Mallard60022

I think those ' ladies' have just read LNERGE's signal diagram and are attempting to attract the attention of the signalman, but a York service has got in the way. By the way they look somewhat 'slapped' and have huge ar*es shoes. The one on the right appears to have lost 'something' important (by her feet). I could be mistaken though as I was told by an old boy from the outskirts of Nottingham, that in the summer of '58, there was a performing arts group of four girls that used to (careful.......) entertain passengers whilst the train was standing at Platform (whatever). I think this might have been them captured on Kodachrome by that very gentleman? Suppose though they could be coach spotters being rude about the MK1 BSO that they have see 36 times that month. Hope they copped the B1 if they liked loco's too? Quack.

Oh to have the thickness of skin so obviously owned by Tony. I have this picture in my tiny brain cell of TW receiving one of these 'fan letters' in the BRM Office and the resulting howls of laughter. P @ 36E

Oh, that lovely route of course. Is that run from PN the one where they used to do the ECML filming of engines at speed? I'd never cottoned on that it was that distance. Of course at Melton it could have also taken the Nottingham line (Old Dalby T T as now I think) but not if it was a Leicester train of course! Those days of so many routes; wonderful. Rail travel in those days was such an adventure but sadly I missed out on so much of it due to poverty. Great news about the dignified and decorous like wot you are G. I wouldn't have thought you would allow that sort of behaviour on PN. Footplate staff will not be using their shovels (or tenders on those big things) as porta-potties then? Couldn't face the shovel fry up after that thought ..... ; brings a whole new meaning to 'slack pipe' don't it. P

Lovely stock on that Leicester G. I'm really becoming a coach addict. Must be making up for years of not really taking any notice of them until they all started to look alike and then I wanted to catch the last of the 'proper jobs'. Could Leicester trains have gone on what is now the Nene Valley line to get to Leicester or was their no proper junction with the Midland? My railway geog for that part of the world is hazy and I'm too lazy to dig out my Rail Atlas By the way, I do hope you are not going to pose any of your 'rail staff' as Tom F has; it really is very rude indeed P

63760 is one of the Tyne Dock babies. Great pictures Andy. Any idea where 63650 is? P

Hey Gilbert, Vague Silhouettes - great name for a band. I shall go out now and recruit a bass player; you are OK for drums aren't you? Andy can fill in on keyboards and Tom can join us on strings for Beatles covers. Volunteers for singer and gob organ anyone? Anyhow, that's a damn good repro pic of the original though. That blue beast must have caused a bit of a stir when it first appeared at PN. I saw it once at the Cross; 1960 I think? The B1 in the snow;brilliant. I think the buffer beam and buffers might have had a bit of ice stuff on them and the tender axle-box covers. There would have been plenty of steam too, including some leaking from the 'bags'! Coach, you have permission to continue............. Gilbert won't mind. Quack.

Oh blast, no hot anythings except boxes perhaps? Love the high view B1 shot and as Tom says, wow for the first one - just brilliant. Oh yes, Cleethorpes is similar to Siberia I'm told but Jeff will confirm I'm sure. So you have got an exotic express and a lovely loco to haul it. Chelsea Tractor; sounds like a certain mid-field thug that they have on the books........... Now then Gilbert, who would you like to make the litter & detritus (what a great word) for your station track area? Finally, what a tragedy about your railway related goods, a real loss of such vital info.......... Exiting remark: I cleared the snow from the car park at work this afternoon leaving a lovely, shiny and wet surface. So tomorrow morning I can watch the skating showfrom the safety of the Boiler House as folk arrive in their usual 'first thing stupor'; more crunching and tinkling with a bit of luck. Shortly afterwards I shall appear with my gritting device (shovel and industrial strength gloved hand) smiling and mentioning that "you are a bit early today, It's quite slippery isn't it?" Bye, P

Gilbert, why do all your 'going away' shots look so good? In 'real steam' days, if I took a pic 'going away', the loco always looked out of 'perspective so to speak. Was it the lenses on those old cameras do you think? Re. the hot pants mystery (and I really will leave this alone now honest). I have to reassure you that hot shorts were very much the thing for some young women in 1958. I have very vivid memories of witnessing such clothing as two young women passed me as I was spotting in the back lane on the east side of Plymouth North Road (yes I said spotting.....). If you refer to the long gone TV comedy (?) Hi de Hi you will see or maybe even remember that the Yellowcoat girls often wore very short shorts! So Gilbert, we expect to see a slightly modified 4mm figure as this is authentic and don't let Tetleys put you off Let's face it, we must have something on the platforms for the loco crews to stare at and pose for mustn't we. P @ 36E

I can see a ghostly ladder, a lamp on the A4, the tender derailed in a very weird way at the cab end, the forward on-side WD's driver looks wonky, there is no crew in sight (did they leap clear?) and the forward reverser position, so where's the 3rd? P

Inspired!'Failure' has now opened up a whole new can of possibilities uuuuummmmmmm! Time warp ruse from Coach - really clever idea this; have not laughed so much for weeks at the thought of the SM remonstrating with the bearded driver whilst also prepping his Box Brownie. Drake at 36E (GN today).

More ideas for shots. How about a sneaky look inside the shunter's bothy? Also can we see the hot pants and contents in close up or is that being too sad? Can you photoshop Haymarket Cross onto the bit beyond that northern Bridge so it looks like New England? View from the Signal Box? View from the cab(s)? WD derailing running tender first! Driver with knotted handkerchief/beret rather than grease-top. Inspector on footplate with bowler hat. Wedding party saying farewell (to some poor s*d that has made a big mistake...........) Station cat(s) Spotter eating Hales Individual Fruit Pie and possibly spitting huge mouthful of same across platform as he sees a Scottish A4. Signalman using flags as there is signal failure. Porter trying to deal with after effects of someone having ignored the 'not whilst the train is standing at the station' notice. P Drake @ 36E N.B. Physiotherapy sessions provided to counteract the result of contortions required to get the camera into many of these positions and treatment available for stress induced by close up of hot pants.

Double headed L1 on the Grantham please................ (just for fun). P

Well cheers fritters old bean, I really have led a sheltered life so now I'm going to FOFO & RTFM as to what else we can get away with using these codes before Andy & Co get out the Phasers. TTFN and DLYGDITD. Cheers, P

Gawd I must be dim (careful now....I am only a very fast drake) what the h**l is FOFO RTFM SNAFU FUBAR SSDD ?

It's OK Gilbert, I saw that O1 near Peterborough whilst looking out of a window (that was not 'whitened') of a Thompson SO . I had just battled my way up the corridor of the coach, thrusting my way past some exceedingly hooped skirts and treading on some huge winkles. I was dressed in my smart HMS Drake uniform at the time so none of the 'teds' dared' to 'have a go'. I didn't see any hot pants but I'm sure there was a hot box somewhere. What I also noticed was that most of the wagons 'hanging around' the place were unfitted; I think that's how it was in '58. I know that our local museum has some really good info on historic clothing styles and have quite a few pics. lurking. I've also got access to some books on 'old 36E' (the town not the shed) and will have a shufty to see if there are any relevant colour shots with people going about their daily routines. If there are I'll arrange to get them to you. Chers, P @ 36E

Great shots again G. Love that catering vehicle; is it really a plastic kit? If so it is a gem of a build. Now, I am just going to have to sit down and watch a large number of Vids and DVDs I have lurking so that I can assess the clothing (not hot pants by the way as I would never do such a thing). If I find anything useful I'll let you know and link you or lend you the thing. I suspect others will already be doing the same, if not then thumbing through volumes and volumes of lovely railway tomes. I think quite a lot of films worth watching could be useful. How about the good old Titfield Thunderbolt (surprised that title got through the screening). Were there any Carry On or Ealing things done around 58/9? I bet there are hours of footage on that tube thing? Don't forget your Service personnel of which there were many travelling by rail in those days. Drake.

The C & W Foreman is called Danny and his favourite tune is Danny Boy; you all know why don't you. If you are hesitant to agree then just sing the first line of the aforementioned song........... P

Almost nothing better than a feast of A3s on a Sunday afternoon; even better than a Hales Individual Fruit Pie (well almost). I particularly like the 1st and 4th pics. Drake.

Just a quick update to let you guys know that my Video of closed lines in the area and Cattewater branch working in the late 90s is now available for loan (once the present borrower has finished with it) if anyone is interested. OK I know vids are old fashioned but hey.... Cheers, Drake @ 36E

"Shall I now consider all the extra trains I could store if I use cassettes, and the extra locos needed to haul them. I must resist......." Ah Gilbert, I must remind you that this modelling lark is overseen by The Borg, so resistance is futile; sorry you are probably already booked to be assimilated, but it doesn't hurt (much) I can tell you. Also, double-deck enabled cassettes are more space efficient. Love the loco mini procession by the way; beautiful finishes too. Drake at 36E

Just love these pics and this thread. Thanks for posting everyone. Despite living in Plymouth from 1947 until 1966 I never ever visited this quayside area so the whole subject is fascinating. P @ 36E (ex 83D).

Happy new year G. May 2013 be kind to your golf shots and generous in the deliveries of goodies from all over the place. Now these pics came as a real shock. PN is a layout and not the real thing! Honestly mate, the shots over the recent months have just transported me back to a time and place that seems so damn real that seeing the whole layout is quite weird. This is not in any way a criticism, it is just spooky to me a mere duck Anyway, I do hope to get to see 'the layout' again sometime, but in the meantime I'll just indulge in looking at some of the amazing scenes in posts past. ATB old bean, Drake @ 36E