HillsideDepot

Another way to control multi-aspect signals is the "cheat" I used on Hillside Depot many years ago to avoid a rotary switch. I used an on-on switch, which controlled Stop and Clear indications. The wire from the clear side was then routed via a random point motor which had a PL13 switch (also an on-on) attached and would switch the clear supply to show yellow or green at the signal. I gave some thought to which the most likely clear aspect was for each signal, and which way the point was most likely to be left so that gave the majority setting. It was possible to set the point to give the aspect the operator wanted, but in reality green or yellow appeared at "random". On reflection, from a wiring point of view a rotary switch might have been easier, but the ability to clear the signal and not be too sure whether it would be yellow or green had a certain "play value". As for the Transits, Ford changed the model just as the bus industry was being de-regulated (26th October 1986) and privatised and the National Bus Company bought all the remaining production capacity for the old model which became "bread-van" minibuses, largely on C-plates. Whatever we might think of the minibus revolution the old style Transit was a very robust vehicle, surprising even Ford in its longevity. So much so that they bought back one of the Devon General examples for their own museum!

Further up the thread there were some comments about seats lining up with windows, or not, so this afternoon I took the opportunity to do a passengers survey of the 25 people who happened to be in the middle section of the class 165 Turbo centre car which was the 15:48 from Reading to Bedwyn. A totally unscientific selection, and arguably not typical, especially not of Trans Pennine passengers, but of the 25 there were just 3 people (including me) who were looking out of the windows. Most were on their phones, a couple were reading, a few were taking "forty winks". The load included workers, school children, college students, shoppers and long distance travellers on the final stage home. Reading to Newbury isn't the Pennines, and a 165 Turbo stopping service isn't a long distance Inter-City one, but as a random sample it was quite interesting to quantify how my fellow passengers were spending their travelling time, and I was reminded of the comments about window seats in this thread.

I've just returned from a 3 day Thames Rover which has provided me with my first observations of the masts and overhead. Even having read every post in this thread the seemingly haphazard nature of progress was worse than I expected. I'm sure there are reasons for it, but they are beyond me. On the plus side I was surprised to see so many piles in position on the Newbury route (and few masts), likewise I hadn't realised piling had been done north of Didcot. On the Main Line there is now a lot of wire in place between Reading and Didcot, much of it still showing its copper colour, so very newly installed. There are small compounds all along the line with various types of road-railers parked. The main base at Moreton Sidings included a monster articulated road-rail lorry with a sizeable crane on it. I wonder how they manage to get that on the track! I didn't think that the overhead looked too heavy, I feared it would look worse, to be honest. There is a simplicity to it, which I could almost get to like. I did notice that the "Goring Gap" is now pretty much completely wired on all four tracks, I can't see anything being changed here now despite the promise to the protesters. Finally a few photos of Didcot, a station where I spent far too many hours in the past - it all looks very different now! Looking in the Down direction from Platform 4 Looking in the Up direction from Platform 4 I'm not sure the photo has captured it, but the impression was of looking through a square, grey, tunnel And despite all the modernisation, this length of broad gauge bridge rail still survives! It is progress, but so much has changed in the last few years, its no longer the Western I knew. I'm glad I have my memories, and a good stock of photos.

I wonder how long it will remain in its current state though, and not just due to changes in engineering requirements for the fleet. A NR building surveyor friend tells me that the structure of the older part of the depot is giving cause for concern.

I'm wondering how much it will happen on the Western. Most change overs will be done during station stops: Bristol for Weston-s-M trains, Cardiff for Swansea trains, Swindon for Cheltenham trains and Oxford for Chiltern Line trains. So that leaves Newbury for West of England trains, moving, but not that fast, and perhaps Severn Tunnel Junction for (rare) diversions via Gloucester? Oh, and probably Wootton Bassett Junction for trains via Bath, in the interim.

I think this is a first - 68011 (Chiltern livery) has gone to Bridgwater with the flask this morning double heading with 57003 which was on the front, so who knows which will lead on the return working. There is nothing showing on Real Time Trains yet for the return working, but I assume that is normal procedure for these trains. Info (and a photo) on "Rail Thing - Bristol Temple Meads" Face Book group https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154042806241226&set=gm.1051102911631061&type=3&theatre Edit : train now showing on Real Time Trains http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/O90713/2016/05/05/advanced

Oh, the Rover and Ranger tickets memories! I still like the freedom they give, and hope to do a couple of area ones this summer, but it's not the same. Sure, the Sea Wall is still the same, the Royal Albert Bridge, and (for now) the Cornish semaphores, but Reading isn't Reading, and as the wires spread westwards so many other locations will change. As for the motive power, 43002 might be back in "proper" livery, but try finding a table for 4 on an HST now. Just a single photo for today, to show that Bill Stickers has been round and changed the advert. The cigarette advert formerly displayed brought some adverse comments at shows, even when I explained that it's the 1970's and that's how it is was. So when I found this artwork, I thought it time for a change, simply because adverts do change. Childhood memories of a box of Bassett's Jelly Babies, coated in icing sugar were rekindled.... and then realisation struck: forty years on, and with the "sugar tax" looming, an advert for Jelly Babies will probably be as badly received as one for tobacco! You'll also notice a new section of green fence under the main adverts and a selection of film posters. The hoardings at Lowden which were the inspiration for this scene also had small posters underneath, and while I can't be sure it was for the Astoria Cinema, I can't think what else they could have been for. The approaching ice cream van is an ancient relic, and while I don't recall such a vehicle in Chippenham there was one which used to park up opposite my great aunt's house in Plymouth until well into the '80s. It didn't have the musical chimes of the vans back home, instead the driver lent out of the signalling window and rang a hand bell!

Two quick snaps to prove that things are still happening on Mortimore's Yard. Firstly, at the opposite end to the extension I have started work on a gate house to the Westinghouse works. It's been my intention to do this, and finally I have made a start. As I say, only a "snap" and showing rather too many work-in-progress blemishes, here it is temporarily placed on the layout to check sizes. And way down at the other end of the layout, work on the extension proceeds at a pace which would make a snail look like Concorde! Thanks to the RCTS photo site I managed to purchase some photos which show the real Mortimore's coal yard at Chippenham in the early 80s and much time was spent studying the edges of these images (which really feature the station, not the yard) to absorb the detail, to try to rekindle memories and generally soak up the atmosphere of more relaxed, less complicated times (although that impression probably has more to do with looking through the eyes of a 13 year old again rather than anything based on early 80's facts). consequently, I've ripped out the Wills coal staiths and replaced them with a structure built from C&L sleepers and breeze blocks (Wills sheets) to better match Mortimore's actual structures. I've had to make a few compromises as Mortimore's actual yard was spread out along the length of the yard, not crammed into a corner as on the model, but I've never claimed the actual location is anything more than an inspiration. Moving to this side of the line, I've made very basic furniture for the mess room, in case it will be visible through the open door, and I'm playing with ideas for the ground surface outside the main building. New stop blocks are painted and ready to be installed, and look a thousand times better than the previous generic plastic offerings. Again it's good to be able to have models of items which I remember staring at from Chippenham footbridge between the hourly HSTs while waiting for the signal on the Down to go to yellow or double yellow in the hope of something interesting on or off the Thingley line. Having got the tracks correctly positioned across the join onto the new mini-board I think the time has come to stop thinking, undo the bolts and get it back on the work bench to really make progress on fixing the buildings down and constructing the landscape (such that it is). Wallowing in nostalgia is great, having something in 3D to "wander around" will be even better.

Only standard Chivers Finelines ones, built as per instructions, but here are a few of mine waiting return to South Wales. They are certainly a nice kit, I ought to get a few more of them.

Thanks Peter, some memories there. I especially like the steam escaping from the front of 27005. The Crompton is, of course, at Salisbury, and with a Thumper in the bay too. Assuming we've got Wessex Rovers in our pockets, shall we take it to Westbury and do the depot, wait for a 50 on an Exeter, or see what produces on the next Pompey?

Thanks Peter, I'm pleased to know that you are a visitor to my little part of Severnside. I'm a regular visitor to a certain North Wales terminus. My experience of 33s was initially with "89" trains on the 'Severn-Solent Line' as the drop light destination stickers called it. Any trip from Chippenham to Bristol (or beyond) would involve a change at Bath Spa to include a 33 and the dusty old compartment stock they hauled. The thing I remember about 33s is the way the tick over stops with a whirring noise which fades before they start powering away, giving everything they've got. Thumpers do the same. I remember a model railway club trip to Inverness (one member was really in to class 40s and wanted to do D200 over the S&C, but how to get there from Chippenham for it's 10.30 departure? Travel via Inverness!) and we had 27001 from Waverley to Dundee. One of our group was comparing it to a 33, which got the group on the table opposite talking "so where are you from if you know 33s?" "Oh, a little town near Bristol, you won't know it" "Which town?" "Chippenham, but you won't know it" "Yes we do, we're from Salisbury..." As you say, happy days.

But isn't that the beauty of this hobby? There is always something different to turn to when one project isn't going so well, or when you temporarily run out of material for another project, or simply you need to allow time for glue to set or paint to dry. Trouble is I tend to spin like a merry-go-round wondering what to do first, then see something on RMWeb which leads me off into a whole new area of research, interest and ideas. But that's the beauty of this hobby!

Thanks class25, although the hydraulics had all gone by the time I became aware of what was what (only by a year, come to think of it) I think the early 70's are a wonderful period, albeit a sad time as the hydraulics went, class by class. So much variety, even if it was all the same colour, although I actually like blue & grey (must be an age thing). The tunnel inspection coach, DW150144, is an old Hornby GWR coach from my train-set days, although the model has been available recently in the Railroad range. The GWR had left and right handed brakes, and the model was the opposite of the real coach, so there was quite a bit of hacking to swap things around. The "cut and shut" didn't "shut" too well, so the model really needs more work, and more information has come to light since I did it. Now of course Hornby's latest offerings include the correct brake, so I'm watching the bargain bins and might do it again from a much better starting point. I also need to finish off a few of the accompanying open wagons often went with DW150144. So many model railway projects waiting to be done and that's without Scout leading commitments, church work and bus preservation! Oh and it's kayaking season again... but as enjoyable as all that is, slipping quietly back to the '70s to watch something Blue shuffling a few vac wagons around is great relaxation.

I remember the noise of an unrefurbished 50s too, although as a child, looking out past the ticket barrier at Chippenham at the train while my grandfather chatted to the booking clerk I thought it must have been the fans visible under the air-con coaches making the noise, rather than the locomotive, out of sight, at the far end of the platform. Thinking about it now it doesn't make sense, the fan under the coach couldn't have been spinning fast enough to make a noise, otherwise I'd not have been able to see it as a fan - but to a young child... As a teenager, and with 50s by then refurbished, I remember the bang of the radiator grilles snapping shut, and that was heard from the old dock at Chippenham with the 50 in the Up platform! And of course there were the night time sounds of 50s pounding away on the mainline, along with 37s, 56s and the ever present HSTs. I remember waking very early one summer's morning at my grand parents and hearing a loco working hard in the distance. I decided that it was probably a 37 pulling away from Thingley East and on to the mainline. When the train came into view over the roof tops behind the Astoria I was most pleased that my guess (for it was little more) was correct. Well, almost correct, it was a pair of 37s! That same bedroom window, of a night time, would reveal interesting patterns of lights from loco hauled trains. HSTs were easy four coaches, half a coach then two more, but hauled stock would have lights and blanks in seemingly random order. Happy days

Boring by another name? I wonder what it would like with GBRf style lighter coloured cabs and curves, in gold, of course, to match the Scotsman lettering? Then again, he who pays the piper painter...

Ahhhh the noise! Like many of us I suspect, I had bit of a love-hate relationship with the good old Brush 4. Yes, they're a loco, they sound quite good, make that vertical column of black exhaust and have those roof shutters which open as power is applied. But they're everywhere, sometimes daring to take on the work of something much more interesting, and as long as there is something more interesting, well, sorry Brush 4, you're second best. So what happened just now rather surprised me. I have a whole range of train recordings on my iPod and having just settled down I selected the "Railway" play list and hit shuffle. There it was, that distinctive thrumming, a single note "spoooo", a series of revs, a pause, some more revs, another pause and the big Sulzer gets stuck in to the task at hand. It stopped me in my tracks, had me selecting 'repeat' and turning the volume up. So familiar, so common, yet now a memory of times past. Really took me back!

The (ex) Lima moulding has the skirts as part of the body shell chassis. The only separate parts for consumer fitting were the cab door hand rails - must have been among the first models to have a bag of "detailing" parts. Apologies, after seeing Peter's post below I went to check, and he is correct it was on the chassis. Must have been the Airfix one which had it on the body (and I haven't clue where mine would be now). Edit - to correct faulty memory!

And weren't there lots of them in Tyne & Wear in the years immediately after de-reg! There seemed to be little operators all over in my student days, not to mention the larger ones like OK Travel and Tyne & Wear Omnibus Company. It was certainly a good place to study public transport, formally at Newcastle Polytechnic and then "for real" out on the local roads. I remember one trip from the northern boundary of T&W to Newcastle where Northumbria, Target and plain white "I'm not really a Northumbria" buses would follow each other along. I can't remember which order they actually appeared in, but we let the first two go past and caught the third. A short way down the road and we'd over taken the other two, so with a safe gap opened up we bailed out, let the second go past and caught the one which was then 3rd. And a bit further down the road we were in the lead again and repeated the process, finally catching the bus we'd already refused twice, much to the puzzlement of the driver! The Network Travel Tickets allowed for that sort of fun, but the only down side of such escapades were the "bleep-bleeps" T&W survey staff who monitored ticket usage using bar-code readers which bleeped each time they read a code. On a busy bus they'd not get round between stops so would ask "where did you board?" and then "where are you travelling to?" - as if we knew when we were leaping on an off buses whenever we saw something interesting coming the other way! Although, to be fair, we used to occasionally spend a day covering all the ticket zones, changing buses in each one and on one such day we were somewhere out beyond Blaydon at the boundary when a bus with a surveyor on turned up. As we were the only passengers and we had a fair trip across the zone we got chatting and he was soon reeling off memorised timetables as he suggested a series of good changes, to cover the whole western area! Happy days, and sorry for filling your thread with ramblings!

Yes, the footbridge at Shockerwick went last summer during the Box Tunnel blockade. Apparently there was once a level crossing here, and looking at the bridge it appears that the span is later than the steps. One curious feature of the bridge which is visible in both photos, but clearer in the second, is that the supports for the handrails are on the outside of the railings. Did the GWR have standard parts and either used them with or without handrails? It was quite a talking point years ago I remember when we hiked from Bath to Chippenham with a group of Scouts and walked across it. Nice to see the photos, Tim, preserving it on here for the future.

Ah Northumbria Motor Services, one of my favourite companies - and what a livery! I was a student at Newcastle Polytechnic from 89-92 so saw the Deltas and long wheelbase Alexander Olympians join the traditional NBC VRTs, Nationals and LHs. Also ex NBC, but hardly typical were the fantastic ex Green Line ECW Olympian coaches. I remember being on one of these working a 603 to Hexham one evening and we were stopped at the pelican crossing outside Newcastle Central station, alongside a Busways Atlantean. The Busways driver leant out of his cab and tapped on the doors of the Olympian. The Northumbria driver opened the doors "yes mate?" "Are you in service?" asked the Busways driver. "Yes" replied the Northumbria driver, "well you wanna put the lights on then". "The saloon lights are on; I'm driving a coach!" at which point the traffic lights had turned green, the TL11 gave a mighty roar and we shot off into the night! The coaches had dark tinted windows and the lighting was from coach style lights above each seat, so the vehicle did look dark from outside. Happy memories! Anyway, what I was going to say was, were the Northumbria names white or were they reflective, so off-white/slightly grey like the stripe on Badgerline (my favourite company) vehicles? It's a while ago, so my memory might be wrong, but there is something in the depths.

I had to run an errand to the baker's shop on the corner of Langley Road this morning, and was greeted by the sight of a Hymek waiting to depart as I turned the corner to start the walk home. With white "sticky" numbers it can only be 7017. It looks like someone has been collecting stray brake vans in No.3 road, hopefully they will be moved to a yard which is manned round the clock before the they attract the attentions of the local ne'er-do-wells. Glancing across the road we see the headquarters of the local Scout Group. All is quiet there this morning, but no doubt the place was full of fun and noise last night when the Scout Troop would have been meeting.

Don't tell anyone else, but bit of a bus fan here too, so I'd be interested to see Crossways' fleet

How about Dolcoath Siding in Cornwall? Some photos on the Cornwall Railway Society website http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/camborne-to-redruth-drump-lane.html and scroll down.

Track lifting at Mortimore's Yard! Don't worry, I've not decided to model the yard in the 1980's post closure, this is renewal work rather than material recovery. A couple of quick snaps of the work. Firstly stripped bare: Still a bit of work to do to avoid 'hump shunting' over the board join, but a quick test proves I'm on the right course. I need to add some interior detail to the new yard office building though, the open door is deliberate, the vacant space behind isn't! Nothing fancy, unlike the great parcel office interior modelled on another thread on RMWeb, but a representation of the lobby beyond the main door, mess room to the left, kitchen to the right. Actually I'm looking forward to detailing up this area, a small, older car for the Supervisor, the Shunter's motorbike and the Number Taker's push bike, probably a simple bench to sit outside on a warm day, shunter's pole leaning against the wall next to the mess room door and few spare tail lamps. But taking care not to over do it. The chance was also taken to give the layout a go over with the vacuum cleaner whilst I had it out to clear up the ballast loosened at the end of the sidings. Suddenly the colours have returned to the horizontal surfaces, and if anything important did vanish up the tube unintentionally, I didn't hear it go, nor have I missed it yet (but there's still time!).

Stop! It has to be said that I've never been happy with the Peco buffer stops, but they do the job. Fortunately Lanarkshire Model Supplies now make a whole range of company/area specific castings, so it's out with the Peco "buffer stop" and in with a selection of Great Western/Western Region "stop blocks". I've had the kits for a while, and took advantage of the bank holiday to assemble them. I know that the sleeper spacing is too tight, but I decided that although the stop block is now the correct style I'd use Peco spacing for the sleepers to match the existing track. It wouldn't be that difficult to relay the sidings with something more prototypical, but the sidings lead on to a 3-way and a double-slip, and well, if I'm going to go to that much effort it might as well be a whole new layout. So we're stuck with what we've got. I spent quite a bit of time filing down the running rail on one set of castings to mount them on the end of a piece of Streamline so that stock can run right up to the block. I know that trains shouldn't make contact with the blocks, but space is tight on places on the layout and I was wanting to keep the existing siding lengths - although this particular one is for the end of the extended run-round headshunt. Having assembled it all I tried it for length with a Western and realised of course that the distance from the buffer head to the first wheel touching the rail is all but the length of the casting I'd so carefully filed away, and with all wheel pick-ups any loco which does get that close will still be able to power itself back off again. Doh! So the rest of the batch were assembled much more quickly, and as per instructions. I am impressed with the castings, and they certainly match my memories of the stop blocks at Chippenham in the real Mortimore's coal yard - I spent quite a few hours staring at them between trains on the GWML in my early teens! There is a choice of rail or wood beams, so I opted for 1 wood, the rest rail, and one is the "long legged" variety, which is an older design, but still on the system in limited numbers (Bedwyn reversing siding for one). That will go on the yard headshunt as they tended to be used where a train might be moving faster, and as the headshunt there doubles as the trap point we don't want any excursions into Westinghouse's factory. Finally, following this picture http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_03_2016/post-7146-0-53263300-1458838542.jpg of Blowers Green I decided that one of the spare wooden buffer beams could be used on a concrete stop block, so one was made up out of scraps of Wills 'concrete rendering' sheets. I did wonder about using it on No.3 road, but I'm going off that idea. However, at the back of my mind have a vague idea for a Box-File mini-layout, and it might just suit that idea. So all I have to do now is paint and weather them, and install them on the layout. I think I'll put the siding ones on a slight gradient, as that is my memory of stop blocks. Was that deliberate to provide a bit of gravitational braking for the slightly too generous push, or was it more that the ballast in the siding got ground down over the years, and sank with the area at the stop block remaining as laid? Or is my memory wrong (could be!)?