Greetings from New Zealand

[NZRedBaron]

The name's NZRedBaron; and I'm a OO modeller (still very much in the infancy though, given I have nowhere to put it), with plans for a layout based around a junction station.

The main hassle I have (aside from space and time), is the lack of LNER RtR models, and how expensive they are to get here in NZ.

[Mersey508138]

Hi Mate

Although I am not 1 of the moderators for the forum I would like to be the 1st to welcome you to the forum.

Hope you are well out there in NZ and I look forward as I am sure other members will to talking about projects we are all doing or projects you are working on.

[Hatfield Shed]

...The main hassle I have (aside from space and time), is the lack of LNER RTR models, and how expensive they are to get here in NZ.

Regarding the lack of RTR LNER (OO?) the present is a vastly improved situation over that pertaining 20 years ago. Then in traction it was a choice of effectively 13: A3, A4, B1 B12, B17, D49, J39, J50, J52, J72, N2, V1, V2, V3; and frankly many of these were so poor (Lima J50 perhaps the nadir) as to be of little to no interest. What we have now, is a useful selection - which if we consider only pre-group and LNER designs in general service between 1923 and 1947 amounts to 26 locos of which all but the J52 and N2 are to the current much superior standard, and about 10 to come, including the NER's petrol electric railcar! (Most striking change to the selection and very useful; three 0-6-0s available - GCR,GER, NBR, and NER announced - just the GNR to get a shout there.)

Likewise with wagons and coaches, RTR supply remains very inadequate: despite some good introductions, much kit building is required. There's one pre-group coach, and that's the NER's dynamometer car, not exactly generally useful! And in wagons the huge hole is the LMS stock. For some reason this has been neglected while here the LNER has got the love, particularly in the form of general merchandise opens and vans which were operated on a 'common user' basis and thus found mixed all over the UK railway system. A quick look at photos will reveal that the company stock is dominated by LMS and LNER vehicles, unsurprisingly as nearly 80% of the UK's company owned vehicles came from these two groups which served both the majority of the UK's population, and most of its industries that made extensive use of rail transport.

This better RTR provison has surely come at a price, accelerated by the economic ambitions of China to pay workers a decent wage. That said, a model railway can be built up slowly as the budget permits, and kit building keeps many of us occupied at a lower 'burn rate' of the cash.

The underlying problem of course that the LNER was the most diverse of all the Big Four, with each pre-group constituent's own designs of locos and stock generally remaining in service throughout the LNER's existence, so dependent on your choice of location and time period, the present better provision may supply a reasonable core - or relatively little - and probably nothing to speak of if the former GNoSR system is your choice...

[NZRedBaron]

Well, as it happens, the idea I had had was it's a fictitious market town somewhere on the north Norfolk coast, fairly near to Cambridge, so much of the stock is ex-GER (primarly motive power on the layout being a B12, a "Claud Hamilton" and a J15), but might toss in ex-GNR and ex-GCR stock too, along with Grouping models.

[Hatfield Shed]

The three locos you mention are recent Hornby productions, and representative of the best they offer in steam. You are short of a tank engine or two... Remarkably last year saw the introduction to RTR of two of Stratford's tank engine designs, J70 and N7, from other sources. From no GER locos in RTR OO five years ago to 3 good models of classes in largely unaltered condition, and two more as rebuilt during the LNER period, is real progress.

No GER coaches in RTR though...

[NZRedBaron]

The three locos you mention are recent Hornby productions, and representative of the best they offer in steam. You are short of a tank engine or two... Remarkably last year saw the introduction to RTR of two of Stratford's tank engine designs, J70 and N7, from other sources. From no GER locos in RTR OO five years ago to 3 good models of classes in largely unaltered condition, and two more as rebuilt during the LNER period, is real progress.

No GER coaches in RTR though...

To be honest, the B12's I have are actually like, from the 70's or so; I (off the top of my head recollecting) also have a 'Railroad' range 'Hunt', one the special collection A1's (4476 "Royal Lancer"), an ancient (possibly Tri-ang era) J50 tank engine, and a Bachmann "Green Arrow"; can't recall if I have any others though.

[Hatfield Shed]

If you have an old J50, that'll be a Lima, unless it is the K's body kit on a mechanism from 'elsewhere'.

Hornby's quite recent B12/3 tooling is another thing again, with many felicities that would once have required a skilled kit or scratch builder's prolonged attention. It looks right and measures up correctly: and then the driving wheel form, with the spokes flaring outward to meet the large protruding hub boss, the bogie wheel splashers, the representation of Stratford's timber construction footplate extension, and much else; altogether very fine. Good mechanism too.

[NZRedBaron]

I just checked again; it's actually R. 861, an LNER black J52 tank engine from 1987/88, number 3980.

I also have the R.866 B12, seemingly either the 1971 or 1972 model; a modern J15, "Claud Hamilton", and the Royal Lancer models I mentioned; I think I also have a Bachman J38/J39 IN LNER black, an old Mainline "rebuilt Royal Scot" in post-war Black, and a GWR 61xx. Can't remember anything else though