P2 update

[2002EarlMarischal]

There is the R1183 Master of the Glens set which looks like it includes a Railroad version of 2001.

You could always sell any unwanted items.

I hope this doesn't mean that Hornby will waste the chassis and not produce other members of the class.

[Seagull]

I suspect they are not producing any more of the R3207 version in order not to 'devalue' the R3246TTS sound equipped version.
(Apologies for the marketing jargon)

I hope they do produce at least one Bugatti nose version of a P2 and even better an Earl Marischal.
With the rider that I would sooner pay extra for a super detailed one rather than the design (not so) clever version.

Alan

[Kestrel]

They've still got the Railroad version on their website and to think that it and R3207 were cheaper than their recently released J15.

Talking of Bugatti noses, I wonder what the chances are of them bringing out a B17/5. With only two to choose from, 2859 (East Anglian) and 2870 (City of London), I would imagine there's more chance of knitting fog, but one can live in hope.

[60117 Bois Roussel]

What was the usual rake of coaches pulled by the P2s? I've a selection of Ian Kirk kit built 61'6" first and thirds and a Hornby Full Brake. Did they have sleepers or Buffet cars? Sorry about the idiot questions but I don't know where to look for the answers to them.

Ah, I've just come across this question, hidden under the P2 loco thread, but quite pertinent. In "LNER Passenger Trains & Formations, The Principal Services", Steve Banks & Clive Carter, there are two useful clues:

On p154, No 2005 Thane of Fife is shown hauling a secondary express which comprises a 5-set (BT, T, CL, CL, BT) of non-gangwayed Gresleys. Provision of two lavatory composites is significant, one of them an ex-NBR carriage, which lends a marvellous Scottish feel to the train. You could substitute it with a plain ex-NBR C or T, using etched brass. Or lose some of the flavour by "modernising" the with all-Gresleys. In this case, a Tourist twin was being carried on the rear, possibly as an ECS move (the Scottish Tourist Trains were manipulated quite a bit). This may have been a filling-in or balancing working, a common enough practice everywhere, and a reminder that what the hobby wrongly calls "suburban" carriages were anything but.

The chapter about Sleeping Car Trains lists the Scotch expresses and from them you can find what went on from Edinburgh to Aberdeen in the "Aberdonian", for example, on pp.160-163. However, this was a premier ECJS express with quite an array of sleeping cars including SLF, SLT (two kinds) and the SLC-twin for Lossiemouth. We couldn't go into such detail in the book where at 12 pages (plus half a page in the Appendix) the Sleepers chapter was already one of the longest. However, I am adding to my w/s (see link below) descriptions of how to build Kirk-based sleeping cars: the 61'6" and top-flight 66'6" SLF are already up. The 61'6" convertible SLT will follow. Give me another day and I shall include a detailed analysis of all the carriages in the "Aberdonian" and what is possible via Kirk kits. Rostered for 11-12 coaches, depending on which part of the route you choose, and some quite heavy, you can see why the P2s were required.

[60117 Bois Roussel]

I've just put up an in-depth analysis for the formation of the P2-hauled "Aberdonian" in the late 1930s, see link below. Good luck with modelling it; a very nice challenge!