eastglosmog

Would you have some measurements - height and length of the side panels and frames? From a perusal of Russell's "Southern Locomotives", it looks like it might be an LCDR Wainwright 3,300 gal type as attached to C class 0-6-0's, but I could easily be wrong!

So was the buffet called "The Coal" on that side?

Many years ago when modelling a canal, I painted the bed a murky green/brown and used about 10 layers of Ronseal varnish, letting each layer dry and adding a few painted highlights before painting on the next layer. It looked pretty good, but took a long time. I think this time I will follow your recommendations and use Woodland Scenics to make old father Thames. Seems like some things have improved in the past 30 years!

There was an underground railway in the Manod Mine, built to transport the nations art treasures when they were stored there during the Second World war. Attached is a photograph of it I took back in 2009. The rock had fallen sometime in the past 7 years, the galleries had been in much better condition when I originally visited in 2002.

According to some 1947 GWR painting instructions I found on the internet some time ago (but cannot now remember where): "Bridge Steelwork Usually black but occasionally a medium-grey like aluminium paint. Steelwork mainly below eye level was generally black. That easily seen was usually grey, but there were exceptions." Anyway, black is good enough for my GWR river bridge! Footbridges at stations were light and dark stone. Edited to add: Found the source, its here: https://www.google.co.uk/#q=GREAT+WESTERN+RAILWAY+INSTRUCTIONS+FOR+PAINTING+BUILDINGS+AND+STRUCTURE.+

The Ravenglass and Eskdale (when in 15" form) had a wagon tippler at Ravenglass to transfer crushed granite from narrow to standard gauge until 1928. For a short period the tippler was replaced by bottom discharge hoppers, before the whole lot was replaced by a standard gauge branch to the crushers at Murthwaite iin 1929. Edited to add: The Glyn Valley Tramway also had a wagon tippler for transferring crushed granite from narrow to standard gauge at Chirk.

Thought I would add a few of Nigerian Railway rolling stock disappearing into the undergrowth near Ewekoro:

Not strictly true, the Eakring oil field came on stream about 1944, but production nowhere near enough to keep the UK supplied with oil.

With tongue in cheek - ditch the boiler and motion and convert to 3rd rail electric as companions to Bulleid's CC1 and CC2 (BR Class 70)?

Problem with using real water is that you cannot scale down the surface tension. If you could find a clear liquid with a suitable surface tension, it would evaporate very quickly!

That seems about right! He certainly was a very good lecturer.

Afraid it's far too long ago for me to remember all the details (about 55 years) and I was too young at the time to understand the finer points, only the result! However, from what I can remember, it was a muzzle loading rifle (probably with a bore of over 0.5"), with powder poured in first and the candle dropped down afterwards. Only one shot was fired, so whether or not the rifling got fouled up I don't know. It was the final demonstration in an enthralling lecture. Edited to add: Hroth - back in those days (late 1950s early 1960s) children often got taken to scientific lectures to broaden their education, we did not rely on the telly. It took place 4-5 years before How? was on the box anyway - maybe Jack Hargreaves was at the same lecture as I was and got the idea from it!

These people would have benefited from a Faraday Christmas lecture I remember from my childhood, where the lecturer demonstrated that a rifle will easily fire a candle through an 3" oak barn door when the door is close to the muzzle. (It was a very entertaining lecture.)

Its a quote from Gooch's diary, given in Rolt's "Red for Danger".

I'm thinking the only way I am going to get an accurate model is to cover everything with 12mm of polyfilla powder and set my layout date to 6th March 1947 - 3ft snow, everything frozen solid, coal shortages and Buscot halt cut off from everywhere!

Just managed to find my copy of Edward Talbot's book on Crewe Works, which I had mislaid when writing my earlier reply (OK, it was under my nose, just couldn't see it). Seems like there were actually 6 of the 0-4-2t crane tanks, not sure when they built the other three, but before 1915. Their duties are described as shunting in various shops of Crewe works and the Steel works and general lifting in those shops and works, including castings and moldings. Of interest, though, to your query is a picture of No. 3246 unloading hydraulic equipment from a wagon behind it onto the platform in Crewe station (or maybe it was loading it into the wagon - can't tell for certain).

The LNWR had three 0-4-2t crane tanks, designated "Crane Shunters" (see Edward Talbot's book on LNWR Engines), built 1892 with 4t cranes. two at least were later fitted with a longer jib and downrated to 3t lift capacity. They lasted well in to LMS days. I am no sure whether they were deployed anywhere other than Crewe works - the only pictures of them I have seen is shunting and lifting things around Crewe.

Think I will give it a miss, then. While my cat is well behaved poo wise, I shudder to think of the mess that would be made if the Roomba encountered a pile of cat sick, or even mouse guts, both of which appear quite often!

Was?! It's still there and serving the very useful purpose of taking the footpath from Four Oaks to Dymock under the M50 . The overbridge for the Aschurch line has been removed, though.

Bear in mind, though, that the LN's and Schools had 220psi boilers. The T3 was only 175psi, so its braking systems would have been designed for a lower steam pressure. Whether they would work on 50psi, though, is another matter! Edited for typo

As a matter of fact, in 1958, 563 was on the exhibition circuit, alongside Terrier Boxhill. I suspect the poor condition shown in this photograph relates to the storage of the negative (as hinted in the narrative attached to the photo), not to the locomotive (although its paintwork certainly did deteriorate). The lack of coupling rods will probably relate to its being towed around to the various exhibitions, they only being attached when actually on display. Edited to add: Looking a bit more into 563's wanderings, I doubt that photo was actually taken in 1958, as after being on the exhibition circuit (when they were probably outside for much of the time) both engines went to Brighton and from there to Tweedmouth shed in late April 1958. Far more likely the photo was taken in August 1959 when they returned south to Eastleigh. Storage conditions at Tweedmouth were not good and although indoors, both engines deteriorated badly. 563 was subsequently renovated at Eastleigh for exhibition at Clapham and was on show to the public at Eastleigh on 3rd August 1960. However, I doubt any internal work was done, as so far as I know, there was no intention to steam her again.

Are you sure that applied to all Terriers, Pete? I ask because the General Arrangement drawing in Tom Middlemass's book definitely shows the air reservoir on the right hand side, in front of the brake cylinder. Just how typical of Terriers are the back end of W8's frames? After all, she had the Westinghouse brake and pump removed and was converted to vacuum by the LSWR in 1903 and only reconverted back to Westinghouse by the Southern in 1924. It also had motor train gear fitted by the Southern in 1927 rather than in 1908 by the LBSC as was the case with Portishead - the fittings may well have differed. From what is shown on the GA drawing, I believe the large reservoir required for the motor gear was fitted under the footplate on the left hand side. Mind you, for all I know, the air brake reservoir could have been moved over to accommodate the motor gear reservoir! However, as far as Portishead is concerned, if that was the case, the air reservoir would still have been on the right hand side in front of the brake cylinder when owned by the WCPR and passed to the GWR.

I well remember 563 at York museum in late 1975 or 76. Very beautiful she looked. I would be very sad to see her go so hope Swanage can make her go again. Even getting her looking pristine again would be an excuse for trekking down to Dorset to see her! Regarding her condition in 1948, Bradley in his book "LSWR Locomotives the Adams Classes" says she worked the LSWR tri-composite brake coach from Eastleigh to Micheldever for official photographs and 4 days later departed under steam (implicitly her own) for London. No indication she was towed or pushed or her boiler was unable to raise more than 25psi. Of course, I have no knowledge of how accurate this information is or where Mr Bradley got it from. Edited for typo.

According to the drawings in Tom Middlemass's book "Stroudley and his Terriers", in LBSCR ownership, the air reservoir was mounted between the frames on the right hand side below the cab, behind the rear wheel and in front of the brake cylinder. Not very visible from outside. Not seen any positive evidence that Portishead carried an air brake pump when owned by the GWR. No positive evidence she didn't, either! Edited to add: Just checked up on the other WCPR Terrier GWR No.6 (ex Ashtead) and she was certainly carrying an air pump in GWR livery, so No.5 probably did as well.

A few pictures of the remains of the Silvermines branch line in Ireland in 2013. Opened in 1966 to serve the Mogul and Magcobar mines west of Silvermines, closed in 1993 after the mines closed and left to rot. The mine processing area is now a metal bashing works, with acidic mine water leaking out of the mines flowing over the ground and eating away at the railway tracks. Frankly, this bit of the Emerald Isle has been made into a mess. Looking west along the headshunt from the concentrate loading hopper, the branch railway is in the gorse bushes to the right. This is the track beneath the loading hopper. Looking west along the branch line from beside the loading hopper. Looking east over the fan of holding sidings forming the end of the branch.