Silver Sidelines

The starting point for this Post is B1 61018 named Gnu.   In1960 I used to collect engine numbers.   One of the better places with an easy cycle ride was Stockton Station.   “Oh there’s a B1! Oh no – its Gnu - again!”   My records show that in 1959 Gnu was allocated to Haverton Hill.   This was located just across the Transporter Bridge from Middlesbrough.   I am guessing the shed would have serviced the large ICI Billingham chemical factory.   From its frequent appearance through Stockton I am imagining that Gnu was used on fitted freights down to York and would likely have featured vacuum fitted vans loaded with bagged fertiliser (Nitram). Bachmann 61018 Gnu (i) Rails of Sheffield in conjunction with Bachmann produced a limited run model of Gnu.   When the opportunity presented itself I would buy one.   In common with other vintage Bachmann B1s the nylon wheel centres of my chosen model had swollen rendering the model immobile.   In fact the arrival of 61018 prompted me

The ex GWR 43xx engines were one of my all time favourite locomotive types.   They were disappearing fast when I was collecting engine numbers in 1959 / 1960 but for me they seemed to epitomise trains in rural central Wales – somewhere ‘magical’ that we visited for holidays!   When Mainline introduced their 43xx models in the early 1980s it became one of my must have engines. 37-091 Mainline 5328 43xx on my Bracken Ridge Layout around 1982 I bought my first Mainline 43xx in 1982 from Modellers World Cheltenham (now the Cheltenham Model Shop).   It was turned out in all over BR black livery with an Early Emblem.   It was priced at £19.95.   It ran very well and continued in service until 2010 when it was sold on eBay for £28!   I seem to recollect that there were lots of black 43xx ‘for sale’ in the 1980s   and I did buy a second model for spares.   The Mainline engine was replaced by a Bachmann model which seemed less frantic than the pancake motor driven Mainline model.