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hmrspaul

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    For those that fear coming to Australia!

    in Wheeltappers

    Posted

    7 hours ago, kevinlms said:

    An import apparently via the USA. Nasty things and no natural enemy. The fire ants are I believe the type that appeared in Tom & Jerry cartoons.

     

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-23/fire-ants-threat-to-outdoor-lifestyle-economy-environment/103740690

    I am very proud that I managed to convince our policy people that these were a plant pest and we could use our legislation to insist on eradication of an outbreak in a publicly accessible glass house, probably all of 30 years ago. The UK didn't have suitable legislation to protect people or animals, only plants! I don't remember where we thought they had originated, the glasshouse was in the habit of importing plants from many countries. I used an Australian quarantine service leaflet to convince our policy that action was required. 

     

    Invasive pests are a difficult call - those lovely Rainbow Lorikeet are fabulous on the East coast, but are doing a good job of pushing out the locally native Australian Ringneck in Perth and surroundings on the West Coast. https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/species/railor5/range-map?week=1&static=true

     

    Paul

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    Class 47s on unfitted coal trains - when did they cease

    in UK Prototype Questions

    Posted

    19 hours ago, 18B said:

    Hi, 

     

    Putting rule 1 aside, I'm looking to run a domino blind fitted Class 47 on some unfitted 16 ton mineral wagons. Just wondered by what sort of year this had become rare to see. Obviously such a combination was already much less common than a two tone green 47 on unfitted wagons. 

     

    TIA   

    You need to be careful with what region or area you are representing as unfitted trains were banned area by area. Most unfitted minerals in the late 1970s and early 1980s were rebuild, or at least had their top door plated over but until c1982 they were around in South Wales, Goole and the North East, Workington (and possibly Scotland but somewhere I only got to in the 1977 until some years later). https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brmineralweld

    They did last longer transferred to the engineers, with minimal alteration apart from, a usually crudely written) D in front of the B of the number. 

    Paul

    • Like 2

    BR Dia.1/801 Fish/Parcels Vans from Rapido Trains UK

    in Rapido Trains

    Posted · Edited by hmrspaul

    Good to have them break cover.

     

    Some photos of a few prototypes

     

    957011 https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brfish/e97932d2   BR 1/801 Barrier Van – No.M87990

     

    957012   https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brfish/e74f676f  BR 1/801 Barrier Van – No.W87573

     

    957013  https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brfish/eb8c41f5  BR 1/801 Departmental Van – No.ADB975377

     

    Paul

     

    PS just noticed this in the description (coded NRV and later SPV under TOPS)   This is incorrect, the SPV designation predates the introduction of TOPS codes, for example on this 1970 photo by my late friend Tony Dyer https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brfish/e3e013bfa  (I realise this is the earlier design on an LNER type brake rigging and slightly different body)

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    Unusual Engineers Wagon - Any Information ?

    in UK Prototype Questions

    Dave F's photos - ongoing - more added each day

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted

    Here is D6746 at March on 8th July 1968.  Pretty conclusive I think!

      The palvan just beyond the water crane is one built for the Izal traffic, but possibly more general use by 1968.

     

    Swayfield Class 56 up test train Sept 77 J5818

     

    Yes what are those wagons? Bogied, but the high ends and the substantial side stanchions are unlike either BAA or BBA. 

    Could they be BOV, conversions of Bogie Bolster C https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/bovpipe  but I am not convinced!

     

    Paul

    • Like 1

    York Show 2024

    in Exhibitions

    Posted · Edited by hmrspaul

    3 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

    When I was involved with a model railway club on the South Coast, we reckoned that cloudy, cool and damp was "good exhibition weather". If it was too wet, the families wouldn't go out at all.

    I agree with you, but I do think attendance at York is more subtle because of the way Easter is a moveable date. Reasonably nice weather towards the end of April then the family goes to the seaside, Reasonably nice weather in late March the family simply want to go out, and may head to the racecourse. 

     

    I've worked front of house for the past 3 years and I think it is disappointing how many few young children, and even more importantly, teenagers attend. My one criticism with the arrangements for the show are that local to York advertising is poor. It was very good to get a good write up in the York Press but a bit late to affect attendance. Perhaps, it did help, and it is better families attend on the quieter Sunday and Monday. 

     

    As to stewarding, well we all agree the main questions asked are "where are the toilets" (which the racecourse seems to want to hide)  and where are refreshments. And once in the lift it isn't clear where they are, because there is a floor above the one used for the very excellent catering, and the lift signage suggests there are food/drink outlets on every floor - which of course there are on a raceday. 

     

    Paul

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    Early BR freight stock markings

    in UK Prototype Questions

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Wickham Green too said:

    How many piped vehicles survived at that time without having gained 'proper' vac-brakes ? ...... I've certainly never heard of a VANPIPE or similar coding !

    Not many. Strangely BR built some batches of specialist wagons only piped - Covhops https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brcovhop/eb633154 and Grain https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brgraincgp but there were others. Piping seems understandable for the odd wagon that could fill in a rake of otherwise vacuum braked wagons, but not these wagons which more usually worked in rakes, even block trains even in the 1950s. There is an argument that the unloading mechanism of these wagons made vacuum braking difficult. But it was done, as each had VB built Lots. 

     

    Yes agree, no VANPIPES. 

     

    Paul

    • Like 1

    Early BR freight stock markings

    in UK Prototype Questions

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Cwmtwrch said:

     

    Mea culpa. Being interested in the period circa 1960, I tend to overlook the "boxed" era. I presume that the use of Vanfit was short lived, replaced by the TOPS code VVV as shown on one of the other vans in the photographs?

    What we need is a version of BR87209 from 1963. Whether such a thing existed I know not. Clearly more telegraph codes were to be shown on the actual wagons, but as the TOAD suggests not on all. What got a visible name is quite a moveable feast on BR. We are all aware that most of the aquatic departmental names were shown from early on, but between us no one has seen the use of STARFISH (for the uninitiated the small 10t all steel ballast wagon based on a GWR design that goes back to the beginning of the last century). 

     

    Paul

    Early BR freight stock markings

    in UK Prototype Questions

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Sitham Yard said:

    From looking at photos I have always reckoned on the VANFIT markings dating from the 1960's.

     

    The above diagrams were originally published in, I think, 1949 and were stated to be provisional. Note no mention of black patches as dark grey was envisaged at the time for unfitted vehicles similar to that used by LNER and GWR.    

    Andrew 

    Quite correct, the Scottish archive in Glasgow (IIRC ) has a set of RCH drawings from c1950 onwards for all the different markings and positioning that were introduced as the years went by. I have copies of some of these, but couldn't afford to buy copies of all of them. 

     

    Just as a noticeable example on the drawings published above is a gap between the M and the number, and that doesn't appear to have been maintained. 

    VANFIT is a telegraph code in BR87209 Dec 1958 but not a marking on the wagon. That appears to have altered with the introduction of the new boxed style.

     

    1 hour ago, keefer said:

    Can't see a Wagon lettering & numbering volume on the Barrowmore site:

    http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/Prototype.html

     

    BR9210 'General Instructions No 10A (Revised January 1963)' covering the repainting of repaired freight stock etc. unfortunately does not detail what is to be written - only that the information is to be written in white lettering paint 'in accordance with revised instructions issued April 1963.' (perhaps this is the change mentioned by others above?).

    http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/BRBDocuments/BR_9210_Repainting_Treatment_web.pdf

    Shame, not on Barrowmore site (I managed to get in this morning). It has been copied on various wagon discussion IO groups. 

     

    Yes, I believe April 1963 is the introduction of boxed style of writing, which also appears to have led to more of the hidden telegraph codes becoming a descriptor on the wagons including VANFIT (but not all. TOAD is a well known code for brake vans (not just GWR and LNER ones but all) but if it was written on a van it was very rare. Note that this change predates the new corporate image, but was included once that was publicised and the manual issued. There were various experiments before the April 1964 change, some of the officials are on my site. 

     

    5 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

    Some stuff here.

     

    https://igg.org.uk/rail/6-livy/br/9-br-4864.htm

    Be cautious with this, not very accurate. Just look at Presflow. What is a Presflow??  And the number given as an example B884050 [a number I believe was never used]. 

     

    As to very early BR writing on wagons. There is a period when they simply added E, M, W, S to the old number without much other rewriting. And the original style of lettering used by the Companies remained - so LMR new build got the broad face used by the LMS. Also repairing / renewing the writing is more common than repainting (which increasingly just simply got ignored - look at my website with black departmentals in the 1970s and 80s (livery went to Gulf Red another finish that survived into the 1990s)). 

     

    Paul

    • Like 1

    Staines to West Drayton line

    in UK Prototype Questions

    Posted

    On 21/06/2021 at 12:28, The Stationmaster said:

    You are correct Chris - the fuel trains effectively only supplement the pipeline/act as a replacement for it when it is undergoing maintenance  or  run in order to make sure the unloading system is in good working order.

     

    Alas the ravages of building on former railway land are all too frequent nowadays.

     

     

     

    Perhaps it does only supplement the pipeline, but RTT shows a daily working - and one that has worked for the past few days. RTT has a number of Colnbrook destinations but it is this one that shows the regular oil train workings Colnbrook Baa Gbrf

     

    Searching for Colnbrook Signal T3502 shows more workings from various Colnbrook destinations. Just a very quick example https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:CNBK502/2024-04-09/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt A couple of Aggregate trains and a couple of oil. Certainly very different to the Colnbrook of old!

     

    Paul

    Bogie Bolster A under TOPS

    in UK Prototype Questions

    Posted

    These are the BEVs, https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brbbe  Although many were converted to other uses some remained as conventional Bolster wagons This one, in 1988, was the latest I saw one in original condition https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/brbbe/eef811437

     

    As to the original Bogie Bolster A, I can only think of the GWR ones being at all common in the BR era. As mentioned they were popular with the engineers as crane runners. There are some in this collection, unfortunately dotted around as the GWR was incapable of having a sensible wagon numbering policy, continuing to re-use numbers almost randomly when wagons were scrapped https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrbolster

     

    Paul

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    Early BR freight stock markings

    in UK Prototype Questions

    Posted · Edited by hmrspaul

     

    2 hours ago, Cwmtwrch said:

    But note that the "Vanfit" code officially never appeared on the wagon in BR days

     

     and an inaccurate "Fyffes" label.

    Just some of mine https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/?q=vanfit   Includes this double named Shocvan Vanfit https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/paulbartlettsrailwaywagonphotographs/e1737aee1

     

    I agree about Heritage railway conserved stock being very unsuitable for copying.  And yes the Banana is a problem, but what is wrong with it having a Fyffes label? Labelling Banana vans was common during the BR period. 

     

    And as ever, the OP didn't mention when he is interested in. We seem to have assumed BR period - which is long enough and very complex, but the question is more open than that! nearly 200 years!

    Does the Barrowmore site have a copy of the 1959 BR official guide? I've not been able to get into that site for several days. 

     

    Paul

    Powsides

    in Smaller Suppliers

    Posted

    The GoG forum has lots of comments down the years of very slow delivery and poor communication from POWsides. Not very helpful - if you were a member you could ask for the trade liaison officer to follow up. 

     

    Paul

    • Thanks 1

    York Show 2024

    in Exhibitions

    Posted · Edited by hmrspaul

    On 04/04/2024 at 15:25, john new said:

    Just an observation posting as myself so please don't read this as an official show post. Do you not find excellent modelling, irrespective of period, company being modelled and/or the scale it is modelled in inspiring? As @johndon posted above Sherton Abbas isn't my choice of scale, era, gauge or company represented but it was definitely worth seeing.

     

    Just flicking through the Show Guide rather than relying on memory:-

    • Stand 73 Hillport Goods (Blue diesels)
    • Stand 75 Kensington Olympia (Blue diesels)
    • Stand 78 Victoria (? era but IIRC was post steam)
    • Stand 79 Kyle of Macallan (A bit earlier than you specify but also post-steam)
    • Stand 80 Bluish (Circa 1980 blue era so also post-steam)
    • Stand 105 Bristol Avon Bridge (Blue diesels)
    • Stand 115 Effingham Street (Blue diesels)

    I think we had circa 40 layouts so the 8 above are 1/5th of the total with Deadmans Lane, Back 'ut Shed, Oil Drum Lane and Queen's Road Depot  all set in the nearer to, or actual, contentempory era. That is 12, or roughly a quarter set in the post steam era as were also some of the N G and non-UK based layouts.  

     

    There is just no pleasing some folks.

     

    John

     

    The problem for your planning team is that the post steam era is now 55+ years. Many of us have lived through it and know that it is not a single era. The original poster, not unreasonably, mentioned the late 1980s Sectorisation pre privatisation period was missing from the show - and your list proves this. Personally, I also like that period; the triple grey livery, large ownership plaques on locos, actually painting stations and signing many depots all make for an attractive and special time in railway history.

     

    Privatisation quickly swept much of it away, but it was an interesting era. It is surprising it apparently is a less popular modelling period. 

     

    Paul 

    https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/sector

     

    Paul

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    GWR Fruit D

    in GWR Rolling Stock: model and prototype

    Posted

    BR failed to get all the numerous workshops to follow their painting instructions. The old ways were difficult to change, so we get wood framed open wagons being repainted. So one works painting ends black and others with ends the same as the sides seems likely. 

    1 hour ago, Steamport Southport said:

     

    The Southern vans definitely had black ends until they changed the specifications.

     

    Jason

    Non of these mid 1950s photos of BYs appear to have an end darker than the sides https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/srby/e2bf29388

    https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/srby/e2cedc18b   https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/srby/e399adca5   

     

    Paul

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