One of My Holy Grails...

There are some models and sets that have been on my 'wants' list for god knows how long, but for whatever reason I never seem to be able to find a good example or one that is at a reasonable price.  Well at least one is now ticked off my list and it's one you'll like as well Super as will become apparent.

This set is a representation of "The Royal Train", a special train provided purely for use by the UK Royal Family.  Over the years there have been various versions made intermittently, but as I said I've never been able to find one that suited my exacting standards.  There have been versions with a Diesel loco <yuck!>, then others with various steam locomotives to represent various times in the vehicles long life.  About the only thing that stayed constant is the carriages in the sets or train packs.

So which one did I finally obtain?  Well its a reasonably recent release so benefits from the better quality and higher detailed models that you get from the Chinese factories.  But what's more is the loco, it is a Princess class LMS liveried version of "Princess Elizabeth" one of the sister locomotives to the "Princesss Helena Victoria" locomotive that you loved so much Super

Anyway without further ado here is the set;











However the above set, although I knew it was coming, was not expected to arrive today, instead it was a nice surprise to come home to!  What I had gone out for with the specific intention of buying today was a special Pullman car to go with the other Pullman car's in my collection.  This was a special in that it was a 'bar car', but like my other pullmans it is a super detail version in a similar livery and even has working table lamps when in use (pics below). 















But while in the local'ish model store I also found and picked up something else I'd had my eye on as they had it on special.  Talk about going from the mighty to the mini, you coudn't get a more drastic gap between the Princess Elizabeth and this model, a "Ruston & Hornsby, class 48DS Diesel and Flatbed Wagon" this one being in the livery of "Longhorn Distillery" and called "Queen Anne".  This 48DS is so small that I put a ruler alongside it in a couple of pictures, this loco is literally only 2 inches long, yet is fully operation and is even able to have a DCC chip fitted, which I will be doing in the near future

the royal train is stunning!! i love the curtains in the windows, they look really good.

wonderful pickups, nigel. well done!

The Royal Train is exquisite, but I like "Queen Anne" too, she's lovely! 

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The Royal Train is exquisite, but I like "Queen Anne" too, she's lovely! 

I was really pleased to see that "Queen Anne" on the shop shelf (and discounted too), as I'd been looking at getting one of that class but at the same time had not seen that liveried version.  IMHO it is easily the best of the liveries I've seen to date on that class loco, I can't get over how small it is

[Super]

You are right Nigels...I love the Queen Elizabeth. Her Coaches are pretty cool too. Are those shades or curtains in the windows? Are they translucent where back lighting would look great?

I can see the New Century Bar Car being repurposed in a village somewhere as a stand alone Pub, lets meet for a pint

I also agree with the others on that Queen Anne, I love that cute little bugger.

Its great that you have scratched something off your 'Wants List' Nigels but....somehow I think that for each item scratched off the List...2 more are added on 

The coaches are depicted as having shades/blinds, you got to give the Queen some privacy lol! Incidentally at the time that train is set one coach was for the Queen, one  for her husband The Duke, and the third was the sleeping car.  I guess the servants would be in a box car on the back lol!

Queen Anne is one of my new favourites and such an unexpected find, I'd not even seen that livery before I saw it on the shelf, but it is easily the best livery on that class I've seen to date, I know of 3 others at the moment - but no I don't intend to get those, I just wanted one example as its so cute and technically a mechanical marvel.  I do intend running it and will be fitting it with a DCC chip soon...

Unfortunately there are always new models coming, so its inevitable that my wants list grows (wait till you see "Hush Hush" you will wet your pants lol)...

Trust me, even when you narrow down your interests to a railway that only has 4 Ready to Run engines out, you still can find a lot of things to buy once you start thinking about what types of trains you'd like them to pull, how many wagons of each type you want, etc...

Never a truer word spoken, the locomotives are only the beginning, followed by the various wagons, carriages, etc...  Not to mention all the ancillary stuff like scenery, accessories, buildings, electronics, etc...  It can become a lifetime obsession very easily.

Myself I can't be too bothered to concentrate on a particular Group to model, I'm more interested in which locomotives and rolling stock I like and have no issues with mixing and matching them on a single layout.  Of course I could take the easy approach and go for a BR era, but I like some of the really old stuff that never made it to that timeframe or have simply not been modelled in BR liveries.

Ultimately its whatever makes you happy that counts!

Agreed!