Ffarquhar - North Western Region of British Railways

[Tom F]

19 minutes ago, AlfaZagato said:

I believe one of the Awdry-penned companion volumes state that Thomas was supposed to be an honest E2.     Also, Awdry's disagreement with Dalby is not entirely unknown.   I imagine both another member posting here would be able to verify the source, and that we are drifting greatly at this point.

 

I personally do not agree with this, but this is just my opinion. My primary reasons though for feeling Thomas is considerably modified, is because the last model Awdry produced of Thomas for his Ffarquhar layout (MK II) which he made from a Hornby E2, had a number of visual differences that made it look more like Thomas. If Awdry intended Thomas to be a straight up E2, why make the mods?
 

 

You can argue there are issues with the Payne/Dalby illustrations, but Awdry had the opportunity to amend these Thomas issues with illustrators John T Kenney and Peter Edwards, but Thomas stayed roughly the same.

 

However this is just my opinion. It's all conjecture and with Awdry long gone.... a definitive answer will be never known.

 

Edited December 16, 2019 by Tom F

[RedGemAlchemist]

11 minutes ago, Aire Head said:

J50

Indeed. The original toy of Thomas made by Awdry was based on a J50.

[Tom F]

Back to work for the North Western Region and No 6 shunts wagons ready to be made up for the 5.25pm Tidmouth-Barrow 'Class D' partially fitted goods.  Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

[Denbridge]

On 16/12/2019 at 18:54, Aire Head said:

 

While I accept the point I would also observe that banking engines returning to the bottom of a gradient and Stanier, Fairburn and Standard tanks are somewhat different to an E2 taking 3 coaches down a mainline bunker first! 

 

But yes I do agree that you are correct in saying that it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to run bunker first on the mainline.

Tank engines regularly worked trains bunker first on the real railway. Most tanks, particularly 0.6.0 and 2.6.2 were equally capable of operating just as well running bunker first as they were chimney leading. Indeed it was part of the design brief.

[Tom F]

In 1956, Awdry made a visit to Tidmouth Sheds to find NWR No 7 resting in the yard. After chatting with his crew, it seems he had been sent for minor repair from Ffarquhar. However, after some investigation it seems a full overhaul is in order, so No 7 will be heading on to Crovan's Gate later today.

It will be a long journey having to be diagrammed between trains.

 

[Jack P]

8 minutes ago, Tom F said:

It will be a long journey having to be diagrammed between trains

 

Hopefully any signalmen he encounters aren't too impatient..

[RJS1977]

On 26/12/2019 at 17:37, Denbridge said:

Tank engines regularly worked trains bunker first on the real railway. Most tanks, particularly 0.6.0 and 2.6.2 were equally capable of operating just as well running bunker first as they were chimney leading. Indeed it was part of the design brief.

 

In fact, it could be argued that running backwards was preferable, as the driver didn't have a boiler and a plume of smoke obscuring his view....

[Tom F]

No 6 ready for duty in the Yard.

[Alister_G]

On 26/12/2019 at 17:37, Denbridge said:

Tank engines regularly worked trains bunker first on the real railway.

 

I think as modellers we sometimes hold a somewhat idealistic view of what happened on the real railway. Even express engines often made positioning moves running tender first, (light engine of course). An example I came across was the first train of the day from Bakewell to Derby - which would nowadays be thought of as a commuter train - which was normally hauled by a Jubilee from Nottingham, which ran tender first to Bakewell, where the coaching stock was held in the goods yard overnight.

 

Al.

[richbrummitt]

8 hours ago, RJS1977 said:

 

In fact, it could be argued that running backwards was preferable, as the driver didn't have a boiler and a plume of smoke obscuring his view....

 

This might depend on the style of cab. I've never driven an engine but I would be inclined to agree if the cab were enclosed. Perhaps the crew would not if a half cab or just a spectacle plate were present.

[Bucoops]

8 hours ago, richbrummitt said:

 

This might depend on the style of cab. I've never driven an engine but I would be inclined to agree if the cab were enclosed. Perhaps the crew would not if a half cab or just a spectacle plate were present.

 

I know that sometimes engies were modified to suit lines - e.g. some J15s had modified cabs so when used on the Colne Valley line which didn't have a turntable. A lot of Scottish based locos also had improved crew accomodation for obvious reasons!

[Tom F]

Finally finished the 'Sodor Roadways' singledecker Regal III, which worked the North West of Sodor.

 

It had a race with NWR No 1 once back in 1948.....

[Tom F]

Happy New Year!

Sadly Percy isn't feeling any New Year cheer, as he sidles about the yard, shunting!

'Get a move on No 6! We haven't got all day!'

 

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by Tom F

[Adrian Stevenson]

That looks excellent Tom.

 

Cheers, Ade.

[Tom F]

5 hours ago, Adrian Stevenson said:

That looks excellent Tom.

 

Cheers, Ade.

 

Thanks Ade, the old Leaman Road layout is proving quite a nice photographic set!

I've built a kit tonight for a non railway Awdry character. I'll reveal all once it's painted up and weathered! (saying that I have mentioned it a few weeks ago in this thread)

[RedGemAlchemist]

17 hours ago, Tom F said:

a non railway Awdry character.

Harold or Terence?

[RJS1977]

Or Caroline, or Bulgy, or the Vicar's traction engine (whose name escapes me). Or George the steamroller.

 

I was going to say Bulstrode, but I think he was in one of Christopher's books rather than Wilbert's.

[Tom F]

3 hours ago, RedGemAlchemist said:

Harold or Terence?

 

Indeed....well the latter!
Ready for the top coat tomorrow.
 

 

[Dorkingian]

I've only just come across this fascinating thread, but I have some Thomas photos over in the Garden Railways section:

 

 

 

[BritishGypsum4]

I know you have been keeping me entertained with your modelling Tom and showing me photos as you've been completing different kits and different items but I really cannot wait to see how it all goes together on the layout and how you will bring to life the Railway Series in model form. 

It won't be just a "Thomas" layout but a layout of a branch line terminus in its own right.

Me thinks a timetable a long the lines of what Rev. Awdry had for his might not go amiss? 

[Tom F]

2 minutes ago, BritishGypsum4 said:

Me thinks a timetable a long the lines of what Rev. Awdry had for his might not go amiss? 

 

Funny you should say that, I know a gentleman who is doing the very thing! Word has it he is channelling Awdry's spirit as he writes it......  

Edited January 4, 2020 by Tom F

[BritishGypsum4]

1 minute ago, Tom F said:

 

Funny you should say that, I know a gentleman who is doing the very thing! Word has it he is channelling Awdry's spirit as he writes it......  

 

Really? Wonder if the person in question has been told to "Get his finger out?"

[Brocp]

That wouldn't be your Dad driving Terence now would it?

[Pacific231G]

On 28/12/2019 at 21:51, richbrummitt said:

 

This might depend on the style of cab. I've never driven an engine but I would be inclined to agree if the cab were enclosed. Perhaps the crew would not if a half cab or just a spectacle plate were present.

Running bunker first was entirely normal for tank engines and it was unusual for the termini of shorter branch lines to even have turntables. Indeed, the presence of a turntable at the end of a branch such as Minehead or Kingswear was a strong clue that they were worked, at least in part, by tender locos. Equally, the powerful tank locos used on suburban services spent half their time going backwards and most tank locos were designed for this *. Even without push pull working the fast turnrounds required to maintain a rush-hour service certainly didn't allow time for shoving them round on turntables.

I also remember a school railway society visit to a fairly large shed in the South Wales valleys that handled only tank locos, mostly for coal traffic I think, and it was noteworthy that there was no turntable. Even at my local and much visited shed at Oxford  I can't ever recall seeing a tank loco on the turntable

 

Contemporary photographs are rather misleading here as most photographers and book editors prefer to see steam locos from the front so that's what tends to appear but. You can see this in the first half of this rather poor quality film of London commuter services from the 1930s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q-Pmgt92Hk . In the shots focussing on passengers and stations, about two thirds of the locos are seen running bunker first but in all the shots of passing trains out on the line the locos are chimney first.

 

*It's interesting to note that when Paris-Bastille went from loco hauled to push-pull working in the early 1960s the 2-8-2s that worked the service until it closed at the end of 1969 were invariably at the country end of the train (for the obvious reason of avoiding smoke under the overall roof) and almost invariably running bunker first when the loco was leading see here for an example https://www.flickr.com/photos/90134546@N00/2201936349. These locos like the non push-pull fitted Prairies (131TB) that preceded  them were specifically built for Paris suburban services so visibility would have been part of the design.  I don't know if this was equally true of similar services in Britain but it wouldn't surprise me.

[Tom F]

7 hours ago, Brocp said:

That wouldn't be your Dad driving Terence now would it?

 

It is indeed. I think it would have made him smile to have been upgraded from a mobility scooter to a crawler tractor!