Sailor Charon Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Pedant mode: That title goes to a fungus somewhere in the US that is several hundred miles across... Sorry, back to the topic in question. J It's a honey fungus. I remember that from watching QI. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Easy, transition era with WCML electrics. I don't think I have ever seen it modelled. I don't either - it's certainly a fascinating mix with grimy (mostly) black steam, fairly dull green diesels and then shocking blue electrics. I have seen, but not often the equivalent on the Southern region - a main line layout set in 1967 somewhere between Southampton and London would be equally interesting - the last dregs of filthy unloved steam, shiny new blue REP/TCs on test, a sprinkling of green diesels and electrics - even loco hauled pullman cars... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 It will show when you have taller vehicles on the road. Only if, as Larry states its an older vehicle with knackered springs. Large vehicles sit level and in fact modern trucks have different springing on either side to ensure they do. Perhaps its one of those things that should be more prominent on steam era layouts than diesel ones - Pre MOT vehicles were not maintained anything like they are these days. Cheers Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Talking of knackered springs, I havent seen anyone replicate a half-cab Lowbridge bus yet, you know, the ones with long seats up stairs and an off-side passageway. The weight fell on the nearside when loaded and the spings on that side got knacked so that these buses had a definite lean even without road camber to contend with. Quite how one would modify an EFE or Corgi bus is anyones guess but it would look effective. I have photos but cannot upload due to copyright. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 not on the street I live on!!! have a mix of cars with wheels pointing all over the place, some cars a foot or more from the kerb, others tucked right up against it, some cars half on the kerb and often cars squeezed into a gap you wouldn't have thought possible. so, anyone modeling a terraced street in modern times, pick a random mix of cars, vans and 4x4's, add a classic car to the mix, put a blindfold on and place them parked up each side of the street, the result will be quite realistic if my road is anything to go by! But how many had the wheels straight? Was it more or less than those with the wheels at an angle? Perhaps its a regional thing? Cheers Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 24, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24, 2011 (edited) More likely to relate to how many vehicles are parked, and how much space each has to manoeuvre. Plenty of crowded housing estates, built before car ownership had spread to the masses, have far more cars trying to park than spaces on the road, so squeezing in and out is part of the art. All three vehicles in your pic have power steering, while plenty of lesser, not-so-new cars still don't, and we all recall how tough that can be, I'm sure - turning the wheels parallel to the kerb may not be much fun! Edited January 24, 2011 by Mod5 Edited to remove unnecessary quote and photo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Hi Ian I did wonder if power steering might have an effect. Perhaps another factor to consider. Is it the road version of obsessive when you start to consider how vehicles were driven in different periods, etc etc? Ever seen a modern street scene with road humps? Surely there should be some? Looking in my 1986 highway code, no mention of them (or speed cameras!) Cheers Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 More likely to relate to how many vehicles are parked, and how much space each has to manoeuvre. Plenty of crowded housing estates, built before car ownership had spread to the masses, have far more cars trying to park than spaces on the road, so squeezing in and out is part of the art. All three vehicles in your pic have power steering, while plenty of lesser, not-so-new cars still don't, and we all recall how tough that can be, I'm sure - turning the wheels parallel to the kerb may not be much fun! Indeed, my house is one of about a hundred in the row, broken only for a small alleyway to the 'backs' and built in the late 1890's I believe. the frontage of each house is such that if every house owned an original mini there would be space to park it outside your own house and get it in and out of the space, however there are five volvo estates and a number of 4x4's that park on our road and a few vans, it's just round the corner from both the school and the centre of the small town that has become a suburb of the city located a 10 mins walk down the hill. as such, squeezing into small spaces has become second nature and I now get confused when given lots of room in which to park! I'll take a photo at some point to post. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamouti Ben Yafo Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Wheels - I think I said before that, in my period of interest (1969) many older drivers were ex-servicemen and many young drivers had been taught by them - so straight wheels were most common. My father always did this. Road camber varies; at home (S Wales Valleys) I didn't even notice it. Here (Gloucester) it's easily visible. And when I cycled on it for the first time it felt a bit uncomfortable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37176 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Indeed, my house is one of about a hundred in the row, broken only for a small alleyway to the 'backs' and built in the late 1890's I believe. Can you turn the music down please? I can't hear the telly! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted January 25, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2011 however there are five volvo estates and a number of 4x4's that park on our road and a few vans, And at least half of them should be parked on the kerb....... Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted January 25, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2011 And you won't need to add wing mirrors, they've been knocked off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Looking at layouts at Pontefract today made me think of one less obvious cliche - signallers standing outside their boxes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 The Model Railroader annual special issue "Model Railroad Planning 2011" arrived in the post the other day. I was flipping through the layouts in the magazine and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but there sandwiched between an urban-shunting shelf-layout and a an article on "Distinctive" layout themes was a GWR BLT in all it's glory. A classic BLT, except with the fiddle yard orthoganal to the detailed section making an "L", it is based in Thomas Hardy's Dorset, hypothetically on a branch of the Yeovil-Dorchester line. All done by a gent in Utah! Autocoach with 14xx - tick B-set - tick Small prairies - tick Dairy - tick Goods shed - tick (No cattle pens though.) Freelanced (as were the buildings), doubtless there are details that could be criticized, but nevertheless I loved it and congratulations to John Flann who not only built it, but had it published in a widely circulated magazine right in front of an article on "Distinctive themes for distinctive layouts". Other than the editorial choice of "OO" rather than the more semantically correct "00", it was a nice little article and goes to show that a there's no final arbiter on what is a cliché. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGN Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Hmmmmm ... I wonder if it makes a difference that he's the other side of the Atlantic? I mean, a GWR BLT may be a cliche HERE .. .but is it a cliche there? Or to put it another way, you may see a million and one D&RG passing station layouts in the US (do you? I dunno. But let's suppose, for the sake of argument, that you do) but you hardly see a single one this side of the Pond. So it might be a cliche there ... but it woudln't be here, woudl it? It's all relative ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Hmmmmm ... I wonder if it makes a difference that he's the other side of the Atlantic? I'm quite sure in this case it did. If this gent took his layout on the UK exhibition circuit, there would doubless be critics and some of them harsh. It's all relative ... Absolutely. Which is precisely why I think that this whole topic is a bit of a 'slippery slope'. No one likes slavish copies of other layouts ... but ... what's really wrong with children waving on a bridge, or a schoolboy with cap, shorts and notepad at the end of the platform? We don't really have the technology to make them stop waving when there are no trains and go home for tea, but they still add some visual interest. As to the US, there is a big difference in exhibitions. Distances are great and people can generally only get to relatively local shows so the exhibition roster is quite static. Also the standards are highly variable. I don't see a lot of "Oh no, not another Pennsy mainline or D&RG narrow gauge in the Rockies" thinking. There's more emphasis on trade and something for the kids to do. I think the high standards in UK exhibitions is what drives this concern. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Can you turn the music down please? I can't hear the telly! Don't joke, seriously don't joke, we had to speak to the council about neighbours. And at least half of them should be parked on the kerb....... Mick bizzarely the volvos are either really well parked or feet away from the kerb, it's the small cars that are on the kerb And you won't need to add wing mirrors, they've been knocked off. most of the cars on the street have their door mirrors intact, except a citroen berlingo which has had a towing mirror added to make up for the missing mirror glass of its standard mirror (if that makes sense) there is also a porsche with a selotape repair to it's soft top rear screen most cars are blue or silver Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Colin Posted January 31, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 31, 2011 I don't either - it's certainly a fascinating mix with grimy (mostly) black steam, fairly dull green diesels and then shocking blue electrics. I have seen, but not often the equivalent on the Southern region - a main line layout set in 1967 somewhere between Southampton and London would be equally interesting - the last dregs of filthy unloved steam, shiny new blue REP/TCs on test, a sprinkling of green diesels and electrics - even loco hauled pullman cars... That's almost exactly what I've tried to replicate (in a somewhat limited fashion as it's not a big complex layout) on "South Pimlico" - south London 1966/67 when steam had but months to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 "South Pimlico" is yours? I love that and no way am I a "Southern" fan or anything but I spent a lot of time (from 1967 to 1972) at Decca Records' old building on the Albert Enbankment and your layout reminded me very much of the area around (the backside) there (incl. Lambeth Walk as it originally was). Very good work indeed. Best, Pete. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Colin Posted January 31, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 31, 2011 "South Pimlico" is yours? I love that and no way am I a "Southern" fan or anything but I spent a lot of time (from 1967 to 1972) at Decca Records' old building on the Albert Enbankment and your layout reminded me very much of the area around (the backside) there (incl. Lambeth Walk as it originally was). Very good work indeed. Best, Pete. Yes Pete it's mine, but not for much longer as it's being "retired" in May to make way for its successor which I hope will be more of the same but better! Thanks for your kind comments. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Well, I look forward to your new one! You've got a beautiful "feel" for London.......... Hmmmm, fancy shipping South Pimlico to New York? All the best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Colin Posted January 31, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 31, 2011 Well, I look forward to your new one! You've got a beautiful "feel" for London.......... Hmmmm, fancy shipping South Pimlico to New York? All the best, Pete. Sorry Pete, no can do - I'm giving sections of it away to friends and removing some of the buildings & details for use on the next one. Main baseboards are sagging and basically worn out, which is why I've decided to replace the layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Re South Pimlico; I loved the explanation when it was in RM of the name, and how it came about (because the only thing south of the real Pimlico is the River Thames!!) ... fantastic!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 (because the only thing south of the real Pimlico is the River Thames!!) Rather like the 'east side of Chicago', infamously used in a particularly annoying 1970s pop song*. Immediately east of Chicago is Lake Michigan. *If I provided a reference, you'll have it stuck in your head and be mad at me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
L49 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 With all this talk of South Pimlico and modelling the railways of London, can I throw a new subject in here. I don't know whether it counts as a cliche, or just bad practice, but what about people who build layouts which they tell us are based in London, but look more like Leicester? It's not hard, in London we don't have a lot of stone, we don't have nice hard red clay beds, and we don't have ready access to slate quarries except for the most affluent of 19th century builders. Most of the railway infrastructure was constructed of porous yellow stock bricks which absorbed all the smog and went black (although as usual there is a prototype for everything with the stone cutting outside St Pancras), Stations were often built of the same materials, unless the company building them happened to have ready links to the midlands to import hard reds. Often domestic properties were tiled rather than slated, and did not have a straight front to back pitch, but followed a valley roof profile. The roof pitch generally was shallower than houses in the North too. Sorry, that was about to become a rant, so I am going to retire back to my proper work and see what you guys have to say. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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