Big_Bad_John

Did D5578 ever have a white, grey or cream roof?

All I get is this when I try to go to BR Database, is there any way past - like another web address?, is the site ever coming back and who is Philip K. Dick?

Cheers, did the blue one have a white/light grey roof?

So which version of D5578 is correct then, the Triang one, the plain Lima one or the one with white cabs which I don't know who manufactures? I've just painted a yellow warning panel onto each end of my Lima golden ochre one, is that correct?

This looks exactly like the 'Electric Blue' Lima model, no white lines, grey or white roof or yellow end panels. Sure it's correct? Oh, btw, I haven't seen that style of coupling since I was about 10 in 1968.

Yes, the lower of the two is the one Hornby or Triang do and is probably closer to the real one, haven't seen the one with white cabs and it's probably incorrect. Triang Big-Big do a Hymek similar to the top one albeit a Class 35 of course. The Lima golden ochre one looks closer to the real thing than the all blue one they do, it doesn't have the yellow warning panels though I guess some did, D5579 wasn't the only Class 31 painted golden ochre it would seem, see second picture.

If they've come from eBay you can just return them and eBay will refund you over the seller's head, a lot of sellers (including me) put 'returns not accepted' but at least I mention any problems with an item I'm selling so the buyer knows what to expect. Some buyers have fixed the problems themselves, particularly a PC monitor I sold last year, the menu button had broken inside and I kept getting menus flash up on the screen when I was trying to watch TV or a video, the local computer doctor claimed it 'couldn't be fixed', the buyer fixed it in five minutes! It seems the majority of eBayers will try and sell you a dud but you don't have to accept it. I've got five peaks by Mainline and Bachman, no such problems with mine or they'd go straight back to the sellers. I recently bought a blue Class 45 (no. 63 "Royal Inniskilling Fusilier" with a DCC chip, it wouldn't move on my 12v DC so I sent the chassis back for an exchange to an analog one. I also changed the decals on my other blue 45 because the number was in the wrong place, though instead of '45 039' I made it no.49 so had to put '49' in four places, that one is "The Manchester Regiment". My other peaks are D100 "Sherwood Forester", D1 "Scafell Pike" and D163 "Leicestershire And Derbyshire Yeomanry" all in green livery. I'm modelling 1967-70 in East Anglia when diesel ran alongside the end of steam. Yes, I know peaks didn't run in East Anglia unless on cross country duties, they could also change regions via the North London Line.

Should it be a darker blue like the Triang one I posted first then with the white lines and grey or cream roof?, in my experience the motors in Triang R357 Class 31s are a bit iffy, I've just had to replace the motor bogie in mine (D5572 blue), the main advantage is there are no wires to the trailing bogie, you just fit it and go. The 'Electric', 'Chromatic', 'French' or 'Nanking' blue Triang Class 31 is no. R357B, if I bought that one it would give me three Triang ones and I'd get rid of the Lima one that is obviously incorrect leaving three by that make. Question now, how did Ities expect to know exactly what a British loco looks like?! Oh, by the way, it was also called 'Experimental Blue'.

Well I stand corrected on the Golden Ochre one by Lima albeit with a grey roof but I was correct about the electric blue one, are they correct replicas of the real machines though? Neither loco has the yellow panels on the ends.

I've got both D5578 and D5579 by Lima and they are in plain 'electric' blue and golden ochre respectively with no white lining, roof or white cab window surrounds, this can't be correct surely. When I've clicked on attachments they come up microscopically small, this can't be correct either, anyone got any actual visible photos? ha ha I've seen the D5578 by Triang with the white lining and cream roof, did they bring out a golden ochre one in the same design?, I don't remember that and have never seen a model of it. Here's a blue one

It would seem the eastern and southern regions of BR are very poorly catered for by most manufacturers of RTR models, concentrating on God's Waiting Room and 'Ell of a Mess lines, I've got some maroon Gresley composites, brakes and buffets and of course loads of Mk1's. I don't know if Greslay coaches ran in 1965-7 when diesel ran alongside steam thus my choice of era. I'm more a diesel man but I know if I was to build a public/exhibition layout I would need to cater for all tastes so I've got some J class tanks, an N2, a B12, a BR Standard 4 4-6-0 and "Evening Star", I know the last wouldn't have run on eastern tracks but could be a visitor though may swap it for a 'Britannia' Standard Class 7MT, not sure if Standard Class 4s ran in east anglia. I know B17s would have and I'm considering buying one named 'Liverpool' (my team). John in Bury St Edmunds

I suppose by 1948 Nationalisation the first diesel multiple units had been introduced, right?, or did steam locos have to run around the train or be replaced at termini? I'm modelling eastern region in 1965-7 so diesel units were well established by then but were maroon Gresley 61' coaches still used? John in Bury St Edmunds