Hal Nail

I've now bought a high res scan of 5336 in 1958 and the loco looks green and although heavily pixelated, you can just about see lining on the tender and a late crest. Yet there are numerous photos of this loco in 1964 with a large early crest tender - the colour completely obscured! Could a green loco have been paired with a black tender late on? I've never seen a clear photo of this happening? Edit: I've answered my own question by finding a photo of 6301 with the loco lined green and a plain black tender in 1959

Whole rash of ABS 7mm GWR kits up now at just £99 each. They've been unavailable for a long time and were only going for 35-40 ish recently. Or theres a quite nicely made up one at £50 and I'd though that was a bit steep!

I havent got round to measuring yet but would be interesting to see how the tender wheelbase compares to a 57xx. Edit: the tender is longer than a mogul! Hope you dont mind me asking a related question here but if I wanted to add a simple decoder without sound (but potentially stay alive if people do recommend it) would that be a simple job on this loco? Only intended to be an interim step.

Thank you and freshly outshopped I gather so reasonable to assume it was still black a year later!

Have you come across the Colour Rail website? Whole stack of photos on there including my friend in 1958. Looks for all the world like a small late crest but I think its the large early one from those later photos, with only a small part in the middle cleaned.

I've been told that this month's edition has a photo of 5521 on page 64. If someone could please let me know the date and what colour it is that would be very helpful! I'll hunt down a copy if the answer is 1958 or later and black!

These were on sale for 49 quid not that long ago. Some interesting bidding going on as well. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/O-Gauge-Heljan-VAA-Van-New-and-Unused/114563624626?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D00fab90739c6462294719453da2b4613%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D363214938866%26itm%3D114563624626%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DHeljan&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3Ad5cef72f-3bd7-11eb-a5e2-d697afabe0fc|parentrq%3A52e2fa071760a9cd66a28d9efffc6a74|iid%3A1

That suggests going into production fairly shortly to be on a boat before Chinese new year.

I took the main point of this statement to be that they are now making their own rail. (I seem to recal it was unavailable at one point) On that basis the likelihood is it will be sized to fit their chairs!

A quick skim down when the threads for recent locos were started has them all at over 2 years and often is a while before CADs are finished.

Probably didnt gain a window cab either!

Wow, super, thanks! I take it that's a one off and you don't do this for every loco! That late colour one does look more likely to be black to me so I think for once I've got lucky - I wont even need to change the small crest as the model already has one.

I have been researching a suitable Mogul for 1958 with steam pipes, in BR black, based near the Bodmin area, preferably with the early motion bracket. This has proved trickier that I had hoped but 5336 looks a possible candidate. These two photos from 1959 and 1964 have high washouts and a small safety valve and I have a "mid 50" shot at Lostwithiel when it was a Laira loco, which also has the small safety valve (you cant tell re the washout plugs - although I would have said lower if pressed). https://www.tauntontrains.co.uk/photos/gallery/archivesteam https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrsa3165.htm I also have a photo off ebay, undated and too grimy to determine livery, with a smokebox plate, low washout plugs and a high safety valve cover. It comes up as the second photos in google images searching GWR 5336. I assume this must be earlier and it had a boiler swap in BR ownership, before the photo at Lostwithiel. My concern is the timing and whether it would have got green livery at the same time or just early enough to have retained black. Is there anywhere I can confirm the date of a boiler swap (or works visit at least) for a specific loco? Also, did safety valve covers ever change without a full boiler swap? ie Could the Lostwithiel photo be an interim condition with the original low washout plug boiler but a new short safety valve cover? Advice gratefully received as ever (as long as it's not proof it was green!)

I've had a number of things delivered to me and that I've sent and had acknowledgment of receipt, which are still showing as in transit on the tracking. As a seller that's a bit worrying as leaves you open to claims. I sent something tracked yesterday - they actually repeated "signed for" back to me. The only other word uttered was a grunt approximating to "Tap!", which I did. When I got home I'd only been charged for normal so am completely exposed on this one if it is delayed.

Your decision but as people have pointed out you can reasonably expect that because that's the arrangement Heljan have put in place with the retailers in the event of a fault. I doubt Olivias suffer - they would indicate they have had a return to Heljan who will have costed a certain number of failures into the price we are all paying in the first place! These days of batch production duds are probably not repaired anyway so the condition of the steps is irrelevant but even even if that was an issue, Olivias could just replace the motor in yours with one from one of the other two. So either way you are better off contacting them. I fail to see what you have to lose by asking.

I don't think so - not the right size or shape. I'm intending to do that conversion using 61xx spares but it also involves altering the drivers side splashers and reversing lever arrangement. Edit - and it involves taking the body off and I'm having second and third thoughts about that at the moment!

I would happily have obliged except I cant either! Can anyone tell me which screws release the loco body please - i assume its the ones down the centre of the chassis and those towards the edge retain the chassis base plate? Usually I would use trial and error but its not the easiest thing to mess about with, handicapped as I am with just the 2 hands.

This is a snippet from a photo of the ones I am referring to - not credited or dated unfortunately but others in the sequence were 1955. The nearest wagon is a private owner attached to a BR built example.

Very interesting shots. The epb has a little more finesse all round for me: little things like the strips along the top of the side door drop lights, the top of the drivers cab window in yellow, the printed details on the plate on the cab front.

Try asking here. Andy had a set track point on this layout at one point and class 20s.

Do you know a source of further info on these by any chance?

Related question: In the mid to late 50s the Cornish china clay rakes were mostly the BR built opens plus a fair number of the similar GWR 013s but mixed in are some private owners. They are visually similar 5 even plank end door wagons but with thick wooden buffer beams, no tie bar and a much thicker bottom plank/floor making them higher overall. Any idea what these were? They have diagonal strapping but I wonder if these are the original Gloucester W&C as modelled by Cooper Craft/Slaters but with diagonal strapping added later? The vertical straps either side of the side door curve out at the bottom; I can't see the buffers in any of the pics I have. I have one photo of a non door end of one which has upright stanchions of the thick wooden type, rather than steel. I've got one number - P387160 Any help appreciated!

4569 unlined green large early crest in Steam Colour Portfolio, GWR volume 1, Pirt in July 57. It later acquired the larger style of totem (with lining), which was also unusual.

Slaters dont make this type and in my opinion many of those that do are not very good. Peco do them (parallel shank type) which are quite nice but they are not cheap - I used them on my china clay wagon (page 10 and 11 on my thread). I'd carry on with what you already have personally