Glyn Valley Coach Re-Paints

   One of the issues that I have always found with OO9 compared to OO is ease of use that OO has, for a lack of a better phrase. If you buy a OO engine and a pack of wagons, you can guarantee it will run nicely, couple and uncouple easily and will go round corners without issue, all of which kit-built OO9 couldn't always do.
   The rise of ready to run OO9 should then be the answer to this. The ability to get a reliable train going round your layout that can be supplemented with kit built stock and kit built extra locos is just too good an opportunity to miss out on, but I also don't want them to stand out on the layout.

   We have had a few goods vans, bogie coaches etc running on the layout and been really happy with them, so when I had the chance to pick up a rake of Glyn Valley coaches, I knew it had to be done, but they also had to be repainted to match the coaches we already had.

   While we have a 4 coach rake of Glyn Valley coaches in their factory green, I wanted a smaller rake in the railway's normal coach colours - blood and custard. I bought one of each coach type, plus a brake van as felt like an appropriate looking train as I wanted to test how how it would look.

   I've got to tidy up the transfers and add some seating classes and coach numbers but I am pleased with the outcome and would look to do more in the future.

Island of Sodor comes to Thornham

   I don't think it will any surprise if I say I am a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine. I have both the engines from the Skarloey railway that Bachmann have so far produced, and will be picking up Rusty when that is released and I have a project to get some rolling stock built and painted for the same railway. But recently I discovered that Bachmann not only did the narrow gauge engines in the US but also the main line and other non-railway related famous names, i.e. Bertie, Harold and Trevor.
   Bertie and Harold, especially, have stuck in my mind for their parts in the stories, so knowing I could get appropriately sized versions was amazing.

Bachmann Bertie next to the Hornby Thomas