MartinRS

It would be a great improvement to this site if it stated what scale-gauge the models are. I even downloaded a pdf from the site. That doesn't give any clue as to what scale the models are!

The term 'British Railways' pre-dates the nationalisation of the industry and was used to refer to the big four, especially in WWII. See https://www.britishvintageposters.co.uk/all-clear-for-the-guns-british-railways-war-poster-6617-p.asp and https://www.antikbar.co.uk/original_vintage_posters/advertising_posters/eggs_dairy_produce_wwii_british_railways/PA1957/ There are some posters here for 'British Railways' which also have the GWR, LMS, LNER and SR abbreviations. http://vintageposterblog.com/2013/04/23/string-theory/ As for foreign layouts does the OP mean anything that's not the GCR, LNER (ex GCR), BR(E) and BR(M) (ex GCR)? - Insert your own prejudices preferences here! Seriously though, I've had a passing interest in US prototypes in the past, partly because of the accessible (English language) information, partly because of the much better running and coupling qualities of models of US prototypes in N in the 1990s and and partly because of the influence of the very first Railway of the Month I saw in the very first copy of Railway Modeller I owned. It was a model of the the Denver and Rio Grande. I would always stop and look at an overseas layout at an exhibition though if an exhibition was dominated by foreign layouts I might give it a miss. (An academic thought experiment at the moment. I wish I had time to visit Doncaster this weekend: I don't). I would never think about modelling European prototypes, unless Hornby TT:120 doesn't take off in which case I'll just have to imagine that Watkin actually did build that tunnel. Trans European Express to Sheffield Victoria anyone?

Thanks for the information. It must have been a post 1975 revised version of the book I owned. Back to the station and signals. The right-most siding ought to have a trap point. (Back to Red for Danger. IIRC an accident at Stairfoot was caused by a uncoupled wagons running away from sidings at Barnsley Junction sidings (I think). A trap point would have prevented the wagons getting out onto the mainline). As a minimum I would suggest a starter at the end of each platform. The double track approach to the station would probably be controlled by a signal with feathers for each available route, or a theatre type indicator. (If you just want to keep things simple just use a colour light signal with a dummy theatre indicator). Is there is a single track branch with wrong-line running on the main-line? It has an unusual track configuration and looks very complicated to signal! Its difficult to make suggestions as you have started to lay track. My experience is limited to installing and maintaining signals, not planning, and then that was a long time ago.

Is this what you saw? https://www.huntleyarchives.com/results.asp?txtkeys1=Maybank model railway

Lets call it Dampfmaschine.

I certainly remember reading about the accident at a terminus in L. T. C. Rolt's Red for Danger, which resulted in the final approach signal being changed from green to yellow. My paperback copy has long since disintegrated. The book was first published in 1955 and Rolt passed away in 1974. I suspect final approach signal must have changed way before the mid-1970s. The book sales site Goodreads, states, Every major accident on British railways between 1840 and 1957 is covered with the evolution of safety developments. The paperback cover shown there mentions revisions by Geoffrey Kichenside which might explain the disparity between the last date of accidents covered (1957) and the publication date (1955), or was the book revised agin at a later date?

When the sign was changed to Welsh did the locals celebrate with a bottle of Felinfoel?

I have also (just) seen it referred to a Hit and Miss Brickwork. One caveat about brick bond names; they are subject to regional variation, especially when a brick has a county or other place name in its title. I've spent more time than I should have done researching the subject. If I was at home using my own PC I could probably tell you the moisture content of a top of the range engineers blue brick along with its maximum compressive loading!

I did put some links to brick bond types here https://paperbrick.tumblr.com/

Pierced brick garden wall bond.

This first hand recollection from a former employee of S.E.Stevens Wagon Works, Railway wagon building in the 1930s, is not specifically about mineral wagons though it does mention painting twice. I think the first reference of a visit to the paint shop is when the underframe is ready for ironwork to be fitted. In the final paragraph it mentions a coat of undercoat being applied to the exterior of the wagon only. See http://www.wrightsaerials.tv/annexe/wagon-shops.shtml archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240000000000*/http://www.wrightsaerials.tv/annexe/wagon-shops.shtml

Nah! Nah!

Thanks for the link. If the kits do become available I might buy the LNER/BR 20T Brake Van to see what the quality is like or wait and see if someone here on RmWeb builds one and lets everyone know how it runs before I invest in a locomotive. If the brake van is a good model I might well pickup both the J70 and the LNER Y1/Y3. I can make use of an industrial and a dockside shunter.

This page (under the heading Railway legislation) lists the relevant legal framework https://www.orr.gov.uk/guidance-compliance/rail/health-safety/level-crossings/legal-framework The legislation (subject to recent amendment) for public footpaths and bridleways can be found here https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/8-9/20/section/61 The legislation (also subject to recent amendment) for occupation crossings can be found here https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/8-9/20/section/68 The last paragraph suggests compensation in lieu of a legal obligation which might explain the difference between a simple field gate and the more upmarket polo stables gate, where the landowner paid more for their gate than the compensation out of their own pocket?

Network rail use both the terms occupation crossing and accommodation crossing depending on circumstance, as is explained here. More information can be found here https://www.railsigns.uk/info/xings1.html though I can't find any information on when slatted wooden cattle grids came into use. Here are a couple of modern photos of combined occupation crossings and footpaths from different locations https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5443954 https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2803334

You could have a look at the map and list at https://abcrailwayguide.uk/search/?q=level+crossing Here are some modern metal examples from the site, none from the West Country though: https://abcrailwayguide.uk/rectory-farm-private-level-crossing-cambridgeshire https://abcrailwayguide.uk/tam-crossing-private-level-crossing-moray https://abcrailwayguide.uk/haverigg-cattle-crossing-private-level-crossing-cumbria https://abcrailwayguide.uk/muirhouse-farm-private-level-crossing-dumfries-and-galloway https://abcrailwayguide.uk/frognal-farm-private-level-crossing-kent

Exfoliate! Exfoliate!

Thanks. Looking carefully at the first photo you uploaded I can just see some door detail extending beyond the right hand edge of the bauxite wagon. I raised the question because I can't see any indication of the door's outline on the inside of the wagon in that first picture though. Your latest upload certainly shows evidence of an end door.

Not the BBC but the Guardian with some 1:20 scale buildings. I'm not even sure if they are cardboard buildings.

Does the bauxite wagon with the diagonal white stripe have an end door?

Microsoft have advice for anyone suffering from the pop-up variant of the McAfee scam. It's pretty routine stuff though some might benefit from reading it. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/what-is-the-mcafee-virus-pop-up-scam-how-to-get-rid-of-it/ar-AA14b42z

I was thinking along the lines of McAfee setting up a bank account, putting a small amount of money into it and then paying for the faux McAfee and tracking the money with the intention of raising an alert about the recipient bank account. (I do know that many scammers circumvent this with the 'buy me a gift card' scam though). The fact that McAfee's new anti-scam software makes no mention of it preventing the faux McAfee scam does support your suggestion that they are concerned about their reputation especially as the BBC featured the McAfee scam a couple of years ago. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/42Jp1zjjqZBvSFPf5LhzHKv/mcafee-scam-nov-2021 There is a mention of the faux McAfee on one of McAfee's support pages. https://www.mcafee.com/support/?articleId=TS103285&page=shell&shell=article-view The pop-up subscription warning appears to be new variation on the earlier email scam. I have always found McAfee scanner to be too opaque for my liking, which is why I prefer Norton.

Proactively alert their subscribers as to the existence of the scams using their name? Use their resources to track down the scammers (via the banking system), who are abusing the McAfee name and logo? I see that MacAfee are already taking action by offering a new service to protect users against scammers. https://www.mcafee.com/en-gb/index.html

More information can be found at https://forums.mcafee.com/t5/Cybercrime-Phishing/There-appears-to-be-a-widespread-subscription-renewal-scam/td-p/708310

I have not had time time contact McAfee about the renewal scam yet. (I am not using the network with McAfee as its scanner). I did a web search and found this https://malwaretips.com/blogs/mcafee-membership-renewal-scam-email/ which suggests McAfee is aware of one manifestation the scam. "According to McAfee, over half of the recipients targeted by these scam messages didn’t even have an active McAfee subscription at the time, proving just how fabricated the renewals are." I'll read the full article sometime today if I have time.