Peterborough North

[St Enodoc]

Somebody kindly decided to give me a present, in the form of the Winter Womiting bug, though actually the main problem has been more "fundamental." I'm told it will go away in a few days, so I just have to put up with it. Actually, the number of visits has slackened somewhat, and so I have time to post another image. This is the 1230pm Leeds, a relief service, and one for which Top Shed could not find a Pacific.

9F 1.JPG

My sympathy Gilbert. At the risk of causing a chuckle that will provoke another episode though, may I respectfully suggest that "slackened" was possibly not a good word to choose?

[colin penfold]

My sympathy Gilbert. At the risk of causing a chuckle that will provoke another episode though, may I respectfully suggest that "slackened" was possibly not a good word to choose?

Or relief, for that matter.

[great northern]

WVB. Probably kindly passed on through the Supermarket Trolley handle or payment keypad somewhere. Some people's hygiene habits are non existent sadly.

Good luck and take care.

Philth. 

One of my golfing mates had it last week Phil, so he's favourite. In fairness, apparently one can remain highly infectious for up to a fortnight after symptoms have gone, so it's got a good chance of getting you, I reckon.

[great northern]

I'm off to deal, hopefully, with last night's sleep deficit, so just one more picture before I go.

This view hasn't featured for a while, I think. It'a bit bright, isn't it?

[Richard E]

WVB - I blame the Trotskys

 

Hat, coat .....

[great northern]

9F now on its way through, while Book Law and the DMU wait.

[allan downes]

Hi Gilbert.

 

I was just checking out your Avatar. Was the sex change costly !

 

All the best mate.

 

Allan

[jukebox]

Somebody kindly decided to give me a present, in the form of the Winter Womiting bug, though actually the main problem has been more "fundamental." I'm told it will go away in a few days, so I just have to put up with it. Actually, the number of visits has slackened somewhat, and so I have time to post another image. This is the 1230pm Leeds, a relief service, and one for which Top Shed could not find a Pacific.

9F 1.JPG

 

So that'd be a bog standard 9f then....?

[great northern]

So that'd be a bog standard 9f then....?

By official decree, no more cr*p jokes.

[New Haven Neil]

I wonder if that 9F hauled train is the one that Gerry Fiennes was on when the crew worked her up to 93 down Stoke? 

Edited November 24, 2016 by New Haven Neil

[great northern]

I wonder if that 9F hauled train is the one that Gerry Fiennes was on when the crew worked her up to 93 down Stoke? 

Arr, but 'tis going the wrong way.

[great northern]

Still below my best chaps, so little is going on. I do though have an image to fulfil a request by one of our most regular visitors, who has a thing about Spital Bridge, or rather the view therefrom.

Time for bed.

 

[great northern]

OK, I've had a go at eating. We shall see if that was a good idea. In the meantime, another view from the bridge, with the 9F getting closer.

[allan downes]

Hi Gilbert.

 

I'm slowly but surely trawling through your most excellent thread ( page 24 so far and didn't even know you had started one ! ) and though I don't know what camera you use now and, considering the hassle you  were having earlier with taking decent in focus pics, may I suggest the Canon PowerShot SX60 HS  as strongly recommended by Chris Nevard for home use where by setting it on "Auto" it will do everything a camera ought to do without the need for any further outside interference thus resulting in photo's good enough for magazine reproduction.

 

Just thought that may help. Terrific layout. Terrific read.

 

Now I'm off back to page 24....

 

All the best.

 

Allan.

[Mallard60022]

Hi Gilbert.

 

I'm slowly but surely trawling through your most excellent thread ( page 24 so far and didn't even know you had started one ! ) and though I don't know what camera you use now and, considering the hassle you  were having earlier with taking decent in focus pics, may I suggest the Canon PowerShot SX60 HS  as strongly recommended by Chris Nevard for home use where by setting it on "Auto" it will do everything a camera ought to do without the need for any further outside interference thus resulting in photo's good enough for magazine reproduction.

 

Just thought that may help. Terrific layout. Terrific read.

 

Now I'm off back to page 24....

 

All the best.

 

Allan.

Allan, does that camera get 'right down' to track level and does it have a facility for cable shutter release? I was reading somewhere that phone cameras can work well for this track level business although I prefer shots from the 'helicopter' anyway.

Phil

Edited November 25, 2016 by Mallard60022

[grob1234]

Allan, does that camera get 'right down' to track level and does it have a facility for cable shutter release? I was reading somewhere that phone cameras can work well for this track level business although I prefer shots from the 'helicopter' anyway.

Phil

Hi Phil,

 

It's my opinion that a really good mobile phone (camera) is a great way to photograph a model railway. They have tons of built in processing to optimise images, and as you say, you can get right down to track level. You just need a large blob of blutac or similar to get the phone to stay put when taking pics. A woman whilst we were on safari took some incredible pictures on a Samsung, and put images taken on my expensive DSLR to shame. However I'll counter that by saying that once processed, the large 20mp images I took probably looked better. But hey, if you just want to run off a few pics of your model railway, a camera phone is a good place to start.

[allan downes]

Allan, does that camera get 'right down' to track level and does it have a facility for cable shutter release? I was reading somewhere that phone cameras can work well for this track level business although I prefer shots from the 'helicopter' anyway.

Phil

 

Hi Phil.

 

Yes, just lay it on the track and click the button and Canon technology does the rest .Here's an example.

 

Cheers

 

Allan

 

[TrevorP1]

A couple of weeks ago I posted the last part of Ralph Turner's all too short footplate career at 34a. Hopefully a final postscript will be of interest as a kind of 'happy ending'. It doesn't concern the GN main line but it a Gresley pacific plays a big part.

 

**********************

 

Preparing the notes made me realise I could have asked Ralph so much more. But we were all young(ish!) and there was always tomorrow... I know he had the greatest of respect for Mr Townend as he always referred to him - never 'Peter' or plain 'Townend' - but sadly I don't know the names of his drivers, or 'mates'  as called them. Nor the numbers of any engines other than the L1 previously mentioned and the A3 60055 Woolwinder.  Maybe Woolwinder steamed better with the A4 boiler it carried at that time... But did we ask...?

 

When he was older Ralph was able to buy a steam roller like his Dad's. He let me drive it once or twice but somehow it wasn't for me. Too slow probably! Inevitably we began to lose touch.

 

There is however a wonderful happy ending to this story. It could never happen on today's railway and some details must remain sketchy to protect the guilty because at least one is still a railwayman. A certain Gresley pacific had been at an outer suburban station all week with an exhibition train. Word got round that it was heading back to London that evening, so we after we had finished for the day a couple of car loads of us hurriedly headed for the appropriate place.

 

Sure enough it was nearly time for the off and then Ralph realised he knew the driver. It turned out he had been a 'Midland Man' from the 'other railway' across the road. Proud of his ability to fire through the GN 'rat trap' Ralph referred to those from lesser railways as 'sliding door men' on account of the large sliding firedoors on their engines.

 

Away they went, both proud of their roots, neither backing down. Feeling a bit awkward most of us wandered down the platform. Five minutes later, a railwayman friend who I shall call 'B' came running along urging us to board the train. Erm....

 

'B' explained that Ralph had been invited onto the footplate and eventually challenged to fire back to London. Not believing our ears, wondering how, but urged by the guard to make our mind up, we got into the brake van. At first we didn't even know where we'd finish up, certainly not the pub for dinner as planned, more likely bread and water in jail but none of us were missing this.

 

Thinking back, Ralph may have been set up, or possibly they had issued a challenge expecting him to back down, I honestly don't know. What I am certain of is that it was fully 25 years since Ralph had so much as stood on the footplate of a Gresley Pacific and he was rapidly approaching 50 years of age. Moreover, early in the run there would be a stiff climb and with a 'cold' engine a fireman would need all his skills. 

 

What music then when 20 or so minutes later, as the train breasted the summit, we clearly heard the safety valves lift...

 

An hour or so later as we neared London the exhaust began to bounce back off the buildings. It must have been a wonderful experience for people along the way. Preserved steam into the Capital wasn't so common in those days. The train began to run through brick cuttings and a tunnel or two and all too soon ran into a terminus.

 

We hurried up to the engine. A sight that still brings a smile greeted us. Looking like he'd never been away from it Ralph was standing in the cab doorway, his forearms resting on the curved part of the cab and tender just above the handrails. His grin was country mile wide and those of his new found footplate colleagues weren't much smaller. Not one of us had a camera...

 

It was truly a day of days and all the better for being just a bit naughty. 

[great northern]

 

A couple of weeks ago I posted the last part of Ralph Turner's all too short footplate career at 34a. Hopefully a final postscript will be of interest as a kind of 'happy ending'. It doesn't concern the GN main line but it a Gresley pacific plays a big part.

 

**********************

 

Preparing the notes made me realise I could have asked Ralph so much more. But we were all young(ish!) and there was always tomorrow... I know he had the greatest of respect for Mr Townend as he always referred to him - never 'Peter' or plain 'Townend' - but sadly I don't know the names of his drivers, or 'mates'  as called them. Nor the numbers of any engines other than the L1 previously mentioned and the A3 60055 Woolwinder.  Maybe Woolwinder steamed better with the A4 boiler it carried at that time... But did we ask...?

 

When he was older Ralph was able to buy a steam roller like his Dad's. He let me drive it once or twice but somehow it wasn't for me. Too slow probably! Inevitably we began to lose touch.

 

There is however a wonderful happy ending to this story. It could never happen on today's railway and some details must remain sketchy to protect the guilty because at least one is still a railwayman. A certain Gresley pacific had been at an outer suburban station all week with an exhibition train. Word got round that it was heading back to London that evening, so we after we had finished for the day a couple of car loads of us hurriedly headed for the appropriate place.

 

Sure enough it was nearly time for the off and then Ralph realised he knew the driver. It turned out he had been a 'Midland Man' from the 'other railway' across the road. Proud of his ability to fire through the GN 'rat trap' Ralph referred to those from lesser railways as 'sliding door men' on account of the large sliding firedoors on their engines.

 

Away they went, both proud of their roots, neither backing down. Feeling a bit awkward most of us wandered down the platform. Five minutes later, a railwayman friend who I shall call 'B' came running along urging us to board the train. Erm....

 

'B' explained that Ralph had been invited onto the footplate and eventually challenged to fire back to London. Not believing our ears, wondering how, but urged by the guard to make our mind up, we got into the brake van. At first we didn't even know where we'd finish up, certainly not the pub for dinner as planned, more likely bread and water in jail but none of us were missing this.

 

Thinking back, Ralph may have been set up, or possibly they had issued a challenge expecting him to back down, I honestly don't know. What I am certain of is that it was fully 25 years since Ralph had so much as stood on the footplate of a Gresley Pacific and he was rapidly approaching 50 years of age. Moreover, early in the run there would be a stiff climb and with a 'cold' engine a fireman would need all his skills. 

 

What music then when 20 or so minutes later, as the train breasted the summit, we clearly heard the safety valves lift...

 

An hour or so later as we neared London the exhaust began to bounce back off the buildings. It must have been a wonderful experience for people along the way. Preserved steam into the Capital wasn't so common in those days. The train began to run through brick cuttings and a tunnel or two and all too soon ran into a terminus.

 

We hurried up to the engine. A sight that still brings a smile greeted us. Looking like he'd never been away from it Ralph was standing in the cab doorway, his forearms resting on the curved part of the cab and tender just above the handrails. His grin was country mile wide and those of his new found footplate colleagues weren't much smaller. Not one of us had a camera...

 

It was truly a day of days and all the better for being just a bit naughty. 

 

An experience very much to be envied Trevor. Thank you for sharing it with us, and indeed the other memories.

[great northern]

This is not a nice bug which is laying our local area low, and it has knocked me flat for a while. I've managed to do a bit more today though, and here is the proof.

Running only three days late, Wild Swan swings under Crescent Bridge with the Heart of Midlothian. Unfortunately, that seems to have used up available energy for the time being, so more later.

[TrevorP1]

An experience very much to be envied Trevor. Thank you for sharing it with us, and indeed the other memories.

 

 

Thank you Gilbert for giving me the opportunity. 

[glo41f]

Gilbert

 

I hope you are restored to full strength soon. The pictures never cease to amaze. The care and crafting that you show in them is top drawer given that you start with trade offerings first. It just goes to show that with determination you can reach the heights of success which in our world is the overriding approval of your fellow modellers.

 

Thank you Mr Downes for the info regarding cameras. I am writing to Santa for one!  Mind you I do not have a record of sucess with that gentleman as for years I asked for a Hornby Dublo train set and he never listened!

 

Regards

 

Martin Long

[great northern]

Gilbert

 

I hope you are restored to full strength soon. The pictures never cease to amaze. The care and crafting that you show in them is top drawer given that you start with trade offerings first. It just goes to show that with determination you can reach the heights of success which in our world is the overriding approval of your fellow modellers.

 

Thank you Mr Downes for the info regarding cameras. I am writing to Santa for one!  Mind you I do not have a record of sucess with that gentleman as for years I asked for a Hornby Dublo train set and he never listened!

 

Regards

 

Martin Long

Thanks again Martin, comments like that motivate me to try to continue to up the standards. I'm delighted with where it has got to, but there is plenty of room for improvement. Hornby Dublo? The good news is I got it, but Santa sent Duchess of Montrose instead of Silver King.

[great northern]

Another shot of Wild Swan tonight.

I've taken a lot of brightness out of this, as it is getting a bit irritating. This was a dull day, no sun at all, and yet I still get this.

I think I'm stuck with it for the time being.

[trw1089]

That shot of Wild Swan curving in under the bridge, taken from the platform in your post before this last one, really shows how that curve looks totally believable from that angle. I don't know why that photo works for me, but it does!

 

Cheers

Tony

Edited November 27, 2016 by trw1089