bike2steam

True, but just go to;- List of LMS locomotives as of 31 December 1947 - Wikipedia And click on which ever class you're interested in.

Or for a cheap reference book, published in thousands so a good bargain s/h;- Steam Locomotives of British Railways by H.C. Casserley,

The last crimson liveried Jubilee (5670)went into Crewe Works for overhaul, and repaint into 'dark green' in February 1951.

They are a little fragile, but if you limit the throw to within the range of the signal arm powered you'll have no problem. A pic of one of the scratch-built 'underslung' signals on my last layout.

Not if you balance the chassis correctly by springing the bogie. I had 5 (Wills/SEF) to work my old Bembridge layout, they would haul 5 or 6 coaches with no problem even tho' on the layout they only pulled 2.

Considering what it takes to make good working semaphore signals the end results are not cheap. On my last layout I used a mixture of signals, some scratchbuilt, some adapted from Ratio kits. The Ratio kits need certain working parts such as levers, and cranks replaced, plastic for brass, they were powered by Viessmann motors adapted by a small system to help slow the motor action system down. Fiddly, and time consuming, on my new layout I have gone over to the Peco servo powered 'Smartswitch', excellent system, I have a superb array of LNWR L/Q signals, once the layout is eventually up, and running I will take some pics.

Lack of, or poor , lengthy running-in of a new loco, overloading a new motor, CAN cause poor traction. I've lost count of the number of times I've purchased a s/h loco off someone, who said it was a poor runner, slung away the motor, and replaced it, run it in properly, and found it no problem. Saved 40 or 50 quid on a loco for the sake of a motor for a tenner.

It's a case of having to. As Peco rail joiners are normally about 15mm long, if you're a stickler for being as near prototypical as possible, cutting off chairs to keep the standard 28 inch centres for sleepers is unavoidable.

The chassis is the problem, bigger wheel diameter for the U with different wheels spacing, U's have wheel splashers, bigger for the K (SECR) rebuilds with lower footplate, and less front drop, oh - and different slide-bar, 3-bar instead of a single.

As well as being in one of the warmest/sunniest/driest locations in the country with superb scenery, and tourist attractions locally - what else do you need???? ---- ok I live locally and biased.

Sorry, it was only meant as a joke!

Topical given the state the world is in - Barnard Castle. Or in a different (better??)world - Launceston Castle. But the best, as you've already mentioned, not biased as it's local to me - Corfe.

When I scrolled down and saw this pic, my first thought was 'ah a 00 gauge Graham Farish Merchant Navy' from the 1950's, then looked closer!!??

No problem opening the 5mm hole if you use a broach which will follow the centre-line unlike a drill that could go off-centre, and you can make the fit as snug as you want.

That's interesting as they were only classified as 7F??

Nice - but talk about 'showing a red rag to a bull.'

Weren't they part of the WD requirements for home, and abroad??

Yep, that's why they were given 6 foot 2 inch diameter driving wheels!!!???

Lesson one;- How to wind-up 'Gresley Extremists'.

I wonder how many will get caught out, and think it is genuine LSWR, this is how it looked( although this pic is a 'wide-cab') until 1927 when it was rebuilt with a super-heated boiler.

Yep, as painted by Eastleigh in 1962 in preparation for hauling some booked specials.

Oh, someone's keen!! Well, first I'll say thanks to all for the help, yes, the replies gave me some ideas, and in the great scheme of things I've decided to go with one of two options, either Mega Points or Peco. With all other things 'on my plate' at the moment, that's as far as it goes for present - had my Covid vaccine Tuesday, and felt like **** yesterday, so waiting for my head to clear!!¬!

Thinking of powering the semaphore signals with servo motors, anyone done it, and got any recommendations. Used Veissmann signal motors before. The layout is analog controlled, thro' laziness, lack of cash, and about 40 kit built locos with no room for the extra bits.

Like it! I preferred, the turntable end of the bank as it gave a better view of the main-line, clear of locos stabled in the yard.

Two comments on the above;- Torper, on some stretches of ballast there was also a 'sub-ballast' which was smaller stones about 12 - 25mm in dimension, but was mostly covered(not always) by the bigger stuff. geoffers, weathering also had a big impact on colouring, SR ballast from Meldon turned a dark brown after a few years of use.