roythebus1

Thanks for the tips so far, I'd forgotten I'd started this thread! I've been doing a bit of modelling during lockdown but had to remove the continuous run from the layout as it blocked the railway shed door. Maybe I'll have a look at lowering the loco. couple of mm as suggested. I must get round to ordering front bogie wheels!

Looks good to me. well done.

I'd suggest you'd have to make the check rails inside the diamond as a diamond otherwise as you say the crossings are partially unchecked.

How about the old Hamblings Bilteezi card kits? Very 1950s and 60s. I have a couple in my collection, the square-ish factory building and a set of farm buildings. their low relief terrace houses can be photocopied and used as back scene paper.

Form reports on the BR staff "Lost Boys" group, it was a senior driver who was on the unit. Having experienced the WSP on the 508s in my days on the Southern, it is worrying when you put the brake on and you here the reassuring psst psst psst psst..as you approach the stops and think "oh dear' or words to that effect. It happened to me at Hampton Court and went up the sand drag.

My son was fleet engineer for the Southern's "BR heritage" fleet. He used to watch a lot of Blue Peter, so is well conversed with sticky-backed plastic and washing up liquid bottles to make things. He does delay apportionment at the moment!

The motors work on 750 volts dc, no ac on that side. all control voltages are about 110dc if I remember correctly. surely there's no driving trailers on them, driving coaches are both motor coaches.

I wonder why none of the cranks have done a non-stop 313 KX to Edinburgh? LOL. But then during 1975 there was a fitter's strike on the WCML and they uses AM4s on fast Euston-Liverpool/Manchester services!

I worked on them as 2nd man when they were new!! 1976 at KX. I remember helping some of the drivers understand them as I'd previously been a guard/emergency motorman on the Underground. Drove 508s at Waterloo...etc.

Try Pompey Harbour to Brighton all stops to Brighton on a 313!

I remember working a 31 with a semi-fast out of KX one evening, just as the first 313s were introduced. We were stops at FP, Potters Bar, Welwyn etc. The 313 left FP the same time as us, done all stops to PB and we got there seconds before he did!

I was about to mention that fact! Strange how professional railwaymen think alike.

Having taken 20 minutes out of my day to satisfy my curiosity rather than speculate, I visited the Companies House website. Basically the engineering side has been a financial problem; passenger revenue is down (and has been non-existent for the last year); the Llangollen Railway Trust Ltd owns about 23% of the shares and is the major shareholder; the charges against the assets are with the Natwest Bank. Link here to companies House: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02716476/filing-history As I suspected there's other associated companies, nothing wrong with that. I'd suggest the mistake they made was not having the engineering company as a separate company so any problems there would lessen the risk to the main operating company or the Trust. According to CH, new directors have recently been appointed, maybe as trouble shooters or receivers.

Someone has just posted a pic on the "real Trainspotting" FB group showing a Deltic with small yellow wend in August 1962. It is un-named as well with the cycling lion crest where the nameplate will be fitted. D9006 IIRC.

My thought entirely. Had anyone read the railway's statement, they would see it is the operating PLC that is in trouble mainly due to problems with the engineering department. It is common in most industries to have several companies under the umbrella. A couple of railways I belong to have the main operating company, usually a plc or a charity who then wholly own various subsidiaries, such as the catering or engineering departments. That way should catering have a bad year such as the previous one, or engineering has some claims against it, then the whole entity is unlikely to fail. The only railway I'm aware of that owns everything from the track, grounds, buildings, locos and stock is the IWSR. But even there the charity own a trading company as the charity as such is not allowed to trade. With the Llangollen as the stock and locos appear to be owned by others and hired in by the company, they should all be ok where they are. I've not been to that railway so can't say with any authority what they've got or what happened, but it seems to be common business practice whatever it was!

All this makes me wonder when the empty tanks were cleaned out; at the collection or delivery point? It seems they were never cleaned outside!

Possibly if I know what one looks like! I've got a couple of Ks motors going spare.

The prototype Deltic had the bodyside stripes painted different colours at different times.

A lengthy read. My observations: I was a guard at Rickmansworth on the Met Line in 1973. when I was there I was told "they" were going to build a link from Croxley Met to Croxley Green and on to Watford Junction. It would involve less than a mile of new track and a new bridge across the main road. Here we are in 2021 48 years later and that mile of railway still hasn't been built. "They" are still trying to finalise HS2; my son is one of those who has "helped " dig the tunnel under euston for the XR group, why not get him and his mates to start digging under the Irish Sea, I'm sure at the rate they dig they'll manage it in a few months. The rest of Europe has finished building its entire high speed network and all we can mange is HS1! Says it all really. Oh, nd don't forget the Boris Island Airport and the Boris buses....

Was secondment at Rugby from December 1974 to December 1975, and we certainly worked 86s with Mk3 stock and head codes were in use on all locos except the brand new 87s. ISTR a few of the 86s had the new cross-arm pantographs. One of our afternoon workings was a peak hour job London-rugby, timed at an average of something like 92mph to Rugby, reportedly the fastest average start-stop time in the Uk at the time. I can't remember where the train went after Rugby, we got relieved there.

Bingham Road on the woodside-Sanderstead line, double track, long platforms and 2 car trains in latter days. Extend the daily oil tanks from Sanderstead to run towards London via the Mid Kent line..and use the line as a weekend diversionary route from Charing Cross to East Grinstead and Brighton.

Meccano was first produced in Calais, there's a place there still called Meccano, just up towards the theatre from the station.

RS Components do boxes of assorted small springs, but never in the size you want at that time.

How about the rubber sleeving we use for sleeving wires on relays on layout wiring? I get it in small rolls from RS Components.