TheSignalEngineer

The tolerances on the triangle and socket mean that some may be slack and others tight. Also the pocket walls are not the same thickness on the top and bottom and one side has a small protrusion on it. Turning the pocket over may alter the height of the coupling slightly.

I have had several wagons like this. Usually it is the triangular bit on the back end which is a slack fit in the mount. My answer on most has been to turn the wagon upside down and put a drop of superglue on it, keeping it upside down until it has gone off. This will allow the hinge to still operate normally.

Thanks for the tip Larry. I am doing a mixed vintage LMS excursion train and I was wondering if that would be the best way to paint. I have cut out the RTR body sides and painted the roof and ends of the first coach. I am now going to pre-finish the sides as you suggest. Should save me a lot of time and fiddly painting round other colours.

Also good for through portions. BCK attached to a branch train or BCK/TK hauled by the local tank engine.

Is that because there aren't enough of them? Tank barrels of this size were usually made of three 'slices', each of which was in two or more rolled plates welded to form the ring. They then had the end plates welded on, so there should be at least four vertical and two horizontal weld lines.

Dirty loco with pristine fake PO coal merchant liveries from 500 miles away.

???

I seem to remember John Major having a word or two to describe the situation Cameron finds himself in.

Churchill actually spoke in favour of a united Europe in 1946, was Honorary President of the conference which led to the Council of Europe and suggested a European Court of Human Rights ten tears before it was set up.

Back in my school days we were on Army Cadets camp on an island in the Menai Straits. In those days the only place open on Sunday evening was the milk bar. When we went in the local youths started talking in Welsh. One of our number, despite talking like a native Brummie actually hailed from the area and spent most holidays there at his Aunt's house. The locals started discussing where and when they would give us a good hiding so he went over and told them in Welsh that as the away team choice of time and armaments was up to us.

The join is certainly less prominent than in the earlier pictures. To my eyes at layout viewing distance it is hardly visible, and after a little bit of toning down I doubt if it will be seen.

Nice place for a lunch stop on today's bike ride round Hebden Bridge area

Strange place, Hebden Bridge.

Not sure of the actual types on my phone but a good mixture here at Handsworth and Smethwick in 1964 http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrhs1983.htm

The elevation data from the electronic 1:25000 OS maps also varies a bit from Google Earth. The height at the bottom end of the cottage garden looks like 799ft on the OS map. I would say that the yard around the cottage varies in the region of 805ft to 810ft but the ground around the line seems even higher, around 830ft, which is about 10ft above what I get working from Google Earth. One thing to remember is that the slope of the hillside from the railway track to Daleside Road by what is shown as "Brick House" on old maps is about 1 in 4. The track from the Depot Cottage to the yard goes up at least 1 in 10 if not steeper.

I'm planning a North Cornwall layout and noted that these were used at Padstow just post-WW2. I was wondering if they worked there close to their eventual final days. If not, as my line is beyond the 'Withered Arm' one may have to get missing presumed scrapped there.

How "Stacker Steadman" got his name at Washwood Heath No.4 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/66035-class-08-shunter-prototype-photos/page-3&do=findComment&comment=916877

For those who know the story of "Stacker" Steadman, on the day that the coal stage was blown up on of the other drivers came out soon after it hit the ground and chalked "Stacker Strikes Again" along it

See post #161 above re the use of GWR railcars in South Wales in the post-war years. As far as the Bulleid is concerned, around the time of the picture there was a Bournemouth - Swansea SO which was formed of SR and WR stock. It returned the following Saturday on a Llanelli - Bournemouth train, so some SR stock would be lurking around the Swansea area for the intervening week.

There is a picture just a bit up the thread of an 83 being towed through Dunford on its way to Doncaster. Possibly a similar move?

Steam shunting went quite early in the West Midlands. I think most of them had gone on LMS lines by 1960/61. The area was also converted to DMU on the basic services by the same time. Footplate staff were hard to come by because of the wages that could be got in the motor industry.

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwrbns_br1843.htm

I remember a session in there after working at Kingsbury in 1967. We went to a friend's house then on to the Dog. I caught a train into Birmingham and woke up at Saltley on the way back out.

60114 W P Allen travelled to Worcester on a railtour and became a failure. it returned north on a Birminham - Newcastle relief.

The relaying was part of the junction to Park Lane. In 1966 the West End had changed very little since Midland days except for the building of the ARP-type box and signal renewals. The Goods Yard lines were still in situ IIRC, but not in regular use. There was still regular traffic in the marshalling yard at that time, we would hardly have thought that within three years it would all be gone.