[Warley NEC National Show 25th & 26th November 2023]

Well. After all the positive comments i've read this pm I decided heck, sod having a day off, and we'll head there tomorrow. So I went online this evening to buy tickets. BUT!  Is it just me or is https://www.theticketfactory.com/tickets/events/warley-national-model-railway/ not selling tickets at all for tomorrow?

 

Looks like I'll be queuing on the door if so. It is 2023 and I have a not unreasonable expectation for tickets to be available online for the next day, but then perhaps that's because I spent 7 years working for Europe's largest independent train ticket retailer, trainl*ne. I ASSUME it's not a sell-out, because there's no message to that effect anywhere, so I'll be cross if I get there from London via Avanti to find we can't buy ours on the door.

 

At this point my sentiment has gone from excited to irritated.

[Secrets of the London Underground. Series 2 coming 5th May at 8PM on Yesterday]

On 13/09/2023 at 12:57, Steven B said:

I've enjoyed seeing the workings of Acton depot on the current series - possibly more interesting than yet another ventilation shaft (however nice the tiles!). A visit to the PWay sidings at Ruislip would show something we've not seen before. It'd also give you a chance to have a look around the battery electric loco parked in the depot museum.

 

 

Steven B

 

Thanks Steven! Ruislip has been on my list for ages; it just takes time to get us in to the right places with the right people - and of course the sidings are live tracks, and we can't interfere with the operational environment. But there may be ways and means. If there is a series 4 it will be on our "wants"! (Maybe Sarah Siddons will have come home by then too... and then there's the special inspection saloon too...)

[Secrets of the London Underground. Series 2 coming 5th May at 8PM on Yesterday]

Thames Tunnel v much is in scope for the reasons noted above; just as much as the Brill Tramway was in scope. Was part of the Underground at one point! Although I've walked through it previously on other occasions and have done projects with the Brunel Museum team who of course occupy one of the shafts now, alas filming dates and possible access dates have not as yet matched up. Who knows...

 

Personally I find the old operating stuff the most interesting, or at least places that the operational network passes through or adjacent. Ruislip, Neasden depots are two I'd love to take the viewers inside (anyone else remember the Ruislip open days of yore?) and the DLR has in its entirety evaded us. 

 

I'd love to see some of the companies' own-built housing stock, too, if it's in vaguely original condition - but I think most has been modernised hugely since being sold off.

[Budget HO/00 gauge small loco suppliers]

Cheers all. I had considered H*y but they’ve got a lot on their plate right now and I won’t be in their 100 things to do next list. I might see if Mehano will supply; they did some neat shunters. The alt is RTR 0-4-0 chassis with con rods, but I’ve not seen any . I’ve been away from the trading scene a long time.

[Secrets of the London Underground. Series 2 coming 5th May at 8PM on Yesterday]

Ah well - that’s the fun thing then - it represented what was correct at Tube150, and no other time. A point in time that records a changing network 

[Secrets of the London Underground. Series 2 coming 5th May at 8PM on Yesterday]

On 09/08/2023 at 00:07, RJS1977 said:

I hope Tim doesn't mind my correcting a slight error in that interview:

 

/snip/ that is the exact route you need to take in order to do the Tube Challenge. That is the mark of an artist who loves his subject.

 

Following the labyrinth numbers was one of many ways of completing the old 270 stations network. However this particular route became impossible when TfL reduced the number of weekday services to Kensington

Sorry - please do correct! I can’t remember the exact wording mark gave. Maybe it was correct when they made them 10 years ago but it’s certainly one of the fastest ways, and I love the thought behind it. There’s a lot we don’t use of the interview but he is a fascinating man who thinks about his art far more than we might think. Once the interview has aired I’ll add in other facts about the labyrinths he told us.

 

I almost forgot - I took a few snaps of some hand built models that the LTM has in its depot stores *for the specific reason of posting them on here because everyone on RMWeb has been so supportive of the team’s work*.
 

This room isn’t usually open to the public but i have permission to post these. The buildings were IIRC 4mm, majority of stock models 7mm. Various vintages, some will have been on display in years past at Covent Garden, syon park or Clapham (where the collection has partly lived previously). The brass Met tank is 3.5”.  It has never run but I cabt recall if it was built to do so. There are some details of various others on the LTM website if you search for “model” in the online collections portal. Be warned, i started looking in their archives 15 years ago, never managed to escape and now I’m only allowed out in public if it’s to talk about old railways.

 

I can recommend a trip to the depot on open days anyway to see the architectural models on display, and of course all the really big stuff and the ridiculously good bargains in the Friends’ SH Bookshop. Any money I might get paid for making telly mainly goes on books about the same subjects… 

 

[Budget HO/00 gauge small loco suppliers]

Hullo. I’m working on a project (nothing to do with the media) which would require small 0-4-0 shunting locos - wholesale - in quantities or something like 50, 100, 200. The sort of simple but effective machine like Lima 4w diesel switchers; or maybe an industrial 0-4-0T. Entry level, unboxed, but I need volume.

 

I was recommended a Chinese supplier -who have ceased trading. Have any of you come across Czech, Chinese, or wherever- suppliers who can manufacture simple off-the peg locos that result in low-cost models? Any pointers welcome.

thx!

 

Tim Dunn 

http://www.twitter.com/Mrtimdunn

[Secrets of the London Underground. Series 2 coming 5th May at 8PM on Yesterday]

There’s still a great deal of chatter on social media sites like twitter about it, which is nice for the whole team  

to enjoy . Seems to be hitting the numbers too, which I always have one eye on.
 

During the prog someone tweeted me the track plan of the g scale / gauge 1 training school we featured as he’d built it! The fact that this  stuff is still pulling in folk who’d never give two toots about a signal box or 38 stock, and is entertaining and always finding something new for the seasoned expert enthusiast, delights me daily. There are a few who don’t like my style or whatever, but I can’t help that too much. Bit of a TV pause while I get actual other work sorted on the Big Railway, but as my mum said the other day, she sees my face on repeats more then she does in real life :-/

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

On 05/04/2023 at 10:47, Mike_Walker said:

I don't think an episode passes without me saying out loud: "Calm down Timothy".  But his enthusiasm is infectious.

I say it to myself too Mike, every day we prepare to go off filming! ;) But alas, I can’t calm down – the things we get to see and thus share, and the genuine joy of people we meet who want to share their knowledge of these places with us all – continue to make every day working on this stuff a voyage of discovery.

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

Forgive me fir not keeping up with replies on here as I have done better in the past!  I will try to deal with a few here:

 

@Pacific231G. I should note that I think the ”arch”’s removal was sad: it should have been moved, ugly to some or not. Together with the central hall they were worth saving. We are perhaps lucky that a few parts of the old Euston exist in a museum: perhaps they will one day have the prominence they deserve. I think it was was an ugly building and a strange choice, but then some people hate the Seaton Tramway station or new Canaerfon station and I think both are quite good.

 

 

Channel Tunnel: yes the control centres are alternated either weekly or fortnightly. The day of filming was a week when there were the other side.

how far did we go? I think we got to about four miles offshore: we went no further simply because of time pressures. This stuff is filmed at a rapid pace: the budgets for TV are ever shrinking (“why is there so much rubbish on tv?” People ask. Answer: Ty because there isn’t much money to pay for it, on the whole.) so we had to meet, security checks /briefs, do the tunnel filming, same again for control centre, plus some outdoors stuff. That’s about 12 hours… we ain’t got time to drive to France!

As with every location there’s both lots more we filmed that we can’t fit  in 22 mins, or lots more on location that we couldn’t get time to film. But then for me one of the ideas of these progs is to inspire you to go dig deeper elsewhere, or tell others about what you’ve learned to inspire others.

 

@melmerby Findlater’s. That was to have been a much shorter segment but a chance chat on the day of filming led me to get the team to return on the Sunday for the clock refitting. I can confirm that the clock dial with numerals itself is original but the backing -previously glass - is now shatter resistant plastic polymer. The mechanism inside is tiny and digital and new and can be remotely altered. The hands are also new . It is now (when I checked it last night) functioning perfectly!

 

 

::

 

[Custom OO Gauge figures - suppliers?]

Hullo!

 

Are there any modelmakers that create and paint fairly detailed custom figures for OO gauge, please? Hand-crafted based on supplied photos rather than 3D scanning is necessary for this project.

Any leads greatly appreciated.

 

Not sure if this is the right forum subsection - I think it slips between a few cracks!

Cheers!

tim dunn

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

I do enjoy this thread very much indeed! The Trieste system is pretty special.

 

As people have been so kind with comments over this last year (and two past series) I thought I'd post some more of what's coming up. Apologies if I don't post as much this time round; with lockdowns ending and my day-job ramping up I really do have to try to get some time away from the screen to maintain a level of health. So:

 

hese were all filmed during winter lockdowns, so you may notice a few unusual situations or times when we were restricted in what we wanted to do vs what we were able to do. So many people across the railways and heritage locations said "yes", because they were so keen to share the places they love.

So - in addition to the two series (20 eps total) here come 10 hour-long episodes featuring:

1. Monday 13 Sept - now online to watch on UKTV play

• Newcastle: Newcastle Central*, Water Tower, High Level Bridge.
• Ayrshire, Scotland: Ballochmyle Viaduct (Britain’s tallest) and Laigh Milton Viaduct
• Oberweißbacher Bergbahn in Germany

*Someone has already taken me to task over saying something whilst out in the field about railway cities, then including Swindon in a spur-of-moment list, when clearly it's a town! Alas my geography degree is no use when I've already said something and your train of thought is being recorded! Also you may be pleased to know that we have subsequently sorted the retrieval of the historic NER signal box objects that I rediscovered, and more news on that in the future.


2. Monday 20 Sept, 8pm

• Wharncliffe Viaduct and “Three Bridges” in West London (Brunel’s first and last), plus Brentford Docks of the GWR
• Ballater Station in Royal Deeside, Scotland
• Rossio Station, Portugal

3. Monday 27 Sept

• Charing Cross Station and Hungerford Bridge in London
• Ordsall Chord in Manchester
• Boras, Southwest Sweden

4. Monday 4 Oct

• Bramhope Tunnel in West Yorkshire (inc sighting tower, shaft, night track trip on a track-rat, memorial in churchyard)
• Fawley Hill in Henley-on-Thames, Buckinghamshire
• Dresden Station in Dresden, Germany

5. Monday 11 Oct

• Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire (lots of buildings, inc funicular opened up especially during covid for maintenance and us)
• Brislington tram depot, Bristol
• Aleksandrow Kujawski, Poland

6. Monday 18 Oct

• Bishopstone, Sussex (both stations and pill-boxes exploration on roof)
• Selby Diversion, North Yorkshire
• Stockholm, Sweden

7. Monday 25 Oct

• Deptford Viaduct, London (various structures inc some beer tasting with an old friend)
• Alnwick, Northumberland
• The Zampach Viaduct in the Czech Republic

8. Monday 1 Nov

• Stoke Station and various structures of the North Staffs RLy, Staffordshire
• Byker Viaduct, Newcastle
• Elblag Canal in Poland

9. Monday 8 Nov

• Margate and Ramsgate in Kent (inc Ramsgate TMD)
• Mail Rail in London
• Porto, Portugal

10. Monday 15 Nov

• Curzon Street Station, Birmingham
• Copenhagen
• Bekonscot Model Village and Railway, Buckinghamshire - a very personal series end.

 

 

[Secrets of the London Underground. Series 2 coming 5th May at 8PM on Yesterday]

We NEARLY got to King William St, but Covid restrictions meant that filming underground in certain places is less than optimal. Best leave things to be done well, than rush them just because you can. I and the team have really appreciated the comments in this thread btw - please be assured that they are all read. This is TV that is made by people who care to be enjoyed by people who care. 

 

Incidentally, RAIL mag printed my "how we made..." feature on it. Obv it simplifies the zillion processes that were completed, but I hope this gives a bit of an idea. Stef and Paul at RAIL decided to put it online so that anyone can read it - because it's the sort of thing that people enjoy long-term. Cheers, Tim. 

 

https://www.railmagazine.com/news/rail-features/2021/08/04/how-we-made-secrets-of-the-london-underground

 

Incidentally, tonight we did two (TWO!) features on block signalling. On national telly! Never thought I'd be doing THAT, and esp not with such a great explainer as Jarley from TfL. Am quietly content.

[Secrets of the London Underground. Series 2 coming 5th May at 8PM on Yesterday]

I have no idea if any more is planned or what the contents might be - but I have always considered the Brill and Verney Junction routes as being part of the "lost" London Underground; and it's a railway close to my heart.

 

And the 2023 date hadn't escaped my notice either...

[Secrets of the London Underground. Series 2 coming 5th May at 8PM on Yesterday]

On 30/07/2021 at 22:56, John M Upton said:

Just caught up with episode 2.  Not entirely sure that it was necessary to go so over the top about North End/Bull & Bush being all secret, its been a staple mention in books for decades and pretty easy to find the surface buildings if you know what you are looking for.

 

Good episode though.

 

Missed opportunity to mention the long since sealed off and forgotten (and I believe breached by a WW2 bomb) Embankment turning loop that was visible briefly on some of the plans being looked at.  Also I presume that the inclined disused passageway is what has become known as Pages Walk?  Supposedly haunted if you believe in that sort of thing.....

 

I have nowt to do with the broad editorial of the series - that is not my remit - but I would note that the programmes must cater for both knowledgeable enthusiast and those who have just flicked on to the channel. 
 

personally, I have hope that the content satisfies both; i want the former to feel they have something comfortingly familiar yet see some new features or viewpoints on it - whilst the latter should be inspired to seek out more and eventually become enthusiasts (ie the former) later. 
 

therefore - to all (I presume) enthusiasts reading this - I ask that you remember that whilst YOU know of something, there will be literally hundreds of thousands of people watching along with you on their TVs, laptops and phones live or the days after, for whom this is all new news.

 

It is a delight and a privilege to be able to take the years of rail-related things that I and others have learned and loved to a genuinely massive audience. The editorial balance will not appeal to all (I saw the comment re tiles - yet there are Facebook forums with design enthusiasts very very happy about this aspect… remember this is a series about the underground, not just “trains”…) - but gosh, I can tell you that (a) we are proud of the team and (b) the team - much of the same lot which makes The Architecture The Railways Built - will always read and listen to constructive feedback. Because we want to make stuff that people enjoy.

 

cheers! Tim

[Secrets of the London Underground. Series 2 coming 5th May at 8PM on Yesterday]

Ta for the feedback - the team is quite chuffed that it seems to have landed well with both the "general audience" and a lot of Underground "experts" too. Tricky line to tread; often what experts want is a textbook on TV - but there really isn't the scope for that these days. That is what textbooks and Youtube are for! But I think this series does a jolly good job of bringing the casual observer further in, and furthers their interest and understanding. Cheers! tim

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

That's a wrap for series 2! (And as above, we've just finished filming series 3.

All 20 episodes aired so far are now free to watch on the UKTV Play app and website, available in the UK. Cheers for the previous feedback and suggestions too - we did read it all. https://uktvplay.uktv.co.uk/shows/the-architecture-the-railways-built/watch-online

 

Before that airs though, there'll be "Secrets of the London Underground" on the Yesterday channel, dates TBC. That features stuff often that most people won't have seen before too. Cheers!

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

On 14/03/2021 at 19:35, Phatbob said:

 

Tim, I'm glad you're including Huddersfield station.  It's a personal favourite, and not just because it has TWO real ale pubs!  Did you get to try the breakfast, or at least a bacon buttie, from the independent cafe on the island platform?  Last, but by no means least, I presume that we are going to see Felix and Bolt make their National Television debut?

 

Alas - filming in the pandemic meant that only one of the pubs was open - and that was only serving briefly. So I'll have to return some time - oh well!

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

2 minutes ago, Captain Kernow said:

Once again, the project suffered delays and I then retired, so I'm not sure exactly what the timescales and methodology will be, but it will be great to see the rooflights cleaned and restored with new glass etc.

 

 

 

There's a false-floor going in, effectively - the scaffolding is going up as we speak. support all along the platforms right now - but IIRC there are no planned further major closures of running lines for significant periods after they go up.

 

 

 

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

57 minutes ago, Huw Griffiths said:

Whilst you were there, did you get chance to check out the old railway station - the other side of the road - even if you might not have got chance to film?

 

Yes! It's mentioned in the ep - and I've had drinks in there in years past - but like a few other places in Series 2 and 3 it was limited to outdoor chats. Sometimes this happens because of covid-related restrictions, or access difficulties because it's not right to ask staff/owners etc to travel to a closed location during lockdowns. So we've done our best - but there are def places where we'd have had more of a wander around inside if we'd have been able to get inside. It has been a logistical 3D chess game, and the production team has been incredible. 

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

Yes, we'd wanted to included the B&E offices - as well as the Midland extension and the later 1930s platforms, the rest of the vaults and even more of the Brunel building (indeed we filmed them all) but there's only so much you can cram into a 25-min TV story before it becomes too dense. Remember, these aren't exhaustive histories - there are excellent books for those - but these are carefully crafted to bring out the best bits, tell the most interesting stories to a wide audience and hopefully help the most seasoned of enthusiasts see a place in a different light, or for them to even find a new feature. 

 

BTW I am the one who asks to go up on most of the tall bits - and whilst I am slightly concerned, I know it is a privilege to get access and I'd rather go up there so that we can share it on telly for others to enjoy, than not. I do have my limits though  

 

Next week is the Midland Hotel at Morecambe, Huddersfield station and Hohenzollern bridge, Cologne.

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

Yup - others have been to Lynton & Lynmouth - (I quite enjoyed the segue between Mr Portillo finishing at the Valley of the Rocks at 19:58pm last night and us starting at Lynmouth at 20:01pm... clever bit of scheduling there  )  but obv diff production companies and channels don't know what the other is doing esp when we're all doing it at the same time. And perhaps we all offer a slightly different narrative.

 

On the continental bits - indeed, I'm not actually there (blame covid and the fact that I also have a day job so can't get everywhere in a 12 week period to film ~35 buildings) - but I do see all the research and input to the scripts. I'm not a v/o shoe-in here! Thanks for the feedback above. I can't remember if I've said it before but it was viewer feedback that led the team to change the sequence of stories in this series from series 1 so that each one stands alone (apart from the "biggest" locations), so whilst I have no input on the production style, the producers do monitor social channels etc because we all want to make something enjoyable.

 

(BTW the continuity of stock etc is harder than you might think. But the team tries its best and there are several enthusiasts across it so we do start from a good place)

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

It makes an excellent sets of rooms for seating - the bar are is technically in the adjoining structure. The fabric of the building has been carefully restored and maintained - it ensures constant use - and that a wide variety of people get to have hospitality in a once-exclusive building. Former railway buildings often make terrific bars and restaurants - and this one happens to be in a perfect place too. 

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

19 minutes ago, melmerby said:

In the last episode a photo of Boston (MA) South Terminal Station throat crept in and didn't understand what it had to do with the program.

https://www.shorpy.com/files/images/4a11368a.jpg

 

I have a feeling that it was one a series of images used to depict various worldwide rail network sizes - referencing the US, Europe etc. It may be that in a very rapid editing process to get everything to fit the US bit was cut but the image remained. I don't know without investigating, sorry!

[The Architecture The Railways Built - Series 4 coming early 2023 on Yesterday]

The replica loco is still there - the tender was cut up but the wheels from it made their way to the Bluebell eventually as part of a new-build project based there.