Nick Gough Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 I noticed that the 'Paddington Station 24/7' tv series was full of 'Customer Ambassadors'. Perhaps they are responsible for serving the Ferrero Rochers? 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 Events have transpired against my aim suggested in my last posting, of taking and posting passenger train photos for the moment, so they are still pending! Meanwhile I have been looking at the number of trains required for Lower Thames Goods Yard and the siding capacity to hold them to make sure I am not planning trains that there is nowhere to hold! I am starting off with the plan for 5 loops each holding 3 trains in the fiddle yard. So, as an example, the list of morning trains, their start of the day locations, and end of rush hour (0915) positions are as follows:- Train Goods Yard time Start location Finish location Sub to Paddington 0600 Stock Branch siding, Loco Yard up loop 1 position 2 Pcls to Princes Risbrgh 0600-0620 Train -Yard dn loop 1 position 3 dn loop 2 position 2 LE to Bourne End 0620 Yard up loop 1 position 1 Sub Slough-High W 0634 Train -Yard dn loop 1 position 2 dn loop 2 position 1 DMU to Padd 0645 ECS from dn siding to Branch plat DMU to Padd 0658 Branch plat up loop 3 position 3 DMU from Padd 0730 up loop 3 position 3 dn Relief Plat Cl 121 + trailer to High W 0740 Train -Yard dn loop 1 position 1 dn loop 1 position 1 DMU to Padd 0750 Branch Plat up loop 2 position 2 Sub Bourne E -Padd 0743 Stock -yard up loop 1 position 1 up loop 2 position 3 Fish Slough - Maid 0753 Train -Yard dn loop 2 position 3 dn Relief Plat Fish Maid - Slough 0810 Branch Plat up loop 1 position 3 Sub High W - Slough 0820 dn loop 2 position 1 up loop 2 position 3 Sub Padd-Princes Ris 0832 dn loop 2 position 3 dn loop 2 position 1 Sub Ayls- Maid 0854 up loop 3 position 1 Branch siding LE off 0854 arrl 0910 Branch Plat Yard So we start with 8 trains in the fiddle yard and two in the scenic section and finish with 9 in the fiddle yard and one in the scenic section(ignoring LEs for the moment!) This leaves 6 fiddle yard positions plus 3 sidings for the 8 goods trains sets. This looks like it will work, but I need to try it out with cardboard pieces on a paper fiddle yard!! I hope everyone is keeping safe, and will not be tempted to dash off to the shops tomorrow with non essential shops starting to open? AGR my local model shop is opening Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00 to 3.00 but no browsing allowed!! Best regards Paul 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 As I planned to do in my last posting I have drawn up a set of cardboard (cutouts? no!) rectangles to use to plot the movements into and out of the fiddle yard in Lower Thames Goods Shed, to find out if my proposed movements work. In doing this I realized that in my initial allocation of loop and siding space I had forgotten about the "Marlow Donkey" and the class 128 parcels Unit. Fortunately these proved not to be a problem but a problem I am currently wrestling with is that of locomotive running round on steam trains that arrive and turn round. The easiest solution seems to be that there needs to be one free road for this purpose. However, I am not sure that I can permanently free up one of the existing loops or find room to add another one for this purpose, so watch this space! Frantically moving cardboard rectangles around a table has diverted me from taking any passenger train photos as I promised last week I would do. So my apologies for that, but when I get fed up with the fiddle yard puzzle, I will have a break for a day or so and get the photos done. Promise!!! Meanwhile, please keep safe and enjoy your modelling. Best regards Paul 3 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 5 hours ago, Tallpaul69 said: A problem I am currently wrestling with is that of locomotive running round on steam trains that arrive and turn round. The easiest solution seems to be that there needs to be one free road for this purpose. However, I am not sure that I can permanently free up one of the existing loops or find room to add another one for this purpose, so watch this space! You could always use a Peco loco lift: https://peco-uk.com/products/loco-lift-and-storage-unit 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted June 17, 2020 Author Share Posted June 17, 2020 18 hours ago, Nick Gough said: You could always use a Peco loco lift: https://peco-uk.com/products/loco-lift-and-storage-unit True Nick, Its just that I prefer a hands off approach, but it may come down to what is the least uncomfortable compromise!! As I write this we are in the middle of a Thunder storm. From what my brother in law in Roade said last night I think you had a bad one then in the Northampton area? With my wife's Shielding Period coming to an end and our buses returning to a more normal service for us carless folk, we had hoped next week to get up to Roade to see him and to Bedford to see Malcolm who does modelmaking and painting for me. However last nights high infection and deaths figures relative to here in Central Bedfordshire for both areas suggest that it going to be another month before those trips are sensible! So more time to get on with Lower Thames Goods Shed!! Take care, stay safe Best regards Paul 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 We certainly had a heavy downpour for a while yesterday evening, but just a few, distant claps of thunder. We are about 12 miles from Roade, on the other side of Northampton. It must have been a slow moving storm because it was raining here for at least 20 minutes here before it got to my daughter's house, five miles away. We've just had another short thunder storm and plenty of rain this afternoon! I bought a loco lift last year as a trial. I intend to keep all my storage sidings stocked so I won't normally be able to run round. I'm quite happy with it. You can also use them in multiples to stack and store, though I'm not decided on that yet. I hope you are able to get out soon. We managed to visit Kenilworth Castle (English Heritage) on Monday - our first non-local trip. Pre-book only, one-way system, outside only, and many other measures in place. All the best, Nick 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 I have had a good end to this week with today's arrival from Hattons of a Hornby New WR 2-6-2T. So tomorrow I aim to unpack it and post comparison photos with one of my earlier Hornby versions of this loco. Hope at the same time to photo both locos with Bachmann Mk1 suburbans and Hornby Collett suburbans to model the High Wycombe Branch trains discussed in my earlier posts. This loco is all the more welcome as it is my first new model since the start of the lockdown! I needed cheering up as I had been planning to take a trip to Bedford next week to pick up from Malcolm models he has worked on for me. I had been waiting until the end of our 12 week shielding and the improvement to near normal of the necessary bus services. However there has been a spike in Coronavirus infections in Bedford, to more than twice the level we have locally, and there is talk of a local lockdown there. So I think that trip will have to wait maybe another month! I hope everybody is well, staying safe, and keeping sane by completing all those models in the when I get round to it box(es)! Cheers for now, Paul 3 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 Good Afternoon one and all, Here I have some Photos to share of my new Hornby 61xx 6145 and my weathered 5157 from the earlier tooling. To me the differences are subtle rather than marked, although I do hope to see improvements in running when I get to test the locos against each other! I was pleased that the finish on 6145 was not gleaming. The most notable items missing from the earlier body are the handrails behind the cab opening and on the side of the bunker? The eagle eyed amongst you will have notices that 5157 has lost its lamp iron in front of the chimney. I would appreciate any suggestions as to how I can replace this without having to remove the body from the chassis? Many thanks Keep safe Paul 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted June 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 23, 2020 Paul, we're all a bit behind the times down here, so I'm sure you know this already, but the May 2020 Backtrack magazine has a four-page photo feature on the 61xxs in BR days. Many of the pics are in your area. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 On 23/06/2020 at 10:54, St Enodoc said: Paul, we're all a bit behind the times down here, so I'm sure you know this already, but the May 2020 Backtrack magazine has a four-page photo feature on the 61xxs in BR days. Many of the pics are in your area. Thanks for that, I hadn't caught up with Backtrack as it is one of several mags that I only buy if interesting articles. However, our local newsagent (a branch of Smiths) has been closed for the Lockdown until this week, as have many of the small branches. When I was in there Tuesday they had a very limited range of Railway and Modelling mags not including Backtrack! Hope all is good in Oz, I will catch up on your thread and all the others I follow tomorrow. Cheers Paul 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 (edited) Hope all of you in the UK find today's temperatures a bit easier than yesterday's? Finally I have got to the photos of my WR Suburban coaches I have been promising! These formations for my small layout Lower Thames Goods Shed are only two coaches to represent the standard 5 coach Q sets because on some runs they will also have a parcels coach such as a Syphon G and three coaches is all the layout can cope with. When the coaches transfer to Lower Thames Yard, the formations can expand to 4 coaches. For the two coach formations I have positioned the guards van to the centre of the train rather than at the end so that it does not end up next to the loco on some runs! This set comprises a Bachmann weathered Mk1 suburban brake end and a Hornby collett suburban composite. Both are in crimson. You may say that my 1961/2 dateline is too late for more than the odd crimson coach but I do like them and I think unweathered crimson coaches are easier on the eye than unweathered lined maroon coaches!(So Rule 1! This set will run as that stabled at Maidenhead overnight and forming the 0600 departure for Paddington behind the Slough weathered 61xx below (already shown a few posts ago!) running bunker first. Although most Slough engines ran chimney towards London, this ran Bunker first because on reaching Paddington it had a quick turnaround to haul the fast 0736 to Oxford, so chimney first was better for the crew on this run! More Coaches! The second set comprises a Bachmann lined maroon MK1 composite and a Hornby crimson collett suburban brake end. This will form the set that stables at Bourne End overnight before forming the 0730, (Maidenhead 0743) to Paddington. This will be hauled by 6145 running chimney first! (see repeat of earlier photo below). Finally here is a photo of the two above sets together a they might appear when passing each other. Take care, stay safe Best regards Paul Edited June 27, 2020 by Tallpaul69 Train time detail left out! 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted June 29, 2020 Author Share Posted June 29, 2020 Hi All, Here are a few thoughts to start off the week:- Looks like my wallet will get a severe pounding sometime soon with the arrival of Bachmann class 117s and 121s One interesting comparison will be between the Dapol Bubblecars and the Bachmann ones. I will post some photos and my thoughts when the Bachmanns are to hand. One good outcome of the lockdown is that I have not been tempted by goodies at shows so reserves have built up a bit against the new arrivals. Meanwhile, modelling is slow. I really need this week to settle down and finalise the track layout for "Lower Thames Goods Shed" so that next week I can get some track laid! I might for a change make a start on the key structure for the layout, the goods shed. However, it being a good while since I built any structures I think I might find a simple precut card model to start with rather than jumping in the deep end with the goods shed. With Warley cancelled it really is looking that there will be little to attend in 2020 even if we think it safe to attend shows? The trouble is, the longer we leave it, the more difficult it will be to get up and go to any events! Hope you are all making progress with your modelling? Stay safe, Regards Paul 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 Hi everybody, Today has been a good day even though I have done little modeling! I took my first real trip to the town centre this morning since the start of lockdown. Even though visiting my local model shop was not on my agenda I did manage to sort a number of issues that it is not practical to deal with via the internet. First on my agenda was that my iPhone has been difficult to charge because the charger lead, which works perfectly with my wife's phone refused to lock into mine, so to charge meant sitting and holding the lead in the phone and sitting with a mains lead trailing across the room. Also I thought that the screen on the phone was starting to crumble. Anyway, it turned out that it was only the transparent screen protector that was damaged, so just a few pounds to replace it rather than c£60 for replacing the screen. While I did other errands the shop cleaned out and sorted the power socket on the phone. I also needed a new battery in my wrist watch, choose birthday cards for four upcoming family birthdays, ( no presents, they will each get a cash transfer this year!), and stock up on hand cleanser.( Supermarkets too expensive!). I then needed to find a number of items in our local hardware/garden/household goods shop, which was by and large successful, and did include a number of items with modeling uses such as several different adhesives. I also needed to check which of a number of my wife's favoured shops were open, or if not when they will be. Walking round the centre, plus the walk there and back, gave me my days exercise. Our little local bus normally holds 16 but currently only 5!), so I left that for the disabled etc. Thus all in all a satisfactory morning, although I was glad to get home as currently there is nowhere to get a sit down and a coffee part way through my shopping. I am pleased to say social distancing measures were not too much of a hinderance, although I mistimed my visit to one shop where I had to wait in a queue of 8 people, onlyto find no queue at all when I came out. Don't worry, I won't be boring you with details of such trips in the future, but I thought it worth reporting both to encourage those reading this who have yet to venture far, and also because it marked an important step on our family's journey back to a sort of normality! Back to modeling topics tomorrow, Best regards Paul 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted July 2, 2020 Author Share Posted July 2, 2020 Hello there, I have made a start on the Goods Shed for my Lower Thames Goods Shed layout. This will be built so that it can easily be extended for the Goods Shed on Lower Thames Yard, although the easiest way to do the extension might be to keep the brick built shed the same length and add to it the later built metal clad west end extension. The first stage was to draw out full size the plan of the Shed and then derive side and end views. A drawing will also be required for the roof and an interior view showing the internal supports and features such as the loading/unloading platform. This set of drawings proved tricky and I am not yet satisfied with some aspects of them, so back to the drawing board (pun intentional!). Luckily I have, ( and could find!) the instructions for the Superquick Goods Shed which helps on construction methods. However it is likely that I will incorporate some wooden parts to give added strength and rigidity. The original shed had 12 bays in its rail side wall, which I might reduce to 10. Due to space considerations I have moved the goods shed from being a through siding building in the up yard to a single ended siding building on a siding off the branch platform . Because the straight shed is hiding the curve towards it of the branch platform line and is therefore next to and at an angle to the Station building, I will be moving the offices from the road side of the up end to the rail side with the shed siding protruding about a wagon length from the up end of the shed. One thing I have to decide whether I can live with or not is a plain rail side aspect of the shed. Originally when I was only going to use the shed in the "Yard" layout where it would be viewed from the road side and outer end I had been thinking of avoiding the work in replicating the 12 bays mentioned above as the would not be seen. However having now conceived the "Goods Shed" layout it will be seen on this layout from the other side. I am telling myself at present that "Goods Shed" is a test bed layout, not trying to be accurate in all things, so the effort on the bays is not worthwhile! Having had a break writing this post and looking at a number of photos of the goods shed, it is time I got back to things! Take care All, Cheers for now, Paul 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Paul, did you know that 4mm scale plans for Tetbury goods shed can be found in: ? Maidenhead goods shed was to the same design as Tetbury but about twice the size. 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Great books Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 21 hours ago, Nick Gough said: Paul, did you know that 4mm scale plans for Tetbury goods shed can be found in: ? Maidenhead goods shed was to the same design as Tetbury but about twice the size. Thanks Nick, I knew there was a suitable plan in one of the GWR books I haven't got, but I couldn't remember which one! As Tetbury appears to have six bays , I agree Maidenhead would be twice the size although the offices were probably not twice as big? Fortunately, there are several goods sheds of this pattern, and quite a lot of good photos. Nick, does the plans or the book say if the plans were as constructed? I think the road access side may have altered in later years with more lorries rather than carts. I am just going through my data to decide whether Maidenhead had two road accesses the same size as Tetbury's or one longer one! Take care all, and remember to stay at home tomorrow, it will not be safe on the roads! Cheers Paul 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 According to the author they are his own drawings "based mainly on personal surveys and official plans". In Tetbury's case the photos in the book suggest that the road loading access remained unchanged from early days up to closure. I'm pretty sure that Maidenhead had two road access areas, from a visit, most of the larger sheds did. Somewhere, I should have some photos I took of the Maidenhead shed 10-15 years ago. I'll see whether I can find them and post them up. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 The shed at 'my' station is the same design, albeit a mirror image, with five window bays, and a single road access door, offset towards one end of the building. Most of these sheds were constructed mainly of red brick, but Tetbury was entirely blue brick. It survives today having been recently converted to a local arts venue: https://shed-arts.co.uk/about-tetbury-goods-shed-arts-centre/ 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 Found them: 3 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 A couple more: I think this was the weighbridge hut: This is the bridge, under the branch line, for accessing the goods yard: 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 Many thanks for the info and photos Nick, I am pleased someone took photos of the road side! Now I've got no excuse for not getting on with the model. Cheers Paul 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallpaul69 Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 3 minutes ago, Nick Gough said: A couple more: I think this was the weighbridge hut: This is the bridge, under the branch line, for accessing the goods yard: I think , unfortunately, that I will have to omit the under bridge and goods yard access due to lack of room. While I will be able to have the start of the branch line on an embankment, it wont be high enough to allow a bridge and there is insufficient room to allow a slope down to a bridge from the main road. Neither can I make the main road (Grenfell Road) any lower that I currently plan otherwise the incline up to the bridge over the branch will be too steep! I will dig out my photos of the area from my survey trip last year to explain this better! Incidentally, the goods yard access now accesses an industrial estate and is called Silco Drive! Many thanks Paul 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 1 hour ago, Tallpaul69 said: Many thanks for the info and photos Nick, I am pleased someone took photos of the road side! Now I've got no excuse for not getting on with the model. Cheers Paul You're welcome Paul. I don't recall whether you plan to include any of the station in your layout? I have a number of similar vintage photos of most of the buildings. This is the branch platform Trainshed: It is currently being re-erected at Wallingford on the preserved line. 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 I've found a few more: 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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