glo41f

Thanks for the wonderful pictures Gilbert. Fully up to standard. Now a point if I may. I was watching a DVD today whilst doing the ironing (yes it seems to be my job these days!). The DVD is London's Railways in the 1960s and it has some wonderful footage shot at all the terminii of the Capital. Pure nostalgia! What is really interesting is the the coaches in the films are really brightly coloured . The Maroon ones filmed at Euston and Liverpool Street as well as KX, all seem to be almost crimson as to shade the same as the few remaining crimson and cream ones still about. Your coaches show a similar colour yet often model maroon ones are produced in a very dark shade. (I cite the MTH and Heljan models as examples as I am a 7mm type). Is it me or have we collectively got it wrong? Interestingly the blue and grey ones do not come over as bright at all and indeed look worse hence my lack of enthusiasm for those corporate blue years. The film also shows a number of the blue electrics which look stunning at the head of a maroon coloured train.I was also impressed with the marvellous Metro Cammel Blue Pullman sets. There were a sight which unfortunately I never saw. Martin Long

There were railways crossing at Buxton where the LNW line crossed over the Midland one. On my last visit there some of the earthworks and infrastructure is still extant. As to the MRJ article, well Tony you are contributing your own system not a club effort. There is a difference.In LB's case you are like the conductor of a great orchestra who melds the component parts into a wonderful result. Love the two B12s as a GE type. They too were wonderful old locos. By the way last night I spotted on you tube a film of Roy Jackson's Retford. Another stonking tour de force and everything running as it should at "proper" speeds. What another marvellous system. If only...... (sigh!) Martin

Tony Those buildings really set off the station and take it to another plateau of realism. All credit to the makers. May I ask you if you intend to tone down the finish to make them look a little more lived in and exposed to the weather? You say you have been asked to provide an article for MRJ. Well that marks your passage into one of the hobby's "greats" as being one of their contributors is the acme of model journalists! Will the pictures to accompany the article be in monchrome? Really great not modelling but artwork. Martin

Tim Absolute perfection! What an artist you are. Martin

Gilbert As ever you have shown us all how it should be done! Wonderful pictures and I too love the B17 one. It has just the right patina of a used loco that has had some attention lavished on it. That is how I remember them. I cannot recall seeing a really scruffy one. The B1s were a different matter and they were frequently really scruffy. I wonder if it was that the green livery made the loco staff pay more attention to their charges. Thank you so much for the pictures and the memories they evoke Regards Martin Long

Tony The M&GN is looking very good. It really sets off the whole system being such a contrast with the ECML. As to the theft of the Jubilee perhaps you should publish the number and details so we can all keep a look out for it should it surface. It is terrible what some folk will do and it calls into question the trust which most of us have in our fellow modellers. I have had a similar experience unfortunately involving a lot more money where someone I trusted proved not to be the case. Fortunately this was an isolated incident and the only one in over 40 years of modelling. It is a sad fact that there are always some rotten apples around. Martin Long

Gilbert Once again you have inspired us with some stunning pictures. You manage to capture the essence of the scenes that I remember so well. I feel this is due to the way your stock looks "lived in" as if it has pounded up and down the ECML. A wonderfully subtle effect in my opinion. Well done you. If only I had the space to do the same in 7mm! (I love the big pacifics but cannot justify 60017 and his mates on a east anglian branch line. Howver little brother " East Anglian" is coming on so my truncated A4 will hopefully be riding the rails soon) Thank you sir. Martin Long

I think the origin of the LNER van is Connoisseur who do a 7mm etch in the range. It is the same as the one shown. I know Jim McGowen has from time to time done his 7mm etchings in other scales as a special order. Martin Long

Tony The backscene is a major improvement and sets the whole line off. You will now be able to produce even more convincing pictures. What a project LB is turning out to be. It is rapidly developing into one of the "signature" layouts of our times. Will the up line operator now have to wear a blue sheet over his or her head to keep the illusion? How about moving the controls over to the down side so you can fill the gap with removable scenery? Well done Martin Long

Gosh the pie was 5d. I paid a penny more in the station buffet! I woz robbed and in those times a penny was a days entertainment being the cost of a platform ticket. Martin Long

Firstly Happy Birthday Gilbert. You continue to delight and inspire with your wonderful pictures and reminiscences. I get lost looking at the pictures and really transporting myself back to what seemed at the time happy days.(despite the immediate threat of nuclear annihilation!). The individual fruit pies were a staple of the daily diet at the station and I believe cast 6d. I preferred the apple ones myself. It was possible to nip over the footbridge to the station buffet and back to the trolley on which we sat when there was a ten minute lull in the procession of trains at Ipswich. My current build of a streamlined B17 is causing a bit of anguish. Bit early for me but then in Suffolk it was the nearest we got to an A4! Regards Martin Long

Just catching up after some time away. What amazing pictures you take Gilbert. They have a character and quality which shows the high skill level of your modelling. For my part, I think the maroon coaches look fine and I can recall them being all shades when running. This is also replicated on heritage railways where you can see several shades within the same train. Love the B17s as well and can readily imagine them hustling their way further east. Thank you so much for sharing and evoking so many memories. Martin Long

Gilbert You continue to astonish and amaze with the stunning and totally believable pictures. You have an artistic eye for a shot and the result is always a delight to see. I was particularly pleased to see Silver Fox which is perhaps my favourite A4 though I did not "cop" that one. In Moorgate in London there is the Fox Umbrella shop which also has a silver fox to the same design in the window, It always reminded me of the loco when I walked past on the way to work. Thank you as ever for evoking the memories of a time when things seemed a lot simpler. Martin Long

Tony Those pictures of the heavy freight locos are the business! It is an area of model railways that is oft ignored, more focus being placed on the passenger side perhaps seen as ,ore glamorous. The work a day goods traffic which paid the bills is evoked by the grimy 2-8-0 s which plod their way up and down the spine of the nation. How lucky you are to have the ability to run scale length freights on your system. Even better is that they can be overtaken by the passenger trains and the whole spectacle can be re enacted at LB. We who only have terminus or shunting planks can never emulate the power and spectacle of a 40 wagon train of coal empties plodding northwards. Wonderful stuff! Martin Long

Love the shots of Great Eastern - my favourite A1! I also love the finish on the "naughty" A4. It looks like it has just come out of Doncaster Works. What an extremely clever chap you are Gilbert to get so much atmosphere from your model. It is really a wonderful effort and gives great pleasure to so many of us. Might one ask for a video of the trains moving at some stage? Martin Long

We are oft encouraged on this thread by our esteemed mentor to "have a go" and get building. I do try to do this with varying degrees of success. Last week I was able to read the special volume produced a few years ago to celebrate the wok of James Stanley Beeson. If you get the chance to do the same please do so. This man developed his skills to be one of the foremost model builders in the country if not the world. Yet the pictures of his workshop show very primitive tools and little by way of machinery. There is not even an electric soldering iron. Yet the models he made were beautiful and evidently accepted as works of art by the tax authorities (so he was not assessed to purchase tax!) I would love to know how he got the finish on his valve gear -there is not a machine mark on it. He also made lubricators with fine wire being attached to represent the piping to the actual lubricating areas. If he could do that in the 1950's we should be doing as well if not better today. So TW is right to keep the pressure on us to keep building so we can attain the heights too! (Back to the shed now and try and get my B17 valve gear as good as Beesons!) Martin Long

There is always something interesting to see at PN! It is almost as good as the day I spent there in 1959 watching the trains come and go though at that time I did not really pay attention to the trains only the locos pulling them! Your pictures bring it all back and you have my thanks for this. By the way the Claud is super. To answer another post, it should be possible to modify one to have the valanced splashers. The cab would need new side sheets difficult but not impossible. Fortunately I have both varieties. They are the epitome of GER grace I feel. Martin Long

I think I have seen it all now. Five of the dreadful A2's! Nice models that reflect time effort and care by the builder but why? The Peppercorn and Gresley locos were so aesthetically superior that I cannot understand why anyone would want Mr Thompson aberrations on their layout. (When I was an operator on Barrie Walls line I would "hide" all the Thompson Pacifics in the back of the shed and use other locos on the various diagrams. I gather it took a while for the master to realise what I was doing and find the "missing" locos. On the topic of value of models, I really feel that this is a minefield with many facets to the argument some of which have been well articulated here. For my part, I feel that there will be such a glut of models in all scales in the near future that we will be lucky to dispose of any for any great value. Just my view. Martin Long

The question was posed as to whether Colchester locos made it to Peterborough North. There certainly were trains which catered for the troops including one which went to Newcastle and Scotland but I think that one was routed via the GE/GN joint from March to Spalding thence on to Doncaster. Nonetheless any excuse to run a footballer through is fine by me! Martin Long

Bongo was definitely a Parkeston loco for many years. Always looked out for it. Ipswich had Sandringham so the doyens of the respective classes were not very far apart. Martin Long

Tony is correct in that FD did have a modified RTR Brush type 2 on BM. I am sure that he would have used many of the present range of models available (pension permitting as it is not a cheap option these days). I feel the present owners have got it right and the shade of FD is smiling on their efforts. BM has several attributes the main one being a consistency of standard, correct operation and a realistic timetable which reflects the real traffic that such a town would generate. I always wanted to copy the layout and once made a start but then a house move and conversion to 7mm came along. Martin Long

Such stunning pictures! I really look forward to my trips to Peterborough! (Cannot be enthusiastic about Mr T's pacifics though!) Thank you so much Martin Long

I too would like to add my thanks and appreciation for your efforts with BM. I watched it for a while at York and was impressed with the standards you achieved though there were a couple of SPADS! (Note to operators/signallers - always restore your signals and section switches at the conclusion of any move. Then the problems will not happen.) I do hope that you get suitable accommodation sorted out for the club and for yourselves soon and hope that BM will be around for a while to come to show us how it should be done. Martin Long

"It might not be known that John Houlden, the builder of East Ranford and Gamston Bank, is changing from OO Gauge to O Gauge modelling." Ah another "master" has seen the light. Well done John you will not regret a decision which I am sure was hard to arrive at given the commitment to 4mm. I hope that John is able to make a visit to Gainsborough to see ECML activity in 7mm which is wonderful (though beyond most of us due to the space involved). It only remains to get a few more of you 4mm wizards on board! LB shed would house a splendid 7mm line with return loops outside rather like Over Peover!!!!!!! Martin Long

"We ran the layout for several hours, and everything (apart from me) worked perfectly" Ah we have found the weakest link! The streamliner set looks magnificent and is a credit to the builder. Well done sir! I was at the Huntingdon show over the weekend. Very high quality layouts in the main top of which was Fencehouses totally brilliant in 2mm scale. The trains worked well and the coaches all were close coupled. However the adjacent 4mm layout which was club effort had the awful hook and bar types with the consequent huge gap between the coaches. No need for this these days surely? Martin Long