Lower Thames Yard

[Tallpaul70]

I thought readers of this thread might like the following from today's paper:-

"Pretentious Job Title of the Night
McKenzie's a " Performance Ambassador" for Trans Pennine Express(!) ( my italics and exclamation mark!)
We saw him on "The Railway 24/7" (Channel 5) helping people onto trains. It used to be a Porter's job.... but as service gets worse, titles get longer."

I have recorded this, but have yet to watch it.
Immediately "Train Manager" (Guard!) came to my mind but I am sure that those of you who have had the privilege (or misfortune!) to work in the industry can tell us of many more instances?

However, getting back to my Lower Thames layouts:-
I said yesterday that I was going to look at my 1959 WTT to help resolve my issues with Steam hauled suburban trains for Lower Thames Goods Shed.

A quick look at this suggested that this would not help as the Class 117 Diesels seem to have been introduced with the next WTT, Winter 1959/60.
However I thought I would look at the listings of Paddington arrivals and departures for 1955 in my copy of "Through the Links at Southall and Old Oak Common", as this might give me information about which of the outer suburban trains were hauled by 61xx.

This proved to be a good idea, because I had not appreciated how little the train timings changed between 1955 (100% steam apart from the occasional AEC Railcar), and 1961 (Steam only in the rush hours).
This means that a compromise I can live with is to run as steam hauled and diesel alternative suburban trains as I originally wanted. I just have to be careful not to run a 1955 steam train that had by 1961 had its time significantly altered or even the train removed. Similarly I will aim not to run as steam trains introduced for the diesel era.

I guess the continuation of the steam timings shows a number of things:-
1) How good at acceleration the 61xxs were with 5 coaches - comparable to one or two three car 117s.
2) Either management didn't trust the 117s (quite likely!), or they thought passengers would prefer the habitual times (quite likely, but not I would have thought passenger preferences were not at the front of management's mind!)
3) They wanted to avoid the trouble of recasting and introducing a new timetable. (Very likely and still a trouble today!)
4) They had enough on their plates sorting out loco/unit/coach /staff diagrams without timetable trouble as well (highly likely!)

So I will aim over the next day or two to post some photos of these steam trains and then next week to get back to my freight sets and post photos of some more of those.

Hope everyone s well and staying safe?
Take care
Cheers
Paul

[Tallpaul70]

As a way of checking out the running of the suburban trains round the right hand side of Lower Thames Goods Yard and the High Wycombe Branch trains round the left hand side of the layout, I have drawn up a set of cardboard (cutouts? no!) rectangles to use to plot the movements into and out of the fiddle yard in Lower Thames Goods Shed, to find out if my proposed movements work.

In doing this I realized that in my initial allocation of loop and siding space I had forgotten about the "Marlow Donkey" and the class 128 parcels Unit.

Fortunately these proved not to be a problem but a problem I am currently wrestling with is that of locomotive running round on steam trains that arrive and turn round. The easiest solution seems to be that there needs to be one free road for this purpose.

However, I am not sure that I can permanently free up one of the existing loops or find room to add another one for this purpose, so watch this space!

Frantically moving cardboard rectangles around a table has diverted me from taking any passenger train photos as I promised last week I would do. So my apologies for that, but when I get fed up with the fiddle yard puzzle, I will have a break for a day or so and get the photos done.

Promise!!!

Meanwhile, please keep safe and enjoy your modelling.
Best regards
Paul

[Tallpaul70]

I have had a good end to this week with today's arrival from Hattons of a Hornby New WR 2-6-2T.

So tomorrow I aim to unpack it and post comparison photos with one of my earlier Hornby versions of this loco. Hope at the same time to photo both locos with Bachmann Mk1 suburbans and Hornby Collett suburbans to model the High Wycombe Branch trains discussed in my earlier posts.

This loco is all the more welcome as it is my first new model since the start of the lockdown!

I needed cheering up as I had been planning to take a trip to Bedford next week to pick up from Malcolm models he has worked on for me. I had been waiting until the end of our 12 week shielding and the improvement to near normal of the necessary bus services.
However there has been a spike in Coronavirus infections in Bedford, to more than twice the level we have locally, and there is talk of a local lockdown there.

So I think that trip will have to wait maybe another month!

I hope everybody is well, staying safe, and keeping sane by completing all those models in the when I get round to it box(es)!
Cheers for now,
Paul

[Walkingthedog]

Is the loco a tanner one-er?

[Tallpaul70]

Is the loco a tanner one-er?

Yes,
Its 6145 in early BR Black livery.
Cheers
P

[Walkingthedog]

One of my favourites

[Tallpaul70]

Hope all of you in the UK find today's temperatures a bit easier than yesterday's?

Firstly, I am sorry for the lack of recent postings, due to matters relating to Home, Garden and Family requiring my attention, but none I an pleased to say Virus related!

So, finally I have got to the photos of my WR Suburban coaches I have been promising! These formations for my small layout Lower Thames Goods Shed are only two coaches to represent the standard 5 coach Q sets because on some runs they will also have a parcels coach such as a Syphon G and three coaches is all the layout can cope with.
When the coaches transfer to Lower Thames Yard, the formations can expand to 4 coaches. For the two coach formations I have positioned the guards van to the centre of the train rather than at the end so that it does not end up next to the loco on some runs!

This set (first photo) comprises a Bachmann weathered Mk1 suburban brake end and a Hornby collett suburban composite. Both are in crimson. You may say that my 1961/2 dateline is too late for more than the odd crimson coach but I do like them and I think unweathered crimson coaches are easier on the eye than unweathered lined maroon coaches!(So Rule 1!
This set will run as that stabled at Maidenhead overnight and forming the 0600 departure for Paddington behind the Slough weathered 61xx ( photo below running bunker first. Although most Slough engines ran chimney towards London, this ran Bunker first because on reaching Paddington it had a quick turnaround to haul the fast 0736 to Oxford, so chimney first was better for the crew on this run!

The second set (last photo) comprises a Bachmann lined maroon MK1 composite and a Hornby crimson collett suburban brake end. This will form the set that stables at Bourne End overnight before forming the 0730, (Maidenhead 0743), to Paddington. This will be hauled by 6145 running chimney first!

Take care, stay safe
Best regards
Paul

://postimg.cc/XZVp3v8N]

[Tallpaul70]

Hi All,
Here are a few thoughts to start off the week:-

Looks like my wallet will get a severe pounding sometime soon with the arrival of Bachmann class 117s and 121s
One interesting comparison will be between the Dapol Bubblecars and the Bachmann ones.
I will post some photos and my thoughts when the Bachmanns are to hand.
One good outcome of the lockdown is that I have not been tempted by goodies at shows so reserves have built up a bit against the new arrivals.

Meanwhile, modelling is slow. I really need this week to settle down and finalise the track layout for "Lower Thames Goods Shed" so that next week I can get some track laid! I might for a change make a start on the key structure for the layout, the goods shed. However, it being a good while since I built any structures I think I might find a simple precut card model to start with rather than jumping in the deep end with the goods shed.

With Warley cancelled it really is looking that there will be little to attend in 2020 even if we think it safe to attend shows? The trouble is, the longer we leave it, the more difficult it will be to get up and go to any events!

Hope you are all making progress with your modelling?
Stay safe,
Regards
Paul

[Tallpaul70]

Hi everybody,
Today has been a good day even though I have done little modeling!

I took my first real trip to the town centre this morning since the start of lockdown. Even though visiting my local model shop was not on my agenda I did manage to sort a number of issues that it is not practical to deal with via the internet.

First on my agenda was that my iPhone has been difficult to charge because the charger lead, which works perfectly with my wife's phone refused to lock into mine, so to charge meant sitting and holding the lead in the phone and sitting with a mains lead trailing across the room. Also I thought that the screen on the phone was starting to crumble.
Anyway, it turned out that it was only the transparent screen protector that was damaged, so just a few pounds to replace it rather than c£60 for replacing the screen.
While I did other errands the shop cleaned out and sorted the power socket on the phone.

I also needed a new battery in my wrist watch, choose birthday cards for four upcoming family birthdays, ( no presents, they will each get a cash transfer this year!), and stock up on hand cleanser.( Supermarkets too expensive!).

I then needed to find a number of items in our local hardware/garden/household goods shop, which was by and large successful, and did include a number of items with modeling uses such as several different adhesives.

I also needed to check which of a number of my wife's favoured shops were open, or if not when they will be.

Walking round the centre, plus the walk there and back, gave me my days exercise. Our little local bus normally holds 16 but currently only 5!), so I left that for the disabled etc.

Thus all in all a satisfactory morning, although I was glad to get home as currently there is nowhere to get a sit down and a coffee part way through my shopping. I am pleased to say social distancing measures were not too much of a hinderance, although I mistimed my visit to one shop where I had to wait in a queue of 8 people, onlyto find no queue at all when I came out.

Don't worry, I won't be boring you with details of such trips in the future, but I thought it worth reporting both to encourage those reading this who have yet to venture far, and also because it marked an important step on our family's journey back to a sort of normality!

Tomorrow I will be getting back to modeling topics!
Best regards
Paul

[Chops]

Perchance does your local modeling shop have the reissued Rocket in stock?