dunwurken

Martin You are correct the C&M wagons should have black ironwork. You can vary the lettering if you want as CMR was also used. Photo of narrow gauge wagon No7 attached. Malcolm

Hi Martin As others have pointed out the photographs of the CMR wagon and 'Angus' were taken on Ted Polet's layout. The wagon was a gift to Ted from PDH however 'Angus' is now in the care of the 009 Society. Ted's wagon is one of those converted from a 'MOKO' wagon and three others survive, one with the 009 Society and two in the Edinburgh & Lothians MRC's P D Hancock Collection. The MOKO wagons can now and then be found on e-bay. Much of what survives of Craigshire is now in the E&LMRC's PDH Collection. I am the current custodian of the Collection which resides with me in East Lothian [the county west of Craigshire]. Further details can be found in the April 2015 Railway Modeller or feel free to contact me direct. Some photographs are on the internet and may be found here: - https://get.google.com/albumarchive/112904466287746079405?source=pwa If you should decide to build a shop on your layout where P D Hancock is the proprietor might I suggest a bookshop or an outside clothing and equipment store. PD was a librarian at Edinburgh University and contrary to popular belief his his first love was not model railways but hill walking and rambling. Malcolm

This is a most interesting project which I shall be watching with interest. Just be advised that if any Craig and Mertonford standard gauge wagons do end up on your line make sure you return it promptly or you will hear from Lord Craigi.e. he will be demanding cash!! Yes there was at least one Craig and Mertonford standard gauge wagon, photo attached. Malcolm

For Edinburgh you cannot beat Harburn Hobbies in Elm Row just a short distance to the north of the city centre on Leith Walk. Bob Baird is the proprietor. They advertise on this forum and have a website, just Google Harburn Hobbies.

As an Edinburgh resident and St Margarets shed basher I can confirm it is St Margarets with the Parsons Green Terrace tenements peeking over the boundary wall. Malcolm

OK I'd better admit it, I've got a slight bias as well! As much as I admire PD my bias is towards PDH!!!Malcolm

I gather there has been an incident on the Welshpool and Llanfair. Other than a car got hit on a crossing and thankfully there are no injuries I have no other information. Malcolm

Curiously enough I nearly typed 'Cowlairs or Inverurie'. Malcolm

No it's just come home from a general repair and repaint at Cowlairs.Malcolm

Does anyone know if the 61016 number to report matters to BTP is London only or does it apply throughout the UK. It would have come in handy a year or so ago when a drunk oil rig worker dropped his trousers in front of young kids near Dundee. Guard spoke to the guy but he was too wasted to care. No sign of BTP at Dundee. Presumably if they had been called train or witnesses would have been delayed whilst statements taken. Do all guards not carry a mobile phone with which they could contact BTP direct? Malcolm

Thanks for the memory. I can recall being taken by my parents to see Sammy at the old Waverley Market exhibition hall in Edinburgh in the mid to late 50's. I was already the owner of a small Hornby tinplate layout and to see a layout bigger than our living room and crammed with trains is something which has remained etched in my memory ever since. Sadly I was not one of the chosen few to be invited to operate. Malcolm

Do I want to get drawn into commenting?????? A passing comment. P. D. Hancock was a member of the Edinburgh and Lothians MINIATURE Railway Club which in 1951 was a spin off from the local model engineers society. I have had many an interesting discussion with people at model railway exhibitions as to the use of the word Miniature rather than the word Model in the club title but the club's founder, one W Loch Kidston of O Gauge Guild and Protofour fame, was adamant the club would build railways in miniature rather than models of them. Needless to say he and the club parted company after a brief relationship! Apologies for the topic drift. Malcolm

Steam Days magazine makes frequent use of photographs from the Kidderminster collection. Perhaps the editorial team could put you in direct touch with whoever is custodian of the collection these days e-mail red.gauntlett@btconnect.com Malcolm

I wrote to RM some time ago pointing out P D Hancock modelled in OO not EM but for some reason they have not altered his three entries. Malcolm

Sorry to learn that you are being forced to sell the layout. I personally cannot take project on as I am already up to my eyeballs with the Craig and Mertonford. I do hope you find a good home for it, please keep us informed of progress. Malcolm

Not entirely certain but, despite the age of the articles, you might be breaching copyright if you posted scanned copies on this forum. A couple of errors relating to P D Hancock appear to have crept into said supplement. On page 4 there is a photo of the cover of RM February 1954 with caption "Covers of the early 1950's often featured layouts and builders - here PD Hancock, February 1954". This is wrong as the guy in the photo on the cover of the RM Feb 1954 looking at Craig is Ian Hutchison. The correct cover to use as the example should have been March 1953 which does feature PD in it. Page 8 features the magazine in the 1970's and includes a photo described as: "Colour photos gave a whole new slant on old favourites such as the Craig and Mertonford". The photo shows a NER 4-4-0 on the standard gauge in front of what is assumed to be a section of narrow gauge on a higher level with a Colonel Stephens style railbus on it and some mineral wagons which in turn is in front of a high street with a tramway on it and a guards band marching down the street. This it turns out is in fact the 'North Wylam and Briegate' by the Leeds MRC and featured in the Railway Modeller November 1973. The photo shows 'Briegate Junction' on that layout, the high level narrow gauge being 12mm gauge, using TT chassis. The picture also appeared in colour in the February 1972 issue of RM on the centre full colour pages. RM editorial team have been informed. Malcolm

I have been around government building projects long enough to know that if there is the political will to do something like build a double track railway from Perth to Inverness then it would happen. Others will correct me if I am wrong but I not think there is anything from an engineering point of view which would stop that happening - for much of its route the Highland main line is in open country with obstacles yes but nothing insurmountable if the cash was available. It would put the cost up probably beyond what anyone might consider reasonable but it could probably be doubled, if not completely then at least for most of its route, for less than the overspend on the GWML electrification. Dunwurken

Would those who wish to discuss the failings of the GWML electrification project start a new thread please. I fail to see what a discussion about a two/four track botched electrification project has to contribute to the single/double Highland main line study Dunwurken

In some of the earlier postings mention is made of a Moko 0-4-0T loco and wagons. I have recently taken delivery of a loco and two wagons P D Hancock would have picked up for a few shillings each in the late 1940's / early 1950's. PDH used a similar donor loco body for 'Ian'. He also purchased at least four, possibly more, Moko wagons which can be seen in many 1950's photos of the CMR. Four wagons still exist, one with Ted Polet, one with the 009 Society and two with the E&LMRC Collection. These purchases will be added to the E&LMRC Collection in due course. Malcolm

I've had the same problem with the N gauge 0-4-0 shunter used as the basis for 'Christine' on the Craig and Mertonford. The expanding weights caused a crack to appear between the cab and the bonnet. Replaced them with weights from another loco which show no signs of expansion. Malcolm

No, it was described as "skilfully weathered"! (Those familiar with PDH's 'Woolies'will get that one!) Yes long term fingers are crossed but they come on the market so rarely and at 99p it was worth the risk. It is now well covered in undercoat so we will see. I am keeping my eyes open for another as a back up. Mazak seems to be a cross those of us attempting to keep our modelling heritage intact for future generations must bear.Malcolm

In addition to the drawing there photographs of 'Ian' in the book. There are now a couple of replica's around, my own one is currently in the workshops getting ready for a lick of paint and the adding of handrails etc. It started as a £0.99 purchase on e-bay [top photo below] and when finished will be similar to Rod Allcock's 'Ian' [lower photo below] though it will be painted in the later, lighter CMR green. The body of the original 'Ian' still exists. The locos do appear now and again on e-bay but I have yet to see any of the open wagons which were also marketed under the MOKO label. Further photographs can be found if you scroll down the page here http://www.dream-tintoys.com/index.php?page=moko Malcolm

David, sorry to inform you your retirement / redundancy is postponed. Like all good layouts once the trains are running we assume the layout is complete but what about the footbridge and all these large stones to be moved around, obviously the artist in charge is still not satisfied with the final form of the mystery artwork. Readers of this thread request, nay demand, you stay on duty until the last Orange suit and his portaloo have left the site. Malcolm PS: Thank you for recording this job in so much detail, is has been fascinating.

Did Peco not have an LGW van in their wonderful wagon series? Malcolm

For me it was P D Hancock, that mix of narrow gauge and Scottish standard gauge steam had me captivated. I am fortunate that many years later I find myself as custodian of much of what survives of Craigshire and the Craig and Mertonford. The1950's were a golden era for the Edinburgh and Lothians MRC which included amongst its members, P D Hancock, Ken Northwood, John Charman, Sir Eric Hutchison and Don Rowland. As custodian of Craigshire I have been undertaking research into P D Hancock and his work and have what I hope is the definitive list of P D Hancock's articles. As time permits I am delving into the work of Ken, John, Don and Sir Eric and I am particularily grateful to the link to the archived RMWeb post containing a list of the articles by John Charman. A few more gaps have been filled. Does anyone out there have a list of the articles by Ken Northwood and Sir Eric [whose work goes back to 1925] and for that matter, Don Rowland. I already have a list of articles but I suspect there are gaps. Malcolm