Reading Signal Works

[CloggyDog]

On 04/08/2019 at 00:43, mewstone said:

This is a photograph taken in 1981, of a new Western Region lower quadrant at Craven Arms, I assume as delivered to site from Reading Signal Works. I thought this might be of interest.

 

It's taken a wee while, but with a bit of time on my hands, I've had a go at replicating the superb pic that mewstone shared last August. 

 

I've used a Winkle, rather than a Whiting, on the assumption that Winkles and Whitings were essentially the same thing. 

 

The green primer is more vivid under the lights than in the Flesh, trust me! 

[5BarVT]

3 minutes ago, CloggyDog said:

The green primer is more vivid under the lights than in the Flesh, trust me! 

I’m glad about that because it feels far too green for my recollection.  I’ll try and get a photo of a genuine late 80s spectacle in primer (it may be yellow rather than green unfortunately).

Paul.

[Fat Controller]

This primer was also used on ex-factory Oleo buffers in the 1970s; I think I used a Humbrol paint called 'NATO Cockpit Green' when I did some wagons with replacement buffers. BR often didn't bother painting them,

[CloggyDog]

While I was on a roll with the Winkle, I also used some Ratio square post GWR lower-quads to load up my Prawn, to represent scrap signals coming back to the works for component recovery. 

[sb67]

Nice work there, those wagons look very good, 

[The Stationmaster]

12 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

I’m glad about that because it feels far too green for my recollection.  I’ll try and get a photo of a genuine late 80s spectacle in primer (it may be yellow rather than green unfortunately).

Paul.

They do look a bit  over-green but thanks to 'puter monitors and cameras we don't really know exactly what colour they really are.  But they definitely all came in green primer in that period, including spectacle plate castings. 

[K14]

3 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

They do look a bit  over-green but thanks to 'puter monitors and cameras we don't really know exactly what colour they really are.  But they definitely all came in green primer in that period, including spectacle plate castings. 

 

BR Spec 81 No. 101 Green Anti-Corrosive Primer.

 

BS381C 216 Eau De Nil is as near as.

 

 

https://www.e-paint.co.uk/Lab_values.asp?cRange=BS 381C&cRef=BS381C 216&cDescription=BS381C 216

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by K14
Typography weirdness

[5BarVT]

Late 80s style in yellow primer rather than green.  Shows how the primer was only a thin coat and some rusting beginning to show through.  (Was left behind in Caversham Road when the stores moved to Woodley.)

 

 

Paul.

[Fat Controller]

The paint in question is Zinc Chromate Primer, available both in green and yellow.

[Compound2632]

14 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

The paint in question is Zinc Chromate Primer, available both in green and yellow.

 

Well then, the actual shade of green seems to be a movable feast.

 

https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/model-master-zinc-chromate-green.36656/

 

Of course the signal works probably was using a reasonably consistent shade, certainly yellower than @mewstone's photo, which like many colour photos of that age, has lost the red end of the spectrum.

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Compound2632

[The Stationmaster]

23 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Late 80s style in yellow primer rather than green.  Shows how the primer was only a thin coat and some rusting beginning to show through.  (Was left behind in Caversham Road when the stores moved to Woodley.)

 

 

Paul.

I reckon that is faded green primer Paul - x zinc chromate yellow was a lot 'yellower' than that and wouldn't fade to that but much paler,  The stuff shipped out of Reading works was very definitely painted green - i used to pass, on my train home, every evening ,the latest wagonload out of the works waiting in Reading Low Level to be tripped to West Jcn.   The only other colour they used was bauxite primer but that was far less common than the green

[Siberian Snooper]

On 03/04/2020 at 14:47, Fat Controller said:

The paint in question is Zinc Chromate Primer, available both in green and yellow.

 

Definitely available in yellow, we used to get through gallons of it, all aluminium components were painted in it and anything that had been zinc dipped.

 

 

[CloggyDog]

On the subject of Whiting (the diag 1/622 14t 2 plank long low S&T wagon), I've just built one for RSW. 

 

Parkside's Fruit D LWB van provided the running gear with a floor and body scratchbuilt from plasticard and Evergreen section. 

 

It's almost ready to enter the paintshop so I'm browsing Paul Bartlett's Whiting gallery for a suitable Reading-branded one. 

Edited July 2, 2020 by CloggyDog

[Jollibob]

Excellent work there, I must admit that I have been silently following this topic and compelled to ask; I found this image online with the level crossing barriers at Didcot and was wondering if they would have been loaded at Reading?

 

Rob.

[5BarVT]

9 hours ago, Jollibob said:

Excellent work there, I must admit that I have been silently following this topic and compelled to ask; I found this image online with the level crossing barriers at Didcot and was wondering if they would have been loaded at Reading?

 

Rob.

Hi Rob,

Yes they would. That type of barrier was made in Reading works and was used on WR and LMR full barrier crossings.  Reading also made the wooden style barriers for AHB crossings.

Paul.

[CloggyDog]

For the virtual Lydd Rail show last weekend, I took a couple of videos of shunting sequences on the layout. 

 

(apologies in advance for any fingerpoking and hamfistedness!) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CHAZ D]

Found these two pics on the web :-

 

https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p942588997/h1fa78d98#h1fa78d98

 

https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p942588997/h11ad14c2#h11ad14c2

 

I  remember these being around when the tracks were embedded in vastern road. 20 was parked just on the north west side of the Vastern Road bridge and the gates for access to cross the road to the depot on the north eastern side were padlocked on both sides of the road

 

 

 

[sb67]

Nice video's CloggyDog, thanks for posting them 

[Johann Marsbar]

I managed to photograph 97 020 lurking behind a fence back in 1981.....

 

[CloggyDog]

Reading Signal Works has a welcome outing to Beaconsfield exhibition on Saturday 2 July

https://www.beaconsfieldmrc.org/annual-exhibition/

I've finally gotten around to adding in a photographic backscene (adapted from a spare print of the one used on my Czech TT micro!) and finished a few more wagons to add to the variety of the fleet.

Edited June 26, 2022 by CloggyDog

[CloggyDog]

Reading Signal Works's next outing is to the Newbury exhibition on Sat 29th October

 

https://newburymrc.co.uk/?page_id=42

 

 

[CloggyDog]

RSW is out at the Basingstoke exhibition on Sat 9 & Sun 10 March. 

 

https://www.basingstokemrs.org/exhibition-2024.html

 

Thus far I've resisted the Hornby model of 88DS 20, as the one scratchbuilt by @Clive Mortimore is still perfectly servicable. 😁 I may even get 97804 from the same stable finally finished for Baz show. 

Edited January 24 by CloggyDog

[MartinRS]

On 05/08/2019 at 13:31, mewstone said:

At the same time on Sunday 6th September 1981 the bracket signal carrying Bromfield's no 25 Down Goods Loop to Down Main and no 27  Down Main Inner Home, was also replaced. Apologies if this is going off topic, however, maybe the "kit of  parts" in the S&T wagon at Craven Arms was this signal. I had not thought of that before?

Wow! That is so different as to how the S&T mechanical gang working on Sheffield no. 2 division (ex GCR) did things in the mid 1970s. They've got a crane! What luxury!

 

On the two occasions I was involved in replacing a semaphore signal the first job was to dig a hole with a ramp. Then the post was slid into the ramp and two ropes would be attatched to the top of the post. The post would be raised and held roughly in position as the hole was quickly filled in. Then minor adjustments would be made to the posts orientation by winding a rope around the base of the signal, at chest height, multiple times which was lashed to a crow-bar, forming a cross. The crow bar was used to rotate the signal a few degrees to ensure the face of the square signal post was facing the direction of traffic. After this the ground would be tammped using a hand tamping tool, a circular mass on the end of a stout wood handle. Once the post was in position the fittings such as the ladder, the signal arm, counter balance and spectacle plate etc. would be fitted to the bare signal post. A sack was used to cover the signal arm prior to commisioning and change-over.

[Michael Hodgson]

20 minutes ago, MartinRS said:

 Once the post was in position the fittings such as the ladder, the signal arm, counter balance and spectacle plate etc. would be fitted to the bare signal post. A sack was used to cover the signal arm prior to commisioning and change-over.

 

The clever trick is getting to the top of the post when there's no ladder fastened to the top of it.

And those bits and bobs like counterweights are heavy.