wagonbasher

29 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Depends on date.

 

GCR, GER, and GNR unfitted opens, 3 planks and above, common user among those three companies from 13 Dec 1915

 

GWR, LYR, LNWR, MR, and NER unfitted opens, 3 planks and above, common user among those three companies from 2 April 1916

 

Scottish companies, certain unfitted opens, common user amongst themselves from 5 June 1916

 

All companies in Great Britain unfitted opens, 3 planks and above, common user from 2 Jan 1917

 

 

There were not very many gunpowder vans - I doubt more the 200 in the country as a whole. I should think most ammunition travelled in boxes or crates in ordinary open wagons, sheeted. (That was the case in the second war, if I recall the details of the Soham accident correctly.) It's not an especially dangerous cargo. Grenades were un-primed until shortly before use, recalling a certain Dad's Army episode...

 

No need to apologise; I don't think the subject has come up before.

Understand the pooling comments, modelling late 1916 maybe 17 or 18.  So the pooling was specific to railway companies?  So, private owner like coal wagons remained within the owners control?

Andy

15 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Depends on date.

 

GCR, GER, and GNR unfitted opens, 3 planks and above, common user among those three companies from 13 Dec 1915

 

GWR, LYR, LNWR, MR, and NER unfitted opens, 3 planks and above, common user among those three companies from 2 April 1916

 

Scottish companies, certain unfitted opens, common user amongst themselves from 5 June 1916

 

All companies in Great Britain unfitted opens, 3 planks and above, common user from 2 Jan 1917

 

 

There were not very many gunpowder vans - I doubt more the 200 in the country as a whole. I should think most ammunition travelled in boxes or crates in ordinary open wagons, sheeted. (That was the case in the second war, if I recall the details of the Soham accident correctly.) It's not an especially dangerous cargo. Grenades were un-primed until shortly before use, recalling a certain Dad's Army episode...

 

No need to apologise; I don't think the subject has come up before.

Excellent. Answer, thank you

Andy

Apologies if this has been covered earlier, I didn’t find anything through the search feature.

WW1 munitions, specifically bullets and Granades.  Where they moved around mainland Uk in gunpowder vans or did the demand require other forms of vehicle.

Specifically I am thinking about supplies to the WW1 training camps on Cannock Chase (Staffs).    
 

I presume pooling means that anything goes

Andy

3 hours ago, DaveF said:

South Shields now with a quick look at the NCB Harton electric railway.

 

 

South Shields St Hilda sidings 14th Sept 85 C7161

 

 

South Shields St Hilda sidings EE.Baguley No 14 21st Feb 86 C7330

 

 

South Shields St Hilda sidings EE.Baguley No12 21st Feb 86 C7333

 

 

South Shields Harton Staithes  EE.Baguley No 13 14th Feb 87 J8753

 

 

South Shields Harton Staithes  14th Feb 87 J8754

 

 

South Shields Harton staithes EE.Baguley No13 from ferry 14th Feb 87 J8755

 

 

David

 

 

So, what have we got in the forth photo.  MK1 fiesta and is that an allegro?

very atmospheric shots.

Andy

8 hours ago, Bluebell Model Railway said:

Hello,

 Looking for a supplier of Bill Bedford models BBWF020 GWR W iron etch, used to buy them from Eileen's but unfortunately no longer in business, Wizard doesn't stock that particular type, and internet searches apart from reviews bring up nothing.

Would anyone know where they are sold, or an alternative supplier?

Please humour my ignorance.  I have used Bill Bedfords products, mostly sprung wagon  under frames.   Are we saying that Bill does not sell direct?  

Andy

PMT Bristol RE PVT207L (currently owned by Potteries Omnibus Preservation Society) attended the funeral last week of Clem Smith at Eccleshall Parish Church Near Stafford

Clem had interests in railways and buses and for years Clem was secretary of the Stafford Railway Circle and potteries Omnibus Preservation Society POPS.  Clems first choice would have been PMT 766EVT but cuerrently off the road.  766 is an Atlantean and Clem wrote Potteries Atlanteans:  

worth £1.75 of anyone's money.

Note EVT 766 on the front cover,  In my teenage years I had many days away with POPS attending rallies with 766 or PMT PD2 466.

Photographs by David Hughes

Andy

23 hours ago, Legend said:

 

Interesting Kev .  So was it that the culvert was blocked  or was it excessive rain ? As I said in previous post West Central Scotland not exactly short of rainfall . 

I was travelling South from Edinburgh on the A702 through Biggar on the 30th.  The rain fall in Edinburgh the previous night and on Friday until about 12.00 was relentless.   As we came through biggar which is not far from Carstairs we were diverted North as the A702 was closed.  Our journey was constantly interrupted by one way working through surface water floods on the road.  All the way to the  A74(M) massive queues were joining our road diverted off the A720 (I think) which had also closed for flooding.  Then the news that the A74(M) was closed for flooding.  Lucky for us, heading South, we joined just South of the closure although we had to thread through massive North bound queues to get to the motorway and the river which may be the juvenile Clyde looked very swollen.  Dumfries also flooded that night further South so it was very very wet.

Andy

On 14/11/2022 at 00:24, Michael Hodgson said:

She needn't worry,  bapipes were traditionally made from the skin of a sheep.  It's violins that are made from catgut.

 

It wasn't the Scots who invented bagpipes - the Romans brought them over (presumaby before Hadrian built that wall to keep the noise out).  By the way, it isn't true that Nero fiddled while Rome burned since the violin was much more recent - he played the bagpipes!

Apparently it’s not hard to play the bag pipes, the hard part is getting the cat in the bag.

Andy

Are they not sign written, hand painted anymore??

Andy

8 hours ago, john new said:

Unlikely, as for example coal is hacked off a face but the mines/collieries are equally known as pits. I suspect more likely as a generalisation would be that a pit is a hole with sides all round whereas a quarry generally has at least one edge where the access to the face can be gained. The generalisations in language then take over so some materials are always quarried in common parlance. The example for that is gold, even the modern open-casting operations are referred to as gold mines!

I am a supply chain manager with Tarmc, the UK’s biggest quarrying company. My speciality is bagged aggregates and bagged cement

sands may be the bottom of some ancient sea bed, sand and gravel may be the result of  10s of 1000s of years of river deposits, sands and gravels may be the spoil and waste left from melting glaciers, aggregates like Limestone, hard stones like granites can be blasted and crushed.

Today they are all called quarries.  I think the pit reference is from a different age

The only aggregate source that would not be referred to as a quarry is marine aggregates like sands and gravels dredged from our estuaries and landed at docks.  
 

it is just terminology and the passing of time.  It’s odd but I have no involvement in Clay extraction for bricks but I think I would say clay pit…. Maybe today they would be quarries?

Andy

38 minutes ago, fulton said:

Some good responses, for myself the particle size is important, as is the mixture of colours, from normal viewing distance I do not think the particle shape either round or sharp will show to me. When I last visited Dungeness there were still a few sleepers in place, and a point lever, on the line running to the ballast pits, most pebbles seemed to be less than 2". Map just to give an idea of the ballast pit location, the sidings run off the loop at Dungeness station, the ballast from here was used extensively over the SECR system. Have flirted with the idea of modelling this most odd location.

Sorry, my ignorance, what is a ballast pit.  Is that the ‘quarry’ the ballast came from

BTW, I also don’t think i can tell a naturally rounded from a crushed / angular particle of sand that is 0.5mm at normal viewing distance, even with my best glasses on.

Andy

Ok, some insider knowledge.

Tarmac branded  Kiln dried sand (B&Q and Wickes), Tarmac Play Pit Sand (B&Q, Wickes and Smyths Toys).  All use a very light coloured quartz sand quarried in Cheshire.  The partial grading is as follows:

31% below 0.25mm

66% between 0.25 and 0.5mm 

3% over 0.5mm

Andy

Is there something wrong with what the ballast in the first photographs.  I don’t know what colour / texture the OP is trying to achieve?

if you can find a good texture then the colour can be changed.  If you take smallish batches of the material (kiln dried sand, chinchilla dust) dampen it and add some cement colour.  
 

Cement colours come in Yellows, Browns, Reds and Black.  Mix to get the colour(s)  you are trying to achieve (note, the colour will be darker because it is wet, it will dry lighter).  Once mixed,  spread out thinly on a board to allow it to dry.

Once dry, bag it up and apply using your preferred ballasting system.

Cement colours are used to change the colour of mortars and concrete and are available at Builders merchants and some DIY stores.

Andy

3 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

 

I don't know about models, but I do know that in other industries QA/QC is one of the great hidden costs of doing business. And in some ways it's a gamble, first class QA/QC doesn't make any difference to the product if the factory is producing to the required standard. It's very common to have a choice of buying a product which has gone though a rigorous inspection and test process, or the exact same product without those checks. The difference in price can be enormous, so do you take a gamble and buy cheap, or pay $$$$s for something which may offer no real benefit?

I used to work for a classification society (a maritime organization which approves the design of ships and their systems, surveys them during construction and through life), we approved engine designs and did surveys at the engine works, in the yards etc during manufacture and installation on-board then through life. In some cases the same engines were being manufactured for power generation, railways etc with none of that assurance (I might add classification is mandatory in the marine industry). The engines were the same. You don't get a better engine because it has all the necessary certificates from LR, DNV, ClassNK, ABS, CCS or whichever society did the approvals. What you do get is a much higher degree of traceability on materials and components, independent QA checks etc. For most engines most of the time it makes no difference whatsoever, but it's a bit like insurance in that when something does go wrong it makes a lot of difference.

I'm guessing each model manufacturer will agree its own level of QA/QC with the factories, it's a commercial decision whether to reduce cost and take a risk that X% possible returns is an acceptable cost, or pay more to lower X% down to y% possible returns. Usually factories are happy to work with their customers, but there is a cost to QA/QC and it is for the customer to make a decision what they are comfortable with.

CE is a European declaration of a pre determined standard.  CA/Uk is the new replacement for products sold in the UK, A product May show both if offered for sale in both.  There are products that must conform to these standards to be offered for sale in either the EU or the Uk and there are products that are not required to meet these standards. In our case model railways are required to carry that standard for the safety of toys and electrical equipment.  These are predetermined  standards specific to that category.  They are not a measure of general quality only that the product conforms to the requirement of those standards.   So the quality of a locomotives paint finish, accuracy of colour will not be covered but that the paint would be free from toxins etc would.  Hope that helps, it’s a big topic.

Andy

53 minutes ago, Dragonfly said:

...and at long last, the final van leaves, and the hall returns to darkness...

 

I'm going for a pint.

 

Years ago I was part of the Stafford exhibition team and both my girls from the earliest age would experience something of the show depending on age.  What they couldn’t get their heads around was that come Monday, it’s gone.  Not one bit remains.  They are both grown up now and get it.  
 

Andy

10 minutes ago, 2ManySpams said:

 

Mrs Spams?

I didn’t type that…l. Oh dear 

SorryMr Spams

A

From The vantage point that me and Mrs Spams commanded on the balcony, we looked down on the hall, from the grand national style tape cutting to let the show growers in on Saturday morning to the Sunday afternoon shufflers that don’t want to go home.

Chris said there is a real buzz.

I said there are four of them running to the station and back.

Great show, Stafford for a long time boxed with the big boys, they have just stepped up to the heavy weights.  
 

Well done Stafford

Andy

11 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

You'll all be worried to know I'm just leaving Shrewsbury.

See you soon.

 

Mike.

If I were coming to Stafford, I wouldn’t start in Shrewsbury..  

Andy

12 minutes ago, Chris M said:

Well tickets are only £1 for an accompanied child.

The only way I know of  properly testing a card reader is to take a payment . I used my own card to make a test payment of £1 which means I have donated a whole £1 of my hard earned pension to Warley club. The things I do to help you people. 😉

I was only teasing, see you at the show

Andy

4 minutes ago, Chris M said:

All set up and raring to go! Looking forward to a whole day playing trains and chatting.

 

Advance tickets for the  Warley NEC show are going to be available from stand 8 - Dawlish Warren. When tested yesterday the card machine was working so you can pay be card or cash for advance tickets. Checking that the card machine was working cost me a £1 donation to the club but its all in a good cause.

What’s that, advanced Warley tickets are £1 ?

Andy

11 hours ago, 2ManySpams said:

 

Actually, the biggest question at the moment, and one I'm sure you can relate to, is what shirts to pack. Do I go for a sensible long-sleeve check shirt (warm, comfortable and easy on the eye) or a full-on tropical, Hawaiian style short-sleeve shirt? 

As I have to sit next to you for a whole weekend, I vote ‘easy on the eye’.  Just saying.  Pleased to learn you will have trousers.  Almost a given, I thought.

Andy

12 hours ago, Chris M said:

Only one sleep to go!

 

My layout went in the van with the barriers yesterday. I hope it got there alright. I'll be re-united later today to assemble it. Just got to remember to take all the necessary bits and pieces with me. Although I'm exhibiting I'm really looking forward to being able to wander round the show and enjoy the other layouts.

It’s sounds like you have put it on a courier?   Yodel, Hermes, maybe?

Andy

On 18/09/2022 at 09:37, ELTEL said:

Hi Mike

 

Yes there will be the normal courtesy preserved bus service from Stafford Railway Station to the Showground on both days.

 

I will post the timetable as soon as I get it confirmed from the bus group 

 

Terry 

 

If it’s not running by any chance…. The good news is that the new hall is 50, maybe 60 yards nearer than the old hall.

Always looking for a positive.

Andy

7 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Driving it there would be a lot more fun, and probably just as expensive!

 

Mike.

cliffs got the RT as far as Athens, I think, it’s just a ferry and the length of a continent from there. 
 

Cliffe and his chums sang a lot on the way, a pre requisite maybe.

Andy

7 hours ago, Trainnoob said:

Okay, so I want a Routemaster because I want a unique style Motorhome and I have found very few Routemaster conversions (Probably because of the concerns that people have made above). 

 

I have found minibusses or vans are a bit small, I like my space, so I thought about getting a vintage American A class Motorhome because that would be unique and cool, but unfortunately, RHD vehicles are not allowed to be imported to my country, so that is not going to work. 

 

Compared to the UK my country is quite liberal with size limits, as for the costs of running they will still be high but 1. I don't have other major expenses (Except model trains) and 2. I feel it is worth it for something as cool as a vintage bus. Also, vintage passenger vehicles are a lot easier to import into my country as long as they're over 40 years old. I know Britain does have some Small RHD motorhomes but for the price of them, I would rather buy a Routemaster. As for the conversion cost I view this as a long term project.

 

 

 

 

I am curious, where is your country?  If you don’t mind me asking.

Andy