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Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

As has been said, the 31 has been on the cards for quite a while now..........personally I would rather have had a Class 25    :scratch:.........or a 22,42 or 52 of course  ;D
 

Eastsidepilot

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

Jordan said:
" ..... oh heck I'm going all Eastern Region..... NURSE...!!!!"  :eek:

Steady on lad your going a funny Blue-Green colour, must be the diesel fumes. :))... being an Eastern Region lad myself ( Essex actually) I used to see these quite regularly, how about these two then, courtesy of Modellers Backtrack. :thumbs:

ATB, Col
 

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ceejaydee

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

A 25 would be too tempting and would crumble my defences but I'll probably be able to resist the 31.
Acquisition of Heljan diesel would also mean that I'd have to upgrade my Dynamis to something more powerful to run those beasties as I'd want sound too - more expense!  ::)
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

Jordan said:
I know it's not particularly a Western Region engine (if at all?), 

The western has had a few 31's since the early 1970's, the first ones were brought in as replacements for the class 22's I think ?

Phill  :wave:
 

Pennine MC

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

Phill Dyson said:
The western has had a few 31's since the early 1970's, the first ones were brought in as replacements for the class 22's I think ?

The handful that were brought in as Paddington pilots replaced 22s, those ones actually go back as far as 1969.  Later ones arrived in some numbers from late '71 as part of the general programme of replacing hydraulics, but were seen more as Hymek replacements (which they mostly weren't) ;D
 

iploffy

OC Blue Brigade
Heljan to do Class 31...

Although Class 31's aint my cup of tea (they are incomplete loco's 2 traction motors missing) and had a reputation to match (right donkeys) they will always have a place on the layout. I might get a model that has no motor in it and drag it round with my Class 25's just to get the right atmosphere as it's absolutely prototypical as they had a habit of self combustion. The thing that makes it stick in my throat is that they where seen as a better option than the 25's !!!!!!!!!

Ian
 

iploffy

OC Blue Brigade
Heljan to do Class 31...

Oh and by the way they should be in blue with the waist stripe still in place

Ian
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

CME & Bottlewasher said:
As you guys say they make nice layout models....yet the prototype mmm :scratch: :))

There are one or two traders on t'internet who are mentioning that the price for a Heljan 31 could be the £600.00 mark, if that is the case, that puts a different spin on things for me....

CME :wave:

The list price for the Deltic is £599.99 but most people will be paying a lot less than that with the usual discounts.....Hymeks are around £299 new
 
S

Simon Dunkley

Guest
Heljan to do Class 31...

iploffy said:
The thing that makes it stick in my throat is that they where seen as a better option than the 25's
Whilst I quite agree, the 31s, being re-engined with de-rated 12 CSVT engines had (have) good reliability on the prime mover.
Plus, the 25s had blue asbestos, I think - and the traction motors were not really up to it, and many locos ran on 3 traction motors.
Better adhesion, sure, but poorer reliability.
What BR really should have done was to have ordered about 500 BRCW type 3s, and forgotten about type 2's completely...
(They could have solved the steam heat problem by fitting small steam-heat boilers into a corner of the luggage compartment on brake coaches.)
 

28ten

Guv'nor
Heljan to do Class 31...

Simon Dunkley said:
Whilst I quite agree, the 31s, being re-engined with de-rated 12 CSVT engines had (have) good reliability on the prime mover.
Plus, the 25s had blue asbestos, I think - and the traction motors were not really up to it, and many locos ran on 3 traction motors.
Better adhesion, sure, but poorer reliability.
What BR really should have done was to have ordered about 500 BRCW type 3s, and forgotten about type 2's completely...
(They could have solved the steam heat problem by fitting small steam-heat boilers into a corner of the luggage compartment on brake coaches.)

Didnt you mean to say Hymeks?  8)
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

28ten said:
Didnt you mean to say Hymeks?  8)
I think the original plan was for 500 Hymeks  :drool:...........very underrated & capable machines IMO  8) 8) 8) 

Oh & BTW  they are not fugley in GFYE  ::).........they are of course beautiful in all liverys  ;D  ;)
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

Jordan said:
I dunno... remember a few years back when the West Somerset did one in Engineering (a.k.a. "Dutch") Grey livery..? That looked a bit weird, to say the least.... :scratch:

No I must admit that looked pretty awful  :eek: ??? ..........mind you I'm not a big fan of phony names & livery's on preserved stuff anyway  :scratch:

Phill  :wave:
 

ant31117

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

I know it's not particularly a Western Region engine (if at all?), but I did a fair few trips behind 31's in the '80s on the B'ham - Norwich service, so have some fond memories (ah, softy!). Plus a 31 and 4 or 5 coaches looked so different at New St to all the 47s, 50s and Sparkys on 10 or 12-coach expresses!

I agree. I always found 'secondary' passenger workings somehow more interesting than express stuff.  Plus from a modelling point of view, my layout can't accommodate 12 coach expresses! :))

I also had many trips behind 31s on 'Table 18' workings out of New St, happy memories.

My favourite 31s were the Finsbury Park 31/4's with the white body stripe. If I got one like that, I'd need to get a 'Racehourse' Deltic, with FP white windows of course, to go with it ..... oh heck I'm going all Eastern Region..... NURSE...!!!!  !

No need to defect to the ER! :))  Several of the Western Region based 31s had white stripes too - for example 412 to 416 all had them. If you don't fancy an ETH fitted loco, 31304 also had stripes. I'm planning to finish my future Heljan 31 as 31413 in the condition I remember it during its Old Oak Common period circa 1982, complete with white stripes and oversize numbers...  :thumbs:
 

ant31117

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

Might that be because they'd just been transferred from Finsbury Park about 1981/2..?

No, they had all been BR / OC machines for several years.  I've just been googling it and found this...  http://www.flickr.com/groups/1424243@N2 ... 768654992/

It says "31411 & 31412 appear to have been the first two 31/4s given a white stripe at FP and OC respectively in May 1978" so it seems to have been a simultaneous thang between the ER and WR.

The handful of 45s and 37s also given white stripes around the same time looked good too, bearing in mind that everything that moved in those days was painted blue....  (bliss!!)  :))
 

westernfan

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

Phill Dyson said:
The western has had a few 31's since the early 1970's, the first ones were brought in as replacements for the class 22's I think ?

Phill  :wave:

both classes 25 and 31 were used to replace the d63xx warships on the north devon clay and milk trains  :wave:
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Heljan to do Class 31...

Dikitriki said:
No, no, no, no, no, no, nooooooooooo

Oh, go on then

That's what I like to see Richard.......a total lack of self control  ;D  :)) :)) :)) .

I don't intend getting one either, but I do find myself strangley drawn to a couple of pics of erm Green ones  ;D  in Ivo Peters book 'Railway Elegence' .......... Maybe Chief Inspector Iploffy of the boys in Blue might give me special dispensation as they do have FYE & double arrows  :))

Phill  :wave:
 
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