Northroader

K14s post says it all, really. Check the posts, too. The Ian Allen "GWR country stations part 1" shows a picture of your namesake station with an early hand painted board, looking as if it's on the LBSC or the SER. While you're at Didcot remember to pick up any small lumps of that rare commodity, coal, which happen to be lying round the yard, for breaking up for wagon loads.

Here's a shot of what I'm installing for point operation. I'm trying to stick with a simple, compact, mechanical way, and placing them close to the edge of the baseboard at the front, where they'll end up tucked down behind the front facing strip, and they'll be painted brown all over. It's just a piece of copper tube placed vertically, with projecting lug at the bottom carrying a screw through which the tiebar linkage goes. Two brass strips go either side of the tube giving little wings for turning by hand. A screw passes down the tube into the baseboard, and there's a washer between the board and the tube. Tightening the screw down can give just enough "nip" to stop the mechanism from creeping. See how this does in usage, its more reliable than the first throw. You can also see this bit of ply is a historic document, as it's got the original plan pencilled in on it.

The 282T tanks were used on the services out of Gare de l'Est. The 131TB 262T worked the Bastille services, which was a fairly independant local system.

The only blue enamelled one I can remember when much younger was at Cressage. The blue was a bit darker, and the letters, which were formed as a whole with the rest of the sign, were block capitals. The seriffed letters which you've done were raised cutouts, presumably fitted individually to the board, same as the block capital type. I would think that these were always black and white. I don't see why either type shouldnt be printed flat rather than being raised, the difference is negligible, except to the most picky. I've done a block capital one like this and I'm quite happy with it. There was a smaller version of the serif type which appears on old photos of signal boxes, which appear to be screwed to the front of the structure without being on a board, and having the darker of the two stones. Your gate looks really good, demonstrates what you can do with care and some jigs.

I've given you an 'informative/ useful' rating, in the pious hope I might understand it all one day.

Maybe your better half could come in on this one, (I'm missing her terribly on my thread) my understanding of horseboxes is that travelling in a vehicle with an open view of the passing countryside would discompooperate the occupants and make them fretchit, so horseboxes were always enclosed. Cattle, it seems, didn't count, and as there'd never be enough horse boxes to go round, nonrankers dobbins drew the short straw. On the question of branding vehicles, this idea was started by Prussia, an army attached to a country. With the rise of Railways, the military machine quickly grasped the idea that you could move an entire army long distances very quickly by train, which helped starting wars no end. The KPEV were told to brand all their goods wagons with the capacity to take either fully equipped soldiers or horses, and after establishment of the empire, the other states followed suit. Wagons which couldn't be used for army transport, mainly beer vans, were branded "spezialwagen". This practice was copied by the French. Funnily enough, at the end of WW1, American army units had experienced the joys of travel in these, and the French Railways sent several over to the States.http://www.fortyandeight.org/history-of-the-408/

I think in the case of the LNWR, there's a story that Mr. George? Westinghouse came to Crewe pushing air brakes, but unfortunately using American sales techniques, told Francis Webb that he would qualify for a commission for every one fitted. This of course impugned Webbs integrity in acting as the Railways engineer, and Westinghouse was very nearly slung out on his ear. No air brakes at Crewe. Whether Westinghouse learnt from this in approaching other Railways, or kept to the same tactics, I couldn't say.

It's the picture of the pyramid you really wanted us to look at.

Not episcopalian at all, here's a pantechnicon of theirs before they went all modern and with it. (I'm still working on the lettering, don't worry) a Duncan Models kit, then it needs a machinery wagon, which a badly bashed second hand mineral wagon has kindly offered to act as a donor. On the matter of troop train formations, here's a Terriers train leaving Swanage in 30s, the tail end being of interest, (the lead end two M7s and twelve bogies) but then you have a horse box, then flats with field kitchens -what about one of them in your train? which I doubt had vac brakes, so a brake van to finish off with, passenger rather than goods.

More HST rubbernecking today, things are coming along on the Swindon Didcot stretch, apart from that gap through Steventon. Most of masts are up, with the usual odd missing ones and gaps, on the downside nearly to South Marston. There are appreciably less on the upside west of Uffington. A good deal have all the accompanying fitments (dangly bits) added. One noteworthy item is that there's stretches of overhead catenary and contact appearing, one length on the down east of Wantage Road, stretches east and west of Challow on the up line. There were three four car 387 sets coupled together parked outside the shed at Reading this afternoon.

Here's a drawing for a brake third with a skylight, a bit later than your coaches, though:

I haven't fallen down the bog, just slowly progressing with the feed mill, and also working on another job to get the line up to scratch, encapsulated in the phrase, "magnets and kadees". I'm resetting all the magnets and gauging them up to try and get them exactly central, level and at the right height. Being tight, I got some some small block magnets years back, rather than the larger tombstone sort, and it's clear that the area of sideways pull from the track centre is reduced in consequence. I can raise a click on the one I've started with, but then most of the kadees also need their prongs resetting, high, low, sideways, and I'm finding some aren't particularly tight. All a slow patient plod, with not much in the way of entertaining photos. Talk amongst yourselves.

I was wondering about the differing lamp chimney heights, at that date they must all be for oil lamps. Im sure about the bungs, the LBSC carriage book gives some clearer pictures of them, and they always pair up with a lamp chimney. You can understand why they were provided. Most pictures you see the bungs are on the roof, implying the lamps are in position.

Sir Daniel, fancy missing him out. Then there's Sir Henry Thornton, of course.

I really must mosey along to the saloon of this here Armitage township, and get dealt a hand.

Yes, you're all right, there is nothing, NOTHING, like a small O layout to give hours of pleasure and absorbing interest.

Putting in an early shot of coach roofs at Crewe which you could already know, which shows the "clutter" The oil lamp dropped down inside an obvious 'chimney' with a lid, but there was also a wooden bung to fill the hole when there wasn't a lamp in place. This was perched on the roof close to the chimney on either a little stool or a spike to locate it, and the burg was on a retaining chain. So these items came together on the roof. Firsts and seconds could have a lamp above the centre of the compartment, thirds could share a lamp above the intermediate partition, which probably wasn't full height. You'll se the brake van has lamps, and a small skylights. Those coaches you're making look magnificent, so maybe you know all this already.

Looks like a weighbridge to me. The round roof is a cover which lifts over, and has a balance beam underneath with the sliding weights.

Thinking about it, another way you might like to experiment with is if you join the centre axleguard set with one of the outer ones, using a brass strip down the middle, and a hole drilled midway, so as you've got a small bogie. The other end axleguard stays as it is, but it might need some packing under it to keep everything level. Then if you've got a bit of space around so as it's clear of the solebar and the floor, with a limited amount of movement to rotate and tilt, hopefully the chassis will track well and stay on the road. Good luck with it.

Hi, Nelson. Looking at your brake van chassis I'm thinking you'll have trouble when you put it on the tracks, six wheelers are total *******! Steve's (Londontram) site is good for looking at chassis construction, as there's need to give flexibility around the centre axle, both side and up and down. I see you were asking him about it some time ago, if you follow through from there you should get a good idea of what's needed.http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/78165-steves-caledonian-coaches-wagon-work-bench/page-2

If you're printing out flags off the computer, allow for fading. I've been doing coats of flat varnish, but I see there's a uv varnish been mentioned which I'm now after.

Thoughts on changing your staging yard from a sector table to a traverser?? Would you say sector is easier to build? Or is it getting the run-off geometry better? I do like the flat car construction, great craftsmanship.

How good is he at doing waves?

I see the little lad has a goat for the mascot, nice touch for a Welsh line? The bunch in front with the blancoed bags? What are they? The drummer has the same kit, but not the rest of the band. Colour party, one seems to have a furled flag, but then slung rifles? First aiders? Rum looking puttees/ gaiters as well. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_02_2017/post-25673-0-48831900-1486067013.jpg

Thanks, Kevin, looking at the picture, I'm thinking a little point there, a little stroke here.