Olive_Green1923

What happens today if a train driver ends up miles from their depot or at the other end of the network at the end of their shift? Do they have to wait for a train back to where they need to go? Or do they have to stay in a hotel / take another form of transport directly back home? If they end up staying overnight in said location, would they usually get re-rostered on to a different train to take it back towards their home depot?

Yes the Parkside ones I used yesterday for a GWR van presumably were old, as the kit itself looks quite old (or the box it came in does anyway). It’s not relevant of course to Powsides, but having seen some comments elsewhere, I just wanted to avoid a repeat of yesterday.

Yes I recently did my first Slater’s pre-printed 7mm wagon which looks quite good, especially when the price difference isn’t very much. Going forward I will likely do this with the Powsides ones, but I currently have one of the unpainted Slater’s PO wagons which now requires painting and transfers. I was about to purchase them from Powsides, but a quick search on here threw up some negative reviews about them easily breaking. I had the same experience just yesterday with some old Parkside transfers where it was impossible to remove the transfers without them breaking….so I want to avoid the same thing happening with the Powsides ones after waiting patiently for them to arrive!

I’m now at a juncture where I need to buy some PO wagon transfers, but I’ve seen some comments on here (albeit from a few years ago) where people say the POWsides ones are a nightmare. Is this still the case or have they been improved?

I’m interested to know how far afield did brake vans travel outside of their respective networks in the grouping era? Was it as far as the wagons did (which were mixed up all over place), or were they more regimented in being kept within / near their respective areas? So, for example, if you were at the outer limits of one the Big Four i.e. West Wales or Cornwall on the GWR, or Brighton or Ashford on the Southern, would you have ever seen a Midland or NE brake van on the end of a train? Or did the brake vans get switched over when the goods trains entered a different company network? If it’s the latter, was this done at random stations, or was it at the next marshalling yard when all the wagons in the train had to be moved around before they carried on to their respective destinations? Thanks.

Many thanks. Photo very useful.

Hi there, I am in the early stages of building my first O gauge layout. I will be using Peco track with C&L turnouts, so the sleepers will be 3mm thick. I would have preferred to use C&L flexi track, but I wanted to keep things as affordable as possible. The track will be laid on 1.5mm cork. The layout is end-to-end with only some very light curves between the turnouts. A couple of questions are niggling me before I proceed: Board joints: I plan to use copper clad sleepers, but it seems they can only be obtained in 1.6mm. Do people tend to double up to get to 3mm? Or do I put an extra layer of cork down to make up the difference? (So 3mm of cork + 1.6mm copper clad sleeper)? Track joints: I plan to glue the track down, with the C&L H-section fishplates between all rail joints. My question is will both the glue and H fishplates be sufficient to keep the track joints solid, or should something else be used to avoid any play at the joints? I may be overthinking this latter issue and my suggested method may be sufficient (?). Thanks in advance.

Churchward Models (now Phoenix Precision) do an etched brass Swanage signal box: https://www.phoenix-paints.co.uk/products/4mm-products/4-structure-kits-etc/4-structure-kits/4-20218 Here is the O gauge version on Frecclesham to get an idea of how it would look in Southern region era:

What scale are you modelling in?

Well done Kernow. These look excellent and are a great addition to the Rapido wagons - it really is a great time to be a Brighton modeller. The level of detail looks fantastic, right down to the chains on the brake leavers. If these ever get released in O gauge then my bank balance will be facing major issues.

Bwthyn was one of the standout layouts for me at Bristol. It’s given me some great inspiration for what can be achieved in a small space for my own O gauge layout. I came back to the layout a few times during my visit. The crane and RC lorry is a great touch as well.

Model World Live was last weekend, so even if more manufacturers were desired at Bristol, I imagine it would have been quite difficult to get them after they had just exhibited at the NEC. The ones you list were all at Model World Live (plus Hornby), whereas Rapido was not.

First time attending and thought it was a great show. Some lovely layouts of all shapes, sizes and gauges - many of which to a high standard. The selection of traders was also very good, and - (I’m not sure whether they were a late addition) - but having a manufacturer present (Rapido) was also a bonus. The staff and volunteers were also very warm and welcoming, and provided a very nice atmosphere.

Can anyone clarify when abouts the SR would have started repainting wagons and guards vans after 1923? I’m particularly interested in the SECR six wheel guards vans. These were grey at grouping - when would they have been painted brown and red? Presumably this was to make them matching with the LSWR vans? And when also would wagons have been painted brown and given SR lettering? I guess this isn’t as much the case for LSWR wagons as they were already brown, but would LBSCR/SECR wagons have been repainted fairly swiftly, or did they remain in their respective pre-grouping colours until many years later / scrapping? Thanks.

I will soon embark on building my first O Gauge Slater's Gloucester 5 Plank Open Wagon. The wagon is blank, so I will need to paint and letter it myself - which I'm looking forward to doing in order to produce wagons not readily available - but I have some basic questions first: 1. What is the best method? Is it painting the wagon and then using transfers from one of the main suppliers (Fox, HMRS etc)? Or would it be to hand paint the lettering? If the latter, what is the recommended method for doing this? 2. If the letters are being hand painted, should I do this before assembly, or can it be done easily with the wagon already built? NB: I did have a search of RMWeb for an existing thread on this, but couldn't find anything. Happy to be pointed in the right direction. Thanks in advance.