edward66

Hi Terry, I love Super Ds, they certainly weren't strangers to the WCML and very impressive when working hard on an upgrade. I knew a guy who fired them regularly, always said they needed a dancing fire then they would steam really well but they were somewhat rough riding, he said they tried to throw him off the footplate! Edward

Hi Terry, Layout looking good, I've spent many hours in my youth [and a bit later] spotting at Hest Bank. Looking at your locomotive stock I have to say that I am very doubtful that any L&Y 2-4-2 tanks ventured there in the 50s and 60s, passenger tanks were normally 2-6-4s or possibly the odd Fowler 2-6-2 one or two of which were Carnforth based [40011 was one]. I could be wrong but I think it's fair to say that this area of the country rarely saw an L&Y loco., just MR, LNWR and LMS/BR of course. Cheers, Edward

Excellent work Ian, both the village and the scenery, it has to be LMS [ex Midland]! You will probably need a 3F and a 4F 0-6-0, and a Compound [the Bachmann version not the Hornby]. The Scot will be useful if you imagine the line to be part of the Settle -Carlisle route. Edward

I went to a primary school situated in a "temporary" corrugated iron building dating from c.1930, this was from 1947-53. Despite the surroundings I had a truly inspirational teacher in my last two years there who I am sure made a fundamental difference to my future. As well as the three Rs he inspired me with projects he gave to us and assisted in many ways, we made glove puppets [papier mache heads], marionettes [wooden heads we carved ourselves], marble prints, stick prints, paints, normal and italic pens and so on. We listened to "How things began" for half an hour on Monday mornings giving an insight into evolution, he even took a group of us on a bus trip and walk up to the top of Ingleborough where he showed us fossils and pothole entrances. For me this was all magical, the man was just wonderful. Off topic I know but it was this education that awoke my interest in so many things, I'd already been inspired to love the railway by living right by it, but what I am trying to illustrate is how important the early days of learning are in developing an enquiring mind. Edward

I remember seeing 58100 at Crewe works following withdrawal. There was talk of preserving it then just the cylinders but in the end nothing was preserved unless somebody got the works plates or smokebox plate. Edward

How much nicer 4472 looks with a single chimney and no elephant ears. Edward

Hi Shaun, Hadn't heard from you in a while, I was wondering how the weather had been with you. We had a fair bit of rain here in AR but unseasonably warm, upper 70s some days in Dec., back to normal winter temps now. The Arkansas and Mississippi rivers have caused a lot of flooding with near record levels last weekend. So a new layout starting, quite a different setting, I look forward to watching it become reality! Cheers, Edward

Thanks for confirming my memory Leander, I often doubt it these days! Edward

A Midland 2F 0-6-0 used to work it but I seem to remember a more modern loco was cut down, cab narrowed a bit, was it a 78xxx 2-6-0? Maybe I'm mistaken. Edward

There were 2 lots of Jinties, the ex Midland ones and the later Fowler variants. Some of the Midland ones had condensing gear and were allocated to the London area, shed 14A etc. One of those [47201] was exiled to Lancaster about 1951 and after a while its condensing gear was removed. Some were engaged on light passenger duties, I think a few even had push and pull fittings [could be wrong about that] but they were normally engaged in shunting or short trip workings. Good little engines, I think there were well over 500 of them but I haven't got my Ian Allan ABC handy to check the actual number. The majority were vacuum brake fitted but some just had 3 link couplings and no vac. brakes set up, one of which was 47639, an early withdrawal from Lancaster Green Ayre depot. One or two went to Ireland and were regauged to 5'3" and several saw military service during WWII [in France I believe]. Edward

Superb shots from Skipton emphasising the totally unkempt nature of steam locos. towards the end. The shot showing condemned wooden wagons is excellent showing how some of the planking was missing, great fodder for modellers. Looks like 47293 had been moved into position for its last trip along with 47599. Edward

Hi Shaun, I came to the States in 1991 to work at a firm who made layflat hose [like you see on fire trucks] to help them get a new plant running and stayed there for several years. My wife is Pennsylvania born and bred but had got totally fed up with winters there, we were in the snow belt just south of Erie. I retired, she found a job in Little Rock AR so that's where we are. I spend part of the year here and part near Lancaster UK. To be honest AR is way too hot for me in mid summer but preferable to England in winter. I guess the Oregon climate is not too dissimilar to NW England, we just had a monsoon there which flooded Lancaster, the Lake District and part of the Lune valley but not so badly as Oregon suffered. I live in the country 5 miles east of Lancaster in the Lune valley next to the now defunct Midland line from Morecambe to Wennington. I should have realised the H Potter connection from the layout name of Hogsmeade, not too familiar with it so I didn't get the meaning of the treble decker bus! I share your enthusiasm for them, when I use the bus I always go on the upper deck and enjoy the view. Edward

Hi Shaun, I've been following your thread for a year or so, wonderful modelling, and last week I took a day out to look through the whole thing from page1. Not only first rate modelling but all kinds of information disseminated throughout the thread. I did notice one really weird model on page 9 from Oct 2013, Hogsmeade from CGraham in which there stands a triple decker bus! I'm sure no such thing ever existed in real life, perhaps a bit of humour there. Not suitable for narrow twisty roads or low bridges. Here in north Lancashire we've been having a monsoon not unlike Oregon, I guess the climate is fairly similar being a north western coastal area. I will continue to follow your thread with interest and admiration and take some more time to see your other thread Best wishes for Christmas and the new year. Edward [currently ensconced in sunny Arkansas]

I like the drystone walling, some of the best I've seen. They appear to be sectional which makes me wonder if they are a commercial product. Many modelled walls I've seen tend to have stones that are way too big and too regular, in reality a high proportion are quite small. Also there are often no "throughs" which tie the sides together, the walls usually have cores made of all the rubble created in the construction. Admittedly the construction varies considerably depending on the stone available at the site. A visit to the Dales with a camera to picture lots of walls would undoubtably be useful. Edward

Re the lack of smokebox plates on ex-LNWR locos., I agree with Coachman that there must have been a good reason for it but I can't imagine what it was. Maybe lost to history and we'll never know unless it was recorded somewhere and may one day come to light. Could Crewe possibly have done it for some spurious reason and got away with it? Edward

I've been following your other thread for a long time now but just discovered this one by accident which has caused me to spend several hours perusing it all from page 1 to page 30. Absolutely fascinating, I was only 7 in1949 but was already well into railways and got my first ABC in1951. It's been great to see all those ex-PO wagons still bearing the remnants of their PO liveries, I can still remember them too. Interesting to see how many of them were distorted with bulging sides, not surprising considering their rough usage and age. At the bottom of our field were the sidings for Caton station on the Morecambe-Wennington line, I liked to check out the wagons there still bearing their makers plates in most cases, the age of some of them was quite amazing. Thanks Dave for all your efforts with this and your current thread, they are both of tremendous interest not to mention their historic value. Edward

Thanks focalplane, interesting piece of information. Super Ds were one of my favourite locomotive types, sounded superb in full flight with a heavy freight. I had a friend now deceased who fired them, thin dancing fire was best he reckoned, very strong engines but he said they sometimes tried to throw him off the footplate! Lovely restoration of the coal tank at the K&WVR and I believe Pete Waterman may be going to help 49395's 10 year overhaul. It was great to see Hardwicke in steam too, I don't expect a repeat of that. Interesting that BR didn't fit smokebox numberplates to the ex-LNWR locomotives, I wonder why? Edward

Having seen the beautiful ex LNWR models on a recent post I sometimes wish I was born just a few years earlier and seen 6004 before it disappeared forever, likewise the last Precursor and Prince of Wales. I didn't see any of the 0-8-2 and 0-8-4 tanks either, were one or both of them basically a super D without a tender? I can't remember where they finished their lives. Edward

Should be over there for the event Jamie, hope to meet you then! Edward

Just found this thread and worked my way through 7 pages. Looks great, impressive scenery work! Rather surprised that no one has mentioned The Strange World of Gurney Slade though, maybe you are all too young. Featured Antony Newley, quite funny at times with odd musings like if an ant was as big as a human it could carry a grand piano in its mandibles. Didn't like his singing though, I think the show ran sometime in the sixties. Now I've found the thread I will continue to view it with interest, good stuff. Edward

What's that three quarter scale Gronk doing on top of a mineral wagon? Edward

Tony, what an interesting post of the 26th! My Grammar school years started in 1953 which makes me about 5 years older than you. I too had a paper round, a rural one, for 4 or 5 years, got to the shop at 5:45 am and loaded my bag with 20 Daily Mirrors, 25 Daily Expresses etc. had a brew and a large slice of Mrs Parker's chocolate cake then off on my bike. I knew the round off by heart, was probably 2 miles there and back home. Friday was local weekly paper day, two full bags and sometimes necessitated the use of the shop bike, one of those with the carrier on the front, unwieldy and virtually brakeless. I saved my money and eventually got an Elswick Tour Anglais Modele deluxe bike with derailleur [sp!] 5 speed gears. I too used to buy the two bob Airfix kits some of which I still have, I also had the little Drewry shunter, a couple of J94s then a 9F. I could never get that to run well with its plastic valve gear and rods. Like you I also got gluey fingerprints on places they shouldn't be sometimes much to my chagrin. They were good days, I really don't like the modern electronic world although finally I've been pretty well forced into getting a mobile phone although I don't use it much. I suppose every generation has its own things, I remember the start of Rock and Roll and bought 78rpm records with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Little Richard, Chuck Berry. Fats Domino etc much to the dismay of my Dad who though I should be listening to the Skater's Waltz etc. I find it sad that kids today don't seem to do the things we did, climbing trees, building dams in the local beck, making roads in the beck bank for our Dinky toys, all innocent fun, it's a completely different world today. I was devastated when the old Midland line Morecambe to Wennington Junction was closed in 1967, it's now a tarmacked foot/bike way complete with signposts and lights with bins to put dog poo in. Even the local favourite swimming hole in the Lune where the local council bought the land has signs- no swimming, no fires, no camping, I could hardly believe it when they were erected. I suppose I'm just one of those grumpy old men now, we meet at the pub, reminisce and put the world to rights. Still got my railway, real and model to keep me happy! Edward

Thanks for the chimney info Pete, I will try them. I have a feeling that 41903 had LMS style sans serif numerals for a while and was unlined, 1900/1/4 were lined out if my memory serves me right. Edward

I always liked the look of these engines but from what I've read they were not very popular with enginemen. 41900/1/3/4 were sent to Lancaster to operate the Lancaster-Morecambe-Heysham line while the electric sets were being replaced and the power supply was altered. They were augmented by 41221 a bit later. 41904 was stored at Lancaster Green Ayre shed for some time but did not find another home or purpose and left the dept. for scrap, I don't have the date for that. It sat there with 47639 which also went for scrap, the Jinty was interesting in that it didn't appear to have vacuum brakes and was fitted with three link couplings. I believe the other 2ps did find another home but I'm not sure about that. They were allegedly designed by Stanier but I understand it was really Lemon who was responsible for them. I have a kit built one which I bought on e-bay a few years ago [Jidenco?] which had the ugly slightly tapered stovepipe chimney which these engines originally had. I think they were replaced with the much nicer ones not very long after they were built but I have no idea exactly when. What chimney did you get for yours Jub45565? I need to get a replacement for the stovepipe. Edward

Hi Derek, Don't know if it's of any interest but when I used to go round Lancaster MPD [ex-MR] I noticed that the turntable pit was almost black with lots of bits of coal, oil, ash, junk lying around. I don't suppose anybody ever went down in there to clean it up. Mind you the whole shed area was filthy too, tracks smothered in oil and bits of coal, they had an old MR 3F tank, 47201, as shed pilot, it had a lever reverser and if the driver threw it in reverse the loco continued in the same direction with wheels spinning the other way. I don't think they ever really cleaned their locos either, they too were usually filthy, this in the mid fifties. Edward