RMweb Gold Popular Post checkrail Posted October 22, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted October 22, 2020 I had two potentially conflicting requirements for this through coach - close coupling with no daylight showing between the gangways connecting it with the rest of the train, but also that it could be remotely uncoupled by relaxing the tension-lock coupling. This needed some careful adjustment. The Keen Systems gangways with floating end plates were just the job for this. The spring is very gentle and once the train has come to a halt I can gently, almost imperceptibly, set it back just a couple of speed steps or so, compressing the gangway's sprung end plate and releasing the T/L hook without the coach being moved backwards at all. Then the train can pull away, leaving the through coach to be retrieved smartly by the branch loco. This was inspired by a picture in Semmens, The heyday of GWR train services, of a through coach for Newquay standing on its own in the platform at Par having been dropped by a down train. Now the prairie pulls the coach back over the up end crossover .... .... before propelling it gently over the double slip into the branch platform. John C. 23 3 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 An atmospheric recreation of a, now almost forgotten, routine everyday operation. 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 Oh, and the mixed rake of stock is fabulous. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 What is that attached in two places on the platform side of the E95 adjacent to the corridor windows - notices? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold checkrail Posted October 22, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 22, 2020 7 hours ago, richbrummitt said: What is that attached in two places on the platform side of the E95 adjacent to the corridor windows - notices? Er, not quite sure what you're looking at. All I can see is the back of the running-in board, a trolley loaded with suitcases, and maybe the plain backs of some advertising signs on the fence. Or did you mean something attached to the coach itself? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post checkrail Posted October 22, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted October 22, 2020 (edited) Having shunted the van compo up to the back of the branch B-set, where it's coupled up, the prairie retreats to run round its newly augmented train before heading back along the branch to Earlsbridge. # Of course, we've somehow got to get that through coach back to Paddington tomorrow. A further chapter in this saga follows! John C. Edited October 22, 2020 by checkrail too many beers 27 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, checkrail said: did you mean something attached to the coach itself? Yes, that. Visible above the seated person in picture 2 and by the platform lamp in picture 3 where the pictures refer to those in your most recent post. They appear to be a representation of some white text on a black background. Edited October 22, 2020 by richbrummitt 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted October 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 23, 2020 (edited) 21 hours ago, checkrail said: This was inspired by a picture in Semmens, The heyday of GWR train services, of a through coach for Newquay standing on its own in the platform at Par having been dropped by a down train. Which is very interesting because not all of the points that would be facing for such a move were locked, which would also be the case for Stoke Courtenay (Brent). I haven't yet found a definitive answer as to how the move was made. The best guess so far is that because a) the points were detected by the relevant signals and b) all the relevant tracks were track-circuited the move was permitted without having to clip and padlock but we haven't found any local instruction to confirm this or otherwise. It wasn't a one-off either - there are a number of similar pictures around from different eras. If anyone knows, or has a better guess, I'd appreciate the information (as, I'm sure, would our host here and others too). Edited October 23, 2020 by St Enodoc Additional information 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted October 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 23, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, richbrummitt said: Yes, that. Visible above the seated person in picture 2 and by the platform lamp in picture 3 where the pictures refer to those in your most recent post. They appear to be a representation of some white text on a black background. They are plates that slide into brackets on the coach sides. Sometimes the plates just carried a single capital letter, to identify the coach for seat reservation purposes, but sometimes (as here) they would read (for example): SEATS 13 TO 42 The ones at the other end would read Seats 1 to 12 in this example. There are quite a few photos around showing this but many are too indistinct to read. I've never seen a colour photo, so I don't know whether they were white on black or cream on brown. Edited October 23, 2020 by St Enodoc 4 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglian Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 (edited) With the discussion on slip coaches I thought this introduction and footage might be of interest to some. I enjoyed it… Edited October 23, 2020 by Anglian 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold checkrail Posted October 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2020 10 hours ago, richbrummitt said: They appear to be a representation of some white text on a black background. Yep, sorry for misunderstanding! As St Enodoc says they're seat numbers for reservations. Mine come from Sankey Scenics who include them on their coach roof board sheets. Here's one below. I used to squint at them through a magnifying glass to make sure the numbers stayed in order throughout the train. Now I just cut out the nearest to hand and stick it on - I can't read the numbers anyway! John C. 5 1 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold checkrail Posted October 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2020 28 minutes ago, Anglian said: With the discussion on slip coaches I thought this introduction and footage might be of interest to some. I enjoyed it… Many thanks for that. Absolutely fascinating, with some wonderful footage. Recommended. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post checkrail Posted October 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted October 23, 2020 The following day sees the through coach on the first leg of its journey back to Paddington, returning along the branch as part of the mid-morning train hauled by 4574. As it pulls into Stoke Courtenay a 'Star' rushes through on a down express. Think I'm now getting reasonably representative proportions of toplights and clerestories among the later coach types. (I'll draw a discreet veil over the lack of 70 footers!) John C. 27 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 I was trawling through Train Formations and Carriage Workings of the Great Western Railway (Becket, 2002) and was surprised at how few 70' coaches I found used on trains over the B&H route at this time. I expected more. Those trains that did include them seem to include more than one marshalled together if memory serves. One of those books that was available for a while but impossible to find now at a sensible price but if you can access would be worth a look if you want to try and represent particular services (obviously only more accurate for the short period the book covers). 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post checkrail Posted October 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted October 23, 2020 Having brought in the branch train 4574 has uncoupled and moved ahead into the loco spur, with an opportunity to take on water. Now 5041 'Tiverton Castle' approaches from the west on a Plymouth - Paddington express, scheduled for a brief stop at Stoke C. to collect the returning through coach. Then 5041 is uncoupled from its train and draws forward to clear the crossovers. (The uncoupling magnet is buried under the track right in front of the flower tub. The one opposite on the down platform is located by lining up with the luggage trolley. This means that every time I dust these items I need to make sure I put them back in the right place!) John C. 25 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neal Ball Posted October 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 23, 2020 An evocative scene from days gone by. Thanks as ever John, truly inspiring. 7 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach bogie Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 3 hours ago, richbrummitt said: I was trawling through Train Formations and Carriage Workings of the Great Western Railway (Becket, 2002) and was surprised at how few 70' coaches I found used on trains over the B&H route at this time. I expected more. Those trains that did include them seem to include more than one marshalled together if memory serves. One of those books that was available for a while but impossible to find now at a sensible price but if you can access would be worth a look if you want to try and represent particular services (obviously only more accurate for the short period the book covers). I have gone through this book and it does indicate this. Traffic requirements would see the 'planned formation' changed. This is where the photo books come in which tell a different story. See the Early, Soole and Lockett 1930's collections. One of my favourite images is a Star with 15 coaches on including stock of all ages, types, lengths etc, that I cannot find in any WTT. Saturdays would see entire trains replacing what would normally be a single coach. Older 70ft stock would be pressed into service for this if approved for the route. They also appear to be the coach of choice as a strengthener, a 70ft Concertina 3rd appearing at the head of many trains, though not listed in the WTT. Then there are the boat specials not listed in the general WTT https://nrm.printstoreonline.com/panoramic/castle-class-4-6-0-locomotive-no4094-8340487.html Winter saw fixed sets split for maintenance and replacement stock from the pool held at various locations, until the allocated coach returned from Swindon. What I do find odd is there is no Devon/Cornwall express that uses the B&H after 3.30 in the afternoon. There is an all 70ft train from Paddington to the West Country but it runs via Bristol. Mike Wiltshire 2 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 11 minutes ago, Coach bogie said: I have gone through this book and it does indicate this. Traffic requirements would see the 'planned formation' changed. This is where the photo books come in which tell a different story. See the Early, Soole and Lockett 1930's collections. One of my favourite images is a Star with 15 coaches on including stock of all ages, types, lengths etc, that I cannot find in any WTT. Saturdays would see entire trains replacing what would normally be a single coach. Older 70ft stock would be pressed into service for this if approved for the route. They also appear to be the coach of choice as a strengthener, a 70ft Concertina 3rd appearing at the head of many trains, though not listed in the WTT. Then there are the boat specials not listed in the general WTT https://nrm.printstoreonline.com/panoramic/castle-class-4-6-0-locomotive-no4094-8340487.html Winter saw fixed sets split for maintenance and replacement stock from the pool held at various locations, until the allocated coach returned from Swindon. What I do find odd is there is no Devon/Cornwall express that uses the B&H after 3.30 in the afternoon. There is an all 70ft train from Paddington to the West Country but it runs via Bristol. Mike Wiltshire I had been trying to have a solid guesstimate at the coaching stock that I should build for my own projects. I'd willfully avoided the 1930s onwards photographic collections because I imagine my modelled period as the early 1920s. However there is less information (STT/WTTs) to be found - there seems a big gap between 1910ish and 1930 something - or I am looking in none of the right places. I widened the net in an attempt to find out whether the traffic changes much with time and am currently transcribing elements from earlier and later STTs for comparison. Your post suggests, as is so often said about modelling a prototype, that following a dated (preferably verified) photograph is the best route. Identifying carriages from photographs is something that I have not acquired skills in, yet. The GWR did seem to prefer to run most things on the more northerly route after Reading through Swindon and Bristol rather than by the shorter route, and the Becket book remarks on this also. The B&H route was not densely populated, which may account for this? I have read in (I think) the Middleton Press books that the population of some of the villages served was in decline after the early 1900s. Sorry John, we are now digressing. 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold checkrail Posted October 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2020 28 minutes ago, richbrummitt said: Sorry John, we are now digressing. No apology necessary Rich. All grist to the mill. This stuff is endlessly fascinating. My own approach is to build and run what I hope is a roughly representative selection of trains based on what I see in the photo books by Soole, Lockett, Earley, Hubback, Yarwood, Beck & Copsey etc. insofar as skill and availability of kits and parts permit. 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post checkrail Posted October 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted October 23, 2020 (edited) The action continues as 5041 moves forward, passing the small prairie, before backing over the double slip into the branch platform. Here's a close-up of 5041, a study in mid-chrome green or whatever it was called. What a splendid model Hornby provided us with on this occasion. John C. Edited October 23, 2020 by checkrail missing letter 26 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post checkrail Posted October 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted October 23, 2020 5041 is now coupled up to the through coach and draws it back out onto the main line before gently propelling it back onto the train. In the second picture you can see part of the village of Stoke Courtenay below the embankment. John C. 32 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted October 23, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 23, 2020 Wonderful stuff. Thanks John! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Excellent and most enjoyable sequence of events being posted in the station, thoroughly top hole, thank you John. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNP Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Great set of pictures and photography top notch as well. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post checkrail Posted October 23, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted October 23, 2020 The E95 has now been coupled to the front of the Paddington train and the driver has the signals so, following this smart bit of station work, off they go to the big smoke. Once again a variety of stock can be seen in this train, reflecting I hope the look of 1930s GWR trains. John C. 22 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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