Pragmatic Pre-Grouping - Mikkel's Workbench

[7TunnelShunter]

3 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

 

Yes, and also tells us that since it was found necessary to make this warning, some shunters were actually doing this in practice! I've just put it on my "things to be modelled" list 

 

Hi

 

The more usual way of riding a brake stick was to, insert the brake stick and lock your arms, so you lift your feet off the ground. You then ride in a vertical orientation and can easily drop your feet and start running to alight.

 

The downside, when the stick breaks the shunter often falls forward and is impaled on the stub... hence the rules forbidding riding on shunting poles and brake sticks.

 

If you watch 'Shunter Black's night off" available on YouTube you can see this practice in action in the 1940s.

 

Chris.

 

[Welchester]

10 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

Yes, maybe it is one of those "how not to do it" photos.  They can be deceptive. I thought this was a stunning photo...

 

...until I saw the next one:

 

8 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

Yes, and also tells us that since it was found necessary to make this warning, some shunters were actually doing this in practice! I've just put it on my "things to be modelled" list 

 

Those photographs are from the GWR's 1914 booklet The Safety Movement, downloadable as a pdf from the NRM website.

 

The Chapter heading is Needless Risks in Traffic Working: the first picture is captioned Asking for Trouble, the second Got It. The text claims that the practice, though forbidden, is common.

[MikeOxon]

39 minutes ago, Bishop of Welchester said:

 

Those photographs are from the GWR's 1914 booklet The Safety Movement, downloadable as a pdf from the NRM website.

....................

several useful photos for modelling ideas there, including this horse-drawn waggon:

 

 

 

[Compound2632]

13 hours ago, 7TunnelShunter said:

If you watch 'Shunter Black's night off" available on YouTube you can see this practice in action in the 1940s.

 

 

Plenty of interesting wagons there. I noted especially the Anthracite wagon at the end - an RCH 1907 specification 10 ton wagon with grease axleboxes. For all that it's two years into the war, the lettering looks in good nick.

[Mikkel]

23 hours ago, 7TunnelShunter said:

The more usual way of riding a brake stick was to, insert the brake stick and lock your arms, so you lift your feet off the ground. You then ride in a vertical orientation and can easily drop your feet and start running to alight.

 

The downside, when the stick breaks the shunter often falls forward and is impaled on the stub... hence the rules forbidding riding on shunting poles and brake sticks.

 

If you watch 'Shunter Black's night off" available on YouTube you can see this practice in action in the 1940s.

 

Thanks Chris, I'm no health & safety enthusiast but I have to say that does look dangerous!

 

 

 

15 hours ago, Bishop of Welchester said:

Those photographs are from the GWR's 1914 booklet The Safety Movement, downloadable as a pdf from the NRM website.

 

Very interesting booklet. I like the dry, no nonsense style: "When the buffers come together he'll know it."!

 

The livery on the wagon on page 16 is intriguing, given that the booklet is dated 1914. "Factory" and small "G.W". 

[LaScala]

On 04/12/2019 at 17:39, 7TunnelShunter said:

 

Hi

 

The more usual way of riding a brake stick was to, insert the brake stick and lock your arms, so you lift your feet off the ground. You then ride in a vertical orientation and can easily drop your feet and start running to alight.

 

The downside, when the stick breaks the shunter often falls forward and is impaled on the stub... hence the rules forbidding riding on shunting poles and brake sticks.

 

If you watch 'Shunter Black's night off" available on YouTube you can see this practice in action in the 1940s.

 

Chris.  Love the "standard English" voice over that has his condescending approximation of a working class accent with dropped aitches and no "g's"

 

 

[hayfield]

14 hours ago, LaScala said:

 

 

 

It may be standard English but is clearly understandable, I have nothing against regional accents (I have a London one) in fact some are both easy to understand and have a lovely tone, others sadly are totally not understandable.

 

Its pointless in trying to communicate if many cannot understand what you are saying.

[LaScala]

9 hours ago, hayfield said:

 

 

It may be standard English but is clearly understandable, I have nothing against regional accents (I have a London one) in fact some are both easy to understand and have a lovely tone, others sadly are totally not understandable.

 

Its pointless in trying to communicate if many cannot understand what you are saying.

My point was that it was clearly not an option in a more stratified society of 80 years ago to have an authentic voice but an embarrassing cliche of what a “properly educated” person imagined a working class person sounded like, possibly without having ever spoken to one 

[Donw]

1 hour ago, LaScala said:

My point was that it was clearly not an option in a more stratified society of 80 years ago to have an authentic voice but an embarrassing cliche of what a “properly educated” person imagined a working class person sounded like, possibly without having ever spoken to one 

 

Oh I have no doubt they spoke to working class people just to give them orders it was the listening to them that was missing.

Don

Edited December 7, 2019 by Donw
typo

[Dave John]

Thats a cracking bit of film 7tunnel, thanks for posting. 

 

( I know its a bit off pre grouping Mikkel, but I'm sure the practices shown in the film go way back before the grouping) 

[russ p]

On 09/06/2019 at 21:56, Mikkel said:

A follow-up on the experiments with setts. As mentioned earlier, so-called “blue foam” seems to be a popular material with diorama- and war gaming modellers, so I was curious to try it out.  This is extruded polystyrene (a.k.a. XPS), not to be confused with expanded polystyrene. In the UK, places like 4D models sell a Styrofoam variety in thin sheets, but the cost of shipping to Denmark was prohibitive. So I ended up with a thick but cheap slab from a local architects’ supplier. This is more dense than the Styrofoam I associate with food containers.

 

 

 

The modified brushes were tried again...

 

 

 

 

 

I had trouble getting used to just how soft the foam is. Slightly too much pressure and my DIY tools slipped too deep, giving a poor result as can be seen below. I’m sure practice would help, and my tools could be modified to reduce the problem. Even so, slip-ups seem very visible and not easy to redress.

 

 

 

Then I tried a roller from Green Stuff World, having seen suggestions that these work well on blue foam.
 

 

 

The lines are miscolouring in the foam and not a problem when painted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A quick painting session again revealed how fragile the blue foam can be: I used a slightly too stiff brush for the drybrushing, and it left brush marks in the surface.

 

 

 

The rolling requires a bit of practice. When rolling it back and forth to emphasize the imprint (as recommended in one video) the pattern slipped in some places. I’m also not sure about the fully circular pattern that is moulded into some parts of the roller. Was such a pattern prototypical?

 

 

Eye-level views show potential though, if a quick solution is preferred. 

 

 

As for the blue foam itself, I am a bit sceptical whether it suits me, given how fragile it is. This may just be down to my inexperience with the material, or perhaps the particular variety I ended up with. Even so, I think I might go with either good old DAS or the harder “foamed PVC” instead.
 

 

 

 

Where do you get that foam ? Daz has cracked as its dried and rolled difficult to get in round track 

[Mikkel]

I got mine from an architect's supplier (here in Denmark).

 

In the UK I have seen several references to people (diorama modellers and railway modellers) buying it in bulk from Panel Systems, who I believe do a very good quality, though fairly costly: https://www.panelsystems.co.uk/products/modelling-foam

 

Single smaller sheets are available from 4D:  https://modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Item/Styrofoam-blue/ITM4910 - but whether it's the same stuff I'm not sure.

 

Edit: Looks like Ullypug of this parish buys from panel systems, see: 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by Mikkel

[RobjUK]

Have a look at building supplies companies - eg. see the blue extruded polystyrene in this page, around a fiver for a 30mm x 600x1200mm sheet:

https://www.insulationshop.co/polystyrene_insulation_eps_70_online/xps_extruded_polystyrene_insulation.html

 

 

[Mikkel]

The horsedrawn float is now done, details in the blog:

 

 

This brings the GWR fleet at Farthing to six vehicles, which form part of our christmas decorations this year. Merry christmas everyone! 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Mikkel
Fixed broken link

[Bluemonkey presents....]

Awesome. A wonderful selection of  vehicles with fantastic details and painting. Thank you for sharing your builds, knowledge and skills.

 

Happy Christmas to you and your family Mikkel. Happy modelling in 2020.

[Compound2632]

You should have two horses for every locomotive.

[Middlepeak]

God Jul Mikkel!

 

Best wishes,

 

Geraint

[ChrisN]

Mikkel,

Thank you for the picture, have a good Christmas

Edited December 22, 2019 by ChrisN

[Mikkel]

3 hours ago, No46 said:

Awesome. A wonderful selection of  vehicles with fantastic details and painting. Thank you for sharing your builds, knowledge and skills.

 

Happy Christmas to you and your family Mikkel. Happy modelling in 2020.

 

Thanks very much Matt. I hope the war flats have arrived!

 

3 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

You should have two horses for every locomotive.

 

Excellent principle. I'll need another loco soon then!

 

2 hours ago, Middlepeak said:

God Jul Mikkel!

 

Best wishes,

 

Geraint

 

Mange tak Geraint. I lige maade! 

 

1 hour ago, ChrisN said:

Mikkel,

Thank you for the picture, have a good Cgristmas

 

Many thanks Chris. I trust the staff at Traeth Mawr won't be having any time off, if Mr Price has his way.

[Compound2632]

4 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

 

Excellent principle. I'll need another loco soon then!

 

 

Just in case anyone calls me out on this one - "show me your horses" - I'll state here and now that I have as many complete and working pre-grouping horses as I have complete and working pre-grouping engines...

[Mikkel]

This may be of interest Stephen, the first 4 seconds shew a Midland horsedrawn lorry from the Whitecross Street depot. It is one of the few railway owned horsedrawn vehicles I have seen in the various videos of Edwardian street scenes:

 

 

Edited December 22, 2019 by Mikkel

[Compound2632]

What is especially interesting there is the depot name on the cover or tilt sheet - I don't believe I've seen this before; or for that matter, a picture of a cart of this type with the cover in place.

[Bluemonkey presents....]

2 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

Thanks very much Matt. I hope the war flats have arrived!

 

 

Sadly not yet, still waiting but Santa said I have been naughty so don't think they will appear. Hope you have been a good boy and can delight us with more exceptional modelling in the New Year.

[Charlie586]

Great picture Mikkel, hope you have a good christmas too.

[ChrisN]

Mikkel,

I believe the trains stop early on Christmas Day so he will make sure everyone gets off once it has left.  However, Cambrian trains did not always run to time.  This is quoted from somewhere I read recently although I cannot remember where.

Woman to Station Master, "Is this train arriving the 5:30?

Station Master, "I am not sure, but I think it is the 4:20.

 

(Mr Price sends you his best wishes for the time of year.)

Edited June 7, 2020 by ChrisN