The Night Mail

[Northmoor]

10 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Implausibly, last Tuesday morning, first day back for everyone after New Year, of course, we left Crewe and joined M6 about 10, in driving rain, yet hardly had any serious slows all the way to M5, which is always lighter to start with. Managed to get to Torquay in less than 4 hours, net of one stop. 230 miles. We wuz pleased!

Yesterday I drove Home to Bournemouth via M3/M27 - drop off one child at University - then up via some very pretty flooded valleys to Bath - drop off another child at University - before returning via M4 home.  No problems at all except for queues to get across the bridge onto the A4 and out of Bath.  I witnessed no more than one or two brain donors on the roads all day.

 

Never mind, I'm sure normal service will resume shortly.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[zarniwhoop]

Apropos scales and gauges, I have (some) stock, or partially modified items, or boxes of shame for all of the following, together with a roundy-round test track in 00 / H0m / 009|H0e :

 

 BR(S) West Coastway, 1964-71 with some things that don't strictly fit but could be useful. Unfortunately, most of the stock is only really appropriate to a much shorter timeframe, station livery and signage changed, and track should probably be bullhead if I ever try to run 1964 stock. What I'd really like is 1969-72 (end of the BILS and HALs, interlude with 4-CORs on local services, CIGs and BIGs on the fast service. The important parts for 69-72 are not available RTR and I doubt my ability to build them. Oh, did I mention I need something like 5 storage loops for each direction ?

 

RhB Upper Engadine, loosely 1990s to perhaps 2010. I got as far as trying to create card vestibules for the coaches to savethe tiny passengers and conductor having to jump a couple of metres, but even on just a plain loop that gave derailments with push-pull.

 

H0e ÖBB Ybbstalbahn and Bergstrecke, with some 'guest' stock. This one might get built, but I still can't get my head around a sensible landscape (at least one bridge over water is required, together with a halt beside the road, and a valley side in the background) so for weight reasons not flat baseboards and 60cm width is almost certainly too narrow.

 

009 Scottish Highlands (it's traditional, isn't it?) probably nominally 2'6" gauge (Strathdubh, perhaps with Constable Hamish MacBeth puffing away although I'd ideally make it more like 1964). Maybe with petrol-electric locos and railcar, as well as steam and old stock for the holiday-relief ('fair') workings bringing Ma and Paw Broon to their Wee But'n'Ben. Some of the relief stock would be antiquated and patched up with plywood as a result of the training in the war, a little would be refurbished, some main stock might be 'modern'.

 

All the above would be roundy-round.

 

009 60cm enthusiasts railway on a Sussex branchline closed by Beeching (a cross betwwen South Tynedale and Leighton Buzzard , probably a gala day with guest locos and stock). Maybe roundy-round.

 

H0e modern inspired by North Rügen partially reinstated as an attraction, mostly diesel but again a gala day with operations based on Raven Square and using a handy (mobile phone) at the end of the platform for signalling - if this one happens it will be end-to-fiddleyard.

 

[BR60103]

I have mostly OO and HO.

I also have one train in HOnN which is just a display.

I have some bits of OOO and N kept for sentimental reasons. And a TT3 Royal Scot.

 

My wife has O (tinplate) with On30 and a big loop of G.

 

[Oldddudders]

If we are having a confessional about layouts, then mine are complicated. When we moved to France in 2004, the existence of a stone shed 16' x 20' was definitely part of the attraction. It needed a door and a couple of windows to be put in, and that was done in 2006, while the house was having a new roof put on. 

 

As I'd been modelling US HO for the previous 20 years, that was the objective. Accordingly a typical US islands and promontories layout emerged, with DCC and sound, and that is still in situ. Except that one side, in 2009/10, was converted to Southern Railway, 1940s-ish, in Devon. Obviously all is 16.5 mm so running through is still possible. In practice the substantial stock of US HO models is largely ignored, and the Southern stuff gets the attention. 

 

Then recently, another, smaller part of the US HO was sacrificed to be a French branch line station, enabling me to play with my collection of railcars, as well as a few grain hoppers. All still 16.5 mm, of course, so through running is still possible. Oh, the total length of the through run is circa 96 feet, which is worthwhile. 

 

A few years back I put together some portable baseboards of extruded polystyrene, on lightweight supports, for a layout based upon the metre-gauge Harz system. The baseboards live in the garage, but running is truly dire, even on nice warm and sunny days when damp should not intervene. The stock lives indoors, and should be ready to run, therefore, but a 2-10-2 tank that just sits and looks at you is an expensive and depressing sight.

 

Finally there is the On30 collection. No layout, but a number of locos and cars - mainly Bachmann caricatures, as I see them, of US narrow-gauge stuff. By contrast, the structures - including two trestles - are pretty accurate kit-builds of those at Ophir, Colorado, on the former Rio Grande Southern, which closed in 1951.

 

It keeps me off the streets....... 

[jamie92208]

I have to confess I also have some 0n30, a Bachmann bunk car and a part built pile driver.  Also some White Pass and Yukon stock, a loco and 10 coaches. Emily will be able to run that on her layout when get it built.

 

There may be other things lurking on the Shelves of Shame. 

 

Jamie

Edited January 9 by jamie92208

[Rugd1022]

Not much at all in my inventory at present, having had a clear out a while ago I'm left with...

 

4mm : an old Hornby Class 25 body fitted with flush glazing, repainted in BR blue and weathered to buggery, a Lima Siphon G body in BR blue, a Slaters LNER CCT van in BR maroon livery, sundry Ratio and Wills huts painted in BR / WR brown and cream and weathered and a box full of etched nameplates for Westerns, Warships and Brush Type 4s.

 

7mm : an old Slaters 5-plank open painted and weathered to vaguely resemble a WR china clay hood.

 

And that's yer lot!

 

I'm currently having a reshuffle of the book collection and will be building a cupboard and new shelving in the alcove in our back parlour to accommodate the large number of Bradford Bartons, OPCs and Ian Allens I appear to have acquired. Don't ask about the growing number of car books though, it's supposed to be a secret...!

[Re6/6]

My fascination with trains started with Dad's Bowman live steamer hurling around the tinplate track on the lawn or falling off indoors scorching the parquet floor in the hall!

 

My 'beginnings' were with an HD goods set bought by my father (ostensibly for me!) and some extra points and wagons all from Hattons, who will be much missed, I still have it all complete with Hattons price labels!

 

Post Honby Dublo, two rail was next after a gap of some time with all things GW. The delights of ERG cardboard coach and wagon kits cut with razor blades and glued with 'Seccotine' ! I think that the whitemetal under gear came from Hamblings  or maybe CCW or Bradshaw Model Products of Brighton. Next came teaching myself to solder with resultant lumpen joints (not enought heat or insufficient amounts of the very corrosive Bakers flux) in order to build a Jamieson nickel-silver 'kit' which are still fun to build. Back then, if one wanted to go beyond HD and Triang , you had to make most things including track. Travelling to school each day from Egham to Waterloo (on BILs, HALs or CORs) on the way home, I would call in at W&H, with the grumpy staff(!), maybe Hamblings or Allan Brett Canon to buy their 'Chairway' track. It was grossly overscale but at least it did look like bullhead....happy memories!

 

Other things took over but many years later interest was rekindled by a visit to a Westminster show and was captivated by the P4 layout 'Heckmondwike' . Nothing for a few years then came  the building of 'Matford'. 'Balcombe' and the viaduct came next in 2010 which is still to be completed! Next came 'Parkend Marsh Sidings' which started out as a lockdown project which I thought would only take a few months to build but was only completed last year!

 

There's still a Welsh colliery layout to continue building, 'Rüthi' a Swiss museum layout to start and the late 'Grahame (BGman) Hichens' Italian layout 'Lisanno' to continue with what we thought was in his mind. He left us with some exquisite buildings which need a layout to complement them.

 

Much still to do before decrepitude sets in!

[J. S. Bach]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I have to confess I also have some 0n30, a Bachmann bunk car and a part built pile driver.  Also some White Pass and Yukon stock, a loco and 10 coaches. Emily will be able trun that on her layout when get it built.

 

There may be other things lurking on the Shelves of Shame. 

 

Jamie

"Shelves of Shame"?? I have rooms (and sheds) of shame!!!! 😲

[J. S. Bach]

5 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

 ...snip... Except that one side, in 2009/10, was converted to Southern Railway, 1940s-ish, in Devon. Obviously all is 16.5 mm so running through is still possible. In practice the substantial stock of US HO models is largely ignored, and the Southern stuff gets the attention.  ...snip...  the former Rio Grande Southern, which closed in 1951.

 

It keeps me off the streets....... 

And here I was picturing double-shotted PS-4s hauling the Crescent into New Orleans! 😉

[Hroth]

2 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

I have rooms (and sheds) of shame

 

Lets not get into the shed owning debate...

🙃

[Winslow Boy]

Did some one say sheds. 

[Hroth]

24 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Did some one say sheds. 

 

Yes. I'm afraid they mentioned they had "many"...

 

[Winslow Boy]

12 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Yes. I'm afraid they mentioned they had "many"...

 

What! That's blatant discrimination that is. Just you wait I'm going to report this to higher authorities. You've done it now and things were going so well.

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

What! That's blatant discrimination that is. Just you wait I'm going to report this to higher authorities. You've done it now and things were going so well.

 

I'VE done it now?  🤔

 

Edited January 9 by Hroth

[Winslow Boy]

1 minute ago, Hroth said:

 

I'VE done it now?  🤔

 

Ah so your one of them are you. I know your sort. Your one of them that stand on the side lines aren't you. Well your names on the list now and it's a very long list I'll tell you it starts with HH, then there's Jamie - just because you live abroad doesn't excuse you.

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

Did some one say sheds. 

Not I.

 

Any future references will be either workshop(s), garage(s) or exterior storage facilities

 

Having just found out I've been listed, I do hope I'm at least Grade 2 listed.

 

DH and Jamie would obviously be Grade 1 listed due to the size of their respective properties.

[Winslow Boy]

1 minute ago, Happy Hippo said:

Not I.

 

Any future references will be either workshop(s), garage(s) or exterior storage facilities

 

Having just found out I've been listed, I do hope I'm at least Grade 2 listed.

 

DH and Jamie would obviously be Grade 1 listed due to the size of their respective properties.

Don't worry HH I've created a whole category just for you it's......argh!!!!!

[J. S. Bach]

ONE of my sheds ..... in the rain right now:

 

 

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

My waterfront property on the on the shore of the scenic Sea of Chester:

 

 

 

[jamie92208]

I haven't got a wide angle lens so can't post a piccy of our shed and I hadn't mentioned sheds. 

 

Jamie

[Happy Hippo]

Argh!!! (A Regal Georgian Home)

 

I like it WB, Nyda and I are great fans of the Kings Georgian.

 

One of the lesser exterior storage  buildings at the Hippodrome for your reference:

 

[iL Dottore]

Sheds? Hobby Rooms? Garages? Pah! All dilettante stuff?

 

For the ultimate model railway space you have to have a repurposed underground air raid shelter/bunker! Mine not only has a layout, a modelling area and a woodworking shop, but also has enough wine, whisky, pasta and tinned cake (yes, you can get cake in tins and jolly good they are too) to last me for a year.

 

Laugh if you will, but I’ll have the last laugh come the Zombie Apocalypse. Whilst the sneerers and nay-sayers are fighting for their very lives as the Zombie Hordes sweep through their sheds/garages/workshops, I’ll be happily laying track with a nice whisky at my side. Untouched and untroubled by the societal armageddon, the biological Götter­dämmerung unfolding on the surface.

[Winslow Boy]

Send three 'n' six pence I've been nobbled. I don't think I'm going to make it. There's too many of them........

[Northmoor]

8 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

Not much at all in my inventory at present, having had a clear out a while ago I'm left with...

 

4mm : an old Hornby Class 25 body fitted with flush glazing, repainted in BR blue and weathered to buggery, a Lima Siphon G body in BR blue, a Slaters LNER CCT van in BR maroon livery, sundry Ratio and Wills huts painted in BR / WR brown and cream and weathered and a box full of etched nameplates for Westerns, Warships and Brush Type 4s.

 

Is it wrong of me to admit that while having a sort through some boxes in the loft over the weekend, I think the items that I'd forgotten I owned, came to a longer list than this?