted in August 1948. There was however, BR Apple Green carried by 30856, 30861 and 30864 until 50/51. By 1952 all 'Nelsons' were in Standard Loco Dark Green. The smoke deflectors fitted at withdrawal were those fitted in 1929/30, though trials had been made with a variety of designs before the final type was chosen in 1929. 'Locomotives In Detail, Number 8 Lord Nelson Class' by Peter Swift.

I've bought a few items from SP in the last twelve months and whilst the ordering process may not be a click away, the items arrived after only a few days. As for the Bulleid kits, it may be that there was a planned upgrade that never took place. I bought four completed (very badly) coaches off tinternet and quickly noticed that the bogies are set a scale foot and a half too far apart, presumably to lessen the distance to accommodate the bogie mounts of the triang-type couplings. It does alter the whole perception of the finished article and might be why the kit run was suspended. For those not averse to fettling though, they can make quite interesting projects.

I never knew that, though I suspected it might be the case. That explains a lot, thanks.

I did - after I posted! Incidentally, 31177 received the Late Emblem before withdrawal, my guess would be May 1961,but again, I may well be mistaken. The more I look at H class photos, the more I see some of the chimneys looking suspiciously like 'Cut-And-Shut' victims. Several locos had chimneys that looked 'butchered'. Of course, even before the grouping there were at least two types of chimney on the class. It wouldbe interesting to know whether Ashford operated a 'spare boiler' (and firebox/smokebox) policy, with locos in for a general or needing major boiler work being fitted with whatever spare boiler was available. As locos were withdrawn it may be that preferred chimneys were cannibalised and gradually the taller, thinner type becoming ever rarer. I believe that 31005 was the last loco to carry one. One way to spot the type is to draw a line from the chimney top to the nut on the dome and beyond. If the line thentouches the cab roof, it's the tall type, if it grazes the top of the whistle it's the shorter, fatter type. I really must get out more.... Edit: for unfortunate transposition!

Is that right, Keith? Just looking at 31177 on the 1955 RCTS 'Wealdsman Limited' on National Preservation, and it would appear to have a Westinghouse air pump and P-P control pipes on the rear buffer-beam? Of course, I could be mistaken.

I rather think it's a bit late for that. I raised the chimney point with them when I saw the first finished samplesof 31518 in October 2017. I received an acknowledgement of my e-mail, and that was that.

Has anyone else noticed the forthcoming Toad B in BR grey (R6924) has a different number (140580) to its worksplate (140422)?

Well done Hornby! We can but hope they get the details right and that thoughts will be turning towards a Manor! Any idea when they will be available?

I notice that Hornby are releasing 31177 as R3731 during 2019. This appears as per 31518 (small front, large rear buffers) but with the early emblem. Why did they choose this particular loco, I wonder, as it was withdrawn in October 1961, and had the shorter, fatter chimney not yet modelled by Hornby by 1955 at least? Whereas they could have chosen 31543 which not only lasted until July 1963 (and wasn't scrapped till the following year) and carried the taller, thinner chimney as per Hornby during the early sixties. The early emblem AFAIK, lasted until withdrawal. As I previously mentioned, most of the class had the wider shorter chimney by 1960 (and at least two had the even shorter type), as did 31263 when first preserved, though the present chimney (as per Hornby) was fitted around 1979. It may seem petty, but the chimney shape does alter the look of a loco.

You've hit the nail on the head, Jason. The concept of packaging slow moving items and selling them at a premium is hardly new - remember Triang's 'Midland Passenger' with an antediluvian 3F and a couple of shortie coaches? What is worrying is the complete ignorance of railway practice, product saleability and market impact. I pointed this out at last year's 'Great Electric Train Show', where the latest revamp of the 14xx had precedence over the superlative H class in the glass display cabinet. I asked the helpful Hornby rep why this ancient reworking was overshadowing a potential blockbuster. "oh, because it's a special anniversary issue to celebrate Warley..." "But we're not at Warley...??!"

Exactly. Why issue something in a less-popular livery - crimson and cream - when the market overwhelmingly prefers maroon? (or BR green as per the forthcoming Bulleids). People won't wait around if a competitor produces something similar in the meantime in the livery they want. What worries me about Bachmann is their product spread - I can understand their prevalence of diesels, after all, like garlic bread, they're the future. But to issue a 121 after Dapol have sated the market and produce a Class 24/1 after SLW have significantly raised the bar with their skinheads? There doesn't appear to be a very joined-up thinking in their future strategy. And remind me how much the price of a mineral wagon has risen in 5 years....

Agree about Barum. Back in 72 it even had it's own resident 'gronk', complete with driver who'd started his career on the (independent) L&B! Can't understand why Kernow haven't put a pre-66 version on their list. If I'm going to have to pay thirty notes for a goods wagon I don't expect to add on another five or six quid for a popular representation, however good John's transfers are. Just how much work would converting a Cambrian Turbot be, I wonder?

Pretty much nail on the head. Whatever the reason, we have seen the end of cheap, fine detail model railway products. When I came back to the hobby less than seven years ago, you could get a new Bachmann Mineral wagon for £4.50. The latest version of that same product will now cost you almost three times that. I bought a baccy Standard three tank in 2012 for £62.50 - at least a 50% increase in six years. That's what, a 7.5% increase year on year? We've had a liberal supply of cheap, high quality items for a decade now, and like a lot of products we import from China, we're loth to quit our supplier, even as we demand ever-more complex 'fixes'. I suspect we've already passed the high-water mark of new product supply. In future we'll have to expect a lot less new items.

Interesting that Heljan are doing a Lyd version as this loco differs from Lew in several areas, the cab roof, the buffer beam profile, an addition of front tank steps and altered cow-catcher, to name four, but I suppose most of these differences won't be readily apparent to a casual observer.

Particularly like the lead balance weights on the corridor side. Don't need to worry about the curtains - I shall be blocking those windows to convert it to a Kitchen-Buffet.

Hawkesworth County. Both Chimney types (three if you include the original 1000), both liveries. Or a Manor. Wow! Psychic, or what??!