InterCitySpud

Just in regards to the duplication discussion, I last laid tracks in 1986, sold my entire collection a year later and haven't bought a single model rail item since. I'm now 52 and finally in a stable place albeit Thailand to plan and construct a layout again in a large purpose built air conditioned room. Ive finally stopped moving every six months! As an interested bystander I totally agree with Accurascale that much of the hobby had stagnated and only in the last few years have we seen this extra push to RTR super detailed, high spec models, lets move with the technology available to us why not? As a BR Blue era modeller, Accurascale are building the models I want and I cant wait to start out again with all new high spec models, all my old Lima, Hornby, Mainline, Joueff, Airfix models went to Booths scrapyard in 1987 and now I am fortunate to have the income to buy what I wish for. Thanks to Accurascale its a fantastic time to be starting out again just a bit difficult deciding whether to model ECML or now Cornwall....again! They'll go and release an AM10 in all its variations next and truly mess my head up, would have to be a mock up of Coventry early eighties then!

Living in Northampton as a kid 1970-1997 I was bought up on a solid diet of ACs and 310 EMUs (Where are they?) So big diesels were especially amazing to me! In 1985 aged 15 my first (super excited) trip to Penzance from Birmingham New Street on a summer Sunday was headed up by Rodney, Ive been in love and removing grit from my eyes ever since. Thank you Accurascale for my beloved Rodney! Go on guys give us some perfect MK2ds for your Deltics and 50s to pull...its a long time sine Mainline/Airfix.

Is it true the female voice used almost incessantly today in every London mainline and tube station is called Sonia? Get Sonia nerves.

The simple bare necessities of life? As long as the model shops keep well stocked and we have SPAM, whats more to need?

I'm all in favour of containers to reduce road time but what happens at the terminal. I have worked at DIRFT collecting containers and this is why Tesco and Sainsburys RDCs are based nearby and why Eddie Stobart got his snout into the DIRFT trough early. The 20 odd ton containers still need moving to the destination or RDC to be broken down, they don't go to the stores. They are also manually intensive as sometimes packed without pallets, you can often find thousands of tins of something that need hand balling and stacking taking a team up to 4 hours for a 20 foot container. More EU staff or less tinned tomatoes?

If anyone puts the HGV driver shortage down to Brexit they're deluded at best. Grant Schapps was absolutely correct to emphasise the solution is at home as Kay Burley rabidly assaulted him today on Sky News, in search of a Brexit story. I'm pretty much the centre of the whole argument, passed my Class 1 in1997 relatively young at 26 yet I left the industry with vast experienced in 2003 aged only 33. in 1997 I had driven every truck and pulled everything, from containers to wide loads, plant etc. Yet i left the industry at my prime. I have driven on occasions since but not since 2006. Im now only 51 and would consider returning, if the conditions suited. In 2003 many of us asked the question when or if ever the conditions would improve, we were despised by car drivers, treated like sub humans at large supermarket RDCs, told to wait for hours in filthy rooms as we were not trusted in our cabs and for all our 15 hours graft forced to sleep in a piss stinking lay-by with traffic surging past all night as we had nowhere else to park. When we asked the question we were told never. Within just a few years drivers and warehouse staff had been recruited en-masse from Europe. On many occasions I sat alone waiting for loads surrounded by EU staff not even able to communicate. The supply chains and supermarkets especially sacked John and jumped at the chance of a forever supply of cheap labour, now the fairytale is over. Would I return? How much would you want (and your wife and family) to leave home at 3am Monday and if you're lucky get home before 9pm Friday, sleep in lay-bys and be treated like dirt? Now everyone's demand, including modellers, is for fast 24 hour click me service, i think we need to radically rethink our distribution networks and those who work in them as its an industry in demand like never before.

Yes, sorry wasn't too clear, I was generally talking blue and grey days, the rakes out of New Street towards Reading and beyond. The MK1 stock I referred to was BG's, and catering. Second class was almost all b/c with first class often d/e. I think the New Street - Paddington used TSOT's, for catering, the Poole, Southampton, Bournemouth services RMB or RBR/RB(R) Bachmanns 2a are fine but no need to mix them with Accurascales and risk any slight differences in window profile, colour etc. Just stick with 2b's for now and chuck in a Bachmann RMB and 2e FO!

These will be far too good to mix with Bachmanns 2a, something about them I've never liked anyway. Better to buy and run a whole rake and occasionally throw in some MK1s, maybe a RMB or even one or two Mk2e/f latest versions that might just look ok within a full rake. I used to be regularly take trips between Oxford and New Street in the mid eighties and I don't remember an awful lot of Mk2as at that time, mostly b,c,d's and catering often provided by a TSOT. This was at a time they were routed via Solihull as opposed to Coventry and always a Duff or Hoover up front.

From 1970 - 1988 I lived beside the WCML, very close to Roade cutting which Pete Waterman has represented in his layout, even my school overlooked it so taking an interest in trains was inevitable! I've always wanted to model the WCML of that time but until now, too much has been missing. The two biggest issues being no easily available correct OHLE and no class 310 unless you can build a Southern Pride kit. Until now it appears, as Britannia Pacific are finally here to save the day! The 312 has arrived, 310 to follow..

Ha ha yes, sorry very slow shutter speed. A few internal images from a FK for any one interested in getting the perfect shade of orange.. https://citytransport.info/Compartment.htm The interiors appear to have been superbly detailed, the wing back chairs are perect so it will be interesting to see how they are finished. The lighting looks to be excellent too so the right colours inside and with a few punters added they will look amazing. Need a small Michael Caine.

Here seen enjoying a well earned holiday and warmer weather in Dawlish!

Only just found out about this and all I can say is a massive thanks to all at Accurascale. As an average modeller I'm not too fixated over B/C just that we finally have a superb representation of a hugely missed coach for BR Blue formations, I'll even have fun adapting my own TSOT, the roof differences wont matter to me. Ouch! Thank you especially for the couplings, far too long now detailed rakes of coaches ruined by unrealistic gaps. This will also help aesthetically running over pointwork. Huge thanks also for the interior detail and the lighting. Worth every penny. Just out of curiosity can anyone identify this?

Superb shot, this snowy scene reminds me of a wintry trip on the Night Riviera back in the day. I had stepped off the train at Plymouth for a shiver and a smoke, which was allowed then!

In 1990 just before I left, I used to get six free passes annually, you would just write the date in on the day of travel and unlimited 1/4 fares. As you say, you would visit Penzance on the free but if just a short trip use the quarter fare, saving the freebies for long treks. Despite being 2nd class (the pass not me!), I was never moved out of first on a BR staff pass.

There simply is no model to sell to a private company post covid, franchising is finished. How on earth can anybody predict passenger movements over the next decade with work, life plans altered, freight patterns, demand has also shifted beyond recognition in a year of lock down. These last franchises will simply be morphed into a new GBR over the coming years. If someone with a bit more IT smarts could repaint a Class 800 into the original HST blue/grey yellow front, it would be great to see how the new liveries will look. (Other liveries are also being suggested I see!) With 3 classes of travel also being introduced by Avanti, sorry GBR, it really is back to the future!

The last time we faced a crisis in regards to developing the correct train for the future of UK railways in the 1970s we had to quickly find a back up plan, and that was the HST. That stop gap solution worked and is still working. Who knows, this could be the very start of a whole raft of technical issues to plague the IETs. Time we reopened RTC post Brexit and produced a new "stop gap" for the next 50 years! A new bimodal HST power car with coaches between that can be varied depending on route. The UK is not Europe or Japan, our needs are different. Send them back.

Superbly explained, thank you. Although I worked for the railway for a time and was even offered a traction trainee position at Bletchley in 1990 I had to very sadly turn it down due to my somewhat hedonistic ways! Reading some of these posts makes me realise however much it pains me to have turned down my dream job, it was probably the right decision, I may have been suited to 1980s BR but certainly not the modern private railway of today! I did however drive many large road vehicles in my time including wide and oversized loads, many escorted, the ones that cause the motorway tailbacks! The "feel" you describe is very similar in new and old trucks and equipment. I spent many long hours driving and loving the ERF EC11 Eaton twin splitter, a world away to the fully automatic spaceships of today. A newly trained driver taken out of their modern vehicle today simply couldn't drive an old EC11. Lots of analogies with busses too, but unlike trains you can buy your own double decker and drive it yourself around the festivals! (or used to) Bus replacement service anyone?

Send them all to Vic Berry. These horrible plastic things drain any last remaining pleasure out of train travel. Shitachi.

Shouldn't a garden be used for model railways anyway? An O gauge Class 50 thundering (Thunderer maybe?) around with a rake of 10 coaches might deter the moggies? Can't somebody test out this theory?

I've heard putting some tiger, lion or other big cat shit in your garden deters domestic cats from entering but I'm not a gardener so I can't confirm it works. Not sure how that helps the climate debate but might help the gardeners! I don't like kids either, can't stand the noisy messy blighters so never had them which gives me a carbon bonus to offset against the flights I've taken and the few pets! This guy explains it much better than I can.

Nothing like a gentle nudge! I've been waiting most my life to be able to accurately model the southern end of the WCML, blue era around the start of the eighties, this 86/0 takes it one step closer. Bachmanns roarer now has competition to pull the Northampton Cobbler. While I'm nudging, and to complete my scene, this excellent model can't be run alone and deserves a class 310 and class 81 to run beside, but that's for another day.. Oh and thanks to Patriot87003 for posting the comparison pics, great job.

Yep, 86034 with tilted headcode I'm in! Just out of curiosity, what date did the last headcode disappear?

This model wouldn't need "influencing" even if it were possible! A fantastic looking class 86, a big thank you from all us electrickery lovers. Just make sure the class 81 is just as good.

From the video alone it seems they've caught the face perfectly, I've seen a zillion class 86's approach and pass and this looks pretty bang on to me. I'll certainly have one of these 86034 weathered and set the headcode to 0000 but it's a little early for me so I'll mainly be buying up blue 86/2s when they get around to them, it will be interesting to see how this version is received during the wait. Very well, I'm sure!

Sorry if I've missed it but does the nose actually lift up? There seems to be a clear line where it suggests it's possible. I had to hack the nose off my original one as it will need to be towed some most of the time. I reckon it will look fantastic being pulled by a very grubby blue Duff.