Pragmatic Pre-Grouping - Mikkel's Workbench

[ChrisN]

1 hour ago, Mikkel said:

Great photos. Hard to resist as a modelling subject, as Chris says. Although it would probably me more impressive in the larger scales.

 

I was puzzled by the second of the two flags in the photo below. I can't identify it. Probably I am missing something obvious. Unless it has to do with the war?

 

 

 

 

Russian?

[Compound2632]

2 minutes ago, ChrisN said:

Russian?

 

Doubtful:

 

[Schooner]

4 hours ago, rprodgers said:

"Care for a sooty brew, Ma'am, lightly seasoned with smuts of only finest Welsh Steam?"

 

'"Soggy sandwich', Sir? 'Soggy', Sir? For your own de-light and de-lectation that sandwich has been rehumidified by the cylinder drains of a Saint on the Cheltenham Flyer itself, Sir!"

 

"Ciiiiiiiider! Geeetchur ciiiiiiiiider! Stoneware bottles, 4d a one, knock you out Reading to Bristol guarenteed! Ciiiiiiiiiider!"

(at least I'm assuming that's what's bottom-centre, stood up next to rather more shapely glassware)

 

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by Schooner
The knob goes to 11, apparently

[john dew]

3 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Doubtful:

 

 

My first guess was Serbia (where it all started)  Red Blue White horizontal bars but the second photo clearly shows the top bar is the lightest of the three bars so I think it may be the simplified version of the Russian Flag  just  White Blue Red Horizontal bars.

 

Regarding the use of refreshment trolleys at junctions - in the late fifties I was in the Kings Liverpool Regt. stationed in Bury St Edmunds and later Osnabruck BAOR - in consequence I made a number of rail journeys on the boat train from Liverpool Central direct to either Bury or Harwich - it was a long tedious journey and my memory is understandably hazy but I do remember leaning out of the corridor to buy tea and a "sarnie" from a platform trolley - not as ornate as in the Photo but of course it wasnt ex-GWR!  I cant remember the station possibly Sheffield ? 

 

 

 

[Compound2632]

2 hours ago, Schooner said:

smuts of only finest Welsh Steam?

 

Full pedant mode alert.

 

Smuts of incompletely combusted coal, so presumably you mean, finest Welsh steam coal?

 

On the other hand, I doubt much of the steam from an arriving South Wales express at Paddington would be evaporated Welsh water; the tender tank would have been replenished from the troughs at Chipping Sodbury and Goring.

[kitpw]

White over blue over Red was the flag of the Russian merchant fleet 1705 to 1917.  In 1883, it became the Russian state flag, but only until 1917.  There aren't many horizontal tricolours at that date (I checked) and unless it was the flag of Lyons & Co (it wasn't) I'd reckon on Russia for a 1915 date.

 

PS: isn't that a samovar on the trolley?

Edited March 30, 2023 by kitpw

[billbedford]

5 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Doubtful:

 

 

That was a proposed flag for use after WW1, but it was never officially adopted. 

Edited March 30, 2023 by billbedford

[MrWolf]

7 hours ago, Schooner said:

"Care for a sooty brew, Ma'am, lightly seasoned with smuts of only finest Welsh Steam?"

 

'"Soggy sandwich', Sir? 'Soggy', Sir? For your own de-light and de-lectation that sandwich has been rehumidified by the cylinder drains of a Saint on the Cheltenham Flyer itself, Sir!"

 

"Ciiiiiiiider! Geeetchur ciiiiiiiiider! Stoneware bottles, 4d a one, knock you out Reading to Bristol guarenteed! Ciiiiiiiiiider!"

(at least I'm assuming that's what's bottom-centre, stood up next to rather more shapely glassware)

 

 

 

The earthenware bottles look like ginger beer bottles, though beer and other fizzy drinks were found in them.

The shapely glassware is likely to be table water or mineral water bottles 

 

Stoke on Trent bottles.

[Nick Lawson]

15 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

Doubtful:

 

https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/flags-of-the-allied-countries-during-wwi/MEV-10508831

 

[Andy Hayter]

"MEV-10508831 is not available."

[Schooner]

7 hours ago, MrWolf said:

The earthenware bottles look like ginger beer bottles

Agreed. I think you're right but I failed to find anything smile-inducing (attempted) about ginger pop. It seemed too cruel to unleash the Vimes Ginger Beer Trick on the unsuspecting travellers on Platform 7 (or whichever it was. Would finding out help us establish how these trollies were used?).

[MrWolf]

I found that proper ginger beer is the best cure for that Saturday morning suede teeth feeling. Even more effective if followed by tea and bacon.

The memsahib tends to drink it if it's too early for alcohol as she has a low threshold before turning into a dormouse.

[Schooner]

Also agreed :) Almost regardless of the prior quantities of 'dark and stormy's. Almost...

[Mikkel]

Yes, Russian seems the best bet for the flag. I searched for prominent visits in 1915 but nothing relevant came up. It's a strange feature on a platform trolley, and rather ironic from a contemporary view!

 

The workbench is full of card and foamboard at the moment, as I'm cutting the interior layers for the station building. One thing I have learnt: Foamboard may be sold and labelled as "1mm", but that doesn't mean it is!

 

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Mikkel

[Schooner]

I've found it much easier to compress than restore, so careful what you wish for...!

[kitpw]

3 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Yes, Russian seems the best bet for the flag. I searched for prominent visits in 1915 but nothing relevant came up. It's a strange feature on a platform trolley,

From The Times, November15th 1915

"RUSSIA'S DAY" Thursday, November the 18th. Russia's Day is being organized throughout the country. THE OBJECTS ARE:.- The Anglo-Russian Hospital at Petrograd, The Russian Prisoners in Germany, and for Providing Motor Ambulances for the Wounded.... Flags will be sold in all the streets and principal Hotels in London and the Provinces. GRAND ALHAMBRA MATINEE in which many world-renowned artists have kindly promised to appear, An Address to Russia by Mr. HORATIO BOTTOMLEY. Tickets for the Matinee at the AllIambra 7heatre. Special Booking Offlce. Piccadilly Hotel.THE RITZ HOTEL. Grand Russian Tea Bazaar and Dansant Musicale Will be opened at 2.30 by LADY MAINWARING. Artistic Russian Goods will be sold from Russian Stalls. Russian Drinks will be served Many celebrated Russian Artists have kindly consented to appear. CARLTON HOTEL. A Special Russian Dinner will be served. Tables should be booked at once. 6 FLAG SELLERS AND HELPERS WANTED. MOTOR-CARS WANTED FOR THURSDAY. WHAT WILL YOU DO FOR RUSSIA'S DAY? Address: 5, Argyle Place, W.11 (Corrected obvious optical character read errors: my bold type for emphasis)

Times1915.pdf

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by kitpw

[Mikkel]

5 hours ago, Schooner said:

I've found it much easier to compress than restore, so careful what you wish for...!

The problem is that I had calculated a certain depth for the windows. But a 

replacement product has been found.

 

2 hours ago, kitpw said:

From The Times, November15th 1915

"RUSSIA'S DAY" Thursday, November the 18th. Russia's Day is being organized throughout the country. THE OBJECTS ARE:.- The Anglo-Russian Hospital at Petrograd, The Russian Prisoners in Germany, and for Providing Motor Ambulances for the Wounded.... Flags will be sold in all the streets and principal Hotels in London and the Provinces. GRAND ALHAMBRA MATINEE in which many world-renowned artists have kindly promised to appear, An Address to Russia by Mr. HORATIO BOTTOMLEY. Tickets for the Matinee at the AllIambra 7heatre. Special Booking Offlce. Piccadilly Hotel.THE RITZ HOTEL. Grand Russian Tea Bazaar and Dansant Musicale Will be opened at 2.30 by LADY MAINWARING. Artistic Russian Goods will be sold from Russian Stalls. Russian Drinks will be served Many celebrated Russian Artists have kindly consented to appear. CARLTON HOTEL. A Special Russian Dinner will be served. Tables should be booked at once. 6 FLAG SELLERS AND HELPERS WANTED. MOTOR-CARS WANTED FOR THURSDAY. WHAT WILL YOU DO FOR RUSSIA'S DAY? Address: 5, Argyle Place, W.11 (Corrected obvious optical character read errors: my bold type for emphasis)

Times1915.pdf 343.37 kB · 3 downloads

 

 

Excellent detective work! Thanks Kit. A  model is very tempting, but with a Ukranian flag instead.

 

 

[kitpw]

34 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

with a Ukranian flag instead.

The agree tick was for the above.

 

3 hours ago, kitpw said:

The Anglo-Russian Hospital at Petrograd

...how things change.

[teaky]

3 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Excellent detective work! Thanks Kit. A  model is very tempting, but with a Ukranian flag instead.

 

A nice idea.

 

Perhaps you could also depart from an exact model of the photograph in another way and model the British flag the right way up!

 

Aren't you tempted to add a Danish flag too?

[magmouse]

7 minutes ago, teaky said:

Perhaps you could also depart from an exact model of the photograph in another way and model the British flag the right way up!

Crickey! Refreshment trolley operators in distress! SOS (Send Out for Sausage-rolls)!

 

Nick.

[Mikkel]

3 hours ago, teaky said:

Aren't you tempted to add a Danish flag too?

 

Not after recent dismal football results. We have all gone into hiding!

[teaky]

11 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

Not after recent dismal football results. We have all gone into hiding!

Well, there's always rugby.

 

Ah, Finland 31 : 6 Denmark.  Perhaps not.

 

Handball it is then!

[Mikkel]

A little update on the construction of Newbury Farthing station. 

 

I'm gradually building up the walls with multiple laminated layers.  I found it possible to cut 2mm foamboard right through with my Silhouette cutter, which is fairly deep for these machines. But as seen below, it is not a very neat cut.

 

 

So instead I went for sheets of 1mm Foamex from Green Stuff World. The Silhouette cuts this neatly, but only partly through because it is much denser material. So good old hand cutting is needed too. Am I the only one who enjoys that delicious “snap” when a component breaks free?

 

   

 

Here is the first layer of Foamex fitted behind the brick "skin". 
 

 

 

A homemade kit of parts is developing.

 

 

 

Test examples of the single and double doors and windows were cut and built up. They are a bit scruffy, must be my gluey fingers. Still a schoolboy after all these years.

 

 

But rather than build all the doors and windows individually, I decided to cut them in full layered sheets. So far there are three of these layers, as seen below.

 

 

 

Below are the three layers overlaid.  Arguably a little wasteful, but it results in a full and even layer of sheets, which themselves add strength, and behind which further layers can be added.

 

 

 

Here are the window- and door- sheets placed behind the brick skin and the Foamex. The doors look a little flat, so a  further layer is on the way to increase depth.
 

 

The whole thing will eventually be fitted on a carcass of Foamex, but not before all the details have been added while the walls are still in the flat.

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Mikkel

[magmouse]

Great to see this progressing, Mikkel. Although the results from the silhouette cutter aren't completely perfect at the local level, they give a consistency across the building which will be really important for the impact of the completed building. Plus it gives one the opportunity to complete it within one's own lifetime, of course...

 

Nick.

[Compound2632]

12 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

He'll be scratch-building carriages next...