Jump to content
 

APOLLO

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    5,259

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by APOLLO

    The Steam Bankers Appreciation Society

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by APOLLO

    In my local area, Wigan, we had three locations where steam banking engines were used daily.

     

    post-6884-0-63761000-1449337111_thumb.jp

     

    1. WCML Wigan North Western to Boars Head / Standish, heavy goods trains northbound, in the early 60's usually a Jinty or Black 5 (or whatever else was the station pilot at North western station).

     

    2. Ince Moss to Platt Bridge jcn (Manchester bound goods) or to Rose bridge Jcn (Whelley loop). Also Bamfurlong to Rose Bridge jcn (Northbound goods over the Whelley loop). Usually a Black 5,8 or WD 2-8-0.

     

    3. Westwood Park signal box (halfway between Hindley & Pemberton on the Pemberton loop) up to Orrell. Up to 1964 when the coal trains disappeared / re routed. Uusually a Fowler 4F tender loco. (Liverpool bound coal trains from Yorkshire usually 8F or WD hauled).

     

    The short stretch from Ince Moss to Fir Tree House Jcn (where the line crossed the WCML) was the fiercest, due to mining subsidence over the years. one of my favourite spotting points before the end of steam (and the line closed) firework shows were almost every hour !!.

     

    These views I took from Taylors Lane, just south of Springs Branch around 1966/7. You can see the fierce gradient. Can't find any banking pix at the moment though. I'm sure I have some somewhere.

     

    post-6884-0-15380100-1515179545_thumb.jpg

     

    post-6884-0-63405200-1515179591_thumb.jpg

     

    post-6884-0-64783700-1515179724_thumb.jpg

     

    This off the web

     

    xmo41lls.jpg

     

    This shot is the Widnes to Long Meg (Settle & Carlisle line) Anhydryte empties, signal is off for the Whelley loop. A 9F on empties didn't need a banker here.

     

    qw4navkz.jpg

     

    Banker returning to Westwood park signal box (in the background). Courtesey of Wigan World website.

     

    Wonderful days.

     

    Brit15

    • Like 7

    Wright writes.....

    in Modelling musings & miscellany

    Posted

    Tony, your modelling is an inspiration to me (and many others), and you certainly can "cut the mustard". Here is some especially for (us) grumpy old gits - I got a set for Christmas !!

     

    teaserbox_8876381.jpg?t=1509801169

     

    I like Wibbles "Hornsey Broadway" layout due to both it's location and era. The last days of my trainspotting in the 70's, bunking Finsbury Park etc. I've said it before, the ECML was always of more interest to me than my local WCML that I've always lived near to, well, alongside these (boring) days. Perhaps it's the Deltics (which I did see and travel behind) and the Pacifics (which I saw only a couple, and never traveled behind). Probably also why I love Britannias, which I saw a plenty in their last days !!.

     

    Though I haven't a cat in hell's chance of achieving the same standards as Tony & Wibble, that's not to say that I don't try to improve. These days I'm mostly a (lone) operator, and operate I do, almost every day for an hour or so. - Get away from the gogglebox etc, up into the loft to run a few 12 coach trains & 30 odd wagon goods trains, or in my garage to run 20 car O gauge freights through the Rocky mountains.

     

    It's a wonderful hobby whatever your skill level / gauge / location etc etc is.

     

    Brit15 (sorry Tony,  - Lindsey)

    • Like 6

    Raise a glass, to Fat Cat Thursday.....

    in Wheeltappers

    Posted

    I see the problem as the constantly increasing near exponential rate of change of Capitalism. It has been forever thus, but never at the speed we see today.

     

    Money can be moved around the globe in microseconds, deals done, wealth converted etc etc.. Big corporations eat up the smaller ones, wring out the value, discard the unwanted bits (costs) which is usually people. The corporate CEO's etc are on a bonus induced mission to do just that everywhere, and care not one jot about the consequences to those cast aside. Its mainly fed by rampant greed, ambition etc, and will get worse over time, VERY worse as the ability to do such things eases due mainly to the advance of technology available to them. Government will allow this as it suits them (the lot of them).

     

    I fear in 50 years or less we will all be microchiped and micro controlled, (just like our model railways !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

     

    Brit15 - retired and out of the rat race - (40 odd years working at "The gas board" I was probably never in it !!)

    Single use plastic and model railways

    in Modelling musings & miscellany

    Posted · Edited by APOLLO

    Here in sunny (!!!) Wigan we have 4 bins.

     

    Green = Compostable rubbish - Garden waste, food scraps, food scraps in bio-degradeable bags (supplied by the council). Collected every 2 weeks

    Blue = Paper & cardboard - Paper type drinks containers. Collected monthly.

    Brown = Glass bottles, Tin cans, Plastic trays bottles etc (no hard plastics or bags). Collected every 3 weeks.

    Black = Everything else -  Landfill Collected every 3 weeks

     

    The system seems to work, council have built new re cycling plant along with other adjoining councils. I don't know if any is incinerated / recyclable goes to landfill  etc.

     

    For me most plastic packaging is a disgrace. If it is used to store a (valuable) product (model locos etc) then OK. If it is designed to instantly throw away upon opening then ban it. (especially the hard to get into the bubble pack stuff). Bio-degradable see through plastic can be used. Throw away polycarbonate bottles are also a disgrace. I don't know the answer to replace these (water bottles etc) as heavier glass perhaps wouldn't be acceptable.

     

    All throw away type packaging should by law be made bio-degradeable where possible.

     

    Last year a new container train started to run through Wigan Wallgate. It takes Liverpool's waste from Knowlsley to Middlesbrough to be incinerated there.

     

    http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/business/business-news/taking-shape-teessides-latest-energy-from-7969721

     

    http://www.bulkmaterialsinternational.com/htm/w20160707.288056.htm

     

    Why can't this be burned in Liverpool (at the nearby soon to be closed Fiddlers Ferry power station).? 

     

    Why are wood pellets processed in Louisianna, taken by train to a port, shipped across the Atlantic to Liverpool, loaded into Swish new trains for the long and indirect journey to Drax in Yorkshire, stored then burned as a so called "Green" fuel ?. (if you want a model they're £83 a pop for 5 penceworth of plastic (including packaging) !!!

     

    Brit15

    Wright writes.....

    in Modelling musings & miscellany

    Posted

    Sometimes as far as back scenes are concerned, less is more (and easier to do). I'm not a great fan of the near perfect photo print diorama type - but I have seen some excellent ones. I suppose it's horses for courses and personal opinion.

     

    This one off this site 

     

    post-7246-126727838939_thumb.jpg

     

    And this off the web - an interesting City scene, winter as no leaves on the trees. I like the winter sky.

     

    EndBackscene050.jpg?574

     

    Brit15

    • Like 13

    Car park fire Liverpool

    in Wheeltappers

    Posted

    My blood ran cold the other day watching one of those traffic police programmes in which an almost brand new Range Rover with electronic everything had immobilised itself, solidly in gear so that it couldn't even be pushed/towed clear, in the third lane of a motorway..................   

     

    Didn't a brand new class 800 did the same the other week on the GW main line ?

     

    Brit15

    Why did the 20s outlast other classes?

    in UK Prototype Questions

    Posted

    I remember back in the late 80's the coal trains from Parkside Colliery to Fiddlers Ferry had 2 reversals at Warrington (Walton & Arpley). Trains from Bickershaw had 3 reversals (Springs Branch & the other two) Usually 2 x 20 hauled, a (successful) experiment was performed by putting a Class 20 at each end of the MGR train, "talking" to each other via radio control - only one train crew required. I remember seeing this train at Walton. Don't know the numbers of the locomotives.

     

    Very versatile locos and much missed around the North West. (as is the traffic they hauled).

     

    Brit15

    Wright writes.....

    in Modelling musings & miscellany

    Posted

    Martin,

     

    The 'LNER' system has been mentioned, and I thought it was inspirational, too. 

     

    In the main, though, any layout in those wonderful, far-off days which used RTR equipment would appear in the 'Proprietary Modeller' section of the RM. Almost without exception, any 'Railway of the Month' would have items on it which had been made - either from kits or from scratch. 

     

    That is not the case today. As I've mentioned before, many, many layouts which one sees in the press or at shows use RTR/RTP equipment. If one is lucky, it'll have been improved/altered/detailed/weathered by the owner(s), but this is not always the case. It's not just mainstream OO either - even O Gauge layouts now feature much more stuff on them that's 'out-of-the-box'. 

     

    This is progress, and it's been argued (with justification) that we've never had it so good. However, I wonder whether some modellers actually look at the real railways they're trying to recreate, either through direct observation or from historical sources. If they did, perhaps we'd see fewer of my personal pet hates...........

     

    Including........... 

     

    Trains displaying no lamps or discs. 

     

    Even though front detailing is included for the RTR loco, this is left off (revealing holes in the bufferbeams) because of the retention of the dreaded tension-lock couplings.

     

    Platforms which are far too high. During my research into building LB's platforms, the highest I found came to halfway up a buffer head. Many were much lower. On some featured layouts (aimed at the beginner), the platforms are so high they'd interfere with the opening of doors. 

     

    Non-working signals and/or signals placed in the most unsafe positions.

     

    Facing crossovers (at through stations), direct leads into goods yards (off fast running lines) and no trap points. 

     

    Trains made up which just don't make sense (a gangwayed Buffet Car in a set of non-gangwayed carriages. In fairness, it could have been empty stock, though no lamps were displayed).

     

    Nothing weathered. I'm not just mentioning stock here, but things like pristine roofs on ancient (chocolate box top?) buildings. 

     

    No sense of place or time on a layout (often an affliction seen on vast OO, club systems).

     

    As for running - we've been here before. 

     

    Does anyone else have a list of 'pet hates' (mine's just the beginning)? It could be that some pet hates lists include those who list pet hates. 

     

    As I've said before, nobody has a right to dictate in a hobby what folk should or shouldn't do. However, if a person's work is seen on display in the press or at shows (and both), then surely there is a responsibility on the builder's part to get things as right as they can, especially if a project is aimed at the beginner. 

     

    As well as your wonderful "Little Bytham" book Tony, I got a set of secondhand bound volumes of "Railway Modeller" magazines from 1959 to 1970 (to replace the incomplete and tatty selection I had) from Ebay. What wonderful reads they are. Back in the 60's (my TT days), Proprietary Modeller and Railway of the Month were always my favourite articles. I suppose I still am a good case of a modern proprietary modeller, especially my loft layout. Many of the "Railway of the Month"  articles back then (as you write) display a lot of scratch / kit built items of varying standards. To me David Jenkinsons "Marthwaite" and his subsequent layouts set the ball rolling back around 1964 for detailed layouts.

     

    We have never looked back from then as far as both detailed layouts and proprietary equipment goes (along with healthy mixes of the two). I wonder what folks back then would think of your "Little Bytham" layout ?

     

    As to pet hates, I agree with your list, mine are few. What I find particularly annoying, and spoils many a good layout is the often un-disguised "hole in the back scene" entrance / exit to the fiddle yard etc. In many cases a few trees etc would help disguise it. I find modern tension locks are rubbish, as are hauling capabilities of many RTR locos, mainly due to lack of weight, but these two problems I reckon are not present with your fine kit built locos.

     

    As to driving, never forget the Queens Highway is for all to use, Pedestrians (crossing), Horses, Steam Tractors, Cyclists, Caravans, cars, HGV's etc etc. If we all drove with respect to others than all would be fine.

     

    Finally a Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year to all.

     

    Brit15

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...