Sheffield Exchange, Toy trains, music and fun!

[Flying Fox 34F]

You have to admire @McC for the selfless promotion opportunity!!!!!

 

Paul

[McC]

3 minutes ago, Flying Fox 34F said:

You have to admire @McC for the selfless promotion opportunity!!!!!

 

Paul

 

I do my part 😃

[Barry O]

Great to see Clive and his good ladyvtoday along with the rest of the household and..  of course.. theatrics!

 

Thanks @Clive Mortimore..

Baz

[Clive Mortimore]

Today Sheffield Exchange played host to Sainty @St Enodocand Baz @Barry O. A very enjoyable day. Sainty drove the trans far better than me. Baz seemed very happy just nattering and viewing the action.

 

There appeared to be a problem with one of the turnouts on the mainline. A lack of excited electrons reaching the whizzie thing makes the trains motivate. It seemed to be a point blade issue. After my guest had departed I had a look and fiddle with the naughty blade. Then I noticed the fishplates on both toe end stock rails were barely connected to the adjoining track. A quick shuffle along and a gentle squeeze and all is fine and dandy. 

 

Only one loco failure, 45528 REME my favorite Patriot got its cross head all crossed in the wrong place. Thankfully an ex REME fitter was on hand, after the visit, to sort it out. Lots of little issues in taking it apart (why oh why are today's toys so complicated?) and putting back together. Biggest was I thought the motor had failed. To free the wheels up I took off the motor and its mountings. To get at the screw that holds the front mounting the DCC socket thingy needs to be removed and to unscrew that the blanking plate has to come off.  I put all bits back together, no whizzing along. Test leads to pick ups nothing, so off comes the motor again. Test leads to brushes it worked. All back together, didn't work. I couldn't see any broken wires, it was I was asking the loco which window it wanted to go out I saw it......the blanking plate. Plugged it, zoom backwards and the other way.

[St Enodoc]

10 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Today Sheffield Exchange played host to Sainty @St Enodocand Baz @Barry O. A very enjoyable day. Sainty drove the trans far better than me. Baz seemed very happy just nattering and viewing the action.

 

There appeared to be a problem with one of the turnouts on the mainline. A lack of excited electrons reaching the whizzie thing makes the trains motivate. It seemed to be a point blade issue. After my guest had departed I had a look and fiddle with the naughty blade. Then I noticed the fishplates on both toe end stock rails were barely connected to the adjoining track. A quick shuffle along and a gentle squeeze and all is fine and dandy. 

 

Only one loco failure, 45528 REME my favorite Patriot got its cross head all crossed in the wrong place. Thankfully an ex REME fitter was on hand, after the visit, to sort it out. Lots of little issues in taking it apart (why oh why are today's toys so complicated?) and putting back together. Biggest was I thought the motor had failed. To free the wheels up I took off the motor and its mountings. To get at the screw that holds the front mounting the DCC socket thingy needs to be removed and to unscrew that the blanking plate has to come off.  I put all bits back together, no whizzing along. Test leads to pick ups nothing, so off comes the motor again. Test leads to brushes it worked. All back together, didn't work. I couldn't see any broken wires, it was I was asking the loco which window it wanted to go out I saw it......the blanking plate. Plugged it, zoom backwards and the other way.

It was a great day Clive, as is any day operating a fine model railway. Thanks.

[Clive Mortimore]

[John Tomlinson]

On 07/12/2023 at 00:14, Clive Mortimore said:

 

Somehow I doubt if Ena was a fan of Elton, still less would she have approved of today's female artists jumping around wearing not a lot!

 

Many years ago, probably around 1970 in my early teens, I was coming home with my Dad from Manchester Victoria to Chorley on a late afternoon train, a BRC&W 104 as usual, being a Blackpool service. Many of the "stars" of the time then lived in Blackpool, and Violet Carson was one of them, in the first class section at the front. The man who was Jack Walker of the Rovers Return (Harry ?) was across the aisle from us in second, and was quite chatty. We got the distinct impression that  he and Miss Carson were not exactly close!

 

John.

[Clive Mortimore]

 

[Clive Mortimore]

Takes a while to get going so must be a G*R loco.

[Clive Mortimore]

Something more peaceful from Japan, the band's name is Saishū heiki, which translates to Final Weapon.

 

[jwealleans]

Morning Clive,

 

Driving through Holland on Sunday and thought you might like some Dutch catenary.   No buses, though.

 

 

It alternated between these nicely curved ones and the much more utilitarian square ones.     Sadly Mrs W wasn't quick enough to snap the really good question mark shaped ones on a flyover.

 

 

 

[jwealleans]

Bit more catenary for you, Clive.   Can you work out where it is?    Sort of place you might have visited, with your background.

 

[Clive Mortimore]

4 hours ago, jwealleans said:

Bit more catenary for you, Clive.   Can you work out where it is?    Sort of place you might have visited, with your background.

 

Bonjour Jonathan, c'est l'alimentation électrique des trains dans les tunnels de la Ligne Maginot.

 

Despite all the rubbish talked about the Maginot Line being a waste of money. It was a success the Germans in 1940 didn't hedge all their bets on a breakthrough in the Ardennes. A large proportion of their infantry divisions were attacking the Maginot Line, inflicting massive damage to the forts but none were taken. Some forts carried on fighting after the French had signed the armistice with Germany. Some of the forts were used by the Americans in 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge where the Germans attacked for a fourth time through the Ardennes to allied high commands surprise as for a fourth time it was believed to be too hilly and have too dense woods for a major offensive to take place.

[Clive Mortimore]

I was a tad busy yesterday so forgot to wish everyone a Happy Natural New Year,

 

At the solstice in the black night the moon beams cries
Winter night we are your true black daughters
Auroral color patterns lure us closer
Hrimidakin snow wide, sparkling and bright
In the glory of light we live and late the dance fades
Never, never leave me, my winter night
Faded leaves of roses blow in the distance
Witches chant under the cold northern lights
Kjelan Mikla dances under the cold northern lights

[jwealleans]

Afternoon mate,

 

I had a notion you'd know.   For those who haven't yet been, this is the Fortress of Schoenenbourg.  Athough it wasn't working when we visited, the train is still functional and is used for what it was installed for, moving equipment and material round the different areas of the fort.   I had an idea of how extensive the works were, but it still comes as something of a surprise to descend almost 100' underground and find you have over a kilometre to walk to get to the far end of the open area.  

 

 

This is the full picture; the tunnel in front extends to a strategic bend and armoured door and then runs twice as far again to one of the artillery emplacements.

 

 

The locomotives and wagons are original, donated by the French Army when the fortress was reopened as a tourist attraction in 1980.

 

 

What we took for signals are, but not in the conventional sense.   They indicate to pedestrians that the catenary is live and the trains are running.

 

 

 

 

A fascinating and highly educational visit, really well organised and maintained and staffed by volunteers who were approachable, informed and enthusiastic.    They also commented that they didn't see too many British visitors, so I'd recommend anyone in the area to do their bit to rectify that.

 

1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

A large proportion of their infantry divisions were attacking the Maginot Line, inflicting massive damage to the forts

 

This.   The artillery emplacement which is open to visitors was targeted by over 3500 artillery shells in 1940 and still works to this day (see this film from about 4:00).

[Clive Mortimore]

 

[Clive Mortimore]

Cousin Itt and the lassies with a couple of good songs

 

 

[woodenhead]

Something quirky from me

 

[Clive Mortimore]

Well another year over, still no ballast, still using paper buildings, still haven't engaged the airbrush, still having fun doing what I am doing and still can't fit the Accurasale class 37's box on the correct shelf.

 

Happy New Year Everyone.

[John Tomlinson]

12 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Well another year over, still no ballast, still using paper buildings, still haven't engaged the airbrush, still having fun doing what I am doing and still can't fit the Accurasale class 37's box on the correct shelf.

 

Happy New Year Everyone.

 

"..still having fun doing what I am doing..."

 

That's a great philosophy for 2024. All good wishes to you and others following this thread for the New Year!!

 

John.

[jazzer]

On 22/12/2023 at 14:02, Clive Mortimore said:

Bonjour Jonathan, c'est l'alimentation électrique des trains dans les tunnels de la Ligne Maginot.

 

Despite all the rubbish talked about the Maginot Line being a waste of money. It was a success the Germans in 1940 didn't hedge all their bets on a breakthrough in the Ardennes. A large proportion of their infantry divisions were attacking the Maginot Line, inflicting massive damage to the forts but none were taken. Some forts carried on fighting after the French had signed the armistice with Germany. Some of the forts were used by the Americans in 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge where the Germans attacked for a fourth time through the Ardennes to allied high commands surprise as for a fourth time it was believed to be too hilly and have too dense woods for a major offensive to take place.

The Maginot Line was understandably seen as a waste of money because the French Government were literally throwing money at it  (£30 million at contemporary rates) while the average French person was  heavily taxed  paying also to rebuild France after WW1 damage, and also to rebuild the Army . According to Len Deighton moral was at rock bottom among the soldiers manning the line because living conditions were extremely uncomfortable and unsanitary.  The main part of the line proved to be impregnable but where it ran south of the border with Belgium and Luxembourg it was less effective because of drainage problems and because Belgium wouldn’t have it on their land. In the event the Germans simply violated  the neutrality of the Low Countries and went all the way to Dunkirk. There are also many arguments about the competence or lack of, by the French High Command who basically misunderstood the German tactics.  

[Clive Mortimore]

12 hours ago, jazzer said:

The Maginot Line was understandably seen as a waste of money because the French Government were literally throwing money at it  (£30 million at contemporary rates) while the average French person was  heavily taxed  paying also to rebuild France after WW1 damage, and also to rebuild the Army . According to Len Deighton moral was at rock bottom among the soldiers manning the line because living conditions were extremely uncomfortable and unsanitary.  The main part of the line proved to be impregnable but where it ran south of the border with Belgium and Luxembourg it was less effective because of drainage problems and because Belgium wouldn’t have it on their land. In the event the Germans simply violated  the neutrality of the Low Countries and went all the way to Dunkirk. There are also many arguments about the competence or lack of, by the French High Command who basically misunderstood the German tactics.  

In May 1940 there were more German troops facing the Maginot Line than in the Panzer units and the force that attacked Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. The Belgian and Dutch armies had been on full alert since the invasion of Denmark and their defense lines would have been able to hold back a pre WW2 type of attack until the mobile French and British units arrived. The use of airbourne troops took everyone by surprise as well as taking out the main Belgium forts. The combined allied force was still advancing towards the German army when the Panzers drove through the impassable Ardennes (only the 3rd time in 70 years the Germans took this route). Even the Germans were shocked by how fast they were advancing, Rommel was making things up as he went along and ignoring his higher command to slow down so supplies could keep up. The initial opposition facing the Panzers were troops of a lower caliber because the Ardennes were "Impassable and the Germans would not use them again".  

 

There were major mistakes on behalf of the Allies. Senior French commanders insisting on face to face meetings which slowed down response times and their top down management. The sacking of Percy Hobart, Britain's armoured warfare expert and the French not listening to the commander of their armoured division, some geezer called De Gaul meant armoured units were not used effectively against the German Panzers. The splitting up of the 1st Armoured Division so the tanks had no infantry and artillery support is a classic example. Where the Panzer divisions were well trained in combined arms usage, plus German officers were taught how to use their initiative instead of waiting for orders from higher commands.  

 

It is often said that the German tanks were better than the French and British and outnumbered the allies. The Germans had less tanks and only the Panzer 3 was on equal terms with the British A13. Most the French tanks despite their tactical disadvantage of a one man turret were equal to  the Pz 38(t). The largest number of German tanks in 1940 were the Pz 2. It was the Germans understanding of Hobart and de Gaul's doctrines of the use of armoured forces that won the battle of France. A big part of that was the use of radios at all units levels so commanders had an up to date knowledge of the situation.

 

It also didn't help that the L'armee de Air had a reluctance to take the fight to the Germans, including placing planes on the runways so the RAF could not take off to do so. Again the Germans use of radios between the forward troops and their Luftwaffe support turned out to be a big lesson for the allies.

[jazzer]

Len Deighton’s book Blitzkrieg contains a fascinating  Forward written by General Walther Nehring who with worked General Heinz Guderian prior to May 1940 and he sets out the German side of the Battle..

Much as it seems strange at this distance of time the full potential of motorised forces was not fully appreciated by the British , French and much of the German High Command in those days. “Hurricane Heinz “ though had a fascination for motorised forces from 1932 and by 1938 was appointed Commander in Chief of Motorised Forces and was said to be a “genius” in his creation of a panzer force. According to Nehring it was Guderian’s revolutionary organisational skills and tactical thinking that transformed the whole situation in 1940. His thinking was far above that of the British and French whose thinking on mechanised matters  ( according to Nehring ) had been reduced basically to a formula . 
 In 1939 the German panzers had already seen action of sorts in Austria and Poland and Guderian had learned by the experience. Rommel was a panzer Commander junior to Guderian but both both men understood the need for commanders to be at the front of the attack but handicapped by the caution of High Command,  which was understandable because the faster the advance the harder it becomes to maintain supply lines.

Despite Guderian’s rapid advance he suffered three unnecessary delays First a day was lost due to a narrow bridgehead At Sedan , then two days later when High Command ordered no further advance until until General von Kleisthad flown down from Berlin to discuss tactics and then a week later stopped just outside Dunkirk, in almost in a position in cut off the influx of British and French troops. At this point Hitler , imagining himself to know more than the professionals made his notorious “order to halt “ and wrecked the carefully considered plans of the German military . The 330, 000 troops trapped at Dunkirk could have been captured and Britain would very likely have had to sue for peace. As it was the Germans only achieved an “ordinary victory “ instead of what might have happened it the British Expeditionary Force had been captured.

The point is , I think that the Maginot line did the job it was designed to do but tactics had moved on and the British and French were outwitted.

As for De Gaul he set himself up as an expert on mechanised warfare but had no real experience of it and like everything else he seems to have attempted he was hopeless at it.

  

 

 

Edited January 4 by jazzer

[Clive Mortimore]

Did some modelling.

Started today a BR/LMS D2193 POT, there were two of these. They had BR pre Great Train Robbery TOP type windows not LMS top lights, also they were on 57ft frames not 60 ft like most LMS TPOs. The Hornby toy is a good starting point.

 

I have also been working on another pair.

A 60 Ft POT, again Hornby, this time two to get the full length.

 

A 50 ft POS, the two short halves, this side.

 

A third was needed to do the other side.

 

I was criticized for letting my standards slip as I had made two coaches both using the same colour bits.

Not quite so, a two tone end.

 

 

 

[woodenhead]

But please please please paint the Post Office red ones and not leave them that ghastly plastic red