Castle Aching

[Annie]

My poor little clockwork brain finds itself completely unable to follow any of the past two pages worth of posts that have been deposited here while I've been asleep.  

[St Enodoc]

Stop it, Sem, before we end up planning the Númenor, Atlantis and Lyonesse Railway!

Come on somebody, give him a "Craftsmanship/Clever" and he'll have a full house.

[Northroader]

My poor little clockwork brain finds itself completely unable to follow any of the past two pages worth of posts that have been deposited here while I've been asleep.

You’ll have trouble following it if you’re wide awake.

Edited March 27, 2018 by Northroader

[Hroth]

Come on somebody, give him a "Craftsmanship/Clever" and he'll have a full house.

I was just about to comment on that.  I've retracted my previous rating and

 

BINGO!

 

he's got the full set!

 

 

Hehehehehe.... 

[sem34090]

Summary of Recent Discussion and Debate

 

Issued at the request of the honourable members generally known as Annie, Northroader and Donw.

 

As is the usual practice in the parish, indeed a local custom, for the conversation (Generally referred to as a 'thread' in the area of West Norfolk surrounding the parish of Castle Aching, although less widely found across the rest of the diocese) to take a direction quite to the opposite of the topic intended by the initiator. In this instance, the 'threadrift' (as the local populance refer to this phenomenon) commenced on the 349th page of this volume, in the 8712th paragraph (Post is how the locals refer to this) when the chairman of the Parish Council made a remark to the effect of, and I quote, "Tabitha wanted to play trains this morning."

 

This revelation caused quite a stirring, both amongst the elected (and bribed or otherwise appointed) members of the Council and amongst the wider population. The very fact that the Chairman's daughter may even be interested in railway modelling had caused quite a stir in the preceding weeks and this was heightened further when the Chairman revealed that his daughter required a model railway, quoting that she felt that "it should be part Victorian North Eastern and part Fairy Tale Realm". As her own Father remarked, this was to "be a challenge".

 

Nevertheless, the members of the Council and the community as a whole rallied together in an attempt to provide ideas as to how the two, seemingly opposing, features could be provided in conjunction with one another to fulfil the wishes of the Chairman's daughter. Suggestions and recommendations flooded in, with everyone having something to contribute. There was even mention of child-consuming Prince Bishops in this wild and varied discussion! Suggestions as to how the palace of this miniature realm should appear also came in as if migrating birds, with a 'Germanic' appearance of architecture seeming to hold the greatest favour. 

 

All of this was of great fascination and interest, but matters really came to a head in the comment recorded in the 8755th paragraph of this chronicle. A parishioner named 'Les' who, despite pertaining to be British referred to himself as 'Les le Breton', causing many to believe that he is, truly, a Frenchman whom is of British birth. Les suggested Lindisfarne castle could prove an ideal base for combining the two concepts as laid out by the good lady Tabitha.

 

Unfortunately, this was within the hearing of a somewhat maverick parish councillor whom was, in the most part, unaware of his position. Indeed he was neither elected, nor bribed. He was merely informed of his post by the chairman some months previously. This was the gentleman who, rather pretentiously, referred to himself as 'Sir Eustace' (He did in fact not bear a knighthood), and he was quite taken by the concept proposed by Les. Following the concept flying into his mind as gracefully as a flemish brick, he immediately took to the Parish Cartographer's office and shop in Castle Street and ordered him to produce a coloured map of the Holy Island, exquisite in every detail, to depict the possible real-life location for Tabitha's model railway. The cartographer immediately turned to his majestically wonderful cartographic tool which he referred to a "Google Earth". The tool allowed him to seamlessly draw out the plan of the Beal & Lindisfarne branch of the North Eastern Railway, and to also include the island's myriad of waggonways.

 

Returning to the Council, the map was received with a certain amount of carefully measured and decanted amusement and pleasure. Nonetheless, Eustace decided he must improve the detail of the map, and so ordered the Cartographer to prepare a plan of the terminus of this conjectural railway. This too was received really rather well. The chairman was most pleased, and the conversation appeared to be dangerously approaching its true topic. Thankfully this eventuality was negated by the member of the Council known widely as Mr Hroth. Mr Hroth was known for his wittiness and as such proposed a 'Necropolitan' branch to the fictional line. This caused great hysteria in the parish, and caused dear old Eustace (God bless him!) to return to the cartographers to produce a map of this railway-of-the-dead. This too appears to have caused great amusement amongst the councillors and the parishioners. Eustace was, however, already well and away working with the Cartographer on yet another scheme, a grand one, based on a 'film' popular with the Lady, Tabitha. The film was widely known as 'frozen' and Eustace (Bless him) decided to create a railway scheme of grand proportions, the likes of which had yet to be seen on earth, inspired by this film.

 

This new scheme was too much, and Eustace was temporarily ousted from the Council, and after a brief conversation with the Parish Alchemist, retired to the gutter outside of 'The Dodo'. 

 

The discussion continued outside of the Parish Council meeting well into the night, but by this time several parishioners (who had been absent from the days proceedings) had become confused by the situation and as such Eustace decided to attempt to redeem himself by issuing a summary of the days events to the parish.

 

End.

[sem34090]

If yer can make sence o' tha' then yer trulay h'incredible! H'it 'ardly summerysizes the pas' free paygees a' all! H'all i' does is confuse yer more than wha' yer was beefor!

 

I dunno... sum peepol...

[Regularity]

Thanks. I try not to. Taking yourself too seriously only leads to bad things.

I agree.

I try to take my modelling seriously, but not myself.

 

(If you see Falstaffian bombast rather than Falstaffian buffoonery, feel free to ignore it or to prick the self-inflated balloon. Crude jokes often help as long as they are also Falstaffian! So, extremely bawdy!)

[Northroader]

I was wide awake but that’s made me nod off.

[Hroth]

If yer can make sence o' tha' then yer trulay h'incredible! H'it 'ardly summerysizes the pas' free paygees a' all! H'all i' does is confuse yer more than wha' yer was beefor!

 

I dunno... sum peepol...

Sounds like you've been at the mead again....

 

 

 

 

Cheers!!!

[sem34090]

I'ya told yer, I was'a sa' in the gu'er ou'soide t'doodoo ter derown me sorroers!

 

I began drifting off whilst writing that piece, but I am rather pleased with it.

[Hroth]

I'ya told yer, I was'a sa' in the gu'er ou'soide t'doodoo ter derown me sorroers!

 

I began drifting off whilst writing that piece, but I am rather pleased with it.

It was most incomprehensibleive. Well done!

 

See y'all tomorrow!  H,C&O

[Annie]

Now I feel quite well informed  

[Edwardian]

Summary of Recent Discussion and Debate

 

Eustace was, however, already well and away working with the Cartographer on yet another scheme, a grand one, based on a 'film' popular with the Lady, Tabitha. The film was widely known as 'frozen' and Eustace (Bless him) decided to create a railway scheme of grand proportions, the likes of which had yet to be seen on earth, inspired by this film.

 

This new scheme was too much, and Eustace was temporarily ousted from the Council, and after a brief conversation with the Parish Alchemist, retired to the gutter outside of 'The Dodo'. 

 

The discussion continued outside of the Parish Council meeting well into the night, but by this time several parishioners (who had been absent from the days proceedings) had become confused by the situation and as such Eustace decided to attempt to redeem himself by issuing a summary of the days events to the parish.

 

End.

 

Nice castle!

 

But Sussex it ain't!

 

Let it go?

[sem34090]

I am most pleased that my attempts at de-fictionalising a series of postings made here and collating them into a prose that has proven to be most incomprehensibly comprehensive to all but the most incomprehendible reader. The comprehensiveness of my summary is incomprehensible to anyone who is not comprehensive enough in their own comprehended writing, indeed I feel that my writing still adds a certain "Je ne comprend pas!"

 

I hope you found that comprehensive summary of my incomprehensible summary most summarising and comprehendible.

[sem34090]

Pah! Not Sussex, I'll show you not Sussex young man!

 

The Arendal & Arundel Joint Railway (A&AJR)!

 

Arendelle in the film was allegedly inspired by Arendal, Norway sooo...

[Edwardian]

I am most pleased that my attempts at de-fictionalising a series of postings made here and collating them into a prose that has proven to be most incomprehensibly comprehensive to all but the most incomprehendible reader. The comprehensiveness of my summary is incomprehensible to anyone who is not comprehensive enough in their own comprehended writing, indeed I feel that my writing still adds a certain "Je ne comprend pas!"

 

I hope you found that comprehensive summary of my incomprehensible summary most summarising and comprehendible.

 

Well, I felt that I followed it, and jolly good the schemes were, too, though perhaps we need a new topic called "Creating an unbelievable pre-Group freelance company"?

 

Though, as I feel we need quite a large dose of willing suspension of disbelief for CA, I suppose they are all somewhere on the same continuum!  

 

Now, did I tell you about the when the Dale and Laketown Railway joined the extension of the Mirkwood Railway's Elven Lines beyond Forest Gate to form the Great Erebor Railway .... ?

 

 

Pah! Not Sussex, I'll show you not Sussex young man!

 

The Arendal & Arundel Joint Railway (A&AJR)!

 

Arendelle in the film was allegedly inspired by Arendal, Norway sooo...

4.png

 

Closer!

 

But it is more like Reine, a 4-hour flight further north:

[Annie]

What a moody looking mountain.  One look at that and you just know there's a dark and terrible sorcerer and his nasty Goblin minions lurking about in a cave somewhere amongst its crags.

[Shadow]

Well if you want Arundel,

 

 

 

and the local parish church

 

[sem34090]

Quite!

 

Indeed you could have an Anglicised version of Frozen, called 'It's a bit nippy but nothing serious' and set in the great city of Arundel, with its grand castle and cathedral perched high on the hills above the river Arun...

 

Or perhaps not...

[Regularity]

Well, I felt that I followed it, and jolly good the schemes were, too, though perhaps we need a new topic called "Creating an unbelievable pre-Group freelance company"?

 

Some of the real ones were fairly unbelievable!

Though, as I feel we need quite a large dose of willing suspension of disbelief for CA

 

We have been over this before: we are not interested in your willy suspension, although it seems that you are now using superglue. (CyanoAcrylate.)

[runs as required]

If yer can make sence o' tha' then yer trulay h'incredible! H'it 'ardly summerysizes the pas' free paygees a' all! H'all i' does is confuse yer more than wha' yer was beefor!

 

I dunno... sum peepol...

after all that lot...

“Minutes are not to record what was said, nor even what you thought was said, but what you would have said, if you had thought.”

 

I think Kevin's favourite line from "Yes  Minister"  well worth recalling before alighting at the Ovaltine Farm on the way to bed

dh

[Hroth]

Well, I felt that I followed it, and jolly good the schemes were, too, though perhaps we need a new topic called "Creating an unbelievable pre-Group freelance company"?

 

Though, as I feel we need quite a large dose of willing suspension of disbelief for CA, I suppose they are all somewhere on the same continuum!  

 

Now, did I tell you about the when the Dale and Laketown Railway joined the extension of the Mirkwood Railway's Elven Lines beyond Forest Gate to form the Great Erebor Railway .... ?

 

Change at Carrog for the Rohan and Minas Tirith?

[Edwardian]

Well, two further instructions were received from Tabitha last night.

 

First, I now know  what a crystal palace looks like (see below). It will involve much sawing up of Perspex, I would imagine. This is now so far from anything found in the real world, however whimsical, as to be discounted from further consideration in a model railway thread!

 

Second, she pronounced that she supposed the school project layout should be kept for North Eastern and the new layout should be Great Western.

 

The advantage of this is, barring a Railroad Hall, I think I already have just about everything that an entry-level GWR RTR layout would need in my childhood stash. 

 

This does take the layout out of the realms of pre-Grouping, however.

 

Now, I would have no problem whatsoever in creating a fantasy setting throughout, with an equally fantastic fantasy-style railway.  Tabitha and I certainly have the imagination for that.  However, to my mind, the GW stock requires a real-world GW setting, albeit one periodically interrupted by decidedly alien components!

 

What about this suggestion?

 

I make a reasonable compromise (to my mind).

 

I do not skimp on the scenic work, but give of my best in terms of detail and prototype fidelity.  If the RTR equipment will cope, I try for a reasonably finescale look to the track.  That could mean that I avoid the extremes of, say, Code 100 set track on the one hand, and hand-built track using C&L GW 2-bolt chairs on the other!  Perhaps the new Peco Code 75 BH range might come in handy?

 

I build it like a railway, not a train set, with a reasonably prototypical track plan and some flow to the track.

 

It has to be GW infrastructure, but I can avoid anything too modern.  I could, in other words, aim for a scene that could be run in the late 1900s/1910s, but in the meantime would be appropriate for the 1930s-40s.  This allows for possible back-dating in the future and also means that the layout could be reasonably satisfying for stages beyond present childhood levels of perception.

 

Oh, and it will have a crystal palace!  That would be a detachable unit that would sit over a corner tunnel section.

 

In short, everything that is left to me, to the extent that it does not prevent one of Tabitha's flights of fancy, could be representative of real-world early Twentieth Century GW practice.

 

After all, for most of the year, Tabitha is at school all day, and I am entitled to a lunch break!

Edited March 28, 2018 by Edwardian

[sem34090]

Of course you could always model one of the sections in which the SIR connected to the GWR post-grouping which could easily be returned to pre-grouping A&SIJR condition...

 

Hat,

 

White Coat,

 

Gone back - they let me out on day release occasionally.

 

Gratuitous comical pictogram: 

[Nearholmer]

As a man whose home is knee-deep in partially dismantled miniature ice palaces, can I recommend Lego?

 

They make some very fine ice-palace kits, just like the diagrams, which make good Christmas or birthday presents. They probably look better in 0 than 00, but in the foreground ......

 

Kevin