HillsideDepot

There was an excellent piece on BBC Points West news this evening about Swindon Panel, including some footage taken around the time it opened. Just another part of the changes along the GWML http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-31517814 .

Interesting points here. As I understand it the on board buffet situation is multi-faceted. A buffet car as we used to have in an HST is a heavy bit of kit to haul around, takes up half a coach, and needs lots of maintenance for food hygiene reasons. A trolley has none of these complications. So you get a lighter train, more space for seats, and what little maintenance a trolley needs can be done easily, away from the train. OK, some of those arguments are lost if 1st class has their own servery, but it is going to be smaller and lighter than a Mk3 buffet, and may actually be a trolley docked in position. But the buffet issue goes wider than the actual train. If the on-board provision is deemed to be poor, passengers will want to buy before they board. Coincidentally many passengers are now buying tickets on-line, or from machines so custom via the traditional booking office has declined. So take out some of the ticket windows and let even more passengers serve themselves at home, or via a machine elsewhere on the station and you have an empty space in a prime location to rent out to a snack food business! With the Guards, I understand that fGW is the only operator to currently train Guards to work below the sole-bar in an emergency, so much of their safety related work has already gone elsewhere. As for protection of the line duties, with new stock this can, in many cases, be done by the driver sending an "all stop" instruction via the radio/signaller. Presumably if the incident have incapacitated the driver then other on train staff have access to the relevant button. Certainly it will affect the staff, with posts removed and grades reduced. An fGW Guard I know has said that much as he loves the Guard's job he doesn't want to be reduced to being a travelling ticket seller, and I'm sure he's not alone.

I hope the thread isn't locked, although some pruning of posts would be advantageous, as the GWML Electrification is the biggest project on "my" railway in my life-time. I'm trying to balance in my mind the negative way in which the infrastructure will look different/cluttered with the excitement of having a really modern efficient railway. This thread has provided much information and insight into the project. Sure, it's far from perfect, there have been issues. Lets be honest there will be more yet, but no one is deliberately trying to cause problems with the project. It's a massive project spread out a long length of railway, heck, I've had more than enough problems with even the smallest of my layouts! If the Easter works do go badly wrong, maybe there will then be something to debate. But for now, lets keep to facts and not guesswork. And in line with that request, the public footbridge at Chippenham was removed 2 weekends ago, to be replaced with a new structure which will also allow lift access to the island platform. Interestingly the footbridge was raised for the introduction of the HSTs, by 6 courses of brickwork on the pillars, and by two extra steps on the staircases. Whether this was due to the extra depth of ballast or to allow for the air-pressure wave of high speed running (or a combination) I don't know, but the two wooden steps when the rest were concrete were an interesting anomaly for many years until all the treads were replaced by metal ones. Another element of the project currently in progress is the laying of the power supply cable across the fields from the National Grid site at Beanacre to the GWML at Thingley. It appears that the feeder station will be roughly opposite the site of the former Thingley West Signal Box (although that supposition is merely based on where the site offices are located).

Interesting update Mike, thanks. When NR did a presentation to Wiltshire Highways about bridge reconstruction they mentioned that "Didcot" would be a feeder station, so that matches the work seen at Foxhall. There will be another feeder at Thingley (needing underground cabling, possibly along the A350, from the National Grid site at Beanacre next to the Melksham line) and they mentioned one in South Wales, but I can't remember where they said, although they did say that that one was placed with an eye on future expansion of the electrification. There are major works with a long closure planned this summer for Box Tunnel, and during part of that possession period they will also close Sydney Gardens for the work there. I think we'll have a very different looking railway by the end of this year.

I really don't see the issue with a bus on a bridge, so long as the bus is the correct type and livery for the area and era the layout portrays. OK, it's probably best pulled up at a stop rather than "static in motion", but the right bus can really define a layout's location. I'm sure there are other places like it, but as an example the famous Bath Road bridge at the west end of Temple Meads has a bus on it or its approaches pretty much all the time, and that goes as much for today as it does for film and video clips of it in the past. But then I'm a busman by profession....

I'm confused, my browser says I'm looking at RMWeb, but the photos on my screen are surely from the Bristol Railway Archive site Excellent work Rob, it's getting better with each post.

Looking back through the photos on Kernow Model Centre's Face Book page there is a picture of the large model which they are working from. The fans on that are off-set, although the angle of the photo isn't the best to show it, but it is there. I wonder if the CAD operator has "tidied-up" the drawing thinking the off-set the laser scan found is an error. I could understand why he might think that, it is a bit of a strange quirk on the real ones (and on the Westerns). Hopefully Kernow/Dave are on the case. I know some people get wound up by delays in models, but I for one never imagined we'd get an RTR D6xx, so this will be very much a bonus addition to my fleet. Well done Kernow/Dave for sharing the CADs, a bit of time at this stage to iron out the glitches is more important than satisfying the less patient among us.

Those photos really do look good. It's a superb looking layout, I'm looking forward to seeing what emerges in front of the fiddle yard.

How ever strong is that beer? Must be pretty powerful, as they can't correctly spell the name of the town where the brewery is!

Ah, a 321 EMU, we didn't predict that!

Perhaps we should put the DfT in charge of model railways as well as real ones, that should stiffle all these manufacturers. We could have a model IEP powered by two-rail electricity, but with the option of clockwork for those who don't want to electrify More seriously, we live in interesting times. In many ways yes, the market is over heating, yet there is a current thread running on here bemoaning the lack of a RTR suburban DMU. We see comments about the lack of GWR coaching stock to hang on the draw hook of numerous locos. Perhaps that is a sign that the collectors market is the one the manufacturers benefit most from. Another recent thread on here asked why Bachmann had produced a 3 pack on 16t mineral wagons in NCB internal user livery, saying that they weren't much use to most modellers. True, but conversely if they wring a few quids worth out of profit out of them to invest in something "more interesting" who are we to complain? I have no idea of the figures, but if 80% of models go to collectors but we 20% of modellers get something we want, why worry? Of course if the collectors market is strongly for locos and all we can realisitically model with the available items is a loco shed we're a bit stuck. I wonder what the 2014 market will look like from 2020, or 2025?

Very good, and I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who tries to get the documentation correct for their layout! I'm currently (slowly) doing a working timetable, loco diagram extracts and trip working book pages for one of my layouts. Good idea to do the WWT diagram too

Different Adrian I am afraid (I think I know who you mean though). My rolling stock requirements are pretty much satisfied, to be honest, although a 116/117/118 DMU would be of interest should any manufacturer wish to indulge me. I am a fortunate that I can watch all this excitement from the sidelines.

Perhaps that is a "generic" locomotive which will be their logo for the range and its not actually anything that they are producing....

Kevin, here is my interpretation of a stabling point - Quickly snapped with flash, so not looking its best, is London Road Locomotive Sidings, or if you prefer part of London Liverpool Street moved 120 miles or so west to be a WR location. The layout is just 4 foot long, by a foot wide with a fiddle yard of 21 inches. Odd sizes perhaps, but it sits at the end of my office on top and between book cases, so the layout is built to fill the space. Boring to operate, possibly, but I've done a couple of shows with it and it keeps me amused. The track plan at Liverpool Street was strange, with locos regularly parked on a point making a cross-over unusable, but so long as you have a vague plan in your head when operating (sort of "that 47 is here for a while, that 37 is just calling in") then you can keep things turning over, but a certain amount of shunting is needed to release locos form some spots. For added interest the station pilot can shunt a couple of parcels van or perhaps a sleeping car portion into the platform, and the Heljan parcel DMU has become a popular visitor (if rather too far west for their actual area of operation). I really ought to get on with more detailing/weathering!

Whiteman's, sadly, had a long slow decline. I too used to work in Bath and would often pause at the window to scan (and often purchase) the latest titles during my lunch break walk, but in later days the shop was a pale shadow of it's former self. Simon's shop in contrast has seen a rapid growth in stock since it opened (can it really be almost four years!) an extra shelf has been added to the top of the book shelves and the counter area has shrunk and moved to allow more space for yet more books, and an interesting selection of model railway items. A replacement for Whiteman's? Possibly, but I think Titfield has a wider range of railway books, with more of the smaller publishers stocked. More of an advance than a straight replacement. I've no connection with the shop other than as an occasional customer and partaker of Simon's tea and biscuits!

Confirmed - it left Chippenham right time, and has a full set of "Blood & Custard", some of which think they are working the Royal Scot!

I think you will find that it is correct for the blue ones not to have step boards and steps. Certainly with the Mk1 GUVs the footboards were removed to allow the carriage of BRUTE trolleys, I assume that CCTs were the same. There is only 1 blue one with step boards among Paul Bartlett's photo collection http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brcct .

I really like the faded and worn "Bulk Tunnel Cement" board on that Presflo, very effective.

It's coming together really well Rob, already some nice photo angles are appearing. Good to see 03382 is busy as Peafore Yard Pilot, that'll explain why 03121 seems to be a permanent resident with me at Mortimore's Yard at the moment.

A short report on the electrification train has appeared on the BBC News website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28766197 . I'm curious as to where this was filmed, the post location 91.705 possibly suggesting west of milepost 91 which puts it just east of Chippenham, and where there is a convenient access point nearby. I might have to go an investigate later, although I'm not sure what would be visible there from public areas. UPDATE 19:28 I have had a look around the area near milepost 91 and there is no sign of any electrification work. The Stationmaster's suggestion that 91 refers to kms may well be correct. I wonder if that might also account for the report being from BBC South rather than BBC West, which is more likely for a near Chippenham location.

The layout's looking great, I really like the way the foreground buildings block the view, but it gives the layout a great urban feel. As for the display frontage colour, how about combining the PO red and the graffiti idea, but like a parcels BG? I'm thinking of the red livery they used briefly before going over to Res, the plain red with two yellow/gold lines low down which form the double arrow at one end? You could then add the "false window" chalk board panels, with the layout name hand-written, the "graffiti" element. It's probably not practical to do it as actual chalk lettering on an exhibition layout, but the effect should be possible.

Good to see an update Rob. Looking good, but it's rather too much like the "after closure" view at the moment!

What a great image! On the face of it, it is a very simple scene, but it conveys so much. There may not be a train present to get our interest, but the crash of BRUTEs somewhere within the building can be heard, accompanied by the shouts of staff sorting consignments; any moment now one of those yellow tractors will emerge from the building at speed with a snake of trolleys following crazily behind, it's noise replacing the song of the blackbird sitting on the lighting column.... Great stuff.

For what it's worth, to add the kayaker's perspective, smooth and mirror-like is right for a canal. I should be able to illustrate this with a shot of a bridge on the Kennet & Avon where the reflection of the arch made a wonderful circle, but as I stopped to get my camera out the person I was paddling with carried on a few metres and the mirror effect was lost. But even the Bristol Avon here in Chippenham has been mirror-like on several evenings in the past week. There is a very slight "flow" detectable on the Kennet & Avon at Devizes, but as that is pretty much the top of the Caen Hill flight of locks, it's to be expected, but it's not anything to disturb the mirror-like surface. Can I also echo the remarks of several others, what a great looking layout!