Halvarras

I have the Dapol kit of just the JCB (ref. C45) which I've had for so long I've forgotten why I bought it (!?), and here are photos of the instructions - I'm pretty certain these were a direct copy of the original Airfix - the Lowmac wagon isn't mentioned but the instructions start from step 13 and part 22 (with gaps) for a reason! Inevitably I suppose the kit comes with non-JCB-related Lowmac bufferbeams, buffers, couplings and pins without a purpose..... Hope these instructions are helpful. Looking at these reminds me how informative the old Airfix instructions were, before everything became pictorial with arrows, and little text. I know why it changed but I used to learn about stuff courtesy of Airfix - building a model of e.g. an old sailing ship (do we use the word 'galleon' these days?) was an education in itself......

Entirely agree, Heljan started it with 'Falcon'. Once I'd got over the surprise and started thinking about it, many of us only buy one of something anyway so what does it matter if the real thing formed a fleet of one? Dark green one for me, no. 58 of 800. It did come with etched plates, but only 'the bird' and it wasn't very detailed, so I obtained Fox Transfers' far superior version which includes the name plates as well. Like you I was a bit miffed when the weathered ones followed (so the model wasn't limited to 2,400 in total then) although the weathering was awful so never mind. I was probably more upset by Olivia's Trains obtaining another batch of mint ones, but concluded that I wasn't a collector so what did it matter to me anyway. They all sold (eventually) so demand for more than 2,400 was clearly there. Heljan turned out 4,000 'Lions' but despite its unique appearance (when she clapped eyes on mine my other half asked me what colour I was going to paint it?!) I recall Hattons pushing these out at £70, and much the same with DP2 ('Kestrel' can't remember), however I think the market has moved on since then. I have to agree with the comments about 20001's red bufferbeams (I notice the silence on this......🤔!) - they don't appear to have been applied for a special working and in any case were not specified for the new BR corporate image, so I'm also puzzled. When Swindon turned out D1030 'Western Musketeer' in blue syp in August 1966 it attracted criticism from Derby HQ regarding the details, including the red bufferbeams. Shortly after this the works closest to them outshopped D5026, D5389 and new-build D7660 in blue with red bufferbeams.........I'm not aware of these being similarly criticised by HQ around the corner. Hmmmmm.....!! On the face of it with two available RTR chassis (albeit one requiring some remedial work) a Class 74 model should be off to a running start, but I've always thought it had a significant handicap - one plain blue fye livery with pre- and post-TOPS numbering the only variation, and a life of just ten years spanning what is probably the least popular BR post-steam modelling period - I like it because I was there, and I know others do too, but are there enough of us with desire for a Class 74?

I didn't realise there were five like this (I thought there was only the one) so that's something new I've learned today!

That's a real shame, from what I read about them they were the dog's dangly bits.

Sounds like a challenge.....! I sort of did that a couple of weeks ago - two Bachmann Class 46 D186s in weathered blue came up on consecutive days. One was photographed once in its box, the other got the 360 treatment (probably because the inner blister packaging was missing) so I went for the one I could get a really good look at. Saved myself a whopping..........er, one pound. Still, every little helps, as a certain supermarket likes to say 😁! (I did say 'sort of'.....)

I've seen no evidence that either of these locos ran in green with small yellow panels (quite possible as some Class 33s also skipped this livery so common elsewhere, a symptom of the SR's general tardiness with the yellow paint in the early-mid 1960s) which would make 20002 in green full yellow blue 20001's natural partner. D0280 'Falcon' never left Loughborough in lime green with small yellow panels either but we got a model of that nonetheless. Just sayin'.........😜!

A question I, and I'm sure many others who monitor Hattons Preowned on a daily basis, frequently ask ourselves 🤔🙂!!

Many thanks Moxy, some of the names are familiar but many are not - interesting read! 🙂 Having been converted into a fruit van I still think it's odd that Dapol refers to the 'ordinary cattle van' code though.....

Just remembered another Airfix conversion I did as part of the above Scottish diesels collection in the late 1970s - I built some wagon kits as well, including five goods vans. Three of these were Kirk kits (on Ratio underframes as they looked more cleanly moulded), a fourth was a straight Airfix meat van and the fifth was an Airfix cattle wagon - however I had a copy of David Larkin's 1970s 'Pre-Nationalisation Freight Wagons on British Railways' (Bradford Barton) by then and page 43 shows W106282 converted to a fruit van by panelling in the top side openings, so I did the same with plasticard. The Kirk kits came with both planked and plywood doors so I made sure I had a planked pair left over for this conversion, they just needed narrowing slightly (as I believe the real thing did). I was pleased with the result, other than not getting the angle of the end vents quite right (too flat) but again sadly never took any photos and the wagons were sold on with the locos and railbus (I know, not much use for a "Let's see your...." thread is it?!) Dapol have since produced an RTR model of the ex-cattle fruit van conversion, much to my surprise at the time, which I think is over scale length (? - and does anyone know where the 'MEX' bit comes from?!)

Indeed, D2767 and D2774 live on. Maybe some industrial locos too? I think @andyman7 probably meant mainline types. When I saw D601 and D6122 at Barry in February 1974 they already looked beyond saving, however if the determination displayed for proposed new-builds these days had existed back then, who knows? But it's hypothetical, and the fact that we still haven't had opportunities to ride behind D5705 or D8233 yet, and these two were way more intact than those two, shows how difficult and time-consuming (and expensive!) these projects are. 49 years ago just one mainline diesel had been privately purchased for preservation (D821) so there was never any real prospect of the NBL pair being saved. Nobody seemed interested in rescuing them for cosmetic restoration either - that approach doesn't seem to be doing 18000 any favours......

Agreed, although when I did a scan for stock all the retailers showing any seemed to have only one - I want four but baulk at paying four lots of postage! Right now a letter with supporting paperwork is on its way to........the transfer manufacturer, since this now seems to be the only method of communication still open - I don't want to jump the queue he claims he's working his way through, I just want to make sure I'm in it, as I've had no feedback since mid-February when my order was allegedly being processed..........but that was at the height of his troubles. Fortunately I'm in no rush for them, but won't buy the wagons until I have the transfers in my sticky mitts, as I have no other use for them. Wish me luck then 😬 and who knows, by the time I receive the transfers (optimist!) maybe I could obtain four PC51s from a single source.......

Well, yes, 'spose so, but I'm several decades past the time when this had any real relevance. Mutual decision by the way - I was told the card reminder wasn't necessary because her birthday occurs days before and that card says it all, flowers don't last very long and chocolates (including Cadbury's Creme Eggs) were a violation of whatever diet was in force at the time 😃!

Yes, I've placed several orders with Elaine over the past few years, and keep a regular eye on the website as you never know what might turn up, and always at very reasonable prices as @Northmoor says. For example, a few months ago a Heljan Class 47 cast chassis block and Hornby underframe (for the middle bit) came up which brought the drivetrain of a Mazak Rot victim back to life after 15 years in storage - well pleased about that! I appreciate the trouble Elaine takes to photograph items from every angle, supported by a 'warts n all' description so you know exactly what you're buying. This must take some time to do but it's really helpful. Also as @Northmoor says, I too have no personal connection, just a very happy customer. However this time I must resist the temptation to add to........oooh, hang on, I wonder if I could do something with that Mainline Warship, since I have some bits......🤔......🙄.......🥴! Oh well, let's mull it over while pressing on with 'Ethel 1'.......Elaine had something to do with that too.......it's complicated, what happened was........oh sorry, my tea's ready 😜!

Anything of interest to you creative types here (tempted by a couple myself but must resist......resist......😬😜!) https://elaines-trains.co.uk/index.php?pg=new

On Saturday 16th September I was waiting on Par station's down Platform 1 mid-afternoon to catch a 5-car IET to Redruth. Nothing seemed amiss, the train was running to time and duly appeared under the road bridge.......but unexpectedly swung off across the up main into Platform 3 (used by the Newquay branch trains) causing a stampede across the footbridge! The side destination displays confirmed this was the Penzance train (and the IET was the one I was expecting, thanks to Realtime Trains). Once we were all aboard the train departed passing behind Par signalbox, back across the up main again to regain the down line. The time penalty for this odd manoeuvre was 3 minutes. I still have no idea why it was routed this way, there were no station announcements and a check of RTT during the journey indicated that preceding down trains went through Par in the normal main line fashion. I can't claim it was misrouted but I suppose I got a tiny bit of unusual track for an IET out of it!

With their non-standard design and lack of side access I wonder why anyone would have considered these suitable as S&T stores vans? Perhaps they had roller shutter doors in mind - but with so many other vehicles available by then I still have to wonder why.......

Some years back I bought five Dapol milk tank wagons to replace five Wrenn wagons which although resprayed silver I'd decided were 'past it', not very free running on their incorrect spoked wheels and were my only items of stock still fitted with the big metal 'D' couplings. It quickly became clear that all was not well with the wheelsets on the new ones - there was a noticeable 'grinding' noise on curves and pointwork often tripped them up. Examination of the wheels revealed that flanges at a sharp 90-degree angle to the treads was the problem. Luckily I'd stocked up on Hornby wheels when these were ridiculously cheap and they put things right. More recently I purchased eight Dapol-produced PO open wagons with Cornish names from the erstwhile Wessex Wagons whose wheels were considerably better, although a couple of the wagons run with a slight wobble. Cheap they may have been (not so much now of course) but those stocked-up Hornby wheels were impressively true-running, I don't think I found a single reject in ten packs. This is the quality Dapol should be aiming for, and with so many plastic-wheeled but otherwise decent wagons still in circulation (e.g. Mainline and Airfix as well as early Dapol, also older Hornby on plastic and dodgy metal-tyred wheels) I reckon keenly-priced wheel packs would sell very well. Regarding the droopy couplings I've had some success with (a) inserting Peco 1/16" fibre washers (ref R-8) under the pivot screw head, and (b) while the coupling's off grasping the NEM socket firmly between finger and thumb and bending the 'tail' up slightly with a pair of pliers.

Yep, done that with a Dapol-produced kit - described earlier on this thread (23 December 2020 on page 2), it worked well with 4-wheel drive too. Sadly I didn't have it long as it joined some Lima and Hornby modified Scottish diesels in 1987/8 which I sold on within a couple of years, didn't take any photos which was a shame as it turned out very well. I'd left the roof loose to fit an interior but never obtained the necessary round tuit.....

The real D1035 was Crewe's first one (D1034 was its last.....!) and Crewe-built Westerns had the driver's name card holders below the cab side windows which were absent on Swindon's output - a clue that this was not really D1035. Note also that this end acquired a new lower valance panel, which had a more angular look with single rather than double side step holes, which AFAIK it carries to this day (after all, spare ones a bit hard to come by 😉!)

Do my eyes deceive me or is history repeating itself, with letters going missing off the nameplate.......?

A memory has just come back to me, it's not something I ever actually attempted but back in the late 1960s I had an Airfix railbus and a Scalextric set, and the clueless me wondered if a Scalextric drivetrain (motor/gears/axle) could be used to power it. The answer was yes probably, but its acceleration would most likely have given the Starship Enterprise some stiff competition 🤪!

Thanks for that Kris, that's 2 or 3 more than I'd expected so congratulations and well done to all involved. One going to the PVR was news to me too.

Many thanks once again for taking the time to post this progress report - the insight into what diesel locomotive preservation involves is much appreciated. I seem to recall that Hymek D7029 had a bodged BR repair at one end which caused some issues for the DTG. I wonder what percentage of BR locos which reached preservation didn't have similar issues lurking under the skin after their years of service....?

It appears to have been announced that the joint effort between the National Wagon Preservation Group and the Bodmin & Wenford Railway to save a few CDAs has been successful - however it's on Facebook and I'm not, so all I have is the headline. No doubt this news will be more widely shared in due course. This is particularly good news as the scrapping appears to be poised to move on to the previously operational fleet, i.e. those withdrawn in August. So it was now or never! It is a pity that the first one, 375000, was lost but it was not in very good condition and those rescued should be from the latest arrivals so their restoration should entail far less work.

My entries in the three columns headed NUMBER, CODE & REMARKS were number, headcode and 'GREEN', 'RED' [maroon!] or 'BLUE' - plus 'B/G' for the Class 120 DMUs on blue/grey livery (those described as 'BLUE' must have been in Bsyp livery). I got off to an early start logging liveries - at some point in 1970 the three main liveries became more descriptive - 'G', 'M' or 'B' with added 's' (small yellow panel) or 'a' (all yellow end) which was also much faster to write, but even this shorthand got overwhelmed during visits to Crewe and Derby Works when the 's' and 'a' got ditched in the panic! By that time the Loco Log books had become insufficient for the increasing number of 'away days' so I'd switched to those pocket-sized hardback cash books instead, which had more space for comments and allocations as well. The livery info I'd recorded would become valuable to certain individuals later on......