Torn-on-the-platform

Staverton on the South Devon Railway, particularly over the August bank holiday when the beer festival is on! Idyllic, walks along the Dart, regular steam trains and a very good beer festival!

If anyone was wondering, whilst 33001 tended to either run at the Bluebell with early emblem (of varying size) or in Southern livery as C1, I have found one single picture of 33001 with late crest at the 2000 Branch Line weekend, so this model can be said to represent the loco as preserved. If anyone can shed any light as to how long the loco was in this condition, it would be much appreciated!

I picked mine up yesterday. Unfortunately not able to run it for another couple of weeks, but it looks fantastic on display. Having bought a Q1 from the first batch (2003?) when that level of fragile detail was a new concept, its very nice to now own a Q1 with all the detail still attached! I don't really have a need for a second Q1 but had been toying with the idea of getting one of the new batch. Adding to my Bluebell collection gave me the perfect excuse, so the announcement came at the perfect time. A great move from Rails. It has sold very well, and will hopefully prove to be a prelude for further Hornby commissions. I've said before that I'm baffled by the gaps left by Hornby when it comes to preserved locomotives and its taken well over a decade and a special commission from a retailer to finally produce the preserved example of this particular class. In my view, it was a no brainer. Great service from the chaps in the shop, a friendly and warm atmosphere that has come on leaps and bounds from my first experience of the shop 8 or 9 years ago.

I'd like to show some appreciation for Hatton's having waited until the product was quite close to release before announcing it. There have been a few examples of this recently, mainly commissioned numbers/liveries (notably Rails' 33001 being announced days before it's arrival), and Im sure a few others can be thought of but it generally bucks the trend for brand new models. It's quite refreshing!

Really good news. Well done Hattons! 178 and 323 in current liveries have roved around the country in recent years so easily justifiable for many. Bluebell blue looks so very good with almost any livery of rolling stock. I had stopped saying which newly announced models I would be in the market for, as in my opinion it doesn't add much to conversatilon, but with so much negativity around new releases I thought I would show my enthusiasm! I'll be preordering SECR 178 and Blue 323 and can see myself being tempted by black 27 or the BR examples once they arrive. I felt the P class was on its way but didn't expect it to be so close to the H and birdcages. We really are being spoilt rotten!

Steam Railway's interview with the NRM's Andrew McLean, whilst a bit of a tedious read (more due to the questions posed rather than McLean's answers), was very enlightening about the NRM's thinking regarding this, and other disposals. As I mooted previously, the decision was made between the T3 and T9 was down to the longevity of the latter in service. He points out that the loco hasn't been at York since 2004 and has spent relatively little time at NRM bases and no one has complained. Whilst it is undoubtedly a lovely locomotive, there weren't many enthusiasts making their way to Shildon in pilgrimage to see it. I have also inferred that the NRM saw a better future for the loco with transferred ownership, rather than a loan agreement. Would Swanage be persuaded to build covered accommodation for a static exhibit loaned from elsewhere when it doesn't keep its own fantastic collection undercover? Almost certainly not. The loan agreements of 3-5 years wouldn't even be likely to cover the time needed for restoration. I still see why people may think that the disposal was handled badly but I still think that the overall result is a good one for the locomotive. I saw the loco in the Railway Children a few years ago and the photos on this thread and in Steam Railway reveal that the paint job isn't much worse, if at all, than when I laid eyes on it. Swanage are considering a return to SR olive if it does return to steam. Whilst it would be great to see it paired with the Bluebell's radial, it would just sit in Sheffield Park shed whilst other locos suffer outside, as the T9 did for many years. The Mid-Hands would perhaps be in a better position to look after the loco than Swanage, but even then they have very little undercover storage for locos. I'm excited to see what can be done for the loco by Swanage and have every faith in them to manage it appropriately.

Thanks for the reply! Shawplan certainly looks the way to go

Tesco sell some 6 packs of varied ales. I've now had a couple of boxes of the pale ales and they are all very good! All subtly different from different British breweries. If you're into pale ale you can't really go wrong with this box!

Hi Fatadder, I'm looking at eventually doing a similar job and just wanted to know how you go about doing the windows, as I can't tell from the photos if you have fitted them in this particular post? Dart Castings suggest Laserglaze, not something I have seen mentioned before. Lots of lovely stuff on this blog!

Whilst I have thanked Dave directly, I thought it would be nice to thank him more publicly as well: After a few happy hours running over 4 or 5 sessions, I took Wilbert to my club (Rusper), where it quickly gave up the ghost. Upon returning home, it was not working on my own layout but was still drawing power, so I emailed Dave, who was able to hypothesise a diagnosis from my description of events. The problem was resolved by replacing the blanking plug which was pleasingly easy to do. The engine then ran faultlessly. Excellent service from Dave to send the spare plugs so quickly. It has taken me far longer to source spare parts from the 'big two' manufacturers. On the weight issue, I found that my rejuvenated Wilbert was just about comfortable at the head of a 5 coach Maunsell set. Hardly a prototypical train for the class but it was the stock on the layout at the time! If I had plans for the loco to pull longer trains, I would certainly consider adding weight, but currently don't see the need.

There was an article in Steam Railway a few years back when there was some talk about cutting back the collection about locomotives that should stay and some that go. I vividly remember the panel on the D class was rounded off with a rather flippant 'give it to the Bluebell'. The concept pleased my when I was younger, though I'm less sure now! I suppose the story of the 4-4-0 passenger locomotive is told several times over. I can't remember too much else about the other locomotives discussed in the article I'm afraid, perhaps someone else may do?

A few years ago I started a thread where I invited RMWebbers to suggest the locomotives/stock required to tell the story of Britain's railway in the rather dystopian scenario that we could only choose 10 for the future. I wasn't actually able to whittle it down to 10! Most suggestions came from the national collection. Rather unsurprisingly the T3 was never mentioned, and the Flying Scotsman was only mentioned once - in the context of preservation activity rather than active service. Obviously 10 is an arbitrary number, but I'm not sure that a T3 would be near the top of anyone's list other than for enthusiast interest and aesthetics. Whilst I appreciate they are the products of different designers, the T9 came less than a decade after the T3, from the same railway company and is not too dis-similar. I don't know too much about the active lives of the T3s, but would have thought that the T9s were more significant simply as they operated for a longer period of time and were produced in greater number (20 T3s to 66 T9s). I appreciate that I may be biased in this regard as I have seen the T9 several more times than the T3, as well as many more photos of the class in active service thanks to their later survival, thus increasing its apparent significance to my own mind. If the NRM were forced to rationalise, its this kind of duplication that would presumably be looked at first. Whilst I'm sure that most of us enthusiasts would prefer that the collection contained even more LSWR 4-4-0s, it would seem that the NRM aren't in a position to look after the vast amount of stock under its care, and luckily we have countless other groups looking after our railway history and keeping it safe for the future. If anyone wants to look back at this thread, it can be found here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/73973-10-locomotives-to-tell-the-story-of-the-railways-of-britain/page-1 It was a genuinely lovely discussion with people taking others' opinions into account, the kind that are hard to come by these days. Quite refreshing and enjoyable to read back! *Additional edit - I've just looked at the wishlist poll and it isn't in the top 50 OO locomotives, a list which obviously doesn't include many of the most popular/significant classes as they are already available in model form. It's clear from this thread that the locomotive has its fans, but can we hand on heart say that it is particularly significant? I'm not saying that wanting to see a model of a locomotive is directly proportional to its historical importance - that would be quite ridiculous to suggest, but it is a good barometer for the popularity of a class of locomotive. There are many factors that contriubute to a class' popularity, but if enthusiasts as a whole aren't particularly interested in a locomotive, would it not be fair to assume that it has made relatively little impact on our railway history? Each to their own, but whilst I am disappointed by their decision and what it means for the future of other items in their care, I do completely understand why the NRM would be happy to let the loco go to a good home.

I'm a little surprised about the negativity towards this announcement - I was very pleased until reading any social media reaction to it! I will admit that the thoughts of 'where will Swanage keep it' immediately came into my head, but there must surely be a plan in place for the NRM to allow this to happen. I hope... From the press release I got the impression that there are no plans to return it to steam at this time so little need to worry about the conservation/restoration debate (though I would personally prefer to see it running, I fully understand the other side of the coin). I find NRM to be a rather sterile, uninspiring environment and to see this particular locomotive in a more familiar setting can't be such a bad thing. I saw the loco a couple of years ago in the Railway Children and it was certainly in need of a cosmetic touch up. I can't imagine trips across the Atlantic and various moves around the country have left it in tip top museum condition. Quite why ownership needed to be transferred, I don't know, considering how successfully other NRM locomotives are looked after elsewhere, but I don't really see the harm either. We may be worried about how the loco will be protected from the elements, but its not like removing it from the National Collection puts it at risk of being scrapped or lost - it is still preserved and available for all to enjoy. Its now in the hands of a passionate society that will surely do their best to look after it.

I've finally had the chance to investigate the new bridge on the Wray Valley trail and include a couple of pictures in the dying light: Unfortunately after this new bridge, the path deviates from the original tracked immediately, despite it appearing to be largely extant. Instead it follows the road on the other side of a thick hedgerow. It moves back towards the embankment, at Wray Barton, though this is the current limit of the cycle path. I can only assume that the cycle path will now rejoin the track bed as it continues South, as I can't see another option. I'm sure I posted pictures of the other bridge on this thread, but turns out it was on this thread: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/35159-newton-abbot-to-moretonhampstead-line/ (post #7). Its taken 6 years to get the second bridge! Slow progress indeed!

A guilty pleasure of mine is the youtube channel 'Exposed: UK Dash Cams'. They release a 10 minute video each Friday with a compilation of submitted material, rather than just one vigilante going around calling out people's honest mistakes. I don't know why it is entertaining, but it is! The quality of submissions is sadly in decline, and they include more and more material where the dash cam driver is perhaps technically in the right, but by standards of reasonable common sense, they are in the wrong - a common theme is roundabouts with people pulling out in front of the dash cam car. A lot of the time the camera driver hasn't even slowed for the roundabout, and sometimes they seem to accelerate if they see someone pulling out that they have right of way over, just so they can get something recorded to submit to the youtube channel. Its either a case of self-entitlement coming from owning a dash cam or a genuine lack in hazard perception skills. I was toying with the idea of getting a dash cam but they seem to attract trouble. Some contributors seem to spot 3 or 4 acts of horrendous driving each week, whereas generally, all I can moan about is people not knowing the national speed limit or not understanding motorway lane discipline. (Touch wood... I've got a long drive tomorrow).

Apologies if wrong but I'm relatively certain that 847 hasn't left the Bluebell during its current ticket, and I can't find any evidence that it visited the GCR in its previous stint from 92-97. There are more active/roving S15s in preservation but I can't find any evidence of them at the GCR either. The closest likeness I can find it Cheltenham's visit in 2012.

The Q was certainly a very popular guest, but I did wonder how it came to be chosen, even if it's selection did prove to be a masterstroke!? I'm guessing it was a return of favour for the 8F's visit to the Bluebell for Giants of Steam but was thinking that perhaps the S15 would have been a more popular choice, particularly given the chance to pair it with 777. The Q was a better contrast however, and maybe that's why it was chosen? The Bluebell have also said that the S15 has been winterised and will be out of traffic for a few months, so perhaps that was a factor.

So here's some more of the gala action: (It turns out that Malachite green is very difficult to photograph!) There was so much going on I didn't manage to photograph all of the engines, let alone get a good smokebox first picture of each. I didn't even realise there was a black 5 running until I was leaving! The journey wasn't too painful and there were so many potential photography locations, I might not leave it another 26 years before I visit again! If there is another visitor of interest to me, I'm sure I'll be back sooner rather than later (work permitting).

Thanks Dava, You've spurred me on to do a few more! Firstly, here are a few that aren't particularly gala specific: Good progress in the shed, it was nice to be allowed in the workshop and get up close to the locos in there, despite the pit etc. A common sense approach to health and safety was refreshingly employed. It was very chilly on arrival! I much preferred these conditions to those that followed however... With the church bells in the background around 9am, with frost, fog and the distant exhaust of a Britannia, the atmosphere really was superb. I think that this upset a few people, especially as it was done at a similar time to the lining out of the 9F (which I think looks fantastic in green!). We have so many Mk1s in preservation, I think it was a good idea, just a shame about the execution...

Not many people read my thread so I feel there is no harm in duplicating my pictures onto here! A great day out, it got very cold, I've only experienced grottier weather at one gala before (Steel Steam and Stars 2012 - couldn't even see out of the carriage windows!) but this time, it didn't ruin the fun. Very surprised how busy it could be on a cold day in January! Plenty more on my website in my signature, not a shameless plug - I'm yet to find a quick and efficient way of making my files RMWeb friendly so only do a few at a time, happy to post more on here if wanted!

Thanks, sorry if I missed that. Its become quite a long thread and has become difficult to keep up with! Part of the reason I asked is the lack of success with Google, though there are plenty of locomotive portraits. Mike (Stationmaster), I think you hit the nail on the head with regards to ride quality. They are, in theory, completely inappropriate for the role that I have outlined but as you say, many are seen performing these duties to this day. However, GWR branches did pretty well to get appropriate locomotives in the early days of preservation and the way I imagine it, a preservation society at Moretonhampstead would have been no different. This is such a lovely model, I still want to incorporate it into the 'story', else I shouldn't have bought it in the first place! Perhaps it would be more appropriate to start its preserved career as mid 70s cover when the locos bought directly for BR start to require overhauls. Thanks to the other contributors. I think with the gradients of the Moretonhampstead Branch, two Mk1s may be as much as could be expected. A little surprised, but pleased to hear that they can handle three!

I asked earlier on the thread but I don't think I received an answer, but what would the 1:1 scale version of a W4 be expected to handle in reality? I have bought Dodo to make up the industrial contingent of my future Moretonhampstead branch as if preserved layout (which station is as yet undecided but I'm hoping to make a start in the Summer, most likely with Lustleigh). The storyline is that the Peckett was an early arrival on the line and heavily involved in the early years, before a period on the sidelines, returning to steam in the 2000s or 2010s as a pet/curiosity for pilot duties and odd outings on demonstration goods. I see photos of similar classes at embryonic preserved railways and the common formation seems to be 1 mk1 + brake van, but this may be due to other operational constraints. Whilst I am interested in terms of Mk1 haulage, I'm sure most on here would be more interested in terms of 16t/equivalent wagon haulage!

I've been having a Pacific running day with Bulleids and Gresleys taking their turns on my two circuits, and just to see if it could, I've put my Dodo on a 5 coach Gresley rake and its currently plodding around with ease! Not only that, the teak + apple green colour scheme looks fantastic. Its not something I'll be making a habit of though. Its previous running in turns have been with 5 16Ts + brake and a MK1 SO + toad. More prototypical I feel. It is such a quiet runner - when I noticed that the wagons had stopped moving, I assumed that the loco was perhaps stuck on some dirty track or had derailed, but no, it was continuing round the circuit and approaching the rear of the train!

One of the club's members has produced this rather excellent driver's eye view of the club's mainline and given me permission to post it on this thread. It was filmed earlier this year and some maintenance has taken place since, in particular the underlay at the final station, Rusper, has been replaced (much needed!). For some reason much of the stock in the video is more dated than usual - we tend to run more recent RTR stock, and are particularly reliant on Bachmann standard 4s and 5s, as well as their DMUs.

Very happy with mine. Might just be that I'm lagged from a run of night shifts and havetired eyes and a mushy brain but I think the criticisms are very ott. Photographs are strangely harsh on this model. Shade of green is pale and flat compared to Bachmann but looks much better than Hornby gwr green! Seriously smooth and quiet runner, only practical issue is the coupling height. A little light footed though, reasonably happy on a 3 coach train but ì've seen the real thing pull 5. My first Heljan product and I'm overall impressed.