Metr0Land

Zebedee and friends visit the seaside. by Adrian Nicholls, on Flickr

Prob 'cos they're available and can go pretty much anywhere on route survey work. We had 153.311 on 5Z01 Derby-Whitland today, seen at Ferryside. No NR markings that I could see.

With quite a lot going on early 1961, we had quite a few notable births in this period but very few notable deaths. Elvis dominated the charts with 3 number one hits in the period. Jan 26th Are You Lonesome Tonight - Elvis Presley Feb 23rd Sailor – Petula Clark Mar 2nd Walk Right Back – The Everly Brothers Mar 23rd Wooden Heart – Elvis May 4th Blue Moon – The Marcels May 18th On The Rebound – Floyd Cramer May 25th You’re Driving Me Crazy – The Temperance Seven June 1st Surrender – Elvis June 29th Runaway – Del Shannon July 20th Temptation – The Everly Brothers Jan 20 JFK inaugurated Jan 25 101 Dalmatians film released Jan 31 Ham the chimpanzee is 1st primate in space Feb 9th Beatles 1st gig at the Cavern (unadvertised) (also quoted as 21st) Feb 19th – Justin Fashanu born (suicide 1998) Feb 20th – Imogen Stubbs, British actress born Feb 28th JFK names Henry Kissinger special adviser Mar 3rd – Fatima Whitbread, British javelin thrower and Olympic medallist, born Mar 6th London minicabs introduced. George Formby died (didn’t turn out so nice that day then) Mar 8th – Edwin Bush is arrested in London for the fatal stabbing of Elsie Batten (Bush later convicted and hanged). He is the first British criminal identified by Identikit. Sir Thomas Beecham died. Mar 9th Russians launch space dog Laika Mar 13th Five members of the Portland Spy Ring go on trial at the Old Bailey accused of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union Mar13th Floyd Paterson ko’s Ingemar Johanson in world title fight Mar 15th South Africa withdraws from Commonwealth (also quoted as 17th) following referendum in Oct 1960 Mar 26th William Hague, British politician born Mar 27th Ellery Hanley, English rugby league footballer and coach born Mar 29 After lengthy trial Nelson Mandela is acquitted of treason in Pretoria Apr 1st Susan Boyle, Scottish singer born Apr 3rd The Jaguar E-Type is launched Apr 6th – Rory Bremner, impressionist, and comedian born Apr 11 Trial of Adolf Eichmann for war crimes in World War II begins in Israel Apr 11 Bob Dylan makes his 1st appearance at Folk City, Greenwich Village, New York City Apr 12 Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person to orbit Earth Apr 14th Robert Carlyle, Scottish actor born Apr 17th – Tottenham Hotspur win the Football League First Division Apr 17 Cuban exiles land in Bay of Pigs attempting to overthrow Fidel Castro Apr 20th Nicholas Lyndhurst (actor) born (Happy Birthday Rooney) Apr 27th – Sierra Leone gains independence from the UK. May 1 Fidel Castro announces there will be no more elections in Cuba May 1 Pulitzer prize awarded to Harper Lee for "To Kill a Mockingbird" May 2nd – The United Kingdom becomes a member of the OECD. May 5 Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in space May 6th – Tottenham Hotspur becomes the first English football team this century, and only the third in history, to win the double of the league title and FA Cup May 8th – George Blake is sentenced to 42 years imprisonment for spying for the Soviet Union. May 17 Fidel Castro offers to exchange Bay of Pigs prisoners for 500 bulldozers May 25 JFK announces US goal of putting a man on the Moon before the end of decade May 28 Last trip (Paris to Bucharest) on the Orient Express (after 78 years) May 28 – Peter Benenson's article "The Forgotten Prisoners" is published in several newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organisation Amnesty International. May 30 Harry Enfield, English comedian born Jun 14 – The Government unveils ‘panda’ crossings; Boy George born Jun 16 Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defects to West in Paris Jun 18 Alison Moyet, singer, born Jun 19 – The British protectorate ends in Kuwait and it becomes an emirate. Jun 25 Ricky Gervais, English comedian born Jun 27 Kuwait requests help from the UK and British troops are sent. Meera Syal born Jul 1st Lady Diana Spencer born Jul 3rd Suzanne Dando, gymnast, born Jul 4th – Barclays open their "No. 1 Computer Centre" in Drummond Street, London, with a mainframe computer, Britain's first bank with an in-house computing centre. Jul 7 James R Hoffa elected chairman of Teamsters Jul 8 – At an all-British women's Wimbledon Angela Mortimer beats Christine Truman Jul 8 Fred Trueman takes 5-0 in 24 balls against Australia Jul 19 1st in-flight movie shown on TWA On Mantles Wood I finally got round to painting and weathering the station building and some signage, plus adding a ‘station garden’ on the main platform and a number of people. I’ve added some small size LT bullseyes on the down platform. Photos of the period are hard to come by, and seem to show quite restrained LT signage so I couldn’t be certain about their exact size. The Modelu range of 3D figures are really very good, though you do have to paint them and these things get more difficult as the years pass. My closeup photography isn’t as great as I’d like but hopefully they come across well. Also I had to put a lot of thought into getting the scenes to be busy enough without having far too many people for a station that didn’t see a great deal of traffic. Amazingly after all these years I seem to have almost finished the scenery, just in time to commemorate the 60th anniversary of cessation of LT service north of Amersham (Sep 9th). A general view of the station frontage rev Mantles Wood 1 comings and goings with flowers 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr Sir Ralph Verney pauses by the station garden rev Mantles Wood 2 Sir Ralph Verney with garden 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr Elderly gent takes a rest rev Mantles Wood 3 old gent sitting 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr A couple await their next train rev Mantles Wood 4 couple standing 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr People waiting for up and down trains. The 2 single gents and young porter are Modelu whilst the others are from the now defunct Falcon Figures rev Mantles Wood 5 canopy view by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

Less is more in some cases rather than cramming too much in.

Comings and goings at Mantles Wood

A J35 Class locomotive on a freight train passing Breakwater Junction signal box from Granton lower yard to Crew Junction. The oil depot is on the right (Collection of W D Yuill) by Kenneth G Williamson, on Flickr Ex- North British Railway N15s Nos 69173 & 69141 departing South Leith with a coal train on 26 May, 1956 by Kenneth G Williamson, on Flickr Granton Gas Works 0-4-0 with the turret of Granton Castle in the background by Kenneth G Williamson, on Flickr Corner of Lower Granton Road, last day, 11 September, 1956 by Kenneth G Williamson, on Flickr

RARE! UNIQUE ...and he's only got 3 of them...... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124795056146?hash=item1d0e5d7012:g:tKUAAOSwGw1g2jz3

Exeter Crewe Luton Attenborough

Pratt's Siding, Stoke by Prof2940, on Flickr Stourbridge Down Yard by Prof2940, on Flickr Stourbridge Jc North by Prof2940, on Flickr Lickey Bankers WR 0-6-0 8403 and 2-8-0 5226 are working hard up the 1 in 37 Lickey Incline at Vigo. by Anthony Haynes, on Flickr

For some reason Bachmann call them DMU couplings despite them being suitable for any stock. There's a straight version and a cranked version. Kernow have them in stock (though only 4 packs of straight). https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/27926/36-055-Bachmann-DMU-Couplings-Straight https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/27927/36-056-Bachmann-DMU-Couplings-Cranked

...became Beryl and Carol....

I'm not very good with electrics so pls bear with me. I'm not sure I fully understand how this works. You have power to the fixed tracks either side of the lift-out section. The lift-out section is unpowered, and there are no rail joiners across the joins. So am I right in thinking the metal base is live, and a connection is made where the 2 sections butt join each other - but there's no short 'cos each side of the joiner has an electrical gap between the 2 live rails, and your normal track has plastic sleepers (or whatever) keeping them electically isolated?

Another view of ex-CR Currie Goods Yard, 6 November, 1967. (G N Turnbull collection). by Kenneth G Williamson, on Flickr BR freight on the ex-NBR St Leonards branch line, date unknown. (R W Lynn collection). by Kenneth G Williamson, on Flickr BR Class 08 diesel locomotive No. D3730 is seen shunting at Currie on the ex-Caledonian Railway Balerno branch on 6 October, 1963. (Copywright G. N. Turnbull). by Kenneth G Williamson, on Flickr Davidson's Mains Goods Yard, 22 March, 1960. (W S Seller/Douglas Yuill collection). by Kenneth G Williamson, on Flickr

Fed up with Network Rail yellow (sorry newbryford....)? How about some Jaffa Cakes? 081 track recording unit is seen near Chislehurst Junction on 29-1-92. Copyright Ian Cuthbertson by Ian Cuthbertson, on Flickr