Jim15B

Make sure it doesn't form a suitable launch site for Operation Sealion otherwise all our post 1940 history might have to change. The Royal Navy will definitely have to have a presence. I spent much oo my youth devising Isle of Wight-esq schemes for geographically neutral railways. I also have a scheme for something based in Syldavia where I imagine they made much use of Beyer Peacock equipment.

And he was probably scratching his eye.

However, they do appear to be quite good at marching. When I joined the police I was amazed by the number of peoole who appeared able to walk but, on being asked to march, totally lost control of their arms and legs.

I'm sorry, I'd forgotten that you'd posted pictures of the interiors before, but I'm glad I asked because it's worth seeing them again. Great stuff.

Amazing work, looks fantastic. Will all your buildings be a detiled inside?!

I was away on business last night. Did I hear there was some trouble outside The Dodo?

2 million years - the blink of an eye where any of my projects are concerned, or so it seems.

They were of much more use as a political tool than actual fighting vessels. 80 were passed over in the end (alond with various other munitions of WW1 vintage) but only around 30 were seaworthy and most saw no service until much later in the war. However, they allowed Roosevelt to show that he was willing to help Britain and also sent a signal to the Axis powers that America was slightly closer to providing active assistance (later to arrive through lend-lease). Before handing them over Congress had to be shown that they were of no value to American defence, which was aided by the exchange of British bases.

They should probably get a pair.

A considerable amount of time and effort would be spent by the crew chipping ice off the upper works to prevent the extra weight it added causing a capsize, which probably didn't do much to improve the state of the their nerves. Like the BYMS minesweepers, the Flower Class would "roll on wet grass" but were extremely seaworthy.

Somewhere between the two, it might be an ear trumpet.

Can't wait to see these. Having scratch built my 7mm one I know how complicated they are (hence only having done one). Now I'm (occasionally) working in 4mm these will be perfect.

I wonder if it would be possible to index the thread without ending up in some form of Victorian asylum.

The Northamptonshire type:

I've been reading through this thread for weeks and have finally caught up. Absolutely inspiring stuff that has got me building. Thank you for sharing this with us Grahame. Amazing work.

I learned hedge laying at agricultural college but after 20 years I'm not sure I still have the skill. It should be remembered that pre-mechanisation small farms would be family run, and larger concerns would employ considerable numbers of labourers. Now thousands of acres are managed by relatively small teams, with little prospect of having the time and resources to manage layed hedges in the traditional way. Flail cutting is pretty brutal but is a necessity of modern agriculture. Here in Northamptonshire, metal fencing is relatively common (often found rusting and twisted in an overgrown hedge, but in places still maintained). I'm not sure of a date when such fencing first appeared (something else to research, but I suspect late Victorian to inter-war judging by the cast iron gate posts) and I suspect it is mostly associated with estate farms. I certainly intend to include some on my ironstone quarry layout at some yet to be determined future date.

For the first time in ages I've put a couple of evenings aside and achieved some meaningful modelling. I've prepared the carcass for the ironworks building which will be located at the left side of the layout. Hopefully I'll get the front made over the next few days, and start on some detailing. Progress at last.

Looks a bit like it but I don't think it is (I stand to be corrected). Spent many a pound at Rockingham Landrovers.

Good luck with the house. Horses and houses and their associated financial commitments (manifesting in apparent constant work) seem to be something of a bar to modelling. I've not been on the forum for over a year due to other commitments. Hopefully there's light at the end of the tunnel for you.

The draft (pull) is always taken by the collar whether the vehicle has shafts or not. The saddle (in the same position behind the shoulder as a riding saddle) used with shafts will support a chain which carries the weight of the shaft, keeping it at the correct height to ensure the pull is from the horse's shoulder and not impacting the wind pipe. If the horse is also to assist with braking it will also wear breeching over the rump which attaches to the shaft and acts as a brake, stopping the vehicle rolling forward onto the horse. Obviously vehicles of any weight would also require independent brakes. On the tram the traces are unsupported which seems quite common in this application. In ploughing and driving it would be more usual to have a saddle or pad to keep the traces lifted. My avatar shows a Great Central horse in full gear including breeching. Jim

Thank you to all who contributed to this blog previously. I feel very guilty about my absence and will now try to keep on top of things.

After just over a year of not even thinking about the railway I'm hoping to get re-started. The ply for the baseboard has been staring at me from the corner of my workshop making me feel guilty so it's time to make time for some progress. Sadly work and my business are still placing considerable demands on my time but I am determined to push forward with what should be a fairly simple project. Thank goodness I didn't embark on an EM scale model of Kettering Station - that one awaits my lottery win.

Thanks to 1whitemoor I've got side-tracked again. Discussion regarding the pair of MW 0-6-0Ts sourced from the Elan Valley Reservoir works (MW1316 and 1317) caused me to dig out my 7mm scratchbuilt and incomplete model. Working into the early hours re-living my youth (mostly spent crawling around on the floor looking for errant tiny etchings and nuts) I managed to get it's over-engineered components together (most of them anyway). This is the result. It did run once about twenty years ago but has been stored as a jigsaw puzzle since then: I also found my small fleet of 7mm ironstone locomotives - the main point to note is that I never actually finish anything I start. I appear to have built a recreation of Cohen's Scrap Yard on the old Loddington branch. Locos are MW1316 (as above), Barclay 16" (Storefield, Mercian kit), Avonside (Kettering Furnaces 11, Agenoria kit), Bagnall (Cranford, Agenoria kit) and Peckett (Oxfordshire Ironstone, Mercian Kit/scratchbuilt - I made two and can't remember which this is). The odd missing roof is in another box awaiting discovery. Good news for the current project, and subject of this forum - the piece of ply in the backgound is the baseboard, which my time may have been better spent assembling.

Thanks Osgood - that should help when (definately when, not if) I build one of these for the site. Another great picture.