Patrick

Or am I just throwing them off the scent...?

Haha, no... I took that photo in Waverley on our way back from the Perth show in June and it just happened to come in handy as a generic coach photo.

It's genuine. We conducted a major upgrade of the website this evening, which should be visible to all users in the next few hours. Fran will post more details in the morning.

It's with the courier now. He has your number.

Wonderful video! Nothing beats the feeling of creating something and seeing others enjoy it.

Ah, you’re right.

Hi Paul, Here's another photo of a cement flow bound for Widnes, albeit almost two decades later and originating from the Hope Valley rather than Kent. The photographer's caption states a total of 27 wagons: 40024 (LO). 6H33 1201 Widnes (Carterhouse Jn) to Earles cement empties at Arpley Jn (Warrington) on 260483 by Michael Hart, on Flickr This particular rake also included Presflos, but block trains comprised solely of Cemflos would have contained a similar number of wagons. I would say anywhere from 25-30 wagons would have been normal. Hope that helps! Patrick

Wirksworth would make a nice basis for a layout, too. Hmm...

Hi Douglas, Thanks for the kind words. Happy to help! Patrick

Hi Phil, The originating colliery for the Kincardine flow was Dollar Mine. There’s some useful information on the Railscot website: https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/D/Dollar_Mine/ The flow began in 1958, around the same time the 24.5t hoppers hoppers entered traffic. At that time, motive power was provided mostly by WDs and J37s before diesels took over. Unusually, Class 17s were known to work these trains, per the photos found in this link: https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/T/Tillicoultry/ You have to admire the optimism there! Anyway, hope that helps. Patrick

Of course, we'll have the obligatory poking stick on hand for anyone who wants a go at waking up Fran...

We're looking forward to attending this show. Will hopefully meet a few RMwebbers along the way...

Thanks to Derek Smith of the Tanfield Railway for this photograph of the last intact HUO, B336817, with its Accurascale equivalent: This is the very wagon Richard and I surveyed on October 23rd last year. The cut-down 1/155 pattern HUO can be seen sneaking into view on the right.

We'd love to have operating doors, but that would involve compromising the visual fidelity of the models, so unfortunately it won't be a feature. Thanks for your kind words. We do our best!

It involves much contorting of the body and an endless string of expletives. And this particular survey was done on a freezing cold day to boot, so there were numb fingers, too!

Hi PrestburyJack, We've seen quite a few photos of them running in mixed rakes with 21t and 24.5t mineral wagons, but none of them running with 16t examples. Patrick

Hi Roger, The first 24.5t hoppers were built in 1955 at Shildon to pattern 1/148. They had LNER-style clasp brakes and oil axle boxes. Our version is the revised 1/148 pattern introduced from 1958, which featured a handbrake system with offset v-hanger and longer brake handle, as well as having roller bearing axle boxes. This version made up the vast majority of 24.5t hoppers built, with 3,426 built at Shildon between 1958 and 1962 (I'm including the 1/154 pattern in this figure because they're the same design - having consulted with a number of people who've conducted thorough research of BR wagons, it appears the assignment of a different pattern number was a clerical error! Having inspected the surviving 1/154, it matches everything we have on the 1/148s...). As you say, they were assigned to wagon pools supplying coal to power stations (High Marnham, Stella North/South Dunston/Blyth, Kincardine, Staythorpe, and Thorpe Marsh initially), and could be observed in block trains or mixed with 21t hoppers and the larger mineral opens. BR later abandoned the idea of having them assigned to specific flows and blanked out the route info on the body sides. They had the opportunity to 'stretch their legs' a bit further from this point onwards. As well as power station flows, they could be found in domestic coal and coke traffic, as well as carrying stone (from Wirksworth in Derbyshire, for example). The latest photo I've seen of them in traffic is of a coal train in Wales, which dates from 1987. The complete pattern list for the HUO fleet: 1/148 (early) 1/148 (later) 1/153 (as 1/148 but initially fitted with vacuum braking and retained some of this equipment after it was deactivated) 1/154 (the clerical error - 1/148s in reality) 1/155 (revised hopper design) Hope that helps!

Just to add to what Fran and Richard have said... The arrangement of the levers depends on what side of the wagon you're looking at: if it's right-right-left on one side, it'll be mirrored to give you right-left-left on the other.

Indeed, but the 1/153s were taken off that traffic and put to work carrying stone between Didcot and Lydd, only carrying coal again once they had their vac brakes decommissioned.