Going Loco

I recently went mad and added two more diesel locomotives to the ever-growing fleet. Both have DCC Sound already fitted and, to my mind, both are superb-looking machines.

The first is a two tone green liveried Class 24 (Running Nº: D5040, Catalogue Nº: 2407) from Sutton Loco Works, as seen in the two photographs, below:

 We already have a Sutton Loco Works Class 24, in BR Blue Livery (Running Nº: 24081, Catalogue Nº: 2402), which I acquired two or three years ago and, so pleased have we been with the look, performance and sound of this particular locomotive, that it seemed only right to have a green liveried version to work alongside her.

She has not, yet, been fully run-in so is still only operating light engine.

However, I can see her carrying out similar duties to her sister loco and, if she performs as well as 24081 has done over the years, she will doubtless prove to be a very popular member of the fleet.

The second loco to join us is the Bachmann Class 37, 37116, in the striking BR Special Blue Livery, shown below:

Apparently the loco received this variation on the BR blue large logo livery, with some unique embellishments, when it appeared at the Norwich Crown Point Open Day on the 30th May 1987.

Sadly, by June of the following year, after an overhaul at Doncaster Works, it had lost this special livery in favour of the ubiquitous blue large logo livery although it was still unique in being the only Class 37 in this livery to retain its original buffer skirts.

The model is, what Bachmann call, a Sales Area Exclusive Model in that it is only available to order from Bachmann Retailers in certain counties.

I acquired mine through Rails of Sheffield and its Catalogue Nº is 32-781SD.

The SD suffix means that the loco has a Bachmann sound decoder fitted although, to be honest, it is a bit quiet and not the best sound we have heard.

So, it will definitely need to be reblown with another sound file in the not-too-distant future.

She brings the number of Tractors in our fleet to four and, as can be seen from the photos, she is already earning her keep in hauling both passenger and freight traffic.

One Clayton More

For those of you too young to remember, Clayton Moore was the actor who portrayed the Lone Ranger on TV during the 1950s.

Well, we recently added one more Clayton to our fleet of locos, which means, of course, that D8568 Ribble Cement is now no longer the lone Class 17 to range far and wide across the Lakeland Railway, as can be seen in the photo below:

D8529 and D8568 at the head of a train of coal wagons

We also added sound to the new, blue, Class 17 but, unlike D8658, which has a Howes sound decoder, D8529 has been fitted with a YouChoos decoder and the sounds are quite different.

I don't know from where YouChoos obtained their sound files but I would say that it was probably not from the sole surviving member of the class - which just happens to be D8568.

Therefore I daresay we will be changing this sound file for Howes before too long!

A closer look at D8529, which has recently been weathered ...

... and here is her grey-liveried sister.

Here we see them on a return working with a train of small oil tankers.