John Isherwood

It would seem that I may have to! 🥴 CJI.

My DIY booth has a strip light in the roof - protected by a sheet of renewable clear polycarbonate. CJI.

I've been using a fan, intended for cooling a PC, for years. Note : I accept no responsibility for any adverse consequences experienced by anyone following my example. CJI.

Phil - chill!! I wasn't referring to you, but at whoever at KRM decided that it was a good idea to put that EP before the public - and it seems that I am not alone in my view. Please - do not ALWAYS assume that I am having a go at you! CJI.

Marketting will always want innovation / gimmicks; the hardest job for the designer must be to fight the demands of those who know nowt about railways, and persuade them that inappropriate gimmicks can be detrimental to the product. (See the adverse comments re 'bling' on the new Hornby Standard 2MT 2-6-0). CJI.

It is difficult to follow the mindset that allowed that image to be published! CJI.

I don't think so - read the OP again. CJI.

Quite - but the OP is seeking historic, prototype photos of coaches that never existed, and wishing to check the authenticity of the models. CJI.

You won't find any photos as they never existed. Are you not aware that the Hattons' Genesis coaches are fictitious? They are of a certain 'historic style', but are not models of ANY prototypical coaches. Sorry, CJI.

Fine - so long as all prospective purchasers intend to model a preserved railway. In reality, the vast majority model the railway as it was when the locos and stock were in their original, revenue-earning condition. This debate could become (has become?) tedious - the point that I wished to make is that, for many modellers, the over-embellished finish of the 2MT spoils, rather than enhances the model; nothing more. CJI.

I am not advocating offering models only in weathered condition - far from it - I loathe those caricatures! I was prompted to make my original comments because I felt that the Hornby finish is, in this case, overdone. There is a subtle but visible difference between a model that portrays an ex-works loco and one which comes over as excessively embellished. If anyone doubts this, compare the as- produced Hornby model with the 'adjusted' model illustrated above by 44568. I know it is a matter of personal choice, but it is important for those of us who like to buy models that look like the prototypes that we remember. CJI.

Further to the above - a little thought will show why ex-works locos were NOT routinely 'bulled up'. BR was a nationalised body, with little incentive or resources to waste on embellishments which made no contribution to the function of the loco. Within days, it would join its comrades under a coat of muck, which would rarely, if ever, be cleaned - a lowly Standard 2-6-0 would fulfil its duties quite adequately whether shiny or filthy. Why would the railway 'bull up' a loco that was destined for ignominious obscurity within a very short period? CJI.

To my eyes, unpolished copper pipe is a dull reddish brown, and brass a dull yellowish tan. The bottom line is that the copper and brass pipes and fittings on ex-works locos were not strikingly evident - as is the case with Hornby's model. CJI.

As I have posted previously, ex-works locos were NOT polished in the way that the new Hornby loco is presented. For a major public exhibition, a loco might be 'bulledup', but is was a rare exception. 44568's model, above, is massively more convincing with the 'bling' obliterated. Depends what you want - a shiny toy or a convincing model. CJI.

At the time that I witnessed the prototype, I was a schoolboy living in Leicester; ex-works locos aplenty at the annual BR Derby Works Horticultural Show / Open Day. The locos looked immaculate, but polished brass and copper was very sparingly bestowed. CJI.

.... and, IMHO, vastly improved! THAT looks like an ex-works loco. CJI.

Ha-ha - there's your problem; I hadn't appreciated that you were operating the frogs as anything other than Electrofrogs! Absolutely essential, IMHO. CJI.

Not sure what PWM is - but my cheapo Chinese voltage regulator controllers deliver a variable voltage, rather than limiting the current via variable resistors or more sophisticated electrickery. Whatever, they provide the smoothest acceleration and deceleration that one could desire. CJI.

Coal or coke? CJI.

If that is the case, it's a first - and one to be celebrated! Maybe there is life after the 'Fell'? CJI.

I doubt it - I think that it's illegal nowadays! 😄 ...... and as for coke!!!!! CJI.

Nope - it's an unfortunate coincidence, and largely attributable to the fact that a tiny gap becomes critical at 2mm. scale. Science is like that - sh*t happens ; some things simply can't be overcome. CJI.

Totally accepted - but the degree to which Hornby have applied the 'bling', to what are inevitably overscale pipes, has IMHO - and in this case - worked to the detriment of the product. CJI.

I don't quite follow that. Good trackwork can be made to look abandoned / neglected cosmetically, without compromising the good running that well-constructed track allows. Stay-alives are recent inventions - good running was and is achievable without them - despite recent protestations to the contrary! CJI.

Not disputed - but why is it necessary? Are the principal players producing models of actual trains - or a fictitious image of what railways never were? Sooner or later, such 'bling' will become received wisdom of the reality 'back in the day' - and future generations will be unable to understand why such a perfect system was superceded. It isn't accurate, and it isn't justifiable! CJI.