25kV

43021 with 43132 bringing up the rear, passing 66746 and the Royal Scotsman at Inverurie earlier this evening.

This is without an ultrasonic cleaner - just immersed in IPA in a jar. Others who have ultrasonic baths have reported that the time can be reduced and/or more stubborn paint is easier to shift.

There are a number of paint stripping methods, with different people having their preferred methods - one common one that is usually effective is Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA). Some use it at full strength (99%) or dilute with 10% water. I've found the full strength stuff takes off most paint finishes over a period of 30 minutes to a few hours. Check out this thread for more info on IPA and other methods:

The tachymeter should have been switched out for a tackymeter.

Guessing it's this photo! https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/57/911/ GNSR boxes seem to have sliders on the rail-facing side, but there was perhaps no need on the ends. It's fairly common these days, in this part of the world, to have mid-pivoting windows on buildings in general (especially above the ground floor) to allow for ladder-free exterior cleaning, though I don't know whether that's a long tradition or a more recent innovation.

I spy an opportunity for a novelty turntable in the middle of the roundabout. 😉

Euxton was a fascinating place to not photograph! In recent years as Google Earth imagery became available (pre-redevelopment) it was very interesting to look at the extent of the internal railway network - that would be a model and a half! I used to cycle along the north side of the site to get to the WCML bridge at Fowler Lane by Farington Junction, although not much was visible from that road; but would always peer out at the ROF passenger station in its abandoned state when travelling up to Preston on the train. I suspect the shunters were long gone by the time I was in the Chorley area, but I do recall seeing what I presumed to be a prototype Leyland Lynx bus shell at the back of that scrapyard! Sympathies to your friend though - that must have been a nerve-racking experience. 😲

Indeed, Heapey is one of those Strategic Reserve speculation locations, probably owing to the long lines of stored locos that once occupied the exchange sidings. The tunnels always intrigued me, and I remember going past the rail entrance as a boy and seeing the rails still in place and visible in the tarmac, plus some pointwork just beyond the gate. And also the "NO PHOTOGRAPHY" signs which alas made me too nervous to risk doing so! If you know where the Red Lion is, I lived overlooking their back yard during the 1980s. (I'm a wee bit further north now. 😉 )

Reminds me of the strange ScotRail HST turn last year - Aberdeen to Aberdeen via Inverurie Turnback Siding, which ran in the evenings empty stock.

I ordered one 9mm and one 16.5 direct from them for my Matchbox diesels - both run really well.

Great to see some other Matchbox conversions going on! I recently did a 009 and OO (with switchable bodies) pair using Halling chassis cut into the original die cast frames. Body-swapping OO. 009 just about clearing the tunnels! The full (and simple) conversion process is documented here:

That's right - I don't know what the preferred route would have been, but I did plot a rough gradient profile of the Hodge Close summit route on Google Earth, and managed a solid 1-in-40 on both sides! Probably not suitable for your average standard gauge line... With some considerable earthworks (my dad likes Swiss spirals) it would be an easier climb, but G.Earth won't let me do that. 🤔 It would be fascinating to find out what the promoter's plans were, back in the day.

This is great! My dad's 009 layout is of the same unbuilt line, albeit in a tiny bedroom space and obviously as a narrow gauge, rather than standard gauge, operation. His layout has stations at Hodge Close quarry (at the summit of the line), Little Langdale, and Elterwater, albeit on a very non-prototypical track plan. Here's the yard at Elterwater, just by the post office ... with a slightly out of gauge visitor. 😉

The fully-skinned POP train continued to run into 1982 (with the POP cars sandwiching "Pilot"). I can't say for sure what the working is - though it looks to be "as needed" which perhaps means it was used by any APT-related test runs? The HST-powered trailer car test trains tended to run out and back from Derby via various Midland routes, but by 1979-1980 some of the testing had moved to the WCML between Crewe and Carnforth. These sets still had a HST power car at one end, but also had and APT power car included in the rake, which would provide the power under the wires.

I was also not quite certain about BCK, but proportionally it looks to me like the best fit, given what appear to be toilet windows etc, and subsequent length of van area. But BCK or BSO aside, still very curious about what it was doing over there! 🙂

I don't see a ducket. Everything about the bodyside profile (continuous curve, no tumblehome; window upper lights at a slightly different angle to the main pane, as per Mk1), the door hinges, window sizes and locations, says Mk1 BCK.

Which only the AL4s managed to get right!

Chapel St, under the platform ends at Blackpool Central, just about qualifies.

For more information on their history, these pages are worth a look: https://www.derbysulzers.com/cuba.html http://www.class47.co.uk/c47_feature_423.php

I believe they're all scrapped, after many years being stored out of use. But would be happy to be wrong! Pic by John Stein on Flickr.

"Which of us d'you reckon will have the shorter working life?"

I'd say the feline stubbornness is ultra realistic! 😉

<tangent type="headcode"> On the subject of headcode panels vs liveries, here's one in the opposite direction - 83012 managed to retain its four-digit headcode panel while wearing InterCity Executive livery, albeit that the blinds themselves were often wound to "white" or had come adrift. Not bad for 1988. 😉 Photo by Albert Murray on Flickr. </tangent>

I poured the gloop into a plastic tub deep enough to submerge both bodies, and have been able to reuse it after leaving with a lid on it - fumes weren't very potent from this particular brand, so I assumed they'd be ineffective. The dissolved paint obviously stays in the stripper, but it still seemed effective second time around. I don't know how many uses one might get, though there are a couple of YouTube videos that suggest multiple times for similar products, if kept sealed. As it's been a few weeks since I last used it, maybe I'll drop a couple more bodies in and report back!

To remove paint from a couple of die cast loco bodies I tried out Bartoline "Paint Predator" recently. This was off the shelf from Homebase, and doesn't appear to be too toxic from the package labelling. Before, during, and after. (See this comment for what was going on here.) The bodies were submerged in the gloop for about half an hour, which lifted the majority of the paint, before being scrubbed with a toothbrush to loosen more. Another half an hour shifted all but a couple of stubborn corners, which were easily poked out. Rinsed down with plenty of water afterwards and left to dry.