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DavidLong
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Posts posted by DavidLong
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Hi Martin,
Thank you for the kind comments, although I wasn't a member of the club at the time it was built, I will pass your comments on to those remaining who were part of the team that built and maintain it.
Ruxely (the terminus) and Woodcote (the through station) are still in very much in use and make the occasional exhibition appearance. Ruxley is at Abdingdon on March 2nd and both are travelling to Wigan on 15/16 June.
An article is also being prepared for one of the magazines.
Cheers,
Dave
Epsom & Ewell MRC
Another admirer of the layout here so it is excellent news that a part of it will be at Wigan in June. I seem to remember that Chris Matthewman once expressed his appreciation which was praise indeed from such an accomplished and much-missed modeller.
David
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A Coventry City money box would always have nothing in it and be partly owned by the local council.
Speaking of the Sky Blues, does anyone know what's been going on at the Ricoh? From being pretty abject earlier in the season they are now within sniffing distance of the play-offs. Are they poised to do a Norwich/Southampton or just flattering to deceive like Sheffield United?
David
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I would agree with many of the layouts that have been mentioned in this thread but I would like to add another. It appeared in the Model Railway Constructor for August 1960 and was an EM gauge layout by Malcolm Cross called 'Low Dale'. I didn't buy this issue myself but was given it about a year later by a friend of the family. I would have been ten years old then and I still have the copy of the magazine. Indeed, I have just got it out of the cupboard to refresh my memory and it still looks just as good as it did when I first saw the article all those years ago. Malcolm was an exceptional modeller and went on to be part of the Model Railway Study Group who formulated the standards that were to become P4.
It is interesting to note that Malcolm was inspired to work in EM by his own admiration for the work of Peter Denny and his various 'Buckingham' layouts. I have often wondered what became of Malcolm as, subsequent to the Protofour articles in MRC, nothing more seemed to be heard from him in modelling circles.
May I also endorse the comments about the inspirational work of Iain Rice. I believe that it was his articles about thin frame chassis construction in Model Railways magazine that revolutionised the approach to locomotive chassis building in the smaller scales. This though was only one of the areas where he brought his own, highly individual approach to modelling to the attention of the hobby. I always appreciated the fact that he didn't seem to model to P4 standards for any particular reason other than that they were there and worked so why wouldn't you use them. To build the likes of 'Tregarrick' in P4 at a time when many still doubted that the standards were truly workable is a testament to his belief that they were entirely practical and useable by the modelling community at large.
David
Edit to correct Model Railway Study Group (from Model Railway Standards Study Group)
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As I said, dad was a press photographer with only a passing interest in railways and in his youth was a keen cyclist. I still have a medal he won for the Wigan Wheelers cycle club Wigan to Shrewsbury and back - 123.5 miles in 7 hours and 28 mins in July 1930. a club record back then, when most roads were cobbled through towns, no motorways or bypasses, tram lines also.
Back in the mid 60's dad had an old Mk 7 Jag - but my dad loved 2 wheels, and bought a Vespa scooter for his work transport, which on this day (back around 1965 or) so took us up to Garstang. (I hated riding pillion - scared to death !!!). We visited the then open Garstang & Catterall station (on the WCML between Preston & Lancaster still open back then - it closed on 3 Feb 1969) and the remaining stub of the old Garstang & Knott End railway which served a coal merchant at Garstang Town station, about a mile from the main line station and alot closer to town.
The Garstang & Knot End would make a nice model railway. (Has anyone done / doing it ?).
Garstang & Catterall Station
Garstang and Catterall general view to the east.jpgGarstang and Catterall general view to the north.jpgGarstang and Catterall northbound Black 5.jpgGarstang and Catterall northbound Clan.jpgGarstang and Catterall southbound Black 5.jpgGarstang and Catterall southbound D305 b.jpgGarstang and Catterall southbound D305.jpgGarstang and Catterall southbound Metrovick CoBo.jpgGarstang Town Station
Garstang and Knott End Rly Garstang Town Station 1.jpgGarstang and Knott End Rly bridge near Garstang Town Station 3.jpgGarstang and Knott End Rly bridge near Garstang Town Station 4.jpgGarstang and Knott End Rly Garstang Town Station 2.jpgGarstang and Knott End Rly Garstang Town Station 5.jpgGarstang and Knott End Rly Garstang Town Station 6.jpgGarstang and Knott End Rly Garstang Town Station 7.jpgGarstang and Knott End Rly Garstang Town Station 8.jpgGarstang and Knott End Rly Garstang Town Station 9.jpgGarstang and Knott End Rly Garstang Town Station 10.jpgBrit15
Great photos of Garstang Town. Always thought that it would make an unusual model, although I have never heard of or seen one. As a model of a small, independant railway it would make a nice change from the Colonel Stephens lookalikes and GWR BLTs, attractive as they are. The huge Manning Wardle 2-6-0T 'Blackpool' would make an attractive and unusual model and not at all like your usual MW locomotives.
There's an Oakwood Press volume about the line, not currently in print but usually available secondhand.
David
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I wasn't suggesting these were spray painted, but the specifications were altered to permit easier spray painting. The van I referred to earlier clearly shows a green end on a PMV. I thought we had been down this route before and established when black ceased being used for the ends of NPCCS, certainly before the introduction of blue in 1965.
Paul Bartlett
Sorry, Paul, I must have missed this discussion. Could you point me at where I will find the conclusions.
TIA
David
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Unlikely, the black ends was earlier before air spray painting became common practice. http://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/srpmv/e341aefa
Paul Bartlett
That was what I suspected, Paul. For the Southern vehicles may I hazard the following as the painting sequence:
Pre-1948 Southern Railway carriage green sides with black ends
1950-1958 BR Crimson sides with black ends
1958-1965/6 Southern Region carriage green sides with black ends
1965/6 onwards BR blue sides and ends
When did air spray painting start to become common? Some time in the 1960s?
I'm assuming that it was unlikely that any of them received BR maroon.
The above is my supposition but I would appreciate any more definitive information.
David
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Obviously, they want to raise their profile even more, no problem with that, it's hardly done for shirt sales money, they spent 212 million euros in the year July'11-July'12, a few Beckham shirts are hardly going to plug that hole. So there really isn't that much of a 'Beckhamabilia cash flow'. Are the Beckhams astute at marketing themselves? Absolutely, but since when has that been something to beat you with a stick for?
Beckham the footballer over rated? Well it's all about opinions, but generally speaking you don't generally get to play the majority of your career at Manchester United and Real Madrid and become the most capped outfield England player if you're not a decent player, if you think he's overated, fine, I saw him play plenty of times and while he's neither Messi or Ronaldo, he was very, very good at what he did, can he do a job for PSG, well it'll be interesting to find out?
If PSG win the championship and Becks plays enough games to quality for a medal, will he be the only player to have been a champion in four different countries? Zlatan has done it in 'only' three!
I agree that he was limited in some ways, I never thought that he scored enough goals, but as you say, very, very good at what he did.
David
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Pretty sure the green one had black ends except for blue patch painted repaired areas,
I think the others had been all-over blue.
The vehicle was totally plastered in brake dust and grime, looked just the same as the others, ie dirty brown with blue painted patch repairs
As noted in an earlier post windows looked no different to the rest of the sides, certainly very little light through them.
The colour was only found when the body was being removed and it was realised that blue hadnt been carried.
The others were clearly in blue under the dirt with the only traces of BR green, red and SR green paint apparant where the surface was damaged or around door edges etc.
Pete
Thanks, Pete, that seems to confirm information that I'd had previously that, certainly in B.R. days, the ends were painted black.
David
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There doesn't seem to have been any mention of N Gauge models so far. Recent developments mean that a wide variety of parcels stock is, or is going to be, available.
From Farish we have the BR Mark 1 BG, BR Mark 1 CCT and BR Mark 1 GUV and forthcoming LMS BG.
From the N Gauge society there is the LNER BG kit, RTR LMS Stove, and forthcoming RTR GWR Collett BG.
From Dapol there is the GWR outside frame Siphon G, Siphon H and Southern CCT, with the GWR Fruit D to come soon.
From the Lima there was the GWR inside frame siphon G - OK if you add Dapol bogies.
From Chivers Finelines there is (or was) the LNER extra long CCT, Southern CCT, Southern PMV and GWR Python.
Douglas
Don't forget that there is a selection of parcels stock in the Etched Pixels/Ultima range as well:
http://www.etchedpixels.co.uk/
Chris Higgs is due to release some etched underframes which will cover a number of the Dapol and Lima items. These will probably be available via The 2mm Scale Association but I don't think that a final decision has been made yet.
David
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Under the dirt one of these vans was later found to be actually still in green, the others were all blue.
Pete
Can you recall the colour of the ends? Green or black?
David
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Yes, although you do need to work carefully. It is accuracy that is needed not complication. Something like a piece of thickish section half inch angle squared off accurately at the end and then cut to slightly over length, say 9mm. Then, carefully and patiently, keeping the file square to the material, file it down to the back to back dimension checking frequently with the vernier as you go, removing any high spots and being careful not to go below the desired measurement anywhere. Cut a slot in the centre if you need to clear gear wheels on driven axles.
I had a suspicion that this may be the method to which you were referring, Natalie. The problem (challenge?) for me after forty years or more of such activity is my continuing inability to file anything square and level, hence my recommendation for use of the vernier lest anyone else has a similar difficulty to me. So in my case I would have recourse to the Unimat which I would have done had Stephen not, unprompted, completed the task for me!
David
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If you've got the vernier it is simple enough to use it to make the back to back gauge.
Simple?
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Although the standard BtoB is 8.51mm, a number of people use 8.61mm instead (and claim better running) so don't panic if you can only get it down to that.
Indeed I am one of those people. I was converted to 8.6mm back-to-back by Stephen Harris and have used it ever since. He even kindly turned me up a back-to-back gauge for the very purpose. I figured that if it was good enough for the master that is Mr.Harris then it was good enough for me. Shame we can't sell one from the Association shops as there are those in the Association who claim that it is inconsistent with the standards. In pure engineering terms it may be but in practical modellers terms it works a treat.
As my layouts are checked with stock that has 8.6mm back -to-backs I have occasionally encountered problems with the diesel conversion wheelsets but the odd tweak usually cures them. If you haven't got an 8.6mm gauge, a vernier will do the job pretty much as well.
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That sounds like a cunning plan Andy, I have one of the early cabs stashed away. What livery would an NCB pannier be in the early 70's - I rather fancy a red one like Alex's.
Jerry
Edit; just googled it and it looks to be green, albeit a much lighter shade than BR or GWR. There was a pannier at Merthyr colliery until at least 1972 with a later cab http://www.flickr.com/photos/12a_kingmoor_klickr/5759344255/in/set-72157626724121567
Jerry
You're right, Jerry. More Apple than Brunswick! 7754 was based at the shed at Big Arch on the Talywain system, a location griced by Phil Copleston and myself although sadly more than several years too late for 7754 and friends.
David
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An excellent piece here by the estimable Barney Ronay on the defenestration of Colin Murray from MOTD2. Have to admit that I like Murray, it's the crap on the other side of the studio that offends me, as it does Ronay. Honourable exceptions to Pat Nevin and Jason Roberts, the latter of whom always looks like he wants to hit someone, probably Hansen.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/blog/2013/jan/22/colin-murray-motd2-bbc
David
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As a recent article in When Saturday Comes had it that many players are being penalised for having the evolutionary audacity to develop arms.
David
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I was at that 6-2 match, looking back quite an unbelievable match, Utd were nothing particular special at the time, very much work in progress and Arsenal had let it something like 4 goals all season at Highbury, so the 2-6 was something of a shock, it was possibly the most famous hour of the acid house blue away strip of the very early nineties!
Having said that a bit unfair to compare Sharpe with Johnson, Sharpe managed 200+ games for Utd, winning 3 league titles, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup and 1 ECW Cup, not a bad return, Johnson managed 37 appearances for City.......
Hey, we were at the same game! Different parts of the ground though
Take your point about Sharpe. Until I looked it up I hadn't realised quite how many games he did play for United and the injuries certainly took their toll. He also had the challenge from the likes of Beckham and Giggs in the wide midfield positions. If he had been playing even ten years earlier it is possible that he would have had to retire. In recent years we have improved the chances of people playing on after serious injuries but it may be that we still haven't quite appreciated the psychological damage that can be caused.
Another player who came to mind in this context is Stephen Ireland who I always feel is only a few short steps from pressing the self-destruct button but who seems to have settled for a long drawn-out but inexorable decline
David
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Another sad story of talent gone to waste:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jan/15/michael-johnson-released-manchester-city
And, yes, I'm looking at you Lee Sharpe. I still wince at the memory of the three that he scored when United battered Arsenal 6-2 at Highbury in the League Cup. At least his career did get a bit further than Johnson's.
Proof that injuries aren't just about healing the body.
David
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I wonder if Arsenal and City are piloting a new 10-aside team to try to reduce wages costs in the Prem?!
That's six red cards in the last six meetings. I couldn't disagree with either decision but Mike Dean does tend to be a red card and/or penalty waiting to happen so it does seem a bit brainless to oblige him quite so readily.
Koscielny's rugby embrace of Edin Dzeko was titled in one photo I've seen as 'great tackle, wrong sport'! Kompany's card may be slightly more debateable; he did dive in with both feet but also took the ball. On MOTD2 they showed a couple of other recent examples of similar tackles where in one case nothing at all was given and in the other it was a yellow card. Where's Simon Martin when you need him?
David
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Well, I did say maybe. The Shire Counties could well be loose cannons and on the one hand take the attitude that "If we can't benifit then no one else can" and attempt to scupper the whole idea (Think Bromley and the low Underground fares policy of Ken Livingstone during his time as GLC Leader) or start communicating with each other to ensure that, for the greater good, a joint approach is hammered out and have influence on any devolved transport board but I suspect that Party Politics could well be the downfall of the whole idea. Certianly an alien might be forgiven for thinking that we have designed a powerful force field for cutting through railways where they cross a boundary between each Shire County in England. Whether or not there are enough people within these bodies bright enough to realise that "You gotta be in it to win it" is debatable.
An example would be the dashed hopes for the reopening of Leicester - Burton to passengers. Back in the latter days of B.R. there was a plan to do this and link it with some reopened stations on the MML. The scheme was backed enthusiastically by Leicestershire and the stations reopened on schedule and an interim stopping service was introduced. That is precisely where it stayed as, before entering Burton (just in Staffordshire) the line passes through Derbyshire for about 3-4 miles. The stumbling block as I remember is that Derbyshire were unwilling to make a financial contribution as the main benefits lay within Leicestershire and Staffordshire.
At least Penrith to Keswick doesn't have this particular problem ('challenge' in modernspeak) being entirely within Cumbria!
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Of course, and maybe to the advantage of Keswick, the North of England could become part of the Railway Devolvement Process.
I suspect that any sunstantive devolution of decison making to the north will be mainly to tha advantage of the metropolitan areas and I've read that shire county administrations are sceptical about how much they stand to gain from such a process. The people at SELRAP who are campaigning for the reinstatement of Colne to Skipton are working long and hard on this project which links the substantial urban areas of East Lancashire and West Yorkshire. This could have real benefits in terms of opening up access to employment opportunities but they don't appear to be making real headway with the essential decision makers. All of this route lies within shire county boundaries. On the other hand the first English reinstatement outside London is likely to be the full re-opening of Oxford to Bedford. This has been supported by the heavyweight East-West rail partnership and is working in an area of rapidly growing population and a route that could have significant advantages for railfreight. Sadly neither of these factors are present for Penrith-Keswick and I wish the project every success but I feel that there may be many more hurdles to overcome and financial burdens to confront before the goal can be reached.
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Hope they are successful - the big thing this scheme has against it is that it's in England . I'm open to correction but I believe no new stations or lines have opened to passengers in England (other than HS1 and DLR extensions) since at least 2000 whereas plenty have opened or are under construction in Wales and Scotland (Or is Corby the single exception?)
I think that it may be more accurate to say that Corby is the exception outside of the devolved railway administrations.
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A couple of points about motors. The motor in the Farish 03/04 locos is identical in dimensions to that sold by the 2mm Scale Association except that it is single-ended. If you are going to build a finescale chassis for one of these locos and have the whole loco rather than just the body then the motor from the GF chassis can be used in the conversion. It also saves putting unnecessary stress on the double ended version in removing one of the shafts.
If you require a shorter motor for a project and the 8x10 dimensions of the flat can are ok then it may be worth looking at this:
When the motor is stripped out you will find that it is only 11mm long compared to the Association/GF version length of 15mm. The 4mm may not seem much but in 2mm scale it can sometimes make a lot of difference. At current conversion rates, including postage, it works out at about £27. This is getting into Faulhaber/Maxon territory but as far as I am aware none of their motors are as short as this one. Should have mentioned that the single shaft is 1mm like the larger version. It has a short nylon worm and I'm no expert on these things but it may weIl be 64dp-ish or thereabouts! I haven't used motor yet but I have no reason to suppose that the performance or potential longevity would be any different to the 15mm version.
If anyone knows where these motors may be purchased separately and/or cheaper then it would be useful to know.
Edit: If using the Farish motor you will need to remove the brass worm in order to fit the Association version. I bought the GWS pinion gear puller which does 1mm, 1.5mm and 2mm shafts. It makes short work of removing the worm. It's available from a number of outlets but you can see it here:
http://robotbirds.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=525
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Stephen Harris does an etched kit for one in 2mm scale (1:152):
http://www.2mm.org.uk/small_suppliers/stephenharris/index.htm
Fourth item from the top.
Older Inspirational Layouts
in Modelling musings & miscellany
Posted · Edited by DavidLong
Ian,
Forgive me for not adding a 'like' to this post but it would have seemed inappropriate considering the sad news that it contained. However, I do thank you for the information even though it confirmed my fear that another fine modeller had been taken from us in unfortunate circumstances.
However, as a result of this thread, I did spend a happy fifteen minutes or so before going to sleep last night, re-reading Malcolm's 'Low Dale' article and marvelling again at the standards that he had set.
David