well filled baps The Sheep Chronicles : These are the adventures of a Sheep, the Works Forecat and Naughty George,

[Andrew P]

19 minutes ago, NHY 581 said:

Evening Andy. 

 

Thank you. 

 

Yes, I keep forgetting that the show is roughly a month today. It will be lovely to see you there. 

 

A timely reminder as I have a few jobs to attend to on Mutton ahead of the  show. 

 

I do spend a fair bit of time over on WT.

 

Rob.  

 

 

 

Just been back over to WT and ALL YOUR PICS are now HUGE, but not on most other threads.

 

 

[NHY 581]

Morning Andy. 

 

You have an option when posting on there to use 'full image' which is the option I take. 

 

That may account for it. 

 

Be good to see you on there. 

 

 

Rob. 

[NHY 581]

Morning all. 

 

Norman was up early this morning to catch the morning goods at Bleat Wharf. 

 

Here we see 47354 shuffling about the place in the hands of Sheep Lane regulars Driver Jack Hawkins and Fireman Donald Sinden. 

 

Once the wagons had been shunted, clearly it was time for a nice cup of tea and a bacon sandwich. All adjourned to the yard office where Foreman Harry 'H' Corbett was doing stove duties with his usual aplomb. 

 

 

Rob. 

[NHY 581]

[Andrew P]

Nice natural shadows in that pic Rob.

[NHY 581]

[Captain Kernow]

Rob, as your empire grows, what is the geographical relationship of the three layouts to each other.

 

Is there an Ordnance Survey map of Sheepshire?

 

How long, for example, would it take Norman to drive from Sheep Lane to Bleat Wharf?

 

Could Ivo do it any quicker in his Bentley, or are the roads pretty poor?

 

Could a crow, flying in a straight line, do it any quicker? Has the British Railways hot air balloon (the one in maroon and cream livery) ever been deployed to get a member of traincrew back to sign off, without incurring overtime?

 

What depot signs the road to both Bleat Wharf and Sheep Lane? Presumably drivers who sign one or both of these routes wouldn't also sign the road through Mutton to Lamb Regis?

 

These are all serious and weighty questions, which we, your readers, have no right to know the answers to, but will ask them anyway, because some of us are nosy.

 

I'm now going to (a) get the washing in and (b) make the tea.

 

[Northroader]

Good questions, capten, but I’m afraid you’ll get some woolly answers.

[NHY 581]

1 hour ago, Captain Kernow said:

Rob, as your empire grows, what is the geographical relationship of the three layouts to each other.

 

Is there an Ordnance Survey map of Sheepshire?

 

How long, for example, would it take Norman to drive from Sheep Lane to Bleat Wharf?

 

Could Ivo do it any quicker in his Bentley, or are the roads pretty poor?

 

Could a crow, flying in a straight line, do it any quicker? Has the British Railways hot air balloon (the one in maroon and cream livery) ever been deployed to get a member of traincrew back to sign off, without incurring overtime?

 

What depot signs the road to both Bleat Wharf and Sheep Lane? Presumably drivers who sign one or both of these routes wouldn't also sign the road through Mutton to Lamb Regis?

 

These are all serious and weighty questions, which we, your readers, have no right to know the answers to, but will ask them anyway, because some of us are nosy.

 

I'm now going to (a) get the washing in and (b) make the tea.

 

 

Mange tout, CK

 

Bleat and Sheep are in Somerset, Mutton/Lamb Regis in Devon. 

 

Duties for Bleat and Sheep Lane are covered from Highbridge. In the case of the Lamb Regis branch, it is covered from Ewemouth shed 72A with crews staying overnight in the goods shed at Lamb Regis. 

 

Both Bleat Wharf  and Sheep Lane are close to Highbridge as per map below. 

 

Neither a crow nor Ivor  can go quicker than Norman in Murray.  The roads are quite twisty. No dirigibles have been deployed. 

 

 

Rob. 

[Captain Kernow]

2 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

 

In the case of the Lamb Regis branch, it is covered from Ewemouth shed 72A with crews staying overnight in the goods shed at Lamb Regis. 

 

Excellent answers, Herr von Scheepenhausen, but you have just begged another question or two already, mein Herr.

 

Namely, what are the precise accommodation arrangements in the goods shed at Lamb Regis?

 

Is the goods shed just a facade for an upmarket Bed & Breakfast for visiting traincrew? In which case, what does the landlady, (not a member of the Sheepshanks family, by any chance?) give them for breakfast? Or does the local cafe, as visited by Norman on far too many occasions for his own good, supply the breakfasts, possibly by bicycle (or tandem, if bicycle is in for it's annual service?

 

If the 'goods shed' (note inverted commas now being used, in view of the recently perceived ambiguity of status) is not the high-end B&B that we'd all like it to be, then where do the traincrew sleep?

 

Is there actually a camping coach parked behind the shed, that Norman hasn't spotted?

 

Do the traincrew get issued with British Railways Mark 1(a) hammocks (also in maroon and cream livery, with 'Return to Edinburgh Laundries when soiled' endorsed in the bottom left-hand corner)?

 

Are the poor traincrew just left to make up beds from wads of cotton waste and the odd sack of locally-produced wool, in the corner of the Chief Clerk's office? And if so, what does the Chief Clerk do, when he comes in for work at 0400 hrs each morning, only to find two snoring chaps from a distant depot?

 

Perhaps we are just meant to think that the traincrew sleep in the goods shed, whereas they really go down (by omnibus) to the Lamb Regis Ritz, where Gaston Archimedes, the Head Waiter, offers them a second floor suite, in exchange for a bit of washing up?

 

We await your clarifications (which you may send by direct crow, if convenient).

 

[Northroader]

Coo, woolly questions, too.

[NHY 581]

The use of the office in the goods shed for accommodation followed the removal of the ex L&NWR sleeper carriage, which had previously housed the crews,  from the yard at Lamb Regis. It was much missed, especially by Arthur,the yard cat at that time,who had his own compartment.  

 

No luxury for these chaps I'm afraid but I understand they did visit the nearby Golden Fleece public house for a nightcap. Breakfast was normally partaken on the return of the morning goods from the junction and prior to the first passenger train from Lamb Regis. 

 

 

Rob. 

Edited May 12, 2019 by NHY 581

[bgman]

10 minutes ago, NHY 581 said:

Breakfast was normally partaken on the return of the morning goods from the junction and prior to the first passenger train from Lamb Regis. 

 

 

Mmmmm......

 

[NHY 581]

I have been contemplating the next layout........

[NHY 581]

[Brinkly]

Things from beyond the wall seem to have invaded the pastures of Sheepshire!

 

 

[woodenhead]

48 minutes ago, NHY 581 said:

I have been contemplating the next layout........

These for some reason remind me of Bender the Robot

[sb67]

Looks interesting Rob, what are they? 

Steve.

[Captain Kernow]

17 minutes ago, sb67 said:

Looks interesting Rob, what are they? 

 

Foreign.

 

Probably LNER.

 

[NHY 581]

13 minutes ago, sb67 said:

Looks interesting Rob, what are they? 

Steve.

 

 

They are Czechoslovakian BoBo locomotives. 

 

I have a few bits and bobs but not enough for a layout yet..

 

I fancy a layout set in Czechoslovakia just before 1989. 

 

Same format as the last three. Maybe goods only so set around a industry of sorts but a small station is not out of the question. Lots of weeds, weathering and neglect. 

 

Rob. 

[NHY 581]

4 minutes ago, Captain Kernow said:

Foreign.

 

Probably LNER.

 

 

 

Considerably further East than that CK......

 

 

 

 

[Captain Kernow]

1 minute ago, NHY 581 said:

 

Considerably further East than that CK......

 

Not Kent, surely?

[sb67]

Nice idea, is there much available for that or would you have to do a bit of scratchbuilding?

Steve.

[Captain Kernow]

Is there much narrow gauge in that part of the world, Sheepychap?

 

I've seen some extremely groovy narrow gauge footage from Poland on YouTube, plus the excellent German narrow gauge, of course.

 

[Alister_G]

 

Mají ovce v češtině?

 

Al