[The Quirky Poll 2021]

Rye & Camber Tramway's 2-4-0T Victoria and/or Camber and/or Kent Construction Co 4 wheeled IC loco ...4mm scale using TT track .

 

Clive Standen

[Fish traffic, EC versus WC routes?]

On 19/06/2020 at 23:15, sulzer27jd said:

It would depend on if you are specifically considering the London traffic. Each of the major cities in England would be served but the London traffic does seem to have favoured the east coast route. You have to remember that Aberdeen was served by the Caledonian and the NB for southbound fish. The split would naturally favour their normal partners (caledonian  to the west and NB to the east) but the NB, via the Waverley Route to Carlisle, could actually reach both. After the grouping the Great North of Scotland traffic would be more closely linked to the east coast route. That would bring in vast quantities of fish from Fraserburgh and Peterhead. Peterhead to this day still lands more fish than all the other UK ports put together. When you take the LNER traffic (ex GNSR plus ex NB) you can see why the majority of the loads went by the east coast route. 

Just an addition....Also the SR/ Southern Region at places like Brighton /Hastings/ Folkestone and Dover were served by fish vehicles coming across on Kings Cross to London Bridge  and Kings Cross- Victoria ( via the Widened Lines and Snow Hill ) freight services.. Also at the same time, late ,50s a regular weekend working ( one van ) from Grimsby with fish for Paris too.  A lot of fish was transported around the country , like 'taking coals to Newcastle' , as species varied in different parts of the UK coastal waters . 

[BR Wagons - Grey, Bauxite or both?]

On 26/03/2018 at 17:51, The Johnster said:

Sorry to be late on this as I haven't been joined long.

Also freight brakes were still required for 'dangerous goods' trains....I worked the Dungeness nuclear flask as a guard back in the early/mid 80s. 

Re..last class 9 trains ..they were still around until 1987 when I tranferred to LMR..but I was only on them as a guard on movements trains between locations...used to transfer unfitted vehicles to Carlisle Upperby, Carnforth East yard and Bamber Bridge-Hellifield . 

Now to modelling...the grey , crude examples, of the LNER Toad B with white 'NE' on  Hornby, Mainline Railways etc ..are they prototypical in that colour for the 1930s?.

Many thanks.

Clive S

On 26/03/2018 at 17:51, The Johnster said:

 

 

Unfitted and part fitted trains with brake vans carrying side lamps as well as the tail ran up to the early 80s in some areas.  Conversely, fully fitted freight trains ran from around the turn of the 20th century on most railways, with a brake van at the rear but carrying just the one tail lamp.  The guard had no need to assist with braking on such trains.  On the LNER, up to 2 fitted vehicles with the brake working could be marshalled behind the brake van, which in any case had to be piped or fitted so that the guard had a 'setter' available.  This is a lever that you lift which admits air to the vacuum system and applies the brakes.  

 

Guards on fully fitted trains were allowed to ride in the back cab of the loco following a single manning agreement with the drivers' union in 1969, and this was adopted for parcels and ecs working as well; a brake van could now be dispensed with.  But it was still necessary to have a goods brake van with the guard riding in it on unfitted or part fitted goods trains, and a brake compartment with the guard riding in it on passenger carrying trains, which included TPOs for this purpose.  A limit of 10 vehicles behind the brake compartment applied in this case.

 

To summarise, grey and bauxite liveried freight vehicles were introduced by BR, but colour identification of this sort had previously been used on the LNER and LMS.  They are suitable for BR steam, transition, and blue diesel eras, 1948-80 approx, but in the early years there would still have been many vehicles in big 4 liveries, especially wartime and post war ones, and some early BR wooden wagons were unpainted due to continuing post war material shortages.  Many later big 4 vehicles were repainted into the BR standard liveries, and some were retrofitted with vacuum brakes, so an unfitted livery LNER or LMS wagon could go into workshops and come out in BR bauxite livery.  Again because of post war shortages, actual shades of bauxite or grey varied and weathered differently according to quality; precise reproduction of actual early 1950s wagon livery does not always match the actual colour specification, and there are few colour photos from the period to work from!

 

 

a high degree of skill and anticipation of each other's actions to minimise the snatch.  Any idiot can drive a passenger train; goods work needs skill!!!

 

[RIP Glen Woods (valued member of The 00 Wishlist Poll Team and many other railway groups)]

Sorry to be late to this .I was was saddened to hear the death of Glen last November. I had known of him since 2003 and we corresponded regularly. First time I met him was at the Bluebell Railway in 2005 or 2006 and from there we were in regular contact. Every week from 2003 Glen was part of our group that corresponded online from the early days , at first written messages , then to Yahoo 360 with 'voice' and finally to Skype ,back when that started. Glen was regular every week up until he started to have health problems ,the last time he was on Skype was about a month or so before he passed. He visited the north several times and we would go to various railways...the last time he was up north though was back in 2016 when we went to North Wales for some narrow gauge steam. I often joked that he was my chauffeur when he would pick me up at Haywards Heath station several times over the years to go to the Bluebell railway .. A knowledgeable  person who would always pass on his knowledge and would gladly help in railway matters . Sadly missed by all who knew him.

[Class 71 Sounds - authentic or generic?]

Certainly the 'booster' was continuously in operation and would form a distinctive and noticeable part of the whole 'soundscape' of the locomotive.

I remember seeing these in the 1970s on the Golden Arrow ( in it's last year ) /Night Ferry and other trains. One job they had was the Dover-Victoria TPO train  ...and the booster wasn't the noisiest thing...that was more of a gentle whine from what I remember  ...it was the traction motor blowers that were powerful and noisy.....when these pulled away from Tonbridge  all the loose news papers etc that was lying on the ground all rushed towards the loco and grilles. I used to wait at Tonbridge during 1974/1975 each evening  very frequently before catching my connection home to see the up TPO  arrive and depart.

 

Cheers

Clive