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8 minutes ago, jbmccarthy said:

 

Why is this? Could I have bit of background please. 

 

I would suggest you go and read some of the dozens of articles about building and operating the layout that appeared in the modelling press from the the late 1940s until well into the 2000s. Or the three books written about the layout. 

 

Great pictures Tony. You look as though you are about as proficient with three links as I am! Kim is very good but I struggle.

Jerry

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First site of Buckingham, via the Rodeller, in my case in the late 1960s, remains a never forgotten experience. With imagination and the application of skill and patience, you could create a believable miniature world, in this case (fairly rigorously) based on past practice, bring delight to all who came in contact with it and derive tons of satisfaction as its creator. There was very little ready to run kit available, so the good reverend made it himself. What an aspiration! Buckingham was a true original and game changer.

 

best wishes,

 

Alastair M

Edited by A Murphy
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33 minutes ago, jbmccarthy said:

 

Why is this? Could I have bit of background please. 

 

When the layout came to me, around 9 years ago, I gave a couple of talks at model railway clubs about the layout and how it came to be with me.

 

I was astonished, when I finished the first talk, that a good number of people at the clubrooms hadn't heard of Peter Denny and Buckingham before.

 

If I told you that the two 0-6-0 tender locos on shed at Grandborough Junction were built in 1946 and 1947 and that the loco shed building is a similar vintage, it should bring it home that Peter Denny was one of the pioneers of the hobby, building very good models for their time, from scratch, in EM Gauge, two rail. At the time, 4mm modelling of any gauge was in its infancy and the vast majority of RTR was Hornby Dublo 3 rail. They were good for their time and many stand up to close scrutiny today. Even most of the the horse drawn carts are made from card, paper and wood, with wire spokes for the wheels.

 

Peter wrote many articles for magazines over many decades, showing how he had used very basic materials and tools to get very acceptable results and his articles have inspired many modellers to have a go themselves. Articles have appeared in Japan, the USA and in Scandanavia and the layout has appeared on television several times.

 

At a time when any 4mm layout with a full scenic finish was rare, the first Buckingham was, as far as we know, the very first 4mm EM gauge scenic layout to be seen at an exhibition or in the press.

 

The layout is still, after all these years, inspiring others and I have recently been sent a set of photos of a layout based very closely on Buckingham, presently under construction.

 

But to me, it is far more than a bit of history. It is a layout where the design, control systems and methods of operation are still miles ahead of many modern layouts and despite a few minor mechanical and electrical hitches, usually due to wear, tear and age, the vast majority of it still runs superbly most of the time and out of all the many layouts I have ever had to opportunity to operate, it is the the one I have enjoyed most by some distance.

 

 

Edited by t-b-g
To correct poor language use!
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39 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Young Jesse and I have been busy-bees.

 

Yesterday, I took him to see Buckingham, now in the care of Tony Gee, and one of the most important layouts in the whole history of railway modelling. 

 

258153526_TonyandJesse01.jpg.97e61c385c4d717fc432e99a133cae0a.jpg

 

In 'stern' mode, Tony explains some operational point to the lad.

 

31010972_Jesse01.jpg.ac88a30fe989bcc7be121badef958f6e.jpg

 

Who is an extremely quick learner.....................

 

434453277_AlanRollins.jpg.f2f6bc2eac062180bf6827918db6b911.jpg

 

Sending and receiving trains to/from Alan Rollins, who was operating Grandborough Junction. Alan is a regular operator of this classic layout.

 

me.jpg.67fbd81b81efdf69d86b8f3947ae709d.jpg

 

Unlike me! I did manage to successfully uncouple a loco from its train in the terminus, jumping as the flash went off - I'm usually behind the camera! 

 

One thing which has delighted me about Jesse is how his modelling has come on since I first met him - not because of me, but because of his thirst for knowledge and the development of his skills. 

 

256818295_Jessesengineerstrain01.jpg.54dfd9952b8a996a98baaef311591264.jpg

 

1029022521_Jessesengineerstrain02.jpg.07967142062331eda4dec3edb0168358.jpg

 

He's made this LNER engineers' train, from scratch and from kits. He wasn't happy with the original painting, so between us we've repainted the three vans.

 

2132699414_threeengineersvans.jpg.72edebcb471215bf1a8231514f3071b1.jpg

 

Just the application of transfers needed, then some weathering. 

 

Great stuff, my young, antipodean friend! 

 

It was a most enjoyable visit and great to see you both.

 

Those are lovely photos but I will just take issue with one thing! Me being stern? Never! Just concentrating hard.

 

I think another hour or so and Jesse would be flying Buckingham solo! He would just have to learn all the little wrinkles such as not shunting on the up line to avoid buffer locking and learning which levers need a little wiggle or a firm hand to make the switches work.

 

Please come again, any time.

 

Tony 

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25 minutes ago, Lecorbusier said:

 

2024228914_31nWzvdNudL._BO1204203200_.jpg.611319535991950e95b3d4c846198531.jpg1307058966_51K671mfVpL._SX373_BO1204203200_.jpg.0ca6a889d28e69eb66ef2d2aaa7d9577.jpg46.jpg.85f3e7b89c2150ac28c8e87a7521def3.jpg60.jpg.15ebb93f1cb1cbb3fda85df0b88390c7.jpg

 

I had almost forgotten that video. Many thanks for posting it. It does show the Robinson 4-4-2T sailing round with one of the oldest trains. Yesterday it stalled with the wheels spinning and is on the "requires attention" list as the bogie wheels were acting more like brakes than anything else.

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The video also shows that Peter Denny wasn't afraid of making use of what RTR equipment that was available - the Triang clerestories of course (establishing something of a tradition amongst GCR modellers) but also a "H&B" van, done up as a H&B refrigerator van.

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1 hour ago, t-b-g said:

 

It was a most enjoyable visit and great to see you both.

 

Those are lovely photos but I will just take issue with one thing! Me being stern? Never! Just concentrating hard.

 

I think another hour or so and Jesse would be flying Buckingham solo! He would just have to learn all the little wrinkles such as not shunting on the up line to avoid buffer locking and learning which levers need a little wiggle or a firm hand to make the switches work.

 

Please come again, any time.

 

Tony 

Don’t forget memorising what signals and points are which!

 

it was a fantastic time, most definitely visit again when I’m over next! 

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1 hour ago, t-b-g said:

 

It was a most enjoyable visit and great to see you both.

 

Those are lovely photos but I will just take issue with one thing! Me being stern? Never! Just concentrating hard.

 

I think another hour or so and Jesse would be flying Buckingham solo! He would just have to learn all the little wrinkles such as not shunting on the up line to avoid buffer locking and learning which levers need a little wiggle or a firm hand to make the switches work.

 

Please come again, any time.

 

Tony 

Thanks for a great time, Tony.

 

Seeing Buckingham was on Jesse's bucket list. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

 

 

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2 hours ago, t-b-g said:

I have recently been sent a set of photos of a layout based very closely on Buckingham, presently under construction.

 

With the owner's permission, of course, might it be possible for you to share these images. I for one would love to see them.

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3 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

The video also shows that Peter Denny wasn't afraid of making use of what RTR equipment that was available - the Triang clerestories of course (establishing something of a tradition amongst GCR modellers) but also a "H&B" van, done up as a H&B refrigerator van.

 

Not really. The carriages were a "one off" experiment that he didn't repeat.

 

Once he had converted the RTR carriages, he decided that he would build any future ones from scratch as he found the conversion work to produce slightly inaccurate carriages much less satisfying than scratchbuilding accurate ones. 

 

The H & BR van was a gift from another modeller. I should have picked it up and shown off the underneath when Tony and Jesse were here. It has a Peco "Wonderful Wagon" underframe and cocktail sticks for axles. I fell about laughing when I first saw it. As Peter told me "We don't run it" and that has remained the case. It sits there for year on year, going nowhere but looking pretty. If you ever spot it in a Buckingham article, it is always n the same place.

 

There are a handful of wagons that are not built from scratch. Maybe 3 or 4 "Trackmaster" plastic bodies on new underframes and a handful of kits, which were probably gifts from others that Peter built and put on the layout.

 

Overall, he was happiest making things from scratch, even when kits or components could be bought. When D & S brought out etched GCR signal parts, he tried them and went back to making his own because he found it more satisfying. 

 

 

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I posted an order for number plates to Ian Wilson of Pacific Models on Tuesday afternoon & received the full order this morning . I think service of this quality deserves recognition . The number plates are first class as well !

                                            Ray .

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4 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

Don’t forget memorising what signals and points are which!

 

it was a fantastic time, most definitely visit again when I’m over next! 

 

At least you have a diagram to help with that. When it comes to remembering that No 7 sometimes springs back and other similar things, that is when the memory is needed.

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In keeping with the theme of period rolling stock, here's the work in progress on an LSWR 56' brake from the Roxey Mouldings kit:

 

lswr.jpg.55052463f3ea9680f9213ede364d3b7e.jpg

 

Other than the fact that it's in my pile of kits, I'm building this as a warm-up before tackling a Blacksmiths S&DJR coach which I've obtained thanks to a kind sale by another RMwebber. One thing I've noticed, comparing the two kits, is that the design is very similar, especially the way the sides and ends mate together.

 

Al

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When I visited Buckingham at Tony’s a few months ago I was struck by how much of my original N gauge layout had been based around Peter Denny’s ideas.  Having operated it, however, I cannot say it is my cup of tea in that aspect and I am allergic to three link couplings!

 

Tim

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6 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

In keeping with the theme of period rolling stock, here's the work in progress on an LSWR 56' brake from the Roxey Mouldings kit:

 

lswr.jpg.55052463f3ea9680f9213ede364d3b7e.jpg

 

Other than the fact that it's in my pile of kits, I'm building this as a warm-up before tackling a Blacksmiths S&DJR coach which I've obtained thanks to a kind sale by another RMwebber. One thing I've noticed, comparing the two kits, is that the design is very similar, especially the way the sides and ends mate together.

 

Al

 

That looks quite an undertaking. What sort of roof (plastic moulding, 3D printed acrylic, sheet metal to be formed, metal cast/extruded, . . . . ) is supplied?

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I visited thegreenhowards yesterday to collect the GNR horsebox and was invited upstairs to operate a chunk of the East Coast Main Line.  Is was a very enjoyable session - three hours just flew past.  It's DCC, so when I dialled in "36", I was expecting an A3; instead it was a Britannia on the Cleethorpes.

 

Bill

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50 minutes ago, grahame said:

 

That looks quite an undertaking. What sort of roof (plastic moulding, 3D printed acrylic, sheet metal to be formed, metal cast/extruded, . . . . ) is supplied?

 

Hi Grahame

 

It seems to be different with every coach kit I've tried so far. In this case, it appears to be a piece of vac formed plastic, very much oversize so needing careful

cutting down. The otherwise similar Blacksmith kit seems to have a sheet of rolled or formed brass, the Comet kits use (I think) extruded aluminium, the

one Branchlines kit I've done so far used flat brass which needed to be shaped, but which was half-etched on the rear so not too difficult.

 

In this case, since the body is attached to the chassis by screws, there's no problem in fixing the roof on permanently since I'll always be able to get back inside

if needed.

 

Al

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1 hour ago, CF MRC said:

When I visited Buckingham at Tony’s a few months ago I was struck by how much of my original N gauge layout had been based around Peter Denny’s ideas.  Having operated it, however, I cannot say it is my cup of tea in that aspect and I am allergic to three link couplings!

 

Tim

 

Don't worry Tim. You will recover from the bells and the three link couplings eventually.

 

I fully agree that operating a layout like Buckingham is something that people can take or leave. There are a few categories of modeller that I can usually fit people into. There are the builders, who love making things but as long as they have somewhere to see them run, that is enough for them. They would rather spend their time making another engine than shunting a train. There are the operators, who would be quite happy with Hornby Dublo 3 rail as long as they have signals and block bells. Then there are those somewhere in between. These are the Peter Denny and Frank Dyer types who want intricate and complex operation and will build the models they need to achieve this.

 

I can usually tell very quickly which of these types somebody is when they come for a visit. There are those who just want to see it and watch the trains and there are those who can't wait to sit at the controls and get stuck in.

 

I have always wanted a layout where challenging and intricate operation is a big part of the fun and I have what I regard as one of the best examples ever to "play" with now. It is about as far removed from Copenhagen Fields or Little Bytham as it is possible to get operationally. Both are superb layouts but my criteria is always "Would it be fun to operate with a few friends twice a week?" and in that respect, neither would come close to a session on Buckingham for me. 

 

After Tony and Jesse visited yesterday we had a "normal" running session tonight with three experienced operators. I found myself thinking how different the running is when you have that "team". With visitors at the controls, everything is very sedate and each move is taken in turn as trying to explain and run simultaneous multiple moves with novice operators is just too difficult. There were times tonight when 3 trains were running at the same time and many moves overlapped, so we would have something running to or from the fiddle yard, something shunting at Grandborough and something shunting at Buckingham, or perhaps two trains passing on the main lines. I had spent a bit of time earlier today looking at one or two things that didn't run as well as they should yesterday and they all performed very nicely tonight.

 

 

 

 

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7 hours ago, t-b-g said:

 

I can usually tell very quickly which of these types somebody is when they come for a visit. There are those who just want to see it and watch the trains and there are those who can't wait to sit at the controls and get stuck in.

 

Can I suggest another type ... which I think I fall into ...  The slightly diffident ones. Those who actually would really quite like a go, but don't push forward and may well need some encouragement .... either through politeness or nervousness .... particularly when something is as complex and as precious as Buckingham.

 

Having never operated a complex proto-typically run layout (or any sophisticated layout come to that) I have no idea if I could play for hours or would get board once the skills had been mastered. Your description of the experienced operator session does sound a lot of fun though! I do know I like watching such things when I have the chance.

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10 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

 

It seems to be different with every coach kit I've tried so far. In this case, it appears to be a piece of vac formed plastic, very much oversize so needing careful

cutting down. 

 

 

Ah, the ol' vac formed kit. I've made a few of them although you don't see them so much these days. They're redolent of the 'garage' kit industry for small runs and often sci-fi subjects. The parts are all 'bumps' on a large sheet of plastic that need cutting out. Having cut around them to release them, their joining/mating edge needs filing flat which is best done on a sheet of fine sandpaper taped/stuck to a flat piece of wood/board.

 

Here's an unfinished one of a Comet Miniatures Fireball XL5 I started some time ago. It was quite a multi-media kit with mainly vac formed parts, some white metal castings, transfers and a few other bits - unfortunately I can't find the box with them in to finish it.

 

 DSC_8467.JPG.a7278d0d596e4f6dd1811d64c86e96d3.JPG

 

 

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1 hour ago, Lecorbusier said:

Can I suggest another type ... which I think I fall into ...  The slightly diffident ones. Those who actually would really quite like a go, but don't push forward and may well need some encouragement .... either through politeness or nervousness .... particularly when something is as complex and as precious as Buckingham.

 

Having never operated a complex proto-typically run layout (or any sophisticated layout come to that) I have no idea if I could play for hours or would get board once the skills had been mastered. Your description of the experienced operator session does sound a lot of fun though! I do know I like watching such things when I have the chance.

 

I have seen that from time to time. You are quite right, unless you have access to a layout that is run in that sort of way, developing the skills and the confidence to have a go can be tricky.

 

Hopefully I can spot that when visitors come and give them an appropriate level of encouragement and support so they do end up giving it a good try.

 

i see operating as a skill, just as I see building a loco or painting and lining. It is a skill that some people are interested in and some are not. Whenever I see a layout at a show, or go to visit one, I have as much interest in how the control systems have been designed and how the layout is worked as I do in anything else. So when I see a lovely lever frame or control panel and there is a well thought out and interesting pattern of operation, I am happy. When it is done in a way that somebody with a bit of knowledge and experience could almost sit at the controls and run the layout, that makes my very happy.

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