Royal42

My eyes adored you - Frankie Valli 1974

Thanks again. I have been absorbed in 1958 for so long that I completely forgot about modern methods! That piece of wall, with the curve, is a great find and matches my original plan. You are right about the brickwork on the inside overlooking the tracks, it is blue-grey; however, at various stages around the railway (c1958) some walls were faced with brown brick. That find of remnants on Google verify that. Ooh, it's just like Time Team! This is the curved brickwork on the oposite corner and is all brown brick around the outside. cheers, Mike

Hi DGO, Thanks for your comments/query, I was intrigued by your question about the colour photo as I have always thought these were brick. Having re-checked, I realise that it is indeed a building site, actually a demolished building site. That area was the site of the old parcel sorting building of the Head Post Office (GPO). The building was a substantial affair, as can be seen in the top right of the b/w photo, under the wording "High walls?", so that colour picture is now irrelavant for wall descriptions. I am scratchbuilding the large pub/hotel, the Golden Eagle, shown in the centre of the colour image; the walls and gates in the b/w image are about 200ft to the right of the pub as seen on this map. cheers, Mike

mmm.... collectors item. Mike

Thanks. Around the corner, to the right of that view, the walls look considerably higher and appear to be a different structure type, therefore I couldn't use this view as a reference. I shall work on the gates at 6ft 6in and the wall between 7ft and 8ft. cheers, Mike

Hello all, I am continuing with my scratchbuilding diorama and have reached the stage of constructing the upper roadways, walls and gates. This image shows the walls and entrance gates I need to build but I don't know what their heights are. The gates look to be about 6 feet high but I'm not sure; is there a building standard for wall heights and gates for businesses? This is the only view that I have been able to find of the location. cheers, Mike

Hi Grahame, I am enjoying the magazine very much, any plans for another edition? Mike

Thanks Sandra, I never thought of green. Mike

The text with the photo states " Ex-LMS 5XP 'Jubilee Class' 4-6-0 No 4557 'Bengal' enters New Street station with an ex-Bristol express passenger service circa 1958. The Bristol Barrow Road (82E) allocated LMS 'Jubilee' locomotive is passing New Street No 5 Signal Cabin......" Mike

Thanks both. Being a newbie is my reason for asking and I appreciate responses like these. Would the Jubilee in that view be BR black or maroon? My vignette is going to need something like the Jubilee but I am finding them to be really expensive in N Gauge. Anyone know of discount outlets that have them at bargain prices? I shall plan to do a working layout after this build so I am looking for a working loco. I've heard that Hattons do discounts but are there any others out there? I really need to keep my spend within limits. cheers, Mike

Finally getting to the finish line with this AEC Matador 6x6. Herewith a view of the various stages I've managed so far. Now that I feel I have a grip on this CAD milarky, I might venture into building some standard road vehicles. cheers, Mike

Thanks for the quick response. Mike

This image, from the Warwickshirerailway forum, shows ex-LMS 5XP Jubilee class 45577 "Bengal" entering New Street station in 1958. Can anyone please advise what the colours of the coaches would be in this view? Cheers, Mike

Birmingham New Street. This is what it looked like pre-war

Not tight...... broke.

Could you sell them on this forum, then donate the proceeds to a charity of your choice? Mike

Hello all, I am scratchbuilding a small layout that has a large, 80ft long, signal box. I have learned that it had 152 levers. The box was virtually destroyed in a 1940 blitz, with approx. 40 levers being destroyed and I'm not sure how many, if any of those were replaced when the signal box was urgently rebuilt, as seen in the image below. I would like to know what a typical layout would consist of for such a structure: i.e. levers, instruments, stoves/heaters, chairs/tables, shelves and any other equipment. cheers, Mike

Does anyone know of similar drawings or plans for Birmingham New Street station? cheers, Mike

Hi Martin, thanks, I didn't realise there was a dedicated forum for Templot, I've basically relied on RMweb since starting this diorama. I shall pop over to the Templot club and have a shufti. Cheers, Mike

Hello all, I am practicing using Templot by making a diorama that has various, complex junctions; however, I am stumped with identifying what 3-way turnout/crossover to add from the Templot selection. This is the plan I am using, scaled to 2mm with track width set to 9.42mm Here is my progress on the practice diorama, I have primed the areas that have been completed but this centre unpainted section is baffling me. I couldn't find the correct template to paste to the board and used other templates instead. Obviously that didn't work out. The area of concern is this junction, marked with an arrow and I don't know which Templot template to use for it. Can anyone please advise? cheers, Mike

Thanks again, I sent an email requesting the Bachmann loco but have not yet heard back confirming my order. cheers, Mike

Thanks Nimbus, I have just checked and there is a decent sounding , and affordable, Bachmann BR 2-6-4T #800064; but what is a 5 pole motor? Mike

Hi Jason, those two locos are just in my budget range of £50, and they are from a reputable dealer. That has given me confidence to search around for a Jubilee now; I see that Hattons do have one in stock but it's got broken bits so I'll give that one a miss. Kris, I'm not averse to eBay, it's just that I haven't used it and feel I wouldn't know what I am getting. I'm gullible enough not to notice a "too good to be true" deal. I just wish the shows could come back, so that I could look at the second hand and know who I was getting it from. Thanks again all, Mike

Thanks all. Kris, that is what I was expecting and afraid of hearing. It sounds as if I would be better searching for second hand complete versions. Anyone know the best place to find used locos? I have tried Peters Spares and Farish Spares. Ideally, I would like to replicate this scene which I believe is a Black 5 and a Jubilee: cheers, Mike

I have obtained some loco bodies as seen below and want to get chassis' for them. I don't know what type they are so don't know what type of chassis to get, or where from. Can anyone here please help? cheers, Mike