The Night Mail

[Happy Hippo]

Dave according to WhatCar, the MoT test centres will be functioning during the second lockdown period.

[bbishop]

1 hour ago, Oldddudders said:

Sadly I have to gently point out that while the EDL - or 73 as the younger generation would know it - is a superbly versatile piece of motive power, it only has 600 hp on diesel power. So its use on passenger trains, except on electrified lines, was distinctly limited. And I think their only use on any sort of regular passenger service was after July 1967, when the Bournemouth line electrification went live, and they were able to provide power for TC trailer units. By that time I suspect quite a few were in blue, anyway. Is it a JA or a JB? The former were numbered E6001-6, and inasmuchas they could not be coupled to a JB, I fear they even lacked the control gear to work with TCs.

 

Then we come to passenger services in the mid-sixties. Relatively few were loco-hauled, really, apart from the morning paper trains from Vic and Waterloo. DEMUs worked most of the non-electrified routes, other than the West of England trains from Waterloo, most of which had Warship diesels, and the Bournemouth - Weymouth shuttles, which were worked by Pull-Push-fitted Cromptons (Class 33). Some Inter-Regional services were loco-hauled, but none would have had an EDL as the rostered power. A few Oxted-line services were loco-hauled in the peak, but exclusively by 33s. 

 

But none of that matters a stuff. Blue and grey were indeed the final colours carried by SR Mk1s, so if you have some then go for it. Running trains that may be slightly wrong is a lot better than not running trains at all. 

 

Ian,  my recollection of the Night Ferry from 1959, was it was Class 74 hauled.  It could load to 15 carriages, but the loadings were reduced well before its 1980 withdrawal.  Was it Class 73 hauled in later days?  And what about  the Golden Arrow, not that we ever saw it on the Catford Loop?  Bill

[Oldddudders]

15 minutes ago, bbishop said:

 

Ian,  my recollection of the Night Ferry from 1959, was it was Class 74 hauled.  It could load to 15 carriages, but the loadings were reduced well before its 1980 withdrawal.  Was it Class 73 hauled in later days?  And what about  the Golden Arrow, not that we ever saw it on the Catford Loop?  Bill

I think 71 rather than 74, Bill. Not sure the SE had much to do with those. Every Arrow and Ferry I saw was certainly 71-hauled. Heaving the Ferry up Sole St Bank, on those mornings when it came via BTR3, would have left a 73 breathless!

[New Haven Neil]

The thing about Geeps is that they come in all sizes......

 

[Oldddudders]

16 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

The thing about Geeps is that they come in all sizes......

Lightning stripes do look good! ISTR Trains magazine describing the original GPs as 'everyman's locomotive' due to their essential versatility w simplicity. It was a decade before GM even dared to add a turbocharger, having watched the success of UP's Omaha homebuilts. To some extent the GP38 is the most faithful successor to the concept of those original GP7/9 locos, having a simple 16 cylinder engine, fairly understressed. The higher-performance GPs, while very successful for those roads that preferred and needed them, no doubt had higher maintenance costs as well. 

[bbishop]

Ian, we knew locomotives as Cromptons, EDs, E5000s.  Same with the EMUs: SUBs (by which we meant the wooden sets), Shebas, Bulleids (5001 - 5260), BRs (5301 - 5370), etc.   I've never cracked the TOPS codes.  Bill

[Happy Hippo]

Having sorted out the off scene storage problems that were bugging the design of Aberflyarff, it now appears I have an on scene problem in that the overall length is rather longer than I first anticipated.  If it's longer than 22 feet then I'm stuffed, as that is the diagonal width available in the garage allowing for boards either side of the theoretical line across.

 

Another review of what I have planned is required, although I really don't want to resort to sticky tape on the tile floor and actually laying out trains on the floor to get a feel for it all.

 

I can never understand how people do not do this prior to getting their track materiel bought....  The number of times I've heard bleats about it looked ok on paper....

 

I may have to re-plan on doing something as a U shape after all.

[Happy Hippo]

This is worth a look:

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

18 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

I must admit to having an HO GG1, full spec sound Broadway Limited in Tuscan Red.  Welllllll the NH sort of copied them for the EP's, or was it the other way around, I can't remember now!  It has a diecast body, two motors, and is probably about as powerful as the O scale ones!

It was the other way around; the EP-3 was a 2-C+C-2 and was tested against the PRR R-1 (2-D-2) sometime around 1935 or so. Both were successful but the EP-3 had better tracking qualities so the wheel arrangement was chosen. Note that the R1 survived in service until 1958.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad_class_R1

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

16 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

 ...snip... Perhaps if I were to get rid of all my 4mm stuff, and buy a small selection of US outline stock for the grandchildren.............?

Go for it!!

[J. S. Bach]

14 hours ago, pH said:

Stay away from GP38s - they are seriously addictive!

Not as much as SP SD40T-2 tunnel motors!

[J. S. Bach]

4 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

The thing about Geeps is that they come in all sizes......

 

So do Bombardier Tri-level commuter cars:

 

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

1 minute ago, J. S. Bach said:

So do Bombardier Tri-level commuter cars:

 

 

I was wondering if they might make an appearance...

[J. S. Bach]

8 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

I was wondering if they might make an appearance...

????

The top one is N but I do not know the maker (it was borrowed from a co- worker for the photo shoot; the other two are mine)

The middle one is HO by Athearn

The bottom one is O by K-Line

All are full scale; the O one is 21" long

[pH]

5 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

To some extent the GP38 is the most faithful successor to the concept of those original GP7/9 locos, having a simple 16 cylinder engine, fairly understressed. The higher-performance GPs, while very successful for those roads that preferred and needed them, no doubt had higher maintenance costs as well. 

And lower availability. I read somewhere (and can’t remember where, despite much thought) that Canadian Pacific’s GP38-2s, as a class, had a higher availability than any other CPR class.

[Northroader]

5 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

The thing about Geeps is that they come in all sizes......

 

 

[New Haven Neil]

My two in the shot are a P2000 HO scale, and a USA Trains G 'scale' version - it's huge!

[Erichill16]

Ian  and Bill,

Thanks for the information regarding the JA and maroon stock.. To be truthful it was what I expected. I know I can always use rule 1 but to the know-it -all at the railway club it would be nice to say it’s the SO 1M54 from Liverpool Lime Street to Brighton and the JA took over at Kensington Olympia. It was something of an impulse purchase but it’s a loco I’ve always had a soft spot for. I’m intending building a small quayside layout without defined period or region.. it will go well with my Ruston and Hornsby 07 but I’m not sure how my class 71 will fit in.
Anyway thanks again for the info.
Regards Robert

[Dave Hunt]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

This is worth a look:

 

You swine! Posting a video containing images of panniers without giving a health warning! I now have to settle my nerves with a bottle glass of something smooth and malty in an attempt to get rid of the image burnt into my retina. Luckily I managed to close one eye quickly enough to avoid permanent damage.

 

Mind you, the layout is an outstandingly good bit of modelling.

 

Had our flu vaccinations this afternoon and I honestly didn't feel a thing. It wasn't until the nurse put a small piece of cotton wool on my arm that I realised she had done the deed. Skill or what?

 

Another visit to the fang wrangler tomorrow for root canal treatment part 2. I have a feeling that another bottle drop of happy juice may be on the cards in 24 hours time.

 

Have a good night everyone.

 

Dave 

[Erichill16]

Smooth and malty, that must be bedtime Horlicks.

 

[Tony_S]

22 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Smooth and malty, that must be bedtime Horlicks.

 

My poor Mum got really anxious about night starvation which was something Horlicks was supposed to prevent. I’m sure she imagined some sort of fading away in her sleep. She didn’t always have Horlcks though, sometimes  couple of sandwiches and a cup of tea before bed. 

[Happy Hippo]

55 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

My poor Mum got really anxious about night starvation which was something Horlicks was supposed to prevent. I’m sure she imagined some sort of fading away in her sleep. She didn’t always have Horlcks though, sometimes  couple of sandwiches and a cup of tea before bed. 

Now you've made me feel hungry:  The glass of Penderyn I had this evening was a treat.  normally I don't drink mid week.

 

One of the advantages of having sections of track to hand is being able to drop them onto the table and put stock on them.

 

My problem over the Aberflyarff scenic length has now been resolved and I can get it all into, including the cassette table, 22 feet.

[Happy Hippo]

I have been out having to manually pick up a collection of leaves.  The leaf blower won't go as it's low on oil and has a low oil sensor in the sump which prevents it from being started.

 

I'll pick up some SAE 30 this afternoon on my long delayed trip to the various suppliers for paint oil and timber.

 

In the meantime, I'll pick up some more leaves....... Manually.

 

Still, it is a calm and sunny morning which helps.

 

Since another issue on Aberflyarff of the off scene storage has been solved, it means I can now effectively operate it from one side only.

 

This will allow some Valleys terracing to take place along the backscene, not dissimilar to the style shewn in the Youtube clip I posted yesterday, although the houses will, by necessity look a lot more regimented.  Probably they will have names associated with the Crimea: Sebastapol Terrace, Alma Street or Balaclava Row might make an appearance, as will the infamous 'Golden Dap' public convenience house.

Edited November 4, 2020 by Happy Hippo

[New Haven Neil]

Monograde oil in your blower HH? - must be powered by some old Beezer engine or something!  

[Happy Hippo]

25 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Monograde oil in your blower HH? - must be powered by some old Beezer engine or something!  

Sorry Neil, it's a sucker: 4stroke 5 hp.

 

A scruffier version of this: