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Henley-on-Thames - GWR in the 1930's


Neal Ball
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Thanks for all the comments today


 

36 minutes ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

Neal, I hope you'll have time to watch the SVR webcams this weekend.... several GWR engines and some great GWR stock in use.  

 

Capture.JPG.b0dfdeaabd5fbe155c9efab8f081b367.JPG

 

The new build Saint is in use.  Right funny looking thing 'tis.

 

 

 

Thanks for the reminder, there is also a video on YouTube about Lady of Legend on the railway: 

 

 

28 minutes ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

 

Are they mad?  It's flippin' freezing here!  It was -2c when i got up at 6.30 this morning, and it's only 7C now...

 

:)


We have a lovely sunny day here in Spain, thankfully after yesterday’s torrential downpour - it’s currently 28 on our roof

 

26 minutes ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

 

I believe it must be Regatta Day every day in your world, Neal!  You can have as many 4-6-0s as you want then.


That’s my excuse as well :-)

 

22 minutes ago, ChrisN said:

 

If it is like where I am, in the sun it is warm, but when the sun goes in it gets very cold.

 

We went to Henley the other day and I was telling my grandchildren where the station used to reach, where the turntables used to be.  At least there is still a line and they have not ripped it up.

 

It’s nice to see that the old turntable area has been saved.... particularly when you consider that it was taken out as early as 1904!

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12 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Apologies for the British thing about the weather, but it's hammering it down here now, veritable gatos y perros!

 

Mike.


Looks as if Summer starts on Monday...... outside possibility of rain this weekend.

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Good morning, greetings from Spain.

 

I had one of those “Tidy up” days yesterday, which included taking a load of rubbish to the bins. Odd bits of laminate flooring that I might need.... 

 

Having done all of that I settled into Henley for a few hours....

 

Kadee (cont’d); crew and weathering.

I started with a couple of non-NEM Hornby wagons; the ones with the toy train couplings! Changing them for no 28 medium couplings in gear boxes. The effect is that the coupling is no longer so conspicuous. It hasn’t really changed the length, so I might need to change them for a shorter one. 
I used the same screw point that Hornby used as the base is level at that point. To move the gear box back, I would need to pack a shim underneath. I will see how they look in a train and take it from there.

1510441528_WagonsVans2.jpg.559397b61814d3f2911434fb388b2bb2.jpg


It’s a shame the under frame is so chunky.... perhaps I should look at replacing that as well!

 

I then took a few wagons and started weathering them. Not quite dry brushing, but everything was rubbed off, with a cotton bud leaving the dirt in between the planks etc. Photos to follow.

 

As it was mucky work, I also painted dark grey a few wagon roofs.

 

A couple of days ago I received a batch of new crew models from Modelu, together with some lamps. These have had a coat of white primer, ahead of being painted properly. As can be seen, I’ve broken one of the shovels 😞

 

2105550340_WagonsVans3.jpg.900aff9d1fbdf55a5a9c99c87b318ee4.jpg

Plus on the bench I have my 4th Pannier which has had its top feed removed. It’s been filled and a coat of primer added. This is the 3rd loco I’ve taken off the top feed, everytime I do this, I think Bachmann will release new Panniers! To be continued. 
 

Have a good Saturday.

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52 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

Kadee (cont’d); crew and weathering.

I started with a couple of non-NEM Hornby wagons; the ones with the toy train couplings! Changing them for no 28 medium couplings in gear boxes. The effect is that the coupling is no longer so conspicuous. It hasn’t really changed the length, so I might need to change them for a shorter one. 
I used the same screw point that Hornby used as the base is level at that point. To move the gear box back, I would need to pack a shim underneath. I will see how they look in a train and take it from there.

 

FB5BBB52-4C32-4EBC-A99A-9AF542EA758C.jpeg.c7db13122e1a22261b8e756780ff139e.jpeg

It’s a shame the under frame is so chunky.... perhaps I should look at replacing that as well!

 

 

 

I've got a few of those myself and I did wonder which was the best Kadee to use. Thanks!

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Work in progress:

 

 

The coal wagons having had Kadee couplings fitted. Looking again, it's obvious that I either need shorter couplings, or move the gear box back:

339035116_WagonsVans1.jpg.deff21dbac0a8d3bc6842563a6313d7f.jpg

 

I have also made a start with weathering the wagons. The Stevens wagon has been distressed with the fibre glass pen to remove some of the printing. 

 

From this distance the heavy underframe is not that noticeable.

 

The Oxford cattle wagon has also been fitted with Kadee, but these need to be longer. I have also weathered the wagon and painted the roof a darker grey.

 

 

The other two vans in this line-up are a Parkside Horse box and a "Beetle" van for Prize cattle. Both need weathering and GWR decals applied. They have already had their Kadee couplings fitted.

 

 

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Neal, you could also experiment with alternating couplers... I use #17s on the left hand end and a #18 on the right hand end to get a decent closure between buffers.  

 

When I had stock with working buffers I would use 17s at both ends and let the buffers do their job.

 

A minimum 30" radius curves helped

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36 minutes ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

Neal, you could also experiment with alternating couplers... I use #17s on the left hand end and a #18 on the right hand end to get a decent closure between buffers.  

 

When I had stock with working buffers I would use 17s at both ends and let the buffers do their job.

 

A minimum 30" radius curves helped


Thanks for that, I hadn’t thought of that.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well done on your layout Neal.

 

i was at the real Henley station recently. What a sad sight with a single line but I had to remind myself that at least they kept that!!

 

you have done well with your static grass and it was good to chat with you at Warley a couple of years ago demonstrating the Static King device.

 

kind regards,

 

Peter Marriott

 

please do not tell us that you have any sunshine! The weather here today is very very wet. Again........

 

 

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On 21/05/2021 at 13:20, swisspeat said:

Well done on your layout Neal.

 

i was at the real Henley station recently. What a sad sight with a single line but I had to remind myself that at least they kept that!!

 

you have done well with your static grass and it was good to chat with you at Warley a couple of years ago demonstrating the Static King device.

 

kind regards,

 

Peter Marriott

 

please do not tell us that you have any sunshine! The weather here today is very very wet. Again........

 

 


Thanks very much Peter.

 

Sadly we have rain today..... supposed to rain right through to tomorrow morning :-( 


Yes, Henley station is a former figure of itself.... I suppose it’s progress..... we all love our cars too much.

 

At least the railway is still there though.

 

Thanks again for your comments and help with my grass.

Regards, Neal.

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Welcome back!

 

Firstly apologies for the long delay in an update - it's only been 6 weeks or so!

 

In that time, summer has arrived in Spain - as I type this at 6pm, it's 32 degrees in the shade on our front terrace!

 

The railway room is a good deal cooler.

 

Since the last post; life has pretty much stood still at Henley on Thames. Although we have been on holiday (for a fortnight further up the coast) and then another break away, this time for a long weekend, in the other direction down the coast.) It's been good to get back out in the Motorhome.

 

Anyway, today I've been in the cool of the railway room and had a couple of trains running. I have also been trying to fix CV29.

 

Recently I have been watching Charlie at Chadwick Model Railway on Youtube again and have finally got to grips with CV29.

 

(I had to send the class 52 Western round first with the Dapol track cleaner.)

 

Charlies video is here: 

 

Now here's a thing - it worked - on a couple of locos that run in reverse - presumably the wiring is the wrong way round...

 

However, I might have mentioned before that, I have 2 x Castle class locos (The early Tintagel Castles), that run in reverse. To the point I have raised it with Hornby and I have an outstanding ticket, which means I can take them into the office and they will sort them out.

 

These are both sound locos: 1 x TTS sound & 1 x Howes sound.

 

The upshot was that changing CV29 to 35 (Reverse; 128 speed steps & long address), it didn't make any difference.... Or rather it did. One of two things happened:

  1. Nothing - it didn't move at all.
  2. It ran forwards - and only forwards.

I only tried one loco - No 4982 Windsor Castle; which has the TTS decoder.

 

Frustrating is the key word here... it went back into its box.

 

I am now contemplating whether to chop the errant locos in with Hattons and bank the money for the forthcoming AEC Railcar and get a sound decoder from YouChoos for that.... or persevere.

 

However, of course, I rather do like my Castle class locos...

 

TBC

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On a more positive note:

 

In getting a couple of locos out "to play"; the first loco to arrive into Platform 2 at Henley on Thames was my Grange class 4-6-0 no 6860 Aberporth Grange and then running backwards, or was to forwards was castle class 4-6-0 no 4082 Windsor Castle.

 

First the Grange:

1323775936_Grange-HenleyonThames.jpg.4fdd9358a5bd729ef522efee01f712ae.jpg

 

Windsor Castle is about to take the train out of Platform 2 - displaying Express lamps, it's obviously off to PDN, whereas the arrival must have come from Oxford or so on a stopper as it only has one lamp.

 

 

 

681685210_WindsorCastleatHenleyonThames.jpg.97fd970a345a71a9f4fb9534a16be293.jpg

 

 

 

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Strange days at Henley:

 

I'm waiting for a parcel ..... and thought 5 weeks is a bit much since the parcel arrived at Madrid....

 

Apparently not, there are tales of peoples parcels taking up to 6 months to clear customs - surely we should get a discount.... But I have now written 5 times to Correos (The Spanish equivalent to the Royal Mail) unfortunately you  don't even get an answer.

 

The parcel? - My new Turntable....

 

So in the meantime, I have had to keep myself amused! Although progress is very slow.

 

57xx no 5737 has been backdated - every time I do this, I think that Bachmann will announce a new pannier loco - clearly not at the moment, but its got to be soon. This is now the 3trd loco I have backdated, but the first I have increased the weathering and changed it to "Great Western" rather than the GWR shirt button loco:

 

738745722_57xx5737HenleyonThames.jpg.ad7cfc0c7b11c8e6f093e6ef41f3a269.jpg

 

 

 

 

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The arrival of 5737 isn't exactly turning the heads at Henley on Thames:

 

This is my first 57xx in Great Western livery, rather than the GWR shirtbutton. It has been suitably weathered, despite the bright logo, the loco is in need of it's next overhaul.

 

Plus you would suggest that it's been a wet day since it last left Reading and the attention of the cleaners.

1747804147_57xx5737Henleybr.jpg.9106b3cf41d3005e429d279b0c82a09c.jpg

 

PS - Yes in this shot the handrails are missing - as is the lamp! Although in the last shot, the lamp (Modelu) looked a bit wonky! Creww are being painted as I type.

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7 minutes ago, Nick Gough said:

Nice.

 

I can't see any trace of the topfeed or pipework.

 

Thanks Nick. 

 

I know Bachmann will soon be doing a non-Top-feed loco, but until then.....

 

I still remember when I last asked the question at Warley 2019 and was met by a bored / "Oh not that again" look from the Bachmann rep on the stand..... 

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Whilst the 57xx has taken an age to change to the loco you see today, other jobs have been a bit quicker.

 

Its now airspraying season (Mornings only), in the back garden - it gets too hot in the afternoon when the sun comes round.

 

In the last couple of days, I have painted the roofs of 4 GWR Hornby Carriages and today weathered 13 other carriages and 2 wagons - seen inside their cloches.

1287465658_Carriages-drying.jpg.dc3f6c709c8b190701957debf978010b.jpg

 

Then while there was some paint left in the gun, I tried spraying the track. Previously I had painted the track by hand, but this is so much better. 

 

I am using Railmatch frame dirt, which is an enamel, so I dont fancy doing too much in one go as it wont be easy to ventilate the railway room. (With the front door open, it will allow too much heat in, plus countless midday things!)

 

888815201_TrackJuly2021.jpg.9ed8bf3a74a285f2822b49558d23f75a.jpg

Initially I have only done the track in the foreground, which is the extension of the yard headshunt. I think when I do the running lines, I might need a lighter shade - it looks a bit too dark.

 

Also on the bench recently have been another set of Modelu crew.

1319254512_CrewJuly2021.jpg.57701afabb68acf7d7fa3ce1963da87f.jpg

 

They have now been finished - they were just drying off last night. They will be installed into locos in the next week or so.

 

There is one more batch to be done and I think that will be all the locos done. The next batch includes more loco headlamps and also train tail lamps. I am doing the loco lamps Red as that suits the period - what colour would tail lamps have been?

 

In closing, I will leave you with another photo of the Pannier tank 5737.

 

2136421063_57xx5737Henleyc.jpg.353f5fd0fa1af2e0f88753dcf6b839e5.jpg

 

 

 

 

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40 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Tail lamps began to change to white during the 1930s - I think I have thh date somewhere for when the initial experimental white ones were authorised.


Thanks Mike. I guess that the same time as Loco lamps went from Red to White. I think that was about 1934/36

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12 hours ago, Neal Ball said:


Thanks Mike. I guess that the same time as Loco lamps went from Red to White. I think that was about 1934/36

Neal I'm pretty sure that tail lamps were ahead of loco lamps.  There were definitely suggestions from staff - presumably Signalmen? - as far back as the Great War to paint tail lamps white in order to make them more visible but the idea was rejected several times over the hears before it was finally decided to give it a try.   If I get a chance I'll dig out the dates.

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On 18/07/2021 at 01:28, The Stationmaster said:

Neal I'm pretty sure that tail lamps were ahead of loco lamps.  There were definitely suggestions from staff - presumably Signalmen? - as far back as the Great War to paint tail lamps white in order to make them more visible but the idea was rejected several times over the hears before it was finally decided to give it a try.   If I get a chance I'll dig out the dates.


Thanks again Mike,

 

Ive had a quick look at Pendon and note that in the vale scene, the Oxford to Reading service, has a Red tail lamp. 
 

Naively I wasn’t expecting Red…. At the moment I can’t think where else to look, I’m bound to have the details somewhere! I have also looked at great western.org.uk but in scanning quickly couldn’t see any reference.

 

There is a section at Warwickshire Railways about head and tail lamps. Whilst state that loco lamps were changed from Red to White by the end of 1936, no mention is made of tail lamps being painted: https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/misc/headcodes.htm

 

It's an interesting conundrum….

 

 

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Agreed at Rules & Regulations Committee in October 1936, following test, that white (sprayed cellulose) be used instead of red for tail lamps.  this did not at that time include the vertical two light tail lamps for teh main portions of a train conveying slip coaches.

 

Interestingly there are no minutes in respect of the colour of engine head lamps between the change in WWI from black to red and 1947.

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1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

Agreed at Rules & Regulations Committee in October 1936, following test, that white (sprayed cellulose) be used instead of red for tail lamps.  this did not at that time include the vertical two light tail lamps for teh main portions of a train conveying slip coaches.

 

Interestingly there are no minutes in respect of the colour of engine head lamps between the change in WWI from black to red and 1947.


Thanks Mike that’s great thank you.

 

I suppose it would have been a couple of years before all trains would have white tail lamps…. Red it is then.

 

Thanks again, Neal.

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