BR(W)

I spent a milestone birthday in A state: does that count? Cheers (hic), BR(W).

J778 and J781: Great shots of the early and late Black 5s showing well the forked combination lever and plain union link on 5219, but the plain combination lever and forked (and longer) union link on 4887, as well as the latter's longer slide bars. Priceless. Cheers, BR(W).

And, of course, to Jane Grey, Mary I, as well as the infant Mary Queen of Scots under the fluence of the regent Mary of Guise. It all really kicked off with Knox's 'Letter to the People of Edinburgh' in 1571, prior to his polemic 'First Blast of the Trumpet', with an added 'Second Blast' for good measure, in 1588. Wonder what he'd have made of the EU? Cheers, BR(W).

"Is there anybody out there?" Cheers, BR(W).

What could possibly go wrong? Cheers, BR(W).

Think I'll nip over to the L.N.W.R. thread and get Captain Huish and his thugs to lend me assistance. Oh, hang on a mo. That will mean mixing with people who inhabit the Wonderful World of Webb where driving wheels can revolve in opposite directions. Now not even Bulleid managed that. Just have to take my chances then - how rough can Grayson Perry be, anyway? Cheers, BR(W).

More like something from the Bulleid stable: a Leader-shunter perhaps?, but this time with the fireman almost completely entombed, but able to hang out of the holes in the body sides. When out on the road, these were used by signalmen to gauge the state of desperation of the wretched fellow: hanging out of the smallest one, first stages of heat exhaustion; the middle-sized one, short periods of giddiness (a special bell code allowed the bobby to alert the box in advance to summon medical assistance); the third, largest one, on the verge of total collapse. Lateral thinker, our Mr. Bullied. Or maybe not. Cheers, BR(W).

Vraiment. Et vive le coq sportif! Salut, BR(W).

And here was I thinking it was Peco bullhead in a cloud cuckoo land setting... Cheers, BR(W).

Lovely neat work, Jason. But wait till you get to the working inside valve gear - oh, hang on... Cheers, BR(W).

Oh, I don't know; it is gas turbine, after all. In a parallel universe it could have been nicknamed 'kerosene banana '... Cheers, BR(W).

Oh, my eyes, my eyes. BR (W).

...and the up train-engine assists the outgoing down service as it scrabbles towards Gasworks Tunnel, or somewhere similar? Cheers, BR(W).

I've read through this thread and find most of it constructive and informative. But nobody, thankfully, seems to have raised the question of two- or three-bolt chairs. Just sayin'... Whatever the froth, I'd simply like to give a big thumbs-up and a hearty thank-you to Peco. Cheers, BR(W).

Love the use of the word 'just' and the phrase 'a few small adjustments'! We mortals can only stand back in awe. Brilliant stuff. Cheers, BR(W).

Hello, all. Just to remind everyone what all the fuss is about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4r5SklgMCU Sorry if you've seen it already, but if you have, it's surely worth another look (or several, in fact). Oh, and note to Hornby: Please study the colour and finish. Cheers, BR(W).

Posted Today, 20:13 2ManySpams, on 11 Sept 2015 - 19:19, said: Indomitable026, on 11 Sept 2015 - 20:01, said: Thank you for your support chaps, I shall always wear it. *****snip Trussed you! Cheers, BR(W).

I've always called this the 'fall plate'. Cheers, BR(W).

Hello, Jamie. If you are referring to the plating that covers the vertical gap, the difference in height, between the running plate (the foot-boarding that runs from the cab to the smokebox) and the front foot-plating/front platform above the bufferbeam, I have always referred to it as the drop-plating - after all it drops from the running plate to the front footplate. In a two-cylinder locomotive with exposed frames (as shown in your image), there would most likely be three areas of drop-plating: one on each side of the front elevation, outboard of the frames; and one filling the remaining area between the frames. Each of these areas may, of course, comprise more than one actual plate, riveted or bolted together. If you look at the attached image of 44687, you will see no drop-plating, just the high running plate and the front platform. Hope this helps. Cheers, BR(W).

Hello, GN, everyone. It's cat-and-pigeons time: my most challenging hypothesis is that the two photographs in question may well have been taken within a few, short seconds of each other; if not, then within the same short period - say, well within one month. I spend a lot of time (probably too much) forensically examining photographs to ascertain both the degree of concurrency or similarity, and the accuracy of any accompanying caption. Amongst other things, I look for, and study, dependent and independent variables, and although not decisive in themselves, when taken together they can tip the balance of probability one way or the other. So, in the images in question, 60518's smokebox-dart handles would seem to be in the same position; her coupling is folded back over the draw-hook in both; there is a very similar pattern of lime staining on the boiler beneath the dome; the profile of coal in the tender is similar; and there is a plywood 12t van with an unusually light-coloured roof on the extreme left of the first image, which is again visible behind the tender in the second shot. I repeat, not individually convincing, but taken together - with all the other evidence (weather, lighting, etc.)? Cheers, BR(W).

The Decapod, mmm, Battleship Grey seems appropriate, somehow... Cheers, BR(W).

Hello, David, everyone. Regarding the green Mk.1 coaching stock, I believe that once electification (third rail) had reached Bournemouth in 1967, most, if not all, of the non-ETH stock was transferred to the LMR which was desperately short of such assets. I can remember seeing a green Mk.1 near Derby with a definite 'M' prefix, not 'S', and upon consulting my 1962 ABC, I found it listed with an 'S' prefix, resulting in one very confused little boy. Cheers, BR(W).

Hello, Adam. Superb work as usual. May I ask why you are not fitting end-platform handrails (the ones that run horizontally from the headstock at each corner to the bottom of the verandah stanchion)? I don't recall seeing vans without these, and I'm wondering if they were removed when proper shunters, riding on footboards, were deemed superfluous? Cheers, BR(W).

Hello again, G-BOAF, everyone. 4073s prior to 5023, and the 'Star' rebuilds, had the ATC conduit running along the top of the running plate just in front of the splasher faces, until it reached the front of the middle splasher where it turned ninety degrees to dive into the frame area. This was once the location of the ATC shoe had been standardised: it was moved from under the cab rear due to instances of lack of contact, or intermittent contact, with the ATC ramp if the locomotive developed a pitching motion due to even slightly uneven track. I hope the attached images explain the routing: Cheers, BR(W).