Metropolitan H

March 29

21 hours ago, Ponthir28 said:

A pannier in chocolate and cream. What would that look like. Make a change from black or green.

Try and find a picture of either 2120 or 2140 as modified circa 1906 for about 5 years till reversion to standard.

Also see

Regards

Chris H

March 17

I can't add anything to the Clockwork comments, but the children are much better adapted to battery R/C etc these days.

Dare I whisper "Maerklin" Gauge one locos if you want standard gauge in 1/32 or "10mm" scale as a starter - I know most of their drool over models (such as SBB/CFF Be6/8 "Krokodil" are expensive - but there are / were more reasonably priced train set types under the "Marklin Maxi" heading.

If you are not too precious regarding scale, the Bachmann "G" scale "Thomas" and friends - including a Class 08 diesel shunter and a pretty good model of a GNR Stirling Single aren't excessively priced and can reliably be converted to battery R/C. Smallbrook Studio (see - https://www.smallbrookstudio.co.uk/store/G-16mm-scales-c59969051 ) do some useful bits if faces on locos offend.

Regards

Chris H

P.S. -

I and my family are happy to renounce any residuary interest in the Playmobil railway vehicles previously transferred to the custody of Nearholmer.

Our Grand-Childer-Beasts (eldest is 9.5 years) have Thomas, Percy, Toby and James with a few coaches and wagons to run on my outdoor 45mm line (more G scale than "gauge 1) - but they now prefer to try and establish title to my 16mm scale live steam models of Talyllyn, Dolgoch and the Roundhouse Peckett 0-4-2T "Karen" - especially the later, as with R/C they can drive it without danger of burning themselves.

CH

March 8

What I didn't say earlier is that the vast majority of the footpath / accomodation crossings are scheduled for closure with divertions to nearby "Road" crossings or a few proposed non-road bridges.

See https://eastwestrail.co.uk/proposed-route/bletchley-to-bedford-2

and then follow the link to the "Route Update Report". Particularly you should read carefully from page 68 onwards taking note of the proposals for each of the 31 crossings - of various types - given in table 1 (9 pages), 16 are being closed under the latest proposals (some already have been).

Regards

Chris H

March 8

If you look closely at the most recent ideas for Bletchley - Bedford, things have been rather descoped! It seems that most of the road level crossings will remain, with a rather trimmed back increase in line speed. The remaining major works are re-instate double track through Fenny Stratford to Bow Brickhill and realign the final stretch into Bedford Station - and maybe provide a passing loop in each direction somewhere. Then of course the signalling will cost a lot!

CH

March 4

Will the third rail - wet string - be retained into the preservation era?

Regards

Chris H

March 2

10 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

It’s so comforting to see familiar faces.

Very good, but do you really need two (2) units to run the proposed branch line?

still think they look better in green - with smaller spolges of yellow.

Regards

Chris H

February 18

On 16/02/2024 at 19:45, Ray H said:

We appear to have inherited some extra bus routes between Milton Keynes and Aylesbury.

We now seem to have the 100 operated by Red Rose plus the 150 and X60 operated by Arriva, all three having been around for at least a few years. New kids on the block are Arriva routes X4 and X6, the latter like the X60, running via Buckingham.

I doubt too many people will routinely make the full journey but I wonder if the introduction of the newest two are a precursor to the rail link?

The 150 has become the Arriva X4, while the X60 has become the Arriva X6.

The Stagecoach X6 route is completely different being the direct bus from MK through Grafton Regis and Roade to Northampton.

There is also now an Arriva X5 from Aylesbury which runs south to Hemel Hempstead - it is completely UNrelated to the Stagecoach X5 from Bedford to Oxford via MK, Buckingham and Bicester.

Regards

Chris H

February 13

15 hours ago, John Besley said:

Yep we had 4472 at Paignton in August 73' ... crawled around it, cleaned it drive it, coaled it etc all at 14 years old I may add...

My one and only cab ride on FS was 20 + years earlier - in New England Loco yard spring 1953. Grandfather - Arthur Alexander Holmes - was a signalman at Westwood Box. He knew FS was on shed on the day he was off shift when we arrived from London - so Dad and me were immediately taken over the foot / vehicle bridge into New England Loco to meet FS and crew - friends of Grandfather (?) - who invited the three of us (plus my push-chair - folded) up into the cab for a short ride from under the coaling tower along two sides of the triangle before we got down.

Perhaps thats why I have always been a railway enthusiast?

Regards

Chris H

February 10

My own take on a Minories inspired style terminal - with roundy-round through roads - going under the working title of "Gutter Lane" is "O" gauge Coarse Scale, is gradually growing in my 11.5 ft x 7.5 ft railway is shown below.

Gutter Lane Buildings etc 1a 002.pdf

It is cramped, but it gives me enjoyment - including just watching the trains go by.

Regards

Chris H

February 10

16 hours ago, Izzy said:

I'm of the opinion that in the early days most layouts placed operational use at the forefront of their designs with just mostly token scenery within the railway boundary unlike today where the opposite often exists with many and the railway side seems almost incidental to the scenic one.

To my mind Minories falls into the former category and I still often think I would like to build a minimal size version but get stuck at wanting to expand the range of trains to make it more interesting to operate. How to do so without expanding the track design much or having more platforms. Different types of traffic rather than just more of the same. That would I feel get boring to operate quite quickly for a lone modeller such as myself.

Bob

Bob,

Look out for "Newchapel Junction" - it has its own website ( see https://www.newchapeljn.co.uk/index.htm )and is booked for the Doncaster Racecourse Show - this weeked! - and the Ally-Pally Show in mid March.

Newchapel Junction is much larger than Minories or any sensible single person layout, but I can happily spend a long time watching the trains and dreaming!

Regards

Chris H

February 9

All I know is from the MRN and MR articles, but there is a reference in the later article to the stock on the post-war layouts being finished in LNER colours, which makes sense as the loco roster included a V2 - a personal favourite.

Regards

Chris H

February 9

2 hours ago, t-b-g said:

I did find a 1930s film of Maybank that went into a lot more detail on the layout. It included a shot of it being transported to an exhibition in a lorry and also construction work on a loco, with what looked like a GCR 0-6-2T body being painted with an "old school" paint sprayer.

I have looked for it again since but not been able to find it. It was probably in either the Pathe or Huntley archives. Maybank was very much a trailblazer in the hobby, especially as regards design and operation and if the Germans hadn't finished it off, it would have been worthy of preservation. I wonder if anything survived, even if just a loco or item of stock?

Edit to add a link to the footagle which includes Buckingham. The loco, carriages and some of the buildings are still in regular use, 76 years later.

https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/172501/

We had a similar discussion regarding "Maybank" and the later - post WW2 - "Maycroft" about a year and a bit ago.

Not only was there an early article in a 1934 issue of the Model Railway News, there was a later 5 page article by Bernard Wright (of S gauge Swanage fame) in the December 1975 issue of "Model Railways", including a picture of one of the garden sheds erected as part of the garden railway displays at the post war MRC shows. While "Maybank" was a collabrative effort by Bill Banwell and Frank Applegate, the later stood himself down from circa 1949 - after which Bill Banwell's main collabarator was Geoff Bigmore.

By the way when the two lads are seen running off to watch the train pass I believe the scene to have been shot a little to the south of Chorleywood Station - which is the location of the scene in which Bill and Frank are seen measuring up the ex"Metropolitan Railway" signal box.

Regards

Chris H

P.S. - The last showing of a "Maycroft" layout at the MRC Easter exhibition was 1966 - I visited as a teenager and still remember how good it was.

CH

February 4

4 hours ago, Ian Allen said:

It took me a long time to agree this was a picture of a model - absolutely superb.

Chris H

January 31

15 hours ago, 2ManySpams said:

Right. Enough is enough. I'm bringing in the heavies to sort out you pesky WR types. Some of the worst offenders have already been polishing 16t mineral wagons. Be warned.

The only use we found for a loco like that was to prove the steam would clear from the tunnels properly - in 2012 - before the full celebration of LU150 in 2013.

Regards

Chris H

January 31

14 hours ago, John Besley said:

Not seen one in LT livery before Nice, 👍

A bit too chunky to fit in the Sub-Surface areas - unless you reduce the cab height. Even the LT (ex BR) 57xx Panniers all had to have the roof edge rain strips removed to ensure clearance. All the preserved ones have had the roof edge rainstrips re-instated - the owners took the hump when we advised that we would have to cut the strips off (again), if they want to bring their "Bullock Maroon" Panniers to join in the Sub-Surface celebrations of LU150 in 2013.

Regards

Chris H

January 28

Another smallish wheeled 2-4-0T with inside cylinders, that might suit, would be GWR (ex Liskerard & LLooe Railway) No. 1308 "Lady Margaret".

Regards

Chris H

January 28

12 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Or, if you want to dodge out of building cylinders and con rods etc, you could try a Sharp Stewart 2-4-0T with inside cylinders, although I can’t think of a SG one with such small drivers.

With so little mechanism to hide, it does cry out to be something small and early, with little or no cab.

That is the same (at least very similar) to the loco built for the Princes Risborough and Watlington Railway - that became GWR 1384 - was sold on to the WC&PR where it was named "Hesperus", and generally known as "The Wreck". It is crying out to be modelled for a "never wozzer" finescale minimum space branch / twig line.

Regards

Chris H

January 24

4 hours ago, great northern said:

We can't have a portrait of one signal box without doing the same for the other, so here is Crescent Junction box.

I could take that photo because the WD had moved its wagons out of the way, and here it is again, now crawling past the B17 towards the signal at danger ahead.

Regarding "Crescent Box", my paternal Grandfather (Arthur Alexander Holmes) was promoted to be a signalman there in the late 1930s. His eldest son (my father) - Alec Richard Holmes - wrote the following in his history of his family:

"There were three signal boxes at Peterborough classed in the highest grade –

Crescent Junction – south of the station,

Spital Junction – north of the station,

Westwood Junction – beyond Spital with junctions to the L.M.S. (Midland – to Stamford and beyond) and M. & G.N., and connections to the coal yards and locomotive depot.

Arthur’s chance to work at one of these boxes came with a vacancy at Crescent, the hardest to work physically and complicated as to layout. The point motors and electric signals introduced to lighten the job at Crescent were not introduced until Arthur had retired.

At Crescent, Arthur became associated with Fred Hawkins who worked one of the other shifts. Fred was a remarkable character, strong as an ox, intelligent and extraordinarily independent of mind. Three of his sons went to university a most unusual thing in those days and one at least obtained a good mathematics degree at Cambridge. The most famous story about Fred (whether true or not) told how he refused to work the box whilst the stationmaster was giving him instructions on how to do it; the whole East Coast main line between Kings Cross and Doncaster came to a stand-still until the station inspector persuaded the station master to leave Fred in peace. The outcome – Fred stayed at Crescent until he retired; the station master was later promoted to Kings Cross.

Arthur found Crescent a great trial – he was not as strong as Fred, and came to hate the 2 mile cycle ride to and from work – it seemed to rain too often. Salvation came in the late 30’s with a transfer to Westwood Junction where he worked until he retired. The movements at Westwood were at least as many as at Crescent, but there were no particularly heavy levers. Arthur found it a congenial workplace and it was much nearer home.

His stories about Westwood mainly featured his brushes with the top link drivers. These men expected all signals to be off for them, especially when driving the crack trains. On one occasion Arthur could not pull of the up distant for the Queen of Scots (the Kings Cross – Edinburgh all Pullman service) because of some difficulty in the station. The driver expected that the home signal would be cleared by the time he got to it so did not slacken speed. In the result the driver had to brake very hard, and overran the signal. This was a serious misdemeanour, but Arthur decided to overlook it. Sad to relate a number of people on the train complained of pots and cups of hot tea being thrown onto their laps. So the driver and Arthur were both reprimanded, Arthur because he failed to use the lever provided to put detonators on the track in such a situation. Another driver, the famous Sparshot (actually Bill Sparshatt – a regular speed merchant who drove the first authenticated 100+ m.p.h. British steam locomotive in 1935 - A3 class 2750 Papyrus), coming out of New England loco., did not even look to see if he had a clear signal to proceed to Peterborough station. The result was a derailment at catch points and a great deal of unpleasantness. No doubt the station pilot enjoyed the trip to Kings Cross in Sparshot’s place. (The pilot was the locomotive and crew used for shunting at the station and kept ready to take over a train which suffered a locomotive failure).

During the period up to the war, signalmen in such boxes as Westwood still worked a 7 day week with one week’s annual leave and one weekend off in three. Arthur spent many of his weekends in London with Alec – Saturday evening at the theatre and a church on Sunday (St. Martin’s or Westminster Abbey. He spent Saturday night at a cheap hotel near Kings Cross."

Good to see the picture of Crescent Box.

Regards

Chris H

P.S. - Prior to promotion to Crescent Box Arthur Alexander Holmes was at North Box. He retired from Westwood Junction Box in 1954. But later was paid for a single shift - for taking over Westwood Junction and getting the traffic worked through New England on the day that 60700 derailed and laid on its side at the foot of the steps to the signal box. His friend on duty that day was in deep shock.

Chris H

January 19

3 minutes ago, Ruston said:

Use graphite on the rail tops and you won't have to clean the wheels. I use it and have never had any need to clean the wheels on any of my locomotives. I'm saying graphite is the reason but I don't know for sure. All I do know is that I have never had to clean loco wheels since I started using it.

A medium to soft Carpenter's pencil with a wide core is a handy way of applying the graphite.

But beware if you are using a highish frequency PWM type control, as too much graphite can lead to shorting of intentional isolation gaps / railjoiners. I have experienced the effect - and the resulting hunt for the problems.

Regards

Chris H

January 13

On 11/01/2024 at 22:55, Nearholmer said:

I’ve just noticed that that flour van is for Wantage Road. There was a big flour mill at Wantage, one of the main sources of traffic on the Wantage Tramway, which this van must have trundled up and down. Last time I was there it was still going, but having just checked it seems that it finally closed in 2022.

I’ve also been looking through Mrs Beeton’s Dictionary of Everyday Cookery, probably on the kitchen shelf of every ‘respectable’ homein the land pre-WW1, and I haven’t found a single mention of any vegetable oil in it so far. Vast amounts of butter, plenty of suet, some goose-fat, a bit of lard here and there, but no vegetable oil. And, no margarine either - it was thought of as very inferior stuff (and, I think at the time it was made from animal fat anyway).

You must remember that until post WW2, Rape Seed oil was used for lubricating fine mechanisms, not for cooking, and that Olive oil - for them that needed it would have been bought at the chemists (most people didn't know what a pharmacy was till 1960 on! Also very few people - mainly in the upper echelons of society would know what to do with an olive (except for plumbers who used them in compression pipe fittings!).

Post WW2 there were two or three major drivers to the development of the more international tastes and cooking styles in Britain:

- Immigration from the Indies - East and West.

- Ex Italian POWs who realised they were better off in Britain than in rural Italy - so went home to fetch their families and came straight back to work hard in brickwaorks and other jobs that most Britons didn't want - plus opening pizza restaurants and ice cream parlours etc.

- The growth in foreign travel to Europe through the 1950s / 60s, exposing many more Britons to tasty Mediterranean cooking.

- The development of supermarket chains with bigger buying power than most shops.

And most importantly the publication of Elizabeth David's "French Provincial Cooking" in 1962 and similar accessible cookery books. Before that there were Escoffier and various Cordon Bleu recipe books - but they were not really accessible to the mass market - otherwise it was all Mrs. Beaton, Fanny Craddock and their like.

By the end of the 1960s you could also get serial part works on Cordon Bleu cookery in WH Smith etal. - this sparked a greater interest in cooking in the likes of my late father-in-law, who became quite proficient. Also there was a growth in the range of television cookery programmes, with greater emphasis on Oriental / European and other genres.

At the same time you had a significant rise in the student population going away to study - and having to learn to fend for themselves on a budget. As a first year 6th former at Ranelagh School (Bracknell) I like all the other boys had to do Domestic Science (but I never learnt ironning) - while the girls had to do woodwork and/or metalwork.

Interesting times.

Regards

Chris H

January 11

7 hours ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

Seems like a mix of vehicle types used for flour/grains

It is my understanding that the GWR "Flour Traffic Only" van not only was empty to Wantage Road - then into the town on the Wantage Tramway - but also had a regular destination a bit to the east, at Huntley and Palmer's biscuit factory in Reading.

H&Pnad some pretty blue Peckett 0-4-0Sts for along while, but by the time I was travelling into Reading from Bracknell (1955 on) the internal traffic locos were a fleet of smart blue fireless locos. The only H&P private owner wagons were open coal wagons - all shipping of products by rail was in hired vans - mainly LSWR or later SR (as I understand things).

Regards

Chris H

December 31, 2023

2 hours ago, great northern said:

60006 has now appeared in number 1 bay, and will be taking over the Up Glasgow in due course.

In the Down bay 61766 is still waiting for the call to action.

The sun soon disappeared after my morning post, but most obligingly came out again, so I now have another 19 images to process, and fears of a drought are over.Wall to wall sunshine forecast tomorrow too.

I'm intrigued by what looks like a disembodied arm / hand at the bottom of the platform ramp in the last picture. Has a little person come to grief?

many thanks for the continuing stream of interesting pictures.

Have a good New Year.

Regards

Chris H

December 30, 2023

15 hours ago, Mark Laidlay said:

I'm going to love reading your ebook. My pedantic nature is already coming out as I must point out that Hornby (Binns Road version) did produce H0 models under the predictable name of "Hornby Acho".

Unfortunately RMWEB won't allow me to link an article regarding the development of 00. You've probably seen it already on their website. "A History of OO Gauge - The Double O Gauge Association".

Thanks for your interest

Mark in Melbourne

I understood that "Hornby AcHo" trains were very French - being produced by the "Hornby Paris" off-shoot at their factory in Bobigny, as the British OO models just didn't sell into the French market. I don't think Binns Road made any of the HO models?

Regards

Chris H

December 2, 2023

10 hours ago, gr.king said:

Wrong slidebars, crossheads etc on the K1 chassis though. I used a Bachmann K3 chassis, with the right sort of outside motion, re-wheeled with Hornby L1 wheels, when I produced a K4 by carefully combining a modified B17 boiler with the rest of a K3. The spares that I needed were relatively cheap to buy in the days when East Kent Models were still "big" in the spares business.

Sounds very good. Is there a picture or Two?

Regards

Chris H

November 26, 2023

I do like the look of the ETS CSD class 555 / German Class 52 2-10-0s, but must not diversify collection too much wider!

But while we are mentioning ETS, their model of the Ministry of Supply "Austerity" 0-6-0ST - some of which became LNER (and later BR) Class J94 - is a very good. Here is my one, in Longmoor Military Railway colours.

I intend to (sometime!) get a pair of "Errol Lonsdale" nameplates to fit, so it looks even more like the real one seen at Longmoor Downs in summer 1969. It brings back happy memories.

Regards

Chris H

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