John M Upton

That's nowt. You should have seen 70001 when it was at Lawley Street just before it ran up to midland road. Thought they had a class 17 in the yard. There was so much clag rising from the exhaust.

IIRC the American GE's are pretty well known for some interesting exhaust emissions. Look on YouTube and http://www.rail-videos.net/ and you will find various examples on US railroads chucking out clag, smoke, fumes, flames, surplus engine parts, etc...

A mantra that I always use when it comes to the prickly (and often disappointment laden) subject of Network SouthEast and Hornby - in almost twenty years of trying and despite recent advances in technology over when that old school 47 with the sheet of alternative numbers/names first appeared, Hornby have NEVER managed to get a single NSE model right in either application or colour matching.

Given that their HQ is bang in the middle of NSE land is a tad worrying, here's hoping lessons have been learnt therefore for the forthcoming 4-VEP!!

Having renumbered a Hornby NSE fifty some time ago I discovered that the Fox Transfers numerals were ever so slightly a different size to Hornby's tampo printed ones (Same happens with many steam locos as well) so as a rule they all come off and start afresh.

I had an original NSE Hornby 50 that I carefully stripped and decorated myself but then sold on when I regressed to Southern Region 1950's and 1960's steam. Boy do I regret selling it now but at least it gives me an excuse should I see a cheap 50 in the near future to do another one!!

Not model railway but came across this by accident, available from Lego.com for about £18, Tesco's had a stack of them last week at about £15 so why did two jokers battle each other resulting in one just having to fork out £62 for it?!?!?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120532243730&autorefresh=true

I wish there was a facility on Ebay to add comments about a lot, somebody need to be told here that they are a total and utter mug.

It isn't just model railways that go for silly prices. With my other hat on I have been trying for some time now to acquire some extra Lego road baseboards, specifically the proper light grey ones from the 1980's. EVERY SINGLE lot that has been listed on Ebay in the last few months has been snapped up by the same bidder (you can tell by the feedback number, same every time) using a snipe program in the last five seconds, he must have hundreds of them now.

Now tonight this guy's ruse is revealed as a seller is now offering quantities of them Buy It Now at vastly inflated prices and it is the same chap as the feedback number is identical. Clever stuff, buy every last one you can lay your hands on (thereby artifically inflating the market price for them) and then sell them again netting a mint in profit!!

(You may tell I am a tad miffed at this guy, unfortunately because I need a couple I have had to give in and buy three from him!!)

This could get complicated....

First NSE Livery was the one with the upswept ends, two subtely different variations though with the top white cantrail stripe either above or below the guttering (easiest way being to see if it goes across the bottom of the former headcode box). These used the light first shade NSE blue.

Second NSE Livery introduced a short while later, eliminating the upswept stripes (which was also discontinued on Class 121 bubble cars and Class 47's as well for looking too 'busy') initially these too were also done with the lighter blue but it faded awfully quickly so a darker blue was subsequently introduced.

Coaching stock was initially painted using the light blue but later changed to the dark blue on later repaints (mostly Mk 2's, have not seen many pictures of Mk 1's using the darker blue but they did exist.)

NSE blue however is not an exact science as it tended to fade to different degrees depending in weathering, paint application, etc. etc.

Hornby's utterly rubbish weathered NSE Mk 2's from a while back used a shade that was way too dark, Bachmann's look to be fairly spot on but again be aware that in 'real life' they varied enormously due to the aforementioned factors.

Hornby's 50048 in original NSE is generally not liked as its shades are dubious and the application not really all that accurate, indeed combine that with the dodgy dark shades of blue on the earlier releases and so far Hornby have to my knowledge never managed to get any NSE model right!!

I well remember when 50048 came out, I was looking forward to picking up a couple but was so disappointed with the livery application that I passed on them and painted up my own one (since rather regrettably sold on!) Hornby's NSE Class 73 was equally disappointing for much the same reason.

Drat, I am going to have to model a 60 in NSE colours now!! (Well maybe a cheap Lima jobbie at least!)

The white wall tyres on a production RTR model are a nice touch I must say, looks like the Model Zone NSE one has them as well.

[Creaking sound of wallet being forced open by unstoppable forces begins to echo through the room]

John Barry - The Beyondness of Things.

Perfect for a bit of relaxation whilst Strafording up a Bachy Class 37...

No green with no yellow panel Cromptons had the revised exhaust arrangement from new, this is a frequently trotted out urban myth that often pops up. The last one was built in the very early 1960's, the exhaust mod's didn't start until some years later by which time yellow panels and the 33/1 conversions were happening.

It's a compromise with the Heljan model that most can live with though!!

sorry to ask but im useless with photo software, and i dont have photoshop....

 

but what about a Deltic in Intercity Livery?

http://fictitiousliveries.fotopic.net/p16338577.html

Looking at a photograph (all be it not a very clear one) would Earl Cairns be a suitable donor for late cresting as 5093 Upton Castle, it being my surname I really ought to have one!!

Enya - Trains and Winter Rains

Seemingly appropriate given this weeks performance on the erstwhile Southern Region thanks to the weather!!

And for further Southern Region sillyness, she is booked to haul two Christmas Lunch tours of Kent from Victoria on Monday, I know as I am booked on one of them.

Needless to say this will almost enivitably see me nipping out at some point later in the week to buy the model!!

I also think there was a certain resentment from the Americans when they felt they had been sold a pup by by the Government. I recall an interview in one of the mags which retold the story that when Wisconsin Central bought the three TLF companies, their chief engineer came over to the UK to inspect the motive power and was apparently throughly unimpressed.

The official list supplied of locos that had been sold to them with the TLF companies listed locos that were 'Stored Serviceable' which they were told meant they could be reactivated for traffic in a matter of days or even hours yet it was recorded that he found one so called serviceable Class 31 was little more than a gutted body shell with no bogies whilst another had in fact been scrapped a year earlier!!

And that was apparently some of the better ones...

Sorry slightly off topic but why are freightliner giving up later build class 66 ,I would have thought the early ones 66501 etc first.Also what are the class 77 mentioned by 59004

cheers

mark

A guess here but probably because the later sries 66's have smaller fuel tanks and therefore simply do not have the range that some Freightliner services require, it was an issue that had the operators grumbling when they were first introduced with 66951 and 66952, the reduction in fuel tank size/capacity being forced upon them due to new build from a certain date needed to be complaint to some new emmissions regs and the equipment therefore required needing the space (also the reason for the extra fifth bodyside door).

The 77's reffered to are I think the Euro Cargo Rail European '66's' about which things seem to have gone very quiet!! There have not been any reported deliveries of what was supposed to be a huge order on ages and I can't actually recall seeing many (lately - if any) pictures of them actually doing any work on the continent.

The parcels 47 does look very nice, trouble is I can feel myself being drawn back to modelling modern era NSE diesels if I am not careful. It should look beautiful in both original and revised NSE liveries.... Are NSE Mk 1 and 2's still cheaply about at the moment?

Will see what Bachmann announce for 2010 I think!!

The Very Best of Enya

I grew up with this, haven't heard some of these songs in donkeys years so time to relax and wallow in a little nostalgia!!!

The lads at Bristol Parkway have been playing with their new toy (suspect a tad of showing off to the audience as well!!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXrqH2nkd1U

She may have looks on its mother could love but I am liking how they sound. Any RTR model will need to have a stonking sound chip as standard!

Really do like the model, the slightly naff horns aside (easily corrected) but is it evily wrong of me to think about stripping one down and respraying it in two tone green or even rail blue....?