roythebus

The 4DD car at Sellindge is now under cover, the ownership was transferred from the original chap who died a couple of years ago to a group of enthusiasts. they have wisely invested in covered accommodation and have a very long lease on the land. They've started cosmetic restoration of the car. You can find them on FB, type 4DD in the search bar.

Don't forget the 4DD car (not bra) that is in storage at Sellindge and the other one in Northampton, and the 4TC sets "preserved" by LTM for operational use.

Many years ago Peter Elmslie gave me a load of his negatives to print and do what I like with. I've started posting them on my FB page and the Real Trainspotting FB group. Here's a few of them. Now guess the location! None are identified by location, subject or date! M7 at Waterloo, 4-4-0 at Feltham or Nine Elms, 0-6-0 at Willesden and Willesden shed yard.

There is a tunnel at the end of HS1 at St.Pancras that is not even under the ground! You might also be surprised to learn that there's only 3 tunnels on the original Metropolitan Railway. One is from High Street Kensington to Notting Hill Gate and the other 2 are east of Kings Cross on the Met and Widened Lines. All the other "tunnels" aren't, as they are built by cut and cover. Facts from the History of the Metropolitan District Railway which I've recently read, the 1914 edition.

The connection was always under the street in cut and cover tunnel. Street level was always as it it now. somewhere recently, maybe on a FB group there's a picture of the same bit of road in pre-war days and it clearly shows Broad Street on the left about 20' up in the air and the wall to Liverpool Street on the right. The railway ran along the road with wagon turntables as shown on the OS map. The street level may well have been a lot lower in Roman times.

So do I but it doesn't really bother me. What bothers me more is layouts that don't work, waiting for ages for something to move, lots of button pressing on DCC layouts to get something moving, operators chatting instead of making things work. Going off-topic a bit, back in the early 1980s i made a German HO layout using the then new Peco code 75 and the first off the line double slip. The layout was on more or less bare boards with just track and a couple of buildings, a branch terminus to reverse loops. I used Kadee couplings for the first time. It went to a show at Hemel Hempstead and had a crowd round it all weekend. There were other bigger/better/prettier layouts that didn't attract crowds. When I asked people why they all stood watching my layout, the answer was "because it works". The fact that trains may have bumped over the points (Rivarossi didn't like code 75 in those days) and it was not British didn't worry them. Trains moved, it worked.

Does anyone particularly notice a bit of bumping of some vehicles over pointwork? I doubt it unless it is really noticeable, so in my eyes 0.1mm on a flangeway ain't gonna make much difference. It's a manufacturing tolerance.

Best leave it at 14.5, some flanges are wider and may bind on 16.5 gauge.

The link from Liverpool Street Met to Liverpool Street GER was not electrified, nor was the Met in those days. The road between Broad Street and Liverpool Street was in the open.

Oh dear...sounds like the ex management trainee TCS at Rugby just after I started in 1975. there was always a problem with late running freight, men getting sent home pass and the like. A set of Garston men were waiting for their return freight which was as usual running hours late, but they of course were prepared to wait (for overtime purposes). There was some sort of dispute on at the time. He wanted them to work an earlier late-running train. No way, they insisted they'd work their train. So he booked them off. First words were "ok, where's the lodge?" "What lodge?" "Hotel, B&B, y'know..you booked us off away from home depot so we need a lodge". They went home pass to Garston, their train stayed in Rugby down goods for several days while they found someone prepared to work it north.

Looking alongside Liverpool Street Station in 2020 on the right, the ediface on the left would have been Broad Street Station! Hard to imagine that many years ago railway wagons would have run along this bit of street! Liverpool Street is behind the camera.

I've just read an ancient book on the history of the Metropolitan District Railway written pre-WW1. It mentions parts of the original Metropolitan Railway on there as the two are interconnected. It states in there there are only 2 tunnels on the Metropolitan Railway, one between high Street and Notting Hill, the other east of Kings Cross going towards Farringdon. Sadly I can't remember the names of them and have tried to refer back to the book but the index there isn't much help. It says all the other "tunnels" are actually cut and cover, so technically not tunnels at all. I can't see the KX "tunnels" being anything but cut and cover as they're not too deep below ground.

No, from what I've read from private railway staff groups on FB, the "conductor" who died was not conducting the driver for route knowledge purposes. He was the "rule book" conductor in charge of the train. He was not a driver. The condutor who went to the nearest signalbox to raise the alarm was a lady member of staff. As a former railwayman (and still occasionally active on heritage lines) I wouldn't hesitate to offer assistance in emergency.

Kings Cross rarely used an 08 as station pilot, 1S and 2S as they were known were usually a class 31. that way the 31 could be used incase of a main line loco failure. The first train I ever worked as a secondman at Rugby in December 1974 was an 81 with a single SR CCT from Rugby to Crewe. 3300hp for a 20 ton van! The canvas post office bags were notorious for being flea-ridden. I speak from personal experience when we had to travel back pass from Doncaster to KX, my driver reckoned it would be an idea to kip on the mail bags. We were both itching for days after.

My railway room was a built by the previous owners as a music studio so is already insulated and brick built too! It's similar size to yours, about 7m long x 3.8m wide.

Back in the early 1980s I built a German branch line layout in HO, about 3.5m x 0.5m wide, a plan taken from a German track plans book. It originally went to a couple of reversing loops rather than the usual fiddle yard and it worked well. A move of house meant that I could then expand it, so built a helix at on end to a set of loops underneath plus a reverse loop so there was no need to handle any of the stock except if it derailed! The helix was built into plywood box for transport and was from memory 4 circles of 8mm ply supported by 6mm threaded rod for easy adjustment. I used Lima 1st radius curves for the inner track as I had a load in stock and 2nd radius for the outer track. The inner track was used to send trains down for obvious reasons. I never really had a problem with locos pulling or pushing trains up, though they were limited 6 coaches by layout length. Some of the very long German coaches such as the Silberlings (silverfish) scale length didn't like the tight corners but didn't give any problems. The layout attended a few shows but was dismantled pre a further house move. The helix was a major talking point as it seemed to be unique on the British exhibition circuit. That layout gave me many years of pleasure. Quite how British stock coped with the helix I can't remember. The other thing was the helix was operated automatically using good old-fashioned relays and could stack 4 trains on the upward spiral, along with 6 in the loops and 3 on the reverse loop gave quite a variety of stock.

The club installed a bar in the upper hall about the time we started building New Annington. I'm sure it took more than 60 pints to build it.

Looks good. What gauge is that? I had problems with one turnout, I made the same mistake as you, put a chair on the wrong way round. the other common thing is to get the rail upside down.

Or a steel ruler on a hot day?

Remember Kings Cross also provided ready-made coaches built from their kits to special order. there were built up by Simon Kelly who not only built and finished the coaches, but also operated the huge flypress in the basement which cut out all the window apertures. Simon's coaches have a cast SMK plate underneath. Kings Cross also provided hand and kit built locos, those built by Mike Shepard were stamped with MJS and those by Jeff Packham JP. Simon Kelly was in touch with me over the last year on here; the last I saw of Jeff Packham was in 1973, and I don't know if Mike Shepard is still with us.

I have a few packets of Kenline odds and sods in my boxes of bits, mostly brake ger. When I worked in the Kings Cross shop in 1968/69 we used to stock a range of Kenline stuff including the full kits. Bodies were embossed cardboard with cast underframe bits.

Note the use of Horny 5 radius corners...

Rail mounted cranes in those days. Have a look at the pictures further up of spans being installed. I doubt that there were many big road cranes in those days.

Some bits round Hastings have just had the old semaphores replaced with....new semaphores! Why? Because of overlaps and the like which do not comply with latest standards. It was easier to replace like-with like.