An hour or so by the line at Balbeggie Sidings

[67A]

Cracking shots, fair takes me back. I remember SUN CHARIOT at Polmadie among others, the Caley men didn'y like em!

cheers

mike

[sulzer27jd]

Some photos from the lineside at Balbeggie Sidings during a mid 80's session;

First up. The 12.00 Aberdeen to Edinburgh remains a loco hauled turn and is often worth the local fans checking out. Captured today with 47614 in charge, it is seen passing the late running 1S12, the 08.00 Kings Cross to Aberdeen. The HST is running about 25 minutes late and the 47 pretty much to time as this shot would be about 2.00 o'clock at Balbeggie Sidings. The 47 spent much of the 80's at Eastfield but spent a couple of years as an Inverness allocated loco and has flush headcode at both ends. This loco had been the test for the XP64 livery but is seen here in Large Logo Blue with the Eastfield terrier.





Another service that is worth watching is the 7L30, off of Millerhill just after 10.00 am it is scheduled through Balbeggie Sidings just short of 2 hours later. It is seen with 37418 as power. This was another Inverness loco at the time.





Completing the trio of Inverness associated power is 47546 with 1N30, the 15.25 service off of Waverley. (One advantage of modelling is that you can suspend any adverse reality. The Inverness trains were diverted via Stirling by the mid 80's - but not on Balbeggie Sidings!)




The 12.00 Aberdeen - Edinburgh mentioned above is captured again a couple of years later. This time with 47711 Greyfriars Bobby in large logo blue propelling a Scotrail liveried push-pull set.



I hope you enjoy

J

Edited December 4, 2017 by sulzer27jd

[NSE DAZ]

Hi John,

 

What a cracking picture update B) bringing back happy memories of yesterday

 

Thanks for the update,

 

All the best Darren NSE DAZ

[Waverley West]

Hi John,

 

Just great to see another update from Balbeggie Sidings. I was missing them! Some lovely shots of trains sweeping through the landscape. That, combined with 1980s large logo/ScotRail liveries and variation too makes for an unbeatable combination. I've been considering 'doing' 37418 and 47546, so it was interesting to see those locos in particular.

 

Re. the push-pull set, I'm sure it must have happened, but have you ever seen a shot of a large logo loco/ScotRail combination or any other mixed livery combination in a push-pull set? The photos I've seen of push-pull sets always seem to have matching loco and stock, but there must have been a transition period I guess, like with the rest of the network.

 

Thanks for the update and please keep them coming!

 

Cheers,

Dave

[P.C.M]

Hi John,

More great pics, the first class sticker on the front of 37418 is a nice touch.B) I do like your scenary, the tree above 47546 looks great do you make you own? If so how do you do them as I really need to do a few for Llanbourne.

 

Hi Dave, Try and get yourself a copy of Rail Express No 133 June 2007. It has a great article on the push Pull trains. It does have some artwork showing train formations, one of which shows a large logo 47/7 blue grey stock and a Scotrail liv DBSO. More common is a Scotrail Duff and DBSO with a mix of blue grey and Scotrail coaches in between. It looks like the Aberdeen services often had blue grey MK2s in the set. The first 47/7s came out in Scotrail liv from Oct 84 all were done by June 85.

 

Cheers Peter.

[sulzer27jd]

Thanks guys

 

Just great to see another update from Balbeggie Sidings. I was missing them! Some lovely shots of trains sweeping through the landscape. That, combined with 1980s large logo/ScotRail liveries and variation too makes for an unbeatable combination. I've been considering 'doing' 37418 and 47546, so it was interesting to see those locos in particular.

 

 

I suppose it is no surprise that the same locos would feature of both layouts. I noticed 27105 featured recently at Waverley West. That's a regular performer on my Dundee - Edinburgh stoppers.

 

Re the multi-coloured push pull sets. Like any livery change there was a period when it was mix and match. The spare set especially was seemingly made up from anything that was lying around. I do try to keep them together but 711 is a bit of a pet and got used the other day.

 

thanks again

 

John

[Tay Bridge]

Hi

 

 

Yip, 27 105 was a regular visitor up Dundee way in those times too...needless to say it is on Glasburgh TMD too!

 

Great pics as always

 

Chris

[Worsdell forever]

Excellent, the trains just sit in the landscape so well.

 

(you must have spent a fare few hours at the lineside there over the years )

[7APT7]

Hi dude

 

Loving the train and all the wagon etc... Keep up the excellent work...

 

Regards

Jamie

[Waverley West]

Hi John,

More great pics, the first class sticker on the front of 37418 is a nice touch.B) I do like your scenary, the tree above 47546 looks great do you make you own? If so how do you do them as I really need to do a few for Llanbourne.

 

Hi Dave, Try and get yourself a copy of Rail Express No 133 June 2007. It has a great article on the push Pull trains. It does have some artwork showing train formations, one of which shows a large logo 47/7 blue grey stock and a Scotrail liv DBSO. More common is a Scotrail Duff and DBSO with a mix of blue grey and Scotrail coaches in between. It looks like the Aberdeen services often had blue grey MK2s in the set. The first 47/7s came out in Scotrail liv from Oct 84 all were done by June 85.

 

Cheers Peter.

 

Thanks for that, Peter. I think I have a copy of that somewhere. I'd forgotten about it.

 

Cheers,

Dave

[beast66606]

Very nice, time for some signals to complete the scene perhaps ?

[Oldddudders]

When I see layouts of this high standard, rightly harvesting gold stars in the popularity stakes, I try to analyse just what is hitting the spot for so many RMWebbers. In this case the layout has the luxury of space - although for all we know that was hard-won - and thus accurately represents main-line railways away from the big city, and looks "right". The scenery is obviously part of the secret, too, but if you look at it, it is designed to be a support to the trains, not to leap out and impress you in its own right. But what about the trains? Instead of being told that "An HST heads north" we are given its title, reporting number 1S12, and a comment upon today's timekeeping. Thus this assembly of plastic and brass, running on ribbons of nickel silver, assumes a mantle of authenticity that makes the ensemble seem more like a prototype magazine photo than a pic from Toy Trains Weekly. Clever? I think so.

[keefr2]

That's a very insightful post Ian, & I think also sums up a lot of what I get from looking at John's photo's of his layout. But I also get a very heavy 'hit' of nostalgia when I look at them! I never got to watch trains through the Scottish countryside, but looking at the pics, it's remarkably like being back on my favourite overbridge on the the quadruple main line west of Newport in the 1980's!! And what was so good in those pre-internet days was the element of surprise - what would be next - an on time HST, late running 47 on pax or a triple headed 37 on an ore train to Llanwern....??!!

 

Really happy days, brought back ever so well by this superb layout - one of my favourites on this site....!!

 

K

[Grafarman]

Truly delightful layout; the variety of trains, location, commentary all go together to make me want to relax with my feet up and "watch the trains go by" just like the lineside watching I used to do with my Dad in North Wales in the 70's and 80's....

[sulzer27jd]

Guys I enjoyed reading your thoughts on the layout, thanks for the very positive feedback. When I set out to build this layout I was trying to get the feel of being lineside in the pre mobile phone days, and to build in an air of anticipation. Most of my favoured railway spots are out in the open; Carmont, Longforgan, Greenfoot, St Michaels etc. During the era I am modelling you went along and had an idea what was due and when, but you generally didn't know exactly what would turn up. Now it is all very clinical, you can get updates beamed to your communicator telling you exactly which class 66 will turn up and how many minutes it was late at some point or other.

 

When I am writing these little updates I like to think of it in terms of the captions that would appear in a big railway magazine rather than a little railway mag. I suppose it is a bit of escapism but if I can disappear to the lineside in 1983 and make sense of the trains I am seeing, then I will try and give that same pleasure to others. The fact that others do appreciate the effort is very rewarding and despite the fact that I model as an individual; there is a real sense of community within the hobby which I find helps.

 

Thanks again for following the threat and for taking the trouble to share your thoughts.

 

- I'm off to see what is running the Aberdeen cement tonight!

 

John

[jools39]

Top pics and setting is wonderful.

 

Just great to see - the memories come flooding back!

 

Thanks!

[sulzer27jd]

Quite a trip down memory lane today - having spent the morning reinstating the photographs from this thread (thanks - Photobucket!).

 

Hopefully all back and making sense.

 

John

[Lowlander]

HI John

 

I came across this old thread whilst looking for something else. I forgot how good the layout and stock were.  Whatever happened to the layout if you don't mind me asking? The updates just stopped.

 

Regards  

 

Stephen 

[sulzer27jd]

48 minutes ago, ayrmrg said:

HI John

 

I came across this old thread whilst looking for something else. I forgot how good the layout and stock were.  Whatever happened to the layout if you don't mind me asking? The updates just stopped.

 

Regards  

 

Stephen 

Many thanks for the kind comments. The layout is now long gone Stephen. I think the gallery pictures are still on this site somewhere and others are on Flickr.

 

I learned a great deal from that layout, in particular that I prefer building to operating. Producing for a mainline ended up as more of a process and less of a pleasure. I have never gotten round to disposing of the stock but I probably should. 
 

I have now moved on to working in O gauge with the results in the link below and Here.

thanks again

 

John

[Lowlander]

Hi John

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

That's a shame the layout is no more, it really was a cracker, but if you lose interest in it, it just ends up a pile of boards then. Your new o'gauge is excellent. It needs a class 20 or 26 on it for old times sake:-)

 

Regards

 

Stephen 

[Clagmeister]

Thanks for pointing me in this direction.  Love it.  You can't beat trains in the countryside, simple operations that work well are really rewarding I think.