Dublo 3 Rail Layout

I seem to recall that the buffer heights of Tri-ang locos were some 2mm higher than they should be anyway

Jim

 

My view on modelling too

 

Yes the Hall buffers are lower on the beam. The beam was deeper as well.

 

Hiya,
Haven't been along for a while, so I had some catching up to do.
Great progress on the class 60 loco project!

At my end the Dublo railway has taken a bit of a backseat apart from the odd running session, as work at SNCF has been crazy since the summer and continues to be so, probably until the Olympics are done and dusted next Autumn.
Added to that, the camera on my iphone conked out for some unknown reason and I haven't got round to replacing it (unlike Dublo these things are pretty hard to repair .
Anyway I finally got around to finishing 6234 in experimental blue with its Methfix transfers (I've never used them before, only the water applied Pressfix type), a bit of a faff to apply, and I came perilously close to a complete disaster on several occasions during the process, but at last the job is done, and I must admit I'm really pleased with the result!
What a beast! I think the LMS were onto something with this livery, pity they got nationalised in 1948. The colour and the lettering style really suit the class. Smoke deflectors were a must, I’m looking for a second set for 6231 as the locos really look a bit weird without them, almost « undressed ».
Does anyone know if the LMS had plans for new coaching stock liveries to go with these? 6234 is running with either Pullman’s or a rake of early BR crimson and cream coaches for the moment.

I had to steal my sons phone while he wasn't looking to do these and upload them, so they're not the best. No photo of the smokebox door either with its paper printed numberplate.


Maybe the blue is a bit dark, but it is less so in reality and is certainly miles better than my initial Gordon the Big engine blue ! Note the nearly finished glass of Cote du Rhône and the half empty bottle in the background, these may explain why that M on the tender looks a bit crooked . Also she needs the 8P power classification to be applied under the number on the cabside, but overall the 1946 plain block straw lettering looks really good. My DIY nameplates also look OK (at least to my failing eyesight!)

 

Hello All, re the LMS loco blue. bearing in mind that the senior BR Locomotive men in 1948 were primarily from the LMS, and that there was a series of locomotive livery trials in which some shades of blue were considered, then it is reasonable to assume that the final BR locomotive lined blue would have been the same as LMS blue if nationalisation had not taken place. ( Reasons for Nationalisation is a whole complex subject of itself ! ).
BR locomotive blue was intended for top flight passenger express locomotives only, with the second division being lined locomotive green, the third division of mixed traffic locomotives lined black ( x LNWR ), and the last division of unlined black.
The LMS had intended to only have two locomotive liveries, straw lined black, and plain black, so the LMS blue proposals was likely dictated by a need to publicise improved mainline services as maintenance arrears were addressed. It was also a combination which could be applied relatively quickly, and give a favourable public image of things returning to normal.
Going back to LMS straw lined black, this made sense as it was a simple livery to apply, and it was cheap. The initial BR thought on locomotive liveries was green for passenger, and black for goods locomotives. I understand that it was E S Cox who suggested Mixed Traffic Lined Black, as it was cheaper , and less complex to apply than green which made sense in Post War austerity. ( So your BR lined blue B12/3 is fictitious, but good looking anyway ! )
With the passage of time, BR Locomotive Blue was found to weather badly, and weather a lot quicker than BR Green, as well as being a more expensive colour to apply than green, hence the decision to replace blue with green.
The use of lined black in lieu of green was also a significant cost saver. The 1950s BR Southern Region locomotives painted green were pretty much restricted to the big engines like the Lord Nelsons and Pacifics, with all else being either lined black or black. Towards the end of the 1950s lined green was extended to other classes ( anything with a nameplate usually, hence Schools got green ! ) and by the 1960s you even get BR Standard 2MT 2-6-0s from Swindon in lined green. ( If workshop times at a premium, unlined green and unlined black was resorted to. )
BR coach liveries are also interesting in that mainline Red&Cream, with secondary coaches in Red gave way to the darker shades of Lined Maroon and Plain Maroon, again due to weathering, where it was found that darker shades retain a clean and cared for look compared to the lighter shades. This may also explain why the BR-SR did not return to the lighter Malachite Green that Bullied used. ( Yet, John Deere tractors use a high gloss lighter green to make them stand out, and look clean, from a distance, subtle marketing. )
Finally, it also turns out that there was a difference in the green used by Eastleigh, and those workshops to the North. Despite a "standard" livery specification, different workshops used different sized numerals, and in some cases, different positioning, hence Inverurie used larger numerals than either Darlington or Doncaster for example.
LMS 6234 looks good in blue, the Stanier Duchess/City are such a well proportioned design that any colour looks good on it, Regards to all.

 

I love the way pride in the old companies lasted throughout the grouping period, and reared up again in the early days of BR. The domination of men from the LMS and their various constituants must have been pretty galling for everyone else, especially the GWR.
Swindon maybe got its revenge in the end though, when lined passenger green was adopted for express locomotives. Better still, they didn’t even have to change the four digit brass numberplates fitted to their locomotives - I’ll wager there was some pretty heated debate about that in 1948!
Their biggest snub, and last hurrah to the powers that be in Euston though, was the adoption of diesel hydraulics rather than diesel electrics under the modernization plan - complete with brass name and number plates. Obviously
There are as we all know, only 2 ways of doing things :
the Great Western way, and the wrong way…
I’ve always felt the GWR was only finally smothered when the last class 52 Westerns (they never got TOPS numbers either - those brass numberplates again!) were withdrawn. Not a bad record, 1833 to 1977!

 

Off to pick up her train. So Dublo connecting rods are not steel, but plated brass?



At speed

 

Hello All, it was the BTC in 1950 who decided and directed that the WR would use diesel hydraulic on the basis that WR train running was fairly self contained and this would allow for practical comparison with diesel electrics elsewhere. At one point in the late 1930s, the GWR considered electrifying west of Taunton, and in early dieselization the WR did pursue dieselizing Cornwall and Devon first. Also at this time, the German Federal Railways / DB was the prime advocate of diesel hydraulic due to both light weight and a better power to weight ratio compared to the then available diesel electrics. North British Locomotive / NBL had a license for MAN diesel and Voith hydraulic transmissions, and Bristol Siddely licensed Maybach diesels and Mekhydro transmissions.The other aspect of diesel hydraulics that is rarely mentioned is maintenance by swapping out defective motors or transmissions at major depots, eg Plymouth Laira, whose diesel shop was equipped with heavy duty overhead crane for this specific purpose, whereas other Regions whose diesel suffered a major breakdown sent the miscreant back to the central workshops. In the 1950s and 1960s diesels were presumed to be more efficient but were still allocated, and rostered as a steam locomotive with a longer range. BR was not alone in this concept. The idea of dieselizing districts was pursued by both the ER and WR, and where a lot of traffic is contained within a district, there is some sense to this. But, as more diesels enter traffic, then increasingly they need to work into steam strongholds, and some of those locations have greater traffic interchanges. This in turn leads to longer point to point rostering, which leads to concentrating particular diesel classes to particular long distance services, which also has a knock on effect with related, and adjacent traffic. (The North East - South West Route became the province of classes Sulzer 45 & 46 for this reason.) With the passage of time, improved reliability and higher utilisation, combined with falling traffic, this leads to a surplus of diesels, in BR's case, to the extent that reliable classes like the Westerns and Hymeks get withdrawn as they increasingly become a minority fleet in a sea of standardised diesel electrics. With the passage of time, the power to weight advantage of the diesel hydraulics was slowly whittled back by newer, and better reliable diesel electrics, and even DB has abandoned mainline diesel hydraulic locomotives, though diesel hydraulic DMUs are now all the rage ! These days repair by swap out replacement at out stations is pretty much the norm, hence the gradual run down, and closure of both diesel depots (Bristol Bath Rd) and workshops (Swindon) is a by product of this. In the 1960s and 1970s , diesels were usually stabled at MPDs, or railway station sidings not accessible to the public. As newer diesels got larger fuel tanks, stabling locomotives out in the open became accepted practice, in which case MPDs were also closed, and usually demolished.