Hesperus

That looks like an interesting trip out for a fix of industrial heritage while everythings shut. You couldn't post a pic of the remaining quarter of the leaflet could you?

158+153+153 on the service that stopped me at the level crossing today. Are most of the 175s in a yard somewhere?

Theres been some stange stock on the Marches line over the last couple of months. Having never seen one south of Craven Arms junction before, the line now seems full of 153's. I've seen them coupled up with 158s and 150s as well as travelling in little gangs of 2 or 3 together making quite a colourful sight as they are all different colours. Has something happened to the 175's or are they more expensive to run so are being rested? Just before lockdown I had a treat, I bought a ticket to South Coulsdon near Croyden and was delighted to find the first part was on the WAG (or as staff called it,"the Flyer"). Unfortunately running slowly all the way to Newport due to a very late running service was in front (2 car 150/2 in place of a 3 car 175 which could do with being 5 car on that service) but thank god I wasn't on that one.

For me it would be an air conditioned mk2 like the first time I rode on a loco hauled train. I used to hang around Durham station in the mid 90s and one day D9000 turned up on the 4:30pm Virgin Cross Country service to Newcastle after the 47 had failed at Crewe, Not expecting to get that chance again me and a friend happily bought cheap day returns for about £3.50 each.

The only reason I can see for linking North and South Wales by rail without the diversion through Shropshire is in event of independence to allow non passport holders to travel and quite frankly I'd prefer they just added Shropshire and Herefordshire to the independence bid so I could leave the country without moving house. More realistically making timetable adjustments could see an express coach making decent connections between LLandrindod Wells and Newtown. Not sure what to do further north though as both the main road and railway duck into Shropshire for a bit south of Wrexham.

I love the way that as long as I wait long enough a prototype emerges for my bodgery, I clicked that link and grinned massively as this is my light railway coachs.

I found this old BRS Noddy van employed as a sheep shelter near home earlier.

Great to see some more cardboard modelling action.

I was starting to think that the spiral isn't adding much, it just doesn't feel right to have the stations so close together.

I should probably have drawn this by hand and taken a photo as I'm nowhere near as good with MS paint than the man who drew my avatar. It would probably be a lot simpler to model the Tanfield on a long thin layout than a 6x4, the gradients would take some careful working out but I'm fairly sure you could keep to 2nd radius curves. The diamond crossing with the tiny signalbox always shown in photos could be modelled on the curve by making the crossing part cosmetic as its only the headshunt for the engine shed. Lots of the sidings could be cosmetic too as they are filled with stock awaiting restoration.

I think the diamond crossing needs to be there. I'll try and have a doodle later.

Thanks, that would make sense. I remember there were different maximum train lengths above and below it. No worries, most of the infomation I know about the railway in my back garden is from this thread. Give me a shout when you're heading up. I don't know much about the CM&DPLR but I'd be up for a trip out to find out more. Could be worth waiting till the ground drys up a bit. Its soggy everywhere at the moment.

Hi Gordan, hope lifes treating you well. I'm all good thanks when I'm not being blown away I've never seen a picture of the siding, presumably it faced down the hill if the wagons ran away from it? Don't know anything about the bell codes either but I'll keep listening out.

I was chatting to an old man the other day who grew up in Middleton. He remembered seeing an incident where a cut of about 3 wagons ran away from Middleton siding towards Ludlow. Lacking a locomotive a guard jumped into a brake van and 3 men gave it a good shove down the track. Apparently he managed to catch and stop the wagons just before they reached Ludlow Station.

Slightly off topic but it doesn't seem to warrant a thread of its own. On Tuesday I was heading for London and booked a ticket on the 8:37 from Ludlow. When I got there to collect the ticket I was delighted to find was the WAG (staff described it as 'The Flyer'. It was running behind a rather late and full 150/2 which we were stuck behind all the way to Newport. I'm fairly sure the WAG doesn't normally stop, has there been a change?

It seemed such an unlikely coincidence that the rods from Nellie would fit the 4-4-0 chassis until I read on another thread that Triang made the 2-6-2T chassis massively inaccurate in order to use the rods from the Jinty. Which company is the van diagram? edit, Learnt to read now, its LNWR

Not now he has shortened the wheelbase. Really interesting project RH

Really enjoying watching WKR develop Thats just reminded me of a J83 bash I was going to try years ago https://www.lner.info/locos/D/d51.php

If you are converting a 3 rail loco to 2 rail you usually need new wheels as neither set is insulated. On the Hornby 0-4-0 both wheels are insulated so just connect both sets of pickups together.

I'd have thought connecting both sets of wheel pickups together would be easier than rewheeling it? Perhaps you could fashion a centre pickup from the clockwork spring the engine used to be powered by?

You would need different wheels unless you added outside cylinders but a better prospect than using a Triang Jinty chassis.

There were a few non standard DMUs being withdrawn from the late 60s onwards such as the Derby lightweights and the Park Royal 103's. By the early 80's there were prototype Pacers floating around. The class 14's might have been quite attractive too. I used to drive an LDV minibus up to Bishops Castle a couple of times a week and considered trying to build a model of a modern(ish) incarnation of the Col Stephens Ford Railcars using a pair of back to back Leyland 300's. Fortunately in real life nobody made an even worse Pacer

Would it really hurt for the railways to save a few quid though? They could spend it on electrification

Perhaps to keep the same colour scheme across all their stock but can you imagine how well camoflaged they would be without it?

I'll confess a slight interest as I'm friends with Ian but as a Col Stephens fan I'd have posted this up whoever was presenting it.