Peterborough North

[Northroader]

They were amazing cars to ride in. I once got a trip on the SR "Golden Arrow" set. They had wonderful springing, well before the airbag era, and I fancy the body was on rubber pads. The upshot was that they were really quiet and smooth. The body work was all beautiful joinery inside, veneers and inlays, and as you went along, all you could hear was a very gentle creaking coming from the woodwork.

[great northern]

One more shot of the Yorkshire Pullman as it heads South.

PN got to see all three ECML Pullman trains within a short time back then, The Down Queen of Scots being timed to pass just ninety seconds after the Yorkshire. It only needed one to be very slightly out of course for the two tomeet within the station precincts. As you can see, that happened today.

Kittiwake arrives from the South, and meets Abbotsford very soon after.

The weather was very changeable that day.

[Timara]

Tim, Gilbert,

 

A lovely and inspirational rake.  I really appreciate seeing the coaches behind the engines (as you know!). The roofs all look very consistent in weathering whereas the Hornby originals will (I think) have varied between pristine white, through off white to dark grey. How did you achieve the uniform weathering?

 

Andy

 

Thanks Andy!  Most of the roofs were repainted in Humbrol 67 Sea Grey (one or two in Humbrol 32 dark grey), which then had a careful dusting of MIG Black Smoke weathering powder once dry.  I left but a trace, but it's given the effect I wanted; the real paint underneath (certainly on the 1928 cars) was silver, but that weathers down nicely to give the effect seen on these.

 

Cheers,

Tim

[davidw]

Indeed I did! However, the more I looked at things and indeed remembering how long Car 32 took to create, I was far more amenable to compromise! I still fancy making Car 162 (Brake parlour, converted from 1925 kitchen car) at some point, but that's another story altogether!

 

 

I have to be honest when I say that, of all the projects I've worked on for PN, these Pullman cars were one of the most taxing on my brain. As Gilbert says, the printing on the coach sides was the very pig to remove and would not come off with conventional removal methods. I *think* I got down to about Plan E, before I was happy enough to proceed with things and get the end result I was happy with.

 

All printing was scraped off with a fresh curved scalpel blade; it wasn't much of an issue if some paintwork was damaged in the process, providing the blade didn't dig into the bodyside. Once I was happy with this, I masked off the area between the upper and lower lining top-to-bottom and the three main window panels side-to-side; these were airbrushed in a mix of Railmatch BR Falcon grey and Phoenix LBSC Marsh lining brown (yes, that's what worked!) in order to blend in with what was already there. You only really need a thin mist over; enough to hide all printing removal and to blend in with the original bodywork. Paint masks were cut in old envelopes and fixed in place, so it was all done in a batch. New transfers in the form of the HMRS Pullman sheet were applied in the correct places afterwards, which is the easy bit!

 

Parlour brake second Car 63 is, as Gilbert says, a regular ECML car. A simple renumber on this one really, though I had to change the crests etc over to pre-1960 style. Which reminds me; must sort out those on Lydia and Fingall when I'm next over to complete the set!

 

I do believe Loraine is as bought, without a renumber. The previous Loraine (which was in the QoS rake) got renamed to Joan (I think!).

 

Once I finish it, Car 106 will be the only heavily rebuilt car in the entire rake. This started life as a standard Hornby 1925 kitchen car, but with two window areas filled in with plasticard and replacement oval windows carefully cut in. This one requires the cream matching the Hornby shade, which isn't an easy job either! It's almost there....

 

As I've said before, there's a certain something about a decent Pullman rake and I'm rather pleased to have been able to create this one, with Gilbert's invaluable assistance with the various books and photos back and forth. In retrospect, a ratio of 6 to 5 (1928 to 1925) cars is about right. Photos occasionally show an opposite ratio, but it's generally more all-steel ones in the main.

 

Anyway, there we go; the "how to"!

Tim

Thanks Tim

[great northern]

Just a couple more of the two passing Pullmans this morning.

Massive things, those eight wheeled tenders. Only four and a half hours till the Down Yorkshire runs.

[Liam]

If it's lunchtime on PN then the Pullman passengers will have probably just finished their pâté or soup and will be anticipating their main course, which will probably be succulent duck or something like that (washed down by a bottle of Bordeaux). In the meantime, any spotters flunking off school will have had their Marmite sandwiches and about to have their Tizer!

[New Haven Neil]

Phwoar. There's something about Pullman cars.

 

I have a happy memory of taking my Parents on the NYMR Pullman train for a Christmas dinner, we were in a brake I think, as I recall it was numbered.  I think.....

 

Regardless it was a great meal, in a beautiful carriage, hauled by a certain Bullied Pacific that my now best mate, who I hadn't then met, owned a quarter of!

[trw1089]

Such a beautiful rake of coaches, what excellent work by you both!

 

Cheers

Tony

[richard.h]

That's a beautiful rake of coaches and brings back memories of watching the Yorkshire Pullman at Leeds Station with all those posh people as we thought of them sitting at their dining tables.

 

Could I just ask if you have any problems regarding the running of any of your Pullman sets, I notice that this is a set of ten closely coupled with predominately Kadees.

 

There is a known problem with Hornby Pullmans whereby the weight/resistance of them causes the extending couplings of the first coaches to stop working properly on curves so that the bogies ride up and derail.

On my layout I cannot run rakes longer than six coaches without this problem occurring. There is a cure developed by Tony Wright where you replace the couplings with wire hooks and bars secured to the coach bodies but I thought it might be worthwhile asking about your experience before I go to that level.

[great northern]

That's a beautiful rake of coaches and brings back memories of watching the Yorkshire Pullman at Leeds Station with all those posh people as we thought of them sitting at their dining tables.

 

Could I just ask if you have any problems regarding the running of any of your Pullman sets, I notice that this is a set of ten closely coupled with predominately Kadees.

 

There is a known problem with Hornby Pullmans whereby the weight/resistance of them causes the extending couplings of the first coaches to stop working properly on curves so that the bogies ride up and derail.

On my layout I cannot run rakes longer than six coaches without this problem occurring. There is a cure developed by Tony Wright where you replace the couplings with wire hooks and bars secured to the coach bodies but I thought it might be worthwhile asking about your experience before I go to that level.

 Early days with this rake, but it has been round a few times without any problems. I found with Tony's method that it worked fine provided you didn't try to reverse the rake.

[great northern]

We shall now concentrate on the Queen of Scots for a while, and catch Kittiwake as it emerges from under the roof.

and then again a little further on, when we can also see Happy Knight waiting for its turn to head North.

[landscapes]

One more shot of the Yorkshire Pullman as it heads South.

last YP.JPG

PN got to see all three ECML Pullman trains within a short time back then, The Down Queen of Scots being timed to pass just ninety seconds after the Yorkshire. It only needed one to be very slightly out of course for the two tomeet within the station precincts. As you can see, that happened today.

120 `.JPG

Kittiwake arrives from the South, and meets Abbotsford very soon after.

2 pullmans 1.JPG

The weather was very changeable that day.

 

Hi Gilbert

 

Always nice to see A1 60141 Abbotsford as that was the first pacific I ever saw, the sky background on your last of the three photos looks very good indeed.

 

May I ask you how you managed to change the background behind the telegraph poles so convincingly in your post 15052.

 

Regards

 

David

[great northern]

Hi Gilbert

 

Always nice to see A1 60141 Abbotsford as that was the first pacific I ever saw, the sky background on your last of the three photos looks very good indeed.

 

May I ask you how you managed to change the background behind the telegraph poles so convincingly in your post 15052.

 

Regards

 

David

I just use Paint.Net, David. Delete the bits I don't want using the magic wand and erase tools, select a sky layer, drop it in, and clean the whole thing up. That required magnifying things like poles to 200%, and quite a lot of repetitive work just going through all the small apertures. Sometimes it works OK, often it doesn't, and sometimes it doesn't work at all. The background clutter on that side of the room is not as bad as at the far end, and I don't get the problems with shadows either.

[great northern]

More of the stately progress of the Queen of Scots this morning, as it heads North at the required 20mph.

this one is too bright really, but I didn't fancy dealing with all those lattices, so I just bleached out the background instead. I justify it to myself by saying that this type of image is for those who prefer seeing exactly what the camera saw. Some might call it idleness.

[great northern]

There is now a lull in the stream of expresses, a full 26 minutes on the Up, which allows the C12 time to draw in the stock for the 1.12pm slow to KX.

It is just as quiet on the Down main too, so Control can let the next M&GN departure use Platform 3, rather than the normal bay. Another Ivatt has brought the stock up from the carriage sidings.

[great northern]

As there is so little going on at present, our photographer even takes a picture of the C12 coming off the stock it has just brought in.

and at the other end, there is still only 60533 to be seen.

[great northern]

It is so quiet out there that there has been plenty of time to pop in to the refreshment room and purchase one of these.

Yummy!  For anyone puzzled by this, a learned discussion took place on here about them, probably about 400 pages back.

[John Isherwood]

It is so quiet out there that there has been plenty of time to pop in to the refreshment room and purchase one of these.

fruit pie.jpg

Yummy!  For anyone puzzled by this, a learned discussion took place on here about them, probably about 400 pages back.

 

In the 1960s, you were regarded as seriously deprived if you turned up for a day's trainspotting without one of those.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Gilbert,

I think your picture of the down "Queen of Scots" is quite exceptional.

 

Hope you don't mind but I've tweaked it a little..........

 

 

 

Regards,

P

[allan downes]

. Sometimes it works OK, often it doesn't, and sometimes it doesn't work at all.

 

You could even be talking about my brain there, Gilbert.

 

Allan

[great northern]

You could even be talking about my brain there, Gilbert.

 

Allan

You are not alone, Allan. I just hope the ratios don't change too much more.

[The Stationmaster]

(late to the party as ever)

 

One of the highlights of staying with my grandfather in Yorkshire - even after most of the day by the lineside or going into York to enjoy the station - was to nip down to the station later in the day to see the Down Tees Tyne Pullman rushing through, always heralded by the whistling ('it's a Streak!!') for the level crossings about a mile to the south;  definitely something to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.  

 

York of course was always interesting from a train-spotting viewpoint and it had colour light signals, very modern looking but then a Summer Saturday at Reading could be just as interesting although not so much variety in 'strange' motive power.  Alas one of my great grandfathers died long before I was around so i was never able to hear from him a first hand account of the weekend he and many others narrowed the gauge on the 'real' railway - managerial vandalism of the highest order.

[Liam]

(late to the party as ever)

 

One of the highlights of staying with my grandfather in Yorkshire - even after most of the day by the lineside or going into York to enjoy the station - was to nip down to the station later in the day to see the Down Tees Tyne Pullman rushing through, always heralded by the whistling ('it's a Streak!!') for the level crossings about a mile to the south;  definitely something to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.  

 

York of course was always interesting from a train-spotting viewpoint and it had colour light signals, very modern looking but then a Summer Saturday at Reading could be just as interesting although not so much variety in 'strange' motive power.  Alas one of my great grandfathers died long before I was around so i was never able to hear from him a first hand account of the weekend he and many others narrowed the gauge on the 'real' railway - managerial vandalism of the highest order.

He did WHAT????

[islandbridgejct]

I don't usually have anything useful to contribute, but I can help on what a 'Fingall' is. It's a fair haired foreigner, usually a Norseman, as distinct from a Dougal / Doyle / Dowell which is a dark haired foreigner, a Dane. Fingal's Cave is on the Isle of Staffa in the Inner Hebrides, while the Fingal Plain is north of Dublin city.

 

On second thoughts, of absolutely no use to a railway modeller, but it is what it is. Latter day Vikings, arriving at Newcastle, have better transport options for reaching London.

 

I like the little Ivatt tank.

 

Alan

[Peter Kazmierczak]

He did WHAT????

Presumably Mike refers to the GW Broad Gauge..................