magic_monkey09

where's the Loadhaul tug lately? we havn't seen it at all since it failed a while back. is it at Toton?

just been looking at pics of of tug 98 on fotopic and WOW what a mess its in. All the electrics in the cab have been ripped out, all the light clusters missing, no air horns, engine room doors removed, no couplings, wipers and their mechanisms missing, mulit-working sockets removed, cabside windows taken out and boarded up and that's just what you can see, no doubt theres alot more parts missing inside. between Immingham and Toton they've really made this ones fate certain

sounds like great behind the scenes fun at chiltern B) may i ask how you applied for your work experience position? cheers

saw 60074 at newport tonight working the Murco's B)

Hi, This project has actually been on my workbench since about october last year. I actually started and finished 37406 after this one so its been kicking around a while anyway i will be making EWS 37422 (in its current dumped at toton condition) from the current Bachmann base model 37411 using Model Master transfers for the new numbers and Fox nameplates. i will be trying to achieve the same standard as 406 with the exception of sound on this one. (incase you are wondering why i keep referring to 37406 there are some pics of it in my gallery) I have used Heljan ploughs and Bachmann's new screwlink couplings on it by the way B) nameplates were a right sod to fit but i got them to stay on in the end Here are some pics of where 37422 has got to so far...... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/gallery/image/17127-37422-front-detailjpg/ http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/gallery/image/17126-white-number-4jpg/ http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/gallery/image/17125-37422-cardiff-cantonjpg/ http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/gallery/image/17124-37422-nosejpg/ have added 422's famous scratch on the other side but for some reason i forgot to take a pic of the other side Now, before some one points out that there is a Ready to run vitrains example of this model available i am aware of this personally vitrains just don't quite do it for me in terms of quality that Bachmann do and offer for around the same price I am a big 37 fan , EWS/DBS ones in particular interest me, dont quite know why? perhaps its because they are flogged to death yet still keep going (just) 37422 is a favourite of mine being last overhauled and named at my local Welsh depot Cardiff Canton now sadly closed anyway please comment and let me know what you think B)

maybe its just me thinking like this but i think DBS seem too keen to snap up contracts and freight flows from other operators yet dont seem to be taking into account that this will affect their fleet availability. They should treat it like they do with the sandite season whereby we saw the class 60 fleet boosted to 24 examples to cover for the 66's on Sandite. They should use 66's on every train that doesn't exceed the limit a 66 is capable of but certain trains such as the westerleigh oil tanks are best left to 60's as they can handle the load alone without the need for double heading. If they were given an overhaul or even semi-thourough maintenance failures would be reduced dramatically and release 66's and 59's back onto their usual workings. i can see the 66's eventually ending up like the 60's being overworked because they couldn't afford to take them out of traffic to maintain them because the fleet is so stretched...(doubt the leasing company would like this but aslong as they are being payed they wouldn't notice) 60's need the attention now more than ever not only for the good of the company and the locomotives but also for the safety of their drivers, they have already been given instructions not to enter the engine room whilst the engine is on...what does that tell you.... DBS only have 6 class 59's so lets not knacker them by pushing them to the limit either...

if a class 60 could be brought for preservation they wouldn't need to update their whole section of track to accomodate it really, just maybe a small area around the yard and shed they keep it in perhaps but dont the 60's come pre-fitted with modern safetly equipment OTMR and the likes of no doubt so strictly speaking could quite easily be re-registered for mainline use for things such as railtours and would spend the majority of its time on the mainline rather than on a private railway also im sure Barrow Hill could find a nice little spot to keep it when its not in use . The only thing is that would it generate enough enthuasiasts to pay for things such as track access charges etc? seeing as 60's are still quite modern they are also partly to blame along with the 66's for the decline of older BR locomotives such as 37's and 56's so there will be alot of bitter enthusiasts aswell as diesel bashers

If the class 59's are 'on paper' superior locomotives then why have so little been produced? just goes to show that they are over-rated and cant do the job at hand when faced with it and the same goes for the FL 70's at the moment. class 60's when first introduced didn't have the best entry into service we can admit but they later made up for that and lived up to what they were designed for and that is HEAVY HAULAGE, the only reason they have tripped at the last hurdle is due to lack of thourough maintenance. Class 59's have been around for nearly as long and have so far only proved successful on aggregate trains and not coal and oil which they are now needed on.. As far as i'm aware class 60's perform well on all these trains.

perhaps gradient comes into the question somewhere. I dont know the exact steepness of the lines between Somerset and london but I should imagine especially around London that they are pretty flat. As for the coal trains they are lighter than stone trains as you say but bad weather on possibly harsh gradients gives them bit of a trouble.

The management at DBS need to sort the issue out and not keep putting it to one side and having a "this will do for now" attitude. fair enough they think they have sorted the problem by using class 59's instead but they can only really class it as a reliable Train load when a class 66 is in the consist as insurance otherwise a 59 on its own is a liability on the network. The same applies really to a class 60, their engine hours are so high and have only recieved patch -work maintenance that they are also vunerable to breaking down and causing chaos on the network. Double shedding seems to be more reliable strictly speaking but is not a long term solution for DBS as it will cost them more money in fuel costs, produce higher levels of emmissions and reduce fleet availability not to mention the possibility of damaging the EMD 66's as they weren't designed specifically for Heavy Haulage like the 60's and 59's were.... DBS have tried and tested 59's without the degree of success they would have liked whilst also keeping an eye on freightliner's new class 70's which right now are'nt proving as usefull as they should be, suffering from alot of teething problems and recieving a bad press. Realisticly they have to keep a small fleet of 60's active enough to be summoned when needed and from the looks of it the patch-work maintenance will continue throughout 2010 until a decent traction policy can be drawn up by the management team. Whether that be new locomotives or a Refurbishment programme for existing ones...

I dont see how DBS can do without the class 60's, fair enough they have class 59's but they only have a maximim of 6 loco's and thats when the whole fleet is available which it sometimes wont be due to routine maintenence. Not only that the class suffers from wheelslip on the really heavy loads which class 60's seem to handle better.... ok DBS dont need 100 class 60's so scrap the majority of them but properly fix up at least 10 just to take the strain off the 59's. The Scrap value of 90 class 60's would be enough to overhaul a mere 10 wouldn't it?

quick heads up, U might have a job to get the roof off the TGS as it appears Hornby are still using Lima tooling and the bottom doesn't simply pop off like the other carriges. If your using Tamiya smoke to tint the windows from the inside its a bit more difficult on the TGS. I have used a black permanent marker on the windows from the outside as i nearly spit the plastic trying to remove the roof. It looks just as good if your going for a dark tint like myself but if you still want to see the interior you wont be able to using this method sadly.

smashing work leon, a real industrial feel to it. those lorry cabs are a bit Modern for a RF metals class 56 though great work B)

Nick's layout's are Awsome B) Both Dyserth road and Holland Park no doubt he'll be interested in Bachmann's new class 70 and Hornby's KFA container flats when they're out

hows your 37406 going Mark?, Ive just finished off mine and im quite happy with the way it turned out no doubt you'll be interested in the new REX heavyweights eh?

I definately want mine considerably dirty also i believe previous era's of China Clay traffic have been better therfore my EWS era will have a short consist of wagons maybe 2 or 3 only to represent the decline of china clay traffic into modern times However, if i was modelling RFD era i would have to have them much "shiny-er" and run longer trains

might be a bit late joining this topic heres a vid of my Bachmann Turbostar recently done by Olivia's trains B)

I plan to use the bullets in EWS era so i think the "silver" bullet is too clean , i think i would be better off with the kernow weathered versions, dont particulary want to weather it if theres going to be a weathered version available..

I would normally agree except in the case of the Bachmann class 150 in Arriva livery i have been waiting since early 2008 for it and its still not here in jan 2010 Bachmann have no excuses now, they have the moulding for the 150/2 hence the regional railways version and they can do the Arriva livery as carried on their 158's.... what's the problem??? :icon_e_confused: i hate it when Companies advertise models when they havn't even entered production meaning we have to wait years for them :icon_frustrated: im sure i am not only one that has been annoyed by this

as far as im aware its after christmas and i havnt seen any yet where are they? are they delayed or something? also when's the kernow 37521 due?

nice sandite port how easy are these to fit then? can they be glued on like nameplates or is there drilling involved?

the issue with converting the Hornby seacow to P4 is not a problem as i use standard peco code 100 track so thats fine , I am modelling modern image so the later welded styles by the sounds of it seem the best to use , i will be adding weight to them as i recall i think Hornby scaldale actually make ballast loads for seacows? in terms of livery's i will probably be using a whole mixture of EWS, heavily weathered Dutch and Trainload liverys not mention covering them with rust powders to make them more realistic B)

I noticed you got one of the Hornby 156's in scotrail are they any good and worth buying 1? just ive read a few reviews of them and they dont seem to up to the same spec as the newest Hornby models? personally i think they look nice, could do with a Obstacle deflector though like the 153 has B)

Hi i have been wanting to buy some Seacows for my layout but not sure which ones to get, ive noticed on Hattons that both Hornby and Bachmann make them, which ones should i go for? and are there any differences in quality?

cheers for the reply mark, ye DBS 37's seem to be a pain to keep track off, i had noticed that 406 has extra lamp brackets, i was thinking of glueing the lamp brackets that came with the older version 37419 onto the nose hopefully this will do the job once they have been painted white B) im using the latest chassis from the Petroleum 37428 as it has the new screwlink coupling and is 21pin chip so easy for sound fitment but i will be using the usual 411 body as a base. wish u all the best with your layout progress, its looking brilliant so far i especially liked the bridge detail