Blog- Maurice's Blog - Seeing the real thing.

RSS Fetcher · September 7, 2014

To see the Isle of Wight in glorious sun last week was a pleasing, former-teacher's, bonus. How many times after a poor summer, do schools ended up going back to classrooms in the first decent of hot, sunny weather for weeks? It was nice to be out!

The attached pictures show the advantage of getting close to the subject of research. The first one, of a Brighton coach bogie and it rather difficult to represent axle box, will help sort out the pattern making for that project. (See previous posts.) I set this piece of work on one side knowing that a visit might be imminent. Now I have no excuse not to get on with it.

The second picture shows how modelling is always going to have compromises when depicting the real thing. Unless one is prepared to go for a static representation of such a colourful scene as captured here, it is almost impossible to model. To have opening doors might be possible, but to have moving people is possibly some way off. By the way the short fellow with the broom needs to find a longer handle. There is evidence (photo of Yeovil Town station) that coach sweeping brooms had longer handles to allow the full width of the compartment to be cleaned in one stroke into a dust box resting on the foot board... no dust box at Havenstreet, but there is something the other side of the pillar in the Yeovil picture.

The final picture is a detail of the LB&SCR open carriage truck (or cart truck... or machinery truck) SR Diagram 1661, that I first photographed c1965 on a visit to Ryde Works and Loco Shed. We were given a fairly free rein to wander around the yard and indeed the works. I still have the original black and white picture somewhere ... but can I find it. I have all the LSWR Road Van pictures taken at the same time, and I have an S Scale drawing of the vehicle enlarged from Volume Two of Southern Wagons with the intension to build it again one day. Yes, I built one c1966 in 4mm fine scale (16.5) and it was the only vehicle I had that was converted to EM before I dropped out of serious modelling. I remember it had moveable bars that pegged into the side hole from above. I wonder if I can make it the proper way in S Scale with a pin holding the cross pieces in place?

The IoW Steam Railway is a really useful place for the Southern modeller interested in the early half of the 20thC or indeed the back end of the 19thC. I cannot think why I have not been there since 1967, when I went to see the electric trains introduced in September 1966! 48 years. Where have they gone!

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