Wright writes.....

[Tony Wright]

I wonder if those timber cottages were built post-WW1 as an early version of the WW2 'prefab'? There was a very similar structure next to my primary school (Furnace CP, Llanelli), built next to the old Cille colliery. Might they have originally been military 'temporary structures' from WW1?

Thanks Brian,

 

It's most probable that the wooden buildings were erected when the MR/M&GNR was built in 1897. Interestingly, the girder bridge carrying the line over the ECML was built with a wide enough span in anticipation of the quadrupling of the main line, which took place in 1911. A retaining wall was built adjacent to the nearest cottage to the main line during the quadrupling, so the modest dwelling wouldn't have to be demolished. I assume this was at the request of the Midland. This retaining wall is built of local limestone blocks, and has now disappeared completely under rampant under (over!) growth over the last 40 years. As such, it cannot be inspected, especially as an edict went out three years ago that new fencing should be erected. Was it wise, I wonder, to erect it immediately adjacent to the wall, rendering access impossible? Since it has never been inspected at any time this century, and mature trees are now growing out of it, might it be in need of attention? I'm no civil engineer, but (large) tree roots in the spaces between limestone blocks will displace them, won't they? 

[Focalplane]

The modern science of geotechnics as applied to British Railways seems to me to be flawed.  Heaving shale and growing trees don't get on too well, as the Mickleton Tunnel cutting incident showed a few years ago.  It took two years of remedial work to lift the speed limit leading into Chipping Campden Tunnel.  Harbury was another accident waiting to happen, the same Jurassic shales being prone to slip, never more so than when all the trees were cut down.  The Chiltern Line was closed for several weeks IIRC, with no alternative line available for freight workings such as Land Rover's exports to Southampton.  As far as I know there has been no report on the cause of the Harbury landslip, but recent tree clearing followed by heavy rains is thought to have been the cause of the problem.

 

Masonry everywhere is allowed to be invaded by vegetation, the Buddleia bush being the greatest threat to numerous retaining walls, carefully constructed using Staffordshire Blues.

 

So yes, tree roots and limestone blocks can cause problems in the long run, and that (the long run) is always the cause of the problem.  My observation is that Britain does this procrastination thing better than almost any other first world nation of equivalent wealth.  It is only after an incident of serious magnitude that the politicians say "we must never let this happen again".

[richard i]

The modern science of geotechnics as applied to British Railways seems to me to be flawed.  Heaving shale and growing trees don't get on too well, as the Mickleton Tunnel cutting incident showed a few years ago.  It took two years of remedial work to lift the speed limit leading into Chipping Campden Tunnel.  Harbury was another accident waiting to happen, the same Jurassic shales being prone to slip, never more so than when all the trees were cut down.  The Chiltern Line was closed for several weeks IIRC, with no alternative line available for freight workings such as Land Rover's exports to Southampton.  As far as I know there has been no report on the cause of the Harbury landslip, but recent tree clearing followed by heavy rains is thought to have been the cause of the problem.

 

Masonry everywhere is allowed to be invaded by vegetation, the Buddleia bush being the greatest threat to numerous retaining walls, carefully constructed using Staffordshire Blues.

 

So yes, tree roots and limestone blocks can cause problems in the long run, and that (the long run) is always the cause of the problem.  My observation is that Britain does this procrastination thing better than almost any other first world nation of equivalent wealth.  It is only after an incident of serious magnitude that the politicians say "we must never let this happen again".

USA manages to procrastinate pretty well. France gave them the Statue of Liberty but to took a decade for the Americans to build a base for it. The less said about the need for continuous resolutions because they are umming and ahhhing over the budget the better.

[Tony Wright]

The modern science of geotechnics as applied to British Railways seems to me to be flawed.  Heaving shale and growing trees don't get on too well, as the Mickleton Tunnel cutting incident showed a few years ago.  It took two years of remedial work to lift the speed limit leading into Chipping Campden Tunnel.  Harbury was another accident waiting to happen, the same Jurassic shales being prone to slip, never more so than when all the trees were cut down.  The Chiltern Line was closed for several weeks IIRC, with no alternative line available for freight workings such as Land Rover's exports to Southampton.  As far as I know there has been no report on the cause of the Harbury landslip, but recent tree clearing followed by heavy rains is thought to have been the cause of the problem.

 

Masonry everywhere is allowed to be invaded by vegetation, the Buddleia bush being the greatest threat to numerous retaining walls, carefully constructed using Staffordshire Blues.

 

So yes, tree roots and limestone blocks can cause problems in the long run, and that (the long run) is always the cause of the problem.  My observation is that Britain does this procrastination thing better than almost any other first world nation of equivalent wealth.  It is only after an incident of serious magnitude that the politicians say "we must never let this happen again".

I think it's true to say that live tree roots stabilise slopes. A major part of the problem resulting in the denudation of tropical rain forests is, once the trees are felled, the heavy rain just washes any soil away. Truly, the wealth of any tropical forests is in the trees themselves, the exposed soil being far too easily washed (or blown) away when they're gone.  

 

Any embankments and cuttings in the vicinity of LB (both on the ECML and the long-closed MR/M&GNR) are now virtually covered in mature trees, the M&GNR particularly so. In many ways this is not a problem, though two years ago overhanging trees brushing against passing Up trains were cut back (resulting in more vigorous growth!). If trees are completely felled, then rain will penetrate the dead root systems and render any slope unstable (the opposite of having live roots). 

 

What is the answer? Photographs showing the time the model of LB is depicting show almost no tree or even bush growth anywhere on the embankments or cuttings. That seemed to be the case up to the late '60s, when lineside maintenance then ceased. The last survivors of the Bytham gang have now died but they told me of regular scything/badging hook activity on the embankments and cuttings, or controlled burns throughout a dry spell. No new tree (even a mighty oak) was allowed more than a month or so's growth before it was pulled out or burnt. Their duties included regular inspection of fences and any structures, any problems being reported and attended to. 

 

Today on our home railways, it seems we now have 'green corridors' where passengers have a very restricted view of the landscapes they're passing. Even in the open fenland country, a recent trip to Cambridge from Stamford revealed many distances where nothing but lineside trees could be seen. At March, much of the yard has disappeared (even if the tracks are still there) under tall grasses and bushes and, in some cases, silver birch trees. I find this personally very depressing; a railway infrastructure just allowed to return to nature, not maintained or cared for at all. The running lines might be well-maintained, though weeds can still infest the ballast. A visit to Chirk some time ago suggested anything but a main line (which it once was), with tall grass and bushes being passed over by the units. 

 

We thus (at least in my case) can muse on our memories. Perhaps of dirty trains (which many were), but running through a well-maintained railway infrastructure where rival gangs competed for the 'Prize Length'. Bytham's gang once won that. With the help of a quite-splendid team, we've been able to recreate in miniature a time when Mother Nature was kept (temporarily) at bay!

Edited July 1, 2017 by Tony Wright

[Focalplane]

Harbury Cutting, west side, 1922

 

Harbury Cutting, west side, 1956

 

Harbury Cutting, west side, 2014

 

Looking at the 2014 photo, I understand that a similar grove of trees had been cleared from the slip area to those still standing on the opposite side of the cutting.

 

There is another factor not apparent in the photo.  The thin black limestone and shale beds dip to the right at an angle sufficient to assist a landslip when waterlogged.  Tony is right when he notes that living tree roots stabilize the soil, dead ones don't, they rot.

 

Note: west side refers to the down cutting, west of the tunnel, on the way west to Leamington Spa.

[Fat Controller]

Inevitably 'Stew' from Sunday Lunch remainders.

 

(Intended as a reply to post #17506)

Or rissoles (50% meat, the rest potatoes and onions). Tuesday was 'pasties' (25% meat, the rest vegetables) My nan was a dab hand with the Spong mincer.

[Mallard60022]

Or rissoles (50% meat, the rest potatoes and onions). Tuesday was 'pasties' (25% meat, the rest vegetables) My nan was a dab hand with the Spong mincer.

Does Bubble and Squeak count as a use of leftovers from a Sunday? However, my memory tells me there was hardly ever anything left over from any meal when I were a lad because everything was eaten and often it would have been good to have a bit more! (1950s).

Sadly attitudes to leaving food and wasting food have changed significantly.

Phil

Edited July 1, 2017 by Mallard60022

[The Johnster]

9 on and going better than the Castle. However, Castle or V2, what a glorious sight and sound. That syncopated V2 beat is lovely and is almost as beautiful as a Bulleid's sound.

Phil

 

Have to say, GW fan or not, that sounded lovely!

[Killybegs]

The 'Sunday joint' was bought of a size that would do three meals. The leftovers went through the hand driven mincer (remember those) on Monday morning. That and a rabbit were our meat ration for the week. 

[The Johnster]

The modern science of geotechnics as applied to British Railways seems to me to be flawed.  Heaving shale and growing trees don't get on too well, as the Mickleton Tunnel cutting incident showed a few years ago.  It took two years of remedial work to lift the speed limit leading into Chipping Campden Tunnel.  Harbury was another accident waiting to happen, the same Jurassic shales being prone to slip, never more so than when all the trees were cut down.  The Chiltern Line was closed for several weeks IIRC, with no alternative line available for freight workings such as Land Rover's exports to Southampton.  As far as I know there has been no report on the cause of the Harbury landslip, but recent tree clearing followed by heavy rains is thought to have been the cause of the problem.

 

Masonry everywhere is allowed to be invaded by vegetation, the Buddleia bush being the greatest threat to numerous retaining walls, carefully constructed using Staffordshire Blues.

 

So yes, tree roots and limestone blocks can cause problems in the long run, and that (the long run) is always the cause of the problem.  My observation is that Britain does this procrastination thing better than almost any other first world nation of equivalent wealth.  It is only after an incident of serious magnitude that the politicians say "we must never let this happen again".

But they always do let it happen again. 

[Headstock]

In between completing my next piece for Bachmann Times and getting on with writing Booklaw captions, I've done a little bit more 'architectural' modelling. 

 

New cottage 01.jpg

 

New cottage 02.jpg

 

At the junction of Station Road and Witham Road there was another artisan, wooden cottage. It was built, like the other two on the opposite side of the road, by the Midland Railway, presumably for railway employees. They were all on railway land. All have long been demolished, but were at LB in 1958. 

 

I made this latest one from Wills bits, roof tiles from Barlycorn and etches from the Modelex range. It's a 'representation', no more, because I've had to apply selective compression.

 

If nothing else, I'm determined to become more self-reliant in my modelling of buildings. I agree, this trio of very modest dwellings compares non-to-well with the work of Ian Wilson, Bob Dawson and Scott Waterfield which graces LB, but they're all my own work, which is the most important thing. Bob is building the pair of semis (which still exist, in altered form) to complete this corner of the layout, so I'm not entirely self-reliant. However, since this thread is mostly about encouraging folk to have a go, I offer these for constructive criticism.

 

Ellen Sparkes' splendid washing just peeks in. 

 

At least I made/modified the locos and rolling stock in these shots. 

 

With regard to the LB time warp, no doubt the mainline will be filled with the usual suspects but what goodies can we look forwards to up on the M&GN?

 

9 on and going better than the Castle. However, Castle or V2, what a glorious sight and sound. That syncopated V2 beat is lovely and is almost as beautiful as a Bulleid's sound.

Phil

 

Bulleid sounds? Would be that be the renowned experimental mixed traffic flying bathtubs? Lemaitre or Giesl oblong ejector?

[Mallard60022]

With regard to the LB time warp, no doubt the mainline will be filled with the usual suspects but what goodies can we look forwards to up on the M&GN?

 

 

Bulleid sounds? Would be that be the renowned experimental mixed traffic flying bathtubs? Lemaitre or Giesl oblong ejector?

Almost! Bulleids on climbs have a very distinctive sound and are not as smooth and crisp as a V2 (as you know I'm sure). The origials sound a little like a high level toilet cistern in full flow with 2 + 1 (X 2) exhaust beats! The 4 cylinder Castle roars, the 3 cylinder V2 has a sort of cheeky bark and the 3 cylinder Bulleid gasps in a rather asthmatic way. The Modified versions were a little smoother but still wheezed due to the Lemaitre and wide chimney. 

I always thought A4s had softish exhausts until I heard them blasting south through Retford and then climbing Gamston. In the right conditions one can feel the air pulsing as an A4 approaches at speed..........honestly!

If you want some entertainment, find the clips of 71000 climbing the Devon Banks. Sounds like a well tuned Class 37.

I'll shut up now as this is OT

Phil

[Richard E]

Well - I have had a great time with around 2 hours or so passing in a flash this afternoon whilst handling the regulator on the up trains on LB. Tony very many thanks for a wonderful afternoon that has seen me grinning like a Cheshire Cat on the way home. The hospitality was very much appreciated.

 

And as a little finale this was given a lap of LB:

 

[Headstock]

Almost! Bulleids on climbs have a very distinctive sound and are not as smooth and crisp as a V2 (as you know I'm sure). The origials sound a little like a high level toilet cistern in full flow with 2 + 1 (X 2) exhaust beats! The 4 cylinder Castle roars, the 3 cylinder V2 has a sort of cheeky bark and the 3 cylinder Bulleid gasps in a rather asthmatic way. The Modified versions were a little smoother but still wheezed due to the Lemaitre and wide chimney. 

I always thought A4s had softish exhausts until I heard them blasting south through Retford and then climbing Gamston. In the right conditions one can feel the air pulsing as an A4 approaches at speed..........honestly!

If you want some entertainment, find the clips of 71000 climbing the Devon Banks. Sounds like a well tuned Class 37.

I'll shut up now as this is OT

Phil

 

You describe it better than a million DCC chips could ever replicate. Yes, there are some stunning runs with Mr. Bulleids experiment and the Duck of Doom but the one that flummoxed me was Tornado sauntering up Hemerdon, not a bad run until you relize there were twelve, count them, twelve bogies behind the drawbar.

 

However, I rather like this little three-cylinder chappie with the cheeky whistle and the big bite.

 

[Headstock]

I don't think K4's were designed to go much faster than that without the wheels flying off.

[Tony Wright]

Well - I have had a great time with around 2 hours or so passing in a flash this afternoon whilst handling the regulator on the up trains on LB. Tony very many thanks for a wonderful afternoon that has seen me grinning like a Cheshire Cat on the way home. The hospitality was very much appreciated.

 

And as a little finale this was given a lap of LB:

 

Thanks Richard,

 

I (we) very much enjoyed your company and thanks, too, for buying more books. 

 

Just think, had I not thrown one point too soon and one point not quickly enough, then the three of us would have gone through the two-hour sequence without fault. At least the layout and stock worked 'perfectly'. I thought you and Geoff drove with excellence and expertise. 

 

Let's do it again.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[St Enodoc]

Does Bubble and Squeak count as a use of leftovers from a Sunday? However, my memory tells me there was hardly ever anything left over from any meal when I were a lad because everything was eaten and often it would have been good to have a bit more! (1950s).

Sadly attitudes to leaving food and wasting food have changed significantly.

Phil

Absolutely. Cold meat from the joint, bubble and squeak and Branston pickle. Meant that Mum didn't have to cook on wash day. Rice pudding for afters of course, which just went in the oven so didn't really count as cooking.

[Headstock]

There are some nice photographs of trains from the 1930's running between Saxby and little Bytham in the link below, including some M&GNJR locomotives.

 

http://www.systonandpeterborough.co.uk/index.php?p=1_11_PAGE-9

 

Meanwhile back on the Great Central, I made a start on this NER non-gangway third during last week's bad weather. About forty were cascaded to the GC section before the War.

[richard i]

Looks nice, whose kit is it. Not hat I should ask, I have enough GCR carriages to build first.

Richard

[The Stationmaster]

Absolutely. Cold meat from the joint, bubble and squeak and Branston pickle. Meant that Mum didn't have to cook on wash day. Rice pudding for afters of course, which just went in the oven so didn't really count as cooking.

 

Branston pickle     How peculiar - the proper job was home made green tomato chutney (and in our house it still is; Branston Pickle is something you put in cheese sandwiches).

[Focalplane]

As I am currently cooking Sunday dinner (Cajun shrimp with leeks and shallots in a white wine sauce!) I too have memories of post WWII dinners (at lunch time) and the left overs.  But my strongest and worst memory was grey New Zealand mutton stew cooked with capers which was even less tasty on Monday evening.

 

Ironically capers are now a staple in my food cupboard.  It took working in Tunisia to finally come round to recognize their virtues!

[Tony Wright]

 

Having spent a most-fruitful time at today's Spalding swapmeet, selling diesel-outline models with a friend, precious little was left. Since a percentage of all sales will be going to Cancer Research, it was gratifying to return with just a few items not sold. One of which is shown above, in its Stoke Summit diesel days. 

 

Long before Heljan produced an RTR example in OO, this one is made from a Lima Class 47 and an A1 brass conversion kit. Despite its Lima 'credentials', it runs beautifully.

 

Anyone interested in it, please PM me. 

Edited July 2, 2017 by Tony Wright

[Tony Wright]

There are some nice photographs of trains from the 1930's running between Saxby and little Bytham in the link below, including some M&GNJR locomotives.

 

http://www.systonandpeterborough.co.uk/index.php?p=1_11_PAGE-9

 

Meanwhile back on the Great Central, I made a start on this NER non-gangway third during last week's bad weather. About forty were cascaded to the GC section before the War.

Some lovely pictures, Andrew: many thanks.

 

 

For an earlier M&GNR depiction, I can always borrow SAD's D9 again........................................

[Headstock]

Looks nice, whose kit is it. Not hat I should ask, I have enough GCR carriages to build first.

Richard

 

Good evening richardi,

 

It's a D&S kit. The instructions are not very clear but I think the left-hand battery box needs to be removed. Presently I only have photographs of the gas fitted examples, however, I should be receiving some more images soon. I will also have to make up some additional compartment partitions, as not enough are supplied in the kit. The existing ones will provide a template.

 

Some lovely pictures, Andrew: many thanks.

 

D9.jpg

 

For an earlier M&GNR depiction, I can always borrow SAD's D9 again........................................

 

Tony,

 

the D9 is a very neat bit of modeling, it looks to be awaiting the fitting of handrails and a couple of other bits and bobs at the time the photo was taken. Will it be teamed with a rake of LMS liveried carriages or perhaps a mix?

[St Enodoc]

Branston pickle     How peculiar - the proper job was home made green tomato chutney (and in our house it still is; Branston Pickle is something you put in cheese sandwiches).

In our house you put Branston in just about everything!