coline33

Tony, your memory is faultless!!! Fortunately, the last ex-MET 2079 survived to the end of Streatham/Brixton Hill in April 1951and by then colour cameras picked up the last days of the first generation. By then all but one of the ex-MET Felthams had gone to Leeds and their ranks at Penhall were filled with the last of the ex-LUT ones. Hence 2079 went to a part of Penhall that no Feltham had gone before - to keep it separate for rapid collection as the ex-MET cars were the Leeds preference or should I say Vic Matterface's! Lucky someone realised the importance of 2079 being there and took the attached two photos. Yes, the Penhall traverser was in a very low pit unlike the LCC ones - remember London's transport authorities since 1933 have maintained the General bus tradition of being broke! Colin.

Thanks, Andy. Although I have ceased modelling London's trams, I am happy to answer any queries members may have. All the best, Colin.

Thanks, Ray. I am OK on stairs - I passed the tests in hospital and of course our stairs at home present no problem. I shall not be happy until I feel safe to drive the car! Being house-bound I can only get places if I use the ambulance service or one of my daughters does a 100 mile round trip to drive me and Ann in our car - I can get in the front passenger seat. All the best, Colin.

Thanks, Tony, for the update on your activity. I am afraid a 7 week spell in hospital depressed me so much that I decided to cease modelling altogether. My under construction London conduit cars were disposed to Bridge Street project where the 'gang' are finishing them for that exhibition layout. Some of my assembled BEC Feltham bodies plus an ABS LCC instruction car being used when it made its first renovated appearance at the Sky Museum, Southampton, last weekend. I returned home to continue my infection draining and with an unexpected find of access to a box of RTR H0m cars, a box of 12mm gauge track work a box of OHLE items plus three unused lightweight boards, I have now a 2-rail operational line with the overhead to be worked upon. That is enough to keep me active on what my consultant says will be a long haul. Whilst my ability to walk has been saved alas I still cannot raise the left leg to operate the car's pedals but that is the goal that I am working too. All the best, Colin.

Yes, John, if a change in health had not stopped my railway modelling with two Janus as PLA 200 and 201, which have given good service, I would have ordered another PLA one like a shot!!! Then another order on Narrow Planet for a PLA number plate in their 200-209 series. Alas times change! All the best, Colin.

Yes, Jim, my sentiments too. As I expressed to the Chairman of the 1992 Conference on Croydon's trams at Fairfields Halls. During the lunch break I went and sat at as many tables as I could to listen to the views of delegates. None seemed to have experience of light rail only heavy. I reported back to Geoffrey of my dismay of hearing of expensive schemes from over engineering (just as I found in the port transport industry1) and concluded that all present thought "all their Christmas's" had come at once!!! In 1996 Geoffrey thought I would be pleased with the scheme as now going ahead. My reaction was to say that all I see wrong that will have to be picked up on the maintenance account soon after full service had started. I had not then taken into account poor cost cutting work by contractors not all of which ha been agreed by CT management! What stories of what actually was going on my younger daughter would overhear on contractor's staff pay days at a pub in Rotherhithe. That confirmed a lot of wrong doing I was seeing on construction east of Croydon!!! I will say no more!

To me Phil, the most important thing when starting a new tramway, as I said to LRT's Light Rail Manager/Planner in September 1989, is to get the best mesh between the trams that will be ordered and the track construction to be used. We formulated what we considered to be the best articulated tramcar for Croydon which could be extended at the articulation following European practice. Based on a car with both bogies and 'Judas' truck, the best track construction to reduce maintenance should then be explored. The quote he got for a single artic car that autumn was £0.75m. In the end Croydon got initially a car with bogies plus a C-truck, sections of poorly laid track that cost millions to restore and now the latest cars are what I call three four wheelers articulated together. From my experiences of riding such combinations of German experiments in the 1950, I fully understood two decades later C C Hall of Sheffield advising Crich on laying and maintaining their track to understand the 'attack' approach that leading wheel sets have on any curve. In those days there were no hub motors or 'split' axles to try to reduce this track wear and tear as tried in Helsinki recently which I think failed to give the expected results. As to ballast depth I recall that when Bob Reid became BR Chairman in the 1980's he soon, as a resident of Purley, had the original 1970's Gatwick Express stock replaced because of the dreadful noise they made. The Mk2 carriages used were constructed for the WCML with its deep ballasted tracks which as I found at Wolverton, ran with little track noise emitted. Coming on to the Southern's much reduced level of ballasted track, the carriages became track sound generators.

Phil, Jim maybe able to recall, with past changes/renewal to the pointwork at East Croydon and Reeves Corner junctions I spoke to Dutch engineers engaged on the works. There was no adverse comment on the methods being used. In fact the change to the pointwork layout was in line with comments I made when the first track layout was installed as to wrong handed points in relation to travel and the 'attack' factor track has to bear.

Sounds as though it is first generation practice! Reminiscent of practice I found on several European systems they rebuilt/regauged/extended in 1958/9 when I delved into 'roadworks' to see how the track was constructed from the soil up.

Keith, I appreciate from where you are coming from. Yes, I would have expected UK to continue following recommendations from Europe. In a recent T&UT magazine there is a review of what UK Trams and the Centre for Excellence had been doing. The impression it gave me was that UK was adding its own thing to European findings, recommendations and implementation. I believe the whole article was to be published in two parts. I wish you well in finding your answers, Colin.

I can assure all that Jim speaks with a lot of experience from tramway construction through to operational maintenance thereafter of my home system. I only wish that the original management had implemented all that he had recommended to them.

Steven, great view - only another eight Janus's to go for a full set!!! PLA never had end-tipping wagons but loads of secondhand mainline mechandice ones. Then there were the vans, few brakes only at Royals plus Breakdown vans. In Janus days there was a fleet of ex-BR Pallet Vans one of which is preserved on the Bluebell. PLA did finally sort out its wagons/vans into A, B and C prefixed numbers as the one one the Bluebell. There is another RMweb thread with much detail of the wagon/van fleet. Keep up the good work, Colin.

Just doing my weekly supermarket order and see 16 rolls of Andrex Classix down from £8.95 to £6.50!!!

I do not recall a London layout so named but the title suggest it to be of a northern system. Was Rob a member of T&LRS and could the articles have appeared in "Tramfare"?

Thanks, Ian, for the background. Certainly I was not aware of its existence in the fifties. I assume you used the daily Rheindahlen coach from/to Bruggen. I used to get to/from the Rheindahlen model shop in my lunch times by hiding under the cloth covered table in Bruggen's postal van! Yes, Bramley is short of detail but my records show no army brakes, vans or wagons being allocated to that depot. Colin.

I have checked the numbers of the 4 wheeled brakes, vans and wagons between "LMR Part 3" and my 'Bicester records' and set out those further vehicles that have been allocated to Longmoor. AD 46054 10t. 5-plank open ex-LBSCR ARMY 46182 10t. open ex-LBSCR diag.1369 47027 ramp wagon (there seems to be a number problem here} ARMY 47872 10t. non-vent. van ex-MR diag. D360 49013 ex-SR diag.1579 finally allocated to FIBUA Longmoor 49024 This appears to have been the allocated number for listed 13139 in the 1956 renumbering but the 1956 Palmers Ball accident wrote it off beforehand.

Unfortunately, KMRC are not doing an army version. I pre-ordered mine when first announced but cannot recall in which century! I was either going to use it on my Wenford Mineral or repaint for Longmoor. Times change and I got fed up waiting so cancelled. Now if an army version was to be released then I will again be amongst the first to place an order now that I am purely RTR.

Of which Longmoor brake, van wagon prototypes are there reasonable RTR models? Bachmann/Invicta's 37-537X provide the LMR 'standard' brake van. Strangely van ARMY 47555 was chosen by Bachmann for 37-806. That may have been chosen deliberately as no record can be found of the prototype's allocations!!! So why not make it a Longmoor van. Dapol do have moulds for some diagrams of vans which the army purchased. Large amongst these were batches of BR diagram 1/208 for general allocation with Longmoor receiving a batch. Maybe a future candidate for Wessex Wagons. When it comes to wagons, Wessex model No.345 is a 'dead ringer' for LMR's 24t. hopper AD 82692. Nice if this could be repeated but as AD 82691. Their models Nos. 246, 314/5 show a very good decoration for WD 46276 and 46299 can only be affixed to Dapol's 4-plank 'merchandice' body as there are no 'dropside' ones available for true accuracy. With so many model RTR Longmoor locos, it is a pity that there are so few vans and wagons to add to the brake van to make a reasonably Longmoor freight train. So what more can be done? There are not even transfers available to easy renumber undecorated bodies. Geddi had a good try with the artwork he produced but a technical hitch in preparation bought that to an end.

Interesting point with WD 12 as its home depot being Bramley which would have been an easy transfer to Longmoor via Borden if major attention or need was required. Roger Hateley's "Locomotives of the Ministry of Defence" shows "Bramley No.1" (WD 74553) has new to Bramley and seen there in 4/52 and 6/52. Next seen at Long Marston on 3/55 and 1958 but was disposed off in 1959. I can find no reference to WD 12 (WD 74553) being at Longmoor in "LMR - Part 3". As David R said to me after Part 3 was published he and Mike C could not guarantee that every piece of army rolling stock based at Longmoor was included. Have any books been published that refer to operations at Bramley?

My next review of available RTR LMR stock is of carriages. Many years ago I considered the Bachmann Mk.1 Suburban stock for 400 but as TonyA posted years ago beware of the colour of these carriages in relation to the livery on the 2-8-0s. Length of train then became a consideration not to proceed so I was very pleased with the Invicta release. On my current layout I can only manage a one coach train - perfect! Next will be vans and wagons.

Further to my previous post, could I ask as many as possible to lobby Hornby to do an early release of CAEN in Longmoor blue. My WD 802 is a superb runner and shunter on its own. PAL3 is the number given to its Conflat 'runner' but is meaning less. Alas I can find no record of the army ever purchasing Conflats from BR. So best if the Conflat 'runner' to CAEN be decorated as a BR Conflat in their normal way. Please can the message to lobby get out to as many military railway interested folk as possible. Colin.

Many thanks, Davey, for the update, it was greatly appreciated. I was at RAF Bruggen 1958-9 in the days of very active 80,87 and 213 Squadrons, the first two with their night fighters so it was a 24/7 busy noisy place! Now I appreciate that my illustrated post maybe judged as O/T but it is the standard that is best to encourage young ones to consider military railways even as an adjunct to the mainline ones. However Longmoor is well represented with the whole of my steam fleet being Longmoor but not the diesel fleet. It is here that I do beg all the group to swell a lobby to request Hornby to release their RH48DS in LMR blue named CAEN. I have also put the request in the RH48DS forum. This little machine was a true survivor!!! Page 697 of "LMR- Part 3" for drawing and photos. I have WD 802 plus its Conflat runner truck PAL3 whatever the latter means! This loco is a beautiful runner and shunter without that truck. With CAEN being self-contained what does one do about the runner? Best to re-decorate it with BR Conflat transfers!!! I can find no record of the army having a single Conflat. If anyone can prove otherwise with number I will gladly add to my 'Bicester records'. At present I have abandoned the Conflat as to make it fit for army purpose I will have to cut off the Conflat side pieces to form a flat or 1-plank open repainted in army green. The best number for a flat is AD 40004 (became 47815 and finally WGF4413 at Bicester) or as a 1-plank WD 45126 on the SMR. CAEN arrived new at Longmoor in 1945 (being sold in 1959) when during WW2 there were SHUNTERS TRUCK 1 (13642) and 2 (13641) but there are no photos or further detail. Interestingly, the army did purchase a GWR shunters truck for use at Long Marston as 42111. Not to be confused with the first 42111 at Shoeburyness which was renumbered, the shunters truck taking its number. Hornby "bring on CAEN"! Colin.

Well done, Oliver. Another prototype that could result from your method is that of "CAEN" which because of its size lasted for a very long time on the Longmoor Military Railway as best suited to training army railmen on crane lifting of locomotives. A drawing and photos of "CAEN" appear on page 697 of "Longmoor Military Railway - Part 3". I thought this would have been a good candidate for Hornby to release. Colin.

I never saw the LMR but as military railways go the Bruggen branch passed my Station HQ window there, Very mundane until I alerted the whole building to watch a spectacular train crash as a race between a train and a 317MT tractor hauling a Queen Mary trailer on the level crossing immediately outside! My interest in military railways came as I searched for a railway where anything goes subject to minimal regulations. I have known David Ronald since those Bruggen days but in respect of trams! It was his Part One of LMR with Mike Christensen that made me look up and realised the LMR was the basis. Then Mike introduced me to just how wide the modelling extent was of the rolling stock potential with wagon registers controlled at Bicester. My problem was space to provide a circular track like the Hollywell loop just to play trains to suit me! I only had the limited use of the dining room table and when fully extended could have temporary layout using sectional track, a few buildings but no other scenery. I discovered the Lydd camo and its connection to Lydd Town station. Hence my LMR standing for Lydd to cover all non-Longmoor stock. However, my decision to cease scratch and kit building and just use RTR has seen a resurgence in the past Lydd which can be seen in the attached views. Although Lydd Camp station is not in position yet the extent of the fiddle yard allows a 2-DEMU or 2-car motor train to deliver employees AM from Brighton and Ashford with the return to Ashford taking the town's school children and the PM return. The camp has its own internal interconnecting passenger service. Having ridden on "Western Waggoner" I just had to have the Bachmann set!

Pleased to see that life has returned to this forum. Tony I have left messages in your RMweb mail box so look forward to your comments. Colin.