David Bigcheeseplant

The last one and out of focus but it does give an idea how good this model was when built and still is now

Maybe I should have taken more, but maybe this is the last one , I just took all these with my phone camera in a matter of a couple of minutes. This layout was heading for the skip as there were no takers, so our club decided to take it on it may well appear at some stage at one of our shows

Another photo the crossing keeper house has long gone but the terraced houses still stand although now with PVC windows and extentions

Another photo of Geoff Williams Aylesbury High Street, The houses still stand in Aylesbury although the railway is now a road. This model was built in the 1970s and the standard still cuts the mustard 40 years on

A photo taken on my phone of Geoff Williams model of Aylesbury High Street station

I notice the photo of 64xx has a copper cap chimney something none of the class had plus green tank fronts they should be black, although if this is how they come then it would be out with the paint brush.

The photo in post 10, it looks more broad gauge than standard like the coach behind

I think the photo is of a broad gauge tilt wagon rather than standard gauge

When working on the Wild Swan stand at Expo EM we pop the books into Scalefourum bags!

A GWR tilt wagon were mostly broad gauge wagons although there were standard gauge versions and were open wagons with high rounded ends with a tarpaulin that covered the wagon a bit like a gypsy caravan David

At Expo EM yesterday Chris Gibbon at High level kits said he is quite advanced on a etched chassis for the Bachman 64XX although it will capable to be built for a 54XX and 74XX, apparently the brake hanger brackets are different on the 74XX and he is looking for a drawing. David

I visited Great Hasley windmill today on the access road to the mill I found this GWR mink with original doors and crossed braced ends, then I noticed a grounded GWR clearstory coach is was tucked away between a barn and some sheds. David

The north end of Aylesbury station the building on the end of the platform is the ex Aylesbury & Buckingham signal box, the front windows are not fitted correctly yet and the roof needs to be stated. The model itself was laser cut in 2mm MDF and has the correct Flemish garden wall bond brickwork.

Aylesbury shed

Looking at how close the cast frames are to the wheels I don't think it could be converted to P4

Vale of Oxbury will also be at Railex in Aylesbury in May

I have not seen an original track plan, and may or may not now exist. The bridge by the trainshed was not there when the station was a terminus, and is of a different design to the other one at the London end of the station, The bridges from Wycombe to Thame were elliptical while Thame to Oxford had square corners between the arch and vertical walls Oddly when the loop was extended the buttresses of the goods shed had to be cut back 4.5 inches.

Here is the cross section drawing of Thame showing the end of the engine shed with wooden panelling as per my above post this is shown at the London end I wonder if it was built like this or if they swapped it around on construction, It not the first time railway buildings have not been built to the plans. David

The original drawings of Thame station show wooden timberwork on the end of the engine shed, with wooden doors at the other end, the trainshed is open at both ends. Oddly the doors of the engine shed are at terminus (Oxford end) while the timber work is at the London end, both Thame and Wycombe stations were built to the same footprint and design. although not handed Thame was built 180 degrees to Wycombe with the platform on the up side (Wycombe on the down side) so was Thame originally meant to be built the other way round! David

Having looked at the stations on the Thame and Aylesbury lines all the stations had the same style of name board as Wheatley, these are metal signs with pressed letters as per your example, the front face was enamelled with white letters on a blue background, I am not too sure when there was a change to white letters on a black background. The more general style of letters screwed to a wooden background always seems to always been white on black. The cast or pressed name plate had serifs while the wooden type was just block style, it seemed those stations with the pressed cast name boards seemed to retain them to closure. David

Kenton where did you get the information on 27 months, The engine shed appears on the original drawings of the station and a accident was reported at Thame on 24th May 1864. “A ballast engine was detached from its train to take water on the engine shed siding, for some reason the engine ran with great force into the engine shed smashing the front of the passenger engine, slivering to pieces large blocks of wood, also forcing completely out the brickwork at the end of the shed”, this is quite confusing as the mention of masonry conflicts with the timber drawn on the contract drawings. A board of trade report of 1891 states “A new platform, footbridge and signal box brought into use”. The new platform was on the line of the engine house so this would have needed to be dismantled to allow this to be built. The engine house was certainly out of use and may even have been dismantled before the date of construction of this new platform. So the engine shed must have gone before 1891 but 27months seems a very short time David

I have quite a bit of info on Thame plus photos, I will see what I have when I get home, The Blue signs at Wheatley may well have been GWR enamel white on blue background used at some stations around the late 1900s, by the 1950s I am sure Thame had standard wooden screwed on letters white on black. Thame was built as a terminus with just a single platform where the second platform was there was a engine shed.

Paul Brambrick's Bristol Temple Meads which I took some photos this afternoon

I have just noticed another detail the handrail on the side tank on photos with no top feed version has a kink where the pipe to the top feed should go by the cab, so this seems to fit that 6403 was fitted with a top feed but when a non top feed boiler was fitted the tanks remained the same as they still had the kinked handrails.

I think the tank is black rather than just dirty as the splasher sides are clearly green, but why has the left hand tank got the upturned type of step, I would have thought it unlikely to change a step so I expect the whole of the left hand tank was changed too, its a pity we can't see the other side, so were both tanks changed and if so could it be that when the new top feed boiler was put on it was a simpler job to swap the tanks too from tanks that had been fitted to a top feed boiler.