Jump to content
 

Undecided sky (1867)


Mikkel

44,561 views

More "out of period" operation here. This time going back in time quite a bit. In fact, it seems they didn't even have flush-glazing back then ;).

 

 

001.jpg.3423f777b7e6b0df04da26d6c154247c.jpg

The year is 1867, and it is early days at Farthing station. Mr Crummles gently guides his wife towards the first class carriage, while Mr Doyce looks on in anticipation of the journey ahead.

 

 

 

002.jpg.5177ee10658ac7acd654962286fc1ef3.jpg

Mrs Crummles is somewhat apprehensive. It is only a few months since that dreadful accident at Warrington, and who knows what could happen?

 

 

 

003.jpg.3900167c855bcb5c66e5928d8c2d8e1a.jpg

Meanwhile Mr Doyce, ever the optimist, studies the magnificent engine that will be whisking them to Salisbury. For him there was never any doubt: These fine machines have forever changed the world!

 

 

 

004.jpg.8bb58dba158e22a936690519d1230a9a.jpg

Plucking up her courage, Mrs Crummles asks her husband one last time if he is quite sure that it is safe to get on?

 

 

 

005.jpg.0c922c5480375cb50409c7cd5cabba53.jpg

While the last passengers finally board the afternoon departure, an undecided sky develops over Farthing. For worriers and optimists alike, the future seems uncertain but exciting.

  • Like 16
  • Round of applause 3

66 Comments


Recommended Comments



  • RMweb Gold

Fantastic narrative as ever...can't ever look at those beards again without thinking how much time you spent grooming them individually... :D

Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

I have stood on the footplate of the Iron Duke in steam (the replica that is!) and tried to imagine what it must have felt like to those whose previous idea of speed was a galloping horse. I like the rolling stock.

Don

Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

Thanks all, it's been interesting to delve into the Victorian era a bit. Before I tended to think of it as a fairly distinct period, but of course it soon turns out that it is in fact a very long period where the railways (and society and fashions) underwent considerable change. By 1867 the railways had been around for 53 years (or 63 if you start at Trevithick 's 1804 engine). That's similar to the difference between 2011 and 1958/48!

 

So perhaps Mrs Crummles' concerns are a bit late for the day, although of course there actually was a disaster at Warrington in 1867:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrington_rail_crash

 

In any case, I agree that it is fascinating to think how our perceptions of speed have changed! Oh, and just to dispel any suspicions of chauvenism (my wife may be reading this!), I should also add that Mrs Crummles' role as the worrier was prompted by her pose, not her gender!

 

There is info on the coaches in this post, and on the modified figures here.

Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

I like the look of your platform surface - how did you do it?

Dave, this is fine sandpaper (sorry, I've forgotten the grade). I have sanded it in some places and sprinkled it with talc in others in order to avoid an overly uniform texture. It was very lightly painted in light colours - in some areas the paint was just rubbed on lightly with a thumb. You can't really see the texture differences in these close-up, but it shows from a distance.

 

The idea was lifted from Stephen Williams' Faringdon layout. Like him I struggled with the joins, but managed to keep it down to a single join which was filled with polyfilla and sanded/rubbed to disguise it as much as possible.

Link to comment

Excellent cameo as ever, Mikkel, though I suspect Mr Doyce was, in fact, astounded by the futuristic appearance of the Armstrong :blink:

 

Nick

Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

Ha, I was expecting that one Nick :lol:

 

I have been using my 388 for these early sessions, as I simply have no earlier motive power. But as you rightly point out it would in reality have looked different at this time, including a slimmer boiler etc. Not too sure about the cab either, the earliest photos I have all show the cab, but I know some other classes around this time did not have them yet.

 

So I can't argue my way out of this one, except to say that at least the class was introduced in 1866 and seems to have run on some narrow gauge lines in the Southern Division...

 

 

Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

Thanks for that will have to get out my copy of "GW Branch Line Modelling" vol. 3.

Yes, that's where he mentions it. It's on page 45-46.

Link to comment

Beautifully put together story and diorama it does capture how people would have viewed such modern advances.

Link to comment

Hi Mikkel, yes, it's right what you said about the length of the Victorian period and the enormous changes that took place during that time. This reminds me that I must get on with my broad gauge tender, but first I have to decide on a date so that I can decide which type of brakes and several other details to fit. To do this I need to think about what date the engine in front should be, and so on....

 

As to the Standard Goods, they are a minefield of boiler changes :rolleyes: Early lots had Gooch style chimneys, small painted domes and cabs weren't introduced until 1879. Then there's the question of Swindon or Wolverhampton livery...

 

Still, for most of us, none of this detracts from your story telling.

 

Nick

Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

I was watching a program on art history once, where they were discussing the precise period of a painting (I think it was a Manet or Renoir) - they had an expert on Victorian fashions who could date it to a very specific few years, if I remember rightly, just by some detail in the costumes. When you stop to think about it, it's obvious, but it was a bit of an eye-opener to me - not only that Victorians had fashions that changed that rapidly, but that those fashions were documented.

Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

Hi Mikkel,

You really should convert Farthing over to broadgauge! :P That would be very special. So when are you going to build a 'big' layout, by which I mean a full station! ;)

 

Kind regards,

Nick

Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

On the subject of changing Victorian fashions and clothing, I find this site useful:

http://www.fashion-era.com/the_victorian_era.htm

 

According to this, for example, the lady with the bonnet in the stories above would have been way out of style just 20 years later, when the fashion was already very close to something I would have called Edwardian.

 

Victorian fear of railways is an interesting subject. Do we have something similar today? BTW, the names of the characters above were picked from among the many spurious names in Dickens' stories. Dickens wrote "The Signal Man" in 1866 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Signal-Man), which speaks to the Victorian fear of railways. Maybe that also fuelled the fears of Mrs Crummles!

 

Broad gauge, eh? The BGS website has been on my favourites list for many years, but I was never sure where to begin. Maybe Nick can lead the way with that tender.

 

 

Link to comment

I thought I had put a broad gauge wagon on my blog, but was just imagining it :rolleyes: Tonight, whilst waiting for metal supplies to arrive for my Johnson 1P, I've dug out the tilt wagon and started on joining body to wheels. Maybe I'll post something soon...

 

Nick

Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

That sounds interesting Nick. One subject for a micro that occurred to me a while back was a transshipment shed from narrow (standard!) gauge to broad gauge. That would be a manageable project, and in BG terms it would mostly mean wagon and track construction, giving a gentle entry.

 

It could even be done without constructing the BG loco if one so wished, if the exterior was kept off-scene (wagons could be worked by a standard gauge loco, as it would not be visible on-scene). One more for the "some day" list :rolleyes:

Link to comment

I must admit I was thinking along similar lines when you first started talking about The Depot. Maybe I spent too long looking at Brunel's Bristol good shed. I didn't suggest it at the time because BG was ancient history by your usual Edwardian era. However, now that you mention the idea of a transfer shed, do you have room for a BG track in the depot? Maybe the line beyond the central platform so that it was not visible from the low viewing angles that you often use.

 

Nick

Link to comment
  • RMweb Gold

Hehe, yes he does look a bit like him.

"I can make more generals, but horses cost money" :)

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...