robertcwp

I have a Swindon on order from STEAM but have not heard anything yet. I was fairly late in placing my order so am probably towards the back of the queue.

Thanks for the comments. I would like to get back to doing more to the layout, like building the overbridge and road behind the carriage washer that I started about four or five years ago. Then work, new conservatory, house redecoration, new kitchen, more work, scanning five zillion carriage working books, running two Yahoo Groups and lots more got in the way. Plus I must put the full-size MARTON CENTRAL station sign I had made back on the wall in its proper place.

A few more photos from today. Bachmann/NRM DELTIC. No bufferbeam detail as I found that the bogies would not pivot if any of the detail were put on. P1050343as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Bachmann G2a having its first outing on a train. Very smooth runner and no problems handling almost 9' of coal wagons. Needs some dirtying though, like all the new stock. P1050344as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr First train hauled by my Bachmann Patriot - a good runner. P1050345as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Station. P1050342as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr How long will it be before we see RTR 10201/2/3? This is a Silver Fox one with Lima Class 40 bogies. It runs well enough. Those lampposts need straightening though. P1050348as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr P1050350as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Austerity 2-8-0. P1050347as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Britannia. I don't like the new Hornby loco-tender coupling arrangement. The plug is very fiddly and it's easy to accidentally uncouple loco and tender when putting them on the track, as I discovered when I noticed all that was holding the two together was the wire! P1050346as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

Layout is now restocked. Here are a few images. At last an outing for the Diagram 16 kitchen first. P1050327as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Ince Castle. The stock is in the winter formation of the Cambrian Coast Express c1959. P1050340as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Early diesels. P1050329as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Hopefully the last outing for this Class 22 as it will be replaced by a Dapol one. P1050332as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Bachmann 9F. P1050335as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Push-pull train passing the loco depot. P1050336as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Blue Pullman. P1050337as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Busy scene at the station. P1050339as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

Given the recent rate of progress, or lack of it, blue will not be appearing again for a year or two, other than DELTIC and a Blue Pullman. Tomorrow is track cleaning day followed by putting out the stock and testing all the new stock, of which there is lots since the layout last ran in c1960 period.

The DMU shed is two Peco diesel shed kits end to end. Fuelling points are the Knightwing kits. The rather SR looking concrete walkway is Ratio.

Probably because it is not a push-pull fitted one.

Where have all the trains gone? P105029as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr P1050300as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Time to change back to steam and early diesel era. All the track needs a clean first though. Only around 175 yards of it.

Railway Observer reported the 5-coach unit from 8001 running with Vep 7745 at the Bournemouth end and 7771 at the Waterloo end as the 1730 Waterloo-Bournemouth on 31 October 1969. The 3-coach set from 8001 had entered Eastleigh for overhaul at the end of October 1969 but the 5-coach set went in a week later. The unit was outshopped still in blue apart from buffet S1759 in blue/grey. This is probably when the unit lost its metal double arrow emblems from the cabsides, as subsequent photos show the unit with white double arrow transfers lower down on the cab sides. Incidentally, the whole unit was repainted blue/grey in 1972. I don't know what cooking arrangements S1759 had but if it remained as basically a normal RB it would have had propane gas cooking. I recall reading somewhere that S1759 was not fitted with EP brakes.

A bit more from the carriage workings, this time Summer 1969 Mon-Fri. The 8 Vab had a regular scheduled working, with a 4 Vep at the Bournemouth end: 0856 Bournemouth-Waterloo, 1147 return, 1456 from Bournemouth and 1730 return. As this would give 4 motor coaches, would they have cut one set of motors? I was under the impression that the Vab had three motor coaches to give it sufficient power to propel a TC, but could not do so because the Vep coaches did not have the extra power jumper for heating and lighting, which Reps did have so that they could feed the heat and light to the TCs. The 1744 Waterloo-Bournemouth was EDL, 8TC, 3TC and the 1810 Waterloo-Salisbury was DL, 8TC. There was a 1530 from Waterloo comprising EDL, 4TC for Bournemouth and a 4TC for Swanage. Reps were generally shown at the London end of trains. The 0847 from Waterloo was 4TC, 3TC for Weymouth and 4 Rep for Bournemouth. The 1030 was listed as 4TC for Weymouth and 4 Rep, 3TC (in that order) for Bournemouth. Bournemouth/Basingstoke slows were a 4 Vep, also with 4 Hap for either Alton or Portsmouth line. By 1969 Veps were finding their way onto the Portsmouth line too as they were by then ousting the 2 Bil and 2 Hal units. In 1967, the new service got off to a very bad start. Railway Observer reported lots of problems including many unit failures (Reps seem to have been good at losing shoes early on) and short formations. Also various temporary formations persisted after July 1967, including a Rep with a TC brake second and 4TC 422 running as a three-car set including a Rep brake first (this unit had run with a Rep buffet earlier in 1967). Photos of 422 in both these guises appear in the Ian Allan British Railway Pictorial First Generation Southern EMUs, though the author did not pick up on the points in the captions. Some Veps in the 7721-55 batch intended for the Central Division were switched to the South Western almost immediately (as well as three being used to form the Vab).

In the July 1967 carriage workings the Alton portions alternated every half hour between Bil and Hap according to what they joined/divided with at Brookwood or Woking. I'm not surprised things went wrong from time to time.

The images are not mine. They are from this excellent Flickr site: Chi Trevor's Photostream.

The van conversions began in the Network South East era, so not suitable for blue/grey. Can't recall when headlights came in. I had it in mind that Hornby were going to do the original van version too, which would be needed for blue and blue/grey liveries. Here are some new 4 Veps in 1970, including the first one in blue/grey - New Veps.

There were a couple of peak hour workings like this for several years in the 1980s. The 33 and TC went to Salisbury and the Veps to Eastleigh or Basingstoke. Here is a view of Bournemouth in 1967, with 33s and 73s in the old steam shed in the background: Bournemouth 1967

They look OK to me. The horizontal bar was well below the top of the droplight. See: 3543.

Looking at the 10 July 1967 Waterloo carriage workings, the fast and semi-fast trains are shown as 4 TC, 4 Rep, 4 TC. There was only a fast at xx30 from Waterloo every other hour (1030, 1230, 1430 Mon-Fri). On the even hour the xx47 semi-fast included a Weymouth portion. There was also a 1530 Bournemouth formed EDL, 4 TC, 3 TC, 4 TC. There was a xx13 Basingstoke/Portsmouth & Southsea formed 4 Vep for Basingstoke and 4 Hap for Portsmouth. Also a xx43 Bournemouth/Alton train formed 4 Vep for Bournemouth and 4 Hap for Alton. In the evening peak, the 1630 was listed as 4 TC (Weymouth), 4 TC, 4 Rep (Bournemouth). The 1730 (listed as 1730 1/2) was 4 TC, 3 TC, 4 TC, EDL for Bournemouth. There was an 1800 1/2 formed 4 TC, 3 TC (Salisbury), 4 TC, EDL (Basingstoke). There were several 8 Vep, 4 Hap departures but I could only find one that was 12 Vep. On Saturdays there was an 0955 formed DL, 4 TC, 3 TC (Swanage), 4 Vep (Bournemouth). DL = diesel loco; EDL = electro-diesel.

Note that the buffet cars for Reps 3012-5 were converted from 19xx series RU whereas those for 3001-11 were converted from 17xx series RB. There was a brief period c1974 when at least one Rep ran minus buffet and with one of the RMBs equipped with jumpers etc between it and a 4TC. I recall seeing the combination passing through New Malden. What was the rating of the 4 Rep motors? I have often seen 400 hp quoted but also 365 hp, the difference compared to Class 73 being a lower rating for the Rep on account of not having traction motor blowers. Is there any substance to this?

I thought of Newhaven Marine but that had/has services, albeit not many. Though Branksome had regular services, they were all diesel until the Weymouth electrification. The only electric trains Branksome saw for around 20 years were stock moves to/from Bournemouth depot, plus possibly an electro-diesel working. Prior to the Bournemouth electrification, the third rail extended west along the main line beyond Pirbright Junction to the now removed Sturt Lane Junction, where the curve round to Frimley was electrified and had a peak hour service into the 1960s. I think only the slow lines west from Woking were electrified in the 1930s.

Of the three 4 Vep units that provided vehicles for the 8 Vab, I believe one, 7739, never ran in service as such as the two spare driving trailers were used to replace accident-damaged vehicles in other units. Do any photos of 7739 exist? I believe it was delivered as such prior to the formation of the 8 Vab. I only saw the 8 Vab once, at Wimbledon depot. It was carrying a strange headboard on the gangway on one end. Photos of the 8 Vab in blue/grey are rare, though the Captial Transport colour album on Southern electrics includes one. It was repainted in 1972. The 3TC units survived long enough to carry blue/grey too. I recall seeing one at Clapham Junction and was rather confused as I thought EMUs were 4-coach sets and that one had a vehicle missing. Most of the 1967 Bournemouth stock was repainted blue/grey pretty quickly, except the Veps, where blue remained standard until 1971, apart from 7808 which was the trial unit in blue/grey from new. Here is a Hap/Vep combination reversing out of Branksome station to go to Bournemouth depot: Branksome In passing, how many other SR stations had 3rd rail but no regular electric service (or any electric service) for around 20 years, apart from Branksome?

I saw the test shot but no photo, sorry. It is of the original layout with large brake van. EDIT - sorry must have imagined this! I had a discussion during the show with several people about the large brake vans and must have had that on my mind. Incidentally, loads of 4 VEPs lasted long enough with the original van to carry Network South East livery. Only around half had been rebuilt by 1990 and photos of unmodified ones in NSE colours exist.

The gangway adaptors were fitted to the British Standard gangways. In most WR carriage working books, vehicles that needed adaptors were marked as such.

My reference to 1968 related to the day coaches rather than sleepers, which might have lasted slightly longer. I don't have any gangway adaptor photos I can post. I think the difference was a larger faceplate and extra or different clips allowing the gangway to be clipped to a Pullman gangway.

The only photo I know of that shows three blue/grey Hawksworth coaches (all SK) is Plate 32 in Profile of the Warships. They are in a train entering Exeter St Davids from the West behind D806 Cambrian. Date given is 17 August 1968. There are photos of individual blue/grey Hawksworths, including colour ones, behind Westerns, D800 Warships and D600 Warships. Around 1967, one appears to have been the regular Plymouth-Penzance coach added to the front of the Cornish Riviera, and running as the leading vehicle in both directions west of Plymouth. I believe the numbers were 1719, 2135 and 2283. Gangway adaptors on British Standard gangways were fitted to many coaches and remained on the vehicle. Most of the Hawksworth stock running in the 1960s probably had them, including those that survived into blue/grey. There was therefore no problem in coupling to Mark I stock. So far as I can establish, the last withdrawals of Hawksworth passenger stock took place in 1968, including those in blue/grey.

Thanks. What you see is as modern as the layout gets but even that reflects the scene nearly 30 years ago. My cut-off is immediately prior to the appearance of 'Sector' liveries.

Here are some photos from today. P1050227as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr P1050228as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr P1050229as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr I used to have three nicely dirtied Mainline 56s, then along came the Hornby one - here on iron ore bogie tipplers - Lima models massively improved many years ago by Graham Broad, better known today as the creator of Harton Gill: P1050230as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Cement: P1050231as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Very clean 31 and far too clean new(ish) Bachmann GUVs: P1050232as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr A rarely seen angle - the goods yard end of the through station and goods loops: P1050233as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr A couple of views of the through platforms looking towards the main terminus - this is meant to be the ex-GWR incursion into the town: P1050234as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr P1050236as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr I finally got fed up with my old Lima blue 47s and acquired some Bachmann ones: P1050237as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr P1050238as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Fiddleyard throat - not often seen and rather against the light: P1050239as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr DMU depot: P1050240as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Another rarely seen angle - part of the goods yard with a 31 on the through main line in the background: P1050241as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Coal empties - Mainline HBAs improved by Graham Broad many years ago - the second 20 is a dummy, having yielded its chassis to a Class 22, itself soon to become obsolete (I hope): P1050242as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr The leaning signal had just been clouted by a coach that took exception to a camera being pointed at it: P1050243as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr 50 on Mark 2 air-brake stock - second and third vehicles are Mark IIb conversions by Brian Kirby: P1050244as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Diesel depot - that new split-box Peak is one of the many locos needing some dirtying: P1050245as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr Another one on the weathering waiting list: P1050246as by Robert Carroll, on Flickr