CloggyDog

Aye, I have saved most of those photos in the master file. The plan doesn't show all the trackwork - the bit I'm doing is the left-hand end of the long siding along the bottom edge. Coming back to my trackplan - very, very roughly: Reading Signal Works idea, 5-3-3 inglenook, O Gauge, 1200mm x 300mm + 600mm fiddlestick. by Alan Monk, on Flickr The upper road into the slip will likely be 'disused'.

of the prototype, or the layouts? Best bet for the prototype is the National Library of Scotland's online OS map archive: https://maps.nls.uk/os/ Signal works was immediately to the north of the station, bounded by Caversham Road to the west, the lower goods yard to the north and the road to Reading Bridge to the east. Layout plans - I'll sort something later this evening.

Thanks Brian, very helpful. I guessed the Plates and BoBol Cs were likely the S&T Prawn/Winkle variants and will investigate the Whiting further. First impressions (based on the photos on Paul Bartlett's site) is a 2 plank body on what looks very much like a Fruit D chassis - so that might be doable from the Parkside kit. Regarding cranes - I agree there was definitely a Coles road crane at the works (it's clearly visible in a couple of photos) but there is also one of the WR 10t or 15t PW cranes, either a Booths DH or a T&H DE featuring in a couple of shots. It's probably not essential for the micro layout, then again it'd give me the opportunity to bodge the Dapol (nee Airfix) kit I have in the stash

Heretic! 1500v dc is the one and only True Way , tha'kna's

I'm working on a pair of micro layouts, one OO and one O, both based loosely on this section of Reading Signal Works. Photo courtesy of the Leightonlogs website: http://www.leightonlogs.org/Locals140810.htm With my Modeller's License carefully shown, I'm re-working that scene to make it a 3 siding inglenook, with the viewing side to the left (omitting the building) and that 3-story building with canopy and platform along the backscene. Fiddlestick will be at the end where the photo was taken from. Photos of the 2 locos (R&H DS88 #20 and the Barclay 06 97804) abound, but photos of the rolling stock are rather scarce. Piecing together the stock visible in the loco shots gives me a potential fleet comprising: 12t van (mostly BR 1/208s) 12t pipe 13t sand tippler 13t 5 plank open 22t plate 22t tube 30t Bogie Bolster C (some with cable drum cradles) There also appears to be some form of rail-mounted crane (c15t cap'y, diesel hydraulic of the type that the WR seems to have favoured?) and a GW Toad, possibly Internal User and with at least one end painted red. Where there any other commonly seen wagons, either traffic, departmental or IU? Certainly some of the 12t vans visible have departmental branding. I'd also like to understand the traffic flows a bit better - photos show plenty of cable drums scattered around the site and I know I've previously seen photos of signal posts and crossing gates loaded onto wagons, presumably outbound traffic, but did the inbound raw materials come by rail? What else went out and loaded into what type of wagon? And finally, are there any published articles or books on the Works? TIA

Certainly retained seats in the section behind the cab. E53381 Parcels 105 York by Alan Monk, on Flickr Parcels 105 York by Alan Monk, on Flickr

Have you considered the DCC Concepts long loco-lift? http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=DCMPD-560&style=main&strType=&Mcode=DCC+Concepts+MPD%2D560 560mm long, fits over a straight length of fiddle yard track. I use a couple on my micro layouts and they will hold a tank loco + short train. Another option is to combine a pair of Peco loco-lifts (technique has been described on here at least once)

I remember spending a weekend at Butterley balanced on a plank across the nose-end buffers of 8001, stripping all the paint off the nose (layers of yellow and then the original green) ready for a repaint. Having first successfully fought with the bolts holding the discs on - the lower middle requiring some serious contortionism over the traction motor blower to get at the retaining nut in the dark recesses of the nose.

The German Railway Society presents Globalrail 2018 Sunday 29th April 2018, Didcot Civic Centre, Britwell Road, Didcot, OX11 7JN 10:30-16:30 Adult £5, Child £3, Family £12 Ample free parking, Step-free access to all halls, drinks & light refreshments available. http://grs-uk.org/shows/2018-globalrail-2018/2018-globalrail-2018.html Layouts Braunlage - Paul Steedman - German H0m Süd Harz Eastwood Vermont - Andrew Knights - US H0 Gbl Bitterfeld - Eric Bird - German H0 PW depot Gouttieres - John Hooker - French H0 Kendorf - Ken Jones - German Z Kleindorf - Richard & Hazel Woodbridge - German Z Knuddelstein - Phillip Ford - German N Loddonsee - Lonndon Vale MRC - Austrian H0 Mena Brea - Alan Wardman - Italian H0 Nippon Tetsudo - Peter McConnell - Japanese Z Parkend - Steve Nicholls - UK 2mm Finescale Pottendorf - Andy & Tim Hale - German H0 Selah - Andy Gautrey - US H0 Smrzovka - Ian Lampkin - Czech TT Trade Modelmania - new models Mount Tabor Models - new models Chris Roberts - new and pre-owned models Mainline & Maritime - new books and publications Elaine's Trains - pre-owned models JBs Modelworld - model storage and tools David Smith - second hand books and paperwork Ticket to Ride - DVDs Societies/Other German Railway Society, including member's sales. Austrian Railway Society French Railway Society Swiss Railway Society Continental Modeller British H0 Society Scandinavian Railway Society

Talking of the Bury line - what was the profile of the side-contact juice rail?? Was any of it (even a short length for display) saved?

I dunno Clive, I reckon D666 should have the D600-style bonnets

Ah, I wondered who'd bought my surplus Kleinbahn Es - that's a lovely weathering job!

There was the 100+105 hybrid set which lasted well into the 80s around the Manchester Area, 53355 100 + 53812 105 by Alan Monk, on Flickr While over on the ScR I recall 105+101 hybrids of some variety (with the 105 cars in blue/grey, the only Cravens carts so painted) In the early-80s, it wasn't unknown for a Trans-Pennine power car failure to be replaced with a 101 or 104 DMC/DMBS,

Lance Mindheim has posted some useful blogposts about layout sound: http://lancemindheim.com/category/sound/

Jim, the question was more about whether ALL of the final 100 class 20s (D8128-99/8300-27) which pretty much every reference tells had the fluted beams WITH holes from new did or not. Based on yesterday's Flickr trawl, which included plenty of 'on delivery' photos courtesy of 'Dallam Dave', it can be pretty conclusively shown that at least 8 had fluted beams without holes when delivered. Now, it's possible that EE supplied a number of bogies intended for the final batch as spares for disc locos, then overhauled/refurbished the earlier fluted/no holes beams and fitted them to the 8+ locos identified (given they are all from the final, final batch). Or were there less than 100 pairs of fluted/holed bogies? That bogies were swapped in later years isn't the issue; there is plenty of evidence to support that - I made detailed notes fin the late-80s which recorded the bogies under a number of 20s. I guess the only way to be certain is if there are clear enough photos of every 20 on one particular day, so the total number of each bogie type can be counted. Class 20 references have always asserted that there were 40 plain beams, 214 fluted beams and 200 fluted/holed beams. Were there additional spare bogies?

There is certainly some photographic evidence to support that: I've just trawled Flickr for early (pre-1973) photos of D8128-99 and D8300-27, finding decent photos showing the bogies of all but half-a-dozen from those number series. (A chap by the name of Dallam Dave on Flickr seems to have snapped pretty much every 20 on it's delivery run from Vulcan Foundry) From those 90+ locos, D8195, possibly 8198, possibly 8300, definitely 8310/2/5/6/8/23/24 look to have fluted beams without holes.

I think all 127 disc locos were delivered with ladders, but they started being removed pretty much as soon as D8127 was delivered, especially LMR-allocated locos. Nope, all 100 of the box-headcode batch. Here's D8130 within few years of delivery, clearly showing holed/fluted beams Barrow Hill. by curly42, on Flickr Most of them! Not uncommon to see different bogies under the same loco from around the early-70s onwards. About the only original feature which stuck was oval buffers on the Pilot Scheme batch D8000-19. While some of these were retro-fitted with round Oleos (and some back to ovals again), but it seems ovals were never fitted to the later disc or box batches. Other spotting features - 4 sandboxes per bogies on the disc locos as delivered, outer ones only on the box locos. Inner sandboxes on the disc locos removed from the early-70s onwards, with the curious exception of 20034 which kept them well into the late-1980s. 20 034 Toton by Alan Monk, on Flickr Tablet recesses plated over during the 1970s, all done by 1980 (but, as with my pic of 20034, often rotted through to indicate where the recess used to be)

Pilot scheme locos plain/flat beams Production disc locos fluted beams headcode box locos fluted with holes There were also variations in location of the air pipes (lower edge or mid headstock) and things like the nose-end grabs on the final dozen (which also had the Slow Speed Control 'patches' on the cab front/rear)

D8000-127 discs, with D8028-34/70-127 also having tablet recesses in the cabsides and deeper cabside windows for use in Scotland. Delivered 1957-62 in all-over green, small yellow panels added later (much ater in some cases!) D8000-19 were Pilot scheme, with oval buffers, the remainder with round oleos. D8128-199/8300-327 4-character headcode boxes, round oleos. Delivered 1966-68, with D8128-67/69 delivered in green with small yellow panels, 8168/70-199/8300-327 delivered in blue with full yellow ends. So, even with creep into 66, you'd be looking at disc examples, plus maybe a very shiny new box example.

What RTR types are they for?? Older packcake motors are more difficult as the geared wheel includes the spacer to align the gear. While you can add spacers on the non-geared side to realign the wheels, ot does mean the wheelset is offset to the non-geared side, so the bogie will sit a mil or so to one side. Newer chassis (central motor, cardans to central-geared axles) easier - there might be enough of the axle boss to take guage-widening, if not you can replace the axles with longer ones from suitable steel rod.

And even when the recesses were plated over, it sometimes became very obvious where they were... 20 034 Toton by Alan Monk, on Flickr

20 028 at Ayr shed, late-1970s 20028 Ayr by Alan Monk, on Flickr A rather poorly 31 245 (after it's coming together with 31261 at Maryland) on Stratford depot circa 1986 31 245 Stratford by Alan Monk, on Flickr

Nick - I can bring a bunch of NEM Kadees own the club next Wed (or the Wed after) if you want a play with them - I use them on my German stock, but they would work equally as well in the UK NEM-pocketed stock. (And I do use them on my US sock, naturally!)

The EMGS ones are suitable for both EM and P4 (don't forget that the EMGS also caters for 18.83 ) - the 2mm section is long enough to 'make' 18.83 and use a suitable washer inboard of each wheel to reduce the risk of the wheel moving inwards once he b2b is set.