jetmorgan

A number of proper screen shots from the Will Hay film, The Black Sheep of Whitehall. The first look like Paddington and are probably just stock shots, Southern 4-4-0 (not sure of the class) leaving what I think might be Victoria. I'm sure I have seen this shot somewhere else so again it could be just stock footage. The engine then turns into something LMS style, then something that looks a little bit Eastern, not a very detailed shot as it was a matter of a second or 2 on the screen. Then things go Great Western when the train finally arrives at it's destination. Then later in the film there is a car chase with the good guys, Will Hay and John Mills towing an invalid chair and getting it stuck on a level crossing, un-kown location although someone might be able to ID it. An approaching southern train threatens to squash the man flat. Lastly in the car chase there is a scene with a load of cyclists going past what looks like a wooden platform of a halt somewhere but again an un-known location.

I'm currently in a build and restoration of some Ian Kirk Maunsell coach kits, the corridor thirds and 6 compartment brakes. The restorations were a Ebay purchase that were already built but in need of pulling apart, cleaning up and putting back together. I'm now getting towards rebuilding and I want to start painting the interiors but I don;t know what colours to use for the seats. I will be repainting all coaches, 8 of them including a Bulleid in the carmine & cream early BR livery. So what colours should I be using for the seat upholstery?

Just checked on the film and it was filmed at Merton Park Studios which will be in South London. So the carriage shots are more than likely stock stuff that the studios had.

And the next one. Hindle Wakes, a 1952 film of not much note to my mind and didn't have any big stars in it although there is Leslie Dwyer and Joan Hickson (yet to be Miss Marple) Not much in the way of railways but the station scenes look to me like they might be Preston and there are some carriage shots although I wonder if they might be stock scenes as the train looks more Great Western than LMS.

Catching up with some films that I have recorded over the past month or so. Again apologies for the quality as I've taken the pics straight off the TV screen...I really need to get some DVD's to record onto. Photographs from several films here so there'll be a number of postings here but this is the first The New Lot. A 1943 film about the calling up of new soldiers for the army, starring a number of regular names including Raymond Huntley, John Laurie (private Fraser, Dad's Army) and Bernard Lee (much later to become M in the James Bond films). The New Lot was later remade into the film The Way Ahead starring David Niven. Some images like the first of Waterloo I'm sure are stock images but there is Lord Nelson class 852 Sir Walter Raleigh leaving Waterloo and then the arrival of the preserved Q1 0-6-0 C1 at a station somewhere that is described as Doomstead, not a station I have heard off so I don't know if anyone recognises it from the few scenes of the platform canopy...I did wonder if it might be Baynards. Other scenes are of some coaching stock and also some of what looks like overhead line equipment so I wonder if those scenes were taken elsewhere rather than on the Southern.

A recent Ebay purchase arrived that are going to be in need of restoration. I'm braking the coaches down so the restoration can begin but I want to paint strip the sides as I'm thinking about repainting them into carmine & cream. I don't know what paint was used on these...enamel or acrylic. What is the best paint stripper to use?

Recorded a film, Danger on Dartmoor on Talking Pics TV, sadly not the film I was thinking it was but this was a Childrens Film Foundation one but it did have a short section of a 1st generation DMU arriving at Crediton. Not sure what class of DUM as they used to all look very similar to me but if I recall the white with a blue stripe livery indicated a refurbished DMU. Again these were photo'd off the TV screen so not great quality.

Part 2 of The Professionals - Operation Susie

A couple of postings with pics, again straight off the TV screen so really dire quality, of The Professionals episode Operation Susie when Bodie & Doyle hid out in some rail carriages at Stewarts Lane. Lots of departmental goodies here

Here is the other scene in The Wrong Box that features a Jinty in light green at Bath Green Park. It's only a matter of seconds on screen and hidden by smoke & steam.

Yes it was the high point of the film...despite all the comedic talent starring in it, it was about as funny as a watching paint drying. I was forgetting about that other bit...I'll try to get a picture later this afternoon

The Wrong Box crash scene. Managed to get some really bad screen shots taking pics with the camera directly off the TV screen. Only one bit of actual rail footage which to me looks suspiciously like the Bluebell railway, that bit just south of Horsted Keynes but someone else may have a better idea of location. But not sure where the actual crash scene was filmed...just wonder if it might have been down at Longmoor as there is something about the backgrounds that just fit that sort of area. I will try to get better and more screen shots as there are some further carriage shots and carriage interior shots done.

Yes there is a train crash in "The Wrong Box" I have the film recorded, I just need to transfer it to DVD so I can get some screenshots. But the crash is all using quite convincing mock ups although if you look a bit more closely a second time it is obvious it was a stage set.

Okay it has been a long time to quiote this post but I managed to get another picture of the car and passenger ferry at Kingswear

Yes that's the one....to me the cardboard cutouts looked pretty convincing...from a distance, close up yes you could tell they weren't real. I have got it recorded on my freesat hard drive but I don't have any blank DVD's to transfer it so I can get screen shots of the scenes. Not sure of the loco classes, I think the scenery people just did generic victorian steam engines. The rest of the film is rather unfunny despite all that comedy talent of Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Peter Sellers, Michael Caine, Ralph Richardson, Tony Hancock and John Mills.

Just been watching a bit of The Wrong Box with Peter Cook & Dudley Moore and there is a railway crash scene in it which looks like it has been made up of LSWR salmon liveried stock. Sorry no pics at the moment I'll have to record it and do some screen shots when I see it on again

I think it was just called The South East...or The South East of England

Taking advantage of the lockdown and the sunny weather I decided to get Ball Spond erected in the garden, just about enough room for it, and get some work down on it. First job was to fix down the line for platform 2 and the freight/parcels siding along with the dis-used head shunt, I'll remove the rails at a later date. With the 2 baseboards clamped together I was also able to start laying the first pieces of track on the second baseboard. Most important was fitting a double slip on the other side of the baseboard joint. However I didn't have a second double slip so I've used a single slip I had from another abandoned layout so I could get the geometry right. I cut the rails at the baseboard joint with my Xuron cutters and nailed the sleeper at the very edge down. Probably not the best way of securing the rails but the only one I could do at this moment. Also fitted the rebuilt bridge to check all the clearances and I'm glad now I did rebuild the bridge.

Another project started on Ball Spond Road. Platform now done and glued down. Used 2/16th thick card...scrap from work for the base and the side walls, along with cross bracing for the insides and a thin card for the topping. Once it was all dry it did have a bit of a bend and a warp in it but I cured that with gallons of PVA glue and numerous books from the collection to weigh it all down while the glue dried and it seems to remain stuck to the baseboard. Once that was glued down I could make a start on fixing the track down properly on platform 1 and the stabling siding. I used one of Mainline 43xx 2-6-0's with it's wide cylinders so there should be plenty of room...although I have noticed coaches are a smidgen tight but still clear the platform edge. Also came up with a modification to the parcels/freight siding, I plan to put in a small siding coming off but one that has had the rails lifted but the sleepers left in place and also a few rails on the pair of points. This means I can use up an old pair of Peco Setrack points that I had knocking about.

Thanks for that...from all the pictures I had seen of the PL-11 it looked like they also clipped under the rail as well and I had noticed on my pair of points slots under the rail that looked like they were there for that purpose....at least that is a bit of relief and I can use them throughout.

Now I have come finally to laying some track on Ball Spond Road I need to think about motorizing the points. To avoid the drilling holes in the baseboard to fit under baseboard mounted motors I had planned to use Peco's PL-11 surface mounted motor. But having a look at the Streamline code 100 double slip I have there doesn't seem to be any mounting holes underneath the rails like there are on the points. Is it possible to mount one of these onto Peco's double slip or does that have to be under baseboard mounted motors?

Another short film on Talking Pics TV...this one was about the South East of England...my neck of the woods. A few railway bits, some of steam at Chislet colliery and some of southern EMU's. Sadly the film isn't of great quality, I think it was one of those that got shown in cinemas back in the 60's (and probably in the 70's without realising how out of date it was)

While working on the bridge the station building has got a bit neglected while I figure out how to sort out the windows. But I have now got the chimney pots done. Just thin strips of thick paper 118gsm in this case from work stuff that was going to be thrown out. Cut into thin and thinner strips, curled up and glued into tubes. A coat of matt black for the insides and Railmatch light brick for the outside. I decided to do a fancy looking one and the rest plain terracotta replacement pots and one of those longer ones with a sort of roof thingy on it...presumably they are suppose to keep the rain out.

Well the past few days of isolation have given me the chance to get a job finished off and now the bridge that hides the baseboard joint is now complete. Gave the girders a coat of dark blue mixed with a light grey. Then it was dry brushing white over that to give a faded look. The box girder section the plate sides were fixed too was given a coat of dark green and then also dry brushed with white to give a faded look. Some blobs of dark and also light rust in a few areas and then some areas were patch painted in slightly different shades or just a dark grey and that was it. Quite a reasonable job considering it's been so many years since I've done anything like this and I'm limited to the number of paints I have at the moment.

Some track down at last. Just temporarily pinned in place for the moment so I can work out the width and length of the station platform. And I couldn't resist getting a few trains out to see how they looked.