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

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, Annie said:

Afternoon Cheer Up Leaflet:  'A Trip Into Lincolnshire'. C.E. Pascoe 1898.  Courtesy of the British Library, no copyright issues known.

 

 

I've some Victoria (old bun), Edward VII and George V pennies on my desk, that may have been spent on such leaflets at one time or another!

 

Its amazing what stayed in circulation right up to the start of Decimalisation in 1971...

 

 

 

 

[Annie]

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

I've some Victoria (old bun), Edward VII and George V pennies on my desk, that may have been spent on such leaflets at one time or another!

 

Its amazing what stayed in circulation right up to the start of Decimalisation in 1971...

Yes it makes you think doesn't?  At one time back in the day certain British coins were legal tender here in NZ and I've got a small number of old well worn silver shilling coins.  Makes me wonder about the hands those coins must've passed through.

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, Annie said:

Yes it makes you think doesn't?  At one time back in the day certain British coins were legal tender here in NZ and I've got a small number of old well worn silver shilling coins.  Makes me wonder about the hands those coins must've passed through.

 

It does, I've a couple of pre 1918 coins with worrying dents in them.  Its not likely that they were damaged by "enemy action", but still...

 

As for your silver shillings, I remembered that old silver coins were more or less real silver. I googled it and apparently

Quote

For centuries, the Royal Mint made their silver coins from sterling silver: an alloy containing 92.5% pure silver. From 1920 the amount of silver in British coins was reduced to 50%. The silver content was entirely removed from 1947 and coins were instead made of silver-coloured cupronickel.

so any florins (2/-), shillings, sixpences, whatever prior to 1947 are probably worth something*, even as precious metal scrap**. Unworn coins are worth considerably more and so it would be madness to melt them down!

 

* People go silly over 9ct gold, "Its GOLD" they say, even though its only one third gold, the rest being copper and a bit of silver to take the redness away.  1920-1946 British silver coins do rather better than that!

** I wouldn't even suggest that you melt your memorabilia down, but its worth bearing in mind...

 

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by Hroth
Added thort

[MikeOxon]

23 minutes ago, Hroth said:

People go silly over 9ct gold, "Its GOLD" they say, even though its only one third gold, the rest being copper and a bit of silver to take the redness away.  1920-1946 British silver coins do rather better than that!

with the gold price currently above £50 per gram, even 9ct gold is not to be sneezed at!  Weight for weight, gold is more than 80 times the value of silver.

[Schooner]

I wonder how much space can be reclaimed using a 3-way off the main line and a double slip to close the loop....

 

EDIT: Why wonder when I can find out?

Obvs very rough, but that's the worst-case scenario I think, using Peco Code 75, so it could be bullhead once the range expands. 

 

Only one reverse curve for stock and that's got 1/2 a wagon's worth of straight spacer, and even then is only 6deg and >3' radius. 

 

Loop can probably give 1' of useful length, just, and does have a reverse curve but only for the loco's route.

 

Curving the engine shed road another 6 deg from the Y-turnout (to bring it parallel with the crane dock road) would make that look prettier.

 

Some scope to shuffle elements round to get the desired balance for visuals (building placement) and/or operations (siding/loop lengths).

 

EDIT 2: >500mm available for goods/crane dock road; platform face; loop; gas works headshunt/exchange

Edited May 18, 2023 by Schooner
Not sure who that'll be useful for, when, or why but thanks for the fun half hour or so!

[Metropolitan H]

When one looks closely at the 25inch OS maps of Wantage "Upper yard" - see https://maps.nls.uk/view/104196088 - and then do the proper scaling, you realise quite how small the place was and how sharp / short the turnouts were.in 1:43.5 scale (7mm = 1ft) the whole layout from the buffer stops under the platform roof to the end of the gasworks sidingwill fit within 11ft allowing for a traverser type fiddle yard - capable of taking a real full length train - behind the gasworks buildings, beyond the toes of the entry turnout.

 

The Peco "Short" set track "O" gauge turnouts ae probably the closest to the real geometry? - Most of the models are actually using too generous a curve / turnout geometry compared with reality.

 

Now I expect brick-bats to fly - so am donning my tin hat and ducking.

 

Regards

Chris H

[Annie]

3 hours ago, Metropolitan H said:

When one looks closely at the 25inch OS maps of Wantage "Upper yard" - see https://maps.nls.uk/view/104196088 - and then do the proper scaling, you realise quite how small the place was and how sharp / short the turnouts were.in 1:43.5 scale (7mm = 1ft) the whole layout from the buffer stops under the platform roof to the end of the gasworks siding

will fit within 11ft allowing for a traverser type fiddle yard - capable of taking a real full length train - behind the gasworks buildings, beyond the toes of the entry turnout.

 

The Peco "Short" set track "O" gauge turnouts ae probably the closest to the real geometry? - Most of the models are actually using too generous a curve / turnout geometry compared with reality.

 

Now I expect brick-bats to fly - so am donning my tin hat and ducking.

 

Regards

Chris H

No brickbats from me Chris.   The trackwork in Trainz would be the ultimate in flexible track and just about any turnout configuration you can imagine is possible, - and I was struggling to get the alignment right and ended up having to ease and fudge some of it.  It's all totally and completely short wheelbase 4 coupled engine territory.  I wouldn't mind doing Wantage properly in 'O' Gauge one day, but I think handlaid track might be the only solution.

 

6 hours ago, Schooner said:

I wonder how much space can be reclaimed using a 3-way off the main line and a double slip to close the loop....

 

EDIT: Why wonder when I can find out?

Obvs very rough, but that's the worst-case scenario I think, using Peco Code 75, so it could be bullhead once the range expands. 

 

Only one reverse curve for stock and that's got 1/2 a wagon's worth of straight spacer, and even then is only 6deg and >3' radius. 

 

Loop can probably give 1' of useful length, just, and does have a reverse curve but only for the loco's route.

 

Curving the engine shed road another 6 deg from the Y-turnout (to bring it parallel with the crane dock road) would make that look prettier.

 

Some scope to shuffle elements round to get the desired balance for visuals (building placement) and/or operations (siding/loop lengths).

 

EDIT 2: >500mm available for goods/crane dock road; platform face; loop; gas works headshunt/exchange

Thanks for investigating these possibilities Louis.  I think I'll try them out in Trainz and see if they will do what want with my (almost) Wantage project.  Fortunately I haven't done any major ground bashing yet so it would be fairly easy to change the track alignment.

[Annie]

Ed Heaps's lovely LNWR 'Teutonic' compound has just become available so I had to give it a run on the Joint Line on my Norfolk layout in TRS22.  So on a misty Norfolk morning we wound up sparrowcam and we were off.  And what a wonderfully fine running engine it is too.

 

 

 

At Brenton Wood.

 

 

 

Low pressure cylinder and fully animated valve gear.

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, Annie said:

 

Now that's a proper train! Though four lines and some water troughs would be just the thing...

[magmouse]

1 hour ago, Annie said:

Ed Heaps's lovely LNWR 'Teutonic' compound has just become available so I had to give it a run on the Joint Line on my Norfolk layout in TRS22.  So on a misty Norfolk morning we wound up sparrowcam and we were off.  And what a wonderfully fine running engine it is too.

 

It's enough to turn a Great Western man from London a bit Northern-ish!

 

Video, please, Annie - if that isn't asking too much?

 

Nick.

[Annie]

4 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

Now that's a proper train! Though four lines and some water troughs would be just the thing...

I'm fairly certain that I know of a couple of layouts with water troughs, my little Norfolk line did its best though.

 

4 hours ago, magmouse said:

It's enough to turn a Great Western man from London a bit Northern-ish!

 

Video, please, Annie - if that isn't asking too much?

I know Nick, it's all terribly tempting.  There were murmurings of an Improved Precedent being next.

I'll see what I can do with regard to a video and if running TRS22 and video capturing software at the same time on my aging CoolerMaster computer is possible without it glitching out.

[magmouse]

1 hour ago, Annie said:

I'll see what I can do with regard to a video

 

No worries if you can't, but I do find the videos curiously mesmerising.

[MikeOxon]

14 minutes ago, magmouse said:

 

No worries if you can't, but I do find the videos curiously mesmerising.

I agree - I feel that the whole point of these 'sims' is to see the trains actually moving 🙂

[Annie]

I think sparrowcam didn't do too badly with trying to keep up with No.1301 'Teutonic'.  I thought the south west curve leading away from Brenton Woods might be the best place to try for a video attempt.

Fortunately I got some good film in the can before TRS22 spat out my video capture software right on the three minute mark like I thought it was going to.

 

 

[magmouse]

Lovely - thanks, Annie!

 

Nick

[Annie]

Afternoon Cheer Up Guide Book:  'Concise Guide to London' (with map).  Digitised by the British Library, no known copyright restrictions.

 

Edited May 21, 2023 by Annie
can't spell for toffee

[Hroth]

That chap needs a pair of glasses!

 

And, standing on a map???

 

[magmouse]

11 minutes ago, Hroth said:

And, standing on a map???

Indeed, but also - sitting while his lady companion stands? He is evidently a Cad and a Bounder, and disgraces the Spirit of the Age.

[Edwardian]

11 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

And, standing on a map???

 

 

Never a good sign ...

 

 

 

11 hours ago, magmouse said:

He is evidently a Cad and a Bounder

 

Has "co-respondent" written all over him!

[Hroth]

I thought he looked like a bookies runner at a minor racecourse!

 

[Schooner]

22 hours ago, Annie said:

A character brought recently to mind:
The year was [1891]. We were in a tiny Italian restaurant in west London, where we would soon be joined by our future first wives. Two elegant young men in waisted suits were unignorably and interminably fussing with the staff about rearranging the tables, to accommodate the large party they expected. It was an intensely class-conscious era (because the class system was dying); Christopher and I were candidly lower-middle bohemian, and the two young men were raffishly minor-gentry (they had the air of those who await, with epic stoicism, the deaths of elderly relatives). At length, one of them approached our table, and sank smoothly to his haunches, seeming to pout out through the fine strands of his fringe. The crouch, the fringe, the pout: these had clearly enjoyed many successes in the matter of bending others to his will. After a flirtatious pause he said, “You’re going to hate us for this.”

 

And Christopher said, “We hate you already.”

 

[eheaps]

On 21/05/2023 at 08:37, magmouse said:

Indeed, but also - sitting while his lady companion stands? He is evidently a Cad and a Bounder, and disgraces the Spirit of the Age.

 I think he may be following this advice on impressing ladies (from The Dangerous Book for Boys):

 

"If you see a girl in need of help—unable to lift something, for example—do not taunt her. Approach the object and greet her with a cheerful smile, while surreptitiously testing the weight of the object. If you find you can lift it, go ahead. If you can't, try sitting on it and engaging her in conversation."

[Compound2632]

2 minutes ago, eheaps said:

"If you see a girl in need of help—unable to lift something, for example—do not taunt her. Approach the object and greet her with a cheerful smile, while surreptitiously testing the weight of the object. If you find you can lift it, go ahead. If you can't, try sitting on it and engaging her in conversation."

 

I'm having some difficulty parsing this. Grammatically, it is clear that in "approach the object and greet her with a cheerful smile", "object" refers to the girl. In which case, the rest becomes worrying and worryinger.  

[rocor]

12 hours ago, Schooner said:

 It was an intensely class-conscious era (because the class system was dying);

 

 

 

The reports of the death throes of the class system were unfortunately greatly exaggerated back in 1981.

[Schooner]

Until we're societally serious about reducing inequality, social stratification and discrimination will exist. 'Class' will likely always be a useful descriptor, even if the precise meaning drifts over time.

 

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Schooner
Perhaps "Even if" rather than "Until"...but that sounded too depressing for such a fine day