Mulgabill

10 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

Yes, the problem is that the point that joins the goods shed siding and the back siding together is very close to the one where they join the main line to the platform, so there is no space for a combined gauge. Also note that the crane was between that point and the goods shed, so its swing would have also limited where you could add a second gauge. But even so it would surely have been possible to have a second one. I suppose the logic was to save costs and maintenance and simply to instruct staff that anything that might look like an issue be gauged by shunting into the back siding to check?

Andy

ps not sure which of my posted photos you are referring to as I cannot find one at Nov 30th.

My understanding is that the loading gauges were there to facilitate the checking of individual wagons.

However there is, I suspect, a tendency  for that being confused with the simplistic expectation that

each train departs through the gauge. But normally the outer ends of the gauge are lifted up, and

only lowered when a wagon in doubt of being out of gauge is passed thorough.

If my memory is correct (very dubious assumption), Lawrence hill station (Bristol) had its weighbridge

and loading gauge on a siding which could hold only 2 or 3 wagons.

TONY

10 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

Yes, the problem is that the point that joins the goods shed siding and the back siding together is very close to the one where they join the main line to the platform, so there is no space for a combined gauge. Also note that the crane was between that point and the goods shed, so its swing would have also limited where you could add a second gauge. But even so it would surely have been possible to have a second one. I suppose the logic was to save costs and maintenance and simply to instruct staff that anything that might look like an issue be gauged by shunting into the back siding to check?

Andy

ps not sure which of my posted photos you are referring to as I cannot find one at Nov 30th.

My understanding is that the loading gauges were there to facilitate the checking of individual wagons.

However there is, I suspect, a tendency  for that being confused with the simplistic expectation that

each train departs through the gauge. But normally the outer ends of the gauge are lifted up, and

only lowered when a wagon in doubt of being out of gauge is passed thorough.

If my memory is correct (very dubious assumption), Lawrence hill station (Bristol) had its weighbridge

and loading gauge on a siding which could hold only 2 or 3 wagons.

TONY

10 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

Yes, the problem is that the point that joins the goods shed siding and the back siding together is very close to the one where they join the main line to the platform, so there is no space for a combined gauge. Also note that the crane was between that point and the goods shed, so its swing would have also limited where you could add a second gauge. But even so it would surely have been possible to have a second one. I suppose the logic was to save costs and maintenance and simply to instruct staff that anything that might look like an issue be gauged by shunting into the back siding to check?

Andy

ps not sure which of my posted photos you are referring to as I cannot find one at Nov 30th.

My understanding is that the loading gauges were there to facilitate the checking of individual wagons.

However there is, I suspect, a tendency  for that being confused with the simplistic expectation that

each train departs through the gauge. But normally the outer ends of the gauge are lifted up, and

only lowered when a wagon in doubt of being out of gauge is passed thorough.

If my memory is correct (very dubious assumption), Lawrence hill station (Bristol) had its weighbridge

and loading gauge on a siding which could hold only 2 or 3 wagons.

TONY

9 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

Yes, the problem is that the point that joins the goods shed siding and the back siding together is very close to the one where they join the main line to the platform, so there is no space for a combined gauge. Also note that the crane was between that point and the goods shed, so its swing would have also limited where you could add a second gauge. But even so it would surely have been possible to have a second one. I suppose the logic was to save costs and maintenance and simply to instruct staff that anything that might look like an issue be gauged by shunting into the back siding to check?

Andy

ps not sure which of my posted photos you are referring to as I cannot find one at Nov 30th.

My understanding is that the loading gauges were there to facilitate the checking of individual wagons.

However there is, I suspect, a tendency  for that being confused with the simplistic expectation that

each train departs through the gauge. But normally the outer ends of the gauge are lifted up, and

only lowered when a wagon in doubt of being out of gauge is passed thorough.

If my memory is correct (very dubious assumption), Lawrence hill station (Bristol) had its weighbridge

and loading gauge on a siding which could hold only 2 or 3 wagons.

TONY

And to keep you on the straight and narrow, don't

forget that Helston Station had its ownstench pipe.

Re the brocolli, I think that cattle waggons were favoured, but

it was common for multple extra trains to be required.

At times of peak additional demand, almost any available vehicle

would be pressed into service.

TONY

4 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

I have been doing a little arithmetic. The web tells me a modern milk cow will give around two gallons of milk at a single milking. I guess in the thirties maybe half that. Cow herds vary in size but back in the thirties a herd of fifty would have been quite big. This indicates a farm might have four or five 17 gallon churns from a typical milking. This lines up with my memories of Cornish holidays in the sixties when at each farm entrance along the lanes there would be a small wooden platform where the churns were placed for collection. So to generate 80 churns for a big siphon we would need to collect from 25 farms. Not impossible, but it makes me think that pictures showing rows of siphons and platforms covered in churns must have been at the unloading end rather than any BLT like Helston.

I also assume milk from places like Helston would perhaps have been for Plymouth rather than London. So a single small siphon attached to the first and last train of the day seems plausible. I would be interested to hear from anyone who knows more than this pure conjecture!

Good to see your progress continuing, and I wish you all the best for 2024.

In most cases you are now well ahead of my progress, having got rather bogged down with the build of Levenporth for my grandsons.

With regard to the question of Milk trains. I'm fairly sure that I read somewhere that Milk from all of the Lizard

Was collected, and taken to a large milk depot at Lostwithiel, for onward transport by rail. Both before and after

nationalisation.

On my "cartoon" I have chosen to ignore that, and have the small milk loading depot added to the goodsyard.

With your "history", I would say it could be argued that most of the milk would avoid your station, but some

smaller flows, in churns, could be served by the branch.

There was a comment about serving Plymouth, rather than London. My thoughts are that when considering

some smaller urban areas, you first need to think What was the status quo, before the railways arrived. Its

most likely that would have continued to be the norm. ( e.g. There are a lot of dairy farms in Devon, which would be well placed to continue to supply Plymouth).

Once you have found the balanced solution for your layout, we could consider, again, what constitutes a rabbit van, and where would that have worked to? (London or Birmingham?  ). And with what frequency? Indeed

Live traffic, or already butchered?

TONY

7 hours ago, Nevermakeit said:

How do we know they are empty?  Do they have a different head-code from full ones?

I don't know this to be true, but

I thought loaded would run with a passenger brake, at passenger timings.

The return empties, could return as freight, as long as there was time to

maintain the next departure time, full.

Or maybe I've overthought this???

TONY

6 hours ago, KNP said:

New (to me) unusual wagon arrived in the post.

Got for a few pounds off what is fast becoming the main supplier of LM rolling stock  - flea bay.

A box on wheels!!

 

 

 

My first employers!

So I will share the relevance, the company was set up in Bristol, to supply The GWR  / Brunel

with Creosote, for timber treatment.

Tony

11 hours ago, Baggies1961 said:

Hi Alan,

You may have this shot but it’s a superb one nevertheless, worth repeating anyway.

Regards

Julian.

Sorry to intrude, but the pic is at the opposite end of the tunnel.

A notable oddity, is that the distant signals were generally "off", as both refered to the 2 Soudley

crossings, which were normally  closed to road traffic.

as illustrated here on Helstonish.

TONY

10 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

In case you are bored, there is a Manor working on the West Somerset today.

Cheers

Phil

Keep up Phil, There were 2 on the last up working.

Odney then worked an ecs back to MD, whilst Earlystoke remained at BL.

Possibly to facilitate loading for a departure, by road.

Cheers TONY

Balance of pics.

TONY

On 03/09/2023 at 16:27, Mallard60022 said:

In 2021, when things were very different, I posted something on here about finding some simple, paper Gangway Connectors.  On looking today I have bought (£6 including post)  the last pack of 12 for Hornby/Dapol LMS Coaches. There appears to be only Hawksworths left! I have plenty of those already and Gresleys and Maunsells!

The company still does Laser Cut Buildings but have finished doing these Bellows. To me that is a great shame as alternatives are £5 for just two per Coach. Hey ho.

Looks like I'm going to have to copy Silver Sidelines' make your own efforts that I read from 2012! Is Mr Sidelines with us still?

I'm mumbling about this as yesterday afternoon I fitted the last MR bellows I had onto the Dapol MR Coaches I fettled the other day. Those very crude and basic Coaches will only ever appear very rarely and in a 'set' Rake and so I could use the one Bellows one end and then one Blanking Plate the other end of each Coach method; one Bellows fills the gap!

Sadly my lovely Portholes will be seen maybe more frequently (?) and I may be struggling to fill that Rake's gaps!

Phil

 

Hi Phil

This might help -

Print out on A4

Cut around outside of each strip.

Cut Slots to 1/2 height.

Paint or colour (Black)

Fold each strip in alternate directions, then interlace A & B strips together

I cut End blanks from thin card, and used concertinas on both coaches.

This was a shut down project, but having worked all this out, and handed copies around

when our club had an (aloud) outdoor meeting, I put aside and haven't finished.

You can use this as a basis for other patterns. I found a coach end-door useful to trim

The bellows profile.

All the best

TONY

Coach Corridor Connections..svg

How about Bristol There and Back Again Lane, or Zed Alley (Halt)

TONY

3 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

To make a change from working on the background scenery I have started to paint up the mess hut that sat at the end of the platform at Helston. Its only tiny but adds a bit of character. This one was made by butchering a standard set of LCut parts.

Ah the former Foot-warmer store!

That reminds me, do we have answere for the other 2 quirks of Helston

   What diagram are the ex Midland hoppers, and more importantly is there

   a 4mm version available?

And what is an appropriate size / type of van, for the Rabbit van?

Otherwise keep up the good work, I'm still watching.

TONY

2 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

In terms of a Morris Marina I can think of several things which might go wrong.  Something they inherited from the Morris Minor was the peculiar ability for a front wheel to collapse as part of the suspension was very unhappy if the car was turned at just the wrong speed on a very tight lock.

 Been there, done that, and quite suitable for applying to this thread.

It happened when said, nearside wheel, met a slightly sunken manhole, on the lefthand

bend of Chittening Bridge. (Over the Avonmouth - Filton line).

Apparently that unreliable piece of British Leylands product, was shared with the E type Jag.

Those were the days!

TONY

ps I too was in that traffic on the M5 yesterday, without the benefit of Taunton show to look

forward to. But if I'm a good boy, I might get to Torbay, plus Sth Devon, and maybe Peco.

(Must try to listen more carefully to dates, that are bandied around, by the Boss)

More good work there, John.

At first glance, I thought you'd got hold of a

1950s Brock-ly crate.

All the best

TONY

How about a mix of PVA + Exterior filler + water.

Applied with a 1" brush, and variations in proportions to taste.

Sounds a bit bohemian, but can be fun, and effective.

TONY

On 29/08/2022 at 19:12, Andy Keane said:

Tony

thanks for this - I have been and looked again at Helstonish and see what you mean.

But then I also saw your photo https://content-eu.invisioncic.com/y320084/monthly_2022_04/1510618673_DSC_1280(4).JPG.f5b5df94782e36ca1007d0b9c2cd4015.JPG

and there I think my "lower left" colour is closer to the track colour under the Manor?

But by the time I have added track grime, cinders and oil I guess it will not matter much.

Andy

The important thing, is that you should be happy with the result.

In the case of the pic quoted, I would say that it bears out my comment, that the rust colour of rail,

now tends to be a redder colour than my recollection of the 50s /60s. Foxy was standing on 21c rails.

I believe in steam age the rails were a duller brown. But as I say you need to find a match with your

inner vision.

One thing is certain, nobody will be able to say you are wrong, as there was, and is, such a diverse

range of evidence.

All the best

TONY

As you might expect, I will come in from a different angle.

When starting on Helstonish, I happened to see some comments from Jeff of Gill Head fame here.

He used a certain Dulux sort of coffee coloured emulsion, as base for his greenery.

Having followed suit, I realised that it was quite close to my recollection of rusty rail colour

in the late 50s / early 60s. i.e. a dull dark brown, rather than the redish brown usually

found in rust paints now.

Therefore I now lay the track, and paint it all with said paint. This takes away the plastic look

of the trackwork, and gives the basic rust to the rails.

Ballast then gives the definition to the track.

This can the be followed with some dry brushing of sleeper, and washes of black/brown.

For my money too many layouts are spoiled by over enthusiastic detailing of the track parts.

I'll hang my devils advocate hat up now........

All the best

TONY

On 08/08/2022 at 18:48, Andy Keane said:

Tony, how is Helstonish?. I rather miss seeing pictures of movements around your layout to keep me motivated.
regards

Andy

Andy thanks for the prompt.

The last few months seems to have been a constant , recurring, round of Dr's, dentist etc,

appointments. Sometimes relieved by work on the grandsons layout. (Baseboards and tracklaying).

That at least has progressed, albeit slowly, and we are now on the verge of wiring.

We have also become volunteers at the West Somerset Rly, (Blue Anchor).

All of the forgoing means that the railway room has rather been a few passing

visits, usually to get tools, or materials.

I read your post yesterday, as we packed to return from the caravan, and intended to respond

promptly  from home. 24hrs later is the first chance! Having been told grandsons were going to see

Britannia or Braunton on the mainline. Hence todays visit to Glos Model Railway Club got canned, and subsequent dinghy races also fell to an enthusiastic pairs visit, to Helstonish.

However this means  I can report all was pretty good at probably the fist proper running session

in about 4 months. (If I ignore some problems with derailing on the fiddle yard approach).

The boys both took many pics of the session, which I have not had a chance to download, but

I will share some, once I have them.

I have not as yet sourced a camera, to replace the one wrecked in the storms earlier in the year.

Once i have seen yet another Dr who will report to DVLA, hopefully  I will still have driving license,

and the shorter days will bring more modelling time.

Meanwhile I am consoled by the fact that I can, from tomorrow, at least try to help somebody who has a post covid DVT. Not good if you are a farmer, and can now barely stand, even with crutches!

Meanwhile do keep posting re your Helston, I love to see the care and enthusiasm you bring to your

project, even if the electronic stuff goes way over my head.

All the best, to you, and all who pass this way.

TONY

16 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

I don't mind if it cracks but if a corner splits off or the sheet shatters I'll go to Plan B, which is 4mm MDF...

Hi John - for once something I have a (very) little experience with.

I did spend nearly a year in a plastic fabrication co, and might just remember

a little of the techniques.

1) Acrylic sheet does not like heat, so keep your drill bit cooled, by dipping in water, frequently.

2) Drilling is also inclined to chatter, which in turn causes stress fractures. These in turn can lead

    fractures later. Where I worked new drill bits were treated with a file, to rempve the sharp edge

   on the tip.  Slow drill speed, with an "old" bit, should achieve similar results. (and don't push too hard).

All the best

TONY

17 hours ago, PjKing1 said:

The fuel storage tanks coming along nicely 

Paul

The tanks look very nice, and quite modern.

So can I make a couple of, hopefully helpful, observations.

Have you ensured your bund walls will hold the contents of the tanks it contains?

What is the reasoning behind the extra height wall at the far end? That would be wasted

money / materials, as without a dividing partition wall, the added height could not add

to the capacity.

Also, for a "modern" installation, lessons had been learnt, and good practice would see

all pipework routed over the brickwork. That avoids compromising the integrity of the bund.

Of course, if you had old, riveted tanks, which had been there for years, then almost anything

goes.

I'm sure they will look good once in place,

all the best

TONY

16 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

 

I'm sure it will Tony but I still haven't had a PM. 

 

 

For the avoidance of doubt, I'm not commenting.

But if I was, you couldn't read it anyway.

I have replied to our earlier pm correspondence, which you couldn't see.

I've tried sending it again, and I've tried replying to your message saying

you received nothing.

But seemingly you didn't see that either.

All I was after was your choice of a Wednesday in June!

All the best

TONY

ps I've also tried turning myself off and on, at least twice, to no avail!

17 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

 

 

Hi Tony, 

 

Nope, no PM my end. Just checked. 

 

Rob. 

Have just resent as a quote from Mondays message.

Hope it makes sense,,From (a confused) Dursley Donkey!

Hi Rob, just in case you missed it, I pm'd you yesterday.

All the best

TONY