Wright writes.....

[Northroader]

I think the double red route restriction was eased for the Wolverhampton - Shrewsbury Line, as well as the Newport (Monmouthshire) - Shrewsbury via Hereford route, in late GWR days, maybe around WW2 era. I remember a trip to Shrewsbury behind a King with my dad (he pointed out a bell on the front) around 1950, well before dieselisation.

GWR passenger tender engines didn’t get to Birkenhead because all the passenger trains ran into Chester General station and reversed, so the last leg up the Wirral was completed by either an LMS or GWR tank engine. The through freight traffic could use the avoiding curve west of the station.

[Bernard Lamb]

Just a couple of idle thoughts.

It was not just that Hornby Dublo was considered superior to Triang, the Duchess was a better loco to own than an A4 as it was slightly more expensive.

Nothing to do with allegiance to a line.

There was also an acceptance that an interest in railways was a good thing and not at all weird or nerdy. On display in the craft workshop at school were several ancient GWR nameplates.

They were regarded as items of historic interest just as much as if they were Roman coins or Greek vases.

I wonder if they are still there?

I can't remember what the names were.

Bernard

[glo41f]

Gents

 

I am loving this burst of nostalgia and tales of youth and happy times before it all went wrong!  Being in East Anglia, we lost our steam quite early but I was able to visit the Southern often thanks to family there and I agree with our leader that Bulleid Pacifics in whatever form are really marvellous machines. I am delighted that so many are still around today. I have two on the go as projects and I have been defeated by the brake gear which is fiendishly clever and hopefully effective but in model terms is a source of great frustration and short circuits!  I would happily model the lines of the Southern but really have too much committed to the Eastern to consider changing at this late stage.

 

I suppose we of that era were doubly fortunate in that we could go to any of the main systems and see things of interest and that includes the likes of Fenchurch Street and Broad Street which never hosted glamorous machines. As has been mentioned, we had very little in material things in those days and out dads did not all have cars and our homes  did not have very good heating. We were not the poorest by any means but I only managed Tri-ang trains though I craved Hornby Dublo. (Where did Trix Twin come out in this as no body ever mentions them. Perhaps they were just too crude cf their original Gresley Pacific.)

 

Please keep the memories and pictures coming. It is snowing outside and I crave the comfort of the memories you are evoking!

 

Martin Long

[Killybegs]

Wasn't 1946 an excellent year, Chris? 

 

 

Definitely

[The Stationmaster]

Oh dear trainspotting nostalgia; plenty of mine to be seen here -

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67059-the-stationmaster-goes-train-spotting-part-2/

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/57713-a-fist-full-of-permits-or-ive-now-got-a-scanner/

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/66922-the-stationmaster-says-goodbye-to-steam-at-henley-on-thames/

 

But some interesting and or amusing facts - among the engines I cabbed was 60700, the W1 and coincidentally my dad had cabbed 10000 at an LNER exhibition before the war.  I was in later years the manager of two sheds/remnants of sheds which I had visited with Permits in my trainspotting days but I also became,  at various times, the manager of two sheds (really the remnants thereof in these two cases) of sheds I had bunked in my younger years - the shortest interval between the two events in the case of these was 9 years. So from bunking it to latterday equivalent of Shedmaster in less than a decade - was this a record?

[Northroader]

I managed to “boiler” the “hush hush”, aka the W1, 10000, or 60700. The original boiler was taken out, but retained at Stooperdale Boiler Shop, due to its capability to supply high pressure steam for boiler testing. I was with the millwrights during a Works holiday, and we had to get some baffles out of the top steam drum before the boilersmiths went round the tubes. I followed my mate in through the manhole at the end. It’s nice and snug inside, but a tight wriggle through the manhole. I was clutching a pair of spanners in front of my face getting in, and still have a chip out of my top front tooth where I caught myself in the gob as I got in, so now I can just push my tongue up to the front of my mouth to remember that engine.

[Chamby]

Thought I would post this pic of 34053 Sir Keith Park on the SVR, taken in July 2016.  I don't usually wax lyrical about Southern loco's, but this moment caught my imagination.  This is just the sort of atmosphere that I would love to capture in model form...  shame that some things just don't lend themselves to miniaturisation.

 

[Tony Wright]

Continuing the nostalgic theme, this afternoon I started building this BEC D11. 

 

 

It was given to me as a gift by Atso (Steve Da Costa) in return for the help I'd given him. Thank you Steve, it was very kind of you. 

 

I think the best way of thanking anyone for presenting you with a kit as a gift is to build it. Considering its age, it went together remarkably easily and quickly. The quality of metal is good as is the fit of the parts. 

 

It's going to be PRINCE OF WALES, hence the nostalgia on my part. I first saw this loco as a small boy from Mannings Lane bridge, over the CLC, near to my then childhood home in Chester. The lane then really was just that - today the area is all built up and the lines have gone. Latterly, I saw it in the Sheffield/Retford district, after the CLC-allocated D11s had moved from Northwich and Trafford Park. Thus, if Kiveton Park ever gets built, it'll run on that. 

 

It's a bit basic (I'll find some brakes) and it'll probably end up not as 'good' as the Bachmann RTR-equivalent. To that I say an emphatic 'So what!' All you need to acquire the latter is to have earned enough money to buy it (no thieves could possibly read this thread and post on it). True, the Bachmann D11 can be personalised (I've done that) or it can be personalised/improved/altered/weathered (at a price) for you (the generic 'you') - I'm still puzzled as to how some believe that acquiring stuff on commission is no different from acquiring things by trading skills. 

 

This D11 (which Steve has offered to paint as well, in exchange for my taking pictures for him) will be very, very personal. It was given to me by a young friend, and was a very generous act on his part. I'll finish building it and it'll be 'mine' (ours?) in a unique way.

 

Who knows, this sort of thing might just encourage folk to have a go at building things for themselves. Old kits like this won't be as expensive as the latest sorts and will be very valuable as learning curves. The instructions aren't challenging or confusing, though please disregard the advice 'Assemble with Araldite (cold) or UHU'! UHU, for a metal loco kit?   

Edited January 21, 2018 by Tony Wright

[46256]

Sir Keith Patk SVR Santa special Sunday 17th December 2017, Highley bringing its train back into the platform for the return to Kidderminster.....steam and smoke aplenty, my beautiful 4and a half year old granddaughter absolutely loving the spectacle ...sometimes not every special memory is that long ago..

Edited January 21, 2018 by 46256

[Lecorbusier]

Sir Keith Patk SVR Santa special Sunday 17th December 2017, Highley bringing its train back into the platform for the return to Kidderminster.....steam and smoke aplenty, my beautiful 4and a half year old granddaughter absolutely loving the spectacle ...sometimes not every special memory is that long ago..

 ...... Priceless ...... for everything else there's mastercard 

[westerner]

I'm beginning to feel I must be a bit odd (it has been suggested before).

I am of the generation being discussed (b. 1950) but was never a train-spotter at all. Are there others like that out there, or am I unique (euphemism for weird)?

 

Maybe that's why my modelling interests are not aimed at when I was young, and hence fall rather into the 'model what you never saw but wish you had' school.

In my case

1930ish GW (inspired by mother's tales of her youth then in Devon and Cornwall)

Irish narrow gauge (inspired by an inborn love for the rustic, informal and eccentric. Tempted by Bishop's Castle one day too)

and, if I had more time and money, maybe broad gauge by the sea at Dawlish.

Have to admit even though I turned 71 yesterday, I too was not an ardent trainspotter, I did do a little in my early teens even though my junior school was right next to the overbridge which carried the line out of Gloucester Central across London Road ( the name of my school). I was far more interested in aeroplanes, dad worked for Gloster Aircraft, that might be the reason.

However when I did do some spotting I can remember racing across the very long footbridge between Central ad Eastgate stations to spot a Jubilee.

[Woodcock29]

Continuing the nostalgic theme, this afternoon I started building this BEC D11. 

 

BEC D11 01.jpg

 

Hello Tony

 

Its interesting that you've got an old BEC D11  to build. Many of us would have built these in earlier years I expect. I built one somewhere around 1975 as Jutland, so its one of those models built more than 40 years ago.

 

I still have it and occasionally it gets a run - it spends most of its time 'on shed' however. It had a bit of a rebuild in the mid 80s. I increased the height of the splashers as those in the kit are about 1.2mm too low in height. The tender is also too wide by 1.5-2mm but I didn't do anything about that. Mine also came with oval buffers on the tender - these should be round. I've just looked at a photo of Prince of Wales in about 1957-58 on page 121 of Yeadon Vol 29 and note it still has tender water pickup. In which case the water filler/pickup cover on the rear deck of the tender is incorrect. Graeme King could probably provide you with a correct one as he makes these in resin - I've had a number from him, alternatively you could scratch-build the correct arrangement of box covers. Interestingly when overhauled in Aug-Sept 1957 it got lined black livery with the small 1949 emblem on the tender.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Andrew

 

   

[queensquare]

It was always the posh boys from the public school who gathered at the station. We never saw working class kids from the state school.

I consider it very much a class thing rather than an economic thing. You played rugby and you collected engine numbers. You played football and went to the billiard hall. Note billiards not snooker in those days.

Bernard

I taught history at degree level for many years and one of the first lessons you try to instill in students is that you cannot use the particular to argue the general - a common failing of amateur historians. In other words, this was my experience , therefore this is what it was like.

Train spotting had nothing to do with class. I was an avid spotter and all my mates were working class lads from the local estates, we played football but never billiards. There was ( and still is) a very prestigious public school in Warminster where rugby was favoured over football. I don't remember ever meeting any of the boys from there at any of the local spotting haunts.

This does not demonstrate that trainspotting was a working class pursuit, simply that that was my experience.

 

Jerry

[The Blue Streak]

Good afternoon (or morning in the Mother Country) Gents.

Recent discussion on this topic regarding ones memories, place of birth, family or peer influences which may lead to an allegiance or interest in a particular region or era, led Me to consider where and how My interests developed or evolved.

 

I was born in Australia in 1967 so had no exposure to British steam being 12000 miles and 12 months (give or take) away from the last of Mainline steam in everyday service.

 

My Father was in his trainspotting prime (just becoming a teenager) in Dorset at the end of WW2 and was firmly a Southern (read Bulleid) Man, so I do have a bit of a passing interest in the SR.

 

Steam did hang on in Western Australia until about 1972 and I have a few memories as a nipper of My Mother taking Me to the railway station to watch tank engines bustle about (to be slowly and surely replaced, until the day came when no tank engines came which I remember upset me a great deal !)

 

I did go to the UK for two or three years at about the age of 8  but have no recollections of seeing trains there.

 

On becoming a Trainee Engineman and later an Engine Driver I only ever had exposure to diesels.

 

So How do I become interested in the LNER / Early BR ECML ?

 

Well, it was the time when 4472 visited Australia that caught My attention. I saw it (along with Pendennis Castle) thundering through the Avon Valley looking and sounding like nothing else I had ever seen. As impressive as the Castle was, the big Pacific stole the limelight and I was hooked.  One fleeting moment where I saw one of Sir Nigels finest being given it's head on a secluded stretch of line, converted (corrupted ?) Me forever.

 

Strange how things come about !

 

Cheers Ted

Edited January 22, 2018 by The Blue Streak

[Bernard Lamb]

I taught history at degree level for many years and one of the first lessons you try to instill in students is that you cannot use the particular to argue the general - a common failing of amateur historians. In other words, this was my experience , therefore this is what it was like.

Train spotting had nothing to do with class. I was an avid spotter and all my mates were working class lads from the local estates, we played football but never billiards. There was ( and still is) a very prestigious public school in Warminster where rugby was favoured over football. I don't remember ever meeting any of the boys from there at any of the local spotting haunts.

This does not demonstrate that trainspotting was a working class pursuit, simply that that was my experience.

 

Jerry

 

The thing is Jerry that a certain Mr Casserley lived about a 100yards away on the other side of the railway line. Most of the grown up people I knew who were railway modellers were either Clergymen or Army Officers. When I looked in the RM I would see drawings by some chap signing off with Bart. As you say one can only go on personal experience.

Bernard

[Tony Wright]

 

Continuing the nostalgic theme, this afternoon I started building this BEC D11. 

 

BEC D11 01.jpg

 

Hello Tony

 

Its interesting that you've got an old BEC D11  to build. Many of us would have built these in earlier years I expect. I built one somewhere around 1975 as Jutland, so its one of those models built more than 40 years ago.

 

I still have it and occasionally it gets a run - it spends most of its time 'on shed' however. It had a bit of a rebuild in the mid 80s. I increased the height of the splashers as those in the kit are about 1.2mm too low in height. The tender is also too wide by 1.5-2mm but I didn't do anything about that. Mine also came with oval buffers on the tender - these should be round. I've just looked at a photo of Prince of Wales in about 1957-58 on page 121 of Yeadon Vol 29 and note it still has tender water pickup. In which case the water filler/pickup cover on the rear deck of the tender is incorrect. Graeme King could probably provide you with a correct one as he makes these in resin - I've had a number from him, alternatively you could scratch-build the correct arrangement of box covers. Interestingly when overhauled in Aug-Sept 1957 it got lined black livery with the small 1949 emblem on the tender.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Andrew

 

   

 

Thanks Andrew,

 

I, too, built a BEC D11, though a couple of years earlier than you. I fitted a Tri-ang L1 chassis, and, being a 'scale' modeller, I fitted Romford wheels to this. I became even more 'scale' by eventually scratch-building a chassis for it (powered by a K's Mk.1 motor fitted with a flywheel!). It eventually went to a friend (along with an A5) because it (and the A5) weren't really ECML locos at the time the layout I was building was set. I don't know whether he still has the locos. 

 

I am aware the the errors in the kit, but, perversely, other than the fact that I'll put the box on the back of the tender for the pick-up gear, I don't really mind. Having built the McGowan D9 late last year and now building this one, it's a kind of trip down memory lane for me. Though there isn't an RTR D9, the RTR D11 from Bachmann is far better in just about every aspect (though this BEC one runs more sweetly - the Bachmann one has a slight tight-spot). However, with regard to the relative 'crudity' of the cast metal loco, as I noted yesterday, that's irrelevant. I'm not advocating the wholesale making of crude and poorly-detailed models - not at all - but many of the latest pieces of RTR wonderment I occasionally look at have no 'soul' in my view. They're too uniform, almost too 'perfect'. They're not made by the modeller, they're mass-produced in the manner that most consumer items are today. 

 

In fairness, the RTR manufacturers can't win. I recall some Hornby-Dublo locos a friend had years ago and clearly the bufferbeam red had been hand-painted at Binns Road. They were a bit blobby, and the red had got on to a buffer head. Imagine the outrage today if that sort of thing were offered for sale. 

 

It's just that, as a model-maker I'm much more drawn to the things folk have made. I've mentioned this before, but one of my greatest privileges in my latter-day career was to photograph Buckingham in its home in Truro, before it was dismantled and went, most fortuitously into the caring hands of Tony Gee (who still runs it). Earlier in the year before I'd photographed a very large system where just about everything on it was RTR (of high-quality). There are no prizes for guessing which of the two layouts I preferred.

 

Apart from making the box at the back, the tender of the D11 is now complete, complete with round buffers. By resting its front on the drawgear of the loco, it aids adhesion and prevents the loco from being nose-heavy in operation. I'll post pictures later.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Clive Mortimore]

The thing is Jerry that a certain Mr Casserley lived about a 100yards away on the other side of the railway line. Most of the grown up people I knew who were railway modellers were either Clergymen or Army Officers. When I looked in the RM I would see drawings by some chap signing off with Bart. As you say one can only go on personal experience.

Bernard

Please remember that society has moved on and so has railway modelling, pass times are no longer reserved for those who think they have a privileged background but open to all. That includes those from council estates. 

[Chris Knight]

Thanks for posting the shots taken at B'm'th Central Tony, they certainly rekindled memories although the picture of 35011 shown entering the station via

the Holdenhurst Rd bridge (or tunnel ?) indicated that you would have been probably subjected to the odious stench emanating from the nearby fish dock.

 

As for my preference for ex GW motive power rather than the local SR types, this was(is) purely aesthetical - and I agree with the old saying about beauty/eyes/

beholder etc... In my early spotting days I had no comprehension of the power or efficiency of varying loco classes but the first sight of that old "Hall" that

I mentioned in my earlier ramblings definitely struck me, possibly initially because it was different from the usual parade of SR locos, who knows.

 

When I started to seek more information and read about these engines which I so admired I discovered the history and ethos of the old GWR company which

I firmly believe was very different from others,although I am probably guilty of the rose tinted glasses syndrome.

 

Following on from the book recommendations from Tony, anybody seeking to confirm my feelings about the GWR and its WR successor i would suggest the

series of books by locoman Harold Gasson and Adrian Vaughan's  "Signalmans Morning". Wonderful nostalgic stuff.

[Lecorbusier]

 

 

When I started to seek more information and read about these engines which I so admired I discovered the history and ethos of the old GWR company which

I firmly believe was very different from others,although I am probably guilty of the rose tinted glasses syndrome.

 

Isn't this possibly true to some extent of a fair few at various times? The Midland's policy of 'light and often' Certainly impacted upon image and approach.

[Tony Wright]

 

After about seven hours' work, this is the state of play on the old BEC D11. The 'oval' front buffers weren't that at all, so they've been replaced. My modified/weathered Bachmann RTR example stands alongside. I think there's no doubt that the latter will be the superior model but whether I keep it or not depends on Kiveton Park being built. I'll certainly keep the D11 I'm making. 

 

Perhaps some might think that selling a superior model might be a bit weird, but my modelling philosophy leans much more to the making things (which is, I hope, the core of this thread). In the last eighteen months or so I've sold on many RTR locos which I improved, because they were never really 'mine' in the same way that locos I build are, though I still respect those who improve their RTR stock by themselves. They're certainly not non-modellers in my view; indeed, much of what they do is superlative, but it's not for me. As I say, a purely personal point of view. 

 

 

Continuing with the theme of making things, a little of my time today was also spent in adding a few more bits to the DJH A2/3 I'm building. I'll often have several models on the go, though I have to try to avoid chaos. It's less likely here, because the two locos are so different with almost no commonality of components. 

 

 

Finally, having completed all the work along Station Road to complement the architectural work of Bob Dawson and Ian Wilson, this is the view now looking south, including the new cottages and the finished fencing. Apart from the presence of Mick Nicholson's signals, and the modest railway architecture, this is hardly a 'model railway' view. But, to me, it doesn't matter. Because I have the luxury of enough space, there is a great deal of non-railway stuff on Little Bytham. As there should be.....................

[Jesse Sim]

BEC D11 02.jpg

 

After about seven hours' work, this is the state of play on the old BEC D11. The 'oval' front buffers weren't that at all, so they've been replaced. My modified/weathered Bachmann RTR example stands alongside. I think there's no doubt that the latter will be the superior model but whether I keep it or not depends on Kiveton Park being built. I'll certainly keep the D11 I'm making. 

 

Perhaps some might think that selling a superior model might be a bit weird, but my modelling philosophy leans much more to the making things (which is, I hope, the core of this thread). In the last eighteen months or so I've sold on many RTR locos which I improved, because they were never really 'mine' in the same way that locos I build are, though I still respect those who improve their RTR stock by themselves. They're certainly not non-modellers in my view; indeed, much of what they do is superlative, but it's not for me. As I say, a purely personal point of view. 

 

DJH A2 3 02.jpg

 

Continuing with the theme of making things, a little of my time today was also spent in adding a few more bits to the DJH A2/3 I'm building. I'll often have several models on the go, though I have to try to avoid chaos. It's less likely here, because the two locos are so different with almost no commonality of components. 

 

RM Little Bytham 45.jpg

 

Finally, having completed all the work along Station Road to complement the architectural work of Bob Dawson and Ian Wilson, this is the view now looking south, including the new cottages and the finished fencing. Apart from the presence of Mick Nicholson's signals, and the modest railway architecture, this is hardly a 'model railway' view. But, to me, it doesn't matter. Because I have the luxury of enough space, there is a great deal of non-railway stuff on Little Bytham. As there should be.....................

To be honest Tony,

 

One thing i love about Little Bytham, is Station road, the way it winds up to the station with seeing the locomotives thunder past the station buildings. When i walked up during my stay, to have a smoke, I know, I know, that is exactly what it felt like. Walking up and seeing the modern locomotives flowing through. You actually feel like you are there in the 50s!  A nod to your work and the others that have helped along the way of course. 

[Anglian]

one of my greatest privileges in my latter-day career was to photograph Buckingham in its home in Truro, before it was dismantled and went, most fortuitously into the caring hands of Tony Gee (who still runs it). 

 

I was reading 'Buckingham Branch Lines Part 2' – it really is quite staggering that PD made the entire layout from the most basic raw materials, even down to building the spoked wheels for the horse drawn carriages, that congregate in the courtyard of Buckingham station.

 

Tony – did you have the chance to operate? Are there any particular memories of seeing the layout that you'd care to share?

Edited January 22, 2018 by Anglian

[great northern]

Thanks Andrew,

 

I, too, built a BEC D11, though a couple of years earlier than you. I fitted a Tri-ang L1 chassis, and, being a 'scale' modeller, I fitted Romford wheels to this. I became even more 'scale' by eventually scratch-building a chassis for it (powered by a K's Mk.1 motor fitted with a flywheel!). It eventually went to a friend (along with an A5) because it (and the A5) weren't really ECML locos at the time the layout I was building was set. I don't know whether he still has the locos. 

 

I am aware the the errors in the kit, but, perversely, other than the fact that I'll put the box on the back of the tender for the pick-up gear, I don't really mind. Having built the McGowan D9 late last year and now building this one, it's a kind of trip down memory lane for me. Though there isn't an RTR D9, the RTR D11 from Bachmann is far better in just about every aspect (though this BEC one runs more sweetly - the Bachmann one has a slight tight-spot). However, with regard to the relative 'crudity' of the cast metal loco, as I noted yesterday, that's irrelevant. I'm not advocating the wholesale making of crude and poorly-detailed models - not at all - but many of the latest pieces of RTR wonderment I occasionally look at have no 'soul' in my view. They're too uniform, almost too 'perfect'. They're not made by the modeller, they're mass-produced in the manner that most consumer items are today. 

 

In fairness, the RTR manufacturers can't win. I recall some Hornby-Dublo locos a friend had years ago and clearly the bufferbeam red had been hand-painted at Binns Road. They were a bit blobby, and the red had got on to a buffer head. Imagine the outrage today if that sort of thing were offered for sale. 

 

It's just that, as a model-maker I'm much more drawn to the things folk have made. I've mentioned this before, but one of my greatest privileges in my latter-day career was to photograph Buckingham in its home in Truro, before it was dismantled and went, most fortuitously into the caring hands of Tony Gee (who still runs it). Earlier in the year before I'd photographed a very large system where just about everything on it was RTR (of high-quality). There are no prizes for guessing which of the two layouts I preferred.

 

Apart from making the box at the back, the tender of the D11 is now complete, complete with round buffers. By resting its front on the drawgear of the loco, it aids adhesion and prevents the loco from being nose-heavy in operation. I'll post pictures later.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 That takes me back Tony. I built two BEC D11s in the mid 70s, the first one on an RTR chassis, but my memory tells me that by the time I did the other one there was a kit built alternative, which I managed to put together. Would that be right? Or am I getting confused again? I wish I hadn't sold them on now.

[Tony Wright]

I was reading 'Buckingham Branch Lines Part 2' – it really is quite staggering that PD made the entire layout from the most basic raw materials, even down to building the spoked wheels for the horse drawn carriages, that congregate in the courtyard of Buckingham station.

 

Tony – did you have the chance to operate? Are there any particular memories of seeing the layout that you'd care to share?

Mike Kippax ran the trains into position for the photographs, but I didn't actually operate Buckingham. 

 

Time was a bit tight because I had to follow Steve Flint who was taking pictures for the RM.

 

I think Buckingham was (and still is) a staggering achievement. I've admitted it's not exactly 'my' sort of layout because it's not an actual prototype, but it couldn't be described as anything else but one of the most influential layouts of my lifetime (I was two when PD started it) and that of any post-War modeller. It really is a fully-operational model railway, which, because it's based on prototype practice is very convincing (am I arguing with myself here?). Fortunately, in the capable hands of Tony Gee, it still runs.

 

I don't think we'll ever see the likes of Peter Denny again (or Frank Dyer or other contemporaries). The hobby has moved on, of that there's no doubt, and more can participate because it's not as skill-based (out of necessity) as it once was. Peter had to make everything, as did Frank Dyer. They certainly didn't moan about this or that not being available; neither did Bert Collins, the creator of Hitchin. Bert wanted a Tango for Hitchin, so, guess what, he built one. Just like that! At a time when so many layouts one sees today are 'swamped' with RTR and/or RTP, it's so refreshing to see examples of personal craftsmanship, despite its age. I think that's what most appeals to me and why I continue to make things myself, though I wouldn't ever consider myself to be anywhere near in the same company as the three great men I've mentioned. 

 

The following snapshots show Buckingham in its home environment in Truro. They were taken in 2010. There are also pictures of Peter's work bench and the Automatic Crispin. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's an article on Buckingham in a forthcoming BRM, featuring Andy York's pictures. It'll be well worth looking at. 

Edited January 22, 2018 by Tony Wright

[Tony Wright]

 That takes me back Tony. I built two BEC D11s in the mid 70s, the first one on an RTR chassis, but my memory tells me that by the time I did the other one there was a kit built alternative, which I managed to put together. Would that be right? Or am I getting confused again? I wish I hadn't sold them on now.

You're quite right, Gilbert.

 

BEC did eventually give you a chassis with the D11, entirely in the K's tradition - two bits of stamped brass, some turned spacers and some bearings. That's what's under the one I'm building, but I'll add brakes and the semblance of an ashpan. I've not used a K's motor, either, but a modern Mashima and gear mount. 

 

I admit to (at least in part) gluing (with expoxy) that first BEC Director I built. I couldn't have built this one anywhere near as quickly without using solder. I'll finish it tomorrow. 

 

What a pity you sold the ones you made. Still, I don't now own anything I made from those years.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.