RMweb Premium Northroader Posted August 28, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 28, 2016 WHAT DO WE WANT???? - NEARHOLMER!!!! WHEN DO WE WANT HIM???? - NOW!!!! (Old sparky, indeed!!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 WHAT DO WE WANT???? - NEARHOLMER!!!! image.jpeg WHEN DO WE WANT HIM???? - NOW!!!! (Old sparky, indeed!!) Yes, I hear that the National Trust want to preserve him for the nation; we just want him back in his old, familiar garb. To wit, the Society for the Revival of Cherished Alter Egos, Noms de Guerre and Personnae, and Associated Iconography has been inaugurated and determined that our dear Nearholmer must return in his true Southern Railway Guard form! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old-sparky Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Well, I'm touched. It must be true, because I've heard people saying that I am, as they tap their temple. Rest assured that normal service will be resumed as soon as I can access my usual email - it seems that requesting a password reset via an old email address is what caused my identity crisis. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 Evenin' all! Kevin 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Evenin' all! Kevin Hurray! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 3, 2016 Author Share Posted October 3, 2016 Unbridled excitement at Paltry Circus today! First, the staff of the station (me) are starting a six month break from paying-labours today. The last few weeks have been a rather painful "drag out", as I finished some projects, and handed one over, so I'm jolly glad that episode is over! Second, by good luck, I have secured a genuinely retro station for the layout. I'm not sure of the exact date, but it is almost certainly pre-WW2, since Bassett Lowke went over to utilitarian 'concrete' architecture after that, and it is in very good nick, crucially none of the enamel signs having deteriorated. Platform just fits two coaches, so perfectly to spec. The canopy is missing, but an easy thing to reproduce. I have a 1920s starting signal too, and an ancient water-tower, so the genuine retro content is heading in the right direction. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Unbridled excitement at Paltry Circus today! First, the staff of the station (me) are starting a six month break from paying-labours today. The last few weeks have been a rather painful "drag out", as I finished some projects, and handed one over, so I'm jolly glad that episode is over! Second, by good luck, I have secured a genuinely retro station for the layout. I'm not sure of the exact date, but it is almost certainly pre-WW2, since Bassett Lowke went over to utilitarian 'concrete' architecture after that, and it is in very good nick, crucially none of the enamel signs having deteriorated. Platform just fits two coaches, so perfectly to spec. The canopy is missing, but an easy thing to reproduce. I have a 1920s starting signal too, and an ancient water-tower, so the genuine retro content is heading in the right direction. Excellent station. I look forward to progress and pictures! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 3, 2016 Author Share Posted October 3, 2016 (edited) Simon Here is a close-up of one with the canopy and name boards intact, but in overall worse condition. This model was in the BL catalogue for possibly thirty years. Made of wood, with the bricks and tiles embossed. The canopy is a simple piece of wood, with little dowels that fit into holes in the wall, and the sawtooth is an aluminium or tin pressing - pre-etching, things like fences and platform seats, barrows etc were pressed too, but the tooling was expensive, so the same generic designs lasted from the 1910s to the 1950s. Everyone tends to think "tinplate" for old models, but that was really the "toy" end of things, and wood was the normal material for "grown up" railways. We've come full circle, now that laser-cut wood is favoured, and I like metal and wood about a hundred times more than plastic, even if the representations are a bit coarse. Edited October 3, 2016 by Nearholmer 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 3, 2016 Author Share Posted October 3, 2016 And, once I've made some retaining wall, bridge even etc, the next task is to try to match the colour, because that will be key to getting the look right. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 Lovely day for a bit of fresh-air layout-building. Centre road of the FY now in place, and a couple of other things done. Progress, measurable, if only using a finely-divided scale. K 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 18, 2016 Author Share Posted October 18, 2016 One more track installed in the FY; planning retaining walls. Found another nice 1910 photo, of another micro-layout designed by Greenly. This one is for The Captain magazine, which ran a series of constructional articles by Greenly, showing boys how to build the Met Electric that features on the layout, with Bassett Lowke able to supply the difficult-to-make bits by mail order. Note Edwardian photo-bombing on the left! K 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 (edited) Note Edwardian photo-bombing on the left! Looks like he's got a long list of faults with the appearance of the loco in his hand . Edited October 18, 2016 by BG John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Yep, like a total lack of co-ordination between scale & gauge? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 18, 2016 Author Share Posted October 18, 2016 (edited) Have you ever seen a "miniature" electric motor from 1910, Simon? In 1910, 0, and even 1, gauge were at roughly the place where 00 was in the early 1930s , and N was in the early 1970s; struggling to fit the motors into the outline of a scale loco. Matters were made harder, because permanent magnet motors truly were in their infancy, so many models used wound-field motors, which meant packing a reverser of some kind into the loco too. Kevin Edited October 18, 2016 by Nearholmer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 The locos obviously weren't very good at stopping, as two brake vans are needed for a train of one open wagon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 (edited) Found another nice 1910 photo, of another micro-layout designed by Greenly. This one is for The Captain magazine, which ran a series of constructional articles by Greenly, showing boys how to build the Met Electric that features on the layout, with Bassett Lowke able to supply the difficult-to-make bits by mail order. Note Edwardian photo-bombing on the left! K Some of this Thread has got so surreal it's made my head ache, but that picture is a gem - and an excellent call for a return to proper standards of attire for Gentlemen attending model railway exhibitions. Suit, tie & topper or you don't get in!! That'll keep the riff-raff out who want cheap R-T-R O Scale models! Perish the thought! Edited October 18, 2016 by F-UnitMad Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 That'll save me some money then. I do own a couple of ties, although I've forgotten what to do with them, but haven't owned a suit for years, and have never had a topper. I've got a woolly hat if that's allowable (and a rucksack)! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 Well, all the track now installed on the FY. Later today, I shall be visiting my tailor, to order a layout-operating suit. I'm not a morning coat and topper sort of chap, so am thinking of something in a sturdy, but reasonably fine, tweed. Getting the right kind of shirt-collars is going to be a challenge, and I shall have to refresh my bow-tie tying skills. And, perhaps it's time to grow a moustache of some kind. Kevin 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 Well, all the track now installed on the FY. Later today, I shall be visiting my tailor, to order a layout-operating suit. I'm not a morning coat and topper sort of chap, so am thinking of something in a sturdy, but reasonably fine, tweed. Getting the right kind of shirt-collars is going to be a challenge, and I shall have to refresh my bow-tie tying skills. And, perhaps it's time to grow a moustache of some kind. Kevin Well quite. It is a sporting layout, after all. He wore an old Norfolk jacket, muddy brown shoes, grey flannel trousers (or had they been white?), and an ordinary tweed cap. The hand he gave me was horny, and appeared to be stained with paint ... The Riddle of the Sands, 1903 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) Odd that you should suggest the Norfolk jacket, because I'd already decided that one of those, plus waistcoat, and breeches, worn with a cap, would be ideal, because it could be worn for cycling, as well as layout-operating. Maybe there should be a sort of trailer to carry the layout behind a bike. (See below - looks to have potential, mostly for causing cycling accidents, I think) The Riddle of the Sands is another of those 'required reads', and the string of islands in the area where it is set all had narrow gauge railways, indeed several of them are still in operation. Copious detail here http://www.inselbahn.de K Edited October 20, 2016 by Nearholmer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 Odd that you should suggest the Norfolk jacket, because I'd already decided that one of those, plus waistcoat, and breeches, worn with a cap, would be ideal, because it could be worn for cycling, as well as layout-operating. Maybe there should be a sort of trailer to carry the layout behind a bike. The Riddle of the Sands is another of those 'required reads', and the string of islands in the area where it is set all had narrow gauge railways, indeed several of them are still in operation. Copious detail here http://www.inselbahn.de K Ssssh! Copious Detail is the name of Caruthers's Dutch contact. Keep it Dark, Agents of a Foreign Power may be reading this, what? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 Does this mean that jeans and T-shirt are unsuitable attire for operating my Victorian and Edwardian layouts? I'm really not into clothes and dressing up. I don't even have a suit any more! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 Hi Kevin, yes, of course, and I do understand that it "wasn't easy", but I still don't think it justified messing up the whole British model railway business for the following century or more! Pretty much all to do with the magnets, or lack of them, I think. (And our continental cousins don't seem to have had the same issues, and their H0 is both smaller than 00 and dead-scale in terms of gauge/scale - maybe they down-sized later than the Brits did?) On the N gauge front, I was given a second hand "treble-O-lectric" train set with a cast diesel BB of some sort, two coaches and maybe 5 wagons, oval of track, point and siding. I'd guess I was maybe 9, so around 1967? Shame I don't still have it, it was boxed! On another point, there was a chap at the recent Folkestone show with a folding N gauge layout (I don't think it was 2mmFS, if so, I do hope he'll forgive me!) and a folding bicycle. He had brought the layout, and all its stock, and the PP3 battery from which it was powered, in his rucksack, on his bike, along with his lunch. I have no desire whatsoever to emulate him, but you have to admire his determination! best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) Look at this for a bit of very subtle messaging. It's from the cover of a 1937 Bassett Lowke catalogue, implying that pinstripe business suit was the normal wear of their customer. No jeans at 112 High Holborn! K Edited October 20, 2016 by Nearholmer 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 Does this mean that jeans and T-shirt are unsuitable attire for operating my Victorian and Edwardian layouts? I'm really not into clothes and dressing up. I don't even have a suit any more! No, not at all. Relaxed, informal, casual clothes would be appropriate. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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