Guildford Show, Saturday 23 November 2024

I am writing this note in Hereford at my daughter’s house in the snow. Winter has arrived with lots of snow covering the lawns and the local fields in rural England. After a brief visit to see the family especially the grandchildren we are off back to Surrey to prepare for the show.

There has been a steady stream of reservations across the board and stocks of many models 28XX, Collett and Modified Halls, Castles are now limited or very low or even zero. We still have a good supply of GWR 47XXs, BR Panniers, BR Granges and Westerns. We also have some pristine examples of earlier Masterpiece production such as Stars and Saints and also the only ‘5000’ series Castle we made with Vauxhall style early inside cylinder covers ‘Tregenna Castle’. It was a one-off production produced at the same time as the later ‘70XX’ run.

Decoders for the 'Atlantic' build, now safely in Korea.

Of the Atlantics, ‘Beachy Head’, is a popular choice both in BR and Southern styles and also in its pre-named LBSCR form. Due to illness at the factory in Korea and delays in supplies (especially motors that were months late and had to be supplied via the UK) there will be a delay in completion of the Atlantics into Q1 2025. There was quite a large amount of redesign required on the Southern Atlantics as a result of studies of the replica H2 on the Bluebell Railway. We would like to thank the Bluebell Railway and the Brighton Atlantic Group for allowing us close access to ‘Beachy Head’.

Detailed design work continues on the LMS locomotives as the builders seek to raise the standard of production.

We look forward to seeing you at Guildford on Saturday.