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The Hintock Branch-1930's Dorset Joint GWR/SR Workings in OO


john flann

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David: thank you for those kind words and good wishes.

 

I've enjoyed getting here and through the years found the hobby of model railways an excellent way of getting beyond the cares of the everyday. I think it's the combination of creativity and (minor) physical application. And, you'll know all about that.

 

I'll email you.

 

Kevin: I much appreciate your comments. Operation has always interested me and with Hintock I consider I have achieved my goals. In writing about them Steve Flint and RM have provided a means and I have more to say-in due course. Here too I'm able toget the word out. There are others too and who perhaps you have not yet come  across, who aspire to operatinal reality for their layouts for instance AndyP with Pencarne, Andy R with Hawkinsfield a recreation of Buckingham, DaveC with Woodstowe and RayH with Verney Junction.

 

All I think agree, that Peter Denny was the master and his legacy continues in our individual efforts.

 

I agree with much of what you say about the current vogue of photography, all very well and clever in its way, but lacks to my mind the humanity of the living steam railway and its myriad faces. What you see in my images is what you get. No photoshopping or clever tricks. I will not say more on this thread as it is not the place. To each his own.

 

Again my thanks for your interest in Hintock. It's a never ending source of amusement to me. Currently I'm thinking about improving the scenics of HTQ.

 

Regards to you both,

 

PS, have you seen my website;  http://www.hintockbranch.com/

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Thanks, John, I will follow-up those layouts.

 

Verney Junction should be particularly interesting; it had a Pullman stabled overnight for an early train to London, and there can't be many fields in the middle of nowhere that can have boasted that.

 

If you have a look at my thread, you will see that, although I'm only at track-on-bare-plywood stage, all my trains have departure times and purposes already!

 

Kevin

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Kevin: how could I forget, but I have just been reminded by his recent post there is too John Dew's Granby where operation rules.

 

And whilst posting thanks once again gentlemen, for your "likes" of my last post. It does too show to advantage a goodly portion of Hintock. What I especially wanted to get in the shot was the station nameboard. And once more a right click brings greater clarity.

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Agh yes John, that pic reminds me,

 

 

LAMPS, :O  I must sort through my box of Lamps and get some onto some stock, but FIRST I need to look up all the codes.

 

Yet another great pic and I do like the Green Tank, what would that carry John?

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John will no doubt have a more plausible reason but I would blame an idle fireman :)

 

ps Thank you for mentioning Granby, John.......I am very very flattered to be included in that list

 

Regards

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John: it's a simple explanation, I forgot to check before I took the photograph. The annoying thing is that's they are good shots otherwise, but with the likes of you about (meant nicely) I have to get it right. Further taking these shots is rather a pain as I have to get the camera into a very difficult corner. But I'll be at it tomorrow no doubt.

 

post-3088-0-66148900-1441333263_thumb.jpg

 

To answer Andy's question its a milk tank of the Dorset Dairy Farmer's Association. The chassis is ex Dapol and the tank itself ex Bachmann. Then repainted and re-lettered. DDFA was chosen for the reason DD were companion letters on the decal sheet and FA are rarely used. Makes a change from the standard vehicles usually seen.

 

Couple of nice shots from a new (and another difficult spot to get into) viewpoint. The rest of the layout dosn't look too bad either.

 

post-3088-0-47546500-1441333283_thumb.jpg

 

 

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Morning John, Thanks for the info on the Tank, I wondered why I hadn't seen one like it before.

 

That last shot is another good angle, and I was interested to see the Coal Drops.

Recently my Trebudoc Layout was in Hornby Magazine and the following Month a chap wrote in to say Coal Drops were NEVE backing onto the Tracks as I had depicted. Since then I have found several REAL photos of the same so proving him wrong, and you and I right.  I did respond to the Editor but my reply wasn't published although another chaps letter was supporting my positioning to a small degree.

 

I wasn't into Railways in my youth, I first became interested at the tender age of 27, (1977) so I have to rely on books and other peoples depiction of what they remember / saw, etc.

 

Thanks again.

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Richard: yes, the things I do in the interests of trying for a new shot; getting the camera into postion, my squeezing into a corner, keeping my fingers out of the way and avoiding being burned by the photofloods are not the least of the joys. Then taking the shots "blind". The upside is when I get a really gratifying image. Always remembering one does this for fun.

 

Andy; what I like about the resultant milk tank is that it is an exercise of the imagination, different and reasonably true to prototype.

 

Regarding the coal pens as in so many things the answer is, "it all depends". Their basic function is/was to provide longer term storage of coal (bought when cheap and in place for when needed-demand was less in summer than winter), in it's different grades (best house coal to slack), there is then the matter of avoiding double handling (costly and damaging to the coal) and that of space available in the yard.

 

On Edit: Much coal was put in the sack by the delivery men from the coal wagon, then weighed on the scales and placed on the coal merchants cart of lorry. This obviously speeded things up.

 

Considering all the above I'm content with my postioning and so should you. It's too what I can recall of coal yards in the days of yore.

 

I know it's very annoying when some know-all pipes up in that manner (on whatever subject) and are so very definite. I ignore them.

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post-3088-0-39840500-1441983216_thumb.jpg

 

Early one summer's morning the first train of the day departs Hintock. Attached is the empty Grimsby Fish van (it arrived the previous afternoon) being returned to the NE.

 

It's the 6.07 am Workman's train all stations to Hintock Junction and thence onward by the S&DR to Kings Stoy for those working at the RN's Store Depot. Returning it will bring children to school in Hintock. The coaches will then be put in the Carraige Siding until the afternoon when the service will be operated in reverse.

 

post-3088-0-09678500-1441983242_thumb.jpg

 

Later that same morning at Hintock the local passenger train  has just shortly arrived from the Junction. When the goods standing in the loop departs for Port Bredy the Prairie will put the returning empty DDFA milk tank in Hintock Dairies siding and draw out two full tanks, attach them to its single coach train and return to Hintock Junction.

 

All simple operations but typical of a GWR branch such as is Hintock.

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John

 

Reading this on the train home from work, so your tale of commuting Hintockians resonates strongly. Their train looks a deal slower than mine, but has a lot more charm than a modern EMU!

 

If the staff at Birlstone aren't too busy this evening, I will get them to load a van with barrels of Harvey's Old Ale, and consign it to Hintock by the next available goods train, so that your populace can take a sup or two when they return from their labours.

 

Kevin

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Nice of you Kevin, thank you I know it will be appreciated. In return I shall have a wagon or two of Crown Prince Best Bitter sent to Birlstone. That is if isn't available alteady. Crown Prince is well known in the south west.

 

As a newcomer to Hintock you may not be aware Crown Prince brewery occupies the building  to the left.

 

(On edit: as a major shareholder in Crown Prince brewery I upped the order of a barrel or two of ale to a wagon or two. It may help to increase sales.)

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Hi John

 

It was only when you posted the second photo that I noticed anything marginally unclear with the initial shot......which I continue to like. The front segment of the second shot does appear slightly sharper. How did you achieve this......with a second shot or.......? 

 

I dont think I have seen many views of HIntock from that angle other than the GWR shots that immediately preceded it.........I rather like it..........mind you I like all your shots.

 

From what I remember of the overall room I imagine it must have been quite a gymnastic feat to achieve that angle?

 

Best Wishes

 

John

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John, I basically take the photos for my own satisfaction and to satisfy magazine editors who use them to illustrate the various articles I submit. I've had no training but learned as I went along. I did however, get two pieces of advice, one was to flood the subjet with light and the other to purchase a Nikkon Coolpic 5600. And from son Nicholas to use a free program, much used in the scientific community, ImageJ for re-sizing and simple  image manipulation.

 

To answer the individual comments, the initial image 5009 was 2592x1944, or 1.54 MB, and that seemed crisp enough so I left it alone, reduced it 1100x825 or 252KB (to accommodate the RM embargo on image size) and posted it. Thereupon the posted image seemed to lack the clarity of the original and that can be observed with a right click.  I then ran ImageJ to reduce the image to 1024x768, 285KB (as advised by AndyM a long time ago) and then with the program sharpened it. The results you see, and that to my eye though perhaps slight, look much better.

 

The technicalities of all this I have no comprehension.

 

You also asked how I got the shots, the answer-with difficulty and it's a bit more than gymnastics. I need get the camera on  a small tripod atop a book in a corner that is awkward to reach. I cannot sight or frame the image and have to shoot blind hoping for the best; and there I've been fortunateThis spot does provide some rather nice pictures. What I like about them and it's entirely fortuitios that apart from the interest at the front, the station sign board can be read and the entire layout can be seen-from one end to the other. Something I didn't expect when I took the initial trial shots.

 

And, of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and I'm happy when individuals as yourself and others express their likes of my endeavours. 

 

All good wishes,

 

John.

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Alan, thank you for your interest.

 

There is no WTT for as I describe on my Hintock website, and as I have done here I use the sequence method. By this I run a sequence of trains to represent the everyday workings of the Hintock Branch. The RM of September 2013 has an article describing it. (Though some of it got garbled in the editorial process.)

 

The heart of the method is the staging yard, as seen below in an earlier form. (I'll look later to find a more up to date picture.)

 

post-3088-0-73423500-1442581507_thumb.jpg

 

Here you will see the trains that are available. They can be run in different forms, for example a goods can arrive in the yard with an SR loco and brake van, change the loco and van and it can depart as a GWR train, a passenger train can take or arrive  with different vans and so on. Some of the roads too are long enough to hold spare stock. Simple and effective. All it requires is a bit of imgination.

 

I should add I don't have the luxury of long running sessions, one trainin  and one out is about my limit and there's enough fun in that for me.

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post-3088-0-06033200-1442668347_thumb.jpg

 

Following up my last post this shows the current staging yard. It has the same number of roads as previously but lengthened by inserting the second three way point in place of the original ladder format.

 

From the top there are;-

 

1 & 2. Two goods roads, GWR/SR/S&DR

3. Local passenger/workmans/school/market day/and milk, GWR.

4. Perishable traffic, GWR/SR.

5. Hintock/ Weymouth passenger with van(s), GWR.

6. Hintock/Yeovil passenger with van(s), SR.

7. Through coaches/Birkenhead/Granby/Hintock. GWR.

 

On this set up sixteen different trains can  be run. And by removing and adding stock other formations, within the scenario for Hintock, can be run. There is room too on a road or yard itself for loose stock.

 

Who says running a BLT has little to offer and is boring? 

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The pictures of Hintock, as always, are looking great John. Meanwhile another picture by Cornelius Crumpler has been found in the Dorchester archives. This one shows the Hintock station environs set in the Brede valley. A good find I'm sure you'll admit.

 

post-8259-0-43976300-1442913591_thumb.jpg

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