Unicorn1

1950's goods handling

Indeed, Stephens book 'Behind The Crumbling Edge' gives some very interesting insights into the management of BR. Another much older book is 'Man of The Rail' by (?) Pearson. Les

Hi Jules Nice to see the new additions, I think I may 'borrow' your idea of using Railtec to do me some B set names... All the best for Christmas and the New Year, Les

Well there may be a vacancy at Brentford - we may well end up in League 1 the way things are going - but he'll have to settle for the title of head coach and not manager, and yes - not much money either. Les Come on you Bees

Well the new buildings have been placed in position, and the new back scene (complete with fewer creases than the old one!) has gone up. A sneak preview of the new scene as 9015 arrives with a short goods. A wider view. The less cluttered background seems to give the illusion of more space. Some new trees will help disguise the joins between the backscene and the low relief buildings. Hope to post more soon......... Les

Well, back in May (!) I posted that the layout would be getting some new buildings to replace the original card kits, and so over the summer I'e been busy cutting plastic and card. Here are some of buildings, some still being worked on, and as usual the harsh lighting and close-up camera shots has shown them 'warts n' all'. The cottages last seen under construction in my last post. A Georgian house, built from textured art card. Another row of cottages, including the saddlers shop at one end - handy for Bishopscombe's busy horse traffic - and dodgy guttering! Another 'art' card construction, a small cottage. Another shop - using the Langley details rescued from a previous version of the ironmongers. And a shed to go alongside. Finally a building under construction, a village school. I'm not sure if I want to continue with this one, if I do it will go at the 'dark' end of Station Road.... These are all meant to go at the back of the baseboard, so by the time they've been bedded in, with pavements etc, and a few repairs made, they should work together - I hope! Cheers Les edited to get last picture in

Another vote for knifing putty - I use it for filling gaps in white metal kits - but it also worked fine for filling in the 'extra' windows on my B Set. Les

Baz, my father served in the Pioneer Corps for the duration of WW2, and he too never attended remembrance day occasions for much the same reason. There must have been many veterans who felt the same. Dad died in 2004 at the age of 95, and, perhaps rather strangely, I miss him most on Remembrance Sunday. Les

I have had some success with Busch 05900 conductive paint on point blades - on code 75 points. It comes in two tiny bottles and needs mixing to the required 'thinness'. I've used it to get out of trouble on a couple of occasions. My layout is DCC - so I have no idea how it will behave on DC (if that's what your using). I bought mine from The Hobby Shop, Faversham, I've just looked and it's on sale at the moment. (By on sale I mean the price is reduced..) Hope this helps Regards Les

Indeed, the number series was set to continue, and RM1 was initially allocated the registration number OLD862 and RM2 OLD863. RM1's reg was changed to SLT56 on 5th December 1955. Les

Very sad news. I met Frank a few times, through my friend Bob Fridd. Frank came with me to a few rallies on my preserved RF, and I was always impressed by his wealth of knowledge. My condolences to Franks family and close friends. Les

We have just returned from a week in Mallorca, with the obligatory trip to experience the trams, and the train from Soller to (nowhere near) Palma So by way of thread revival - here are some Soller tram crews enjoying an ice cream break. Les

Phil, Godstone RCL's,eh Here's RCL2226 next to RML2344 at the back of Godstone Garage January 1979. The Kodak slide hasn't worn well, but take my word for it that is 2226 being stripped for parts. She looks to be still wearing Lincoln Green, but there seems to be some odd relief colour going on! Happy days! Les

Here's one for Routemaster addicts. Taken on New Years eve 1977, my trusty Hillman Imp is parked across the road at Haven Green in Ealing. RM7 is laying over before it's next turn to Chessington. She's wearing the correct nearside wing for her age, but the offside one is a later wing from a much newer RM, or an RML. As Aldenham would never have let the bus out with odd wings this must have been a garage repair. Any way, this is still one of the best RM shots I ever managed, and if I'd been a few minutes later, on that vert snowy day, she would have gone. Les

After I'd mentioned that this was available in our local Morrison's, Mrs Unicorn came home with this yesterday. Just about to tuck in! Les

You remember correctly Chris. There were three 'test rigs'. The mechanical units from these went (on paper at least) to make up RM's 5, 6 and 7. That's how RM8 ended up as the first 'production' Routemaster. Les

John, The Little Bus Company are still going, and produce a range of 1:76 busses, all in resin. They have a website (sorry can't get link to work), and I see their Facebook pages are frequently updated. I have a few waiting to be built - the kits are well designed - ie with the actual construction in mind. ABS did have a good few white metal kits in their last catalogue. I believe AS has retired, does he still attend any shows? Les Edit - crossed with SRman's post!

They are indeed listed - all three of them. they are on an island within the RSPB reserve. They can only be accessed on 'open days' organised by the RSPB. Here they are - (this photo was processed for posting on another site!) From left to right - 200' curved mirror, 20' disc and 30' disc. Les Edited to say you don't need to be an RSPB member - the general public can pay at the 'gate'.

Here's a couple of abandoned lines crossing - on the Kent coast. When the Southern re-aligned its line from Lydd Town to New Romney in 1937 it had to cross the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch's branch line to the Sound Mirrors, on Denge Marsh, at Lade. So a small bridge was built into the embankment. This rather un-assuming concrete structure (complete with modern railings) is that bridge. Built in 1929 to assist with building of the War Department Sound Mirrors the RHDR line ran from a junction close to the current Romney Sands station. The site, being entirely loose shingle, could not be accessed by lorries - or even mules - so a railway was built. The line continued in use throughout the war, taking men and supplies to the site. Trains were hauled by a single WD petrol locomotive. The RHDR branch line continued in use until 1951 - mainly to carry large amounts of un-crushed shingle to Hythe. Looking through the bridge we can see one of the Sound Mirrors the branch was built to serve. There has since been extensive aggregate extraction in the area - there would have no lake there - just another half mile or so of shingle! It wasn't until I looked at the photos I realised I didn't take a picture over the top of the bridge, so I will return to the site - also to take some photos of the SR track bed between here and Lydd-on-Sea which is remarkably intact, including it's fences. Les

Ah, didn't search for that. Thanks, Les

OK - I know this isn't a grounded van, and I can't find a 'grounded carriage' thread, but this may be of interest to followers of this topic. This grounded body is just one of many dwellings at Dungeness in Kent made from old railway carriages. Most have been 'extended' but can still be identified by the curve of the original roof structure. This one - opposite the Britannia pub - is still very recognisable. I think its proximity to the road has preserved this aspect. Because of the areas status as an SSSI nothing can be added or taken away, hence the survival of these structures as fisherman's homes. However with Dungeness becoming increasingly popular with tourists, many of these old houses are now second homes or holiday lets. Les

Bittern will be in Margate about now, it's just passed my workplace on it's low loader on the A299.

When we moved into our current house I "inherited" a box of old Triang bits and bobs that the previous owners thought I might find useful for my new railway room. Every now and then I look at it and think 'that really needs to go', but it hasn't yet - after nine years! Les

ANW682 is certainly a handsome machine! Les

Hello Jamie Thank you for your comments. The outer 'skin' of the cottages is actually made from 2mm scale dressed stone sheet - the 4mm scale looks too big. The stonework was painted with a coat of Humbrol 187 mixed with a small amount of matt black, after leaving to dry for a couple of days humbrol 121 pale stone was painted over this and immediately wiped off, to give the mortar lines. This also lightens the shade of the overall stonework. The rest was done by dry brushing various shades - dark earth, and green mainly. Some stones were then 'picked out' in darker colours. I usually make models of bus garages - so this was a departure for me, it was more or less copied from Geoff Taylor's book 'Creating Model Buildings', I would recommend getting a copy. Regards Les