Peterborough North

[Martin S-C]

I had the great misfortune of being born in Croydon, south London, in 1959. Not a very auspicious start. The tragedy was that two years prior my family had moved south from Doncaster of all places due to my father's work. If only his job had required him to move ten or fifteen years later! How diferent my formative railway years would have been! So my earliest railway experiences were trips to Victoria from East Croydon and (sad as it may seem) the most fun my brother and I had was rushing down those wonderful (and to us little boys, endless) sloping ramps to the platforms to see if the train was a green one or a red one. These were the coaches of course, not the loco! I must assume the green coaches were the SR electric units, maybe 2BILs and 4SUBs but the red (in fact maroon) coaches must have been loco hauled though I cannot say by what! I guess there was a steam engine on the front unless it was an early BR electric loco. Maybe someone here with knowledge of mid-60s Southern Region practice on the Victoria-Brighton line can suggest what they were?

I therefore have no recollection of steam trains at all in my childhood except for trips to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch and the Bluebell Railway and my earliest memory is being entranced by the smell of a steam engine - such a heady concoction that I have never forgotten it.

When I began my more serious phase of modelling in my teens the most commonly available RTR items seemed to be GWR so it was to that company that I turned to accumulate both models and knowledge and my early layouts all gravitated to South Wales in the 1950s. This was the late 70s when everyone and his dog seemed to be modelling GWR BLTs set in a perpetual rose-tinted 1930s summer and as has become my signature practice, I reacted to that and, bucking the trend, went for something far grittier and more industrial. This brought me into contact with the Welsh constituent companies of the GW with their hosts of lovely Victorian engines, colourful coaches and quirky wagons and from there I discovered the Forest of Dean and its small independent and joint railways which seemed to me the perfect mix of GWR, MR, LNWR and independent lines. The rest is history as I have, in the quest for the unusual and quirky, and to avoid the mainstream of what so many others model, gone back in time to pre-grouping and a setting where the heavy industries of coal mining, timber felling, stone quarrying, tinplate working, limestone burning, etc, all sit in close proximity to each other and a small railway system running in an otherwise bucolic rural setting.

In the late 70s I went with some friends to Pendon, clapped my eyes on the Madder Valley railway and knew from then on what I really wanted to model.

On the other hand I am collecting a late 50s/early 60s set of BR steam and diesel to run on my layout for when I want to ring the changes. Again, its the early and unusual BR types like 14s, 15s, 16s and 17s that appeal. I lose interest when BR diesel class numbers begin with anything higher than a "2"!

[Mallard60022]

Can't think of anything Maroon on the Brighton Line out of Vic in the mid 60s. I suppose it is vaguely possible it was a suburban set in Maroon? Oxted perhaps; was that out of Vic and through EC?  Dudders may well know.

P

[New Haven Neil]

M'learned friend is hopefully taking note of my silence towards B17 appreciation - having had such a nice N5-fest further up page I keep my council.

 

Don't want a bollocking after all

[great northern]

A golf lesson today. Basically, everything I thought I was doing wrong, I wasn't, and most things I thought I was getting right I wasn't either. Then hours of meetings, and not home till 1900, so no trains have run.

 

The 2.10pm York and Hull featured a triplet set, but until recently they were in my fixed Newcastle rakes. Now they are loose stock, and so the train can be correctly formed. ignore the KX- Newcastle board please.

 

Above the coaches is another shot of the N5. Neil will be pleased. It was about showing the lamps, but then I remembered I'd already dealt with that. It looked nice in the view finder though, so I took a photo anyway. It is above the coaches because the ****** new system insisted it was going to put it there.

 

 

[rockershovel]

Interesting to see the N5 on the site of the present drop-off area (recently disparaged in another thread....) and what still remains of Platform 1

 

are there any plans to include the Railway Police Station in the model? What WAS the original function of that building - surely not a Police Station? 

[Martin S-C]

14 hours ago, great northern said:

 

 

 

 

I've said this before and no doubt will say it again at some point, but for me the highlight of your layout is your dirt. It's by far the nicest dirt I've ever seen!

Edited February 7, 2019 by Martin S-C

[CUTLER2579]

8 hours ago, Martin S-C said:

I've said this before and no doubt will say it again at some point, but for me the highlight of your layout, Kevin, is your dirt. It's by far the nicest dirt I've ever seen!

 

Who is Kevin ?  

Edited February 7, 2019 by CUTLER2579
Bold Type.

[jwealleans]

We need to talk about him......

[great northern]

9 hours ago, rockershovel said:

Interesting to see the N5 on the site of the present drop-off area (recently disparaged in another thread....) and what still remains of Platform 1

 

are there any plans to include the Railway Police Station in the model? What WAS the original function of that building - surely not a Police Station? 

I believe it was the Stationmaster's house at some stage. The whole Station Road area is on the list for development, but Peter and I haven't worked out how we are going to do it yet.  The Police Station will definitely be there, but not in full relief.

[great northern]

Here's Deltic thrumming away at Platform 2. I've been up and searched the loft again, but still can't find the detailing pack, so I'll ask Tim to work out another solution for the missing bits.

The second picture, if I could find a way, would be captioned, "Oooh look, a tail lamp"

[Clive Mortimore]

Good Morning Gilbert,

 

Shouldn't the big blue beastie have headcode lamps on?

[rockershovel]

9 minutes ago, great northern said:

I believe it was the Stationmaster's house at some stage. The whole Station Road area is on the list for development, but Peter and I haven't worked out how we are going to do it yet.  The Police Station will definitely be there, but not in full relief.

 

I had thought that it might well be a former Stationmasters house, or something similar, given the location. 

 

I have no recollection of the former condition of Station Road, I only remember the filthy expanse of the former coal yard/car park and the Police Station. I don’t clearly recall the construction of the present multi-storey, although it was later than the main multi-storey across Bourges Boulevard. 

 

I suspect though, that the compression of the distance between the Great Northern and the Crescent Bridge will be challenging to accommodate, so I will be most interested to see the eventual result 

[great northern]

2 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Good Morning Gilbert,

 

Shouldn't the big blue beastie have headcode lamps on?

It should Clive, and I've got them. It's just that I don't know where they are.

[Richard E]

24 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

 

I had thought that it might well be a former Stationmasters house, or something similar, given the location. 

 

I have no recollection of the former condition of Station Road, I only remember the filthy expanse of the former coal yard/car park and the Police Station. I don’t clearly recall the construction of the present multi-storey, although it was later than the main multi-storey across Bourges Boulevard. 

 

I suspect though, that the compression of the distance between the Great Northern and the Crescent Bridge will be challenging to accommodate, so I will be most interested to see the eventual result 

It is definitely, in a former life, the Stationmasters house. Incidentally the occupier of the Stationmasters house in 1958 was, most probably, Maurice Hughes who took over as Stationmaster in 1956.

 

The car parks were built in the early 1980's with Queensgate shopping centre opening in March 1982 although plans for Queensgate had been made in the 1970's and, indeed, the Waitrose store in the centre had been announced as early as 1978. Unfortunately I cannot, at present, tie down a date for the multi-storey car park near the station.

[MarshLane]

12 hours ago, great northern said:

A golf lesson today. Basically, everything I thought I was doing wrong, I wasn't, and most things I thought I was getting right I wasn't either. Then hours of meetings, and not home till 1900, so no trains have run.

 

The 2.10pm York and Hull featured a triplet set, but until recently they were in my fixed Newcastle rakes. Now they are loose stock, and so the train can be correctly formed. ignore the KX- Newcastle board please.

 

Above the coaches is another shot of the N5. Neil will be pleased. It was about showing the lamps, but then I remembered I'd already dealt with that. It looked nice in the view finder though, so I took a photo anyway. It is above the coaches because the ****** new system insisted it was going to put it there.

 

 

 

Hi Gilbert,

Loving the photographs as ever. Remember that plus button to add pics will add the picture where ever the cursor is.  To add text below a picture AFTER you have added it, use the right arrow cursor key on the keyboard to put the cursor to the end (ie after the image) and then hit the return key.

 

Other than clicking a plus symbol, rather than the words ‘Add to post’ my experience is that the new site works no different to the old one in this respect.

 

Query for you, you said on one of the captions that you’d taken the triple set out of a permanent formation, have you added to the coaching stock fleet to do that, and what’s replaced the triple in the other set?

 

Rich

[great northern]

33 minutes ago, MarshLane said:

 

Hi Gilbert,

Loving the photographs as ever. Remember that plus button to add pics will add the picture where ever the cursor is.  To add text below a picture AFTER you have added it, use the right arrow cursor key on the keyboard to put the cursor to the end (ie after the image) and then hit the return key.

 

Other than clicking a plus symbol, rather than the words ‘Add to post’ my experience is that the new site works no different to the old one in this respect.

 

Query for you, you said on one of the captions that you’d taken the triple set out of a permanent formation, have you added to the coaching stock fleet to do that, and what’s replaced the triple in the other set?

 

Rich

Hi Rich,

 

Many thanks for that. Andy Y has also kindly taken me through the procedure this morning, so hopefully all will now be well.

 

What I've done with the stock is to remove some previously permanent rakes completely, and to put all of the stock freed up either into dedicated cassettes, or as loose stock in the fiddle yard. That means I now have two triplets standing in road 2 of the fiddle yard, and they are slotted into formations as needed. Putting together a 12 coach train can require unloading three cassettes, plus hand shunting catering cars and placing loose stock where needed.

 

That takes longer than just hooking a loco up to a fixed formation, but not an unacceptably longer time, and it allows me to have all the correct formations instead of a few correct ones which had to cover all services. It's a trade off as these things always are. I'm happy to spend that bit of extra time to have the satisfaction of running the correct stock. This would never work with an exhibition layout of course, but my layout will never be exhibited, so that doesn't matter.

[great northern]

I have a sore typing digit, having spent most of the day sitting in front of this thing doing golf related stuff. Now though I shall see if I can remember what I was told this morning. No doubt our man at the north end didn't know his mate further down had already done a side on shot of Sun Stream, so he took another one, of most of it anyway.

That was the easy bit. Next we see the Flying Scotsman on its way through. Top Shed, having found to their delight how the double chimney transforms the performance of an A3, are now quite happy to entrust  one of their most prestigious duties to Woolwinder.

Hoorah!!! It works, but will I remember how to do it tomorrow

[great northern]

Our cameramen can't resist close ups of A3s either, and quite right too. Woolwinder was passing through very slowly when this was taken.

[great northern]

Oh dear! I seem to have suffered from premature posting. I definitely hadn't finished what I was doing. Anyway, this Gresley steel artic twin appeared under Crescent bridge, so we got a shot of that as well.

[Killybegs]

60515 is one seriously dirty loco. Love the chalked shed code. They must be a lazy uncaring lot in York.

[great northern]

Memory tells me that York engines were rarely cleaned John, and the photographic record tends to support that. My loco's condition is based on a photo taken by Colin Walker which appears in Trails of Steam Vol 2 Peterborough, and was definitely taken in summer of 58. Can't show it here though for copyright reasons.

[Jesse Sim]

56 minutes ago, great northern said:

Memory tells me that York engines were rarely cleaned John, and the photographic record tends to support that. My loco's condition is based on a photo taken by Colin Walker which appears in Trails of Steam Vol 2 Peterborough, and was definitely taken in summer of 58. Can't show it here though for copyright reasons.

York and Gateshead were the filthiest in LNER days, or was it just Gateshead? 

 

Gateshead definitely! 

[great northern]

That artic twin, and the rest of its five set, is being propelled into platform 3 to form the 3.58 to Grantham. The N5 is having a very busy spell. I've messed up again somehow, so must tell you here that the second image shows 60523 backing down towards the stock.

[45156]

Loving that last B&W shot, Gilbert, if there was some smoke and steam from the locos, it would be even more difficult to tell that it's a model - this shot is very realistic indeed.

Edited February 9, 2019 by 45156
typo

[great northern]

1 hour ago, 45156 said:

Loving that last B&W shot, Gilbert, if there was some smoke and steam from the locos, it would be even more difficult to tell that it's a model - this shot is very realistic indeed.

The problem as I see it though is that added on steam and smoke detracts from realism rather than adding to it. If it could be done convincingly, that would be a different matter.