bubbles2

I'm sure the red dot route restriction made a comeback in the later blue years, I can well remember my suprise at seeing a Western tearing through Sonning cutting in 74 or 75 with a red dot applied to the cab. How well are the cabs glued in on Dapols blue Westerns? they really need to be removed for detailing and fitting a crew.

Here are some pictures of one of your original Warwell wagons, as you can see very much a work in progress,I am bringing up to 1970s period with timber deck and additional plating using overlays of plasticard and with an Airfix Bedford 4 tonner with Kingfisher Models open back as a load. There are some good reference photos on Paul Bartletts wagon site http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/warwell/h20a58054#h20a58054 ">http:// ">http:// ">http://

Thanks for the link Rugd, now added to my Flickr favorites http://www.flickr.com/photos/45603744@N06/favorites

Ok thanks once again for all the interesting pictures but especially the stories behind them. Here is my next item. ">http:// Again it is from the Reading, Redhill, Tonbridge line. There is a pond between the platform and road at Chilworth and Albury station and that is where I found this sign. My original primary school was just past this pond on the opposite side of the road and every school day I would walk past the pond to get to the bus stop by the railway station to catch my bus home. The last year at primary school we transferred to a brand new school a sort distance the other side of the station so I no longer had to pass the pond and it was only then, at age 10, that I was allowed by my mother and father to cycle to school and roam a bit further from home. I think it must have been one of my many visits to the station that I saw in the mud at the side of the pond, the part of the sign with SOUTH on it. When I plucked up the courage to wriggle through the iron railings and pull it free of the mud I found the rest of the sign bent at 90 degrees and the enamel part that once said EASTERN rusted away where the level of pond water had been rising and falling with the seasons over the years. Anyway I cycled home with it bent it straight, cleaned the mud off and its been following me about for the last 45 years now.

Thanks for that Phil, I wonder how that one escaped being demolished. You have to love trains to want to live that close to them, or rely upon them for your living.

Slightly unrelated question but is it ok to post a picture from Fickr which is not your own? I see you have accredited to the owner so does that make it ok? Thanks in advance for any guidance on this.

That's a good list of exhibitions you have there Simon and the layout is looking good. Best of luck with your busy year, may catch up with you at one or more of those shows. Geoff.

Once again its good to see everyone's pictures and read about your collections. So I will continue my theme of Brook Crossing on the Reading to Tonbridge line, between the stations of Chilworth and Gomshell. This is the steel and enamel 'CATCH POINTS' sign that I found laying face down in the undergrowth not far from the crossing in the 1980s. ">http:// I had decided to take a look in case anything was left from the days of the manually operated gates, the land bordering the railway fence is common land and a short distance from the crossing on the Chilworth side, laying face down at the top of the cutting and almost completely covered in undergrowth I discovered it. The catch points would have been used to protect the gates and road in case of rolling stock running away, the line is well known for it's adverse grades. I can remember a similar catch point protecting the gates at Tangley Crossing in Chilworth, which was within site and sound of my childhood home, and waking one morning to find that an overnight freight train had stalled, straddling the crossing, run back far enough for 2 mineral wagons to be derail on the sprung catch points and end up in the back garden of a bungalow. This was great entertainment for a child, with both road and railway blocked, a steam crane in operation and being on a main London Country bus route the normally single manned buses all had a conductor in attendance to enable the buses to turn around and reverse some distance back to the blocked crossing with the conductor shouting directions from the open emergency exit at the rear of the bus. The passengers then trooped on foot over the crossing to change buses and continue their journeys.

Hi Duncan (Blandford 1969) I did not realise you are also on the RMWeb. No need to be ashamed, sharing your collection of slides and negatives with others I'm sure brings much joy and opens the door to many memories. It prompted me to start this thread, so thankyou. Geoff.

Thanks again for all the replies its great to hear and see what you have but much more interesting to hear the personal stories behind the items, where they came from, how you came upon them, some of the history. We have many long winter evenings yet to go, so pick out individual items and tell us what they mean to you ,or the pictures they conjure up. Of course I quite understand if how you came across them or where they came from is lost in the mists of time, after all many of these items would have been lost forever if we had not saved them, I have items in my collection plucked from bonfires or demolition sites.

Alas time doesn't stand still........... Brook Crossing Box ceased to be a block post in 1955 and closed totally on 19th July 1965, displaced by automatic half barriers. The little South Eastern & Chatham Rly crossing keepers cottage was swept away along with all the others along this cross country railway line. My uncle jack did not follow his father into railway service, but took up employment in 1920 for a local grocery shop chain, Forrest Stores, his first job was pushing a hand delivery cart around the village of shere which is a couple of miles from Brook. During the 2nd WW Jack joined the home guardhttp://www.sheredelight.com/photographs.html,(1/3 of the way down the page, 2nd from the left.) after the war Jack married and lived all his married life in Pilgrims Way, Shere. By this time Jack was a lorry driver for Forrest Stores and I can remember while waiting for my bus to school, clutching my two old pennys bus fare, Jack would drive past in his lumbering lorry, lean half out of the cab and shout out 'HELLO GEOFFREY.'...... making me feel about 10 feet tall. I have Jacks gold watch that was presented to him in 1960 by Forrest Stores for 40 years loyal service. I think Jack Cooper lived in a different age. Thanks for all the replys.

As a life long railway enthusiast I have been very lucky that many people have over the years shared or given me items of railway interest, most of these items have very little value, but many have a story to tell. As an occasional thread I would like to show a few of these items and maybe tell their story and it would be great if others would like to add items of their own on here too. My great uncle was the gate keeper at Brook Crossing on the South Eastern & Chatham Railway line between Guildford and Dorking in the 1920s & 30s, he had only one leg and his son, my uncle Jack, who died in his 90s and was the last person I knew with a strong Surrey Hills accent, told me story's of how he would climb the signal posts to replenish the oil. When we relocated Jack to sheltered housing for the last years of his life I hunted out a cold chisel which he kept in an outhouse and that I remembered being shown as a child of 8 or 9, stamped on it is SECR , and with a different type of stamp S has been stamped on 4 sides. http:// http:// This is a postcard of Brook Crossing taken from the road that I found among Jack's photos, the gate keepers cottage can be seen to the right of the gates with the signal cabin to the left. http:// Here is a link to a picture I recently found on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/29644579@N07/7227128714/in/faves-45603744@N06/

Cattlewater at the East Somerset Rly this summer. ">http://

I remember them well http://www.flickr.com/photos/54a_south_dock/8101148178/

A couple of pics of cattlewater taken this summer. http:// http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h87/Debe2233/East%20Somerset%20Rly%2001%2009%202012/DSCF5324.jpg[/img]"]http://

Yes lined.

Steam Days Feb 2002, centre page has a pic of PT No 8764 at Southall shunting a clean, maroon K22 on 27th Sept 1959....... at least it looks like a K22 to me, can't quit make out the number.

Hi Bill. Good to see you had an enjoyable exhibition, sorry I wasn't able to make it this time, but have just spoken to my son Andrew and he told me that Penhallick Junction was grandson Adam's favourite layout, he was intrigued by the shuttle! Andrew was there with both grandsons, Adam and Jack and they got my Christmas present from Kernow Models, so something to look forward to. Catch you sometime, Geoff.

My horse box also arrived today and I spent the morning getting it a little more the way I wanted it. http:// After taking out the single screw from the underside a knife was slid in each side. http:// One of the buffers dropped off my model but that was no problem as I fitted MJT 16 inch sprung buffer heads. As you can see the chassis has 2 clips each side which clip into the glazing inside each side of the body. http:// All in bits, there are 2 further screws which hold the interior in place. I removed the complete coupling units. Jenny Emily, the 'spring' that centre these couplings is simply a single length of wire which may be missing or not located correctly on your model at one end. http:// The brake gear fitted to the brake shoes, I had to bend the brake shoes towards the centre of the van so I could spring the shoes apart to snap the brake units in place, there is a small blind hole in the back of each shoes to locate them in. A dab of super glue was then added to each shoe to hold them in place. http:// I fitted Smiths screw link couplings, the steam heat and vacuum pipes have been fitted, they are lovely mouldings, just wish they were available separately. The wheels were very shiny and have been toned down with a mix of mat black and rust paint. It just needs weathering now.

Some good views of modern Warwells http://www.flickr.com/photos/rail_scenes/5591458979/in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/rail_scenes/5592052486/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/rail_scenes/5592053380/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/rail_scenes/5591462201/in/photostream/

Thanks for the reply Craig, its always good to see your pictures of times past in Cornwall. The brake van I remember was I think of Midland or NE origin, gray in colour and at the far end of the sidings against the buffer stops, it was certainly there in the summers of 75/76 and looked like it was not turning a wheel from one year to the next. Maybe the reasons for it being at St Erth are lost in the mists of time, it was over 35 years ago after all.

On the subject of the Down Sidings at St Erth, I can remenber a seemingly derelict gray brake van at the end of those sidings in the 70s. It did not move for years if I remember correctly. Just wondered if anyone had any pictures of it or knows the story behind it?

Or you could put the Heljan headcodes behind the glass from inside, surely thats where they should be. Just cut for a snug fit, no fixing necessary. http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h87/Debe2233/DSCF4267.jpg[/img]"]http://

Hi WBF, My order arrived today, the pair of Warwell are fine and appear the same as the ones in your pictures, I will try to post some pictures tomorrow. Could you please advise me what paints and glue are safe to use on this material I usually prime with a Halfords or RS solvent based aerosol onto resin or brass models with plasticard overlays with no adverse affects.

I have removed the 4 cabs from my two class 22s, 3 of them came out with no trouble but 1 was stuck quite firmly and had to be eased away from the inside of the body with a knife blade, I removed the glazing in order to clean off the weathering and make the drop lights partly open, also fitting crew at each end. The glazing was restuck with Johnsons Klear, take care if using oil or spirit based products as this can craze the glazing. Hope this helps.