Flittersnoop

Then the law is an ass, because the alternative to the train is much worse for any "PRM".

I remember being a passenger on a railtour in the 1980s that traversed the Birkenhead Dock line - the locals greeted the train by hurling bricks at it. Perhaps not the best environment for a heritage railway...

I wrote to Bachmann regarding the red LMS compound - their reply states that the picture is as the model will appear; i.e. with the Stanier chimney. So the next question is, how easy is it to remove the chimney, and who makes a short Fowler chimney to replace it?

I'm guessing that Class 91s won't be used on the line from Newport to Shrewsbury, so any ideas what will be providing the motive power for these Mark 4 coaches? https://www.sunshineradio.co.uk/news/local-news/refurbished-intercity-trains-to-be-used-on-welsh-marches-line/?fbclid=IwAR0vrUWcG-dVGE7L9xHChNvmYRmAMtoE6QXbRXV4cdAqq1OXXtHWRH8ZDSk

The way Covid is keeping this country guessing about even the near future, instead of Reversing Beeching we will be Extending Beeching.

I tried listening to Jeremy Vine's radio show today - there was some bloke with a Brummy accent slagging off the old BR, bigging up these proposals and generally sounding a bit unhinged - turns out it was Pete Waterman. There was another guest, Ellie Harrison, who has founded "Bring Back British Rail" - she actually made a lot more sense.

Given the state of their finances, I don't think TfL can be used as an example of good practice; https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/transport-for-london-government-boris-johnson-sadiq-khan-london-b935748.html And keeping parliament out is wishful thinking, just as long as public money is required for rail, which is forever. Great British Railways sounds like the title of a TV series - perhaps they could get Michael Portillo to be chairman - the Flamboyant Controller?

But what about the chimney?!

Sorry to grumble, but I've phoned Rails three times to change my order for the D class, and still it hasn't changed on the "My Rails" web page! Every time I just get an apology and a promise that someone in the IT dept will sort it out.

In the book "British Railways - In Unseen Colour 1948 - 1962" by Kevin Robertson (Crecy Publishing, 2018), there is a photo on page 10 by R E Vincent of Pullman car SC218M in carmine and cream livery, and on page 45 there is a Pullman car painted blue being used as a camping coach at Heacham, in Norfolk. All Pullman coaches look alike to me, but perhaps someone with more knowledge could ascertain whether either example is one that Hornby has made?

Photo of detached bracket was of a different class of train, wasn't it? Not sure about the 28cm cracks, either. I just wondered how the risk of failure was affected by train speed - the stresses experienced at 125mph must be many times greater than at 70mph. The only train that can be 100% guaranteed not to shed bits as it goes along is one that is in a museum.

Regardless of the technicalities of this latest problem, the bigger picture is of a rail industry where large fleets of trains are grounded by computer problems and metal fatigue, new services are delayed years by technical problems, rail routes are regularly stopped by severe weather of various kinds (whilst the road network soldiers on), everything is so complicated that it's almost impossible to redeploy resources from one route to another, causing passengers to be herded onto buses at the slightest excuse, whilst fares rise relentlessly and the taxpayer has to stump up vast sums for trains that are no faster and less comfortable than their predecessors. Not a healthy industry.

So these trains are actually in danger of disintegrating? I thought the cracks were only millimetres long? From your comment it sounds like they were stopped just in time!

As I was saying... https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2021/05/lner-to-bring-back-class-91-locomotives-as-hitachi-continues-safety-inspections.html

Is "Sophisticated" now a synonym for complicated and under-engineered?! As for Wolmar's letter; this episode makes a strong case for trains being designed and paid for by the companies that will use them - nationalisation did at least achieve that, and would again.

Given that nothing is ever 100% safe, I wonder what the risks would be of allowing the units to operate with a maximum speed of (say) 70mph would be? At least a service of sorts would be possible.

Seems a bit daft when the trains that replaced them are out of service for repairs...

Has anyone found a photo of an LMS compound in Crimson Lake livery with the Stanier chimney as worn by 1119 in the image from Bachmann? All the photos I've seen show locos with the short Fowler chimney.

So these Hitachi trains aren't what they're cracked up to be? Sorry

The chimney on the Bachmann image above is not the same as the chimney in the b/w photo of 1119 linked to the comment on page 6. The chimney on the Bachmann/NRM model of No. 1000 is different again. My understanding is that the b/w picture shows a short Fowler chimney, as fitted to 1065 onwards, to allow them to work in Scotland (according to Fowler Locomotives, by Brian Haresnape), the Bachmann model of 1119 is wearing a Stanier chimney.

Errr.. any news of the 00 gauge 13T hopper from Parkside/Peco...?

Glad to see the maroon compound at last, but other than that I get the distinct impression that Bachmann are running out of steam (sorry) and inspiration. For instance, I own a couple of the earlier Class 24s and a couple of SLW ones - there's no way I'm going to buy any more.

Here is the loco on Friday, with motion pin still in place. I had sprinted from the train onto the bridge, as the northbound train was still some way off. Very odd seeing all the intermediate stations closed up and deserted. I wonder how many people would have noticed if on Sunday they'd just swapped the Lady Of Legend nameplates to 6960? All GWR 4-6-0s look much the same, don't they?!

Just noticed that a Scenecraft Hampton Hill Signal Box that I was watching sold for £203, £50 more than the last one a couple of weeks ago. I thought I bought one of those years ago, but so far I've had no luck finding it - maybe one of my children listed it on ebay... Perhaps the one who's now driving a Ferrari?

SR green livery - looks more like LNER apple green to me! https://railsofsheffield.com/groups/3178/wainwright-d-class