Bulwell Hall

I well remember those Iron Minks at Winchester Bar End Yard and seem to recall that there were actually five of them. They were not traffic vehicles but were used as stores. The were painted in what I would describe as GWR Dark Stone but was probably just faded red oxide. They had a large white cross painted at the left hand end side panel and were marked 'For use at Winchester Only' and 'Not to run more than three miles on the main line' or something similar. They remained at the yard after the line closed and were demolished on the spot when the demolition contractors arrived around 1965 or 66 if I remember correctly. And for what it is worth I have ordered one of these new models. As someone has said elsewhere its no good asking for the models we want to be produced if we don't then buy them when they do appear! The supply will very rapidly dry up if they don't sell.

Hi Malcolm It is lovely to see 'Galloping Alice' again after all these years - was it really 44 years ago - gulp! I well remember seeing it evolve and poor old Tim Dixon (was that his name?) and his ideas for an MSWJ layout that sadly was never to be. Hope you are keeping well up there in Scotland and thanks for the trip back in time to Headington. Best wishes Gerry P.S. Off topic I know but how is that ROD coming along?

Very beautiful indeed - well done! Gerry

It would definitely have been drawn by Carl Legg in 2002 Craig. I'm unable to shed any light on it though and sadly Carl is no longer available to be asked! Gerry

3 and 4 please - focusing on 4 if necessary. Gerry

I couldn't agree more. I visited there with my son in 2019 and we arrived not too long after it had opened for the day - and were asked to leave at the end of the day as they wanted to close up and go home! Gerry

The reason for my interest in Hood is very personal hence my delight in recently receiving the exceptional colourised photo of her. My grandfather served on her for five years until 1941. Sadly I was unable to speak to him about his service - he passed away in 1966 - but I do know that he was transferred elsewhere only three weeks before Hood left Rosyth on her final sortie. I am told that he broke down and cried when he heard the news that she had been lost and practically all the crew were gone and always felt bad that the man who replaced him on Hood had three young children. I do remember my late father telling me that he and his mother travelled by train from the Isle of Wight- where they were living - to Scotland to visit my grandfather whilst Hood was at Rosyth for a refit and that my grandfather took my father down to watch Hood as she left to go to sea. Many years ago I was shown my grandfathers medals by a relative - he was in the Navy from 1916 until 1945 - and in the same envelope was a Hood cap tally! Also in the envelope was a German cap tally from Graf Spee! I understand that Graf Spee made a courtesy visit to Pompey - in 1938? - and that it was a tradition for crews to exchange cap tally's on these occasions. After my father passed away I received my grandfathers medals but the two cap tally's were not there unfortunately. Amongst the family archive are quite a number of snapshots of my grandfather aboard Hood - on deck with his mates, painting ship, etc , whilst I also have several HMS Hood christmas cards - printed in the small printing shop on board that were sent by my grandfather to his wife - my grandmother of course - who passed away in 1942 so I never knew her. I hope the above is of interest and isn't just an old blokes rambling! As you might imagine my grandfathers service aboard the flagship of the Royal Navy has been a source of great pride and interest throughout my life. Gerry

With the talk of HMS Hood I couldn't resist adding this which was sent to me recently by a friend. It doesn't add anything to the discussion on the shade of grey used to paint the 'Hush Hush' but what a wonderful image!

These look very nice indeed and an order has been placed for a couple of five plankers and a seven planker with tarpaulin rail. And it also looks as though the brake gear has been set so that standard gauge wheels will simply drop in - excellent! Gerry

We almost bumped into each other then Tim. We were also in West Dorset at the weekend and visited the Symondsbury Estate with a view to climbing Colmers Hill - something I've never done. The weather defeated us though but the sea at Eype was spectacular! Gerry

I am very impressed indeed and have placed my order for 7818 Granville Manor! But could you take a look at the boiler handrail on the engine - especially on the front of the smokebox as it doesn't quite convince? Fingers - and everything else - crossed that it can be converted to EM gauge! Gerry

On our first day of freedom I took a trip over to the Forest. I had to visit somebody but once finished I called into Parkend for the first time in well over a year. Sadly no trains were running and I was also a little surprised to see this Parkend Colliery wagon on display on a reinstated section of the Marsh sidings. It's not a 'pukka' coal wagon and looks to be of SECR origin but it certainly makes an impact and most definitely commemorates the former industry of the area. The route of the now removed siding is across what is now a car park, across the Coleford road and in front of the cottages where the cars are parked. Even though the sidings are now long gone the place is still well worth visiting. Gerry

Absolutely splendid Jerry! Gerry

Brilliant!

Ah yes - but where is the Pizza Express....? And when I was working I used to have business at the the Surrey Record Office in Woking and on one occasion - once the meeting was over -- I took a drive out to Horsell Common just to get a feel for the place! I rather enjoy visiting these places with literary connections and last year - when the lockdown had eased - I was on a drive through the Cotswolds and saw a sign for the village of Slad. I couldn't resist taking a diversion and calling in to The Woolpack - as immortalised by Laurie Lee in Cider with Rosie.

Simon Bernard Wright's prints were not that exciting actually. Bernard was employed in the printing trade somewhere in South London - I know he was a member of the Wimbledon Model Railway Club - and he used his contacts to publish a few of his own colour photos of locomotives - not especially exciting dirty Bullieds at Nine Elms and the like. This was in the mid 60s and colour printing was still expensive at that time and the prints were no more than A3 size at most. Bernard also used his contacts to produce etched components for his S scale models of LSWR coaches for his well remembered model of Swanage station in the1930s. In the '60s letterpress printing was still pre-eminent and etching was used to make the plates for four colour printing of colour illustrations which made it an expensive process. Offset litho revolutionised the printing trade around that time and of course it has been entirely revolutionised again and is now largely digital. Some of Bernard's art work would have made for more interesting posters but I never saw any of these before the early 1970s when his 'Bazzing Around' feature started in Model Railways when under the editorship of the late Roy Dock. In the early to mid 1960s I attended a number of meetings of the S Gauge Society with my father who was a member. Bernard was of course always there and I well remember talking to him and examining his lovely models. The last S scale model of his that I saw finished was a lovely Schools class in 1930s Maunsell livery - he built it because he loved the engines and I don't think they ever appeared on the Swanage Branch in reality. He was also an early member of the group that purchased Rebuilt Merchant Navy class Clan Line for preservation and I believe he became quite involved in its upkeep until his untimely death. Those S Gauge Society meetings had quite an effect on me as here was actual modelling and just about everything was scratch built. There were exquisite LNWR locomotives and coaches by Stan Garlick - all beautifully finished in full LNWR livery, Metropolitan Railway locos and stock by Alan Cruickshank and some LMS locomotives by an unknown - including a Black Five with an extra motor to reverse the valve gear - inspirational stuff for an impressionable 14 year old! Gerry

All this talk of O4s encourages me to show this ROD. I completed it recently and is an upgrade of the Bachmann model. Converted to EM by Philip Hall it is a very satisfactory runner. Bachmann claimed to have altered the O4 to represent the RODs taken over by the GWR - well they did and they didn't. The boiler was altered with new fittings and smokebox door but the tender received fewer alterations and I had to rebuild the coal space and add new tool boxes. All the replacement fittings for engine and tender came from Brassmasters. It was only whilst working on this model that I fully realised how many alterations the GWR made to the engines which they kept. I discovered after the model was completed that the boiler back head was altered quite significantly from the original so that the fittings conformed to GWR specifications but have not done anything about this on my model. Gerry P.S. Since the photos were taken the track in the foreground has been completed and the engine has received additional weathering and coal in the tender.

I certainly have a few of them! They were introduced as part of a general improvement to the GWRs facilities for handling the Channel Island traffic. Most importantly the Weymouth Harbour Tramway was significantly improved by easing the sharp curve at Ferry's Corner and other improvements were proposed but delayed by the outbreak of WW2. There is a photo - below - showing a complete train of these vans leaving Weymouth when they were new but in practice they seem to have become intermingled with other fruit and ventilated vans. The second photo shows the recently completed easing work at Ferry's Corner in 1938/9 with some of the Fruit vans stabled ready to be worked down to the Quay for loading. The third photo shows a train on Custom House Quay with the usual random mix of vans whilst the recently acquired GWR pamphlet gives instructions for working the traffic - an it is a fascinating read! Hope this is of interest and I haven't gone over the top again! Gerry

Good grief - that was a long time ago! Gerry

At the bottom of the rear garden of my Grandparents house in Southampton my Grandfather built a corrugated iron garage to house his pride and joy. The corrugated iron was recycled sections of 'Anderson' shelters which provided only rudimentary protection. My grandfathers pride and joy was a black Vauxhall Velox and I remember quite a few trips to Dorset in it with me perched on the front bench seat - with no seat belts! Gerry

Quite right - I am more than happy to use good RTR models to make up the numbers. In an ideal world everything would be scratch or kit built so that I got exactly what I wanted but realistically I don't have enough years left to achieve a decent amount of stock. Probably the greatest boon to my GWR based project is the release by Hornby of good, accurate and well finished coaches. The Hawksworths were excellent - although they were thin on the ground in GWR days - but the Collett Bow-enders are just fantastic and enable some decent trains to be created with much less effort. I have a couple of the Bachmann slope sided mineral wagons as they are so evocative of the post-war period. Both are in Bauxite and one is marked MWT - Ministry of War Transport - whilst the other is MOT - Ministry of Transport. Apparently the MWT became the MOT in 1946 - at least, that's what the internet tells me! Gerry

As a one time resident of Kidlington I have been following this thread with interest. I lived there from 1980 to 84 and there was very little of the station left even then. The goods shed was still standing though and I always meant to measure and photograph it but didn't get round to it and then one day it was gone.... Just across the road from my house was a row of cottages and one was occupied by an elderly couple. It was only after the old chap had passed away that his wife told me that he had been a ganger on the Woodstock branch. Gerry

Very nice Tim and no doubt very satisfying for you. I wonder if you would be kind enough to let me know where you managed to get those magic couplings that seem to just jump on to the draw hook of the engine please? Gerry

Is it me or are there two cut outs in the cab rear for the handbrake - should be just the one on the fireman's side? Bunker still looks horrible. Gerry

I did a similar search for photos of these vehicles a couple of years ago - they seem to be particularly camera shy! I eventually found one view of one in BR Crimson and Cream and another - which appears to be the same vehicle - which is so grubby that it is impossible to determine what the livery was. The pattern of replacement panelling by steel sheeting suggested that the photos were of the same vehicle but I was unable to reach a conclusion regarding the livery. Sorry not to be more help but they are very elusive! Gerry