Saturday Variety [mini blog]

Need A Leader?

Some  blogs back, fbb wrote about the Leader steam loco designed by Oliver Bulleid for the Southern Railway, but not completed until after nationalisation. What provoked this post was the arrival in the shops of KR Models OO gauge leader (at high price) and after considerable delay.

It was first announced in 2022.

Bearing in mind that this machine was the only one of a planned fleet (?) of five that was finished and it never hauled a revenue earning train, it was both unique and useless.

The full story is told in a £30 book ...

... which would be too much for fbb to spend even if he could read it without recourse to Klieg lights and a magnifier to mitigate his ARMD.

The world of YouTube is awash with reviews of the model; reviews which fascinate fbb. The fascination is not to find out about the model itself, but to consider the mentality of the reviewers.

There appear to be two sorts of reviewer.

One thinks there are a few problems with this model but nothing that spoils its overall character and usefulness on a layout. The other opines that the model is disgraceful, KR should be horsewhipped; the model should be crushed and anyone would be more than insane to buy it.

At least two reviewers are appalled by the coal.

Apparently the slab of plastic coal is unrealistic and does not fit the cole hoal! True it doesn't (see above).  

One review suggests dabbing a bit of b;ack paint on the exposed bits of body and no one will ever notice. The sensible solution from man who, like fbb, bases his modelling skills on those of Bill Bodge and Fred Fudge.

Another has posted an 8.43 minute video on how to make a replacement coal load. Here are the two compared.

The new coal (right) does look better!

Then Mr Angry reviewer becomes near apoplectic at the wheels. Apparently they are WRONG because you can see through the holes in them. Real Bulleid wheels are solid, he fumes.

He doesn't know but has read this on someone else's review!

Meanwhile, another reviewer assures us all that the wheels are tickety snitch, hunky dory and top scran!

Who is right? There is no picture of the Leader on line in which you can see the wheels ...

... or if you can see them, the picture is too fuzzy or too dark to make out detail.

They are not easy to see on the model either as they are well hidden. But here are the model wheels in close up.

We do have a picture of a Bulleid wheel of similar size, intended for a tank wagon that was never built.

And you can see through them!

It would be hard to accept that KR Models had fitted incorrect wheels; especially as the basic (ha ha!) model costs nearly £200. 

The one with lights and sound, as in the video at the top of this blog is nearly £300.

Both on-line reviewers report a problem with one wheel at the front (or was it at the back?)

It was loose on its axle and wobbled a bit like fbb's gait along Station Road!

One reviewer, lacking an ounce of grump, simply pushed the errant roulade back on its axle with a pair of tweezers, as used by clever geezers, and his loco operated faultlessly thereafter.

The reviewer whose grump overflowed and filled his railway room, then proceeded to run the loco round his layout and express even more ire when it didn't go round corners very well.

It wouldn't, would it, with a loose wobbly wheel?

Clearly the model is not perfect and these faults should not have been left unattended before dispatch.

But ...

Where's Tha' Bin? T'Sheffld?

And it is good to see the City investing in bilingual litter bins. fbb understands that the far side reads "Please deposit your offensive detritus in the appropriate receptacle".

Put Another Shilling In The Meter

Electric vehicles are, we are told, the answer to our ailing planet. fbb doubts it! They may help a tiny, tiny bit buy there are far worse environmental destroyers than a bit of well-cleansed diesel exhaust! What comes out of the back of domesticated and wild animals hurts the greenhouse far more than what comes out of the back of buses!

Mini-rant over!

Correspondent David snapped a couple of Stagecoach's new electric buses used on Dearne Valley serviced between Doncaster Rotherham and Barnsley.

But it is what lies to the right of an earlier picture, taken from the top deck of the weird X6.

That construction, so local rumour claims, is for installing charging points at Rotherham bus station. Hitherto charging was done at Rawmarsh depot, just up the road.

Why the expensive extras?

Surely Stagecoach (or maybe HMG) would only be spending loadsmoney on extra charging points if the original set is not enough? Maybe these lovely blue buses, offering green power in the grey of a Rotherham winter, cannot last our for a full day's duty without a metaphorical extra shilling in an extra meter at Rotherham bus station.

Good, innit?

And a picture of electric buses at Rawmarsh depot ...

... which may not be 100% up to date.

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 26th Jan