rjh

David, Chris, Thanks both. I hope you are aware thar Paul Karau (another admirer of DAW) did us proud in MRJs 246,247,248 by running an accoun of the MJ saga by Andy Avis, drawing on original material from the Williams.collection. More soon Regards Rodney

Chris from: Rodney MetJct Part 3 Miscellenia SEE the backscene... The first video below was filmed this last weekend at the REC 2018 Woking Show. It includesw both outside and inside views. The second is, of course,from the inside. Met Jct can be seen from approx 1:01.11 to 1:06.11 (ie about 5 minutes) in this well made video of the whole Woking 2018: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FlUSbdeMVJQ Finally, for now, I leave you with a link to a short, but precious, piece of 8mm cine film that Doug made in 1990 of the layout in operationw. Enjoy! It’s available here (only by direct URL): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0xJvKJjfJE Rodney Hills .end Rodney

Chris from Rodney MetJct Part 2 You are right w.r.t. locos, although in his earliest, the King Arthur, post WW2 shortages eg of nickel silver. (Aka “german silver”!) was built of tinplate hence the inevitable choice of Eastleigh Arthur No.799 “Sir Ironside”, the model nicknamed “Sir Tinplateside(s)”. DAW’s carriages are not metal though. Cardboard. Still looking good after about 70 years. next para.. gpfully working condition....realistic operation.... Indeed, that was the thinking behind grafting on a cassette fiddle yard (“borrowed” from Swaynton) utiliising one of the two short banking sidings that are hidden underneah the town. Something we intend to progress further. There is no evidence that Doug went in for timetabled running. 10 foot to 12 foot square. As per the plan (qv) actually 8’ 9” x 10’ 8”. The MRN chose to replace all Doug’s very clear handwritten italic text with actual type, but lost the 9” off the width. This unneccessary shrinkage to only 8’ 0” led me to erroneus and misleading assumptions about possible sites. ,end of part two

Chris, From: Rodney Hills Thank you very much for your comments on Doug’s masterpiece. I will pass them on to Mrs Pat Williams, who this time was only able to attend on the Saturday. Going through your “what is good about MJ” list... Para 3 ..backscenes ‘Ah, as a home layout, it was almost surrounded by the wall of the room amd indeed have have backscenes. Plese look at the plan for Stand 65 in the REC’s excellent Exhibiton Guide page 23 or at the MetJct Yahoo Group site homepage https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/metjct/info Be patient the latter diagram for some reason can take ages to appear. The door of the bedroom was immediately to the top left corner, swinging open to the left, this aisle giving access to the lifting flap, which is on the stretch of plain track (seven lines, incl H.L. branch rising at 1 in 30!). Straight wall with chimney breast protusion at centre, Southaven terminus had flat backscene behind a low wall along the baseboard edge. Wihdow wall to right of plan, top third plus right hand half of top wall having flat backscene behind low relief town buildings (spot the Bilteezis, spot the Superquicks!) BUT You visitors were standing OUTSIDE the ‘room’ and through the non-existent ‘walls’. Perhaps we should have raised some real walls all round the layout and relay whats happening inside the box via video relay, or even use webcams.... Instead we omitted most of the backscenes, so that you could see ‘in’. Read Cyril Freezer and Iain Rice on the ins and outs of ovals.... .end of part one...by Rodney Hills

Hello again, Notes from The Metropolitan Junction Railway Operating Department by Rodney Hills. 1. Due to a number of unfortunate circumstances, I have only been able to attend the Woking REC Exhibition on the Saturday afternoon. That means that the planned display of vintage controllers has regretfully been cancelled. 2. There is vintage in plently to be seen on Met Jct layouti itself, we don’t have any future showings lined up at present, so get along TODAY if you want to see it.(PLUS the rest of a fine exhibition) 3. We were pleased s to the number of visitors we had to Stand 65 on Saturday, including a gentleman who came all the way from Coventry to revisit Doug Williams’s handiwork, having been a visitor to the Beckenham house when his children were young and were fascinated when Doug let them run trins that automatically triggered the sound system. Re-instatement of the latter is on the ‘to-do” list. 4.p I would welcome copies of photos/videos of Met Jct taken at this Woking show, for inclusion in the layouts’s online prescence: https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/metjct/info Send me a msg in the fiirst instancoe, please. Regards, Rodney Hills

hello since The Metropolitan Junction Railway got a mention earlier in this topic, I thought that I would post a gentle reminder re the Woking show this weekend by showing this view of it at an "undress rehearsal" not that far from Woking. Undress, as everything on the top of the baseboards is detachable except: track, working rodding and lever frames and kever actuated switches, point solenoids(only a few of these). note also the signature D,A, Williams hallmarks: the complex P & C work, the baseboard joints through said work, the lattice signal gantry (fusewire, mostly). Doug even left a manual on how to dismantle the layout. regards, Rodney Hills PS -- Alongside we shall have the EMGS display /info PLUS some vintage control items, including all being well: The legendary ROLLA CONTROLA. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/133182-rec-woking-exhibition-2018-8th-9th-september/

Hello I just came across a site with download files of the following issues of Railway Modeller... https://archive.org/details/railwaymodeller Issues are ( . Railway of the month .. Plan of the month ... notable article and/or prototype station plan ) 1963 Jan ( . Ambition in TT-3 by H. Myott .. A modular layout [Minories add-ons] ... Burmham on sea drawings ) Jun ( . Peter Denny rebuilds Buckingham Great Central ..A garage scheme ... Special https://archive.org/details/railwaymodeller Country survey, your last chance) Aug ( . Borchester by J F Webster, based om RM pl an ..A thoroughgoing terminus ...psp:Blencow ...Madder Valley at Pendon ) 1964 Jan ( . Broadland Railway by Bury St Edmunds MRC .. Extendibility. by C J Peacock ... psp: Daventry ...) Feb ( . Wannetka Warlock & Western by Peter Haddock ..Terminal topics .. motorised Airfix Crane by J. Dugdale ) Mar ( . Glenfern Rly by Geoff Cowmeadow ..Small and Simple .. psp Aylesbury High St ) Apr ( . To be done........."etc ) May Aug 1965 Apr Aug Regards, Rodney Hills

Hello If the Exmoor half inch Bartholemew is available I would like to have it please. Regards, Rodney Hills (rjh) Surrey, UK

Hello If the Exmoor half inch Bartholemew is available I would like to have it please. Regards, Rodney Hills (rjh) Surrey, UK

Hello again, on-topic with the Rolla Controla...... I am taking it to the expoEM show at Bracknell TODAY SUNDAY 14 MAY 2017 and connecting it to the Test Track details of show: http://www.emgs.org/events/society-events/?event_id1=13 for more on R C search RMweb onn : rolla regards ,,. Rodney Hills

Hello, Interesting thread.... Ah, but who was "Dax"? ================== I've asked Steve Flint at Peco/RM and nobody there now apparently knows... Apart from the Living Lineside series, you find other little sketches in the same style as headers etc to other items over the same period. the Rolla Controla ============== I have one of these... search RMweb on: Rolla Controla you should get about seven hits with more gen. I am hoping to get to ExpoEM at Bracknell on Sunday 14 May 2017 and I am quite willing to bring the Rolla Controlla along and hook it up to the test track by arrangement. Let me know if you are interested in seeing / using the controller... "The R-C is to today's electronic pulse width modulation (PWM) controllers as the Baird television is to today's home entertainment systems". Regards, Rodney Hills archivist@merg.org.uk

Richard, Tony Gee will be at ExpoEM at Bracknell on 13-14 May 2017. see http://www.emgs.org/events/society-events/ Apart from the 70th Anniversay demo/display stand listed, Tony will be giving a lecture on Buckingham each day. Not too far from you? Regards, Rodney Hills Custodian of "Metropolitian Junction" by D.A.(Doug) Williams, which layout will be having a 70th in 2019.

Brian, That was quick.! I will try and get it scanned. BTW - there are a couple of typos in my post - I can edit and correct and preview but how do I save the edited version? regards, Rodney

Hello project, I have in my collection a photocopy of :h BRITISH RAILWAYS SOUTHERN REGION CARRIAGE WORKING NOTICE STEAM TRAINS Commencing 12th September, 1960, and until further notiice. SOUTHERN DISTRICT It has cover plus 55 pages in total, coverage as below Is all or part of it of interest? I should be able to scan and send electronically.. regards, Rodney Hills Surrey, Uk ....... Pages 1 to 45-upper cover WEEKDAYS Pages 45-lower to 55 cover SUNDAYS Stations included with approx number of workings, weekdays uness otherwise indicated Alresford 1 Bailey Gate 1 Bournemouth Central 65 ( c 6 1/2 pages ) Bournemouth Central Goods 6 Bournemouth West SX 83, SO 70 (c 6 pages) Bridport 3 Broadstone 1 Brockenhurst 37 Christchurch 7 Dorchester South 7 Dorchester West 1 Eastleigh c 110 Fareham 16 Fawley 6 Gosport 2 Lymington Pier 16 Lymington Town 11 Maiden Newton 5 Poole 10 Romsey 2 Southampton Central 19 Southampton Docks 20 Southamton Terninus 41 Swanage 21 Totton 1 Wareham 24 Weymouth SX 46 SO 55 Weymouth Quay 6 Wimborne 8 Winchester City 8 Yeovil Pen Mill 17 ----- SUNDAYS Bournemouth Central 28 Sun Bournemouth West 27 Sun Brockenhurst 15 Sun Dorchester South 2 Sun Eastleigh 17 Sun Lymington Pier 9 Sun Lymington Town 5 Sun Poole 2 Sun Southampton Central 3 Sun .. Docks 2 Sun .. Terminus 9 Sun Swanage 6 Sun Wareham 5 Sun Weymouth 19 Sun Yeovil Pen Mill 6 Sun .. ..END