jonny777
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Posts posted by jonny777
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Thanks Nidge. That is great info, as I think the semaphores appear on many of the photos.
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Yet another with no loco identification, although the presence of what appears to be a naval crest on the bodyside may be a clue.
Exeter Central, and the notes say 1987; but I trust nothing on these any more.
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16 hours ago, The Johnster said:
He's clearly a lad after my own heart; I spent many happy hours on the floor or the living room table as an anklebiter in precisely this activity, but I had the advantage of the 'Lone Star' range, which were ideal for it! The die cast precursor of N gauge, and eventually morphed into 'Treble-O-Lectric' in plastic bodied form, these were die cast locos, coaches, and wagons largely based on rough copies of the Rovex Triang range, with the addition of a Hornby Dublo inspired A4.
As well as the A4, there were Princess Royals, the BR 3MT prairie tank, a Jinty, and a 350hp shunter with a Jinty chassis. Rolling stock was clones of the original Rovex shorty LMS coaches, and the Triang 9" Mk1s, 7 plank coal wagons, the Rovex type cattle wagon, a 1 planker, and a tanker (tank mounted on the 1 planker), along with a GW toad brake van; can't recall any vans. There was also a version of the 'Transcontinental' diesel with aluminium coaches to match, and there was plastic freight stock to go with these in Treblo days.
They were crude; no windows, and solid flangeless pony and bogie wheels on the A4, Princess, and 3MT. There was no attempt at motion and outside cylinders were dummy, and no buffers to lock. Couplings were simple hook and loop. The track was also die cast, and based on the Rovex/Triang 'Standard' grey train set track. There were left and right turnouts and a matching diamond crossing, bridge incline piers, and a bowstrung girder bridge for the top, platforms, station buildings, and a signal box. But they were ideally suited to pushalong play, easy to put on the track with a level crossing rail piece, and bombproof indestructible.
Their modern equivalents are the Brio and similar wooden trains, but it sounds as if your lad wants something a little less toy-like; good for him! It is not difficult to remove the motors from older RTR locos, making them effectively pushalong models, and the older Triang and Hornby Dublo models are more robust and better able to withstand this sort of treatment. It is inevitable that a good bit of pressure is going to be applied to the models from above, and a single piece body tooling is much better able to cope with this, but use on the carpet will mean that a good bit of fluff is picked up and it will need to be frequently cleaned out.
I would avoid locos with outside cylinders, a weak spot, and if there are any, I would remove the motion and coupling rods and store them safely. On Triang and Triang Hornby locos you simply remove the crankpin screws in the centre wheelset. To remove the motors, unclip the feed wires from the spring clip on the top of the motor and remove the motor retaining screw; the motor simply pulls out. On older Triang or Hornby Dublo locos, the axles run through holes bored in the chassis block, so you can remove the pickup plate and the pickups as well to keep the fluff away from them; this will also result in a freeer running pushalong loco.
Later models, by which I think I mean post about 1975, with more separate detail parts and chassis with brake detail included, are less amenable to this type of treatment, and track is a major problem as it is rarely designed to withstand continual taking apart and re-connecting by kids, who will be less fussy about not twisting the connections in the process. Probably the best and most robust track to use is Hornby Dublo 3 rail. For rolling stock, I would take into account the 13" radius curves and avoid scale length mk1 coaches (later Triang, Lima, Mainline). The absolute best couplings are the original Rovex hook and loop, but in practice most of the stock you will be using for this game will have either the early stamped out metal Triang tension locks, the later type of t/l, or the Hornby Dublo/Trix Twin 'Peco' buckeye.
3 rail Hornby Dublo and Trix Twin coaches and wagons are not rare on the 'Bay, despite what some of the sellers want you to think, and the coarse scale flanges will be fine on the HD 3-rail track, also in plentiful supply. Your problem will be the excessive curve to straight piece ratio.
A selection of track, including turnouts and at least one diamond xing, and some Triang, Hornby Dublo, or Trix Twin stock should cost less than £100 second hand; 2 or 3 locos, say 4 coaches (big express or two smaller trains), and a dozen wagons with 2 brake vans, and the rest spent on track, and the lad will be in railway heaven for many long hours. If he then progresses to a working layout, then the stock may need re-wheeling (any HD 3 rail or Trix Twin will, definitely) to cope with the finer standards of the track, but any Triang with the later type of tension lock coupling should cope with setrack, and of course with the pickups and motors replaced, will work as well as they ever did. 3 rail track, of course, will have no further use, but might become the basis of a 'retro' layout. He can then 'progress' to current stock and 'proper' modelling, whatever that is; he will then be one of us (one of us, one of us) and as lost to the world as we are for any practicable purposes.
One of us, one of us...
Thanks very much. A lot of good advice for me to ponder on.
I was also a Lone Star addict in my early years, and had all of the items you describe including the station, signal box and level crossing. In fact, I may still have it all in a box up in the loft.
My track was always as big a junction station as I could produce from the points and crossings I owned, and when a schoolmate offered to sell me his collection for about 2/6d (a lot of money in those days, but then he had a lot of track and had tried to model Sleaford West Junction) I ended up with enough to stretch half way around the living room. I had no realism in the ends of the track work - trains were just pushed off the end onto the carpet and were picked up and made ready to appear anywhere as a completely different service.
Later I painted the US single ended diesel blue, with a full yellow end, and the US carriages became blue and 'grey' (actually white, as that was the only pale colour I had) once the newly painted Mk1s started appearing on the real railway.
Sometimes, I would get bored with locomotives and just ran my highly sacrilegious SR third rail scenario, using the carriages as EMUs and guards vans as tram engines pulling occasional goods trains. East Croydon it was certainly not.
I spent hours and hours with this, much to the annoyance of my mother who thought I should be outside playing cowboys and indians like other kids; but I was not at all enthusiastic about pretending to kill people.
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Another uid member of the class; this time running l/e through Teignmouth circa 1989/90.
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14 hours ago, Western Aviator said:
The picture was definitely taken at Newton Abbot but the date you gave threw me a bit as very few 50s were still in service in 1992, and none of those that were looked quite like this one. The nameplate pattern and the white stripe extending up onto the headcode box made me strongly suspect that the loco in your picture is 50048 Dauntless which only lasted until June 1991 (thanks to hitting a herd of cows at speed). By happy coincidence, John Whiteley was about ten miles away at Cockwood Harbour on July 14th 1989 and took the picture below (found on Flickr) of 50048 on what looks like an identical consist. Based on the clocks in your picture and the position of the sun in John Whiteley’s picture, it would appear that both were taken at a similar time of day. Is it possible that you took your picture in 1989 @jonny777 ?
Wow. Thanks for this. It certainly does look like the same train. As I mention above, the slide was a purchase and not taken by me but the details on the slide mount appear to be almost 100% inaccurate.
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17 hours ago, Phil Mc said:
I didn't offer a suggestion because I wasn't sure where it was, only where it wasn't !!
But the more I look at the pic, the more I reckon it's heading North through Newton Abbot.
Cheers,
Phil.
Sorry, yes. I didn't take the photo, but bought it online.
My laziness means I tend to believe what is written on the slide mount. It would appear that in this case just about everything about the transparency is incorrect.
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15 minutes ago, Phil Mc said:
Don't think that's Teignmouth !!
Cheers,
Phil.
Very good. Those who criticise, must give their opinion.
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I know nothing about this, except it is not a Speedlink/Enterprise service through Teignmouth circa 1992/3 as written on the slide mount.
Hopefully, some 50 enthusiasts might fill in the blanks.
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50047 passing Teignmouth in 1985.
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10 minutes ago, Iron Horse said:
That's a cracking photo
I have more....
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1989 at Teignmouth, with 50036 on a passenger service of NSE Mk1s/2s
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On 02/09/2021 at 12:41, LU_fan said:
Severe weather? Okay? Not quite sure how milk tanks would be of any use in those circumstances. Could it be because delivery by truck would be too risky...?
I wonder if they were thinking of a hot summer similar to 1976, and transport of water supplies by rail to fill emergency bowsers?
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11 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:
Dead tender drive Hornby Flying Scotsman are probably still ten a penny. The 1980s version. Old Mainline or Airfix Royal Scots, and Jubilees as well. Lima Crab for James?
Jason
Thanks Jason. That is the kind of inspiration I need.
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Yes, that is true Andy; but he likes locos with tenders due to him having a dvd with Gordon, Henry and James on it; and they seem to have impressed him with their speed and importance.
I was going to get a 57xx and call it Duck, but thought he might benefit from a 'big engine policy' where subsequently I can utilise my old Lima Mk1s which have been in their boxes for decades.
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My youngest grandson has been staying with us for a few days. He loves building tracks on the floor and pushing carriages around the routes he has made. He is in his own little world, and even the fact that SWMBO asked him where the engine was did not faze him.
This set me thinking, if I could match a tender drive loco body/chassis with a loco drive tender, he would have a proper engine to pull his carriages.
I was hoping someone with a more detailed knowledge of which locomotives might fit the bill (having been sold as both tender and loco drive during their history.
I don't suppose he would care if the tender was not appropriate for the engine in real life (he is only four and a half) but my nerdy self would prefer an accurate pairing.
I know I could just remove the motors from existing models, but that seems to be wasteful as far as I am concerned.
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2 hours ago, Nearholmer said:
And, the accepted wisdom of the day was that private car travel would be a serious liberator, and that bus travel would always be there as an option for the car-less.
The dumb brained idea was that if they closed unrenumerative branch lines, then prospective passengers would simply drive to their nearest main line railhead and continue their journey by train.
I'm sure that kind of thinking still pervades certain planning departments today.
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1 hour ago, kevinlms said:
So why did congestion really start to bite only in 1990?
Did you ever try driving to Bournemouth, or Torbay, or the Lake District in the 1960s during the summer?
My Dad did for our annual holidays, and we sat for hours in traffic jams trying to get through Bath, Salisbury, Kendal, Ilminster, etc., etc. And that is leaving aside the nightmare known as the Exeter bypass.
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Let's clear a few things up. The Beeching Report was nothing to do with the Wilson Government, although they broke their election promise to halt the closures.
Beeching's report was published in March 1963, and Wilson did not come to power until October 1964. Harold Macmillan was PM when the report was published, although due to several scandals unconnected to this subject, plus a prostate problem, he resigned in the Autumn of 1963.
It is pedantically true that Beeching didn't personally close any lines, but he did allow his report to be published in full - and that report recommended the closure of 6000 route miles, and over 2300 stations should close completely. He may have only been doing the job he was brought in to do, but that doesn't excuse the drastic, short-sighted, and (excuse the pun) tunnel vision measures he proposed. Why should the passage of time make any difference to the decisions?
I think we enthusiasts are well aware that certain lines and stations had been closed prior to WW2, and many of us regard it as an insult to be told of this fact over and over again by the Beeching apologists.
The big catalyst for Beeching came during the closure of the M&GN early in 1959. I think the government had expected a public outcry when the closure of an entire route was announced, but apart from a few localised objections, this outcry never materialised; which must have given the road lobby in government a great boost to their morale.
If the M&GN could be closed with hardly a squeak out of local politicians, then a much more ambitious closure programme could be planned, and all it would need is a hard headed private industry leader to implement it under the guise of 'efficiency'.
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15 hours ago, melmerby said:
Wikipedia states that they were needed due to the lighter weight of the diesel locos compared to the steam they replaced.
Really? The Peak has way more weight on it's driving wheels than an 8F or 9F.
Crappy brakes more like
Or, it could be that the Peak was capable of pulling far more tipplers than an 8F or 9F.
As an example, the change to diesel traction on the GN&GE meant that the only limit on the length of loaded coal trains was the capacity of the sidings at Whitemoor yards.
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4 minutes ago, Talltim said:
That road is named a little ironically
Or possibly, the road was named years before the bridge was built?
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11 minutes ago, Nick C said:
Yes and No.
Of course it's not an excuse to rubbish EVs etc, but it is certainly something that needs to be thought about - our national grid was designed based on usage patterns in the 1960s - and much of it, particularly the 'last mile', is, I'm told, somewhat creaking at the seams -Usage patterns have changed significiantly since then, and we're using a lot more power than we did, plus a lot of the kit is aging.
It's therefore likely that a lot of the street-corner substations will need to be upgraded or replaced to cope with everyone all wanting to charge at once - and there's a risk that will turn into a political football, with everyone involved wanting someone else to pay for it...
I find this explanation difficult to believe, because in the 1960s and 70s many homes were newly fitted with electric storage heaters which ran on cheaper *white meter* electricity. One of the main principles of this was to even out electricity demand off peak, especially overnight when demand typically dropped by 50% or more compared with the daytime.
I would have thought that consumers charging EVs overnight would have a similar result; and I am sure it is a subject that the power supply companies have under control. When I was working, we had regular formal and informal meetings with the chaps from grid control, and they would always inform us that it was the unpredictable 'spikes' which caused problems across the network.
They would quote a summer afternoon (many years ago now) when a very large group of heavy thunderstorms drifted over Greater London. The net result of the sudden darkening skies caused most office and home workers to switch on lights, and many of the street lights came on for the same reason. These were the events they would worry about.
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On 24/08/2021 at 16:48, Dunsignalling said:
OK at present, but what happens in a few years time when 20-odd million cars automatically go on charge when the timer hits 10pm.....
John
This kind of stuff is how the Daily Mail and its right wing associates try to panic the nation into a continued support for the fossil fuel industry. They also rubbish wind turbines on a regular basis.
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25 minutes ago, MJI said:
I have been priced out of Cornwall.
Been happening for ages.
Food places going to poncy food rather than good quality normal food.
Been going for years, until recently when prices shot up and food places went so called posh.
I do like the Lizard peninsula
I was thinking of buying a holiday caravan for all the family to use as a convenient getaway through the year, but prices have now risen by 50% or more in the last few months. A second hand one in an acceptable area (not East or Southeast costs because we already have relatives near there) which was £20,000 last winter is now at least £30,000.
I've given that idea up, unless the British weather causes a sudden desire within the holiday home masses to sell up and buy something overseas, and prices crash; but I'm not holding my breath. The annual pitch/running costs seem to have risen well above inflation also.
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1 hour ago, Mike_Walker said:
Not all the vehicles listed there are High Wycombe based! The recorder obviously also visited Uxbridge to see the trolleybuses which were certainly never seen anywhere near High Wycombe!
RT4195 is followed by ST 441 which I suggest means it was observed route 441 (Staines to HW) operated by Staines (ST) - HE had no involvement in that route.
GS50 is noted as MA meaning it was allocated to Amersham which did have GSs at that time although the didn't visit High Wycombe.
Likewise RF582 is notated WR (Windsor) and probably seen at Uxbridge. RF622 is notated HE 363 which suggests it was High Wycombe allocated and on route 363 out to Penn. I must admit I wasn't aware that HE had an allocation of RF buses that early. I thought it was just RF coaches until much later. One of HE's RF buses, RF673, is preserved by local enthusiast Peter Cartwright along with RML2440.
HE's allocation was consistently RT and RF only through the 1950's and early sixties. It only changed with the arrival of GS28 for the new 442 route and the RMLs in 1965. Green Line 711 was operated jointly with Reigate and as a result it was occasionally used for testing new vehicles which included the three trial single decks (AEC Monocoach, Bristol LS5G and Leyland Tiger Cub) and RMC4 - or CRL4 as it was originally known.
The "Firm Next Door" was much more exotic despite operating what, on paper, should have been an equally standardised fleet!
More fool me for actually bothering to share notes of which I have no knowledge.
I will not be making this mistake again.
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Class 50 Photos....
in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)
Posted
This class member is towing a couple of HST power cars back to Laira, seen along the sea wall near Teignmouth circa 1989/90.