Castle Aching

[BG John]

As to the Empress of Austria, I believe she rode quite regularly with the Cheshire Hunt. On one occasion she was present when the MFH lost his temper and told some chap who had broken hunt protocol that he deserved to be taken to Tarporley and b******** by six Irish navvies.

I wonder if Faller produce suitable figures for that scene, along with their other "adult" products .

[teaky]

Fascinating stuff, and a very enjoyable read.  Of course, it would take a winter scene to do justice to the hunting traffic once carried by the railways, but would be quite a theme.

 

Once upon a time, during the Armchair Years, when the pre-Grouping bug first bit, I devised a project that, like Castle Aching, was largely led by a wish to model local architecture, in this case that of Melton Mowbray. Now, strangely, I was not such a fan of all things Midland as I now am, and, so, l planned a fictional version of the LNW-GN joint line complete with a, frankly, very Buckinghamesque terminus, though it had an extensive cattle market rather than a gas works, and an open country section featuring exchange sidings with an ironstone line. At the time, I possessed a brick garage, 20' x 10' (oh for that luxury now!), and the layout was designed to go round three sides of it.

 

Being a fictional line to a fictional town, a sort of parallel universe not-Melton Mowbray, I had to come up with a suitable Leicestershire market town name.  I tried Market Mowbray and Castle Mowbray, Melton Bosworth, and, no doubt, a good many others.  Then I thought of linking the town, not to a market or to a keep, but to an ecclesiastical foundation.  With fond memories of a childhood visit to Cadeby, inspiration seemed with me at least so far as the naming of the project was concerned, and I plumped for Melton Prior, which, or rather, who, was not a town at all, but a well-known Victorian war correspondent!   

 

The setting is hunting country par excellence with the Quorn, Belvoir, Fernie and Cottesmore all nearby. 

 

Well, of course, all that was quite beyond a novice; one only has to consider the slow falterings of the far more modest and much simpler West Norfolk project to see why. 

 

One good thing to come out of it was many happy hours researching the line, which is noteworthy for having had a station named for a nearby fox covert, John O'Gaunt.

Crying out to be modelled that station isn't it.  Station on a curve, nearby industry (creamery), viaduct, collection of huts ...

[Edwardian]

Crying out to be modelled that station isn't it.  Station on a curve, nearby industry (creamery), viaduct, collection of huts ...

 

Well, this joint line had its own distinctive architecture.  There is a 2mm scale model of the joint Melton station, set in BR days, but otherwise I do not think I have seen it modelled.  

 

One of the stations, Redmile, which was the nearest to Belvoir Castle, had a dedicated plush Ducal waiting room for the His Grace the Duke of Rutland and his guests,  http://www.redmilearchive.freeuk.com/station.html.

 

Wouldn't the canopies at Melton have been fun to model?

[Donw]

Pity the poor glazier. My Grandfather worked for a glazier for some years. There wasn't the same glass around then he said fitting big panes into wooden shopfronts was a nightmare any distortion in the frame and the glass would shatter without warning. No safety glass, leathal shards. My Gran used a magnifying glass and tweezers to get the glass splinters out when he got home.

Still it would make an attractive model if you had the patience.

 

Don

[Caley Jim]

Wouldn't the canopies at Melton have been fun to model?

That's a job for an etch if ever I saw one!  (But then I would say that, wouldn't I!)

 

Jim (finishing soldering up the stairs for Kirkallanmuir signal box)

[Nearholmer]

That's a job for another person, if ever I saw one! (But then I would say that, wouldn't I!)

[corneliuslundie]

The mention of etched brass give me the excuse to bring to the attention of the assembled multitude this challenging construction project:

http://severnmodels.com/epages/eshop1179816.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/eshop1179816/Products/S.1

I am disappointed he doesn't offer it ij 7 mm/ft!

Jonathan

[Edwardian]

The mention of etched brass give me the excuse to bring to the attention of the assembled multitude this challenging construction project:

http://severnmodels.com/epages/eshop1179816.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/eshop1179816/Products/S.1

I am disappointed he doesn't offer it ij 7 mm/ft!

Jonathan

 

They had a stand at York this year.  Very impressive.  Designed to be glued, IIRC.

 

Where in my, increasingly out of control, parallel universe might there be room for the Ironbridge?!?

[Compound2632]

1:450 = T scale, 0.68 mm/ft.

 

The most impressive thing I saw at the Warley show was a model of a Midland Johnson 'half cab' 0-6-0T, brought along to the Midland Railway Society stand by its builder. I think he said it was 0.75 mm/ft, so a bit bigger than T scale - about 2 cm overall. He also had video of it running on his test 'plank' (splinter?) - I gathered he uses something like the Faller road system.

 

His reason for visiting the society's stand was to enquire about sources of drawings for his next project - he felt the diagram in Jenkinson & Essery didn't give enough detail for the 1116A Class 0-4-0ST...

[Edwardian]

1:450 = T scale, 0.68 mm/ft.

 

The most impressive thing I saw at the Warley show was a model of a Midland Johnson 'half cab' 0-6-0T, brought along to the Midland Railway Society stand by its builder. I think he said it was 0.75 mm/ft, so a bit bigger than T scale - about 2 cm overall. He also had video of it running on his test 'plank' (splinter?) - I gathered he uses something like the Faller road system.

 

His reason for visiting the society's stand was to enquire about sources of drawings for his next project - he felt the diagram in Jenkinson & Essery didn't give enough detail for the 1116A Class 0-4-0ST...

 

Hadn't spotted the scale. Not entirely sure what the point of producing it in that scale is? Not exactly mainstream.

 

There are some very skilled people out there.

[Nearholmer]

Iron bridges existed in places other than Ironbridge; I think they were sort of 'catalogue items' for a bit.

 

There is one very close to the Aston Martin. Works in Newport Pagnell, over one of the several Ouses, or maybe its tributary the Ousel, so if CA wants one, instead of a Ford, why not?

 

Found it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tickford_Bridge

 

'Not exactly main stream ......'. That's what they all said about Walkley in 1925, when he pioneered finescale 00/H0, so I fear for our descendants eyesights, and the size of micro-homes that they will need to fit their trainsets into.

Edited December 1, 2017 by Nearholmer

[Compound2632]

Hadn't spotted the scale. Not entirely sure what the point of producing it in that scale is? Not exactly mainstream.

 

There are some very skilled people out there.

 

It's a good scale if you want to model the entire Severn gorge. The iron bridge at Ironbridge is of course the first of its kind.

[Regularity]

There is one very close to the Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell, over one of the several Ouses, or maybe its tributary the Ousel,

Ex-works: despite the name of the building it is a salesroom only now.

[Northroader]

I reckon that matey doing stuff in T gauge would be much happier in O, just my opinion, of course, chacun a son gout, as my mate Routier du Nord would say: (how much detail does he want?)

[Northroader]

The funny thing about the first iron bridge was it was constructed as if it was made from large wooden parts, with the joins done rather like mortise and tenon keyed together. The part size was limited by the then furnace output at Coalbrookdale Co., and they were doing it as a showpiece, also it was of use for their transport, so they could stand the material costs. After that, things evolved with production quantity, material costs, fastenings, and bridge design (this one was a half round arch rather than an elliptical arch) so that any later bridge has a very different appearance from this pioneering effort.

[Caley Jim]

The funny thing about the first iron bridge was it was constructed as if it was made from large wooden parts, with the joins done rather like mortise and tenon keyed together. .....

Mainly, I imagine, because that was the only way they knew how to make a bridge of that design.  Back then the first of anything was based on what had gone before.  Look at the first coaches for the Liverpool and Manchester, basically stage coaches on rail wheels!

 

Jim

[Compound2632]

I reckon that matey doing stuff in T gauge would be much happier in O, just my opinion, of course, chacun a son gout, as my mate Routier du Nord would say: (how much detail does he want?)B642ED80-5968-46F5-86D6-ABEF1CDC30D0.jpeg

 

But that's 1134A of Johnson's later series of 0-4-0STs that were a good deal larger!

 

It has to be said that although the 0-6-0T was red and clearly in Johnson condition, it wasn't lined out...

[Northroader]

Hardly surprising! I think I’ve seen a kit for the small ones, (in O)

Edited December 1, 2017 by Northroader

[Donw]

I had a nice chat and bought some bits at Taunton the other year. The chap lives just up the road from the Bridge near to where we used to live. as has been said the Bridge was the first and used Wooodworking techniques as they had yet to develop new ideas. It was of course a marvel in its day. The old station which ran alongside the river, crossed the road right by the bridge. At this year;s Rail-ex Taunton he was in converstion with Darren and me about Pylons. Darren had a layout he had built for his boss at Western Power which had a train running but also featured various hazzards with Electric power. He produces an etched a Pylon and Darren was talking about the various types.

 

Don

[Northroader]

Wonder if he’s managed to get the mysterious “face” in his kit?

[Edwardian]

Good morning.  The day has dawned bright, the snow has, more or less, gone, and it's a balmy 7 degrees!

 

First time in a week I have not felt permanently cold!

[Compound2632]

Good morning.  The day has dawned bright, the snow has, more or less, gone, and it's a balmy 7 degrees!

 

First time in a week I have not felt permanently cold!

 

Even down here in darkest urban Berkshire it's been a bit nippy with the heating off during the day - I sat down to do some modelling on Thursday but hands were too cold so had to give up and do housework. Nice and sunny though, but not now - overcast.

[BlueLightning]

Thank you both for reminding me of the good points of living in Sussex!! So far we have had a total of less than 5 minutes of snow! and while quite chilly, it's not that bad!!!!

 

Gary

Edited December 2, 2017 by BlueLightning

[BG John]

5 minutes of snow!!!!!!! Here in the country of almost continuous appalling weather, I haven't seen a single snowflake yet!

[Caley Jim]

Here in what constitutes The Far North to you lot ( I prefer to call it the southern edge of civilisation) we've had only an occasional dust of snow and some slight frost (-5°).   Barely winter at all!  Still almost T-shirt and shorts weather!  

 

Jim