martinT Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Heard earlier on the Today programme historian Peter Hennessy talking about his new book on Britain in the early 1960s. Politicians then were very 'broad gauge'! Most had experienced the depression of the 30s, fought in the war, managed the rebuilding of the UK & the rest of Europe, lived thro' the 50s & the peril of nuclear annihilation, & were coping with the end of empire. By comparison today's lot are very 'narrow gauge'. Brilliant! (With apologies to those not of a GW-persuasion). Martin 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
runs as required Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 11 hours ago, Edwardian said: Behind the scenes in the museum study centre today, I came across a model of S&D No.160, a Bouch passenger design of 1860. Lucky you James! I remember a good first novel "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" (about York) by Kate Atkinson 'Have a Nice Day' dh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam88 Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 2 hours ago, Compound2632 said: If so, have Head of Steam got Edward Pease's son's Brio train too? The reason I ask is because I once knew a man who lived in Bishop Auckland who made models of this type for the Bowes Museum but when I visited a few years ago I could see none on display so I wondered if they had perhaps been transferred elsewhere. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted August 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2019 The "Brio" train was in the toy gallery at Bowes when I first visited about a quarter of a century ago but was not there on my visit two years ago. It was said to have been made for Edward Pease's son c. 1825, so possibly the world's first (or maybe oldest extant) toy train. It really was Brio-like - about the same size and level of crudity. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted August 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 31, 2019 2 hours ago, martinT said: Heard earlier on the Today programme historian Peter Hennessy talking about his new book on Britain in the early 1960s. Politicians then were very 'broad gauge'! Most had experienced the depression of the 30s, fought in the war, managed the rebuilding of the UK & the rest of Europe, lived thro' the 50s & the peril of nuclear annihilation, & were coping with the end of empire. By comparison today's lot are very 'narrow gauge'. Brilliant! (With apologies to those not of a GW-persuasion). Martin Whatever good they did it soon went off the rails by the 70s. Also there were warnings then about Global Warming totally ignored and policies which had a long term adverse effect. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonman Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 4 hours ago, martinT said: Heard earlier on the Today programme historian Peter Hennessy talking about his new book on Britain in the early 1960s. Politicians then were very 'broad gauge'! Most had experienced the depression of the 30s, fought in the war, managed the rebuilding of the UK & the rest of Europe, lived thro' the 50s & the peril of nuclear annihilation, & were coping with the end of empire. By comparison today's lot are very 'narrow gauge'. Brilliant! (With apologies to those not of a GW-persuasion). Martin Only trouble is that in that particular 'gauge war' the narrow gauge won by a knock out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brack Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 4 hours ago, martinT said: Heard earlier on the Today programme historian Peter Hennessy talking about his new book on Britain in the early 1960s. Politicians then were very 'broad gauge'! Most had experienced the depression of the 30s, fought in the war, managed the rebuilding of the UK & the rest of Europe, lived thro' the 50s & the peril of nuclear annihilation, & were coping with the end of empire. By comparison today's lot are very 'narrow gauge'. Brilliant! (With apologies to those not of a GW-persuasion). Martin Not sure I agree, Eric pickles is definitely broad gauge. And narrow gauge is charming, interesting, useful, diverse and cheaper to install and run than broader gauges. Not sure our current politicians are. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinT Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 49 minutes ago, wagonman said: Only trouble is that in that particular 'gauge war' the narrow gauge won by a knock out. At the time I thought it a slightly strange comparison for Hennessy to make, but humuorous nevertheless - I wonder whether he is a closet GW enthusiast? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 43 minutes ago, brack said: Not sure I agree, Eric pickles is definitely broad gauge. And narrow gauge is charming, interesting, useful, diverse and cheaper to install and run than broader gauges. Not sure our current politicians are. I get Peter Hennessys drift though, its a useful analogy for breadth of vision, he was probably chary of using the expression "broad church" to denote breadth of experience, understanding, compassion, etc. Unlike the tunnel vision that rules in the minds of those in charge today. So, the Rebel Alliance are definitely Broad Gauge? Hoorah!!! Now all we have to determine is how broad the gauge is, 7ft, or merely 5ft... Just testing a Raspberry Pi Mk 4 with 4Gb memory. For £80 with PSU, OS and HDMI lead, its a valid replacement for an obsolete Windows desktop. If you're happy to use Linux and don't have an overriding requirement for software that only runs on Windows. Its definitely quick enough. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted August 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2019 (edited) Well, really. Has the lesson of the BG fiasco still not been learnt? The disruption to trade introduced by the discontinuity in gauge far outweighed the self-satisfaction of having found a supposedly better way of doing things. The Great Western was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy by the 1860s, all because the investors had let themselves be browbeaten into unwise decisions by the inflated ego of a person with more charisma than practical experience. It didn't take the company long to realise that the only route back to prosperity was to rejoin the SG camp. Edited August 31, 2019 by Compound2632 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Annie Posted August 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2019 Annie covers her ears and runs away screaming............ 1 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 17 hours ago, Adam88 said: Was this originally from the Bowes Museum? IIRC, the Bowes model was of a Fletcher locomotive. Well Day 1 of the exhibition was a blast. Some great layouts, so well worthwhile for any who can make it tomorrow. I did not have much time to view the exhibits, but here is some of what I managed to see ..... Hearty congratulations go to Crinan for Best in Show: 15 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
runs as required Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 (edited) Never mind Annie... Heh Heh ---while James is away cavorting in museum backroom storage rooms in Darlington, can I post you something OT but more cheering? On the left, in the Guardian this week, is a delightful piece of pre-grouping Victoriana at Newport, South Wales (in Broad Gauge country) ; on the right there is thoroughly modern Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge testing its brand new (probably EU funded) Gondola. Either I imagine would present a challenge equal to Brunel's timber viaducts for the virtual modeller. dh Edit Cave: OUCH! OUCH! ...TOO LATE Yarooh! Edited August 31, 2019 by runs as required 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted August 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2019 Some good looking layouts and excellent modelling. First photo: is the romanesque goods shed based on anywhere in particular? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted August 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2019 3 hours ago, Annie said: Annie covers her ears and runs away screaming............ My apologies for the distress unintentionally caused. He'res a link to a map* with a reasonably good impression of my local main-line station in mixed-gauge days. *Is that accessible outside the UK? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Hayter Posted August 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2019 Viewable here in France. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted August 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2019 5 minutes ago, Andy Hayter said: Viewable here in France. ... try again in November? 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 1 minute ago, Compound2632 said: ... try again in November? Fog in Channel, Continent cut off? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted August 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2019 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Hroth said: Fog in Channel, Continent cut off? No, that's not where the fog is. On branch with saw, tree cut off? Edited August 31, 2019 by Compound2632 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Hayter Posted August 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 31, 2019 4 minutes ago, Compound2632 said: ... try again in November? If only comments like that were half funny. I am preparing our alien registration documents and current have 200 pages for each of us. These will need to be photocopied and presented to the authorities. Even our mayor, who is a good friend, agrees that there is every likely hood that they will decide they need something in addition, in which case it is "do not pass Go, do not collect £200" or your residency documents 1 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 1 minute ago, Andy Hayter said: If only comments like that were half funny. I'm afraid that we're getting to the point where Gallows Humour is the only way to relieve the stress. 1 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Compound2632 said: Some good looking layouts and excellent modelling. First photo: is the romanesque goods shed based on anywhere in particular? It's the GNR terminus at Stamford East - here in 2mil - and if I post a shot of the other end of the layout, you'll doubtless recognise the engine shed as the basis of the Prototype Models LNER engine shed kit. This layout was the cause of an unexpected diversion for an hour or so of Friday afternoon. The exhibitor had remembered to pack everything save for the split pins that attached the legs to the board, so off I dash with a Darlington Club member to his home workshop where we spend a happy and companionable hour fashioning replacements out of brass rod. We like to look after our visitors. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Annie Posted September 1, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 1, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, Compound2632 said: My apologies for the distress unintentionally caused. He'res a link to a map* with a reasonably good impression of my local main-line station in mixed-gauge days. *Is that accessible outside the UK? Thank you, - I.K.Brunel was one of the greatest engineers who has ever lived, but his was by no means a perfect genius and he did make some errors of judgement at times. If I couldn't access the NLS map database I wouldn't have got very far at all with any of my projects. Their digital map service is second to none and I'm very happy with the maps I've purchased from them so far. After looking at the map of Reading you linked to I have to say that I'm very glad to be not attempting to make a model of the city and its railways. A fascinating map though and I have to confess that I can lose whole hours in studying these wonderful old OS maps. Edit: Thanks very much James for the wonderful photos. Edited September 1, 2019 by Annie more to say 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm 0-6-0 Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 5 hours ago, Hroth said: I'm afraid that we're getting to the point where Gallows Humour is the only way to relieve the stress. As an Australian I think the whole Brexit idiocy was a prime example of the - What do we want? We don't know!!! When do we want it? Now!!!!!! syndrome. 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted September 1, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 1, 2019 8 hours ago, Edwardian said: It's the GNR terminus at Stamford East - here in 2mil - and if I post a shot of the other end of the layout, you'll doubtless recognise the engine shed as the basis of the Prototype Models LNER engine shed kit. Do not say: "You've made a good job of that old card kit" ... 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now