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View Advert British Rail Mark 2 Coaches (Michael Harris) As per photo. Hardback, 192 pages, colour and black & white photos, diagrams etc. Slight wear to bottom right corner of dust jacket, otherwise excellent condition. Price includes P&P. Advertiser Solo Date 02/10/23 Price £18 Category Books  

I would tend to go for platform edging only, as opposed to a complete kit. That way, you can make a curved platform if required, as the edging will be flexible. I made this one using the sections from 422 Models: https://www.422modelmaking.co.uk/platforms The sections go together seamlessly, and the faces are supported by blocks of extruded polystyrene cut to shape. It's on a gentle curve (not really visible from the photo).

I'd be very surprised if Accurascale produced something already manufatured by someone else (and remember, they've said it's not something currently in their own range either). The probelm is that, despite the growing popualrity of O gauge, the market is still a very small proportion of that in 4mm. In order to recoup the tooling and manufacturing costs of a new model, you probably do have to sell many hundreds – if not thousands – of them, and producing a duplicate model would just be too much of a risk for a first project. Also, although some O gauge models currently available have their flaws, they are mostly very good. There is no truly awful offering that is crying out for replacement. I think Accurascale are going to be aiming a little 'outside the box' with this one – something not yet produced RTR and that people have been asking for would be a much safer bet.

I'm confused; what was the news in that announcement? We've known for months that Accurascale are producing an O gauge loco that would be revealed this autumn. Unless it's a clue that it's a class 24....

There were samples of the (green) 121/122 at Guildex, but I think they were the same ones that appeared earlier in the year and didn't really look like the finished article.

Oh well, more time to save up, then... I do feel somewhat for Heljan; they must be having some really serious manufacturing problems as virtually all of their models are suffering huge delays. At the end of last year, this model was slated for this summer, so another year on top of that is rather extreme. The shame of it is that a lot of these 4mm models are potential game-changers in rehabilitating Heljan's mixed reputation in recent years. Their latest O gauge releases show that the company is capable of producing excellent stuff.

That's interesting. I read recently that the desire among many was to recreate a period from just before they were born – a period that you almost saw, but not quite and hanker after through images from the time. It's certainly true for me: I started modelling scenes from my childhood (80s/90s), but as I've got older my period of interest has receded into the 1970s and seems to be firmly stuck there!

Class 08/09. A thousand of them built. Reached every corner of the country in countless liveries and still going strong. No updated model for 15 years or more. Will find a home on any layout.

Yes, I actually go in there to plan what I will use for my next 'micro' project and always find something interesting. I enjoy the challenge of making something fit into the space and everything Ikea is so well made for layouts (ie straight, flat, rigid, light) and so much cheaper than the ubiquitous laser cut baseboards. This is a 'Mosslanda' 110cm cut down to 80cm and with a spare offcut of wood glued to the front for a little more depth. The vertical section at rear is perfect for supporting a backscene and I will be using two of the 55cm matching shelves as storage cassettes at each end. It's my first foray into EM and will just be a stretch of single track running along a shoreline (i'm not a huge fan of points!) with a halt and crossing. It can be lifted easily with three fingers.

That sounds lovely – can you just confirm it's the factory-fitted file and speaker? What strikes me is the clarity; I find it strange that, despite the larger space to hand, sound in O gauge locos can often sound big but very muffled, as if it's being swallowed up inside the body. I'm sure the speaker choice plays a part here. In any case, I'm seriously tempted by one of these.

Ah, OK – yes, that's very true, and I can think of a good few loco classes (steam and diesel) that I wish hadn't been 'canned' quite so readily. It would have been lovely to see them in the flesh having pored over images of them in branch line books of yesteryear. I think I'm drawing more of a distinction between preserving trains as museum exhibits and relying on them to provide the backbone of a heritage railway service.

I'd argue that it's completely relevant. Working museums they may be, but the only way heritage railways can continue to operate is to attract the paying public – and for that, the exhibits themselves must be attractive. Some Pacers should absolutely be preserved – perhaps as actual museum exhibits – but on a heritage railway, the vast majority of visitors expect either a steam engine or, at the very least, a heritage diesel. Where I volunteer, the delight on a young child's face when a steam engine (something most have never seen before) hisses and chuffs its way onto the front of a train is tangible. It's about spectacle as much as anything else, and it's very hard to put on a show with a Pacer. There are a lot of potential days out competing for people's hard-earned cash right now, so we must be able to provide something with a unique selling point. The vast majority of our visitors are not just out for a train ride, but a slightly special train ride. If they just wanted to go on a train, they'd just get a cheap ticket to somewhere local on the national network, which has plenty of scenic journey opportunities.

The other issue with Pacers is that, despite having large and plentiful windows, the seating is very low down on the floor, so the windowsill is often well above shoulder height for children and smaller adults. This can be very claustrophobic, as it restricts the view of the (often lovely) countryside as it rolls by. First Generation DMUs are the opposite, with the bottom edge of the window by one's waist. I know that technically Pacers now fall into the 'heritage' category, in that they no longer operate on the national network; but in my view, they do not belong on heritage lines, as not only are they too fresh from us having to endure them on a daily basis but they simply have none of the character of older types. I know people who have been deeply bemused by travelling a fair distance to a heritage railway only to be faced with the same train they hated travelling on to work for years turning up to escort them on their day out. Better that Pacers – useful and important though they were – are used as classrooms, static exhibits or possibly on the odd DMU gala day.

As an EM 'newbie', this was my first visit to an expoEM, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great venue and a nice balance of layouts in terms of size and period modelled. I found the 'micro' layouts particularly inspirational.

But what would these updates say? It won't change when the model is ready or how good it is. SLW give very comprehensive updates once or twice a year and also appear with samples at the odd show. We know roughly when the model is arriving because we were told months ago. Other manufacturers may appear to be more effusive with updates (and most over-promise), but you have to remember that they have many more models in production at any one time; SLW only cover two prototypes, the gestation for which is necessarily long.

At Guildex, perhaps?

Is there any news on this project, perhaps a hint as to whether it will be steam or diesel?

Ah, that's good news, thank you.

I take it they don't take full payment until the wheels are ready? I've been looking at a couple of the Ultrascale conversions for EM but would baulk at providing interest-free money for that length of time.

Yeah, I agree that the 25 may not have worked all the way from Mallaig; but, as you say, even a fleeting glance with the route is enough to justify what will be a superb model. I've plumped for 086; not just because I want one, but because it plugs a gap until the 24/1s arrive, which I understand may not be for some time. I'll be using modellers' licence running the two types together, but – having dabbled in O gauge as well as with other 4mm products – I got my two SLW 24s out for a plank play the other day and realised just how superior they are to anything else on the model market. The looks, the running qualities, and the crispness and drivability of the sound file made me decide to base all my projects around SLW locos, at least until the others catch up. I do have high hopes for Heljan's new 26, which I guess may also be followed by a high-spec 27. But it would be lovely to see SLW get their teeth into those two at some point.

On the 'Derby Sulzers' website, 25086 is noted as having worked Ft William to Glasgow QC on 13 Sep 1976. 25083 is listed as having worked Mallaig – Glasgow on 23 Mar 1976 and Glasgow – Oban on 25 Jun 1979.

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They look lovely. As an aside - I'm sure most people know, but I've heard it a couple of times now - 'Eil' is pronounced 'eel' and not 'aisle'!

Digitrains have a fairly recent video showcasing this, so I’m guessing they have a sound file available. This sounds very similar (is it the same one?) to the original and to my ears is very good indeed. Although the ‘15’s are a little outside my northern modelling bias, a book I bought last year (“Lost Diesels, Lost Lines”) has lots of lovely photos of them at work in East Anglia in their twilight years, so I’m tempted to take the plunge.

Heljan are producing the non-powered trailers to go with their Bubblecars. Although when exactly the latter will appear remains a mystery....