ThePipersSon

Yes, technically I think it was trespass to be in a shed without a pass. OOC didn't seem to mind and let people wander round. Southall on the other hand was impossible. As for Kings Cross, the word fortress comes to mind, but just about possible.

A Dukedog did visit London, on 14/2/62. It was 9017 on the way to the Bluebell railway, and was housed overnight at Old Oak Common. I know, I saw it there (the first time I was in OOC legally).

I noticed that the MR list does not include the all-blue option with SYE, as shown by D7004 in the book 'The Power of the Hymeks'. Heljan do that livery on D7007, according to the latest Hatton's advert I have.

http://pittsburgh.ethz.ch/TC/TannwaldCamJ.html

Hi. Firstly I would mention Model Rail no 33 July 2001 - it shows 6 different liveries (7 if you count rail blue and chromatic blue). The Power of the Hymeks - John Vaughan - 086093599 is fairly comprehensive. I haven't checked how many liveries are covered, and there is no specific chapter or paragraph on liveries. All the photographs, apart from the cover, are black and white.

Sorry to be pedantic about this, but railcar no 1 was not used on the Cardif - Birmingham service. Railcar no 1 was the original, and the only one with just one engine. It was fitted-out with a bus type interior, with about 70 seats. It seems to have spent most of the time in the Thames Valley, I assume because of less power than the later railcars. Railcars 2, 3 and 4 were the ones fitted-out with a buffet counter, and 2 toilets. They were used initially on the Cardif - Birmingham route via Gloucester. Railcars 5 to 16 were fitted out with bus type interiors, with 10 to 12 having a single toilet. I agree that 5 to 16 would have seemed to be the obvious choice to model, but with the opportunity to laser-scan no 4 at Swindon makes the task of replicating the subtle complex curves of these vehicles a bit easier.

According to my books, Nos 2 & 3 were delivered in June 34, but weren't in service until january 35. As they were highly publicised, it is unlikey that they would be in an obsolete livery.

Remember the reason to build the Dukedogs was to provide locos to work the weight-restricted lines the GWR took over in 1923. The Dukes were worn out and they needed something for the Cambrian, DN&S and M&SWJR (although the DN&S was upgraded during the war). It could possibly be a way of keeping the weight down to keep it within limits, as the Bulldog frames were heavier than the Dukes. Only, when they built it, they could weigh the finished loco to see if was in the axle-load limits. This is just a thought, with no basis in fact.

I've just been checking things up in 'Standard Gauge Great Western 4-4-0s' by O S Nock. 3265 Tre Pol and Pen was built with 3' 2" wheels, as on the 4-6-0 express passenger locos. The author states that he has been unable to find the reason for this, but suggests it might be due to clearances on the cylinders and motion. There cannot have been a problem though as they reverted to 3' 8" when the production batch was built 5 years later. As for boilers for the bulldogs, they were standard type 2 (and these came in at least 3 varieties parallel, short cone and long cone). Citys and Counties had standard type 4 boilers. The passenger equivalent of Bulldogs was the Atbara class (also with standard type 2 boilers). Ten Atbaras were rebuilt with standard type 4 boilers (keeping their original names) and were then included into the City class. The whole history of the 4-4-0s is quite complicated. Tom

You could try looking at http://www.ehattons.com/stocklist/results.aspx?searchfield=duke%20of%20earl but it won't give you the expected dates.

I am reluctant to contradict Oddudders as you seem to reside in France, but I thought french, and spanish, people use the comma as a decimal point. I have worked with both in the past.

My BR version arrived today. I haven't compared it to the original yet, but the model looks good. My initial concern is trying to convert it to EM. It doesn't look easy. It seems that most of the brake gear will have to be removed and then replaced with new.

Don't they know its still available from the NRM for £155, or it was yesterday? And its still not over yet. Bachmann COT

Just to let you know that issue 76 of GWRJ has two pictures of the Mogul backhead. I will be watching this with interest, as I have done on previous projects.

I seem to remember that some Hawksworths were painted DMU green in the early sixties, and inserted into DMU sets for additional seating. Either that or my memory is playing up. I suspect that this in one livery option Hornby will not be producing.

Can I suggest getting hold of a copy of "Peto's Register of Great Western Railway Locomotives - Volume 3". It covers the 14XX and 58XX classes.

I may be mistaken, but the GWS at Didcot are finishing restoring no 416 at present Didcot coach There are more photos of it in the GW Echo. I know that it is probably non-prototypical after all these years, but you may get some information from it.

On both the Midland and Western Blue Pullmans, the outer three bogies at each end were the powered type (9'6" wheelbase), thats the 2 under the power car and the next one (kitchen car on the Midland, 2nd class parlour on the Western) adjacent to the power car. The power bogie under the drive compartment had no electric motors, but was still a power type. All the other bogies were trailer (8'6" wheelbase). I believe this arrangement was to get the weight distribution right.