Halvarras

Thank you Jason, this answers the question I had about a fireless loco I saw (and photographed I think) at GWS Didcot in late 1972, before I got around to asking it!

There's no doubt that it was connected to the coupling shackle, but whether the dent was accidental or deliberate (to make life easier for shunting staff by increasing clearance above the hook) I couldn't say. My guess would be that it was created accidentally by repeated clouting with the shackle, and deliberately left there during works overhauls as filling it in would have been pointless!

True, but when you look at the TOPS classifications as a whole for the mainline locomotive types, the first digit mostly corresponded to the four power categories - although that doesn't explain Class 20s not being Class 19. There were so many Type 2s that Classes 30/31 overshot into the sparsely populated Type 3 'group' - but then the EE upgrade virtually made them Type 3s anyway. Then there were enough Type 4s to push the Westerns into the even more sparsely populated Type 5 'group' - but again this doesn't explain Class 50 not being Class 49! So why didn't the D8xx Warships become Classes 41/42 instead of 42/43? It just seems a bit odd that Class 41 was left blank just where the D600s would have slotted in, which makes me wonder whether their withdrawal at the end of 1967 wasn't 100% certain when the classifications were being considered - after all the Hymeks and Westerns defied their original withdrawal plan by a couple of years or so. Perhaps at one stage consideration was given to D800-2 being Class 41? But where would that have left D830.....? It hardly matters as it's all history now, Classes 20 and 50 just seem 'right' and I'm trying to apply logic where none was required.......which is probably why I feel like I've painted myself into a corner. Over and out I think 🤐!

If they haven't been varnished they may possibly be lifted off with sellotape. A caution however - this assumes that the paint's adhesion to the body is stronger than the tape's adhesion to the paint, which depends on the original painter's preparation standards........

Interesting that the question of top or bottom filling of milk has arisen. I remember a layout called 'Timsbury', set in former SDJR territory, which appeared in Railway Modeller in the 1980s, on which milk tanks were shown being filled from an overhead gantry. Somebody wrote into the letters page to say that this was incorrect, they were loaded from the bottom to prevent problems with foaming....... Of course we didn't have the internet or RMweb back then.......

I notice that the artwork shows green 15221 and blue 15212 with data panels, which dates these to the post-steam era. IIRC 15211 was also BR blue but with the positions of the logos and numbers reversed (arrows above numbers was classic SR - I wouldn't be surprised if the WR's Class 08 4126 like this was overhauled at Eastleigh, as there seemed to be some cooperation between the two Regions on shunter overhauls - I saw numerous SR 08s at Swindon, and this makes me wonder whether 15212 was overhauled there too, hence number above arrows).

Likewise! A time and motion study on Darius's methods would be very enlightening, but I suspect whoever conducted it would also have to go without sleep, food and PNBs ! 😉 The Class 109 DMU which started the rush already seems a long time ago........ except that it wasn't!!

5801 was never a WR loco, which is why the BR Database doesn't list it as such. I saw a number of ER 31s on WR metals, including 5603 (in 4-logo blue) paired with Bath Road's green 5828 approaching Swindon from the west in 1973 - 5603 was a rather large cop I recall. Later on I'd watch 31245 - one of the tablet catcher recess-fitted batch - leaving Reading on a westbound passenger train and failing before it had cleared the platform! Reminds me that I photographed 5801 in this condition at Kings Cross in late July 1970 - probably the second 31 I ever shot (5825 in blue at Derby the previous November had been the first).

Yes that appears to be the case........except on the always contrary Western Region where 'No 1 End/No 2 End' became 'A End/B End' and on the single-engined diesel-hydraulic Classes 22 & 35 the non-radiator end was A! (Class 22's radiator grilles were only slightly off-centre but towards the B End - but the Class 21/29 diesel-electric equivalents followed the No 1 radiator end convention). I have a 2004 Chinese-made Hornby Hymek D7046 (R2410) on which, no matter which way round the model is held, the A End is always on the left. More inexplicable is how Heljan have made exactly the same error on their most recent batch of Hymeks after getting it right (I believe) for the previous 20 years!

Yes you're right - perhaps I should have said that the ETH equipment should be factory-fitted to the model since the real D1960 was never seen without it, rather than being in the detail pack (assuming it is). The lack of any obvious provision for fitting this is a concern. Perhaps Heljan should have followed Trix's intention and selected D1959 instead, that would have solved the problem! By pure coincidence (I seem to get a lot of those nowadays!) I've ended up with a spare unnumbered blue original Heljan Class 47 and always fancied doing one of these - I could add it to my collection of mainly WR 1974 locos as 47514 - which used to be D1960! Here it is at Liskeard (on a Newquay - Nottingham working IIRC) - all the excuse I need! I first saw it with TOPS numbers at St Pancras and at the time noted the red dot route restriction symbols below the BR logos, visible in this photo (honorary WR loco?!) I'm aware that the train heating boiler roof arrangement would require changing. D1956 briefly became 47260 too. Curiously during the summer of 1971 several of the D1953-61 blue batch turned up in Cornwall on inter-regional workings, including D1961 which I photographed at Truro (can't retrieve the image at the moment) and D1960 itself, a photo of which appears in page 18 of the Bradford Barton album 'Diesels on Cornwall's Main Line' approaching Bodmin Road on an up working (misidentified as D1650, one of several such instances in that album). These early blue locos had always been allocated to the LMR but shortly after that summer many would go through Crewe Works to be fitted with ETH, repainted into standard blue with central logos and reallocated to the WR to work the new air-conditioned Mark 2 stock between Paddington and Bristol/South Wales. Later still they would gain regional names including 'Albion', 'Fair Rosamund', 'Thames' and 'Severn'.

This is only the second RTR model* of one of the last nine Brush-built 47s released, the first* being Lima's D1957 (I know the BR logos were large on these nine but Lima's were so large they spoiled the appearance of the model). D1960 was built new with ETH equipment (as was D1961), so lower cab front connectors should be included in the detail pack........ *Could have been third and second respectively if Trix had produced D1959, as illustrated in their 1968 catalogue. But no doubt it would have been to their odd 3.8mm scale, so never mind.

I also clean the inside of the brass sleeve with a wooden cocktail stick pushed to and fro - dry to start with to see what comes out. This may be enough, but if there are stubborn deposits soaking the stick in white spirit and repeating the clean should cure it. Because the axle/sleeve interface is responsible for current collection at the motor end, the lubrication should use an electrically conductive oil such as Peco Power-Lube (PL-64) or equivalent - but sparingly of course!

Yes, I spotted that too!

Agreed, the usual BR green pre-TOPS and BR blue-on post-TOPS from which Bachmann can't seem to break free. However for Scottish modellers D8032 ran in plain green during 1966 and quite likely 1967 before going blue (and ending up at Stratford!) And D25 briefly became an exceedingly rare Class 45 in green with full yellow ends circa early 1969, if brave enough to do this to a new acquisition (not forgetting to paint the D's out as well, and add data panels). I'm sure there will be more Class 47s coming along in due course, after all didn't Bachmann boast of a seven-figure investment in the tooling......? Looking at the congestion in the First Generation BR diesel scene at the moment it'll just be a matter of timing, which admittedly is not much consolation if your new layout project requires locos in particular liveries. Of course in the Old Days in such a situation we'd have been detailing and repainting Lima models to meet those requirements.......😉!

I have a vision of Mr Kelly lying on his stomach to get a low-angle shot THAT low, and BR staff in the vicinity amused at his antics! What a result though - I've never seen a humble Class 08 looking so impressive - not surprised it's one thumbs-up off a 'Popular Post' achievement! Come on somebody, push it over the line 😃! Um........I can't even come up with an anagram of such a number for a GWR pannier tank! Are there any non-GWR types? I'm always willing to learn something new.....!

Obvious question - are they OK on the other side?!

Oddly enough the Hornby Railroad 31 does have smaller wheels on the middle axles, although in all other respects hardly in the same league.....!

Making full use of 20 hours per day, the only explanation........surely?! (Makes me feel so........inadequate 😞!!) ( 😉 )

1993 comes to mind - a rather sad photo of it dumped in bushes exists.......

However......Kernow's relationship with Dapol may have been a bit wobbly at times but the internal packaging for the D600 Warship is clearly derived from the Dapol Western - the detail blister pack even has the recesses for the Western's spare bufferbeam valances. Commonality of parts with Dapol's Class 22/29 would have been limited (cab glazing, cab interiors, spoked wheels, bufferbeam details?) so Dapol's precise level of involvement with the D600 is unknown (to me anyway) - possibly limited to the factory involved.

I see what you mean - perhaps 12051 suffered from persistent reliability issues which resulted in it being passed around a lot........!

Heljan has form - their unpowered Class 25 'Ethels' are the same price as the powered models!

According to the Parkin book on BR Mark 1 stock the switch from crimson and cream to regional colours occurred in May 1956; the back pages contain a list of initial allocations by Region (the author acknowledges that this is an attempt at compiling this information as he had not been able to check against primary sources, but he believes it to be largely correct). There is also a list of lot numbers with running number ranges and completion dates, so from both lists it is possible to work out the number ranges for CK and BCK vehicles supplied to the Western Region during the crimson and cream years (I had trouble finding a batch of CKs after W15584 so I curtailed the search at mid-1955): CK - W15059-15064 - Lot No. 30022 - January 1952 W15065-15131 - Lot No. 30005 - October 1953 W15425-15435 - Lot No. 30076 - October 1953 W15436-15442 - Lot No. 30081 - April 1954 W15533-15542 - Lot No. 30081 - August 1954 W15583-15584 - Lot No. 30135 - July 1955 BCK - W21020-21024 - Lot No. 30034 - January 1954 W21060-21091 - Lot No. 30133 - May 1955 Note - some of these lots all went to the WR, others were split with other Regions and just the WR vehicles within them are shown. Hope this helps!

The point I was trying to make is that, when planning a livery, a little effort into selecting the optimum period for that variation should be considered by the manufacturers, and as @MidlandRed said above, it is much easier to paint D prefixes over than to add them, along with data panel transfers if required. No criticism of Accurascale as I believe they have done this with D5803. As an example of how not to do it, Hornby shot itself in the foot with its first green-liveried super-detailed Class 08 release by giving it a post-steam number, 3256, with data panels to boot. The positioning of the number on the cabside didn't leave enough space to add the D even if one which happened to match could be found. Yes, to make this suitable for the popular 'transition era' some actual modelling was required to fully renumber it and delete the data panels, but those relatively few modellers who model the immediate post-steam years (including me) would have far less trouble painting out the D's and adding data panels. As it was, quite a few 'transition era' layouts appeared in the magazines with a post-steam Class 08 shunting the yard!

It certainly changed the appearance of many diesel-hydraulics......😀!