Edwardian

Yes, and I note that the Ibertren version actually has an outside cylinder moulded to the body to reflect this protoype, yet, of course, the Bachmann Junior chassis stolidly ignores this! I never paid more than £50 for these Elctrotren units, I am amazed at how stupid expensive they have become; may as well buy a Heljan 1361 clsass for the chassis.

Yes, I just think it's more about identifying the attractive models and combinations thereof, that people will go for, whether it fits with any pre-conceived area of interest or not.

That's to over-think, I suggest. I mean, 'yes', but so what? No one models the Huntley and Palmer Reading works, very few model the Isle of Wight Central Railway. Two examples of Hornby train packs, the latter with (inferior) generic coaches. Few may model the preservation scene, yet the Hattons P Class in blue is on its second run. It's attractive and collectable, as an individual model and, I suggest, probably no less in an exclusive train pack.

Thinking of how gorgeous the teaking on the Genesis GNR carriages turned out, and with a second running in the offing of ... I am surprised we are not seeing a train pack. The 4-wheel brake third and the 4-wheel 4-compartment coach in teak, with oil lamps would make a nice little set with the Bluebell P.

Do this, go on, just do this ....

Yes, Hattons are on a second run of that livery. I realise that this blue livery is a preservation prototype livery for P Class No.323, but I imagine most purchasers simply reacted to the fact that it's stupid-pretty and well-nigh irresistible. I have no possible use for one, yet only just managed to resist the first run, only to succumb and pre-order the second. Would I buy a stupid-pretty blue O1 to go with? Obviously. Go on, you know you want one...

Posrscript on Bachmann Junior locos... Perhaps someone in Spain can confirm or deny, but I reckon that both locos in this Ibertren train set will prove to be using the Bachmann Junior 0-6-0 chassis.

Rarity may be a function of absolute numbers, but I suspect a significant factor is the extent to which they were quickly sold out on pre-order.

Well I'd have bought one!

Quality will out!

Some more pictures. I am very happy with these two ... ... and find they fit in well with other WNR locos. When I saw the LSWR 330 Class next to the other WNR locos during the Christmas loco testing round, I realised it was just too large, and it was this that prompted me to take the plunge with the Fletcher Jennings. It can be seen how the new loco is much more in proportion with other WNR motive power, while its Victorian looks will fit well with what is primarily a stud of 1860s-1880s machines (yes, I know there's an 1840s looking one there too, but that's the NMR for you!). Below, the Fletcher Jennings next to the Fox Walker, showing that the former, while still a fairly small loco, represents a slightly larger goods engine compared with the diminutive Light Railway maid-of-all-work. I thought it would be interesting to compare the Neilson box tank (NMR) with the Manning Wardle (WNR) given they both use the same donor chassis (Hornby W4 Peckett).

Latest acquisitions for the WNR courtesy of Oak Hill Works and their super fast delivery. So thanks to Tom and Gary for some excellent product. And, thanks to Gary and his dash to the post office, the prints arrived this morning, in the same post as the Hornby A1 Terrier purchased to provide the donor chassis. This latter had partially disassembled itself in its clam-shell, so British Leyland build quality there by Hornby, but the chassis was sound. The Manning Wardle H Class I had thought of for an Aching Constable works shunter. I like very small locos in ridiculously ornate Victorian liveries and anyone who, like me, grew up poring over pictures of contractors' locos on the GC London Extension published in a little book by Leicestershire Musems, will understand what I mean. A works shunter is probably the best excuse the WNR will funish. I can only assume some pretext will be found for running it to Birchoverham Market, from time to time. The print is a perfect fit for the Hornby Peckett W4 chassis; it is merely necessry to clip off two protruding diecast lugs either side of the front of the motor. Screw holes line up. In contrast, the Neilson box tank print (a different supplier, I hasten to add), required a lot of fettling to achieve the correct height from the rails and for the smoke box to sit forward enough to line up with the cylinders. By contrast, the Oak Hill Works H Class is well designed and engineered. It's as near to RTR as something that isn't RTR! The Fletcher Jennings Class J, I first considered for the Norfolk Minerals Railway, but eventually realised (I like to think I'm not usually that slow) that it was an ideal goods loco for the WNR, and much better than the overbearingly large Beyer Peacock/LSW 330 Class. This print, too, was an ideal fit, requiring only the sawing off of a short length of the end of the Terrier chassis, Again, screw holes line up nicely, although the Hornby screws, one of which had stopped working properly even while still in use to secure the Hornby body, are too short to be of much use. In the case of the Class J, back head and buffers are yet to be added. In both cases tool/sand boxes need to be added. All these components are supplied. All in all some really well-thought out and executed bodies adapted to RTR chassis to represent some very charismatic Victorian proptotypes. What more could a chap with a minor railway need?

There is a long headshunt on the plan. What is it for and do I really need it? If we lost the cattle siding and moved the south box, say to the platform end, shortened the headshunt a bit and built the cattle dock along side, we could have something like:

Yes, very much that sort of thing

I have thought about this. I worked out that it was just about possible to replicate a day's working on a mainline. This was a section of GWR mainline and I chose weekday 'winter' table table. All services tended to have a balancing service, though on long distance this means that the railway needed at least two sets of coaches; the Down service on Day One is the Up Service on Day Two, so the balancing Up service on Day One needs a second set of coaches and forms the Down service on Day Two etc. The modeller only has to run his services into the fiddle yard, so he can use the same set of coaches for the same day's balancing service. He only needs half the coaches the prototype railway needs as he can simply reverse the same train used on the Down service as the Up service by taking the loco off one end and replacing it with a different engine on the other end! The alternative, which is usually more sane, is to choose representative services, say one each of stopper, semi-fast, fast. There can be a trip goods that serves your station and long-distance goods that don't stop. Each train gets to form an up and a down service, so, even if you only have one of each type of train listed above, that's 10 services to run, and shorter distance locals can go up and down more than once in a day, so if you have included that in your list of 5 trains, that's 12 services. If you want to increase the number of services, add another train at the more mundane end of things!

I suspect the chaldrons are a wee bit easier with EM wheelsets! Nice work all round.

I did wonder about show on the roofs, but this is non-essential and consistency is best. As this layout makes me cold just looking at it, I think we can say it works!

Is it not a question genetics, or inherited characteristics?

Yes, that would be interesting. If you take any snaps ....

Thanks to Brother Schooner for his pictures of Gloucester market. There would be towns that still held livestock markets in market places within the town. Thame: Skipton, 1906: I thought that a good way to boost its size and status of Birchoverham Market would be to make it a principle livestock market, where the Victorians had needed to move the market outside the town centre and construct dedicated facilities where there was more room to do so. I did a survey of examples on the interweb a while back. Gloucester shows most of the typical features of such sites that any model show aspire to include: - Nice stout masonry walls surrounding. Gates will have some architectural merit, the main gate might have a gate lodge building. - Most of the area is covered with open pens - There is often an opened sided shed structure - There is some form of central office building. There can be an indoor auction space, but this does not seem to be an essential. Here, for example, is Peterborough in 1904 (is that an electric light?!?): Kettering: Wakefield: Lincoln: Darlington: Monmouth: Brecon, taken from the Brecon & Merthyr, the bridge abutment in shot on the right: I could go on, and will no doubt when I find the pictures I saved a while back (now somewhere on a dying desktop). In the meantime, a pertinent example for CA, in terms of scale, period and location, is Fakenham. Previously located in Wells Road, this new Cattle Market was opened in 1857. This ties in well with the opening of the original WN line, CA to the Birchoverhams, in 1855, ans, so, Fakenham's market might serve as a model for us. It's not that far from the town centre. Thus, for BM one could imagine a sequence top left to bottom right of town square, cattle market, railway. We would reflect that location with perspective modelling/backscene to the extent space permits. The really attractive feature of the Fakenham site that, at least I would like to capture is the double gate, with its sweeping curved walls and central pavillion, seen at the bottom of the aerial view:

But it's fun to play along!

Excellent! Very nice. I fancy them for the Bishop's Lynn, but I do like the street tram carriages conversions I was working on (and still cannot find). I would not touch them in the low grade, but the manufacturer, when asked, has made carriages available in better grades. Shapeways is still brutually expensive overall and in value for money terms. Well, I thought I'd find fairly definitive answers, but then Brother Nearholmer showed that the bolt-on generators at gas stations made things less certain. However, I stick to the Watton example. Watton in 1900 was described as a "small market town". Iy was a station on the GER and boasted banks, both police and fire stations, three main inns, a cottage hospital, almshouses, a public 'recreation ground' and a gas works. It did not gain electric street lighting until 1932. Splendid pictures and, yes, just this sort of thing. I collected some pictures some time ago, but these are on anpther 'pooter. But canine owner's seal of approval. I love the burghers of Gloucester for providing for the dogs; "Love me, love my dog" I believe it says.

Well Happy New Year to Rapido, with best wishes from a Highland Terrier...