News Service - Page 4

Friday 29.7.11.

July Quiz

A Message from the Quizmaster

In case anybody has been thinking that question 3 in the current quiz is a trick question, well it wasn’t meant to be. However, I’ve noticed an error in that the MPVs were originally built for RailTrack before Network Rail took over responsibility for the national infrastructure in 2002. The revised question is therefore:

3. The Bachmann Windhoff Power/Trailer 2-car MPV is shortly to hit the shops. How many of these power/trailer combinations were originally built for RailTrack?

Book Review

Shenfield to Ipswich

Author: Vic Mitchell

Publisher: Middleton Press, Easebourne Lane, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 9AZ Tel: 01730 813169 - www.middletonpress.co.uk

ISBN: 978 1 906008 66 3

Pages: 96

Illustrations: 189 monochrome including 15 maps and track plans.

Date: May 2011

Cover: hardback

Size: 240x170mm portrait

Price: Ł15.95

Index: contents page

The book is in the Middleton Press 'Eastern Main Line' series and stays within Great Eastern Railway territory. The line leaves Shenfield in a north-easterly direction, passing through Ingatestone and Chelmsford. After Hatfield Peverel, we come to Witham where only a branch, heading Northwest to Braintree, remains of the line to Bishop's Stortford. Continuing Northeast we pass through Kelvedon and Marks Tay (where there is a northwards branch to Sudbury; once part of the Colchester-Cambridge line) and arrive at Colchester. Here the line to Clacton and Walton-on-Naze leaves to the Southeast but we continue Northeast through Manningtree (with a branch east to Harwich) to Ipswitch and the end of our journey.

As this important line continues in use, many of the pictures are of present and recent activity. There is also the usual good range of O.S.map extracts, timetables and ticket facsimiles.

Hints & Tips No.412

Banishing Derailments Pt 3

By Several Modellers

Add extra weight to your vehicles. Many wagons and coaches are too light and sometimes all the wheels do not contact the rails equally. By adding a small amount of weight to the cars, your model train should run smoother and you will reduce, if not eliminate, derailments - especially on the tight radius curves.

Make sure you add the weight as low as possible in the car and in the centre, for a low centre of gravity.

Also check all your wheel sets for proper operation. Wheel sets that are out of gauge, not aligned or moving freely will
cause your model train to derail. Check your wheel sets and make sure that your carriages are not crabbing and forcing the wheel flanges into the rail, making it prone to derail. Carriages and Wagons should rock freely to take up any small imperfections in your track.

Hints & Tips are given in good faith by contributors. MREmag suggests that readers take all suitable precautions when working with any material mentioned in the series. Readers should also verify for themselves that the information given will be valid on their own layouts or models and the processes described, safe.

Having Your Say...

Electrostar EMUs

I am wondering if any of the manufacturers have considered the 'Electrostar' family of EMUs yet? There are 6 different classes, 2 cab styles, 3, 4 and 5 car options, 6 operators at the moment and AC/DC variants there must be plenty of scope to go at. There would also be scope for the 172 'Turbostar' 2 and 3 car DMUs as the body shells are similar. There are 3 different operators and 2 cab styles.

There is also the export 'Gautrain' 4 car AC EMUs built for South Africa.

Class 172/0 (2 car) London Overground
Class 172/1 (2 car) Chiltern Railways
Class 172/2 (2 car) London Midland
Class 172/3 (3 car) London Midland
Class 357 (4 car) C2C (AC)
Class 375 (3/4 car) South Eastern (DC)
Class 376 (5 car) South Eastern (DC)
Class 377 (3/4 car) First Capital Connect/Southern (DC)
Class 378 (3/4 car) London Overground (AC/DC)
Class 379 (3/4 car) National Express East Anglia (AC) +
4 car units (AC) for Gautrain (South Africa) (AC)

With the potential loss of Derby works where these were built, now might be an appropriate time for an announcement.

Chris Wright

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Steam Trip

If Sean Mathews is looking for a steam trip on the U.K. national rail system, rather than a heritage railway, he should keep on eye on what gets posted at
http://uksteam.info/tours/

Anthony Hinxman - Portland, OR, USA

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If Sean Mathews is staying in Leicester for the six days of his holiday, not a long time 'to do' the UK though, the obvious place for a steam ride is the Great Central Railway from Leicester North to Loughborough, although it would have to be at the weekend at that time of the year.

For main line steam, he should look at www.uksteam.info/index which gives details of all steam trips although not much is yet listed for 2012 .

If his stay includes the first Saturday of the month he would be welcomed at the Abbey Pumping Station in Leicester for a short ride on the 2 foot gauge railway around the site, with Bagnall 0-4-0ST Leonard as motive power. (subject to availability of course!)

Bob Fleming

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The best advice I can give is to look up http://www.uksteam.info/tours/trs11.htm ( which will continue on to 2012 when tours are announced) . Although this is an unofficial site, it lists all the proposed steam trips by date and has the added advantage that it has a hyper link to the company that is operating that tour.

One word of advice, though, although a tour is advertised with particular locomotive traction, it is quite common for the loco to be changed to another due to non availability after advertising, or even worse case scenario - traction changed to diesel or the tour cancelled or the date moved.

I hope you enjoy the trip to York and can I suggest that you visit the North Yorkshire Moors Railway at Pickering which is about 40 miles past York at Pickering which would be working steam locomotives on a daily basis http://www.nymr.co.uk/ over their 18 mile track.

Charles Baldwin

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Gravitational Shunting

In spite of the 1949 directive, gravitational shunting seems to have continued on the Uppingham Branch until the late 1950s. The album Images of Steam by Fenman includes pictures of the operations at Seaton Junction. The bay platform was approached on a gradient. After arrival, the train reversed on to the main line, the engine uncoupled and moved out of the way, and the guard allowed the single coach to run back into the bay by releasing the brake.

Nicholas Rothon

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Caravan Trains

Re: Snippet 340. Thanks Brian and there was I thinking that Messrs Hammond, Mayes and Clarkson had built the first caravan train (Top Gear Saturday 23 July filmed at Great Central Railway). I don't suppose the Bluebird's train included 'scum class' like one of the Top Gear caravans, but I wonder if the staff would have enjoyed one with an outside loo!

Graham Hobbs

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Following on from Brian Macdermott's post about caravans being transported on railway wagons, there is of course another great railway modelling opportunity from BBC Top Gear a week or so back. For those who didn't see it, it consisted of turning cars into rail going vehicles and a train made up of caravans. One of the cars they used was a Jaguar XJS convertible and I do have one of those in HO scale and was wondering what I could do with it. ,Add to that some of the caravans now available and, with a little ingenuity, - Hey Presto!

In a similar vein, I believe in Ireland there was a car transporter made from an old Pullman chassis which was used by the Heinkle factory for transporting their bubble cars - another interesting train to model.

David Rhodes

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The Sorry Tale of... whaaaat?

"Am I the only MREmag reader to whom Tim Davies' post The Sorry Tale of Harry's New 0-6-0 (MREmag, Monday) made pretty much no sense whatsoever?"

No Robin, you weren't, and I thought it was just me!

Bob Fleming

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Photos of BR(S) Gangwayed Bogie Luggage Van (GBL)

Following recent correspondence about an elusive Standard 5, I have a request for similarly elusive photo evidence.

I have converted two ex Tri-ang Railways or Tri-ang Hornby SR GBLs to decent looking models using Roxey Mouldings excellent conversion kits. If anyone is interested, I highly recommend using an additional Roxey kit with new doors as well, they make such a difference. Like a number of models of the era, the basic body shell is pretty good, but you need to get rid of just about everything else and start again.

Anyway, to my question, can anyone recommend a decent photo of these vehicles in BR days? I have several good quality diagrams and ex-works photos with SR markings but I have not found any close up photos of the markings in BR days. I have a few shots in BR days which are either too far away to be much use of how the numbers and other information were applied; or they are three quarter shots from the left hand end (i.e. not where the vehicle number or other information was painted).

Any suggestions most welcome.

Tony Dick

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In the case of e-mails published in MREmag, individual responses from the editor are not usually sent unless there is an issue to be raised or answered. Our thanks to all those who contributed their thoughts, questions and answers which develop the topics covered above. A special thanks to Brian Macdermott, Trevor Gibbs and Dick Flower for their regular features.

If you have suggestions for the model manufacturers to consider, or if there is anything else you would like to discuss within the British railway modelling and collecting subject base of this magazine, please send me an e-mail, giving your ‘first’ name and surname (no pseudonym please) to Pat@mremag.com Please read the Notes for Contributors which follow and keep your postings to 200 words maximum, as well as being positive, polite and definitely not libellous. Anonymous comments cannot be published. Your contributions will be edited for readability and acceptability within the unbiased policy of the magazine. Care will be taken not to alter the views expressed but they remain those of the writer of the e-mail and are not necessarily shared by the Editor.

Remember! The manufacturers are our friends - not our enemies. They read this magazine and so, when you comment on their products, you are talking directly to them. Choose your words carefully as you would with a friend.

Wednesday 27.7.11.

Book Review

SR Handbook

Author: David Wragg

Publisher: Haynes Publishing, Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7JJ, Telephone: 01963 440635

Pages: 248

ISBN 978 0 85733 011 6

Illustrations: 191 monochrome

Date: April 2011

Cover: hardback with dust cover

Size: 270x220mm portrait

Price: Ł27.50

Index: superb

I recently reviewed the GWR Handbook and the LMS Handbook, both by David Wragg, and now we have similar volumes for the SR and LNER by the same author.

The Southern Railway is often wrongly seen as the least significant of the four railway companies that controlled the railways in Britain between 1923 and 1947 and yet in some ways it stole a march on the rest. It may have been the smallest in track mileage but it had by far the greatest mileage of electrified routes and this was rightly presented as new, clean and the future for all railways. Indeed, before the Second World War the Southern could boast the largest electrified network in the World and in 1931 had undertaken the World's first electrification of a main line. Another important contribution was the first true international services from Britain to the Continent with trains running from London to Paris in 1936. Also, let us not forget that the Southern Railway had a giant share of London's important suburban traffic.

The book, which was first published in 2003, provides a very thorough history of the company and details the locomotives, rolling stock, named expresses, depots and termini, with no fewer than six in central London. The book covers its ports, shipping, bus and air services. Other features are accidents, its important roll on the front line in wartime and eventual nationalisation.

August Continental Modeller

Railway of the Month is 'Margaaz' (HOm), with stunning landscaping, while other layouts visited are 'Radeberg Ost' (East German H0) and 'Mbowla Mine' (Southern Africa OO9). Plan of the Month is 'Yard 6' (American H0). Other articles look at making cement from polystyrene foam, Garratts on location in Zimbabwe, installing a sound decoder, scale drawings of an 1846 PLM 2-4-2 and building a kit of Schonheide shed.

Hints & Tips No.411

Film Canisters

By George Hims

An old Film canister can also be used for scatter. Just puncture the bottom, fill with scatter and then sprinkle over glue.

By Brian Macdermott (from information supplied by Peter Smith)

Modellers often like to model ‘authentic’ trains, so here’s one that might be of interest.

In the 1950s, the caravan manufacturer, Bluebird, was based in the Poole area of southern England (near Bournemouth) and would occasionally despatch a whole train load of caravans by rail.

Although we are used to seeing photos of Peter Smith on the Somerset & Dorset (S&D), Branksome shed duties often saw him on more local work, such as the Poole Yard shunting turn. In February 1959, he was photographed on early emblem M7 0-4-4T No.30040 about to bring a train of 30 'Lowfits' loaded with caravans onto one of Poole Yard’s reception roads. From here, a train loco (probably a Bournemouth Central West Country) would have taken the train forward. The ultimate destination was Scotland.

The photograph was published in the Bournemouth Evening Echo and the accompanying caption reported that this was to be the first of several consignments that year.

M7s are available from Hornby; 'Lowfits' are available from Bachmann; and a number of caravan models are on the market – some Bluebird, I believe. A rather unusual train.

(Footnote: Although I refer above to ‘Branksome shed duties’, Peter and his colleagues referred to them as ‘loco diagrams’ – not the same thing as loco drawings!)

Having Your Say...

More on the 17 August 1956 Bournemouth West Accident

Following publication of the Snippet about this accident, a number of postings were placed here on MREmag and at least two web groups. In modern terms, it ‘went viral’! Those postings introduced a number of anomalies; these are the facts as best we know them.

We know from an official document that ‘gravitational shunting’ of up to 12 bogies (or 96 wheels) was permitted at Bournemouth West in 1934. However, the Bournemouth Echo report of the 1956 accident carried a statement from the British Transport Commission in response to a reporter’s question that the practice had been officially prohibited since 1949. The BTC also stated that there would only be an internal enquiry (as there had been no injuries) and the results would not be made public.

Sadly, we can’t find any official documents to confirm the prohibition, and we can only deduce events from railwaymen who were at the scene at the time.

It is believed that fitters had been called to work on the stock of the 11.16am whilst still in the carriage sidings. It is possible, but not proven, that that is where some misunderstanding led to the hand-brakes being taken off prematurely. When the train loco buffered up, it set the stock in motion downhill (1in 101, then 1 in 90). The Bournemouth Echo reporter seems to have come to a similar (unofficial) conclusion.

We now know that the coaches were routed into the line adjacent to Platform 6 – this had a sturdy stop block with buffer-height concourse beyond.

Bill Bishop, in his book, Off the Rails, said (quote): "The 13 coaches (of the 11.16am) ran away and collided with three coaches and a van. The van was pushed onto its end with one pair of wheels on the parcels office roof". A picture in the Illustrated London News of 25 August 1956 shows the van at the stop block end pushed up in the air at right angles to, and partly lodged in, the Parcels Depot roof. There was a mass of tangled wreckage below it. By way of clarification, the Goods Shed (further back and north in the yard, and mentioned in one posting) was not involved.

It is possible that the stock was Maunsell 3-set No.330, as Gould’s book on Maunsell coaches states that BTK S3783 of that set was ‘damaged’ on 17 August 1956.

Peter Smith worked the carriage sidings pilot job many times from 1955. He has spoken with a number of railwaymen and enthusiasts of the era (as have I), but not a single person has any knowledge of ‘gravitational shunting’ at that time. However, it is known that handfuls of vans (such as off the Down Mail from Bath) were ‘walked in’ to the goods yard from the carriage line.

There are stories of a shunter setting a train in motion from the rear brake van, walking through the stock whilst in motion (with no-one on the front), only to find his way blocked either by a locked gangway door or a non-gangwayed vehicle in the formation, with a resultant crash. We can’t say whether this ever did, or did not, happen – but evidence to hand suggests strongly that it wasn’t on the 17 August 1956.

Brian Macdermott and Peter Smith

(with thanks to Frank Robertson, Glen Woods, Colin Boocock and Mike Morant)

Please note that prior permission was granted to exceed 200 words and deal with a non-modelling topic for the reason of correcting incorrect information previously published in MREmag - Ed.

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Bachmann's 3 Wagon Sets

Can I congratulate David Haarhaus and Bachmann on their announcement that they are, at long last, to produce wagons in 3 vehicle sets. If it’s not too late, may I urge them to consider producing some of these in weathered condition, particularly the mineral and cattle wagons. In my experience, weathered mineral wagons always outsell pristine versions. Just look at their superb 37-377F and 37-377G. In fact, I’d like to look at them but you just can’t get hold of them for love nor money.

Anthony Johnson

All of the proposed wagon sets, both 00 and N, are to be weathered - Ed.

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Shiny Grey Wheels

I don't model GWR or ex-GWR. However, I really considered purchasing the new 'Hall' class locomotive from Dapol. I figured I might be able to convince the wife to let me allocate the funds under the guise that it's the Hogwarts express for Hogwarts station, which we all know is really Goathland. My wife, fortunately is none the wiser. Sadly though, I will pass on the new 'Hall' class locomotive.

The reason is something that could be very easily fixed by the offending party. As with the 'Britannias', Dapol have once again included the ghastly grey wheels that affected the latter. I just don't understand how a company can put so much effort into making an accurate engine, only to fail on such a simple task

that it had been doing correctly in the past. Am I missing something? Has there been a shortage of black paint? Surely Dapol are aware of this. Model Rail had dinged them in their review of the 'Britannia', and allegedly were told the wheels would be fixed. They never were. Until this problem is fixed, I will not be purchasing any Dapol locomotives. It is sad, too, because aside from the wheels, the locomotive looks beautiful. I just don't trust my weathering skills enough yet to try and fix the wheels either - before the obvious is stated.

Sean Mathews - Woodbridge, Virginia USA

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The Sorry Tale of Harry's New 0-6-0

I can't say I am familiar with Tim's description. The Hornby Thomas range here in the UK uses an old 0-6-0 chassis, and it is fitted to Thomas, Devious Diesel, Iron 'Arry and Bert, but they certainly don't have realistic gearing and DCC. The last three are all diesel shunters based on the 08, but they run like the clappers.

The 0-6-0 mechanism fitted to Toby has a much smaller wheelbase and a much better mechanism, and appears to form the basis for the mechanism in Bill and Ben - both 0-4-0s.

The other 0-4-0 (Percy) takes a retrograde step in using a very high geared mechanism, with a motor driving the leading axle via a worm drive, directly, and is possibly the fastest model in the range!

In my opinion, all the Hornby models in the range are outclassed by the Bachmann HO ones, which are cheaper, seem to run better and have moving eyes - very important to little ones. Sadly, they're not officially imported into the UK, but can be found via the Internet.

I wonder if Tim could be a little more specific with make and model, because I'm intrigued by the spec that he describes.

Roger Burrows

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The Sorry Tale of... whaaaat?

Am I the only MREmag reader to whom Tim Davies' post The Sorry Tale of Harry's New 0-6-0 (MREmag, Monday) made pretty much no sense whatsoever?

What on earth was that all about? What loco is it? Who is Harry? And what's this about throwing toy trains at the wall?

I think someone needs to take a deep breath before applying fingers to keyboard...

Robin Johnson

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Sentinel

I did not pre-order a sentinel shunter as my plans at that time did not call for it, but now I am building a small exhibition layout, I decided I could justify the wee beastie.

I ordered it from the website and, hey presto!, two days later LNER 150 was sitting in one of my sidings. It looks superb and, once I had fitted a direct fit DCC chip, it ran superbly.

I try to keep things as simple as possible, so have not fitted electrofrog points to my layout, but it trundles along quite happily without stalling on the points. I am sure I will have to maintain high track cleanliness, but that is no bad thing. Great model so, well done Model Rail and Dapol.

Graham Crawford

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'Stove R's

Do we know if all the 'Stove R's, that were ordered, have been delivered? I placed my order, together with credit card details, at the Spalding exhibition last year, but haven't heard a word since. I know some have received theirs but have all been delivered?

Peter Gomm

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Steam Trip Required

The wife and I have planned our vacation for a trip to Great Britain and Ireland next May. Priority (for me) is the NRM, which I haven't been to in 25 years. I would love to get in a steam trip as well. I will be staying in Leicester for the duration of the six days in GB, so any suggestions on finding said rail excursion will be greatly appreciated.

Sean Mathews - Woodbridge, Virginia USA

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Converting Bachmann Class 37 D6801 to 18.83

I am considering purchasing and converting this 00 loco to 18.83. Has anyone done this and, if so, how? I know of the Ultrascale conversion sets and there are two types based on 4-axle or 6-axle drive. Can anyone tell me how many axles of this loco are driven? Are there any other options besides the Ultrascale one. Finally, how successful is the conversion, particularly in terms of track holding, slow speed performance etc. I currently intend to use DC but would it be advisable to switch to DCC? This might be the catalyst for me to do the big changeover from DC to DCC!

Stuart Burnley

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Monday 25.7.11.

Bachmann Opens Doors for Trade Visitors

Bachmann Europe Plc held its annual trade and press open days yesterday and today at its Barwell headquarters.

Visitors were able to see development work on a number of projects which will be available in the forthcoming months. Amongst the items were on display were the 00 scale Class 3F 0-6-0, GWR ROD 2-8-0, Class 105 'Power Twins', the Derby Lightweight DMU, Class 85 electric locomotive, OTA timber wagon and BAA/BZA steel coil carrier.

In N scale the A1 Class 4-6-2 has reached final decoration stage and four new Mk1 coaches have been tooled. These are a general utility van (GUV), full brake (BG), brake corridor composite (BCK) and a miniature buffet car (RMB) which are to be available in various liveries.

Visitors were also able to inspect the full size Mk3 coach which is now located at the company’s site.

Triple Jump for Weathered Wagons

One especially interesting bit of news from today's trade open day at Bachmann's Barwell headquarters is that they are to produce triple packs of wagons, so that customers can make up block trains. A total of seven different packs are to be produced in 00 scale and ten packs in N scale. Each of the wagons will have individual running numbers and all are to be weathered, using the latest techniques.

The 00 scale sets will be;

37-095 'Coal Trader' triple pack of 7-plank private owner wagons - Ł27.40
37-235 - 6 ton steel mineral wagons in BR grey - Ł27.40
37-715 - 8 ton cattle wagons in BR bauxite - Ł27.40
37-981 - 'Conflat' wagons in BR bauxite with AF containers in light blue - Ł29.95
38-185 - BR ventilated vans in BR bauxite - Ł29.75
38-340 - 13 ton high sided steel open wagons in BR bauxite Ł28.20
38-390 - 12 ton ventilated vans in BR early bauxite - Ł30.75

The N scale sets will be;

373-270 - 8 ton cattle wagons in BR early bauxite - Ł27.10
373-665 - 14 ton tank wagons - Ł27.25
373-785 - 45 ton TTA tank wagons - Ł32.90
377-235 - 16 ton mineral wagons in BR grey - Ł23.80
377-335 - 'Conflat' wagons in BR bauxite with AF containers in light blue - Ł26.50
377-635 - 12 ton BR plywood fruit vans in BR early bauxite Ł26.80
377-840 - 22 ton 'Presflo' wagons in BR early bauxite - Ł30.25
377-935 - PCA 'Metalair' bulk powder wagon in grey Ł30.60
377-965 - 13 ton high-sided steel open wagons in BR bauxite Ł26.50
377-990 - 12 ton ventilated vans in BR early bauxite Ł26.50

David Haarhaus, European Sales & Marketing Manager said, "our customers often want several wagons of the same type to run in block trains and our new triple wagon sets gives us the opportunity to make them easier to collect. The new weathering particularly enhances the wagons which in real life, of course, soon got dirty in traffic. We listen to customer feedback and I am sure many will be delighted by the announcement regarding our new triple packs".

The sets of wagons will be available in due course from Bachmann dealers. The prices given in the text are recommended retail prices (RRP).

Goodbye Bonds!

David Peacock has contacted the MREmag office to report that he once famous name of Bonds is no more. Their shop in Midhurst, which has been home since 1973, is closing down. The good news, for 0 gauge modellers in particular, is that the entire residual stocks of the Bonds model railway items, including a limited number of the famous Bonds motors, has been taken for sale by the Bassett-Lowke Society. A listing of chimneys, domes, smoke box doors, loco driving wheels, wagon and coach wheels, axles of every type, bogies, axleguards, fittings and a host of other items, once featured in the substantial Bonds catalogues, is being prepared for the Bassett-Lowke Society Spares Directory.

Hills Model Railway Society Exhibition Sydney Australia

The 32nd HMRS exhibition is to be held at the Harvey Lowe Pavilion, Castle Hill Showground, Carrington Rd, Castle Hill, NSW 2154 on 30th/31st July 2011 from 9.00am to 5.00pm. Further details can be found on the society's website at http://www.hmrs.org.au/hmrsexhibition.html.

Those wishing to sell items at the bring-n-buy should attend the hall in person on Friday 29th July from 5pm. It will greatly assist if you would complete the Excel form at http://www.hmrs.org.au/information.html and bring an electronic copy on a USB thumb drive along with a hard copy. Those attending the bring-n-buy please note that there is no EFTPOS or credit card facility at this event. Cash can be obtained from teller machines at the local shopping complex.

There will be the usual u-drive for 'Tom the Armoured Personnel Carrier' aficionados, DCC and DC layouts in 00, HO and N gauge, along with a few local trade stands.

Your partner may like to visit the Castle Hill shopping complex nearby. Whilst you indulge in your hobby they can indulge in theirs - shopping! It is the largest in the southern hemisphere, has free parking and is well known for the variety of shops and restaurants.

Model Railway Exhibition- Stoke-On-Trent.

Organised by the N' enthusiasts group in aid of local charities, this is on Saturday 30th July and Sunday 31st July at St.John's Primary School, Trent Vale between 10.30 and 16.30 both days. Entry prices will be: adults Ł3, children and concessions Ł2 and families Ł8.

There will be working layouts of various gauges, model boats and model road transport. There will also be trade stands, demonstrations and refreshments available.

Mk2 Coaches in BR Blue and Grey livery with NSE branding

Following the very encouraging pre-orders for their ScotRail coach packs Kernow Model Rail Centre have announced that they have commissioned Bachmann to produce further versions of their Mark 2 coaches in 00 gauge.

In the rush to get Network SouthEast branding applied as quickly as possible, many blue and grey coaches simply had vinyls applied over the Intercity logo (if it was even present) as in interim measure before a full repaint into NSE red, white and blue livery could be carried out. To enable the modeller to recreate this period, Kernow MRC have four coaches on order with variations that are highly unlikely to be produced in standard production runs. These are:

39-001T Bachmann NSE branded Mk2a TSO Twin Pack with running numbers 5261 and 5308 at Ł59.99

39-411Y Bachmann NSE branded Mk2a BFK Coach number 17070 at Ł29.99

39-380Z Bachmann NSE branded Mk2a BSO Coach number 9422 at Ł29.99 .

Each of the above is limited to 500 pieces and the shop expects delivery later this year. As always regular updates are given through their weekly newsletter and on their website

Hornby's Revised Programme

Judging by the large numbers of models released by Hornby in the last two months, it appears that they are beginning to get on top of the enormous problem caused by the financial collapse at Sanda Kan. The Chinese company had been virtually their only supplier of trains and the problems caused were never going to be solved over night. I get the feeling that we are at last feeling the benefit of Hornby broadening their sources in China so that they will no longer be so dependent on one company.

It was surprising that, despite the difficulty of getting supplies out of China and into the shops, in January Hornby presented such a bold and confident list of new models for this year. Not surprisingly, some of them have missed their planned delivery dates, as Hornby have striven to maintain the high standard they had previously set, while working with new model manufacturers in the Far East. As with Bachmann, it seems that the Hornby programme better suits an 18 month cycle than the previous 12 month one. As a consequence, some motive power models planned for release this year will slip into next year. These will be the two of the five announced B17s, the 'Brighton Belle' and the two former Lima models of Classes 31 and 42, which are destined for the RailRoad range.

Let us hope that Hornby are past the worst of their nightmares.

Hints & Tips No.410

Laying an S Curve

By Galveston Model Railroad Society

If you are making an S-type turn using flexible track, be sure to try to leave at least a passenger carriage length of straight track between the ending of the first curve and the beginning of the second. This will reduce the lateral forces on the vehicle and improve reliability.

Having Your Say...

Sentinel Delivery

Along with, I suspect, many others I have received my pre-ordered GWR Sentinel by recorded delivery. I am not sure exactly when it arrived as a neighbour kindly accepted delivery, because we were away on holiday for two weeks. I was not expecting it before September, so well done Dapol and Kernow MRC.

Kernow MRC (correctly) took the payment from a fully cleared credit card on the day that the account was forwarded to me, which coincided with the start of the holiday, a standing instruction for a minimum payment prevented a penalty charge. A tiny interest charge will result.

Having slipped the inner protection from the box, but not yet handled it, much less put it on a track, I am delighted with it's appearance and it's presence here!

I stress that none of the financial details above are intended as a criticism of Kernow MRC, just outlined to indicate a potential danger of forward ordering!

Again, well done Dapol, Kernow and especially Model Rail for the initial courageous commission. What a super little loco! I look forward to soon putting it through it's paces on the club layout.

Don Blackhall

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My LNER Sentinel arrived this week, with a BR early Sentinel arriving in the next week or so. I was interested to hear the comments about the noisy motor but, so far, I can't hear any significant noise from my own.

The model looks pretty good from my perspective and has a really slow motion, which fits in with its real life counterpart. I will be renumbering the locomotive to something more in keeping with my Teesside area of interest, but, overall, I am pretty well satisfied and look forward to its BR (E) running mate in the next few days.

Mike Leonard

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Dapol Locos

I've yet to get my own Sentinel on test but one operated on a layout at Railex worked well and managed useful loads.

As far as other Dapol locos are concerned, I have it on excellent authority that the Beattie Well Tank is undergoing minor final detail revisions and, once these are approved, manufacture will begin. I have also been told that work is underway in China on the D6XX and I have heard second-hand that the D63XX is also nearing final approval for production.

Perhaps trains are acquiring the characteristic of 'buses and several will arrive at once? But we must surely bear in mind that all of these models are being produced a long way away and an awful lot of work is being put into getting them as correct as possible. Maybe we should not overlook the fact that, in several cases, if individuals had not invested time and money in commissioning the models, we would have been unlikely to see them at all. Compared with that, a delay of a year or so hardly seems worth worrying about.

Mike Romans

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Tony Wright

I was so sorry to hear that Tony Wright is currently suffering from illness and I do sincerely offer my best wishes and for a quick recovery. I have had the pleasure of meeting Tony on a number of occasions and he is always a delight to talk to and an inspiration when it comes to railway modelling.

My thanks to Dave Wisnia for this unfortunate news.

John Cherry

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Four Wheels & Points in N Gauge

I can suggest one solution to the problem with small scale – and hence low mass – locomotives with a low wheel count stalling out on points and also to the decoder issue.

When I purchased the delightful N gauge 14xx class from Dapol a few years back, I spotted the potential for tooth-gnashing right away, but also saw that there was a painless (or nearly painless) fix that would offer the possibility of DCC, should I decide to go that route. I would permanently couple the autotrain carriage to the locomotive and add pick-ups to the wheels (I’m simplifying to get under the word count). Now the loco would have four times the pick-up potential and the power connections would be so far apart they wouldn’t all be stalled in a dead spot unless it was huge. Bonus: a decoder could also be mounted in the trailer carriage.

In 00, a similar trick could be performed by coupling a box van of some sort behind a locomotive and putting the decoder in it. No-one but you will know, especially if you box clever and have the body of the van be removable and replaceable with a couple of differently decorated shells.

Steve Mann - NYC

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The Sorry Tale of Harry's New 0-6-0

This model has detailing about the standard of Tri-ang’s 0-6-0 of 1953, but it comes with nickel plated wheels, six wheel pickup, realistic gearing and DCC. The motor is a three pole open type and noisy, but runs well. That is, it should have run well. Performance on track was appalling, much worse than my old Tri-ang 0-6-0. It jerked and stalled and stalled and jerked. I was sure Harry would throw it against the wall. We fixed the pickups, some of them would jam off the wheels - a design fault, but the problems remained. Sometimes it would run OK, other times - even I wanted to smash it against the wall.

We tried a decoder with Stay Alive. There was an improvement, but we also discovered vertical slop in the left rear driver.

Finally, a hi-tech cardboard spacer was inserted under the bearing of the offending wheel. After adjustment to thickness, Presto, problem fixed. This loco simply was not of merchantable quality and should never have been sold. Where is the production testing, where is the quality control?

Tim Davies - Melbourne, Oz

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EE Type 3 Miniature Snow Ploughs

These were definitely available for use by the end of 1968 and probably earlier, as in South Wales the only other locos capable of being fitted with miniature ploughs were diesel shunters. However, I seem to remember (perhaps wrongly) that, after 1963, we had a succession of mild winters, with very little need for ploughing of any sort in more southerly parts. The miniature ploughs have long been hated by shunters and I think that even by the late 1960s they would only have been fitted when snow threatened.

Mike Romans

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Friday 22.7.11

LSWR Type 4 Brick Signal Box Planned

Following the success of the LSWR Type 4 signal box with stone finish, in response to customer requests, Kernow Model Rail Centre have announced that they have commissioned Bachmann to produce an LSWR Type 4 signal box with brick finish. This will feature a removable roof and separate name board, as before, this time with the name 'Bude'. It will be suitable for a wide variety of LSWR locations and will have a footprint of approximately 50mm x 115mm.

The price will be Ł27.95, plus postage, and delivery is expected later this year. Orders can be placed through the Kernow Model Rail Centre website and we understand that regular updates will be given through our newsletter at www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com

Extra Features for Rail Exclusive ‘Crompton’ Project

Rail Exclusive has been busy 'behind the scenes' as the specification for its new Class 33 models is further enhanced and final adjustments are made to the engineering drawings.

Philip Sutton told MREmag that the undertaking to manufacture the first entirely accurate and authentic Class 33/0 'Crompton' in 4mm scale is progressing extremely well. There has been much praise for the decision to introduce two period-specific bodies. Those that have been following the promotional activity will know that the loco will be almost completely new, retaining only the proven mechanism and some chassis parts; the rest has been completely redrawn and is being re-tooled with Heljan acting as the sub-contractors. The general level of detail is also substantially upgraded to included metal photo-etched grilles and a DCC sound option.

While making these improvements, Rail Exclusive were always aware of further areas of concern that really could not be ignored, but were prohibitively difficult to improve. However, by way of further encouragement to potential customers, the company has revealed that there are to be additional modifications to the underframe. This will see the inclusion of separately-fitted brake actuation cylinders and sandboxes Adjustments are also being made to accommodate new, redrawn, primary bogie springing units that will be attached behind the bogie side frames. At the same time the over-wide fuel tank/battery box sections will be narrowed slightly to improve appearance.

At a pre-order price of Ł199 for a two loco pack, these models represent great value for money. With the extra improvements, we understand that there could be a slight delay to the production schedule and Rail Exclusive do not know how long it can realistically peg back the price without passing on some of this extra cost. We are assured, however, that they are committed to honouring this price for all existing and future pre-orders for the present time.

The Class 33s can be ordered using a guaranteed ‘made-to-order’ reservation system by telephone (01780 470086), post or the online shop at www.railexclusive.com. For those still wishing to know more, in-depth information pack is available by post on request.

Book Review

British Railways First Generation DMUs

Author: Hugh Longworth

Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing, Marketing Department, Riverdene Business Park, Hersham, Surrey KT12 4RG. Tel: 01932 266619 - www.ianallanpublishing.com

ISBN: 978 0 86093 612 1

Pages: 272

Illustrations: 180 monochrome photos

Date: April 2011

Cover: hardback with dust cover

Size: 1297x223mm portrait

Price: Ł24.99

In covering all first generation diesel multiple units (those built up to 1963), the author sets out to give individual histories of each vehicle and the formations in which each was used. He also includes GWR railcars which ran during this period as well as depot allocations.

The book contains a list of DMU types in class order, a list of DEMU types with details of classes, a list of DEMU coaches with the units they belonged to, a full listing of individual coaches, a list of DMU allocations at key points in their histories and, finally, details of DMU formations with a list of formations and unit numbers at different times in their lives. There are also appendices giving year-end totals for each class and type, a numerical list of all BR issued lot numbers, with first generation DMUs highlighted, and a numerical list of all the original diagram numbers allocated to DMUs.

This is a very useful reference book which, besides the 180 monochrome photographs referred to above, has internal layout and side elevation drawings of every type of vehicle.

Hints & Tips No.409

Making an Urban Backdrop,.. easily!

By John Schaeffer (VA,USA)

You can easily make your own backdrop. Order some tourist information about the cities you are modelling, enlarge the photos in the literature either at your local photo shop or scan and make a collage yourself. This way, you can get exactly what you want.

However, as an observation, if you look at a big city you cannot see past one or two buildings anyway. I would make my foreground city flats high enough to serve as a backdrop and just use a monochromatic haze blue masonite or blue foam backdrop and leave it at that. Less is more, when it comes to a backdrop

Having Your Say...

Dapol 00

Colin Hewitt, in his piece about the Sentinel, touched upon something I have been thinking about recently. We have the Beattie well tank (I placed an order with Kernow MRC as soon as they were announced some 2/3 years ago), which has appeared as some pre production models to view, the same with the D63xx hydraulics. There are also D6xx 'Warships' and now 'Westerns' announced. To date, not one of these has seen the light of day, although I would not expect the 'Western' for at least a couple of years. at this rate. I assume the Sentinel, if it has an N gauge mechanism, as Colin says, was an easier development project for Dapol. I wonder when any of these models will be released?

Andrew Carter

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Sentinels Part 2

My thanks to Colin Hewitt for his open review of the new Model Rail commissioned Sentinel locomotive, from which I was surprised to hear that he had already received his. I was not aware they had finally been produced. This is the first of the new range of 00 gauge locos from Dapol and a taster of what we may expect from future issues. The noisy motor is a cause for concern and I have seen other reports of this. I hope the noise recedes once the loco is run in.

From Colin's observations, let's hope the future issue of the Beattie well tank has a much quieter motor fitted.

John Cherry

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I'm writing regarding Colin Hewitt's comments regarding the Dapol Sentinels.

I'm afraid we can't escape the laws of physics here. The prototype is small and has 4 wheels, so a model of it should follow accordingly. It means that there isn't much room for a mechanism or decoder, and power collection won't be as good as that on a Class 60, for example. I gather Bachmann's 03 will only accept a 6 pin decoder, normally used in N gauge.

I feel that modellers have to be realistic about getting a decoder to fit and the running properties of the model. One size does not fit all. I (and many others) have had to fit a range of chips to models and the size of decoder (and wires) is a big factor in choosing which one to use.

My son has many 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 models from the Thomas range and (un)surprisingly they don't run as well as my all wheel pick up Co-Co diesels.

Andy Parr

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Tony Wright

One of your contributors noted that Tony Wright (British Railway Modelling magazine) seemed to be missing. Tony has asked me to let you know that he is ill, which has stopped him in his tracks. I met with him yesterday and he is making some progress I do hope it will not be too long before he is back to his best, though we must all be patient. I am sure that those of your readers who know him, like me, would wish him all the very best.

Dave Wisnia

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Bulleid Coaches in Maroon

Further to Nick Stanbury's enquiry regarding Bulleid stock in maroon, I hope the following will be useful.

In the mid sixties, a number of Bulleid coaches were transferred to other regions, the largest batch went to the WR being 43 BSKs and BCKs, on the boundary changes in 1963. In 1965 some open seconds were sent to the Eastern and Scottish regions in exchange for Mk1 coaches earmarked for conversion to electric stock for the Bournemouth electrification. No E1486S/E1474S/E1505S were also on the GE and were noted on Cambridge and Harwich diagrams.

There is a very good write up about these coaches in Southern Coaches In Colour, by Michael Welch, which was published in 2010.

Let's hope that one day Bachmann might consider one of these coaches in this colour, even if it a special for the Collectors Club.

Ian Taylor

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EE Type 3’s – Miniature Snow Ploughs.

The latest BR Green livery model from Bachmann is D6801 from the initial batch D6700 – D6818, which all had the split headcodes. The model is superb and I noticed, with interest, that the bag of additional fitments contains the three piece miniature snow ploughs. While the accessory bag is, no doubt, common to Bachmann’s Class 37s, from personal observation of many photographs, I have never seen a BR green EE Type 3 fitted with such a snow plough for the 1960-68 period, i.e. last period of BR steam.

I have consulted with that BR diesel traction expert Colin Marsden and, while saying "never say never", he has not seen one either. Colin advised that the BR Drivers Manuel for 1962 has the first mention of this type of snow plough but no one recalls one being fitted until well into the TOPS period, after 1968.

So, MREmag readers, if by any chance one of you finds a photo of a EE Type 3 in BR green livery, of the number series quoted, so fitted during the years 1960 to August 1968 I would be delighted to hear from you.

John Cherry

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New Releases from Hornby

The following new Hornby models should now be in the shops:

R3014 'Duchess' LMS black 6233 Duchess of Sutherland
R3054 Class 50 BRe blue 50008 Thunderer
R4481 Pullman 3rd class kitchen car Car No.60
R4486 Pullman 3rd class kitchen car Car No.61
R4480 Pullman 1st class kitchen car Minerva
R4484 Pullman 2nd class parlour car Car No.64
R4483 Pullman 1st class parlour car Onyx
R4501 GWR Hawksworth corridor 3rd coach 782
R4503 GWR Hawksworth 1st/3rd composite coach 7253
R6511 PGA 'Yeoman' triple pack
R6547 Monobloc tank wagon 'Hornby 2011'
R9652 Skaledale 'Wheatsheaf Arms'
R9654 Skaledale 'Spire Restaurant'
R9655 Skaledale 'The Corner Shop'
R9656 Skaledale low relief terrace shops A
R9657 Skaledale low relief terrace shops B
R9675 Skaledale 'Honeysuckle Cottage'

June/July 2011 Quiz

My apologies for the delay in publishing this quiz but I have been a guest of the NHS again. Twice in fact over the last few weeks and I can confirm that government cutbacks are certainly starting to hit. The food was awful, far worse than ever before.

Anyway, this quiz covers June and July, so there is a prize of Ł100 on offer. The winner will be able to spend their winnings at Rails of Sheffield, who we must thank again for their continued sponsorship of the quiz.

As usual, you have two weeks to submit your answers with the closing time and date being 22:00 on Tuesday 2^nd August. Please send your entries to me at quizmaster@blueyonder.co.uk and don’t forget to provide your full name and address details. Please head up your email with the subject MREmag July Quiz and please read the questions carefully and double check your answers before final submission.

Here are the questions:

1. Of all the Stanier 'Jubilees', only three carried badges or crests on their nameplates. BR numbers and names please?

2. Of all the 9F 2-10-0s that were allocated to Bath Green Park on the Somerset & Dorset between 1960 and 1964, how many have been preserved and what were their BR numbers?

3 The Bachmann Windhoff Power/Trailer 2-car MPV is shortly to hit the shops. How many of these power/trailer combinations were originally built for Network Rail?

4. DB Schenker has committed to refurbishing up to 21 class 60s under its "Super 60" project. To date, six members of the class have been identified under the programme. What are their numbers?

5. What is the number of the DRS loco recently repainted into Northern Belle livery?

6. New Siemens Class 380/1s have recently taken over services on the North Berwick branch, east of Edinburgh. Which class of unit have they replaced and which TOC are they being transferred to?

7. First Great Western has just repainted its final 57/6 from green livery into FirstGroup blue livery. Number please.

8. What was the name of the viaduct immediately to the north of Shepton Mallet station on the Somerset & Dorset line?

9. Only two BR Stanier 8Fs were ever fitted with steam heating apparatus. What were their BR numbers?

10. For the final question, I thought I would reintroduce a not too difficult cryptic clue this month. Why might the Honourable Artillery Company feel like burying its head in the sand?

Wallis & Wallis Sale

The next toy auction at the West Street Auction Galleries in Lewes, Sussex, is next Monday at 11am. Viewing will be on Friday between 9am and 5pm and on Saturday from 9am until 1pm. There will also be viewing on the morning of the sale from 9am until 10.30am. There will be 57 lots of model railway equipment. The catalogue, priced Ł8.50, is available from the above address.

Hints & Tips No.408

Banishing Derailments Pt 2

By Several Modellers

Check your model train couplers. A snagging coupler will cause model train derailments. Some new carriages can come with unpolished couplers which can catch and force derailments. Even cast Acetal Hornby type couplers can have small rough edges on the coupler top.

Clean off any rough edges and in the case of Kadees or similar, adjust the couplers for proper centring. Also Hornby and other couplers are notoriously uneven in heights particularly with older stock. If necessary, settle on your own standard and ensure your couplers are of a universal height. Sometimes the mix of Bachmann and Hornby couplers can also be an issue... again try to standardise!

Snippet No.339 – On yer bike! (Part 2)

By Brian Macdermott

Snippet No.318 detailed how a bike was carried by J17 0-6-0 No.65558 during some shunting work.

Plate 26 in Dr Ian C. Allen’s book, East Anglian Album, shows not one but two bikes – one of which is clearly a ladies’ model – tied on to J69 0-6-0T No.68555. The loco was banking a freight headed by Britannia 4-6-2 No.70013 Oliver Cromwell on the branch line to Norwich Victoria.

Plate 45 in the same book shows sister J69 No.68495 with what could well be the same two bikes.

Having Your Say...

Standard Class 5 '73116' – Part 2

A further search revealed that in March 1960 Keith Pirt photographed 73116 at Worthing Junction on a down Southampton line service still with early crest and unnamed. The photo caption states that 73116 emerged from Eastleigh Works in October 1960 carrying the name Iseult but was not officially named until September 1962.

I would therefore suggest that, should 73116 have also had a repaint in October 1960, then it may well have received the late crest at that time. This tallies with the undated photo of 73116 in the Power of the BR Standard 4-6-0s, taken at Eastleigh, whereby the cab and tender of 73116 look very clean and even the tender axles boxes have been painted. This photo could have possibly been taken in late 1960.

It may be that new Book of the Standard Fives by Irwell Press, which is just reaching the shops, will have the loco card details quoted, which may positively provide the information that you seek.

John Cherry

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I have found another photo of 73116 in Ivatt & Riddles Locomotives. This photo was taken on 10/8/63 of the right-hand side and shows the nameplate fitted. So, Peter’s theory of refitting the nameplates may be correct. Alternatively, as both photos, that I have, show the right-hand side with the nameplate, maybe the left-hand side nameplate was lost.

To bring this topic back to models, as per this website’s mandate, anybody wanting to model one of the SR’s 73110 – 73119 allocation with the BR1F high sided tender, may well use Bachmann’s model of 73110 as a base. This was Bachmann’s first attempt at the BR1F tender and it suffered from having a sharp angled flare to the top, instead of the correct gentle curve. They have since produced a better looking BR1F tender for the 9F. It would be a nice gesture if Bachmann would produce a replacement lined tender top for those who bought the incorrect style. They have latterly produced replacement bodies for their mistakes, so I would appreciate having this one corrected for my model of 73110.

Michael Berry - New Zealand

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Southern Coaches in Scotland

Further to recent discussion concerning BR coach numbering, a doubly interesting colour photograph appears in Issue 15 of The Southern Way (just published). This shows a 1950-built Bulleid open second at Aberdeen in 1968, one of 11 of the same batch exchanged with the Scottish Region for BR Mk1s, the latter being for conversion and incorporation into Bournemouth line electric units. The coach is numbered Sc1498S (in accordance with the prevailing rules on numbering) and has been repainted into full lined maroon livery (sides and ends), although not all the swaps were so repainted – a most unusual sight! A further nine such coaches went to the Eastern Region, where (presumably) they were given ‘E’ prefixes and were maybe also repainted. The Bluebell Railway has three identical coaches in its fleet.

Nick Stanbury

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Bournemouth West Runaways :- Errata

Please accept my apologies for my error regarding my reference to Volume 4 of Oakwood Press' L.S.W.R. Mainline video. I should have, of course, typed in Volume 3, Southampton to Bournemouth. Mistakes are in my family motto, somewhere...

Frank Robertson

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Runaways at Bournemouth West

Whilst not wishing to subdue ‘freedom of speech’, I wonder if Pat would be so kind as to hold comments on the Bournemouth West crash of August 1956 until Peter Smith and I have finalised some enquiries?

The matter is moving away from ‘modelling’ per se and introducing some anomalies. We would like to make a short, clarifying ‘Snippet’ in the not too distant future.

Brian Macdermott

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Sentinels Part 2

Noise rises with speed. I suspect the mechanism is N scale and, I heard on YouTube that N scale locomotives are noisier than their 00 equivalents.

Although as heavy as possible, the tiny Sentinels are still light and so haven't the good electrical contact of the heavier locomotives we have become used to. Consequently, those little wheels pick up dirt very quickly and, as can be imagined, they are very sensitive to dirty wheels and track. I have no dead-frog points but I imagine the short wheelbase could give trouble on them.

There are superfluous holes in the buffer beams to allow for other versions fitted with vacuum brakes and the eight-pin socket and blanking plate are on prominent view inside the cab. A little black paint carefully applied, perhaps?

A direct-fitting decoder is recommended but the cheapest I can find is twice the price of Bachmann's trusty 36-553. Sound would be impractical.

All in all, delightful models, leading me to look forward eagerly to the Beattie well tanks commissioned by Kernow. As to bigger Dapol diesels, with bigger mechanisms, it remains to be seen. Where is that Class 22?

Colin Hewitt

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Monday 18.7.11.

August Railway Modeller

This issue comes with a 16 page supplement on 'Plastic Structure Kits' using kits from the Peco/Wills catalogues.

Railway of the Month is Dick Allan's gauge 3 garden railway 'The Parkside & Hale Railway' which runs between two termini but also has a circuit for continuous running. Other layouts visited are the Newcastle & District Railway Society's extended N gauge 'Monkchester', David Burleigh's OO9 narrow gauge 'The Llanmynach & Tawel-Llety Railway', Jim Owers' intriguing O9 'Alder Carr' mine railway, Colm Flanagan's 4mm scale Northern Ireland wayside station 'Killagan', Ian Clark's relocated P4 'Rockingham' layout and Andy Peters' scenically excellent 00 'Glen Roy' 1970s rural station yard. Plan of the Month is a tribute to the Settle & Carlisle main line.

Practical features include scale drawings of a Victorian crossing keeper's cabin with advice on building and detailing it, building a GWR 'Serpent C' flat wagon in 4mm scale, automating signals, building the 75T Cowans Sheldon breakdown crane in 00 scale and providing goods siding detail in 00.

Model reviews include Hornby's RailRoad Tornado and KFA container flats, Heljan's Class 26 diesel, Dapol's N gauge 'Hall', Bachmann's Windhoff MPV, Metcalfe's bank and shop kit and Base-Toys lorries and loads. In the news section there is the announcement by Ixion that it will be selling a 7mm scale Hudswell Clarke contractor's 0-6-0ST, which is being produced for them in China.

August Model Rail

With the magazine comes an A5 32 page supplement called 'Don't Panic! A Plain English Guide to DCC' with advice on choosing the right equipment, fitting loco decoders, use of the Hornby RailMaster and controlling trains by an iPhone.

Model reviews this month include Bachmann's Windhoff MPV and Class 03 in BR blue, Dapol's N gauge 'Hall' and Grand Central HST, Hornby's KFA container flats, EWS West Coast Relief pack, ex-LMS pacific Princess Arthur of Connaught, A4 Sparrow Hawk and Class 60 in 'Steel' blue livery. The Supertest this month compares couplings.

There is a host of previews, including the Bachmann Class 85, Derby Lightweight, GWR Class 30xx and OTA timber carrier, Olivia's Trains EM1 and EM2, Hornby's GWR Horse Box, 27T iron ore 'Tippler' standard 29T brake van, 'Trout', 4-VEP EMU and 'Brighton Belle', Tower Models' 0 gauge Fowler 'Patriot', TMC's North Yorkshire Moors' buildings, Hattons/Dapol's LMS Co-Co 10000 and Graham Farish's Class 101 DMU, Riddles WD 2-8-0 and 5MT.

Layouts visited have a special Somerset & Dorset flavour and include Julian Birley's 0 gauge scenically stunning 'Evercreech New', Richard Knott's large 00 'Averton Hammer' and Simon Challis' 1920s' P4 'Cheddar'. The theme is continued with this month's Masterplan, which is based on Midford, and an article which looks at passenger working on the line.

Practical advice includes gluing plastics, a new weathering technique, diesel buffer detail, making your own etched parts, fitting your own NEM pockets and achieving perfect pipework.

New Railway Model Products

Photos and descriptions of more model railway products have just been added to our New Products section. To see the pictures and read about them, click on ‘Model Railways’ to the left of this page and then pick the item you wish to see from the index.

Free 1st Class travel on Virgin Trains to join Charity train at Crewe

Passengers with tickets to travel on the 'Train of Hope' charity train, on Saturday 1^st October 2011, will be able to travel 1st class free of charge to and from Crewe on the day on scheduled Virgin Trains services. The special train ticket will not only cover travel on the steam hauled special from Crewe to Carlisle, via the scenic Settle & Carlisle route, but also on connecting Virgin Trains services.

Organiser John Young said, "We are very grateful to Virgin Trains for generously supporting us in this way. This now makes the special train package particularly attractive for those travelling to and from Crewe to join us on that day".

John is one of the of Manchester based Drivers from Virgin Trains raising money for the CLIC Sargent charity. The charity is supported by Virgin Trains and provides care and support for children diagnosed with cancer.

Tickets are still available at Ł179 for adults and Ł119 for children, which includes full breakfast on the outward trip and a five course dinner on the return leg, with complimentary wine. The train will be operated by West Coast Railways with Gravy Train Catering supplying and cooking the food. The locomotive crew have donated their wages whilst the hire of the locomotive and track access charges have been waived in support of the charity.

Details on booking arrangements and other events can be found at www.trainofhope.co.uk

Hints & Tips No.407

Mounting a Hand Held Throttle Part 2

By Bruce Leslie, (MA, USA)

I use Velcro strips to hold my throttles on the side of the layout. This gives me a hanger which will not snag any users but can also be unobtrusive.

Having Your Say...

Runaways at Bournemouth West

A full page report in the 17/8/1956 edition of the Bournemouth Daily Echo, is headlined 'Six buffer incidents at Bournemouth West Railway Station in 10 years'. This latest crash even made it into The lllustrated London News, 25/8/1956. Photographs show a crimson and cream Maunsell SK embedded in the station's canopy, box vans piled up against the eaves of the goods shed and some poor gentleman surveying the result of the canopy's girder0-work falling onto the bonnet of his Jaguar 'SS'.

The newspaper refers to 'gravitational shunting' being prohibited in 1949, but there is film of this taking place later, included in the Oakwood Video Library's Volume 4 of their LSWR main line series.

Local legend has it, that one incident was caused by the onboard shunter/brakeman being prevented from reaching the guard's brake-wheel, by an intervening non-corridor coach!

The most recent runaways have included a 4-REP No.3004 in 1974 and a 5-WES No.2407 on September 3rd. 1989.

Frank Robertson

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Model Railway Magazines

With regards to John Cherry's comments about the quality of various magazines, in the UK you do not realise how lucky you are to have such a wide selection available to you. I subscribe to Railway Modeller (when I returned to the hobby it was the only one I knew) and Hornby Magazine (I bought one at a swapmeet over 2 years ago and was smitten) as this is the only way I can obtain them on a regular basis, at a fair price. British Railway Modelling sometimes appears at the local news stand, but it is priced at close to 10 pound - so will only be bought if it has exceptional articles.

Regarding the quality of these magazines, I find both excellent and their differences enable me to gain a more complete picture of the hobby and to chose just one, I would rather give up the Sunday paper.

I cannot comment on the other magazines but will acquire them when I next visit the UK, hopefully in late 2012.

Trevor Pankhurst - South Africa

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My 'take' on model magazines is that much depends on what the reader is looking for. Correspondence on this and other forums suggests that a lot of people 'know what they like and like what they know'. This equates to 'mainstream' interests - standard gauge, generally BR period, well served by kits and ready-to-run - and to me all the major magazines cater for these, to a very high standard. I'd say it's mainly a matter of personal preference which magazine you choose.

However, if you're looking for something a bit outside of this consensus, I feel the venerable Railway Modeller has a lot to commend it. It often features narrow gauge and some more esoteric interests and it also has scale drawings more regularly than the others - a great help to those of us who build their own.

This is also why I've read Model Railway Journal, from the first, and why I was recently delighted to discover Narrow Gauge & Industrial Railway Modelling Review, edited by Roy Link. Even if you don't actually model these sorts of railways, the ideas of those who do can inspire you to try something new.

Even so, my copies of Model Railway News from half a century ago are still worth rereading!

Neil Burgess

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I buy all four of the magazines listed by John Cherry and generally find them interesting, although the Railway Modeller I find is very good for the narrow gauge modeller.

The one point I would make is that I totally agree with Peter Gooding's remarks last Friday, that they should pay more attention to product reviews, as a lot of the time the reviewer does not seem to have knowledge of the item. There have been numerous mistakes of late which should not happen in a professional magazine.

Ian Taylor

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I would agree with John Cherry. However, being outside the UK, I cannot just walk into a shop and browse the magazines before deciding whether or not to purchase.

I have to have subscriptions, which means 'all or nothing'. Although there are the odd issues which do not contain any articles of personal interest, by and large, I am satisfied with them.

Stuart May - Germany

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I used to subscribe to Railway Modeller and then switched to Model Rail when that first came out and really broke the mould introducing many new features. I add British Rail Modelling when that came out but dropped that after a couple of years and now buy the Hornby Magazine on an issue by issue basis, in addition to my Model Rail sub.

In my view, they are all good magazines and we are lucky in the UK to have such a choice.

Hornby has the nicest presentation and paper quality and, although they made the 'beginner' their initial focus, I think they have now moved more towards the 'average modeller'.

I frequently look at what is in Railway Modeller but rarely buy it. BRM doesn't seem to be stocked in my local newsagent and so has fallen off the list for me.

Brian Martin

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Tri-ang Turbo Car

I feel John Cherry need not worry too much about the collection of Turbo Cars. I'm sure the we can rest easy knowing Hornby will keeping a careful eye on them with their stock of hush-hush R128 Helicopter Cars. Whilst their deployment is, of necessity, kept under wraps, I can report that over the years I achieved great success with these in their surveillance role, though admittedly it was usually only close-ups of the brake van attached to the launching train.

Richard Watson

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Sentinels Part 1

I received a helpful e-mail from Model Rail, estimating a delivery date of four to six weeks ahead but, less than two weeks later, my two arrived. The asking price of Ł75 (postage included) is a lot for a small four-wheeled locomotive (no discounts either) but I don't begrudge it. They are exquisite.

Slow control is excellent and the little things have a surprising turn of speed. They can pull six old Hornby Gresley coaches with ease although ten seems to strain them - the test model developed a knock which has fortunately since disappeared.

There's plenty of detail; it looks very fussy under the cab and the GWR version has etched brass number plates. Detail varies with model: the GW one has a single injector - the prototype having a pump in the cab instead. The later LNER version has two injectors and front ventilation grills, the latter added to the original because it got so hot in the little cab.

Is it all wonderful? No, but the shortcomings are understandable in such a small machine.

To be concluded.

Colin Hewitt

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Standard Class 5 '73116' – Part 1

Peter, you certainly picked a camera shy loco that had a very short life of just 9 years, going as it did in November 1964. I trawled through many books on a wet Saturday with very little success.

To support other comments, Ivo Peters photographed 73116 working 11 00 Bath to Evercreech Goods on 30 June 1958 at Midford Viaduct. 73116 was still with early crest and unnamed.

Ivor confirms in his S & D book 1960-62 that, "Every year since 1956, Nine Elms loaned 73087 & 73116 to the S&D for duration of summer service. In 1960 73087 arrive at Bath but not 73116, which remained at Nine Elms. However, during the year, 73116 was occasionally seen on the S & D as Bournemouth Depot was diagrammed to provide power for certain trains to Bath and return. 73116 was still fitted with tablet catcher bracket from her 'S&D days', so, if she was at Bournemouth and was available then, she would be used in preference to a Pacific."

However, despite Ivo’s comments, I found only one photo.

John Cherry

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Many thanks to Michael Berry and Brian Macdermott for their information about 73116.

According to the RCTS book, British Railways Standard Steam Locomotives - Volume 2 - The 4-6-0 and 2-6-0 Classes, this loco was carrying it's name as it left Eastleigh Works on 15.10.60 but, unlike others, it wasn't officially named until 2 years later on 15.9.62 .

This is interesting, because the Les Elsey book On Southern Metals shows it carrying it's name on 16.7.61 and Michael says the OPC book shows it without name on 9.6.62 , so it seems that, at some point, the name must have been removed so it could be officially put back on.

Peter Welfare

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Eastern Region Coaches at Bournemouth

A more detailed photo, dated 20/8/1960, by Roy Panting, is on page 6 of The Last Days of Steam in Dorset and Bournemouth, by David Haysome & Julien Parker, (published by Alan Sutton, ISBN 0-7509-0108-2). This shows Gresley steel panelled 'Twin-Art' SK E16840E and BSK E16841E, followed by a Thompson corridor coach, of some description. They are all in lined maroon livery. Pictured at Bournemouth, these are the first, three coaches of a Poole - Bradford formation.

Frank Robertson

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Friday 15.7.11.

More Bachmann 00 on the Way

There is a bonanza of new Bachmann Branchline models on their way from China which should be in the shops later in August. These are:

30-050 'Western Rambler' Train Set includes Collett 2251 locomotive No.3205, Collett W510W + Collett brake end W1655W, oval of track with siding and transformer/controller

31-576DC Windhoff MPV in Railtrack livery No.DR 98952 + DR 98902 * NEW TOOLING*

31-577 Windhoff MPV in Railtrack livery No.DR 98960 + DR 98910 * NEW TOOLING*

32-083 56xx Class 0-6-2T locomotive No.6658 in BR green livery

32-130 45xx Class prairie 2-6-2T No.4571 in BR green livery with late crest

32-165DC N Class 2-6-0 No.31869 in BR black livery with early emblem

32-329 Class 25 No.25231 in BR blue (weathered)

32-404DS Class 25 No.25276 in BR blue livery DCC SOUND

32-407 Class 25/3 No.25279 in BR blue (weathered)

32-679DS Class 45 No.D27 in BR green livery with late crest DCC SOUND

32-703 Class 46 No.D186 in BR blue (weathered) livery

33-080C china clay wagon with hood in BR bauxite (weathered) livery No.B743595

37-207 8-plank wagon with coke rails in Thomas Ward, Sheffield livery No.1644A

37-729B 12T ventilated van in BR bauxite livery No.W125987

37-730B 12T ventilated van in GWR grey livery No.134040

37-802C 12T Midland ventilated van in BR bauxite (early) livery No.M509509

37-951C Conflat No.B709007 with BD container in BR crimson livery No.BD50311B

38-062A MEA open wagon in EWS livery No.391362

38-063 MEA open wagon in Railfreight coal livery No.391018

38-100B PNA 7-rib wagon in Railtrack livery No.CAIB3611

38-160B 12T BR planked ventilated van in BR bauxite (early) livery No.B756303

39-077E Mk1 BSK brake 2nd in BR crimson and cream livery No.W34139

39-102B Mk1 RU restaurant car in BR chocolate and cream livery No.W1911

39-105A Mk1 RU restaurant car in BR crimson and cream livery No.W1900

39-128C Mk1 CK corridor composite in BR (SR) green livery No.S15567

39-151E Mk1 FK 1st corridor in BR maroon (weathered) livery No.E13333

39-152D Mk1 FK 1st corridor in BR crimson and cream livery No.W13065

39-153C Mk1 FK 1st corridor in BR SR green No.S13003

39-176E Mk1 BG full brake in BR maroon (weathered) livery No.W80725

39-177D Mk1 BG full brake in BR crimson and cream livery No.W80705

39-178C Mk1 BG full brake in BR (SR) green livery No.S80561

39-184A Mk1 BG full brake in Royal Mail Red livery No.92233

39-227D Mk1 BCL brake composite corridor in crimson and cream livery No.Sc21017

Bushey Auctions

The next auction's catalogue may be seen at www.the-saleroom.com/busheyauctions and the sale date is Thursday 21^st July at 1pm, with viewing from 4-8pm on the 20th and from 10 am on sale day.

Ignore the antiques at the start of the catalogue and go to lot 290 for railwayana and toys or to lot 347 for the start of the model railway items. This month's highlights include a large selection of continental HO including mint boxed Brawa and Marklin Digital, along with plenty of Wrenn 00 as usual.

The next sale will be on the 6^th October, and will be the company's first complete diecast, model railway and toy sale (not just a toys section added onto an antiques sale), with an estimated 600 lots. They are already over half full for the sale but they are taking entries all through the summer. Contact Bushey Auctions at: www.busheyauctions.com.

Book Review

Chester to Rhyl

Authors: Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith
Publisher: Middleton Press, Easebourne Lane, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 9AZ Tel: 01730 813169 - www.middletonpress.co.uk
ISBN: 978 1 906008 93 2
Pages: 96
Illustrations: 177 monochrome including 23 maps and track plans.
Date: March 2011
Cover: hardback
Size: 240x170mm portrait
Price: Ł15.95
Index: contents page

This book is in the 'Midland Main Lines' series and includes the Holywell Town and Dyserth branches. It follows the former L&NWR route south-west from Chester, turning north-west at Saltney Ferry and up along the Flintshire coast. The first large place the railway reaches is Connah's Quay, on the Dee Estuary, an important industrial terminus for the LNER. Continuing along the Chester-Holyhead line, we pass through Flint and reach the Holywell Branch, which, built by the L&NWR, once provided a direct link with Holywell town centre. The next important station is at Prestatyn on the North Wales holiday coast and, from here, the Dysert Branch once ran a short way inland. This was built for mineral traffic but also later carried some passenger trains. From Prestatyn, a short distance west along the coast we come to Rhyl, another holiday resort and the end of our journey.

In true Middleton Press style, the book contains an excellent selection of photographs that cover the lifetime of the line and these are supported by sections of OS maps, timetables and ticketing information.

Hints & Tips No.406

Making a Backdrop 3D

By Bob Kingswell (Ontario)

For wooded areas near the backdrop, cut out the rough silhouette from 1/8" hardboard (masonite). Paint the rough side with a dark green foliage colour. Use ground foam to add some detail and dimension. Mount the completed forest about 1/8 - 1/4" from the wall: that way as you move around the location of the edge of the distant forest will appear to move, just like the real thing.

With thanks to the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society, home of the New England Berkshire and Western.

Having Your Say...

Tri-ang Turbo Car

I fully suspect that our regular contributor and avid enthusiast for the Battle Space Turbo Car, based in New York City, is the architect behind such purchases and no doubt he has amassed a whole fleet of these vehicles on this layout, ready to repel all boarders or to possibly to seek world domination.

However, I am sure 007 (Simon Kohler in disguise?) will be ready to be called!

John Cherry – in a safe area in England.

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N Gauge Couplings

I feel like this horse has probably been beaten into submission, but I’m going to beat it some more, now that Mark Alden has reintroduced the subject. I think it is important to do so as well, as it appears the companies (Dapol and Graham Farish) need constant reminding that we do not like the Rapido coupler.

Over here in the States, our manufacturers discovered this over a decade ago. As a result, such wonderful products like the Kadee coupler and the Micro Trains Magna-Matic are now standard on all locomotives and rolling stock. The couplers, although the US knuckle variety (better known as the buckeye) are smaller and provide better and more realistic uncoupling abilities. Dapol has at least made an attempt, however the buckeye they provide has much to be desired as it is one moulded piece which does not allow for the flexibility in coupling and uncoupling that most in the US give their N scalers.

One would think that this would be an easy fix. All that would be needed is to marry the US style coupler to an attachment that would fit into the NEM socket. I do commend Dapol for at least providing a somewhat workable alternative, but as most older stock does not have the NEM style socket, this does little good. One day though. One day.

Sean Mathews - Woodbridge, Virginia, USA

Could it be the old problem of copyright and licence fees, as was the case in 00 scale with the Peco coupling in the late 1940s? - Ed.

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Railway Modelling Magazines

The Editor's usual balanced review of two magazines made me wonder what a snap shot view would be of MREmag readers. Without prejudice, I would say that Railway Modeller; Model Rail; British Railway Modelling and Hornby Magazine are the principal ones that attract the biggest audience. I have always felt the Model Railway Journal is for the more serious modeller rather than the average, although I fully appreciate its merits.

Personally, although Railway Modeller has greatly improved, I tend to purchase only if it features a layout or project which catches my eye, or for an update on the advertisements. Similarly, Model Rail has recently changed to the point that I no longer wish to purchase every copy, but again buy if I see something that appeals to my own modelling interests.

I have British Railways Modelling on a good subscription but I have been disappointed with the way it has changed and it does not seem to feature the best layouts these days. In addition, that railway modelling 'idol', Tony Wright, no longer seems to contribute his excellent articles, although remains as assistant editor.

Currently, I feel the best magazine is Hornby Magazine, which I eagerly look forward to each month. It has the most up-to-date reviews plus good coverage of the prototype, in the case of new locos, and has featured some superb layouts and some very interesting and low cost projects and kit construction.

I feel it would be good to hear how other readers see the current scene.

John Cherry

This is a perfectly valid subject to discuss but please bear in mind that the four editors are personal friends of mine and I do not wish to be placed in an embarrassing position by comments published. So please keep to praise and polite constructive criticism at all times - Ed.

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Standard Class 5 '73116'

In answer to Peter Welfare’s search for photos of this loco, I draw his attention to OPC’s book The Power of the BR Standard 4-6-0s. It features three photos of 73116.

P11 shows an undated photo at Eastleigh of the RHS where it has its name and late emblem.

P29 shows the LHS of it at Christchurch in grubby condition on 9/6/62 with no name and late emblem on the LHS. No bracket is discernible on the tender.

P33 shows it on the S&D at Midford on 30/5/58. The acute view of the RHS seems to show the early crest and no name.

Although these shots do not address Peter’s specific queries, I hope that they will be of use to his modelling.

Michael Berry - New Zealand

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73116 on the S&D

The Southern Region loaned BR Standard Class 5s Nos.73087 and 73116 to Bath (Green Park) shed for the summer season every year from 1956, but only 73087 was sent in 1960. However, 73116 did manage several trips over the S&D that year. She still displayed evidence of her S&D connections by retaining a bracket and slide on her tender to enable a tablet catcher to be placed in position.

On Sunday 3 July 1960, she substituted for 73050, which had failed at the Bournemouth end, and worked up to Bath (Green Park) on the 7.37pm. There was insufficient time to fit and ‘gauge’ the catcher, so the train was worked using the ‘large pouch’, meaning the train had to slow down at each exchange point. The catcher was sorted out at Bath, and the loco worked over the line until Wednesday 6 July, when she worked the 9.55am Bath-Bournemouth West (enabling previously failed 73050 to take up the roster).

Full details of this and other ‘unusual workings’ can be found in the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust publication, Organised Chaos!. This is a transcription of the Bath Shed Running Foreman’s log book for 1960/1 with additional information by Drivers John Barber and Peter Smith. 80pp A5, with b&w photos.

Has anyone ever managed to make a working S&D tablet catcher in 00?

Brian Macdermott

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The N Gauge 'Hall'

I recently read two reviews of the N gauge 'Hall' class locomotive from Dapol released in BR livery. Firstly, none of them has picked up the fact that the loco has lining over the fire box, which was only applied in GWR days, only one picked up the fact that the smoke box number is in the incorrect font and the other was the only one to notice that the cylinders were too narrow.

Peter Gooding

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Wednesday 13.7.11.

More Graham Farish on the Way

On Friday I announced that I had completed the reviews of outstanding Graham Farish products and that these could be found in the New Products section of the magazine. Today, I received from Bachmann a list of the next lot of N gauge models that have just left the factory for the UK. These are:

371-501 Class 101 2-car DMU in Regional Railways livery Nos.51533 + 51224

374-255A Mk1 CK composite corridor coach in BR crimson and cream No.E15055

374-256A Mk1 CK composite corridor coach in BR chocolate and cream No.W15777

377-055 5-plank wagon 'J. Skinner' No.7

377-150B 8-plank wagon 'Isleworth Coal Co.' No.10

377-277B 16T steel mineral wagon in weathered BR grey No.B80285

377-310A 20T LMS brake van in LMS grey No.730081

August Hornby Magazine

This is the 50th issue of the magazine which was launched at the beginning of 2007. To celebrate the occasion, there is an 11 page gallery of superb pictures of models and a wall poster with a scene from Dave Shakespeare's 'Tetley Mills, which features in the magazine.. Also with this issue comes the first of a 4-page supplement for young modellers, produced jointly by Ian Allan and Hornby Hobbies.

This is not the first time that the superb 'Tetley Mills' layout has appeared in a magazine, but it may be the last as it is being broken up. British Railway Modelling recently produced a DVD of the layout while this article is much about the lineside scenery as the railway itself. It features in finest detail a typical northern town prior to the period in which they all received cleanups. Mike Wild's 12 pages of superb pictures and Tony Wright's DVD will provide a lasting memory of it.

A further layout visited was Ron Kingston's 00 'Littleton Parkway'.

Practical articles see an upgrading of Bachmann's 57xx pannier tank, the building a Cambrian Models' shunter's truck, producing brickwork colours on buildings and detailing PO wagons taken over by BR.

Reality articles include the use of real brake vans and the Harwich Boat Train (Ian Allan have commissioned Bachmann to produce for them to sell a run of the Class 37 locomotive which once pulled the train). There is also an article on the GWR 'Hall' Class and one called 'Dining on the Rails'.

Model reviews this month include the latest Bachmann 'Crab' 2-6-0 and Class 03 in BR green, Dapol's N gauge 'Hall', a Johnson 2F 0-6-0 produced by OO Works and Model Rail's now available family of 00 Sentinel shunters. There is also a bonanza of reviews of recently released Hornby Products which include an ex-GWR 14xx, ex-LMS Princess Arthur of Connaught, a 6-wheel 'West Park Dairy' tank wagon, Class 73 Dave Berry in Gatwick Express livery, another new KFA flat with containers, British Steel Class 60 Tees Steel Express, sound fitted A4 Express Blue Sparrow Hawk, Class 56 Oystermouth, the latest version of the timber carrier, Skaledale country garage and Skaledale unpainted buildings.

August British Railway Modelling

The magazine comes with a very interesting 16 page supplement which looks back at the 0 gauge modelling of W.S.Norris. There are early references to The Model Railway Club and to G.P.Keen.

Starting with the 'news' section, there are pictures of Hatton's forthcoming LMS 10000, a preview of Hornby's Brighton Belle, Gresley suburban coaches, 'Trout' hopper wagon, standard brake van and forthcoming Skaledale buildings. Also of Dapol's N gauge 'Bubblecar' and Class 26. There is also a page devoted to the BRM website and the benefits of it and a preview of the Midland Railex event.

New releases reviewed include Hornby's 4-6-2 Tornado and timber carriers, Bachmann's Windhoff MPV and Dapol's N gauge Class 86. There is also a major review of Bachmann's nuclear flask carrier and information about the real wagons.

Layouts visited include The East Riding Finescale Group's 0 gauge 'Hospital Gates' layout which is based on the Whittingham Hospital Railway. Another is Bob Bangs' 'Kenny O' 00 gauge layout which represents the Kensington-Olympia line set in the period 1959-60. A further layout visited is the Bexhill-on-Sea MRC's 00 'Detford'.

Practical articles include the second part of the one on construction of baseboards, digital sound for third-rail EMUs and building a Tamiya kit of a 10hp light weight utility car.

The reality article this month is on the real Class B17.

New TMC Website

TMC report that their new website has gone live and can be viewed on www.themodelcentre.co.uk They are delighted with the positive response both in feedback and orders. They have told MREmag that their workshop has never been so busy! TMC have asked me, through MREmag, to thank their many loyal customers for their valued business and support and ask to them to keep the ideas coming. I shall shortly be reviewing some of the models they have commissioned Bachmann to do.

Hints & Tips No.405

Banishing Derailments Part 1

By Several Modellers

A common problem for model train derailments is incorrect track gauge. A tight track gauge will cause the wheels to climb up and derail off the track. A wide track gauge will also derail your model train as the wheel flanges can not span the track properly.

Gauge can be adjusted by using spikes to hold the track down in gauge or by using a soldering iron to gently heat the rail, moving the rail to the correct position and allowing it to cool.

Check your points for sharpness when they switch. Some new switch points can be fairly blunt on the movable section where it strikes up against the stock rails. This can lift or jolt the wheels and cause a derailment. A small file can be used to gently smooth the moveable part of the points to allow a nice smooth transition. Remember to check the gauge in both positions.

Snippet No.338 – Another Triple-Header

By Brian Macdermott

Following on from John Cherry’s Snippet No.332 concerning a triple-header, here’s another that may be of interest.

Hymek D7031 failed at Magor whilst working the 1.55pm Paddington-Pembroke Dock on 21 July 1962. She was assisted out of Newport by 2-8-0T No.5243 chimney-first and 2-6-2T No.4145 bunker-first.

What’s on TV?

By Brian Macdermott

Thursday 19 July

Channel 5, 20.00-21.00. Monster Moves. Transporting two locos from Turkey to the UK.

Having Your Say...

Tri-ang Turbo Car

Your readers may be interested to know that a Tri-ang Battle Space Turbo Car (one propeller blade missing) was sold on eBay last Sunday evening for a little under Ł11 just as the USA has put the last Space Shuttle into orbit. Is this mere coincidence or could some evil lunatic be about to take advantage and go for World domination? Is 007 (no not Sir Nigel) on standby?

George Woods - Worried in Cumbria.

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Standard Class 5 '73116'

I'm creating a model of this loco and am looking for any good pictures of it in the period late 1959 onwards. It was mainly a Nine Elms loco, but was lent to the S&D regularly in the late '50s for the summer service. This stopped after 1959, but my understanding is that it still made occasional runs up the S&D, if Bournemouth was short of locos and it was around; because it still carried the tablet catcher bracket (I'm not so sure about this, maybe it was because it still had the bolt holes).

It seems to have been good at avoiding the cameramen, as I can find only one reasonable mid 1961 published picture, plus a couple of online photos that don't show much.

In particular, I'm looking for evidence of when it first carried the late crest on the tender, when it first carried the name Iseult (it was officially named in late 1962 but carried the name before then) and that tablet catcher bracket.

Any 'pointers' will be gratefully received My evidence so far is in On Southern Metals, by Les Elsey, and the RCTS book on BR Standard Locos - Volume 2.

Peter Welfare

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N Gauge Couplings

Like many men on here I suspect I've found myself going through a divorce. Sadly, I fear I'm going to have to sell the vast majority of my rolling stock in 00 and G scale, as I will not have the space to either store or set up my stuff.

However, I'm not going to give up totally and I'm considering down sizing, not only in quantity but in scale, i.e. to N gauge - especially having seen the Mk1 coaches and the 'Warship', 'Hymek' and 'Peak' models.

I've seen some really nice N gauge track, far better than the normal style but I don't know if its available ready built?.

Also, about those horrendous couplings! Is there, on the market, a direct replacement for the huge couplings - something smaller and finer and less obtrusive maybe?

Mark Alden

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Perth MRC June Show & Forthcoming Models

This year's show was a feast, with at least 25 layouts, some 30 traders and a number of specialist societies. Somehow it seemed, to me at least, better than ever. Perth and District MRC are to be congratulated for putting on such a good show (I have no connection with it).

A good number of exhibitors - both clubs and traders - had come long distances, and their effort in making the journey to Scotland was much appreciated.

Simon Kohler and Hornby had a number of forthcoming models on display. The 'Trout' ballast hopper as NE and ZFO decorated samples (the NE version with 'empty to Appleby slag heap' on the sides is wonderful). The GWR horsebox has amazing underframe detail and there was an early showing of the Brighton Belle set in silver. There was also the full set of 4 Gresley suburban coaches – first, third, composite and four compartment brake third to see. Despite being in black plastic and unpainted, these look superb already. They have fine turnbuckle underframe and the brake third captures the narrower cross section of the guard's compartment; it also has two end windows.

A Dapol LMS twin diesel appeared on a traders stand - again looking the part.

Charlie Petty from Realtrack Models had come up from Yorkshire with the Class 144 Pacer DMU (unpainted), which attracted quite a bit of interest.

John Storey

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Monday 11.7.11.

New Model Railway Products

Photos and descriptions of many more recently released N gauge Graham Farish models have just been added to our New Products section. To see the pictures and read about them, click on ‘Model Railways’ to the left of this page and then click on the item you wish to see from the index.

Full Steam Ahead for Train of Hope

'Royal Scot' Class locomotive No. 46115 Scots Guardsman will haul a very special charity train between Crewe and Carlisle on Saturday 1^st October 2011 via the famous and demanding Settle & Carlisle line.

The event has been organised by a team of Manchester based Drivers from Virgin Trains to raise money for the CLIC Sargent charity, the charity supported by Virgin Trains which provides care and support for children diagnosed with cancer. Colleagues in the wider rail industry have been very supportive as have those in other parts of the Virgin Group. Many have supplied prizes for a raffle which will be drawn in September.

The train will be waved off by pop impresario and railway enthusiast Pete Waterman and met at Carlisle by the Mayor and Mayoress of Carlisle. As befits a border city like Carlisle, a piper will also be playing as the train arrives.

Tickets are still available at Ł179 for adults (Ł119 children) and include full breakfast on the outward trip and a five course dinner on the return leg, with complimentary wine. The train will be operated by West Coast Railways with Gravy Train Catering supplying and cooking the food. The locomotive crew have donated their wages whilst the hire of the locomotive and track access charges have been waived in support of the charity.

Details on booking arrangements and other events can be found at www.trainofhope.co.uk

Book Review

Great Railway Eras No.16

Beamish 40 Years on Rails

Authors: Roger Darsley & Paul Jarman

Publisher: Middleton Press, Easebourne Lane, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 9AZ Tel: 01730 813169 - www.middletonpress.co.uk
ISBN: 978 1 906008 94 9

Pages: 96

Illustrations: 127 coloured and 79 monochrome.

Date: March 2011

Cover: hardback

Size: 240x170mm portrait

Price: Ł15.95

Index: contents page

Beamish is widely thought to be the best open-air museum in Britain (if not in Europe) and this book looks at the railways, tramways and waggon ways to be found there - and, for the first time we are reviewing a Middleton Press book with mostly coloured illustrations!

The book celebrates 40 years of rescuing Britain's condemned history, with four main chapters. The first of these addresses the railway station, which was rescued from nearby Rowley, together with associated buildings. Next comes the tramway, which provides a transport link for the various points on the museum's vast site and uses rescued and restored trams. Thirdly, there is the colliery yard which has been added onto the earlier pit village and contains structures and railway features transferred from the nearby Clop Hill Pit. Finally, there is the Pockerley Waggon Way which had been rebuilt in the Georgian Landscape area of the site.

The book provides pictures of all these features, both in black and white as they were in their original location and in colour as they are now on the museum site. An added bonus is the set of excellent hand-drawn coloured maps of the site, showing how each feature fits in with earlier transformations.

Hints & Tips No.404

Mounting a Hand Held Throttle Pt 1

By Nick Brodar, (MA, USA)

I was looking for an inexpensive and low profile hanger for my handheld throttle and uncoupling tools, I came up with this:

I picked up a steel electric box cover plate, and painted it a close match to my fascia. I stuck a magnet to the back of the throttle. Now I can rest the throttle wherever there is a magnetic plate

Having Your Say...

Branch Line Layout

How's this for an idea for a modern image branch line layout?

What you need is two class 47s in DRS livery (one of them 47810), both immaculately turned out. Between them, you sandwich three Mk3 coaches and a driving trailer. Hey, presto! You have the exact train that is currently running at peak times between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. Twice in the morning and a return journey in the evening. Super-power for haulage, semaphore signals, GE stations and footbridges, plus comfort that I haven't experienced in years. I caught the 08.35 ex-Norwich this morning and this was the consist. Apparently NE (East Anglia) are short of DMUs and a short-lived bus substitute on the service raised serious complaints from passengers. The class 47 driver told me NE were paying Ł1000 per week for the hiring.

David Rollason

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Buckingham Branches

Further to Bob Milne's contribution, there was a real railway to Buckingham - the English one - too. It was the LNWR line, which meandered its way from Verney Junction (on the Oxford - Bletchley - Cambridge route) to Banbury.

Moreover, there was a station at Grandborough Road on the Metropolitan & Great Central joint line, which also terminated at Verney Junction, while Leighton Buzzard was on the west coast main line, also LNWR. Perhaps the use of real locations was one of the things which made Peter Denny's model so convincing; many people must have looked hard at the map to see where it was!

I also can't help observing; a 200 mile-long short line? These Americans!

Neil Burgess

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BR 13T Sand Tipper Wagon

Back on 18 May, I asked MREmag readers if they could offer any help with the actual workings of these particular wagons, but sadly to no avail. However, one of the enjoyable aspects of railway modelling is the search for that illusive photograph to confirm the real thing. I have just obtained a book entitled A Colour-Rail Journey by Ron White and Paul Chancellor and eureka! On page 84 there is a delightful picture of 4F No 44310, at Congleton Lower Junction, in August 1963, with three loaded sand tipplers plus two BR 20 ton brake vans. The wagons are fully loaded and not sheeted, as I suspected. In the background, there are two sidings full of empty sand tipplers. It does not answer all my questions but it is certainly very informative.

The book, by the way, is very well recommended for a snap shot of BR’s railways in the '50s and '60s. I obtained mine at a good price, via "The Book Depository at www.bookdepository.co.uk/

John Cherry

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Friday 8.7.11.

New Hornby Releases

Three more Hornby releases should now be available in the shops. These are:

R3059 Tornado Express train pack.

R9643 Skaledale derelict Cottage (unpainted)

R9653 Skaledale Baptist church

Unique Opportunity

The Great Western Group of the Merseyside Model Railway Society are offering, purely for the cost of transport, the opportunity to have ownership of the Cwmbach Viaduct which forms an 8 feet long end to the group’s exhibition layout 'Cwmbach YnTriardd'.

The layout was featured in the January 2010 edition of Model Rail and can also be seen on the club website at www.mereysidemrs.co.uk (photos courtesy of Martyn Barnwell/Model Rail magazine January 2010).

Although the viaduct is very well admired and, as a group, they are extremely proud of it, the fact is, it’s proved to be too long and heavy to be part of a portable exhibition layout. Additionally, the club has found that each time they have taken it to and from an exhibition, they have had problems with realigning the track on the viaduct to the adjacent baseboards due to the lack doweling at either end of the viaduct.

As a group, they have made the decision to replace the viaduct with a shorter, lighter replacement, which will allow them to have a lifting access section into the layout. Rather than just cutting up the existing viaduct for scrap, the group feel that it will make an ideal feature on a permanent layout for a club, group or private individual with room for it.

The viaduct stands on 8 legs with adjusters but, for transport, it is lifted onto 4 large castor wheels, two of which are steerable. The approximate height from floor to track level is 35 inches.

If you or your club are interested in acquiring this superb model, contact Bob Powell of the MMRS at bobjmpowell(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

Colas Rail Freight Secures Coal Contract

Colas Rail Freight has won its first coal contract following a successful trial in June. As a result, the haulier has added 21 HHA coal hoppers to its wagon fleet. The deal is with UK Coal and will see Colas running services from Park Wall open cast mine, near Wolsingham, County Durham, to Tata Steel at Scunthorpe.

Initially, Colas will operate three trains a week between Park Wall and Scunthorpe, moving around 1,200 tons of coal per train. Simon Ball, Colas Head of Rail Freight expressed his delight at the contract win. He said: "Winning this contract sends a clear signal that we are ambitious and successful. We are growing our business, offering choice to freight customers throughout Britain." He added: "I am confident that we will run a quality service for UK Coal and look forward to a long term relationship. We are in the coal business to stay."

Colas is leasing a rake of 21 wagons for the flow. The wagons - 102 ton HHA hoppers - are on hire from Eversholt Leasing. The company gave another significant boost to its haulage capability last month by purchasing five Class 66 locomotives, also from Eversholt.

Hints & Tips No.403

Using Ice Cream Boxes and Containers

By Steve Searson

Ice cream boxes and other similar containers are useful storage containers for larger bits and pieces and N gauge stock. They will take coaches if card partitions and layer cards are installed, or, depending on the type of plastic used, your container can be used as a cheep source of sheet plastic for modelling.

Having Your Say...

Vehicle Registrations

Gentleman, what can I say! My sincere thanks to all of you who have made comment on my message and I must just say, in my defence, that my guide was a rough one which I use when looking at model vehicles of that period. I sincerely appreciate all the more exact advice and associated links that have been given and this shows, once again, MREmag readers at their best. I think of the various forums that I have looked at I still return to MREmag as the best one for advice and help. Long may it continue!

John Cherry

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Buckingham Branch Line

The late Peter Denny's 'Buckingham Branch Line' was one of the country's better known model railways, mainly from his numerous articles in the Railway Modeller and books from Peco and Wild Swan over a period of half a century..

I was therefore surprised to discover, when looking at a copy of the most recent edition of the American magazine Diesel Era, that there is a real life Buckingham Branch, for one of the illustrations is of a GP7 lettered Buckingham Branch No.1 and named Pete Peters.

A Wickepedia search reveals this Buckingham Branch is a 200 mile short line operating in the central of Virginia, employing a number of locos of similar or slightly later vintage to the GP7 (1950s).

Bob Milne

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E/NE Region Coaching Stock at Bournemouth and it's Localities.

A picture, by Ivo Peters, Plate 174, dated one wet Saturday in 1961, in his Southern Steam Album, published by Ian Allan in 1979 (ISBN 0 7110 0912 0), shows 'Schools' class No.30905 Tonbridge recovering a rake of 11 or 12 Eastern Region coaches from the sidings at Broadstone, adjacent to the L&SWR's 'Old Road'. Immediately behind the loco is a 'Twin-Art' set in lined Maroon livery. The intermediate coaches are hidden by the signalbox, but the remaining 6 coaches appear to be still in carmine and cream livery

Many thanks, Brian, for a very interesting topic.

Frank Robertson

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Snipping NEM Pockets

Paul Jansz mentioned snipping NEM pockets (Wednesday). He commented on this method some time ago on MREmag, and I can say that the method certainly works to good advantage. When you compare a rake of converted coal wagons to a rake of unconverted ones, the difference is pleasantly apparent.

The only thing I do differently is that I glue any that need gluing with Bostik rather than with anything more permanent. This works well on most wagons, but still allows replacement should any get broken or need adapting in some other way.

Brian Macdermott

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Barbed Wire Modelling

I am surprised and disappointed with John Schaefer's note on modelling barbed wire. As an American he should know better.

You can't just model barbed wire. It's a bit like modelling GW 4-6-0s (ouch!). There are countless variations and the style of barb, given locality, age and use.

To be honest, I was amazed when visiting a small local museum, when passing through Kansas, to see several displays of barbed wire, each meticulously labelled, plus examples of large scale barbed wire modelling. Apparently there are more than 2000 different forms of wire and there is even a dedicated ‘Barbed Wire Museum’.

So, please be more precise in future!!

Yours just in fun

Bob Fleming

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Jack Russells and Model Railways

Having read Steve Mann's feline experiences, I feel obliged to share my canine adventures.

Delighted that Petey took an interest in the comings and goings on 'Welwyn Green', I was horrified that he decided to investigate my up fiddle yard. Standing amidst the derailed mess of the 9.30 Glasgow, Elizabethan, Scotsman, the return Cliffe-Uddingston cement working and the Ashburton Grove Pullman, to name a few in the 19 road yard, he gave me one of those "I was just trying out the domino theory" looks.

Suffice to say, steps were taken to ensure that his curiosity could cause no further trouble. He now takes an active interest in avenues more appropriate to his breed, i.e. chasing Chipmonks in the backyard.

Tom Burns - NJ

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Wednesday 6.7.11.

GBRf News

The first ever freight locomotive livery to be designed by a six year old girl was revealed by GB Railfreight (GBRf) at a special ceremony at the Nene Valley Railway on Sunday 3 July. The unveiling followed the naming of a Class 66 loco ‘Jayne’ after Jayne Taylor, GBRf roster manager at Doncaster, maintaining GBRf’s tradition of naming its engines after female employees.

Emily Goodman, the now 7 year old daughter of GBRf’s Whitemoor-based Yard Shift Leader Ben Goodman, won a kids’ ‘design a livery’ competition last autumn, run on one of the company’s annual family days out. Her two colourful designs of night and day were chosen by a panel of judges, including MD John Smith and now feature on both sides of loco, 66720.

Emily's dad said, "Emily, crayon in hand, drew a day-night theme for the loco complete with sun, moon and alien! It’s a delight to think that I could soon be driving a loco up and down the country with her design on its sides."

Emily’s design ended up applied to the loco thanks to the work of a team of GBRf’s engineers, graphic design suppliers and vinyl manufacturers. Her original drawings were given to graphic designers, Woodhouse Creative, who turned them into artwork, which was then sent to vinyl manufacturers SSDM. They produced the massive vinyl sheets and then applied them at GBRf’s March depot. GBRf’s engineering team, led by Bob Tiller, managed the whole process, making sure safety was not compromised and the job was completed on time.

As for Jayne Taylor, she is the latest GBRf lady to have a locomotive named after her, having had her name drawn first ‘out of the hat’. The nameplate unveiling at the Nene Valley Railway was watched by a crowd of over 100 GBRf people and their families, including Jayne’s husband, Mark and several members of her close family. With her loco 66708, Jayne joins a growing list of GBRf loco ‘ladies’, including Jeanette, Janice, Lisa, Alison, Charlotte and Kirsten.

GB Railfreight (GBRf) is one of the UK's leading specialist rail freight companies, operating a wide ranging portfolio of Intermodal and bulk traffic services in commodities such as coal, petrochemicals, and construction materials. Its innovative approach and focus on flexibility, reliability and customer service has led to a raft of rail industry awards and a number of recent significant contract wins. GBRf is part of Europorte, the rail freight arm of GET (Groupe Eurotunnel SA).

RailwayReview.co.uk

www.RailwayReview.co.uk has been set up to host a range of user reviews and photos of model railway equipment. This way, before you make a purchase, you’ll get to read others’ experience of that product, whether it runs smoothly and copes well with insulfrog points, and hopefully pick up any useful maintenance tips. Even just a few words for each question can really help people to know the product before making a purchase.

So far there are only around 30 reviews on there, however, the organiser would love your help in growing this collection, even if you could just submit 1 or 2 reviews of your favourite (or least favourite!) models. You can submit reviews and photos through the submission page, using an email and a prearranged set of questions. If there’s a question you don’t feel you can answer, don’t worry, just skip it.

To help generate submissions and get the ball rolling, a prize of Ł50 is being offered for one winner, drawn from the first 200 reviews to the site. Likewise, a prize of Ł100 will be drawn from the first 500 reviews. If you submit a review in more than one category, you’ll receive that number of entries – your chances are therefore improved by submitting reviews in different categories.

Hints & Tips No.402

Modelling Barbed Wire Fence Using Invisible Thread

By John Schaefer, (VA, USA)

As with Tip No 400, buy the smoke coloured Invisible Thread. Tie a knot at regular intervals to simulate the barbs and use whatever you will for the posts - toothpicks, plastic or whatnot. It looks like wire and needs no painting and adheres well with
CA glue.

As we noted before there are many uses for this stuff and the 440 yards on a reel lasts a lifetime. There are brands of barbed wire fencing which is very scale looking but it is about 1/48 scale so those products are better for O and larger. Use the invisible thread stuff.

By Brian Macdermott (from information supplied by Peter Smith)

Modern model rolling stock is very ‘free running’ and can often run away if the couplings don’t connect when hooking up a loco. Full-size steam era coaching stock was very similar – particularly if the brakes weren’t on!

The coaches for the York/Newcastle to Bournemouth West and return during the 1950s alternated between NER and SR stock. Normally, a loco would have taken the empty stock (ECS) from Bournemouth West carriage sidings into the station to await the train engine; however, on an occasion in August 1956, the stock was held in the carriage sidings for the train engine to hook on there instead, ready to propel back. (It is pertinent to note here that the sidings themselves were on a 1 in 101 gradient towards the station, increasing to 1 in 90 for about Ľ mile before becoming level in the platforms.)

A 'King Arthur' duly backed onto the stock and made a normal ‘buffering up’ so that the fireman could hook on. Somehow, the train brakes had already been released – and the inevitable happened; the coaches slowly proceeded downhill towards the station, out of control.

In an attempt to save the day, the driver called to the fireman that he would ‘chase the stock’ (so to speak) as it was only barely moving. It was reasonable at that moment for the fireman to try to hook on whilst moving, but the stock quickly gained momentum to the point where it was simply too dangerous and, reluctantly, the driver had to stop.

Word of the runaway train was quickly despatched to the station box signalman, who had no option other than to route the train into a vacant platform road; these had sturdy metal stop blocks and fouling bars, not to mention the solid concourse beyond. The blocks in the adjacent goods yard would almost certainly not have stopped the coaches, thereby endangering the public in the street beyond.

The thunderous noise of the crash could be heard as far away as Bournemouth town centre.

Having Your Say...

Surging DMUs

With the reporting of surging 105 and 108 DMUs apparently on the increase, I thought it might be timely to contact Bachmann for a definitive statement as to the cause and possible cure and rather than bombard them with individual enquiries, wondered if you could contact them on our behalf?

Dave Webber

Response from Bachmann

Reports of surging on descending inclines can be dealt with by the use of a feedback controller. Since receiving your open letter our Service Department have revisited earlier tests and the use on each occasion of a feedback controller has solved the reported problem.

Dennis Lovett - Public Relations Manager, Bachmann Europe Plc

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Pussies Galore

Steve Mann … Monday … naughty … but hilarious!!

Steve Boley.

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Battlespace Turbo Car

Congratulations to Steve Mann for finding another topic to link in to his Battlespace Turbo Car. We have now had DCC and Cats. I think we should have a competition to come up with the best link between a Battlespace Turbo Car and any of the other ‘regular’ topics on MREmag (Signals, Scale Track, Scale Speed, Engine to Tender Connections, etc.). Readers, your suggestions please…..

Edwin Chappell

P.S. I think we all know how much our beloved Editor adores the Battlespace Turbo Car!

Ah!, happy memories of digging them out of the wall if they took corners too fast - Ed.

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Vehicle registrations

To add to John Cherry's suggestion, one of the most useful sources of information is http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/registrations/reg-letters.htm This gives the period of issue for every registration number from the earliest days to 1972. From this I found that my first car 651 BXW was registered in London around March 1961.

Mike Harvey

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I have a couple of minor additions/corrections to John Cherry's note on car registration suffixes.

Firstly, from 1963 until 1966 the suffix ran for the calendar year, i.e. January to December. The resulting spike in car registrations in January (which was also when the new model year /started) meant that the motor trade campaigned to move this to the quietest month, i.e. August. The 'E' plate suffix therefore ran only from January to July 1967 and 'F' came into use from August 1967 until July 1968. Ultimately, of course, this just moved the problem to August, hence the more modern move to twice-yearly suffix changes.

Also, not every registration district moved to suffixes in 1963, so in many regions, the first new cars with registration suffixes appeared in 1964 with the 'B' plate.

Andy Wakeford

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It is very rare that I feel a need to offer a correction to information posted by John Cherry, but my memory of early UK vehicle registration suffixes is slightly different. The A-suffix was introduced in 1962 and continues to apply during 1963, but was only issued as required, i.e. when a local licensing office had used up all of its available combinations of registration marks. By no means all offices issued A-suffix registrations. B suffix indicated 1964, but as with A, it was only issued 'as required' until September 1964, when its use became universal.

C and D suffix were used as John states, but E-suffix was used from January - July 1967. Then, on 1st August, the year letter changeover moved from January to August, so F-suffix covered August 1967 until July 1968, et seq.

Richard Hompstead

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For information on car registration plates, simply Google in 'car registration letters UK' and there are several sites with lists.

The first I found was 'ukcar.com' which should give as much as needed in a simple format, also 'waxxtm.com', but Wikipedia will give full chapter and verse although without a detailed UK mainland pre 2001 area list.

Bob Fleming

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The registration letters lasted from January to December when they were introduced, but the system was changed in 1967. The Letter E lasted until the end of July, the letter F was introduced from the 1st August to last for the following twelve months. Ah, my age is showing! I feel however, if we are going to become vegetables it is best to be a sage!

Supporting evidence can be seen at: http://www.motoshowplates.com/blog/history-of-uk-number-plates?page=2

Bill Wood

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There is a slight error in John Cherry's notes on registration suffix letters. They were actually introduced in February 1963, with the A and were subsequently changed on 1st January until 1967 (D reg.). The motor trade eventually persuaded the government that it was better for them if it changed in the summer, so, in that year, the new E reg. came in on 1st August 1967 and annually thereafter for many years. For this reason, the number of cars on the road with the D plates is roughly half compared with other letters.

Nick Holliday

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A correction for John Cherry

Reg. Years : A – 63; B – 64; C – 65: D – 66; E – 67; F – 67/68.

Registration date until 1967 was Jan 1, changed to August 1 in 1967.

Middlesex was first to use A in 1963, some others followed suit in 1964, the rest in 1965 when it was compulsory to add suffix. Old style numbers were still issued until then.

Jim Smith

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The years need a little correction, initially the letters applied to a calendar year:

A – 1963: B – 1964; C- 1965; D – 1966; E- 1967

The new scheme did not start until February 1963 and was not used universally, being phased in by different councils over the period 1963 to 1965, making A plates, in particular, fairly uncommon.

In 1967, the system switched to a registration year beginning on the 1^st of August, so the E plate only covered the first seven months of 1967, F being August 1967 to July 1968 and so on. I have memories of going on holiday early in August each year and passing the time on the long drive to our destination by looking out for new cars with the latest registration.

Martin Cowgill

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John Cherry's data of years and registration numbers isn't quite correct: A was 1963 (starting on 1st February and running to 31st December), B 1964, C 1965, D 1966, E the first 7 months of 1967, F 1967/68, etc. The motor industry had complained that changing the year letter at the start of every year 'bunched up' the sales and by setting the letter change to August 1st meant that there would now be two peaks as customers would still want the cachet of a new year on the logbook. This was then later amended to the current twice yearly change in 1999, when the S suffix ran from 1st August 1998 to 28th February 1999, subsequent changes taking place on 1st March and 1st September.

Jeremy English

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I'm sure I won't be the first or the last to suggest that John Cherry has it a little less than accurate for the first few years of the letter suffix system.

The first A suffix was issued for the entire year 1963, though few vehicle registration authorities went over to the system and the first didn't adopt it until some time in February.
B was 1964 and most authorities had gone over to this system by the end of the year e.g. Leeds. C-1965, the year suffix-letter registrations were made compulsory. D-1966.

Following complaints from the traders and perhaps the manufacturers, the system was altered as follows. E- 1967 Jan to July 31, F-August 1 1967-July 31 1968, G-August 1 1968-July 31 1969 etc. to 1983, when the letter suffix became a letter prefix.

Reflective registration plates yellow at the front, white at the rear could be bought from 1968 and became compulsory on all cars made on or after January 1, 1973.

Andrew D. Young

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I hope someone can make sense of all that! John, I think you have found a way of generating more correspondence when it goes a bit quiet - Ed.

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Tender Coupling Gap Hornby BR Class 4

Yes Ray, I also notice that situation and ,as it is a NEM pocket, I simply changed the coupling for a shorter one from the Bachmann range.

John Cherry

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Like Ray Wilshaw, I also found the rear tender coupling unacceptable on the new Hornby Class 4MT 4-6-0. It is a superb model and a lovely runner but the gap between the tender and the train was ridiculous! I removed the offending coupling and pocket, and then simply bent a piece of piano wire into the shape of a flat bottomed U with a couple of upturned ends. This was glued with super-glue behind the buffer beam and has been excellent in operation. I will be happy to forward photographs directly, if Mr Wilshaw would contact me at ambridge68@y7mail.com with a message.

Stephen Russell-Clark - Queensland, Australia

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In response to Ray Wilshaw, my practise is to move the tension lock couplers on every goods vehicle and goods loco. If the mounting point for the ‘fishtail’ locator of the NEM pocket is a screw-on block, then that is moved. But the usual course for a short wheelbase wagon, or loco tender, is to shorten the pocket and the coupler tails to place the ‘bumper bar’ in the same plane as the buffer heads.

Using a pair of light snips, typically 2mm is cropped off the front of the pocket, and the same from the coupler tails. The cutting action deforms the components slightly, sufficient that they can be clipped back together and will usually stay put (if a coupler proves loose in the pocket a smear of cyano is enough to secure). The amount of shortening possible depends on the minimum radius of the layout, the wheelbase of the vehicle, and the precise positioning of the pocket relative to the buffer faces. Experimentation will reveal what is possible.

On my own layout with a minimum radius of 24" on freight routes, the spacing used means wagons buffer up when pushed, yet buffer locking is positively prevented by the ‘bumper bar’. When pulled the buffer faces have a realistic gap between them for a loose coupled train. Coupling up and uncoupling operates as usual on straight and gently curved track, but becomes impossible at about 36" radius: that is the one loss of functionality from this modification.

Paul Jansz

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Pre BR Liveries

Gerald Hawes comments that Hornby's 2721 pannier has only ever been produced in Great Western liveries. According to RCTS GWR Engines part 5, of the 44 received by BR, only number 2760 received a temporary 'W' suffix, no engine received a smokebox plate
and it is unlikely any were painted in the intended BR unlined black.

Keith Nicholls

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Monday 4.7.11.

Sussex Vintage Model Railway Collectors

The Sussex Vintage Model Railway Collectors will stage their fourteenth annual Toy and Model Train Show on Saturday July 9^th at the Knoyle Hall, Knoyle Road, Brighton BN1 6RB. Opening times are 10 am to 4.30 pm and admission charges will be Ł3.00 for adults, Ł2.50 for concessions and Ł1.00 for children.

Vintage and vintage-style 0 gauge trains, 'toy shop' clockwork, Hornby Dublo 3-rail, Trix Twin, Tri-ang and TT3 will all be in lively action. Working Meccano models, working steam models and a lively Thomas exhibit are also expected. You are welcomed to take something to run.

Eight well known traders will offer a wide range of vintage and vintage style toy and model trains and refreshments will be available.

Knoyle Road is just north of Preston Park, off the A23. There is unrestricted kerbside parking in the vicinity and the venue is close to main bus routes and a short walk from Preston Park Station. Why not combine a visit to our show with a visit to the fabulous Brighton Toy and Model Museum beneath Brighton station, the next stop down the line?

Further details from John Hollands on 01256 350764 or from svmrc@hotmail.co.uk

Alvechurch Model Railway Exhibition

This model railway exhibition is at St Laurence Church, Alvechurch B48 7SB, (half mile from station) and is on Saturday July 9th, 10.30 am to 4.00 pm.

Entry fees will be Ł2 for adults and Ł1 for children.

There will be layouts and trading stalls to suit all tastes. Gauges include N to 0, both tinplate and scale 4. There will be demonstrators, general stalls, refreshments and all proceeds will go to church funds.

Contact David Richmond (0121-445-3569) for more details.

Sandy

It was great to meet so many of you on Saturday. Thanks for coming - Ed.

Hints & Tips No.401

Modelling Rust

By James Fenton

I have read and heard of using a lot of substances to emulate rust on models. Here is a trick that works fine for me... real rust! Yes, I just take a scrap of rusty iron, wet my brush, rub it on the rusty iron, instant rust paint. Seal with a dull coat. It is too easy!

Having Your Say...

Tender Coupling Gap Hornby BR Class 4

I recently purchased a Hornby BR Class 4 (R2714) and, although in general it is a good model, the rear coupling on the tender projects much further out from the tender body than the illustration on the box, or indeed on the instruction diagram. This results in an unrealistic gap between the tender and the first wagon or carriage of the train. Has anybody else noted this and found a solution please?

Ray Wilshaw

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Snippet No.336 - A bit more Newcastle-Bournemouth information

I was really intrigued by Brian's item last Wednesday and went in search of my copy of Stanley Creer's Cross-Country Steam. Having found the applicable photo, I would have taken the description as gospel, although this was a very rare working. Put the picture under a magnifying glass and, yes, I fully concur with Brian that it is 48508. Now I do not believe in stealing someone else's 'thunder', so, with Brian's approval, I would also draw attention to the rolling stock of this particular working.

The first vehicles behind the loco are an ER articulate twin set (7 second class compartments each vehicle with a toilet at the respect ends) in lined maroon, which must have been an extremely rare occurrence of such carriages behind an 8F. Next seems to be a short framed Gresley 7 compartment second class carriage and, apart from the first two, the carriages are all in carmine and cream livery. It is a photo well worth a second look if you have access to the book.

John Cherry

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Rolling Stock Numbering

May I, in turn, clarify Anthony Hinxman’s comments on the prefix and suffix letters applied to BR rolling stock running numbers.

Passenger stock prefixes did indeed indicate the ‘operating region’, and would change if a vehicle was transferred. Scottish Region vehicles usually (but not invariably) carried an ‘Sc’ prefix. However, the suffix (where carried) did not necessarily indicate the pre-nationalisation builder, but rather the design origin. So, for example, an LMS-designed Stanier coach, built after Nationalisation, still had an ‘M’ suffix. Apart from allowing similarly numbered vehicles with different origins to be distinguished, the suffix usefully indicated which region would normally undertake repairs. So, an LMS-built coach later allocated to the WR, for example, would probably not get repaired at Swindon as the WR would not hold relevant jigs and spares.

The freight stock prefix showed the former owner rather than the actual builder or design origin. Many vehicles were built by one company for another (particularly during WW2), e.g. vans to an SR design but built for the LMS and therefore given an LMS number, later prefixed ‘M’. Anything built after Nationalisation carried a ‘B’ prefix.

Nick Stanbury

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Cats & Layouts

Must say I was far from impressed when I found I had accidentally locked one of our cats in the railway shed and found a PO coal wagon full of something I hadn't expected! Needless to say I quickly removed the offending liquid!

Andrew Emmett - Adelaide, South Australia

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The feline menace to layouts is easily dissuaded from random acts of vandalism.

Casual trespass on the permanent way can be mitigated by running the Battlespace Turbo Car at full throttle on a regular schedule. Cats are intelligent and one taste of the ramming spike is all they’ll need to keep off the trackway in the future.

Chewing on the scenery can be discouraged by adding scale substations and pylons fitted with unclad copper wire carrying a couple of hundred volts to the layout. You may go through a few cats before you find one bright enough to read the scale warning signs.

Patting of the rolling stock as it passes can be stopped in short order by running a primed Battlespace Exploding Car with a triple load of caps on the striker in each train. One pat by a kitten will result in a lifelong fear of model railway wagons and peace of mind for the modeller.

Full-scale diesel horns are good for evacuating the layout room of wildlife too, though the wise modeller will wear ear protection or trigger the effect by remote control from another room (or another house).

Steve Mann - Now Cat-Free in NYC.

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Vehicle Registrations

A reader recently raised the question of road vehicle registrations in relation to many of the models that are now available from companies such Oxford, Base Toys, Classics etc. My period of interest in respect of railway modelling is roughly 1950 to 1968. The introduction of the letter A as a suffix to vehicle registrations was in 1962. I therefore compiled the following details, which might be useful to some readers, for model road vehicles covering the period up to 1968.

Reg Years : A – 62/63; B – 63/64; C – 64/65: D – 65/66; E – 66/67; F – 67/68

Whilst not always easy to obtain these days I would certainly recommend one of the former Ian Allan ABC's on road vehicles. I have the 1963 edition for British Road Services in which contains a section on British Registration letters. With Pat's permission I have quoted a small section that again may be helpful to fellow readers.

"The letters on the number plate tell us by what County or County Borough a vehicle has been registered. It usually indicates the vehicle's first registration, but not always; for sometimes, after a licence has been allowed to lapse for some time, a vehicle is issued with a new number. Each Registration Authority has one or more two-letter index marks (NB a full table is set out in the book). Most number plates today (i.e. 1963) have three-letter registration marks, but only the last two letters will tell you where the vehicle was registered. For example, the index letters "KLX" indicate that the vehicle was registered by the London County Council ("LX"). The first letter is merely to make more combinations of number available, but it is interesting to note that the further down the alphabet the first letter, the more lately registered was the vehicle".

John Cherry

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Pre-BR Liveries

I seem to recall, some time ago, that there was a discussion regarding the lack of locos in pre-BR and pre-Grouping liveries. I've recently noticed two possible exceptions to this and wonder whether there is a reason for what seems a missed opportunity?

The two locos I am thinking of are:

Hornby's 2721 pannier which has only ever been produced in a GWR version, even though they just made it into BR days.

Hornby's J52 tank which as far as I am aware has never been produced in plain unweathered BR black.

Gerald Hawes

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Thank You Hornby

As it always seems easier to criticise than to praise, I would like to take the opportunity to put in a good word for Hornby's service department. On Sunday last, I emailed enquiring about the availability of a particular part that was shown on a service sheet, but that had no description or part number. My enquiry was acknowledged almost immediately and, when I returned from a business trip on Friday, I found a package from Hornby containing not one, but two of the part concerned - and no invoice. I would have been content to receive information solely about the part's availability, which was indeed my original question, so, well done and thank you to Hornby's service department staff for responding so quickly and for going the extra mile to ensure they had a very happy customer!

Neil A. MacKinnon

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'Conflat P'

My thanks to Roger Morris for drawing attention to the Judith Edge kit. I was very interested to see the picture of the completed kit on the website, as this probably shows why a plastic moulded kit has not been considered. The sides, ends and solebars etc. would be okay, but I do wonder, having the seen fine underframe construction, if this would be possible as a plastic moulding. The containers would also have to be given sufficient weight, as the chassis would be very lightweight.

Whilst I have made many Parkside, Chivers and Cambrian kits, I regret my soldering skills are poor and certainly the Judith Edge item would need such skills to do the kit justice. However, it was a very useful reference and I offer my thanks once again

John Cherry

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Friday 1.7.11.

Sandy Tomorrow

If any readers are in the vicinity of Sandy (Bedfordshire) tomorrow, come in and say hello. We will be at Sandy Upper School in Engayne Avenue from 10.30 am to 5.00 pm. I shall be signing books - both the new 7th Edition of Ramsay's Catalogue and the Bachmann Pocket Guide. I hope you can make it. Dennis Lovett from Bachmann will also be there (come and talk to him about eras!).

Go to http://www.traincollectors.co.uk/PDF/Sandy%20visitor%20programme%202011.pdf to see full details of what there will be to see at Sandy this year.:

Hints & Tips No.400

Making India Ink Washes

By Bruce Leslie, (MA, USA)

There have been many references to India Ink as a weathering medium. For washing for mortar, put about a half-inch of water in a yogurt cup, and add a couple of drops of India Ink. The Ink is very concentrated. You will get a greyish look from the mortar. If it is not dark enough, give it another application.

The whole idea of washes is to add only a little bit at a time. Do not try to nail it on one pass. Remember, you can always add more, but you cannot take any away if you get it too dark.

Having Your Say...

'Conflat P'

John Cherry was asking for a kit for the above. Try Judith Edge and the following link to their web page - http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/judithedge/kit/293

Roger Morris

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Prefix Letters

To clarify what Paul Jansz had to say about prefix letters, passenger stock had a prefix letter indicating the region it was allocated to. For most of the time, North Eastern Region stock carried the prefix letter E. However, some vehicles did carry an NE prefix. I also recollect that at some point the Eastern Region gave some vehicles allocated to their Great Eastern Section the prefix GE. Vehicles built before nationalisation also carried a suffix letter indicating the company that constructed them: E (LNER), M (LMSR), S (SR), W (GWR). The suffix letter provided disambiguation. An example taken from a 1960 ABC of two vehicles, both allocated to the London Midland Region: M59604, BR construction DMU Trailer Second (L), later Class 127; M59604E, LNER construction 1500 Volts DC overhead Driving Trailer Open Second, later Class 506. Later, the suffix system was discontinued. A 1964 ABC pocket guide shows both these vehicles as M59604.

Freight stock had only a prefix, showing the company that constructed it. E, M, S, W, as above, P for private owner vehicles acquired during nationalisation and B for vehicles constructed for BR.

Anthony Hinxman - Portland, OR, USA

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Cats and layouts

After reading of other people's experiences with cats, I am relieved that ours has such a tolerant view of my layout. When he was a kitten he did manage to climb onto the board, which is 4'6" off the ground, and chewed a telegraph pole. Since then he prefers to sit with me as I make models and shows no interest in further trespassing on the railway - perhaps he's read the notices warning him of the forty shilling penalty!

His tolerance has limits, though; he has been known to tap me on the back to indicate he thinks it's meal time.

Neil Burgess

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Road Vehicles

Many thanks to both Mike and Harvey for their suggestions, that was most useful. My wife will now kill them as I can now buy all the cars I need!

Graham Crawford

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A Small Tweak for the Era System to Cover Region

Many thanks to Paul Jansz. The thing I love about Model Railway Express is that everyone is ready to help anyone in any way possible. Having just turned 30, I feel this is important to me as it appears Model Railroading is losing popularity among those in my age group. Having a resource like this available keeps me on my toes and interested in the hobby. The guidance of this site is even more of a help to me, being a United States Citizen, whose scant connections to the UK were a mere three years of my early childhood. I am not your typical British model railroader.

On and unrelated topic, Pat was nice enough to forward me information about other modeller in the States. I know there are more out there as well; based upon the posts I’ve seen here. This is for them or anyone else interested, regardless of location. I know very little about the preservation process, and I am not financially able to purchase a locomotive; though I would love to. I am aware that the Dwight D. Eisenhower is sitting dormant in the cold state of Wisconsin. I am also aware that there have been attempts to repatriate it in the past, but to no avail. I have no desire to see it leave the U.S., but I would like to see it steam again. Is anyone here in the states aware of whether or not there has been a movement to set up a trust to get it steaming again? I have mulled inquiring through the museum if anyone has, if they would allow it, etc. Again, being limited in time and finances, these are probably just pipe dreams. But all it takes is a spark, right?

Sean Mathews - Woodbridge, Virginia, USA

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Wednesday 29.6.11.

TCS Sandy 2011 - This Saturday!

The Train Collectors Society will be holding their annual show at the Sandy Upper School, Engayne Avenue, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG! 19 1BL Sandy, on Saturday 2nd of July, from 10.30 am to 5.00 pm. This is the largest model railway and vintage toy train event in Britain and not to be missed.

There will be 25 running displays of toy trains of almost every gauge, as well as from many manufacturers, dating from the present time back to the 1930s. There will also be many specialist traders of toy trains and collectors sales tables.

A full cafeteria service will be available and plenty of free parking. A bus will be running a shuttle service from the Sandy railway station.

Come and indulge yourself again in the toy trains that you once owned or always wanted. In view of recent discussion in MREmag, I shall have a modern display of Hornby, Bachmann and Lima model locomotives of BR Express Blue livery with crimson and cream coaches - as well as an EWS display. Come and say hello!

Throughout the exhibition, there will be many rare models running, including a large and unique display of Japanese pre- and postwar 0 gauge trains. Also to see will be stands by many of the national toy train specialist collectors clubs and societies including the Bachmann Collectors Club who are the show's main sponsors.

I shall also selling and signing the new (7th Edition) of Ramsay's British Model TraIns Catalogue (Ł2 from every one sold on the day will go to the Train Collector's Society). I shall also have copies of the Bachmann Branchline Pocket Guide on sale.

Go to http://www.traincollectors.co.uk/PDF/Sandy%20visitor%20programme%202011.pdf to see full details of what there will be to see at Sandy this year.:

Triple 'Annesley' Wagon Pack

A set of three 7-plank end-tipping private owner coal wagons in the black livery of the Annesley Colliery Co. Ltd, Nottingham, is to be released by TMC. Back in 2003, TMC released a similar set of this colliery company's wagons which were made for them by Dapol, but this time the set will be produced by Bachmann and will have the reference number 37-081X. The three different running numbers will be announced later, the set being due towards the end of the year.

The Annesley Colliery was in the Leen Valley, in the East Midlands/Nottinghamshire coalfield. It was connected to the Great Central, Great Northern and Midland railway networks. The main ports for shipment in the 1920s were Boston, Goole and Immingham but a small amount also passed through Hull. An early livery for the wagons was dark red but it later changed to the black used on these models.

The 504 sets of 3 wagons are each priced Ł29.99, plus post and packing, and pre-orders need to be placed with TMC who are at Hill Farm, Beck Hole, Whitby, N. Yorks. YO22 5LF Tel: 01947 896040 email: sales@tmc-direct.com www.tmc-direct.com

Hints & Tips No.399

Telephone Pole Wires using Invisible thread

By John Schaefer, (VA, USA)

Buy the smoke colour of Invisible Thread. I use it for telephone wires (it will realistically droop without a problem), rigging wires on WWI aircraft, and it is also great for sewing on patches to my motorcycle vest.

It has a number of other uses as well such as detail wires for engine compartments, hydraulic hoses etc. or sewing up the tear in your favourite couch.

By Brian Macdermott

A correspondent recently mentioned the York/Newcastle-Bournemouth West through trains.

I recalled seeing a photo of a ‘Relief’ to the train in the book, Cross-Country Steam. The caption noted the loco as 8F 2-8-0 No.48536 on Bank Holiday Saturday, 3 August 1957, and went on to say that the loco worked right through from Newcastle to Bournemouth.

This, I thought, was strange; the loco was allocated to Carlisle Kingmoor at the time. Even Peter Smith – who had plenty of ‘spotter friends’ in the Bournemouth area at the time – hadn’t heard of this working and thought it unlikely.

Richard Strange (Historical Consultant to Steam World) kindly checked his loco database, but that, too, showed nothing concerning 48536. However, two reports for that day showed sister engine, 48508, at Banbury and coming off a through train at Oxford. Additionally, a ‘respected recorder’ noted and photographed the train and loco near Pontefract. As a Canklow engine, 48508 makes a lot more sense.

By holding the book at a slight angle, it became apparent that the printed photo did, in fact, show 48508 and not 48536.

They say that the camera doesn’t lie....but captions can certainly lead to confusion. I nearly fell into the trap of posting the printed caption detail as a Snippet, but glad I did a bit more research before committing!

My thanks to Peter Smith and Richard Strange for their help with this Snippet.

What’s on TV?

By Brian Macdermott

Thursday 7 July

ITV1, 19.30-20.00. Tonight. Jonathan Maitland investigates the possibility of meltdown on the UK’s railways.

Having Your Say...

Passenger Tank Locos on Goods Trains

May I just endorse Stephen Derek's spot-on comments of "I guess 'humdrum' local freights on any part of the railway system didn't catch the photographer's eye as much as express freights!"

That says it all and, as I have found with much of my research, the humble freight was very much ignored in many areas. The photographers of the day concentrated on passenger services, or just locomotives, which took top priority for much of the 1950s and early 1960s period. Of course, in the latter part of the '60s, this all changed and freight was covered in much more detail, but sadly many of the classes of locomotives had long since gone.

My searched for freights conveying COV HOP wagons was very fruitful for the last years of steam, but almost nil for the early years of these interesting wagons.

John Cherry

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Thanks to everyone for their examples. As always, what an excellent and knowledgeable community of readers. Typically, I have, of course, now found more examples of my own. Ex-LNER N7 No 69620 on an undated transfer freight from Hertford East to Hertford North in BR days (C.J. Gammell, LNER Branch Lines 1945-1965, Oxford Publishing Co., 1979) and C12 No 67368 on another transfer freight, this time from Midland to Great Northern territory in 1952 (J.S. Whiteley & G.W. Morrison, The Big Four Remembered, Haynes, 1989, Repr. 1996). Now all I need is a V1/V3 sighting...

Having accidentally bought some cool white LED spotlights for my layout lighting, I can fulfil Geoff Stone's criterion for authentic moonlight running!

Richard Simmons

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Cats & Layouts

The last few days’ discussions of cats on layouts has prompted me to add my experiences.

I used to have a 7ft by 4ft layout in a spare bedroom. My Burman cats used to jump up on the layout and bite the finials off the carefully assembled Ratio signals. The layout is now in the garage with other baseboards.

Some years ago, bush rats decided to visit my 12ft by 8ft layout in the garage. We discovered this when several wagons started to change position in sidings and goods sheds overnight. The rats were playing with them (and leaving their calling cards)!

Currently, one of my cats has a love for cardboard and paper – she loves to chew them up and convert them into confetti. This is unhelpful when she eyes-off a newly completed card building, awaiting transfer to the layouts!

Ah! The joys of modelling in the company of our pets! I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Robert Evans - Sydney, Australia.

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'Conflats'

Nice to see that BR 'Conflats' are in the news, but the one I have been trying to get a manufacturer interest in is the 22T 'Conflat P' (aka 'Platefits') which worked on the Condor freight service between London and Glasgow. The wagon was long wheelbase; roller bearings with vacuum brakes with hydraulic buffers and conveyed two containers – one Large BD type and one smaller A type per wagon.

I feel this would be a ideal kit for Parkside Dundas as they already produce the plate wagon and some containers and, as I mentioned when recently speaking to them, it would a Scottish wagon!

With all these Class 28 Metro-Vics on the horizon, this wagon would be very welcome indeed.

John Cherry

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Calling TOPs Wagon Experts

I am working on the data for the 2012 Wish List Poll, and have hit a stumbling block with about a dozen TOPs-coded freight vehicles. Despite an extensive search of codes, these are managing to evade capture! If anyone has a thorough knowledge of TOPs-coded wagons and could kindly help me, please email direct as below (not to MREmag, please).

Many thanks.

Brian Macdermott - brianmacdermott (at) hotmail (com)

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A Small Tweak for the Era System to Cover Region

Some of the information Sean Mathews is looking for is on the models thanks to BR’s allocation information and, allied with one specific reference site, should go some way to help.

All locos in BR ownership were allocated a ‘shed’ location and usually plated with a number+letter code to indicate this allocation. There is a good tabulation of these allocations on line in the ‘Locoshed Index’. With a map of the route or routes of the modelled area, the sheds supplying power can be identified, and loco numbers allocated may then be identified. http://web.archive.org/web/20050526202909/http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~luigin/Locoshed/1960locos81.htm

BR’s carriage stock was prefixed with a region allocation letter: E, M, W, S, Sc. While that did not stop those vehicles running off region, sometimes very regularly; within a region most of the stock, most of the time, was the local allocation.

The vast majority of wagons were not regionally allocated; a common user system for the standard goods vehicles was introduced long before BR’s inception to eliminate wasteful empty mileage returning empties to the territory of the owning company. All the ordinary traffic general merchandise opens and vans and standard mineral (coal) wagons on BR were operated this way. They should be ‘all mixed up’ in terms of origin, in order to properly model the prototype. If a code is required, ‘C’ for common user perhaps?

Those wagons which were allocated to special traffics were identifiable, often with a ‘return empty to’ text indicating the yard(s) where they should be sent to when empty. Some were simply recognised by being distinctive appearance and the staff knew what to do. Using the same region letters, as BR used on coaches, might be helpful; but of course such wagons could (and very often did) run off region, the wagon goes to the goods consignee location willy-nilly.

Paul Jansz

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Road Vehicle Eras

Graham Crawford could always look at the Oxford Diecast website which provides a guide to vehicles in their range suited to certain periods. Just choose a, then a vehicle type, and browse the period of interest. Helpfully, it even identifies models in past, current and future production and those which will not be made again.

http://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/era%20header/index.htm

Of course, it is not foolproof - I saw a Wolseley 18/85 (with a 1939 registration) in the evening rush hour traffic just last week.

Mike Harvey

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In response to Graham Crawford’s request for dates on road vehicles, he will find many of the individual 00 gauge model cars listed on Hatton’s website. Here there is a guide as to the era and years that might be appropriate for the model’s use. He can also search for a wide range of suitable models by era at: www.eHattons.com

Usual disclaimer.

David Nevett - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

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Surging Locos

I'm responding to John Jeffery's message on Monday - yes, the Bachmann 108s my friend and I have all surge when going downhill on DCC. I've tried removing capacitors and other components on the PCB, but to no avail. I'll try the solution suggested by Pete Williams on Friday. Interestingly it's only the newer DMUs that surge in this way - our class 158s don't, but they have larger flywheels.

John Peter Buckley

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Bachmann to Run for President

I was surprised, nay even shocked, to see on the BBC website that Bachmann are to enter the race against Obama to be the next President of the United States. Well, I know they did very well indeed in this year's polls, but surely this was too big for their boots.

But then I saw it was Michelle Bachmann and, as far as I know, she does not mix model railways with politics.

Stuart de Boer

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I got quite excited this morning to see on AOL that Bachmann was launching a bid for the White House. I thought great, fill the oval office with a nice big layout! How disappointing that it was just a bid by a Republican to replace Obama.

Graham Crawford

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Monday 27.6.11.

Middleton Railway Model Exhibition

This will be next weekend - Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd July, at the Middleton Railway, Moor Road, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS10 2JQ. It is organised by, and all proceeds go to, the Middleton Railway Trust

The exhibition will open between 10:00 and 17:00 each day (trains operating every 40 minutes 11:00 to 16:20), light refreshments will be available in the shop/café.

Admire the models set amongst the real thing in our Engine House – you can also ride on a real full size steam train too!

Admission: Exhibition/Engine House/Platform only: adults Ł3.00, children Ł2.00 and families Ł8.00 - Exhibition/Engine House plus unlimited train rides: adults Ł5.50, children Ł3.50 and families Ł18.00.

Up to 12 layouts are expecting, in a variety of scales: 00, TT, N, On30, 1.25 and 009. Layouts will include 'Andmidown Town' (N gauge set in UK), On30 (Bob Hughes’ America), 'Lofthouse in Nidderdale' (0 gauge from Skipton MRS) and 'Angst-Lesspork ' (009 fantasy). There will also be a ‘vintage room’ containing Tri-ang 00 (by Miles Rowland), TT (by Alex Garfield) and Hornby Dublo (by Maurice Pilsworth). Traders will include DC Kits, Keith’s Model Railways, Leeds Transport Historical Society and second hand tables.

This is an event for all the family – not just the modeller. When the non-modellers have exhausted the facilities offered at Moor Road the Tulip Retail Park is opposite and the White Rose Centre is just a short ride away.

If you need any further details see www.middletonrailway.org.uk or contact Ian Dobson on 01274 613687 (evenings only) or e-mail ian.dobson9015@btinternet.com

BR NER Style 2-Road Engine Shed Planned

In addition to the new Scenecraft buildings previously announced by Bachmann, there is to be a BR NER style two-road engine shed with an office building (44-062Z) added to the range. This is being commissioned by TMC and will be available towards the end of the current year, exclusively from them.

The office building is a separate model which can be attached to any part of the shed or used elsewhere on your layout. To create a larger shed, two or more main engine shed buildings can be joined together, additional side stone walling sections are included to allow 2 sheds to be fitted in line (end to end). The model will come fully decorated and painted ready for use. In addition, the inside walls are also textured and painted.

The engine shed will be 340mm long, plus there will be a 6mm overhang on each end of the roof (352mm overall), 164mm wide and 132mm high to top of chimney (116mm to top of roof). The separate office building will be 54mm long, 83mm wide and 58mm high. The price is Ł74.99 plus post and packing and orders should be placed with TMC at Hill Farm, Beck Hole, Goathland, Whitby, YO22 5LF Tel: 01947 896040 or email: sales@tmc-direct.com www.tmc-direct.com

Hints & Tips No.398

Fencing 2

By Several Modellers

Make a 1mm square stick from some .040" styrene sheet (for N scale) or 2mm square stick (for 00) by laminating the sheet. Scratch its surface and paint it in a mix of 'wood brown' and 'olive green'. While that dries, find a length of multi-strand wire of the type used for wiring your layout. Attach it to a long piece of 2x1 with 2 nails or screws. Very carefully, run a scalpel blade down the length of wire slicing into the plastic coating and peel away strands of wire from the tubing. Drill 1.5/2.5mm holes (depending on scale) into the layout where you need the fence posts to go. With a blob of PVA glue on the end, stick the styrene 'stick' into the hole and cut off at an appropriate height. Loop a single strand of the wire around the end fence pole, at its base. Carry the wire strand to each fence post in turn, 'looping' it around each and keeping it stretched tight. If you take time and are careful with this, you will need no glue. At the last post cut the wire off and repeat process for higher up wires.

Having Your Say...

A Small Tweak for the Era System

I would like to thank Dennis Lovett for his response in regards to the era system used by Bachmann. I, for one, find the system highly necessary for me, as I am not as studied as my allies across the pond in the working of Britain's railways. While I don’t need the system quite as much when purchasing locomotives (if it has a late crest, I’m good to go), it is a larger help when purchasing freight form the '60s, or stock from my childhood years in England during the mid-'80s.

I do however have one suggestion for the era system. This again is aimed at the layman, and not the historian. Though I am gradually learning more about the workings of British Railways through research and this site (thank you all), I think it would be quite beneficial to add a region code to the era system. This would help more in freight, or when BR standard locomotives are produced. From what I know, different numbers were allocated to different regions. For example, maybe have an Era 5 (W), which would mean Western region. Or Era 5 (M), for Midland. I think you get the picture. I feel this would help the average layman on freight, brake vans, and the likes. It may also help on coaches as well. Though I lack the historical knowledge, I still strive to be prototypical. With that being said, if anyone out there models US mainline and needs to know anything about CSX or BNSF, I’d be happy to help. I spent Wednesday night at the top of Ravens stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, watching U2… and train spotting as CSX freight trains rolled by. It goes without saying it was a glorious night.

Sean Mathews - Woodbridge, Virginia, USA

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I am not an expert by any means but I have, over the last ten to fifteen years of modelling, become quite familiar with the LNER and what ran where and when, although I still come up with a few unknowns. My problem is with road vehicles. My interest is railways, so road vehicles are very much on the periphery, but I know that, if I am to model an era accurately, I need to have accurate model cars, buses, trucks etc. However, very few model car producers put any date on the vehicle. This is particularly surprising with those produced by Hornby since they must figure that their product will be most valued by the model railway fraternity. So, I would like to see the model manufacturers put on the boxes of the model cars the years that the car was produced. It would be very helpful to us.

Graham Crawford

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A thank you to Dennis for a very constructive explanation regarding the use of the era codes by Bachmann. However, this once again highlights that you will never please everybody in the minefield of railway modelling!

Such a guide will never cover every eventuality that may arise, as many of us have found in doing research for railway modelling. So many times someone has said, "Oh, that never happened" or such and such loco "never worked there", only for a photograph to appear providing the much needed evidence!

Just recently, British Railways Illustrated (BRILL) magazine, a excellent tome well recommended, featured a branch line working on the Taunton - Minehead route with a single Centenary coach (the Hornby model) in the consist. Research is all part of the fun and any guide, such as that produced by Bachmann, can help many who require such information, as readers have acknowledged. By the way, 'well said' by Steve Mann.

John Cherry

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Birds Eye Traffic Returns

On Friday, you said, "Some will remember the Trix 'Conflat B' model with two Birds Eye AF containers, released in 1960 by Trix Products Ltd. A picture of one of these will be seen on page 518 of the new 7th Edition of Ramsay's British Model Trains Catalogue. As yet, Bachmann have not produced their version of this attractive wagon, using their 'Conflat A', ..."

The Trix model was, correctly, a 'Conflat B' - i.e. very significantly longer than the 'Conflat A'. The real things were built on 12' WB pipe wagon underframes.

The real Birds Eye and Macfisheries containers were not of the AF type at all; they were longer AFP containers. As such, two would not fit on a 'Conflat A', hence the building of the longer 'Conflat B's.

Bachmann's predecessor, Mainline, incorrectly released their AF container in Birds Eye livery on their 'Conflat A'; I believe with both one and two containers per wagon at various times.

If TMC are merely to re-market the inaccurate combination of Birds Eye liveried AF containers on a 'Conflat A', we have not progressed very far in a couple of decades, whereas Trix were getting it right half a century ago!

John Isherwood

Trix were indeed unusual in producing a Conflat A' as well as the longer 'Conflat B'. Few manufacturers bother to do both - Ed.

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Passenger tank engines on goods trains

Roger Norman's point about tank engines lacking brake power is certainly true up to a point, but applies equally to many tender engines. I remember a Nine Elms driver telling me that, when running goods trains with a Q1, it was always desirable to have four or five fitted vehicles behind the engine with the brakes in use - the 'Charlies' had lots of power, but not for stopping. Somerset & Dorset devotees will recall the tale of the WD 2-8-0 tried out between Bath and Evercreech [once!] which needed similar measures to avoid it careering off down the line towards Cole.

The reality was that often it depended very much on long-established practice whether tender or tank engines were used on goods trains. The LMS Midland Division much preferred tender types, while the Western Division were more amenable to tanks. Interestingly, the Cambrian section saw 4500 and 82000 class prairies on goods, though the old Cambrian would have used tender engines.

Neil Burgess

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At the risk of overplaying Richard Simmons' enquiry of 20/6, regarding lack of evidence of tank locomotives on freight workings, may I briefly offer some more examples:

M7 No.30024 on 11.08 Exmouth - Tipton St Johns freight in 1961 (also conveying two camping coaches - [Branch Lines to Exmouth - Middleton Press]; M7 No.30021 descending the 1:37 gradient into Exeter St.David's with a freight in 1958 - [Railway Bylines - January].

I guess 'humdrum' local freights on any part of the railway system didn't catch the photographer's eye as much as express freights!

Stephen Derek

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Cats and layouts

I was rather taken aback at James Fenton's Hints & Tips (MREmag Monday). Firstly, because I suspect that flea spray - whether in small doses or not - won't do a great deal of good to either the model or the human and cat breathing it in.

Secondly, as an unapologetic animal lover, for me the odd bent telegraph pole or clump of fur isn’t a great price to pay for the pleasure that having their company brings while modelling.

Mine have been invaluable 'help' with track laying, scenery building and are great companions during running sessions. The only time they are shut out is if I'm doing anything with unpleasant fumes - other than that they're welcome to explore at any time!

I've put a narrow strip of Perspex along the front edge of the layout to avoid any nasty falls for rolling stock (one cat takes particular pleasure in gently batting the Bachmann WD 2-8-0, for some reason).

But for those who have less of an ‘animals first, train set second' attitude than me, there's a much healthier remedy if you really don't want them on your layout:

Shut the door.

Robin Johnson

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Surging Models - Update.

When I first raised this subject I did not realise what a wide response it would attract. This was MREmag at its best.

Following readers advice, we have placed foam strips between some of the axles and the bogie frame, imparting a slight rolling resistance. The impact was immediate, no surging. We did experience a slight problem, when running with the power car pushing the set - the leading bogie on the front coach kept derailing. Moving the strip from the front axle to the 2nd axle on the leading bogie eliminated the problem.

A final question, has anyone experienced this surging with DCC?

John Jeffery

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Friday 24.6.11.

Birds Eye Traffic Returns

Some will remember the Trix 'Conflat B' model with two Birds Eye AF containers, released in 1960 by Trix Products Ltd. A picture of one of these will be seen on page 518 of the new 7th Edition of Ramsay's British Model Trains Catalogue. As yet, Bachmann have not produced their version of this attractive wagon, using their 'Conflat A', but TMC are giving them a little push by offering to commission one - well actually, three! These will be released later this year and sold in triple packs priced Ł29.99. The wagons will be brown, but the three wagon and six container numbers are not yet available. 504 sets will be produced as 37-975Z. .

The sets will be available from: TMC, Hill Farm, Beck Hole, Whitby, N.Yorks YO22 5LF Tel: 01947 896040 email: sales@tmc-direct.com www.tmc-direct.com Orders are being taken now. This should be a popular set, so get your order in early.

Further Hornby Releases

The following models have recently arrived in the shops:

R3051 Class 60 EWS 60033 Tees Steel Express in British Steel blue livery.

R9650 Skaledale Country Garage

R9645 Skaledale Bungalow (Unpainted)

R9644 Skaledale Terrace Townhouse (Unpainted)

Hints & Tips No.397

Cats

By James Fenton

Yes, cats love to enjoy your railway. The problem is that they can break telephone poles, trees and bushes and leave cat hair. Most cats hate flea spray yet in small doses it is imperceptible to us. I found by spraying the layout weekly, the cat stays away.

Having Your Say...

In Defence of the Plug

I was pleased to see that no one has actually condemned me by name but there are obviously very mixed views amongst MREmag readers as to whether they are in favour or against the plug and socket and that of permanently coupled locomotives. You cannot please all of the people all of the time and that is fully accepted. We all have the right to choose what we buy or do not buy and to make our observations known, as long as free speech prevails.

Interestingly, I have only just finished reading a very good review of the new Hornby Tornado locomotive in the July issue of Hornby Magazine. Not a loco I particularly want but I was delighted to see that the loco and tender are separate with hook and stud coupling provided for short or wider spacing. The socket for DCC is in the boiler. Simple!

If only the latest A3 could have been provided in this format, as the DCC socket could easily have been installed in the boiler.

John Cherry

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To answer Mark Hamlin's query, to change the order of the connections in the plug, do the following. On the side of the plug, you can see the metal connections and a small barb. Press the metal in gently with a small screw driver or pin and carefully pull it out with the lead. Do this with all the connections that you need to change. When pushing them back in, make sure you get them the correct way round so that the barb stops the lead from being pulled out. Check everything carefully with a multimeter, to make sure everything is wired up the correct way round, before plugging in the sound chip and placing the loco on the track.

Alec Hudson

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Surging Models

I picked this up from our friends on the other side of the Atlantic but I haven't tried it myself. Apparently the surging is caused by the worm gear having to much 'fore and aft' play and the surging can be cured by fitting additional thrust washers either side of the worm gear to limit the movement.

Pete Williams

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Passenger Tank Locos on Goods Trains

Richard Simmons asked about the frequency of use of small passenger tanks, like the M7, on goods trains. The answer is rarely, as 0-4-4 tanks did not have the braking power to cope with unbraked wagons. This having been said, there is an exception to every rule and I know of one photo of an M7 in LSWR days with a very short train of cattle vans.

Roger Norman

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At risk of adding my 'tuppence worth' to something that could ‘run and run’, here’s an example from the little photographed West Cumberland in 1966:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16236990@N08/2961963138/in/pool-639221@N25/

There are others of the same train on Flicker (by David Quayle). The loco was usually from Barrow (12C by then), filling its day on branch pick up and trip freights, between working morning and evening workmens’ trains, to and from the nuclear plant at Sellafield (I think).

There are a fair number of published shots of all the variants of ex LMS big passenger tank, from Fowler to Fairburn, on pick-up and transfer freight work, as has been pointed out by others.

By the way, Flicker also contains a shot of a Stanier 8F on a nuclear flask working, not often photographed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16236990@N08/2954422145/

John Dickie

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Eras and all that

I’m sure Dennis Lovett (Wednesday) is right that novice modellers far exceed ‘aficionados’.

I was once at a retailer’s shop where a ‘novice’ customer was making some purchases. He liked the 45xx, and asked what stock could run with it. Naturally, the retailer suggested the B-set. The customer, however, said he couldn’t see any point in buying/running two identical coaches.

Despite the retailer’s full and honest explanation of the validity of a B-set (without any ‘sales pressure’ whatsoever) the customer still walked away with just the one coach!

Brian Macdermott

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I use a number of the Bachmann and Warley stock boxes to store my models in. In the contents panel, I attach a self adhesive label relevant to the era of the stock contained. Box 601 onwards is all stock from era 6, box 901 onwards - items from era 9, R8 - road vehicles from era 8 and so on.

It is an ideal way of keeping all the stock from each period together, and yet another practical use of the Bachmann era system.

Chris Wright

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Thanks to Dennis Lovett for his explanation of the era system used by Bachmann. I must agree with him that this guide system helps someone like me (and family members) to acquire models of the period that I have chosen to model .

I do not have the luxury of clubs and a vast network of help with my modelling, as we are few and far between in South Africa. My only wish is that other suppliers will do the same and thereby assist us.

I know that books are available (I have a large collection) but, at the price of some of them, I would rather have the 3 wagons instead (for the same price)

Trevor Pankhurst - Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

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I read with interest Mr Lovett's explanation of the era concept, which I had previously thought unnecessary. I am frequently surprised by the lack of both general and specific historical knowledge expressed in some railway and other communities.

Perhaps it is in the nature of 'specialist interests' that they tend to create a degree of 'historical isolationism'. This does not apply just to railway enthusiasts. For example, in several recent books about the Battle of Britain, by otherwise reputable historians, I have read criticisms of the Admiralty for running coal convoys through the North Sea and English Channel in 1940/41, because "the coal could easily have been transferred to the railways'"! This, as we know, ignores the problems of paths, capacity and loading/unloading infrastructure.

There is also a tendency for people in this ‘information age’ to ignore the provenance of information and of recording, survival, viewpoint and assessment. This is made worse by journalistic sensationalism. For example, in one work I read recently, it was claimed that the aromatic indicator for middle big end overheating was unique to Mallard!

It may be uncomfortable to have too wide an historical perspective. Is it just coincidence that the height of railway development (and the eras of most of our models) coincides with the darkest fifty years of Europe’s Dark Century?

David Middleditch

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I read with interest the letter that Dennis Lovett wrote to MREmag and would like to say:

"WELL SAID!"

Yes I'm shouting. Someone who gets why this information is important should be saluted loudly and clearly. I've long suspected many in our hobby on both sides of the Atlantic see the whole 'prototype modelling' affair as a tortuous apprenticeship in which the modeller must 'earn' his or her right to information.

A personal low point was a couple of years back when I requested a pointer toward certain specialist research sources, to be told "do some research" by an irate, frothing expert.

Clearly, Bachmann understand that prototype modelling is a synergistic process, one in which it is important to drive the desire to acquire more information by providing a useful and timely jumping-off point. I would like to say "thank you" to them as a company and everyone involved in the dissemination of this information.

It's not wrong to be proud of one's researching skills and the years spent uncovering obscure facts. But consider the worth of such information if it dies with the researcher; You win. Yay.

Bachmann will certainly see my money in the future.

Steve Mann - NYC

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Author seeks contact

Author, Chris Coates, is trying to make contact with Dr JH Farrington who wrote an article about Wigan Central and which appeared in Railway Modeller, April 1990. If anyone can help, I’d be glad to hear.

Brian Macdermott brianmacdermott (at) hotmail (com)

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Wednesday 22.6.11.

Soon to Arrive Bachmann Branchline Models

The following models have left the factory in China and are on their way to the UK:

31-361A Class 03 diesel shunter No.D2009 in BR green livery with late crest
31-326A Class 03 diesel shunter No.03045 in BR blue livery
31-575 Windhoff MPV in Network Rail livery No.DR98906 + DR98956 (new tooling)
32-181 LMS Crab 2-6-0 locomotive No 13000 in LMS crimson lake livery
33-079B 5 plank open China Clay wagon in BR grey livery No.W92810 Return to St. Blazey
33-879A Bogie well tank wagon in LNER grey livery with boiler load No.415296
33-928A 30T bogie bolster wagon in BR grey with steel girder load No.B940055
33-929A 30T bogie bolster wagon in BR grey with pipe load No.B940334
34-176 Collett brake 2nd coach in BR maroon livery No.W1656W
37-134A 8 plank wagon in Ketton Cement livery (weathered) No.S88
37-275E 27T steel tippler wagon in BR grey ‘Iron Ore Tippler’ livery No.B381818
37-477B 1 plank wagon in BR bauxite livery No.B450394
38-346 FNA nuclear flask wagon with flat floor No.550023 (new tooling)
38-052F BR Mk1 SO 2nd open coach in BR chocolate/cream livery No.W3789
39-053E BR Mk1 SO 2nd open coach in BR(SR) green livery No.S3825
39-078E BR Mk1 BSK brake 2nd corridor in BR(SR) green No.S34642

Bachmann Shunter's Running Wagon Planned

Collectors of Bachmann wagons will know that the 'Norwich Loco' 'Conflat A' shunters truck, commissioned by Pennine Models in 2001, today sells for three or four times its original price, when one appears on eBay. Now, a new shunnter's truck has been commissioned by TMC and will be available towards the end of this year.

The model will be based on a photograph of one attached to the diesel shunter operating as station pilot at Hull Paragon Station on 21st February 1981. It (37-980Y) will be a 'Conflat A' in BR weathered yellow livery. 504 pieces will be made and the recommended retail price will be Ł9.99 plus post and packing. We have yet to be advised of the running number the model will carry.

Orders should be sent to TMC, Hill Farm, Beck Hole, Whitby, N.Yorks YO22 5LF Tel: 01947 896040 email: sales@tmc-direct.com www.tmc-direct.com

Hints & Tips No.396

Making a Footplate

By Iain Lamb

I made a footplate specifically for a 4F but the technique will apply to other engines. Modelling one is quite straightforward. Firstly – as per the Hornby Instructions sheet – "From underneath, remove screw which attaches the drawbar to the tender chassis.

IMPORTANT – In this case, and many others, the locomotive and tender are permanently wired together. Do not try to pull them apart and take care not to strain the wires.

Turn the locomotive and tender onto their wheels and carefully lift off the tender body, from the front, to release the rear body clip. Using scrap paper make a template of the surface area of the cab floor and add 1cm to cover the eventual link to the tender.

Accurately cut the paper to give a snug fit inside the cab including the contours beneath the firebox. When satisfied that a good fit has been created, cut back the extension to about 8mm from the end of the cab floor. Remove the template and draw a curve at the tender end to avoid the eventual footplate catching the edge of the tender when on curves. On my model I came in by 3mm at the outer edges.

When you are satisfied that your template is correct, use it to create, from thin card or plastic, an actual footplate. Try it for size and if happy glue to the cab floor. When dry, paint the footplate Matt Black. At this stage I also took the opportunity to paint the handrails (not forgetting the tender ones) using Precision paints tinlet No M 411 'Steel'.

Having Your Say...

Converting the S&D 7F

Peter Welfare asks about the method of my conversion of the Bachmann 7F to one of the 1914 right-hand drive versions.

The conversion of the engine is fairly straightforward. The reverser is a separate item and easily removed from the left-hand side of the cab and repositioned; any additional work using plastic sheet. The regulator can be replaced with one from brass wire, which can be used to replace the repositioned boiler handrails and ejector pipe. The ejector valve details are plastic strip and wire and the smokebox saddle responds to careful filing and, if necessary, making good with plastic sheet.

The tender will be scratch-built from plastic sheet. There's a good drawing of the Deeley type with unequal wheelbase in David Jenkinson & Bob Essery's 'An Illustrated Review of Midland Locomotives' volume 1 [Wild Swan Publications, 1984]. I scratch-built another Deeley tender for my earlier 1914 7F, the engine being from a DJH kit.

When its new tender is fitted, 53802 will be ready for the road and a trip to Westerleigh and back with the Bath Midland Road trip goods - or possibly 'the Avonmouth'.

Neil Burgess

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Passenger Tank Locos on Goods Trains

As Richard so rightly says, there are prototypes for almost anything. N2s 4729 and 4739 were both allocated to St. Margarets in Edinburgh in 1937. Slightly altered for NBR loading gauge and without condensing gear, they were mainly used for trip goods workings in the Edinburgh area, as I understand it.

Graham Crawford

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Richard Simmons asks about passenger tanks on freight trains and I’m sure many postings will come up with examples; but here’s my contribution:-

David Eatwell’s Railway Nostalgia Around Bedfordshire contains a number of pictures of N2s and N7s on freights on the Hatfield – Luton – Dunstable Branch. Plate 62 in the same book contains an excellent picture of Fairburn 2-6-4T 42686 of Bedford Shed, running through Luton on a northbound pick up freight, while another of David’s books Steaming into Bedfordshire contains a picture of another Fairburn 2-6-4T arriving at Hitchen with a lengthy freight from Bedford. I also have one of my own pictures of Ivatt 2-6-2T 41271 returning light engine to Bedford, having worked a local pick up into Limbury Yard.

My personal spotting records also show 42221 seen on 8^th April 1961 near Leagrave on a down freight, 42071 and 42106 both seen on 23^rd May 1961 on separate down freights near Leighton Buzzard and 42062 Near Rugby on 23^rd December 1961 on an up freight. So it will be seen that it was not a particularly rare event, perhaps just not very often photographed. I could go on but would run out of my word allowance.

Tony Elliott

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Another consideration was how lines were worked. If goods traffic for branches was dropped off at the junction, it would generally be worked over the branch by the engine which also worked the passenger service. This seems to have been the case with the branches off the LSWR Salisbury - Exeter line. If branch traffic was handled by a stopping goods train, running along the main line and traversing each branch in turn, tender engines were often preferred because of their greater range. Branches off the Cambrian main line from Oswestry to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli were thus operated. For an M7 on a goods, see Derek Phillips' From Salisbury to Exeter; the Branch Lines [OPC, 2000]. p.223 has a view of No.253 on a Sidmouth Junction - Sidmouth via. Tipton St. John's working in 1949.

Neil Burgess

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The reason you don't see many photographs of these is that most goods travelled at night. At Tottenham Hale, on the GE, there were 200 goods movements a night. The tank locos were then needed for passenger traffic the next day. So, unless your layout is bathed in moonlight, they would not be seen; if you are that authentic in your operations. Personally, I like the look of tank engines and they seem more appropriate than a Pacific hauling 10 wagons on a compressed layout.

Geoff Stone - Sydney, Australia

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On Monday 20th, Richard Simmons asked about M7s on freight turns; the best I can find is in Southern Way issue 14 with M7 30374 descending the bank from Exeter Central to Riverside Yard with a transfer freight. Another photo shows the same M7 piloted down the bank by Z 30951, two tanks on a freight for the price of one!

Alan Wickens

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While photos of M7s on freight do seem to be thin on the ground, there were plenty of such workings. A photo of 30255 arriving at Ilfracombe appears in the Irwell Press book The North Devon line and there is one of O2 30192 in the book by the same publisher - The Okehampton Line.

The Bradford Barton book Southern Steam in The West Country shows M7 30374 on freight being piloted by E1/R 32124 up the bank into Exeter Central. A further E1/R was banking.

Peter Smith (S&D) tells me that – up to 1955 – an M7 was rostered for a pick-up freight from Bournemouth Central Goods around 4.00pm, calling at Branksome, Parkstone and terminating at Poole Goods Yard.

Brian Macdermott

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In Defence of the Plug

I was very interested to read Alec Hudson’s message about the plug connections being different in Hornby sound locos and non-sound locos and having to be changed. I am attempting to do the same between A4s Herring Gull and Kingfisher and came to the same conclusion about the problem, but have not yet figured out the fix. I wonder if Alec could describe what he did to correct this?

On a positive note, I would like to say that I contacted Simon Kohler directly after having difficulty with the Hornby Customer Service website. Simon responded quickly and sorted out my problem. Excellent service all round.

Mark Hamlin - Christchurch, New Zealand

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Please can I say no, no no, to permanently coupled locos and tenders. I have some and they are a right pain when trying to service or maintain, besides being not the easiest to put in and out of boxes.

There are many areas where small connections are used which are simple and easy to use with a small lift up release catch on the plug end. However the easiest must be clipping the SD card in and out of my digital camera which I do on a regular basis. This is a flat multi circuit connector which just clips in and out ‘as if by miracle’ and becomes almost invisible in the camera.

Surely, it wouldn’t be too difficult to devise a similar connector with a ribbon cable to the loco, and which would plug into a socket under a tender fall plate.

Bob Fleming

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Mk I Horsebox

I'm sure many of us will welcome a good model of the Mk I horsebox as announced by TMC. Although the Hornby Dublo version was mentioned, there was, of course, the Tri-ang R123 type which even became a converter wagon.

Here is one for the prototype brigade. In the early sixties, whilst in St Albans Abbey signal box, we had a special come. It was the Musical Ride of the Household Cavalry and it consisted of a Standard Class 5 with a Mk I BSK and about a dozen horseboxes. We put it in the old Hatfield bay platform and, fortunately, it just fitted without blocking the whole station. I'm afraid I wasn't there to see it leave, but presumed it was shunted around using the old Hatfield branch and the runround in the main platform.

So, whether you model a main line or branch, you can have an excuse to run a whole train devoted to horses and not necessarily the racing variety

Peter Gomm

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It was good to see that TMC have commissioned the BR horsebox from Bachmann – this vehicle was second in the BR NPCCS section of the 2011 Wish List Poll.

For those wishing to model somewhat older horseboxes, Poll Team member, John Lewis, has had published the second part of his article on GWR boxes in the Spring 2011 issue of GW Journal. It extends to 15 pages and covers Diagrams N1 to N9.

Brian Macdermott

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Eras & All That

As the originator of the Bachmann era system, I have been following the recent debate with great interest. It was on this very website some 8 or 9 years ago that the equivalent of the European epoch system was first debated. I put forward my contribution at the time which I later took to Bachmann with me in 2006 and, following some minor tweaks, it has been in use ever since.

If you saw the number of emails that I receive every day (which no doubt are received by other manufacturers as well as model railway magazine editors) then you would quickly conclude that many people have little or no knowledge of prototype railways, or indeed have any interest in them. They demand the very information that many of us have spent a lifetime acquiring. I simply could not do my job without being a railway historian and having spent most of working life within the railway industry. Sadly, not everyone has an extensive library or even knows what publications or websites are available to them.

This is one of the reasons why we choose to model Kirriemuir as a Bachmann Collectors’ Club project layout, to show them how to research and then put that research to good use. I fully appreciate that for many readers of MREmag, the era system is not required. However, as several people have already stated, it is a simple task to totally ignore it, for it was designed as a basic guide - nothing more and nothing less. Despite our challenge at the time to improve on it, no other organisation came up with an alternative nor commented on the adopted scheme.

I believe that critics are outnumbered by those who find it useful. Several people have told us that the whole family now know to only buy Dad trains from 'Era 4', or whatever era they model. With the passage of time, those with personal knowledge of past companies or operators get fewer and the eras modelled change. When I joined my local club in 1969, we had a number of people modelling pre-Grouping railways; today, there are none! Only last week I attended the 25^th Anniversary of the launch of Network SouthEast – it didn’t seem 25 years ago that I worked on the launch of it.

Knowledge is not gained overnight and if we are to encourage others to become more aware of the models they acquire and the prototypes they represent, then it is essential to provide some guidance. The era system is a tool for those who wish to use it. It is neither compulsory nor essential for those who have the necessary information to hand – it is there as a guide with all the usual provisos.

A visit to any preserved railway will find all eras operating together in harmony (era 9 irrespective of what is being operated) and, as pointed out by others, there is nothing wrong if an individual wants to operate a Tri-ang ‘Rocket’ on a rake of mark 4 coaches!

Whilst ownership and take-over dates can be clearly established – livery changes are more difficult. Network SouthEast livery was still on some units, 13 years after the sectors demise. Today, the advent of vinyl applications, it is accomplished in far quicker time than was previously the case when paint was used.

Finally, for those who require more detailed historical information on locomotives and multiple units, many of the answers can be found in the MREmag's Locomotive Database found in the articles section of this website. Pat still has some sections and information to add to what will be a further aid to assist us in future research.

Dennis Lovett - Public Relations Manager - Bachmann Europe Plc

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Bachmann Non-gangway Mk1 Coaches in Lined Maroon

I have recently seen the above coaches that have just been released and I have to say that I am slightly disappointed as I had hoped they would have corrected the mistakes they made when first introduced.

Eastern and Western Region stock lining should be directly below the bottom of the windows whereas they have positioned it in the Midland Region style which was lower, to line up with their stock.

They have again painted the ends maroon whereas the majority were black, I suspect not many caught this version as they had to be painted after 1964.

One point in their favour, though, is the colour, as this is now correct, whereas the first run was far too dark.

Peter Simmonds

I think we established quite a while ago that there is no such thing as the correct shade of maroon, or for that matter green - as these varied from coach to coach depending on their age, the number of layers of varnish, who mixed the paint, the effect of the sun and the weather conditions on the day it was viewed or photographed - Ed.

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Surging Models

I picked this up from our friends on the other side of the Atlantic, but I haven't tried it myself. Apparently, the surging is caused by the worm gear having too much fore and aft play and the surging can be cured by fitting additional thrust washers either side of the worm gear, to limit the movement.

Pete Williams

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Monday 20.6.11.

Recent Graham Farish Releases

The following Graham Farish models are currently on their way from China and should all be in the shops sometime in July:

371-105 Class 31 locomotive No.31602 Driver Dave Green in Network Rail yellow livery
371-395 Class 66 locomotive No.66843 in Colas Rail livery
373-557 TEA tank wagon in Gulf (weathered) livery No.85021
377-025B 5 plank wagon in John Arnold & Sons livery No.156
377-026B 5 plank wagon in Tarbitumac livery No.285
377-029 5 plank wagon in Shap Tarred Granite livery No.354
377-050B 5 plank wagon A. Bramley No.16
377-054A 5 plank wagon in BR grey livery No. M254661
377-075B 7 plank wagon Eales & Roberts No.6
377-076A 7 plank wagon in Shaka Salt livery No.580
377-083 7 plank wagon in Crane & Co. livery No.107
377-084 7 plank wagon in TIR Pentwys livery No.29
377-125B 8 plank wagon in James & Emanuel Ltd livery No.451
377-126B 8 plank wagon in Ketton Cement (weathered) livery 0No.S88
377-152B 8 plank wagon in Foster & Co. livery No.17
377-175B 7 plank wagon in Exeter Gas Co. livery No.5
377-204 8 plank wagon with coke rail in Thomas W Ward livery No.1644A
377-205 8 plank wagon with coke rail in Bedwas Coke livery No.621
377-250C 16T steel mineral wagon in BR grey livery No.B37697
377-251B 16T steel mineral wagon in BR light grey livery No.B121830
377-252A ZHV 16T steel mineral in olive green engineers livery No. ADB 552821
377-253 MXV 16T steel mineral wagon in BR bauxite livery No.B564000
377-275B 27T steel tippler wagon in BR grey (iron ore) livery No.B381818
377-276A 27T steel tippler wagon in BR grey (chalk) livery No.B380510
377-301B 20T xLMS brake van in BR grey livery No.M732484

Ramsay's Posted

Those readers who have ordered a copy of the 7th Edition of Ramsay's British Model Trains Catalogue will be receiving them this week - that is with the exception of two who failed to include their postal addresses (currently being resolved) and any books ordered by Canadian readers. As they will know, there is currently a Canadian postal strike and I understand that no mail is travelling in or out of Canada. I am therefore holding back these parcels and I would be grateful if a Canadian reader would let me know when the post is flowing again.

Mk1 Horsebox Planned

Chris Yates of TMC has sent details of the Mk1 horse box which he has commissioned Bachmann to make. Considering the popularity of the Hornby Dublo model of 1960, it is surprising that a scale model has not been planned until now. TMC's anticipated prices and delivery date for the first batch is the 4th quarter of 2012. The models will be pristine unless otherwise stated.

The tooling will allow for ends with or without the strengthening brackets and the lower half of the horse door as built or with four strengthening ribs. These features will enable TMC to offer a total of 4 different moulded bodies. They have also asked for a close coupling device to be fitted at each end of the wagon. Maroon versions had black ends but not the horse boxes in green livery. The versions planned are as follows:

38-526Z - BR green (SR) livery S96359 - 504 pieces Ł19.99

38-526X - BR green (SR) livery S96369 preserved NRM - 504 pieces Ł19.99

38-525Z - BR maroon (ER) livery E96330 - 504 Pieces Ł19.99

38-526W - BR green (SR) livery S96414 as ran in service, with chalk markings '4 Bales' weathered - 504 pieces Ł22.50

38-525Y twin pack BR maroon (ER) livery E96346 & E96349 - 504 pieces Ł39.99

38-526Y twin pack BR green (SR) livery S96366 & S96413 - 504 pieces Ł39.99

The models may be ordered from: TMC, Hill Farm, Beck Hole, Whitby, N.Yorks YO22 5LF Tel: 01947 896040 email: sales@tmc-direct.com www.tmc-direct.com

July Model Rail

Few magazines do model reviews better than Model Rail and this issue contains reviews of the Hornby RailRoad Class A1 Tornado (which the editor has credited Model of the Month), Bachmann's 2-EPB EMU (including a factfile), the Bachmann FNA nuclear flask wagon, Heljan 0 gauge Class 26, the Scalecraft diesel depot, the Lovelace 0 gauge A1/A3s and the Bachmann London Transport pannier tank. There is also news (with illustrations) of the following forthcoming models: Sentinel 4wVBTs, Farish 'Desiro' and 4-CEP, Heljan Class 28, Dapol Class 26, Class 121 and 'Hall' 4-6-0 and the Ixion 0 gauge Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST. The Supertest this month looks at grass matt products.

Layouts visited include Crawley MRS's beautifully landscaped N gauge 'West Tilgate', Simon Paley's contemporary 00 'Hythe Parkway' and Preston 0 Gauge Group's LMS 'Brewery Lane'. The Masterplan this month is a shed feature based on Ranelagh Bridge Depot.

Practical articles cover cutting and joining rails, painting like the professionals, reducing the tender gap on Hornby's A4 models, fitting replacement windows and identifying tender types.

Another article looks back at models that were available in 1961.

MRC Skills Transfer Days

This weekend sees the start of another run of The Model Railway Club’s popular "Skills Transfer Days" – a chance for modellers to get an introduction into different aspects of the hobby. They are semiformal sessions, starting with a talk on the principles being used, followed by hands-on practice with guidance and support. Places are open to anyone in any scale (although the track and plastic kit building courses use 4mm scale for the ‘hands on’), but there are discounts for MRC members. There are still a few places on the first two courses, but the latter two are very nearly full. If you are interested in the Plaster Casting day on Sunday, please send an enquiry form via the website by Wednesday 22^nd.

Plaster Casting – Sunday 26^th June

Plastic Kit Building (a Parkside Dundas wagon kit) – Sunday 24^th July

Introduction to Track Building – Sunday 11^th September

Soldering for Kits – Sunday 26^th November

The courses run from 10am to 4pm (ish) at Keen House – and more details are at www.themodelrailwayclub.org

Hints & Tips No.395

Soldering Rails

By Rob Pearce

To ensure a sound electrical contact, the feeder wires should be soldered to the rail. However, nickel silver is not an ideal metal for soldering. The slightest bit of contamination will prevent it from tinning and, with this in mind, I do not trust the solder joint as a mechanical joint. The solution I have adopted is to drill a hole in the rail. This serves two purposes :
* The hole is clean, fresh and therefore can be tinned.
* The wire is held physically in place without relying entirely on the solder.

I drill a hole with a 0.8mm PCB drill starting from the outside of the rail and at an angle of roughly 45 degrees down. This should be done between sleepers and, on flexible track, try to pick a place where adjacent sleepers are not linked. The hole then emerges from the bottom of the rail into open space. This allows a feeder wire to be inserted from below.

Allow the tip of the copper core to come flush with the outer edge of the rail (or just proud by a hair's breadth) and solder it in place. Use a hot iron with a fine tip, applied to the rail and wire end together, and fine flux cored solder directly into the hole. Gravity and capillary action will take the solder down and the whole operation is over in a couple of seconds. This means the heat does not have a chance to spread enough to damage the plastic sleepers.
If this is done properly the only visible sign will be a very small trace of solder on the outer edge of the rail. Once the rail has been painted rust colour (for weathering) this becomes practically invisible unless you know where to look.

Having Your Say...

Tender Electrical Connection

Over the years, steam locos have evolved from having the motor and all the pickups in the loco, to having some pickups in the tender on one side, requiring a simple electrical connection, to having pickups on both sides, requiring a more complex connection. The manufacturers have risen to the challenge and come up with simple conductive connections that allow the loco to be attached to the tender easily without resorting to fiddly connections or hard wiring.

Now that there is a requirement to connect four circuits between the loco and tender the time has come for manufacturers to be innovative again and come up with a new solution. Four conductor electrical couplings are already available from Roco (p/n 40345) which show what can be achieved without resorting to hard wiring or fiddly plugs and sockets, and perhaps using NEM pockets for the loco to tender connection will make life a lot easier for those wishing to swap tenders as well. We can only dream of the manufacturers coming up with a standard – but it is possible. Because it is possible to assemble something fiddly in the Far East does not make it a good idea.

Paul Harman

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In Defence of the Plug

If you remove the plug connection between Hornby locos and tenders and have them permanently coupled together, this will make maintenance, detailing and weathering much harder to carry out with a much greater risk of damage to the model. Imagine trying to remove the body with the loco and tender coupled together. We also want to retain as many wheels as possible picking up the current so need the connection. A better solution would be to put a small tab on the plug to ease removal and change the packaging so that the loco and tender can be left coupled together for storage. It can then be sold connected in the box.

Something to be aware of - when swopping the sound unit from a 'Schools' St Pauls into Dulwich, I noticed that connections on the plug between loco and tender are not the same on the sound fitted loco as the standard one and had to be changed.

On the storage issue, Ikea sell a grey storage tray in there kitchen department, for 50p, with 4 compartments that will hold 3 coaches/locomotives and 2 wagons. Just add some tissue for protection.

Alec Hudson

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Converting the Bachmann S&D 7F

Neil Burgess (Friday) asks about the availability of a blanking plug for the DCC wiring to the tender of this loco. As you're trying to avoid tender wiring Neil, I presume you mean for the small 4 pin socket underneath the loco's cab. I suspect the only source of one of these would be Bachmann themselves, but that the only ones they would have would be for their own internal use.

However, it would not be too difficult to modify the one fitted to the loco. If the wires to the tender were cut, leaving about 2cm on the loco side, the insulation could be trimmed and the correct pairs of wires soldered together.

I'm also interested in the other details of your conversion. I presume you intend to use a kit for the Deeley tender, but which one? Also, the 1914 series of locos have the reversing gear and injectors on the opposite side to those on the 1925 versions; how are you converting them and do you know of a source of RHS versions of these bits?. How are you converting the smokebox saddle to the one piece type; is this just by careful filing?

Peter Welfare

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Hornby Minitrix

Do MREmag readers know of anyone reputable who offers a service and facility by mail order for original Hornby Minitrix N gauge locos? I've searched magazines and the Internet but I can't find anybody. Surely there must be someone out there who can rescue my 'Mallard' (and a couple of its friends) from the scrapline!

Simon Caldwell

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... and now for something completely different ....

Something for the creative modeller to do with the 4mm caravan models that are appearing in the shops:

Seen on the Great Central Railway at Rothley earlier this week; a long wheelbase Land Rover with road-rail wheels, followed closely by an Audi A8 with flanged wheels towing four caravans, followed closely by Jaguar sports car with flanged wheels towing half a caravan and a road rail vehicle on parallel track - and were they promoting a new rail service for caravans?

No, just Top-Gear out in force!!!

Bob Fleming

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Richard Whitmore

Richard and I struck up a long-standing friendship via MREmag some years ago. He was planning to come to England (from Australia) a couple of years back – but, no sooner had he started talking to me about it, than cancer struck.

Although he had never been here, his knowledge of UK railways in steam days was highly developed. He could always be relied upon to write to MREmag in a manner that was positive for all concerned – particularly for the manufacturers. He had a strong sense of decency and civility. He wasn’t actually a member of the Loco & Rolling Stock Teams, but he did ‘cast an outsiders eye’ over the text for me.

He was unashamedly a ‘model lover’ rather than a ‘modeller’ per se. On his layout, he would happily run an LMS red 'Patriot' in one direction and the prototype 'Deltic' in the other – all under overhead catenary, which permitted him to run European electrics, too.

I was privileged to have corresponded with such ‘a gentleman’. It was an awful moment just recently when he emailed me with a ‘signing off’ note – but he was a ‘real pro’ in all respects and didn’t want to leave loose ends untidy.

He will be missed.

Brian Macdermott

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Passenger Tank Locos on Goods Trains

Having bought models of tank locos designed primarily for passenger services, I am interested to know which can be used authentically on goods trains. Photographs of the LNER's N2 and L1 locos on goods duty proved elusive, until I bought a copy of David Holmes' marvellous Station Master's Reflections, Images of Railway Life, 1954-64 (Silver Link, 1992). This subject also interested Mr Holmes, who worked on and photographed the real railway. He includes a photograph of an N2 hauling a mixed goods at Wood Green in 1957. He also refers, in a caption, to the regular use of L1 tanks on the daily 'Shocvan' trip freight to the Plaster Board Co's sidings on the GCR's Gotham branch in the early 1960s, though the photo is of 'Jubilee' No.45624 St Helena on a unique and surprising working on 20 February 1963.

So there's a prototype for almost everything and that's two passenger tanks I can use on freights. Do readers know of other examples? I have never seen a picture of an SR M7 on goods duty, for example, and how about the days of the Big Four?

Richard Simmons

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Surging Models

I have two Bachmann Class 105s and one Class 108. They all tend to ‘surge’.

However, I took the motor coach only of each of the units and conducted an experiment. They all ran better with the motor unit ‘pushing’ the cab, rather than pulling it. Attaching the non-motor coach made no difference to the performance.

In other words, place the unit on your track with the motor coach cab facing downhill. It’s not perfect, but much better.

Brian Macdermott

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Regarding Friday’s comments from Colin Fraser-Davies and others regarding surging motors, it reminded me of the similar problem I have with a Bachmann 108 DMU.

The DMU had been relegated to my display cabinet due to this erratic movement on falling gradients.

The comments raised got me thinking and I have now completely cured this issue by inserting small strips of foam between the underside of the non powered bogies and the axles. This in effect increased the rolling resistance on the non powered bogies. Two or three axles can be treated in this way with a little trial and error to determine the correct thickness of foam and achieve smooth running (the foam cannot be seen when operating the DMU).

To ensure that the foam stayed in position and was not dislodged, I used small amounts of Tacky Wax to retain the foam in place. A similar solution may solve Bill Towers Hornby 5MT problem by inserting a small amount of foam on a bogie or pony truck axle.

This is a good example of how useful and informative MREmag is in sharing ideas and solving problems.

Richard Skuse

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I too have experienced surging with the Bachmann EMUs and DMUs. The worst example is the 4CEP, where it is virtually impossible to arrive smoothly at two of my stations that are on slight falling gradients. The effect with the 2-car DMUs is more like slightly dirty wheels and track (which they are not) and is less pronounced, but it does spoil the operation of otherwise impressive models. I have not had time to do any tests, but the effect seems less on non-electronic controllers, so I had wondered if it had something to do with feedback circuitry. When I have time, I had intended to try operation on half-wave pulse power, but I will now also try imposing a load by retarding the trailer cars.

Colin Antrobus

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Background Information on Model Prototypes

Thanks, Pat, for the timely information. I can’t just wander into a local hobby shop and buy one (copy of the Bachmann Branchline Pocket Guide), but thanks to the Internet it isn’t a big deal; it shall be mine.

It does highlight a major reason for having such information on or in the packaging though: that, just because you can get hold of a resource for the asking, and more importantly know that the resource in question actually exists, doesn’t mean everyone can. The UK modeller abroad is often 'on his own', as a quick review of the letters from our Australian readers might show. Forget about UK prototype in a non-former-Commonwealth country.

And, although I have a small library of extremely specialised books on aspects of UK prototype, they all suffer from the authors’ short-sightedness when it comes to their perceived audience and thus have gaping information gaps that cannot be easily filled. As an example, last year I bought a 'definitive' (and expensive) book on (mostly) UK signalling that failed utterly to explain the hows and whys of shunting signals. How I wish a few pages of extremely-overworked examples of Bell Code usage (something that clearly fascinated the author) had been sacrificed to explain 'the obvious'.

Steve Mann - NYC.

It wasn't quite that easy for me, as it took almost a year to research and write the book. The hardest part was to find background detail of modern freight stock. The two fairly new Wagon Recognition volumes by Buck and Rawlinson, which deal with current stock, are rich in pictures but poor in written detail. David Larkin's excellent series of 8 wagon books ends in 1992, leaving a 19 year gap to be filled. May be the Internet has more to offer - Ed.

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DCC & Sound

Regarding Chris Spencer's mail 'Better Sound' of 15/6/11, I must agree that sound in locos has its limitations and decoders will get more expensive as their capacity for sound files increases. He posses the question of sound via speakers mounted under the layout. There is a group 'Layoutsound' on the Yahoo net that deals with all types of sound for layouts and some of the YouTubes are fantastic. The support is fantastic from members and they go out of there way to help.

Regarding DCC and blocks to trigger sound, Digitrax Transponders can do this and much more. Visit their site and read the transponder section. I am at the moment installing transponding and will, with the use of sensors, announce the arrival and departure of different trains at different stations (that's the plan - I have just got to get it to work)

Note this is all possible.

I hope this sheds some light on the subject and shows there are alternative ways that are not so costly.

Trevor Pankhurst - Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

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Eras and all that

Following on from Dudley Jones and others concerning eras, I should like to add that the Ivatt tank, that was still displaying British Railways on its tank sides, was 41224 and working from Bedford and Neasden depots. I believe it was the last loco to carry this livery. I certainly saw it at Bedford in this and later with the late BR crest. It was possible to see all three types of liveries at the same time, in use at Bedford, on different Ivatt tanks. My layout is based on the Bedford area and so I have 41224 and other members of the class in the three liveries. Also, some locos only ever carried the early crest right up to withdrawal in the 1960s, so its always best to check a photo of the real loco. Bachmann eras are a useful guide and just that.

Malcolm Burgoyne

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Call me pedantic but the Bachmann era 3 classification for SR just does not help me at all. I find it difficult enough to identify Malachite and Maunsell green within their collection of locomotives. Bachmann did not always indicate this in their catalogues.

A similar problem arises when attempting to identify the large SR insignia from the small lettering when it comes to goods stock within era 3.

The latest example being the shortly to be released, SR 25 ton Pill Box Brake Van, 38-400 and 38-403. The photo of 38-400 does show the large insignia and the description includes the white roof. There is no photo of 38-403 but the grey roof was assigned to the later years. I can only hope this will be with small insignia.

Bachmann have been very helpful in the past where they have been able to answer most of my questions regarding SR liveries for era 3. I have been advised further details on the Pill Box models will be released to the model railway press once tooling has been completed and the livery samples received.

Norman Allum - Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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Simon Kohler and James May

After finally getting to watch James May’s programme the other night, I think Simon Kohler and Hornby should have an award given for their part in providing great entertainment. In particular Simon, as he was seen to trudge most of the distance along the old track bed.

A mention should be made of our European colleagues, the Germans, for the Sauerkraut powered locomotive. Its violent demise brought a tear to my eye. I could have told them how dangerous Sauerkraut is, after eating it on a visit to Bremen with a layout, a few years ago. It certainly made my safety valve lift.

John Wass

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York/Newcastle-Bournemouth Workings

Peter Smith (S&D) and I would like to clarify a small (but inadvertent) confusion that has been introduced into Mike Leonard’s ‘B16 on Southern Metals’ posting of Friday.

Peter and I responded to Mike’s recent posting where he asked - "Did B16s operate as far south as Bournemouth?" - following his having seen a photo of a B16 with southern stock on the Newcastle-Bournemouth through train (via Banbury). We made no reference in our posting to the Newcastle-Bournemouth West travelling via the S&D – simply that B1s (not B16s) were permitted on certain sections of the Southern, but, as far as is known, none had penetrated further south than Bath (Green Park).

Having checked my WR Carriage Working Programmes, I can say that – during the 1950s – the York/Newcastle to Bournemouth West was programmed for NER and SR stock on alternate days. It was 10 coaches Monday-Thursday and 12 coaches Fridays and Saturdays. The York/Newcastle to Swansea was 11 coaches of WR and NER stock on alternate days.

The minutiae of why it was a York or Newcastle train on different dates is off topic for MREmag – suffice to say for Mike’s modelling pleasure, there is evidence to suggest that WR and SR stock on the ECML is perfectly feasible.

If Mike would like copies of the carriage workings, I’d be happy to supply them.

Brian Macdermott

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Friday 17.6.11.

Milton Keynes MRS New Layout, Exhibition & Website

Milton Keynes Model Railway Society unveiled its new outdoor layout on 8 June 2011. It was officially opened by representatives of four of our largest model railway companies - Bachmann, Hornby and Peco and railway book publishers Ian Allan.

The event was organised to coincide with the Warley Model Railway Club Exhibition sponsors meeting which took place at Bletchley Park, the home since 1994 of Milton Keynes Model Railway Society. Warley MRC organise the UK’s largest model railway exhibition each year at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham and Milton Keynes MRS was delighted to host the meeting which has previously been held on a number of preserved railways.

The new layout has taken a year to build and replaced a previous layout which was on the same site for 10 years. The new facility offers tracks for 45mm, 32mm and 16.5mm running and has five circuits. The two 16.5mm circuits used 69 yards of Peco Streamline track.

MKMRS also announced the date of its 2012 exhibition - Saturday 18 February, 2012. The 2011 show attracted a record 1,300 visitor and the club hopes to beat that this year and provide additional hall space.

More information can be found on the club's newly redesigned website which is now available at: www.mkmrs.org.uk

Lord and Butler Model Railways Cardiff 4th Annual FREE Exhibition - TOMORROW!

The exhibition is at the Pumping Station, Penarth Road (A4160), Cardiff CF11 8TT on Saturday June 18th and Sunday June 19th from 10am to 5.30pm

This is our fourth exhibition collecting on behalf of local charity Ty Hafan childrens hospice. Last year around a thousand pounds was collected and organisers hope to do even better this year. They currently have 7 plus working layouts in various scales attending, including Stefan Lewis’ much admired 'Maindee East' steam depot.

Dirty Boy! - the shop's custom weathering service will stage weathering demonstrations with weathered locos, rolling stock and with materials for sale.

Bachmann Europe will be in attendance to answer questions and display current and future models and miniature train rides will be provided in the car park by Bridgend Model Engineers. There will also be special weekend offers and a large selection of new, used and collectable model railways for sale.

Refreshments will be available from the cafe on site and there will be plenty of free parking available. The Pumping Station itself has three floors of antiques and collectables for partners who don’t share an interest in model railways!

Public transport is available by bus (Nos. 92/3/4 from Cardiff Central) stopping directly outside or by train to Grangetown station, which is approximately 15 minutes walking distance from the venue.

Admission is free, but a donation to Ty Hafan children's hospice would be much appreciated.

For further information tel. 02920 667225 or go to www.lordandbutler.com

Richard Whitmore

I have heard that Richard Whitmore has passed away. I gathered last year that he was being treated for cancer and the last message I received was at the end of December. Richard was a frequent contributor to MREmag and he and his contributions will be missed. It is always sad when we lose one of our fellow enthusiasts - you would think we would get used to it, but we don't

Alresford - Tomorrow!

Collectors from all over the UK will be setting up around 20 layouts tomorrow at Perins Community School, Alresford. Go along and take something to run. There will be over 80 sales tables, with traders from far and wide, selling old and new trains, books, spares and resprays etc.. The real preserved trains on the Watercress Line are only 200m away and you can take the train to the show from Alton. Alresford Rotary are running a BBQ and there will be live music from Watch Out Blues, with rock from '60s and '70s. There will also be a raffle with a brand new Hornby train set as first prize.

Opening times are 11am-5pm. and admission charges will be adults Ł5, children Ł3 and families (2+2) Ł13. There will also be an early entry charge of Ł10.

for those who want to get to the sales tables at 9am.

Graham Farish 37027 Loch Eil from TMC

TMC have commissioned Bachmann to produce a special edition of their Graham Farish Class 37/0. This will be 37027 Loch Eil. (371-466Z) in large logo BR blue with a pristine finish and is due for delivery in the 4th quarter of 2011. 504 pieces will be made and the price is Ł99.99 (RRP Ł106.99) plus Ł4 post and packing. It will be 'DCC ready' with a 6 pin socket. It is a Blue Riband model and features directional lights.

The model will be supplied with etched brass nameplates unfitted, but TMC do provide a fitting service. The nameplates on Loch Eil were removed in February 1987 and the loco was renumbered to 37519 in April 1987 and reclassified to 37/5.

Snow ploughs are not supplied, but they may be obtained from TP Models (Ł1.50) and possibly Shawplan (in etched brass) for self fitting. The fitting of these would only be possible at one end (front) due to the coupling at the other end.

The model will be available from: TMC, Hill Farm, Beck Hole, Whitby, N.Yorks YO22 5LF Tel: 01947 896040 email: sales@tmc-direct.com www.tmc-direct.com and advanced bookings are being taken.

Minstead Model Railway Exhibition - Tomorrow!

The second Minstead Model Railway Exhibition will take place between 10am and 5pm on Saturday 18 June at Minstead Village Hall, Minstead, Hampshire SO43 7FX. Minstead is situated in the New Forest just south of junction 1 on the M27.

The exhibition is planned to feature 12 layouts, together with trade support, demonstrations and refreshments. It is being held in aid of two charities: Diabetic Solent and the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.0

More details can be found at: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/36850-minstead-model-railway-exhibition-saturday-18th-june/

Hints & Tips No.394
Fencing 1

by several modellers

If you use a bought fence like Ratio's flexible fencing, consider painting it while it is still in the plastic spru. Also, if you want to make the fence look dilapidated, cut out some of the planks and add signs of rotting at the base.

Surging Models

Regarding John Jefferey's query about the surging down grades of his class 416 and 411 models, I have experienced this myself (although I can't now remember which loco was involved!). The cause is the mechanism binding on the overrun, when the loco is trying to outrun the mechanism. I doubt that much can be done to cure a particular model, although light braking on a non-powered bogie might help. Mechanisms with worm drive are particularly susceptible.

Colin Fraser-Davies - New Zealand

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I rather think that the problem John Jeffery has with his class 416 and 411 models, which exhibit cycles of ‘slow down and then surge forward’ on a falling gradient, originates from something far more prosaic than the 'steady speed control feature', which he suspects these models contain.

The drive is non-reversible, thanks to the worm gear, and the vehicles are very free rolling indeed. I have tested the trailer car on my class 105 DMU model which has the same style of wheel bearing, after noticing it glide away on ‘level’ track. I reckon it will move off under gravity on a 1 in 200. When a train with such free rolling vehicles is on a falling gradient, gravity accelerates the train to a rate greater than the corresponding motor rotational rate. Then the worm gear begins to bind, the train slows noticeably, the gear unbinds, gravity accelerates the train again, and the cycle continues while the falling gradient persists.

That’s my surmise. To test if that is correct, try fitting enough of an axle drag to the trailer car(s) that they maintain a steady speed (no acceleration) when freewheeling without the power car down the steepest layout gradient. That should eliminate the surging.

Paul Jansz

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Like John Jeffrey, I too have a loco that surges on a downhill run and performs perfectly in other respects. This time it is a Hornby 5MT and, interestingly, it is the only engine in my small fleet that has the five pole motor. I have always guessed that this slight problem was caused by a possible feedback miss-match between the loco and my analogue controllers. Close observation of the other locos on the same stretch of track shows the feedback control to work but almost imperceptibly, but not in the case of the 5MT.

Any suggestions as to a fix would be most welcome.

Bill Towers - Brisbane

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I have no solution to John Jeffrey's request for advice on gradient surge, except to add that I have exactly the same problem with a new Bachmann 105 DMU. It runs superbly, other than on a down gradient. I have seen no reference to the problem anywhere else, so am interested in other responses.

Dave Webber

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James May

Just to let you know that what you saw on the James May – The Great Race - programme was just the tip of the iceberg of what happened over those 3 – 4 days. Suffice to say that I have never ever been so physically exhausted, mentally tired and emotionally drained in my entire life! And please remember that we failed the first time so the pressure was even greater for the job to get done!

One small thing, after the cameras had stopped filming and everyone had gone home, those of us remaining (and there were only 6 of us) had to walk back from Bideford to Barnstaple picking up all the track!

Emotional, you can bet your life I was!!

Simon Kohler

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Permanently Coupled, Please!

The Editor's comments about the new Hornby tweezers are very commendable and I fully agree with them. I also support the loco and tender being permanently coupled, as per the arrangements by Bachmann. With a Bachmann loco in this form, it can be taken from its box and placed on to the track, with no fiddling coupling to be undertaken. After use, if it is not staying on the layout, it can be returned to its box for safe storage. I have no problems with this arrangement.

In contrast, with a Hornby loco, after being taken out the box, you have to perform contortions to couple the loco to the tender and, after use, it cannot be returned to its box unless it is uncoupled again. I fear that constant coupling and uncoupling will weaken the plug and socket. With locos I have purchased, I have permanently coupled them, but that then makes the Hornby packaging unsuitable for storage, as you cannot now put the loco back in its box. I have to resort to obtaining new and safe storage for such locos when not in use.

So Hornby, let's see some permanently coupled locos, starting with the 'Sandringhams' and 'Footballers' - and correct packaging if this is going to be the way forward. Do that and you will start getting my money again!

John Cherry

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All change at Earl’s Court

I note that the London Transport Museum is running a special trip with its 1938 tube train next Sunday. I do wonder, however, just how many punters will be prepared to part with Ł25 for a trip that is relatively short in both duration and distance. The real highlight will be the alleged transfer from Piccadilly to District metals using ‘an unusual crossover’ at Earl’s Court. Unusual indeed – as at Earl’s Court the Piccadilly is in its tube tunnel well below the District on the surface! I assume that the actual transfer will be via the crossover between Hammersmith and Barons Court (note correct absence of any apostrophe), where both lines run parallel on the surface.

There is (or was) another similar crossover facility east of Turnham Green, regularly used by the steam-hauled freights that ran from Brent via South Acton to yards at High Street Kensington (until 1963) and West Kensington (until 1965). An interesting modelling opportunity for someone!

Nick Stanbury

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Live Steam

It was almost inevitable that 'Live Steam' would be consigned to history at some time; I am just glad that I purchased my Mallard loco when I did. It is always a pleasure to fire her up from time to time. Hopefully Hornby will continue to provide a servicing/repair service and supplies. Distilled water is not such a problem, but it would be useful if Hornby would continue to supply or give a source of supply of the engine oil which gives off that distinctive steam smell.

The concept of 'Live Steam' showed what could be engineered into an 00 scale loco, but with the rise of DCC and no possibility of compatibility, plus the difficult financial times, something had to give.

Andrew Carter

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It is a great shame Hornby will no longer be producing live steam items, although it was always going to be a niche within a niche hobby. It does stand as a great achievement and a testament to the Hornby engineers.

Until Roger Brooks posted, I had never considered live steam as an alternative to either DC or DCC. To me it is more as an alternative to electricity as motive power.

Steve Mann

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B16s on Southern Metals

Just a quick reference to this previous discussion when Brian Macdermott kindly provided feedback to the effect that he was unaware of any LNER locomotives running down the SDJR to Bournemouth. However, subsequent research has identified that the established Newcastle - Bournemouth service operated via the GCR, Didcot, Reading, Basingstoke, and Southampton. A second cross-country service also left Newcastle two hours later on the 'Ports Special' to Swansea via Banbury and Cheltenham. Potentially, this could mean that both Great Western as well as Southern coaching stock could have been worked through via York to Newcastle and could potentially provide some interesting variety for ECML addicts in this neck of the woods.

I have just picked up a second hand book on the GCR, and found an image of a B16 on a Woodford Halse - York freight working in the 1950s. Thus far and probably no further!

Mike Leonard

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Eras and all that

I am not a fan of the Bachmann era system, but believe that Dudley Jones and Nick Lamkin (Monday) have summed up the situation well. The system should be seen as a helpful guide to those who need guidance – no more, no less. We have to remember that we ‘aficionados’ are only part of the market for model trains and such a system helps the likes of ‘Uncle John’ who wants to buy ‘a nice coach to go with nephew Timmy’s big green steam engine.

To be fair to Bachmann, their 2009 catalogue (the latest issue I have) states clearly that (quote): This classification is not absolute. It is intended to be a rough guide for those wishing to set their models in a particular time frame.

Speaking personally (and as a railway historian), I would have preferred actual years to have been used rather than ‘eras’ – for example, ‘1954 to c.1968’, or ‘mid-30s to mid-60s, etc. However, viewing the subject from the perspective of a hard-pressed retailer in his shop on a Saturday afternoon in the run-up to Christmas, it must be useful to flick through the catalogue and tell ‘Uncle John’: "Pick any of those from Era 4".

Time is money.

Brian Macdermott

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The point of having those eras on the side of the box, something I personally see as a quantum leap forward in the marketing of model railway stock, is to prevent inadvertent anachronistic trains being built by those who weren’t alive or in the right country to see the things working firsthand in the prototype.

Perhaps those who are complaining might take time to view the era as a beginning point for a modeller’s education, rather than as some yardstick that must be supremely calibrated from the get-go.

I would like additional information on/in the box – like when the prototype rolled out onto the rails and when the last one was known to be in operation, but not at the expense of a quick-and-dirty method of saying "this belongs on my railway but this doesn’t".

Why some people insist on making the route to becoming an educated modeller such a tortuous apprenticeship is beyond me. All this will do is drive people away from the idea of making a model railway something more than a toy (for those who harbour pretensions of 'getting it right'; others don’t care either way and why should they? It’s their railway).

Steve Mann - NYC

Much of the information that Steve seeks, certainly as far as Bachmann models are concerned, will be found in the headings to each table in the Bachmann Branchline Pocket Guide (just Ł9.99 plus postage). This provides information about the prototype on which each model was based - Ed

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Nick Lamkin (Wednesday) makes fair comment that Bachmann's eras are meant as an aid for the less experienced modeller and that I personally don't need them. Yes, but my point was that sometimes they could be used in a more accurate way to avoid confusing said less experienced modellers.

In the example I quoted, S&D 7F 53806, it would seem that the livery was used to denote the era, i.e. early emblem therefore Era 4 (1948-1956), but the loco didn't exist in the condition modelled until late 1955 - and lasted this way until withdrawal in January 1964, so to avoid confusion, it would have been better to make it Era 5 (1957-1966).

Peter Welfare

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A DCC Enquiry

I have a further enquiry about DCC plugs and sockets, particularly in this case with reference to the Bachmann S&D 7F. Since I wish to replace the original Fowler tender with a Deeley one - for one of the 1914 series of engines - is there some kind of 'blanking plug' which can be inserted into the socket from the engine to allow the engine to work and avoid the need for installing an unwanted piece of wiring in the new tender?

All fragments of enlightenment gratefully received!

Neil Burgess

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Hatton's Adverts

Brian MacDermott mentions Hattons' requirement for copies of their old adverts. I have some 1950 and complete sets of MRN, MRC and RM from 1951 to 1980.

I'm not on Hattons' mailing list, so have not seen their request. To avoid trawling through all the early issues, when did Hattons start trading and did they advertise in all of them? Do they want photocopies / scans, or the complete magazine?

Don Blackhall

Perhaps an MREmag reader on Hattons' staff can provide further information - Ed.

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Foreign Engines

Another one to add to Dudley Jones' list of unusual engines at Norwich; 'Crab' 42902 of Burton photographed there on 3/8/57 (photo in Glory Days; Steam in East Anglia by P Swinger).

'Black Fives' apparently got to Colchester on at least two occasions; one on a train from Birmingham via March (photo in Steam in the Eastern Counties by Brodribb), the second (photo in The Eastern Region in Pictures by D Mann) from Leagrave on a 'Commer Karrier Special'. Both trains were for Clacton, with the engine of the second train (at least) going through to Clacton.

On another subject, Harwich Parkeston Quay West station was built on piling over the river, and was used for boat trains for the day ferry service to and from Hook of Holland and I believe also troop trains for BAOR - but this needs confirming.

Martyn Daw

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Industrial Locomotives

I know that we have tried to gauge the potential for industrial locomotives on the Poll over the years, to limited response. But wondered if we identified both pre-Grouping and 'Big Four' era locomotives that also served private owner operations well into the BR periods, and whether these should also receive attention and future R-T-R consideration?

I have just got this month's copy of Model Rail, and its Model News pages are conveniently located previous to your own article on Wish List - The Results. Two locomotives caught my attention: Model Rail's own Sentinel 4w VBT and Ixion's Huswell Clark 0-6-0ST. Sentinels were used by several of the Big Four and also on private owner rail operations, with one so employed at Cargo Fleet Iron & Steel Works in Middlesbrough. The Hudswell Clark 0-6-0ST was a recognisable industrial locomotive, but also had the distinction of being the locomotive of choice for the 'massive' Easingwold Branch, that linked up with the ECML at Alne, north of York.

I know that the North Eastern coalfields saw many pre-BR 0-6-0 locomotives operating for the National Coal Board well into the 1960s, such as LBSCR/SR E1 tanks, Great Northern/LNER J50s, USA 0-6-0 tanks, Barry Railway/GWR F Class tanks and our very own North Eastern/LNER 1350 Class tanks. Consequently, I believe that we should also consider the appeal of a number of pre-Grouping locomotives that didn't survive in BR operations to the late 1950s, but may well have operated well in to the 1960s on industrial rail operations and it would be good to hear from others if this strikes a reasonable chord?

Mike Leonard

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Wednesday 15.6.11.

May 2011 Quiz Result

It turned out to be less difficult this time but there were a couple of questions which generated a multitude of answers, particularly question 2. There were 10 entrants who scored the full ten out of ten but the name of the winner to be pulled out of the hat is Charles Steele, from Glossop in Derbyshire, who wins the prize of Ł150.00 of goods of his choice from Rails of Sheffield. This is the largest ever prize to be won since the quiz started and Charles will be either making his way over Snake Pass or shopping online to spend his winnings.

Congratulations go to Charles; Rails of Sheffield will be in touch very shortly, by email, about how to claim his prize.

Here are the questions and answers. As always, the Quizmaster’s decision is final.

1. Which class 55 has recently been hired by GBRF for 2 months and on which freight turn was it operating?

Answer: It’s 55022 Royal Scots Grey working from North Blyth to Lynemouth hauling loaded alumina tanks and the returning empties.

2. Due to expanding business, GBRF has acquired further class 66 locos. How many class 66s do they now own or lease?

Answer: At the time of the question being set, my understanding was that GBRF had 46 Class 66s in their fleet as follows:

66402 – 66404 = 3

66578 – 66581 = 4 (all now owned by GBRF but 578 – 580 were originally leased by them)

66701 – 66733 = 33

66737 = 1

66841 – 66845 = 5 (Owned by GBRF but currently sublet to Colas).

However, there is some doubt as to whether the purchase of 66841 to 66845 has been completed so I have accepted both 41 and 46 as valid answers.

3. Which class 314 unit has recently been returned to traffic after being the first to be refurbished and completed in the Scotland Railway blue livery?

Answer: It was 314212.

4. What was the name of the water troughs situated in the Lune Gorge between Grayrigg and Shap on the West Coast Main Line?

Answer: They were Dillicar troughs.

5. Who was the successor to Dr Richard Beeching as Chairman of the British Railways Board and in which month did he formally open Tinsley Marshalling Yard in Sheffield?

Answer: He was Sir Stanley Raymond and Tinsley was officially opened in October 1965. I’ve read books which state clearly that Sir Stanley Raymond opened Tinsley Yard but a couple of other sources suggest that Beeching opened it, despite having left BR in June of the same year. Whoever did formally open it, it was still October 1965, which is the answer I was looking for.

6. Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) has just completed the first of 24 refurbishments on its class 158 fleet. Which unit was the first to be refurbished?

Answer: It was 158840

7. On what date did passenger services end at Sheffield Victoria station?

Answer: January 5^th 1970.

8. On what date last year did a German ICE unit pay a visit to St Pancras?

Answer: 19^th October 2010

9. Which company has the contract to haul 15 boat trains this year from Scotland to Southampton Docks and which two locos powered the first train from Edinburgh on April 19th?

Answer: Direct Rails Services (DRS) has the contract and the first train was hauled by 47810 and 47501. On arrival at Southampton, 47810 was named "Peter Bath MBE 1927 – 2006".

10. What is the sum in feet and inches if you add together the track gauges of the Talyllyn Railway, The Ffestiniog Railway, The Vale of Rheidol Railway and the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway?

Answer: The answer is 8’ 8¹/₄ inches. The gauges as quoted on the individual websites are 2 feet 3 inches for the Tallylyn Railway, 1 foot 11¹/₂ inches for the Ffestiniog Railway, 1 foot 11ľ inches for the Vale of Rheidol and 2 feet 6 inches for the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway. Although I’ve used the railway’s own websites to arrive at this figure, other sources quote other figures for both the Ffestiniog and Vale of Rheidol.

(Our thanks as ever to both our quizmaster and Rails of Sheffield - Ed).

New Hornby Releases

The following Hornby models have recently arrived in the shops:

R2955 Virgin Charter Relief Train Pack containing EWS 90029 The Institution of Civil Engineers and Virgin Mk3 DVT No.82126.
R3027 Class14xx early BR green livery No.1444
R3015 No.46207 Princess Arthur of Connaught in BRc maroon 'DCC Ready'
R3060 RailRoad Class A1 No.60163 Tornado in BRa Doncaster green
R2991XS A4 No.60018 Sparrow Hawk in BRb Express Blue 'with sound'
R3065 RailRoad Class 06 BRe blue No.06008
R2962 Class 56 BReLL Railfreight red stripe grey No.56040 Oystermouth
R3045 Class 73 No.73202 Dave Berry in Gatwick Express livery 'DCC Ready'
R4478 K Class Pullman 1st parlour car Leona (match board)
R4479 K Class Pullman 3rd parlour car Car No.34 (match board)
R4485 K Class Pullman 1st kitchen car Adrian (metal) clad
R4487 K Class Pullman 3rd brake car Car No.63 (metal clad)
R4452 Hitachi standard open coach No.39034
R4453 Hitachi standard open coach No.39035
R6469 OTA timber carrier turquoise No.112317
R6470 OTA timber carrier turquoise No.112182
R6471 OTA timber carrier turquoise No.112338
R6519 6-plank wagon 'Crook & Thompson' maroonNo.43
R6518 7-plank wagon 'Shelton' maroon No.1836
R6517 7-plank wagon 'Goldendale Iron Co.' grey No.598
R6513 7-plank wagon 'City of Birmingham Gas Dept.' maroon No.1225
R6516 7-plank wagon 'Bullcroft Main Collieries' maroon No.757
R6529 8-plank end-tipping wagon maroon 'Manton' No.6502
R6515 9-plank wagon 'Denaby' maroon No.3246
R6534 PGA aggregate hopper 'Yeoman' buff & blue No.PR14081
R6487 PGA aggregate hopper 'Yeoman' buff & blue No.PR14001
R6542 PCA tanker 'Rockware Glass'/Tiger blue No.10552
R6514 14T tanker 'Esso' beige No.1164
R6535 6-wheel tank wagon 'West Park Dairy' maroon No.175
R6484 KFA container wagon No.93478 with 'Stolt' tank 20' container and 'Maersk Sealand' 40' container.
R6485 KFA container wagon No.93482 with 'NOL' 20' container and 'P&O' 40' container.

Father's Day Heritage Train Special - Sunday 19 June 2011

Treat your father, take a trip down memory lane and have fun with your family this Father’s Day. Continuing with the Heritage Vehicles on the move 2011 programme, London Transport Museum will run its 1938 Tube train along the westbound end of the Piccadilly line; this is the first time since it was withdrawn from service in 1975 that it has travelled so far West on the Piccadilly line and is therefore the first trip to Heathrow.

The day will be full of firsts and rare opportunities. Leaving Northfields on the Piccadilly line, the train travels to High Street Kensington, via Earl’s Court, where you will experience an unusual crossover from the Piccadilly line to the District line, a manoeuvre not usually available to the general public. From here, you will travel back down the District line changing onto the Piccadilly line at Acton Town.

The highlight of the day is when the 1938 Tube train will run from Hatton cross taking a left turn down to Heathrow Terminal 4, where it will then carry on to Terminals 1, 2 and 3.

The journey will last approximately 2 hours.

Ticket prices: adults Ł25.00, children Ł15 (children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult). Book online at www.ltmuseum.co.uk or telephone 020 7565 7298.

Hints & Tips No.393

Bending Sheet Metal

From the Victorian Model Railway Society

When folding sheet metal, such as 0.010" (0.25mm) brass, you should scribe a line on the outside of the fold if you want the outside to be a 'square' corner. If you want the inside to be square and the outside slightly rounded (because of the stretched metal on the outside following the bend), you should scribe on the inside.

By Brian Macdermott

Thursday 16 June - BBC1, 20.00-21.00. Andrew Marr’s Megacities. The presenter takes a look at big city transport systems.

Having Your Say...

Barnstaple to Bideford

It was good to see Simon Kohler and Hornby get some well-deserved recognition on James May’s latest attempt to get model trains running between Barnstaple and Bideford (BBC2, last Sunday).

Brian Macdermott

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James May New Toy Story

I did not know that James May was going to have another go at a model railway between Barnstaple and Bideford, so last Sunday's programme was a complete surprise. What a cracking programme it was; my wife and I thoroughly enjoy it.

It was a great advert for the new Hornby HST unit which did a fantastic job, only to be eclipsed by the trusty and now historic Tri-ang Flying Scotsman, with 'chuff chuff' sound, the pride and joy of James May; tremendous stuff. Let us not forget the Hornby R603 long straights, which more than stood up to the task; although I dread to think how many pieces were actually used.

An excellent programme and I have never seen Simon Kohler so emotional!

John Cherry

I should explain that Simon was wiping tears from his eyes as the HST arrived at the station - weren't you Simon? It was an emotional moment and the HST seemed to have encountered fewer problems along the way when compared with all the other trains that ran that day. Ten real miles is a long way to go without technical failure. The highlight for me was when the first German experimental locomotive exploded in such a spectacular way. Well done Hornby! - Ed.

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'Seadog'

Now that Bachmann have announced both the 'Dukedog' and C Class in 00, it raises the possibility of releasing a model based on a prototype that ran on the Bluebell Railway in the 1970s. This was when the tender of the 'Dukedog' was in need of major repairs and the C Class was out of traffic. To keep the 'Dukedog' in traffic, the tender of the C was coupled to it, thus producing the 'C Dog' (seadog).

Graham Fearn

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Hornby Live Steam

I was recently made aware, through one of the model forums, that Hornby are not to pursue 'Live Steam' modelling and have sold off their existing stocks. Whether or not they intend to cease servicing of locos and controllers and supply of spares is not clear.

This was to be expected, given that support in the form of articles by model magazines and marketing by Hornby themselves was never going to rival that for DCC. It is a great pity that they didn't announce their intentions as the cost of 'Live Steam' is not much more than a DCC loco with sound and chips. 'Live Steam' gives the opportunity of driving a loco under almost realistic conditions given payload and track conditions as variables. I don't see this with either DC or DCC control. The downside is that it is best on long straights and large radius curves. Shunting is not easy!.

There is a group of Lincolnshire enthusiasts on the web at: oolivesteam.com who are trying to promote 'Live Steam' through development of a large layout for exhibitions. Regrettably, I live many miles to the west and am unable to physically support their endeavours.

Roger Brooks

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Hornby Gresley Stock

It should be interesting to see the Gresley full brake produced in lined Pullman umber to represent Baggage Car No.7 from the Original VSOE. Unfortunately, this car has now been scrapped as it did not conform to the required standard, but was originally a feature of the VSOE. As Hornby have now produced the Winston Churchill Funeral train SR luggage van in Pullman livery, would a Pullman Gresley brake be a possibility?

David Rhodes

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Hawksworth Coaches

There have previously been postings about the Hornby Hawksworth coaches and the authenticity of the various liveries. On the Severn Valley Railway in Kidderminster, there is a superbly restored Hawksworth 12 wheel sleeper in traditional GWR livery.

Tony Elliott

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EPB Class 416 Destination Blinds

My Bachmann EPB 416 has the same problem with destination blinds. I do not know if it is a fault or if it is something Bachmann overlooked.

The internal lights are much better than previous Bachmann EMUs, giving an even spread of light.

I have had a minor problem with one of the axles on the trailing car derailing. I did normal 'back to back' wheel measurements with no change. Then I discovered that the bogie was secured slightly tighter to the body compared to the others, a quick half turn of the fastening screw anticlockwise and problem was solved.

John Jeffery

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Bachmann EPB

With regards to the recently released Bachmann EPB, according to Bachmann, the board lights stay the same either way of running and it is the same for DC or DCC. Also, the lights in the carriages do not work independently of the board lights

John Bardsley

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Better Sound

I can’t help feeling that the current fad for sound ‘on board’ is no more than an expensive gimmick. Surely the way ahead lies in synchronised high fidelity sound, fed from speaker to speaker as the train moves around the layout. DCC is used for individual locomotive CVs and for the extra sounds, but I don’t know if the block detection is compatible with that being used for block signalling yet.

Obviously, small locomotives and anything else on the layout that makes a significant noise can have just as much ‘say’ as tender locos, although the Soundtraxx system, for example, is only 6-track. However, the space saved ‘on board’ and the cost and difficulty of fitting speakers might be better used for controlling coupling.

The only disadvantage I can see will be at shows where layout operators will inevitably turn the volume up too high. However, the quality reproduction and synchronisation of actual sounds in decent external speakers will be an improvement on some of the indifferent noises being heard nowadays, although both systems leave that irritating synthetic chuffing in the Stone Age!

Has anyone succeeded in anglicising one of these external DCC sound systems yet?

Chris Spencer

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Advice Please

My track is analogue. When running up a gradient or on level track, the classes 416 and 411 run superbly at steady speeds. However, when they go down a gradient, they slow down and then surge forward. This slow down/surge cycle continues until level track or rising gradient is encountered. No other locos or DMUs exhibit the same problem.

I have checked controllers and their outputs are steady. It seems to me, that the models have a built in 'steady speed control feature', which works well, except where gravity lends a hand.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

John Jeffery

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Wish List Anticipation?

Now that Chris Leigh is at the helm of the Steam World magazine, there are already signs of a welcome crossover between the real railway and model railways. The latest edition has some excellent photos of NER Q6 locomotives, ranked at No12 in the 2012 wish list, and just waiting for Bachmann to produce an exquisite model (please). In addition, there is also a good feature on Marsh H2 Atlantics, on some interesting cross country workings. This loco was No 3 in the wish list and, while I still fear that the absence of a working example may act against producing a model of one, I do appreciate that a replica is being constructed at the Bluebell Railway. I would concur that this is an attractive locomotive and a model could also lead to the GN version.

The magazine also has some very good colour photos of West Coast route parcels workings, with some interesting consists, plus an interesting feature on the 'Britannia' class in East Anglia. The June issue is well recommended.

John Cherry

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Gresley Buffet Cars

To answer Alan Savin's question, many of the diagram 167 buffet cars (the prototype of the Hornby model), along with a number of 'Tourist' stock cars and other vehicles, were modernised internally and fitted with propane gas cooking equipment from October 1958 onwards. Externally, the obvious changes were on the kitchen side where all except four large windows in the passenger saloon were replaced by panels, leaving just a door and an adjacent small window at the kitchen end. The corridor side was unaltered. As all catering vehicles not fitted with propane equipment were rapidly withdrawn after 1962, only the modernised cars survived to be painted in BR blue and grey. Unless the body moulding is altered, the Hornby model will be incorrect. There is a good photo of E9124E from the kitchen side in Robert Hendry's book BR Coaching Stock in Colour.

There has been some discussion about whether the lined maroon Hornby car is correct, with one source claiming that only a single un-modernised car was finished in this livery. As maroon was standard from 1956 and the modernisation programme ran from late 1958 until about 1960, I suspect that there may have been more. Does anybody have further information?

If Hornby were to produce a modernised car, then not only could it be offered in maroon and blue & grey, but also SR green. S9119E was allocated to the Southern Region from the early 1960s until withdrawal in 1968. Of course, WR modellers would also have the famous W9135E, withdrawn in 1977 as the last wooden-bodied passenger vehicle on BR.

Bernard Hulland

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'Foreign Engines'

I spent my teen years at Norwich, which was the principle Great Eastern Line destination.

We were, if not 'the end of the line', not far off that. As a consequence, unless we took the train to London or beyond, we tended to see only ex-LNER engines of 'group standard' or GE design, 'Britannias' and Ivatt 2s, displaced from the M&GN.

I used to have to bus into and out of Norwich to go to school and it became our custom to get off the first bus near Norwich City FC and walk through allotments overlooking Norwich shed before catching another bus at the station.

There was a train in at around 8.30, from Peterborough or possibly Birmingham, which usually changed engines at March. To our amazement, this train came in one morning with a 'Black 5' on (the first I had seen). Thereafter, for several months and about once a week, the train brought a stranger. These included several more Class 5s (including a named one), a Stanier Mogul, a Stanier 2-6-4T and a 4F. These were quite exceptional to our East Anglian world in 1960-62. I presume that March were short of engines during the period, and allowed through working of the LMR engine attached at the original point of origin of the train.

Dudley Jones

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Hornby Tweezers

Well I see that Hornby have answered my 'dread of the plug and socket' with a pair of a specialist tweezers. Sorry Simon, this will not ease the 'pain' nor lift the embargo on my wallet.

In my view, the pinnacle of Hornby's development was the introduction of the superb rebuilt 'Merchant Navy' locomotive, followed by the 'Black Five', rebuilt/unrebuilt Bulleids, Q1, rebuilt 'Scots', rebuilt 'Patriots' etc. whereby the locomotive was independent in operation from its tender, i.e. proper loco drive, after an era of tender drive locomotives. This was what I had continually been reading that railway modellers wanted.

The backward step of going against this mode of operation in that the locomotive will now only work if plugged into the tender has, in my own view, seen a decline from that pinnacle. However, as I have already conceded before, DCC is now the way ahead for Hornby and we DC modellers, who are still in the greater majority, must just grin and bear it!!

I will say no more, nudge, nudge, wink, wink …. !

John Cherry

As I understand it, some models have insufficient room for a decoder in the loco and so it is necessary to accommodate it in the tender, Both Hornby and Bachmann have to resort to this. The main difference, as I see it, is that the Bachmann models are permanently joined and wired while the Hornby models can be unplugged to separate the tender from the loco. I believe that in the future we may find Hornby models with tenders permanently attached and ready wired; avoiding the need for a plug and socket. I have tried using the new tool and found the improvement only slight. I would prefer the loco and tender to be permanently attached and wired - but is that what others want? In the long term, the problem may be solved by further reduction in the size of the decoder but we will have to wait for that - Ed..

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Hattons Adverts

In their Newsletter last week, Hattons were appealing for copies of any of their very old model railway magazine adverts. The oldest they had was from 1961. I was able to supply those from Model Railway News 1955, but there must be many older still.

If you have any old Hattons’ adverts, I’m sure they’d like to hear from you.

Brian Macdermott

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Llangollen Station

Thom Ritter asks if Llangollen is the only railway station with a footbridge suspended above water. Starcross station between Exeter and Dawlish on the Plymouth line also has not only a footbridge suspended over the estuary, but also half the platform. Pictures available on Wikipedia.

Jonathan Torode

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Eras and All That

I think that we need to see Bachmann's Eras as a helpful general guide to those who do not recall those times, or who are less aware of railway history.

The core problem is that, in terms of livery, there were no firm cut off points. Nationalisation in 1948 comes nearest to one, but 'Grouping' liveries were common for a year or two after 1948, with some locos wearing LNER, LMS etc., liveries into the early 1950s.

In the case of the GWR, there were isolated examples into the 1960s, particularly of Pannier tanks running with GWR on their sides. At the time, I wondered whether someone had a few old transfers, or possibly rubbed down the BR livery to reveal the old name. I am inclined to think that staunch GW officers were able to keep the odd 'pet' in GWR livery, sometimes until scrapping.

I believe that an Ivatt Class 2 tank carried 'British Railways' certainly into the late 1950s, and the 'Lion and Wheel' emblem lasted on many freight engines into the early 1960s.

More broadly, there is much correspondence about liveries, make up of trains, etc. We need to be careful not to read more 'rules' into things than actually existed. I have the benefit of having been there, but younger modellers will not have known BR steam.

I find 'Backtrack' and 'Steam Days' magazines, together with Ian Allan's extensive series of landscape shaped colour albums invaluable when seeking authenticity. The first thing that strikes, when these sources are studied, is that liveries were more mixed than the era system leads us to believe, and that train make-ups were far more mixed (particularly 'stock' trains), that I can remember or that readers might imagine.

Dudley Jones

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Bachmann's Eras

Further to the postings by Messrs Billinge and Welfare, regarding the Bachmann's Eras, I understood that the reason the era classifications were introduced was to give people who were not au fait with the models a rough guide to when they ran. This would be useful to spouses and family when buying presents for modellers. Now, if Mr Welfare knows the time span of a particular model in a particular livery, then clearly, like the majority of us modellers, he does not need to refer to the era classification - or am I missing something?

Nick Lamkin

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Monday 13.6.11.

Sorry!

I am sorry for the delay with today's magazine. For once it was not my falling asleep the night before, when I was waiting for midnight, that was the cause of the problem, but an isolation from the Internet. The local telephone system is very poor and is currently being upgraded. Hopefully this will solve the problem in the future. For now I am hoping to get this issue out before the lines go down again.

This issue contains a number of magazine reviews which I prepared over the weekend but I shall have to hold over correspondence to Wednesday. However, as I am also trying to get your copies of the Ramsay's Catalogue 7th Edition packed and posted, Wednesday's issue may also be somewhat truncated.

July British Railway Modelling

The news section carries pictures of three versions of the Hornby Tornado and a two-page article on the Hornby Railmaster DCC control system software. Also featured are the Tower Models commissioned Heljan 0 gauge Class 26/0, ModelZone commissioned Bachmann BR Bulleid coach triple set and the new nuclear flask wagon. Reviews include the Bachmann 2EPB EMU, Heljan diesel prototype Lion and Electrotren's British Leyland automotive traffic van.

The two layouts visited in this issue are David Smith's N gauge 'Lambley Viaduct' (a very impressive structure) and David Rae's 4mm scale 'Ashport East' LMS Midland coalfields line.

Articles providing practical advice cover ballasting, incorporating docks, quays and moorings, the modelling potential of Ludgershall, building a GWR station kit by Timber Tracks, studying the real thing as a basis for modelling and building an 00 layout in a shed

A semi-advertising feature is described as an 'A-Z of Scenic Modelling' which devotes a half page to each of the following subjects: adhesives, ballast grit, downloadable card kits, diecast vehicles, etched brass grass, foliage, static grass, harbour features, industrial backdrops, junk yards, keeping it simple, lighting, adding movement, narrow gauge scenics, observation, populating a layout, quarries, rust, baseboard supports, trees, laser cut parts and weathering.

July Hornby Magazine

News items in this magazine include pictures of two versions of the Hornby Flying Scotsman that have been commissioned by the National Railway Museum and views of the first two versions of the Hornby 'Trout' hopper wagon. Other samples illustrated are the Kernow Beattie tank produced by Dapol, the Bachmann 3F (undecorated) and the ModelZone commissioned Bachmann weathered 24T hoppers. There is also news of impending Hornby arrivals - the 4-VEP in July and the first three versions of the B17 in August. Our recent Wish-List Poll is also reviewed in the magazine.

Model reviews include the Bachmann 2-EPB (with a reality article), weathered K3, blue Class 20, Collett and suburban coaches, 'Warship', nuclear flask wagon and pannier tanks, Hornby Tornado (with a reality supporting article) and KFA wagon, ModelZone/Hornby East Coast HST, ModelZone/Bachmann 'Conflat' & container triple packs and the Heljan 0 gauge Class 26.

Layouts visited this month include Alan Lister's 00 'January '68' which is based on LMR practice, Alan Price and Neil Rushby's 'Outwell Village' tramway and Les Parry's 00 'Kernow Junction'. There is also an introduction to layouts that will feature at 'Hornby Magazine Live' which is to be staged at Hartlepool on July 9th & 10th.

Practical articles cover detailing the Hornby (ex-Lima) Class 33, building a G scale Isle of Man van kit, tweaking the Bachmann 13T LNER open wagon and there is a reality article about the real railways in 1968.

A very useful article looks at what models of diesel locomotives are available and what are to come. There is also a free 24 page supplement on garden railways which comes with the magazine. This includes the 00 gauge 'Cautherly Lane' garden railway with its superb viaducts, an article on the G Scale Society and another on how a G scale garden layout was laid in a day.

July Railway Modeller

Railway of the Month this time is Redruth MRC's 00 'Morwenstow Riverside', which not surprisingly, amongst other things, features china clay traffic. It is a 1990's urban setting with a broad mixture of liveries running. Other layouts visited include Mark Pretious' gauge 3 Isle of Wight 'Blackgang', Clive Baker's 4mm scale 'Coton-on-Dove' North Stafford line, Baslidon MRC's 00 GWR 'Cadeleigh', Martyn Mullender's 00 shunting puzzle micro layout and Keith Pratt's 00 early 1950s' 'Pratt Green to Brownleigh'. Plan of the Month is called 'Windsor & Eton Riverside'.

Practical articles provide advice on building a Scottish level crossing in 4mm scale, building an 0 gauge breakdown crane, constructing a GWR over-girder turntable, upgrading a Graham Farish 2-6-4 tank and there are scale drawings of Langwathby station on the Settle & Carlisle line. There is also an introduction to The Gauge 3 Society.

Model reviews this month include the Bachmann 2-EPB EMU, their latest Class 37/0 release and the new nuclear flask wagon, recent Hornby wagon releases and new vans in the Graham Farish N gauge range. There are also pictures of a decorated sample of the Graham Farish N gauge Class 101 and an undecorated sample of the Realtrack Models 00 Class 144.

July Continental Modeller

Railway of the Month is Richard Lane's French H0 'CF de Ventoux'. Other layouts and articles feature railway practices in France, USA, Germany, Japan, Malaysia and Switzerland. For those who love garden railways there is a large outdoor LGB system.

Hints & Tips No.391

Modelling Brick Walls Part 2

By Rob Pearce

Once I am happy with the colouration of the brick, I set about applying the mortar. To do this the wall must be laid horizontal. I then take a mixture of stone and white enamel paints to obtain the correct mortar colour, and thin them with roughly 3 parts thinner to one part paint. Using a fine brush I apply a drop of this into a corner of the mortar line, as accurately as possible into the recess. The paint is so thin that capillary action carries it along the recess to follow and fill the mortar lines.

It almost always happens that some of the mortar paint sits on the brick faces. This can be wiped off with a tissue before it dries, but not too soon or you will draw it out of the lines. It sometimes helps to very lightly moisten the tissue with thinners or white spirit.

Now the wall must be weathered according to its age and location. For this I use the Carrs weathering powders, applied with a brush then dusted off by blowing on the model. Finally, I fix the weathering with an airbrushed coat of matt varnish. The end result can look quite impressive.

Hints & Tips No.392
Preserving Your Foliage and Lichen for Tree Construction

From the Victorian Model Railway Society

One useful treatment for plants to be used on layouts when preserving them for use is this pickling solution. Take 1 part glycerine, 1 part acetone and 1 part denatured alcohol (Methylated spirits). Immerse your lichen in warm water, soak for several minutes, remove and gently knead. After water is removed, soak the lichen in pickling solution for 24 hours. Then remove, dry and colour.

Note that you will need to add more glycerine to the solution as more plants are processed.

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Friday 27.5.11

Taking a Break

I know, you probably think that it was not long ago that I took a break from MREmag but things are piling up again and I must have the time to sort them out. It is also a good time as the flow of emails has shrunk to an all-time low. There will therefore be no further issues of the magazine until Monday 13th June - Ed.

New Railway Model Products

Photos and descriptions of many more model railway products have just been added to our New Products section. To see the pictures and read about them, click on ‘Model Railways’ to the left of this page and then pick the item you wish to see from the index. This time it is Bachmann and Hornby products; Graham Farish will follow shortly.

(Unlike printed magazines, MREmag has unlimited space and so I am able to review and illustrate every model received. However, as I am not in competition with the printed magazines, I tend to delay reviews until other magazines have had a chance to do their own. Also, I do not do critiques, as I don't have the required knowledge. Instead, I cover the history of the model and prototype. If you want to know how good a model is, as a replica; turn to the regular printed magazines as their reviewers have the knowledge to provide that information - Ed)

June Model Rail

Previews this month include the forthcoming Class 00 143/144 railbus from Realtrack Models and the 00 scale JIA bogie china clay hopper from Kernow Model Rail Centre. Reviews of recently released models include the upgraded Bachmann 'Warship', Graham Farish SPA steel carrier, Hornby 'Flying Scotsman USA Tour', 'GWR 175' and 'Rare Bird' train packs and East Coast HST and Dapol N gauge Freightliner Class 86. There is also a 'supertest' of air compressors.

Layouts visited this month are Alan Beven and Maggie Clark's 00 contemporary 'Warren Lane', Ian Arkley's scenic N gauge 'Elvinley Junction' and David White's 00 Irish 'Old Blarney'.

Practical advice starts off with six pages on outdoor railway modelling and follows with use of track pins, an alternative to lead ballasting, ten ways to keep your fleet in tiptop condition, modelling a level crossing, rebuilding a DRS Class 20/3, top tools to have in your workshop and avoiding gaps where panels fit together on model buildings.

Hints & Tips No.390

Modelling a Dry Stone Wall

By Andrew Cockburn

Cut strips of card board to the height, shape and contour you want your stone wall to be. Coat with PVA glue on both sides (unless the stone wall is part of the back scene) and hang up to dry overnight with weights to keep it straight.

Next day coat with suitably coloured Woodland Scenics ballast or small stone from your friendly local pet fish supplier and cover your card with the stone, glue in with PVA, allow to dry and place on your layout.

Having Your Say...

Bachmann EPB

I have recently purchased the Bachmann EPB Class 416 unit and noticed that the destination blinds at each end do not change colour despite change of direction. Basically the red blind stays red in forward direction and vice versa. My unit is DCC chipped.

Any ideas how to correct please?

Phil Dankowycz

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Forthcoming Hornby Gresley stock

The shortly to be released Gresley Buffet in blue and grey R4468 would not appear to have as many windows blocked out (especially on the reverse side) as the prototype did when it had this livery. This is based upon several pictures of the prototype which I have seen from the blue and grey era. Would others care to comment upon this?

Also, the Gresley full brake R4531 is not due to be released in blue. How many others would like it available in this colour when it comes out at the end of this year?

Alan Savin

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Bachmann's Eras

I understand what Richard Billinge is saying about the Era system (Wednesday), and I'm not criticising the idea or even periods chosen, but rather how it's sometimes being used.

In the example I quoted (S&D 7F 53806), the loco as modelled is correct for late 1955 to January 1964, that's only 1 year in Era 4 but 7 in Era 5, so why not market it as Era 5. It would seem that a very rigid rule was used to decide the Era, i.e. it carries the early emblem therefore it's Era 4 !

There will always be many models that span the Era boundaries, for example, any model of rolling stock that existed at the time of nationalisation would be Era 3 moving into Era 4 but mostly not for too long, so using the earlier Era is perfectly acceptable. However, for some models, maybe there's also a case for using Era 4/5, as an example.

Peter Welfare

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Llangollen Railway Station

Sometime back, there was an article in a model railway magazine about modelling the Llangollen Railway Station. I cannot seem to find when or what magazine it was in. Can anyone help me out? Also, is that the only railway station in the UK where a footbridge goes out over water?

Thanks in advance.

Thom Ritter, Allentown, PA

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My Compliments to Dapol

Though I do not have one of the new Dapol blue and grey HSTs in my possession (as it is on order and will likely take a month or more to reach me in the U.S.), all I can say from looking at the photos that have been released is - "Wow!". I am truly awe-struck. Though my stock is mostly mid 60s steam, this has given me a reason to build my layout as one that can also run in the 80s, which is actually where all my BR memories reside.

Being 30 this Friday, and having lived in the UK for only three years in the mid 80s, my memories are limited but strong and the HST is one that stands out more than all others. I commend Dapol for making what appears to be a truly remarkable model. If it runs as well as I have heard, it will be hard to top, as far as diesels are concerned. More surprising is that I have been more excited about this release than any other, steam or diesel. Maybe, if the silver/grey driving wheels on the 'Britannia' can be resolved, I might even buy a steam engine from Dapol in the future.

Sean Mathews

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Wednesday 25.5.1

Ramsay's 7th Edition

I have been notified by the publisher that I shall be receiving my stock of the new edition of Ramsay's British Model Trains Catalogue on Monday 13th June and we shall immediately start getting them in the post to those who have pre-ordered. This means that, towards the end of this week, I shall start clearing the cheques received so far. There are still some numbered signed copies available to order if you have not already done so.

Press Release from Bachmann

Blue Liveried Versions of Class 416 EPB (31-375)

It has come to light that the numbers on the Blue EPB model (31-375) have been incorrectly numbered with the running numbers transposed between the two vehicles.

Bachmann Europe Plc is arranging for replacement bodies to be produced by the factory so that they can be changed over by those who wish to do so. Please note that these will take some weeks to produce and ship to us. In the meantime please retain your dealer receipt (or proof of purchase) so that replacement bodies can be obtained from us free of charge. We regret that we cannot provide these without proof of purchase.

The error was made here in the UK and not, as hinted, by our factory in China. Despite a rigorous checking procedure that is in place for all our artwork, this one slipped the net and we can only apologise.

Customers should note that no other Class 416 2EPB models are so affected. The running numbers are the correct ones for each vehicle type on the green (31-376) and blue/grey (31-377) versions. Likewise commissioned models are not affected either.

Graham Hubbard, Managing Director of Bachmann Europe Plc said today "we can only apologise for this error which was purely human. We appreciate the disappointment but we have reacted quickly to put replacements in hand following all the emails and comments we have received since it was discovered on Thursday. Whilst we have rigorous checking arrangements in place these will now be reviewed".

Hints & Tips No.389

Modelling Brick Walls Pt 1

By Rob Pearce

Almost any railway scene is going to contain at least one building with brick walls. and they are not the easiest things to model realistically.

Many modellers include card models for buildings, and these generally have the brick walls printed fairly well, but without any surface texture. Plastic kits of buildings with brick walls have an appropriate surface moulded in, and for scratch building there is embossed plastikard available.

These surfaces provide the contours for brick and mortar, but they are of a plain, semi gloss colour which looks entirely wrong. Our aim is to achieve a realistic brick wall appearance, including variations in brick colour and mortar lines. The method I have used is fairly simple, but rather time consuming.

Establish an approximate colour. If using "brick red" coloured plastic this is not entirely necessary, but from a grey plastic base I apply a good coat of brick red enamel with an airbrush. Onto this surface I next apply the colour variation of the bricks. To get an idea of this it is worth while photographing some representative brick walls. These should be of the correct era for what you are modelling.
Now comes the laborious part. Using a fine brush, I paint individual bricks at random in a variety of colours. These can range from white through to black, and include various shades of brown. At this stage what I am doing looks entirely wrong - the colours are far too bold. But that is exactly the point. Any paint applied this way will appear strong and bold, which is not the effect required.

When the wall has reached the point of appearing to be suffering a severe skin complaint, the next step is to soften this down to a more appropriate level. This is actually very easily achieved by spraying on a thin, and hence translucent, coat of brick red enamel. This has to be done with an airbrush to get the thickness right.

Having Your Say...

Bachmann's Eras

Peter Welfare makes a reasonable comment about Bachmann's eras. Similar anomalies have arisen in the past when one of their tank wagons was described as Era 3 when the real one was photographed (according to a book on the subject) in 1947. In this case it would have seen much more use in Era 4. By the same token, LMS 10000 could be described as Era 3 in which it existed for less than two weeks. I don't think anyone has ever said that the eras were without fault and I am sure that it was written somewhere that they were proposed initially for discussion so either nobody discussed them or nobody took any notice of any discussion (I know not which) but I am sure most people would probably accept that a flawed system is better than no system.

Richard Billinge

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Two Nations Divided by a Common Language

Nick Stanbury stands in his red uniform, white pith helmet shining in the sun, awaiting the US response.

This expat will confine himself to saying that every time some UK correspondent gets bent out of shape over transatlantic grammar, spelling, side-of-the-road preference or most commonly used temperature scale, it makes me wish that they would show a little less reactionary jingoism and a little more of the now-almost extinct stiff upper lip in the face of adversity.

It's very hard to keep the proper air of smug superiority firmly in place over here when nit-pickers are digging away the ground under my feet over trivial nonsense. Spelling/grammar not English? Don't read it. Cars on the wrong side of the road? What do you care? You aren't driving there. The hated Fahrenheit quoted? Wassamarrer? English sums lessons not up to the conversion any more?

For the sake of Queen and Country, grin and bear it lads! There're more important fish to fry.

Like the gasometer issue and scale speed debate.

Steve Mann. - NYC

No! Not the scale speed issue again!!! - I resign - Ed.

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If not, why not?

Many thanks to all those who have emailed me about the Wish List Poll.

Although those emails have been very helpful, I would very much like to hear from anyone who didn’t vote. I particularly need your reasons why so that we can take them into account for 2012.

Speak now – not in May 2012 when it’s all over!

Brian Macdermott brianmacdermott (at) hotmail (dot) com

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Recent Hornby Releases

Since we last checked, the following models have been released by Hornby and are now in the shops:

R3066 RailRoad GWR Class 2721 0-6-0PT No.2767

R4404A BR Hawksworth full brake crimson & cream No.W316W

R4413A BR Hawksworth brake composite maroon No.W7853W

R4408A BR Hawksworth brake composite crimson & cream No.W7373W

R6468 EWS OTA Timber Carrier Wagon No.110211

R6526 4-plank 'Scatter Rock Macadams' No.130

R6523 4-plank 'Duxbury Park Colliery' No.191

R6527 GC Coke Wagon No.06399

R6528 21T steel mineral wagon 'Consolidated Fisheries Ltd' No.600

R6486 Set of 3 weathered 'Yeoman' PGA Hoppers Nos.14002, 14003 & 14004

June Hornby Magazine

As previously mentioned, a regular contributor to MREmag and organiser of the voting in the annual Wish List Poll, Graham Plowman, has his own layout featured in this issue of the magazine - and what a layout it is. Based on the BR transition period of the late 1950s and early '60s, 4mm scale 'Ashington Road is set on a South Devon main line and is beautifully photographed by Graham himself. UK based layouts visited include Mike Wild's N gauge LMR 'Hettle', which, from the photographs, could easily be taken for being 4mm scale, such is the quality of the landscaping and the detail on modern N gauge models. There is also Twickenham & District's West Country 00 late '50s BR 'Northwick', a beautifully landscaped 'plank' layout, and there is a quick last look at Mike Wild's 'Bay Street Shed' before it is retired.

Practical articles include tweaking a Bachmann Class 7F, planning a layout that combines two themes, building a 'Plate' wagon from a Chivers Finelines kit and a further look at digital command control.

A nostalgic article looks back at the Tri-ang EM2 electric locomotive and a survey of currently available 00 proprietary model British locomotives shows just how many there are to choose from. A 'Great Days Out' article visits a number of preserved lines and heritage centres and there is a 'reality' piece that covers station gardens.

Model reviews include the Bachmann blue 'Warship' with a 'reality' article about the class, the Graham Farish SPA steel coil carrier, Replica Railways EMU chassis and the Hornby 'Rare Bird' train pack, 'Flying Scotsman USA Tour' train pack, OTA timber carrying wagon and an extensive review of their RailMaster computer control system.

Railex 2011 at Aylesbury

This coming weekend, 28th/29^th May 2011, sees the Risborough and District Model Railway Club present its 7^th annual Railex model railway exhibition at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Aylesbury.

Now firmly established as one of the best quality model railway exhibitions in the country, this year's show promises the traditional Railex combination of top quality layouts in both major and minority scales, along with very best in specialist trade and demonstrations. From past experience, many visitors travel to the show from all over the UK and abroad to see the layouts and the other attractions Railex offers.

Layouts include:

2mm/N 'Ashburton Highbury Colliery', 'Witney Euston';

4mm Scales: 'Dduallt' (009), 'Combwich' (00), 'Engine Wood' (00), 'Borchester Market' (00), 'New Hey' (EM), 'Stainmore Summit' (EM), 'Nettlebridge Valley Railway' (P4), 'Portchullin' (P4), 'Ravenscroft Sidings' (P4), 'Trerice' (P4), 'Sheep Pasture' (P4) and 'Wheal Elizabeth' (P4).

7mm/O Gauge: '82G' (0 gauge), 'Apethorn Junction' (0 gauge), 'East Dean' (7mm 0 gauge), 'Courcelle Part' (7mm S7) and 'The Napier Valley Railroad and Coal Company' (On30).

There will be four demonstrators working and Railex is fully disabled accessible. Opening times are 10.30-17.30 on Saturday and 10.00-17.00 on Sunday. On the Sunday up to two children can be admitted free with each paying adult.

Although a massive show, Railex has a very relaxed feel about it, even when busy, has wide gangways and circulation areas which provide easy viewing of all exhibits and demonstration areas.

A fully updated website at: www.railex.org.uk lists everything about the show including exhibits, traders, parking and bus service information. If you don’t have access to the web, a call to David Lane, the exhibition manager, on 01296 437475 will hopefully answer any questions you may have.

The venue for Railex 2010 is Stoke Mandeville Stadium, Harvey Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP21 9PP

Important parking information: Limited free parking for Railex visitors is available at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in marked bays and also in additional areas adjacent to the stadium. Due to limited stadium parking, the organisers would like to recommend that visitors use the town centre car parks and make use of the free and excellently restored Routemaster bus from the railway station to Railex, that runs every hour (see bus time table on the webpage). Car parks in Aylesbury are free on Sunday and recommend is the long stay Friarscroft car park (588 places at rear of Morrison’s Supermarket), close to the station, which is Ł3 for all day on Saturday and free on Sunday.

Hints & Tips No.388

Printing White on Black using one of the major Word Processors

From the Victorian Model Railway Society

You do not have to use a graphics program to produce white text on a black background or many other combinations of text and background colour for that matter. This explanation from a club member shows you how.
1. Type the required text setting font (typeface and size).
2. Indicate the paragraph to be treated. Select 'Format', and in Format click 'Borders and Shading'.
3. Then go to 'Font' in Borders and Shading, and expand the character spacing by 0.5 point; then select 'white' as font colour.
4. Choose 'grey' shading, applied to paragraph.
5. Click cursor to verify these choices.

Now you can make signs for your layout to your hearts content.

Having Your Say...

Spellchecker

Thanks to Nick Stanbury for his reply on Friday May 20 and for his attempt to get me to use the right words in the right manner.

As an Aussie, I tend to use words - verbs, adverbs and adjectives from both the UK and USA intermixed with the current mode of speech here, that to me, seem OK. In rereading it, yes "wrongly" does sound better.

Perhaps if I created the e-mail in Word first then applied spell-checker, etc., it would have corrected it (actually, I just did, using English [UK] and it only changed the sentence regarding the Edwards brothers).

Ron Solly

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Overhead Warning Flashes

How difficult is it remove said flashes with a cotton bud and some paint stripper? A few minutes work and your problem is solved.

Steve Grantham

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Southern [and Great Western] Locomotives 'Further North'

Apropos the question of Southern locomotives working north of Oxford, there are documented examples of Bulleid Pacifics getting to Leicester Central, up the GC London Extension, particularly during the summer timetable. This is not to say they did it regularly or particularly frequently, but it clearly happened.

As people probably know, Great Western engines got to Leicester Central and, I believe, Nottingham Victoria on occasions in the post-war era. However, this sort of working was not confined to 'Halls'; in John Hurst & Mike Kinder's William Bradshaw; Leicester Railway Cameraman [HMRS, 2002] there are two photographs of Dean bogie single No.3041 James Mason at Leicester Central, on a regular working. This was an Oxford - York working, arriving Leicester at 10.44 am, returning on the York - Bournemouth, departing 1/01.

None of this shows the 'prototype for everything' view, so much as that, by careful choice of prototype, all sorts of unusual workings can be represented. These particular ones may well have been to balance GC locomotive mileage - and use of facilities - over the Great Western.

Neil Burgess

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Realistic Sound

There is much on going discussion around the realism of current RTR models. Honestly - we do not know how lucky we are at the moment. With a bit of thought and application some very effective and realistic modelling can be achieved.

We are very happy with ours - see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYg23Rj-Pl4. Does the incorrect sleeper spacing on the Peco track or the tension lock couplings on the stock spoil our attempts at producing something that looks and operates prototypically? We are using RTR stock - OK weathered and renumbered in many cases - but we hope to give encouragement to others, not put off newcomers by making mountains out of what are well reported issues that can be lived with. Its all a compromise - especially in 00!

Phil Bullock

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Stanier 'Crabs'

Have I missed something here – I’m surprised nobody else has mentioned this, but surely 42945 is a Stanier 2-6-0 Mogul (not a 'Crab'). The nickname 'Crab' specifically related to The Hughes LMS designed machines and came about as a result of their ungainly appearance, something which could not be said of the Stanier machines.

My 1959/60 Ian Allen combined volume shows the Stanier locos as class 6P5F, but by the Winter of 1962 they had become 5MT

Tony Elliott

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Re-Fleischmann Turntable

Geoff should keep his turntable, it is an excellent model and performer. If you provide my email to him and he contacts me, I will be happy to scan the instructions and send them to him.

Brian Martin

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Bachmann's Eras

In Friday's MREmag, Tim Steele pointed out that Bachmann's unfitted brake van with overhead warning flashes is not in the 1948-1956 era.

There is another, and to me far more glaring example of a model being placed in the wrong era. I refer to the S&D 7F 53806, which is advertised as being era 4, i.e., BR up to the end of 1956. This is really only slightly correct, and not for long either.

The model does have the early emblem on the tender, but this loco was one of the second series of 7Fs, i.e., those that started life with the large boiler, and was in fact the very last one to be re-boilered with the small boiler, and this not until late in 1955. It was withdrawn early in 1964 and photographic evidence showed it still carried the early emblem then.

So, the condition it is modelled in, with small boiler, is absolutely correct for late 1955 to early 1964. That's about 7 years in era 5, and 1 in era 4.

Peter Welfare

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Posting

I have been a reader of your site for a long time and would like the ability to post messages. I was laughing into my thesaurus after reading the post that included "spelt wrong." Your pontificator certainly put his papal foot in it. On another item, Stuart de Boer's letter, "A Churlish Bunch", is an absolute gem! Well said and perhaps it can be published in the print railway modelling magazines.

Bob Walker - Victoria B.C., Canada - formerly (1946) of Bolton, Lancs.

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E numbers?

Can anyone tell me the meaning of the 2-character headcode E2 as used on DMUs departing Edinburgh Waverley late ‘50s/early’60s? Did the E denote a destination in England?

Ian Taylor

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The Potential of B16s for Model Railway Layouts

My thanks to Peter Welfare, Brian Macdermott, and Peter Smith for the feedback on the Bournemouth query, and will consider the option of Southern coaching stock adding variety to a North Eastern Region layout.

Mike Leonard

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Graham Farish New Releases

The following models have left China and are on their way to the UK. They should be in the shops by late June:

371-828A Class 47 locomotive in BR blue No.47403 The Geordie
374-010A BR Mk1 SO 2nd open coach in crimson/cream No.W3789
374-011A BR Mk1 SO 2nd open coach in green livery No.S3825
374-013A BR Mk1 SO 2nd open coach in blue/grey livery No.E4336
374-060A BR Mk1 SK 2nd corridor coach in crimson/cream No.E24240
374-061A BR Mk1 SK 2nd corridor coach in maroon livery No.W24165
374-062A BR Mk1 SK 2nd corridor coach in blue/grey livery No.W18573
374-063A BR Mk1 SK 2nd corridor coach in green livery No.S24302
374-064A BR Mk1 SK 2nd corridor coach in chocolate/cream livery No.W25200
374-188A BR Mk1 1 BSK Brake second in BR blue/grey livery No.E35119
374-258A BR Mk1 CK Corridor Composite in BR blue/grey livery No.E16031
377-328A BR 'Conflat' in crimson livery No.B709007 + container BD50311B
377-501B BR 3-plank wagon in early bauxite livery No.M475184
373-900D BR HAA hopper wagon in silver/brown livery No.354317
373-902A Railfreight HAA hopper wagon in coal sector livery No.358227
373-651C 14T tank wagon in 'Shell Electrical Oils' livery No.2443
373-653B 14T tank wagon in 'ICI' livery No.741
373-776C TTA tank wagon in 'Esso' livery No.5955
373-778 TTA tank wagon in 'Shell/BP' livery No.3452
373-703 BR 12T ventilated van in bauxite livery No.B760289
373-725B BR 10T insulated van in white livery No.B972112
373-726B BR 10T insulated van in late bauxite livery No.B872077
377-576A Fastline HYA hopper wagon No.37 70 6791 034-1
377-577 First GBRf HYA hopper wagon No.371051
377-601A Railfreight BDA bogie bolster wagon in red livery No.951163
377-602A EWS BDA bogie bolster wagon No.950049

Bushey Auctions

The catalogue for the auction to be held on Thursday 26^th May has gone live and may be seen at www.the-saleroom.com/busheyauctions The sale starts at 1pm with viewing from 4-8pm on the 25th and from 10 am on sale day.

The auctioneers apologise to any of our readers who were looking for the toy section in their April auction. Unfortunately a family bereavement in the company at catalogue production time meant that several sections, including the toys section, had to be omitted.

This month's, highlights include some modern Bassett-Lowke 0 gauge, plenty of Corgi Classics and, in the Railwayana section, a chance to own a complete and barely used original BR/Beyer Peacock Maintenance and Operations Manual for a Class 35 Hymek.

The following sale with a specialist toy section will be 21^st July.

Raven Wagon to be Produced for Midland Railex

To coincide with the Midland Railex event being held on the 13^th/14^th August at the Midland Railway - Butterley, Bachmann have been asked to produce a limited edition wagon for the event. 512 wagons are being produced in the livery of Raven Anthracite Colliery, Swansea (37-079T), the prototype of which was built in January 1925 and registered at the Railway Clearing House by the GWR. A total of 300 wagons were constructed for the company between November 1924 and February 1925 and all were of wooden construction, capable of carrying 12 tons. After Nationalisation, the wagon carried the British Railways number P316666 before it was withdrawn in 1958. It was later used as an 'internal user' wagon at Avenue Coking Plant near Chesterfield, from where it was acquired by the Midland Railway Trust for preservation. The wagon was restored to its original condition in 2000.

The model will sell for Ł9.99 and all proceeds will go towards the completion of the station at Swanwick Junction. The station building here originally stood at Syston on the Midland main line, from where it has been relocated.

The wagon will be on sale at the Midland Railex event and further details can be obtained from www.midlandrailwaycentre.co.uk or by telephone on 01773 747674.

Hints & Tips No.387

Removable building bases

By James Fenton

You can easily mount buildings on your layout in such a way that they will be removable. Buy a packet of cheap household sponges. Cut a sponge to be a tight fit inside building. Glue the sponge to layout and you will be able to fit building over it and remove it when you want to transport the layout..

Having Your Say...

Re-Fleischmann Turntable

I acquired a second-hand Fleischmann turntable (HO) but it has no instructions and the controller is missing. Can anyone advise a website where I may find instructions in English, please? I have the German version with some notes in English. Since the last time I studied German I was 14 year old; it is a challenge. Also, are there any wiring diagrams that would enable me to replace the controller or allow me to use DCC? Is it worth thinking about using this turntable or should I ditch it in favour of a Peco unit?

Geoff Stone - Sydney, Australia

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00 Finescale Track

Anyone who wants 00 finescale plain track, with chaired bullhead rail, needs to beat a path to SMP's door; it's been around for donkey's years and is still, in my view (based on 30-plus years' use), the best.

SMP are at 598-600 Attercliffe Road, Sheffield - you can even get a tram from Sheffield Midland station!

Neil Burgess

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Brown Jack

In response to John Cherry, it does seem that the manufacturers simply cannot win. Some modellers want the model to be accurate in every detail, from every angle. Others want to be able to fit DCC chips easily where you do not risk damaging the model to carry it out. Others simply want smooth running over track work which has possibly not been laid to the highest standard. Like everything else, the latest tender engines have to be a compromise.

Hornby judged their solution to be the best available option. If you have another idea which would fulfil all the criteria and provide a neater solution then get in touch with Simon Kohler, I am sure, judging from his responses before, he would be glad to listen. Remember the motto of the site. The manufacturers are our friends!

Graham Crawford

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I did read your site this morning and I have asked the question about Brown Jack. In respect of the loco and tender linkage, Graham Crawford does have a point. However, I am about to send you a letter which will accompany a small tool to make the fitting of the plug/socket connection much simpler for those who have a problem.

Simon

The tool is like specially designed tweezers. I shall try it out and report back. I understand that they will be available from dealers or from Hornby Customer Care. Ask for the 'plug and socket tool'. In time, it is Hornby's intention to factory connect the locomotive and tender together but, for the present, this tool should make the job easier - Ed.

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A Churlish Bunch

What a churlish bunch we are. We have been begging the manufacturers to make decoder fitting easier and even suggesting if the socket was in the tender that would make life easier. So the manufacturers grant us our wish and what do we do? - complain that there is a wire connection between loco and tender to facilitate this.

We ask for more detail on our models. The manufacturers grant us our wish and what do we do? - complain that the detail breaks off when we pick up the models and that they cost too much.

When we take a new model out of its box and the detail breaks off (or is off already) we complain about it. So the manufacturers supply the detail separately for us to add on. And we complain that it is too much work.

We ask for red lights on the back of our diesels and then run them with the red lights on when pulling a train.

I could go on but I won't. I'm just glad that I am not a manufacturer and that whatever I do there are complaints about it.

Stuart de Boer (tongue just slightly in cheek)

PS I also hate to see apostrophe's used in plural's.

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Spell Checker

Not on the subject of model railways, however, I thought that as an editor / moderator you might appreciate this.

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a quay and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
It's rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
It's letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

By Martha Snow

Tony Rimmer

Thanks Tony - and before many of you rush to your keyboards to say that we have had it before on MREmag, I know, but it is nice to read it again - Ed.

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Ron Solly makes a fair point about brand and product names being misspelled – but shoots himself firmly in the foot by referring twice to ‘words spelt wrong’. Kindly note, dear sir, that, in the old country at least, although we are happy to use either ‘spelt’ or ‘spelled’, we insist on it being qualified by an adverb (‘wrongly’) rather than by an adjective. (I now stand by for US readers to tell me that their preferred wording would be ‘words spelled wrong’.)

Nick Stanbury

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Hornby Class 31

Thanks for the magazine, still an essential read.

To help out Tom Gray with his query, there are a couple of approaches that can work, one is to replace the Hornby tension lock with R8220 close couplers which go in to the NEM pocket and will have more of a push to realign the train. The other is to try a wider coupling in the Hornby loco if the carriages are not NEM compatible. Another one to try is to add a second spring to the cam inside the loco to improve the return power, this can be taken from the other end if one is detailed and the other not, or obtained as a spare part with cams from a Hornby spares dealer, local model shop or online.

I am happy to discuss this in more detail with Tom if he wants to get in-touch, if Pat doesn't mind passing on my email address. It also effects Hornby's other large diesels and is really bad on the Class 60.

Simon Baldwin

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The Plowman Clan!

In response to John Cherry’s posting, I believe that I am the Plowman to whom he is referring. I am Graham’s father and I worked in the South Eastern Divisional Civil Engineer’s Permanent Way Drawing Office at Beckenham in the late 1960s and early '70s . I recollect George Plowman but I was not acquainted with him and we are not related, certainly not in recent generations.

If John wishes to chat about the old days I can be contacted at http://www.mrol.com.au/ContactUs.aspx

Paul Plowman - Sydney, Australia

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A B16 on the Southern?

I know our editor prefers us to keep discussion to the subject of modelling, but I'm sure that when most of us stray onto the subject of the real railway, it is with a view to a modelling opportunity. So, bearing this in mind, and in answer to Mike Leonard's B16 query on Monday, as an avid studier of photographs of the Bournemouth area, looking for any train going to or coming off the S&D line, I have to say I've never seen a picture of a B16 there. This doesn't of course mean it didn't happen.

I do know that 'Halls' and 'Granges' worked to Bournemouth from the Oxford route, and my understanding is that, generally, when Southern locos worked up in that direction, they came off the train at Oxford and didn't go as far as Banbury or Woodford Halse to be swopped. I'm sure there may have been some exceptions and I expect to be 'shot down in flames' over this rash statement.

The book Man of the Southern: Jim Evans looks back, by driver Jim Evans who started his railway life at Bournemouth depot, covers his experiences of working this route.

Peter Welfare

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Speed Restriction Signs.

In the prototype for everything department, the lowest speed restriction shown on a BR standard cut out sign was just 2 miles per hour, it was located on the exit road from the locomotive holding sidings at Kings Cross. This speed restriction was, not surprisingly, frequently exceeded by a handsome margin!

Incidentally, the sign was complete and not a broken 12mph or 20mph one.

Ian David Smith

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I think Mike Berry's point was that 8 mph could have been picked as the agreed speed because it was low enough for safety and it had the added advantage that the figure 8 could be read from either side and therefore would halve the work required to implement the signage. Sort of probing the "why" of the stupidly silly 8-rather-than-10-or-5 mph, especially as in all likelihood neither 8 nor 10 mph could be measured (and hence indicated) accurately in that day and age.

In other words, signs indicating "8" are easier to implement and maintain than those indicating "go as slow as you can without stalling the old girl".

nnaM evetS - CYN

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With reference to the 8mph signs at Kings Cross, I understand that, unless otherwise stated, the speed limit for diverging at points is 15mph. 8mph is almost 1/2 of 15, so the instruction was that drivers should negotiate the pointwork at half of the normal speed. Presumably it would be difficult to make and view a sign saying 7 ˝.

As for the '15A', '15B' etc. signs, when King's Cross was re-signalled in 1932, the lines on the approach to the station became known by the identifications "A" route to "E" route. Certain speed restriction signs in the area carried a letter in addition to the speed to make it clear to which line they referred. The letters were also displayed on signals in the area.

The signs were painted black with white numbers, but in 1963, following what had been an exceptionally cold winter, BR took the decision to repaint all cut-out speed restriction signs yellow to improve their visibility in snow.

Chris Wright

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Comments on the Wish List Poll

Two quick points, 42XX and 52XX were the same class so on the combined results they should have come out as top of the poll. The 72XX were lengthened 42/52XX which were in store.

The second point is the often quoted remark that tension lock couplings are more prototypical than Kadee. Having served my time with British Rail (WR) I can honestly say that I never once saw a loco or stock fitted with a tension lock coupling but I did see Buckeye couplings on coaches so Kadee would be more prototypical.

All modelling is a compromise and couplings are no different. I’ve used Kadee on my British outline models for quite a few years now as they are reliable and give good hands-off uncoupling and certainly look neater than tension locks, in my humble opinion.

Norm Hodges (Downunder)

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A few observations on the wish list. Despite Pat's comment that people wanting models of similar prototypes probably vote for both, I still think that Mike Roman (6 May) has a point. For example, the GW 42xx tank scored 72 votes while the 52xx gained only 22; if there was plural voting one would have expected the totals to be roughly similar. In the LMS section, the 'Stanier 6P/5F 2-6-0 Mogul' (28 votes) and the 'Stanier 5MT 2-6-0 Crab Nos 42945-' (21 votes) are clearly the same thing - which puts it top of the poll rather than the Garratt.

What came top of the LNER PCCS list? On my screen it just says "stock". Also, the second placed result in this category "Quad and Quint Art articulated sets" actually covers four distinct and very different types of vehicle; the GN section all-third and composite quads (which always operated combined as 8-coach trains) and the GE section quad- and quint-art sets.

Maybe, given that ad-hoc additions have now been made to the lists over a number of years, the time is right to look at rationalising the choices for next year? This suggestion is made without implied criticism of Pat or Graham Plowman, who continue to deserve the greatest credit for initiating and running the poll.

Bernard Hulland

I think you will find that rationalisation will happen next year, now that the co-ordination of the poll will be helped along by some very knowledgeable people. My limited knowledge of the real railways has been a handicap up to now. One pleasing thought for me is that I shall be able to vote next year - Ed.

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As mentioned by Pat, The Loco Team is teaming up with Graham to produce the 2012 Poll. If you have any comments about the 2011 Poll – positive or negative – please let me have them at the address below, ensuring you put 'Poll Comments' as the subject, or you might well be ignored as 'spam'.

I will acknowledge receipt of your comments within 48 hours. They will be put forward to The Team for discussion, but we can't undertake to reply to you individually with any result of your comment.

Brian Macdermott
brianmacdermott (at) hotmail (dot) com

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Bachmann 20T Unfitted Brake Van

I was very disappointed to see a picture of the recently released BR 20t brake van in unfitted livery having overhead warning flashed applied. When these were added in c 1961s there were not many unfitted versions left. Also, by adding these, Bachmann have taken in out of the 1948 - 1956 period which they say it is suitable for.

Unfortunately, the model released is not that same as the catalogue which is also a great shame.

Tim Steele

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Support for the J15

To support Dudley Jones and John Clark in their quest for the J15, the loco has much more than just East Anglia in its favour.

Taking the data for 1959 in the Modelmaster allocations book, there were 30 allocated across Colchester, Parkeston, March, Ipswich, Lowestoft, Cambridge and Norwich. Additionally, 10 were at Stratford (London) – and I well recall them pottering up and down the Lea Valley. I even have one on cine film shunting at Waltham Cross in the very early ‘60s.

To give yet further geographical support, 65479 was at Hitchin from 1955 and there is even a photo of her at King’s Cross shed. Someone had chalked ‘Ever Faithful’ on her smokebox.

Of course, the fact that really tips a balance in favour of a J15 is the beautifully preserved example at the North Norfolk Railway. Just waiting to be measured up!

Brian Macdermott

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B16s not on the Southern

Ex-S&D and Southern Region Driver, Peter Smith, has kindly made a thorough check of his BR loco restrictions books for me. He confirms that – apart from the B12/3 4-6-0 used on ambulance trains during WWII, and under normal circumstances – the B1 4-6-0 was the only LNER loco given clearance over certain sections of the Southern. This included Bournemouth and (from around 1962) the S&D main line. However, he has never heard of a B1 travelling any further south than Bath (Green Park).

Of course, a number of enthusiasts’ specials were worked to Bournemouth near the end of steam by A4, A3 and A2s – but these were ‘one-off visitations’.

Brian Macdermott

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Wednesday 18.5.11.

Bachmann's New Releases

The following models have left China and are on their way to the UK. They should be in the shops by late June:

32-216 57xx Class in BR black livery with late crest No.8732
32-217 57xx Class in London Transport livery No.L89
32-875 DC Fairburn Tank in BR black livery with early emblem No.42085
32-280 K3 Class in BR black livery with late crest (weathered) No.61869
34-051A GWR Collett 3^rd corridor coach in shirt button livery No.1127
34-077 GWR Collett composite coach in shirt button livery No.6609
34-126A GWR Collett composite coach in shirt button livery No.7055
34-151 BR Collett composite coach in maroon livery No.W7010W
34-176 BR Collett brake 2^nd coach in maroon livery No.W1656W
34-201 BR Collett 2^nd corridor coach in maroon livery No.W547W
34-378A BR Thompson SK 2nd corridor coach in maroon livery No.E1548E
39-027G BR Mk1 SK 2nd corridor coach in crimson/cream livery No.W24746
39-028E BR Mk1 SK 2nd corridor coach in BR (SR) green livery No.S24302
39-281A BR Mk1 Pullman FK 1st kitchen in blue/grey livery No.E313E
34-630 BR Mk1 suburban 2^nd brake coach in maroon livery No.E43133
37-035 5-plank wagon in 'Shap Tarred Granite' livery No.354
37-036 5-plank wagon in 'Tarbitumac' livery No.285
37-061B BR 5-plank wagon in grey livery No.M270335
37-063 5-plank wagon in 'J Skinner', Melksham, livery No.7
37-081E BR ex-PO 7-plank wagon in grey livery No.P45129
37-086 7-plank wagon in 'TIR Pentwys', Pontypool, livery No.29
37-135 8-plank wagon in 'James & Emanuel Ltd', Newport & Cardiff, livery No.451
37-158B BR ex-PO 8-plank wagon in grey No.P322491
37-160 8-plank wagon in 'Isleworth Coal Co.' dark blue livery No.10
37-161 8-plank wagon in 'Foster & Co', Emsworth, livery No.17
37-185 7-plank wagon with coke rails in 'Cory Brothers & Co.', Cardiff, livery No.9644
37-186 7-plank wagon with coke rails in 'Exeter Gas Company' livery No.5
37-225F BR 16T steel mineral wagon in grey No.B87019
37-226F BR 16T steel mineral wagon in bauxite (early livery) No.B551677
37-328C JGA bogie hopper wagon in 'Tarmac' livery No.NACO19170
37-537C BR 20T Brake Van in bauxite (weathered) livery No.B950358
38-345 FNA Nuclear flask wagon with flat floor No.550014 NEW TOOLING
38-347 FNA Nuclear flask wagon with sloping floor No.550038 NEW TOOLING

Hints & Tips No.386

Hiding the Backdrop Entry/Exit

By John Rumming (WA)

Have you got a backdrop with an entry or exit with a hole in it? If so, hide it from view with a building or a group of trees. This will mean the trains disappearance into the scenery will be out of sight.

Having Your Say...

The Figure '8'

Speed limit can be seen front and back? There was I thinking that a gentleman of Chinese origin had advised the LNER that good fortune would smile on all that passed!

Maybe not ingenious but I await further theories...........

Dave Webber

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In Friday’s postings, Michael Berry made the assumption that the 8mph permanent speed restriction signs were (in essence) ‘bi-directional’. According to the 1960 BR General Appendix, permanent speed restrictions are (quote) "…white numerals fixed on posts about six feet above rail level…" and are "…fixed at approximately the commencement of the speed restriction". No-one I know has any knowledge of any ‘bi-directional’ sign.

As the signs are right near the platforms, this ‘starting point’ coincides with what is stated in the 1960 Sectional Appendix for King’s Cross. This gives the 8mph limit as being between the station and the south end of Gas Works Tunnel (in both directions).

Strangely, though, the signs in some photos do appear to be painted white on both sides!

One thing that has struck me since posing the question is that I have found that the signs weren’t there as late as April 1959, but were there sometime during 1960. Additionally (and you can see this in photos – which tends to negate the ‘bi-directional’ theory), some exits from some platforms via some routes were permitted up to 15mph; you can see 15A, 15B and 15C with the 8mph signs.

Brian Macdermott

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Hornby Class 31

I wonder has anyone had any problems with the couplings on the Hornby 31.

The coupling is mounted on the underside of the body and has an unusual rotating mechanism. I have found that the coupling locks in the rotated mode when coming out of a curve and doesn't straighten up. The locos are fine with a light load but seem to have problems when pulling a long heavy train. The problem is that the coupling derails the train when coming out of a curve. Has anyone else experienced this and found a solution?

Tom Gray

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Here We Go Again

Yes, I allude to the thorny issue of 00/H0 track which has reared its ugly head again. As Paul Plowman rightly says the argument follows the same format, so why, oh why, do we not learn?

The solutions are simple:

1. If you want finescale track - build it.

2. One can always modify the spacing on Peco/Hornby track to make it look more realistic.

3. Leave alone the vast majority of modellers like myself, who are willing to accept our lot, and return to 1 and 2.

I suspect that for every person who craves correct 00 track, there are at least ten times that number who are willing, however reluctantly, to live with what we have. With those numbers, it is unlikely Hornby or Peco will change anything, as it would involve changing millions of pounds worth of tooling for locos and wagons.

So, with respect to other's opinions, can we please bury this quite frankly pointless thread before we tread the same old well worn track (pun not intended).

Andrew Carter

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Couplings

May I draw Peter Welfare’s attention to RMweb.co.uk, where it shows how to convert Tension Locks to magnetic uncoupling.

I have tried the system with mixed results and it needs developing by the trade. So, 'come on Bachmann and Hornby', how about developing this simple system and do away with those ramps.

Mike Nash

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The Kadee is a very good performer and, with knuckle type couplers in service in the UK on significant railway systems since C19th, they in no way looks inappropriate for the steam era stock that carried them. Simply choose the right modelling subject, think ‘Eight Footer’ ‘Atlantics’ and ‘Pacifics’ as the development line of express motive power. Where there is a model coupler that at least resembles the form of coupler used on the real thing, it is pretty much a ‘no-brainer’ choice.

For steam era goods stock, I cannot reconcile myself to the Kadee though. Of the ready-to-run choices, the miniature tension lock, as produced by Bachmann, works as well as any. With the ‘Brian Kirby’ (BK) modification, it will uncouple magnetically using the same track magnets as Kadees, which is a neat trick. As a result, I am on a mixed economy for couplers - Kadee on passenger stock and BK modified miniature Tension Lock on freight. The NEM coupler pocket allows quick coupler changes, should that ever be necessary.

Of kit and hand-built auto-coupler systems, the Dingham is way the closest in appearance to the prototype’s hook and three link or screw coupler, but it does commit the user to larger radius curves to prevent buffer-locking.

Paul Jansz

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I have accumulated about a dozen pieces of rolling stock where the hook is missing from the coupling. These coaches and wagons have tended to remain in the siding or in my stock box, as one of my 'pet' hates is to have a train split whilst travelling along the main line! A few weeks ago, I came across a thin black paper clip which I have cut and reshaped around the two coupling bars so that faulty wagon is now semi-permanently attached to the next wagon. Following this success, I raided my wife's knitting basket and have used both black knitting wool and black cotton thread to have these wagons and coaches semi-permanently attached to the next vehicle, where the hook of the coupling is missing.

I am curious to know what other people have used in similar cases.

Keep up the good work.

Norman Clueit

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Spelling Spellchecker

While I enjoy reading all about modelling ideas, etc. from all over the world, a small rant if I may.

People writing letters to the modelling press, often get some words spelt wrong and the biggest error (in my eyes) is the spelling of Kadee - the USA based coupling firm. It is spelt and written as KADEE - not Kaydee as many do, including posters in this E-mag. The Kadee Quality Products Company was founded in the 1940s by brothers Keith and Dale Edwards. That's where you get the 'K' and 'D' in Kadee. The website is www.Kadee.com.

Perhaps I could spell Hornby as 'Hornbee' and Bachmann as 'Barkman' but I have never seen those two manufacturers spelt wrong.

Ron Solly - Australia

Thanks Ron - the fault was all mine; I really should have seen that. One that annoys me is the putting of an apostrophe before an 's' in plurals. Incidentally, Bachmann is frequently incorrectly spelt with one 'n' and the Bachmann staff here pronounce it 'backman' - Ed.

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Mistaking Real Photos for Models

Several magazines, over the years, have demonstrated how model railways can look like the prototype, but the Railway Magazine June 2011 supplement ‘Trains through the ages’ got me thinking that this could be done the other way round. On page 7, the LMS 'Single' at Dundee West in 1930 could easily be a model view. Then, on the previous page, the LMS ‘Claughton’ at Crewe could have been a scene on a layout like ‘Diggle & Halebarns’, that so impressed me when I first started buying the model magazines.

Notably, these photos are from clean and concise scenes in the 1930s but later photos don’t seem to have the same qualities. Perhaps a challenging topic for a text based forum, but are there significant others? Identify the prototype photo and a matching layout; maybe from sources less than a year old so we all have some chance to compare.

David Wright

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East Anglia

Well said Dudley Jones, with your comments on the delightful J15. A new dawn will certainly be approaching for East Anglian modellers if we can have the J15 and the other iconic East Anglian loco the D16 Claude Hamilton 4-4-0, which came in at number 4 in the poll. With remodelled B1s and B17s coming together with a Wagon und Maschinen railbus and plenty of 'Britannias' and Class 31s around, the future looks bright in the East.

John Clark

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B16s on the Great Central and Southern

Here's a question for North Eastern, Great Central and Southern enthusiasts alike:

I have information that B16 4-6-0s ventured, on the ECML, as far north as Edinburgh, with one appearing at Thornton, to help out the local NBR services, and also ventured as far south as Peterborough March, with Eric Sawford photographing one at Huntingdon.

However, Yeadon Vol. 17 has the B16s operating on the Great Central as far as Woodford Halse & Banbury. Also, a recently purchased LNER Lines in the Yorkshire Ridings, by Cookson & Farline (1995), identifies B16s hauling Southern Region coaching stock on the Newcastle - Bournemouth through train, via the Great Central route of Banbury & Oxford.

My question is, therefore, did B16s operate as far south as Bournemouth, or were they switched at Banbury/Woodford Halse for an appropriate Southern locomotive? Certainly it would seem that Southern coaching stock was used as far north as Newcastle, and wondered if North Eastern locomotives ever reached the South Coast?

I would be grateful for any information provided.

Mike Leonard

Be careful not to drift too far of the subject of modelling - Ed.

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Hornby Magazine - 'Ashprington Road'

May I just compliment Graham Plowman on a very fine layout in the June edition of the Hornby Magazine. It is good see that modelling the BR steam era is alive and well down under. Graham is also a man of his word, judging by his comments on MREmag, in that there are fully working Ratio signals on the layout and very good they look too. I would recommend readers to try and see this issue.

In noting that Graham moved to Australia in 1995, on a personal note, I was wondering, Graham, if a relation, used to work at the South Eastern Divisional Civil Engineers at the Beckenham HQ. I well remember a George Plowman who worked there in late 1970s/early 1980s and who had previously been at the Ashford Civil Engineer's office. Just a thought.

Once again my appreciation of an excellent model railway.

John Cherry

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Prototypical Track Formations

Railway Magazine June supplement ‘Trains Through the Ages’, page 2, at Cricklewood yard 1955 got me looking first at density of wagons, then at the track. There are at least seven three-way left-hand turnouts, in a well aligned formation, leading to the sidings. Current manufacturers seem to have their turnouts diverging both ways; but I should love to use this on a layout for loco or fiddle yard where tracks could be very close together.

On this topic, I should also like to see curved double junction formations made possible, e.g. 3+4 radius with the 4th radius as a curved left or right hand crossing; perhaps sold all as one unit rather than in separate parts.

David Wright

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Poll Results

Once again, I very much thank Graham and Pat for their hard work in getting us the poll results and presenting them in such an easy-to-read fashion.

Many will comment on the locos, so I thought I’d make some observations on the rolling stock. However, it is, perhaps, worth mentioning that just 15 of the ‘Top 60’ steam locos listed are ‘glamour types’ – the greater proportion voted for are for what might be termed ‘workaday’.

It is interesting that brake vans fare well in three of the company listings (bearing in mind that a high proportion of votes get allocated to locos). Breakdown cranes are (comparatively) high, also.

The one (comparatively) high vote on NPCCS (non-passenger-carrying coaching stock) that pleased me was the Maunsell 'Van B' – no self-respecting SR or S&D layout can be without these! With the 'Van C' already with us from Hornby, this is a clear message of support for their production.

Also interesting to note in passenger stock (PCCS) was the high incidence of ‘ordinary’ stock (as opposed to ‘glamour express’ types). High up were:

BR: Non-gangwayed (long- and short-underframe)

GWR: Collett and Hawksworth non-gangwayed

LMS: PP sets and non-gangwayed

LNER: Thompson non-gangwayed and 'Quad'/'Quint Arts'

SR: PP sets and 'Birdcage' sets.

Brian Macdermott

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Personally, I shall be very sorry that you are stepping down from this. I think the analysis of past years was both excellent and instructive. The picture painted was clear and hopefully helpful to manufacturers. I have to admit to plugging the J15, but it seems that there is a high and sustained demand for this small and antiquated legend.

There are some surprises - the popularity of the 42XX/72XX family is one surprise. Personally, I would welcome a 72XX, but much prefer a 47XX.

A correspondent recently questioned whether the 'Brighton Atlantic' would see the light of day. As a member of the Bluebell Railway, I can confirm that it will and that the rate of progress is astounding. So, the popularity of this engine in the poll should encourage the manufacturers to produce an Atlantic. I recommend a visit to Sheffield Park to see this engine emerging.

Your analysis on Monday was one of the best things I have ever seen on the site.

Dudley Jones

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Brown Jack

Having waited patiently for what seems ages to acquire the new version of Hornby's A3, I saw a picture of one on Rails website, which has made me rethink such a purchase. Horror of horrors, the handrail is of the straight one piece variety. Now, if my research is correct, only two A3s were so fitted - numbers 60091 and 60046. Not 60043 Brown Jack. Twenty six of the class carried the split handrail modification after January 1962 and 60043 was one of them, so, unless the photo on Rails website is of a pre production sample, which has subsequently been altered, then Hornby have got this one wrong. Perhaps a split handrail is too difficult to manufacture, but I have done this to four A3 s so far and, if I can do it, I cannot see why Hornby cannot do likewise.

Graham Hobbs

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I have just seen the first pictures of this new model and sadly what a disappointment. The model itself is very good for a late crest A3 with GN tender and offers the opportunity for renumbering/renaming for many others of the class. However, my disappointment is that Hornby have now defaced this model by fitting the jumper cable, i.e. plug and socket, between the loco and tender. The previous two BR A3 releases of Galtee More and The White Knight did not have this fitment and for those wishing to add a DCC chip it was installed in the loco body.

It is such a shame that yet another Hornby tender loco has been unnecessarily changed for the worse. Regettably, there are very few tender locos now left untouched in the Hornby range.

John Cherry (At least Ł100 plus not wasted)

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Railway Magazine

I know we don't usually get involved with the prototype railway magazines, but I think readers might find the pictorial supplement to the current Railway Magazine interesting, especially for the make up (or, for our American friends, the 'consists') of the trains shown.

Peter Gomm

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BR 13TN Sand Tippler Wagon

Fortunately, we have had the Red Panda Kit and then Bachmann’s issue of this wagon. However, apart from a few photos in Dave Larkin’s’ books, they seem to have been very camera shy, especially in actual train workings. From prior help, via a question in BRM magazine, information was gleaned of workings between Stoke (Pratts Siding) – Congleton Brunswick St Wharf; Stoke or Congleton – Longbridge (foundry sand for Austin Cars) and Chelford (Pilkingtons Glass) – St Helens. A large number were also allocated to Leighton Buzzard, no doubt for the nearby sand quarries, but no indication can be given as to where they may worked to/from. Bachmann have lettered wagons with 'Congleton' and 'Leighton Buzzard'. I would also assume that industrial sand, white in colour, was the most common load, especially for glass making, and the wagons also appear to have run with open loads and not sheeted.

They seem very much confined to the LMR and did not stray to other regions. Can any readers throw further light on such workings especially from personal observation? I am sure there must be some readers who saw such block trains in the '50s/early-mid '60s. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

John Cherry

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by Pat Hammond (Poll Co-ordinator)

This will be my last year as co-ordinator of the Wish List Poll and this is my last report. After ten years it is time to step down and hand over to people more expert than me. As from next year the co-ordination will be provided by a panel of railway and model enthusiasts under the supervision of Brian Macdermott, while Graham Plowman of GPP Software will continue to organise the voting. I wish them every success.

Over the three polls, this year - N, 00 and 0 - there were a total of 13,709 votes cast. Of these 248 were for 0 gauge, 2160 for N gauge and 11,301 for 00.

4mm Scale

Primary Interest

We start with 00, as it is the most popular scale, and look first as the ten most popular regions/eras

1958-1967 Late BR (Southern Region to end of steam)	8.1%
1958-1967 Late BR (Western Region to end of steam)	6.7%
1948-1958 Early BR (Southern Region)	6.5%
1958-1967 Late BR (Midland Region to end of steam)	6.3%
1923-1948 LNER Prewar	6.1%
1958-1967 Late BR (Eastern Region to end of steam)	5.9%
1974-1987 BR blue TOPS (Bachmann Era 7)	5.7%
1994 Onwards - Post Privatisation Era	5.3%
1948-1958 Early BR (Eastern Region)	4.1%
18xx-1923 Pre-Grouping	3.9%

The voting showed that the primary interest of 52% of voters is the BR steam/transitional period and this is reflected in the number of green liveried diesels and steam locos in BR liveries made in recent years. In second place is pre-Nationalisation steam with 25% of the votes and in third place the post steam eras with 17% of the vote. The remaining 6% favour freelance or heritage models.

Looking at regions, the eastern side of the country is the most popular at present with 22.4% of the voters. Next comes the South with 18.3%, the West with 15.6%, the Midlands with 11.6% and Scotland with 3.8%. 28.3% voters did not vote for a period that specified a region.

Age Groups

The principle age group into which voters placed themselves is 60-69 years. These represent roughly a third of all the voters (32.3%). The next largest group are aged 50-59 (25.5%) and in third place are those aged 40-49 (22.3%). The rest are as follows: 30-39 (7.5%), 20-29 (6.2%), 70-79 (3.2%), 10-19 (2.6%) and over 80 (2%). This means that almost 85% of voters are over 40 years of age. These are people who were probably given a train set as a child and renewed an interest later in life as they gained more free time. If the popularity of model railways declined amongst children in the 1980s and 1990s, will that adult market be there in the future?

Control Systems and Sound

67.7% of voters are using a DC control system but 12.9% plan to switch to DCC. 28% currently have DCC and the remainder do not have a layout but just collect models.

39.3% of voters currently have hand controlled points and signals, while 36% use conventional 16V AC with switches. 5.2% use a hybrid system of their own and 5.1% have adopted a wire in tube system of operation. Of the rest, 4.5% use DCC through throttles, 2.4% use 12V DC slow motion motors with SPST, 0.9% DCC through SSI, 0.5% DCC through RR&Co, 0.5% DCC through JMRI, 0.3% MERG CBUS, 0.2% MERG RPC and 0.2% DCC through MRCC.

83% do not have sound but 14.9% hope to use it in the future with DCC, 4.0% hope to use it with DC and 1.7% with an external hi-fi system to play train sounds. 15.8% currently use sound through DCC and another 0.7% use sound through a DC system. 0.4 of current users intend to abandon sound.

Wheels

As a few use more than one type of wheel gauge, the total appears to exceed 100%. 97.4% of voters use the current ready-to-run wheels fitted to models when bought. 2% fit BRMSB finescale 00 wheels, 1.4% fit P4 wheels, 0.8% fit EM gauge wheels and 0.7% fit other types.

What Models to Make in the Future

The 11,301 votes cast in the 00 poll were spread over 1026 individual suggestions and, as only the most voted for items are likely to be taken seriously as popular subjects, the following tables show the most requested 00 models in each section.

BR Standard Locomotives

BR 8P 4-6-2 Duke of Gloucester (71)

BR 2MT 2-6-0 (48)

BR 3MT 2-6-0 (40)

BR 9F 2-10-0 Crosti (31)

WD 'Austerity' 8F 2-10-0 (27)

BR 2MT 2-6-2T (23)

BR passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (PCCS)

BR Mk2F coaches (37)

BR Mk2D coaches (27)

BR Mk2E coaches (18)

BR MK1 open 1st (FO)(Diagram 73) (16)

BR Mk1 long underframe, non-gangwayed (14)

BR Mk1 open brake 2nd (BSO) (13)

BR Mk2C coaches (12)

BR Mk2 driving brake 2nd open (DBSO) (12)

BR Mk1 short underframe, non-gangwayed (11)

BR Mk2B coaches (10)

BR Non-passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (NPCCS)

BR Mk1 Traveling Post Office vehicles (41)

Horse box (1957 build) (29)

CCT (15)

Horse box (Diagram 9 1954) (7)

BR Freight Stock

FFA/FGA Freightliner flats (23)

HTO/V 21T hopper wagon (12)

KFA 'Warflat' (12)

KWA 'Warwell' (12)

21-ton steel grain hopper (12)

Class B tank wagon (11)

Fastline/GBRF HYA/IIA coal wagons (11)

'Prestwin' silo wagon (11)

21-ton coke hopper (9)

'Grainflow' bogie wagons (8)

'Palvan'13T pipe wagon (7)

21T mineral wagon (7)

21-ton coal hopper (7)

BOC liquid oxygen tanks (7)

BR General Railway Service Vehicles

Cowans Sheldon breakdown crane (26)

Tamping machine (16)

Diesel bogie brake tender (14)

Catfish ballast hopper (12)

Dynamometer car (BR modified Hawksworth) (11)

APT-E (10)

Wickham trolley (7)

GWR Locos (Including Constituent Companies)

GWR 42xx 2-8-0T (74)

GWR 72xx 2-8-2T (58)

GWR 40xx 4-6-0 'Star' (50)

GWR 47xx 2-8-0 (42)

GWR 64xx 0-6-0PT (34)

GWR Steam Railmotor (32)

GWR 15xx 0-6-0PT (26)

GWR 33xx 4-4-0 'Bulldog' (25)

GWR 94xx 0-6-0PT (25)

GWR 29xx 4-6-0 'Saint' (24)

GWR 52xx 2-8-0T (22)

GWR 60xx 4-6-0 'King' (21)

GWR 16xx 0-6-0PT (20)

GWR/WR Passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (PCCS)

Churchward 'Toplight' coaches (1907-1922) (66)

Collett 57ft gangwayed bow end coaches/dining car (1925-1929) (27)

Collett non-gangwayed coaches (pre-WWII) (20)

BR(WR)-built Autocoach (15)

Collett 'Sunshine' gangwayed coaches (1936)(1938) (14)

59ft 6in wood-panelled Autocoach (12)

Hawksworth non-gangwayed coaches (post-WWII) (11)

Collett 57ft gangwayed flat ended coaches (1933-35) (11)

GWR/WR Non-passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (NPCCS)

Passenger brake van (various Diags. e.g. Diag. K42, Collett) (17)

'Siphon G' (internal frame) (12)

Passenger brake van ('Toplights') (10)

'Siphon C' (4-wheel) (9)

'Siphon F' (external frame). (8)

GWR/WR Freight Stock

'Mica B' meat van (White) (7)

20-ton 'Felix Pole' 21ft 6in coal mineral wagon (7)

Goods brake van ('Toad') (various lengths) (5)

GWR/WR Railway Service Vehicles

BR(WR) inspection saloon Diag Q13 (11)

Tool van (11)

Shunter's truck (10)

10-ton and 20-ton loco coal wagons (N2, N13, N27, N28) (6)

LMS Locos (Including Constituent Companies)

LMS Garratt 2-6-0 + 0-6-2 (37)

CR 'Jumbo' 0-6-0 (35)

LMS Stanier 6P/5F 2-6-0 Mogul (28)

L&Y Aspinall 27 Class 0-6-0 Nos.52088-52467,52515-52529 (24)

CR McIntosh 0-4-4T (24)

LMS 'Compound' 4-4-0 Nos.40900-40939,41045-41199 (22)

LMS Stanier 5MT 2-6-0 'Crab' Nos.42945- (21)

LMS/LMR Passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (PCCS)

Non-gangway, non-lavatory coaches (35)

Push-Pull (19)

Period II gangwayed coaches (13)

Period I gangwayed coaches (12)

Period III Stanier TO (to extend Hornby range) (10)

LMS/LMR Non-passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (NPCCS)

LMS horse box (numerous Diags.) (9)

LMS Traveling Post Office - sorting van (POS) and tender (POT) (7)

LMS 8-wheel 42ft luggage and parcels van (Diag. 1870) (6)

LMS/LMR Freight Stock

LMS goods brake van (13)

LMS 'Tube' wagon (11)

LMS 12-ton vans (11)

LMS 20-ton hopper coke wagon (11)

LMS cattle wagon (Diagrams 1661/1840) (9)

LMS/LMR General Railway Service Vehicles

LMS district engineer's inspection saloon (12)

Breakdown crane (Ransomes & Rapier 30-ton) (11

LNER Locos (Including Constituent Companies)

GER (LNER) J15 0-6-0 (82)

GCR (LNER) D11/1 'Director' Class 4-4-0 (81)

GER (LNER) D16 'Claud Hamilton' 4-4-0 (75)

GNR (LNER) J6 0-6-0 (70)

LNER P2 2-8-2 (66)

LNER K1 2-6-0 (62)

NER (LNER) Q6 0-8-0 (60)

GCR (LNER) J11 0-6-0 (52)

NER (LNER) B16 4-6-0 (51)

NER (LNER) J27 0-6-0 (50)

GNR (LNER) J50 0-6-0T (44)

GER (LNER) N7 0-6-2T (39)

GER (LNER) B12 4-6-0 (39)

NER (LNER) G5 0-4-4T (38)

GCR (LNER) A5 4-6-2T (37)

GNR (LNER) C1 4-4-2 Atlantic (37)

NBR (LNER) J36 0-6-0 (31)

GER (LNER) J69 0-6-0T (29)

GNR (LNER) O2 2-8-0 (26)

NER (LNER) J21 0-6-0 (25)

LNER A2/3 4-6-2 (21)

LNER/ER Passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (PCCS)

stock (40)

Gresley 'Quad-' and 'Quint-Art' articulated sets (38)

LNER streamlined stock (30)

Thompson gangwayed stock (14)

Gresley 52ft 6in gangwayed stock (12)

LNER tourist stock (1933-1939) (11)

Thompson catering stock (10)

Gresley non-gangwayed stock (51ft 1 1/2 in over body) (10)

LNER 'Beaver Tail' observation car (10)

LNER/ER Non-passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (NPCCS)

6-wheeled van (BZ) (Diag. 358) (20)

Horse Bbx (Diag. 5 of 1938) (15)

52ft bogie CCT (Diag. 7) (8)

Gresley 51ft 1 1/2 in full brake (B) (non-gangwayed) (7)

LNER/ER Freight Stock

LNER 20-ton coal hopper (16)

LNER 10-ton fish van (10ft wheelbase, 17ft 6in over headstocks) (9)

LNER 20-ton 'Plate' wagon (8)

LNER cattle wagon (8)

LNER 6-plank general merchandise wagon (7)

LNER 10-ton fish van (12ft wheelbase, 19ft 6in over headstocks) (6)

LNER fish van (14ft wheelbase, 23ft over headstocks) (6)

SR Locos (Including Constituent Companies)

LBSCR H2 4-4-2 'Brighton Atlantic' (81)

LSWR 700 0-6-0 'Black Motor' (59)

SR 'Merchant Navy' 4-6-2 (unrebuilt) (58)

SR S15 4-6-0 Nos.30823-30847 (51)

LSWR 04155 4-4-2T Adams Radial (48)

SECR H 0-4-4T (43)

USA 0-6-0T (39)

SR Q 0-6-0 (34)

SR U 2-6-0 Nos.31610-31639 (31)

LSWR S15 4-6-0 Nos.30496-30515 (31)

SR W 2-6-4T (24)

LBSCR K 2-6-0 (22)

SR Passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (PCCS)

Maunsell Push-Pull sets Nos.600-619 (Diag. 2407 BCK + Diag. 2023 SO) (67)

SECR 'Birdcage' 3-sets Nos.567-570, 572, 574-624, 626-629 (Diags. 160+315 or 316+162)n (58)

LBSCR Push-Pull sets (28)

Maunsell composite dining saloon/kitchen buffet car (Diags. 2658/9) (25)

Maunsell open 3rd (Diag. 2005) (17)

Bulleid Bournemouth Line 6-car sets (Nos.290-300) (17)

Bulleid 10 1/4 in (shallow ventilator) 2-sets(R) Nos.63-75 (Diag. 2405 BCK + Diag. 2123 BTK) (16)

Maunsell kitchen/restaurant 1st (Diags. 2650/1/5/6)(with Diag. 2005 Open Third) (16)

LSWR 3-LAV sets Nos.101-167 etc. (sample Diags. 124+274A+124 and 125+285+125) (15)

Bulleid 10 1/4 in (shallow ventilator) 3-sets Nos.771-793 (BTK Diag. 2123 + CK Diag. 2318) (15)

Bulleid 10 1/4 in (shallow ventilator) corridor brake composite (Diag. 2406) (15)

Bulleid 59ft multi-door stock (1945-1946)(Diag. 2121 BTK + Diag. 2316 CK) (14)

Bulleid 'Tavern' cars (Diags. 2663/4* and 2665/8) (14)

Isle of Wight (LBSCR and SECR) 54ft bogie stock (13)

Bulleid restaurant 1st + kitchen restaurant 3rd (Diag. 2507 + Diag. 2660) (11)

SR Non-passenger-carrying Coaching Stock (NPCCS)

Maunsell bogie 'Van B' (45)

Gangwayed bogie luggage van (GBL/CorPMV)(Diag. 3097) (18)

Parcels & misc. vehicle (PMV) (15)

Maunsell PO sorting van (with lavatory) (Diag. 3192) and PO Stowage Van (Diag. 3196) (8)

SR Freight Stock

SECR 25-ton 'Dance Hall' brake van (17)

SR cattle wagon (11)

SR 8-plank open wagon (Diag. 1400) (10)

SR 25-ton 4-wheel 'Pillbox' brake van (also 15-ton variant) (6)

SR General Railway Service Vehicles

SR Bogie ballast wagon 'Walrus' (13)

Gas Turbine Locos

18000 (Brown Boveri A1A A1A gas turbine) (27)

GT3 (English Electric 4-6-0 gas turbine) (23)

Diesel Locos

Class 20/3 - refurbished flush fronted (DRS) (26)

Class 67 (25)

Class 16 (20)

Electric Locos

Class 90 (36)

Class 71 (27)

Class 73 (26)

Class 70 (SR COCO Nos. 20001-20003) (22)

Class 81 (21)

Class 74 (21)

Class 89 (20)

DMUs

Class 120 Swindon 'Cross Country' (42)

Class 124 'Trans-Pennine' (33)

Class 116 Derby High Density Suburban (30)

Class 117 Pressed Steel (upgraded) (28)

Class 101 (26)

Class 104 BRCW (24)

Class 123 Swindon Intercity (20)

EMUs

Class 401 2BIL bi-lavatory stock (31)

3SUB/4SUB suburban stock (non-Bulleid) (22)

Linesside & Miscellaneous

Operating semaphore signals (general) (53)

RTR 00 gauge track with 4mm sleepers/spa/cing (45)

Operating GWR semaphore signals (36)

Operating LNER semaphore signals (30)

Operating SR semaphore signals (28)

Operating LMS semaphore signals (28)

1930s road vehicles (19)

BR turntable (realistic) (17)

Operating colour light signals (general) (15)

GWR turntable (realistic) (14)

Catenary system (high quality - British) (12)

Range of seated coach passengers (12)

1980s road vehicles (10)

Smoke generator (steam locos) (9)

LNER turntable (realistic) (9)

Range of seated diesel drivers (7)

Smoke generator (diesel locos) (7)

Pullman Cars

BR Mk2 Manchester Pullman coaches (12

1928 all-steel cars (7)

1951 'Festival of Britain'/'Golden Arrow' cars (7)

Top 50 4mm Scale Models Requested

Finally let us look at the 50 most wanted models:

Subject	Votes
1st - GER (LNER) J15 0-6-0	82
=2nd - GCR (LNER) D11/1 'Director' Class 4-4-0	81
=2nd - LBSCR H2 4-4-2 'Brighton Atlantic'	81
4th - GER (LNER) D16 'Claud Hamilton' 4-4-0	75
5th - GWR 42xx 2-8-0T	74
6th - BR 8P 4-6-2 Duke of Gloucester	71
7th - GNR (LNER) J6 0-6-0	70
8th - Maunsell Push-Pull sets Nos.600-619 (Diag. 2407 BCK + Diag. 2023 SO)	67
=9th - Churchward 'Toplight' coaches (1907-1922)	66
=9th - LNER P2 2-8-2	66
11th - LNER K1 2-6-0	62
12th - NER (LNER) Q6 0-8-0	60
13th - LSWR 700 0-6-0 'Black Motor'	59
=14th - GWR 72xx 2-8-2T	58
=14th - SECR 'Birdcage' 3-sets Nos.567-570, 572, 574-624, 626-629 (Diags. 160+315 or 316+162)	58
=14th - SR 'Merchant Navy' 4-6-2 (unrebuilt)	58
17th - Operating semaphore signals (general)	53
18th - GCR (LNER) J11 0-6-0