The Stationmaster

The 'Earl' plates (or perhaps only some of them?) were not concentric with the driving splashers of a 'Castle' as they were, of course, originally made to fit on the 4-4-0s. I'm not sure if this applied to all the plates but in broadside photos some of the lower numbered 'Earl' series of 'Castles' clearly have plates that are not concentric. I suppose the $64,000 dollar question in relation to 5053 is whether or not it had concentric namplates? Some of the later numbered ones with long names definitely do not look to be concentric in photos but the only broadside pic I can find of 5053 is not really close enough or clear enough to give a definite answer.

Finger trouble (mine), sorry

Hopefully it's just a manipulated image with altered name & number and that things will be right on the production version. While I yet again repeat my concern about getting individual loco details correct I'm inclined to reserve full judgement at least until my two 70XX series locos are in my hands. Another point tho' - and not really clear from the Hatton's pics - but is the curvature of the nameplate on 5043 correct because in some views it looks as if it matches the splasher beading? Mind you it says something about the rest of the loco if we are down to talking about minutiae like this .

I thought the pre-production cab pics looked quite good - as long as you want a loco with a mechanical lubricator and not hydrostatic (unless they've got even more detail variations possible than looked to be the case) .

As far as the GWR is concerned I have yet to run to earth any pre 1948 instructions (I think I have some wartime stuff but not sure about blackout regulations etc). On the WR the following applied from July 1949 - The edge of the platform to be whitened for a width of approximately 5 inches. The white lines must be renewed not less than once a month in summer and weekly in winter. A further instruction was issued in September 1954 - (That) the edges of ramps must not be whitened. The reason for frequent remarking was, of course, a consequence of using whtitewash. In the mid 1970s staff at one of my stations experimented with using a paint intended for brick and stone but it was found that it very rapidly went a sort of pale yellow colour. The next idea after that was to try road marking paint and we found that to be very satisfactory as it held its colour and lasted for months, thus saving a lot of work.

'course they were part of the family - they were just as good at failing as some of the others . They did look a bit out of place in some settings but in others they fitted in nicely as a sort of pannier/prairie tank replacement on trip working completing the family of Swindon diesels. But of course no justifocation for them if your railway represents the era when the work they were built for had vanished...

I too think it has very definitely captured the look of a D95XX - as soon as I saw from an earlier pic that they had got the subtle rake back of the bonnet ends I decided to order one because that is, I reckon, a very important part of getting the look right. As for 'value for money' that is a rather undefinable quantity I think - you can't do it on something as daft as a count of the wheels and how do amateurs know the costings of the intricacies of toolmaking or the time labour value of fitting detail parts etc? In the end it comes down to the very simple 'yes I want it' (or 'no I don't') and if I do want it 'can I afford to pay what I consider a reasonable price for it?' You makes your choice and you pays your money to paraphrase an old saying.

I understood from a Hornby rep I met a week or so back that they were expecting two containers in on 16 December and there was a faint possibility that there might be some 'Castles' And looking at the pics on the Rails website there would appear to be an error on the loco or it was at some stage backwards modif1ed as it appears to have a mechanical lubricator - which 5053 didn't have in 1958 by which time it was running with the later crest on the tender, so it might need a little surgery. Mind, the 'Rails' price strikes me as truly remarkable bringing the loco in 25 quid under list, and under 100 quid

If they had a problem with a 59 managing a load it was probably down to driving technique - don't forget they are regularly shifting trains of up to 5,000 tonnes trailing load in our neck of the woods and have been since new, with no problems. We did a trial with a 5,000 tonne trailing load out of Whatley for ARC but 'just in case' we had a second 59 inside the train engine - never needed to bring it life even with the front of the train on the 1 in 138 up to Clink Road and the back still on the curve from Frome West to Frome North on a rising gradient. Only thing that happened was the Super Creep coming in for a few hundred yards - which is a bit like riding on angle grinder

Built - yes; designed - I can't think of any offhand but it's always possible that something for industrial use came via that route.

Like most of the singlings of that period it was basically to avoid engineering costs - Loughor Viaduct plus a fair amount of relaying I believe. I've an idea also that part of the trade-off was that an alternative was getting shot of the District Line (or very severely rationalising it) and the better case was to single Cockett - Gowerton. In the circumstances of the time it undoubtedly made sense but like some other singlings it has come to look rather less than clever with increased ridership and better 'provincial' service levels. But then the other side of the coin is that it is certainly not up in the rankings for re-doubling, but that might be because they have the wrong kind of MPs in the area.

That doesn't surprise me one bit and I would think those trains are rather less than adequate but that is what the subsidy/franchise deal gives the punters alas. It's a long time since I was down there (looking out sites for a coal import terminal - the one which subsequently went to Avonmouth) but even then a lot of trains to Milford were still 3 car set workings although Pembroke Dock was a branch connection by bubble car from Whitland most of the time. All far removed from when I first came across it - with a single dmu working from Swansea to Pembroke Dock on a Sunday and all the rest 100% steam including the Cardigan branch (I was only a lad at that time of course) but even then a fairly limited service to Fishguard, which was a right nuisance when wanting to get to Goodwick shed for its ever elusive panniers).

The section from Clarbeston Road to Letterston Jcn was singled in the 1970s and the signalbox at Letterston Jcn was closed at the same time (not quite sure when)with a ground frame operated loop retained at Letterston Jcn to allow the Trecwn trip to runround. The section from Letterston to Fishguard & Goodwick was always single as far as I can trace but I haven't got the Cooke diagrams for the area so can't be absolutely certain on that. Revision - the line was double as far as Manorowen, 1m57ch west of Letterston Jcn, thence single to Fishguard & Goodwick (2m 41ch) thence double to Fishguard Harbour. Incidentally the 'bottom end of the line has a number of permanent speed restrictions down as low as 40 mph in places and (addition) gradients as steep as 1 in 50. The lack of a crossing facility at Letterston is not much of a hindrance on capacity but the signalling system and lack of crossing facility at Fishguard is. However with no station at Fishguard & Goodwick there would seem to be little point in running a local train service down the branch! Even with the present signalling an hourly interval service would present no difficulties assuming there was actually enough traffic to support it - which I doubt.

Not so much the 'Agfa curse' as a not unreasonably accurate rendering of how well weathered green would look from that angle when possibly slightly underexposed. There were an awaful lot of EE Type 3s which looked like that after a year or three in traffic - very dark colour with a bit of a cast to it.

Sensible I reckon!

A nice little loco to with my (three) Gresley pacifics And a J23 would be much more useful for us Western sorts of course although I should really cast aside all prejudice of any sort and go for an R in full NER finery. I wonder what the next 4-4-0 from the NRM might be? Having been correct about CoT - although I restricted my comments to saying the next loco would be a 4-4-0 without coming clean about which one it was going to be I suppose I had better put my thinking cap on for next year's offering, or wait for another chat with a friendly passing - well best not say more.

The Up morning train you mention was the 'boat train' and ran for some years although it was a notoriously poor timekeeper so was cut back to start from Swansea with a dmu connection from Fishguard - for which the HST didn't have to wait! As far as I know the Fishguard line always was basically single beyonmd Lettetrston Jcn although there was a stretch of double track from Fishguard & Goodwick station, or thereabouts.

That's what I like to hear - I'm sure all of us with copper caps are duly proud of your conversion (btw I can speak from both camps as it happens with one great grandfather who worked for the GWR and another who worked for the NER, plus sundry other relatives who also worked for the latter).

Well yes, you are absolutely right - the only trouble being that I didn't plan for this to appear at about the same time as the Bachmann BR Std 3 tank or, as now looks to be the case, just ahead of the Hornby 'Castle' and the Heljan D95XX So it's just as well that the Dapol D63XX seems to have suffered a delay somewhere along the line and that D601 is getting even further away. However I can guarantee that at least the appearance of all these Western locos will stop me occasionally buying variants of the Hornby A3 'on sentimental grounds', and the while I like the rest of it that 'twin snout' on the Class 70 definitely puts me off having one of those despite that fact that I'm otherwise rather taken by it - how's that for self control?

The simple answer is Richard that there is still 'plenty of money about' to use the hardworn old phrase. The difficulty is that some people, quite a big chunk of society alas, are not in that fortunate situation but many are although in quite a few cases what is going on hobby spend on model railways is a reduction from their previous activities of weekends away or far more expensive hobbies. All being well I shall be at an auction next week where I shall be very surprised to see much less than ??100,000 change hands - and that is exclusively on model railways and railway ephemera although I am a little concerned about quite how high the bidding will go on the various GWR broad gauge working timetables. Oh, and a lot of r-t-r stuff will no doubt - if following the usual pattern - go for higher prices than you would pay for the same thing in a retail premises; very weird but it happens. At the other end of the telescope we are now truly caught by the flip side of having our model railways manufactured in the Far East with, as already pointed out, costs rising and the value of our currency declining. In fact just looking at the latter if 'City of Truro' had been put on the shelves about 18 months ago, and everything else was equal except for the currency value, it would be retailing at about ??110 for the ordinary boxed version, the other 35 quid is down to our nation's economic decline in the intervening period and nothing at all to do with the NRM or Bachmann.

I think I'll stick with Hornby-Dublo Mark 1s in chocolate & cream, wonder if it can manage 5 of them?

Thanks Garry - for some reason my post again crossed yours - seems I'm not quick enough on the 'submit' button :icon_e_wink: . Anyway herself will be happy as having told her & daughter about the release of this excellent piece of motive power on their return from their day trip 'down west' I have been advised by Mrs Stationmaster that it will be my Chrissie pressie :icon_thumbsup2: Also thanks for the pics Chris - looks to be in exactly the right colour scheme for the period I am interested in although the frames aren't quite as 'bright red' as they appear in some pics from that period. Just right to drop on shed off a railtour in teh are in which my loco depot is - vaguely - set.

Thanks for that - I'll give 'em a ring tomorrow unless they send me an email update. I was quoted ??145 plus VAT on the 'phone when I placed my ordery and my email agrees with that so hopefully they will be able to sort it without a nudge.

I have just placed my order for the 'cooking' packaged version with delivery 'expected within 28 days' (I hope it will be otherwise 'as illustrated'). At present it is not up on the NRM sales website but they are taking orders over the'phone and are up around the 20 mark(but that's not bad off just a press release a couple of hours ago). The lass on the 'phone said they're being inundated with calls but I had no trouble getting through. Sorry about the next bit - Garry was posting quicker than I could One thing Garry didn't mention is that the quoted price of ??145 does not include VAT (or post & packing)so you will be looking at a total of just over 170 quid for a UK inland postage address. So no doubt those who were already voicing disquiet about the price can now have a further grump. BUT if it is anywhere near as good as it looks in the picture in the link above then it's not bad and the way the ?? is going I doubt it will get cheaper. In comparison the Swindon 'Steam' special edition 'Castle' is 130 quid excl p&p but in that case it is necessary to pay an advance deposit of ??30 - the 'City' will be charged when despatched. Oh, and strange to relate I still haven't had a full reply to my email I sent to the NRM on Tuesday asking if they were doing the loco and could I place an order?

If you click on the link above there's a picture of it