kitpw

The brick arch in the photo of Bow Shed appears to have a piece of curved (?)rail as permanent centering - I've not come across that before. Kit PW

...I meant to hit the "agree" button but missed: but I agree, smaller is better! Kit PW

Mikkel, good thought - station pilots may well be right. Picking up closer to where you started with the livery question, my own view is that the panniers are best in their unlined green - for certain by the time of the 1920s period I'm modelling. Kit PW

The lining of panniers and the whiteness of shirts seem to be joined in this thread. For the first, I'm baffled as there seems to be no discernable pattern (as in 'principle' not 'shape') to the lining or not lining - I too wondered if it might be to do with "passenger" or "goods" but that doesn't seem to be present in the available photo record. As to the whiteness of shirts, see http://www.victorianweb.org/science/health/berclouw.html: it became a big issue in the Victorian era as a matter of public health and public wash houses (and bath houses) survived into the 1960s - I remember the one on Lancaster Road, Notting Hill which was finally demolished in about 1979. There is a lot more written about the laundry than about the lining... Kit PW

...try this link on RMWeb for starters.... Kit PW

The thing that caught my eye in the aerial view above is the building adjacent to the single siding - it looks like a quarter (or possibly half) circular elevation with the ground sloping up round it. Part circular elevations seem to turn up in France (and elsewhere in Europe), but are, I think, quite unusual in English railway architecture. A particularly good example from France is the station at Saint-Germain en Laye - this link goes there (wish we could too - tier 4+ disobliges): http://reseau3gg.centerblog.net/voir-photo?u=http://reseau3gg.r.e.pic.centerblog.net/o/150bec80.JPG Kit PW

Odd, yes! Posed, certainly! What are they all up to? That smoke box looks eaten away on the outside - or coated in porridge. A nice collection of hats though. Kit PW

A very good looking model of a 2021 and the trackwork's top notch too - best wishes for the New Year! Kit PW A 1920s 7mm terminus layout: Swan Hill - https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/

....try a clutch pencil. The smaller size can hold a 14BA nut easily and securely. Once you've got a hold of the nut in the clutch, it's easy to twizzle it onto a bolt and the nut can be released using one hand. See https://www.cassart.co.uk/drawing/pencils/mechanical-pencils/faber-castell-tk4600-clutch-pencil-hb-2mm.htm. I also use a sharp point in the same pencil as a marking out scriber and for other odd jobs - with lead in it, it works pretty well for drawing too! Kit PW A 1920s 7mm terminus layout: Swan Hill - https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/

...and Christmas day regards to you Douglas, in Oklahoma, where it's now about 6.30am - but nearly Christmas lunchtime here! Kit PW

Just one picture to end this year: thanks for looking at Swan Hill through 2020 and best wishes to all for 2021. Kit PW

The castle mound looks like it's a man-made "motte", so a success there for sure! Some good photos of a really good layout. Best wishes for 2021. Kit PW A 1920s 7mm terminus layout: Swan Hill - https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/

...it's there....and I've found a few more missing chairs since the photo was taken. I had hoped to post an update this week but may not get to it before Christmas. A good deal of time has gone into the layout but, for various reasons, progress has been pretty slow through this year. Anyway, thanks for the kind comments and season's greetings! Kit PW

Mikkel: I've enjoyed reading and watching the goings on at Farthing through the year - I'm pleased to see that the lamplighter is clearly happy with his perch - from January's internet archaeology to December's two and three plank wagons (all in red, sole bars included - maybe red lead, but that's a conversation for another day, I don't want to start any hares running this side of 2021). A Merry Christmas to you and best wishes for next year. Kit PW A 1920s, GWR 7mm terminus layout: Swan Hill - https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/

I don't know what he's doing with the brush in the photograph of the Dalek hats but it's obviously time sensitve as he's doing it agaist the (?alarm) clock. It may be temperature sensitive too.... Kit PW

It's curious that the hand signal colour light sequence of white (ok to move), green (slow, caution) and red (stop) should differ from the signal sequence of green (or sometimes white), then yellow for caution and then red. I guess because hand signals are not (often or ever) modelled, I don't have much of a clue about them, in what circumstances they were/are used and what rules apply. Kit PW

Thanks Compound2632 - the Warburton's article certainly clarifies the lamp colour requirements and changes through time. I had understood the change to yellow distants in the mid 20s but distants probably won't appear on 'Swan Hill' so I'm relieved of the burden of wondering whether they should be red or yellow! It's really the non-running signals which raised a question - the "red or white" of the 1936 Appendix to the Rule Book doesn't explain any more than that but the assumption must be that both existed. I read somewhere (but haven't been able to retrieve the reference from memory) that concern that there were too many red lights showing, causing real or potential confusion to drivers, and, in consequence, some subsidiary signals were changed to white. Looking at photos of signals - and they need to be in colour - I can only find red spectacle glass regardless of signal type: this also seems to be true of model signals. At the moment, I'm installing red glass: it can be changed! In reality, I've put in clear and used Marabu glass paint - cherry red and blue - to obtain the colour (along with testing quite a few LED types to get the colour shift to green) . I ought to post on 'Swan Hill' about signals as they have now started to appear on the layout. Thanks ikcdab. I grew up with such rymes - but nautical rather than railway. Tea was quite often accompanied by "If to port a light you see, go below and wet the tea". I think the're called 'mnemonics' - they seem to come to mind very easily, even at a distance of many years. Kit PW A 1920s 7mm terminus layout: Swan Hill - https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/

Mike, thanks for the response - I suspected that there must variability as the books I have on signals (Vaughan and, on modelling signals, Peter Squibb's book) seem to show red on all signals as do all the signals shown in colour that I could find on the web. Vaughan, however, includes a facsimile of the 1936 Appendix to the Rule Book which calls for "white or red" lights on backing, goods loop line and siding signals but without explanation of what the parameters are for choosing one or the other. As far as present modelling is concerned, I'll stay with red for now - it's probably one of the easier things to change if, in the future, it looks like I've transgressed! Kit PW

It sounds like a simple question but I doubt there's a simple answer! Stop signals show a red light when 'on' and a green light when 'off'. Distant signals show yellow when 'on' and green when 'off'. I read somewhere that subsidiary signals - such as backing signals, shunt signals and goods loop to main starters show a white light when 'on' and green when 'off': except that (colour) photos which I've found on the web seem to show red regardless of the signal type. Can anyone clarify what would have been "true" in 1927 on the GWR? Kit PW 7mm scale layout: Swan Hill - https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/

In the 1930s - so my father told us - my grandfather's parrot very quickly learned to mimic the milkman's "move on" instruction to his horse, issuing the instruction just as the milkman arrived at the back door with the milk. The horse did as it was told and moved on, leaving the milkman running to catch up. Kit PW https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/

I have the same problem with kit building that you set out above and quite often end up scratch building with a few bought in parts to try and speed up my tortoise pace of work. Still, there's greater satisfaction with the end result, which, in your case is superb and in my case, maybe just about ok. Any progress on your layout ideas? Kit PW

I hope you clearly label the jars - that stuff looks like strawberry jam. Potassium carbonate is one of the ingredients used in oven cleaners, often splodged on and left as a poultice. It maybe that a translation of "brun saebe"to English would be "red (or brown) poultice". Kit PW

....I didn't think the expression "ginger it up a bit" was meant to be taken literally, but then again, I thought Dettol was for cuts and scrapes, not paint stripping.... we live and learn, even in the 'fast lane'. Kit PW https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/

The "GWR" lettering on the timber sole bar of the wagon upended in the photo above is, according to Atkins etc, "carved out". I doubt it: the photo appears to show quite a wide letter form with a very shallow flat base - difficult to achieve by carving which tends to produce a V form of trench. I think it more likely that the letters were "branded", a common practice for marking wood then and still used today. Maybe something could be done by etching stainless steel to produce a branding iron for models... just a thought: probably not so good with plasticard but wooden sole bars? Kit PW https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/

Peco do railspikes - https://peco-uk.com/products/rail-spikes. I guess the trick if using ply sleepering and spikes is to pre drill the sleepers and make sure that the sub-base is relatively easy to spike into! As you say, copper clad and solder is probably the most straightforward but unless the sleepers are pretty much covered (ballast, ash etc) the gapping required for electrical isolation is not always acceptable, particularly when seen against sleepering without the gaps on the same layout. I did make some (7mm narrow gauge) track years ago using ply sleepers with the rail soldered to flat headed brass pins for alignment and spikes to hold it more firmly in place. Your suggestion of some test pieces to see what suits you best would be well worth while! Kit PW https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/