D1072

I enjoyed my trip back in time to Yelverton on Saturday at the Saltash exhibition (I was chatting to you at the end). Modelling real locations requires much more research and calculation than a fictional layout, plus you always have the "that's wrong" problem since things change over time. I'm not old enough to remember the branch, so I know it only from books: the model really captures the features of the station. Interesting to see how the Princetown platform face is extended out on wooden struts - I initially thought this was due to the change of gauge with a broad gauge platform being widened, but the Princetown line was always standard gauge AFAIK. [OK, to be pedantic most of it it was converted from the Plymouth & Dartmoor Railway 4'6" gauge in 1883 but that trackbed was reached further along]. You may need some more conflats for containers of Ambrosia rice pudding from Lifton ! Paul

The source of the 285mm crack reference is post 1394 on the railforums "Entire 800 fleet stood down" thread from someone inside the industry; it states that is the longest crack found so far in the lifting pocket area. What we don't know is if the cracks propagate in a direction which would mean material could fall off or not from here. That message also said that the yaw damper bracket cracks were considered less serious. I think the detached yaw bracket photo under a green train has been identified as Irish stock, not GW, but any chance of material detaching will need to be assessed.

The photo posted above by Apollo of the failed yaw damper bracket shows us why that issue is safety critical. Those of us who are old enough, or who follow Class 52s will be aware of the West Ealing accident of December 1973 in which a loose battery box door struck a point motor and operating rods causing a derailment with multiple fatalities. The shock absorber and bracket appear considerably heavier than the battery box door. I have not seen any photograph or report which details the potential consequences of the jacking point fracture - but with cracks up to 285mm length reported this is obviously very serious. Adding to what Bernard Lamb says about welding stainless steel - if you look up welding aluminium, there is a wikipedia article aimed at artisans (perhaps building vehicle trailer bodies in a garage or similar) which outlines the extra problems. Having removed the protective oxide layer, you need to heat the aluminium to 150 to 200 degrees before commencing to weld under an inert argon blanket. Oxygen is excluded because you don't want alumina forming in the weld, and you don't want the aluminium to catch fire. Having to conduct safety critical welding on a piece which is effectively underneath the bodywork, when you are dealing with molten metal is not going to be easy. Aluminium melts at 660C, so you also have to think about what that means for metal recrystallisation in the heat affected zone around the weld - the bigger the weld the larger area will be affected. So there is likely to be a lot of design work going on to produce a repair method. There will almost certainly be a need for specially trained welders - I once worked with small high pressure steel vessels, where specialist welders only retained their certification for weeks.

RE 81E's post of 5/9/16 The lower photo of a van with a three centre roof and diagonal (not cross) bacing on the end panels - a photo of what appears to be one of these appears on p35 of The Last days of Steam in Plymouth and Cornwall (M. Dart), in Enparts service in the mid 50s. ENPARTS is painted on the second plank up to the right of the centre pair of doors. The only other discernible lettering is below this on the botttom plank.

To add to markw's comments - looking at David Larkin's "BR General parcels rolling Stock" (1978), the SR, GWR and BR wheels are 3 hole discs, so the Hornby R8097 are suitable, whereas the coach wheels (3'7" ?) appear to be either solid wheel pans or have small holes in them. Hornby R8234 are this type. The Dublo/Wrenn chassis is GWR, having a Dean Churchward ratchet brake lever on the end and six tank supports. The Lima then Hornby model is also GW, but a later version. Note the angle brackets between the middle J hangers on GW/BR wagons. The Dapol one has its end stanchions overhanging the buffer beams, which all the examples in the Larkin book do. It has a curved brake lever of uncertain parentage. Each of the big four designs uses a different axlebox; all the model versions I have (some of each) have the GW/BR type. GW/BR seem to have six tank supports, ER/MR/SR four ER/MR designs have the diagonal ties attached to the solebar sides, the others on top of the solebar, SR to a vertical plate. W iron tie bars can be flat strip (GW/BR), rod (MR, SR) or none (ER). Then there is the plethora of tank and ladder designs... Dapol model has four securing bands round the tank - these should come out from the tank and attach to the top of the frame or side of solebar. The Lima / Hornby seam can be prototypical for some wagons- there are seams midway down the tank, seams 2/3 down as the model and the three MR 44xxx wagons have clearly got a wrapper over the securing bands. And of course there is one, BR B3198 where no seam is discernable, but it's got both securing bands and extra wrapping bands round the tank ! NB - vehicles numbered W44XXX are MR designs allocated to the WR. I've been deepening Lima bearing holes with a Knowle Wagon Works 2mm drill and installing either 12mm 3 hole discs or coach wheels. Next step is a bit more research (Paul Bartlett's site). I plan to use piano wire for the diagonal ties as they should be straight.

Info for Siphon 208 - if you go to the derbysulzers site, you will find a mine of information including workings and headcodes. If you specifically want a freight for Penzance, 7B34 the 1940 Bristol TM - Ponsandane (PZ goods yard with large loading bank platform - where there were still two withdrawn 100t oil tanks a couple of years ago). I've never seen a photo of this freight; but running at 45mph non stop it would not have arrived in Cornwall until about 2240, and it almost certainly stopped at some of Taunton/ Exeter Riverside / Hackney (Newton Abbot), Tavistock Junction or Friary. So likely a dawn arrival in PZ. It might have included the majority of the Vanfits of fertiliser from Avonmouth to Truro. 7B31 the 1820 Plymouth Friary - Truro was normally formed with about 10 Presflos fro Chacewater, then vans (fertiliser for Truro?), sometimes grey oil tanks and some empty clay wagons and a few Slate Powder Presflos for St Blazey (Wadebridge pre 1978 . Perhaps an SOV or two (12T pipe). 10' wheelbase opens very rare post mid 70s, same for mineral wagons on this train which I often saw laying over in the middle road at Plymouth. 7B33 the 1400 Exeter Riverside to Truro. If you search for D1008 there is an April 1974 picture of it heading 7B33 at Plymouth. Cornwall Railway Society is another good place for info. There was a local trip working from Penzance to Roskear siding near Camborne to serve the Holman's compressor factory (lowfits ? with single axle compressors?), this closed in the 70s. In the up direction, several photos have been published of 6B59 Ponsandane to Exeter Riverside, with Warships and 42+22 combinations. Perhaps 7B59 sometimes. The afternoon St Blazey to Glasgow sometimes ran as 6S38, sometimes 7S38. hope this helps!

Further thought - it's a light avocado green (lighter than many 1980's bathroom suites !) If the wagons were previously grey underneath and it began to wear off, this plus brake dust and china clay could have produced a grey result. Paul Bartlett's valuable photos (thanks !) show several wagons from May 1984 onwards when they would have been in traffic for 15 months or more and in various stages of weathering. I do not remember seeing them after I went to university in October 86 so the yellow one is a surprise.

Unfortunately none of the few photos I took of the afternoon St Blazey-STJ train include a PRA (film was relatively expensive to a teenager!). None of the images found searching "Pont's Mill china clay PRA" show a PRA in colour, apart from the photo of the 08 with two in tow, taken on 16/4/85 which appears in a Rail Photoprints calendar; it is indistinct; the wagons are dirty. Helpfullly, Rivercider has posted a photo of 45 127 heading the morning train, 6C43 0915 St Blazey to Severn Tunnel Junction on 8/3/83. It is entering platform 5 at Plymouth. This must have been soon after the wagons entered traffic - it is clear that the underframes are painted the same colour of the sides. It appears to be a sort of light green / duck egg green, similar to the sort of undercoat occasionally seen on a loco buffer which had been replaced in a hurry. Did the wagons get a repaint, or did they rapidly weather?

The PRAs were definitely pale green with red hoods when introduced in 1982/3; one or two were regularly in the consist of the afternoon St Blazey-Severn Tunnel Junction which passed Plymouth around 1630. Paul Bartlett's photos show RLS6315 and one behind it looking green on 28 May 84, but 6315 is in a yellow shade by July 84. They appear to have become grey by 1988.

If you mean the flat-on BR lamp bracket on the left hand side, it appears to have happened during 1972-73 The following are from photos in "Farewell to the Westerns" and "The 74 Westerns" D1023 does, 19/7/72 D1024 does not, 19/8/72 D1055 does, 10/8/72 D1000 on 23/6/73 does not have the new bracket at A end. Paul

I watched the programme with my 11y.o. daughter who stayed for all of it and agreed with the judges decision. The programme format is essentially a race between experts; we thought it didn't do justice to how long most things take to make. Another format would be to have family teams of non modellers, give them a mock up of a small bedroom, 8x4 of plywood, wood framing, tools, a train set plus extra track, and an experienced modeller to act as a guide and help - they have a weekend to put up a layout in the room, which still needs to function as either a child's bedroom / guest room or office. This would help potential modellers address the domestic space issue, encourage new entrants to the hobby, especially youngsters, boost train set sales, etc. You could compare the pros and cons of a narrow shelf layout with the hinged 8x4 or even a board suspended from the ceiling by pulleys (which one of my schoolfriends and his brother actually had). Also it could showcase youngster's talents - I showed my daughter how to solder two weeks ago in advance of starting an electronics project in D&T (the teacher didn't know about flux!).

Really! I can't resist asking if the shampoo was intended to dribble out of the roof and strip off the paint!!

There appear to be seven of the initial batch of 12 in preservation; when I travelled in the MRC's coach I noted that it was the same as the larger batch of diagram 98/99. I have a 1957 abc of BR Mk1 coaches which shows the original arrangement. Stovepipe's posts above clear up the confusion - all of the first batch of twelve were converted to later specification by removing another four seats and adding the store, probably in the 70's. However, the original batch retain a different arrangement of roof ventilators and rainstrips. Thanks Stovepipe!

This is a request for detail differences between the various batches of Mk1 RMB Miniature Buffets. Batch 1; Diagram 97, Lot 30485 [York 1957] were 1801-1812. These were basically a TSO with two sets of seating bays removed to one side of the centre door only and replaced by the buffet section. They differ from the more familiar batch 2; Diagram 98, as modelled by Hornby and Bachmann, which have an extra pantry on the buffet side at the other side of the centre door, with one less window and a bay of seats less as a result. Batch 2 were lots 30520/507/670/702, coaches 1813-1882. The general arrangement diagrams shown on the Easybuild coaches website appear to say that Diagram 99 had an identical body to Dia 98, but were built with Commonwealth bogies. Somewhere (and it could well have been on RM Web, but I can't find it); I've come across some info about different positions of roof vents and roof pipework on the Diagram 97 coaches. Does anyone have any information? Thanks, Paul

Three things: Road Markings: You've gone to lengths to include everything! I have a suggestion for improving the "FERRY" sign. Most words painted on roads for drivers to read have to be elongated so they appear normal to the drivers eye. I reckon it is about a factor of 4. One way of making an elongated font could be to print out the word, scan it into powerpoint, then stretch the image in one direction. The problem will be matching the tarmac. Have you had experience with printing your own waterslide transfers? I've seen an advert but not investigated. As for that 37, would it have worked all the way from Doncaster, or is it a Scottish one working from Motherwell or Haymarket? The buffer stop - Kingswear; the platform ends in ramp leading down to the roadway to the lower Dartmouth ferry, which is at right angles immediately at the bottom of the ramp. A rail built buffer stop is positioned close to end of ramp. What's at Kyle of Lochalsh? I've not seen any photos of the loch end of the station. There is a lot of regional variation in buffer stops which are rarely modelled (for instance there are several in the midlands with no vertical rails). Best wishes, Paul

Re. Post 150, Wickhams trolley stabling: was it ScR practice to manhandle them off a siding and keep them out of the way on a short section of track at right angles? I think the SDR have this arrangement in the goods yard north of Staverton station. Not any good if you want to run it though! Would the turntable road point have been under the bridge? It looks like there is room. You could have just enough track for the trolley and then some rail-less sleepers. Instead of a buffer stop, an upside down sleeper on top of the end of the rails.

The flat roof areas currently look just like my flat porch roof; lead sheet which has been painted more than ten years ago with black bituminous paint, much of which has now worn off with the result of lighter lead showing through in places. So you could leave it exactly as it is! [and I need to get that porch repainted...]

Rick, you've shown many people the flavour of Cornwall through your layout and it has inspired me to keep going through several house moves. [Currently rebuilding layout to fit into the restricted loading gauge of a London house!] The rundown at Treheligan was especially poignant - I am just old enough to remember places such as Exmouth, Barnstaple and Newquay when they still had more than one track. Hope the removal process goes smoothly with enough bubble wrap in the right places... Paul

That's a great video for three reasons - first it's technically a good video (what camera system did you use?). Secondly, the driver gets away from most signal stops very smoothly. The result is better than a real Railscene cab ride video taken in 50022 in 1986 which is incredibly shaky (and hence not that great to watch!). The third reason is that the trackside paraphernalia is all there - AWS ramps, location cabinets, gradient posts and stop boards (which were widespread in Cornwall and complete in South Devon until the late 80's), mileposts and speed restrictions; so the driver's eye view looks right. The constant curvature is very Cornish. The loco liveries say 1966-70. When did flagmen start to wear the small orange vests? Late 70's? Are you going to make an official looking closure notice? Regards, Paul

I am also in the process of layout downsizing in order to move to London, with a lot less space available. It may be many months before anything runs again! Finding that many things in London are organised very differently than other parts of the UK which I'm familiar with.

For some reason the font reset itself to 8 point so I need to go back and edit to change it! I'm not a fan of using cereal packets for modelling, but they are very useful as mock ups to ensure that everything fits and "looks right"!

Porthpol harbour – a recent development. A suitable piece of sandpaper, about the right colour for wet sand will form the small beach. The white area (you can’t see it has been scribed) behind the beach is sloping masonry, and the small pier (Wills cobbles and embossed stonework of uncertain lineage) is on a composite polystyrene base with a piece of plywood on top to enforce rigidity. The stonework will receive some further "tidal" weathering at the bottom. The steps are cardboard. Nearby Porthmeor beach at St Ives has black rock, probably basalt, but this is a lump of slate. It is assumed the pier is built on top of a natural formation, and lines up with the gateway (Launceston) leading back into Fore St. (yes, it’s only a cardboard mock up so far…..) I prefer to model buildings which are local, or at least regional. On the left is a pub from St Just (a commercial model). The cottage, based on one in Mousehole is under construction (using a roof recycled from a previous building), and low relief bakery which is an accurate model of 38 Southside St, in Plymouth (an 18th century façade fronting an Elizabethan rear). More construction to follow now that road alignment and levels are defined. The station is off to the right. Lots of head scratching has gone on whilst thinking about how deep to construct the pier, and how high the tide will go - the railway quay is about 3cm higher, assuming it will be serving medium size cargo vessels rather than small fishing boats. Also, there would be a desire to ensure that track level is above the maximum of spring tides plus a storm surge.

Here in the East Midlands it has been a very cold day, the frost not abating all day. 54 years ago, in the South West, was a very different cold day – a blizzard, during which the last rites of the Launceston Branch were enacted. A few photos of my part constructed WR BLT, which has been closed today in advance of yet another house move (the fourth in ten years) – that’s the excuse for slow progress. Hopefully (now that I've reduced the filesize), the image shows a two foot wide baseboard with an extra six inches to the left, occupied by the cereal packet mock up of a retaining wall, road and terrace. This is going to be a real terrace from Launceston, other buildings are / will be from St Just, Mousehole and Plymouth. The shed and water tower arrangement is from St Ives. Currently only the platform and the track under 4569 are in commission. I am changing the crude double slip for a newer, finer one using rail rather than bent triangular sections. To the right is the dockside, with work ongoing on the “correct” colour for concrete. There are also two rails for a dockside crane. Front centre is the guts of a Hornby operating unloading accessory, under rebuild into a china clay end tippler. It will be getting a building to hide the fact that I don’t want to attempt to build a working end tipping hoist! In the distance the line passes through the first two of a series of tunnels through red sandstone and along a sea wall (recycled from an earlier Dawlish inspired section of layout).

The "Class 118 Farewell" railtour in 1986 traversed the Looe branch to Moorswater: At Liskeard we were all asked to get off whilst the DMUs worked empty through the yard. I wonder if the reason has something to do with curvature and gangways (as well as it's signalling status as a siding). If there is a sudden transition from straight to curved (and AFAIK the connection has a reverse curve) then the gangways may move transversely in a manner you would not want if you were between vehicles!

The middle line on the right of your plan could be a siding, or a truncated piece of former double track. In which case it is likely to have survived as a PW siding. On a school trip to Eggesford church in 1978 I saw a 31 hauling about 5 coaches, and a 3 car class 118 DMU hauling a GUV towards Exeter. On 24 July 1982 at Barnstaple, in the centre road was 31258 plus one clay wagon and one GUV. It is not a clayhood, being flat sheeted. In fact I don't recall seeing pictures of any clayhoods in north Devon. I saw a rake of 10 foot wheelbase wagons at Exeter in the early 80s which were all prenationalisation designs, with roller bearings. There was a cement terminal at Barnstaple at this point, and in the morning I had photographed the 31 on its own in the former shed/goods yard area. The afternoon photo is a distant shot of the short train from behind - there is a tail lamp on the GUV. The photo was taken from track level behind the buffer stop on the middle road. There was still track to the island platform, so I suspect it was still in use with a barrow crossing.