Ray H

Gordon Looking at the passenger part of the plan, how do you plan to reverse trains on the main part of the layout and are you envisaging wrong road running in a number of places or are there a few turnouts missing from the plan?

Gordon Yours and Tetleys are two threads that I check for updates on the forum on an almost daily basis. Whilst I may aspire to get even 1% of Dave's skills, your track building had egged me on to build my own and I'm doing my hardest to improve the woodwork in my baseboards as a result of seeing yours. I'm sure there are plenty on here who dip in from time to time even if not daily and would miss your posts if you were to stop. Please don't desert us now.

I took the plunge and opened the 3F box and ran that up and down a bit (and did likewise with the 4F again). The noise level from both seems similar although the 4F does seem slightly noisier so perhaps my hearing aids were just having an off spell yesterday. The imitation coal in both tenders is loose and the 4F's has two holes in it so perhaps they are rattling about a bit. T'is early days yet, I really must get a circle of test track built.

Mine arrived by courier from Hattons yesterday - it was waiting the newly arrived all green Heljan Class 16 as a pilot hence the delay! I was surprised how noisy it appeared on my hastily lashed up, unsecured couple of lengths of flexi track resting on Spaceboard that has a void under it. The Class 16 which also had a quick spin on the same test track didn't seem as noisy by comparison. I shall have to finally open the box that came a while ago with the 3F in it and see if that is similar and perhaps back..

Does anyone know if Fair Price Models are still trading/producing these? The only web site I could find doesn't seem to have a railway section.

Vague recollections of this train from my days at Liverpool Street in the (GN) Special Traffic office. Didn't it run several times each day. presumably with one, two or even more sets trogging backwards and forwards all day? Sorry, but I can't remember the frequency but as a Gerry Fiennes' railway I guess the interval would have been regular (every 2 hours?).

I would presume that the right-hand most of the three routes at the 3-way point would work in unison with the connected point on the main line. Consequently there would be no need for a trap point as it would be impossible for anything to get between the two points unless the route through the "crossover" was set appropriately.

I specifically what an early (green) model as they're the ones I recall in and around the Liverpool Street area when I was a lad and they were a lot, lot younger! I also favour the roof box model because I think it looks better than a skinhead. People on here have said that the Hornby body isn't that good so I managed to pick up an old Airfix model but that took a dislike to the code 100 track based layout that I tried it on. As I'm planning to use code 75 I presumed that would be worse although, again, some people on here have said they've run their Airfix Class 31 with original wheels on code 75 track. I looked at the cost of replacing the wheels on the Airfix model and decided that if I could find a cheap Hornby chassis it would work out about the same price and the Hornby mechanism is reputedly quieter than that on the Airfix model. On reflection, I suppose that I'm not that fussed about the finer detail of the model so I'm beginning to think that I may wait until the green Hornby hits the streets later this year, buy that and sell the Airfix model as that will save me having to fit a decoder to the latter as well. (Apologies for drifting off topic and thanks for the warning about the potential further problems with the defective models).

Many thanks. I'll have a look at a well known on-line auction site and see what's offering.

Glad to hear you're on the move again Gordon. I've missed the regular updates.

Apologies ofthis has been mentioned earlier but I've just dipped into the thread. I have an old Airfix Class 31 which I'm told has a better body than the Hornby model which is one of the reasons why I bought it, the other is because it is green with a roof mounted four character reporting number. I have heard it suggested that fitting a Hornby class 31 chassis is a good option for improving running and saves converting the Airfix model to DCC. My understanding is that the Hornby chassis needs modifications to accept the Airfix body. However, because there have been problems with the Horby chassis, picking up one with the ends broken off avoids the modifications. Is the problem reported in this thread pertinent only to the ends of the Hornby chassis? Would a chassis with the problem be suitable (i.e. the problem won't spread)? Does anyone know what Hornby are doing with the damaged chassis?

That takes me back to a brief spell in a very sheltered youth, working in what was then known as the Parcels Traffic office at Liverpool Street in or around 1965 not long out of school. Here they arranged the schedule for the vans on the various parcels trains although I didn't get personally involved. It was here also that I was invited to work my first Sunday turn only to discover that what I had anticipated would be an eight hour shift would in fact be a few minutes over three but the pay for that would be the same as I'd have got for working the eight but perhaps that is a matter for another thread.

This thread is developing into one full of incredibly useful information. I can but express my thanks and gratitude to all contributors. The passenger (working) timetable data would also be useful to help me build up a bigger picture. The public book for 1962 is available via http://timetableworld.com/index.php and I've also seen an extract from the 1955 one as well courtesy of the same chap. Having always been interested in (and employed in connection with the production of) train diagrams & schedules I do marvel at the complete difference in the make up of the parcels trains indicated above with (approx) 12 vehicles moving one way and only seven the other. There must have been a big mountain of the balancing number somewhere! How does one model that indifference other than by means of a lot of (hand) crane shunting.

Many thanks for all the finger exercise Panelman. Interestingly, there's a little more traffic in 1962 even if the trains via Buckingham are ignored. Also of note is down train 9T24 (presumably) recessed at Winslow. If it was recessed for another down (passenger?) train to pass that would have probably involved shunting across to the up line as there probably wasn't enough room in either down side yard to accommodate a full train whereas there was a refuge siding on the up line which although its use doesn't appear to have been scheduled, probably found use routinely when Swanbourne was unable to accept a train. Likewise, with both Winslow yards on the down side, up trains would have had a great time shunting. Other than the light engines and, presumably the class 4 trains - all vans? - do we presume that the other trains comprised a mix of vans and open wagons or, as has been mentioned above, ore trains? Aside from the freight trains would there have been much other than, perhaps, one parcels train in each direction that wasn't passenger or was there a flow of empty stock (to/from Wolverton?), mail and more (through) parcels trains?

I suppose that we need to ascertain what the trains were carrying in order to determne what the stock would be. I'm trying to cast my mind back to the later 60s when I worked in Special Traffic timing at Liverpool Street for a while. I recall that a lot of freight paths were published on an almost daily basis and, for some reason, I seem to think there were a lot of published Q paths around but that might have been a change since the early sixties. I do find it strange that there was such limited freight along the line as I'd always got the impression (although I'm not sure where from) that it was reasonably busy freight wise or maybe I'm pipe dreaming and it never was that busy. Was Swanbourne only used for a relatively few trains or is my judgement being clouded by the fact that we only have evidence from a WR WTT and an LMR WTT would reveal much more?

Would this have been steel wagons, vans or . . . . ?

I've removed the SO and LE movements to make things a little easier. I've guessed that 8V65 and possible 8V70 are trip workings, the former because of the booked journey time, the latter because it stops at Biscester. Bill Simpson refers to the former as such in his Oxford & Cambridge Railway in Profile Volume 1 Oxford to Bletchley. That leaves four trips to Hinksey - which was/is where and what is was there (I can't find it in my ancient Ian Allan atlas). Were there air braked trains around in 1960? I suppose any traffic via Banbury (or the GC) was shown elsewhere.

That's brilliant. Very many thanks. Does the above suggest that they were virtually all trip workings with no block or long distance trains. Or were cross country journeys in those days divided into smaller portions to facilitate either loco or crew changes. I suppose the Corby workings could have conveyed steel. There's no suggestion of through coal trains nor of cattle or milk. It is surprising that there's no suggestion of a local/pick-up freight even though (at least some of?) the local yards were still open then.

Anything that might give me an idea of the freight on the line around the end of the 50s/early 60s would be welcome. You might know better from the books you have but I suspect the freight was gradually declining and by 1965 not that excessive.

Brilliant. Just what I wanted to cheer me up on this damp and dismal day. Have you been opening your presents early?

Would that be you Gordon after the blighter that nicked your golf ball? Best wishes for the festive season and the New Year.

Looks bl**dy brilliant. Can't wait to see trains running on it. I presume that you airbrush in the room. Is there any problem with smell/overspray?

And that's just supping the brown falling down liquid. Sorry, couldn't resist it after seeing the earlier picture of the basedboard with an almost full glass in it. I've managed one 3-way point before I got distracted over a week ago and I have another 26 ponts to build and I've not laid any track, so Gordon is miles ahead of me but his work still provides the impetus for me to keep going.

Is surface mounting not an option? Could they be covered by buildings or some other structure?

I'm sure the mail loaded to more than 2 coaches from Shrewsbury on Friday nights/Saturday mornings in 1970/1. It was certainly more than two vehicles from Crewe so there may have been a BG on it as well or that was detached at Shrewsbury (whilst I was asleep). I don't recall seeing any 3 car DMUs although I invariably only ever travelled north on the first from Mach on a Saturday morning - returning by bus via Bangor on a Sunday night. And I only ever recall seeing class 101s. The first Pwllheli train stood for 30 minutes at Barmouth - long enough for me to decamp and wander into town to get something for breakfast - a pasty! I also think that it was scheduled to divide at Barmouth with a unit returning south on Mons to Fris for school traffic. I think I recall one Saturday trip with 2 x 2 units but I think they both went through, with onea replacement for a failed unit at Pwllheli. However, it is 40 years ago and I have trouble remembering the day of the week now so anything more taxing from that far back could be subject to correction. I believe that Barmouth bridge was the limiting factor on the Pwllheli line although I heard a tale of a (diesel) driver who reputedly took a restricted (by weight) loco north of Barmouth, realised he shouldn't have done so, phoned Control and told them he couldn't take this restricted loco back and Control are alleged to have told him that he'd darn well taken it north over the bridge so he could darn well take it back south again. Not sure how true that story is/was.