wessy

Good for you Luke! What we need is more people looking for something interesting to model, and the LNWR has plenty of that. Let us not turn this topic into an analysis of the history of the Society and concentrate on modelling.

There is a quarter page colour advert in the latest Railway Modeller.

Were all buckets the same? I seem to remember a short parody of detailed research in the (I think ) December 1972 Model Railway Constructor. It suggested that the authors had discovered that bucket design on the LSWR showed variation dependent on the CME in charge. The number of rivets holding the handle varied, and there were left and right hand versions. The article was illustrated by photographs, and should, I am sure, be in the library of any serious researcher! Tim Birch

As for air pollution and the effect on surfaces, the LNWR found that copper telegraph wires were 'as new' after 30 years' use in areas such as Anglesey, but they had to be replaced due to corrosion after 18 months in the Widnes and St Helens areas.

Congratulations of producing yet another lovely model! I think that it was probably originally a coal merchant or trader's wagon. The lack of an end door seems to have been favoured by them, as they had no means of tipping the wagon to empty it in the yards used for land sales, unlike colliery-owned or coal factor-owned wagons used for industrial purposes. Those seemed to have end and possibly floor doors for tipping or discharge into hoppers.

Thanks, Marc. My renovation will include brake standards on each of the open platforms, rather than one in the cabin (which is really tiny at about 4'6'' by 7') as I will use it as a brake van used by a small docks company as a general purpose brake van rather that the specialised North British one. Tim

Thanks for the lead. Following on from your information, I have found some photos of early NBR break vans on the P4 Burntisland model so I can see how the originals looked. Renovating the kit is next on my work list, so I will post a photo when it is completed.

I have been dabbling in 7mm since retiring a couple of years ago, following what I suspect is the usual path of being seduced by a wagon kit or two, and then finding that the previously interesting 4mm stuff is just too small and unsatisfying. As far as possible, I have restricted by purchases and plans to things relevant to S Wales before WW1. However, this brake (or should that be 'break') van was bought cheaply at a show earlier this year. I fancy building it as one for a docks company, rather like the Cardiff Railway but very very much smaller. The reason for exposing this to the combined knowledge and expertise of the RMweb is to ask if anyone knows what the prototype for the kit is and who used to make it? I did wonder if it was a North British incline break van, but the ones I have seen are not quite like it. Although the curved brass for the roof is sufficient for the whole length of the vehicle, the design of the verandas suggests that it only covered the cabin. Any thoughts would be most welcome.

Ambulance trolleys can be obtained, but might skew the spending on the layout a little...http://www.stjohnsupplies.co.uk/products/First-aid-furniture/Stretchers/Trolley-Beds/Lift-Easy-Trolley

I have just found this on eBay. It looks like a versatile glue. I remember talking to the late George Norton when he was demonstrating loco building (and whose kits are largely now sold by London Road Models). He used Thixofix to hold 4mm plastic sprung horn blocks when building chassis. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALPHA-THIXOFIX-DUNLOP-CONTACT-ADHESIVE-40ML-250ML-500ML-1L-2-5L-5LITRE-CHOOSE-/172358940041

I think that in these clean air times it is easy to underestimate the effects of 'atmosphere' on paint, metals etc.. George Findlay, General Manager of the Premier Line (also known as the LNWR) wrote a fascinating book called 'The working and management of an English railway' (copies are available through Abe and probably other sites) with various editions published in the 1880s and 1890s. He wrote that the average life of the railway telegraph wires was about 10 years, but varied from 30 years in the pure air of Anglesey to no more than three years in the corrosive air around the chemical works of Widnes and St Helens. The effects on other surfaces can be imagined...

This model just gets better and better - what an excellent signal box! The discussion about levers, box design and Birkenhead Woodside reminded me that I have some information in various sources which, if not directly relevant to West Kirby Town, might be generally interesting. The sources are 'The Birkenhead Railway' by T B Maund (RCTS 2000), 'British Railway Layout Plans Vol 10 - LNWR in N Wales Chester and the Wirral' by John Swift (SRS 1996) and 'A pictorial record of LMS signals' by L G Warburton (Oxford 1972 but a reprint is now available). The Maund book is recommended for the sheer amount of detail and modelling opportunities. Now for the detail... The Birkenhead Railway was transferred to the LNWR and GWR on 1st Jan. 1860 and the Woodside terminus opened in 1878 when signalling was provided by the Gloucester Wagon Company. In January 1880, the block signalling regulations on the joint lines in the Birkenhead district were standardised as LNWR ones and from January 1885, the responsibility for signalling was taken on by the LNWR, so presumably any renewals or new work after then would be LNWR standard components. The main line was quadrupled around 1900 and a lot of new boxes were provided then. Although it was a joint line I think it always had an LNWR atmosphere. John Swift's track plan of West Kirby shows a 63 lever LMS frame which includes the connections to the joint station so you may not need to worry at all about the exact number! As for LNWR/MR rivalries in the new LMS, we might expect the MR to just assume that their arrangements would be the new standard, but just like the Horwich 'Crabs', Derby didn't get it all their own way. MR wooden signal boxes rotted at ground level, so the LNWR style brick bases were used. The MR hipped roof was too complicated so a simple gable was designed for the MR upper storey. Finally, the LNW staircase was thought to be too steep and so the MR gradient was used!

Good morning to all. All the talk about loading and securing of containers has reminded me that I have a small pamphlet entitled 'Interim instructions for the loading and securing of containers' published by the Railway Executive in 1950. it appears that there was a problem caused by containers from the erstwhile railway companies being loaded on wagons from other companies, and so the pamphlet sets out instructions. In terms of the current debate, there is a short section on securing covered containers other than on Conflat or chassis wagons. Now presumably this does not apply specifically to non-standard boxes on specialist wagons, but the principles are useful to know. Here are the scans of the relevant pages. container ropes001.pdf container ropes002.pdf container ropes003.pdf