Castle Aching

[Andy Hayter]

I had to laugh at that Edwardian.

 

Here in France we are lucky enough to have such a magazine coving the pre-nationalisation period - grouping had been completed largely by 1870 (and de-grouping - giving the Alsace-Loraine network to the German empire  - in 1871).

 

Rails d'Autrefois (rails of previous times) is produced twice per year plus a special edition covering a specific subject.  My €25/year to be a non-voting member of the Historic Railways of France Circle (CHdeRF) gets me these delivered to the door.  Cheap by my reckoning.

 

the "problem" in the UK is that the pre-grouping societies each cover their area of interest with their own publications * and while many are open and helpful to specific questions, the majority of their precious information is hidden behind the members only section of their websites.

 

*and very god some of them are.  The LYR Society probably is  the best of the best - and before I am accused of bias, I am not a member (yet).

 

Compare that with the French organisation mentioned above with

https://www.railsdautrefois.fr/?option=com_content&view=article&id=26&Itemid=26

https://www.railsdautrefois.fr/wikiplm/

https://www.railsdautrefois.fr/wikipo/

https://www.railsdautrefois.fr/wikimidi/

 

where you will find descriptions,  histories, pictures and drawings.

 

The only thing missing from a modellers' perspective is models and layouts.

 

Oh that the UK could do the same or similar.

[Edwardian]

4 minutes ago, ian said:

Ian Allan did consider using 'Model Railway Constructor' for 'Hornby Magazine' but the research that they did showed that:

• Most of the target market hadn't heard of MRC so there was no benefit in using the name.
• Those that HAD heard of it expected/wanted it to be just the same rather than the planned style.
• The newstrade and public associated the name 'Hornby' with model railways and it came with a certain cachet.

Thus the die was cast and the magazine then spent a considerable amount of time and effort in persuading people that its remit covered the products of other manufacturers, scales other than OO and was open to kit and scratch-building. 

 

That fits with what I heard.  the title rather put me off, and, certainly, it used to be very Fifties orientated. 

 

My anecdote might be hearsay, but I learnt it at a pre-rule-of-six meeting at Embsay that I'm not allowed to mention (oh, damn!), so pretty much from the bouche de cheval

[Regularity]

1 hour ago, Edwardian said:

It was at that point I realised that if I tried opening a bank account in the name of HMRC, I'd probably go to prison.  

Depends if you get caught, and even then, on if you are a powerful friend of Boris...

 

A few years back I had to file a “Suspicious Activity Report” for a financial crime, where someone had intercepted a cheque for a few thousand pounds that had been written out to “H. M. R. C.” (Despite the client being repeatedly told to not use the initials but the whole phrase.) The criminal had altered the cheque by inserting the ninth letter of the alphabet between the third and fourth letters, opened a very basic deposit account at a branch of a once-building society by cashing the cheque, waited for it to clear, then withdrawn it. No other ID had been requested (bad former building society) but really, I had to laugh when I saw a photocopy of the cheque, for the name read, “H. M. Ri C”. Quite possibly very obvious! This is why banks require more identification. I’d like to say that this decades ago, but April 2013..

 

 

[Edwardian]

4 minutes ago, Regularity said:

Depends if you get caught, and even then, on if you are a powerful friend of Boris...

 

A few years back I had to file a “Suspicious Activity Report” for a financial crime, where someone had intercepted a cheque for a few thousand pounds that had been written out to “H. M. R. C.” (Despite the client being repeatedly told to not use the initials but the whole phrase.) The criminal had altered the cheque by inserting the ninth letter of the alphabet between the third and fourth letters, opened a very basic deposit account at a branch of a once-building society by cashing the cheque, waited for it to clear, then withdrawn it. No other ID had been requested (bad former building society) but really, I had to laugh when I saw a photocopy of the cheque, for the name read, “H. M. Ri C”. Quite possibly very obvious! This is why banks require more identification. I’d like to say that this decades ago, but April 2013..

 

 

 

I knew a trust company in the BVI that managed to form a company for a client despite some very obviously faked ID (the guy had three ears on this passport photograph.

 

Possible also a friend of Boris ..... but, I promised only to refer to the Fools and Knaves who govern us in the 'Proceedings ... topic'!  

 

Let's help keep Castle Aching BREXIT & COVID free!

 

And the glorious flight from reality it deserves to be!

 

 

[Regularity]

2 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

I promised only to refer to the Fools and Knaves who govern us in the 'Proceedings ... topic'!  

 

Let's help keep Castle Aching BREXIT & COVID free!

Mea culpa.

In my defence, I didn’t make such a promise, and I forgot where I was.

[St Enodoc]

9 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Congratulations folks, you have joined a ‘readers club’ of which I have long been a member, indeed Edwardian has included two layouts that have appeared in my thread because they are such perfect examples of the old school in 0.

 

I’ve got 1926 unbound, with adverts too, and that opens another window.

Over the years I've managed to build up a complete set of MRN and its successors, MRC and RM. Fascinating reading as well as great reference sources.

 

I prefer unbound copies as you can see the covers and averts as you say, and it's also easier to open a double-page drawing.

 

9 hours ago, Edwardian said:

There are some delightful noms de plume; 'Pedagogue' (school railway), 'The Looker-On', 'Controller', 'Sparks', 'Electroscope', 'Ovidian' (perhaps in need of a change?), 'Disgruntled', 'Lord of the Isles', 'Shunter', 'Great Western', 'Enthusiast', 'Interlock', and, simply, 'Father' No 'Edwardian', sadly.

Quite possibly all pseudonyms for the Editor in the absence of a regular correspondents' base.

[Edwardian]

9 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

 

I prefer unbound copies as you can see the covers and averts as you say, and it's also easier to open a double-page drawing.

 

 

 

I agree, I enjoy my father's old RMs all the more for the adverts.  Only with an unbound copy does one gain the complete experience!

[Adam88]

I think this little film might appeal to the denizens of CA in particular.  I can think of two or three folk for certain.  They possibly know about it but it was a bit of a discovery for me and I found it very interesting.

 

https://screenarchive.brighton.ac.uk/detail/7039/

 

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by Adam88

[brianusa]

Schematics or line drawings of British model railways invariably seem to be a mass of tracks more or less going in a circular direction.  This seems to be an extension of the train set, whereas in the US, layouts tend to be more variable, even running from A to B without passing the same place twice.  Maybe its more available space in the US for the layout although those shown seem pretty big.

        Brian.

[Annie]

2 hours ago, Adam88 said:

I think this little might appeal to the denizens of CA in particular.  I can think of two or three folk for certain.  They possibly know about it but it was a bit of a discovery for me and I found it very interesting.

 

https://screenarchive.brighton.ac.uk/detail/7039/

 

 

That was brilliant, - thank you very much for posting that video link Adam.  Very much an image of it's time though as cigarette smoking is now considered to be very much unacceptable behaviour, - and as for smoking indoors or near children, - tut tut.  

Lovely to see a wooden coach kit being assembled, - one of my great treasures is an 'O' gauge LSWR brake coach assembled from a very old wooden kit.

[ianathompson]

15 hours ago, brianusa said:

Schematics or line drawings of British model railways invariably seem to be a mass of tracks more or less going in a circular direction.  This seems to be an extension of the train set, whereas in the US, layouts tend to be more variable, even running from A to B without passing the same place twice.  Maybe its more available space in the US for the layout although those shown seem pretty big.

 

I think that it is also an attitude of mind.

 

British modellers tend to adopt the viewpoint of someone standing beside the line.

This may be an observer watching from a station platform or looking over a bridge or it might be a worker such as a signalman.

A parade of trains passes by and maybe one or two stop to shunt.

Once the trains have passed by they circle around and retire to a fiddleyard, unless, obviously, the layout is a BLT.

 

US layouts are built from the view point of some-one worling on the train.

The train passes through various locations, crosses (meets) other trains, does its work and eventually terminates either on or off scene.

There is much more emphasis upon traffic demands reflecting the needs of local communities and industries.

 

The implication that the modeller must have a large amount of space to model anything other than a roundy roundy is belied by some of the more interesting small layouts that have appeared in the US press across the years.

I enlarged upon my layout design views on the AFK website here, although most people are, understandably not too interested in reading about my opinions!

 

Incidentally, I've spent the last week or so digressing from my chosen path and designing a bowl of spaghetti suburban network 4x2 coffee table layout .

It comes complete with works, carriage sidings and PW yard alongside seven or eight stations.

It is in N gauge of course.

Whether it will get built is another issue!

 

Ian T

[Nearholmer]

11 minutes ago, ianathompson said:

a bowl of spaghetti suburban network 4x2 coffee table layout .

 

Scaled-up to 0, I think that works out to 14ft x 7ft, which is close to the size of a garage, which can definitely accommodate a decent amount of 0 gauge spaghetti, if you adopt tight curves and coarse wheel standards, and (whisper it quietly) N wheels are indeed quite coarse. In short: I get it.

 

However, something like that in N will inevitably look like a bowl of spaghetti, unless it is well disguised (using a lot of sauce?!), because you can see it all at once. In a garage in 0, one stands in the middle of the writhing mass of extruded pasta and it doesn't look too crowded, because you can't see more than about a third of it at a time, and usually focus on a lot less than that.

 

Do you have a garage?

[ian]

1 hour ago, ianathompson said:

 

Incidentally, I've spent the last week or so digressing from my chosen path and designing a bowl of spaghetti suburban network 4x2 coffee table layout .

It comes complete with works, carriage sidings and PW yard alongside seven or eight stations.

It is in N gauge of course.

 

Ian T

 

Wow! That would be quite something.

[Edwardian]

20 hours ago, Adam88 said:

I think this little might appeal to the denizens of CA in particular.  I can think of two or three folk for certain.  They possibly know about it but it was a bit of a discovery for me and I found it very interesting.

 

https://screenarchive.brighton.ac.uk/detail/7039/

 

 

 

This is brilliant, thank you.

 

Just had 20 minutes plus stable internet coinciding to view.

 

Another great 'period piece', if you can find it, is Peter Cushing making and painting his Napoleonic model soldiers. 

[Northroader]

3 hours ago, ianathompson said:

 

I think that it is also an attitude of mind.

 

British modellers tend to adopt the viewpoint of someone standing beside the line.

This may be an observer watching from a station platform or looking over a bridge or it might be a worker such as a signalman.

A parade of trains passes by and maybe one or two stop to shunt.

Once the trains have passed by they circle around and retire to a fiddleyard, unless, obviously, the layout is a BLT.

 

US layouts are built from the view point of some-one worling on the train.

The train passes through various locations, crosses (meets) other trains, does its work and eventually terminates either on or off scene.

There is much more emphasis upon traffic demands reflecting the needs of local communities and industries.

 

The implication that the modeller must have a large amount of space to model anything other than a roundy roundy is belied by some of the more interesting small layouts that have appeared in the US press across the years.

I enlarged upon my layout design views on the AFK website here, although most people are, understandably not too interested in reading about my opinions!

 

Incidentally, I've spent the last week or so digressing from my chosen path and designing a bowl of spaghetti suburban network 4x2 coffee table layout .

It comes complete with works, carriage sidings and PW yard alongside seven or eight stations.

It is in N gauge of course.

Whether it will get built is another issue!

 

Ian T

 

Doesnt sound as good as the AFK is.

[ianathompson]

4 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Do you have a garage?

 

No. The AFK is built in an upstairs room which occupies the footprint of the intended garage.

The downstairs went on an exteneded kitchen and a library/study for the railway book and magazine colection.

 

Ian T

[ian]

Ian, please show us the plan so we can play with it in our imagination.

[ianathompson]

41 minutes ago, ian said:

Ian, please show us the plan so we can play with it in our imagination.

 

If you want the AFK plan start from here.

There is  a general schematic and plans of each individual station.

 

If you want the proposed suburban system I can sketch it out for you.

 

I am waiting for some copper clad sleepers to arrive so that I can begin stage 1.

 

As uax6 of this parish said; it might be a good idea to attempt to finish one of the other five or six layouts that I have on the go rather than beginning another half baked episode.

 

Ian T

[Schooner]

On 08/11/2020 at 23:13, Adam88 said:

I think this little might appeal to the denizens of CA in particular.  I can think of two or three folk for certain.  They possibly know about it but it was a bit of a discovery for me and I found it very interesting.

 

https://screenarchive.brighton.ac.uk/detail/7039/

 

 

 

Absolutely wonderful, and new to me. Thank you for sharing it here.

 

The fag-and-sock combo is a strong look, I wonder when it will make a come-back...

Edited November 10, 2020 by Schooner
More haste, less accuracy

[ian]

9 hours ago, ianathompson said:

 

If you want the AFK plan start from here.

There is  a general schematic and plans of each individual station.

 

If you want the proposed suburban system I can sketch it out for you.

 

I am waiting for some copper clad sleepers to arrive so that I can begin stage 1.

 

As uax6 of this parish said; it might be a good idea to attempt to finish one of the other five or six layouts that I have on the go rather than beginning another half baked episode.

 

Ian T

 

Thanks Ian. I am already an avid follower of the AFK - hence I am intrigued to see what your N gauge plan looks like.

[rocor]

19 hours ago, ianathompson said:

 

Incidentally, I've spent the last week or so digressing from my chosen path and designing a bowl of spaghetti suburban network 4x2 coffee table layout .

It comes complete with works, carriage sidings and PW yard alongside seven or eight stations.

It is in N gauge of course.

Whether it will get built is another issue!

 

Ian T

 

A floor to ceiling spiral?

[rocor]

On 08/11/2020 at 23:13, Adam88 said:

I think this little film might appeal to the denizens of CA in particular.  I can think of two or three folk for certain.  They possibly know about it but it was a bit of a discovery for me and I found it very interesting.

 

https://screenarchive.brighton.ac.uk/detail/7039/

 

 

 

It was the continuous consumption of beer and cigarettes that gave those old time railway modellers their steady hands.

[ianathompson]

18 minutes ago, rocor said:

A floor to ceiling spiral?

Got one of them already!

To prevent thread hi-jack I have posted in the Layouts section.

I don't expect to make too much progress on this in the near future but enough people seem interested to make this a better option.

 

Ian T

[Adam88]

3 hours ago, rocor said:

 

It was the continuous consumption of beer and cigarettes that gave those old time railway modellers their steady hands.

 Who else remembers George Slater of Slater's Plastikard demonstrating on his stand at the old Manchester exhibition?  He invariably had a fag going with about an inch and a half of delicately poised ash.  It was stated on the bottle that you should never smoke while using the MEK solvent as it would turn into phosgene.  Apparently though it didn't do George much harm as he lasted well into his eighties or nineties and his lungs had already taken a beating after being gassed in the Great War.  In those days all the model shows were 'atmospheric' (carcinogenic?), very many well-known modellers would be seen smoking a pipe and sometimes sharing a bottle of claret.  One of my friends declares that railway modelling can be a very unhealthy hobby if you're not careful.  On the other hand the social and mental health benefits of being able to engage with like-minded folk via places such as this can be tremendous.

Edited November 10, 2020 by Adam88

[Edwardian]

To quote from the history of West Norfolk, as pertaining  to Smoxborough, as thus far set down in the opening post:

 

During the 1850s a manufactory was established on the Castle Aching Road outside the the village boundary devoted to the production of Dr Gulliver's Lavender Health Biscuits. The factory has expanded considerably since the purchase of the business by Huntley & Palmer of Reading in 1895. The sale was the culmination of a 10-year campaign by George Palmer of that firm to obtain the secret recipe after tasting one of the lavender biscuits at the Grand Hotel, Birchoverham next the Sea in 1885. Eventually he was successful, but only after he agreed to purchase the business and on condition that the manufacture continued at the Smoxborough works. This undoubtedly helped Huntley and Palmer to gain a Royal warrant from the Prince of Wales, also very partial to a nibble it would seem, and these fine comestibles are now sold throughout the world under the name of Royal Sandringham Lavender Biscuits.

 

I have uncovered a rare contemporary pencil sketch of the Smoxborough Works and have added a micro-layout plan based on the details gleaned from the OS 1905 survey and the surviving photographs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2020 by Edwardian
spelling!