anroar53

I can remember from my time that the 1716 Bletchley was a regular in Platform 7, as you say first stop Hemel H. It slotted into 7 after the 1655 Manchester left, and was one of the few Locals that didn't inhabit 'The Wood' (Platforms 8-11). I think the stock came from the Up Side Shed. Pre-1975 the line you refer to was the Down Carriage Line, and carried the letter 'C' in the Theatre Indicator. Up to this time only certain passenger trains were booked this way in the Working Timetable, and an extra allowance of two minutes was made to take in the slowing to cross out onto the main lines at Camden. From 1975 the route had its designation changed to Departure Line, and the Indicator became 'D'. From that time anything passenger wise could be sent that way out of platforms 1 to 11 should the need arise. However it had to be recorded on the train sheets as Control would always query if a train had dropped a couple of minutes to Watford. For a time the route was referred to as 'T*****'s Tunnel, after one signalman who had a penchant for using it a lot. Memories coming back, sigh Andy.

I remember one occasion in 1975 of travelling on a Luton to St. Pancras 127 which had a Mark 1 Blue/Grey BSK attached to the rear at Luton. It wasn't in service and was locked out of use. The St. Pancras 08 Shunter was waiting to pick it off on arrival and shunted it down middle siding 8. The Working Timetables used to show DMU services that were scheduled to have tail traffic. It was shown as formation/load D1(T) denoting Tail Traffic. Depending on train type the D figure could be 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. Andy.

It happened more often than you think. Worked at Euston PSB in the 1970s and problems with points in the station area could sometimes push a number of passenger trains that way. Don't remember workings in the opposite direction as the Rat Hole was at that time uni-directional in the up direction. Going the other way would have involved wrong line working over the Up Slow to Kilburn? Can remember outgoing passenger trains going over the Backing Out Roads and the Down Through siding and onto the Down Fast at Primrose Hill Tunnel. Andy.

Two 501 sets coast into Harrow on a Euston to Watford local service. A Kenny O to Perth Motorail passes on the Down Fast. On the Slow Lines two eight car 310s pass each other. 304 meets 310 at the south end of Watford. These units were constructed using old style Farish coaches which had the removable window strips. These had been taken out. In the case of the 310 the window section was replaced by solid plasticard. Windows were marked out and then drilled out and filed to shape. In the case of the 304 it has leftover brass sides from a B H Enterprises 4 EPB kit. The ends of both units were created using 2mm plasticard profiled to shape with some fine sandpaper and filing. Windows, destination box, and jumper recesses (310) drilled out and filed. A 304 sets off from Watford on a Birmingham New Street service (via Northampton). On this occasion it is about to be passed by the Royal Train, double headed by a pair of 40s. A Cravens Diesel Parcel Unit arrives on the Up Slow with tail traffic, one solitary van. Unfortunately the original images of the construction have been lost over time, and the scans of my remaining hard copy are not that good. However I hope they will show how the units were made. The bottom unit is one of the 310 Driving Trailers. The original coach appears to have been a Network South East Livery example. However some of the large windows with sliding vents have come from a former Western Chocolate/Cream coach. In this case these windows were retained as they had raised ridging for the frames and vents, which the early Farish examples had before fully printed sides came in along with the solid bodyshells. Solid plasticard has been inserted between the large windows, which had the smaller windows marked out and then drilled and filed. The cab front started as a square of 2mm plasticard, and has had the windows and jumper recesses drilled out and filed. The jumper recesses had smaller squares of 1mm plasticard inserted at a shallow angle. The cab roof was sanded/filed down once the coach roof had been fitted, leaving the raised route indicator box. The coach above is the 310 Motor Brake vehicle showing the windows drilled out. The top coach is a 304 Driving Trailer, before I used brass sides from the 4 EPB kit. Another rather grainy image, this time showing the seating added, and initial body painting. Before glazing and fitting the roof all the window surrounds were painted silver, a very long and fiddly job. The jumper recesses have been fitted. The completed 310 is seen heading south on the Up Slow Line near Linslade, with an 86 hauled Express for Euston about to pass it. The curved cab windscreens were made from some moulded plastic packaging that I think came from some Peco Point motors? The glazing for the other windows was all done with an application of Humbrol 'Clearfix'. Showing the 304 that was built with brass sides. These were leftover from the construction of the 501 units. Originally a 4EPB kit only three coaches were required for the 501, leaving one set of coach sides leftover for each of the six 501s I built. The sides were cut and gaps left where I needed to insert the toilets, brake compartment, and cab ends. The bodyside gaps had solid plasticard inserted at window level as with the earlier 310s. Some body filler was spread over the sides so it could be sanded down flush with the brass sides. The windows were then marked out and drilled and filed. The 304 and 310 Motor Brakes showing how the pantograph well was cut out (with a slitting disc) and some plasticard inserted. One of the completed 304 Driving Trailers after the brake pipes and jumpers were added (Small electrical wire). The Route Indicator box had a small surround of 1mm plasticard fitted and filed to fit before painting. The numbers were printed on a computer then covered with clear plastic to represent the glazing. The Destination blind has yet to be inserted. Gresley bogies have since been fitted. The tail lights were made from Track pin heads fitted into a small drilled hole. Jumper boxes were just bits of leftover plasticard. The later version of 304 with the larger windows has also been completed, this time using brass sides from a 116/7 DMU. One of the 501 Motor Coaches. These have been built using B H Enterprises 4 EPB brass sided kits. The actual construction was the same as for the other EMUs, on early Farish BGs. The coach sides had one compartment removed to shorten them down to a reasonable length. The cab ends were retained, but the jumper detail was filed off and replaced by a revised layout in keeping with a 501. The Destination Blind was also drilled out above the Route Indicator Box (I promise I will replace the hand painted 'B1' with a printed version at some stage ) The shoe beams were etched brass stuck directly to the bogies. Just to the north of Harrow in the afternoon sun, a 501 bound for Euston is easily outpaced by an AC hauled Express on the Up Fast. In reality, with the position of the shadows, this would actually be sometime in the early morning And, finally, as they say, a Clacton 309 makes an appearance on the Down Slow south of Watford. No doubt en route from Ilford to Wolverton, but by this stage lined maroon livery would have been unlikely. I just like these units in their original form, and had to have one. By this time I was running out of early Farish Coaches to convert, but I still had a few Minitrix Mark 1s that were in the odds and ends box. The 309 was a Worsley Works Brass sided kit. The Minitrix Mark 1s had the entire window section, from just below the roof, to just below the window ledges, sliced out with a slitting disc. The brass sides were then stuck onto the sides, saving a lot of time. In this case a strip of clear plastic was inserted inside the body for the glazing. The bogies were exchanged for some Ultima Commonwealth types, and the redundant Minitrix ones found their way onto some Farish Mark 1s. As I've said before, I never chuck anything away, it all goes into the odds and ends box in case it should become of use again. I never did get round to fitting the interior, one of those 'never finished' jobs that I must get round to eventually. 309 MBS with 'pan up' at Watford. The St. Albans service is being operated by a Worsley Works Craven 105, but that, as they say, is another story. I think that ends today's ramblings!

Glad you liked it.

My quest to build some Underground stock started off as a gimmick, one un-motorised set between some match wagons being hauled round by a 47. It didn't stay a gimmick for long when the set was motorised by a couple of Arnold N Kof shunting locos, made into a simple chassis. A once timeless scene, a 1938 Tube set sits in the Up 'New Line' Platform at Harrow, about to set off for Elephant & Castle. By carefully looking at the front of the set you might see that it has Northern Line type Destination panels. The first set I made was intended for a small layout based on Mill Hill the Hale, a section of the uncompleted Northern Line. Although it was just about finished on two boards of 3 feet by 2 feet it was overtaken by my more ambitious WCML adventure. The tube sets started life as just a moulded coach roof which were scratchbuilding items from Ultima and B H Enterprises. The sides were made from 1mm plasticard, and the ends in 2mm plasticard. These were assembled as a solid box shape glued to the roof section. The windows and doors had all been marked out in pencil. I spent a lot of time carefully drilling out the windows with a very small drill, and needle filing them to finish. This was a very delicate job as it was very easy to split the plasticard if you weren't steady of hand. I did do a few sides and cut the windows out with a sharp knife, but found that the windows were more prone to splitting round the edges, so I reverted to the drill and file method. A rather poor image of the tube bodies under construction. I'm afraid the original images have been lost and I had to scan a hard copy I had available. This one was a 1938 set. At the cab ends the coach roof had been removed before fitting. A small piece of plasticard was fitted flat across the cab end bodysides, then body filler added over this, so that the sloping roof over the cab could be sanded to shape later. The door sections were cut out of the bodyside and into the roof with a fine edge slitting disc. (Steady hand required again.) A piece of 1mm plasticard, just slightly wider than the door opening was cut out. The end which was required to bend into the roofline was warmed on a radiator and then carefully rolled round a small paintbrush handle. After the doors had been glued in place, and left for a while, the windows in the doors were drilled out. This shows how the bogies were fitted. The actual bogies were old Lima ones which I hadn't disposed of (I am a consummate hoarder who throws nothing away, always saying that 'It might come in handy one day') These had about 2mm cut from round the top of the frames. They were fixed by putting a cross member of plasticard at each end of the body with a hole drilled centrally so the bogies just clip in. The non motorised coaches had the sides re-enforced with some clear plastic sheet at the doorways. An almost finished non motorised coach. The windows were all glazed with Humbrol 'Clearfix'. A small screwdriver dipped into the jar and then run round the window edges quickly and withdraw the screwdriver. Leave to dry, and windows done. Although the 'Kof' units gave many years of service on other layouts I have begun a programme of replacing them with Tomytec units. The seven coach sets have the middle coach as the motorised unit, and will quite happily pull and push the three coaches at each end without any problem. One of the last sets to be built was the 1972 set, seen here sitting in platform 1 at the Junction waiting to leave for Central London. The 1972 set under construction. Similar methods employed as with the other stock, just needed a bit more profiling to get the shape right. 1938 and 1972 set at the Junction. A 501 in platform 4 ready for a local service to Euston, and two main line services pass on the Fast Lines. In my reality the Croxley Link had gone ahead in the 1960s, and as a result the Metropolitan Line has been diverted into the Junction. As a result an A60 set is seen departing for Baker Street. These sets were built from early Farish 101 DMUs. These had the early style removable window strips. These were replaced with solid plasticard, and then the windows and doors marked out and made in the same way as the other Tube sets. The A60 under construction, showing the replacement ends to the Farish 101 DMU bodyshells made from thick plasticard. From a different angle showing the bodyshell almost finished. Between Harrow and Headstone Lane. Two 1938 sets pass on the DC Lines, while the Widnes to North Wembley BOC tankers head south along the Up Slow Line. At the south end of Watford a 1938 set sits in the DC Siding awaiting a platform for its next trip. This set has 10306 in it, the 'Porthole' or 'Sunshine' car as it was sometimes known. Close up of 10306. An experiment to make station signs more visible to standing passengers. I remember travelling in this vehicle while it was on the Northern Line. The rain strips over the doors are bits of fine fuse wire. Showing the last of the five Tube sets, in this case a 1959 set, similar in construction to the 1938 ones, but slightly easier to build with a flat front end. Sarah Siddons on Railtour duty. This loco came about as I had acquired a Swiss Loco chassis that was too short for an AC Loco, so I cobbled together No.12 instead! This probably went on a lot longer than I intended, so I hope I didn't bore too many of you. Will be digging out the EMU folder next with the 304, 310, 501, and even a Clacton 309! Will post that when I have had a break for a bit. Andy.

I'm just sorting out some images of the construction of the EMUs. I'll post these up soon. The pictures have had to be scanned again as the original image/photos have been misplaced. Hopefully they will be good enough to show how the stock was made. Andy.

Thank you Jeremy, Just as an aside I saw your question on weed killing trains at Euston. Although it's a bit out of your time slot I used to work at Euston PSB 1973-77 and can remember 6Z07 appearing one night. It came up the DC Line to the station, propelled onto the Backing out Roads, ran round (Top n tail wasn't widespread then), then went direct to Camden and back down the DC Line. The view from the Box windows were a bit impaired by the Parcel Dock canopy, but it was hauled by a 25 and the train, if I remember, was made up of several tank wagons sandwiched between a couple of converted Southern PMVs and a staff accommodation coach, possibly Mark 1. I don't know if it was spraying at the time, I suspect it was only covering the DC Lines from South Hampstead. Moving on I do have a few, not too good pictures, of the Weedkilling train around 1989. At this time it was top n tailed by a pair of 20s 20901 and 20904, both in grey with Hunslet-Barclay branding. The pictures of the train were not so good as I only had an ancient 'wind on' camera and missed bits! In this case there were four tank wagons at one end with the converted PMVs and a couple of accommodation vehicles at the other. This train roamed all over the different regions, so it might have turned up at Euston? Andy.

The class 84 was built around a Minitrix Class 27 chassis, but with Minitrix Class 42 Warship bogies. This example was built with 1mm plasticard for the sides and ends, although the cab front windows and side windows were made in slightly thinner plasticard recessed into the body and front. The windows were drilled out with a small drill and needle filed to finish, as was the route indicator box. The body side windows had a piece of single core wire positioned across them as the divider. The bodyside grills in the other side were made by drilling out the openings, then using some P &D Marsh whitemetal corrugated sheeting inserted into the hole, The cab roof was made with some off cuts of carriage roof with a lot of body putty at the front end sanded to shape. The pantograph was a Sommerfeldt one, the air tanks were some bits of plastic tube, and various odds and ends of plasticard and balsa cut down for the other roof clutter, plus some Sommerfeldt insulators.. I found an easier way to build the body later on. I had used a lot of Farish 87s where I used the chassis to power a number of DMU/EMUs. Taking the leftover bodyshell I shortened them to the right length, replaced the nose ends in plasticard so they could be better profiled (filed and sanded), filled in the side details, then drilled out the various windows and grills as before. I will have to dig out some of the work in progress photos. Andy.

Have just about finished a 10 year project, although a few minor things need completing, the layout is now in its fully functioning state. A length of about thirty feet in N Gauge has allowed me to attempt full size stations. Hopefully the station frontage is recognisable (without reading the station name). A class 310 calls on a local from Bletchley to Euston. To the south of the station the actual area has had to be modified from reality, as with only 30 inches of width I had to scale back what could be done. A class 40 whistles through on the Down Slow line with a northbound freight from Willesden. An 86 hauled Express about to overtake on the Down Fast Line, while a 1938 tube set heads south for Elephant and Castle. In a small space at the end of the layout is a representation of canal and railway near Linslade. The canal is at a slightly lower level than the railway. An 85 hauled Freightliner heads north on the Down Slow Line, when Freightliner trains were less colourful.. To the south of Watford a 304 prepares to call at the Junction with a Euston to Birmingham (via Northampton) semi-fast. A 310 accelerates away on the Up Slow Line, next stop Euston. The DC 'New Line' swings away to the left for its loop via Watford High Street. At the North end of Watford an 84 hauls a long van train (16 on) on the Down Fast Line. On the far left the Depot has managed to survive not being turned into a Car Park. Just a few images to get started with, hopefully a few more to come. Andy.