islandbridgejct

The thing with dusk is that as you lose the light in the sky, you lose it on everything else too. As the sun goes down, the general level of light is reduced, and the things furthest from the light source get darker first. The result is that things on the ground slip into shadow, but the sky is still being lit by the sun which has sunk below the horizon, so it is the last place to go dark. Light travels in a straight line, so it's only reflected light that hits the ground at all. Your eyes then compensate for the lack of light, so the sky ends up looking as light a colour as it does in daylight, while everything else is in shadow. Probably better not to try any photos in the gathering dusk so, unless it's the silhouette of an A4 against the sky (which would be nice). Alan

Ah, I see. I thought this was a banana on bogies: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesclay/2281887779/

Great Western convert?

One for the Coronation, one for the Silver Jubilee.

Just wondering: how will you get the ballast in under and around the point rodding? Alan

I've just been catching up with the last few pages. It's always such a pleasure to drop in on Peterborough for a while and see what's passing through. Thanks. Alan

And thank you for the encouragement. It's particularly valued because of the quality of your own modelling. I'm afraid I haven't made any progress in a few months. Work has taken over my 10 til midnight modelling slot, so I'm contenting myself with rmweb and irishrailwaymodeller for my fix. When I get going again, I have to build a wheel fitting jig - I've already made one in plastic to test the concept, but I'm really going to need to get out the soldering iron and brass and make one that's strong enough to do the job. Kilbrandon is another real inspiration. Thanks for the heads up on the article - I'll be rushing off to buy a copy tomorrow. (I was afraid of getting a rocket myself for my first post.) Keep up the good work. Alan

And there was me thinking the V2s came along too late to change the outcome of the War. Must be getting confused again. (I'm a long standing lurker on this thread - just watching and admiring.) Alan

You could bottle the atmosphere and sell it. Really wonderful. Alan

I'm afraid not. I'm ferocious ignorant. I hope Jason doesn't do that to his Black 5.

Well, at least it'll be properly named when it's back up.

Please don't rip it up again. I couldn't bear it. If it's not up to scratch, move on, do the next piece. Start a list of what you're going to upgrade as soon as you finish, and put the bit you're not happy with at the top of the list. Then, when everything's up and running, you can start weekend possessions to replace the sub-standard sections. That way, you'll never get bored just running trains, but you will get to run trains, and I'll get to admire the pictures. At a certain stage, perfection is the enemy of excellence. Alan

And how will you lay the track in there? Looks like the modelling equivalent of keyhole surgery. Alan

Erm, I like B17s but I've never liked LNER Pacifics. Fireboxes like flared trousers and smokebox door darts like something a mod would put on a Vespa. And as for the A4s - well, that's just a big long diesel hood, isn't it? But, with the help of this thread, I'm learning. I'm learning. Alan Alan

Hello Gilbert, I think the reason cloudy skies look better is that the lighting in your room doesn't cast the right shadows for a sunny day. If the buildings and trains are not bathed in sunlight, a sunny sky will look wrong. I've been following this thread quietly since last Summer, and just thought I'd chip in now when you're feeling a bit down. I've no background interest in the Eastern Region at all, but yours is by far my favourite thread on rmweb. I particularly like the good natured discussion of every aspect of modelling and the prototype, from weathering to unidentified signalling, to Hales fruit pies, vacuum pipes, lamps and telegraphs. It's always interesting, frequently amusing, and I've learned so much about Pacifics that I think I could grab a notebook and stand at the end of a platform in 1958 and not be detected as an intruder. I particularly enjoy the photo of the day, and the fact that there is always something interesting happening at Peterborough. It always brightens things up when work gets tedious here. From your thread I've discovered Tom's York shed, Tim's weathering, Grantham and, belatedly, Tetley's Mills, and I'm deeply saddened by Dave's diagnosis and just hope for the best. Anyway, whatever happens, keep up the posting and the modelling behind it, and I'll return to the platform and keep pressing the 'like' button. Alan

I always have to remind myself with your modelling that I'm looking at 2FS, not P4. Alan

I can fill in on the E Class from Doyle and Hirsch, Locomotives and Rolling Stock of CIE and NIR, 1st ed, 1979: Number series 421-434 Introduced 1961 Weight 42t 16cwt Max Tractive Effort 23,940lbs Wheel Arrangement C Driving Wheel Diameter 3'2" Max speed 25mph Length 31'4 1/4" Engine Maybach MD220 420 hp gross, 400 hp traction Hydraulic transmission. I read somewhere else that their speed was limited to 25mph after an accident. I think the all black livery was just the black and tan with the orange blacked out for engines that were, as you say, only or mainly used for freight. Alan

That's a blistering work rate. I particularly like the sweeping reverse curves, and the way they're dictated by the landscape. Trains are going to look fantastic running along that section. I almost get vertigo looking at that footbridge, like an even more extreme version of the road down to my favourite highland station, Strome Ferry (No Ferry). Alan

Hi Peter, I've just been browsing this thread and was struck by your plea for comments. Overall, this is a very impressive model, and I particularly like the flowing trackwork and the operational potential, but I've a few queries of comments. First, I think you need to lose the lighthouse. Lighthouses are located on headlands and at the mouth of harbours. Your quay is presumably located in a bay or estuary, with shelter provided by the surrounding land, so the lighthouse would be on the headland, possibly several kilometres away. The mouth of a navigable river would be marked with buoys, red to port and green to starboard, but your river is not navigable because of the non-opening railway and road bridges across it. You might have some kind of marker light on the small headland between the quay and the river to assist shipping heading for the quay, but I think that is as much as might be there. (Trust me on this, I'm a sea kayaker. ) Second, the road bridge should end behind the warehouse building, not in front of it, because the road has to continue on in front of the building. Indeed, with the bridge and warehouse so close, I'm wondering how you get off the road and into the warehouse. Could you build a warehouse so close to a road on an embankment? Could you build a road right there if the warehouse was built first? (Don't necessarily trust me on this, I'm not an engineer.) Third, I'm a bit surprised at seeing a cattle dock at the end of the main line into the branch platform. Wouldn't the presence of wagons in the dock block the entire road and prevent any train arriving? Surely the home signal could not be 'off' while there are wagons in the dock? I know Leighton Buzzard has something similar, but it's effectively a siding off the release line, and all movements are signalled into the platform road. (Don't trust me at all on this: you may have some prototype in mind where this happened, and anyway, I'm neither a beast nor a stationmaster.) Quibbles aside, it's a lovely layout and I hope some day I can manage something half as good. Best wishes. Alan PS - I meant to add: post bigger pictures so that we can really admire the quality of your modelling. (Please.)

I'm at about the same stage. I've done 4 straights but haven't sorted out soldering yet, and am plucking up my courage for pointwork. From what I've read, you need to remember your gauge widening, and you'll need 2 of the triangular gauges to do that, 2 points on the outside and single point on the inside, otherwise you get gauge narrowing. Iain Rice's "Approach to Finescale Track Building" is good for demystifying things. I got a copy from one of the specialist booksellers, I forget which. I think to get the exact curve you'd need to tape the paper down with masking paper and make sure the board is completely steady relative to your centre point, 4 ft away. Keep posting. I'll be interested to see how it works. All the best, Alan

Scalefour Society has templates for LNWR track in 30ft and 60ft lengths dated 1914. I don't know if that means they were laying both types at the time, or that those were the lengths in existence. I don't know what lengths other LMS constituents were using either. 45 ft lengths seem to have been fairly common in the 1900 to 1910 period and would likely still have been in use 20 to 30 years later. I hope that helps. Alan