“WASHBOURNE”

[Regularity]

If Heaven has trains, and I can’t see how it can be what it purports to be if it doesn’t, that is what the standard gauge ones are like.

The recently departed Charles Vier once commented that the purpose of life was to work out what one’s ideal layout would be, so that on arrival at the pearly gates, St. Peter would click his fingers and there it would be.

[Compound2632]

that Derby outfit

 

As Dante came to understand, even Beatrice was but an antetype of the Beatific Vision.

[Nearholmer]

“There’s must be a lot of corners in heaven.“

 

In my Father’s house are many layouts. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to wire one up for you.

[Caley Jim]

Bob and Willie, two P4 modellers, were getting on a bit in years and one night at their local Model Railway Club they were discussing whether there would be model railways in heaven.   They made a pact that whoever died first would come back and let the other one know.  A few weeks later Bob suffered a fatal heart attack.  Two days after the funeral he appeared at Willie's bedside.

 

'Willie, the layouts in heaven are fantastic.  Every scale you could imagine and all highly detailed and with totally reliable running.  You couldn't ask for better.'  Then, just as he was leaving, he said,

 

'Oh!, by the way, you're on the rota to operate with me next Friday.'

 

Jim

[Northroader]

One for nature lovers, there’s a bit of snow here, but the black flecks aren’t snow, they’re starlings murmurating, the strong wind is making them fly lower. O.E.D. to murmurate, fly in close formation in large flocks over the town of RWB, executing spectacular turns and crapping as you do so, resulting in the entire town being covered in small white splashes spaced approximately six inches apart. (Only it don’t show in the snow)

[St Enodoc]

One for nature lovers, there’s a bit of snow here, but the black flecks aren’t snow, they’re starlings murmurating, the strong wind is making them fly lower. O.E.D. to murmurate, fly in close formation in large flocks over the town of RWB, executing spectacular turns and crapping as you do so, resulting in the entire town being covered in small white splashes spaced approximately six inches apart. (Only it don’t show in the snow)ED0F2311-3DDC-4828-8E24-35FE674B4BCC.jpeg

Making one hell of a racket as they do so.

[Northroader]

No, funnily enough, they’re totally quiet. I remember seeing them coming to roost on buildings in the middle of Birmingham, and they do screech and chatter a lot, but out in the country here, if you’re out doors and they pass over, you can just hear a faint rush of wings.

[Compound2632]

No, funnily enough, they’re totally quiet. I remember seeing them coming to roost on buildings in the middle of Birmingham, and they do screech and chatter a lot, but out in the country here, if you’re out doors and they pass over, you can just hear a faint rush of wings.

 

As a teenager I used to go to Birmingham Town Hall to hear the CBSO. I usually* had a cheap seat in the upper balcony; you could guarantee that the starlings would very noisily settle to roost in the quietest passage of the music. Then some work was done that blocked out the noise but made the building insufferably stuffy. I left Brum soon after Rattle arrived so am a stranger to Symphony Hall. 

 

*My biggest mistake was taking a student ticket for the choir benches at a performance of Mahler's First Symphony and sitting right behind the horns. I learnt to keep at a cautious distance from that composer's works.

[St Enodoc]

As a teenager I used to go to Birmingham Town Hall to hear the CBSO. I usually* had a cheap seat in the upper balcony; you could guarantee that the starlings would very noisily settle to roost in the quietest passage of the music. Then some work was done that blocked out the noise but made the building insufferably stuffy. I left Brum soon after Rattle arrived so am a stranger to Symphony Hall. 

 

*My biggest mistake was taking a student ticket for the choir benches at a performance of Mahler's First Symphony and sitting right behind the horns. I learnt to keep at a cautious distance from that composer's works.

I used to like Thomas Trotter's lunchtime organ recitals at the Town Hall. Does he still do them?

[Donw]

No, funnily enough, they’re totally quiet. I remember seeing them coming to roost on buildings in the middle of Birmingham, and they do screech and chatter a lot, but out in the country here, if you’re out doors and they pass over, you can just hear a faint rush of wings.

 

 

As a teenager I used to go to Birmingham Town Hall to hear the CBSO. I usually* had a cheap seat in the upper balcony; you could guarantee that the starlings would very noisily settle to roost in the quietest passage of the music. Then some work was done that blocked out the noise but made the building insufferably stuffy. I left Brum soon after Rattle arrived so am a stranger to Symphony Hall. 

 

*My biggest mistake was taking a student ticket for the choir benches at a performance of Mahler's First Symphony and sitting right behind the horns. I learnt to keep at a cautious distance from that composer's works.

 

When working at Welsh Back I would travel by train to and from WSM  I can remember them roosting in Temple Meads. Watching them one night coming in there was a sparrow hawk among them the huge flock was twisting this way and that and the sparrow hawk seems to be able to little but turn with them.

 

The layout changes look good.

 

Don

[Northroader]

I used to like Thomas Trotter's lunchtime organ recitals at the Town Hall. Does he still do them?

The concerts I used to go to at the Birmingham Town Hall were in the ‘50s, George Lewis when he came over, Chris Barber, Kenny Ball and the like. To make up for being such a cultural Neanderthal, I felt impelled to do an enquiry on Thomas Trotter and the big organ, and, yes, it appears that there’s still the odd event involving him at the Town Hall.

The last piece of culture I went to in Brum was well over three years ago, to the Art Gallery for the Rowland Emett exhibition, very worthwhile outing: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=rowland+emett+exhibition+birmingham+art+gallery&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=imnv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivocmR0M3ZAhVLAsAKHdkTDngQ_AUIESgB&biw=1024&bih=698

[Northroader]

I’m back to running trains on the layout, having wired up the tracks, there’s just a sectioned feed to each of the tracks off the fiddle yard, plus an isolating switch for the centre road of the traverser. My one and only point has a separate slider switch tucked behind the front ‘fence’ which looks after the polarity of the crossing and links mechanically to throw the point.

The old scenic backsupport from the small station has had one end cut and spliced into the support for the main station, so that it is carried round the end above the fiddle yard entry. There was a picture of a piece for doing this a few posts back, but I junked this as I’d managed to crack the sheet whilst bending it, and the piece I’ve got now is nice and smooth.

[Northroader]

Next job passing through the shops is a LBSC machinery wagon, working off drawing and photos in OPC’s “ Illustrated History of Southern Wagons vol. 2”. I’m messing up a Slaters wagon under frame kit, 11’ W/b, cat. 7037. It’s intended for a MR large cattle van, without which no pre-.... what’s that? oh yeah, right.... The deck and frame members are a single piece, and need a slight trim at each end to get the right length. The solebars need a small piece out of the middle to match the correct wheelbase, and a strengthening strip of plastikard behind the join. Once the solvent has set, the sole-bars are trimmed level with the deck, and the headstocks added. There’s an extra layer of plastikard on the deck, topped by a floor of Evergreen plastic sheet, v groove, cat. 4188. I never have much luck scribing plastic sheet for planking, the scriber always wanders off, and the grooves are never even, so having the ready made looks a lot better. Axleguards, boxes, bearings and wheels go up, and a check made that all the wheels are touching a level surface. I’ve filed the front of the axleboxes flat. The kit comes with a nice set of metal buffers to make up, but I’ve used my own oversize couplers. It also has the bits to make up Morton type handbrakes for all wheels and both sides, the later builds were fitted with this, but I’ve bodged up a single side brake like the early builds had from scrap plastic. The sides and ends are from .060” plastikard, with extra detail from scrap pieces. The early builds had two rails each side, presumably to help roping down loads. I’ve drilled pilot holes for these, but left them off until the painting and lettering is done, as they’ll get in the way. Later builds had four holes along each side instead. There’s still one of this type preserved at Haven Street on the IoW, with SR finish.

[Compound2632]

Excellent. Like the brake. Without knowing the prototype, may I suggest that trimming away the lugs on either side of each axlebox might give a better impression of grease axleboxes? 

[Northroader]

There’s another chassis kit now being carved up, this time a 9’ wheelbase wooden wagon underframe, Slaters cat. 7038. Very common on MR goods wagons, as well as other folks, and also P.O. mineral wagons. I’m using it to go under a LSWR horsebox, as the short (16’) bodied version also had 9’ W/B. These were the older build, and had quite a stubby look, which will do well the other ones on the horsebox special. The SR inherited no less than 319 of this type.

The deck that comes with it is too short, so I made one from .060” plastikard the right length, and cemented the inside frame members to it. These were cut square, as the moulding hadn’t had enough material go in, and they had blobby ends. Extra strips were cut to go across each end to make up the gap behind the headstocks, and these and the solebars were cemented in, then buffers and couplers fitted. The chassis needed 3’7” coach disc wheels rather than 3’2” spoked wagon wheels, and I thought the flanges might touch the underside of the deck, so I cut clearance holes, and the diagonal frame members needed to be cut back as well. The outside of the solebars should be plain, but I left the crown plates on as they showed where to line up the axleguards. To compensate for the change in wheel size I filed the hole for the bearings upwards to an oval shape setting the height by gauge. The axleboxes (delugged!) then cemented on in the high position after filing the tops for clearance on the springs, and the bearings glued in. The assemblies went in on one side, then the wheelsets, then the other side, and I was relieved when checking, that the flanges all touched down on a flat surface and the buffer heights were right. The spring shoes were trimmed back and dummy spring shackles added from scrap plastic. I used up all the brake bocks from this kit and the last one to make clasp brakes, as they were vac. braked, although they also had a wagon type brake lever. I used the vee hangers from the kit, which is really too big, with a wire crossshaft to hang the levers off, although I didn’t bother with spreaders, pull rods and brake cylinder as they’re not very visible. I went wrong here to start with, as the handbrake levers face away from the grooms end on both sides, rather than the usual point into the right hand end, and this threw me with the stepboard hangers, as they’re not symmetrical, presumably because of this. I made the hangers to go straight across under the deck from .040” brass rod (Slaters) and soldered some Marcway sleeper strip to them for footboards. I’ve corrected the handbrake levers, but CBA to redo the hangers. Anyhow, here it is with a coat of primer, and I’ve put against the drawing, one of Mr. Tustins form the May 1952 MRN, although you can also find it in Beals “Modelling the Old Time Railways”

[Nearholmer]

That’s a very promising start. Looking forward to seeing the completed vehicle.

 

319? That must work out to about two per station on the LSWR. Was there that much horse traffic?

[Compound2632]

That’s a very promising start. Looking forward to seeing the completed vehicle.

 

319? That must work out to about two per station on the LSWR. Was there that much horse traffic?

 

Ascot?

[Nearholmer]

Wouldn’t that need mostly special hat vans?

 

Seriously though, you could be right, in that there are multiple racecourses in LSWR territory, and it serves some breeding/training areas on the chalk downs too, although the GWR, DN&S, and Lambourn Valley probably served more/better, and a lot of military facilities.

 

But, even so, 319 is a lot ...... at 50% utilisation, assuming two horses per box, that is c600 horses in transit at any time.

 

How did other companies compare? The only one I can quickly lay hands on figures for is the LBSCR Billinton box, of which a measly 8 were built. The LBSCR had others, earlier designs I think, but not huge numbers, and they too had a lot of racecourses to serve.

[Northroader]

It seems a lot, and they would all date from Victorian times, as they were superseded by a later design with a longer 21’ body, which must have given dobbin a smoother ride, but only 40 of these were built. Tustin points out that there were racecourses at Hurst Park (Hampton Court), Sandown Park (Esher), Kempton Park, Ascot, Epsom, and Windsor in the London area. In addition, there was quite a big army requirement in the Salisbury and Aldershot areas. When you allow that a large system would have a steady day to day requirement in moving horses, you start thinking they must have been stretched to cover the flows, so that cattle trucks came in for some of the army traffic.

[Compound2632]

In 1882, the Midland Railway's stock of horseboxes was at least 352, as that was the number that instruction was given to fit with AVB. Between 1883 and 1899 a further 475 were built, though many of these were renewals of earlier vehicles. The twentieth century saw only a further 65 built, the last batch of 25 being turned out in 1921. 

[Compound2632]

There was a racecourse at Bromford Bridge, adjacent to the B&DJ line of the Midland Railway between Washwood Heath and Water Orton Junction, served by a station normally open on race days. This was the scene of an accident on a foggy day in 1913, involving a local passenger train that had stopped to pick up a S&DJR horsebox. My point is, racecourse traffic would bring horseboxes from far and wide and certainly from off the home system. With the variety of sporting entertainment being much more limited a century and more ago, there were many more racecourses than now - only the really major ones have survived. Another example within a few miles of Bromford Bridge was the racecourse at Four Oaks, served by the station on the LNWR's Lichfield Extension line. That is now buried under Edwardian luxury housing, whilst the Bromford Bridge site gave way to heavy industry and the M6.

[Nick Holliday]

How did other companies compare? The only one I can quickly lay hands on figures for is the LBSCR Billinton box, of which a measly 8 were built. The LBSCR had others, earlier designs I think, but not huge numbers, and they too had a lot of racecourses to serve.

There was a small batch of 8 15' 6" LBSC horse boxes (10 in all) but there were around 188 of the smaller 14' Stroudley boxes, and circa 139 of the later and larger 18' 6" boxes, and two six-wheeled versions. Roughly 340 running on a network much smaller than the Midland.

[Nearholmer]

Well, it was worth coming here today just to learn that, as a lecturer at college used to say.

 

I am amazed by these horse box quantities, but probably oughtn’t to be, given how many horses were ‘in traffic’ pre-WW1. C3.25M working hors es in Britain in 1900, of which c0.3M were in London. Numbers began to fall as motor buses, then lorries, then tractors, began to appear.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Nearholmer

[Compound2632]

Well, it was worth coming here today just to learn that, as a lecturer at college used to say.

 

I am amazed by these horse box quantities, but probably oughtn’t to be, given how many horses were ‘in traffic’ pre-WW1. C3.25M working hors es in Britain in 1900, of which c0.3M were in London. Numbers began to fall as motor buses, then lorries, then tractors, began to appear.

 

Very few of these working horses would ever travel by railway horse-box though, any more than their drivers would travel first class. Hunters and carriage horses for the quality, as well as racehorses, I should think. I've mentioned before the Duke of Devonshire's expenditure of £43 14/6 to send four carriages, 19 horses and three dogs from Rowsley to Cark (for Holker Hall) at Christmas 1883 and others have alluded to the 7:50am from Perth, as recorded by Ahrons on 7 August 1888. That thirty-six vehicle train included thirteen horseboxes distributed inbetween the various saloons, carriage trucks and luggage vans: four LNWR, three LBSCR, three NBR, and one each from the Midland, NER, and LSWR. Exceptional perhaps but illustrating that this was a luxury traffic. 

[Regularity]

Aye. Working horses went in cattle wagons, but they would be securely tied and a canvas (wagon sheet) would be tied down over the roof and the open sides, which at least makes it easier to model!