After many years of waiting, Bachamann's long anticipated 94xx was released earlier this year. Banbury Connections was fortunate enough to acquire one in BR Later Crest Livery from Woodpecker. The locomotive has proven a versatile member of the fleet capable of hauling the heavy empty stock workings between Marylebone and the carriage sidings. The flickering smoke box is also a nice feature.

A photograph of the original kit built 94xx (left) next to the new Bachmann 94xx is below.

After many years, a pair of Southern CCT vans have been re-liveried in BR Southern Region livery. Unfortunately, the individual lettering was difficult to apply!

Following the sad demise of our original Wrenn West Country 'Barnstaple', which may or may not be repairable, new motive power was sought. With current prices on Battle or Britain's and West Country's rather high and the greater reliability and haulage capability of Heljan Class 33's, Banbury Connections acquired its fourth Class 33, this one from Woodpecker, which has been allocated to services between Gosport and Birmingham (where there is a locomotive change). It appears that dieselisation is the way of the future!

The new 8F has been deployed on Great Central freight traffic.

Following recent poor running by our Wrenn Cardiff Castle, a decision was made to acquire a replacement Castle for semi-fast duties between Marylebone and Wolverhampton Low-Level.

Accordingly, a new Hornby Penrice Castle was acquired from Woodpecker Model Railways. Since being pressed into service, the locomotive has performed its role magnificently with both smooth operation and good adhesion. 

Following the recent bargains on Hornby J50's, a second example of the class has been pressed into service and assigned to the London Marylebone carriage sidings.The carriage sidings have seen a significant increase in traffic since improvements were made to its throat earlier this year.

Good prices on shunter's trucks and a kind donation from the Bally Bungle Model Railway resulted in the recent deployment of two new shunter's trucks on Banbury Connections. The trucks, which are located at Chester General and Sheffield Victoria, were carefully relabeled to reflect their new assignments.

Photographs are below.

Following a wheel change to the ex-SR Q1, operators have noticed slight inconsistencies in the locomotives motion. As it was likely that the problem was caused by poor quartering, the driving wheels were removed for adjustment. Unfortunately, when the locomotive was put back together, it decided to short out. This was rectified by modifying the wiring between the wheels and motor. Since then, the Q1 was put back into service and has successfully hauled a return Southern Region goods working.

Return of Banbury Connections Chief Mechanical Engineer has brought the 38xx back into service after months of sitting in the workshops waiting for attention. Following a major deterioration in motion consistency last year, the 2-8-0 was withdrawn from mainline service. Unfortunately, an incorrect diagnosis of the locomotive by our Head Ganger led to further initial damage to the locomotive's valve gear. 

While valve gear was the initial suspect of the locomotive's inconsistent running, further analysis revealed that both the valve gear and motor were running consistently. This led to the identification of a minor split in one of the locomotive's gears. Thankfully, a spare gear was obtained from Peter's Spares, as part of a syndicated order with one of our fellow enthusiasts experiencing problems with their J72 fleet. Insertion of the new gear resolved the issue in what turned out to be a rather complex diagnostic process. 

The 38xx has been pressed back into service, providing additional freight capacity to the Western Region.