mullie

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Happy Christmas Gilbert, the effort you go to each day is much appreciated. I've not been here from the beginning but it must be quite a few years now. This is a thread I drop in on every day, and look forward to updates in 2024. Best wishes Martyn

Simon United Stone Firms were also on Portland where I now live though originally from Essex.I know the Histon area well from travels around Cambridge and St Ives many years ago when my sister lived in St Neots. You will see in my signature a link to a Heritage lottery social history project I ran collecting memories of the railway from Weymouth to Easton on Portland, inevitably this linked to the stone trade. The stone trade has a very interesting history, Portland stone has links to many famous buildings including St Paul's and the cenotaph others around the world. There are very few quarries left. Martyn

Great video, take care and let's hope 2024 is better Martyn

Thank you to everyone who has followed my ramblings in 2023.

Thanks for continuing to post every day, this is still a 'must see' and I don't mind how often you repeat photos like many have said. The photos without trains are just as interesting, few photographers capture infrastructure the way you do. Best wishes Martyn

I have been working on these since the end of August, now I think they are ready to take their place on the layout. They are of an older type than survived to nationalisation but in the absence of the right type they are nice models of real GE carriages. They are Eveleigh kits built to EM gauge, well designed requiring many additional items and thanks Tony G on this thread for advice on buffers when I posted a query. They were soldered and probably the most challenging build I have so far undertaken. The primed bodies were pre shaded with black ink and then lightly sprayed with Tamiya red brown so the black showed under the finish. A coat of Klear followed as photos suggest they were not of a matt finish, followed up by washes of more ink in the crevices and dry brushing a combination of brown and yellow ochre. Carriages on the Kelvedon and Tollesbury line in a rare colour photo taken around 1947 seem to be of a lighter colour than dark Stratford brown. There is also a photo in a colour album of an ex GE carriage in a similar shade in the early 50s. Hope they are of interest. Thank you to all who post on here, some really inspirational stuff that encourages me to up my game. My layout appears at occasional exhibitions though I don't belong to a club. Pretty much everything else in the photos is either kit or scratch built, the layout is currently set up to run as a post steam East Anglian branch around 1963 hence the BR liveried wagons.

Happy Christmas to all who follow Rob's doings. Martyn

Good to see you back, have a great Christmas. Martyn

We have been on our travels again. My wife found a four night break to Torromolinos, much warmer than here during the day though nights were cool. On one of the days we took a trip to Malaga on the train. Here are some photos of our local station Montemar Alto, trains were every twenty minutes, buying tickets was cheap and easy. No photos of Malaga station as it is a single platform and under ground.

"Have you both been talking to my wife as she has this dream of linking all the boards in one long layout." I think we had that conversation at SWAG last year!

Linked dioramas, could be a good idea? Lots of pondering time over Christmas. Have a good one. Martyn

I feel your pain, we have a new dishwasher arriving Thursday having just paid out for a new oven.

Just seen that Osney will be at SWAG next April, will be great to see it, something I've wanted to do for a long time. Always a great day so that should help the MOJO. Martyn

Looks like a great line up, might be able to make it!

In all seriousness, there are photos in the Peter Swinger and R.C. Riley colour albums showing GE carriages in a lighter brown, looks similar to the colours perhaps Thompson carriages were painted post war? There is a photo of an ex GE bogie carriage and Kelvedon and Tollesbury stock in the above books. Not all Stratford carriages were dark brown there seems to be a lot of variation, I suppose depending on how long the carriages were out of shops and which pot/mix of paint had been used on the day. There was also a video of the Kelvedon and Tollesbury taken around 1947 that was briefly on YouTube showing carriages in similar colours being pulled by a J67 in war time black livery. Thanks for the comments much appreciated.

Best weatherbeaten East Anglian! It came out of tins, tubes and aerosols, according to some that would be very Essex!

I have been working on these since the end of August, now I think they are ready to take their place on the layout. They are of an older type than survived to nationalisation but in the absence of the right type they are nice models of real GE carriages. They are Eveleigh kits, well designed but requiring the following additional items: EM Society axleboxes MJT axle box springs Gibson or Wizard wheels (can't remember which) Silver Tay lamp brackets Wizard gas lamp fittings and Westinghouse hoses Cheap temperature controlled soldering iron, one day when it breaks down I'll buy a better one. Multi core, low melt soldier and flux Endless patience Large vocabulary of bad language Good sounds and blue tooth speaker Garage at useable temperature, now expired The primed bodies were pre shaded with black ink and then lightly sprayed with Tamiya red brown so the black showed under the finish. A coat of Klear followed as photos suggest they were not of a matt finish, followed up by washes of more ink in the crevices and dry brushing a combination of brown and yellow ochre. Carriages on the Kelvedon and Tollesbury, in a rare colour photo seem to be of a lighter colour than dark Stratford brown.

I will say this quietly- don't let Clive hear you saying that!

Some things change, others stay the same. East Anglia can still appear timeless. Bit arty really, nothing new to report though six wheelers should be completed this week.

I too like the first shot and what is not to like about the second. A Claud always pleases. And no bus on the bridge! Martyn

You do seem to have taken a lot of photos during snowy weather, the photos of Great Eastern and LTSR electrics during the 70s and 80s bring back a lot of memories and for some reason it is the snowy ones that are the most evocative. I would still have been at school, I suspect a lot of my travelling was to get supplies for my music lessons, something I needed to go to Romford, Chelmsford or Southend for from Brentwood, it gave an excuse to travel by train and my parents were happy to let me regardless of the weather. Great photos as always, thanks for posting.

I do like the old Airfix kits. I've built four mineral wagons to EM gauge on Masokits W irons. Here they are at Upbech St Mary running in its 1960s post steam era. The layout can also be run in late 40s early 50s guise. I pick them up cheap on Ebay and have another one to do, this time I have Bill Bedford W irons, not used those before. Will watch with interest as a lowmac is very tempting. I would describe my modelling as rather sketchbook, I do admire your level of detail.

Day off on Friday, we had worked extra hours to earn it through the term. With SWMBO at work the dining room table was taken over for painting. This is a scene during the white heat of painting. Tear off pallet in the middle with various artists colours; black, white, grey, brown to form a base coat Grey was the predominant colour by the way. The take away tub has ground chalks in it that will add colour and texture to the roof. These are the roofs after painting. The bodies are given a base coat of Tamiya red brown that provides a good base for weathering, I have used this colour for years and is also base colour for track work. Some roof colour has got on the sides, I see this as an opportunity! The chassis have also been painted and given a basic highlighting with watered down inks. At the moment everything is still component parts, there are units for each of the wheel sets one of which will be allowed to float. The middle axle is a simple assembly. I hope to assemble the chassis next week. Here are the coaches in bits. Numbering is now in progress.

No not on the ECML but very nice and London trains do pass through it. Yes I know that is a very tenuous link. Our daughter lived in Harrogate for two years, we love the area and had some good times there though a drive of around 8 hours to get there could be difficult, we sometimes left around 4 in the morning. South London doesn't have the same appeal but is my old University stamping ground and only around 3 hours drive. Martyn