Edwardian

Well, what a wonderful film! Thank you. I have to say that the eponymous @rse-scratching Scotsman could not hold my attention when there were those gorgeous LNWR coaches on view! Fairly clean, apart from the inevitably greyed roof, I noted. I also noticed the, apparently 1905 vintage, advertisement for "EMU - Australian Burgundy". The mind boggles, but, clearly, it is an advert that must appear at Castle Aching!

Sorry, Paul, yes, you're right. I should have known better given that the Bishop's Lynn tramway has to navigate the environs of Pott Row and Grimston. It's just that having in lived in the Fens, a few miles from the Norfolk border, the atmosphere of Mullie's layout always strikes me as Fen-like! A personal impression. Still, I believe Castle Aching exists, so I clearly have a dubious grasp of geography.

Slate grey.

If so, impressive on Bachmann's part. I wonder if the bogies will be available as accessories. An 8' Fox, for that is what I take it to be, with or without foot boards, might prove a very useful thing.

Looking good. I recall that, as a child, the thing that brought home to me that the historic railway existed in the, often troubled, real world, was the graffiti that Jack Nelson had added to one of his superb LNWR scenes, which read "Hang the Kaiser" Pre-Grouping graffiti! Can't say fairer than that!

I have one, the trouble is, the moment I leave my railway room, it ceases to exist.

Well put! We know a sketch about that, don't we Boys and Girls?

Brilliant film, thank you for posting. I was particularly taken with the yacht crewed entirely by pipe smokers.

John, might I ask, did you watch the video before responding?!? There may have been fewer Jesuitical cardinals in semi-rural Berkshire in the years before the Great War. I could be quite wrong, in that regard, however ... You are too kind, but I have the advantage that there is no one else around to remember it either!

Indeed, and they all seem surprisingly content and happy, considering Simon's view of the period. No doubt, as I say, because this is prior to liberal England's strange death. By New Year's Eve, 1911 in Jarrow, on the other hand, we have something much closer to what I would have expected .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt0Y39eMvpI

Have you seen how far Cambridge station is from the town centre (or walked or cycled it)?!? I think that tells you all you need to know about the attitude of Cantabrigian Dons to railways of any colour. Given that their minds were on higher things, I doubt they would have noticed.

Which, to my mind, you capture perfectly, as you do the sense of place. Considering that you weren't in a position to remember the '50s, it is remarkable how you are able to create a compelling picture of that period. Photographs of Pott Row invariably make me want to step into the scene and linger, whilst turning up my overcoat collar against the damp chill of the Fens, of course!

Very effective, and more pictures of the layout are always welcome.

At least you know what he's up to!

John, actually, I would suggest that back-dating RTR to represent the LSWR in the 1880s is surprisingly possible! Locomotives You could have a Beattie Well Tank. There were some shedded at Exmouth Junc. as early as the mid-1870s. To use the Kernow RTR model, probably those re-boilered and gaining cabs under Adams are best. Thirty-one were rebuilt and transferred out to the sticks (1883-1887) and were given tenders! Most of these were re-boilered, making them more likely to fit the Kernow innards. Allocations included Exeter. Your best bet is, probably, the Adams Radial. Although most were in London in their early careers, there were always some stabled in the West Country for use in North Devon and on the Exmouth branch. In 1886 these were: 169 - Dubs, 1884 170 - Dubs, 1884 171 - Dubs, 1884 480 - Neilson, 1883 485 - Neilson, 1885 489 - Neilson, 1885 491 - Dubs, 1884 493 - Dubs, 1884 For a six-coupled goods, a 395 Class (built 1881-1886) is probable, as at least by 1890 they were allocated very widely, including Exmouth Junc, Plymouth and Wadebridge. This counts as RTR bashing as Golden Arrow do a resin body kit designed for a Hornby chassis. Nile of this parish has built one. Coaches Bogie coaches are quite rare, and probably atypical for your scenario: 2 42' composites in 1880 (which you could approximate with the Triang non-brake coach cut down 1 compartment); 12 46' composites in 1882; 6 saloons in 1885; 14 42" Lav. Tri-comps. Up to 1878 4 and 6-wheel coaches are still being built with raised beading on the waists. Not a match for Triang or the various Ratio sides. Adams brings in the more modern recessed waist panels. 4 compartments from a Triang non-brake coach would make a creditable 28' 6-wheel composite of 1878 - you need arc roof profiles for all these coaches. The 5 compartments from a Triang brake coach would make a creditable 30' 6-wheel second of 1879-1890. It would take the brake end parts from 3 Triang brake coaches to make a 30' 6-wheel brake van of 1882. You could derive both a 30' 6-wheel third and 30' 6-wheel brake third of 1886-90 from Triang brake coaches.

Can't say I have looked much beyond 1905! As older, wooden underframed wagons, I suspect that they would have been reasonably common in the Grouping years, though severely winnowed by Nationalisation. I can offer what Tatlow says about the GN variety: The Great Northern's 9 ton 4 plank open was extremely common, the LNER taking over 11,664 of them, although admittedly their numbers were to drop drastically by the beginning of the War, so that 396 remained by the end of 1941 and only 28 were passed on the British railways ...

When not actually on strike

Philosophically your pair of Dapol B4s may, or may not, be already running on your layout.

The Memsahib can supply you with the horse poo ..

As opposed to entering the terminal phase of our decline to a fanfare of xenophobic and illiberal demagoguery? No, I meant the days when I would have had 2 votes and we were a beacon of (relative!) tolerance in an autocratic Europe!

1905 would be best, then, as it's before the strange death of liberal England.

A box arrived today. From Shapeways. It contained 3 pairs of wagon underframes, a 5-plank body and a marked but unfamiliar smell. These are new designs from Quarryscapes of this parish. He strode manfully into the fray when I was debating my options for creating 9'6" wheel-base wagons. This wheel-base typified both GE and GN wagon output from the 1880s, yet I found that there were no wagon or u/f kits suitable, as 9' or 10' u/fs are the norm. What Norm has to do with this, I am entirely unsure. But Alan's efforts are certainly appreciated. These are wooden 9'6" w/b wagons - 2 of each u/f are provided: GER Square Grease GER Teardrop Grease GNR Grease They are found here: http://www.shapeways.com/product/HUUXXNYFP/15-x-9-6-underframe-mix-set-4mm-scale?optionId=60772530 They should prove suitable for GER Diagram 16, GER un-diagrammed 4-plank and GN equivalent. I shall attempt one of each of these and will attempt to scratch-build 2 of the bodies. Just waiting for some Gibson open spoke wheels and top-hat bearings to arrive.

Something to look forward to browsing!

The judge sealed the court file!

I very much enjoyed seeing your work. It reinforces the point that early Grouping (anything 1935 and older, really) is also seriously neglected, and I think that dividing up consideration of RTR representation between pre and post-Grouping is unhelpful and misses the point. I have considered the GW in 1935, and realised that it is materially harder to represent this in 4mm compared with, say, 1936 or 1938 (latterly the Hornby Colletts have made a huge difference, however). Extending this "thought experiment" to the same line in 1929 or 1927 places me in very difficult territory. Many more older classes extant, fully lined coaches etc. It struck me that if you had been a Southern modeller in the LSW area in OO, you would be no better off in certain regards in 1930 than you would be in, say, 1914. All the RTR ex-LSW coaching would be too late for you. Modelling in 2mm probably would not make things any harder!