Wright writes.....

[Tony Wright]

During my time in Chester, I popped into the model shop there (Chester Model Centre, in Bridge Street Row - always worth a visit). The shop no longer sells the likes of metal loco kits and what have you, but the prices for new and second-hand RTR seemed very reasonable.

 

Reasonable enough for me to............

 

 

Buy this new Bachmann Thompson SK for a discounted £59.49 (over £10.00 off the normal retail price). 

 

I've already got rid of the couplings.

 

 

In very little time, I'd fitted my own couplings (pulling off the headstocks), added concertina gangways and weathered it. 

 

Looking at all the Thompson cars I've made down the years, nothing is as good as this (especially the BSL ones I made almost 50 years ago!). 

 

What is the current price for a full Comet kit equivalent? 

 

It's not that I don't have enough carriages, but something like this will allow me to weed out the much older, less-detailed ones. Yes, it does rather go against my 'build it' philosophy, but with models of this quality? At that price? 

 

 

John Houlden built some lovely 4mm carriages, including this Southern Pride/Comet Thompson TK (SK from the mid-'50s). With curved corners to the windows, its type is not available RTR.

 

It sees service on the MR/M&GNR bit of LB. At first, I thought such 'modern' stock would never be seen on the cross-country route, but in poring over books, I found not only Thompson stock, but 'Porthole' carriages as well, and even Mk.1s! Of course, older Gresley stock and Stanier stock was most-common, but it's nice to see something more 'up to date' running. 

 

 

[cb900f]

Without wanting to dwell on the subject , here are 2 photos of my old trainspotting days in the early to middle 60s and recently.  For information it is Clay Cross South Jct. Lines to the left go down the Erewash Valley ( Toton, Nottingham and Trent ) lines to the right go to Derby. They are not my photos and therefore I do not know who has the copyrights, if necessary please delete

[Tony Wright]

9 minutes ago, cb900f said:

Without wanting to dwell on the subject , here are 2 photos of my old trainspotting days in the early to middle 60s and recently.  For information it is Clay Cross South Jct. Lines to the left go down the Erewash Valley ( Toton, Nottingham and Trent ) lines to the right go to Derby. They are not my photos and therefore I do not know who has the copyrights, if necessary please delete

Thanks for posting these images. 

 

The up-to-date image is typical of just about anywhere on the rail network today; that of it being almost unrecognisable from scenes in steam days. Not only has the railway been rationalised to the point of 'complete economy' (?), but Mother Nature has taken back what was removed from her all those years ago.

 

Not only that, if one goes back, say, 60 years prior to your first picture, apart from some infrastructure detail changes and the locos/rolling stock, the overall railway scene would have been much the same. What will the 'today' scene look like in another half-century? 

 

Could it be any less-interesting?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[davidw]

Not an old model but I built two of these Comet Thompson's a couple of years ago

The bogies are Bachmann. The rest is Comet. They build into lovely vehicles. I was very happy with the results. The couplings have now gone.

 

What surprise me is that prototype pictures tend to  shown them as strengtheners in crack expresses by 1960. As the mk1 standard coaches were deployed very quickly. Thompsons in this period seemed to get all over other regions and of course ECML secondary  expresses. 

[t-b-g]

I had an hour or so to kill at one of my old trainspotter haunts a few years ago. Stainforth and Hatfield. It was never a really smart sort of place but in the 70s it had things like buildings, a signal box, a lovely waiting room with a fire in the grate, semaphores and yards on both sides of the line that were still shunted by goods and coal trains.

 

Now it has a bus shelter, high security fencing and a camera overlooking the scene instead of a signalman and the station staff.

 

I mentioned it before on RM Web on a thread about modelling the modern scene and was "shouted down" by people telling me how wrong I am to regard the present day railways as anything other than interesting and well worth modelling.

 

So there are some folk out there who genuinely believe that the modern railway scene is a good subject to model.

[Tony Wright]

I know it's not always a good thing to dwell on the past, but with some recent comments in mind.............

 

 

I took this picture half an hour ago. 

 

Trying to show how things have changed at Little Bytham.............

 

 

From over 60 years ago!

 

There is nothing to relate to now to tell me I'm standing (more or less) in the same vantage point as the photographer here. I say more or less, but unrestricted tree growth beyond the bridge's parapet means it's impossible to get the same angle. 

 

The booking office still stands, but one cannot see it because of the trees, and where the goods shed stood is now the site of four houses. 

 

Though the MR/M&GNR embankment is still extant (including its bridge over Station Road), its formation has long been obliterated by even more trees. Good for Nature I suppose, but think of how much in scenic materials it would cost if one were modelling this scene today! 

 

I suppose the one positive thing is...........

 

 

That the current ECML Azumas are rather stylish. Compared with some contemporary liveries, LNER's is restrained and refined.

 

We must also not forget that real railways (when the staff aren't on strike) are run for passengers, rather than sentimental enthusiasts. 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

7 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

I had an hour or so to kill at one of my old trainspotter haunts a few years ago. Stainforth and Hatfield. It was never a really smart sort of place but in the 70s it had things like buildings, a signal box, a lovely waiting room with a fire in the grate, semaphores and yards on both sides of the line that were still shunted by goods and coal trains.

 

Now it has a bus shelter, high security fencing and a camera overlooking the scene instead of a signalman and the station staff.

 

I mentioned it before on RM Web on a thread about modelling the modern scene and was "shouted down" by people telling me how wrong I am to regard the present day railways as anything other than interesting and well worth modelling.

 

So there are some folk out there who genuinely believe that the modern railway scene is a good subject to model.

Good evening Tony,

 

I wonder if those who model 'more-interesting' times on our railways are ever accused of 'shouting down' those who model the current scene? 

 

To those who never really saw loco-hauled passenger trains (and I'm not talking just steam), complex trackwork locations, semaphore signalling and loads of historic railway buildings, the current scene might appeal. 

 

And, in fairness, all the London termini (with the exception of Euston) are far more-welcoming than in the days when I first visited them. Welcoming, until one takes a train out, to be confronted with everything overgrown and any vertical surfaces daubed with the puerile 'art' of the anti-social brigade. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Bernard Lamb]

9 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 

And, in fairness, all the London termini (with the exception of Euston) are far more-welcoming than in the days when I first visited them. Welcoming, until one takes a train out, to be confronted with everything overgrown and any vertical surfaces daubed with the puerile 'art' of the anti-social brigade. 

 

 

Good evening Tony.

As a five year old the walk from Broad Street to the Southend line platforms at Liverpool Street was always an adventure. My young mind would have  a great time imagining what terrors were lurking around the next dark corner. As for the puerile daubs. A few months ago my son in law introduced me to '10FOOT'. I wish that I could unsee it as I now come across it in all sorts of places.

Bernard

For those lucky souls who are unaware search for '10FOOT' at your peril.

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, davidw said:

Not an old model but I built two of these Comet Thompson's a couple of years ago

The bogies are Bachmann. The rest is Comet. They build into lovely vehicles. I was very happy with the results. The couplings have now gone.

 

What surprise me is that prototype pictures tend to  shown them as strengtheners in crack expresses by 1960. As the mk1 standard coaches were deployed very quickly. Thompsons in this period seemed to get all over other regions and of course ECML secondary  expresses. 

Good evening David,

 

Thanks for showing us your Thompson cars (I imagine you've brought them to LB in the past).

 

One thing the RTR manufacturers have missed (in my view) with regard to Thompson stock is the non-provision of catering cars.

 

With the poor riding characteristics of the early Mk.1, the catering core of many ECML expresses of the day was formed of Thompson catering stock. 

 

 

As seen here with a PV RSO and a Full Kitchen Car, both Thompsons. 

 

 

Or a Gresley Pantry Second and a Thompson RF.

 

 

Or a non-PV Thompson SO and a full Kitchen Car; the rest of the rake being Mk.1s.

 

 

Three Thompsons here, including an RFO.

 

 

Even as late as 1962, Thompson cars could still make-up a fair bit of a principal express.

 

 

Though they were often used in summer Saturday extras; as here, again in 1962. 

 

Please (all) respect copyright restrictions on the above images.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[micklner]

Thompson Restaurant cars here.

 

http://www.southernpridemodels.co.uk/

 

Look for conversion kits on the lists.

Easy builds using the old Bachmann Thompson Coaches as a base model , simpler than a whole kit.

Edited June 24, 2023 by micklner

[davidw]

5 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Good evening David,

 

Thanks for showing us your Thompson cars (I imagine you've brought them to LB in the past).

 

One thing the RTR manufacturers have missed (in my view) with regard to Thompson stock is the non-provision of catering cars.

 

With the poor riding characteristics of the early Mk.1, the catering core of many ECML expresses of the day was formed of Thompson catering stock. 

 

 

As seen here with a PV RSO and a Full Kitchen Car, both Thompsons. 

 

 

Or a Gresley Pantry Second and a Thompson RF.

 

 

Or a non-PV Thompson SO and a full Kitchen Car; the rest of the rake being Mk.1s.

 

 

Three Thompsons here, including an RFO.

 

 

Even as late as 1962, Thompson cars could still make-up a fair bit of a principal express.

 

 

Though they were often used in summer Saturday extras; as here, again in 1962. 

 

Please (all) respect copyright restrictions on the above images.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

Thanks for the photos Tony. I don't think I did bring them to LB. I brought some old tooling  resided versions an SK and RF. Ages ago I think I brought a kitchen car. The Thompsons as vehicles are very distinctive.

[Northmoor]

47 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

So there are some folk out there who genuinely believe that the modern railway scene is a good subject to model.

It depends what you want to model.  The railway is probably more colourful now than it's ever been, with the constantly-changing variety of liveries of rolling stock.  Our current railway system is, despite its problems, a better travelling experience for the vast majority of people than it was in our youth (whenever that was).  But I'm not sure there's much to interest me in modelling it.

[MJI]

44 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

It depends what you want to model.  The railway is probably more colourful now than it's ever been, with the constantly-changing variety of liveries of rolling stock.  Our current railway system is, despite its problems, a better travelling experience for the vast majority of people than it was in our youth (whenever that was).  But I'm not sure there's much to interest me in modelling it.

I think i way have enjoyed the high spot of passenger experience with the early days of HST

[St Enodoc]

10 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Could it be any less-interesting?

Yes, if the railway were to disappear altogether.

 

8 hours ago, t-b-g said:

Stainforth and Hatfield. It was never a really smart sort of place

True!

[Tony Wright]

3 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Yes, if the railway were to disappear altogether.

 

 

But not if the tracks were lifted, and the formation then used as a footpath/cycle path. 

 

Perhaps not so interesting to die-hard railway enthusiasts, but of great interest to those who subsequently use it for leisure.

 

The abandoned branch from Oxley to Wombourne and beyond used to run no more than 100 yards from one of our homes in Wolverhampton (we didn't have lots of homes, just four different ones in the place over the years). It had closed years before, but it was an ideal (and safe) route for me to accompany my two young (at the time) sons as we cycled from Tettenhall to Wombourne. To those interested in botany (not me) or ornithology (me), it was a marvellous environment, especially where it ran adjacent to the canal. Had the railway still been extant, it would have been inaccessible.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Dunsignalling]

11 hours ago, Northmoor said:

It depends what you want to model.  The railway is probably more colourful now than it's ever been, with the constantly-changing variety of liveries of rolling stock.  Our current railway system is, despite its problems, a better travelling experience for the vast majority of people than it was in our youth (whenever that was).  But I'm not sure there's much to interest me in modelling it.

Though, for many living in rural areas, the implementation of Dr Beeching's ideas meant the railway ceased to be any kind of viable travelling experience.

Edited June 25, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[polybear]

The big huge mistake was selling off the land, as this has prevented any chance of re-opening lines or returning freight yards to use in the future.

[Willie Whizz]

Indeed - what price the Great Central London Extension now?  (And yes, I know it wasn’t quite “Continental” loading gauge, but it’d still have been a lot cheaper to adapt than HS2 to build …).

 

That said, however, the Local Authority with whom I had my second career decided around the mid-2000s - after much criticism from OFSTED and the Department of Education over retaining too many “surplus” places in the face of a long-declining local birth-rate that was predicted to decline still further - to close a number of half-empty schools, many of which were in such a poor state of repair they were no longer fit for purpose and would cost vast sums to modernise. The schools were closed, the land sold-off or re-purposed … and a few years later in the early 2010s there was a sudden influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe (the ‘Polish Plumbers’ and ‘Bulgarian Butchers’ everyone started to get so excited about).  The local birth-rate rocketed and all of a sudden there was predicted a shortage of school places, and (still) no money to build new ones or extend. 

 

My point is, you can only take the best decisions you can on the best data available at the time. Sometimes that comes back to bite you on the bum, but it doesn’t mean the decision was wrong at the time it had to be taken. 
 

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Willie Whizz

[Northmoor]

Agreed @Willie Whizz; fortunately it is slowly becoming better understood that (1) Beeching's report only proposed speeding up a process that had been going on since the beginning of Nationalisation (and to some extent, before that), and (2) despite the enthusiasm for blaming the Doctor, it was politicians that signed off every one of those closures.

[billbedford]

8 hours ago, polybear said:

The big huge mistake was selling off the land, as this has prevented any chance of re-opening lines or returning freight yards to use in the future.

 

We all seem to move forward with our eyes firmly fixed on the rear-view mirror. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by billbedford

[Tony Wright]

19 hours ago, davidw said:

Thanks for the photos Tony. I don't think I did bring them to LB. I brought some old tooling  resided versions an SK and RF. Ages ago I think I brought a kitchen car. The Thompsons as vehicles are very distinctive.

Good afternoon David,

 

Looking back through my photo collection, you didn't bring them (in any of your six visits, so far; and you're, as ever, most-welcome again). 

 

 

As you so well remember, this is the pair you brought.

 

 

I think your Kitchen Car (among others) is in this rake, hauled by one of your A4s.

 

I think the Thompson cars are among the most-handsome of passenger rolling stock, particularly the PV ones (with covered solebars), especially in BR lined maroon (in ersatz teak, they look dumpy, but the black strip at the bottom of the body on the BR-liveried ones really lifts them). 

 

The story is well known that near-30 years ago, I approached Comet (the original four members) to see if they'd be interested in producing the distinctive PV Thompsons (their already having the standard Thompsons in the range). The types which made-up the post-War 'Flying Scotsman', 'Capitals Limited' and 'The Elizabethan'. 'No interest!'.

 

However, luckily I'd got to know Dave Lewis of Southern Pride, and between us all the necessary types were made as etched sides to make-up a 1958 'Elizabethan', the intention being to use the original Bachmann Thompsons as donors. The donors would have their roof profile altered and would have replacement HD bogies. I formed all the original etched sides before Dave invested in a press.

 

Thus, Stoke Summit got 'The Elizabethan'......................

 

 

And it continues to run on LB. Types such as the trio of BGs, the trio of FKs with ladies' retiring room (the other side in this shot), the FKs and the trio of RSOs had never been available before; neither had the PV SKs.

 

 

I wrote-up how I produced the whole train in BRM at the time. 

 

The vital alteration to the original roof profile is apparent in this shot.

 

Such was the great success of the range (no interest?).............

 

 

That Dave was also able to introduce the other types (not in the non-stop by 1958), including a full Kitchen Car. I think this is my favourite). Other sorts (such as the Pantry Second; just visible to the left) were also made available.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[micklner]

My Thompson PV Flying Scotsman small set , the first design with Square Windows., later builds had rounded corners due to corrosion problems . Using Southern Pride etched sides on converted old type Bachmann Thompsons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[polybear]

2 hours ago, billbedford said:

 

We all seem to move forward with our eyes firmly fixed on the rear-view mirror. 

 

Perhaps the view's better?

 

 

[Chas Levin]

On 24/06/2023 at 12:32, BrushVeteran said:

 

 

May I say that must be one of the sweetest photos of a young train enthusiast I've ever seen - so evocative of the era!

 

Speaking of which, when was that era, if you don't mind telling? I'm guessing mid 1950s?

[BrushVeteran]

1 hour ago, Chas Levin said:

 

May I say that must be one of the sweetest photos of a young train enthusiast I've ever seen - so evocative of the era!

 

Speaking of which, when was that era, if you don't mind telling? I'm guessing mid 1950s?

You are correct Chas, I recon about 1954 because we moved to Oxford in 1955. The location is Rosemont Road London NW3 and it was in the back yard of our maisonette in No.1 Rosemont House. The view is just by Finchley Road Midland signal box looking over towards Finchley Road Bakerloo/Met and GC lines and the train has emerged from Haverstock Hill tunnels heading north on the St.Pancras ex. Midland lines. The picture of 'Peak' 70 is more or less the same location bur the train is heading south.

Yes I realise now after all these years that they are probably quite evocative pictures but at least I am able to offer an excuse as to why I got into Railways............blame the parents!

Thanks for your interest.......................I rescued these photo's from being thrown away before my mother became a victim of dementia!............I'm so glad I saved them, here are another couple including one of our champion mouser 'Charlie' who always followed me around at the time. 

Sorry Tony for going off topic on your thread.........but you do like cats!