C126

Just a quick addendum to @Lacathedrale 's plea for loco-hauled head-codes (if I understand correctly). Sorry it is a quick 'shot'; I am off work till Tuesday so no access to a decent scanner. Anyway, from here: ... the relevant section is: Do say if you want the other pages copied ("Headcodes--main line--loaded passenger trains"). Hope this is of use. I can do a few more recent time tables as well if required.

Sorry, in a rush, but this was my effort: Hope of use.

Sorry to return this subject from the depths of the archive, but I have been reminded of it this last month commuting. I have watched the crops along the line ripen slowly under variable skies, the sun now lower and the yellower light prettier on the khaki and golds in the fields. From a shimmering green crop (barley?) that looks like the softest animal fur, to the gold-brown coarser textured crop (wheat?) like a carpet (memories of crawling around the living room as a child with my die-cast motor-cars), all now are being slowly harvested, leaving stubble and bales. Occasionally I see the combine harvester at work on the train home, circling into the centre of the field, lit by the late after-noon sun. There is also the wonderful 'three-second vignette' one glimpses on journeys that inspire one's models, beautiful cameos crying out to be reproduced. A gated crossing, with a cottage next to a small river; the bright primary colours of a rolling field of yellow rape, bordered by a lime green hedge under a clear blue sky, and a jogger in a bright red top running along the path beside it; allotments (always a wonderful sight I think); decaying lineside huts. But I ramble. Each will have her/his own examples, but these are to me more joys of train travel 'when it works', and never experienced on the awful weekend 'rail replacement 'bus' rumbling along a motor-way.

Excellent idea! I have not got as far as thinking of foliage yet, but this is good. It is 'OO' by the way. It was a feeling of 'exasperation', for want of a better word, at how to join two cuts in a plastic sheet of English (or any other) bond that got me. Having smoothed it over with filler, etched in the courses again, and painted over carefully, I was (as usual, quite unrealistically!) expecting perfection to result. I have learned though it is better to 'cut and shunt' at the side of a recessed panel than half-way between two on the outer buttress. Anyway, I must stop moaning and put it down to experience. I do love my brick structures though, so it rankles rather... Were it some concrete brutalist monstrosity I would not care.

Thanks for your kind words. The new arches' brick-work painting just appeared worse than the first batch's - I am losing my 'dry sponge technique' - with the pointing less visible. Also, I was hoping the joins would be hidden better. Having done my best at smoothing over the cuts, they still show. What more can one do? But enough whining. I can pick up my brickie's trowel another day, and there will be more enjoyable tasks ahead when this is completed...

They look pretty good to me! Well done.

Apologies for the somewhat haphazard typing here - trying to iron shirts for work to-morrow, listen to programme about Louis Armstrong, and ponder Cold War food stores on another thread - but I recommend 'Carriages at eight : horse-drawn society in Victorian and Edwardian times', Huggett, Frank E., Guildford : Lutterworth Press, 1979. p.30: "One of the most popular Victorian carriages was the coachman-driven brougham, a small closed vehicle of French origin, seating two people, which Lord Brougham had redesigned in 1838 as "a refined and glorified street cab that would make a convenient carriage for a gentleman". A brougham cost about £150, though a miniature brougham, which was much favoured by young Guards officers, could be bought for £20 or £30 less. There was also a coupe, or double, brougham, drawn by a pair of horses, and seatign four, which was a popular choice among aristocrats with a large brood of daughters." Also an ill. p.29. "preserved in Glasgow Museum of Transport". Thanks for the link, Mikkel. Don't remember that web-site when I went 'carriage bagging' (e.g. https://museum.maidstone.gov.uk/our-museums/carriage-museum/ , which is recommended, if decaying slowly when I visited years ago.

Just wanted to post further proof as to how you here have led me astray: Managed to get to a real model shop yester-day and spent too much money, including the above which was certainly not on my shopping list. Who could resist it, though?!? I think it will be a while till I build it - still wrestling with viaduct brick-work - but I know if I did not get it when seen, I would regret it. Now to resign myself to beans-on-toast for dinner for the next three weeks...

Sorry to drag this so off-topic, but it is rather an interest of mine, being a child of the Cold War. There was a list I saw a few years ago on the www composed by someone, and the structures are mentioned in 'Cold war : building for nuclear confrontation 1946-1989', Barnwell, P. S. (ed.), Swindon : English Heritage, 2003, (rev. pbk. 2004). Peasmarsh (Surrey) is illustrated, but sadly there are no plans. Do see pp.215-; I will transcribe it if there is interest and when I have more time. Five types: Cold Store, Grain silos, fuel stores, general purpose depots, and misc. stores. The penultimate were single storey sheds used later for intervention stores (e.g., E.E.C. sugar and butter mountains). 47 cold stores built, 2x million cu.ft., 5x half-million cu.ft., 40x quarter-million cu.ft. designs.

Sorry to turn up a little late to this comment, but do you know if the W.W. II Cold Store retained sidings about it, please? I took some photographs of Loughborough's - converted to use as an R.S.G. - that did so (but was cut off from the main line). I always wanted to visit Hexham's, but missed it before demolition. I also wanted to model one of these, but calculated (erroneously?) I would need a three-foot length of base-board to accomodate it! Playing now with brick sheeting for viaducts, I am glad I never took this project on...

Thank you all for your kind words. It is hardly a work worthy of the Model Railway Journal, but I was so surprised I managed to complete the modification without gougeing lumps out of the paint-work - let alone expecting the wagon to explode into a thousand shards of plastic - I had to share my excitement. I wondered briefly why more model wagons are not made with removable or opening doors like the Hornby VIX, but then realised it would increase costs, and most modellers want to see their wagons moving in a train. Would be a nice option though on the more complicated wagons, to have doors that clip on before running them...

I will give this my full attention when I have a bottle of lavender water nearby...

You mentioned the difficulty of buying goat meat, so substituting mutton. Have you (or anyone else?) tried any on-line meat retailers? A quick search brings up several that appear willing to post different cuts: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=goat+meat+shops+UK+online&atb=v169-1&ia=web I have no connection with any of the sellers, but would be interested to hear anyone's experience of using such a service, good or bad. I was going to do the reverse to you, procure some mutton on-line for a trial. Good luck with the Scotch Bonnet search - too much for me, I fear...

Dear Chris, Thank you for your kind words and much-appreciated advice. Figure-painting is something I have put off, but these were just too good to resist. I assumed one did the 'big colours' first, and finished with the detail (the smaller the area the less likely one was to slip). I have noticed both how my eye-sight would benefit from an illuminated magnifier and my hands from being steadier now I am past the half-century. Another concern is trying to keep the layer of paint thin enough to maintain the exquisite detail. I was sorry to see the primer 'reduced' some facial expressions. Do people prefer slightly thinned enamels rather than acrylics? Another aspect to explore... Many thanks again. Neil.

Unable to resist the allure of a well-dressed lady, I splashed out on Andrew Stadden's figures - who needs boring brick-work to finish a layout when you can feast your eyes on a crinoline or silk topper? - and they are stunning. These are my favourites at the moment, with the fullest skirts. The above is the full set, sorted by skirt size, three at the back being more of an Edwardian outline. And here come the gentlemen, sorted into coat style (frock coat single-breasted, double-breasted, tail-coat, 'sack coat')... I am the figure top row, 2d from right, to have a cane added. My photography is hopeless, and adding a coat of primer does not enhance the detail, but as you can see I have started playing around with sample 'slabs' of colour, an acrylic set picked up during the virus confinement at Wilko's. How you gents can get such precise detail on your figures I know not, but I hope with practice I can get some sort of decent finish. My partner bought me this for my birthday: ... which goes into even more detail than the 'joint volume' I cited earlier. If anyone has any queries they think might be answered by this book, please do not hesitate to ask me to check. Quite where I am to put these figures when finished, on a 1970's B.R. (S.R.) Goods Yard, I have no idea. But they were too good to resist when I had a few quid in my pocket. Hope this is of interest. Best wishes to you all.

Popped back to Lewes last month to see a few old chums, and saw this on a town centre street (Market-street). It demands to be modelled, and I am annoyed that I did not remember it from child-hood. So many such buildings have had their frontages rebuilt, so it is great to see the original openings extant. Lovely bit of brick-work as well!

Good to see someone tackling spiced goat, and with a long-proven recipe @iL Dottore . May I ask what spices you use, or is it just fresh hot chillies? After my first attempts, I am looking to try and balance the strong flavour of the goat with the spices added. All advice received with gratitude.

Not sure if of use, but I took a couple of the Chipman's train passing through Lewes on 21st June, 1988, pulled by 33 046:

As a hopelessly romantic old softy I hope this service is a success, but I share the previous posters' doubts, and can attest to the sleep-denying qualities of high-speed running on the Cornish Riviera a few years ago. A trial run before spending a fortune on the V.S.O.E., it put me off sleeper trains for life, alas.

Just a few words on the above Lime and Chilli Chutney recipe and the goat curries, now they have 'matured'. First, the chutney: the above made three 1lb jars (Garner's pickled onions), and was tried six weeks after making. The peel had softened (so one did not think 'this is candied peel'), and the mixture tasted sweeter but still tangy and of lime. However, there was little evidence, I thought, of spices, so when making I will double the quantities as listed above. Or I could just be losing my sense of taste. As it made three lbs. weight, if this were meat it would be about ten portions, so this could be why it needs more spices. Second, the goat curries. I modified four recipes to the quantity of meat cooked (8oz./250g. portions for each): Aini Amin's Afghani Meat Karahi Sumayya Usmani's Afghani-style Mutton Chop Karhai... Rav Singh Ubhi's (B.B.C.) Goat Curry Mimes Mehic's (Marigold Maison) Punjabi Goat Curry The last calls for 5lb.(!) of goat, yet quantities of spices I would associate with a quarter of the weight; I proportioned the spices accordingly in the other recipes. All were simmered for between two and three hours, the cut of meat as photographed in a post earlier in this thread: large cubes of mixed meat/fat/bone. Alas, all were 'underspiced' in flavour, but very tender, with a rich, dark sauce, and strong meaty flavour I had not tasted for many a year (I eat little red meat now). I do not know if the long cooking time 'wipes out' the spice flavours (so add towards the end instead?) or the strong meat flavour has swamped the spices. I will double the quantity of spices next time, and also see if I can find a leaner cut of goat to add. Beware; it is a meat that gets trapped in one's teeth if you suffer from this. I hope this does not put off others, and look forward to reading how you get on and any other recipes enjoyed.

Just wanted to send my congratulations on this volume. My partner collected my copies from our local book-shop yester-day, and it is a delight. The first photograph of your father driving on the Volks Railway was a lovely touch. Lots of photographs of scenes forgotten and trains in a proper livery. Not sure my father is ready to be reminded of his commuting days when I give him his copy though. Thanks for taking the trouble to get these pictures a wider audience, and spending time all those years ago - like many others - to record it all. I hope the book is a success, and I can barely wait till the 'Kensington Olympia' volume.

A 'thumbs up like' is not really an adequate thank-you for sharing this with us. It is heartening and moving to hear of such reminscences, and I do hope you persuaded Great-Grandfather to share memories of his early years and perhaps even commit some to paper. Do keep us posted with progress on your home-made effort. You will be able to make the 'upper deck'/'gallery' shelf the right width for your containers; the 'Spicy Shelf' along the sides is aimed more at the slim 'Schwartz' jars. Phir milenge.

My partner found the following in a charity shop last week, and I had to share (no commercial link/ interest in the co. or product): To a born Librarian, you will have guessed I had a happy time yester-day assembling it (cleaning off flashing on joints) and re-arranging my spice cupboard. However, as my cupboard is so wide, I had to place the 'C' shelf units side by side, and on the higher 'props' to clear the hinge on the left-handed door. Before: (please forgive the pretentious jar labels, from when I was trying to learn Farsi/Persian) ... and after: I am still pondering the arrangement, and the projecting 'middle shelf' will take getting used to, but it has increased capacity. I can not wait to watch the accompanying video advertised on the packaging! Best wishes to you all, and 'bon appetit'.

An inspiration to all, if only the two months you have built it. Wonderful, and thanks for sharing.

I am sorry M. Storey feels "told" by those who pressed the 'Agree' symbol button. As one of those who did so, perhaps I may explain what I thought Pacific231G was saying (although I have no wish to put words into her/his mouth) and hence why I thought the post had merit enough to which I would 'Agree'. Para. 1. The attribution of a "class war" might be 'direct', but the documentation of modern increasing income disparity and the slavishly uncritical adherence to neo-liberal economics is readily available. The continuing reward of the highly-paid for continuing failure (e.g., Baroness Dido Harding) is covered fort-nightly in 'Private Eye', for example, and probably many web-sites of which I am unaware. These analyses appear plausible to me, although if there is another socio-economic explanation for the phenomena I would be glad to learn it. Interestingly, I thought it was hinted at in the Williams-Shapps Report itself, in the passive-aggressive graphics at the top of p.97: "Over 30% of total rail costs in 2019-20 were staff costs [I believe in most firms staff costs are half of expenditure.]", "Rail industry wage growth has increased on average above the rate of inflation over the past decade", and ">250 days of strike action have occurred since 2016 [Presumably mostly the Southern Railway dispute provoked on the instructions of govt.; see 'Private Eye', etc.]". See also p. 101 about collecting "Comprehensive data". Coming from a Minister in a government whose slavish devotion to free-market economics and the Law of Supply and Demand, this hinted to me that the 'lower orders' were not to be permitted such pay privileges, which are to be reserved to those such as Managing Directors, Chief Executives, etc. I thought Pacific231G's remark was aimed at them, the firm's Executives whose pay has increased way above inflation. I am reassured to hear from M. Storey there are still many such industry stalwarts still in post in charge - Mr Tom Joyner, Cross Country Trains, is highly thought of, I believe - but I thought current problems (e.g., G.W.M.L. electrification) were caused by experienced B.R. staff having left the industry in large numbers. As to paras 2 and 3 - pricing vs over-crowding during different times of the day, and an 'average rule of thumb' to be applied to 'when to take the motor-car', I bow to M. Storey's superior knowledge of B.R. and current ticketing practices for para. 2. In simple terms, from a 'stake-holder' point of view, 'affordability' will depend upon the decisions made by the current government, which has been argued above and below more eloquently than can I. As one who does not hold a driving licence, I assumed the 'rule of thumb' for one deciding how to spend one's cash makes sense, if not taking account of the discounted tickets outlined. It did not appear outrageous to me, so I 'Agreed'. I confess I did not understand the suggestion of my and others being "without either any idea of the reality, or any intention to challenge the existing situation". I hope this inelegant, 'on the hoof' explanation makes sense. With my best wishes to you all, and apologies if I have 'put words in others' mouths' if trying to explain.