Ian Simpson

Just ... fantastic.

Many thanks, Chris, I think a bit of testing on some old track is called for - I can see how it could go a bit wrong! But it sounds an excellent approach once it's been mastered.

That is absolutely brilliant modelling, Chris.

Please can I ask about your unconventional technique for ballasting? I've got a bit of ballast to lay down myself, and your method obviously produces excellent results!

(On the subject of fragrances, I've recently been using joss stick ash as a scenic material. Call me an old hippie, but I think a whiff of sandalwood adds something to a layout.)

Could part of the problem be that at some time between the 1920s and 1960s the way monochrome film recorded red and blue changed? 

It seems the programme can identify blue in Victorian photos:

It's definitely NOT a tool for historical research into colours. But thanks for pointing it out anyway; it is a great displacement activity!

That is a wonderful piece of painting, Chris!

Did you use lining pens for the thin black and white lines?

P.S. Yes, I did almost ask you "who makes tartan paint now?" 

5 minutes ago, Spodgrim said:

But, were the corner plates painted black on both liveries? If not the ends are going to look odd.

Always stick it between two other vans?

Not helping, I know.

On 18/07/2020 at 18:44, Spodgrim said:

So did I get it wrong on the LBSC van?

Only on one side, I suppose 

(And TBH I'm not sure Lancing Works always got it right.)

LBSC black ironwork is a pain. I think it disappeared around 1911, when the "LBSCR" lettering was changed to "LBSC" and ironwork started to be painted the same colour as the rest of the body.

Nice construction and lettering, by the way, and the weathering has worked a treat. I suspect it might tone down the grey / black contrast on the LBSC stock a bit, too.

I thought your last few vans had Kadees?  

I'm struggling to keep up, honest.

Seeing you've just been side-tracked by Sparkshot's wonderful broad gauge models, Douglas, I'm surprised you made it here as quickly as you did!

Really looking forward to following your experiences with Brunel's Big Gauge locos.

Now if you had put a LSWR van on one side and a LBSCR van on the other, that would have impressed me.

What the heck, I'm impressed anyway. Have a good break!

23 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

... I assume that in Britain, with our strange affection for unfitted-loose coupled wagons, they were always next to the engine.  

Every photo of a British / Irish mixed train I've seen has the coach(es) next to the loco.

But I tend to be interested in standard gauge / broad gauge branches and light railways. Heaven only knows what they were doing on some of the NG lines ...

By the way, here's one I made earlier:

The turntable is a CD disc that rotates through 180 degrees - actually a bit more, it's a cam arrangement - using the coffee stirrer in the bottom right of the picture. Wiring is just two wires running up through the baseboard and soldered (it was made in the days when I was still willing to engage with this dark art) under the rails. 

The ballast is chinchilla dust.

The sidings are rope shunted using the bollard (a push pin) to the right of the turntable.

Thanks, @Pacific231G. That's a great website (although I was shocked at my geekiness when I realised I went to the Paperwork section first).

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

I should think maintining the operating linkage to keep adequate alignment became an issue too. How are you doing that?

Many thanks, @Compound2632, that's an excellent question.

@Nearholmer has described the basic principle.  I was thinking of gluing a stiff piece of wire of the outside of the outer point rails, or perhaps a panel pin on each side of the throw to stop the flexitrack travelling too far.  I've tried to glue the last few centimetres of the fixed portion of the flexitrack in such a way that the end comes to rest in position for the left-hand turning when the coffee stirrer is released. If (or more likely when) this starts moving out of alignment I'll probably try a discreet spring behind the end of the flexitrack pushing it into this position. 

That really is nice! I was going to give it a well-deserved Craftsmanship/clever, but your dread of weathering (a genetic trait, I suspect) made me choose the heart instead.

BTW the photo is great, but because you've only used it in the header photo, not in the main text as well, readers have to right click on the photo and choose View Background Image to see the models in all their glory.

It took me a few seconds to spot it (and that was after you'd given me the hint!) A bit of weathering over the end of the number might make it even less obvious.

Overall, I am so impressed. When I saw the photo I really thought it was RTR. (Then, of course, I remembered no one makes a RTR LBSCR van.) I would never have guessed it was a resin kit.

I've always thought these are such wonderful kits, Chris. Are they still in production?

In 1840 the London & Croydon was covering the 10.5 mile journey from London Bridge to Croydon in 30 minutes. That included six intermediate stations and the steep incline at New Cross. Whishaw records average speeds of 20 mph on the line in 1839 excluding the stops. Early trial runs recorded speeds up to 40 mph,  but these weren't acheived in normal service until the atmospheric line was in place.

Taking into account (a) the short distances between the L&C stations and (b) improvements in loco power over the next few years, I'd suggest speeds around 30 mph would be fairly representative by the mid 1840s, with expresses hitting higher speeds on suitable stretches of track.

. 

Greyhound Place makes a perfect backdrop for these photos, Chris!

Superlatives fail me!

(for once )

57 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

... using burger skewers and coffee stirrers. Something to strive for, thanks Ian!

Many thanks for such kind words, Mikkel.

Although I should add my GP thinks my fast food diet is one to avoid, rather than strive for! 

... and so lessons still being learned, thanks to @47137:

The filler is there because the drill bit I had was bigger than the magnets.

Many thanks for the clever tip, Richard, the magnets are working very well!

Early Liverpool & Manchester signals (1834), from models in the Science Museum:

The signal on the right had alternating red and green bars, the other signals were just red.

Edge Hill station in 1833 without a signal in sight:

Many thanks, @Pacific231G, the "Informative/Useful" button doesn't do justice to such a fascinating answer. I'm always intrigued by your explanations of early French practice, and I had absolutely no idea that the "restrictive" approach to signalling lasted so much longer in France. I've definitely learned something new today!