Northroader

I would fancy the western end of the old GWR rather than the eastern end. It’s just that there are more hills, generally well wooded, so the scenery would be better, and all the buildings would be in Bath/ limestone. Places like Box, Chalford, or Bradford, small towns with a Regency upgrade. Having a dock might take up too much space, but there’s a canal in two of the places mentioned. A small yard with wagon turntables, there’s really enough vehicles in your fleet to overstock this already. Points to a minimum, if at all, they take up far too much space.

There we are then, a very useful discussion proving the Midland did have interesting branch lines to form inspiration for a small layout. Quod Erat Demo Demuns Dymn — wot we said.

Agreed, Kirkby Malham is a lovely piece of modelling, but for a simple peasant moving to a small hovel, I’m considering a microlayout where a splash of crimson may appear. The Midland can be a coat hung on a peg where rule 1 applies, lack of branch lines notwithstanding.

No, not that. Something small and neat, with passenger trains. This sort of thing: https://www.staffordrailwaycircle.org.uk/exhibbition-2023/kettlewell/

It’s a somewhat careworn Dean goods, in GWR service, photo taken in 1948, so probably a prewar paint job hidden under the neglect of WW2.

Mention of Edale, and thoughts of happy days walking from there, but best done in dry weather, so best wishes for your sons ventures. It would make a lovely setting for a BLT, rather than a double track main line?

I would have said a slightly neglected 517. or this would be useful:

Aw, shucks, Jordan, I’m touched. And deeply honoured of course. Hope you’re going somewhere nice, that isn’t burnt down, covered in mud, or on strike. Look out for some RMT body shells, Jason’s right out. Have a good one!

PORTUGUESE STEAM RAILCAR. just poking about, and if you’re feeling adventurous with your scratchbuilding, here’s a pair of 1906 steam rail cars for the SSE: https://guardafreio.blogspot.com/2015/12/serie-bcdymf-1001-e-1002-da-cp.html INDEX - pages 31-40: page 31: Portuguese steam railcar. page 32: Azulejos por São Lucas. News from São Lucas. In France, stop for lunch. Fairbairn 2-2-2T. Pantiles. Foamboard baseboard construction. Swedish railway setting. Towards an Austrian setting. (+“Third Man”). Swedish Beyer Peacocks. Red/ Green, colour blindness. page 33: Remember the OUEST. European goods wagons colours 1896.

There’s an inventario, which looks to be a work in progress, containing the tricomposite: https://inventario.portugalferroviario.net/viajeros/series.php?id=116 This shows it to be one of ten vehicles, ABC6f 201-210, built by Societe Industrielle Suisse, SIG in 1887/8. it’s one of the entries in the “antigas” section, which is the late 19th century stuff. Goods vehicles? Well, the “O Guarda Freio” website has a section “Album de Vagoes”, with a selection of diagrams, mainly long bodied 20th century jobs, but there’s also some older short body types, with or without brakeman's cabins, and being diagrams giving the numbers, including pre-UIC. https://guardafreio.blogspot.com/2018/09/album-vagoes-cp-carga-outubro-2011.html Some of these have managed to get preserved in the museo at Entroncamento: One Portuguese speciality were these, an open frame wagon, with chain doors, one appearing in Novais’s collection: They look to be intended for high volume, low density traffic. Two examples could be bales of bark from cork oaks, or empty wine casks. I think the fresh wine came from the vineyards in casks, which were emptied into other casks for maturing and so on in Porto, the empty casks getting returned, although all I really know of Port processing is uncorking and pouring some into a glass…

If you’re worrying about blood pressure try comparing what it is when you’re standing to what it is when you’re sitting down.

Looking at the train in that file, first off there’s a fourgon, rather plain in that there’s no birdcage lookout, which you’d expect, but nice and simple. There’s no indication of whether it’s originally CP or Estado, but hey, it’s nineteenth century Portuguese. Next, there’s a real treasure, a four wheeler tricomposite, complete with a brakeman’s guerite on one end. The compartments are picked out in individual colours to match the class, like French and German practice. You may spot it’s all vac. braked Now, with just these two vehicles, you have the makings of a very nice branch line train, maybe headed with a Fairbairn single driver tank engine? well, damn me…..

I think that in going from Broad Hinton to Wroughton, you’re going to hit some very hard gradients off the scarp of the Marlborough Downs, and you would better heed the softly, softly approach. Diverge from the GWR main line at Rushey Platt, and slope gently South Westwards to reach the scarp below Bicknoll Castle, then a steady gentle climb, crossing the Broad Hinton Road just at the top of Broad Town village, and on along the back of Clyffe Pypard. By about level with Highway you should on top of the scarp, and be able to swing South Eastwards to a junction with the Calne line at Heytesbury, and joint to Avebury, passing south of Windmill Hill. Also if you surveyor persists in using a felt-tip pen on an inch map, you’re going to be involved in a lot of unnecessary surplus land purchasing. Also modern day surveyors may care to note that whilst checking the topography, there is a Brewery in Broad Town, where some beers are called “wide to gauge” “footplate” “gricers choice”, which could show pro railway partiality by the owner, a former signal engineer from S. Wales, just saying. Me, advertise a brewery?? https://www.broadtownbrewery.co.uk/our-beers/

CAMINHOS DE FERRO DO ESTADO. Agreed, Eric, a more modern photograph than the subject matter. For a comparison, here’s an old photo of a similar subject: Both pictures are for the Portuguese State system, the Estado, which had two divisions, the Minho-Douro serving the north of the country beyond the Douro, and the Sul y SulEste serving the south beyond the Tagus. They were built by the state as serving a railway need in the poorer quarters of the country. The richer central belt between Lisbon and Porto was served by the Compania Real C.F. Portugueses, a private company, (the “Real” getting dropped after the 1910 revolution) Eventally this company was persuaded to work the state lines, and in the fullness of time was nationalised. Historical link for dates here: https://www.cp.pt/institucional/en/railway-culture/cp-history/time-line Mario Novais’s picture is of Beyer Peacock single driver for the SSE, preserved in modern times, the picture above is for a MD Beyer Peacock 2-4-0T, (just like the Isle of Wight) on a Braga branch train at Nine junction station. There are interesting parallels with the Netherlands, the State Railways there also shopping at Beyer Peacock for their locos, and both the Portuguese and Netherlands State lines getting a beautiful collection of elegant locos as a result. (There’s some nice subjects in the Mario Novais portfolio I’d like to come back to, if I can work out how to download them) You might have spotted a desire on this thread to attempt a little bit of 5’6” modelling, under the “São Lucas” brand, this has taken a bit of a knock with the downsizing to a small bungalow, but maybe there could be one of them “Mosslanda” shelves above the workbench?

That Maifeld Bahnhof reminds me of a certain station in Birmingham…?

So, here we are, six months on from my op, and what is there to show for it? Not a lot, I’m afraid, as everything modelling wise got packed up and forwarded. The sum total is these two 28’ tank car bodies, which are now shorn of the moulded handrails, with holes drilled for new handrails, and painted a scruffy black, ready for relettering. Then cobble up new under frames, recycled bogies and couplers await at Cheltenham. With luck things should happen the end of this month, and then I’ll have to pull my finger out, modelling wise.

The GWR did plan a light railway approximating to your plan, between Salisbury and Pewsey. (Presume this faced west from Salisbury terminus, diverging soon after at Bemerton, then swinging North) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amesbury_and_Military_Camp_Light_Railway For my money, I would take it west of Amesbury, keeping clear of the LSWR, also bringing tourists much closer to Stonehenge. Then after Upavon swing further west away from Pewsey, as for a through route the Tan Hill Alps would be impassable. I can visualise an 850 class 0-6-0ST with some clapped out four wheelers at Amesbury (for Stonehenge) GWR station now.

They would merge together at the side of the infant Kennet, south of Windmill Hill, cross the lane linking the two Aveburys, through a station, then diverge after a level crossing over the main road, yours swinging round east with the Kennet past the long barrow, Mikkels on down by Silbury Hill, all highly prehistoric.

No, it was built as an 0-6-0 for the export market, but very few takers. It’s a pity, it would go down a storm with todays preserved lines. The upper works have a similarity with the CIE 121 class.

Pity that engine is on bogies, it could have been GM 6W C: http://emdexport.railfan.net/demos2.html

You can tell their hearts in the right place, even if they’re still a bit too long. Still, cut a 50’ gon in half……

Off the top of me ed, Trowland and Old Parrock, are very nicely done BLTs. Agree about Obbekaar, too.

On lifting capacity, a 57xx weighs around 50 tons, so a 5ton hoist will have a struggle just lifting the a**e end of one.

Mind, at Loughor the assisting engine was 0-6-0T, whereas 4167 does have leading pony truck, which would make it alright?