Leaderboard

Looks rather nice in lined blue. Very neat job with the lining transfers corbs. Sadly the 53 ( yes 53 of them !! ) ROD 2-8-0 s hired by the Caledonian from 1919 to 1921 ran in unlined black.

Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked such a question really, I’m sure what you’re up to is going to turn out well, and best wishes with making progress. That’s a very good poster you’ve knocked up.

@Northroader [Embarrassed cough!] Well, not a lot, I'm afraid. But I have got a work plan to do a job a week for the next three months, and as a result I will start posting again. My initial jobs are to install a working signal (a disc signal that will rotate using a coffee stirrer rod with a crude cam connection), simplify the wiring (at the moment the layout has three electrical sections, the two tracks and the traverser, but I've realised that it really only needs one section if I use the points to isolate unwanted locos), and build the world's simplest battery controller so the layout can be operated absolutely anywhere. My aim is to do everything using the KISS Principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid). The more low tech the solution is, the better I'll be pleased with it. To be honest the layout is largely a test bed for experiments. Although I suppose it could double up as the world's most boring exhibition layout:

How are you doing with the layout since your last pictures?

@Pacific231G Thanks for a very interesting comment. I'm not sure how far Crompton was inspired by Norris's locos, but he can't have been unaware of them. There is one noticeable difference between the two engineers' locos: on Crampton's designs the driving wheels tended to be large for speed, while Norris's drivers tended to be small for power. The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway used its Norris 4-2-0s to haul freight trains up the Lickey incline, but used more traditional British 2-2-2s with large driving wheels for its express mails. BTW the forerunner of the Norris design is Edward Bury's small bar-frame locos, as used on the London & Birmingham, London & Southampton, Liverpool & Manchester, etc. William Norris nicked Bury's design, beefed it up a bit and replaced the front axle with a bogie to cope with the roughly-laid track of the early American railroads. Bury tried to sue him in the US courts (Norris was based in Philadelphia) but lost. I often think that an H0 Norris could be made into an 00 Bury pretty easily. Yes, in the late 1830s and early 1840s British, European and American railways are using very similar designs, mostly British as you say. And the British companies all tended to buy standard locos and stock from a few commercial builders, so that most early models can be used in a range of settings. For example my own little layout could represent a small branch in New England or southern Austria just as much as one in Gloucestershire. It would just need a change of backscene to move the layout to a completely different country.

Thanks so much for the comments! I’m gobsmacked at the blog getting so much attention today. Can I suggest the following RMWeb blogs and topic threads to anyone who would like to know a bit more about modelling the 1840s: Rudititanic’s 3D printed 1840s locos and stock, available in both 4mm and 2mm Tabitha and Edwardian’s North Eastern-themed school project layout A general discussion thread on early British railways Chris Cox’s very impressive Bricklayer’s Arms layout Chris also produces wonderful 1840s / 1850s 4mm white metal kits as 5and9 Models. A very useful review of Trix’s Adler locomotive by 47137

interesting concept, also shows how much content was hidden in blogs by the old forum design.

Interesting reference, which I intend to peruse in depth, and an interesting era to model, so good luck with it. The fact that it is H0 is a sort of useful bonus. There must be Adleren around in H0 too; I'm sure I've seen a Maerklin one. A very standard product of the time, so highly transferable, I'd think. Checked, and it is Trix, not Maerklin, and available from eBay at not too ridiculous prices.

Interesting stuff! Particulsrly interesting that the Lickey Incline was a problem even at that early stage..

A fascinating project Ian. I also didn't know about the Bachman US products nor that locos were imported to Britain from the USA that early. Were the Norris locos precursors of the Cramptons (where the driving axle was behnd the firebox) ? In general, going back that far "early British railways" can rather mean early ralways full stop as the same British technologies appeared elsewhere in the world before practices started to diverge. I happen to be interested in French railways (so H0 is already a given and I agree about the low slung boilers emphasising the narrowness of OO track) where British practice seems to have had a longer influence than in the States (left hand running, bullhead rail. side buffers etc) In the 1840s the few railways there were even more British. For example, Joseph Locke was the chief engineer of the Paris-Rouen railway opened in 1843 and Thomas Brassey its main contractor, the very first railway signals in France were GWR disk and crossbars, and there was even an atmospheric railway. It used the same Samuda system that Brunel couldn;t get to work properly and worked succesfully for thirteen years from 1847-1860.

Fantastic scene in the header picture Dave. Hope we'll get to see some more shots like that.

Hi Dave, Much like yourself I have wrestled with possibly putting a water tower onto my as yet unbuilt layout. Hope you don't mind the intrusion with my scratch built effort but its here to show what a 90mm x 105mm footprint would be like basically. If anyone wanted to be pedantic about the use of a water tower on a branch terminus then there are plenty of discussions elsewhere ( hopefully not on your Blog please ! ) and I am just portraying mine as an example of a smaller ( ? ) tower that would fit. I don't think you would spoil what is a beautifully modelled layout and also Rule 1 applies eh ? If you want one and it blends into the scene then I for one say do it, it doesn't look to be spoiling anything by being there. G

My feeling is that the water tank would be at the shed - either a separate tower or a tank over the shed; the water would be piped to a crane at the shed but possibly also to a crane at the station - probably at the departure end of the platform. That would obstruct sighting of the signal, which would need to be re-sited. But I really don't know much about Great Western practice. I do think that the space you've got where you've put the mock-up is too tight for a sensibly-sized structure with adequate clearances.