Tallpaul69

Now that the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway is back open, I thought I would share some of my recent photos:- First two are from Sunday 20th September Next two are from Sunday 27th September 778 just returned to service after overhaul Next four are of an engineers train I happened on yesterday!Last Cheer All, Paul

Sorry Nick, didn't make myself clear! I meant the white structure running up the embankment beside the bridge in the 2nd picture (Silly Bridge from track level). Looks like it could be reinforcement for the embankment - was there an earth slip here sometime in the past? Regards Paul

Afternoon Clive, I think the line's history as a freight line shifting sand to the standard gauge Leighton Buzzard to Dunstable line still influences its look and its running. The stations while passenger friendly are a bit basic (no shelter except in the booking office/shop for instance!) It is only 20mins walk from my house and when I take one of my favourite walks I cross the line five or six times (all level crossings, no bridges!) Cheers Paul

Great Pics Nick, What is the white structure to the right of the bridge in the first Silly Bridge photo? Regards Paul

Good Afternoon All, Here, as promised are some photos of the NGR. Two from Sunday, and yesterday's engineers train.

Not all of them, but will two do? Fell over (not literally!) this engineers train when out for a walk yesterday. New recruit standing at the rear of 2nd Simplex:- "Where is the coal?" And, No, we didn't have any earthquakes yesterday! Cheers to you All Paul

What I would call a |Heinz Variety! Well done! If I attempted something like this it would end up more filler than anything else? Regards Paul

Gibbo, I use an Electric Toothbrush! Cheers Paul

Granted!

Hi there all of you. Three activities to report today:- 1) Making progress on reading the three books that arrived on Saturday. First there is CR Potts Oakwood Press book on the Oxford to Princes Risborough line, which has some useful details and interesting photos. Secondly there was Bill Simpson's two volumes of the History of Oxfordshire Railways. Only had a quick dip into these but for my model Volume 2 covering the south of the county is the most relevant. 2) Unexpectedly, when out for a work this morning came across a NGR Engineers train with gang doing tidying up of the trackside. The train was helpfully standing where the line runs beside a road, so I will post pics of this and a couple from the running day yesterday during tomorrow. 3) Least interesting, although hopefully the most productive towards my model, was a further exchange of e mails with my layout builders trying to resolve the issue of access to the rear of the 12ft x 4ft phase 1 (Thame) to deal with derailments etc. I have sent them a sketch proposing that the scenic front is dished so that it is 4ft wide at each side, but 3ft wide in the centre couple of feet of the 12ft dimension. They seem keen on the same approach to the rear where the 5 storage loops are. I am not sure about this as it seems to me the length of the loops will be reduced, and they are only able to be just long enough in my opinion as it is! I await their next drawing, hopefully by the end of the week. Cheers for now Paul

Its an event - not often the real railway ran a Manor tender first, not like these preservation types! Sorry, speak up, didn't quite catch what you said? It's a model? are you sure? Perhaps you are right or this door needs a can of oil, can't quite get it to open! (stands back waiting for the avalanche of posts citing instances of Manors running passenger trains tender first on the real railway!) Well up to your usual standard Kevin!! Me - I'll just get back to the argument discussion with my layout builders about how far you can reach over a baseboard and the easiest way to access loops 4ft away from the operating point when a running disaster strikes. Take care All, Best regards Paul

Wouldn't it be boring if we all liked the same? I like NSE toothpaste, but it is an acquired taste! Cheers Paul

Can we have a "Plonker " button...……??? Perhaps not, but don't worry , DonB, there are a lot of us to each take a share of the blame, just don't take it personally? Cheers Paul

Well, that's a lot of work! When do you eat and sleep? I hope you don't graze as you model cos you know that is bad for you? I have to admit if my layout needed 65 signals, even if 1/3 of them were already made, I think I would give up and look for something simpler? Having said that, while my numbers are smaller, the complication is greater, as each location needs two signals, one semaphore and one colour light, to reflect (excuse unintentional pun!) different eras of operation. Thus the signals need to be removable. I have to confess that I have recognized the level of the problem and found someone to make them for me! Cheers Paul

Many thanks Nick, Thame will keep me going for a while, which is the idea of the first stage of the layout, so there is no hurry at all for more HW info! Cheers Paul

Nick, These are great! Many thanks for another brilliant set of Goods Shed pics! Can I be cheeky and ask if you have any of the rest of High Wycombe station and surrounds? I managed to grab a couple of the NGR this morning, I will post them here tomorrow. Cheers Paul

Looks like a large loft or double garage effort. I will have to delve in my mags and see if I have this one! I didn't start buying RM regularly until c1980, but over the years have picked up quite a few earlier ones , so we will have to see! Many thanks Paul

I have managed to identify one more wagon in the above photo:- It is the one nearest the camera and is lettered:- T Hunter Ltd. Rugby. I will haver a go at enlarging the photo and see if I can identify the wagon next beyond the two Shipley wagons. Regards Paul

Good Day All, Looking through relevant articles and photos in various GWJs this morning I realized that both Thame and High Wycombe goods sheds had extensions. So my work on the Maidenhead and Witney examples might not be wasted! Also the same trawl bought up another, and better picture of the Witney extension! Thame's extension was not a cover for railway wagons but a covered loading bay on the Princes Risborough end of the shed, at right angles to the rails, for road vehicles. It is possible that when lorries cane along the distance between the road bay wall of the goods shed and the back road was insufficient for them to back into the original bay particularly if there was stock in the back road. I know there were mechanical horses used at Thame, so maybe they could get into the original (horse) loading bay? HW's extension is similar to Witney's and Maidenheads, but is not as wide as they were possibly because HW's goods shed is a double track one. So far I only have a ground plan, an airial shot and a side shot from some distance, so I may have to make it up but it will be a year or so before I get to needing this shed so other photos may turn up. Hope some of the books I ordered on the area will turn up tomorrow. It will be Sunday before I get to look at them as we are hosting a family (only 6 of us!) meal tomorrow. Best regards Paul

Not a lot to report today. I have decided I might as well do a bit of research on my possible basis of Thame for the phase 1 of the latest plan for a layout. Spent the morning with my 1961 London Division Local Carriage and DMU workings book sorting out what sets were used on the Oxford to Princes Risborough line through Thame. I also redid the set of books and GWJs I keep immediately to hand to reflect the change in location. I am also toying with reducing the number of loops in the main fiddle Yard from 10 to 6 so that I can have a minimalistic model of High Wycombe in front of it. HW is attractive because a lot of the trains through Thame also passed through HW, so I can run them through both stations and this will give me better utilization of the more limited fiddle yards. For instance the morning Hinksey to Taplow freight was known to spent two hours in Thame yard, an hour at Princes Risborough and another hour in High Wycombe, so can be on the layout for a scale 4 hours plus. HW also has the prototype of what could, in my model, be a built in screen between the station and the fiddle yard, namely the huge blue brick wall on the up side! However I am keeping this to myself for a while until I get some feedback from the layout builders on my changes to their plan to make a reasonable likeness of Thame! HW would be part of phase 2 of the layout and probably is a year away. Another attraction of HW is that being the far end of the line from Maidenhead, I can portray a number of the same trains as I would have done for Lower Thames Yard. Another bonus is that HW still exists and I can get there without too much trouble (bearing in mind I am carless (or should that be careless?)). So I hope everyone's modelling is making progress, as it seems we might have some sort of lockdown for the next six months, so no excuse for not getting those models finished? Cheers Paul

Not a lot to report today. Spent the morning with my 1961 London Division Local Carriage and DMU workings book sorting out what sets were used on the Oxford to Princes Risborough line through Thame. I also redid the set of books and GWJs I keep immediately to hand to reflect the change in location. I am also toying with reducing the number of loops in the main fiddle Yard from 10 to 6 so that I can have a minimalistic model of High Wycombe in front of it. HW is attractive because a lot of the trains through Thame also passed through HW, so I can run them through both stations and this will give me better utilization of the more limited fiddle yards. For instance the morning Hinksey to Taplow freight was known to spent two hours in Thame yard, an hour at Princes Risborough and another hour in High Wycombe, so can be on the layout for a scale 4 hours plus. HW also has the prototype of what could, in my model, be a built in screen between the station and the fiddle yard, namely the huge blue brick wall on the up side! However I am keeping this to myself for a while until I get some feedback from the layout builders on my changes to their plan to make a reasonable likeness of Thame! HW would be part of phase 2 of the layout and probably is a year away. Another attraction of HW is that being the far end of the line from Maidenhead, I can portray a number of the same trains as I would have done for Lower Thames Yard. So I hope everyone's modelling is making progress, seems we might have some sort of lockdown for the next six months, so no excuse for not getting those models finished? Cheers Paul

In my teen years we holidayed in Portsea on a number of occasions. Although this was over 60years ago I remember it with great affection! Never got bored there even if the weather was bad. Mind you riding on trolleybuses, open topped buses and Southdown Queen Marys, was a vast improvement on the home diet of Bristols and Leylands although I thought them not a patch on LT RTs! Even the Portsmouth Corporation Crossleys seemed vastly better than the motley Luton Corporation versions. Again, SR Spam Cans , schools, and EMUs seemed a cut above the home Black5s and DMUs ! The sea was a great draw with its various Warships, Ferries, Car Ferries and Hovercraft which the River Lea had no chance of matching! Mind you the beaches were nothing to write home about. He Ho, those were the days, hope you have had a great time Kevin, even if that aircraft carrier blocked your view of the Isle of Wight. Looking forward to 7802's continuing saga once you get home? Travel safe, Best regards Paul

True, But with no cycle, or even a car to get there, That is not an option! If the Virus was not getting worse I might bus to Aylesbury , then bus to Thame - maybe next summer if the gods are good to us. Not an urgent thing to do as the post 2000 pics I have seen of the industrial units on the site are not very inspiring!! -Just details of the bridges would be useful Cheers Paul

Well done, looks terrific- shows what can be done in 2mm if your eyes and hands can deal with it!

Thankfully they are only running steam at the moment, its difficult enough for the line to drum up custom, without scaring them off with Simplexes (is that the right plural for Simplex or should it be Simplexi???)!