RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted August 20, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 20, 2019 Thank you @gwrrob I haven't seen that slideshow before. The Standard at Tavistock south must have been taken between 1963-1964 post closure. Very good photographs. I have a copy of the signalman at Horrabridge, a lovely picture. Cheers, Nick. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianusa Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Thanks Nick for this topic. Although not scale modeller, I have learned more of this branch over the last few months which adds to my getting old memories. Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted August 20, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 20, 2019 6 hours ago, gwrrob said: Saw this Nick and thought of you. Lovely. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Prism Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 Autofitted Buffalo 1271 taking water from the pillar tank at the rarely-snapped goods shed end of Tavistock station, probably early to mid-30s. 1271 was apparently the first Buffalo to be autofitted (in 1915), but it looked very different then - saddle tank, open cab, and lever reverse. Along with the other autofitted Buffalos, 1271 was withdrawn in 1937. The clerestory lav composite looks like an 8'-footer, and I thought it might be an E32, but the bogie type and the clerestory roof type don't correlate. No clerestories had autogear if I remember correctly. It's not a great photo - the goods shed is a large South Devon thing, but the construction style of its sides is not clear (vertical boarding?). 6 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianusa Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 What is the vehicle in the picture showing the train heading towards Tavistock with the 45xx and is it the same one that stood for years on a siding, under the bridge at North Road? Also is it an Engineers saloon or similar? Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted August 23, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 23, 2019 12 hours ago, Miss Prism said: Autofitted Buffalo 1271 taking water from the pillar tank at the rarely-snapped goods shed end of Tavistock station, probably early to mid-30s. 1271 was apparently the first Buffalo to be autofitted (in 1915), but it looked very different then - saddle tank, open cab, and lever reverse. Along with the other autofitted Buffalos, 1271 was withdrawn in 1937. The clerestory lav composite looks like an 8'-footer, and I thought it might be an E32, but the bogie type and the clerestory roof type don't correlate. No clerestories had autogear if I remember correctly. It's not a great photo - the goods shed is a large South Devon thing, but the construction style of its sides is not clear (vertical boarding?). Great photo of an auto fitted Buffalo with port hole windows, rather than the rectangular ones usually seen in photos. Any idea when the full cab was fitted? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Prism Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said: Great photo of an auto fitted Buffalo with port hole windows, rather than the rectangular ones usually seen in photos. Any idea when the full cab was fitted? Sorry, SS. 1271 in that pic does have rectangular windows (as noted previously, the pic quality is not great): There were however autofitted Buffalos that looked like 'ordinary' Buffalos, i.e. before and possibly after the full monty 'screw reverse, closed cab with rectangular windows, extended tanks' programme. Autogear could be fitted and defitted without too much bother. Here's autofitted 1256, at Millbay I'm fairly sure, with a traditional porthole-window cab and lever reverse. (I didn't win the bid on the ebay pic.) I don't know the date - it's an oddball, being superheated for a while (v rare for a Buffalo) and fitted with Collett buffers. RCTS gives boiler change dates, tanks change dates, autofitting date, superheated date (where applicable), but does not give cab change dates. For complexity of class histories, I often think the Buffalos surpass the 517s and Metros, and many Buffalos could change their appearance quite radically every couple of years. Every new picture can change the perception and explanation of the whole jigsaw. I'm off to rewrite bits of the Pannier page on gwr.org. Again... Much as I love these older tanks, I do sometimes wonder why Swindon devoted quite so much time and effort constantly altering these old engines in what was obviously their last years, as opposed to focusing on the modern Collett panniers. I guess the implications of Government funding and the accountancy arguments between 'new build' and 'rebuild' engines came into play, and besides which, the big Colletts were still 'blue' engines at that time, the Buffalos having the route advantage of being yellow. Edited August 23, 2019 by Miss Prism 1 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted August 23, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 23, 2019 Back to the drawing board, I'm working on a drawing to get cab front and sides with the rectangular windows etched, to replace the etch in the Alan Gibson one in the kit. The window size will be a guesstimate, because as far as I know there's no drawing for it. No time frame, but probably a lot slower than glacial. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 16 hours ago, brianusa said: What is the vehicle in the picture showing the train heading towards Tavistock with the 45xx and is it the same one that stood for years on a siding, under the bridge at North Road? Also is it an Engineers saloon or similar? Brian. And any thoughts on when the picture was taken? There looks to be a couple of 16t minerals in the siding which suggests 1950's Alex Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpeffers Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 23 hours ago, brianusa said: What is the vehicle in the picture showing the train heading towards Tavistock with the 45xx and is it the same one that stood for years on a siding, under the bridge at North Road? Also is it an Engineers saloon or similar? Brian. https://rcts.zenfolio.com/coaching-stock/gwr/other/hA86FAE85 Doesn’t look like the same coach (or even the same diagram?) but the caption on this image would suggest that the coach shown was an inspection saloon converted from an old passenger coach. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penrhos1920 Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 On 22/08/2019 at 19:52, Miss Prism said: Autofitted Buffalo 1271 taking water from the pillar tank at the rarely-snapped goods shed end of Tavistock station, probably early to mid-30s. 1271 was apparently the first Buffalo to be autofitted (in 1915), but it looked very different then - saddle tank, open cab, and lever reverse. Along with the other autofitted Buffalos, 1271 was withdrawn in 1937. The clerestory lav composite looks like an 8'-footer, and I thought it might be an E32, but the bogie type and the clerestory roof type don't correlate. No clerestories had autogear if I remember correctly. It's not a great photo - the goods shed is a large South Devon thing, but the construction style of its sides is not clear (vertical boarding?). There were 10 GWR clerestories that had autogear and they all were built with a toilet. But all had the lav 3 'compartments' from the end rather than 2 as per Miss Prism's photo. I say 'compartments', as it was actually a smoking saloon with 3 bays of seats. There were 3 designs of clerestory coach that do fit the partial coach if this photo: diagrams E55, E62 and E72. Small photos of the later 2 can be seen here http://www.penrhos.me.uk/Clerestories.shtml#E62. I think that E72 is also in one of the Russell books. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted August 25, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 25, 2019 On 23/08/2019 at 15:14, wiggoforgold said: And any thoughts on when the picture was taken? There looks to be a couple of 16t minerals in the siding which suggests 1950's Alex I think it was taken in 1962, not long before closure. I've seen that photo before and October/November 1962 rings a bell. Lovely photos of Tavistock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentor95 Posted November 20, 2019 Share Posted November 20, 2019 I travelled to and from Whitchurch Down to Tavyside School, The Priory. While waiting for the Launceston train, would helpfully light the gas lamp! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 Well, I've just spent the last 40 minutes looking through this thread which I'm sorry to say was not on my radar. A thoroughly enjoyable read matey and I do like the layout, but then I would wouldn't I GW and all that ! Far too many posts to comment on as I read so please accept ONE BIG LIKE / CRAFTMANSHIP-CLEVER please. G 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post Brinkly Posted July 29, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted July 29, 2020 Having not posted for a while, I thought I would update everyone as to what has been happening during lockdown. I managed to dig the boards out and do a bit of work, wiring of the track, painting and ballasting was undertaken, coupled with a bit of basic landscaping. I dipped in and out over the course of about 8 weeks, with a view to going 'ta da!' this week. All sounding good so far... I put the boards back in the garage when I returned to work in June. Last week, we had a water pipe burst in the garage. Now our tale of disaster and destruction starts. Where were the boards? In the garage. And which model absorbed most said water - you guessed it: Whitchurch. I'm not going to post any photos, simply as I didn't take any of the destruction caused. I was too p***ed off over the whole affair. The whole lot went down to the tip. To say I'm annoyed is an understatement and as it stands I'm really not sure what to do next. Great start to this summer's modelling. Nick. 26 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TrevorP1 Posted July 29, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 29, 2020 Very sorry to hear about this. A very long time ago (40+ years) similar happened to me caused by a pipe joint failing in the roof of a house we were renting. A horrible mess was made of many of my railway models and part of my book collection. Since then I’ve been paranoid about dodgy plumbing... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggoforgold Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 That really is a shame Nick. The frustration at losing so much hard work must be enormous. I hope something good will come from this and look forward to seeing your next project. Alex 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted July 29, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 29, 2020 Hi Nick, Be p*ssed at the burst water pipe but don't let that emotion transfer to the poor innocent layout. If it was going to be good before it can still be good again, probably better, and anyway don't you need it to complete your journey along the Launceston branch? Remember the King of Swamp Castle: "Listen, lad. I built this kingdom up from nothing. When I started here, all there was was swamp. Other kings said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So, I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp, but the fourth one... stayed up!" 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted July 29, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 29, 2020 9 hours ago, TrevorP1 said: Since then I’ve been paranoid about dodgy plumbing... It's an age thing... 1 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted August 6, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2020 Thank you for all your comments and kind words. I've spend the last couple of weeks walking various bits of the Launceston and Pricentown branch lines. I'm going to continue with this as my main area of interest and have already started to think about adapting Coryton or Dousland's track plans into something. If I had a enough space, I would consider putting Horrabridge up, but I still feel I lack certain 'layout' skills, so feel I need to practice on something first. I also like the idea of having a small layout to take to local shows in the future, so something along the lines of 7-8 feet excluding fiddle yards would be a sensible. 3 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted August 6, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2020 Bu&&er! I'm sorry to read of your woes, Nick. Though I've not suffered such catastrophe, starting and finishing a small project really helped me get back into things. Stop, draw breath and pick on something small........perhaps even step away from an actual prototype and build something to accomodate several small cameos..... Just a thought. Rob. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted August 6, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 6, 2020 9 hours ago, Brinkly said: Thank you for all your comments and kind words. I've spend the last couple of weeks walking various bits of the Launceston and Pricentown branch lines. I'm going to continue with this as my main area of interest and have already started to think about adapting Coryton or Dousland's track plans into something. If I had a enough space, I would consider putting Horrabridge up, but I still feel I lack certain 'layout' skills, so feel I need to practice on something first. I also like the idea of having a small layout to take to local shows in the future, so something along the lines of 7-8 feet excluding fiddle yards would be a sensible. 5 hours ago, NHY 581 said: Bu&&er! I'm sorry to read of your woes, Nick. Though I've not suffered such catastrophe, starting and finishing a small project really helped me get back into things. Stop, draw breath and pick on something small........perhaps even step away from an actual prototype and build something to accomodate several small cameos..... Just a thought. Rob. I'm with Rob here, Nick. You say you want to practice some of your layout skills - I suggest listing and deciding what those are, then building something that let's you focus on those. It doesn't need to be prototypical or even a working layout, depending on what it is that you want to practice! Once you've done that, put it all together on your small exhibition layout (7-8 feet would be huge in Rob's world of course...). 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianusa Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Nick, in a word, Bickleigh! Passing place, small yard, choose from two signal boxes and a viaduct on the end. All in a straight line! Brian. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Blandford1969 Posted August 7, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 7, 2020 As promised a long time ago here are a few views from the branch.The colour ones are all from the same day in 1962 as they are all on the same file. Sadly those at Lauceston are really dark so I have not posted (at the moment) They all were on the same film by the look of it. There is one of Yelverton and the last train to Princetown. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted August 7, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 7, 2020 (edited) Thanks for all your comments and @Blandford1969 for the beautiful photographs. I've spent quite a lot of time over the last couple of days and have a few possible ideas. One idea is to adapt Coryton or Dousland (both had very similar track plans); however, I suspect these could become quite long as a fiddle yard would be required at either end, resulting in a scenic layout being 12-14 feet long. Another possible idea I've had would be to model a slice the proposed (but never built) Merrivale branch, which would have run from Swell Tor on the Princetown branch to Merrivale quarry. The track plan could be similar to Lower Rose Goods, which is simple, but interesting. This branch never got beyond the drawing board, but would be believable and relatively easy to model as traffic would have been relatively light - freight only. Any structures would be based on prototypical examples on the branch, with a general air of demise hanging like grey mist over the whole scheme. The elderly 4410 slowly wheezing her way down the sharply curved line, a short string of 4-wheeler wagons and an AA15 ex GWR toad in tow... The remnants of Swell Tor Quary taken over the weekend. Small occupation bridge between Swell Tor Sidings and Ingra Tor Halt. I need to do some sketching! Edited August 7, 2020 by Brinkly Typo 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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