Great Southern Railway (Fictitious) - Signalling the changes...

[Skinnylinny]

Friends, where would we be without them?

A friend sends a message saying "I went to the National Railway Museum, and I thought of you!"
A good friend sends "Is there anything there you'd like pictures of?"
A great friend crawls around on a museum floor taking photographs of tender brake and sanding gear underneath a loco after being asked for "one or two photos" of the tender. 

With a lot of reference photographs now to hand from my friend Alex, I can get back to working on the B1 tender, taking a little break from the A12. 



It's been a bit of a rough month this far, including water running down my hallway walls after the inlet hose came off the washing machine in the unoccupied flat upstairs (Although I got off better than my next-door neighbour, whose ceiling collapsed!):



This woke me up at about 5am on the morning I was due to get my first Covid vaccination, so I ended up running late for that and had to get an expensive taxi across town to make it to my appointment on time. 

I've also had a couple of other things go wrong with the flat, including one of the kitchen cupboard doors falling off, and the toilet stopping flushing, as well as a few mental-health related wobbles, but things seem to be picking up again. 

Oh, and have a spoiler for another upcoming project - found for a fiver!

 

 

Edited June 20, 2021 by Skinnylinny

[Jack P]

10 hours ago, Skinnylinny said:

Oh, and have a spoiler for another upcoming project - found for a fiver!

 

Is that the Jidenco 'Bug' Chassis?! That's exciting!!

[Skinnylinny]

9 hours ago, Jack P said:

Is that the Jidenco 'Bug' Chassis?! That's exciting!!

I'm not sure what make it is, it was listed as "Unknown (4-2-4?) chassis" but it definitely appears to be a "Bug", even if there's no superstructure, and in the absolute worst-case scenario, it's a good price for the wheels alone!

[Skinnylinny]

This week I have mostly been playing around with coaching stock - I acquired one of the Hornby "Not-Stroudleys-Honest-Guv' " 6-wheelers (a First) to play around with, and I'm slowly trying to disguise its origins. While the 4-wheelers (with the exception of the luggage van) can be fairly easily identified as specific Stroudley diagrams, the 6-wheelers are a bit more liberal in their interpretation, seeming to be Billinton diagrams, with Stroudley-profile roof and no bolection mouldings. 
 

Thus far, I've added footboards (full-length lower, and split upper) from Plastruct strip, replaced the end handrail and removed the roof-mounted one, started repainting, and started fitted vacuum brake gear (new brake pipes, vacuum cylinder underneath, etc). I'm also considering adding some torpedo vents to the roof over one or two smoking compartments. 


 

I also managed to get my hands on two Triang/Hornby "Rocket" coaches for not very much, with a view to converting one into an old carriage as part of the GSR engineers' train. The eventual aim is to have it as a short birdcage brake, in rather faded/grubby Linton & Bagshot livery (a rather smart crimson lake and black, when new!). The overall shape should hopefully look something like this:

I ended up repainting one while watching a documentary a few nights ago, and I'm rather struck by how much a repaint can change the look of these carriages. Here it is with one of my laser-cut Craven carriages:

[Skinnylinny]

And the postman has just arrived and made my day even better!

[Annie]

Now there's some fine sights Linny.  That 'Bug' chassis is interesting, - I'm sure you could do all kinds of things with that.

[Skinnylinny]

I'm sure I could... But the plan is to build the Bug on it! Pickups and balancing are going to be finicky, and I'll need to work out gearing to permit a prototypical top speed of over 85mph, a terrifying concept! 

 

The basics are all there and square, but I suspect this will be a project that hides away for a while. 

 

The carriage is a Roxey LSWR 46' lavatory first, which doesn't seem to have survived the range moving from plastic to etched kits. It's been nicely assembled and I will probably try to repaint it with as little disassembly as possible. 

 

Finally, Kissack, which is rather pretty in lined green, has a date with some paint stripper and a hacksaw, but more on that later... 

[Jack P]

4 hours ago, Skinnylinny said:

a prototypical top speed of over 85mph

 

Excuse me, what?!

That is genuinely terrifying.

 

Regarding balancing, you could always fix the front bogie so that it's effectively an 0-6-4?

[Skinnylinny]

16 minutes ago, Jack P said:

 

Excuse me, what?!

That is genuinely terrifying.

 

Regarding balancing, you could always fix the front bogie so that it's effectively an 0-6-4?

 

One day, an official of the old ‘Highland Railway’ was staying with him. We took them both to Eastleigh Works and afterwards to the South Western Hotel at Southampton for lunch. To give us a clear run back, it was arranged that our return journey should be made ahead of a Bournemouth express, which was due away from Southampton Central station (then called Southampton West) about 2.40pm. We therefore left at 2.30pm. Before starting, Drummond came on the footplate, looked at my fire with the remark. "That's verra good", and told James darkly that the Highland gentleman was to be given the run of his life. We went like a whirlwind. After racing up to Basingstoke, we ran the 23 miles from Basingstoke to Woking in 16 minutes by stop-watch, an average of 85mph! As both engine and saloon together had but five axles on a short wheelbase, the saloon seemed to skip across the points and crossings like a horse jumping a gate! Anyway, the sensation of passing over the junction at the west end of Weybridge station was the last straw for the Highland man. Coming to the hatchway, he implored James to moderate the speed. As we were then approaching Surbiton, his wish was gratified, but Mr. Drummond enjoyed the joke hugely.

 

Source: Memories of William Eaton, fireman on 'the Bug' - http://svsfilm.com/nineelms/bug.htm

Oh, and at the time, the only brakes it had were on the driving wheels! It must have been exciting to drive, I suppose, in the same way a Formula One car would be...

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by Skinnylinny

[Compound2632]

11 hours ago, Skinnylinny said:

To give us a clear run back, it was arranged that our return journey should be made ahead of a Bournemouth express, which was due away from Southampton Central station (then called Southampton West) about 2.40pm. We therefore left at 2.30pm.

 

The operating people must have been having a fit. As to the driver of the express, he must have been on the horns of a dilemma. If he had been stopped by the bug, how could he possibly attribute the lost time to "Locomotive"...

[CKPR]

On 24/06/2021 at 11:22, Skinnylinny said:

This week I have mostly been playing around with coaching stock - I acquired one of the Hornby "Not-Stroudleys-Honest-Guv' " 6-wheelers (a First) to play around with, and I'm slowly trying to disguise its origins. While the 4-wheelers (with the exception of the luggage van) can be fairly easily identified as specific Stroudley diagrams, the 6-wheelers are a bit more liberal in their interpretation, seeming to be Billinton diagrams, with Stroudley-profile roof and no bolection mouldings. 
 

Thus far, I've added footboards (full-length lower, and split upper) from Plastruct strip, replaced the end handrail and removed the roof-mounted one, started repainting, and started fitted vacuum brake gear (new brake pipes, vacuum cylinder underneath, etc). I'm also considering adding some torpedo vents to the roof over one or two smoking compartments. 

I ended up repainting one while watching a documentary a few nights ago, and I'm rather struck by how much a repaint can change the look of these carriages. Here it is with one of my laser-cut Craven carriages:

 

 

I did a double take here as I thought you had acquired a Furness Rly coach for through running to the GSR - we North Country folk are  generally fairly hardy but even we would take umbrage at several hundred miles in a six wheeler !

[Skinnylinny]

Ahhh, no, not a Furness carriage, the panelling style's all wrong!

A little light relief over the weekend, while watching the rain hammering down around the Central Belt of Scotland, I've started out on Mr Drummond's Car. Given that I already have the running plate and frames, I'm mainly working on the top half. I still need to figure out a motor/gearbox combination, and also the cylinders and motion.



The "Bug" had a slightly more complex than usual livery on the saloon section, having the brown extended onto the beading above the waist, and the lining including gilt as well as the standard black and red. I'm still pondering how to manage this - I'm considering a raised ridge for the gold lining, using a paint pen, but I'll do a test print of a carriage section first to see how that goes before doing the whole thing!

I've also learned some valuable lessons from the B1, which are being incorporated into this, especially about which parts to print or which are better in wire, how fine I can get away with printing things, and so on. Buffers will be turned metal ones, although there's little point in them being sprung as I have no intention of hauling anything with it! Cab backhead detail will also be made a bit chunkier, to make it easier to paint and see in the rather-more-enclosed F9 cab.

[Skinnylinny]

Well, that was fun. I was rather nastily unwell yesterday, and phoned NHS24 (Scottish non-emergency NHS number). I've been told to self-isolate, and to order a COVID test. Credit to the Royal Mail, that is apparently arriving today, a Sunday, despite being ordered after 5pm on Saturday!

I've been very tired for all of the last week, and it's only been getting worse, so very little modelling to update on, with the exception of one CAD wagon which has been modified. Regular readers may remember the Honeyball & Sons dumb-buffered 5-plank wagon. I was asked if it might be suitable for a quarry private owner, and I came to the conclusion that it would probably be rather too tall. So! Going back into SketchUp to modify the design (which felt very strange, as it's very different from working in Fusion), over the course of the day I managed to tweak the design into a 3-plank dropside, looking something like this:

[Joseph_Pestell]

But are you actually suffering Covid symptoms? I think that there is a danger at the moment that if anyone says they are unwell the medics assume that it is Covid, the "easy" answer. Other possible diagnoses are getting ignored which could dangerous.

 

Two years ago this month, I had to be shipped into Salisbury Hospital with chest pains - even though I knew it was not a heart attack. Six hours later after various tests and scans, they sent me home again. It was a "chest infection". Very informative and not much return on six years of expensive medical training.

 

I am now suffering extreme fatigue syndromes which are, I suspect, linked to that "chest infection". I have never been able to regain the weight that I lost at the time. Visited a local GP a couple of weeks ago and, in course of examination, weighed in at 63kg whereas my best weight is about 82kg! 

 

 

[Skinnylinny]

I'm sorry to hear about the extreme fatigue; it's extremely frustrating when one wants to do things and has to rest because the energy simply isn't there.

I had a fever and chills, among other things. The nausea and vomiting were unpleasant, as was the vice-like headache, to say nothing of the exhaustion - two multiple-hour naps yesterday alone!

Apparently the delta variant can appear without the coughing or the loss of taste/smell, especially in those who have had at least one vaccination (which is me). The fever was enough that they were worried - I was about a degree and a half from my usual temperature, despite having fans and a water mister being used on my face. Their thought was that it was unlikely to be Covid, but best to take the test for safety's sake - more likely to be heat exhaustion.

In fairness to the Royal Mail, the Covid test is here already!

[LNWR18901910]

At least you are doing very well. I hope you are okay.

[Annie]

Sad to read that you may have had a brush with the plague Linny.  I wouldn't want to wish those kinds of fatigue symptoms on anybody because they are the pits.  From here on the other side of the world I'll be wishing hard for you to make a good recovery.

Despite your bad news I did enjoy seeing your two wagon models that you'd created in Sketchup as that's the kind of thing I'm working towards myself with my own Sketchup modelling ambitions.

[Skinnylinny]

Thanks Annie, it's much appreciated! I shall very much look forward to seeing how your SketchUp work progresses. Based on your texturing skills, there will be much to be excited about!

[TurboSnail]

Linny's designs are turning out rather well!

 

 

And for comparison, a Gloucester wagon. A few little differences, but close enough for me!

 

[Edwardian]

Magnificent wagons, Linny. 

 

You clearly have something very unpleasant - did you discover whether or not it was the Plague? - and you have my every sympathy.  I trust it that it sticks at being thoroughly unpleasant, rather than dangerous and I hope you are improving.

[Skinnylinny]

Thank you, James.

It seems to have mostly cleared up now - all I seem to have is some slight tiredness, and a sniffle and a sore throat. 

I must say, I am extremely impressed by the way the NHS and Royal Mail are handling the tests with the Priority Postbox scheme. I ordered the test at 5pm Saturday, received it at 11am on Sunday, took it, put in in the priority postbox at 2pm, collected at 3pm, and was delivered to the lab at 7:22pm the same day!

[Skinnylinny]

Well, I'm still not feeling 100% - I'm still very tired and needing to sleep mid-day to get through the day, and the heat has really been knocking me for six!

That being said, it has been a really lovely day today, very suitable for my 30th birthday! A large Lego set was acquired (the Apollo Saturn V rocket), which at about 1:110 scale is huge - 1 metre tall! An absolutely stunning kit to build (with 1969 pieces, a nice touch!) that can be split into the separate stages as per the real rocket, and features a tiny little lunar lander, command/service module, and even astronaut "micro-figures" (about 1/3 the size of normal Lego figures). 





(And yes, the LM and CSM fit inside the completed rocket!)

I was also extremely surprised by a birthday cake being produced by my partner and their parents - apparently this one had been in planning for about a month and it was extremely hard to keep it a secret!



It is, of course, the Titfield Thunderbolt! Featuring yours truly as the Not-So-Skinny-Any-More Controller (especially after eating some of that!).  It seemed almost criminal to cut into the cake!



Not the usual content of this thread, but I believe it counts as railway modelling!

[Caley Jim]

Many happies, Linney.  It's a scientifically proven fact that those who have the most birthdays live the longest!

 

As to the Saturn, having stood under one on display at Kennedy Space Centre, I can confirm that it is B-I-I-I-I-G.  The building in which they assembled them is the tallest single story building in the world.

 

Jim

[Andy Hayter]

Hoppy Bathday - see I am already celebrating for you.

[Skinnylinny]

26 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

Many happies, Linney.  It's a scientifically proven fact that those who have the most birthdays live the longest!

 

As to the Saturn, having stood under one on display at Kennedy Space Centre, I can confirm that it is B-I-I-I-I-G.  The building in which they assembled them is the tallest single story building in the world.

 

Jim

Thanks, Jim!

Having visited there myself, I can confirm, the thing is huge! It's one thing to say it's 363 feet tall but unless you've seen the thing... I mean, that's a 33-storey building!

I was very fortunate to visit in the summer of 2009, the 40th anniversary of the moon landings. There were visiting astronauts, and I got to meet Jim Lovell, of Apollo 13. I still have the signed copy of Lost Moon by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, signed by him. 

An experience like that really changes your viewpoint on your place in the world. Thousands of people all working to get three men home, millions worldwide all watching and hoping and praying...