MikeOxon

I notice that Welsh Disestablishment features in those headlines. It's worth reading G.K.Chesterton's very amusing poem on the subject: https://www.poeticous.com/chesterton/antichrist-or-the-reunion-of-christendom-an-ode Mike

As I recall, from discussion with my late Father who was a keen photographer from the late 1930s, ortho film was still the 'norm' until after WW2. Panchro film was much more difficult to process, since it needs total darkness, whereas ortho can be processed under a red 'safelight'. The early panchro films still had rather poor colour balance, so it took a long time before their higher cost and the difficulties of processing became worthwhile. Even the motion picture industry only started using pan film in the late 20s but mainly after 1930. I suspect therefore that most pre-WW1 railway photography was done using at best ortho materials. Mike

Yes, I wrote about it at https://www.rmweb.co.uk/blogs/entry/18267-red-wagons-experimental-archaeology/ Most of the illustrations have gone but I'll attempt some restoration, In the comments, I referred to this plot of film sensitivities:

I think that is more or less the route I followed when I started scratch building. It's much easier if you stick to an early time period. As I pointed out once, building a 2-2-2 locomotive is not that different from building a wagon - no coupling rods or alignment to worry about and, if you push it along with a motorised tender, it's just another 'vehicle'

You'll get at least two! Good photos make blog posts much more interesting. I work similarly to you but I tend to use flash bounced off a white ceiling as my main light, sometimes with an extra small flash to add some highlights. For illustrating work in progress, I now use a smartphone most of the time - quick and easy - but I like to use my Olympus for 'final' shots, usually against a plain background which I sometimes replace in processing with a back scene. It's always good to read of other people's methods. Your wagons look splendid! Mike

I don't thing that there's much odour from superglues but the fumes sting like mad if they get to your eyes! I've never noticed any lasting damage but it's something to avoid. Mike

I have found the gel type superglue survives better in the tube. The 'runny' type always goes off before I finish the little bottle. I also find the gel better for attaching very small parts as it stays in place when the parts are pressed together. Always allow plenty of time for the joint to harden though.

In all the recent discussion of streamlining, I'm surprised no-one has commented on the GWR railcars, I think the early versions were particularly attractive, before the 'bean counters' stepped in and replaced all those curves with flat panels. Imagine a 'Cornish Riviera' express based on power cars of this style - streamlined at both ends, with Centenary type carriages in between.

Every cyclist knows that air resistance is very significant at quite low speeds! I suspect, however, that the drag is mainly due to turbulence in the slipstream. A railway engine has the advantage of having a long train behind it, which plays a very significant role. The same is true with ships, where Destroyers used long slim hulls EDIT pointed out by JimC below that the case of surface ships is fundamentally different

3801 looks a bit like something I tried on a GWR 'Castle' - in this thread 18th Jan 2014

As you will have seen, the Baptist Chapel is a more elaborate building than on Richard Holder's model. The station and yard and now under Sainsbury's car park.

I note that the original Wantage Tramway office building is still in place on Mill Street, complete with its decorative frieze - image derived from Google Streetview. There's a 'blue plaque' on the side wall. Mike

Unlike this TVR 'S' class. I wonder how the fireman used his shovel? Mike

September 2013, p.735 to be precise. It's a fascinating model with lots of interesting details. Happy New Year, Mike

Apart from the crests, what struck me was that the mouldings between the panels should be black, not brown. This alters the appearance of the upper body sides. If you delve deeper into the details, there should be a fine brown line inside the edges of the cream panels, as in this example from Didicot:

It was the Hornby 2721 that set in train my movement into earlier time periods. We all know that "the devil is in the detail" but you have tackled your demons very well and set an example to us all. Sadly, my own models always seem to come to a halt after the basic outlines are completed and I always 'intend' to add details 'later'. I admire your determination to see the job through 👏 Mike

A superb place in Reading to learn about farm wagons and how they varied between different parts of England. Also with café and enclosed garden, with play area for kids. A bit tucked away but worth finding.

I know little about the design details of particular buses but I'm impressed by the improvement you have made, through the paint finish and detailing. All too often, it is the road vehicles that let down the 'realism' of model railway layouts and I think you have done very well in this respect. Mike

For anyone facing paths like those, I can recommend 'Yaktrax' walker grips, which clip over normal shoes. I bought them for a winter trip to Iceland and found them amazing on icy paths. (no connection - just a user)

I can see that advertising is a way of raising revenue for this site but I feel that some control over what is shown should be applied. Ads that are generally related to railways and railway modelling have a place but there are also ads appearing that are little more than scams designed to mislead. For example 'Heater Warms Up Room in 2 min' The claims made for this product are highly misleading and the 'user comments' are clearly faked, as they appear under different names in many similar ads. Look at 'Trustpilot' reviews to see some more realistic comments on the actual capabilities and the hazards associated with such devices. Is it not possible to exercise some control over what is shown on this site? I don't think it is good for the credibility of this site to promote such items. Mike

To me, it has all the charm of a Bo-Bo diesel. As I wrote in my Railway Modeller (Special 2019) article, 'The Swindon Ghost': "The appearance of subsequent express railway locomotives could have changed substantially, if this design had proved successful. I feel that the box-like structure. formed by the long side tanks. gives something of the appearance of a modern power car, carried on bogies at each end" What @Anniecalls a "dismal" 🙂

As you will know from my blog, I rarely make detailed measurements, so you may be correct. I simply took the Twining drawing and used Photoshop to swap the bogies. It seemed to me, by eye, that there was sufficient clearance (just) but it is possible that accurate measurements could prove me wrong.

I found the article from 'The Locomotive', 1940 very interesting, as it indicates that Twining had access to more information about the prototype than I gave him credit for, when I made my conceptual model. I had not recognised those cut-outs in the tank that do point to shorter eccentric rods than on the first 2-2-2 re-build. It does still seem rather odd, however, that the re-build should have reconstructed the outside motion with new rods when there was no apparent need to do so, especially as there were no access problems after the tanks had been removed. Like you, Jim, I am greatly indebted to the research that Les Summers has done. I strayed from his deductions only in allowing that Ahrons was correct about the two bogie wheelbases but might have placed them at the wrong ends! It is always extremely difficult to decide which 'facts' to accept and which to ignore, when so much of what has been written was based only on personal recollections. I think Les uncovered more information than anyone else seems to have done in recent times and made several well-considered deductions. It seems very odd to me that Twining asserts that there were no outside frames and also that the drawing he had access to showed nothing about tank filling and balancing arrangements. The drawing of the 4-4-0 'No.1' shows very shallow frames at the points where the front bogie 'E' brackets were attached, so why could not 'No.9' have had a similar type of frame extending the full length to carry brackets for both centre-less bogies?. On my model, I placed the fillers at the front, on the grounds that they would be easy to reach from the front footplate, in view of there being no foot-plating outside the tanks, which I had assumed spanned the full width of the shallow frames. I am very cautious about any later writings, such as Holcroft, because I feel they were probably influenced by Twining's interpretation, as well as other 'legends' that had grown up over the years. Twining points out that there is no evidence for centre bearings on either the front or rear bogies (if that's what they were) My model has centre bearings for the bogies as, otherwise it would have been completely unable to negotiate any curves. This failing appears to have been the principal failing of the prototype! Mike

Well tank, I think.

On the NLS website you can select seamless overlay of old maps over current mapping. May be helpful.