Robert Shrives

One drawback to reduced manning levels and changes in operations is the loss of a "secondman" in the cab - the years spent in understudy mode in a cab surely helped in road awareness and experiences that no process driven management lead training school can ever hope to match.  I suspect we will never have the luxury for second staff up front and for a  zillion valid reasons I am sure they would not be needed or desired within the industry.  

In the lulls between incidents in my work area talk often spins on to the "do you remember when xxx when wrong, some younger colleagues hear about larger accidents and bigger near misses with historical and geographical references that they did not know happened. A recent rail break on the Crosscity, within a fishplate was another Hither Green but was spotted first and quite a few had never heard of it. 

I await report with interest and hope it will feature in the active discussions within the industry.

Robert         

https://www.facebook.com/groups/700522566651020

might offer some pics for you.

robert 

Good luck with that! 

Robert 

Is the body  narrow or have you had to trim the 4cep chassis. looks the start of a good model hopefully not too much smoothing of print required - I had a 3H and found printing quite odd with smooth bodyside but lots of fine line lines around the doors - I am guessing due to how the cad was created for the print file. 

have fun regardless 

Robert 

Tucked away I have an N  gauge 071 3D  printed body in BR large blue logo.  Historically inspired what ifs always offer some harmless fun  and the idea of power trials  with re gauged  Type 2  offers some great images in my little mind!  Of course the Mk2s that came via Vic Berry in exchange  for C class were followed by some NIR Mk2s that ended up in the North West - now scrapped I guess and the gauge challenged APT buffet prototype  is now in Chocolate and cream and sometimes steam hauled - coach will not rust away given how many coats of paint it has had.

Robert   

Good to see, Sunday for me as 2hours after early shift last time was defo not long enough.  

A good selection of layouts and demos to look forward to seeing in person

Robert    

Ordered two for a Ballina branch train.  A brilliant coach to run, Gen coach next be it  a Dutch or the MK1 based sort. The Mk1 GSV/EGV will certainly be possible if The IRM family does a UK Mk1 run of designs. 

Robert  

Hi 

I will be at show with Poldeen layout as well.  Hopefully press coverage will like Warley pick up on no big trains but lots of  Little ones on time.  NRM seem reticent to advertise much  with the building works going on and despite having held trade shows in the halls the idea of a mini show is new to them, hopefully this will be successful and the start of a Northern based N show.   

Robert 

Lovely idea but of course the issue is with no effective London abutment and embankment made of papermache and sawdust grass effect topping... then even the army would struggle. At least nobody is shooting at the orange army with hot lead.

Great photos however. 

Robert 

Big Jim, 

True enough, I was at Leamington spa waiting for 1M58 the other week and a f`liner 70 flew  through with a mainly empty set of flats and it was heard and felt more than seen with the roar and banging of multiple flats  on the wagons- cannot do anybody any good.  I stopped reading and watched train as best as I could at the speed to check rotations and tail lamp. 

Robert 

34 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

Which carries more trains; Didcot to Oxford or north of Aynho Jcn.? Are there more Padd-Oxf/Worcs services than Chiltern? Is there anything else that affects capacity?

Andy, certainly  did- oxf with the turbos buzzing about . but whole line is busy when resignalling  BAN - LMS   got headways to around 6 minutes from 15 minutes the flood gates opened for freight away from WCML from the Southern, this with 30 minute voyagers and 15 minute turbos/Worcesters in the mix the whole line once slated for closure is very busy. It is worn out below bottom ballast as Fenny Compton, Harbury(well its tunnel and cutting, Nuneham  viaduct and the plethora of level crossings show it is a disaster on the edge every day, superned as a driver knows it well and as Controller it is certainly as exciting as a ride a Alton towers on most shifts.  Still luckily the Dft says nobody is travelling so there is no inconvenience is there.... 

Still given pics with rails removed and grout pumps working on middle pier work is rapidly in hand to restore.  Hopefully June dates are good for restoration and hopefully restoration to linespeed will be possible soon after. site hampered by access so ripping embankment and abutment apart for rebuild will be slower than on a model railway with a peco bridge and  scalesene brick paper.  I guess it shows the problem of building on fibreboard with chipboard subbase in a damp shed in winter !!    

Hi yes thinking Lima sorry but same game as Halvarras correctly says cleaning second bogie likely to be the key.  sorry to have muddied the waters - unless you have some lima locos of course - check out peters spares for replacment wheelsets for the "pizza cutters."

Robert 

Given how savvy the GWR marketing and promotional folk were I would imagine that they would have wanted something to capture the mind.  At the time air travel was the in thing for the "upwardly mobile" and many aircraft  were silver/ aluminium coloured.   Think like the early A  and C class to CIE.  I could well see some bright spark suggesting silver and some died in the wool engineer saying "no!" quite loudly, how the CIE engines disappeared into a grime livery then unburnt fuel and leaks along with brake block dust would equal a lovely hue of rail grime at its best.      

So I think silver for six months and repainted in a desert sand livery, then unlined black before BR lined black.  I wonder what BR departmental grey /large logo would look line, thinking of the Bescot 31s in grime and oilleaking off the engine bed look - grim!

Robert  

Is worth checking the trailing bogie as it forms half of the pick up - via metal strip on axle IIRc  might need cleaning/ rebending - if you take wheels out check  you keep them facing the same way.

robert 

Just need to mask a couple of planks for repaired bare wood  as well.

Robert 

Phillip,

Yes to accommodate internal designs, however with in reasons the mK3 was flexible design with standard parts jig assembled with whole side offered up to the chassis.  Catering cars have a complex history and was catering led over operator led so several vehicles created for planned operations the TRUK mentioned here had a 4 window saloon and a big kitchen/ servery/pantry but no counter. Intended for full meal services but speed killed the sit down period for a multi course traditional meal, along with new eating habits of burgers and takeaways landing big time did for the need for the TRUK.   The small buffet TRSB did all was needed on many routes but the 27 TRUB and local RUB  did all that was needed for meals.    TRUKs were thus redundant - a couple wandered off into Royal duties the exec saloon as mentioned above , the others were stored until the cusine2000 modular catering came along to further ( but not better) align train catering to the  airline style of preformed slop in a tray off train and heated on board.   To convert all workings and remove Mk1s the TRUKs were converted to give a float to allow RUBs to be butchered, however not enough so a batch of  non catering MK3s were converted - here the flexibility of design showed as with some repaneling  a kitchen side wall created, the corridor/bar side however only had one big window converted to a tall small size, the easy spot for a converted vehicle over ex catering.  

Robert 

 cutu  

Well back in the day the snug was the place to be , sadly they very quickly be came smoke stained and sticky with uncertain products spilt or leaked upon the carpet. But of course not a patch on the cooked breakfasts on a REP.  The decline and downgrading of the vehicle was sad to see. 

Robert 

16 minutes ago, Peter Kazmierczak said:

Wasn't a TRUK repainted into NSE livery as part of the promotion for the 442s Wessex Electrics? I've got a photo of it alongside Derby station somewhere...

IIRC it was used as a test bed for NSE livery as it was stored at the time, rather than just for the 442s - which are still the best emu to grace Southern region metals.

Robert 

3 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Are those plug doors on the NIE variants?

yes CIE version not dissimilar to the 442 ones.  What is  a bit fun is how similar the convesion is to the WSMR/ Chiltern catering Mk 3

Robert  

Many thanks for the quick response and info there in  Likely to do its later version as  no N parcels rail air transfers but parcels service on a sheet I have. 

Robert 

Hi,

Just wondering if any kind soul can confirm whether the 130 parcel 116 cars used on the rail air parcels were at the time fitted with corridor connections - all the pics I can find  are wrong end / angle to show details.

Just faffing with N gauge Dapol railcars into DMS and MS  having a GUV to fit in between. 

TIA

Robert    

What would be fun on the 2what ifa" route  would be an NIR driver brake in NSE livery.  

Robert 

Hi 

Well  to edit having reread :

Obvs really A class and 80 class  double beets would tickle many.- well 10 or 12 persons... or a micro 42 foot fest.. BR Mk2cs in two liveries for both sides of the Irish sea. 

off topic wish listing. 

Mk4/ 91s  intercity dmus 123. Trans pennine 124.  143/144 pacer .   

Steamy things like a S&D  7F  and Duke of  Gloucester 71000  spring to mind  

Micro uber fun would be an 0-4-4 highland loco to go with Highland 4-4-0 ben or a 4-6-0 highland goods, some HR coaches perhaps to garnish.  

Robert  

Given trams have feelings as well I am surprised that the bloke did not get run over after bending  the wipers in a childish fit. 

Robert 

Two pics from 3mm glos group meeting yesterday .  AB  COVvan in rf brown and a brake van, fitted with working directional sensitive    tail lamps, fitted with wiper pickups.  "photo plank" is the house and camping coach siding from Minsterley.  For taking pics camping coach shunted clear. 

Group of  8 met up for the day and progressed pet projects together, lubricated with coffee and biscuits etc.   

Also had a play with new Hornby track which ran quite happily.

Robert