MRDBLUE17

I really shouldn’t have, but the British Steel blue/orange livery was too tempting and after seeing them running and that boxed pack I’ve put in an order via retailer for those today. Cheers Mark

Hi KMS/Trains4U, Since this model was announced I’ve been working out if a rake will fit my new layout so have held off putting in a pre order. My other dilemma is whether to go with a 90’s era set based on the end of the Cumbrian Coast workings from Maryport Rapid loader to Fiddlers Ferry or Rugeley. These had a 47 and 30 wagons and 60’s appeared around 1991. I’m not quite sure when these finished as the Padiham coal went out in POA’s behind a 60 and ended in 1993. Or a final years rake that I saw working around Fife with the very weathered red/yellow under grime along with EWS and Blue cradles mixed in with a 66 hauling. Tonight I’ve solved one problem by planning an extension to my fiddle yard width wise which will add in 6 extra roads with a couple long enough for 30 wagons. I’m delighted to see this is still going ahead as planned as I’m confident the Cavalex model will be excellent based on the BBA’s I have. Just need to decide on the formation. Thanks Mark

Hi Fran, They look very nice running along like that on a layout I hope to be able to see one day when we are allowed shows again. Cheers Mark

I’ve thought a second set of autoballasters with blue painted out and network rail logos applied/ or the yellow stripe as Mick described above, would be quite nice. My original set of 5 have had plenty of use and are very good wagons. When you see 1 on eBay listed at £130, my whole set only cost about that when they first came out. Cheers Mark

Hi Ben, Great to see progress with the 86’s. I’m looking forward to a Freightliner pairing which will go nicely with Arrans FSA/FTA’s rake when it appears in 4mm. All the best Mark

I was just looking at Accurascale MK5’s earlier for the Fort William Portion (especially with that pack revised for the workings since first announced) and the lack of a 73/9 to match has been holding me back. I only need the one with sound for Rannoch but it would look great. Really hope this is goes ahead with the guys at KMS. All the best Mark

In the last few months I sold my N gauge versions of these. They were certainly on a like to have list in OO to go alongside the HTA’s and HHA’s so I was pleased to see this announcement. With the funds raised I’ve now been able to order a rake of 20 and watching videos of them through Carlisle there are nice mixed rakes with all brandings so the selection offered make this easy to create. Main issue will be building the big layout for them all to run. Cheers Mark

I’m glad you shared a photo of the Bachmann model as I had spotted that recently as it fits one of my layout plans next to the signal box and agree it’s rather good. The Pylon is excellent, was that scratch built? Very nice linking to the back scene too. all the best Mark

Hi Colin, not for the BBA. There were two former BAA wagons used for the Winfrith workings becoming FOA on tops. I’m part way through building one of them. The other had experimental bogies and ends removed. hope that helps Mark

Hi Julian, The IP2 speakers Charlie mentions are the ones I suggested as an easy upgrade on Bachmann locos as they fit in the little resess on the chassis under the fan housing without the need for any mods and the speaker will connect straight into the loco PCB via the tabs marked SP+ and - Hope that helps Cheers Mark

Just wanted to add my thanks to Michael for his helpful support and information regarding a kit I was interested in. As a result of this I was able to purchase the kit which was sent very quickly. I will look forward to building it. thanks Mark

That is a splendid job you’ve done on 90019. Thanks for sharing the photos in here. cheers Mark

Hi Charlie, I do like the suggestion of Lancaster - Morecambe especially as I’m building Morecambe. A few more I’ve seen on workings are: Carlisle - Lancaster Windermere - Preston Barrow - Preston Manchester Airport to Liverpool or Southport Carlisle - Newcastle Preston - Buxton Thanks Mark

I got my 3 TSO’s and BSO from Rainbow Railways on Thursday as they had just had a big delivery of Hornby coaches. Everything they currently have left is on there website if your after some. Ive had a look at a Bachmann DBSO fully stripped down as I would like a proper DRS version. Looks like it can be done if you have the time to make all the mods etc. The only issue then would be to add Bachmann spec TSO’s with all the lighting to make a set up. Cheers Mark

Hi Jools, By coincidence I have a sound fitted 37025 which I’m going to take the decoder out of and put into either 424 or my ROG 37. It’s fairly straight forward to do as the decoder is 21 pin so easy to remove and add to your other model along with the speaker. I’ve got 37099 fitted with Bifs sounds and will be adding Bifs WH sound 37/0 to 025. You can get a matched pair of decoders from Charlie which is great as the horns will sound on the leading loco etc. Hope that helps Mark

Darryl, that’s probably a very competitive price these days for a newly commissioned highly detailed wagon. You can’t compare on size as number of tooling required will be similar if not more with the extra tops on the HFA’s, plus possible future variants. Kernow have a 4 wheeler at £40 and suspect this is only at £30 due to the sheer volume that will hopefully sell. cheers Mark

I think the Class 88 is a much needed model for the current scene and I hope Dapol do eventually do it as the 68 is a very good model. They did say a few years back that it was certainly under consideration, but the single livery was a concern. I would add a couple to start with to the DRS fleet. cheers Mark

Hi Shoey, I had been hoping to get a couple of Freightliner sets to mix into a rake but was fortunate, thanks to some eBay sales, to also be able to order the DB triple set after seeing a painted sample. There is an incredible amount of detail in the photos and these are very useful to create some accurate freight-liner trains. Last week I got a nice box full of Arrans excellent C-Rail containers. The hardest/fun part was choosing which ones after watching various Anglo-Scottish workings on YouTube. Cheers Mark

Nice looking layout Andrew, I’ll need to find that to have a proper look. cheers Mark

Hi Alex/Cav, I realised I never posted here when I received my BBA’s. Too busy chatting on messenger with Will so you’ll no doubt already know my thoughts on how good these wagons are. So glad that I ordered these when you announced them, and as someone has said on here, even the high quality photos you posted don’t do full justice to the detail you’ve incorporated. The mesh deck is superb but it’s all the detail underneath you don’t appreciate until you have the wagon in your hands. The pipe work is excellent and those bogies really are a clever bit of design, brake disks on all wheel faces is a very nice touch as are the brake callipers. I only had chance to pose one on Morecambe and yes the big layout needs to get finished so I can run them all with the 37’s up front. Thank you both for doing them. all the best Mark

Congratulations to Paul and to the continued expansion of Accurascale. All the best Mark

Cheers for sharing that photo Andy, looks very good. I’m looking forward to the NSE version. Bachmann are doing a great job with the southern units. A little layout project will be needed to run them on. All the best Mark

Hi everyone, If you are wanting one of the fantastic Realtrack 156 models reliveried by Rainbow Railways the ones currently listed on their website are the last currently available for the time being. The very last 2 in Anglia livery will be finished soon. Theres one less as I’ve finally added a Northern purple one to my fleet. Cheers Mark

Hi Everyone, The EFE Rail brand was a surprise but, as far as I can see, a welcome concept from Bachmann. It’s allowed products we might not have seen produced again be brought to market and available throughout the country. I never got any of Kernows JIA’s first time around but on Saturday was able to collect the 6 I ordered from my local model shop of choice Crafty Hobbies in Barrow. (Actually really nice to be able to go back in a model shop and get those other bits too) Great service from John & Shelagh who had emailed the list at launch before ordering to make sure people could get what they wanted. Cheers Mark

Hi Alex, These are looking great. It was on my wanted list and preordered straight away. Having just got the superb BBA’s this week, looks like we are in for something special again. cheers Mark