talisman56

Any idea why the exhibition train stock was numbered in the BR(SR) series?

Are there plans for bufferstops on the sidings that end just before the brick wall? Otherwise you'll have to model the buffer impressions in the brickwork similar to the ones in the cliff face at Micheldever...

Most of them were like that come the end, bearing in mind that in 1969 the whole class had only two year's service left...

A rare shot indeed - ISTR that the EDL conversions were rarely out of works long enough to be photographed their reliability was so poor...

ISTR that the Southern region also at this time tried a (pale) green and spilt milk livery, which the wags coined 'gooseberry and cream'...

I have one from about 1955 or 1956 - Yellow with a green 4CEP on the cover...

So the Perfect Storm arrives in 1Q 2014: Dapol: West Country/Battle of Britain Pacifics and Maunsell coaches Farish: Bulleid coaches - and possibly either/both of Merchant Navy Pacifics and 'N' 2-6-0 Hornby/Arnold: Brighton Belle My wallet is going to be smoking from all the card usage...

Nice bit of sideswipe damage on 1007...

D5000-D5113 had discs; D5114-D5150 had crew doors and roof headcode boxes.

Blue/Grey generally started to appear on the BR(SR) EMUs, in 1969. At about this time, the original 4Cig/Big units and the REPs and TCs were being overhauled/repainted, and the Mid-Sussex units were being delivered in Blue/Grey. As Oldddudders said, 7808 appeared in Blue/Grey, in 1970, but the VEPs did not appear in B/G until 1972 (new units from 7816) and 1973 (repaints). None of the 'Pre-EP' main-line units appeared in Blue/Grey except for the 'Brighton Belle' units, which succumbed in 1969. Moody's 'Southern Electric 1909-79' has several (b&w) pictures dating from the 1969-72 period, showing units in various Green, Blue and Blue/Grey liveries. One shows a Btn-Vic non-stop approaching Redhill tunnel on the Quarry line in April 1969 with Cig 7311 in lightly worn Blue Grey, an unidentified Big in Green and what looks like a newly-outshopped Cep in B/G at the rear. Another shows a scene of Dorchester station dated September 1969 with TC 423 in lightly-worn B/G on a Weymouth train, and 429 in Blue and an inidentified 4TC in B/G with a 33 at the rear having reversed into the Up platform.

True: the Maunsell 'high-window' vehicles built to Orders E363 to E366 in 1928 were intended for 'inter-company' services and those allocated in sets had the Southern-standard Pullman gangway within sets and British-standard gangways at the brake end of the brake vehicles. The BCKs had BS gangways at both ends. The BS gangways were also fitted with CA adaptors to enable them to be coupled with Pullman gangways - the Southern workshops produced many hundreds of the CA adaptors to fit to the BS gangways built onto pre-Maunsell standard vehicles to enable them to be connected to the Pullman gangways on the Maunsells and subsequently the Bullied vehicles also. Source: King: An Illustrated History of Southern Coaches.

When I was regularly travelling on the LB main line, the knowledgeable were aware that the 'prototype' Bep/Cep units (7001/02, 7101-04) were 1 ton a car lighter than the production units (apart from the Bep buffet car). It was probably a fanciful notion that the performance of any train that had a prototype in the rake was a little bit livelier than usual...

It was eye-opening how quickly train splits could be done in the 70s with the Buckeye-fitted stock. I alighted first out of the door from the buffet of the 4BIG in the centre of a late-running rush-hour 12-car Cep-BIG-CIG Vic-Btn/E'bourne train at Haywards Heath and by the time I had walked the length of the DTC they had split the trailing 4CIG, had the gangway doors closed and were waiting on the first part to go...

I saw similar chaps helping people with wheelchairs and push chairs across the barrow crossing at the Alton end of Alresford station a couple of weeks ago. Some accurate positioning needed from the signalman waiting to collect the Token from the second man on 50027:

"The train now arriving at Playland comes as a complete surprise to us!"

What I have noticed on most of the 'Express' trains pictured, rarely are there two coaches the same. Looks like there was an element of 'we need a train, assemble whatever's in the yard that will do'... (e.g. 4245, 4111, 4144)

Nope. My avatar is a 6PUL...

A 2Bil, with a 2Nol behind.

ref: Shoreham by Sea 2HAL Littlehampton to Brighton pass c1952 JVol3127 The '2Hal' is in fact a '2Bil'...

I've read thru this thread and will offer my experience with an idiot at a level crossing. I was driving down the A217 Reigate Hill from Jct 8 on the M25 towards Reigate, in heavy late rush-hour traffic. The car behind me was being driven fairly closely and sometimes erratically as the driver appeared to be wanting to get to his destination quicker than the car in front of him (me) or the other traffic will allow. We reached about 1/4 mile from the level crossing at Reigate station and the traffic came to a dead stand, and then went forward about 1-2 cars at a time. I got to the crossing and halted by the line as the car in front only just got across the crossing then had to stop. Queue moved forward 1 car length, I crossed over and stopped the other side of the crossing. I looked in rearview mirror, chummy behind had decided to follow me across and then got stuck across the westbound line as he could not get off of crossing! He was frantically waving me to move on and short of driving over/through the car in front could not do anything. Queue moved on a couple of car lengths and he then cleared crossing without further incident. Next thing I knew I got a knock on my window and chummy was there swearing and asking what f****** idiot was I that forced him to stop on the railway. I asked him what idiot he was that he put himself in the position of stopping on the railway... never did get a reply to that.

When I was travelling regularly on the GWR main line from Yatton to Paddington, I initially got confused by a stop inbound from Reading which was pronounced 'Sluff' by most of the Guards (as they were in those days) in their announcements - it took a few days to realise that they were referring to the station that I knew as 'Slough' (rhymes with plough).

No there isn't - I thought I could remember seeing one but not on this message board, obviously...

That's it, with a few detail differences (such as: I'm working in 'N'). What I'm after is the depth of the large girders that would be supporting the station building, forecourt, road and buildings on the opposite side of the road. The whole shebang on my layout would be covering the entrance to one of the fiddleyards. There's no similar sitation in my locality which would lend itself to a site visit and photography session... unless anyone knows otherwise. Nice model, BTW - will look forward to any futher pictures showing progress...

A station building suitable for an overbridge location - usually they don't have the waiting rooms and stationmaster's accomodation, and have a footbridge attached to the back... I'm dreading trying to kitbash a platform-based building to suit the station I want on my 'N' scale layout. On a similar note, anyone know the minimum height that the bridge girders would be for such a location please?

Only if it's a 'JA'; the 'JB's were delivered in Blue - 'Electric' Blue with grey stripe per the 'JA's for the early few, the rest in Rail Blue with SYE.