Artless Bodger

Thank you for this link and ones linked from it, as I have an N gauge Blue Circle van and wondered if it was a real livery, now I can rest assured.

One of the pre WW1 KPEV units still exists in Poland; https://www.bahnfotokiste.de/museen/polen/wittfeldakku/index.html The interiors look pretty spartan, 3rd and 4th class if I understand the German correctly - KPEV used 4 classes, each painted different colours (1st blue, 2nd green, 3rd brown, 4th grey) makes for colourful trains and rather more tasteful than some of the marketing horrors we get these days.

During my short lived dabble with German railways I came across the akkutriebwagen - battery railcar, not sure how many there were or where they were used, but among the models then available was a KPEV version, quite odd in that it had bonnets, a single axle under the inner end of each of the 2 car set and a bogie under the leading end. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittfeld-Akkumulatortriebwagen

We used to have the odd 1 or 2 delivered (about fortnightly iirc) to APM East Mill in the late '70s, as far as I could see just normal highfits (always dirty bauxite colour), they were always flat sheeted though some had sheet support bars but not used. The wagons were unloaded by a Stothert and Pitt dockside crane with a grab into our clay bunkers. The sheets were folded up and laid in the empty wagons after the Utility Gang had swept and shovelled the final bits into the grab. From memory the sheets were laid out on the wharf for folding / rolling and no particular method employed - a bit like lorry sheets probably. Sheets were a dark grey liberally dusted with clay, I dont recall any blue ones. The traffic stopped around 1980 because the machines (nos 10, 11, 12 - MGs) making the grades that used it were closed.

That 18" howitzer was the one deployed on the Elham Valley line during WW2 - apparently the carriage at Shoeburyness was a proof carriage also used for other pieces, and not the carriage used at Elham. The howitzer and carriage from Shoeburyness is now at Fort Nelson. https://royalarmouries.org/stories/fort-nelson/18-inch-howitzer-railway-gun/

Just a thought, probably way off as Warminster is a bit far from the Box / Cosham etc area, but the army and navy were converting stone mines in those areas during the 1930s for ammunition storage, some tunnels were of that sort of profile, especially I think the tunnel / covered way that ran from the siding to Monkton Farleigh mine, in its lower stretches a covered way that was banked over to conceal it. Nick Camley wrote some books on these.

Not so much a resolution but an acceptance of my mediocrity - do what I can as it has to please only me, if its only plastic sheet and cardboard and doesn't work out it's expendable. And maybe spend less time touring the world on Youtube cabride videos.

Wasn't Tenterden Town station the site of one in WW2? I think the row of Romney huts along the back siding were it, now part of the museum.

That observation recalls an incident one afternoon at work. Our office overlooked the line near Overton station, on the afternoon in question a Jubilee (can't remember which, maroon livery) passed with an excursion. One of the managers challenged me (as the office anorak) that it could not have been a real steam engine as it wasn't chuffing. A quick approximation provided the following: Wheel diameter approx 2m, circumference 6m, 3 cylinders = 6 beats per revolution, ie 1 beat per 1m of travel. Assume 60 km/h so 1000m/min gives 1000 beats per min or about 16/sec. Even my manager who was a better scientist than the challenger and a musician too could appreciate it would be a purring sound rather than discrete chuf chuff. Most difficullt bit was to explain why 3 cylinders (wheres the 3rd?) and how a steam engine had double acting cylinders so two exhaust beats per stroke (most of the office denizens being petrol heads). It just re-inforced my 'anorak' tag though.

Perhaps a reason for the leading bogies on Maurienne locomotives was to carry the 3rd rail pick up shoes? Iirc this was a protected top contact 3rd rail. Mounting shoes from a rod drive loco with large-ish drivers migh be awkward, also mounting the shoes on bogies at the extremes would spread the contact avoiding gapping. Austria (1570), Germany (E16, E17, E18, E19) and Switzerland used locos with a single leading axle, the BBO 1570 class was a 1A-Bo-A1 for express duties, SBB had the Ae3/6 and Ae4/7 designs with a single leading axle in one direction, the bogie was iirc at the end with the steam heating boiler, similarly some early German designs (E36). Drawings show the motors in the Ae4/7 were quite large, as noted above, too big for bogie mounting (though later Fench electric and diesel electric designs used monomotor bogies).

Agree Moreton in Marsh, I remember the sign when on a trip to Hereford with student friends, would have been 1976/7, caused a bit of adolescent mirth.

The crates in mineral wagons look interesting, stencilled Vauxhall Cars - too small for a whole car, so parts perhaps? How are the crates secured in the wagons, no sign of any ropes so some sort of dunnage packing? Not delicate obviously or they would be in shock wagons. No details on the Flikr page.

If someone has a copy of P. M. Kalla-Bishop's book 'Locomotives at War' there maybe some detail in there. I read it many years ago, the WD Dean Goods engine(s) were tried on the Martin Mill military railway but proved unable to handle the big guns (13.5") and ammunition wagons weighing overall about 300T, and LMS diesel shunters were used - the jackshaft drive version. The military took over one track of the mainline from Martin Mill down through Guston Tunnel, the guns were moved into the tunnel for concealment. The other track remained in civilian use though East Kent was a restricted area.

Mooching around the Protoype Discussions section I came across this thread. Seeing this photo the first thing that came to mind was, 'Two hours of pushing broom.........King of the Road'. Interesting that it was used for moving bogies around the depot, something similar elsewhere (Protoype for everything?) used for shunting the Parry People Mover, and for connecting PW trolleys to road / rail diggers.

Yes, good advice, if I manage to get out and see the return on Friday it'll be eyes and ears only.

Pond Head Lane, Earley. Waiting for Mayflower to pass. I thought the 458s were going to the Portsmouth line?

Head Gardener picked up on local media that B1 Mayflower was due to pass today, so I routed my morning walk over to Pond Head Lane to see it, double headed with Bahamas. Somewhat indifferent photo of a fence post attached with the train behind. Both locos still working on the rising gradient. I clearly need to get to grips with the 'phone camera. I'm always in a quandry about photographing trains, do I watch and absorb the spectacle or concentrate on the photograph?

Maybe not quite what you are after, but in the 1960s / 70s, Ashford station would see 3 trains for different destinations in one platform. In platform 1 the up loop, from west (up) to east would be a 2 car EMU for Charing Cross (SER route via Tonbridge), a 2 car EMU for Victoria (LCDR route via Maidstone East, iirc all stations to ME then semifast to Victoria) and a 2 car DEMU for Hastings. These would await an up fast from Dover and Folkestone on platform 2, passengers transfering across the island, then the three trains would depart one after another, the two up trains once the fast had cleared the junction. The platforms at Ashford were divided into A, B and C sections. At other times when the Victoria service had come from Margate, we'd have to dash through the subway to platform 4 to catch it after a day in Folkestone. With 3 near identical units in one platform it was easy to get in the wrong one as one poor lady found out as we drew up at Charing, she wanted to go to Hildenborough!

Regarding the number of spokes in a wheel, I recall from a Railway Bylines article on GER 0-6-0Ts that the number of spokes related to the material of the wheel centre, cast iron for goods and shunting versions had more spokes than steel wheel centres for the westinghouse fitted locos (iirc of course).

In lieu of the Triang brake, if you have another compartment coach, you could modify the windows at one end and fit a birdcage lookout - I think SECR had some short ones - 42' or 48', like this, https://www.flickr.com/photos/31890193@N08/11689486743

Northmoor, yes, I accept your points, particularly if someone unwitingly wanders on to the track and is impacted. Insensitive comment removed.

That puts us back in the situation where nobody has to take responsibility for their own actions, however stupid. It always strikes me how many railway lines outside the UK have no fencing and in some cases run on road margins with nothing substantial to keep errant drivers off the track. On the Tyne and Wear Metro I notice that in some places the catenary support wire seems to be in effect a parallel second contact wire (e.g. along the Benton - South Gosforth stretch), I'm not sure if this is due to tight clearance, but presumably would double the current carrying capacity on that stretch?

What about the 'Alimentation par sol' (if I've spelled it right), that some French trams use, only the contacts covered by the vehicle are energised as I understand it, would that comply, and could it be used in modified form for 3rd rail? I think a charging rail for the District stock battery conversion trial used something similar with a trickle charged battey bank on land to dump charge into the train battery?

An interesting discussion. Could DC infill be achieved with OLE? The original SR electric locos and the E5000s had pantographs for use in wired yards, admittedly the yard wiring was only trolley wire type, and the NER also had a mix of 3rd rail and OLE DC (as did the French). I accept the DC OLE has to be heavier than AC to cope with the currents, but for relatively short distances such as to Uckfield, or across the Marsh perhaps it would be acceptable? Most Electrostars have a pan well, though I may be underestimating the work needed to fit a DC pan and connections to the exisitng traction equipment. I believe also it is no longer necessary to have separate apns for each supply type, the on board system checks the voltage / frequency before reconnecting. Please correct me if I'm wrong. If I remember correctly, the EGIP electrification had to be redesigned in places due to changes in the electricity at work regulations, and I have seen some photos of OLE masts located outside the railway boundary as a consequence, with excessive security provision to stop the terminally inclined from climbing the things.

True, in my defence, I use what I've got (money not being one of them), and the old Roco chassis I had fitted the Farish coaches I'd picked up over the years. Accuracy has never been a strong point of mine. The Dapol coaches are just too nice for me to take tools too - the outcome would be debateable! The window layout in the emus (2Bils too) are not door window door window etc on the corridor side from what I can see.