7802

I wonder if maybe they avoided the post war livery due to the off centre positioning? As we saw from recent releases from other manufacturers, people tend to comment that it looks wrong, even if correct for the prototype.

Unfortunately @B15nac, there hasn’t been much progress. I had a change of job in September which has seen me work away from home more often. And I’m also getting married in a couple of months, so most free time has been spent doing bits related to that. I haven’t had the spare time available to really get my teeth into modelling as I would have liked. The turntable has been completed as per the kit, but still needs westernising before fitting. I’ll post a couple of photos from the last time the layout was set up to keep the thread going. Hopefully I’ll find some more time to move forward with the project in the coming months.

Few nice shots on colour rail. Including one at Goodrington in 1961 behind a pannier (ref 313337). Which gives me cause to order one for a planned layout of somewhere on the Torbay branch around that period.

Makes sense, just bought a kit for one from eBay a couple of months back. Oh well will save some effort.

Might they have seen the level of anticipation of Accurascale’s Siphon G and plumped for another GWR NPCCS variant? How that ties to Llangollen, however, I don’t know.

My two arrived around an hour ago. Even more impressive in the flesh. Well packed and no loose bits in the box. Although for the sake of completeness one footboard was hanging out at a slight angle. It appeared only one end was glued in place but nothing a tiny dab of glue won’t fix. Please don’t see that as a gripe on my part, given the level of separate and fine moulded detail it most certainly isn’t. Almost a shame to weather them, however the airbrush beckons.

I have 2 of the Hornby examples. The Dapol version would have to be fairly spectacular to get me to upgrade, as to my eye they are rather nice models. That is, of course, not to say that I can’t be convinced. Especially as I haven’t got round to fitting sound decoders to them. Both may make way for one sound fitted Dapol model should it be a big enough difference in standard.

I agree, the PDSR don’t need a 47xx with their fleet, arguably no one does. My point was more that it was the only line I can think of where one would not look completely out of place i.e. home territory and a route where they would actually have been seen in steam days. Also the gradients do warrant larger engines. Pacific hauled rail tours have been known to stall on the banks.

The GWS decision to not certify their locomotives for main line use does somewhat reduce the appeal of bringing main line locomotives such as the 47xx and Hawksworth county back from the dead. As has been noted very few preserved lines have the need for such large locos and with all the issues with the availability of coal I can’t imagine any railway clamouring to use them regularly. The only preserved line I can think of where these locomotives might seem at home is the Paignton and Dartmouth. I would much rather, if they go to the effort of creating these locomotives from scratch, they allow them to run on the national network. Although that I imagine brings even more challenges to authenticity due to problems with gauging.

If it’s the same approach as the 37s then I’m assuming it’s more identities on a model nearing delivery. More manors?

In the summer months especially holiday traffic brought large amounts of “foreign” stock to WR metals. Not all of it returned immediately as many trains ran on a given day of the week. Therefore a train of say MR stock may arrive in the south west on a Saturday afternoon/evening, after the return working north has already left carrying the holiday makers who arrived on the previous Saturday. That stock may now not have a booked return north for 7 days. Rather than sit idle it could be pressed into use locally as long as it was returned to the point required for the following Saturday and its return to the MR.

Something interesting jumped out at me from this weeks episode. It looks like we have an answer as to how Hornby plans to add working headlamps to forthcoming steam locomotives. The turbo motive seemed to have lights pointing up vertically out of the running plate above the buffer beam, definitely where the outer lamp brackets would be and possibly the middle location as well. Therefore I assume the modeller will have the option some how of either fitting a lamp or some kind of blanking to each position in order to achieve the desired lamp code.

Hornby have at least managed to get me to bite on one offering, an order has gone in for 2 Macaw. I’m tempted by the Salmon as well but I’ll hold off until I’ve seen livery samples, the website is showing them as being grey but almost certain they were all in black. Assuming that’s just a mistake on the website, given they’ve also put a picture of a dilapidated macaw on the Salmon page.

On the subject of the leaks (I also searched them out like a child opening their presents before Christmas and sticking them back under the tree.) I imagine the Mods on this forum and others are tearing their hair out trying to stop them appearing where they shouldn’t. Rather them than me. Unless of course we are all very well behaved and not spilling the beans so to not spoil SK’s big moment.

An early start for this pannier’s crew, ready for a turn on station pilot duties.

I am at a loss as to what the experience referred to is, are we supposed to have it running around our layout whilst watching the coronation on the TV?

Well Warley is proving to be very expensive for me already, £170 on a B set and an as yet unconfirmed amount on a small prairie. If said small prairie is to be offered with the TRS system I imagine that could send my wallet running for the hills.

Given that it refers to an experience, how about controllers that look like the controls of a locomotive. A steam one on a fake boiler back head and a diesel control panel. Seems like the sort of gimmick they’d come up with.

Thanks Jim, China clay traffic has always interested me. I have vague memories of seeing clay tanks hauled by transrail livery 37’s go past the end of my grandparents garden in Devon before the invasion of 66s. This may be a daft question but are China clay trains Cornwall to Scotland the longest distance train in the UK? Obviously crews and locomotives are changed but I assume the wagons go throughout.

It was not always this way. The original layout as above was a result of the Moretonhampstead line being built in broad gauge and the teign valley being built standard gauge. As such when built there was no prospect of a direct link. When the moreton branch was converted it allowed the connection to be made however the work to allow through running was not considered essential. The layout was changed eventually (I believe in the Second World War so that it could be used as a diversionary route in case of enemy bombardment of the coastal route via dawlish) so that no reversal was required. see the second signal diagram on the link below https://www.s-r-s.org.uk/html/gwe/S902.htm

Bath, about half a mile outside Green Park station if I’m not mistaken.

Looks to me to be 66100 “Armistice 100”

Preparing for the next turn

A surprisingly well looked after mogul stands amongst 60’s dereliction.

The layout’s hiatus finally Ended this week as I was able to take a few days off work. Having eventually got round to ordering the point motors and accessory decoder last week some meaningful progress was made. All points are now operating and powering the frogs has improved running considerably as I had hoped. The last major stumbling block to overcome is the turntable. I have one on order and hopefully it won’t be too long until I can fit it and the track plan will then be complete. The below photo shows a current view of progress with the middle of the three boards the most substantially complete.