PhilJ W

Goodnight all.

If anyone wanted to produce a 4/6 wheel carriage based on a real prototype either the NLR or MET stock would be the way to go. A great deal of both companies stock was sold off to minor railways not just the Col. Stevens lines. Ironic in a way as both companies stock had features that instantly identified their origin .

There is a W&U type coach in the Bachmann Thomas the Tank Engine series. Unfortunately it is far to long to be a 4 wheeler and too short for the bogie coach. Its on a four wheel chassis and has many other shortcomings.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. John, I hope Sandy's radiotherapy goes well tomorrow. I got a card from Tesco the other day entitling me to double Clubcard points. I intended to purchase an external hard drive so I did today and boosted my points total at the same time. Not a lot to do this weekend, my friend is taking his lad to Darlington for the weekend though I might pop down to the Canvey transport museums open day on Sunday.

Mention of milk traffic made me think. What about a full brake with slatted doors or a four wheel milk van as per the preserved MET example?

The LT&S had six wheel brake thirds with a pair of compartments either side of the guards compartment.

Noticed that the first two were right hand drive and the third was central steering.

Theres plenty of scope for 'chopping' these models. Some 'chops' of the Triang/Hornby clerestory coaches have been illustrated.

When Fords introduced the Kent engine (105E onwards) it had three crankshaft bearings but when it was developed into the Crossflow version it became five bearings. This meant making a longer engine with wider cylinder spacing. However when they introduced the Fiesta, a shorter engine was needed so they reverted to three bearings. They retained the same 80mm bore throughout.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Just had a downpour, thunder, lightning and hail. Problem is its highlighted a small leak in the ex coal shed. Not a serious leak and the water may have been driven in by the wind. Its coming in where the (fibreglass) flat roof of the shed meets the side of the house. So weather permitting its up on the ladder with a sealant gun, if I can find where its coming in. I suspect it might be driven in by the wind under the edge of the roof.

Many early buses and commercials had the driver on the 'kerb' side as it was deemed safer for the driver to see the kerb. The best known UK example is probably the Foden overtype steam wagon where the driver sat on the left hand side. Also in Alpine regions right hand drive continued to be used until quite recently the most notable being the Swiss postal buses. This was because it was safer for the driver to see the edge of the road on mountain roads.

Many modellers seem happy with the Ratio GWR 4 wheelers in all sorts of liveries so would probably accept a generic R-T-R model.

Give them time and they might.

Someone mentioned removing the centre axle of the 6 wheelers. The generic history of these vehicles was that they went from four to six wheels as coaches became larger and then back to four wheels but still larger than many of the old four wheelers. The reason for this was most were fitted with wrought iron or Maunsell wooden wheels. As technology moved on stronger steel wheels became available eliminating the need for a centre axle.

I thought about the MET's round topped doors as well. I doubt that there will be a special version to cover just the MET stock. The only Met stock with rectangular vents were the re-bodied rigid eight wheelers used on the Brill branch.

Some of the very early ones did and some others had riight hand drive. Paris buses had open cabs until after the war and many featured a seat above the right hand front mudguard. This was because they were liable to be called up for military emergency duty and it was there for a soldier to protect the vehicle. The Paris buses were commandered during WW1 to move troops to the front, though I'm not certain if it was so in WW2.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Bright sunshine at the moment but not predicted to last unfortunately. The lurgy is in retreat but still reluctant to go altogether but the brace of Lem-sip capsules and brandy chaser is working. Thoughts as ever with John and Sandy, be back later.

Its been mentioned about the beading being not right for a particular company. Perhaps Hattons might consider a version without beading. Theres plenty of after market suppliers who will be able to supply laser cut or etched beading.Theres no doubt many will be repainted into liveries that have not been proposed/announced as well as some fictional liveries. IIRC the early LNER camping coaches were ex GNR ECJS dating from the 1880's. They had lower, flatter roofs than later stock. A 'lower roof' variant might be worthy of consideration by Hattons as it could also be used as a basis for a clerestory version.

Goodnight all.

The central driving position was quite common on Italian trolleybuses, probably a hangover from the trams.

Hope they're worth waiting for, generic or not.

Heads up. The new releases (Oct 2019-Jan2020) are being announced on Facebook. Its in the form of a PDF file.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. John, very sorry to hear that Sandy has had to go into a hospice. All for the best really as its no good for either of you if you knacker yourself caring for her. At a local fair a few years ago the local hospice had a stand. They were asking the question would you rather die at home, in a hospital or in a hospice? Of course it depends on individual circumstances and changes thereof but its still a tricky one to answer.

I think it would be fairer if at the end of the heats all the entries points were compared instead of on a heat by heat basis. There could be a situation where a heat winner could have fewer points than the runner up on another heat.

London's own buses such as the RT were often worked out cheaper as London Transport could buy them by the hundreds at a considerable discount. They were quite happy for other operators to tack their orders on and get the discount as long as they accepted the full London specification even down to the seat moquette. Newcastle accepted London style trolleybuses (Q-type) and Northern General had Routemasters under a similar arrangement. Why this did not happen more often is because Londons buses were more sophisicated and technically complicated than their contemporaries.