Castle Aching

[Edwardian]

We passed through Wolverhampton last year on the way to  Whightwick Manor https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wightwick-manor-and-gardens (a Preraphaelite treasure house highly recommended to all who frequent this topic) and I must say I thought it was a perfectly pleasant-looking town.

 

There can't be very much wrong with a town that had two railway stations, one of which was Great Western!

 

That looks like a splendid house and an exhibition worth visiting.  I don't suppose I shall manage it, however!

[NeilHB]

No, I don't, Neil, so that would be greatly appreciated.

Ok. Will sort it out over the next week or so and email it across.

[Nearholmer]

WOLVERHAMPTON (INTERMEDIATE LEVEL)

 

Alight Here for Useful Grammar Tips, Charabancs to Wightwick Manor, the DonB Birthplace Museum, and

The NORTH

 

I wish to assure readers that, despite leaving a very good camera in the luggage rack of a train there many years ago, and never seeing it again, I hold no malice towards the town. An interesting way of getting there is to use the tram from Birmingham, rather than the train, which I think involves travelling over the former GWR route, anyway, its interesting.

[drmditch]

There can't be very much wrong with a town that had two railway stations, one of which was Great Western!

 

That looks like a splendid house and an exhibition worth visiting.  I don't suppose I shall manage it, however!

 

Well, Durham (City) should be about perfect then, with three railway stations; although only two (?) would have open for passenger traffic at the same time.

None of them GWR of course, although the LNWR might have got to the North East if the NER hadn't been quite so good at defending it's patch in the 1860/70s.

 

I do agree about the attractions of Barnstaple town. Even if the locals must have been quite glad to eventually get rid of the unsightly but superb for a model curved bridge over the Taw.

 

I have relatives living near there, and visit quite often (with my bicycle). Many of the riverside/ estuaryside railways are now foot/cycle paths. On the south side the former station at Fremington Quay provides very nice breakfasts and excellent cakes. There is lots of railway interest surviving. If I wasn't quite so committed to the NER/NEA then my big railway room could accommodate quite a lot :

Barnstaple Town

Quayside

Riverside to Wrafton

Banking arrangements at Braunton

L&B (of course)

Barnstaple Junction et al.

Fremington Quay.

And on and on.....

 

There is an account in Dendy Marshall's history of the Southern Railway of riots in Barnstaple resulting from Broad/Narrow gauge competion in the 'earlies'.

 

But.... I need to get stop being convalescent, stop spending time on this tablet computer, and get on with building my (fictional) fourth Durham Station.

Edited January 18, 2019 by drmditch

[Hroth]

We passed through Wolverhampton last year on the way to  Whightwick Manor https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wightwick-manor-and-gardens (a Preraphaelite treasure house highly recommended to all who frequent this topic) and I must say I thought it was a perfectly pleasant-looking town.

 

We used to pass Wightwick Manor regularly on the Staffs & Worcs canal, less than 200 yards down Windmill Lane from its front door. The Nicholson canal guidebook even suggested that it was well worth a stop to explore.  Did we ever visit? 

[Edwardian]

Ok. Will sort it out over the next week or so and email it across.

 

Many thanks, I look forward to it. In the meantime, I've decided to buy a book that has been on my list for a good while, the early engines and Beattie classes volume of 'Big Bradley', the illustrated history. That completes the set for me; a set of 3 as I cannot imagine needing to refer to the 4th, Urie, volume. 

 

It's nice to have disposal income.  

 

 

 

WOLVERHAMPTON (INTERMEDIATE LEVEL)

 

Alight Here for Useful Grammar Tips, Charabancs to Wightwick Manor, the DonB Birthplace Museum, and

The NORTH

 

I wish to assure readers that, despite leaving a very good camera in the luggage rack of a train there many years ago, and never seeing it again, I hold no malice towards the town. An interesting way of getting there is to use the tram from Birmingham, rather than the train, which I think involves travelling over the former GWR route, anyway, its interesting.

 

 

 

... routes to the NORTH perhaps?

 

Yours,

 

Jim from the North-that's-not-so-far-North-as-Jim-from-the-North-is-from (once you read Pratchett, you're changed forever).

 

 

Well, Durham (City) should be about perfect then, with three railway stations; although only two (?) would have open for passenger traffic at the same time.

None of them GWR of course, although the LNWR might have got to the North East if the NER hadn't been quite so good at defending it's patch in the 1860/70s.

 

I do agree about the attractions of Barnstaple town. Even if the locals must have been quite glad to eventually get rid of the unsightly but superb for a model curved bridge over the Taw.

 

I have relatives living near there, and visit quite often (with my bicycle). Much of the riverside/ estuaryside railways are now foot/cycle paths. On the south side the former station at Fremington Quay provides very nice breakfasts and excellent cakes. There is lots of railway interest surviving. If I wasn't quite so committed to the NER/NEA then my big railway room could accommodate quite a lot :

Barnstaple Town

Quayside

Riverside to Wrafton

Banking arrangements at Braunton

L&B (of course)

Barnstaple Junction et al.

Fremington Quay.

And on and on.....

 

There is an account in Dendy Marshall's history of the Southern Railway of riots in Barnstaple resulting from Broad/Narrow gauge competion in the 'earlies'.

 

But.... I need to get stop being convalescent, stop spending time on this tablet computer, and get on with building my (fictional) fourth Durham Station.

 

 

My arrangement is likely to be far more modest, but yours would be a magnificent system. 

 

Rather than view the lines broadside on, either from the Taw or the town sides, I thought of making the triangle of land between the SG, NG and River Yeo into an operating well. It's labelled "Mud"on the 1903 Revision OS map below, but has been used as a fairground and prior to WW1 seems to have been the tip! 

 

I am not sure I'd have the width or length to get as far as the Taw Bridge, but I'd like to get as far in the other direction as the swing bridge over the Yeo and the junction for Rolle Quay, which I could then include on the other side of the operating well.

 

Nearholmer posted some inspirational photographs of shipping at Rolle Quay, many moons ago.

 

And there's even a castle, of sorts, in view!

 

I confess I should like to see Durham's fourth station. 

[Martin S-C]

Some splendid modelling potential there James. Now that you have a drill hall under your belt you can model an entire motte and bailey mound.

 

There even appears to be a 3-track fiddle yard equipped with Peco loco lift ready for use.

Edited January 18, 2019 by Martin S-C

[Nearholmer]

That FY is actually a badly-drawn cattle market, the "tracks" being the stalls.

 

I do like this Barnstaple idea, and have a fair number of books about the L&B, so might be able to contribute info when the time comes. What I don't have is the huge book of drawings of L&B infrastructure that I think was published by Roy Link, although I may have misremembered that. It is a serious paving slab, filled with really excellent drawings.

 

Pilton Yard. That has to be included.

[Edwardian]

That FY is actually a badly-drawn cattle market, the "tracks" being the stalls.

 

I do like this Barnstaple idea, and have a fair number of books about the L&B, so might be able to contribute info when the time comes. What I don't have is the huge book of drawings of L&B infrastructure that I think was published by Roy Link, although I may have misremembered that. It is a serious paving slab, filled with really excellent drawings.

 

Pilton Yard. That has to be included.

 

This I do have, the L&B drawn and described.

 

It includes scale drawings of the station buildings (shared by LSW and L&B) and, amazingly, even some of the lineside buildings in Barnstaple!

 

This will be a novel situation for me, constructing a building from a plan, rather than making it up as I go along!

 

Still, we all have to grow up some time. 

 

Pilton Yard?  Could I squeeze that in? 

 

When the time comes, I would be grateful for sight of any material you might have, thank you.

[Nearholmer]

If you have a spare billiard room in which to build mini-Barnstaple, something else for you to include: some of the maps show a large timber yard on the opposite bank of the river, facing Pilton Yard, which has a complex internal narrow gauge system. Its very unlikely that it was loco operated, but it is a very typical installation of a kind that has now disappeared, so merits inclusion ...... IMHO.

[Edwardian]

I don't think I'll get a big enough shed, but the ideal would be to start the SG line behind Raleigh's cabinet factory and take it across the Taw bridge.  The masonry road bridge, the long Bridge, could effectively provide the termination of the scene. The SG line then runs down the river front until it starts to curve after the junction for the Rolle Quay line.  The scene could be truncated there, allowing the 2 ends to join and form a fiddle yard off-stage.

 

This makes a rather wide scene, however, and may not be practical.

 

If we extend the NG line to Pilton Yard, this adds considerable extra width.

 

Of course, to some extent scenes may be shortned and folded in on on another, in good model railway fashion.

 

The sane alternative is to model the SG on the Taw bank for a reasonable distance either side of the station and to truncate the Rolle Quay and NG lines around the point that the river bends, just after the Stanbury & Sons mill.

 

A little further on there is a handy view-blocking industrial building on the NG bank, but we're practically at Pilton Yard by then!

 

Pictures copyright of the Barntaple History .com website. 

[Martin S-C]

I'd go somewhat into fantasy if I were undertaking such a project - drawings, plans and structures could be used from the actual location but I'd convert Barnstaple into a terminus, give it a small shed and arrange it to fill a room something like this. If its a through station then (with the L&B line) you have 3 points of entry to the scene meaning the SG line must be arranged on a continuous circuit with a FY on the far side of the room or you have a triangle of FYs, neither arrangement is one I like as I find them wasteful of space.

[Edwardian]

I'd go somewhat into fantasy if I were undertaking such a project - drawings, plans and structures could be used from the actual location but I'd convert Barnstaple into a terminus, give it a small shed and arrange it to fill a room something like this. If its a through station then (with the L&B line) you have 3 points of entry to the scene meaning the SG line must be arranged on a continuous circuit with a FY on the far side of the room or you have a triangle of FYs, neither arrangement is one I like as I find them wasteful of space.

 

Barnstaple Fantasy.jpg

 

Very nice scheme.

 

Not what I'm after, but would make a great layout. 

[drmditch]

 

I confess I should like to see Durham's fourth station. 

 

You can see progress so far on Rmweb here....http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/105609-rebuilding-a-railway/

 

There are some pictures also of the 'old' railway. The new one is the same basic concept but better!

There is an 'out of position' view of Durham (St Margaret's) on post 16, before that lifting baseboard was attached to the wall.

 

Like you, I like making buildings - but I haven't got your eye (or skill)  for detail.

Anyhow, I'm reasonably pleased with my slow but sure progress.

My girder bridge largely made out of cereal packets is coming out quite nicely

 

 

Excuse me for repeating the picture, but it's quite difficult to photograph, since the light will insist on coming from the south.

In mitigation for posting this on your pre-grouping thread I should point out that in it's (fictional) history this an NER wrought-iron bridge later strengthened by the LNER and given a ballasted deck.

 

Durham (St Margaret's) will be based on the Alnwick trainshed. The only building so far constructed for it is the two story signalbox.

You can just see some of it (including the dusty fingerprints on the roof) on the rh side of this picture.

 

 

The half-finished coaling stage and the lever frame will be re-positioned on the new railway.

 

Most of the buildings so far constructed are still carefully packed away. I hope they will be safe and un-warped when  I can unpack them!

Edited January 18, 2019 by drmditch

[Annie]

EDIT: As Jim says, it's not the archive that is lost, but the online access to it.

 

The Beyer Peacock archive is held by the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.

 

Like our no-longer-National National Railway Museum, it became part of the Science Museum Group and was forced to endure a pointless and pointlessly expensive re-brand, whereby the component museums have to conform to a new corporate branding .

As if we cared.

 

I blame the PR Popsies ("Popsy" here is not a "gender-specific" term. In my experience, all young people working in PR are Popsies; it's a state of mind, or, possibly, mindlessness). 

 

I am inclined to reserve greater blame for the idiots who listen to them and who pay them hundreds of thousands of pounds for the latest fashion in Emperor's Clothes. 

 

Apparently the Manchester museum's website, which included the online BP catalogue, did not conform to the new house style, so they axed it, online archive access and all, to replace it with a "Group" style website dumbed-down to the point of inanity, apparently designed in the belief that only the educationally sub-normal attend museums, and failing to include access to the online collections. 

 

You may detect that I find this state of affairs less than satisfactory. 

I tend to look on all PR people as children of the Devil, - the Father of Lies.  When I was still working for the adult mental health service as part of a large (for NZ) area hospital group us poor sods who actually did the real work had to put up with their nonsense on a regular basis. 

[Edwardian]

You can see progress so far on Rmweb here....http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/105609-rebuilding-a-railway/

 

There are some pictures also of the 'old' railway. The new one is the same basic concept but better!

There is an 'out of position' view of Durham (St Margaret's) on post 16, before that lifting baseboard was attached to the wall.

 

Like you, I like making buildings - but I haven't got your eye (or skill)  for detail.

Anyhow, I'm reasonably pleased with my slow but sure progress.

My girder bridge largely made out of cereal packets is coming out quite nicely

 

Post_100.JPG

 

Excuse me for repeating the picture, but it's quite difficult to photograph, since the light will insist on coming from the south.

In mitigation for posting this on your pre-grouping thread I should point out that in it's (fictional) history this an NER wrought-iron bridge later strengthened by the LNER and given a ballasted deck.

 

Durham (St Margaret's) will be based on the Alnwick trainshed. The only building so far constructed for it is the two story signalbox.

You can just see some of it (including the dusty fingerprints on the roof) on the rh side of this picture.

 

Post_SC_07.jpg

 

The half-finished coaling stage and the lever frame will be re-positioned on the new railway.

 

Most of the buildings so far constructed are still carefully packed away. I hope they will be safe and un-warped when  I can unpack them!

 

Thank you. A powerful reminder that I should be modelling the NE, not the GE or SW!

 

Excellent stuff. Am rather in awe of the girder bridge, and I admire your facility with cereal packets.

 

Cereal packets, pizza boxes and, to the great benefit of the Drill Hall, our local picture framer and his off-cuts, make so many things possible.

 

There are two consumables that I have learnt not to skimp on; I now insist on Roket Card Glue and an endless supply of Swan Morton blades. Most everything else is free! 

 

This evening, glass of Vino Blotto in hand, I shall heigh over to your layout topic and settle in ....

[Annie]

Thank you. A powerful reminder that I should be modelling the NE, not the GE or SW!

 

 

Not the GE! - (faints)  Though as an owner of far too many NER digital models and having attempted to build layouts based on the Nor'eastern I do very much understand the appeal.

[Edwardian]

Not the GE! - (faints)  Though as an owner of far too many NER digital models and having attempted to build layouts based on the Nor'eastern I do very much understand the appeal.

 

Well, here I sit a stone's throw from the cradle of the railways replete with sites, artifacts, museums and railways lines, preserved and national network, bit to mention the beautiful and often dramatic countryside and the wonderful buildings.

 

I am minded to attempt a Central Division model, probably the Barnard Castle railway, perhaps a simple through station like Gainford, around the turn of the century!

[Jim15B]

Regarding accessing the online records held by the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, have you tried looking at a web archive? I've just looked at the MOSI site from 1999. If you know where the links were you may still be able to access the database. I'm not sufficiently proficient with these things to say for certain that it would work but it might be worth a try. I'm sure someone here will be able to give more knowledgable advice. I searched on a site called Wayback Machine - web.archive.org.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20000520040118/http://www.msim.org.uk:80/nonshocked/index.html

[Annie]

Well, here I sit a stone's throw from the cradle of the railways replete with sites, artifacts, museums and railways lines, preserved and national network, bit to mention the beautiful and often dramatic countryside and the wonderful buildings.

 

I am minded to attempt a Central Division model, probably the Barnard Castle railway, perhaps a simple through station like Gainford, around the turn of the century!

I do very much understand the appeal James having built a digital layout based on the private tramways that operated in the area where I live here in New Zealand during the 1920's.  There's nothing quite like walking out the door of one's house to see the landscape that is being modelled.

[sem34090]

Very nice scheme.

 

Not what I'm after, but would make a great layout. 

To get around the fiddle yard issue on the standard gauge, I would do as Martin suggests, but model the standard gauge side as per the prototype.

 

I would then implement a line possession towards Ilfracombe, thus removing the need for a second fiddle yard whilst also increasing operational interest as trains terminate at the through station. By modelling it only as a possession a second F.Y. can be added later without issue. The possession also introduces ballast traffic (assuming this is a significant track-renewing possession). Plenty of opportunity for modelling people on the platform too as all trains are terminating.

 

Just a thought, and one I'm considering using on a layout at some stage.

[Edwardian]

You can see progress so far on Rmweb here....http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/105609-rebuilding-a-railway/

 

There are some pictures also of the 'old' railway. The new one is the same basic concept but better!

There is an 'out of position' view of Durham (St Margaret's) on post 16, before that lifting baseboard was attached to the wall.

 

Like you, I like making buildings - but I haven't got your eye (or skill)  for detail.

Anyhow, I'm reasonably pleased with my slow but sure progress.

My girder bridge largely made out of cereal packets is coming out quite nicely

 

Post_100.JPG

 

Excuse me for repeating the picture, but it's quite difficult to photograph, since the light will insist on coming from the south.

In mitigation for posting this on your pre-grouping thread I should point out that in it's (fictional) history this an NER wrought-iron bridge later strengthened by the LNER and given a ballasted deck.

 

Durham (St Margaret's) will be based on the Alnwick trainshed. The only building so far constructed for it is the two story signalbox.

You can just see some of it (including the dusty fingerprints on the roof) on the rh side of this picture.

 

Post_SC_07.jpg

 

The half-finished coaling stage and the lever frame will be re-positioned on the new railway.

 

Most of the buildings so far constructed are still carefully packed away. I hope they will be safe and un-warped when  I can unpack them!

 

Well, it seems I had visited before, and really liked what I saw.

 

The girder bridge is ingenious, "representational" it may be, but highly effective.  It looks stunning, in fact.  Hat off to you for that: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/105609-rebuilding-a-railway/?p=3155975 and http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/105609-rebuilding-a-railway/?p=3415060

[phil_sutters]

I tend to look on all PR people as children of the Devil, - the Father of Lies.  When I was still working for the adult mental health service as part of a large (for NZ) area hospital group us poor sods who actually did the real work had to put up with their nonsense on a regular basis. 

I gave up a job as a Principal Development Officer, when I had to accompany the Assistant Social Services Director - Mental Health Services - to meetings with other organisations. She would scurry off to her next meeting, leaving me with a bunch of people who were totally unconvinced by the tosh (euphemism) she had been spouting. 'We aim to do....'  'Our targets are.... ' 'We are working with our partners to achieve....' All with largely unfunded and unsustainable programmes. I gave up trying to back up her *****  and agreed with the skeptics. I moved on before that got fed back to 'the management'..

[Argos]

There can't be very much wrong with a town that had two railway stations, one of which was Great Western! London North Western!

 

That looks like a splendid house and an exhibition worth visiting.  I don't suppose I shall manage it, however!

 

Ah! that's better   

[Edwardian]

Ah! that's better   

 

Fighting talk