Lochinvar

Not quite what the OP had in mind but this creates an opportunity for a grouse about frequent references to Edinburgh (Princess St.),sometimes by those (including journos) who ought to know better. Glad I got that off my chest! DR

As I understand it - and with the exception of the "Tesco" - DRS have withdrawn from the Anglo-Scottish intermodal market. They ended their long-standing relationship with Malcolms,whose business is now with DB. They also decided - for whatever reason - that they were not interested in renewing their contract with Russells. The latter development might not be too visible at the moment because of the disruption on the WCML in Scotland,but all the ex-DRS Daventry - Coatbridge traffic is now with Freightliner. (This should suit Freightliner nicely since - as already mentioned - they have been quite badly affected by the reduction in the coal business. DR

I fear that attempting to tie all the workings down may be even more difficult than you imagine,John. Through correspondence with Harry Knox,it has become clear that crew rostering,on the one hand,and loco. rostering,on the other,were not always the same. As you say,Harry lists the 3.XXpm up ex-Perth as a 64B working but it was quite definitely 63A that provided the loco. in the period covered by his book. (And,if I had a fiver for every time I saw 44720 or 44721 on that train,I might have been able to buy one,or both,of them on withdrawal!). As for the 6.40 up ex-Perth,I suspect that the "Princess" working referred to by our 62C correspondent might not have been a "one-off". Early in 1962 I was commuting daily across the Forth in a service provided by the Admiralty (as it then was) for staff working at Rosyth Dockyard. Our N-bound crossing often co-incided with the 06.40 as it made its way up on to the Forth Bridge. Even from a distance,it was possible to make out the loco. type (though I wasn't close or expert enough to distinguish between a Scot and a Rebuilt Patriot). I can recall seeing a "Princess",but cannot now say whether it was only once. We've sure breathed some life into this thread! DR

I think you're right to have your doubts about the first of the V2 shots. The location bears a remarkable resemblance to the stretch S of Aberdeen - Cove,perhaps? The morning Perth - Edinburgh train had been firmly in the grip of 63A Black 5s (and Jubilees) until the arrival of the Kingmoor Duchesses etc around 1960. The train would have been through Dunfermline (Lower) about 0730,I guess,with the loco generally returning with the 1012 ex-Wav (TC for I'ness). DR

No shortage of photographs of the Glenfarg route by WJVA. Judging by the volume of published stuff,you could be forgiven for thinking that he was almost permanently resident in the Mawcarse area in particular. Beyond his esteemed efforts,I can't think immediately of others,I have to admit. DR

IMG_4182 might be the Eden Valley loop,S of Penrith - or perhaps Plumpton Loop,N of Penrith? DR

Yes,agree. Aviemore South,with the old A9 running along on the left. DR

That Colas might have a need to augment their loco. pool is no surprise. They have been adding to their portfolio of haulage contracts - recently displacing DB on most of the Inneos (ex-BP) work out of Grangemouth,for example. And they are being tipped widely to be on the point of taking over from FHH on the cement traffic out of Oxwellmains (typically 2 trains a day). DR

Newtonmore,at a guess. DR

This is splendid news for those who have been so persistent in arguing the case for the Q6. Hopefully, all them Geordies,Mackems and other adherents of NER stuff will buy this in the quantities required for commercial success. My motives in wishing the Q6 well are partly ulterior. If - if - this announcement has been influenced by wish-list polling,and the sales do well, it offers some encouragement to those of us who wish to see some attention being given to Scottish pre-grouping types. But,as I have commented before, we first have to agree on which particular loco. we want as a first step. Continuing to spraying our votes around a whole host of desirable classes will only lead to disappointment. So,is it the J36 or the 812 class?? DR

It was 'edinboro' that caused maximum offence in these parts.!

Perhaps Bachmann are exploring the point at which consumer price resistance sets in. From the comments so far,they're about to find out! This episode underlines yet again the utter nonsense of manufacturers attempting to attach a price to items which,with the best will in the world, are not going to see the light of day for yonks ahead. There are simply too many "known unknows" for that practice to have credibility. DR

My BTK has arrived. Following the insertion of bogie spacers "a la coachman" it has now been coupled up to a similarly-modified CK. Using Roco 40270 close-couplers on both brings the gangways more or less into contact,while allowing negotiation of the curved area of a Peco double-slip without buffer-lock. (The close-couplers supplied by Bachmann - which produce satisfactory results on their Mk 1s - are quite useless with the "Portholes",since they leave the gangways miles apart). DR

No sir.....I was referring to the recently released 39-460 Brake 3rds. ( I assumed that, since I had hit the "Reply quoting this post" button on "rembrow"s posting above,that would have been clear. Seemingly not. Sorry to have unintentionally raised your hopes. DR

A large retailer based in So. Yorks has just got some in too. DR

Ah,the powerful influence of RMWeb! Only a few days after a few grumbles about timescales,some long-awaited items reach our shores. Not a coincidence,surely?! Looking forward to receiving my "Porthole" Bk 3rd - assuming,of course, that it's free of the faults that caused Bachmann's two previous rejections. I already have the bogie spacers ready to correct the assumed ride height problem. The intention was (and almost certainly still is) that it should replace a Bachmann Mk 1 - though the formation in question does look quite convincing the way it is. DR

Dave I thought that this would have generated more by way of comment,as I'm sure other members are better qualified to advise. But I might have added that unless there is some evidence to the contrary,a reasonable assumption would be that 72008 did not run with AWS in the old-emblem era. So you would need to remove the AWS battery-box fitted to the RH side of the running plate (itiris this came already fitted rather than as part of the accessory kit). Sorry,can't help with the speedo. But,again,we tend to associate these with the Clans in the later part of their (grievously short) lives. hth DR

And I see from the Bachmann website that release of the elusive "porthole" Bk 3rd coach seems to be slipping again. What until recently was shown as April/May has now changed to May/June. But shouldn't be far away now...should it?? DR

Dave As ever,and assuming that you wish to retain the present 72008 identity,you need to search for photos. of the loco at your chosen point in time. I'm reasonably sure,however,that you will need to remove (or not fit) the AWS "bang-plate". DR

My trio (3rd/Comp/Bk.3rd) has now been formed up into a permanent set using close-couplers. The use of a Roco 40270/Hornby combination between the 3rd and the Comp. achieves buffer-to-buffer contact,without any hint of buffer-lock as they pass over the curved section of a Peco double-slip, the tightest radius on the layout. A different story between the Comp. and the Bk.3rd,however. To eliminate buffer-lock,it has been necessary to fit Hornbys to both those coaches,at the expense of a modest separation between the buffers. The overall result is still pretty satisfactory,methinks. DR

We seem to veered off-topic a tad here. Suggest,Mods,either dropping "Hornby" from the heading of this thread,or creating one separately for discussing the merits,or otherwise,of the Airfix/Dapol offerings. DR

Thanks indeed for sharing these images with us,Robert. Despite Hornby's use of the description "maroon" (and the quite heavy maroon depicted on their web-site) the colour shade is more or less what I expected when I took the plunge with a pre-order. As has already been remarked here,it should suit those of us who set their layouts in the 50s. I'll be looking out for the postie bearing goodies ex-Sheffield (although the retailer in question doesn't seem to have them in stock yet......if their web-site is to be relied on). DR

The arrival of these entirely-new coaches so soon after they were first revealed last November is an astonishing departure from what we have come to expect in recent years. Really looking forward to receiving those that I had ordered in the belief that we wouldn't be seeing them until Sept. They should "look the part" behind a Fairburn or Standard 2-6-4T (or a whole number of other locos,for that matter). DR

The Hornby web-site "expected" date for both LMS and BR versions has now been advanced from 1 Sept to 18 June. DR

Hornby had what were presumably pre-production samples of both LMS and BR versions on display on their stand at the AMRSS show this weekend - and jolly attractive they looked,too. It is beginning to look as if we might be seeing a release earlier than the present official date of 1 Sept. Some retailers are now quoting prices (RRP=£40.25). And Model Railways Direct are now saying 21 Jun. The Hornby guys on the stand said that it could even be as early as March. DR