SteffanLlwyd

I wished I had photographed it but anyway: on the South end of Shrewsbury Platform 4 adjacent to the bay platform 5 was a suspended sign which read NO BRUTES BEYOND THIS POINT.  It did not refer to Wolves FC supporters but to British Rail Universal Trolley Equipment!

I have seen a YouTube video of the sleeve valves being tested.  The motion was complex.  Unfortunately I can’t find the video at the moment.  Can anybody supply the link or the search terms for it?

GER 0-4-0 B74 looked good until cut down in conformity with LNER Y4.... kind of ‘ugly fantastic’ as a school friend used to say in the 1960s...

To me 3MT 77XXXs are like starlings... almost beautiful.  I really wish someone would make them RTR in 4mm scale.  I saw a great 71/4 gauge one at the Great Cockcrow Railway a few years ago... so somebody loves ‘em besides myself!

I hanker after BR Standard Class 3MTs used as Riddles, Cox and Bond intended: to make connections from lengthy secondary lines to electric-powered trains... ie in a direct step from Steam to Electric traction.  There were only twenty produced but there could and should have been more had the steam-to-diesel transition not been botched to the extent that it was.  Another thirty BR 3MT 77XXXs would have been far better than all the Clayton, North British Bo Bos, Baby Deltics and so on.... said of course with the benefit of hindsight!

77XXXs were attractive and would find a use on passenger formations up to six coaches, parcels trains, engineering department maintainance and inspection trains.

Black livery suits their 'starling' like looks, but late-crest green would be my choice.  The Bachmann 3MT tank continues to sell so why not a better looking and more versatile (longer range) tender version?  The obvious first choice would be 77014 which came to the Southern Region late in its life.

The problem with Bachmann standard 4MT 76XXXs and 5MT73XXXs is the way the lower part of the firebox overhangs the frames.  So I'd rather Hornby had a go at 77XXXs, made to the same standard as the stunning 4MT 75XXXs.  Here's hoping. 

I'd love to see how a Britannia would look like with a double chimney....

There was a local custom illustrated by the departure of the Up Evening Mail on 20 Sept 1975.  It was almost certainly the first and last time the custom was practiced since the end of steam on the Cambrian in March '67

If there was a newly wed couple leaving town by train, drivers would sound whistle SW continuously for several miles.  With newly-weds on board the driver of the said up mail 'SW'd with every imaginable permutation of two-tone diesel horn honks and did so pretty well continuously to the site of Ynys Las station.  Bystanders looked worried.  The question written on their faces appeared to be 'Was it an emergency?'  'Was this a runaway train?'

How do I know?  It was on my my wife and I's behalf that all the cacophony was in honour.  And we were escorted with solemnity by the Guard from Second to First Class.

The loco was a Class 24.  All I can remember for sure that it was numbered 24.0XX.  Something tells me 24.08X or 24.075 but I am no more than five percent confident!

Does anybody have a true record of the locomotive involved on that trip?

To answer your question, the train consisted of at least four MK1 vehicles; though on other occasions the Up Mail was a DMU pulling a fitted XP van.

I thanked the Driver at Shrewsbury where we changed for Chester.  He laughed and rocked on his heels.  He was quite a giant, standing at least six foot with a large frame.  If anybody can supply the Driver's name and the loco number that would be a tremendous bonus!

Could a Standard 3 2-6-0 be produced fairly easily using the Standard 4 2-6-0 chassis. Only 20 standard 3s were built but they were used in the South of Scotland and NE England which might be too limited an area of interest for them to be of use to the wider modelling fraternity. Would this limit the chances of it ever being produced?

I'm sorry that I can't answer your question though it had also occurred to me.  I put in a 3MT 77XXX 'Product Suggestion' to Hornby and another to Hattons.  If enough persons did the same maybe they would produce one as good as Hornby's utterly fabulous Standard 4MT 4-6-0s.  Back to the 77XXX... opinion is divided as to their looks but I really like how they looked.  To my eye they are a bit like starlings: gawky on first sight but really a beautiful bird when studied closely.  Standard 3MT 2-6-0s would be very useful additions to a lot of layouts, placed on short goods or passenger trains, or double-heading long ones over a cross country route.  So I'm with you there.  What I dislike about the Bachmann 76XXXs is the way the firebox waist and foundation ring over-step the frame in a very conspicuous way, instead of being flush with it.  Not good!  

I have 23 Hornby 21T MOT Iron Ore hoppers which I found cheap on Fruugo.  I am regauging to EM (easy!) and re-liverying to BR 1960s period (difficult!).  Does anyone know where I can find appropriate running numbers and transfers?  I can't be sure that hopper transfers from FOX would be correct to prototype....

BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0.  Astonishingly good.  (When will they do a 'Wee Standard' 3MT 2-6-0?)

Having been inspired by many of the layout and work bench threads on this forum, I'm now past the planning stage of my own project to be able to post something, hopefully of interest to others.

 

This sketch is by no means to scale, but after many hours of deliberation and trying to fit a suitable track plan into the space available, construction has started. With an available space of 24 ft long by 3 ft wide, it has been possible to accommodate a fly-over and cut-under without exceeding the maximum gradient of 1:80. The date is 1970, blue is the new colour, and all the locomotives have proper numbers!

 

 

A bit about the background history to Hornsey Broadway. It is based on The Northern Heights Railway which ran from Finsbury Park to Edgeware, and became part of the GNR suburban network. There were plans to extend the line nearly as far as Watford, but the scheme was abandoned just after the 2nd world war, partly due to the implementation of the London 'green belt' act. Some sections of the line were built but never used, and now some of the route is part of London Transport's Northern Line.

 

 

The layout is based on what could have been, had the line been completed. It would have seen a wide variety of inter-regional freight and passenger workings from the midland region to Stratford and the east end, as well as an intense suburban network. The final scenario is that the GN branch to High Barnet would have been worthy of a short extension northwards. This would have joined up with the main line at Potters bar, and allowed diverted traffic to ease the already congested double track line north of Finsbury Park.

 

 

The format of the layout follows a previous configuration, using a 16 road storage yard which can accommodate up to 64 individual trains, and is served by 4 tracks with 180 degree curves at each end. All the 'off-scene' baseboards are already in use with 'Wibdenshaw', so again, only the 24 ft scenic section needs to be constructed. All baseboards are 4 ft X 3ft with alignment dowels, and constructed from 9mm interior grade plywood.

 

 

With Hornsey Broadway station situated at the west end of the layout, it will consist of 4 platforms with an adjacent tube station. Heading east away from the station, 2 tracks head towards Tottenham and Stratford, whilst the other 2 tracks disappear into tunnels en-route to Finsbury Park and Kings Cross. In addition to the splitting of the routes, there is a fly-over and cut-under to avoid conflicting movements, in typical with GN practice.

 

 

So...... the scene is set, and during the next few years or so, I hope to portray a slice of north London as it might well have been. The buildings and tunnels mocked up in situ' showing the relationship between the loco shed headshunt, and the main line areas. A few vehicles have been added to liven the scene around the scrapyard, and some retaining walls require final weathering.

I'm returning to railway modelling for the first time since I was 10 (!) and I'm staggered by the quality shown here.  Wonderful!  And an inspiration of course.