Chris Turnbull

Chesterton Junction I can do plus loads more East Anglian green era stuff so don't worry. Remind me again in a few months time if I have forgotten! Like you, my school's sports field was adjacent to a railway line, in my case the Bury St Edmunds - Sudbury line. The passenger service had ceased the previous year by the time I got there but there was still a daily freight to Lavenham which was BTH Type 1 (class 15) hauled. This was one of the few remaining duties for which they were designed (see earlier post) which itself ceased in 1965. I was never any good at cricket to the eternal disappointment of my father (who was wicket keeper for Suffolk in his younger days) so I was always one of the last in bat. This meant that if I was lucky I would hear a rumble in the cutting near where I and my colleagues would be sitting upon which signal we would rush to see what locomotive was on the train that day. This was just to the south of the erstwhile Bury St Edmunds Eastgate station and is now part of the A14 by-pass. If you look to the west as you travel down that part of the road the western side of the railway cutting can still be seen. Chris Turnbull

OK Stewart (and everyone else), here's some more of Cambridge all taken on 14th September 1974: North of Cambridge station lie the bridges of Mill Road and Coldhams Lane. This is one of the 03s to which Stewart refers, in this case 008, taken from Mill Road bridge looking north. They were permanently attached to match trucks at this time due, I believe, to problems with the short wheelbase of the locomotives and the track circuiting. I cannot remember exactly what the problem was but I am sure that there is someone who does in the erudite membership of this forum. Here we have a view looking north from Mill Road bridge towards Ely with Coldhams Lane diesel depot in the distance. This is taken from Coldhams Lane bridge looking southwards towards Mill Road bridge which can be seen in the far distance. An unidentified DMU heads north past the architectural eyesore of the diesel depot clearly built for functionality over aesthetics. Crossing to the other side of the bridge this is an Ipswich service taking the Bury line at Coldhams Lane Junction. At this time the line was still double track and due to the sharp curvature was checkrailed on both lines. I'm off on my bicycle now to the south of Cambridge... ...puff, puff, puff. Well, here we are at Long Road bridge, the next bridge south from Hills Road where we see 37109 departing on a London train. To the left is the trackbed of the former LNWR route to Bedford, Bletchley and Oxford, now subsumed into the guided busway. This was an extremely useful cross-country route albeit slow, on which I only ever travelled as far as Bedford St Johns and which we are now regretting the closure of. Next time I think we'll continue our peregrinations around East Anglia and buy a ticket for Ipswich stopping off at Bury St Edmunds on the way. After that I think a trainspotting trip might be in order but I can't decide whether to take the Colchester - Newcastle train or the boat train to Manchester via the GN & GE Joint and Woodhead. But don't worry all you East Anglian aficionados, I will buy a return ticket! Again thanks to Jonny777 for vetting these photographs. He'll be regretting he offered his help before long! Chris Turnbull

Ah, yes. I see it now. Excellent! Chris Turnbull

Nowadays its cable theft that is the problem... Chris Turnbull

Time for some signals now,I think... A view of the south end of Cambridge station taken from Hills Road bridge on 4th January 1969 with a fine GE bracket signal in the foreground. Note the wooden theatre boxes which, sadly, we can only see the back of. An unidentified Class 31 is either entering or leaving the station with Cambridge South signalbox in the middle distance and the fine GE goods shed to the right. Cambridge is famous for its scissors crossover in the middle of the platform which at one time was controlled by the GE signals shown here. This is the southern signal on 4th January 1969, there being a mirror image signal at the north end. Cambridge also had some LNER/GE miniature semaphore shunting signals, this one being photographed on 29th March 1980 There was also a very rare yellow miniature semaphore shunting signal in the locomotive yard to the north of the station and one of my big regrets is that I never took the opportunity to photograph it when I had the chance. For the record it was yellow (obviously) with a horizontal black bar through it and it lasted until 1982. And finally this is a shunting signal in use with 31138 about to pass on 16th May 1980. The ex- GE GN goods shed is to the left. My thanks to Jonny777 for vetting these photographs before posting. Chris Turnbull

Glad you are enjoying the show. Thanks for posting a "now" shot; you've saved me the bother of scanning one of mine! This shot of D5569 is probably an even better match to your photo: Chris Turnbull

You'll be pleased to know that I do indeed. And thank you for your help. I have always been partially colour blind and this has become worse as I have aged such that I am now nearly totally colour blind. Because of this I can't actually see any difference between your pictures and mine although I'm sure it is there. If you are happy to help me out, I'm more than willing to accept your help. Chris Turnbull

More than happy for you to give me any help you can. Many thanks. Chris Turnbull

I thought we'd have a BTH (British Thomson-Houston) Type 1 / Class 15 fest today so here goes: This is D8227 and D8229 on a very wet 22nd April 1968 at Ipswich Another pair, D8203 and D8209 on a drier and sunnier evening at Bury St Edmunds on 28th May 1968 Finally D8240 and D8236 at Haughley on 31st May 1968 These locomotives were a bit of a "white elephant" of the BR Modernisation Plan as they were intended for branch line freight which was in the process of terminal decline when they were introduced. They also suffered from poor forward vision for the driver so were used in pairs in their final years as are the remaining Class 20s still today. Anyone intending a model of one of a BTH Type 1 / Class 15 should note that the front and rear of the cabs were painted a light grey. I have seen one model with these painted yellow which, to me, spoilt what was otherwise a fine representation. Well, that's enough of locomotives for the time being. I thought I might dig out some photographs of signals and other railway paraphernalia for the next batch but don't worry all you loco fans, I've got a couple of thousand photographs taken over the last 50 years and they increase on a regular basis. I also thought I might try a few "then and now" selections but please bear with me as this all takes time! Chris Turnbull

And for the steam fans here's four shots taken at Rose Grove on 10th July 1968. Steam was in its dying days with but three weeks left of revenue-earning service and a month until the infamous "Fifteen Guinea Special" 8F 48493 leaves Rose Grove yard in a cloud of steam with a class H freight. Meanwhile "Black 5" 44781 runs in the opposite direction with another class H freight. Rose Grove MPD is in the background. 8F 48400 enters the MPD. Note the Permanent Way gang - no hard hats, no high-vis or wet weather gear and no power tools! "That's 'ow it were in them days." And on shed here's "Black 5" 45156 "Ayrshire Yeomanry" sadly devoid of nameplates but at least she's had a rub down with an oily rag, if only on one side. Chris Turnbull

Here's some more then This is D1528 at Norwich on 16th April 1968. Although there is a blemish on the slide I have included it as it shows a Brush Type 4 (they weren't 47s then) in blue livery sporting the "arrows of indecision" logo but with a "D" prefixed number. Also note that it's hauling a maroon Mk.1 On the same day as the above green-liveried Brush Type 2 D5581 enters Norwich with a mixed rake of maroon and blue/grey coaches. Finally here's Norwich's station pilot also on 16th April, D2020, in green livery with barrier wagon and rake of blue/grey coaches. Chris Turnbull

Dear All I have finally bought a flat bed scanner on which I can scan my old colour slides. Here's my first attempt: E56447, E51270, E56448 and E51293 at Abbey on 29th March 1980. There's more to come if you would like me to post a selection. Regards Chris Turnbull

May I say I have been gripped by this thread. Having very little knowledge (until recently) of North American railroads this has been a real eye-opener. I've even bought the Pentrex DVDs "Last of the Giants". Fantastic stuff, what impressive machines. Cheyenne in 2019 perhaps? Regards Chris Turnbull

Yes, D8081 at Carlisle Kingmoor on 25th August 1967. Chris Turnbull

And something else not often modelled... Chris Turnbull

Try this link:- http://planning.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/swift/MediaTemp/35909-27416.pdf Chris Turnbull

Ken I will send you a copy of the BRM article by PM now that I have discovered that they exist! Chris Turnbull

Darren My apologies for not replying sooner but I have not checked this thread for a while. The layout is 28 feet overall comprised of an 8 feet fiddle yard and 20 feet scenic section. It lives in my garage but can only be fully erected by opening the garage doors and using the drive. Chris Turnbull

I was told off some years ago by a very experienced modeller and ex-railwayman for doing exactly what you have done - left some coal in the bottom of an empty wagon. He advised me that wagons would always be swept out as, if a delivery of coal had been paid for, nothing would be left behind. Made sense to me! Chris Turnbull

The buildings in this simulation are not correct. The nearest one is in the wrong position and they have all been assumed to be the same shape which they are not. Best thing to do is to ignore the simulation. Chris Turnbull

There is an aerial photograph of Lavenham station dated 3rd April 1929 on page 152 of Railway Stations from the Air published by Ian Allan, ISBN 0 7110 2980 6. They are all single storey timber buildings with what looks like corrugated iron roofs. The southernmost one has coal staithes attached and the northernmost one has a coal wagon adjacent to it. This latter building has a company nameboard attached although it is impossible to read it. It may be that they are all private coal merchants although I have never come across covered coal staithes before. The building to the north of the station is a rather grand house. Chris Turnbull

Jonathan Many thanks for your kind comments. They are much appreciated. It is very rewarding to engage with youngsters but also very tiring, especially the older I get. In the meantime here's a shot of Cromer in the raw state at an exhibition. Chris Turnbull

Thank you everyone for your kind comments. I am now back at home and have checked out the dates of previous articles of mine. Model Rail April 2000 where I explained how I scratchbuild my DMUs Modern Image Modelling Spring 2007 which contained the first description of my layout British Railway Modelling April 2011 where I updated my 2007 article As Don says, there are also various articles that have appeared from time to time in the Gauge O Guild Gazette. Regards Chris Turnbull

I have had a nearly complete scratchbuilt 156 for a couple of years now. I got bored with it so have put it away until inspiration returns. There isn't much left to do - just the underframe detail, seating and painting - so perhaps I will have the urge to complete it one day. This is supposed to be a hobby which should be enjoyable so I only do things that I feel like doing! Chris Turnbull

The 153s were scratchbuilt some 15 years ago, long before Peter (or anyone else) was marketing kits. In any event the 153s were converted from 155s of which the body profile is completely different to the 156s. The window / door configuration is also different so it would not have been possible to convert a 156 even if a kit were available. Chris Turnbull