deltic17

Thanks for the photos - they do look good - it's just so handy to be able to see exactly what you want before ordering and that's all I was trying to say - I'm sure you would sell more if you had photos of the product. I got my fingers burned in that respect with some other transfers I ordered 'blind' from another supplier. When they turned up the font was completely wrong so it was just £'s down the drain for me. Anyway best wishes.

Lovely modelling by the way....that is typical! You couldn't have a go at building at Shark ballast plough could you?.....I could do with a RTR version of one of them coming out....

I would love to be able to use your transfers - I was looking for some the other day - but can't see any pictures of them anywhere??

A fantastic choice.... If you produce a very good model you will sell loads - looks good Well done

Does anyone do the transfers out of interest?

They weren't referring to the concrete weights on each end of a 20T Brake Van were they?

Lovely shots - It can't be 55013 on the bridge in the side on shot on the King Edward - the nameplate is too short. I have a feeling it could be 55014 and the lower part of the nameplate is obscured by the top rail of the bridge! Also 14 worked the 11.40 Edinburgh-Kings X on that date and the angle of the sun is about right for 1.30pm or so.

Well done to everybody who is able to help with supporting our heritage railways. When they do reopen I will certainly be attempting to visit a number of these railways to support them from a passenger numbers point of view. I am sure the railways will be thinking now about how to possibly run trains when they reopen/social distance. It might be longer trains will be needed but with each carriage only being allowed to be a 1/2 or 1/3 full say. Not an easy situation at all but if a railway normally runs 4 coach trains it may need to run longer say 8 coach trains (assuming length of loops allow etc) and as a result may need to run less actual train services if they don't have enough passenger coaches. Having said that it might take time as visitors could return somewhat slowly. Double heading might be needed to pull the longer, heavier trains in places too. All of us on here wish the various railways well, they really could do with some proper Government support.

I remember watching on an evening at Durham around 1978-1981. There were 2 postal trains (TPO's)+Mk1 coaches too, the Bristol Mail & the London Mail. Royal Mail vans would race up to the station from the sorting office and the mail would be put onto hand pulled trolleys to be wheeled along the platform and then deposited onto the train. Occasionally the TPO coaches would be in a different formation and there would be a panic and a sudden rush to get the trolleys to the other end of the platform as time was of the essence! The workers used to then dash off in their GPO vans and get the mail for the London mail which ran about an hour later, hopefully Deltic hauled to keep us spotters happy at the time. There would be other parcels trains too, all loaded on to trolleys, there was also a BR parcels service with white BR vans (road) collecting/delivering too I believe. Stations were busy and it is such a shame that virtually all of the traffic has been lost to rail, especially now that parcels numbers are on the increase with things like eBay. From an environment point of view too it would have been so much better to have kept the mail on the rails.

Wow! - more absolutely stunning shots of Deltics….hopefully more to come

Superb recent photos - fantastic!!!

Love the recent Tyne & Wear Metro photos. I just think the original livery suits those Metrocars so much better than recent attempts

the class 47 is 47271 I believe

I think these wagons are a fantastic sight on preserved railways and if possible, more should be done to use them as much as possible to get the most out of them. I have been on such a photo charter on the GCR a couple of years ago and I admire the work of the Quorn Wagon Group (see this month's Steam Railway for a great article on them). Of course each railway is different in terms of operating capability but I do applaud railways that run goods trains with people being allowed to travel in the brake van/s (if you put one at each end). The Spa Valley railway often attach their Queen Mary brake van to coaching stock/locos and it is a fantastic experience in which to travel. Maybe when preserved railways do their driver experience days they should more regularly pull some wagons and a brake van (instead of coaches) and they could charge potential passengers a few pounds (it all adds up) to travel in such and experience at close hand what it was like to be a railway guard etc. Obviously 'bums on seats' in carriages are very important, especially with recovering hopefully from Covid19, but it is fantastic to see freight trains running and it makes me want to attend events more if freight trains are running.

The 03 looks very nice - is the DJH one a good runner at very slow speeds? - I'm not convinced fully about my Heljan one!

It is 100% 9017 - smallest double line nameplate & Gateshead style and as you say you can make out the '7'

Lovely football story from you - in my eyes Bill Kenwright is a fantastic bloke - many years ago I attended a Everton - Newcastle game and ended up sitting virtually next to him on the way home at Lime Street - I wanted a Pink football paper so as we had a spare 10 minutes - he give me a £5 to buy him one too so I sprinted off back down the platform - the Pink cost something like 50p and when I got back he said ' keep the change'! - I always remember that - I had a good chat to him on the journey after that. It could be a lot worse - you could have a certain Mike Ashley in charge, someone who is systematically destroying my club and once again showing his true colours in recent days. If Ashley dared to phone up any supporters he would probably try to sell them a pair of Sondico goalkeepers gloves to fend off the virus! Please everyone don't shop at his tat stores once this is over. Love the layout as always. Ashley out!

Yes Heljan need to get much better with spares - it seems after they have got your £500 for an O guage loco they are not too bothered. There are so many spares that are just sold out with it seems no intention to reintroduce them (but they are still continuing to churn out the new locos). I recently bought one of the latest Deltics (last one in stock of the blue ones) and when it came the top headboard bracket was missing. I contacted the supplier who said wait for spares at Guagemaster but I can't see such a spare part listed!! So I now have to scratch build one it seems. Not ideal unless an etched one is available somewhere? I also personally don't like all this splitting up of spares which seems to have happened since Guagemaster took over. It just seems to cost the modeller more and more.

Yes I agree - please leave Gordon Highlander as he is. It would prove nothing to re-create a DP2. Personally I'm not a big fan of all these replicas - I would just rather the money was spent on looking after the existing locos.

Yes - I just can't see too many people going in the current circumstances. Lots of people in railway preservation can often be more older as opposed to younger which is the most vulnerable group and it is in all our interests for as many people to stay safe as possible.

Yes - I'm amazed the Bluebell is still open when every other railway seems to be closing.

I noticed unfortunately the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Diesel Gala is off next weekend. I was looking forward to seeing 55019 but we all understand the situation so needs must etc. Hopefully when the situation improves we all need to try our best to support these railways as otherwise they will have a big hole in their 2020 finances.

Yes that's right - this is the redesigned front which went into production. If us modellers hadn't spoken up it wouldn't have been so good and on this occasion thankfully Heljan listened (which hasn't always been the case in the past). A lot have had to be resprayed by modellers as they didn't make enough of the large logo livery.

Looks really good The cabside window looks a bit loose (in case you haven't noticed)