Model Railway - What's your latest acquisition?

My latest acquisition was a R3351 class 153 dcc.

Super model very nice slow running. I also got hold of an early class142 pacer also dcc fully working but needs to visit the shed for a major overhaul.

Dave

 I remember 101s on the Newcastle-Carlisle line. At that time they sometimes had a buffet!! I don't remember them bouncing around but A) it was a lomg time ago (early 60s) and B) the units were a lot newer!!

The 101s didn't bounce like Pacers do so I suppose I ought to have said "Shaken" instead. I seem to remember the vibration (and smell) of them especially if travelling in a power car. They were getting pretty ropey in the late 1970s, and by the time I started work in Newcastle Control in the mid 1980s their reliability was pretty poor too! We would often send a loco hauled set to Carlisle instead (Gateshead 47 plus 3 Mark 1s) because they could run round and send it back. On days when I was the Passenger Controller I would get a list of sets from Heaton to be available during the night and then found that we were at least five sets short. My next job was to then plead with Gateshead for a loco, and Newcastle Train Crew Supervisor for a diesel loco trained driver. We found that a loco hauled set allocated to a round trip  Newcastle - Carlisle - Middlesbrough (via the Coast) - Carlisle (again) - Newcastle would save us at least two DMU sets but we then had to do some selective cancellations elsewhere. Knock out a couple of Sunderlands and the Darlington to Hartlepool service and run buses instead, and we had cracked it! When the Pacers first arrived to replace the 101s we were greatly heartened, however before long the 143s also started to fail, and in the end we were getting condemned DMUs from South Wales to substitute.  It wasn't until we got 156s that the services settled down and became reliable.

 The joys of running a railway, which the public never hears about.

Believe it or not, I've never been on a 'Pacer' (but I don't think I've missed much), but yes, the 101s were smelly beasts. And the vibrations..............!

 The joys of running a railway, which the public never hears about.

Believe it or not, I've never been on a 'Pacer' (but I don't think I've missed much), but yes, the 101s were smelly beasts. And the vibrations..............!

The joys of riding a pacer should not be missed. As the pendolino rocks from side to side on curves, the pacer nods like a donkey up and down. If I was ever in Manchester catching the train home I would wait for the next one if there was a Pacer ready to go. Horrendous machines.

Right, I have just ordered another batch of engraved nameplates for some more of my Brit collection. I am not doing all of them just stopping at the ones with windows in the cab for now, leaving about 6-8 not done. I am not doing APOLLO as this had a unique squared off nameplate but seems not to have been made in the brass miniatures correctly.

 Hi Vespa

That note about APOLLO is a new one on me - do you know the reason for it?

The four 'Silver' A4s also had squared nameplates, I believe.

 The joys of running a railway, which the public never hears about.

Believe it or not, I've never been on a 'Pacer' (but I don't think I've missed much), but yes, the 101s were smelly beasts. And the vibrations..............!

The joys of riding a pacer should not be missed. As the pendolino rocks from side to side on curves, the pacer nods like a donkey up and down. If I was ever in Manchester catching the train home I would wait for the next one if there was a Pacer ready to go. Horrendous machines.

At the risk of this thread straying way off topic I once rode on a Pacer from Hull to Scarborough. We had taken a flask of coffee to drink on the way. Bad Move! Trying to pour it out after Bridlington I managed to spill 50% of it on the floor (or rather the Pacer 'bounced' it out!) Not an experience I want to repeat.

The 141s were as I recall much worse. I went for a development interview with our Managing Director Aiden Nelson at Sheffield one afternoon and at the conclusion he asked me if I had ever been by train from Sheffield to Huddersfield via Barnsley. I replied that I hadn't, so he said I ought to try it. Being a dutiful employee and because there was a 'Lettuce Sandwich' in platform 1 I decided to return to York that way. Oh Boy! That was an exciting journey. The Yorkshire scenery was indeed impressive but it was an age before my innards stopped bouncing!

 

 PS We often referred to 141s as Lettuce Sandwiches when they were painted white with a horizontal green stripe!

Hornby RailMaster from Hattons £5

Hornby RailMaster Pro from Hornby's £29.99

I now have both on both the PC and the Laptop

 Hi Vespa

 

That note about APOLLO is a new one on me - do you know the reason for it?

 

The four 'Silver' A4s also had squared nameplates, I believe.

Hello PP, the plates were squared off at the corners and later when the WR type smoke deflectors were fitted, the plates were recast in the same style but with bolts showing in the corners.Hornby, correctly copied this on their model but I am unable to with etched plates. Reference is in the book  "Locomotives in detail 5, Ridles class 6/7 Standard Pacifics" by David Clarke page 53. Yet another anomoly of the Britannia class. I bet that none were identical, the more I research them.

 

See above. Diesel headcode discs should include a hole to enable the light to shine through, like this class 40 at Carlisle.

Thanks LC&DR. Point very well illustrated. We live and learn !