TheSignalEngineer

Their website says they only post on Monday and Friday. Given that Burnley was almost cut off by snowdrifts for several days and the state of the post in the northwest for over a week during the bad weather it's probably still travelling. I heard yesterday that a greetings card posted in the area 10 days ago had just been delivered in Bedford.

I haven't used for mail order but they are regulars at shows around the north. Last saw them at Macclesfield a few days ago. Edit name is Direct Train Spares if you are referring to the people I think you are.

I have lurking in the store a P19 Python which I bought as a badly-built kit at a small show some years ago. It has brushed up pretty well but now it comes to finishing it. My layout runs in the time frame of about 1955-60 depending on what stock i put out. I know that 565 finished its days as a Departmental and is still around at Didcot, but can anyone give any information as to the last in revenue stock? I've seen a Chris Nevard photo of one in BR Crimson and was wondering how long they lasted. If they didn't last long enough my intention is to finish it as a Departmental to be tripped in and out occasionally.

Staying with heavy industry, Round Oak Steelworks. A gloomy sight am few days before closure, a YE shunter stands waiting for something to do. Photo C E Steele The flat crossing is the last remnant of the Earl of Dudley's lines in the Black Country.

In the early days of BR there was rather a lot of Governmet Surplus paint available the main colours being the greys used on warships and aircraft. The early specification for BR freight stock was BS381c 693 which was the aircraft colour. As wagons were being turned out in their thousands by several contractors I think they were using whatever they could get at the cheapest price hence various shades of Battleship Grey could well have appeared.

Delivered Sept 48 BR green April 50 according to Bulleid Society

Modern Railways April 1963 carried an article Towards a BR House Style. This was a report on an exhibition at the Design Centre in London in February/March 1963. This article mentioned a "striking new Freight Arrow symbol" to be applied with new colours, and containers to carry the Door to Door wording

Don't forget that the flagship container train was called CONDOR and started running in March 1959.

I remember doing Great Malvern to New Street on 116s in the 1970s and 1980s. One occasion we were via Bromsgrove, one engine died at Shrub Hill and wouldn't restart. There was no other set available and the driver decided he wanted to get home. Fortunately we got a greens at Stoke Works so he took a run at Lickey. The last quarter mile to the summit seemed to take an age and we passed Blackwell with the speedo just about registering.

And contrary to what people think about the Dapol 122, there is photographic evidence of them and the 116 with the same thickness lines top and bottom. Snow Hill could throw up almost any combination in the early 1960s including sets with lined and unlined cars together.

I made up some of those using thick copper wire for those which may be disconnected occasionally. Lot cheaper than buying ready made.

Kelly's Directory Birmingham 1888 Fazeley Street was probably better known as Banbury Street Wharf just by Proof House Junction. By the time of his death c1916 Edwin was living in a smart house overlooking Small Heath Park and left over £9000 in his will

I think the Flying Crate was first shown at an exhibition of rolling stock at Marylebone around 1963.

Or use a wide to gauge trap which keeps the stock straight up by acting like a retarder at low speed.

Edwin Badland was a coal merchant who lived in 'Peaky Blinder' country in Birmingham. I don't know which wharf he used but his house was close to Lawley Street and Curzon Street.

I've usually got three or four kits waiting for finishing, often doing a batch of buffers and couplings rather than one at a time. The wagon stash is currently about 10, all of which are either not available RTR or those which are being poor models. There are also a few cut and shut jobs from RTR such as Palethorpes vans and GWR suburban stock waiting as I gather together the necessary bits and hope that someone announces production before I get started on them.

I agree that owner names would be useful for the wagons. For example in the Birmingham area I occasionally worked for a coal merchant who had siding on both Midland and LNW lines. Bilston steelworks had connections to the GWR and LNW lines.

Thanks John. I was thinking that two cuts along the chassis and sticking back together would be the best solution. I've measured several LMS coach models and all seem to be 1-2mm over wide.

13 did work through Birmingham at least once (twice actually) on one of the longest runs attempted with a GWR Railcar, the Talyllyn special from Paddington to Towyn in 1953. By Lapworth on the return it had lost its coolant and the engine seized. It was reportedly rescued and towed to Leamington by 2830. Rail Online also has a shot of it at Snow Hill in 1960.

Reviving this topic rather than start a new one I am looking at doing the bogie versions for my South Staffs based layout. I have some bodies and a couple of Mainline 50' vans but the chassis on those models seem to be a bit wide. Can anyone please confirm the width of the bodies of the prototype Palethorpes bogie vans or what the prototype width across the solebars should be?

I've seen some rather nice 4mm scale card built rolling stock at the show in Poynton, Brian Foster I think it was.

Back in the Hornby Dublo days I built a freelance 'Mock GWR' 0-6-0 tender loco using a Kitmaster City of Truro, plaster of Paris and varnished card running on a the chassis from a Gaiety pannier tank which had been rebuilt on an R1 chassis I had converted to 3-rail. The latter, incidentally, is still running nearly 60 years on.

Usually because there wasn't room for a trap. A separate trap would not be needed if the siding points led to another siding as well as the passenger line. In this situation the points would be locked towards the siding when a move on the passenger line was signalled.

HMRS transfers would be OK. I have a sheet of numbers for ex LMS stock from Modelmaster and have also used lining from Replica Railways. Ones with knocks can be useful for donor chassis and body shells for adding brass sides. I am doing a Period 3 Open Brake Third from the Replica Open Third and another was used for a Blood & Custard repaint. They were both a bit tatty but the two only cost me £20, one already having metal wheels and Bachmann narrow couplings.

Any siding onto a passenger running line would have a trap point.