Annie's Virtual Pre-Grouping, Grouping and BR Layouts & Workbench

[Annie]

1 hour ago, MikeOxon said:

I'm pleased to see you are still thinking of the Broad Gauge during your 'Eastern' period

My somewhat alternative Norfolk layout is like an old comfortable dressing gown and slippers I put on when I want to lose myself for a while playing trains Mike.  With it all being in a pickle after I moved it over to TRS19 I've been very much focused on getting it back to being something like its old self again.  All of which means that my Broad Gauge projects have had to be put to one side for a while until my patch of Norfolk is all nicely repaired again.

 

I was very much impressed by that photo of 'Europa' and I wouldn't mind it at all if I could manage to commission a digital model of it in it's final form.  (O god of down behind the couch cushions pray give up thy bounty into my hands for my need is great.)

I like Gooch engines, - uncompromising old monsters that they were.

 

I like the Armstrong convertibles too mostly because they were a clever and elegant compromise in an effort to keep the true GWR the Broad Gauge in operation despite Great Western management being obscenely busy with putting the finishing touches to its coffin.

 

Joseph Armstrong's 'Swindon' class 0-6-0  No. 2089 (built 1866) formerly named 'Oxford' with 'Buffalo' class saddle tank No. 1076.

 

 

Unknown Armstrong Goods convertible.

 

 

 

[MikeOxon]

Just to clarify, Armstrong's 'Swindon' class were not convertibles and were all sold to the B&ER between 1872 and 1874 before reverting to GWR in 1876.  Only one, 'Reading', lasted until the end of the Broad Gauge. 

 

20 of Armstrong's 'Standard Goods' class were converted to run on Broad Gauge as stop-gaps, before being restored to narrow gauge after 1892.

 

I, too, like those Gooch engines very much - plain simple engines with large boilers, designed to get the job done!

 

Mike

[Annie]

1 hour ago, MikeOxon said:

Just to clarify, Armstrong's 'Swindon' class were not convertibles and were all sold to the B&ER between 1872 and 1874 before reverting to GWR in 1876.  Only one, 'Reading', lasted until the end of the Broad Gauge. 

I posted the photo of the 'Swindon' class engine to show the difference between a convertible and a non-convertible Armstrong engine.

Though I will admit I could have explained that better.

[MikeOxon]

It's  very useful to see them together, as you have shown.  Since you mentioned convertibles first, I just wanted to clarify that this term only applied to the later engines.  I'm sure you were aware of that already

 

[MikeOxon]

On further thought, they make a nice montage:

 

[Annie]

Oh yes I do like that montage Mike.

 

Testing and re-writing schedules continues on my Norfolk layout in between the seemingly endless business of sorting out the trees on the layout.  While it's generally going well it's also frustrating since I keep falling asleep in the middle of things.

 

MS&LR 9F No.535 at Brenton Wood.

 

 

Rob Dee from the Trainz forums has completed work on the GER 6 wheel luggage brake he was making.  Here it is under the roof at Moxbury station.  He's presently working on a 1st/3rd composite.

 

 

 

[Annie]

The engineer's inspection saloon is being prepared for use at Great Mulling MPD. 

I've found a few strange glitches while running trains on my Norfolk layout including one where a bridge on a branchline had a dropped section that would derail the train engine, but not the coaches.  The coaches would run away over the top of the derailed engine for a considerable distance onto the mainline and finally stop well away from where the problem was creating a complete mystery as to what had happened.  Fortunately that's been about the worst one.

 

[Annie]

Moxbury milk train.  One of the things that's been good to start work on again is doing the morning schedules away from Moxbury.  The morning milk train leaves Moxbury's parcel bay beside the main station and heads off to the dairy factory on  the outskirts of Eastlingwold.  Along the way it makes pickups at Muddle Junction, Lodge and Hayward.  All three stations serve farming communities with Lodge having the most milk churns needing collection.  It's all done through the mysteries of the imaginarium matrix with the train stopping at each station for the necessary time for the milk churns to be loaded before setting off again.

An elderly 4 wheel brake 3rd coach forms part of the train and this is often taken advantage of by intrepid folk of slender means who don't mind sitting on a slatted wooden seat and sometimes being shunted about.

 

 

A task I finally got around to.  This evening I fitted the Hopewood Tramway's vented vans with vacuum brake equipment.  The chassis underframe I use is a very clever kit of parts made by Ed Heaps so really all I had to do was change over some sets of standardised parts.  The tricky bit though was making sure that I had the magical incantations in the config files correct so they would do their very clever animated coupling up trick.

The Hopewood vans are freelance, but I don't think they are an implausible design.  There's two milk vans and two cheese traffic vans, but really I could do with more of these vans especially during the fruit harvest season.  I have several of the 6 wheel teak ventilated vans listed in the Affiliated (Imaginary) Railway Companies rolling stock ledger, but they don't really like being shunted onto farm sidings with their 'interesting' trackwork.  

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Annie
can't spell for toffee

[Annie]

A teak milk traffic van variation I'm having a frown over at the moment.

 

[NeilHB]

2 hours ago, Annie said:

Moxbury milk train.  One of the things that's been good to start work on again is doing the morning schedules away from Moxbury.  The morning milk train leaves Moxbury's parcel bay beside the main station and heads off to the dairy factory on  the outskirts of Eastlingwold.  Along the way it makes pickups at Muddle Junction, Lodge and Hayward.  All three stations serve farming communities with Lodge having the most milk churns needing collection.  It's all done through the mysteries of the imaginarium matrix with the train stopping at each station for the necessary time for the milk churns to be loaded before setting off again.

An elderly 4 wheel brake 3rd coach forms part of the train and this is often taken advantage of by intrepid folk of slender means who don't mind sitting on a slatted wooden seat and sometimes being shunted about.

 

 

A task I finally got around to.  This evening I fitted the Hopewood Tramway's vented vans with vacuum brake equipment.  The chassis underframe I use is a very clever kit of parts made by Ed Heaps so really all I had to do was change over some sets of standardised parts.  The tricky bit though was making sure that I had the magical incantations in the config files correct so they would do their very clever animated coupling up trick.

The Hopewood vans are freelance, but I don't think they are an implausible design.  There's two milk vans and two cheese traffic vans, but really I could do with more of these vans especially during the fruit harvest season.  I have several of the 6 wheel teak ventilated vans listed in the Affiliated (Imaginary) Railway Companies rolling stock ledger, but they don't really like being shunted onto farm sidings with their 'interesting' trackwork.  

 

Annie, any chance of some views of the freelance Hopewood Tramway milk vans please when you have time? They look just the sort of thing that would be suitable for my tramway. 

[Hroth]

22 hours ago, Annie said:

 

The locomotive has more than a passing similarity to one of Rowland Emetts designs...

 

[Annie]

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

The locomotive has more than a passing similarity to one of Rowland Emetts designs...

Except that the wonderful little single driver engine in my picture really did exist Mr Hroth.  I don't know how much use it would have been in real life,  but it makes itself useful as an inspection engine.

 

3 hours ago, NeilHB said:

Annie, any chance of some views of the freelance Hopewood Tramway milk vans please when you have time? They look just the sort of thing that would be suitable for my tramway. 

Not a problem at all Neil.

 

 

 

[Northroader]

Nellie really did exist as well..

[NeilHB]

Thanks Annie, much appreciated  

[Annie]

48 minutes ago, Northroader said:

Nellie really did exist as well..

Oh I'd never deny the existence of such a wonderful confection as 'Nellie' Mr Northroader. 

[MikeOxon]

'Eastlingwold' looks as though someone got a bit carried away with the Stephenson long-boiler concept

Edited May 31, 2021 by MikeOxon
error

[Annie]

6 hours ago, MikeOxon said:

'Eastlingwold' looks as though someone got a bit carried away with the Stephenson long-boiler concept

I believe Geo. England & Co had something to do with the construction of the prototype.

[Annie]

Presently amusing myself by making GER area PO wagons.

 

[Annie]

And another one.  I'm finding it nice and relaxing making textures for PO wagons.  I'm working my way through the back numbers of the GER Society Journal looking for PO wagons that take my fancy.

 

Edit:  W.N. Bundy was in business until 1913.  The works were at Lattersey Field, Station Road, Whittlesey.

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Annie
More information

[Edwardian]

Bravo Annie!

 

Whittlesey still has, or had at least a dozen years ago, a remnant of a station. It does not assist anyone intending to travel there by train that 'Whittlesey' will not be seen in any timetables or, for instance, on thetrainline.com. because the railways have, alone, persisted in maintaining the town's archaic spelling of Whittlesea.

 

The 'sea' was the great mere, a vast body of inland water that was not finally drained until steam power was put to the task in the 1850s.  Whittlesey Mere, or the ahistorical survival of a similar body of water, is the basis of the Isle of Eldernell project; a closed 'island system' inland.   

 

Brick-making was a vast activity in Whittlesey. Only one brick works survives, but during the steam age it was a huge industry for the town and the station had extensive sidings for the traffic. 

 

Brick-making was, apparently, also very thirsty work, with Whittlesey containing an unbelievable number of public houses, so many, in fact, that they outstripped the ability for landlords to think of names for therm, so they ended up with pubs names such as  'The Letter A', 'The Letter B' ...

 

Whittlesey today is best known for the annual Straw Bear festival, once a rowdy affair suppressed in the Edwardian period by do-gooders, but revived in modern times as a folk-dancing festival every January. Those Morris Men prepared to risk the wrath of Nature Spirits by dancing Morris in winter attend from all over, but my favourties are the groups who dance the winter dances; Molly, the Dark Morris. 

[Annie]

Thank you very much James.  I was attracted to this particular wagon largely because a PO brick works wagon is a little on the unusual side and it would make a nice change from endless numbers of coke and coal PO wagons.  I must admit that the name 'Whittlesea' intrigued me as well and if I hadn't spent a good part of the day asleep I would have started to do a little research on Whittlesea.  Delightful too that the railways kept the old name for the town.

 

On the strength of Whittlesey being such a major brick making centre I won't make Mr Bundy's wagon a singleton and I'll make three or so more numbering them with even numbers only so it looks like Mr Bundy owns more wagons than he really does.

[Annie]

Four brick works PO wagons done.  Not difficult to do since I only had to edit the number for each one.

I'm presently looking at a PO wagon owned by a Mr J. H. Death from Colchester, but I'm a little worried that the Woke/PC brigade might think I'm being insensitive in these difficult times.  

 

[Hroth]

43 minutes ago, Annie said:

I'm presently looking at a PO wagon owned by a Mr J. H. Death from Colchester, but I'm a little worried that the Woke/PC brigade might think I'm being insensitive in these difficult times.  

 

Put an apostrophe between the D and e (ie D'eath) and it mightn't be noticed!

 

Oxford Rail produced a plethora of slightly inauthentic PO wagons, I bought several and run a rake that says "Fear Crippen" repeatedly (at least, sort of)...

 

 

 

[Annie]

In high school I had a Keith Death in my form stream.  Nobody seemed to be much worried about it until a teacher suddenly thundered 'DEATH!' in class due to my classmate committing some thundering worthy offense or another.  Possibly hedging my bets with 'D'eath' might work out alright or I could simply not worry about it and weather the slings and arrows of outrageous Woke folk. 

 

I particularly like that 'Fear Bros Ltd' 7 plank wagon.

[Edwardian]

22 minutes ago, Annie said:

In high school I had a Keith Death in my form stream.  Nobody seemed to be much worried about it until a teacher suddenly thundered 'DEATH!' in class due to my classmate committing some thundering worthy offense or another.  Possibly hedging my bets with 'D'eath' might work out alright or I could simply not worry about it and weather the slings and arrows of outrageous Woke folk. 

 

I particularly like that 'Fear Bros Ltd' 7 plank wagon.

 

I don't see why a wagon with 'Death' on it is unWoke. I mean, Reg Shoe might have something to say about it, but otherwise ....

 

Did Keith ever invade people's personal space? If so, they'd have had a near Death experience.