Bill and Jason's Excellent UK Adventure

[Southernman46]

APTE 6aa copy.jpg

Oh look ! The next Rapido British OO project standing next to their current British OO project.............

[rapidotrains]

On Friday we headed to Birmingham and the NEC - National Exhibition Centre - for the Warley Show. The Warley Show is easily the biggest model railway exhibition in the UK and is akin to Trainfest or Springfield. There are manufacturers, dealers and layouts galore. There are usually a few pieces of full-size railway equipment scattered around as well. When I went to the show one year in the early 2000s Virgin Trains had even brought a Pendolino power car!

 

 

Warley was a tremendous success for us, as it was the first opportunity for so many modellers to actually meet us in person and confirm that we were human and didn't smell too bad. We smelled fine once they turned the heat down, but the human part is still up for debate.

 

 

People were happy to forgive the clunkiness of the first APT-E test samples (the paint looking like it was applied by a drunk Venus Flytrap) and were impressed by the level of detail on the model. I admit, for a first sample even I was impressed by how the detail came out. It's going to have some really nice FLASHING LIGHTS! (The interior will be fully painted in appropriate colours in production.)

 

 

The big difference between UK shows and North American shows is the layouts. British layouts are rarely large modular layouts with a meandering mainline. 

 

Most British exhibition layouts are small - anywhere from about four feet long to 12 feet long (though many are quite larger and some are quite smaller!). This gives the layout builders the opportunity to get very serious about detail. The detail in these layouts is really superb. I am especially enthralled with the town/city scenes as in these the layouts can really come to life. 

 

Tanners Hill by Steve Farmer. Yes, this is N gauge.

 

British layouts are also rarely roundy-roundy layouts. They are much more like stages with the trains as the actors. To emphasize the theatrical element and to enhance the layout viewing experience, there is often an excellent lighting rig set up - absolutely necessary for good viewing in a cavernous exhibition hall. 

 

Ian Lampkin's Banbury, another magnificent N gauge layout.

 

And most UK modellers actually build a layout or two (or ten), whereas I'd say more than half of all North American modellers are "planning to build a layout one day" but never actually get around to it.

 

Tremendous modelling in 13.5mm to the foot - St. Ives by the late Michael Heaven 

 

So is the UK approach to modelling the way to go? Certainly not for me.

 

Because of the nature of real British railroading (mostly passenger trains in fixed formations) and the limitations of size (you can rarely fit a large yard and a station on one layout, let alone a long mainline), the vast majority of British modellers miss out on what I see as the most rewarding aspect of railway modelling: operation. 

 

Dan, Bill and I all take part in regular operating sessions on layouts. I find the yard job particularly rewarding, sorting recently arrived cars for their onward departure to different destinations. My layout is passenger focused, but I quickly learned through operating sessions on other layouts that running a through passenger train over the road and stopping at stations occasionally is remarkably tedious. That's why most of my layout is focused on Spadina Coach Yard and Union Station in downtown Toronto, in which passenger trains are assembled and broken down. 

 

At Spadina Yard c.1982. A switcher is sorting cars on the right while the Turbo (centre) and Tempo (left) receive daily maintenance.

 

On an operating layout, the operators have a list of what they need to do, and they set about doing it. Sometimes it involves running through trains but often it involves switching/shunting and that is where so much of the enjoyment lies. Does it sound like work? It is, but of the fun variety. When you meet the challenge of switching a particularly tricky industry, or you think on your feet to assemble the right combination of passenger cars and locomotives to provide the required service, you feel like you've accomplished something. 

 

An S-13 switcher shoves a rake of passenger cars to Union Station where they will be coupled to their locomotive, 1980.

 

In my view the truly great layouts combine the visual majesty of UK layouts with the operational intensity of North American layouts. That is what I hope to achieve when my layout is finished in about thirty years!

 

My Kingston Sub layout under construction. You can see all three decks here. The bottom is the western approach to Union Station (downtown Toronto). The middle is Pickering (just east of Toronto) and the top will be Brockville (eastern Ontario). This is far removed from the typical fiddle yard and terminus exhibition layout!

 

Back to Warley... There were some very strange people there. And I used the term "people" quite loosely. A couple of times I thought my life was truly in jeopardy.

 

 

 

Actually, I snuck out on Sunday to see the Memorabilia show, now known as Comic Con. It used to be a small affair filled with guys and, er, more guys rifling through musty boxes of comics and annuals. I found many Doctor Who hardbacks and annuals at great prices back in the day. Occasionally we'd meet someone like Philip Madoc or Dave Prowse. Now it's a massive event, and it's filled with gorgeous 20-year-old girls wearing very revealing costumes. When did sci-fi and comics start attracting gorgeous 20-year-old girls? If these girls had been at Memorabilia back in 2001 it would have caused everyone in attendance to die of a heart attack, albeit a very pleasurable one.

 

I found a 1972 Countdown Annual, a 5" tall Gellguard (from "The Three Doctors") and a plush Dalek, but most importantly, I MET ROMANA!!!! As I was busy going "guh.... guh.... guh...." I forgot that I had a camera in my pocket and another one in my bag. So here's a photo of Romana, Lalla Ward, when she was on Doctor Who:

 

 

Two people were invaluable to us in the presentation of the APT-E sample. Terry Wynne, one of my best friends and an active member of the British NMRA and the Crewe Heritage Centre, came on his own time to help at the stand. A railwayman for 40 years, Terry is extremely knowledgeable about trains, about Rapido and about railway modelling in general, and everyone who spoke to him was most impressed by this respectable member of the team. 

 

Terry exhibited far more patience with people than I did, especially with the guy who kept calling me "Miss." I hit that guy over the head with the APT sample and it took Terry ages to fix it.

 

Terry enjoys one of my favourite Voyagers...

 

The show was well and truly stolen by Kit Spackman, otherwise known as "Mr. Tilt." Kit also volunteered his time to help us promote the APT-E and he regaled literally hundreds of people with his fascinating stories of what really went on during the course of the APT-E project. There were several people who probably did not get to see as much as they had planned to at Warley because they were so captivated by Kit's stories that they hung around our booth literally for hours.

 

I pity the poor old fella who suggested that the APT-E was "that tilting train that was a failure." Kit quickly set him straight and only kicked him once.

 

Kit (on the right) with a new APT-E fan. 

 

Thank you to Kit and Terry for your time, your enthusiasm, and your help. We could not have done it without you.

 

Our flight back to Toronto was scheduled for Monday afternoon, and Bill and I had a tonne of work to do. Seeing as we had passes, we decided to spend the day on the Pendolino. We boarded the "down" 08:53 from Birmingham International. What's with that? Going north is "up" on the map, and most of Scotland is at a higher elevation above sea level than London. 

 

Going "up" to London is a load of rubbish and serves to maintain the hegemonic relationship between London and everywhere else, but especially the North. This is most blatantly exemplified by TransPennine Express losing nine Class 170s to Chiltern commuters. 

 

What's going down to Chiltern:

 

What Northerners will be getting in exchange:

 

From now on, you travel "up" from London when you go north. And if you have a problem with that, move to Sheffield.

 

(And if you are travelling from London to the West Country, you are now going "left" from London. Such a better system, don't you think?)

 

Bill takes a break in Lancaster. 

 

We took a Pendolino "UP" to Lancaster, got off, and took a Pendolino "DOWN" to London. Lancaster is a lovely station. It looks like a castle! But I do question the Lancaster Station staff's view of their customers' intelligence. Do they think that passengers are such noddies that we need to have a sign with a full-scale illustration of the buttons in the elevator, explaining what they do? Of course, I pressed the sign rather than the real button and was confused when nothing happened. (*Cough* That, um, really happened.)

 

 

Ah, Pendolinos. They look sharp. They have revolutionized the West Coast Main Line. They are fast. They are sleek. And they make me nauseous.

 

 

Trying to work while sitting backwards on a Pendolino is a bit like trying to work in an airplane flying upside down in a 100-knot wind. The hunting over the trucks made the day's earlier meals go hunting for my mouth, and every time we tilted this little old lady with a "doddery posh" accent and a massive dog kept falling into people's seats. Listening to her make her way from the toilet to her seat was an unwanted form of human echo location. "Oh, pardon me!" "Oh, excuse me there." "Oh, goodness!" "My, didn't expect that one." "Ooooh!"

 

I eventually decided to look out the window and try and get a good view of the ventilation shafts in Kilsby Tunnel. Have you ever done that? I always imagine I'm in that JC Bourne lithograph from his series of images of the London & Birmingham. One time in a Mark 2 (back in the day) we stopped right at a shaft and I stuck my head out the door window, hoping to catch sight of 1838-vintage tools left behind by the navvies. Somewhat surprisingly, I couldn't see any. 

 

 

I do still love Pendolinos. I think they are gorgeous and sexy and I am happy to make a model in N gauge. But I have new rules for riding Pendolinos in future: 1. Face forwards. 2. Take an HST.

 

The flight home was a lesson in what not to do in future. I have a metric zillion Asia Miles from Cathay Pacific and a lot of them expire in a few months. So I used points to arrange for Bill and me to fly home business class on British Airways. Whoa! Business Class! This was gonna be awesome.

 

Whoever designed BA's business class interiors on their 777 fleet needs to be stuffed in the last seat in economy class for a 47-hour flight twice around the planet. The seats are about the same width as standard class in a Voyager and, to fit more people in, half the seats are facing backwards. If you want to stretch out and the guy sitting backwards wants to leave his seat, he has to climb over your legs. The lady near me had trouble climbing over my legs so instead she climbed ON my legs. When I got home Sidura asked me why I had footprints on my trousers. 

 

One final thought before I end this meandering travelogue. The Warley show is in Birmingham (well, pretty close) and I used to live there. So Sunday night after the show I rode the train to New Street and boarded the Bristol Road 63 bus to Edgbaston so I could visit with some old friends. It was like entering a time warp. 

 

You don't see this in Canada...

 

When I lived in Birmingham my life was headed in the wrong direction. I didn't want to be an academic, but I found myself taking that career path. I was lost. I enjoyed being in the UK, I appreciated my wife's support and the friends I made, but overall I was very unhappy with my life. I remember breaking down one day in the shower and saying to myself, "I hope when I have kids that they get to do what they want with their lives."

 

Here I was, more than ten years later, riding the same bus I used to ride every day. Apart from the constant that is my wife, Sidura, just about everything else in my life has changed. I live in Canada, I am doing what I love, I have a beautiful family, I have a beautiful home, and I know I'm on the right path. 

 

But riding that bus made me wonder how things could so easily have turned out differently, and much for the worse. If I had stayed on that career path, would Sidura and I have ever been able to have a large family? If I had not tackled my unhappiness, would I have been able to be a good husband and father? What would our future look like if I didn't have the guts to jump ship?

 

If there is one lesson I have learned from the Rapido adventure of the last ten years, it is that it is never too late to make a change. If we're unhappy in a major aspect of our lives, it will reverberate throughout all we do and have unexpected repercussions. I am very lucky to have an amazingly supportive wife and that I found the strength to overcome my fears and actually do what I've always wanted to do. 

 

Upstairs on that 63 bus, I briefly glimpsed the alternative life I might have lead had I not found that strength. Thank God I found it.

 

I was too busy thinking to take a picture, so here's a stock photo of the 63. Picture it at night on a quiet Bristol Road and you get the idea.

 

Another UK trip is complete, and this one was our most successful one yet. Bill and I had a smashing time and it was wonderful to put so many faces to names at Warley. Until next time...

 

[Steve-e]

Is that Prince Phillip in the background??

 

Here's a similar picture with SWMBO 

 

 

Also is the guy Kit is talking to deliberately TILTing to make Kit feel at home?

[PaulRhB]

We need a train based fantasy series so comic con can merge with Warley

 

Cue lots of jokes about Nat Express

 

For the first time I'm disappointed by one of your posts, why did you choose the scary rather than scantily clad pics? ! !

[jsp3970]

 

7-Spadina.jpg

At Spadina Yard c.1982. A switcher is sorting cars on the right while the Turbo (centre) and Tempo (left) receive daily maintenance.

 

Jason any idea what that first car is behind the switcher?

[rapidotrains]

Jason any idea what that first car is behind the switcher?

 

I'm pretty sure that's ONR coach #811 from the joint ONR/CN train, the Northland.

 

http://www.onrhts.org/More-Galleries/Passenger-Service/Passenger-Equipment/3838276_KnV9RK#!i=222027828&k=tMR6gdQ&lb=1&s=XL

 

-Jason

[F-UnitMad]

Interesting your thoughts on "UK-vs-NA" (as in North American to cover Canada as well ) layouts.

 

We (especially those of us who model NA outline) are well aware that most UK layouts are of a 'place' (even if they're NA outline) whereas most NA layouts are of a 'route', & the reasons behind that difference - mostly space, or lack of...

But might it not be the case that many modellers on the Left of The Pond have not built a layout 'yet' because they have been conditioned to thinking that if it isn't a triple-deck basement-filler it isn't worth bothering?

Hence why ones like Lance Mindheim have made such an impression over there (although some hate him & at least one has given up this Forum as he thinks we Brits idolise him!! {true!!}) whilst over here a lot of us were already on his 'wavelength' so to speak, but lacking knowledge of some of the finer points of operational details.

Oh and triple deck layouts are a bit cumbersome for exhibitions.

Anyway thanks for a great Thread & glad your trip Over Here was such a success.

 

Now, about a 1:48th Geep.....

[jsp3970]

I'm pretty sure that's ONR coach #811 from the joint ONR/CN train, the Northland.

 

http://www.onrhts.org/More-Galleries/Passenger-Service/Passenger-Equipment/3838276_KnV9RK#!i=222027828&k=tMR6gdQ&lb=1&s=XL

 

-Jason

Yes I see the details look the same, even the paint between the windows.

 

Got to admit I never thought of ONR, was thinking along the lines of CN or VIA.

[The Stationmaster]

Jason, 

 

Great stuff as ever but I was particularly taken with that view of the benchwork (as the Americans call it, dunno what it's called in Canadian) for the upper level of your own layout as it appears to completely avoid supports getting in the way of the lower levels.  More details please, pretty please.

[Gerald Henriksen]

 

Great stuff as ever but I was particularly taken with that view of the benchwork (as the Americans call it, dunno what it's called in Canadian) for the upper level of your own layout as it appears to completely avoid supports getting in the way of the lower levels.  More details please, pretty please.

 

Jason covered it on his website for his layout:  http://kingstonsub.com/mr-construction-benchwork.html

[Jagboi]

 

Whoever designed BA's business class interiors on their 777 fleet needs to be stuffed in the last seat in economy class for a 47-hour flight twice around the planet. The seats are about the same width as standard class in a Voyager and, to fit more people in, half the seats are facing backwards. If you want to stretch out and the guy sitting backwards wants to leave his seat, he has to climb over your legs. The lady near me had trouble climbing over my legs so instead she climbed ON my legs. When I got home Sidura asked me why I had footprints on my trousers.

You're not a fan of the "Ying Yang" seating then? I quite like it, and facing backwards is actually the safest position to be in. RAF transport aircraft have the seats facing the rear of the plane, as it is more survivable in the event of a crash. I like it because when you lay flat to sleep then your head is slightly higher than your feet due to the slight upward pitch of the aircraft when flying, which is a more comfortable position than having your feet higher than your head. It's also quite nice if you are travelling with someone and it's much easier to have a conversation.

 

I also prefer BA's seating over Air Canada's because to look out the window I only have to turn my head 90 degrees. On AC, the pods face the interior of the plane so I have to turn my head about 120 degrees. I was rear ended in my car years ago and have some soft tissue damage from whiplash, so I can't look out the window in AC's business class for more than a few min without my neck hurting.On  BA I can look out all I want.

 

Honestly, I've spent more time than I'd care to admit to flying BA's business class, and I've never had someone step on my legs. I think you just got unlucky.

[rapidotrains]

Jason covered it on his website for his layout:  http://kingstonsub.com/mr-construction-benchwork.html

 

I've modified the design since then.  I need to find an easier way to update the layout site.  It just takes too long to do.

 

-Jason

[JSpencer]

I think British passenger trains in general rest in set formations from one day to the next.

 

Only freight tends to get shunted and even then, we have pick up freight (that might be had now, EWS brought the idea back in the 90s but I would doubt it still happens).

 

In one magazine we used to have shunting puzzles, only a few wagons but enough to make you think. Perhaps they should be reintroduced again.

 

Why were there no pretty girls into sci if 20 years ago! Maybe in another 20 years we will see greater equality in ladies running layouts.

[Ozexpatriate]

I remain very puzzled as to why anyone would want to spend the night at a hotel in Reading when far, far better ones - or even fancy B&B establishments, or B&B in a good pub, are available but a short train (or taxi) ride away - but then visitors from abroad do get caught out sometimes I suppose so commiserations on that one chaps.

Glad to see you stayed in a decent hotel in Salop  (even if you did call it Shewsbury, or was it Shroseberry?), apparently some people can tell where you went to school according to how you pronounce it.

Very nice to meet and have a  chat with you two fellahs yesterday - and to hear the secret of Transatlantic hotel selection from Bill.

You can't leave it there.....what is the secret?...

I have no idea.  I'm loving this big suite at the Crowne Plaza, sitting here at a massive desk on a top-of-the-line ergonomic chair in a plushy oversized dressing gown provided by the hotel.  How's the Novotel, Bill?

I have to admit that to those of us accustomed to the bland but comfortable uniformity of hotels in North America, choosing convenient destinations for comfortable repose in the UK is a mystery - not necessarily helped by the vast amount of disinformation available on the interwebs. I've had some successes and some failures.

 

Next time I go to Britain, and it has sadly been quite a while now, I will ask for advice from the learned here.

[railsquid]

I have to admit that to those of us accustomed to the bland but comfortable uniformity of hotels in North America, choosing convenient destinations for comfortable repose in the UK is a mystery - not necessarily helped by the vast amount of disinformation available on the interwebs. I've had some successes and some failures.

 

Next time I go to Britain, and it has sadly been quite a while now, I will ask for advice from the learned here.

 

I've found that it's best to expect to be disappointed by the plumbing arrangements. (Though if your interests include original Edwardian plumbing, "The Thistle" opposite Hyde Park in London is an excellent choice; however beware that the system presumably includes the original Edwardian boiler stoked by an original Edwardian, as it took about 10 minutes - no exaggeration - for the hot water to come through).

[railsquid]

Here I was, more than ten years later, riding the same bus I used to ride every day. Apart from the constant that is my wife, Sidura, just about everything else in my life has changed. I live in Canada, I am doing what I love, I have a beautiful family, I have a beautiful home, and I know I'm on the right path. 

 

But riding that bus made me wonder how things could so easily have turned out differently, and much for the worse. If I had stayed on that career path, would Sidura and I have ever been able to have a large family? If I had not tackled my unhappiness, would I have been able to be a good husband and father? What would our future look like if I didn't have the guts to jump ship?

You can never tell. What I do know is that since leaving the financial industry earlier this year (the IT side of it I hasten to add), which I loathed (the financial industry working culture, not the IT), I've lost 5 kilos, fathered a child (another couple of months to go before he pops out) and rediscovered model railways.

[MJI]

Nice to see Jason stating how important family is.

[rapidotrains]

I have to admit that to those of us accustomed to the bland but comfortable uniformity of hotels in North America, choosing convenient destinations for comfortable repose in the UK is a mystery - not necessarily helped by the vast amount of disinformation available on the interwebs. I've had some successes and some failures.

 

Next time I go to Britain, and it has sadly been quite a while now, I will ask for advice from the learned here.

 

On our last night in the UK before moving back to Canada, our friends in Manchester invited us to stay over at their house.  We decided instead to splurge on a "four star" hotel in Manchester city centre.  The room was as large as a typical North American hotel which was wonderful.  That is where the similarities ended.

 

1. The decor was "thrown together with leftovers from the fabric store." Lots of awful floral prints and paint peeling on the walls despite the hotel being only a few years old (it was converted from an old office building).

 

2. There was no air conditioning, and it was June.

 

3. Our room was next to the boiler room.

 

4. The windows were painted shut.

 

Consequently, our last night in the UK was spent baking in a 38-degree inferno exacerbated by taste-shattering decor. We kept taking turns having cold showers in a desperate attempt to cool down. It was not exactly the romantic last night in the UK that we were expecting.

 

-Jason

[The Stationmaster]

But was the food any good?  (it usually isn't in places like that I've found)

[peach james]

I've modified the design since then.  I need to find an easier way to update the layout site.  It just takes too long to do.

 

-Jason

 

Daft question, but why not host it here, or on a similar site?  I do so with Long Marton, or the other option would be to try and farm it out to someone else...

 

James

[F-UnitMad]

Daft question, but why not host it here, or on a similar site?  I do so with Long Marton, or the other option would be to try and farm it out to someone else...

 

James

Indeed. We have a very nice 'USA & Canadian Section' here which would welcome a "gen-u-i-ne" NA layout, to compensate for all the British "USA Shunty Planks" we build here....

[John B]

Yes please! We can then all suffer from a collective bout of "basement envy"...

[rapidotrains]

I will certainly consider covering it here.  Thanks for the suggestion!

 

The only difficult thing is the shop.  I'll still need to keep the Kingston Sub pages going because of the shop: 

 

http://kingstonsub.com/shop.html

 

It's hopelessly out of date...

 

-Jason

[jsp3970]

I will certainly consider covering it here.  Thanks for the suggestion!

 

The only difficult thing is the shop.  I'll still need to keep the Kingston Sub pages going because of the shop: 

 

http://kingstonsub.com/shop.html

 

It's hopelessly out of date...

 

-Jason

Everytime I see that website I can't help but think of sitting down at the VIA station in Kingston and watching the trains. Sadly now of course living in Calgary the closest VIA station is in Edmonton, although we did get the VIA Grey Cup train a couple of years ago! However even when I have been back to Kingston since moving out west I still haven't gone down there as it isn't same since a friend of mine, who I used to watch trains with, passed away

 

Edited for spelling and grammer.

[Mr_Tilt]

Is that Prince Phillip in the background??

post-20909-0-62851100-1416953341_thumb.jpg

 

Here's a similar picture with SWMBO 

post-12740-0-79551000-1416957683.jpg

 

 

Also is the guy Kit is talking to deliberately TILTing to make Kit feel at home?

 

I've only just found this thread, so sorry for the delay in responding.

 

The 'Prince Phillip' guy actually had a broad Yorkshire accent, which was a trifle disconcerting, but he certainly knew his APT-E stuff very well.

 

The guy I'm talking to in the pic WAS the one who suggested that '.... tilt didn't work......' and as Jason said I corrected him 'with extreme prejudice'.  

 

I think he was demonstrating his ideas of titling in the pic, while I was delivering my rebuff too. Once I'd explained it all he was quite agreeable that concept made sense, which was good.