Peter Bedding

True, which is one of the reasons I located my layout East of Exeter. But until Hornby or someone can produce an S11 of equivalent quality, Rule 1 will continue to serve me well. PB

Hello John, it seems we have similar reasoning with regard to the Bachmann Wainwright. I thought it to be particularly good value, worth a TCS EU621 decoder. But it is not only locos that need to be accessible. I like to operate a train service, even though I am set length limited. The new 58ft Maunsell rebuilds appeal to me, not to mention the gatestock PP pairs. Add an existing set from the toy cupboard,

I can confirm the superb-ness of one 700 and one O2. I have chosen to hold back on the A-class Goods for the time being, as I hope to see livery variations for the 0415 and O2 , not to mention the Wainwright C and O2 and further 700s, and operating space on the new layout is already at a premium. I am now conducting a feasibility study for a multi-storey fiddle-yard. PB

My Q1-C8 was the first loco to which I fitted a decoder. In ignorance I retained the harness at full length and found it difficult to compress the surplus. Time, with knowledge and experience has moved on several tads. When last used, this loco ran as smooth as silk, and is a good corner stone for the 6-coupled goods fleet. PB

Hello You will need a minimum of 2 in order to make up an accurate Lyme Regis set: One D418 and one D99. The others make interesting "loose" additions to your carriage sidings. I would venture to suggest that there is more in Hornby's pipeline to make different sets, but I should not care to guess what these might be. If these first ones sell well perhaps Hornby will be more revealing over the next year or so.

There were various lattice-gate-stock pairs and singlies (in addition to the scroll-gate types) and there has been the occasional published photo of these taken at the end of the Hitler war at Wadebridge. So, with very little recourse to Rule One, you can safely acquire two pairs (Bulleid and Mausell green). Hth PB Self edit. With apologies for continuing OT.

As the postings above now include most useful comparison between the O2 and T1. My preferred timeline is 1946, expanded to include the decade before Nationalisation. I believe that both Number 7 and 255 were Friary locos at that time, and would have been seen together on any number of occasions. Likewise, pull-push set 734 was Plymouth based immediately post-war: My new K2105 has joined contemporary company. The layout is work in progress at the earliest stage. PB

Hello John, I may have a short-lived advantage, the postie delivered my K2105 earlier this morning, and amongst other issues, i can advise that the concerns over the replication of the bright steel have been over-stated to the point of irrelevance. I remember other critics jumping on the chimney taper bandwagon pending deliveries of the BWT. As soon as the model had been distributed the critics turned on their "silent button" and I hope the same will be repeated here. First reactions are the K2105 is a stunning little gem, and fully worthy of our expectations. Kernow have raised the bar in the past, and now there are contenders with other products, but this must be shortlisted for a Model of the Year award. I hope to post an ensemble photo before the day is out. PB

I do not find it easy to regard these as "old" cars. I remember most of them as new and completely unaffordable. But hey, they still fire my nostalgia. PB

By my reckoning we are in to D-D plus 2, and 4 days since the previous posting. Yet the frothing is strangely subdued. Does some one know something? I managed to place the last piece of my baseboard into temporary position yesterday. At this rate I shall be able to take my delivery straight out of the box, and run it without delay. This was in serious doubt at the beginning of summer. PB

In the true spirit of self-denial I shall hold back until the Era 3 liveries become available. But it will not be easy. PB

Firstly, in "Branch Lines around Plymouth", a photo dated 2 May 59 shows 30182 at Turnchapel (with anonymous Gate Stock), fully Westinghouse PP -fitted. (and other photos of 10 years earlier). In 1949, 182 was liveried as s182, and as 30182 in 1950, and in both the side tanks were lettered British Railways in the Sans Serif font. In 1959 the photo image is not ideal, but I would guess that the loco carries the cycling lion. In "Plymouth Steam 1954-1963" a better photo shows the lion more clearly. In "Tavistock to Plymouth" is a photo dated 21 Sep 1955 showing 30183 at Gunnislake on a mixed train with a single Gate Stock Brake Third next to the engine, a PMV next, and seemingly 4 assorted vans to the rear. I can commend all these books for both serious and armchair research. PB

Quite so. I share a similar view when it comes to ex-LSWR types, subject of course to value-for-pocket money. And then of course Bachmann completely interfered with my plans with the launch of their Wainwright C. And that IMHO scored very highly in my valuation exercise, and like Ozex above, I found I could play my part. PB

I believe there is a parcel for me on board somewhere; I hope the holds are dry. I should not be on line right now; I still have a mammoth task ahead to re-create an acceptable shunting plank on which to test/run in/operate this new vehicle. But on the bright side, there has been progress this past week. May be some fresh photos by nightfall. PB

How right. Once I would have offered a back tooth for a second choice of ex-LSWR tank (after the Triang-Rovex M7). Now I have a choice of acceptable Drummond M7s on the second owner market, soon to be joined by a multitude of Adams types. We can even pick and choose our liveries. And I expect that I will. PB

We have seen how tooling may be adapted from the outset (Kernow) to suit the various differences in appearance of a basic coach design (gate stock). With this in mind I wonder how easy it might be to catalogue an unmodified SECR design and then make use of this tooling to support a small extra choice of post-war IOW coaches. I am tempted to think that IOW stock might have slightly wider appeal than the SECR. There is a difference between the 60ft stock seemingly proposed by Bachmann, and the 54ft stock used on the Island, and that raises the question whether Bachmann made the better initial choice. Much as I admire Mr Wainwright's elegant designs and liveries, my pocket money would support an IOW choice, even in BR colours. PB

I seem to remember that, in the immediate post-war period, the embryo BMC supplied manufacturing tooling to the Japanese for the production of the A40 Devon. The idea being a politician's gimmick to help bump start the recovery of the Japanese motor industry. Nice idea, I wonder what became of it. PB

No, not the Kernow version. This is my prized possession, erected by AdamC and painted by PeterC, and commissioned some years back, and holding the fort pending r-t-r versions to catch up. My new shunting plank is likely to be home to several O2s in the months ahead. PB

I too have a kite to fly, and I should like an opportunity to play. I make no pretence that my wishes have a commercial justification, but then a few years back no one could have proposed a BWT, or an Adams 415, or 56ft Gate Stock, or a 58ft Two-set. So for my kite I choose another Drummond 4-4-0, (the S 15 lights my fire), an Adams Jubilee 0-4-2 and/or another 4-4-0, and for rolling stock a cross-country non-corridor Lav 3 set. Impossible? Well maybe, but they have all scored well in the annual wishlist poll, and the success rate for this poll is rather good. PB

To the duty Mod, greetings. At risk of disclosing the extent of my confusion, would it be helpful if this thread were hooked into the more recent Kernow section? PB

To follow the popularity of the Drummond 0-6-0 in particular, and pre-grouping designs in general, the manufacturers may well be looking to see what's next from the 19th century designs of Wm Adams. Adams designs of were - IMHO - all stylish and elegant, and though most were gone pre war, there were some later survivors. The market has welcomed proposals for models of the O2 and 415 classes, and there should be similar scope for the Jubilee passenger class, the 395 six-coupled goods, and the T1 tank loco. PB

It was the complete three-set of R4 coaches, in unlined Maunsell Green, that tipped the balance for me, and so I purchased the trainset. I could easily persuade myself to need the singleton 700, but it's going to be an expensive 12 months anyway. I am sure that other members here have totted up the upcoming promises (the two types of Adams Tanks, plus variations, and the assorted types of panelled coaches). Layout space is getting severely limited, and my taste is for operation. PB

The earliest I can get mine to a working test track will be next Tuesday (14th). Damn, it's frustrating. PB

One of the details that caught my eye is the inclusion of the four casting holes in the rim of the Drummond chimney. It will be an unusual situation for me to be offered a choice between two potentially superb r-t-r products, with superficially little (at this stage) to distinguish one from t'other. My choice will not be first to market (although a late second could well lose out), but could well be influenced by a decent in-depth product review either here or in one of the High Street journals. And then the next deciding factor will be an Era 3 livery (either Maunsell green or Bulleid black). I have no axe to grind with regard to running number, or prototype boiler, but with the options necessarily available there will be some booby traps for the manufacturers to avoid. All in all, an interesting time ahead. PB

Offhand, between Winchester and Southampton would not stretch Rule 1 . And then there's Basingstoke. PB