John Isherwood

Not something that is offered as normal service - but if the numbers required are specified; (to save me having to look up the number series); not impossible! Attached is a low res. image of the standard sheet. Regards, John Isherwood.

.... and how did the clay get to Wenford Dries in steam railway days? By pipeline !! Regards, John Isherwood.

It happened to me recently - but not on RMweb. It also happened to my wife when using her lap-top; (I use a PC). Regards, John.

Sheet BL57 - BR diagram 1/479 BOGIE BOLSTER E wagons; (as-built lettering style). Transfers for 10 wagons. 4mm. scale price is £8.00. See https://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm . Regards, John Isherwood.

Your initial mistake was the lack of introductory information at the time of the project launch, and some statements about research which did not convince those of us who had undertaken the same process. First impressions are paramount, and any hint of mystery can lead to suspicion - which, once triggered, is very difficult to eliminate. Regards, John Isherwood.

What is it with Dapol and liveries? When they do do a popular livery, they manage to get the font wrong. I'd have had a modest rake of as-built BOGIE BOLSTER Es; ex-works and supposedly on delivery from Ashford. That said, looking at the production samples, the underframe trussing looks a bit too deep and under-nourished. Nothing that can't be corrected, but why not get it right when cutting the tooling? Regards, John Isherwood.

Pronounced, by the locals, 'Router', my 'ansome! Regards, John Isherwood.

.... and remained available as castings from ABS until relatively recently. I have a fair stock of those which I regularly use. Regards, John Isherwood.

I did wonder about replacing the bogies with Bachmann ones - but I'll try and rebuild the model with as many of the original components as possible; (apart from the Comet etched sides). Regards, John Isherwood.

I have a spare untouched W&T Palethorpes van kit, if anyone wants to make me an offer for it. Regards, John Isherwood.

As I mentioned before, my (unique?) D601 has vertical air intakes - so is spot-on for my 1961 modelling period. Regards, John Isherwood.

I completed the Mopok Hawksworth, but it was showing its age. However, I have stripped it to components and am about to rebuild it, using a pair of Comet coach sides. I'm confident that a perfectly acceptable 'layout coach' will be the result. Regards, John Isherwood.

Tell me about it !! A regular penance when using the Barton overnight Sunderland - Leicester and return service, for a weekend home from college. I sometimes wondered if it was worth it, whilst trying to keep awake at the steamy, greasy spoon cafe. Regards, John Isherwood.

Accepted - but I still believe that there is no significant market for 'generic' models for any period, especially the more historic; given the furore over detailed differences between individual locos in the 'Terrier' thread. My impression is that, the earlier the period modelled, the greater is the tendency to 'rivet count' !! Regards, John Isherwood.

I have studiously avoided viewing sound-equipped models because I could not imagine that such a complex audiological experience could ever be reproduced digitally. However, I thought, digital sound has been around for a while now, so why not watch a video of the latest offering? It certainly is an improvement on the 'tender axle cam and sandpaper' of the old Tri-ang Hornby B12, but it doesn't in any way produce anything that resembles a working steam loco. The sounds are so 'compartmentalised'; nothing blends; it's all somehow so stilted and 'overacted'. When I operate my DC, non-sound fitted locos, I recall the sounds of the prototype and I 'hear' them in my head - a far more convincing experience than anything that could possibly be artificially produced; (even though the individual sound elements are recordings of the real thing). Sorry, this Luddite is not convinced, and I will continue to rely upon memory and imagination. Regards, John Isherwood.

This is something that comes up time and time again, but never materialises; (thank God). The fallacy is in the emboldened words above - especially in 'Era 1', or the dawn of steam railways, as I prefer to think of it. 'Standard' was not even conceived at that time; every prospective locomotive engineer worth his salt was inventing his own idea of how a steam locomotive should operate and, thereby, look. There was no proven theory, no textbook; and so what few images have come down to us demonstrate that virtually no two locos looked the same. Even when small batches were built, constant experimentation and improvement resulted in an incredible diversity in locomotive function and appearance. Jump forward to the present day, and suggest the same thing. What market would there be for a 'generic' General Motors locomotive that was neither a Class 59 nor, say, a Class 66; but something 'standard' that could be worked up to represent specific prototypes? I can hear the reaction in this forum to the first EP image - "It looks nothing like a Class XX or a YY, let alone a ZZ". If that is the likely scenario when so many loco classes have a clear family affinity, how could the same premise be applicable to a period when variety is the very essence and attraction of modelling the trains? Sorry to sound so negative, but 'generic' went out with Hornby Dublo LNER N2s dressed up as GWR 0-6-2Ts. Wrenn tried it again later when they bought HD, but their market was primarily the non-discerning collector. Regards, John Isherwood.

Not on my PC either; I'm pretty sure that there's something amiss at their end that my PC or software doesn't like. Regards, John Isherwood.

Yes, and it's messed up my desktop - otherwise, no difference whatsoever. Regards, John Isherwood.

Tried that - doesn't work; I get :- The connection was reset The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading. The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments. If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer’s network connection. If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web. Regards, John Isherwood.

Many of the images were shared with me on the basis that they were for my own personal use; I have no intention whatsoever of breaking that trust. Any competent manufacturer could replicate my own research, and will have nothing to fear from those of us who care about the fidelity of models, IF that research is translated into accurate tooling. Anyway, we were told earlier that KRmodels have researched GT3 at the (N)RM, and have drawings; (that no-one had previously managed to root out, it seems). As I said earlier - I watch and wait, hoping to be proved wrong in my scepticism. Regards, John Isherwood.

Don't think so - I just uninstalled and reinstalled FF, but still can't get onto the SEF site. Regards, John Isherwood.

I have spoken to SE Finecast; they were aware of some server glitch over the weekend but thought that it had been resolved. Their webmaster; (son); will be asked to investigate further. Regards, John Isherwood.

Quite clearly the precursor of the sliding tender covers fitted to some 4F tenders at a later date. Regards, John Isherwood.

Not me though - and I've tried both Firefox and IE. Regards, John Isherwood.

I can't - they're copyrighted. Regards, John Isherwood.