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Yes David, there was a degree of risk involved but not that much. Each original ROSCO had about a third of the former BR Fleet allocated and paid around £250 - £300 million, frankly a fraction of the actual value. THey would never of been funded by Britain's Banking system unless it was a dead cert. When they were sold on to banks the original "investors" made a mint. I don't in any way blame them, some of whom were colleagues of mine. I do recall at least one very senior railway manager though who ended up in a ROSCO and resigned before the sale which he found morally repugnant. I had many dealings with ROSCO's in my time and generally they were very, very profitable and were able to move most of the safety and performance risk to the TOCs. For example, the TOCs were under pressure to improve train reliablity so they progressed reliability mods - the cost of which was added to the leasing cost to the all round benefit of the ROSCOs. Transparancy of Leasing Company profits are now beyond our ken given their offshore owners. Ben Elton was spot on with his analysis, rail privatisation, along with water (!!) and energy are a national disgrace the consequences of which we are all living and, many of us, struggling with. Kind regards, Richard B

I am sure that Tony will know of someone. In the past I have found PDK Kits very useful. They supplied a number of realy good castings for the V4 that I am building. http://www.pdkmodels.co.uk/ Kind regards, Richard B

I am now in "Much Swearing-by-Derwent" as I fit all the little (steam) oil pipes around the smokebox saddle. I use 0.2mm and 0.3mm wire. I have completed the firemans side, the "easier" drivers side can wait until I have calmed down. Each side has a small manifold fixed to the smokebox saddle to which all the tiny oil pipes are connected. The arrangement of the pipes does change, for example 61701 had a similar arrangement of pipework on the smokebox side to 61700 curving around the nameplate even though no nameplate was fitted. This seems to have changed in later BR years. The support brakets at the rear of the smokebox are not complete and the main steam pipe covers require a little filler. I have extended the smokbox door inge straps - they were too short. Kind regards, Richard B

I have not been idle honest! This build is taking longer than I usually take to build a loco given that large parts are scratch built. That is no criticism of the Judith Edge kit, the quality of which is first class, just the reality of building a loco from a set of etches and than having to procure or build everything that is not included. If it had been included, the cost would have been many more times the purchase price. It is though building up into, what I consider, a lovely model of Gresley's swan song design. Working on cab interior now that handrails etc fitted. AS mentioned, the backplate is a V2 casing cut down to get it closer to the V4 boiler size - it is not perfect but close. The driver and fireman's raised footplate are a feature of the Gresley cab. Cab painted up and the drivers brake valve and reverser column fitted. I have some further work to do with the "wooden" cab floor!! The cab seats are going to be a devil to make. Kind regards, Richard B

SR Man, The D1 looks really good. I have not ordered one given that I built the DJH version. I have though bought the D which looks to be an excellent model. I have not run it yet but will keep in mind your comments. Kind regards, Richard B

I have PMed you Tony. Kind regards, Richard B

Sadly BR decided to handover West of Salisbury to the Western Region and memories are long lived on Britains Railways. I guess we are lucky that the former SR "Exeter Branch" survives. It is though nice to speculate. As Ian mentions above, the SR DEMU's, whilst superior to the DMU's* of the day, were real rattlers and tended to shake themselves to bits as well as the 4SRKT engine and cooling system taking up a lot of space. If I recall 1129 had a high speed Dorman V12 fitted for testing. It was a small unit and would have given some additional space if pursued but it was staggeringly noisy. I know, I did a number of test runs on it and I'm sure my hearing suffered as a result. I don't think any of the control issues raised would have been unsurmountable. Unlike most BR Regions, the SR had its own Rolling Stock Development Department which was always looked on with suspicion by BRB M&EE Derby. I know, I worked there and it really was fun for a young engineer just out of his apprenticeship. * Sorry Clive if you are watching.... Kind regards, Richard B

Hi Chris, Put my name down please - perfect for 70D. Would appreciate a contact that could paint them for me as well as Dan. Kind regards, Richard B

Chassis is now finished and painted. I know move on to detailing the body. Yes I know I missed the spot on one or two handrail holes! Kind regards, Richard B

Hi Ian, Yes, very much a JMW coastline - huge swaths of colour and tiny human and animal figures. I guess it all appealed to my "arty farty" side and I make no apologies for that. Us (then) railwaymen have a funny and coincidental relationship at times. As I think I may have mentioned. I a member of the HST commissioning team and the first WR sets were all tested on the ECML, initially to a siding close to Alnmouth. Commissioning is very thirsty work and a quick slide down an embankment to the road and a quick bus ride into Alnmouth brought refreshment to the team. We only missed the set on test once.... Sortly after the commisioning runs terminated at Newcastle. Alnmouth or another meeting, tricky choice....... I think I found the road bridge and bus stop last week on our way back to Rock. Kind regards, Richard B

Yes agree Gilbert. I rather like the look of the K2's, indeed of all Gresley's earlier designs. Was the K2 a rather useful engine in WW2 given it was two cylinders only? Certainly it was one of Gresley classes to escape a Thompson re-build so it must have been easier to service and maintain than his three cylinder engines. I did build a "Scottish" side cab version of the K2, using a London Road Models kit, for a model railway club down South. It was a tricky build, but then I was still learning a great deal about loco building back then and I still am. The K2. The London Road etches and castings do build up into a good representation of the prototype. Just to show the complexity of the assembly, the motion plate consisted of around 10 parts that had to be soldered very, very carefully! Sorry for the interruption all this sort of stuff should be elsewhere! Kind regards, Richard B

Hi John, Thanks for all your hints and tips. We stayed at a cottage in Rock which is close to Alnwick and Alnmouth. With the exception of one day we had perfect weather. The beaches on this part of the East Coast are very beautiful - golden sand dunes. We visited Berwick, Bamburgh (Destiny Is All) Holy Island, Craster and Amble. All interesting places full of history and beauty. Alnwick Castle is well worth a visit but the Water Gardens at Alnwick are just sensational and, to my knowledge, fairly unique in form - huge contoured Hornbeam hedges, a maze contructed from bamboo and the water features themselves are quite stunning. I'm afraid we were unable to fit in the White Swan but on the recommendation of two lovely ladies we met over coffee in Alnwick, we had lunch at The Old Boathouse at Amble. Sadly a mixed experience. Our party had some good food but having pointed out, in a very kindly way, that the otherwise lovely Mackeral Pate was too salty for me, my main course arrived and was even saltier! It was an establishment that reminded me a little of some of the more pretentious London restaurants that are doing you a favour by letting you eat there! The only blot on the landscape... The standout for us though was Alnmouth. Putting it simply, we looked at the houses for sale. It is a glorious gem of a town and the Aln Estuary is full of wading birds of all sorts. We all loved it. No pictures yet - I will try to coax some off my iPhone but if you have looked at my photographic efforts on this thread, don't hold your breath! Kind regards, Richard B

Hi Phil, Yes Phil, Barter Books just brilliant. Bought the following: The Power of the A3's - Gavin Morrison North Eastern Steam 1948 - 1968 Peter Tuffrey East Coast Main LIne Vols 6 and 7 D R Dunn Northumberland Branch LInes 3 D R Dunn Plus a number of Art History and other stuff that we are keen on. BUT... the buffet is just wonderful served by such pleasant people - frankly the the finest and largest sausage sarnie's in the world... Kind regards, Richard B

Yes it did and went down well with SR crews. Sadly, no reported sightings of V4's down South.... Fortunately as we all know, when the MN's/WC/BB had axle trouble B1's and V2's appeared on the SR. The Shedmaster at 70D is looking forward to them popping into his shed, especially the V2's. Kind regards, Richard B PS Back home from Alnwick/Alnmouth. What an absolutely lovely coastline and the hinterland is also rather lovely too. Mrs B loved it. Report later for those interested. Unpacking now.

Good observation DunS. 70D had an allocation of five from the mid fifties until 1963 including double chimney versions. I always assumed that these were drafted in to replace the N15X 4-6-0s all of whaich were shedded there until withdrawal. Sorry Tony and many others, all a bit SR centric I know, but the LNER and its wonderous locomotives was/is my next favourite railway. Kind regards. Richard B

Good morning Tony, Many thanks - as mentioned, the V4's seem to have been a capable and fairly powerful locomotive and RA4 is a very good design achievement. With the A1 and P2 building, one can see the sense in The A1 Locomotive trust's decision to build a third V4 given such a wide RA. Whilst I hope otherwise, I suspect I won't be around to see it! Kind regards, Richard B

Thanks so much John, much appreciated. I take it that the recommended establishments are all in Alnwick? We will sample all. Kind regards, Richard B

We are off to the land of Uhtred son of Uhtred tomorrow to stay in a cottage near Alnwick with a daughter and son-in law. We do a week in a UK location most years. Last year we stayed in Pickering which has many additional attractions but this year Mrs B put her foot down... So work suspended on 61701, this is how it looks now: Kind regards and Wes hāl and Hej då! as Uhtred may have said, Richard B

Chassis is just about complete, just need to add the sand pipes and anything else I have forgotten but don't yet realize. I can now focus on the body, which should be straitforward..... Brake rigging much simplified. Tender will have pickups too. Have added 2 thou brass wrappers to the cylinders - securing bolts are very noticable on the prototype. You can just see the brake operating arms under the cylinders. The two vacuum brake cylinders were mounted between the frame. Don't think these were steam brakes (?). Nice view of my homemade valve spindle guides. Kind regards, Richard B

Thanks Bernard, that is an achievement then. Quite a substantial locomotive and more than met the objective of a go anywhere locomotive. Kind regards, Richard B

Sorry to interupt the flow Tony. Have noticed what a large collection of A1's you have, but then they were very "front line" in the period you are modelling. I have a quick prototype question (I know there is a thread for such things but suspect that this is where I will get an answer). I am building a 4mm scale (00) V4 2-6-2 using Judith Edge Etches. It will be 61701 and in BR mixed traffic livery. I know that around 1953/4 these engines were downgraded from 5MT to 4MT (Why??) but my real query concerns the Route Availability. From the limited images available I can't tell if they were RA4 or RA6, I suspect the latter. Can anyone please confirm. I have searched the web but no joy. Kind regards and thanking in anticipation, Richard B

Finishing off the valve gear. I have lost the etches for the front valve spindle extention that drives the conjugated valve gear. Both fell to the floor with no trace until I am looking for something else. So I have fabricated my own from bullhead rail, 5 thou brass and a few bits of brass wire. I think they look better than the etches! "Conjugated" valve gear fitted... KInd regards, Richard B

Next year try the WEC own TV channel - total coverage of the season, no ads, for £38. Kind regards, Richard B

Sorry chaps - now I have confused all the staff at Stratford St. Mary by wrongly identifying the reaper binder. Perhaps that is why it has been on the wagon for 30 years? Keep up the very good work Kelvin. Kind regards, Richard B

The shunter and his pal seem to be a bit confused by the bailer.... too new fangled or just wondering how they are going to unload? Many thanks, Richard B