Edwardian

When I was at the Bar in the north-west, there was a story of a Liverpool Barrister who was supposed to visit Germany for some reason in the Thirties, but was not keen on going. On his Visa application he answered as follows: Have you visited Germany previously, and, if so, when? Yes. 1918 Capacity in which you visited Germany? Conqueror I believe the application was refused. Sounds like the sort of thing FE Smith would have said.

At this point I would advise Simon against any self-incriminating answers

On which, Whorlton or Overstone? It doesn't annoy me. Relatively recently I braved the Peterborough Lido. The Luftwaffe did its best, but it's still going in it's Art Deco Riviera style. I do find the concept of a 'Lido', with all its Mediterranean suggestion, gloriously amusing, particularly when located in the English Midlands (where I grew up) miles from the sea! It is a testament to the skill of the GW publicist that, by contrast, I don't find the concept of an 'English Riviera' side-splittingly amusing. Mind you, that Cornwall versus Bay of Naples poster always makes me smile. Went to Alton Towers once as a child. Spent 3 hours in the model railway room (or so my parents claim). Not that many 'attractions' featured in my childhood, though. My parents' views on holidays were that they should be conducted somewhere as far away as possible from Other People. Quite a lonely childhood, at times, now I think of it ... The honourable exception was always visiting a Preserved Line. I was not starved of those!

I wonder if these diligences were harking back to the road coaches developed for Napoleon I? Oddly the Napoleon cult was not that strong immediately after his death (1821), at least not at the levels to which it rose, culminating in his return and re-internment in Paris, in the early 1840s, if I recall my reading. But, still, some reflected Napoleonic chic might have been the aim, when seeking to induce passengers to sit up top. Alternatively, the usage might have been ironic, given the sardonic wit of which the French were once capable in the case of Napoleon ("to lie like a[n Imperial] Bulletin", comes to mind.

Indeed. On the basis that Oxford, having told me that they would correct the reference to "Deans" Goods on their website, have evidently failed to do so (http://www.oxfordrail.com/76/OR76DG.htm), I am bound to wonder whether the design team has ignored the point about the incorrect fire-box profile. Hubris, incompetence, or am I worrying unnecessarily? Trouble is, I won't pre-order until I see that the problem has been corrected. The profile is clearly wrong. Oxford should have spotted it. They say they hadn't, but they have been told. No excuse if they muck it up now. It has gone awfully quite, the last update on the website "release notes" appears to have been January. We cannot tell, therefore, how well Oxford's "Pursuit of Excellence" is going. I hope they catch it in time, that's all. As for Deans, some may say the odd misplaced letter here or there is trivial. But it suggests a lack of attention to detail. What if tomorrow, it's not a misplaced letter but a misplaced rivet [horror]?!? It's important to get the exact details right in this game, even down to the spelling, lest you find yourself merely in pursuit of excrement.

Ah Swansea, where I misspent my youth (she's doing fine though now, apparently), and the Mumbles, great place for a pub crawl (in the days when I could still actually do a pub crawl). In contrast, I once went to Cardiff, but it was closed.

Sadly, the engine shed is scheduled for conversion to a holiday cottage. The story told locally, and I hope I have this correct, is that the railway was an adjunct to a "Lido", which was a strange sort of tourist attraction to find nestling on the slopes of Teesdale, near to two country houses, Wycliffe and Thorpe Halls, and below the village of Whorlton on the opposite bank. The new owners of Thorpe Hall bought the Lido, too, just to close it. It was then sold on, no doubt with suitable restrictive covenants in place!. The present owner wishes to build some holiday cabins on the wooded slopes behind the track, and to utilise the engine shed as accommodation. The volunteer group that have restored and who run the line are permitted discrete opening days, but will otherwise run it for the guests in due course. So, it is very much a private line. The only other structure is the loo block that once served the Lido and I believe that the plan is to convert this to a new engine shed! Now, this is all hearsay, so I apologise to anyone who knows better if what I have been told is not 100% accurate. Anyway, the much more wonderful thing about Whorlton - even though it has nothing to do with railways - is the little early Nineteenth Century (1831) suspension bridge with its toll house and still utilising its original chains, I believe. I include an old postcard and a, poor, view from the site of the miniature railway. Must photograph the bridge properly at some stage.

... am keeping one step ahead of my Creditors ...

I think you have nailed it with those terraces. Very South Yorkshire, if childhood memories of driving up to my grandparents hold true. Great to see 2 whole rows, which is not often attempted, but makes the scene persuasive, and I had a peek at your blog to see how it all fitted in; great layout. Lovely subtle effect. You seem to be living in Norfolk and modelling the North, whilst I ....

I think you should. I think your work is stunning. I admire many layouts, but it is not often I see one and find myself thinking "I wish that was mine!" The structures are beautifully observed and the compositions ingenious and full of interest. The modelling standard is very high (how I imagine my buildings will turn out, as opposed to how they actually do!), and the subtlety of effect that comes of your use of printed textures is wonderful. It also seems to me that you have managed to blend this all in with equally subtle and well-observed vegetation, something I am currently scratching my head over. So, I for one, would appreciate seeing more.

Of where?!?

Thanks, Kevin. I am even nearer to this http://www.thorpelightrailway.co.uk/history/ It is a very modest affair and has visiting locomotives. On my only visit it was a rather uninspiring internal combustion steam outline job, but some interesting types have visited in the past (like this http://www.thorpelightrailway.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DSC_0011.jpg), and I understand there is an excess of stock at Cleethorpes and some arrangement might be entered into. The NRM are involved; they take the history of these miniature leisure lines seriously.

Yes, as I struggle to move CA forward, I really need a distraction in the form of 15" railways!" Fascinating stuff. Perrygrove looks a wonderful place. Some excellent pictures there Andy K. Thanks for sharing. Many Achingesque things are happening elsewhere, that certainly repay a visit: Kevin's rural tramway topic (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/113785-steam-tramways-rural-great-britain-ireland/page-1) and Neil HB's excellent contemporary (1906|) Sudrian venture, which has all those odd, old Victorian bits I love and want to assemble at CA (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/97585-elsbridge-wharf-1906-neilhbs-layout). Neil has very generously sent me some plans for tramway stock. Thanks, Neil.

Enjoying the continued progress, and I really like the biplane, a great feature and very convincingly done.

Great stuff. Small, but perfectly formed!

Yep, that's about as bonkers as deciding to produce only an ex-LBSC loco. Now it seems clear that Bachmann have determined to knife the Pre-Groupers on this one, it's time to take my bat and ball home, or, rather, cross this off my list of relevant topics, and leave you all in peace! Thank you all for your patience!

Indeed, yours sounds like a plan. SE Fincast, who do a white-metal H Class, that really I should invest in, and several other SECR kits, produce the full Wainwright lining. Somewhere on RMWeb I recall someone lining out a 'plain' C class, though I am note sure if he used the Finecast transfers. When I get round to my SE/Brighton project, that is the way I think I will go. The Bachmann Birdcages will save building a couple of trains worth of stock, so, as they say, every little helps!

It was rather wonderful of Bachmann, though, wasn't it? Pity they can't or won't follow up. Just as one swallow does not make a summer, the umber E4 and the plainly lined C Class and lake Birdcages hardly open the floodgates to pre-Grouping layouts set in the south east, BUT, they could be a good start and I, for one, am very happy about them. Just for a moment, with the popularity of the SECR H Class and the advent of the H2, I thought this might have been the start of a whole new adventure ... Then I work up to find I was still living in everyone's else's 1950s!

Oh, great, another useless 'as preserved' release. Can't wait.

I think that, without adequate support, Pre and early Grouping will remain neglected, simply because they are fairly inaccessible to new entrants and to the "average enthusiast" who has yet to complete his 20 years before the mast with soldering iron and bow-pen. All respect to those who have, of course, but potential interest in pre-Grouping may be found amongst we lesser mortals too. John Dunsignalling is the Private Fraser of this Platoon, but, in between his cold water bucket heaving, he is right to question whether that support is likely or feasible. If we want even a modest joined-up release programme, this must be organised from the fan base and the risk taken away from the manufacturer. The problem I see is that the numbers of fans who will agree to a particular version of a particular prototype might prove too modest to make a project feasible, as this constituency will exclude those who never heard of the initiative, or who would decide to buy only after they saw the thing in all its glory. I am describing something of a vicious circle. To return to the case of the Bachmann Atlantic, I simply bemoan the inanity, against a background of random occasional pre-Group releases, of choosing not to take the opportunity of providing a version of the Atlantic that would compliment the existing pre-Group release. A decision disappointing in its timidity, as it limits potential interest in two models, the H2 and the E4. Duh! Bachmann, Duh!

No, because some idiot will stick a second dome on it and produce a further disappointment!

Also agree, and that is precisely why I am reluctant to give a manufacturer £140-160 for a model that would require surgery and a re-spray. I am more likely in this case to give DJH £160. .Any given life is too short for all the locomotives one might want, and kit/scratch-building time is, given my interests, better spent on producing enough wagons and coaches for them. Given the standard of modern RTR, it isn't a step down, but it is a useful short cut. I think "great, one less engine to build". No need for 'proper modellers' to sneer at that, they'll still be plenty of types left to build. The clue, though, is in the name - Ready to Run. If it ain't ready, the chief potential benefit of the model (saving time) is lost. This is not to say we should not consider conversions. We should, I am actively bodging and bashing RTR models in my modest way, but my donors are second hand, cheap and plentiful. Where manufacturers don't tool for other variants, their RTR model can, at best, be tabled for consideration along with other options, such as kits, scratch-build or adapting older models. Even if the new RTR model seems the best option, the manufacturer gets no immediate purchase from me, because its product is now a project and, as such, goes to the back of a very long queue of projects! Entirely fair and sensible comments, if I may say so. I would seek to add 2 points to what you say. First, in the absence of evidence either way, I believe that there is a sufficient market for an umber E4, given minimum numbers for viability of a livery/tooling option. The question is whether Bachmann has guessed the demand correctly. The Full Wainwright C may have skewed perceptions. I love the restrained elegance of the umber E4, but query whether a re-tooled E4 in IEG, rivalling the intricate opulence of the full Wainwright livery on the C might have had greater appeal. Second, a point I have made before; random pre-Group releases are self-limiting in sales. Why buy an umber E4 when, unless your are already a self-sufficient kit builder, you will never have anything to run with it? I invested in the umber E4 because (1) I had a kit-built K Class, (2) OO Works had announced an umber I3, and (3) Bachmann had announced the Atlantic (which I naturally expected would come out in umber at some stage, complimenting the E4 - but I should have realised not to look for coherence and logic in RTR release programmes!). In contrast, Grouping and Nationalisation meant that pre-Grouping designs moved away from their home rails to some extent, could run with the more modern stock that is available RTR, and be supplemented by later, standard classes. Not all combinations we see on layouts may be typical, but at least you can run a Southern or BR E4 with something! Manufacturers cannot manufacture everything you might want, but, where they do release a locomotive, it would be nice if some thought could be given to complimentary releases. I would not be complaining that Bachmann had not planned a second Brighton design, but given Bachmann has, what madness not to allow it to compliment the umber E4! Perhaps the future of the hobby lies not with the Behemoths. Their costs, delays, inflexibility and lack of control over their own production are well-known factors. Add to that a 'vision' that seems restricted to milking the steam/diesel transition period to death, whilst failing to use their market share to promote any earlier period, save the occasional sop to the Thirties, means that steam outline modelling will be increasingly curtailed as the mainline steam generation moves on. Smaller companies using accessible manufacturing methods that can accomplish small batches might be the way forward. The problem is that injection moulded plastic still produces the best results, and the tooling cost is reputedly exorbitant. Has resin or 3D print got there yet? I suspect that it will remain an expensive area to enter. The growth in awareness of IP rights over surviving locomotives means greater cost and access issues for smaller outfits. There are winners an losers in all this. The Hornby Peckett looks likely to prove an exquisite model and it is a Victorian prototype! I am entirely thrilled with that release. I was also thrilled with Hornby's mid-20s Colletts (would be even more so if released in their original livery). Not so thrilling is the decision to release an 'as preserved' Radial. For anyone interested in prototype modelling, this is good only for a model of the Bluebell at whatever date 488 last had a boiler certificate. That example might be easily adapted and cured, but my issue is with the decision in principle not to bother with a pukka pre-Grouping example. Hornby has a Drummond liveried M7 in its range. Could it not make the imaginative leap to make a Drummond era version of the Radial? I try to give praise where it is due (Butler Henderson, C Class, Peckett, E4, GN Atlantic, Colletts, Birdcages, L&B stock to name a few). There is much that I feel pleased and grateful for. Just don't expect me to be pleased or grateful when a manufacturer comes close, but then pulls a punch like Kernow not providing for pre-Grouping O2 and Gate stock, Hornby reproducing LSWR stock only in the form of late Thirties rebuilds, Hattons not tooling for a pre-war 4800/5800 and, now, Bachmann apparently not bothering with the Brighton Atlantic. These are all subjects that could have been made available in earlier Grouping or pre-Grouping configurations. Yes, there would be extra costs, and viability must be judged on a case by case basis, but they illustrate the attitude that models can only be made if they support the Nationalised scene. If they'll 'do' for the late Thirties, or, occasionally earlier, a livery option might be offered, but the vast majority of models are tooled for the BR modeller. Hard to criticise that on commercial grounds - for the moment - but I suspect there is something self-perpetuating in terms of BR-era sales and self-limiting with regards to earlier periods. Many more pre-Group versions than we get could, I am sure, be justified as a limited run. So, another missed opportunity on my growing "not to buy" list!

Don't disagree with any of that. Trying to find subscribers will probably yield fewer numbers than would pick up a model if available on the upon market. So that is why I would prefer manufacturers to take the lead. Build and they will buy - a tricky commercial proposition. I have yet to devote time to the study of the 415 Class Radial, but, on first glance I agree that the only obvious difference is the coal rails, which, presumably, can be removed with care whilst preserving the Adams livery. It is always a matter of research, and this loco's background is still on the "to do" list. I also have a Dean Siding body that it would be a shame not to use, so that might help if there is a variant less easily rendered from the Hornby body. If going for Axminster-Lyme Regis, I suppose I'd want 1913 condition in Drummond livery.

I knew there was some, slight, visual feature that was preventing this otherwise entirely unremarkable locomotive from blending seamlessly with its surroundings! Duh!

Some mysterious Eastern destination where projects remain ever young, and, despite the passage of centuries, never mature? Bachmann's release programme has found its way to Shangri la!