Priory Road - North East Essex in BR days

[Izzy]

6 hours ago, Allegheny1600 said:

Hello Izzy,

I don't model in your scale but I do like the area and I find your work tremendously inspirational, it is quite exquisite and I love it!

Really, really - well done.

Following with interest,

John.

 

 Thank you John, that's very nice of you to say so. If it helps encourage modelling in any way, and especially 2mm, then that is a real bonus.

 

Izzy

[Izzy]

Lights…action…..perhaps...

 

Having completed the 2-car 309 EMU as far as I can until painting can be undertaken - when I can pluck up the courage - work has been taking place on some platform bits. This started out with the idea to make some (non-working) platform lights, but came to involve fencing and running-in boards along with platform trollies.

 

I had the wish to fit some of the standard BR era platform lights commonly described as T-lamps which usually have the station name on them, as they appear to have arrived in the early ‘60’s and lasted through most of the green & blue diesel era, the timescale I am trying to cover. However I found little information on them over a lengthy period of searching, except that as is so often the case they weren’t all that standard going by photos…..

 

So, after scouring my GE area photo album books for images of them I decided to try and produce some of the fairly common square concrete post type, scaling their size as best I could by comparing them with their surroundings. This probably sounds terrible I know but there comes a time when you think that if you don’t push on with aspects like this then a layout can become stuck in an unfinished state and never reach any kind of completion. No doubt their proper dimensions will come to light (ouch) sometime, and if they prove to be too awfully wrong then it should be possible to replace them without too much hassle. A bit like the Type D hut.

 

The posts were made from 1/16” square tube filed to get the taper towards the top, with lengths of 0.9 brass rod soldered in top and bottom to both sit the lights on and plant them into the platforms securely so they didn’t get knocked to odd angles if caught at any time. The posts are a bit over-thick I think but 1mm posts seemed too thin looking at the original time of making. The lights were made from glossy photo paper sides @ 1200 dpi resolution for decent repro with bases/ends/tops of 10 & 20 thou plasticard. The Gill Sans British Railways font in both light and heavy is around for free download these days but Trebuchet MS is a fairly good substitute if not.

 

Originally I produced them with 12’ high posts and 7’ length lights. Once I started fitting them they seemed rather too tall against the station buildings and platform canopies so the height was reduced to 12’ over the top of the lights to blend better with the overall height of the canopies. This then made the actual lights looked too bulky, so more were made at a thinner size at the same length and this in turn made the posts look a bit too thick as said……. Perhaps 1mm size would have been more appropriate. Perhaps they will get made a third time at some point in the future…….perhaps…..

 

I also started out making 12 first time off which reduced to eight second time around as the platform spacing was increased and they were sited to fit between the OHLE posts on the main platform. I then had to fill and hide/disguise all the holes drilled in the wrong places…… As well as the platform lights I made some others to be fitted under the station canopies.

 

 

 

 

To go with these lights I thought a bit of fencing along the back of the platforms might be a good idea. Quite a few stations had brick walls of varying designs and heights but with the siding behind the parcels platform I though one might be a bit of a view blocker and make un-coupling a bit harder as it’s done by hand rather than automatically. So I decided instead to produced the open rail & rod type which are also quite common, and indeed feature at Frinton.

 

 

 

Looking at these also highlighted that this type were made in differing ways, something I had not realised. The often seen rail with the rod running in holes through the rail web, and the Frinton version of U-bolts clamping the rod to the rail. It is noticeable there were some taller with the rods going through them whatever the type. These it seemed were where lights were often originally situated with this fencing.

 

I choose the Frinton type for ease of construction and without the lamp post rails which a lot of this fencing didn’t have, being able to just solder the rods to the rails using a simple paper jig/template and so avoiding multiple drilling of holes. They were made over-height and plug into holes behind the platforms, being glued into place when at the right height using offcuts of mount board to help set the height.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally a couple of running-in boards were made from rail and brass. These were produced in various forms with wood, concrete, and rail posts. I thought the latter would go nicely with the rail fencing. Here the name was again printed onto glossy photo paper but the top layer was parted from the backing via a scalpel to leave a thin layer that could be glued into place using MEK, this ‘melting’ the paint on the boards so the layer adhered to them. Used this way they are almost as thin as decals.

 

 

 

As these items started to make the platforms look better thoughts then turned to other bits seen on them. Some seats, people, both of which are works in progress, and trollies. Given that the station is supposed to have a fair amount of parcels traffic, Post Office mailings, Newspapers, as well as other sorts I decided that one of the small motorised sets could look okay alongside a few hand ones. Probably only found at the much larger locations but who knows.

 

I did look around at what was available without much luck and felt that trying my hand at making some could work out okay. So a few scraps of brass sheet scored to represent planking – mostly not showing under even a thin coat of paint – some brass wire for axles etc, and wheels, 2mm dia, punched out of plasticard using a card punch tool of my wife’s (for making holes). This is another situation where the dimensions were just guessed at using photos of various platform trollies as a guide, hand and motorised, although ones of the latter were very hard to find.

 

 

 

 

This brings the thread up to the present time, the state of PR at the present. There is always work being done of course, and I’ll try and keep it current now if I can with anything of interest.

 

This is of course the overall look. It's a repeat of one posted just a while back but captures what I have been trying to portray.

 

 

Izzy

 

 

 

 

[PaulCheffus]

On 25/05/2020 at 19:43, Izzy said:

A LNER Type D concrete platelayers hut.

 

This was in 7mm. It seems there are several kits around in both 7mm & 4mm for these huts although I found no two looked quite the same when it came to size or details ……. However, as is so often the case, not only were there none in 2mm, but details and/or drawings of these were conspicous by their absence. References were made to the ‘standard’ concrete panel sizes, whatever they might have been, but little else. The huts seemed to use several different sizes. Hmm.

 

 

 

Izzy

Hi

 

Pity I didn’t see this sooner as I have a drawing for this type of hut.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[Izzy]

4 minutes ago, PaulCheffus said:

Hi

 

Pity I didn’t see this sooner as I have a drawing for this type of hut.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

Thanks Paul. I have been able to obtain a copy of the March ‘75 Model Railways mag with  the drawings in it 2mm Andy mentioned, but I now seem to find it asks as many questions as it answers! I hope to sort it out and do a post sometime....

 

Izzy

[Izzy]

2-car 309 update

 

In an attempt to try and keep this thread current, as I tend to just push on with things and only think about it when they are done, I thought a current state-of-play with the blue/grey 309 might be a good idea.

 

The last post about it was in primer with the trepidation I feared with giving it the top coats and the masking involved. Well, with the decent warm weather of the last few weeks, now sadly gone for a while, I managed to get them painted. This was actually done indoors in the workroom because of the strong air currents outside, which anyone living near the east coast will know happens all the time, and is why in very hot weather the advice is always ‘go to the coast for some refreshing sea breezes’. Right, usually icy cold is more truthful, especially when the tide comes in. As I live just a few minutes walk from the front there is often a constant breeze 24/7.

 

Anyway, to do the airbrushing I used my little Neo along with a small and light compressor from Expo tools. For small 2mm jobs it’s all I find I need, and as I reach my biblical age is far better than having to try and lug my large 15kg Aztec silent air compressor up the stairs to the spare room that serves as an office/workroom. That is great for larger jobs with it’s large air reservoir and 80psi capability with larger needle airbrushes but just not needed here. At 35 years old it has served me well so was a good investment. The Expo is quiet but not silent and the little moisture trap is on the hose and thus on the bottom of the brush. I don’t find it an issue with handling which I expected it to be.

 

 

 

The bodies were mounted on a Tamiya revolving spraying unit sat on the workbench covered in a cheap shower curtain bought for such purposes. An Iwata cleaning jar is used both to hold the Neo during spraying, well in between, and for cleaning it afterwards. This is another item that has been well worth buying and I don’t know how I coped before I had it as it makes cleaning a doddle by comparison to what went before. A bit of hot water in it and just a whoosh of turps/white spirit through a few times besides wiping the needle etc. Little or no smell with easy disposal as the muck sits in the water until you drop a bit of washing liquid in it later for flushing away and cleaning the jar out. I still use a mask though, silly not to. Just a simple one. And have the windows open for good airflow without a draft.

 

The actual spraying was spread over a few days. Firstly the grey, with the blue next, and then the yellow ends. Masking each stage took almost as long as setting up/packing away each time. Several hours actually for the masking for the blue, less so for the grey panel and about the same for the ends, just an hour or so. Tamiya tape was used. Tissue paper was used when the ends were sprayed to cover what had already been done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the spraying I just dropped a few brush fulls at a time into the top without any cup at all, followed by some pure Rowney turpentine via a pipette, stirred with a small brush to mix, and then sprayed.. I used several re-fills on each colour. Sounds cavalier I know but uses the least amount of paint so less waste and far easier to clean, not large amounts of unused paint to dispose of. I used around 25-30 psi. I have read that people use much less, just 12-15 psi. Okay for light touch weathering but even at a rough 50/50 mix I find I need a decent pressure to get a decent even coverage for complete all-over colours.

 

The use of pure turpentine is because this assists the paint to come out almost dry. The surface usually goes off in 10-20 mins. Although it is best to leave it 12/24hrs to fully harder it’s touchable – very gently - in about 30/60mins. This all helps stop too much dust attaching to the finish. The paint was Precision, enamel of course.

 

 

After cleaning off the handrails and touching up a few blemishes now I have to try and add the white lining between the blue/grey. This will be white inkjet transfer sheet just cut up. It seems simple enough…….

 

Izzy

 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by Izzy
restore images

[Izzy]

A Blue Circle PVV van.

 

I thought I would like to have one or possibly two of these vans to serve the cement siding cement store building on Priory Road. They were made by Standard wagon in 1964, 96 of them, and used to convey bagged cement, mostly the types used in smaller individual quantities and lasted into the early 1980’s. They had sliding doors and were basically a longer version of the BR vanwide.

 

The well known Blue Circle iron mink yellow livery vans used for the same purposes generally existed in much earlier times and although ordinary standard bodied bauxite livery vans with small Blue Circle emblems were also used in BR times I felt these would be something a bit different and possibly more appropriate.

 

There is a thread on them on Rmweb here :

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/131045-apcm-ltd-box-van/

 

After starting to make one based on what information I could find @RBAGE very kindly provided me with photos and drawings he had produced to assist in this endeavour. As looking at the thread will show there are etchings being produced with which to make these in 4mm. 3D printed springs/axleboxes are also in hand and Cambridge Custom Transfers has produced transfers for them, BL180, which I have used for mine.

 

As the wheelbase of these is 16ft and no 2mm etched underframes with BR w-irons for this size/combination exist I decided to cut up a spare etch I have from one of those made for the Dapol Grain wagon which Chris Higgs produced a while back. Two basic widths were provided to suit different axle lengths 12.25 & 14.8, and so I cut up one of the latter, being spare, doing a ‘cut & shut’ job with some scrap etch and brass sheet to get a basic underframe to suit 12.25’s at the correct wheelbase.

 

 

 

Some brass shim was then scored and bent up to provide the deep steel channel frames, the body sides being below the top of the frames. The deep buffer beams were more scrap etch with turned brass Oleo buffers of the right size I had completing the basics. V hangers were chopped and fitted while the springs/hangers and axleboxes are a mix of the 2mm SA roller bearing axlebox etches and plasticard. Brake levers etc are yet more scrap etch drilled and filed/bent to shape. The brake gear and other bits underneath are plastic rod and bits of 5thou. Lead sheet has been packed in between to add a small bit of weight to aid running quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of coats of Halfords grey primer gave the basic body colour with matt black enamel being used for the underframe area. One bonus of this particular clasp-brake VB rodding arrangement was that the wheel sets could be removed to paint the underframe.

 

As said the transfers are from CCT, sheet BL180. They are very nice and after fitting were given a coat of thinned Humrol matt varnish to seal them in place. I had to be very light-touched with this as there is a warning only water based varnishes should be used with the transfers, and there were signs they were starting to distort on one side when I lingered a bit too long with over application. I like to use this varnish 50/50 with white spirit as I have found over the years it seals transfers well enough but the thin matt result means edges don’t really show at all in most cases.

 

 

As the intention is to run the van through both the BR green and Blue eras - they lasted in use until the early 1980’s - it has been given the early years numbering and just lightly weathered/toned down. Strangely the yellow ends to the roller bearing remained quite visible through the life of these vans even when they were filthy otherwise towards the end.

 

 

Izzy

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Izzy

[RBAGE]

This looks superb. Smashing job.

Bob

[PaulCheffus]

5 hours ago, Izzy said:

 

The body was made in a mix of 5,10 and 15thou plasticard. To try and prevent warping of the body the carcass was made in 15thou with several internal strengtheners. A sub-roof was made using multiple strips length-wise. The sliding doors were 10thou overlays while all the other detail was 5 thou. I could not of course replicate the small rivet detail which is seen on some of the strapping but I feel this lack of detail is not too obvious at normal viewing distance. Those clever souls who etch or 3D print parts would be able to make a much better job of it. Originally I planed to use a rolled brass roof, but it kept coming off, refusing to stick to the sub-roof, so a 10thou plasticard one was substituted. Sadly this has warped/sunk a bit and is why I was keen to use a brass one. Very annoying but which I feel I can do little about now without causing more damage than leaving alone.

 

Hi

 

When I do my rooves I put a piece of plasticard between the sides and the ends to leave a flat surface. Then build the support for the roof onto this using 1mm thick plasticard shaped to the roof profile. I then in fill down the centre of the wagon with more pieces of 1mm thick plasticard. The roof is then made from 0.25mm plasticard formed around a suitable round tube and covered with boiling water. So far none of the rooves made by these methods have warped.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

 

 

Edited June 20, 2020 by PaulCheffus
Correct final sentence

[Caley Jim]

1 hour ago, PaulCheffus said:

So far none of the rooves made by these methods haven’t warped.

Paul, does that mean all of the roofs have warped? 

 

Jim

[Izzy]

1 hour ago, PaulCheffus said:

Hi

 

When I do my rooves I put a piece of plasticard between the sides and the ends to leave a flat surface. Then build the support for the roof onto this using 1mm thick plasticard shaped to the roof profile. I then in fill down the centre of the wagon with more pieces of 1mm thick plasticard. The roof is then made from 0.25mm plasticard formed around a suitable round tube and covered with boiling water. So far none of the rooves made by these methods haven’t warped.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

 

 

Thanks Paul I’ll give that a go next time. Basically I was using the method originally suggested by (IIRC) the late David Jenkinson for coach roofs. I’ve used it in the past in other scales okay, but rather slipped up by using too thin strips and then had no way of adding extra reinforcement when I realised the mistake. There’s always something that catches you out isn’t there!

 

Izzy

[PaulCheffus]

7 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

Paul, does that mean all of the roofs have warped? 

 

Jim

Hi Jim

 

Oops I’ll go and edit my post and thanks for pointing it out.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[John57sharp]

Cracking job on that van Izzy.

 

john

[Izzy]

Just a little update.

 

One of the first bits I put in place on Priory road was the rear retaining wall. Intended to be a substitute for other types of low relief backscene I had the idea that a bit of foliage on top just behind the ledge would work okay having seen this combination used on a layout at an exhibition.

 

However since making and fitting the station buildings I've been bothered by the feeling that it's height made it overpower them. This increased recently when I started to think about adding the foliage and altogether it seemed to dominate rather than just be in the background when I test tried a few bits added behind the buildings.

 

With it all glued in place any attempt to alter it would need care because there would be no going back if it didn't work out, and I wasn't keen on the idea that I would have to rip it all out and replace it as the general look and colour blended in well with the other parts.

 

Eventually I got the idea to cut it down in stages to be near the height of the buildings, as if it had been built to retain rising ground and so it sort of matched the front which rises in a similar way to the overbridge.

 

Here are a couple of before/after shots. I think it's worked and doesn't look so overpowering now. It's surprising what a difference it seems to have made. Some low greenery will now be added.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Izzy

 

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Izzy

[Caley Jim]

Definitely an improvement. Apart from being less dominating it also looks much more 'natural' and interesting. Helps to break up the 'solid' look of the original. Having some of the foliage hang down over the wall (brambles, wild rose etc.) will also help to break it up. 

 

Jim

[Izzy]

Thanks Jim, it's helpful to get confirmation others also think it's better. It's taken me ages to tackle this aspect. There seems to a case that the more you get done and the less there is left to do that wrecking what is already there becomes ever more an aspect of nervous concern. Producing suitably toned down greenery is the next worry. So it doesn't equally overpower the scene.

 

Izzy

 

[Lacathedrale]

Exactly my thoughts Jim - it looks alot more natural and organic.

[CF MRC]

Perhaps consider making a hole in the top and a set of metal steps coming down to yard level? Good excuse to gather clutter around the bottom & would break up the line. 

Tim

Edited July 15, 2020 by CF MRC

[Izzy]

 

Thanks Tim, that is certainly something to consider. I have a few vehicles/trailers which are planned to be positioned parked along the wall and a few other ideas I'm mulling over. Just static grassed the top behind the capping and others areas and waiting to see how that pans out look wise, before adding some small lumps and bushes.

 

Izzy

[Izzy]

I have finally managed to finish the 2-car 309 EMU. It can be run as a 2 or 3 car unit using a Farish Mk1 coach between the two and will probably be used mostly in this form. Although it’s far from perfect I am quite pleased with how it has turned out, and especially as just getting it across the finishing line turned out to be more of a trial than I expected.

 

In the last post concerning it I was about to start adding the lining. This turned out okay and was done by cutting multiple strips of white inkjet printable waterslide paper to try and get some that were as narrow as possible. This proved a challenge as below a certain width the paper just disintegrated. However I got enough to do the job by picking through what I produced, 30 or 40 strips I think. Took me a while just to cut them!

 

 

They were laid on a side, wetted, and then slid off and slowly teased into place. It was a very slow and long winded affair and took anywhere from 15-45 mins to get just one straight all the way along, using a high quality sable brush I keep solely for doing transfers and has thus only been subjected to water and meths (methfix decals) so it keeps it’s shape and flexibility. Waterslide transfers are of course ideal for this kind of nudging into place, the benefit being the ability to re-wet and re-position up until the time a thin wash of varnish is laid over them to fix in place. It took two whole days to line all four sides, and the rounded corners were just fudged by trimming the sharp corners where the different strips overlaid. It doesn’t look too bad I tell myself, being the best I can manage, so is Hobson's choice really, take it or leave it.

 

The difference in the overall look of the sides by adding this lining was quite marked, the added demarcation between the grey and blue. Nothing that was obvious but they just looked ‘different’. It’s difficult to explain but made the time and effort spent on them worthwhile. Maybe the shot of the two with one done and the other not will help to show this difference.

 

 

The other transfers, numbering, BR arrows etc, were culled from a Railtec sheet of DMU ones. Great fun finding and cutting the individual numbers needed and getting them all lined up…..but again waterslide are quite handy when it comes to this kind of thing. I have always done methfix like this as well. Treated them as waterslide until finished and then given a wash of meths to activate the sticky.

 

After a thin wash of matt varnish I assumed that I was close to the finish line, but life has a habit of tripping you up, and it did. There was the glazing to add, which I did using thin heat resistant acetate sheet courtesy of my wife, added the hoses etc on the cab fronts, (via 0.3mm holes drilled in them), the headcode panels (printed onto photo paper and stuck in place with d/s tape), and proceeded to fit the bodies to their respective chassis.

 

 

I also made some cab interiors to go alongside the seating, all very basic and quite crude but looking okay when peering into the windows.

 

 

Here it all went sideways. The extended 12ba bolts I had made to screw up through the floors into the roofs and hold them all together kept breaking at the joint extensions. These ended up being remade twice to get them strong enough to resist breakage. I asked myself why they had not broken before, only now.

 

Here is the non-motor coach ready to assemble. The second shot shows, just about, the bolt poking up.

 

 

 

 

This extended kerfuffle and repeated handing caused the pantograph to get damaged...and in trying to repair it kept breaking apart at different places until it eventually fell apart completely. Or rather it got to the stage I felt taking it to bits and re-building was the better and easier course to take. Thankfully it rebuilt okay.

 

At this stage (being a sucker for punishment) I decided to replace the quite large Zimo MX600 decoder and it’s tantalum stay-alive pack with a smaller MX617 with another tantalum pack to allow a bit more space to ensure the body did go back on the chassis properly. This went okay but in doing this the retaining plug in the rear bogie broke….arg!!!! Not having any spare plugs I ended up tapping the chassis 10ba for a bolt to hold the bogie in place. Sometimes you just couldn’t make it up….

 

This is the motor coach just about to be put together after all this re-working. The worry was what damage might be done to the finish.

 

 

After all this getting the bodies finally on their respective chassis went as I thought it should have in the first place, but I then found one final slight disappointment to come.

 

 

 

Getting the Farish blue era coaches I have out it became apparent that in comparison to the Farish both the blue and the grey are lighter in shade. In isolation they look fine and looking at lots of colour shots of blue/grey era stock they actually look correct and indeed the Farish do seem to be perhaps slightly too dark, both shades. Since the intention has been to run a standard Farish mk1 coach between them to make a 3-car unit, as happened in real life, this makes them look, in certain lighting, a bit odd, mismatched. At others it is not noticeable. As there is nothing I can do about this it’s more Hobson's choice, but disappointing nonetheless.

 

At least the use of the Farish blue riband coach chassis with their close coupling system along with using a mix of standard and short shank couplings means the coaches remain closely coupled which looks quite nice. The rapidio couplings aren’t too obvious under the gangway connections and the shot does show that perhaps my lining isn’t too bad compared to the Farish in some respects.

 

 

And just to add to the fun here's one of those 'coin of the realm' shots for those who don't work in the scale to give a bit of size perspective.

 

 

 

 

And I thus have another 309 set which runs nicely. Here it is in both 2-car and 3-car formations on Priory Road giving me more memories from the past. Part of what it is all about for me.

 

 

 

So despite these problems I am still quite pleased as I never thought I would ever have a 309 set at all, let alone one in maroon and another in blue/grey. On the Hobson's choice level I’ll take that.

 

Izzy

Edited April 1, 2022 by Izzy

[sb67]

Izzy that 309 looks astounding! Brings back memories for me too. I can remember them speeding through Romford and I'm sure there was a morning train that stopped at Romford then Liverpool St only that I'd get to London sometimes. 

[Caley Jim]

Izzy, could you have reinforced the extended bolts by soldering a sleeve of suitable brass tubing over the joint?

 

Jim

[Izzy]

Yes Jim, that’s exactly what I ended up doing! I tried not to, drilling the bolts to take an internal wire because of space location issues through lack of foresight, but this proved not strong enough in the end and leading to all the hassle. You never stop learning do you. 
 

Izzy

 

[Izzy]

1 hour ago, sb67 said:

Izzy that 309 looks astounding! Brings back memories for me too. I can remember them speeding through Romford and I'm sure there was a morning train that stopped at Romford then Liverpool St only that I'd get to London sometimes. 

Thanks, it does stir the old cells doesn’t it.
 

There were several limited stop runs each day including one each from both Clacton & Walton that ran separately to Liverpool St in the AM with the return working late PM.  Just stopped after Thorpe-le-spoken at Colchester, Chelmsford, & Shenfield. I can remember standing in the front of a connected unit gangway by the empty cab watching the speedo hit 90+ alongside the A12 at Hatfield Peverill and doing the ton down Brentwood bank. Just gliding along with hardly a vibration, just that swishing sound. Incredibly smooth ride with those commonwealth bogies. Meant to be the first of a new generation of 100mph EMU’s for BR, and especially the WCML. But then they changed minds and went with loco hauled instead. 
 

Izzy

Edited July 18, 2020 by Izzy

[Nick Mitchell]

9 minutes ago, Izzy said:

Thanks, it does stir the old cells doesn’t it.
 

There were several limited stop runs each day including one each from both Clacton & Walton that ran separately to Liverpool St in the AM with the return working late PM.  Just stopped after Thorpe-le-spoken at Colchester, Chelmsford, & Shenfield. I can remember standing in the front of a connected unit gangway by the empty cab watching the speedo hit 90+ alongside the A12 at Hatfield Peverill and doing the ton down Brentwood bank. Just gliding along with hardly a vibration, just that swishing sound. Incredibly smooth ride with those commonwealth bogies. Meant to be the first of a new generation of 100mph EMU’s for BR, and especially the WCML. But then they changed minds and went with loco hauled instead. 
 

Izzy

 

I missed out on the 309s. I went up to Essex university in October '94, not long after they'd gone.

Ironically, I'd occasionally glimpse one of the survivors round South Manchester when I was travelling home by train for holidays.

 

 

The layout really captures the atmosphere of St Botolph's as I remember it from the late 90s / early 00s, and evokes happy memories.

 

For me, the class 312s hold the fondest memories. When I was commuting into London from Wivenhoe, on the way home I'd try and time it so that I could catch the 12 car set at Liverpool Street that was diagrammed through to Clacton at that time. More often than not, I would sit in the dark on the fold-down seat inside the luggage cage in the brake coach. Nice and quiet so I could work on my PhD thesis until the battery of my laptop ran out...

[railtec-models]

Nice job. If you're doing more then it may save you time (and sanity) to know that I'll be making a parallel 2mm offering that gives you any EMU set number, matching side vehicle numbers, depot code and data panel already made up:

 

Here's what the 4mm looks like and the 2mm will be the same:

https://www.railtec-models.com/showitem.php?id=2251

 

The set and vehicle numbers can be any colour, the vehicle numbers with/without prefix of choice, and where the set numbers are "quirky", c.f. 309s and 501s then I make them to suit too.

 

The white lining is already available.

 

Just thought it may be of interest as if I have resource to make modellers' lives easier then I will.