Halvarras

Not Bulleid, but page 24 of the colour album 'The Heyday of the Scottish Diesels' shows 5409 at Ayr on 18 June 1970 with an excursion which includes two green Mark 1s, a BSK behind the loco and what looks like a CK further down the train.

I lived in Swindon at the time, if that's any clue...... My subscription copy of Hornby magazine arrived yesterday, with a big photo of Heljan's D7041 - and judging by the noticeable mould seam lines on the cab front corner and above the cab door I wonder if the tooling integrity is finally on the slide. Shame the RRP has gone in the opposite direction at the same time then......but it's still a great model of my favourite locomotive...........anyway, sorry, this is relevant to Heljan Hymek tooling but nothing to do with Hornby's new Macaw B so slap own wrist for wandering OT......something I seem to be prone to on 'ere 🙄!

Since in the illustration the ttg 47 appears to have headlamps fitted, why didn't Hornby just do one of them? D1935 & D1944 instantly come to mind. Would have sat well with the many other current-operator 47s they've turned out recently. If Hornby has the 47 tooling without headlamps and use that version for this model, then fine - although my earlier comment on wrong roof radiator grilles for D1683 still stands, and of course the underframe detail is incorrect, as it was for all Lima 47s in 1960s/70s liveries (I grafted Hornby's own (S9675) onto four of mine - including 47484 just last year).

When Heljan released their OO Hymek - 20 years ago at this year's end, can you believe it?! - the proprietor of my local model railway shop, a small-scale manufacturer himself, claimed that Heljan used 'soft' tooling too (aluminium?) - however Heljan's apparent and ongoing attempt to model all 101 class members since then would contradict that! (The first I knew of the Hymek was during a visit to the same shop earlier that year when I was told Heljan's Kim had popped in with a bodyshell test shot in his hand - it was their second OO model after the Class 47, and was so impressive we had high hopes for the third, the Western Class 52.......oooooh, close but no cigar🙄! For a while then the Hymek was kind of like a 'rose between two thorns'........)

And to think that when the ex-Lima locos first appeared you could pick up a split-from-set unboxed 47709 'Dionysos' in 'Blue Pullman' livery for £28 (I did just that and put the chassis under a Silver Fox D600 Warship). Seems such a loooooong time ago now........

Hornby could have done that one instead, it was a Class 42 and it carried maroon fye (it was also one of the few which went for scrap without getting a coat of blue paint). Curious how Hornby appear to be still using images of Lima products in their side-on livery samples, judging by the wheels and couplings. I can understand this at the roll-out of the Lima-based Railroad range but maybe it's time for an updated photo-shoot? Not that I'm expecting one any time soon........

The Battle Space Turbo Car intrigued me too 50-odd years ago, so I borrowed one from a mate - it was great fun hammering down the straights then throwing it into reverse to get it around the corners, but by the end of the session any scenic items not fastened down (which at the time was most of them) were all over the place!!🤪

Although, it has just occurred to me that at least the real D834 Pathfinder actually carried maroon (with fye), which is more than could be said for D853 Thruster (gosh - has Hornby been doing a bit of research, or was this just another random selection which happened to hit the target?) Hopefully this time it WILL be BR maroon and not matt dark pink......ah, never mind, it's not for me anyway, even if it IS a diesel-hydraulic.

In the past we've had BR steel tippler wagons and VEA vans on wooden underframes from Hornby, which is just as bad (if not worse!) Which is why I thought your last line was appropriate........

Surely this will require significantly higher investment than the HD diecast steam locos since they utilized existing chassis, whereas there is no existing chassis for DP1 (Railroad model = 🤐!)

Likewise to the Loadhaul Class 37 with wrong ends: Why choose an NBL Class 43 Warship (again) when the tooling is Class 42 with relevant examples in maroon full yellow ends available (D815/17/23/29 would have been 'accurate') - and the yellow should extend down to the top of the bufferbeam (something Lima got right on their last releases); Class 47 D1683 didn't have Serck roof shutters when new, there were plenty that did - and it appears to have headlamps.....(and.....'Era 4'??)

I assume from the title that you want to replace the giant tension locks with considerably smaller tension locks. I have done this on Lima DMU bogies using the original small Airfix couplings, I've just checked and the Lima DMU and BR B1 bogies have identical coupling mounts - I don't have any other Lima coach bogies to hand (e.g. Mark 2/3 coaches) so if these are the ones you are planning to get check to see whether the way the couplings are designed match this...... Compared to many Lima products the two coach bogies mentioned above are probably the easiest to convert - obviously it is important to maintain a consistent coupling height so that they'll couple to other rolling stock, and on these bogies the coupling being moulded slightly higher on the stem is an advantage, because the difference in height between the top of the Lima coupling and top of the stem is just about the same as the thickness of the Bachmann screw-on mini couplings, so fitting these from above would maintain the correct coupling height. The short version (36-025) would appear to fit so, based on my experience with the Airfix coupling proceed as follows - please note, this requires some fiddly work using a sharp blade on slippery plastic, so take care! : 1. Start by unclipping the Lima hook, then cutting through the moulded coupling either side of the stem, leaving this otherwise intact. 2. Cut away the top of the Lima hook pivot so the top of the stem is completely flat, and the small 'lump' over the hook opening, exposing the gap. 3. From the small remaining section of upright lip at the gap, measure 7mm across the lip and cut down to the top surface of the stem. 4. Cut away the 7mm of lip, level with the top surface of the stem. It may require a minor adjustment but the Bachmann mini coupling should now fit into this 7mm gap, with the coupling's 'wings' located behind the remaining bits of lip either side keeping it straight. 5. Hold the coupling in position, mark the position of the screw hole and drill a pilot hole through the stem of suitable size to take a self-tapping coupling screw, and screw coupling into place. 5a - If you don't have suitable screws track pins can be used instead (track nails e.g. Hornby are best as they're sturdier) - drill a smaller pilot hole and attach the coupling by forcing the track pin/nail through both using fine-nosed pliers - sounds drastic but the Lima plastic in unbreakable and the Bachmann coupling is made of tough stuff too, so it should be OK....! Snip off the protruding pin/nail on the underside. (This is the method I used on those DMU bogies with the Airfix couplings.) 5b - Another alternative is to mark through the Bachmann coupling's outer locating holes, drilling (or possibly just forcing a needle in a pin vice) through the Lima plastic and using a piece of wire to effectively 'staple' the coupling in place. I've used this method a few times too. The Bachmann 36-025 coupling will also close the gap slightly between vehicles - depending on your layout's curvature it would be possible to attach the couplings further in to close the gap even more, but some experimentation would be necessary to avoid buffer-locking. I haven't personally used the small Bachmann couplings this way but I see no reason why it wouldn't work as well as it did with the Airfix couplings in my case. Hope this helps!

50149 emerged in September 1987 and 37670/1's incident occurred two months later - 50149 just happened to be in the right place at the right time to replace one of them, the other was replaced by 37669.

After 55 years of practice I don't doubt my abilities with a paintbrush (and back then I did have a Tri-ang AL1 I repainted in blue full yellow as E3012) but even I wouldn't attempt this without masking tape! But proper modelling masking tape such as that produced by Tamiya, not the cheap stuff intended for home decorating etc. For hand painting purposes I usually stick this onto a piece of plate glass or mirror and slice it into thinner strips with knife blade and steel rule - it makes it easier to handle and also makes the roll go much further - and keep a small flat-bladed screwdriver handy for carefully pressing the tape down along the 'paint edge', especially in and around corners. This kind of job required a small brush, not a large one, and don't forget - many thin coats are better than a couple of thick ones! Have I tempted you to have a go😉?!

I don't have any of these coaches but I'd bet the old Tri-ang-Hornby 'Nellie' (actually it's a green No 27) I got running with a new neodymium magnet would do it 😜!

Looks good so far and it's all good practice for your next project 😉!I Mainline Peak? - I did one with scratchbuilt plasticard bufferbeams mounted on the bogies which reused the Mainline bufferbeams carefully cut away from the bodyshell, and IIRC the headcode panels on the original model are not recessed so can be simply cut/filed flat without needing filler to create a flush-fronted Peak with twin market lights to go with your Class 47.......or better still seek out a Replica model with (hopefully still working) headlights! (Moulding the nameplates as raised details on the Mainline model was not exactly a brilliant idea.........) Airfix Class 31? Finding a smooth-running example is the hardest part...... To match your '47' both would ideally need bodyside steps and roof boiler filler hatches panelling over with 10thou plasticard (and the '31' new EE exhausts from 20thou). Of course you may struggle to find either of these for a fiver but there of lots of them around so more likely to turn up at car boot sales and market stalls, etc.

4472 Flying Scotsman on an LCGB special at Didcot on 27th October 1973 (during the 15 months I possessed a hopeless 35mm camera called a 'Paulette' - I should have guessed!): (I wonder whether the GWS discovered one of their coaches was missing after the train had departed........no, I'm sure it was intentional!!)

Absolutely the right approach! Less than £7 all in, and as for the pyrotechnic motor, you'd have struggled to find a proper trailing bogie for £2 so never mind about that, and you now have a few spare parts in stock too! Quite right about giving it a thorough clean - try to avoid soapy stuff, a kitchen scouring type cleaner such as Cif or similar would be better, scrubbed up with an old stiff toothbrush. This should degrease it and prevent the masking tape lifting the paint you've already applied, which is very frustrating! Have fun and let us see the result in due course 🙂!

08803 was the first BR loco I saw in green livery with a TOPS number, noted at Didcot from the train while passing through en route from Swindon to Reading on 15 February 1974. Up until then all renumbered locos I'd seen had been works overhauls which had me wondering how many years it would take to renumber the entire fleet if only the main works were authorised to do it! Seeing 08803 in green that day I realised that the rail scene was quickly going to get interesting for those of us with a 'thing' for liveries and sure enough, the following day I saw that rarest of all green TOPS locos 31294 pass through Reading light engine, followed shortly after by 47152. Then there were the early blue variations on 08s, 31s, 47s, 50s.......... the next couple of years were indeed fascinating and for me it all started with that sighting of the erstwhile D3971 sporting its new identity 🙂!

If those dotted white lines were where road traffic was supposed to stop to 'give way' to rail traffic, the car drivers would have got a really close-up view of the trains - especially those on this side......😬!!

At Crewe on a dismal 3rd November 1969 I saw: D5040 in two-tone green syp D5021 in blue syp with BR lion-and-wheel emblems D5062 in blue fye with cabside numbers and arrows on the cab doors 5076 in blue fye with cabside arrows and bodyside numbers Which illustrates perfectly why I am still a big fan of that era! D5062 displayed the Scottish solution to the early application of blue livery without moving the cabside works plates. AFAIK this was the only such repainted loco to escape the ScR in this condition, and was D05-allocated when I saw it. The 1971 Ian Allan Locoshed book includes a photo of it with this caption: "A BR Class 25 locomotive [no it isn't!] comes off the Dovey Junction - Machynlleth single line section with the 10.10 (SO) Aberystwyth - Euston on June 6 last" [I assume it means 1970]. But for the lower-quadrant signals it could be the Scottish Lowlands, and although unidentified it can only be D5062 - when you know, you know 😉! OTOH other Crewe-based disc-headcode 24s with cabside arrows/bodyside numbers were 5025 (which sported D5005's bodyshell with an extra grille each side), the ill-fated 5028, 5034 (which got stranded the wrong side of the Menai Straits bridge fire - it was ex-works standard blue at Hereford August 1972), 5049, D5078, D5080 (I think), 5084 and D5086. 5076/86 were TOPS-numbered in this condition. And then there was D5026 in D5389/D7660-style bsyp and 5081/92 gfye with arrows......these two were economy green, not sure about others without checking photos..... Sorry, this is a Peak thread!! Well, the Locoshed book photo opposite D5062 in North Wales shows Class 45 14 - one of the few with centre headcodes and no triangular side grilles* - heading a York - Poole train in May 1970, oblivious to its eventual demise parked in a hedge on a heritage line....🥴 *D12-18/115/125 come to mind, there may have been one of two others. I resprayed a Bachmann stripey 45114 into plain blue as 45001 (for 1974 correctly numbered on all four corners) as these details were right for the former D13. Luckily I was able to swap underframes with a green D67 which put the air tank provision right on both locos!

Confirmation that 4574 was in unlined green livery during its final year(s): http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/latest-input--news--old-pictures-etc 'Latest Input....' 2nd January 2023, Michael L. Roach article, 3rd photo down...... A series of articles by Michael on his experiences during the last week of services on the Launceston and Tavistock branch exactly 60 years ago, culminating in the final day's workings being badly affected by blizzard conditions, appeared on the CRS website during December, and have been a great read. Another loco used during that last week, 5569, was also in unlined green, with the appropriate larger BR late crest.

Oh yes, good point, no you weren't! Back then I had to clean the brushes in soapy water, shifting enamel paint that way wasn't easy and took a while. My dad, seeing the bother I was having, let me have some white spirit, and yes, in a jam jar (with the instruction to treat it with care) and to my youthful eyes it was like some kind of miracle fluid! Your just-posted completed front wall looks excellent - I know only too well how digital photography can be cruel but even so, nice job on this 'old timer'!

Sorry, yes, I should have made clear that the majority of Class 46 refurbishments emerged with lining, i.e. standard green livery - the switch to the simplified economy green (D147/59/63/66/72) occurred at some point during the process, and an educated guess would be probably at some point around mid-1966, when BR blue appeared on the horizon rendering lining redundant, but there were stocks of green paint to use up at Brush. I can't say whether these eco-green locos were the last ones done or the actual last ones received BR blue (e.g. D184/6) - the end-date for the programme would give us a clue, if anyone knows this. D174-93 were built new with single headcode panels but still without the small triangular side grilles, so the presence of the latter feature is a good way to identify a refurbished Class 46. The application of full yellow ends to green locos began in early 1967, and green Peaks with full yellow ends were always uncommon (especially Class 45) so the answer is almost certainly no (it's difficult to be 100% sure as this was a poorly recorded period and odd things did happen on the railway!) Class 46s which did were D138/54/55/59/66/88/93, but these had all been through refurbishment by then. Of these, D159/66 were in economy green and D154/55 only ran like this in the summer of 1971, as far as I can tell. Only D147/63/65 were still green into 1972 with D165 the last one to survive into the autumn, the only one of the trio still with full lining and still in reasonable condition.

I think it's safe to say that these combinations would not have occurred since the mid-1960s refurbishment programme is what led to D138-73 gaining single centre headcode panels and the small triangular side grilles followed by repaints into economy green or blue. Before this refurbishment a number of Class 46s in this batch gained overlarge yellow warning panels which extended to the top edge of the headcodes, including D144, D160, D163 and D164. I have a Bachmann D163 in economy green and in order to model this same locomotive as running on the WR in 1971 in this livery virtually every external detail needs changing 🤬 which is why I still haven't got a round tuit yet (in fact I'm contemplating getting a blue D186 body from Bachmann Spares, renumbering it D151 and plonking that on the chassis instead, thus avoiding a mass of work on one loco when I have a long queue of other models to process which require far less effort....! Why D151? Because 53 years ago tomorrow it became the first Peak to reach Penzance - so don't let anyone tell you Peaks were not seen in Cornwall in the 1960s......😎!!)