gc4946

I've started work on one of the linking straight section boards: This is another B&Q product, size 715 x 147mm. Luckily, Fleischmann's track geometry allowed me to keep a 50mm distance from the edges of the board to the start and finish of the main fixed-down section. Their track pieces used as follows from buffer stop to opposite end of board: 1 x 6102 (105mm) 1 x 6103 (100mm) 1 x 6107 (10mm) 2 x 6101 (2 x 200mm = 400mm) Total fixed down track length: 615mm The buffer stop in this image is a Peco (or Hornby) mounted on an offcut of Fleischmann straight track, the whole section detachable in its own right. The board is small enough to be used in various roles as follows: 1. Using connecting Fleischmann 6103 (100mm) pieces, it joins up to the curved track boards as seen in earlier posts. 2. By adding 50mm pieces at both ends of the board, I can create a plinth that can be housed in a display case. 3. In order to use it either as a DCC programming or test track, I can replace one end of the 50mm gap at each end with a detachable 50mm piece containing wires pre-soldered to the track, as a neater way than using bulldog type clips. I've yet to decide whether to model a station halt or keeping scenery simple by modelling open countryside. In either case this will use my new method of reproducing ballast on the rail shoulders using Woodland Scenics material as mentioned in my previous post.

It'll be interesting to see how much synergy Oxford Rail will develop with Oxford Diecast's road vehicles. e.g., they could develop a Lyme Regis branch theme: Adams Radial and appropriate branch line carriage(s), a connecting Southern National bus, appropriate Devon or Dorset-based lorries and vans, cars modelled with Dorset and/or Devon number plates

I'm writing this to illustrate the fact that sometimes one needs to plan ahead and get hold of stuff while it's available. My mother is still considering which area of Yorkshire to move to when she hopefully takes the plunge next spring. Moreover as she intends to rent rather than buy, she may have to move more often depending on the landlord's whims. I've already bought a Lima GNER HST train pack for possible modification of one of its power cars to East Riding of Yorkshire for a modest sum and I already own a Dapol/Hornby class 56 named West Yorkshire Enterprise. If mum decides to move to somewhere in North Yorkshire, there are a few locos which contain that name. Two class 31s have borne the name North Yorkshire Moors Railway and a class 91 has been named County of North Yorkshire. Although I've travelled on the NYMR, I'm not a member of a preservation group or society connected with the railway, so the class 91 is a more realistic opportunity. The downside is that the 91s were rarely seen running light and a full Mk4 rake would take up far too much room than I have at my disposal. On the other hand I could track down a Hornby Mk4 GNER train pack or loco a little more easily, and if necessary, repaint an InterCity liveried version into GNER style, as their livery is simple to reproduce and both paints and transfers are available. Incidentally the City of York, though a unitary authority, is considered for ceremonial county purposes, as defined by the Lieutenancies Act 1997, to belong to North Yorkshire http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_counties_of_England If she chooses to live within the present boundaries of York City Council, there are several choices available if one want to model a loco which contains the name of York. According to Rail UK, over the years, several HST power cars have borne The Duke and Duchess of York, another HST power car and a Gresley V2 have also been named St Peter's School York AD 627. 59201 has borne Vale of York, and class 91s have borne City of York and York Minster. A NER Raven 4-6-2 was named City of York and a D49 "Hunt" class was named The York and Ainsty. No decision on which loco to model representing York will be taken until nearer the time when she settles within that area.

I'm pleased they've announced an Adams Radial and am encouraged that they're not just focusing on locos, but rolling stock as well. A LSWR 56' brake lavatory third based on the Bluebell's preserved example would be a good addition alongside the Radial in its preserved livery, because modellers and collectors can more easily relate to the actual items. http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/cw_news/1520.html

With their current range, Oxford Diecast also considers how many liveries and possible tooling variants (depending on how economically viable they are) so I think they'll only consider specific loco classes if they've appeared in more than one livery over their lifetimes. It'll be very interesting if they're considering carriages and wagons as well, although I suspect they'll going for the collector's market such as Corgi and Great British Locomotives have done and focus on locos.

If they're bringing out a range of colourful, collectable models of pre-group locos, I'd be over the moon if they're considering a NBR "Glen" 4-4-0. There's plenty of these "cute" locos crying out for modelling which could sell well: Caley 812 0-6-0 Midland Kirtley 2-4-0 (158A) GER 2-4-0 (LNER E4) or original Claud Hamilton LSWR Adams Radial SECR D 4-4-0 LBSCR Gladstone 0-4-2

This reminded me of Matchbox's model released several years ago of a low-loader with the loco portion of a GER 2-4-0 http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/matchbox-yesteryear-ys16-scammell-low-248660889 It was modelled in 1:64 but had no tender. Just imagine the sales potential if that had been in OO and the loco and tender were both modelled! I think Oxfordrail has spotted a market for people who want to collect colourful pre-grouping locos, many of which have never been produced ready made in a recognised model railway scale.

As there are no P2s preserved, how did Hornby get hold of the sounds for these locos?

There's also Peter Goss's layout named Rowlands Castle, which has been on the exhibition circuit for several years, based on the station and village of the same name in Hampshire, set during World War 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oXImwQcOuk I've seen his layout two or three times now and could be inspiration for what you want to design for Hinton Ampner.

East Riding of Yorkshire - latest I exchanged the wheels on Lima's motorised HST power car for ones in better condition. Tonight I also rediscovered the YouTube video of a solo GNER power car with a Porterbrook Mk1 barrier coach running through York. Unlike some other train operators, I don't know if any GNER power cars ever ran coupled back to back. The only area where a GNER HST (especially a single power car and a barrier coach) and a Pendolino could have regularly met on weekdays would be in Edinburgh.

This post covers progress of the two outstanding examples in my "County" collection. 390028 City of London "London" has appeared far more times than many other locations as part of names given to locos and multiple units. I've gone through far more changes of mind on what to designate for London as part of this collection over the years. Firstly, I modelled a Hornby/Lima hybrid class 47 47581 London Standard in NSE livery - I sold it as I rarely read the actual newspaper. I've owned Lima's 87005 City of London at various times in both rail blue and InterCity Executive liveries but realised I hadn't the room to model a decent length WCML express. I've also owned a Hornby GNER class 91 with Mk4s with a view to changing its identity to City of London but ran into the same problem regarding modelling an ECML express formation. My fleet also includes two LMS Duchesses named Duchess of Hamilton (streamlined) and City of Leeds (rebuilt) so I didn't want a third example. Bachmann produced a GWR "City" named City of London but as it was withdrawn in 1929, I would have had to invest in appropriate carriages specifically for this loco. Due to lack of room I own a shortened 5-car Pendolino named City of Birmingham because it's my place of birth and also the Pendolinos were the last major class of train manufactured and assembled in the city. For my representative of London, I modelled an extra carriage named City of London by applying etched nameplates on a Hornby Pendolino centre car and can swap over this named carriage with the City of Birmingham carriage if I want to ring the changes. The carriage number will be changed to suit. The carriage number rubbed off quickly but will be replaced. East Riding of Yorkshire Only one loco has been named with its official name of the county so far, a HST power car, initially as 43114 between 2005-06, later renumbered 43314. I recently won a 4-car Lima HST (two power cars and 2 Mk3s) in GNER livery on a well-known auction site, with a view to changing its identity using Fox Transfers' products once my mum signs up to a new property sometime next year, assuming this goes through. If she moves as hoped then I'll proceed with the conversion although due to lack of space won't have room for anything more than a 2 + 3 set and GNER at the time had 2 + 9 formations. However I've seen YouTube videos of solo GNER power cars with barrier vehicle and this may be another option worth exploring. A photo will be posted once this work is completed.

86213 Lancashire Witch Compared with some counties, there's a wider choice of locos containing Lancashire in their titles. Several steam and diesel locos feature military regiments, and 86413/86613 is named County of Lancashire. As I'm not a member or volunteer associated with the East Lancashire Railway I chose not to model 37418 which was named after the railway. RailUK also mentions 156464 which was named Lancashire DalesRail in 2010. For once I wanted a different combination instead of the usual "County of ..." which is predominantly represented in my collection. Lancashire Witch was unusually named in Burnley, well away from its normal haunts. It's the only loco in my collection which represents a preserved example http://www.aclocogroup.co.uk/stock86213.php and has been based at Wembley and Willesden depots in preservation. My model is based on Hornby's R2415 Novelty, with just a name and number change. It hasn't been hardwired for DCC yet. I think its 5-pole ringfield motor is good enough to justify hardwiring rather than spending money replacing the chassis with the one from their R3058 class 86 Freightliner, which has the current style of motor bogie and is DCC ready.

1013 County of Dorset This county's name has appeared on both GWR Churchward's and Hawksworth's County classes. It's also appeared on a class 220 Voyager as Dorset Voyager, modelled by Bachmann. A Wessex Electric has also borne the name County of Dorset until 2007. I preferred a model of Hawksworth's County class and to differentiate it from its others in my collection I chose GWR's lined green livery. My model is based on Hornby's R2391 County of Carnarvon.

73131 County of Surrey Several locos and units have been named incorporating Surrey as part of their names, all in the diesel and electric era. As I haven't attended the University of Surrey I didn't model the class 73 named after the institution, 73117. There was a Wessex Electric (42)2423 County of Surrey which carried its name until 2007. According to RailUK, two class 319 units were named The Surrey Hills at various times, 319013 between 1999-2001 and from 2012 and 319001 in 2001. The "Dutch" yellow/grey engineering livery appealed to me so I chose to model 73131 which ran in that condition between 1991-93. My model is based on Hornby's R2765 version with a Bachmann 36-553 chip added for DCC.

47702 County of Suffolk My late grandmother was born in Suffolk and there were several locos which contained the name Suffolk in their titles. A B17 was named The Suffolk Regiment, Anglia Railways' 86234 was named Suffolk - Relax, Refresh, Return between 2002-05. County of Suffolk has been carried by two class 47s, 47180 in 1979 (47584 from 1981), removed in 1993 and transferred to 47702 in early 1994. I opted to model County of Suffolk as presented in its final form in Virgin livery between 1998-2000 because I had a small nucleus of locos and stock covering the early privatisation era and that Virgin Cross Country's train formations could be more easily accommodated in the room I have available to hand. The model is a Lima/Hornby hybrid, the body being an unmodified Lima, albeit I applied a permanent marker pen to represent the push-pull jumper cables at each end, which Lima omitted, combined with a Hornby chassis from an ex-Blue Pullman 47 which has been DCC fitted with my trusted Bachmann 36-553 chip. Looking at images on www.class47.co.uk I'm aware that it had the modified cabs for the period I'm interested in modelling this loco so the Lima body should be amended, also I haven't as yet procured etched plates to overlay the Lima printings. These will be future jobs to do as part of a total package including separate jumper cables.

1016 County of Hants There have been surprisingly few locos which contain "Hampshire" or its derivatives in its title. Both the GWR's Churchward and Hawksworth County classes included locos named County of Hants. A Wessex Electric (44)2402 also carried the name County of Hampshire until 2007. Due to easier availability and fitting in with the majority of my rolling stock I opted for Hornby's Hawksworth version, this time in BR lined black with early crest to differentiate it from my other Counties. My model is based on their R2174 County of Northampton.

73211 County of West Sussex As far as I'm aware, only one loco has been named with "West Sussex" in its title. It was named in 1986 carrying InterCity Executive livery as 73113. In 1988 it was renumbered 73211 and allocated to Gatwick Express services although, initially, didn't adhere rigidly to these duties, being seen on VSOE Pullmans and even freight. According to RailUK, it was de-named in 1991. My loco was based on renumbering and renaming a standard Hornby issue R2767 Stewarts Lane and is DCC fitted with a Bachmann 36-553 chip.

Chassis replacement and etched name fitment will be on my "to do" list. It's just that their Railroad version sold out quickly at most retailers.

1028 County of Warwick My county of birth, this time the choice was easier. I didn't want to model the Royal Scot class named The Warwickshire Regiment which was offered as a limited edition some years ago by a shop in Warwickshire and also didn't consider the LNER D49 option named Warwickshire, another re-naming job, because I then had no suitable stock to accompany the loco. I instead chose to base my model on Hornby's Hawksworth County class, modified from R2392 1026 County of Salop with new etched plates. This represents the final version of the "Counties" in lined green with late crest and double chimney. (PS - replaced earlier photo as it didn't look right when viewed)

2753 Cheshire This is my second attempt at representing Cheshire in my collection, the first was a re-named Hornby Hawksworth 4-6-0 called County of Chester. I had four locos from that class but wanted some variety, so the GWR version was disposed of and the LNER version bought instead. Cheshire worked in Scotland, at least from 1948, according to www.brdatabase.info I wanted to own a small collection of pre-WW2 LNER locos in Scotland based around an ex-NBR Glen 4-4-0 (yet to be procured) and a GNR/LNER N2 0-6-2T, examples of which worked north of the border. Some D49 "Shires" were coupled to LNER standard tenders pre-WW2, e.g. 2760 Westmorland, photographed at Glasgow Queen Street, in David Jenkinson's book "The big four in colour, 1935-50" (Pendragon, 1994, reprinted 1999) I've yet to decide whether to source a Hornby Railroad D49 with loco-drive for a body-chassis swap. Otherwise I'm happy with the loco and may yet swap the large tension locks for something smaller to allow easier coupling to my Gresley teak carriages.

56075 West Yorkshire Enterprise This is a Dapol/Hornby hybrid, the body being an unmodified Dapol, with a Hornby chassis, reportedly improved and tweaked upon by them after they bought Dapol's tooling. I converted this for DCC hardwiring in a Bachmann 36-553 chip. Originally I was unsure of including an example containing the name "West Yorkshire" in my collection. There was a HST power car numbered 43114 West Yorkshire Metropolitan County, named 1984-88, (43321 from 2008) which wasn't appropriate because the county had been abolished as an administrative entity in 1986 before I moved there. There were other locos that contained the name "West Yorkshire" and I owned a parallel-boiler Royal Scot 6130 West Yorkshire Regiment for a time. However I didn't fancy the idea of a loco named after a military regiment and the Bachmann loco had a split-frame chassis. At one time I even owned a Hornby D49 named Yorkshire but it had an incorrect loco/tender combination, the prototype having an ex-GCR tender. I was short of power for freight so chose a Dapol class 56 in large logo Railfreight, having wanted a loco in their livery. It appears the prototype spent most of its life in and around Yorkshire and the North East, but was pleasantly surprised when it was reported down south in June 1988 hauling aggregates for ARC, presumably covering diagrams for Bristol Bath Road locos undergoing servicing or overhaul. http://www.flickr.com/photos/16313630@N07/6220653555/ This increased the appeal of the loco as quite a lot of my collection is based on the Southern Region. I've yet to customise the loco to include the "075" at each end and paint the cab window frames silver.