Smiffy2 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 The D70 is an excellent camera, but later models have more pixels, bigger screens, video capability and self-cleaning sensors (a huge bugbear of my D70 and the only thing I didn't like about it). I agree about the 18-55, I got one a few months ago and it works very well - but not as well as a 35mm prime I bought last year and use as a 'standard' 50mm (on a DSLR). You should be able to get one for about £100. That said, Ian's offer sounds like something I'd take his hand off for, were I you! I'd offer you mine, but #2 son lost it in Seattle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 in the meantime, here is some inspiration from November 1980. Can email you the full fat versions of you PM me PEN12-1086.jpg PEN12-1087.jpg PEN12-1088.jpg PEN12-1089.jpg PEN12-1091.jpg PEN12-1092.jpg PEN12-1093.jpg PEN12-1090v2.jpg PEN12-1093v2.jpg Great pics but did you take any of the station buildings? The second ever woman station manager (Gill Fisher - the first, Penny Bellis (?) was at Burgess Hill) had just started at West Croydon that year. In order to play to the gallery, and there were many jokes going around at her expense, she had curtains put up in all the office windows. Great SM, and went on to senior roles in Sealink before she left. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc435 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Great article in the Magazine. On the subject of camera, I have recently bought a Nikon D3200 with the twin lens pack. an 18-55 and a 55-200 lens for about £350. Well worth the money and you will pick it up pretty quickly by playing with it. You can capture really good light and depth of field in Manual modes. Lots of Videos available on Youtube to help. Keep the pictures coming. Andy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Thanks Gary, that's all really useful. I think I'll space the C&L sleepers a little closer. As you say, there are always plenty of compromises anyway, not least the whole HO/OO can of worms. I'm perfectly happy with the Code 75 on North Street and to be honest I don't have sleepless nights over the sleeper spacing. Code 100 would have allowed some older stock to run without the flanges bouncing over the chairs, but I just fancy trying something a little different on this next one. I really am not quite ready to go down the handbuilt road. It will happen, but it won't happen just yet. I'll need to practise a bit longer. The Tillig points are beautifully made. The one-piece point blades are what captures the eye more than anything, I think. To a German pattern, so they're not exactly right but we're back again to compromise. I've long held the opinion that if it looks right, it can't be that wrong... I agree about the Tillig points Pete. I used four on may last layout, but one did fail in use (one of the blades became detached from the fixings and I could not work out how to repair it without visually ruining it). I had been using cable in tube, latched to each position, to operate them and I guess I must have over-stressed that one. I reverted to Tortoise motors for two of the others, and had no problems for four more years with the blades but the micro-switch on one Tortoise was becoming a little suspect Just bad luck maybe, but none of my Peco points have ever failed. I do want to use more Tilligs, as the continuous point blade and lack of bulk plastic at the tie bar, do make them superior visually, but I am looking at alternative drives. The Minx motors are one of the few that are self-adjusting, as well as having several other superior attributes. I have not bought any yet, as I am still trying out servos as an alternative, but I have heard very good things about them. Pricy but probably worth the extra. I may well splash out on them for my long radii turnouts. I strongly suggest you have a butchers before finally deciding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I have some Minx units for my "under construction" O gauge layout. Haven't yet used them with the OO but it's on the "to do" list when I have a point that needs laying. For what it's worth, I recommend them too I'm just a satisfied customer although have provided a page for them showing how to wire up Cobalt switches to them. (that's a whole 'nother bucket of fun!) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted February 15, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 15, 2015 Great pics but did you take any of the station buildings? The second ever woman station manager (Gill Fisher - the first, Penny Bellis (?) was at Burgess Hill) had just started at West Croydon that year. In order to play to the gallery, and there were many jokes going around at her expense, she had curtains put up in all the office windows. Great SM, and went on to senior roles in Sealink before she left. Sorry, that was the lot. I was on the train, having been from Wimbledon to Beddington, then onto Sutton, Epsom and Epsom Downs. I never left the platform Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted February 15, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 15, 2015 The second ever woman station manager (Gill Fisher - the first, Penny Bellis (?) was at Burgess Hill) had just started at West Croydon that year. In order to play to the gallery, and there were many jokes going around at her expense, she had curtains put up in all the office windows. Great SM, and went on to senior roles in Sealink before she left. One of her predecessors there was a Mr Van Duren. The staff used to refer to him as Van Durex, because he made a f--k of things! Did Penny B marry Mark Evans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 The Minx motors are one of the few that are self-adjusting, as well as having several other superior attributes. I have not bought any yet, as I am still trying out servos as an alternative, but I have heard very good things about them. Pricy but probably worth the extra. I may well splash out on them for my long radii turnouts. I strongly suggest you have a butchers before finally deciding. The only negative I've read about the Tillig points is they can be a little fragile so I will proceed with caution. I ordered one large radius LH to see what I thought and visually it's a stunner. Compared to the equivalent Peco large radius point, the Tillig comes out on top. Cromptonnut gave me the heads-up about the Minx drives and they do look like an excellent option. I won't need that many, so the cost is not as bad as it could be! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 15, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 15, 2015 I've just looked up tillig points, I wish I'd known about them before I built my quayside as they do a nice range of cobbled tramway track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Joining BR in '83 straight from school, I worked at Sutton station for the best part of a year before twisting the arm of Sutton's SM to get a transfer to motive power and then Norwood. During my time at Sutton, I was "farmed out" to Epsom, Ewell East, Banstead, Hackbridge and West Croydon. I can't for the life of me remember the name of the Sutton SM beyond "Don Something" but I do remember Cedric Knott and finally Gary Walker who was briefly acting SM at West Croydon. One of the tedious chores of being a "railman" was the evening sweep of all platforms. At West Croydon, Gary had this nasty habit of "planting" litter in hard-to-get places and then taking great delight in pointing out that I'd done a cr*p job! I think the power went to his head as he was a lot nicer as Supervisor at Sutton... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I've just looked up tillig points, I wish I'd known about them before I built my quayside as they do a nice range of cobbled tramway track Russ, I think the Tillig tramway track is the former "Luna" range and is very good quality, if a little pricey and hard to find. If I do choose to replicate a little slice of Croydon's Tramlink, it would prove a lot easier than adding check rails and filling the gaps. Tillig I think do the tramway track in both cobbled and modern asphalt versions. The only downside is the standard range of curves and straights. For a more "meandering" look, I guess laying flexi track and then filling in is the only option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted February 15, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 15, 2015 As you have started reminiscing about characters from the area, how's about this gentleman exchanging single line tokens at Mitcham in September 1979 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted February 15, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) Pete 75C, on 15 Feb 2015 - 17:12, said:Joining BR in '83 straight from school, I worked at Sutton station for the best part of a year before twisting the arm of Sutton's SM to get a transfer to motive power and then Norwood. During my time at Sutton, I was "farmed out" to Epsom, Ewell East, Banstead, Hackbridge and West Croydon. I can't for the life of me remember the name of the Sutton SM beyond "Don Something" but I do remember Cedric Knott and finally Gary Walker who was briefly acting SM at West Croydon. One of the tedious chores of being a "railman" was the evening sweep of all platforms. At West Croydon, Gary had this nasty habit of "planting" litter in hard-to-get places and then taking great delight in pointing out that I'd done a cr*p job! I think the power went to his head as he was a lot nicer as Supervisor at Sutton... Don Love, Area Manager. Thoroughly decent bloke and a good railwayman. Bumped into him in 2013 at Porthmadog! Went on to be Area Manager at Liverpool St, and later was involved in the design team for locos for Eurotunnel. Gary W had been a signalman at Oxted, came into the Control for a while when I was there in the early '70s. Didn't enjoy it, perhaps as the junior jobs were a bit clerical in nature. Amending freight sheets according to Special Traffic Notices was pretty tedious. Cedric William Charles Nott was by that time Divisional Movements Manager at Croydon, working with the mercurial Brian Scott as DM. I first met Cedric in 1967, when he was Area Ops Manager at Victoria, where he'd recently arrived from Portsmouth. [Yes, there was a train every hour!] EDIT - Ought to mention that Cedric and Brian dreamed up and launched the Gatwick Express concept with dedicated rolling stock. Impressive stuff. Edited February 15, 2015 by Oldddudders 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Don Love, Area Manager. Thoroughly decent bloke and a good railwayman. Bumped into him in 2013 at Porthmadog! Went on to be Area Manager at Liverpool St, and later was involved in the design team for locos for Eurotunnel. Gary W had been a signalman at Oxted, came into the Control for a while when I was there in the early '70s. Didn't enjoy it, perhaps as the junior jobs were a bit clerical in nature. Amending freight sheets according to Special Traffic Notices was pretty tedious. Cedric William Charles Nott was by that time Divisional Movements Manager at Croydon, working with the mercurial Brian Scott as DM. I first met Cedric in 1967, when he was Area Ops Manager at Victoria, where he'd recently arrived from Portsmouth. [Yes, there was a train every hour!] EDIT - Ought to mention that Cedric and Brian dreamed up and launched the Gatwick Express concept with dedicated rolling stock. Impressive stuff. Don Love. That was it. He was AM, not SM. At the time when the Sutton Area Manager's office was a few doors down from the station above a parade of shops. Thanks for the memory jog. Not Nott either! I couldn't possibly have known him. I think there may have been two Cedrics and the one I was thinking of was Pierce or Pearce, SM at Epsom for a while. Colin, these reminiscences are fun and do help provoke the grey matter. I don't know the signalman at Mitcham. Nice jumper though - I'm 90% sure it wasn't uniform issue! Dating from 1983(ish), there is a shot somewhere of myself and Gary Walker perched precariously on top of the semaphore/colour light gantry at the London end of platforms 1 & 2 at West Croydon. From a book I used to own, but I'm not sure if it was one of the Middleton Press books. I believe it might have been a Brian Morrison photo. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGomez Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Don't tell me that Mr. Walker was showing you a crushed coke tin and empty Mars bar wrapper that he'd planted on the signal gantry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted February 15, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 15, 2015 Pete 75C, on 15 Feb 2015 - 18:25, said: Don Love. That was it. He was AM, not SM. At the time when the Sutton Area Manager's office was a few doors down from the station above a parade of shops. Thanks for the memory jog. Not Nott either! I couldn't possibly have known him. I think there may have been two Cedrics and the one I was thinking of was Pierce or Pearce, SM at Epsom for a while. Colin, these reminiscences are fun and do help provoke the grey matter. I don't know the signalman at Mitcham. Nice jumper though - I'm 90% sure it wasn't uniform issue! Dating from 1983(ish), there is a shot somewhere of myself and Gary Walker perched precariously on top of the semaphore/colour light gantry at the London end of platforms 1 & 2 at West Croydon. From a book I used to own, but I'm not sure if it was one of the Middleton Press books. I believe it might have been a Brian Morrison photo. Yes, Cedric Pierce. He was also ex-Control, and took me on my one and only weekend volunteering on a preserved railway - the Talyllyn at Easter 1973. I dug ditches at Pendre, helped tip ballast on the Nant Gwernol extension. Last saw him in the mid-90s, when I think he worked for InterCity at Swindon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted February 15, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 15, 2015 Possible name for the new layout: The West Croydon Experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 (edited) Someone mentioned the original station buildings... there are plenty of exterior shots as thankfully, the main building survives: © Copyright Christopher Hilton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence © Copyright Kake Pugh and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence © Copyright Kake Pugh and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence If anyone has any historic shots of the building or knows of any links, I'd also be delighted to see them. Edited February 16, 2015 by Pete 75C 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Possible name for the new layout: The West Croydon Experience. I like it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purley Oaks Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Schoolfriends used to refer to Croydon as the Gateway to the South (après Balham) - after the centre had been rebuilt with tall office blocks and before Sunday shop opening was legalised it was eerily weird being there on a Sunday. The only good thing was the Greyhound pub where bands played on Sunday evenings - can recall Edgar Broughton for one. Mal 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted February 16, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 16, 2015 Schoolfriends used to refer to Croydon as the Gateway to the South (après Balham) - after the centre had been rebuilt with tall office blocks and before Sunday shop opening was legalised it was eerily weird being there on a Sunday. The only good thing was the Greyhound pub where bands played on Sunday evenings - can recall Edgar Broughton for one. Mal Was the Greyhound at the south end of St George's Walk, so more or less under St George's House? We were at Essex House, by the station, and on nights in the Control we could see there would also be a night shift in certain offices in that building. On one occasion I was eating tinned Chicken Capri, and noticed the address on the label was St George's House. Hence we just knew those lights were the night shift at Chicken Capri Control! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Someone mentioned the original station buildings... there are plenty of exterior shots as thankfully, the main building survives: 1973703_cf351651.jpg © Copyright Christopher Hilton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence 5310607737_164b110d3a_z.jpg © Copyright Kake Pugh and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence 7295833996_45d4780e6e_z.jpg © Copyright Kake Pugh and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence If anyone has any historic shots of the building or knows of any links, I'd also be delighted to see them. Looks like the curtains have gone then.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purley Oaks Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Was the Greyhound at the south end of St George's Walk, so more or less under St George's House? We were at Essex House, by the station, and on nights in the Control we could see there would also be a night shift in certain offices in that building. On one occasion I was eating tinned Chicken Capri, and noticed the address on the label was St George's House. Hence we just knew those lights were the night shift at Chicken Capri Control! Yes it was under the Nestlé building in one small corner; nothing there now, of course 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 One of her predecessors there was a Mr Van Duren. The staff used to refer to him as Van Durex, because he made a f--k of things! Did Penny B marry Mark Evans? Sorry, missed this question. I believe so - I recall she became Penny Evans after a time! Gill also married a Mark, but I can't recall the surname, who was a route manager at Sealink, Eversholt Street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 (edited) Embarrassed by the fact that virtually none of the stock in the Hornby Mag's pictures of North Street was actually mine, I recently vowed to increase the fleet size. By chance, I visited Kernow's website yesterday to find that they're shifting the new blue/grey Hornby 4VEP for just £99.99. As this has only just been released, and Hattons sold out quickly at £165, I can imagine this causing some anguish amongst recent purchasers. Always liking a bargain, one is headed my way. The 4VEP in blue/grey is perfect for Croydon... I had coveted a Bachmann 4CEP, but they're just not very "Central Division". When funds allow, I'm sure I'll get one. All this bodes well for getting North Street set up again which will hopefully be early next month. I also now have the opportunity to get some shots of the layout with a replacement for my old Nikon D70 (thank you Ian). As West Croydon/Tamworth Road/Name Unknown will be an oval allowing continuous unattended running (did I mention I'm lazy?), I like the idea of a 4VEP and a 2EPB running in multiple as a 6-car which is about the maximum I'll have the space for. I don't often recall seeing a VEP/EPB combination but I know it happened... Google Images will no doubt provide proof. Edit: I posted this shot (from Facebook - source unknown) over on the West Croydon - Sutton thread. It shows the old bridge over Waddon New Road presumably just prior to demolition. Can anyone have a stab at dating it roughly? I can't find out when the new Roman Way flyover was actually built. I'm going to hazard a guess at the 1970s but that's about it! Edited February 21, 2015 by Pete 75C 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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