Pete 75C

Does anyone have any of these left over that you'd like to sell? Exactoscale 4FT106A OO 16.5mm concrete sleeper bases. OO, not EM or P4. C&L are out of stock indefinitely and since December, Exactoscale have ceased mail-order. As I'm not a member of any specialist society, getting hold of them is proving impossible. Ideally I need around a metre and a half of them to complete a project, which is less than a full pack. Please let me know if you can help. Good price and P&P paid, obviously. Thanks, Pete.

And the award for this week's most comprehensive answer goes to...

I hope you don't mind me cropping and reposting one of your images, but I couldn't think of a better way to explain what I mean... I've always found the box-section extensions to one side of each set of steps curious, and I've struggled to figure out what purpose they serve (served)? I can't see that they play any part in supporting the structure, as they don't extend to ground level. As highlighted below.

Thanks Jim. I haven't dipped into Grahame's thread for quite some time and have some catching up to do!

Absolutely. Good to get a look at the underside too. Thank you.

Spot on. Many thanks!

A bit of a strange request this one. Does anyone have any detail photos of (or links to) the footbridge that used to span the platforms at London Bridge prior to redevelopment? It appears in numerous photos online, but almost always in the far background when the photographer is concentrating on something more deserving. Example below, but I'm more interested in the Central side. Thanks. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

So I assume it's supplied by rail, and if so, why can't it continue to be supplied by rail?

From facebook: Ex Northern Rail 142038 https://www.facebook.com/midnorfolkrailway/posts/3387678267925585

A person reportedly climbed onto the roof of a train in Norwich station and due to the proximity of the overhead wires, it didn't end well. Lots of delays and cancellations this morning but for once the Basils aren't to blame.

Anyone know what this is about?

Thanks Stubby. There will be a path parallel with the backscene descending to platform level at t'other end, I just need to get down a little bit from road level to the start of the path. I reckon 2 flights of steps as shown will do it. I'm really sorry but anyone with mobility issues will have to take the long way round! Edit: ...the path will be pretty much a carbon-copy of the one leading down from the bridge on Croydon North Street. That worked, so I'm just gonna copy the idea.

A couple more pictures of progress. I eventually settled on a tarmac platform surface with a thin tactile strip near to the edge. The road bridge is almost complete, but I need to figure out how to get the path leading from the road down a couple of inches in a short distance. Pictured in the background is a set of resin steps which may or may not come in useful. More soon.

Same price at Rails too Rob, but yeah, cheaper than the rest at the moment. https://railsofsheffield.com/products/37454/Hornby-r3746-oo-gauge-class-31-102-br-blue-a1a-a1a-diesel-locomotive?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2Mb7i7_g5wIVgtDeCh1wIA5bEAYYAiABEgIlIPD_BwE

We certainly did. Made a nice change from the endless freight and engineers trains. Towards the end, we noticed more people taking notice of the working and often had an audience as we ran round at Uckfield. That would make sense. Don't believe the return working from Uckfield was ever heavily loaded though!

Thanks for those. I was a bit late to the party, starting on the railway in '83 after those were taken. I vaguely remember the training school at Beckenham. The bacon rolls in the canteen spring to mind. Moving to Norwood as a secondman circa 1985, the evening Uckfield was one of our turns and I'd swap for it if I could. Light engine Norwood - NXG, empties NXG - LB, LB - Uckfield and empties back to NXG, if I remember correctly?

...and totally modellable. Is that even a word? OT, but when they rebuilt and lengthened the platform last year, the first job they did was to strip off the top surface revealing the construction underneath. It was like a giant Jenga puzzle of 100s of well-seasoned sleepers backfilled with ballast. The sleepers and old ballast were taken away in a fleet of grab lorries. I'm assuming the sleepers used to build the platform (1967-68ish?) would have come from the sidings that are now the car park once the level crossing was removed? Guess we'll never know. Apologies for the off-topic ramble about Sheringham which has next to nothing to do with the model!

I took these pictures back in 2017. The structure of the platform hasn't changed from days gone by, but it does look like something has been added to the sleeper edging, a sheet maybe 25mm thick? That's obviously the anti-slip coating you mention. Assuming the blue/grey Class 101 in the post above dates from the 1980s, a reasonable assumption would be that the anti-slip coating is a feature of the 90s.

Yes, I like those photos too. I had at one time planned to actually do Sheringham, so amassed a load of photos from 70s through to the reinstatement of the crossing. I just don't think I'm disciplined enough to model an actual location. I prefer to lift elements of different locations and create something fictitious. Allows me to cheat, too. I have a variety of different materials to choose from, so might just have a play around and see what looks good before committing.

The parcels railcar on platform clearance duties... ...which leads on to a question? The images below show Sheringham's timber platform in days gone by (pictures from facebook, so I hope it's ok to post them). On the trackside-edge is what appears to be a double row of timber sleepers and the platform surface itself seems to be loose gravel. I can't date the pictures, 2nd one probably 80s. Does anyone know when H&S would have had a fit and decided that while timber might have been a suitable foundation for a small platform, it wouldn't do as edging, slip risk etc? Later pictures of the platform before rebuilding last year show a more modern tactile surface. I quite like the timber edging and as this is supposed to be set in the lates 80s/early 90s, would I get away with it from a believability point of view?

60+ timber supports cut, shaped, sanded, painted, weathered and glued in place. Never again. Actually, this is the bit I really enjoy. I've made a platform like this before in 4mm and if anything, it's easier in 7mm.

That is absolutely fantastic... thanks for sharing that. I'm off to cut mine in half.

Pretty sure (unless my memory is even worse than I feared) that according to info on here, the last 153 headed off into the sunset a few weeks ago. I reckon in the near future when all these failures are but a memory, we'll look back and wonder what all the fuss was about. Speaking as someone regularly shoe-horned into a Bittern Line 153 in summers past, I shall maintain my optimism.

Work continues on the platform. The white top surface you can see isn't the final top surface. Lots of timber crossmembers need to be cut, painted and weathered then fixed at 90 degrees to the platform edge. These will then support the final platform surface. Edit: Sod's law says I'll make mistakes and I made one already. This is only a short platform and there will be just 3 platform lights. Having measured and marked where I want them, there's a baseboard cross-member right under the middle light. Typical. What I've done is drill between the next set of platform supports along, and threaded some flexible tube through the baseboard to carry the wires. Hopefully this will work ok. Apologies for the dark blurry pic.

Lego time. I want the platform to have an open structure so you can see filthy ballast, weeds and a little rubbish between the supports. That openness doesn't need to go back the full depth of the platform, so the Lego will be hidden and just act as a support for the top surface.