Oxford Diecast Routemaster London Transport (TT)

Routemaster London Transport The Routemaster was first introduced in the early 50s by London Transport.It emerged as the most popular double decker bus of all time. As one man operated buses came more into use , some of the Routemasters were sold off to a variety of fleets throughout the U.K. Some vehicles were even exported for use in other countries. This history of Oxford Diecast and production in Swansea means the lineage of this model is quite interesting. Many rememember the Corgi (Mettoy) Routemaster that was manufactured in huge numbers. Back in the 1970's when ever we were short of production orders, we just inserted 250,000 buses into the programme. I recall many punch ups with the sales force, who would object strongly as they had the reponsibility of selling whatever was made. Needles to say when they were sold out and the warehouse was empty of Routemasters, they would quickly criticise the factory ! The Mettoy (Corgi) Routemaster was copied by many of the Hong Kong and Chinese manufacturers over the years. My favourite recollection was seeing a terrible copy by an Indian manufacturer. They had bought a sample, but the roof was not straight, there was a 'hump' on the top at the rear; on an internal cavity of the mould there was an insert that came lose from time to time - some production had slipped through with the 'hump' (probably night shhift) and that is what the Indian company had purchased for their sample. In London there was a company called Seener, named after the owner, we tooled up a version for him. He wanted a smaller model around 15/20% smaller to save costs, so we chose 1:76 scale - a lucky scale for Oxford. These carried the brand name SEEROL, named after the owners son ROLand SEEner. We made around 500,000 of these during the 1980's. The tooling eventually fell to pieces and the newly produced Oxford 1:76 variant appeared - it had for once wheel hubs that looked correct. - TT:120 Scale

Hornby BR, Loriot Y Machinery Truck with British Railways Coles Crane -

BR, Loriot Y Machinery Truck with British Railways Coles Crane - Era 4 Includes: - Loriot Y Flat wagon - Wood deck detailing - NEM coupling pockets - Separate Diecast Coles Crane - British Railways branding - Crane wheels, Jib arm and body are positioning - Era 4  - OO scale Vehicle information: Under the GWR telegraphic code, flat wagons designed to transport heavy machinery carried on the tradition of animal names by being called ‘Loriot’. The first wagon was in service from 1892.  Design for the ‘Loriot’ wagons evolved to include sloping ramps at either end, enabling the machinery to be loaded and unloaded quickly and efficiently. Previous versions featured low, wide wells and no end ramps.  A new wagon in the series, ‘Loriot Y’, was constructed in 1937 to Diagram G39 and its number was No. 41989. An update to the design included ‘I’ beam girders rather than rolled beams and end-axle guard plates. No. 41990 (DW41990 under BR) was the second Loriot Y wagon to be constructed in 1939. The wagon conveyed excavators and other plant machinery over the GWR network. During the Second World War, the two wagons were used constantly to transport bulldozers for when there was wartime bombing. The ‘Loriot Y’ wagon model represents the prototypical wagon under BR ownership. The running number, DW41990, is emblazoned on the side. A wood grain print is used to replicate the wooden planks seen on the prototypical model. The model’s load is a BR Coles Crane, made by CORGI®.