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...and look at how many ladders are missing from models. The Lemon model is very play-worn but it still has a ladder! surely this would have gone missing, so I believe several of those models have replacement ladders, from the Rolls-Royce!

There is One oddity, a Tan ladder with small square 'End-Pips' but there is also a Rolls-Royce with one of these fitted (sadly not in my collection), so this is interesting, but coloured ladders would have been trialed after the introduction of the Rolls-Royce in 1977, as with many plastic components were still 'Colour Trialed' long after a model with what we might term as a 'Standard Colour' was issued!

GHOSTHUNTER.

motorman wrote:

GHOSTHUNTER wrote:Johnboy, pictures please of your ladders to make my above posting true or false...!

Ghosty.

Kevin i remain unconvinced and don't buy into this "PIP" theory just yet How do YOU explain the tan ladders on my 1969 issue?

Sorry Alex, I do not call it Tan, look on Christian's site for a proper Tan ladder.

GHOSTHUNTER.

Here is the Merryweather from Christian's site with a Tan ladder, it is captioned as a 'Pre-Production' model, but if so, why are the ladder clamps on the roof 'Angled', a Full production detail!
GHOSTHUNTER.

Ghosty, i found my 1969 Merryweather sitting on a train enthusiasts stall and paid 50p for it!

It is inconceavable that he would have swapped an original standard white ladder for another one.

I am convinced that this ladder is contempary to the model which leaves only one question are we confusing the colour description?? So should i be describing this ladder as RED? to me it looks more a dark red/brown than red.

U did pretty well lately MM with these superb finds. Congrats
numi

numi wrote:U did pretty well lately MM with these superb finds. Congrats
numi

Thanks Numi....do you have anything to add to this ladder discussion??

Here is a perfectly normal pre-1980 Y-6 'Fire Engine' with what I call Orange-Red ladder. After 1980, the 'End-Pips' were made much larger and with a rounded profile. From 1981, the colour was changed to a definate Brown, absolutely no Red or Orange tint to it's colour.
GHOSTHUNTER.

Ghosty i have seen at least 4 examples of these ladders appearing on 1969 models in the past week on ebay, including the Merryweather i picked up today. The dates just dont add up? why:?

Ghosty & MM,truth be told that i have seen Tan & Reddish ladders but have no idea of their origin & purpose.Just the other day 3x Fire Engines ended at 14gbp.Two were reddish-Brown and the other White.One Reddish-Brown specimen was in excellent condition.
Most crucially,i do not know what casting differences to look for but heres 2x White ladder examples to view/analyze.
numi

Well, if it can be proven these ladders as shown above on the Rolls-Royce were first fitted to the Merryweather, it means the 'Forty Years' book is wrong and the History of the Rolls-Royce is wrong and given that the contributors to the 'Forty Years' book are ex senior members of staff at Lesney!!

GHOSTHUNTER.