giz

Thinking back, I can remember seeing container trains crossing the bridge over Wherstead Road but can't recall what was hauling them.

As the flats were loaded, my guess would be a trip through Ipswich Tunnel to the West Bank Terminal. At that time I was working on the construction of the Orwell Bridge and every day there were small container vessels arriving at the docks from Europe.

There is a good account of the problems and their causes on Derby Sulzers: http://www.derbysulzers.com/1702.html

Bachmann did produce this BG in Regional Railways livery, the lower grey is the same colour as their other RR coaches. However, there were never any BGs in that livery as RR had no requirement for them and the closest were those in the TransPennine rakes but the lower panel colour was different.

That assumes only one driver. We drove to Slovakia (about 1350 miles) a couple of years ago in two days with only an overnight stop and quick refreshment stops, regularly swopping drivers. I hate to think how long it would have taken in an electric car.

Already available: http://www.eptender.com/

Try this: http://www.railcar.co.uk/ Edit: don't know what is different to muddy-blues link but it works

Roger Harris has them at Tyseley (renumbered 4/83) then: 53325 - CH 12/83, NH 11/5/86 CF 10/5/87 (cancelled) CH 29/11/87 CF 14/5/89 wdn 21/9/89 53307 - CH 3/85, NH 11/5/86 CH 29/11/87 wdn 5/5/89 50307 (55307) was refurbished 7/81 and 50325 (53325) was refurbished 5/83 which would probably have been when they were painted blue/grey I don't yet have the volume that includes non-driving trailers, must get it ordered.

That doesn't make any difference to the lights, the circuit board contains the resistors and diodes that make the lights work directionally when running dc. If you put a sound loco body on a non-sound chassis the supply to the lighting LEDs is the wrong polarity and the wrong voltage and they won't work whether it is on dc or dcc. i only mentioned the 21/8 pin dcc socket issue to highlight the fact that a totally different circuit board is used. It was mentioned previously here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/89691-Hornby-class-56-ex-sound-chassis/

I don't think that would make any difference, one version has the LEDs common anode, the other is common cathode. Also the supply to the LEDs is about 3v on the non-sound and full 12v on the sound version. They have completely different circuit boards, sound fitted have a 21 pin dcc socket and the others 8 pin.

Or swap the cab interior/lighting units as well if it's possible. I didn't try that as they didn't seem to want to come out easily.

One thing you have to watch out for is that the sound fitted locos have the lights in opposite polarity and higher voltage to the non-sound ones. I tried swapping the body from an R3050A onto the Harworth Colliery chassis and vice versa and in both cases had no working lights.

ISTR a Lima release with a really bright shade of light green but they also did others that look more realistic to me. I have one with full yellow ends that looks reasonable. Is this the version you are describing? http://www.hattons.co.uk/67970/Lima_L205219HX_Class_47_D1842_in_BR_Green_DCC_fitted_Pre_owned/StockDetail.aspx

The speaker is fitted where the weight goes on the non sound version. There is plenty of room elsewhere to add some more though.

I photographed this little 48DS in Ipswich Lower Yard in the early 80s. From its location I think it may have worked at the electricity generating plant next to the trolleybus depot but may have been from somewhere in the docks.

The traction motors on Classes 81 to 85 were rigidly attached to the bogie frame to reduce unsprung weight, unlike the axle hung motors on the 86. The Alsthom drive allows movement to occur between the axle and drive gear as the wheelset moves up and down in the suspension. Classes 81 and 82 used the same, Classes 83 and 84 had SLM BB drives. Class 87 used a simpler system using a hollow motor shaft with a concentric rubber bushed drive shaft within it and the gears were axle mounted.

My 97407 came with all of the pipes fitted and couplings at both ends In the little bag (unopened as yet) there are frost grilles, headcode discs and what looks like a blanking plug for the bufferbeam if the coupling is removed.

In that case they should all be red and the Hornby coach would need the connectors modifying if you are concerned (and it runs at the end of a train). I don't know if you've noticed but the roof vents on the Bachmann BFK are wrong, they've used the same layout as their BSO. They should be in line over the compartments as per the Hornby coach.

Your Lima are 2b so should be red (Lima also did a 2f). The Bachmann is a 2a so should be green if second class, red if first. Bachmann also do an early 2 but it correctly doesn't have folding doors. That Hornby is an early 2 (if numbered correctly) so no folding doors.

Could be. There is a thread somwhere discussing it. The Platform 5 books from the 80s and 90s I have say all Mk2a were green but that seems not to be correct.

Mk 2a were green; 2b, 2c and 2d were red and 2e and 2f were fawn. However, I've seen somewhere on RMWeb that some late 2a were also red.

There is a handy summary of the vans and pickups produced post-war by the companies that became British Leyland here: http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/commercials/commercials-purpose-built-vanspick-ups/

The best online source for 1st generation dmu info is Railcar.co.uk. This page lists the types covered: http://www.railcar.co.uk/type/index.php

Yes, there were some, there is a photo of 5323 in blue/grey with white Trans Pennine branding in Michael Harris' 'British Rail Mark 2 Coaches'.

Is it 99519? That looks to be different in this photo: http://www.traintesting.com/images/Int%20coach%20with%20T4%20bogies%2053A%20Models%2099519.jpg