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Tonbridge West Yard


Lyddrail
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Project Mercury was a Telecoms company, they used the railway cable troughing system and lineside to lay their cables.

Wagons were painted a sky blue livery.

Carried mostly cable troughing

Richard

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Telecommunications

Mercury were trying to compete with BT and needed a core network so had a joint venture with BR to use the line side to run fibre optic cables.

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Hello,

 

Did Project Mercury trains only operate in the SR? I ask as I've not seen photos of the wagons or trains on any other regions, although happy to be proved wrong.

 

 

Cheers,

Wayne

 

Hope Glasgow goes well for TWY Paul, it was nice to read back through the RM article to read about the history, it was like seeing it in the old Model Rail supplement all over again.

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Hello,

 

Did Project Mercury trains only operate in the SR? I ask as I've not seen photos of the wagons or trains on any other regions, although happy to be proved wrong.

 

 

Cheers,

Wayne

 

Hope Glasgow goes well for TWY Paul, it was nice to read back through the RM article to read about the history, it was like seeing it in the old Model Rail supplement all over again.

Wayne,

 

I think they were nationwide. Stafford used to have rakes of wagons in the south sidings.

 

Carl

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Stafford was the main Base for the fleet of wagons... don't forget the 6 MK1 BSK staff vans ... Myself and a friend did a rake of 12t pipe, a BR std brake van, a ex LMS brake van both having been converted to staff riding vans and one of the MK1 BSK'S many moons ago to run on the MRC'S New Annington layout.

 

MC

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Stafford was the main Base for the fleet of wagons... don't forget the 6 MK1 BSK staff vans ... Myself and a friend did a rake of 12t pipe, a BR std brake van, a ex LMS brake van both having been converted to staff riding vans and one of the MK1 BSK'S many moons ago to run on the MRC'S New Annington layout.

MC

Any photos?

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Not on me as I'm at the show still... I'll dig some poor 35mm print stuff out once back down south in the next week.

 

As a note the MK1 BSK'S were still around into the grey and green BRT days and then moved onto the WCML OHL upgrade and then onto Balfour Beattie.

 

Number range was KDB 977162 - 169 IIRC, but check on Departmentals.com

 

HTH

 

MC

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Spent an enjoyable time watching your layout and chatting to your operating team today the level of detail is brilliant and it was just as I remembered your layout from the first time I seen it many years ago when you appeared at Glasgow. It was just a pity that the roof of the SECC decided to add some rain into the mix.

 

David

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Just wanted to say how delighted I was to see Tonbridge West Yard at the SECC yesterday, I remember seeing it a few times at exhibitions before it was "retired" and it never failed to impress me! I hope that the "water ingress" didn't do too much harm and the plastic sheeting did it's job!    

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A very enjoyable show, good to see our Scottish friends, thanks to my team including the guest operators who did a fine job, cheers to the organisers for the award 2nd best visitors layout, and sorry for having to close the layout down for the last few hours due to rain on the fiddle yard!! The public were very understanding but it was a shame. There was not damage as far as I know.

​The layout performed well, a few issues that we worked around, but I keep reminding myself the layout is 27 years old, and some of the stock is even older. One guy said hello and asked if I remembered letting him operate the layout when I was at Glasgow 25 years ago and he was a kid!

​Got home 13.00hrs today after breaking my journey at Northampton. Journey home was mostly clear.
Cheers.

Edited by Lyddrail
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The layout will be travelling north to Glasgow for the show this Fri, Sat & Sun.

A new spoil train will be running provided by one of my operators. Prototype pictures below.

attachicon.gifL-132 TWY 3-3-91.jpg

attachicon.gifL-147 TWY 3-3-91.jpg

attachicon.gifL-194 TWY 3-3-91.jpg

See some of your there.

Cheers.

 A great 3 days at the show, despite the weathers best attempts to derail it even before we started.

 

Congratulations to the show organisers for another well presented AMRSS show.

 

Here are a few pictures of the new train mentioned by Paul .. some are an attempt at the angles seen in the originals ..

 

The prototype train has 28 wagons, so I modelled that many  ... Then we found that only 22 would fit in the longest sidings! ( a more realistic length will be 20 -18 wagons ).

 

post-321-0-61301200-1488301714_thumb.jpg

 

post-321-0-64302300-1488301738_thumb.jpg

 

post-321-0-00181500-1488301790_thumb.jpg

 

post-321-0-95522000-1488301813_thumb.jpg

 

post-321-0-67246600-1488301972_thumb.jpg

 

MC

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A very enjoyable show, good to see our Scottish friends, thanks to my team including the guest operators who did a fine job, cheers to the organisers for the award 2nd best visitors layout, and sorry for having to close the layout down for the last few hours due to rain on the fiddle yard!! The public were very understanding but it was a shame. There was not damage as far as I know.

​The layout performed well, a few issues that we worked around, but I keep reminding myself the layout is 27 years old, and some of the stock is even older. One guy said hello and asked if I remembered letting him operate the layout when I was at Glasgow 25 years ago and he was a kid!

​Got home 13.00hrs today after breaking my journey at Northampton. Journey home was mostly clear.

Cheers.

That was myself that spoke to you regarding operating your layout. Glad the rain didn't damage anything and that the layout made it home. As I mentioned above was worth the trip to Glasgow to see a wonderful layout.

 

David

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Nice job, I've been wondering if there will be pictures.

 

Is the spoil made with weathered down Woodland Scenic 'Cinders' ballast or is there more to it than that?

 

 

Cheers,

Wayne

Hi Wayne.

 

The 'spoil' is actually a fine Ballast made from Granite from Meldon Quarry.

 

It has a very Dark grey look with flecks of lighter greys and browns.

 

It is laid onto a thin pure PVA layer spread on top of Ten Commandments loads in the Clams, which are on different levels of Cardboard 'feet' to give differing levels and Make Your Mark Models resin loads in the Topes that have been sanded to allow a difference of push fit to vary the load heights ( both of which have been undercoated in dark grey primer ) and left for over 24hrs to fully dry off 

 

I have, in the past, tried to make a mix of dust ( to simulate earth ) and ballast, but it always ended up a complete mess of 'stodge' that was un-usable.

 

HTH

 

MC

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I done many Sunday 'balast jobs' when based in Garston depot in Liverpool with 'project m' with the 60w bulbs strung up on 2x2inch battens in each corner of the pipe wagons for night time unloading, looked like a Xmas train! ..I have some photos some where of the pipe wagons when getting loaded in speeky road fruit shed in edge hill with the concete troughs. Usually 12 or so pipe wagons with a standard brake van each end and a 31 up front. Someone started the rumour that it was a secret government communication job ...not so secret with powder blue wagons and scourers on the job.

So trains could be seen in North west area, there is a disused viaduct in Holbeck leeds that has so the grape vine says has the trunking still in use...hence reason it is still regulary seen been maintained

G

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Paul... any more shows booked for the come back "reto" show.? Good to see you showing the wiz bang dcc crowd how it's done, none of this sound files just good old pancake motors growing away....

A cracking layout doesn't age just matures, regards G

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Paul... any more shows booked for the come back "reto" show.? Good to see you showing the wiz bang dcc crowd how it's done, none of this sound files just good old pancake motors growing away....

A cracking layout doesn't age just matures, regards G

 

Just like one you regularly operate..........

 

Cheers,

Mick

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Paul... any more shows booked for the come back "reto" show.? Good to see you showing the wiz bang dcc crowd how it's done, none of this sound files just good old pancake motors growing away....

A cracking layout doesn't age just matures, regards G

 

Thanks, this years shows are: Derby - 6th & 7th May, Shenfield - 16th September, and Barrow - 7th & 8th October.

The Lima locos are no problem but the Hornby ringfields in the MUs with their wide wheels cause a few issues.

Cheers.

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Hopefully hope to see TWY at Derby this year...may even be on the works time like last year...he he.

The barrow show after that! The chaps up there know how to look after exhibitors!! One of the best friendly shows in the country for visitors and exhibitors alike

Regards

G

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Hopefully hope to see TWY at Derby this year...may even be on the works time like last year...he he.

The barrow show after that! The chaps up there know how to look after exhibitors!! One of the best friendly shows in the country for visitors and exhibitors alike

Regards

G

 

G, I know what you mean about Barrow, it will be my third visit with TWY.

Cheers.

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