Peterborough North

[thegreenhowards]

Clive,

 

That is a seriously impressive selection of motive power! I’m sorry I suggested combining type 1s and shunters, but Type 1 got dropped completely at the beginning, so at least I got it a reprieve!

 

My Favourite would be a Class 20 - the sound is so melodic. But this is mainly about looks, so my vote goes to a CLass 15. 

 

Andy

 

 

[thegreenhowards]

4 hours ago, great northern said:

 

Most of the formation behind the tender was MK1, but our chap spotted a couple of more interesting cars, one LNER,

 

 

and another with GNR origins.

 

 

 

I think we will be having a poll on coaching stock before long.

Gilbert,

 

Love the coach pictures. Can you tell us more about the buffet car? I think it’s an LNER conversion of a Gresley GNR vehicle, but what is it doing in that train - was that booked or just an excuse to run it? And what is the provenance of the model?

 

A coach poll would be interesting, but how would you structure it? Favourite coach is a bit too wide. Could we have it divided into types by number of wheels and/ or purpose (catering, non corridor, corridor and open) and/or era? I suppose having found a favourite of each type, we could then have an FA Cup style knock out competition to find the best overall coach.

 

Andy

[jollysmart]

EE type 1, Class 20, blue with head code discs not the boxes which rather spoil the line of them.

[great northern]

37 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

Gilbert,

 

Love the coach pictures. Can you tell us more about the buffet car? I think it’s an LNER conversion of a Gresley GNR vehicle, but what is it doing in that train - was that booked or just an excuse to run it? And what is the provenance of the model?

 

A coach poll would be interesting, but how would you structure it? Favourite coach is a bit too wide. Could we have it divided into types by number of wheels and/ or purpose (catering, non corridor, corridor and open) and/or era? I suppose having found a favourite of each type, we could then have an FA Cup style knock out competition to find the best overall coach.

 

Andy

This train should have yet another unique RB, E9154 to Dia185, the one rebuilt in 1934 from a Dia 27A TO. I don't know of any source for photos or drawings of that, though I hope you or someone else will now prove me wrong.

 

The one in my photo is indeed a rebuild from a GNR 3rd. I wanted to something unusual a while back, and Steve Pearce did this for me, using RDEB parts from Wizard. My Dia 168 is in my Grimsby/Cleethorpes set, and I only now use Dia 167 cars on trains to/from the NE section, as we discussed a while back, so this one slots into the Grantham, and I think one other. E9154 must have been unavailable sometimes, surely?

 

As to the coach poll, I was indeed thinking of splitting it as you suggest, but I am open to other suggestions.

[phil.c]

6 hours ago, great northern said:

What have you done with my kadee?

Whooops! sorry, it's in the bin

[great northern]

4 hours ago, bigwordsmith said:

 

 

When I set out to build my Waverley East layout in our last house I had visions of 10 coach trains hacking round a decent run - I did after all have 36' x 11 and Gilbert very wisely as it turned out counselled me to wards keeping it simple, especially if I was planning to turn it on my own. 

 

As you'll see if you can be bothered to trawl through the 20-odd pages of drivel in my own thread, this actually got to the building of the main lines and fiddle yard, and the setting out of the main station. I realised that operation was going to be way beyond me, and in fact with my eyesight getting slightly less sharp I found I couldn't really see much of the long train in the distance - The length of my room meant that a train at the other end of the room is a scale half a mile away, so all detail, even the number on the loco side, gets lost.

 

We moved a couple of years ago so the railway had to be dismantled, and my new room is 21'x9'6. That is much more manageable, and while I will continue to have a very complex engine shed and a six road station to play with so I can terminate trains to send them off in the opposite direction, complete with loco change, I'm eschewing a fiddle yard in favour of semi-concealed storage loops so trains don't have to go round lots of times. The theory is that I should give myself a lot less of an operational headache.

 

IN fairness I'm not massively enthused to get on with it at the moment, partly due to injury and partly due to having got a bit disillusioned at the last line by biting off too big a mouthful!

 

There's a reason most layouts never get finished - ambitions are often much larger than the practicality. In that respect layouts like PN and Little Bytham are unusual, but they serve much more as a backdrop to the owners' main interests - in Gilbert's case realistic operations and Tony as we all know is an amazing builder of models.

The injury part you can do little about, Peter, but another reason for being reluctant to start might be that you still aren't sure that your present plan will give you what you want, within the constraints you have to deal with. You are absolutely right about the disillusionment caused by over ambition. What exactly do you want? Is the engine shed critical? Will you enjoy just shuffling things about? I thought I would when I built the one in the loft layout, but in practice it just frustrated me, because what I really wanted was to see the trains running on the main layout.

 

What I finally worked out, and it took me many years, was that my ideal was to recreate a bit of the ECML in the late 50s, and a location where I could run my most favourite types of engine. Running B17s C12s and D16s somewhere they were never seen in real life would have spoilt my enjoyment immediately. Realistic operation came along once I had found the space to make the dream possible.

 

So, what is your ideal? Identify it, and ask very seriously whether you can achieve it, whether for space reasons, health considerations, and any other factors you think relevant. If you can't have what you really want, go for the best you can get. Also, consider the time it is going to take to build before you can see trains running. I'm amazed at Scott's patience with Stockrington - I could never wait that long to get the thing running.

 

You may then find that you scale things down even more than you have done already. If that's what it takes to give you the impetus to get on, and if your health allows it of course. go for that. You could always plan something relatively simple but with scope for elaboration if and when you found yourself able and wanting to do do.

[great northern]

A pleasant time this afternoon just wandering around the railway, considering what little things I've left half finished, and in some cases actually doing something about it. Then looking at the fiddle yard and cassettes again, and making a few small tweaks there. Back down here for a mug of tea, and the afternoon image. Coal again, but different motive power.

 

 

I also conducted a search for shackles, or whatever you want to call them. There should be loads lying about in theory. How many did I find? Not one.

[31A]

Oh, I nearly forgot to vote!  So many to choose from; on appearance I will go for the BTH Type 1 ("Class 15") which I think were quite elegant looking.

 

[mullie]

Class 15 for me

 

Martyn

[great northern]

Time for the 5.50am KX -Grantham, and that not long ex works Haymarket A3 is here again. Perhaps it has been back up North, and sent back for further fettling? It's not like Doncaster shed to keep a shine like that going.

 

 

it has a ten minute stop here, and so is put out of the way in Platform 6.

 

 

It is just this angle where the double chimney doesn't quite look right to me. Still a lovely sight though.

[manna]

G'Day Folks

 

Class 15 for me. Never got to work on them, but I did manage to climb all over one at Finsbury Park, train heating unit parked up.

 

manna

[jwealleans]

18 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Only one you have built?

 

Clive, you're just surprised I've built a diseasel at all, aren't you?   It has working lights too. 

 

Quote

I did manage to climb all over one at Finsbury Park, train heating unit parked up.

 

Not long after I built mine, I was in Pete Waterman's place at Crewe, walked round the back of a shed and there one was.  I had no idea they'd kept one and I think it was a carriage heating unit.  It was parked next to 'Kerosene Castle' which I also didn't know still existed.  We climbed all over that, but sadly the Swiss had kept all the interesting bits.

 

 

[Woodcock29]

Class 20 for me

[FarrMan]

On 23/05/2020 at 20:43, 2750Papyrus said:

In 1964, my first girl friend lived in a  house overlooking FP depot, so I have several reasons for choosing the Searchers' Deltic,  Needles 'n Pinza.

I always thought that it was called Nimbus 'n Pinza.

 

Lloyd

[great northern]

A glorious day here, and I'm looking forward to the day ahead. I have a slightly different poll challenge for you, which I'll explain shortly, and at the same time as I announce the result of this one. First though, morning images, starting with a 9F easing along the Down slow.

 

 

It will be stopping soon though, as on the main another of our many local V2s is approaching with a Class C. parcels.

 

 

[FarrMan]

22 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Only one you have built?

 

Type 1s and Shunters mixed, not to sure on this.

 

Do I go for

 

A BTH

Or Hawk

 

Or a Cayton

 

Or a NBL

 

Or English Electric

Or something a bit more humble like a 350 Jocko

I think a little Barcaly gets my vote today.

 

 

Clive

 

I am only going on memory, which at my age is dangerous, but was there ever a diesel shunter numbered D12016? I thought that all the D prefixes were 4 digit, and that the older ones, such as 12016 never had a D prefix?

 

As someone whose modelling skills are VERY poor, and very rusty at that, I hesitate to be thought of as critical, but hope that it is constructive, at least.

 

Lloyd

[great northern]

The poll was again decided by an overnight vote from down under, which meant that Class 20 edged ahead of Class 15 by 8 votes to 7. There was only one vote for a shunter!

 

So, today's poll, the idea for which came from Trevor Page, and an excellent one it is. This may exercise your little grey cells a bit more, and it would be interesting to see the reasons for your decision, not just the loco concerned.

 

Here we go then. Designs which have stood the test of time.  So we are looking for locos  that were, or are, still doing the work for which they were designed at the beginning of their lives, many years on. Passenger or goods work, both are equally important. Which have had the greatest impact on the future of our railways, and which most influenced the development of design after their inception?

[jwealleans]

Have to be the Class 20.   A 60 year old design moving nuclear waste?  

 

Generically the two inside cylinder steam 0-6-0 is probably the design which carried railway around the world for a century, but it would be hard to pin down one to vote for.   So this time I'm opting for the Chopper.

[RFS]

How about the class 73 electro-diesels - the first bi-mode locos to operate on BR? Not only is bi-mode the flavour of the day now, but some class 73s, first introduced in 1962, are still running today. Furthermore, a number of them have been re-engineered into 73/9s and will probably be still be around for another 20 years or so. 

[Clive Mortimore]

34 minutes ago, FarrMan said:

Clive

 

I am only going on memory, which at my age is dangerous, but was there ever a diesel shunter numbered D12016? I thought that all the D prefixes were 4 digit, and that the older ones, such as 12016 never had a D prefix?

 

As someone whose modelling skills are VERY poor, and very rusty at that, I hesitate to be thought of as critical, but hope that it is constructive, at least.

 

Lloyd

Hi Lloyd

 

You are right D12016 is incorrectly numbered, but not by me but by BR (well one their painters). I only copied the mistake on purpose.

 

There were a few class 11s also incorrectly numbered with a D prefix to a 12xxx number, all LMR locos.

[Clive Mortimore]

4 hours ago, jwealleans said:

 

Clive, you're just surprised I've built a diseasel at all, aren't you?   It has working lights too. 

 

 

Not long after I built mine, I was in Pete Waterman's place at Crewe, walked round the back of a shed and there one was.  I had no idea they'd kept one and I think it was a carriage heating unit.  It was parked next to 'Kerosene Castle' which I also didn't know still existed.  We climbed all over that, but sadly the Swiss had kept all the interesting bits.

 

 

I can't find a photo I took of one of my class 15 models sat on the running board of the surviving one when it was based at Mangapps  Railway Museum. It is now at Bury and last year they managed to fire up the engine. When at Mangapps some bight spark removed a lot of the wiring to rewire it, but cleared off before finishing it, leaving the group then trying to preserve it with a massive bill.

[Bazza]

I would nominate the HST, front line , high speed service since 1976 and still going strong. Its replacement sadly is inferior in terms of ride and comfort.

Bazza 

[great northern]

Two really interesting replies to the poll. Neither would have occurred to me. Keep them coming guys, this could get really fascinating.

[FarrMan]

31 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Hi Lloyd

 

You are right D12016 is incorrectly numbered, but not by me but by BR (well one their painters). I only copied the mistake on purpose.

 

There were a few class 11s also incorrectly numbered with a D prefix to a 12xxx number, all LMR locos.

Clive

 

Thanks for the information. I should have known that you would be right!

 

Lloyd

[john new]

22 minutes ago, Bazza said:

I would nominate the HST, front line , high speed service since 1976 and still going strong. Its replacement sadly is inferior in terms of ride and comfort.

Bazza 

 

Agree re the HST. 

 

Sadly the whole 3rd rail units  + TCs +/or diesel add on concept, with all traction units wired for the scheme swappable and interchangeable, which was brought in for the Bournemouth electrification scheme by BR's S Region has failed the test of time.  Then just regarded as a practical solution, now with a fancy bi-mode label, it is my runner up vote.

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by john new
Reworded to make better sense.