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@81F. That is a stunning looking loco already. Can't wait to see the finished article.

I think I read somewhere that all pre-nationalisation TPOs had side corridor connectors.

@ Atom Thanks, Atom. I was interested in your opinion of her without deflectors - I agree: much better looking without blinkers.

Thank you, Bee. Medical issues, I'm afraid , hence the rivet counting on the Duchess point - nothing better to do!

I claim no expertise but I think PO vehicles were liveried in PO red during the period you mention, with the possible exception of the Western Region, which had a habit of doing its own thing with liveries.

I found a wrecked Hornby Duchess of Sutherland in LMS maroon at a train fair, bought it for a tenner and repaired it. The smoke deflectors were missing. On investigation it seems that this loco ran with double chimney and smoke deflectors and in maroon livery, as modelled, only from mid to late late 1945(when the deflectors were first fitted) to mid 1946 (when it was repainted black). This seems a very narrow time window for any model and I wonder if I have misunderstood what I think I have read? Any clarification would be much appreciated.

Being taken in 1955 at the age of two and a half to watch the trains on the Coventry/Nuneaton line at Daimler Halt in Coventry followed by a gift from my grandmother of a small push along 000 train set. She was disappointed that it was not electrified but I thought it marvellous. At seven I received a Triang Jinty, four wagons, a circle of track and a battery controller. I have been hooked on 00 ever since, seeking to recreate in miniature the railway scenes I remember from my youth.

Hi, Bee. I take your point about the Pond. So far as concerns social awkwardness, I am sure that a few discretely arranged chintz curtains would have dealt with the issue.

I can't imagine that Hornby would be keen to get involved in something that might dilute their efforts regarding TT120

Hello Bee. What you describe as your "mutterings" are never boring - quite the reverse. You are right about OS maps but where possible nothing beats a site visit with the Mark 1 human eyeball, even after the demolition men have been in. My son and I are ardent amateur industrial archaeologists (fancy term for two blokes who like ferreting round old mills factories mines and railways) and over the years we have stumbled across some fascinating bits and pieces that have survived unrecognised and unmapped (like the remains of a Newcomen atmospheric engine at the site of a long demolished Warwickshire brick/ cement factory, fencing along ex-GWR branch lines manufactured from lengths of broad gauge bridge rail, most of the component parts of a steam powered rope hauled waggonway system at a long abandoned Derbyshire limestone quarry and even a WWII German Jumo lightweight diesel aero engine from a bomber shot down in 1939 on a Norfolk beach). It is astonishing what survives out there if you know where to look. When I eventually manage to retire I have every intention of subjecting any accessible parts of the L&M to minute scrutiny to see just what now remains. Keep up the mutterings, please threelink

That carriage looks for all the world like a magnified Triang product . Rovex certainly got some things spot on - apart from buffers.

I've been using the shim trick for many years on X03s and4s and can vouch for its efficacy. Being an idle sort, I cut rough shims from the plastic glazing material used in cake and chocolate boxes - I think it's acetate - drill a central hole slightly larger in diameter than the armature shaft, cut a wedge shaped section from the outside to the hole (narrow end at the hole) and slip it over the shaft between worm gear and front bearing. Two thin shims are better than one thick one and they need to be kept well lubricated (I use Vaseline and 3 in 1 oi). They will wear eventually but are simple to replace. I had a Triang/Hornby B12 that was unusable because of the row it made. The shim trick silenced it completely. It really does work wonders.

Horn-by-Hill

Hi, Bee. I am at a loss to know why this wheel did not catch on and have a much wider application. I can only presume that there was some element of its design that made it less popular than it seems to have deserved - perhaps initial cost?

I think I get it now and my earlier post should be disregarded because I was talking tosh!