This brand new event in the exhibition calender, being organised by Hornby Magazine  will feature 27 top quality layouts across all of the scales , including the Taunton MRG’s Bishop Lydiard-based Bath Green Park, a splendid recreation of the Somerset & Dorset Joint railway’s northern terminus with of course more than a hint of Southern Region rolling stock.

The Great Electric Train Show is being held at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire, and admission to the exhibition also includes entry into the Museum itself.  Further details of the show can be found here.

I shall be operating The Hornby Magazine layout Bolsover & Seven Pit Lane all weekend

Other excellent layouts  include 82G, an atmospheric ‘O’ gauge Western/Southern shed layout;  Great Tunsley Dale, which features a Peak District limestone quarry in the late 1950s/60s; Empingham, a Northamptonshire branch with ironstone workings; Kirkby Stephen West, depicting the Settle & Carlisle line during the steam/diesel transition era and Grathwaite Junction a blue diesel era layout in ‘OO’.

In addition to the usual trade support you would expect from this kind of show the main manufacturers of Hornby, Bachmann and Dapol will also be present.

Hornby Magazine will operate at least two of its layouts; including the ‘O’ gauge Clayhanger Yard industrial layout and I shall be assisting editor Mike Wild with his DCC Bolsover & Seven Lane Pit layout, which features sound and smoke unit fitted locomotives in ‘OO’ being controlled by the Horny Railmaster system on iPads and iPhones!

As you might have guessed The Great Electric Train Show does feature Steam and Diesel models but they are of course in model form being electric powered. I hope to see you there!

Last month I was able to post the first pictures of the Arnold / Hornby N Gauge Brighton Belle fist off engineering prototype tooling that is being produced in the British 1.148 scale rather then the usual continental 1.160 scale. Courtesy of Simon Kohler of Hornby and with thanks to the Worthing Model Railway Club and their exquisite Nine Mills layout as the backdrop,  I am now able to post pictures of the first full running sample model.

The first running sample of the Arnold / Hornby N Gauge Brighton Belle

This motorised sample; powered by an open frame motor located above the floor line inside the Driving Motor Brake Parlour Third drives both bogies via cardian drive shafts. Although the motor is slightly visible though the nicely flush glazed windows, from a normal viewing distance and with the all the table lamps it is not overly noticeable.

A further view with the Worthing MRC’s Nine Mills layout as the back drop

The wheel sets on this sample seemed to have deeper flanges than the more usual RP25 profile but these may of course not be representative of the final wheel sets being used.  It did look however if the underframes were notched to allow the required bogie swing but again this may not be as the model will finally appear.

This does however show that development of this interesting model is continuing at pace.

Edit 20/10/13: I can confirm from Hornby that the wheels and the underframe cut outs on this sample are not representative of how the final production models will be. 

As per my post last week I attended the Warley National Model Railway Exhibition Last weekend assisting Hornby Magazine editor Mike Wild operate his Topley Dale layout at its first and last public outing.  This post is a brief round up of some of the updates and news items from the show with a Southern / BR(s) theme.

Often Warley is a good place to show off the latest products under development and their status with either Engineering Prototype (EP) samples or livery sample models.

Bachmann / Farish

The first EP of the Farish 3rd Series Merchant Navy (picture courtesy of A York)

Bachmann had nothing new from a Southern perspective in 4mm scale but Graham Farish in N Gauge had the first Engineering Prototype of the 3rd Series Merchant Navy in original air smoothed form. They are initially releasing 3 livery of variants of the this 3rd series original style Merchant Navy with 6000 gallon tender, this is the first EP available and has not previously been seen.
Also in the Bachmann / Farish display cabinets were liveried samples of the N Gauge Bulleid Coaches in BR(s) Green and very nice they looked too.

Hornby

Hornby did not have anything new on display for us Southern fans, although their LNER P2 (which Bulleid did have an input with) looks a stunning model! The will be making their announcement for the 2014 range on December 16th at 10am and I will post then to advise of any Southern content…

Dapol

The first off EP of the 0 gauge 25t ‘Pill Box’ brake van (even planked right hand ducket version) was on show along with the first EPs for the Maunsell Coaches and Van C in N gauge, all announced back in July 2012 . I have been asked by Dapol to review and offer advice on their Southern models under development so watch this space for further updates.

Heljan

The week before the show Heljan announced a couple of new items including a Metropolitan Bo-Bo electric locomotive, familiar to many as Sarah Siddons, this does has a slight relevance to this blog as it has run on Southern metals for a couple of railtours, once to Portsmouth and once to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in Kent ( I was on both tours) along with plans to announce a further new item at the show itself. This further item is a retooled Class 33/0 locomotive and they had EP’s on the stand. The announcement of this model in their own range follows a legal issue with Rail Express magazine that had originally commissioned it via Heljan.

RT Models 

Robert had on his RT Models stand brand new white metal castings for SR Style stepped locomotive buffers. Those on the market currently are a slight compromise as they are generally sold as being LNER/SR stepped buffers, so Robert has produced a very fine casting totally accurate for the Southern version and very fine it is indeed.

Model Rail Magazine

And finally; no this is not another plug for the December issue that features Fisherton Sarum but they have advise that they are in discussion with both Bachmann and Heljan regarding some further model livery commissions in the form of a Bachmann Desiro unit as 450 class in South West Trains Livery and also an exclusive livery version of the new tooled Heljan Class 33/0 model, further details will I am sure be announced in due course.

In the true tradition of  ”if you notice this notice you will notice it is not worth noticing” this post is an announcement about announcements announcing new products by both Hornby and Bachmann.

As I hinted within my That was the Warley that was post here  Hornby will be announcing their 2014 plans at 10am on Monday 16th December and I will post a round up of those items of interest to Southern Railway / Southern Region modellers on here also at 10 am. Wish listing and frothing has unsurprisingly started on various online forums and it is always fun seeing just how far off the mark some suggestions are…

Bachmann in 2014 celebrate their 25th anniversary and will be holding events in July to mark this milestone. This year Bachmann will announce their main new range plans for the following 12 to 18 months to coincide with these events rather than the usual announcement at a trade toy and hobbies show in March.

This does not mean that there will not be other announcements made throughout the year and I will endeavour to keep you up to date on those of a Southern / Southern Region interest via these pages.

Hornby have today announced their 2014 range and included within it are a number of new items of interest to Southern modellers with the headline being the introduction of a Drummond 700 class 0-6-0 and 2 HAL EMU to the range. Below I summarise the releases of interest to Southern / BR(s) modellers.

The first off EP of the 700 Class (picture copyright and courtesy of A York)

The Drummond 700 Class 0-6-0 locomotives were built in 1897 and comprised of 30 Locomotives They were subsequently rebuilt by initially by Urie with superheaters between 1920 and 1927. Seen mainly on the ex London South Western Lines working from sheds such as Nine Elms, Guildford, Salisbury, Feltham and Exmouth Junction. They were a long lived class with the last one not being withdrawn from service until 1964.

The 2 HAL prototypes are well underway and will compliment the 2 BIL nicely (picture copyright and courtesy A York)

The 2 HAL EMU follows on from the release last year of the 2 BIL which proved very popular and is reflected by a number of new versions being also released in 2014. Introduced in 1939 and only having one lavatory in one of the coaches rather than 1 in each were designated ‘2 HAL’ as Half A Lavatory unlike ‘2 BIL’ Bi Lavatory! Although designated as main line semi fast stock the 2 HAL’s were somewhat utilitarian compared to the 2 BIL and 4 LAV uits that preceded them, with thinly padded bench style seats rather than deep cushioned seats. Eventually totalling 92 units the 2 HAL’s were the largest type of SR main line semi fast EMU built and lasted in service until 1971.

Locomotives and Train Packs

R3108 T9 Class 4-4-0 No. 708 in SR Post 1937 black ‘Sunshine’ lettering livery, ‘watercart’ tender
R3238 700 Class 0-6-0 No. 325 in SR Pre 1931 black Livery
R3239 700 Class 0-6-0 No. 30345 in BR black late crest livery
R3240 700 Class 0-6-0 No. 30694 in BR black early crest livery
R3161B 2 BIL EMU in SR olive green livery (set No. TBA)
R3257 2 BIL EMU in BR(S) green with yellow warning panels (set No. TBA)
R3258 2 BIL EMU Class 401 in BR Blue full yellow ends (set No. TBA)
R3259 2 BIL EMU Class 401 in BR Blue full yellow ends, set 2090 NRM version
R3260 2 HAL EMU in SR Green (set No. TBA)
R3261A/B 2 HAL EMU Class 402 in BR(S) Green 2 variants (set No.s TBA)

The collectors club models have a bit of a Southern theme in 2014 with the Terrier appearing as R3247 in LBSCR livery as No. 650 “Whitechapel” and R3248 in Kent and East Sussex livery as “Sutton”.  Continuing the Southern theme R3249 is Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 “Manston” in BR Brunswick early crest livery.

Rolling Stock

The popular BR(s) Pull Push sets converted from Maunsell coaches makes a further welcome appearance as R4534C (set No. TBC) and the Maunsell Open 2^nd R4538A is released in BR(s) livery

Following the announcement last year of new tooling for the BR Mk1 coaches in the Railroad range that are just hitting the shops now, 2014 sees the release of BR(s) versions in a higher specification range with metal wheels and working interior lights (the Railroad range will still contain the original specification style). Three BR(s) Green livery coach types will be available in the form of a Composite, Corridor 3^rd and Brake third variants.

Additionally

It is not just the Southern Modellers that benefit from new tooled models as also announced are GE/LNER J15 0-6-0, LNER D16/3 4-4-0 and BR(E) K 2-6-0 classes. The Railroad range also sees new tooling in the shape of the Franco-Crosti 9F 2-10-0.

Additional new tooling for coaches announced includes BR MK2 E coaches in 3 variants, although these will use the same tooling techniques as the MK1 coaches they will be in the main range and will include versions with interior lights. The wagon range is further extended with new tooling in the shape of LNER/BR Extra Long CCT vans as both LNER and BR variants.

There will also be further developments with their DCC Railmaster / e-link and  a new low cost sound system ‘Digital Twin Track Sound’.

A further view of the 700 Class EP (picture copyright and courtesy A York)

I am sure many people will be asking why Hornby are announcing new models when they have had supply chain issues over the last few years that has both delayed and prevented previously announced models from hitting the shelves. Hornby have put in place a number of new staff and suppliers to overcome these issues. It is from these new suppliers that these new models will be coming from and therefore are separate to the issues experienced and in some cases still being experienced with previous factory arrangements.

The other side of the well advanced 2 HAL EP’s (picture copyright and courtesy A York)

This can be seen by the advanced nature of the Engineering Prototypes illustrated here. I believe we all look forward to all the supply issues being resolved as it just not just affects Hornby but manufacturers across the hobby as a whole and we all want to benefit from a robust, value for money and competitive market place.

The full range announcement can be found on the Hornby Website here or on the RMweb forum here.

Following the announcement by Hornby on Monday of their plans for 2014 that included an ex LSWR Drummond 700 class 0-6-0 and SR 2 Hal EMU a number of questions had been raised.

Another shot of the pre production 700 class (picture copyright and courtesy A York)

Firstly with respect to the Drummond 700 class it was noticed by a number of people, including by friend and SR aficionado Chris Knowles-Thomas via the comment function of these pages, that the locomotive number 30345 announced for the BR Black late crest variant was in fact a number for a K10 class (had it actually survived into British Railways ownership)  but number 30346 would have been correct for a 700 class (a simple typo perhaps?). There is also the question of tender types as when built all the class had 13′ wheelbase tenders but some were swapped with 14′ wheelbase tenders in 1925/6. of the number announced by Hornby 30346 (assuming it to be the number they meant) and 30694 kept 13′ wb tenders whilst 325 acquired a 14′ wb tender.

I have been in contact with Simon Kohler at Hornby to advise him of the above and he confirmed that he will check their plans in light of the information and correct where necessary.

[Edit:18/12/13: Simon Kohler has further advised they propose to change the numbers to E695, 30315 and 30693, this implies Hornby will be tooling a 14ft Wheelbase tender as all these numbers had them post 1925/6 but I am awaiting confirmation from Hornby regarding their proposed tooling.]

[Edit: 19/12/13: I can now advise that Hornby will be producing tooling for two tender types, so both 13ft and 14ft wheelbases.]

The trailing car pick up bogies on the pre production 2 Hal (copyright and courtesy A York)

I also raised the positive fact that the new tooling for the 2 Hal included the correct trailer car pick up bogie, which was sadly missing from the previous 2 Bil releases that incorrectly used the same pick up bogie from the motor car. Simon Kohler confirmed to me that it is indeed new correct tooling and that it will also be used on the future 2 Bil releases as well as the 2 Hal.

So all in all well done Simon Kohler and Hornby!

Further to my last post with the first Bachmann E4 class Engineering Prototype pictures I am now also able to post the following images that are copyright and courtesy of Andy York (clicking the images will enlarge).

These further images clearly show the fact that the smokebox door dart handles are indeed separately applied items, as this was not originally fully clear from the initial pictures.
Mention has been made of the size of the front wheel splashers being oversize, this is indeed the case, but like previous models such as the Bachmann 3F and 4F models, this is a compromise due to 00 gauge wheel standards and the depth of the flanges. Any other compromise such as reducing the wheel diameter will result in other issues such as buffer heights etc.
The whistle on this sample is also mounted on the cab roof this will be correct for the LBSC livery version but this was later moved to the boiler to meet the SR composite loading gauge post Grouping. I am sure that Bachmann will be reflecting this.
Engineering Prototypes by their nature are often an amalgam of some of the tooling options.

In other news, to coin a phrase, Hornby have released details of what will be hitting the shops in the next 6 to 8 weeks or so, so presumably are already on the high seas from China. The full list can be seen here, but for BR(s) modellers the items of interest are the following listed as being due before the end of February:
R4534A BR(s) Maunsell Converted Pull Push set No. 616
R4534B BR(s) Maunsell Converted Pull Push set No. (Edit: 03/02/14 Set Number 603)
R4536B  Bogie B van in BR Green

This is just a quick update post to advise of a number of BR(s) model items in at the retailers this week.

Firstly, from  Hornby, after what seems like an age waiting, not one Pull Push set but two..both the A and B versions of the  R4534 ex Maunsell Pull-Push coach pack are now in stockists.  As I have previously advised the A version is numbered as set 616 whilst the B version appears as Set 603.

Hornby are charging more for the B version than the A version and many reputable  retailers, such as my friends at the Kernow Model Centre,  have kept the A price as originally offered and not sneaked it up to match the B version price. I am advised that the A version has already sold out at Hornby although a quick look at some retailers websites show a reasonable level of stock for both versions. My review of the first batch of Pull Push sets can be read here.

Also recently arrived is the R4536B Hornby Bogie Passenger Brake B Coach [sic] number S217S in BR (SR) Green livery. The correct Southern term for this item of rolling stock is Bogie Van B. My review of the first batch of Bogie Van B’s can be read here, and I am pleased to advise the slightly oversize ‘Guard’ lettering noted has now been corrected.

Both these items are excellent models and show what Hornby can achieve when at its best.

The other item of BR(s) interest to arrive, which like the above Pull Push Units are actually out of my own modelling timeframe, hence no pictures or a full review is the updated Class 33/0 from Heljan. When first released the original Heljan Class 33/0 was let down by a number of things including: an incorrect roof profile, poorly moulded roof grill, later style roof panel fixings and the bogie springs not being set in enough. This new version was only announced at Warley last year, following a fall out with Rail Exclusive Models whom had commissioned a new version. BR(S) green versions and more modern ‘Dutch’ engineers livery versions have now been released. The roof profile is indeed much improved as is the roof fan grill with a visible fan below and the bogie springs. The body side grill has changed from being moulded detail to a a possibly too coarse etching and on Dutch livery version some of the previous raised detail has been replaced with printed only and the loco numbers appear to be in the wrong font, so all in all some good points and some bad.

Douglas Drummond’s first locomotive class built after his appointment as Chief Mechanical Engineer to the London South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1895 was the 30 strong 700 Class of 0-6-0 goods engines later to be widely known as ‘Black Motors’.  They were in fact very similar to a previous class of his built for the Caledonian Railway some years earlier. Eventually the class had many parts standardised with the Drummond’s later classes the M7, C8 and K10’s. such as the boiler, firebox, cylinders and motion.

Drummond 700 Class number 352 in original saturated form built from a BEC kit

Although known as the 700 class the first locomotive delivered was in fact number 687 and although originally number in sequence from 687 to 716, in 1898, numbers 702-16 were renumbered, somewhat haphazardly to make way for members of the T9 class.  Although intended as goods locomotives they could often be found on passenger turns and were allocated widely across the LSWR system with general at least five members of the class allocated to Salisbury.

The later modified Superheated version number 691 also built from BEC kit. The slightly stretched vertical proportions can be seen in this image.

In 1919, number 316  was modified by Urie by being superheated this changed the over look of the engines as it  included extending the smokebox, extensions to the frames,  raising the boiler pitch by 9 inches and modifications to the cab design. The rest the class of the class were similarly modified and superheated in Southern Days between 1923 and 1929. Wholesale withdrawal of the class took place in 1961 and 1962, although 30697 survived until January 1964.

Hornby’s Black Motor is progressing well as can be seen from this pre-production sample

In model form a number of kits have been produced, with the first being a white metal version by BEC Models, as illustrated in both original and modified superheated versions left. The design of this kit unfortunately appears to be stretched in the vertical dimension giving the model a distorted look especially in and around the cab. Since then etched brass kits have also been available from the likes of Jedenco/Falcon Brass and PDK models.

A further view of the Hoornby pre-production sample (both images copyright and courtesy of A York)

In December 2013 Hornby announced as I reported here, and a subsequent update post here, that it was to produce a ready to run version of the superheated Black Motor. Pictures of the latest Engineering Prototype taken a couple of weeks ago are also shown left. The model has a cast footplate and boiler, similar to their T9 model to give weight for traction and the level of detail looks very good from what we can see so far. Hornby have also indicated that they are to produce both the 13′ and 14′ wheelbase tender versions as well.
All being well the latest availability information we have from Hornby is that they are aiming  for deliveries in October this year.

Much has been written in the past about the locomotive exchanges that took place in 1948 shortly  after nationalisation; indeed my own Talking Stock #2 post here discussed the exchange trials and featured some of the locomotives that appeared on the Southern with respect to the Express Passenger, General Purpose locomotive trials.  Not discussed so often is the fact that as well as passenger locomotives a number of trials were also conducted with the freight locos of the time. This post looks at some of the freight locomotives that appeared through Salisbury on the Eastleigh to Bristol freight trials and therefore I have modelled to occasionally be seen on Fisherton Sarum.  My thoughts on the overall effectiveness or otherwise of the 1948 locomotive exchange trials will form the basis of a further post.

Hornby have produced models of three of the freight locomotives used on the trials on the Southern and whether by complete coincidence or not are two correctly numbered for the actual locomotives used. It should be noted that the Southern did not put forward a freight locomotive.  I am not sure why an S15 was not put forward perhaps the Southern felt it was not a modern enough design when compared to their Bullied Pacifics? I am yet to model the London Midland Region 8F number 48189 but it on the list of things to do.

28xx number 3803 from a Hornby model passes Fisherton Sarum during the trials.

First up is the 28xx class 2-8-0 from the that other railway the Western Region number 3803. I have fitted etched brass number plates over the original printed number plates to enhance the appearance, added real coal to the tender and lightly weathered. I am pretty certain this is not the first picture that has appeared on this blog of a WR locomotive, or for that matter run on Fisherton Sarum, but they are pretty rare!

Eastern Region O1 class 2-8-0 number 63789

The second Hornby locomotive is the Eastern Region O1 class 2-8-0 number 63789 and is generally thought of as being an excellent model. I have replaced the later British Railway crest (that did not exist at the time of the trials) with the correct style for the period wording ‘British Railways’ in Gill Sans.  Again just the addition of real coal in the tender and weathering was required before entering the fleet.

In addition to the above two locomotives the WD 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 classes were also trialed, although the 2-10-0 was larger with a larger firebox and grate area it was essentially the same boiler as its slightly smaller brother and in fact the 2-8-0 generally gave better results.

A back dated Bachmann WD 2-8-0 as 78531 allocated to the SR in 1946

The Ministry of Supply WD 2-8-0 produced by Bachmann is in my opinion currently one of their finest steam outline models in terms of both looks and performance. My model does not strictly represent the exact locomotive used in the trials as she is based one of the class as allocated to the Southern Railway in 1946 having been backdated with the Westinghouse pump etc but is pretty much in the same condition as number 77000 that was used in 1948.

Ministry of Supply WD 2-10-0 number 73774

My model of the WD 2-10-0 number  73774 is built from a DJH kit specifically to match the condition of her real life counter part used on the Eastleigh to Bristol runs. For those confused by the 77xxx and 73xxx numbers of the WD Locomotives they were renumbered into the BR standard 90000–90732 number range in the early 1950’s.

During the trials the freight runs to assess performance, just like the passenger runs the ex North Eastern Railway Dynamomenter car was attached to the locomotive. My model is  from Golden Age Models and will also feature in a future Talking Stock post.

Last weekend I had the privilege to be assisting fellow High Wycombe and District MRS members Alan and Simon Paley with their delightful Pre-Grouping layout Loughborough Road (on which most of the pictures  below were taken) at the excellent RMweb live event in Coventry.  It was also a chance to catch up with a number of the manufacturers and see their progress on some Southern related models.

Kernow Models O2 class Mainland Pull Push fitted version

Firstly further progress is being made with the Kernow Model Centre’s ex LSWR Adams O2 locomotives and I am pleased to advise the second engineering prototypes (EP’s) have now been received. Unlike the first EP’s received that were a bit of a mix of some of the tooling options these samples combine the all the correct tooling options for the each of the seven variants being produced.

Kernow O2 rear 3/4 view

Also a couple of issues highlighted from the first EP’s have also been corrected. Now that these models are being project managed by Dave Jones of DJ Models the development has moved on a pace and the livery details can now be completed. As I reported here the Kernow Models Gate Stock sets also being managed by DJ Models have recently been signed off for tooling to commence.

Hornby Drummond 700 Class EP

Hornby were represented at the RMweb Live show by Simon Kohler, now working as a consultant to them, and with his kind permission was able to take a close up look at some of their new items either just released or in development.
Firstly the Drummond 700 this model was first announced at the end of last year is now also at the 2nd EP stage.

Hornby Drummond 700 Class

They have certainly captured the look the prototype and I am advise they hope to have these in the shops before Christmas.  The changes made to the originally announced number and livery versions that I reported here back in January, following my discussion with Hornby, has now been confirmed to all retailers. They will be producing E695 (Maunsell pre-1931 lined black) , 30315 (BR Late Crest) and 30693 (BR Early Crest).

Hornby 2 Hal in Southern unlined olive green livery

The well documented supply chain difficulties experienced by Hornby over the last few years do actually appear to be finally resolved with a flow of new production appearing to arrive, including further batches of the 2 Bil and R3194 Hornby Schools Class 30937 ‘Epsom’.
Just starting to hit the shops now is the brand new R3260 2 HAL EMU looking very smart in SR olive green livery,  the first of a number of livery variants due, that like the Drummond 700 was first announced at the end of last year.

Hornby/Arnold 5 Bel unit production version

Simon also had on display and running the first production sets of the Hornby/Arnold 5 Bel Brighton Bell sets in the later blue and grey and livery and these should be available during October with the Brown and Umber versions to follow before the end of the year. I was very impressed by the models that also include lit table lamps that appears nice and subtle with now signs of any flicker. The unit running was also very smooth, although I did notice that one compromise that had to be retained was that the solebars do have a couple of cut outs to allow the bogies to swing, however the effect was not as obvious as I first through it would be from the initial EP’s seen.   As first announced here these models are  only  available via www.Hornby.com and orders can now be taken via their website here..

It’s good to see such positive progress on a number of the Southern related models over the last few weeks, and I am happy to say that some progress,  behind the scenes, of some of the other already announced models  has also been made (I have had Cads for checking from many sources recently) . Long may this continue and I will endeavour to continue to provide the latest updates on this blog along with any new Southern related announcements that may or may not already be in the pipeline (was that enough of a tease?)

Last weekend saw the annual Warley National Model railway Exhibition at the NEC, this post rounds up the news from a Southern / BR(s) perspective. As duplication seems to be the order of the day I have also duplicated part of the post title from one I have used before. It is usual for some manufacturers to use the event to make announcements of new items or showcase updates to new products under development. This year was no exception although Hornby make the unusual step of announcing part of their intended plans for 2015 at the show.
Many thanks to those of you who read this blog for popping by the Shortley Bridge and Felton Cement Works layout on the Hornby Magazine stand, where I was playing trains all weekend, and saying hello it was good to see you.

Hornby

In making the unusual step of a pre-announcement announcement of their 2015 range Hornby are going head to head with two previously announced SR / BR(s) models from other manufacturers. This is likely to be due to the fact  that they have been working on the development of these models for some time now, Simon Kohler discusses such duplication in his interesting blog on the Hornby website here (posted just before the Warley show). Some people may ask why manufacturers can not simply talk to each other to avoid such duplication but this of course would fall foul of anti competition laws.

Image copyright and courtesy A York

First up is the ex LSWR Adams Radial 4-4-2T, that was announced earlier this moth by Oxford Rail. Hornby had an Engineering Prototype on display they also had on display extracts from CAD drawings that show their intent to produce variations of Chimney and Boilers (Adams vrs Drummond) and also frame lengths, images of these can be found on the Hornby website here along with details of other non SR related items. Hornby advise that this model should be available late 2015. This particular prototype has finished high in recent wish list polls, hence the interest. I was also assisting another potential manufacturer of this model but this has now been sensibly replaced with another model instead, albeit non SR related, once the intent of the other parties was discovered.

An image of the initial Class 71 CAD

Secondly they also announced a BR(S) Class 71 3rd rail electric locomotive for delivery in 2016. This model has been previously announced by DJModels back in July using a kickstarter campaign hosted via the Kernow Model Railway Centre. only last week they confirmed that the required number of orders had been reached to allow the production of the model to go ahead.

Image copyright and courtesy A York

In addition to the above announcements that also had livery samples of the ex LSWR Drummond 700 Class 0-6-0’s on display.

Hornby will be announcing the full details of their 2015 range on the 17th December and I will bring you a round up all the specific SR and BR(s) information to you at the same time, having been briefed along with the rest of the model railway media at Margate a week before.

Bachmann

Image copyright and courtesy A York

On the Bachmann stand were livery samples of their ex LBSC E4 on display in both Maunsell Pre 1931 lined olive green and also BR black versions.
The exhibition also saw for the first time the, only just arrived,  Engineering Prototype of the Southern Passenger Luggage vans PLV/PMV’s.

An initial image, a better one will be uploaded in due course

I am now also able to confirm that only one tooling for these vans is being introduced to despite their catalogue and website that mixing the terms PLV/PMV and CCT they are not producing a Southern Van U (BR designation CCT) with the end opening doors. Further information about these vans and the various can be found on my Talking Stock #6 post SR Luggage Vans which is based on the kits that this RTR version will now also kind of duplicate.

Graham Farish

No new SR related news to be had as they were showing the same first off Engineering samples of the N class and original style third series Merchant Navy Bulleid pacific that we have seen before, this does not of course mean that no further progress has been made behind the scenes.

Model Rail Magazine

Model Rail Magazine announced a further two livery versions of their USTC/SR USA 0-6-0T model commissioned via Bachmann,  in the form of: MR105 N0. 300 ‘Major-General Frank S. Ross’ in Longmoor Military Railway blue and MR106  No. DS233 in department black with post 1956 BR emblem, these and the previously announced models can be pre-ordered here although Model Rail advise that If you want a ‘USA tank’ you need to be quick placing your pre-order as one livery has already sold out and others are nearly all sold. Away from the show I have been privileged to have assisted in the reviewing of the CADs for these models and they are now very close to going for tooling.

Dapol

Dapol had on display various model samples for models first announced back in 2012 :
In N gauge, livery samples of their Maunsell coaches in SR Olive Green along with the Van C.
In 4mm scale they had the latest Engineering prototypes of both versions of the Class 73 Electro Diesel (73/0 – JA and 73/1 – JB).  It appears that the 73/0 variant might be available first, even though to date they have only announced 73/1 versions!
For 0 Gauge modellers the first liveried sample of the Terrier was on display in Brighton livery.

Heljan 

On their stand in addition to livery samples of the 05 Class diesel shunter (one of the prototypes of course was outposted on the Isle of Wight for quite some time) they had the kit of parts that will make up their 009 ready to run Lynton and Barnstaple 2-6-2 Exe, Tor and Yeo locomotives.

Comet Models

Following the untimely passing of proprietor and friend Geoff Brewin, in September, his family are pleased to announce that the entire extensive range of locomotive chassis, coach kits and detailing items has now been successfully sold to Andrew Hartshorne of Wizard Models (and Model Signal Engineering), welcome news indeed. The transfer is planned to take place over the weekend of the 5th – 7th December inclusive, and Andrew hopes to open for trade of Comet items on Monday December 8th.

So all in all a very busy Warley show, with many announcements made, including those of interest to modellers of other railways. I am sure some will have ongoing ramifications within the model railway world, including no doubt some conspiracy theories,  interesting times ahead I feel…

The American phenomenon of Black Friday really hit our UK shores in anger this year and not only included retailers cutting prices on the Friday itself but many online retailers making offers for the week before. Traditionally in the USA it was the amount of trading the day after their Thanksgiving, which signified the start of the run up to Christmas, that was when traders got themselves back into the black financially , hence the name. Special offers than started to appear and so on.  Last year a number of mainly US owned stores got in on the act here and its now spread like wildfire across many stores and mediums, all without having to have eaten turkey the day before…

The Hornby Bogie Van B changes from blue to green over the weekend. Now to replace glazing, decal and re-affix chassis

I took advantage of one of the deals and purchased direct from Hornby a BR blue version of the ex SR Bogie Van B, a fine model but one they have not yet produced in malachite so I though it would make a better candidate for repainting than their nicely done olive green version.

Once stripped of removable details and decals the N class changes from green Friday to grey Saturday with a coat of Halfords plastic primer

In addition to the Van B repainting I have also been working this weekend, in parallel,  on the repainting of a Bachmann N class for a friend who is modelling the South Devon GWR line around Brent, whom wanted to recreate a photograph of an N class on one the turns used to ensure SR drivers were familiar with the line for diversion purposes (GWR drivers also did turns on the SR line round the North of Dartmoor too).

The N Class turns into a black Sunday and now awaits Sunshine decals and light weathering

She, as per the photograph, will be become number 1848, and at this post war time, was in fact a Salisbury based engine so it provides a nice link to Fisherton Sarum whilst infiltrating a GWR layout!

Once complete I will pose a photograph on Fisherton Sarum before she heads off to her new home running in GWR metals.

My repainting process for both follows the same basic process with the bodies removed from the chassis:

• Remove the existing decals (with Bachman locos I used good quality enamel thinners on a cotton bud)
• Remove factory fitted such as smoke deflectors, pipework, valve fittings, glazing etc.
• Mask any areas such the buffer beams or roof on the Van B
• Give a dusting of the excellent Halfords plastic primer, this gives a key for the top coat and prevents any reaction between the factory paint and the top coat of Halfords Satin black or Railmatch malachite for the Van B
• Brush paint matt black the smokebox and cab roof and ends of the Van B, repaint the buffer beams if required
• Decal using HMRS Pressfix decals.
• Lightly weather

This is tried and tested method that I have deployed on pretty much all of my repainted R-T-R stock that can be found on Fisherton Sarum

Following on from their break in tradition by announcing some of next years range at the Warley show last month today sees the announcement of their full plans for 2015, this post is a summary of the information from a Southern / BR(s) modellers perspective. The main highlight is completely new tooling to produce an S15 class 4-6-0 freight locomotive along with the 0415 Class Adams radial tank that was shown at Warley.

S15 Class

A 3D test print prior to tooling of the S15 With Flush sided tender

The S15 4-6-0 locomotives were first introduced by Urie on the London South Western railway in 1920, with later batches being built by the Southern Railway under Maunsell. I was able to speak with the design team at Hornby responsible for these models, last week, and handle the first 3D test print illustrated here.

A further view of the 3D test print. Note the bogies under the tender are not the final Maunsell versions

I can confirm that they have tooled for the SR built versions (i.e. not the original ex LSWR version with the stepped footplate numbers 496 to 515) and are to produce a number of different details and variants including: both the Urie (823 to 837) flared 5000 gallon tenders, the Maunsell (838 to 847) flat sided 5000 gallon tenders complete with newly tooled bogies, and ultimately pairing with an ex King Arthur 4000 gallon 6 wheel tender (as used on the central section) and even possibly  versions of 30833 and 30837 that were paired with ex Schools class 4000 gallon tenders in 1962.

The chassis is a completely new design with a 5 pole motor, twin flywheels and tooling to accommodate the 3 different styles of driving wheels / balance weights fitted!

R3327 SR Maunsell lined olive green livery with Urie Bogie tender
R3328 BR early emblem livery with Maunsell flat sided bogie tender
R3329 BR late emblem livery with Urie Bogie tender

The actual locomotive numbers are still to be confirmed. The intention is that these should be available from around July next year.

0415 Class Adams Radial

A rear 3/4 view of the Adams radial, (Admas Boiler variant) see the Warley post for the front on view.

Originally introduced by Adams on the LSWR in 1882 for suburban work, three of the class became iconic by being used in the heavily graded and severely curved Lyme Regis branch lasting until 1961. It has ranked high on the various model railway wish lists over the last few years and this year has now seen R-T-R versions announced by both Hornby at Warley and also as reported here Oxford Rail. The Hornby design team advise me that they are producing both Drummond and Adams boiler versions with similar chimney variations as well to enable a wider range of livery versions to be release in the future (as the two  types of boiler were swapped between between different locos at different times).

R3333 No. 30584 in BR early emblem livery – Adams boiler
R3334 No. 30582 in BR late emblem livery – Drummond boiler
R3335 No. 488 in LSWR livery as preserved on the Bluebell Railway with Adams boiler

The intention is for these to be available by the end of 2015.

Locomotives and Train Packs

R3300 Winston Churchill funeral train pack

R3300 Winston Churchill funeral train pack to mark 50 years since the state funeral on 30 January 1965: comprising of Bulleid original style light pacific No. 34051 with cut down tender, in BR livery with late crest,  2 off Pullman cars ‘Lydia’, ‘Perseus’ and Pullman liveried Gangwayed Bogie Luggage Van S2464 (note existing tooling is being used for the GBL and not strictly as per the prototype van that was modified with additional windows in the centre pair of doors).

R3302 1940 Dunkirk train pack

R3302 ‘1940 return from Dunkirk’ train pack;  comprising of a 700 class No. 325 paired with a 14ft wheelbase tender and 3 coach Maunsell low window set No. 447 comprising of 2 off four compartment brake 3rds (4059, 4061) and a composite (5149) in unlined olive green.

R3304 700 class 30316 with 13ft wheelbase tender

R3304 700 class No. 30316 correctly paired with the first appearance of brand new tooling for the 13ft wheelbase tender, in BR black livery with early emblem and weathered.

R3310 34006 Bude

R3310 Bulleid original style light pacific No. 34006 ‘Bude’ with long smoke deflectors (as fitted for the 1948 locomotive exchange trials) and cut down tender (number 3262) as paired with ‘Bude’ in August 1961, in BR livery with late crest.

R3311 Schools V Class 30908 Westminster

R3311 Schools V class No. 30908 ‘Westminster’ in post August 1956 BR green livery with early crest .

Other train packs include:

• R3340 2 Hal EMU in BR green livery with full yellow end set No. 2603
• R3341 2 Hal EMU in BR blue livery set No. 2677
• R1176 Eurostar Class 373 train set in brand new blue livery c/w track and controller
• R3215 Eurostar Class 373 blue livery train pack
• R4580 Eurostar Class 373 blue livery centre saloons coach pack

Additionally

It is not just the Southern Modellers that benefit from new tooled models as also announced is an LNER J50 0-6-0 tank. Additional new tooling for coaches announced over and above the LMS non corridor coaches shown at Warley includes 5 new all steel  K type Pullman cars:

• R4660 K Type All Steel Pullman Third Class Kitchen Car No. 72
• R4661 K Type All Steel Pullman Third Class Parlour Car No.  73
• R4662 K Type All Steel Pullman Third Class Brake Parlour Car No. 79
• R4663 K Type All Steel Pullman First Class Kitchen Car  ‘Loraine’
• R4664 K Type All Steel Pullman First Class Parlour Car -‘Agatha’

All steel K type Pullman ‘Loraine’

These are very fine looking models and have been produced to Hornby’s usual fine standard for Pullman cars,  using laser scanned data from surviving prototypes as well. In general though the prototypes ran on the Eastern Region,  [edit 17/12/14] with thanks to an informative comment below from Colin Watts; both Agetha and Lorrain came to the Southern Region in 1961 and were used on the Bournemouth Belle. They incorporate a new style of table lighting achieved via LEDs directly under tables rather than the previous fibre optic method, which makes assembly and dis-assembly of these coaches much easier.

Class 71

It should be noted that although this model was announced at Warley it will form part of the 2016 range.

N Gauge

It was also advised at the media briefing day last week that following the success of the Hornby International brand Arnold British 1:148 scale N gauge 5 Bell EMU that further N Gauge products are likely to be announced later in the year, so what this space.

Full 2015 range

For details on the full 2015 range see either Hornby.com or RMweb.

Hornby’s supply chain issues over the last few years are well documented and continue to cause supply issues even though new factories are now producing models, many of the 2014 releases are having to be carried over to 2015 (although recently the K1 model that was moved out to February 2015 has now appeared). Hornby have advised us that the intention is to supply all of the 2015 announcements during 2015. Stocks of the LMS horsebox and the BR 21T hopper wagon announced at Warley are already in the Hornby warehouse ready for immediate shipping in the new year. The new all steel K type Pullmans are also at a very advanced stage of development so should be available quite early on in the year whilst the LMS non corridor coaches are at the final tooling stage.

I would also like to thank members of the design team at Hornby whom have been very patient with all my questions and exclusively provided me with additional information on their SR related plans to hopefully be providing here one of the most comprehensive round ups.

Note: all pictures are courtesy and copyright of either Hornby Hobbies Ltd. or A York.

Further to the Hornby announcement of their new range for 2015 on 17th December last year, detailed from a Southern / BR(s) perspective on this blog  that included three versions of the Southern Railway built Maunsell 4-6-0 S15 locomotives. I am now able, having closely reviewed the proposed livery artwork, to exclusively advise the proposed running numbers and additional details for the three versions being initially produced, with an anticipated release date of June this year.

A further view of the 3D test print. Note the bogies under the tender are not the final Maunsell versions

R3327 SR Maunsell lined olive green as number 824 paired with a Urie Bogie tender. She will be with smoke deflectors and therefore represents the condition she was in from September 1932 when renumbered without the ‘E’ prefix. 824 was one of the first batch of the Maunsell S15’s built in March 1927 and an Exmouth Junction allocated locomotive during all her Southern Railway days. 824 remained in this livery until April 1940 when under wartime conditions she was repainted in unlined olive green with Bullied style lettering.

A 3D test print prior to tooling of the S15 With Flush sided tender

R3328 BR early emblem livery as 30843 paired with a Maunsell flat sided bogie tender. 30843 was one of the third batch of Maunsell S15’s built in September 1936. 30384 ran in this livery as an Exmouth Junction allocated locomotive, with a 72A shedplate, between December 1954 and July 1959 when she gained the late crest (She ran with no emblem on the tender at all between a repaint in August 1949 and November 1954).

R3329 BR late emblem livery as 30830, with AWS fitted, paired to a Urie Bogie tender c/w auxiliary vacuum reservoirs. 30830 was a from the second batch of Maunsell S15’s built in August 1927. 30830 ran in this livery, with a 72B Salisbury shed plate between May 1960, when AWS equipment was fitted, and December 1963 when she was transferred to Feltham.

I hope this information is of interest and I thank the Hornby design team, with whom I am assisting, for allowing me to publish it.

Hornby have today made a surprise announcement, bringing forward one that was due for December this year that as part of the 2016 range, that they are to produce an Original air smoothed Bullied Merchant Navy Pacific.

A Model of 21c1 in her original condition built by Stan Chandler from a Millholme kit that can regularly been seen on Fisherton Sarum

, with some assistance already from myself, to be part of their 2016 range. The initial releases, although full details are yet to be revealed, will be based on the first series of 10 locomotives built between February 1941 and June 1942. They will include 21c1 “Channel Packet” in her original condition as introduced without smoke deflectors and widow’s peak style front end. The Hornby announcement also includes some early development images, some of which they have been hinting about and sharing via social media earlier this week. My  very first Talking Stock #1 post details the differences within the three series of three class. 

This early announcement by Hornby may be seen as a pre-emptive move as Bachmann are due to make their 2015 announcement of their plans for the next 18 months on Monday, at a media event I am attending. I will of course bring the news on any such Southern Railway related releases on here hot the press on Monday.  Although this might possibly result in some duplication of a class, and at this time of writing there is of course no such duplication, other than perhaps an educated guess made by some due the N gauge version of Series 3 Merchant Navy locomotives already being produced by Graham Farish,  the class has enough variations to perhaps keep a number of manufacturers busy, let’s wait and see.

This weekend sees a number of events taking place to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 27 May and 4 June 1940. The Dunkirk evacuation, code named Operation Dynamo, was decided upon when large numbers of British, French, and Belgian troops were cut off and surrounded by the German army. The event is renown for the use of a flotilla of 800 small ships used to assist in the ferrying of some 338,226 soldiers to safety.

The Southern Railway played very much an unsung role in Operation Dynamo, as once back on English shores the soldiers that did not require immediate hospitalisation or were already based at local South Eastern England barracks were dispersed across England away from the main reception ports of Margate, Ramsgate, Folkestone, Dover, and Newhaven. During the nine period of Operation Dynamo the Southern Railway laid on and coordinated an amazing number of special trains comprising of : 327 from Dover, 82 from Ramsgate, 75 from Margate 64 from Folkestone and also 21 ambulance trains.
These trains, known as ‘Dynamo Specials’ moved 180,982 troops, many of these services were routed via  Redhill, Guildford and Reading, in order to bypass the capital and avoid congestion. Where possible during this period the Southern Railway maintained its usual passenger services with the except of some ‘omnibus replacement services’ to free the most heavily utilised routes between Guildford, Redhill and Tonbridge. Not only was coordination required of the departing trains but also the routing of the return empty stock workings and the necessary prepared engines required to keep the transportation of soldiers as quick and efficient as possible.

The Southern Railway mustered at very short notice nearly 2000 additional carriages, many borrowed from other railway companies including 47 complete rakes from the LNER, 44 from the LMS and 40 from the GWR.  Also 180 engines and crews were required from across the network, to operate these services.

To avoid delay at Dover and Ramsgate it was decided that the soldiers, many of whom had not eaten properly for days, would be fed on the trains. Just simply feeding the men provided Southern Railway with a major logistical problem,  therefore certain rail stations were designated feeding stations. These stations included Headcorn, Tonbridge and Paddock Wood Although the Royal Army Service Corps were primarily responsible many local Women’s Voluntary Service members were involved to provide food and drink, much of which was also donated or paid for with monies rasied from the local communities. Due to the number of trains involved only an eight-minute stop for soldiers to be provide with food and drink that bearing in mind this could have been 550 per train, was again an impressive feat.  Trains often had to pull into a siding at these food stops to ensure that any ambulance trains had priority over the use of the main lines.

Given that Southern Railway had practically no time to organise and plan such an activity, what it achieved without the use of modern day communication systems was very impressive; improvisation and word of mouth were the order of the day. One unknown Army general was famously heard to say: “I wish the Army could operate with as few written instructions as Southern Railway does in an emergency.”

The Southern Railway, as well as coping with troops from Dunkirk, was also evacuating no less than 48,000 school children from the coastal areas due to fear of a German invasion. It should not go unmentioned that a number of the Southern Railway’s shipping fleet and crew, varying from cross channel passenger vessels, Isle of Wight ferries and cargo vessels were actively involved out on the channel itself,  with a number being either badly damaged or lost to enemy action.

We should also pause to remember the 68,000 of our soldiers whom didn’t make it home safely from this particular French campaign.

R3302 1940 Dunkirk train pack

The efforts of the Southern Railway has not gone unnoticed by Hornby who are planning to release this year their R3302 ‘1940 return from Dunkirk’ train pack;  comprising of a ex LSWR Drummond 700 class No. 325 and 3 coach Maunsell low window set No. 447. Unfortunately it does not look like it they have managed to release it to specifically coincide with the actual commemoration weekend but at least the intent is there.

I hope this post goes just a little way to remember and honour the part that the Southern Railway played in the overall success of Operation Dynamo out of what was a defeat in military terms in Flanders.

As promised a few posts ago when I first opened the box on my Wild Boar Models  45T Ransomes and Rapier Steam Breakdown Crane I thought it was about time I started “a whats on my workbench” type series of posts, so welcome to the first of my “Workbench Witterings“. I am sure I am similar to many modellers in that I have a large number of both unstarted and or unfinished projects on the go,  so hopefully this series of posts might encourage me to actually get on with completing a few of the outstanding things currently on the go…

The Wild Boar Models 45T Ransomes and Rapier SR steam crane is nearly complete, just the rigging to go. I have modelled number 1561S

First up then is progress on the above mentioned 45T steam crane. Following the comprehensive instructions for this kit has been pretty easy and all the parts, a mix of 3D printed and brass etchings have good together really well and enabled painting to commence. Where the parts needed to simply clip in place or be held with brass wire acting as hinge pins such as between the weight relieving trucks and the main carriage or the crane body and the jib the they have done so very easily. The rest of the items including the etched brass detailing parts such as handwheels and cast name and information plates have been attached with superglue. The components were then primed using the the trusted Halfords plastic primer rattle can and then top coat brush painted using Humbrol matt 32 to represent the SR Grey livery as first carried by  the SR steam cranes before they became black in early British Railways days. I took the opportunity last week to give her a test run on the High Wycombe and District MRS test track and all was fine, although a little additional weight has now been added to the underside of the main carriage truck. All that is needed to complete is the rigging from the fine cotton supplied as part of the kit.

The Hornby Van B is now in malachhite green as number 231. I have also replaced the roof ventilators with white metal castings.

Secondly is the repaint of a Hornby Bogie Van B from its original blue livery to malachite green, embarrassingly looking back at this blog post here I actually started this at the end of last year! Before reassembling the Van B I took the opportunity to replace Hornby’s representation of the roof vents. Although these are separate mouldings  I felt they looked a little flat so replaced them with some suitable cast white metal ventilators from my coaching stock bits box (but I think there were originally obtained from Southern Pride Models) and then repainted the roof. She now awaits some weathering before she enters my operational fleet on Fisherton Sarum.

Now to kick off / complete a few more projects so watch this space…

Fresh off the workbench today is a Hornby Schools Class R2844 number 30934 “St Lawrence” in early BR lined black but in my time honoured fashion, as per my post here,  has been repainted and renumbered to appear as Number 929 “Malvern” in Southern post war black livery. Again this is one of those projects I started a while ago but felt was about time I progressed nearer to completion.

Hornby Schools Class now repainted into SR post war black, numbered and named as 929 ‘Malvern’. Now just awaits weathering.

Schools class number 929 “Malvern” was one of only seven members of the class not to regain malachite green livery after the war, but stayed in SR black until January 1949 when she was renumbered to 30929 and outshopped in British Railways lined black.
She was allocated to Bournemouth shed in 1946 before moving to Brighton in 1947> The Schools class were not often seen at Salisbury, but from the perspective of Fisherton Sarum, she might have arrived on one of the Brighton to Plymouth services that changed locomotives at Salisbury, that’s my excuse anyway…

Today’s post is an update / catch up on the status of a few Southern Railway / Region related models that are in progress with a number of the Ready to Run manufacturers / commissioners from N to 0 gauge.

Kernow Model Centre

Regular readers of my blog will know that I have been assisting the Kernow Model Centre with their Southern related commissions and I pleased to be able to report progress on a number of fronts.

Latest livery sample of the Kernow Models Centre O2 K2105 in SR post war black livery as No. 225

Firstly: livery samples of the mainland version of the Adams O2 have now been received, a number of corrections made and already second livery samples returned in the last week or so. Once all the variations are finally signed off then production can start, along with the Isle of Wight versions that were fully signed off a while ago now. Further information on the Kernow model Centre O2’s can be found here.

ex LSWR Gate Stock parts hot off of the injection moulding machines, can you guess what each part is?

Secondly: It had been kept reasonably quiet, that the although the CADs for the ex LSWR Gate Stock Pull Push sets were previously signed off, tooling has actually commenced and The Kernow Model Centre have now received photographs of the first off components from the tooling. These now require assembly and shipping to the UK for inspection. Further information on the Kernow Model Centre ex LSWR Gate Stock can be found here.

Lastly for now: I can also advise that work is also progressing in the background with updates and corrections to the CADs for the ex LSWR Dia 1541 10T road vans, first announced last September. So watch this space for further news.

Bachmann

The Bachmann livery sample for the SR PLV

The first livery samples for the Bachmann  four wheel luggage vans PLV/PMV and CCT’s first announced in March 2012  have now been received and all can be seen here on the Bachmann website. They are producing the following:
39-525 Southern PLV Passenger Luggage Van Southern Railway Green
39-526 Ex-Southern PMV Parcels & Miscellaneous Van BR Crimson
39-527 Ex-Southern PMV Parcels & Miscellaneous Van BR Green
39-528 Ex-Southern CCT Covered Carriage Truck BR Blue – Weathered

Graham Farish

The first of the original Merchant Navy Pacific models that I reviewed in my post here have now actually started to appear with the retailers.

Graham Farish N Class No. 31844

The N Class Mogul 2-6-0 first announced in March 2013 is now on its way,  with the review samples having been received by the model media so they should start to appear with retailers during July and August. Just like the Merchant Navy, I can vouch for the fact that it is an impressive looking model, especially for its size, and continues the increase in levels of detail for N Gauge Ready to Run models. A video of these models, but sadly not actually running, can be viewed on their website here.
The following four initial variations are being produced:
372-930 No. 868 in SR Olive Green
372-931 No. 31844 in BR Black Early Emblem
372-932 No. 31811 in BR Black Late Crest
372-933 No. 810 in SECR Grey

The livery samples for the Bogie Van B model have been signed off and the expected delivery of the of these models is currently due the end of August / September.

Dapol

Dapol cad of the 4mm ex LSWR style lattice post working signal

Dapol have via their Facebook page here (you do not have to be a member to access the page) Dapol have released CAD images of  the planned 4mm working signals in both SR Rail built and also ex LSWR  lattice post styles. [Edit:] Dapol have also advised 2mm version of these signals are planned.

At the start of last month they also announced a delay to the O Gauge Terrier due to the the level of electromagnetic emissions. A slight modification is now required to the production which will result in delay in the shipment of the initial SR green and LBSC versions towards the end of July, however the BR and Bodiam variants are now due to be delivered three to four weeks later.

I have also been informed that the CAD work on the first variants of  the N Gauge Schools class first announced in July 2012 have been completed, I had already provided some corrections and information to Dapol for these a while back so it is good to hear that they are progressing, but no news as yet when tooling might actually commence.

[Edit:] I have also been reminded that BR green liveried versions of the N gauge Maunsell coaches are due out next month and that Dapol have also now committed to bringing out a brake composite and four compartment brake third by Quarter 4 2015 and these are currently at CAD/CAM stage. This will make possible several prototypical set formations.