unravelled

There appear to be some tools behind the men. I had thought they were maintaining the point/signal works, but I think they might be stopped there for a break at a suitable seat. Perhaps they flagged the driver down for some boining water! The line behind them is partially laid with concrete block sleepers, and although I can't absolutely date these films, I think it was relaid with wooden sleepers in 1965. One of the other curious things in this photo is the regular patches of fresh ballast between the tracks, which show up over quite a few films. Thanks Dave

A pair from Oxford North Junction/Walton Well Rd bridge, 1964. Workers wait for passing trains. I think in the second, the driver has stopped well in advance of the signal, so that the wagons will not obstruct the workers. Not that they seem to be taking advantage of the fact... Thanks Dave

A couple from the Swanage branch 1964, Thanks Dave

These are some of the larger items. The cast iron sign came from Chalford after closure, along with afew other door signs. The Brockley (my local station) collection are a result of the overground branding a year or so ago. The platform signs are the temporary ones there until the proper roundel ones were installed. They are in fact the Southern signs, with overground vinyls applied. At some point I may strip back one or two to the southern form. One of the underlying signs is a platform end one including the Southern branding, the others are station name only. There was also an overlay screwed to the station sign, with joint overground/double arrow branding, which is hanging indoors. Thanks Dave

Fibre optic strands fading between red and white at the edge of the burned area, and a smoke unit below. It has to be done... There may have been less litter, but there was a lot more trespass! It's a shame that I didn't buy enough film to record more. Dave

Thanks, it's good to see them enjoyed. Many of my negatives had been unseen until I scannned them last year. In time they will be on Flickr, but I have a lot of work to tag and caption them to make them useful. I'm using Picasa to do the cataloguing, but it will take time. In the meantime I'll post odd photos to RMweb where useful. Once I start posting significant sets on Flickr I'll let people know on here. Unfortunately I foolishly cut up many of my 120 negs into individual frames many years ago, so resorting them into chronological(ish) order is taking some time. Dave

The black and white pics are from August 1966. These are as scanned, so probably capable of a bit of improvement... As well as better hands on maintenance, I guess that more aggressive weedkillers could be used in those days. I've always wondered how much effect the heat fom a steam loco's ashpan would have on keeping vegetation down. Another trackside feature some of the pics show is the height of signal wire run, perhaps to keep it above normal snow levels? Thanks Dave

I've seen variations of this message used on the Overground, DLR and Southern recently. The amusing/scary thing is that on each occasion it has referred to a terminal/bay platform, with a stationary train alongside RIMG2070 by unravelled, on Flickr Dave

I hope there are some identifiable vehicles in these 60s pics There was a regular early evening parcels train through Oxford which for a while was a Castle turn. This is 5063 in mid 1964 This was an interesting vehicle W2W (a generator van?) in the train around the same date This is at Chalford soon before closure. The Brimscome banker (4100) piloting a Hymek From early 1975 75055 approaches Aristotle lane crossing from Bicester or beyond And on 5/9/65 at Didcot Thanks Dave

http://http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8220/8303851615_bd78e0ef6c_b.jpg RIMG2565 by unravelled, on Flickr

And Whitechapel.

Sorry about delayed reply, and untidy scribbles on your plan, but this is what I was suggesting. I didn't make it even messier by altering the spacing of the lines past the bridge, though that would need to be a sloping single line each side of the double track. As I said, i don't know if the ruling curves would allow this, and what effect it would have on the planned carriage sidings. Thanks Dave

I think the extra junction to separate the loop is a real winner, but have to mention another possibility for the older plan. The main issue is whether it would compromise curve radii, but how about making the bridge single track, and keeping the up line inside the loop. This would save a diamond at the junction, and allow the 4 track section in front of the fiddle yard to be a scenic flying junction approach. Thanks Dave

http:// RIMG0217 by unravelled, on Flickr I don't think that means what they think. http:// RIMG0131 by unravelled, on Flickr At the paralympics http:// RIMG0136 by unravelled, on Flickr Also at the paralympics. It seemed a little odd to put the mobility storefront up a couple of steps... Dave

http:// RIMG0602 by unravelled, on Flickr Dave

http:// RIMG0172 by unravelled, on Flickr Dave

One bit of wildlife getting close to another, on the Ravensbourne in Brookmill Park, down by the DLR. Dave

With the baseboards, have you considered making some bespoke panels yourself so that the framing misses point motors etc.? Just a few panels with extra slots to add flexibility to the positioning. Thanks Dave

The steel windows (Crittall?) would make a good dimensional reference for the Decoish Tennants building. Dave

There's always the "living in sin" option. It works for us, and so far for our daughter... To get back to topic, looking forward to further developments, this is always a favourite thread. Thanks Dave

An alternative to the Arduino might be the Picaxe system, which uses a higher level programming language, easy to learn if you've used BASIC. http://www.picaxe.com/ Dave

I've recently been scanning in long unseen negatives, and found this. Shap 1966. Dave

Maplin sell a one with heater and a 264mm x 164mm x 80mm tank size for £100. http://www.maplin.co.uk/professional-ultrasonic-cleaner-8050-h-261248. I think it has been on an offer price recently. That would be OK for most 00 needs. Slightly off topic, but I was impressed when British Gas turned up with an ultrasonic cleaner to sort out a central heating problem. After about 3 hours treatment, the heat exchanger was working as good as new. That used citric acid poured into the heat exchanger as cleaner, with hot water in the bath. Dave

If there are any specific DLR station detail photos you need, let me know, and I'll try to get them on my travels. Dave

I've ended up assembling and dismantling these kits a few times, trying to get it right. Changing the tabs on the window sections so that the roof fitted the right way was fairly easy. A bit of scrap glued to the top and shaped when set, using the opposite side to get the locations right. The original tabs were removed after the new ones were done. While I'm not too worried about the appearance of the windows, I do find that they cause the sides to bow out in the centre. I haven't worked out how best to thin things down to solve this. Flush glazing is an option, but I'll see what I can do with the originals first. I might end up just glueing a panel in to pull the sides together. Thanks Dave