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MUTANT LOBSTER ATTACKS PERRY BARR STATION!


PaternosterRow

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Believe it or not, but this plastic Lobster has a direct connection with the real place. Along with the station there was four shops sharing the blue brick building on the overbridge. There was a clothes shop to the left, the station (a simple entrance with small ticket office), a shoe shop (if I remember right), a newsagent and a chip shop. The 'chippie' was called the 'Shell Bar' and had a small eating area that was festooned with fishing nets and lobster baskets etc. Plastic fish and Lobsters hung from the walls and climbed out of baskets. Don't forget, this was the seventies and all this seemed like the height of sophistication back then! It was our version of McDonalds and occasionally, after a shopping trip to the Bull Ring or Walsall market via the train, Mom would take both me and my small sister for a meal before returning home. A rare treat as my Dad was a real meat/fish and two veg man and banned rubbish like this from the house. I can still taste the greasy chips (fried in proper lard), the Fleur De Lys Chicken and Mushroom pie and small bottle of Coke (YUM). The place closed in the late seventies and Mom asked the owner for a momento of the place - the plastic lobster. Mom unfortunately passed away 3 years ago and when we cleared out the house I came accross the Lobster - wrapped in newspaper in a box in the attic! She'd kept it all those years, but what was more amazing is that she'd packed it and brought with her when they both retired here to Ireland. How's that for the past catching up with the future?

 

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The Lima Class 31 (one of my favorites). I've upscaled the cardboard cut out building of the Poly at the rear. This is nearer the size in the Steve Jone's original picture of the station.

 

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Class 20 pairing - should really be pulling freight although they did pull the occasional passenger train (mainly to Wales so never at Perry Barr).

 

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I like this shot - shows off the faded weathering technique I tried to pull off when doing the Class 20 project a couple of years ago.

 

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Tail end of a HST125 going through the station. Very much doubt the 125 ever came this way, but I love this Lima HST. I put a new brushless motor in the Power Car and it pulls seven Lima MK1 and dummy with ease (it doesn't half squeel when taking 2nd radius curves as the wheels try to grip) - it's just nice to see it run.

 

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Front shot of the full set approaching the station. A full seven car plus power and dummy set is a little under nine feet long - you'd need to build a mightly long platform to accommodate it!

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  • RMweb Gold

Love the lobster and chip shop story Mike - must have been a nice surprise for you to find it in the attic.

 

Smashing pictures again and the new enlarged building looks much better.

 

Weathering and colourtones spot on :good:

 

I won’t get tired of seeing more pictures :no:

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  • RMweb Premium

Love the lobster and chip shop story Mike - must have been a nice surprise for you to find it in the attic.

 

Smashing pictures again and the new enlarged building looks much better.

 

Weathering and colourtones spot on :good:

 

I won’t get tired of seeing more pictures :no:

Hi Pete,

 

Many thanks. Yes it was and was amongst other exciting stuff she had kept. She was a hoarder, not in an over the top way, but kept all sorts of things she'd bought over the years. I found Dad's old 8 track/radio she got for him in about 1976 at a bargain price. Trouble was that they went out of fashion pretty quickly after that and he only had about 5 tapes! Still works though which is amazing. She had even kept the old Phillips VCR 2000 - she bought this in a sale in about 1982ish Again, VCR 2000 lost out to Betamax and VHS shortly after this - you could only get about 15 films to rent at the time. That was her all over - 'penny wise and pound foolish' - nevertheless she was a smashing Mum and is sorely missed. At least I have these things to remember them both by and have a smile about. We did, at least, find one VCR tape with the original recording of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' - this was a big event back in the 1983 when it came on the telly. All the local kids came down to our house to watch it again and again and again! Happy days.

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  • RMweb Premium

I used to  Love Fleur De Lys pies. the chicken and mushroom one was the best

Hi, nigelb,

 

Yes, they were lovely.  The chips were amazing back then - a real treat.  Oh, if only they could invent a time machine, eh?

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  • RMweb Gold

Oh, nearly missed this! I do like the link between this layout and you and your family's own story.

 

These are some of the most appealing photos of BR Blue modelling I have seen. Almost enough to convert a dusty old GWR modeller :-)

 

Meanwhile:

292d900546cbee400f2da7743b822b44--monste

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  • RMweb Premium
Oh, nearly missed this! I do like the link between this layout and you and your family's own story.

 

These are some of the most appealing photos of BR Blue modelling I have seen. Almost enough to convert a dusty old GWR modeller :-)

 

Meanwhile:

292d900546cbee400f2da7743b822b44--monste

 

Brilliant poster - used to love those old sci-fi films as a kid. One of my all time favorites is Forbidden Planet - the effects were brilliant for 1957 - and I still watch it now when it comes around. Read plenty of trashy sci-fi novels/comics too as a kid - loved the artwork on the covers. Like the poster, they were garish, but there was something fascinating about them. Thanks for posting and for the kind comments again, Mikkel.

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  • RMweb Gold

Just checked the poster for "Forbidden Planet". Looks like it's got all the right ingredients!

 

Will you be submitting a diorama for the Cakebox challenge on that theme, then? :-)

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  • RMweb Premium

I stumbled across this and thought "Open it and see what it is about.". I am glad that I did. Very nice pictures and layout. One question: is the catenary hot?

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  • RMweb Premium

I stumbled across this and thought "Open it and see what it is about.". I am glad that I did. Very nice pictures and layout. One question: is the catenary hot?

Hi JS Bach, thanks for the kind comments.  By hot, I assume you mean live.  It's actually embroidery cotton and not wire.  I specifically use this because it does not fur or fray and the twist in it gives a good representation of the actual thing.  The pantographs are set about 2mm below the wire so they look like they are touching.  Thanks again.

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This layout is incredible, im just wandering through rmweb pondering the completion of my own WCML inspired layout and i came across this, here's hoping my recently acuired NBrass masts end up looking somewhat close to this. Kat@johnsonstreetIEMD :-)

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