[The Bumblebee Mk2 - a new traverser for Farthing]

Very neat piece of workmanship, just hope that wasn’t you singing?!.?

[Day 43: Hornby 0-4-0 regearing test]

I’d say yes.

[Faffing with Fiddleyards!]

You’ve taken pictures to show the problem by placing your camera above the tracks, not the normal viewpoint. Idle bystanders would be further over at more of an angle, and not so aware of your pinkies. If you placed some form of screening on the layout side in front of the bridge, such as a few more trees, the view would be even less obvious.

[When in danger or in doubt... Progress on the fourth bite]

Lovely workmanship as ever, and nice touches of surreality to lighten things up. I see that you intend to work it as a stand-alone, is there any detail about what form your headshunt takes, attachment and so on?

[George England 2-2-2]

I admire how you’ve ingeniously laid the gear drive out for such cramped conditions.

[Tweedale - Shunting Lab]

You, sir, are a genius. I reckon this idea has legs. Dunno about the showmanship and pizzazz, blondes in short skirts might distract the punters too much.

[GWR stables (2): Internet archaeology]

2 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

 

The one in the broad striped sweater looking down. I remember disliking the picture at the time as it made me look like a 'softie' 

 

 

Ahhh, bless...

[GWR stables (2): Internet archaeology]

Mikkel, Which one is you?

presumably the Billingsgate picture is incoming traffic to the market. You may care to remark the traditional fish porter hats, towards the left of the picture one being put to use with a box of fish on his head, another near the two guys in cloth caps, a bit like a bowler hat with a flat top in  leather.

[Son of Tweedale]

I like your gift for keeping things to a basic minimum. One thing I’ve found on a simple layout of mine is it’s best to have all the siding leads straight off the main line, it doesn’t normally happen in reality because there’s far more space, but it does help with finding room on the sidings. You’ve achieved this on your plan with the exception of top LH siding at Slaghill. 

[Broad Gauge Cattle Train]

There was just one wagon number series, not two separate ones, but gauge conversions did get a different number. Generally bg were lower numbers, sg higher numbers.

[GWR stables (2): Internet archaeology]

Re the “trains”sign, this is what it looks like today, the corner where Queen Victoria Street passes under the Thameslink line and crosses the Blackfriars bridge road. Thankfully the distinctive triangular building is still there, as it the Blackfriars pub, where NR has been known to enter. The sign refers to the District line Blackfriars station, now with modern signage.

[Canterbury & Whitstable Railway, Tayleur 0-6-0]

There is a sketch in Bradley’s book, perhaps the same as you used. When the SER became independant of the Croydon and Brighton loco committee, they went through a phase of long boiler engines, and this one was part of the goods design in 1845, six from Nasymth, 95-100, and four from Tayleur, 119-122. The Canterbury and Whitstable had opened with stationary engine haulage for most of the length, which proved unsatisfactory, and the line was taken over by the SER and rebuilt for loco haulage throughout. 120 and 121 went to work the section. All the class had boiler rebuilds later on, 121 wasn’t scrapped til 1883, when it was working at .

 

[What's in your boxes Pt. IV]

Good to see activity started on your blog after such a long pause, and some nice stuff coming along.

[The four phases of modeller's recovery]

India Pale Ale can do that? 

[Secrets of the Drawing Office (2)]

3 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

A study once examined how researchers got new ideas. It turned out that clutter and disorder played an important part. 

That can’t be right, Mikkel, if it were so, I’d be crammed full of bright ideas!

[Secrets of the Drawing Office (2)]

It’s nice to know that you’re championing the cause for the fair sex in railway engineering. What I’m looking forward to seeing is Mr Finkleburys report on the strange assemblage that happened when Churchward got two Belgians, a Frenchman, a German, and an American together to show him how to design a new 4-6-0. Did he get Miss Havishams advice on what colour of green it should be painted from the swatch supplied by Messrs. Hornby, whisper it, but people do say she got it wrong.

[Fourth bite: The Stables]

https://voetica.com/voetica.php?collection=3&poet=685&poem=3354

[Secrets of the Drawing Office (1)]

There’s  a good story to be told, if anyone knew it, about how the GWR got rolling stock to the Bodmin branch. I can see open wagons just being offloaded from BG flats at Bodmin Road, perhaps that particular wagon come up from the West Cornwall? Notice how the brakes go on, looks like a central vertical pull acting on the rods to the shoes. There’s a lowside hidden under a sheet, how many spokes in the wheels? Then there’s what looks like the standard GWR outside framed brakevan, that would have needed a well wagon, and then there’s some coaches needed.

[Secrets of the Drawing Office (1)]

Just digging out my history book and checking facts, which I should have done earlier. The Bodmin branch was opened as a standard gauge line by the GWR in 1887, and linked into the  Bodmin and Wadebridge bit of the LSWR, but the LSWR proper hadn’t got further than Launceston. It didn’t join up with the B&W until 1895. The Bodmin line joined the Broad guage Cornwall Railway at Bodmin Road, this amalgamated with the GWR in 1889, and gauge conversion came in 1892. So a GWR standard gauge wagon on the Bodmin line in 1890 would have been specially shipped in, and very isolated.

[Secrets of the Drawing Office (1)]

It isn’t just the buffers, there’s the end stanchions, and a brake lever which might overexcite our Miss Havisham. Then what’s a standard guage wagon doing at Bodmin in 1890? It could only get there courtesy of LSWR?

[Secrets of the Drawing Office (1)]

I don’t think Miss Havisham was in the drawing office, relationships between draughtsman and the tracers were very commonplace, and it’s doubtful she’d get on the Paddington outing.

 

is it possible she worked in the telephone exchange? They regarded themselves as superior creatures, as being able to wig in on high level conversations, and so capable of getting in on a higher level of social contact.

 

wherever she came from, I do hope she’s more sucessful than her Dickensian namesake.

[Telegraph Poles]

They look really nice, although the times I’ve had poles I always shyed away from actually doing the wires, as being minuscule and far too vulnerable. 

There was an article published in “Model Railways” for April 1975 by Mr. Wilf  Wells, “Telegraph and Telephone line construction methods of the LNER” which runs over much the same ground.

As to dimensions, the only size given is a minimum diameter of 7”, the poles tapering out from that.

Pole of the Month?

[Fourth bite: The Stables]

I like the idea of a split level, it could help the composition no end, and Stu’s idea of an inclined traverser is ingenious. You do know, I’m sure, that the GWR had a central depot for providing provender, and you’re just keeping quiet about it until you’ve finished building a copy to tuck away in a corner?

https://m.facebook.com/DidcotRailwayCentre/photos/the-provender-store-at-didcot-in-october-1970-it-was-built-in-the-1880s-to-manuf/711322322227992/

[Modifying, painting and storing figures]

My daughter and family came on Saturday, so set meal for four from Peking House at tea time. I’ve got too many of the b*** things now, even with the pile of unfinished jobs lying round. 

I ought to put some painted figures in, even if this lot look like they came from Peking House with the meal. Normally to be found trainspotting on the Washbourne overbridge, O scale, natch.

[False Starts]

I haven’t bothered to check your maths, but if one pipe is 5’7” diameter, two side by side will be 11’2” wide, and you’re hoping to fit them on a wagon running to a loading gauge of 9’3” width maximum. The quoted pipe size in the caption is out.