papagolfjuliet

One interesting omission: for the first time in years, there's no new Austerity tank in the range. That may or may not be a harbinger of something for 2021.

It will probably be supplied with those staple-like dead frog bypass clips which are also found in Hornby DCC sets. Fine if you only want one engine; awkward if not.

In which case some of the bits and pieces in the Bachmann Thomas range might be suitable cases for treatment.

That forty quid starter diorama set could well turn out to be the basis of a lot of microlayouts; I shall certainly be ordering a couple.

Now that there's a nice new L&MR first class coach tooling I suspect that 'Lion' would be a better bet, especially considering the potential for 'Titfield Thunderbolt' merchandise and that the prototype actually ran on the mainline in the Eighties. I suppose that if there is found to be a market for Era One models (and bear in mind that while the Tri-ang 'Rocket' was successful, most of the models sold ended up in display cases; I myself have owned a couple over the years which were seized solid having never been run in half a century) then Hornby or whoever could simply work their way through the old K's Milestones range.

The singles would work well, but many of the toolings you list there were weighed in by the previous management.

Crikey.

The last train off Pickering was hauled by the A4 with the King and the 9F bringing up the rear. An extraordinary and probably unprecedented combination. What a gala!

That's 5428, working the Whitby shuttles. 92134 has just made its first appearance in traffic since 1966, shunting the freight train before heading off up the bank L/E.

2253's owner has just announced that the S160 will be staying on the Moors for the Autumn Gala.

One of the poor reviews for the Bluebell includes the complaint that "People kept blowing whistles."

Just now...

<deleted - beaten to it>

Yes, it was 825. Shouldn't be far off now. I dare say that whether or not Paignton wants to extend 2253's hire period will depend upon how quickly the ex-Barry Large Prairie which it recently acquired from the WSR is turned around. That said there's no guarantee that the S160 will return to the NYMR in five years even if Paignton doesn't want it.

2253 will be leaving fairly soon, and both 2253 and 29 have been largely worked on by volunteer groups, but there aren't many lines which can outshop two engines on the same day and light the first warming fire in a third newly overhauled engine in the same week. A remarkable achievement by all concerned.

The VoR has announced that Peter Rampton, it's co-founder and also owner of the legendary 'Collection X,' has passed away. He saved an awful lot of engines and is a great loss to the preservation movement. https://www.rheidolrailway.co.uk/2019/07/23/sad-news-announced-by-the-vale-of-rheidol-railway/

There are plenty of liveries to justify a second and even third batch. Not only the export versions (and it's worth noting that four of the Dutch ones are now preserved in the UK, justifying OO models of European prototypes) but also Harry Needle, Day Aggregates, ICI Mond, ICI Wilton, the ersatz BR black and BR green liveries carried by the NYMR's industrial example... It's a very canny choice on MR's part.

Some interesting comments on the seller's feedback profile too.

I noticed on Sunday that the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway shop still has the full original range of Baldwins in stock, including the much sought after 'Peggy.'

Go back to the mid- to late 80s and, with Airfix and Liliput gone, Palitoy having withdrawn from the UK model railway market, and Lima making nothing but diesels, you basically had Hornby and the small number of Dapol steam outline models plus Wrenn. No wonder that with so little competion Margate hardly produced anything new during that period. IIRC the only new steam outline models they came up with in those years were the 8F, the badly compromised 28XX on the 8F chassis, the Saint (a retooled Tri-ang Hall), and the little GKN tank.

Can I tempt anybody to one of those horrible BR liveried American 0-4-0s for a very competitive eighty-five notes? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alco-1930-Unboxed-Excellent-Working-Condition/273876120776?hash=item3fc449f4c8:g:6gAAAOSwpztc0d0P

I've had a very similar - almost word for word in parts - message from a chap who then did not bid. Was his username by any chance the name of a large town in the top left hand corner of Wales?

Guest locos announced for the Autumn gala: 60009, 62005, 6023, 6990. Plus up to eleven engines from the home fleet.

Judging by the photo on http://ukprsl.uk/ it was very far gone by the time it was cut up, with the back of the cab and half the bonnet gone.

Similar fundraising schemes launched after the Chester Zoo fire and NYMR vandal attack did not affect those organisations' insurance. Where the fault of the incident is clear then the insurers will want to mitigate their losses by paying out quickly and in full. Dragging their heels won't help anything and will cost them more in the long run.