Victoria

Way back in 1996 I purchased a second hand Peco Jubilee with the intent of running it as 5565 "Victoria". As I got more interested in the British Railway scene (Victoria was one of the earlier locos I purchased with no real purpose - I didn't have a layout, didn't have a plan but knew, having been born in Victoria, that this was one of the "must haves regardless") I ended up settling on the Midland Region in the 1950's as my main N gauge focus (although recently the time period between my and my wife's birth years is becoming a bit of a theme in N as well!). This meant that Victoria (as yet undealt with and running with no number and no name) was repainted into BR Green and lined using Fox transfers. Fox also provided the numbers. All this happened in around 2000-2001 after St Alban's Priory had been built, exhibited and was on the way to the first of its many tweaks!

Fast forward a bit and the BRMA (Q) modelling competition in 2007. I managed to win two sections and thus got a small consideration. This consideration was turned into, finally, brass name plates (which hitherto I had been unable to source), from, I think, the good offices of Bob Jones and Fencehouses.

Last night, I got a roundtuit and, 15 years after purchase, Victoria is finished in BR Green with name and number as required. I haven't done the numberplate on the smokebox - no numbers small enough in my collection of transfers and the usual suspects (Guilplates et al) have been unwilling to do a numberplate for me (which is a shame as the Jackson Evans ones from the NGS shop come with numberplates so presumably it can be done).

As an aside - Trafalgar (a similarly dealt with Peco Jub) also got its name plates last night to finish it off. 45682 is using the nameplates what come with 5682 the Farish Jubilee. Amity's Red Jub is waiting for her to get her train mojo back to renumber it and put the Queensland plates she has on it.