SRman

A minor correction for you, Rick: the MW was the "Medium Weight" saloon (single decker), following on from the earlier semi-integral LS ("Light Saloon"). Both of these are available as RTR models, the LS bus and MW coach from EFE, and the MW bus from Base Toys / BT Models. The EFE LS coach is not accurate and is really the MW coach without the printed grille. Edit: the 8' rule outside of London was in the late '40s or early '50s. LT ordered the RFs at 7' 6' wide because they weren't certain when that would change. 30' 2-axle single deckers came in the 1950s also, but the change to 30' 2-axle double deckers and 36' 2-axle single deckers was around 1962, or thereabouts. It was around the same time that opening windscreens were no longer required.

Some twit has mounted those signals facing the wrong way!

Not being into sports, I ddn't know much about them for a long time. Then came the Olympics gymnastics: I tuned in by accident and didn't, at first, realise what was going on with the commentary. Once it twigged, I became a bit of a fan.

... or escape get out!

I thought that at first, too, but then remembered the Maunsell loco-hauled stock is only 59' long, so there would still be a lot of hacking and joining to do.

Hornby Magazine emailed subscribers to say things will remain mostly as normal, subject to any further rulings from the government as things change almost daily.

Even the driver's seat is ugly ... and damned uncomfortable looking.

Hi Peter: the speaker wires should go to pins 9 and 10 - see this diagram (not mine): https://tcsdcc.com/pinout

My left hand and fingers have several scars acquired over the last six decades, most of them from modelling knives, plus the odd drill and occasional soldering iron burns. that's partly the price of being right-handed and nowhere near ambidextrous. I did try writing with my left hand; it looked like a kindergarten kid's scrawls!

True (or something like that - I had a figure of 60 mph in the back of my mind), but the Danish IC3/IR4 units regularly travel at 180 kph, so those recessed front ends must surely interfere with the aerodynamics.

Marvin the paranoid android! https://giphy.com/gifs/depressed-the-hitchhikers-guide-to-galaxy-marvin-paranoid-android-8K2hnkJ6wAQ3m

I was going to post mine but you beat me to it. What the Heck, here's a DSB IC3 unit anyway. P_20180924_180234_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr I think you are right, though, David: the Belgian units look worse! I still think the current class 70 diesels on BR were designed by a committee ... from the 1950s, who also designed American cars at that time.

Years ago I remember some video footage in a Railscene vid featuring some incredibly ugly outside framed 0-6-4 tank locos. I think the feature was around Liverpool Docks, but I could be wrong about that. A quick Google suggests they originated on the Mersey Railway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mersey_Railway#/media/File:Mersey_Railway_No._5_Cecil_Raikes.jpg

Well, you have scaled the two photos so the windscreens line up for size, but then the lower parts don't line up (not helped by the different perspectives. If you scale the whole cab front to match on each photo, the windscreens on the model are going to be slightly deeper. At least, that's what it looks like to me. It would greatly assist a a fair comparison if you could take a photo of the model to match the angle of the perspective of the real one. I may be wrong, but when you look at the side by side comparison of the Sutton's one against the Bachmann model, the Sutton's model just looks more correct to me.

Again?

If you wish to model the Maunsell shunters (BR 15201 to 15203), with a few compromises, Golden Arrow Productions do a resin body shell intended to fit a Bachmann 08 chassis with a few modifications. Maunsell Class D3-12 and BR Class 08 - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

The thought occurs to me that the German ICE units and some intercity trains use a similar white livery with a red stripe at waist level. Do they require extra cleaning regimens, I wonder? Speaking of repainting models, I was inspired to paint my ancient Triang Met-Cam DMU into the white scheme. It looked quite good, in spite of the model being a little short on length. Bringing the roof colour down to the door-top level made a big difference to the models visual proportions. I think I still have that model in a box, somewhere.

The photos confirm my initial impression that the Bachmann version's windscreens are a little too deep for class 24 or 25/0. The Sutton loco has that right, I think. Otherwise I do like what Bachmann have produced.

Occasional slips off topic????? Doug, this is you and me we're talking about: expert and chronic thread hijackers, both! I can't remember exactly how long I have been on here, but it would be around the same as DougN. Happy 15th birthday RMweb, anyway.

For something a little different, I have started adding some of the lineside cabling so typical of London's underground railways. This is only the first bit, with lots still to go. The section that has dropped slightly on the right has been fixed - I only noticed it when I looked at the photo. P_20200315_163411_vHDR_cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20200315_163358_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

My theme for today is my Bratchell Models kits. All the 4-car units have been motorised using Replica Railways 64' motorised chassis with 12mm wheels. The 2-car class 456 is unpowered at present but will gain a Replica half-chassis - an idea put forward by Replica Railways themselves. The units are, from back to front: Class 455/8 5835 in Network South East (NSE) livery; Class 319/1 319 174 in NSE livery; Class 319/3 319 368 in Thameslink livery; Class 455/9 5907 in South West Trains (SWT) livery; Class 456 456007 in NSE livery. The Thameslink 319 and SWT 455 are both unfinished as they have not yet had their underframe details fitted. 5907 is also still undergoing adjustments to its livery. This uses Electra Railway Graphics vinyl overlays but I have been painting the end 'swoops' and cab fronts by hand. The unpowered class 456 usually runs attached to 5835. P_20200315_111402_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr P_20200315_111334_vHDR_On by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Definitely do NOT use the pre-fitted speaker with a v3.5 decoder; you will probably blow the amp part of the decoder if you do. You should do as Porcy suggests and swap out the speaker. The down side to that is that the range of 100 ohnm speakers available is rather limited.

Yes, they do still have some stock but are not distributing them to retailers any more, so buying direct from them is the way to go, at least until all stocks are exhausted.

While the BR(S) coaching stock colour should be the correct one, I find that what is supposed to be the same colour actually varies between paint manufacturers, with some (in my opinion) being a bit on the dark side. Having said that, the colour did vary a bit in real life, due to the Southern's habit of revarnishing rather than repainting, plus the variable effects of weathering and carriage washers on the finish.

I wouldn't mind a set too. Will check out Shawplan as well, seeing as the other usual producers don't seem to have them.