Wright writes.....

[St Enodoc]

4 hours ago, PupCam said:

I think I may have recounted before of how I used to lie down on a very similar bridge over the north end of Oakleigh Park station and look through one of the lowest diamonds.   By doing so you caught the earliest glimpse under the station's booking office bridge of the northbound Deltic you could hear coming out of Southgate tunnel.    I can still smell the creosoted floor planks nearly 60 years later.   Come to think of it I can still hear the Deltic 😀

I used to cycle from Mill Hill to the footpath on the Down side just south of Hadley Wood tunnels, at about the same time and for the same reason. Happy days.

[Tony Wright]

9 hours ago, PupCam said:

Good evening Tony,

 

 

Isn't that bridge a thing of beauty!  

 

I think I may have recounted before of how I used to lie down on a very similar bridge over the north end of Oakleigh Park station and look through one of the lowest diamonds.   By doing so you caught the earliest glimpse under the station's booking office bridge of the northbound Deltic you could hear coming out of Southgate tunnel.    I can still smell the creosoted floor planks nearly 60 years later.   Come to think of it I can still hear the Deltic 😀

 

 

Thanks for the memory Bernard.     If Tony will forgive a brief divergence from more mainstream WW fodder ....

 

The shop, Hemel Model Centre, was always on Waterhouse Street during it's existence.   This photograph was taken shortly before "we" took it over circa 1969.       The offices above the shops on the right-hand side of the photograph are the famous "13-35 Bridge Street" which was of course the home for many years of Model & Allied Publications, publishers of Model Railways, Aeromodeller, Model Boats, Scale Models, Model Engineer etc etc   

 

I don't ever recall a model shop in Bank Court but there was of course Taylor & McKenna (subsequently part of the Beatties Empire) in Marlowes just opposite the entrance to Bank Court.

 

In later years another business opened up in other parts of HH named IIRC  "Hemel Model Centre Too" which was nothing to do with us.   There are a few stories to tell but this is neither the time or the place and probably best forgotten now.

 

 

A few years ago a family member discovered a photograph (the only one I am aware of) of Father in his lair (in its final format) which I now treasure.   Observers may note a significant collection of RTR items and a full rack of proper Humbrol paint.       Father used to highly rate the Trix A3s & A4s at the time as he was a fan of such locomotives having spent his youth copping as many as possible around the Wood Green / Hornsey area and racing on his bike at the appropriate times to see the Silver Jubilee and Coronation.  Of course they are crude and dated now!

 

 I'd best give Tony his thread back now!

 

Alan

 

 

Good morning Alan,

 

Your contributions are always welcome, so, please, keep them coming. Wws is not 'my' thread to give back, anyway.

 

The 'thing of beauty' bridge (which it definitely is) was a vantage point which my late brother, late cousins (out of 13  first cousins and one sibling, I now only have six left - a 'dangerous' age!) and my late dad used to stand on with regularity. We'd be over from Chester to the paternal home in North Anston, and, dad, understanding how boring adult conversation could be to small(ish) boys, would pack us into the car (a post-War Humber Hawk - what a car!) and drive through Woodsetts, Worksop, Manton, Ranby and Babworth, to Retford. We'd turn into West Carr Road, dad would park the car by the end of the footbridge steps and we'd pile on to it. 

 

 

The car would be parked to the right. The two centre roads are the Up fast and Down fast respectively. Only the bravest among us (my brother) would stand above the Down fast when a non-stop came through at speed. You see, anything going north non-stop would have been eased up to take the flat crossing at the statutory 65 mph (under easy steam, having just dropped down Gamston Bank). Once through the station, the regulator would be in the roof and the exhaust would be roaring as the express dashed beneath the footbridge, inches below! Up trains travelling non-stop would have the regulator closed to respect that 65 mph speed restriction, though a strong nerve was needed all the same. 

 

A little over a decade later, I parked my car (a Mini Van!) in the same spot and 'braved' the Deltics! If anything, they were more frightening. 

 

The Austerity (on the Down goods) reminds me of just such an example which was 'copped' here - 90732, VULCAN, accompanied by whoops of joy.

 

 

Slower trains (though I never saw a J10 here) needed no bravery to stand above.

 

That model footbridge really is incredible. 

 

Of course, the preferred spot was on the station itself, and that's where we'd be if we'd travelled by train from Kiveton Park.

 

 

To begin with behind a wheezing Director like this (that's not 'me', by the way - my school blazer was blue).

 

Later, the journey was by DMU. 

 

Standing on the platform which curved off to Gainsborough, one had a good view of............

 

 

The North Country Continental Boat Train, at the time of the D11s always hauled by a B17. 

 

Later on...........

 

 

This became a Britannia job (though we never stood on the far side of the line). 

 

Of course.............

 

 

The main reason for 'spotting at Retford was to see things like this. 

 

I've said before that I consider Retford to be the 'greatest model railway' ever made (and still being made). Granted, the personal memories are a strong factor in my assertion, but it is on the 'heroic' scale, created originally by a visionary.

 

No doubt (as has happened in the past) others will name layouts which (in their opinion) 'enjoy' the same 'status', but, unless they're based on an actual prototype and are as near as damn it to scale, they are non-starters for the epithet in my book. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

Edited July 10 by Tony Wright
typo error

[PupCam]

10 hours ago, gr.king said:

A proper-looking model shop. At least the Plastruct display in my nearest model railway shop retains that same familiar look.

 

Funny enough Ken Wilkinson (of John Dutfield and DPS fame) said to me they still use the same display unit when he saw this photograph.

 

12 hours ago, 1471SirFrederickBanbury said:

and the funniest thing about the underside of the GAM A4s is that the inside of the frames and axles aren't even painted red (I know the A1 and A3 were red pre-war, but I can't be exactly sure about the A4s, but I cant imagine that it would be wise to paint them black, hard to find oiling points and such), the hornblock guides aren't visible, nor ribbed, the axles are wrongly parallel, they used fairly obtrusive screws on the brake rigging of all things, and the frame spacers aren't right in place, nor shape!  Using MJT detailed Hornblocks, and better springs (maybe even CSB, or the Varney system) would've looked FAR better, and would've improved the tractive effort immensely!

 

But in the context that it was a 4mm scale, commercial model that is perhaps a slightly harsh comparison.    A fairer comparison might have been with the internal scale details of the Hornby version 😉 I would have thought .....

 

12 hours ago, 1471SirFrederickBanbury said:

If you want to see what the inside of a Gresley pacific looks like, then this post of Peter Seymour-Howell's fabulous build of a 5" gauge FLUING SCOTSMAN model shows some good photos: http://4472flyingscotsman.co.uk/inside-connecting-rod-and-piston-crosshead-fitting/

 

A fabulous thing.    Beautiful art emerges from functional engineering!

 

7 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I used to cycle from Mill Hill to the footpath on the Down side just south of Hadley Wood tunnels, at about the same time and for the same reason. Happy days.

 

The famous and marvellous H.A. Blunts will have been your local model shop no doubt.     The Blunt brothers assisted Father on numerous occasions back in the day, a case of small retailers sticking together.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 10 by PupCam
Added "scale" to details

[St Enodoc]

44 minutes ago, PupCam said:

The famous and marvellous H.A. Blunts will have been your local model shop no doubt.     The Blunt brothers assisted Father on numerous occasions back in the day, a case of small retailers sticking together.

Most definitely! No Saturday morning shopping in the Broadway was complete without going to Blunt's, usually just to stare into the window but sometimes, if Dad was feeling generous, to go inside. On those occasions I never came out empty-handed - usually some small accessories but, on one glorious occasion, a second-hand Tri-ang maroon Princess Royal!

 

The brothers you mention were Alan (tall and thin) and Peter (shorter and not so thin...), the sons in H A Blunt and Sons.

Edited July 10 by St Enodoc

[PupCam]

30 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Most definitely! No Saturday morning shopping in the Broadway was complete without going to Blunt's, usually just to stare into the window but sometimes, if Dad was feeling generous, to go inside. On those occasions I never came out empty-handed - usually some small accessories but, on one glorious occasion, a second-hand Tri-ang maroon Princess Royal!

 

The brothers you mention were Alan (tall and thin) and Peter (shorter and not so thin...), the sons in H A Blunt and Sons.

 

Great chaps, great shop!

 

I don't know if you recall or indeed every saw it but back in the very early 70's Peco produced an N Gauge shop window display layout (they may actually of course produced many for countrywide use) for use in each shop for a few weeks.      Blunt's had it in early December time one year and it was then passed to us right at the end of the run-up to Christmas.   It didn't actually get to the shop over the Christmas period 😀 but was used as my own personal test track at home for running the lovely Peco Jubilee that Santa left on Christmas morning.   Sadly I had to give the layout back to father for first the shop and then of course it went off to another shop after a couple of weeks (although I know not where).

 

 

 

[MarkC]

On 07/07/2024 at 14:19, Tony Wright said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited to include this Dave Alexander G5, though who built it..............?

Hello Tony.

 

I might be responsible for this one - she's presently in the paint shop, receiving a NER Saxony Green livery.

 

I must get round to my DA K4 at some time too...

 

Best

Mark

[St Enodoc]

9 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 

Great chaps, great shop!

 

I don't know if you recall or indeed every saw it but back in the very early 70's Peco produced an N Gauge shop window display layout (they may actually of course produced many for countrywide use) for use in each shop for a few weeks.      Blunt's had it in early December time one year and it was then passed to us right at the end of the run-up to Christmas.   It didn't actually get to the shop over the Christmas period 😀 but was used as my own personal test track at home for running the lovely Peco Jubilee that Santa left on Christmas morning.   Sadly I had to give the layout back to father for first the shop and then of course it went off to another shop after a couple of weeks (although I know not where).

 

 

 

I must have seen it, Alan, but not being an N gauge fan I don't remember it.

[MarkC]

On 07/07/2024 at 14:36, Tony Wright said:

Thanks Lez,

 

I don't have any photographs of Omega's kits, I'm afraid.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I know that I have an Omega 4-4-0 kit in the roundtuit pile, Tony, and am presently having a sort out, so if I find it, I'll take some photos.

 

Truth be told,I'm not sure that I'll ever get round to building it now, so it might well be up for sale ere long...

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Mark Laidlay]

5 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning Alan,

 

Your contributions are always welcome, so, please, keep them coming. Wws is not 'my' thread to give back, anyway.

 

The 'thing of beauty' bridge (which it definitely is) was a vantage point which my late brother, late cousins (out of 13  first cousins and one sibling, I now only have six left - a 'dangerous' age!) and my late dad used to stand on with regularity. We'd be over from Chester to the paternal home in North Anston, and, dad, understanding how boring adult conversation could be to small(ish) boys, would pack us into the car (a post-War Humber Hawk - what a car!) and drive through Woodsetts, Worksop, Manton, Ranby and Babworth, to Retford. We'd turn into West Carr Road, dad would park the car by the end of the footbridge steps and we'd pile on to it. 

 

 

The car would be parked to the right. The two centre roads are the Up fast and Down fast respectively. Only the bravest among us (my brother) would stand above the Down fast when a non-stop came through at speed. You see, anything going north non-stop would have been eased up to take the flat crossing at the statutory 65 mph (under easy steam, having just dropped down Gamston Bank). Once through the station, the regulator would be in the roof and the exhaust would be roaring as the express dashed beneath the footbridge, inches below! Up trains travelling non-stop would have the regulator closed to respect that 65 mph speed restriction, though a strong nerve was needed all the same. 

 

A little over a decade later, I parked my car (a Mini Van!) in the same spot and 'braved' the Deltics! If anything, they were more frightening. 

 

The Austerity (on the Down goods) reminds me of just such an example which was 'copped' here - 90732, VULCAN, accompanied by whoops of joy.

 

 

Slower trains (though I never saw a J10 here) needed no bravery to stand above.

 

That model footbridge really is incredible. 

 

Of course, the preferred spot was on the station itself, and that's where we'd be if we'd travelled by train from Kiveton Park.

 

 

To begin with behind a wheezing Director like this (that's not 'me', by the way - my school blazer was blue).

 

Later, the journey was by DMU. 

 

Standing on the platform which curved off to Gainsborough, one had a good view of............

 

 

The North Country Continental Boat Train, at the time of the D11s always hauled by a B17. 

 

Later on...........

 

 

This became a Britannia job (though we never stood on the far side of the line). 

 

Of course.............

 

 

The main reason for 'spotting at Retford was to see things like this. 

 

I've said before that I consider Retford to be the 'greatest model railway' ever made (and still being made). Granted, the personal memories are a strong factor in my assertion, but it is on the 'heroic' scale, created originally by a visionary.

 

No doubt (as has happened in the past) others will name layouts which (in their opinion) 'enjoy' the same 'status', but, unless they're based on an actual prototype and are as near as damn it to scale, they are non-starters for the epithet in my book. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

Tony,

There is only one railway other than Retford that I have seen that would deserve "the best" title and it's in the US.  Exhibits — San Diego Model Railroad Museum (sdmrm.org).  It's a club, Retford is private.  It's multiple towns along a railway, Retford is one massive (from a model perspective) station.  La Mesa is mountainous, the scale of the hill scenery is enormous, it's not multi-deck, it's multi storey, trains travel through scenery to gain elevation (not helixes).  It's not full scale, that would require a building mile square, but specific scenes are to scale.  The standard is high but there were plenty of placeholders when I visited in 2012.  Better or different?  I guess Pendon doesn't fit your criteria as it's not based on a specific prototype whereas Retford and La Mesa are.

[Tony Wright]

51 minutes ago, Mark Laidlay said:

Tony,

There is only one railway other than Retford that I have seen that would deserve "the best" title and it's in the US.  Exhibits — San Diego Model Railroad Museum (sdmrm.org).  It's a club, Retford is private.  It's multiple towns along a railway, Retford is one massive (from a model perspective) station.  La Mesa is mountainous, the scale of the hill scenery is enormous, it's not multi-deck, it's multi storey, trains travel through scenery to gain elevation (not helixes).  It's not full scale, that would require a building mile square, but specific scenes are to scale.  The standard is high but there were plenty of placeholders when I visited in 2012.  Better or different?  I guess Pendon doesn't fit your criteria as it's not based on a specific prototype whereas Retford and La Mesa are.

Thanks for that Mark,

 

I've never heard of La Mesa, but it sounds impressive. 

 

As for Pendon, the subject has arisen before (causing some controversy!).

 

I honestly think it's more of a 'model museum' than a singular model railway. That the work is to the highest standards, there's no doubt, and it's true that the work overall is incredible. However (there's always an 'however'), though all the elements are prototype-based, it's not a model of an actual prototype overall, so, as you suggest, it doesn't fit my criteria, even though it contains examples of modelling which are sanspareil.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Barclay]

Been off-line for a few days, hence only just replying to the 'obscure kit' discussion. I found this LMS 3F 0-6-0T kit on ebay. It is a stamped brass kit by R.M. Evans and Co., and dates from around 1948. R. M. Evans was, I believe, the Martin Evans who would become Editor of Model Engineer about 20 years later. The kit built up very well, though some parts were missing, and I had to build a new chassis for it. The wheels, however, came with it. They are like Romfords, and fitted new Markits EM axles, but are made of brass. Does anyone know if they would be Romford, or another make?

 

 

 

[John B]

31 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Thanks for that Mark,

 

I've never heard of La Mesa, but it sounds impressive. 

 

As for Pendon, the subject has arisen before (causing some controversy!).

 

I honestly think it's more of a 'model museum' than a singular model railway. That the work is to the highest standards, there's no doubt, and it's true that the work overall is incredible. However (there's always an 'however'), though all the elements are prototype-based, it's not a model of an actual prototype overall, so, as you suggest, it doesn't fit my criteria, even though it contains examples of modelling which are sanspareil.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

The Techachapi Pass exhibit (built by the La Mesa Model Railroad Club, at the San Diego Model Railway Museum) is certainly impressive. Astonishing is another term I'd use to describe it. 

 

As Mark says, it is Multi-Storey. Two floors of a building bigger than most UK (or even average US) houses. An extremely accurate rendition of the SP/SF joint main line through the Tehachapi mountains in California, it has been in the making for probably at least as long as Pendon. Last time I visited it was approaching completion - but that was 7+ years ago. 

 

I had the privilege of being permitted to operate on a number of occasions. It's not for the faint-hearted, being fully signalled and operated / controlled as per the prototype, dispatcher, timetable / train order rules, and full length trains going up (and down) some serious gradients. Despite being fully DCC controlled, you are on your toes for the entire 45 minutes or so that it takes to run a train from the upper "fiddle yard" (staging, as the US modellers call it) to the foot of the hill, and vice versa.

 

Definitely worth a visit if anyone ever finds themselves on holiday in Southern California.

[MarkC]

The Omega Models MR 4-4-0

 

It's been started by a previous owner, but looks quite good. A mixture of etched brass, turned brass & whitemetal fittings and plastic tender axleboxes, with a nice instruction book.

 

Mark

[lezz01]

30 minutes ago, Barclay said:

Been off-line for a few days, hence only just replying to the 'obscure kit' discussion. I found this LMS 3F 0-6-0T kit on ebay. It is a stamped brass kit by R.M. Evans and Co., and dates from around 1948. R. M. Evans was, I believe, the Martin Evans who would become Editor of Model Engineer about 20 years later. The kit built up very well, though some parts were missing, and I had to build a new chassis for it. The wheels, however, came with it. They are like Romfords, and fitted new Markits EM axles, but are made of brass. Does anyone know if they would be Romford, or another make?

 

 

 

It looks very good considering it's age. You've made a very good job of building it.

I think you're right about the wheels being Romford's I seem to remember that the original Romford wheels were indeed brass. They were an option in my first W&H catalogue many years ago but were no longer mentioned in the second one a couple of years later. Personally I dislike Romford wheels but they are very good for people who can't get along with quartering friction fit wheels. I built a jig for marking the ends of friction fit axles that works very well although I don't really need it as I've been quartering friction fit wheels for years now. I find Gibson's hold better than Ultrascale plus you don't have to wait a year for them. I do miss the Sharman wheels as there were more outside crank types available but time marches on.

Regards Lez.   

[lezz01]

17 minutes ago, MarkC said:

The Omega Models MR 4-4-0

 

It's been started by a previous owner, but looks quite good. A mixture of etched brass, turned brass & whitemetal fittings and plastic tender axleboxes, with a nice instruction book.

 

Mark

It's certainly better than the Ratio offering. As I mentioned previously they pop up on eBay from time to time but always end up going for silly money. I would like to see how it stacks up against the London Road one. 

Regards Lez. 

[PupCam]

3 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

As they say always Read The Manual First. At least the lad had enough gumption to ask for help rather just ringing his boss.

 

Got told recently about a relative who was in the firms van and suffered a blowout. Rang the AA who said they couldn't get to him until four hours. So he rang the hire people who said drive it to nearest depot on the rim. There are some people who shouldn't be let out let alone near a telephone.

 

That wasn't quite the acronym I was introduced to during my long although not illustrious career in aerospace engineering but ultimately the meaning is the same.

 

To misquote Eric Morecombe;   "You are saying all the right letters but not necessarily in the right order".      

 

9 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

No doubt (as has happened in the past) others will name layouts which (in their opinion) 'enjoy' the same 'status', but, unless they're based on an actual prototype and are as near as damn it to scale, they are non-starters for the epithet in my book.

 

Just for the fun of it I'll chuck in Copenhagen Fields.         It's based on a real place of course, it is just up the line from my old stomping ground (so it's on the right railway) and the modelling is superb but that's not the reason I've chosen it.

 

No, the reason for me is that it takes me straight back to Eric Tracey's evocative photographs in his books Lure of Steam, Portrait of steam etc etc and all those other wonderful photographers of the area in the first 2/3rds of the 20th Century.     It's a 3D colour rendition of all those wonderful black & white photographs.   If only they could add proper smoke to go with it.

 

Hmmm Pendon?     Yes it's true you can't go to the real Pendon but you could go to every single one of those fabulous properties (if you had a time machine) and they are arranged in just as prototypical manner as the correct consist of a model passenger train.  Whilst I understand Tony's view and generally agree with it, for me "Pendon Parva" is a real place so I'll make an exception and cut them some slack.      

 

The trouble with imaginary locations generally is that so often modellers come up with arrangements that are just not prototypical.   That isn't only in railway terms but also in geographical, geological, engineering and host of other fields.   A good friend used to point out such  bloopers and I'm afraid it's rather rubbed off on me.  If I spot such errors it ruins the illusion and irrespective of how magnificent the locomotives and stock may be or how beautiful the architectural modelling is.  Of course I accept that Rule 1 applies and overrides all else for an individual's own creation and whatever they've produced beats my efforts hands down!     

 

 

 

 

Edited July 10 by PupCam

[1471SirFrederickBanbury]

7 hours ago, PupCam said:

 

Funny enough Ken Wilkinson (of John Dutfield and DPS fame) said to me they still use the same display unit when he saw this photograph.

 

 

But in the context that it was a 4mm scale, commercial model that is perhaps a slightly harsh comparison.    A fairer comparison might have been with the internal scale details of the Hornby version 😉 I would have thought .....

 

 

A fabulous thing.    Beautiful art emerges from functional engineering!

 

 

The famous and marvellous H.A. Blunts will have been your local model shop no doubt.     The Blunt brothers assisted Father on numerous occasions back in the day, a case of small retailers sticking together.

 

 

 

 

an unfair comparison maybe, but considering the price difference of the GAM A4s to their Hornby counterparts, I would at least have appreciated if the running boards and buffer beam cowling to be as good, if not better than Hornby's or Proscale's for that matter!  I decided that I may as well just scratchbuild an A4 anyway, for the illogical amount of flawlessness that I so greatly desire.

[zr2498]

2 hours ago, John B said:

 

The Techachapi Pass exhibit (built by the La Mesa Model Railroad Club, at the San Diego Model Railway Museum) is certainly impressive. Astonishing is another term I'd use to describe it. 

 

As Mark says, it is Multi-Storey. Two floors of a building bigger than most UK (or even average US) houses. An extremely accurate rendition of the SP/SF joint main line through the Tehachapi mountains in California, it has been in the making for probably at least as long as Pendon. Last time I visited it was approaching completion - but that was 7+ years ago. 

 

I had the privilege of being permitted to operate on a number of occasions. It's not for the faint-hearted, being fully signalled and operated / controlled as per the prototype, dispatcher, timetable / train order rules, and full length trains going up (and down) some serious gradients. Despite being fully DCC controlled, you are on your toes for the entire 45 minutes or so that it takes to run a train from the upper "fiddle yard" (staging, as the US modellers call it) to the foot of the hill, and vice versa.

 

Definitely worth a visit if anyone ever finds themselves on holiday in Southern California.

And for those that want to have a look.

 

 

[polybear]

Can I ask the combined wisdom of WW how easy (or otherwise....) the motion (valve gear) on a Comet B17 chassis kit is to erect please?  Once I've completed the Jinty Chassis (hopefully successfully) I'm working on at the moment I'd like to progress to something with outside valve gear as the next logical progression; as I already have a Comet B17 frames & motion set, Romford wheels and Hornby bodyshell in The Great Kit Mountain then this seems like a possible candidate if suitable.

 

Many thanks,

Brian

[robertcwp]

14 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning Alan,

 

Your contributions are always welcome, so, please, keep them coming. Wws is not 'my' thread to give back, anyway.

 

The 'thing of beauty' bridge (which it definitely is) was a vantage point which my late brother, late cousins (out of 13  first cousins and one sibling, I now only have six left - a 'dangerous' age!) and my late dad used to stand on with regularity. We'd be over from Chester to the paternal home in North Anston, and, dad, understanding how boring adult conversation could be to small(ish) boys, would pack us into the car (a post-War Humber Hawk - what a car!) and drive through Woodsetts, Worksop, Manton, Ranby and Babworth, to Retford. We'd turn into West Carr Road, dad would park the car by the end of the footbridge steps and we'd pile on to it. 

 

 

The car would be parked to the right. The two centre roads are the Up fast and Down fast respectively. Only the bravest among us (my brother) would stand above the Down fast when a non-stop came through at speed. You see, anything going north non-stop would have been eased up to take the flat crossing at the statutory 65 mph (under easy steam, having just dropped down Gamston Bank). Once through the station, the regulator would be in the roof and the exhaust would be roaring as the express dashed beneath the footbridge, inches below! Up trains travelling non-stop would have the regulator closed to respect that 65 mph speed restriction, though a strong nerve was needed all the same. 

 

A little over a decade later, I parked my car (a Mini Van!) in the same spot and 'braved' the Deltics! If anything, they were more frightening. 

 

The Austerity (on the Down goods) reminds me of just such an example which was 'copped' here - 90732, VULCAN, accompanied by whoops of joy.

 

 

Slower trains (though I never saw a J10 here) needed no bravery to stand above.

 

That model footbridge really is incredible. 

 

Of course, the preferred spot was on the station itself, and that's where we'd be if we'd travelled by train from Kiveton Park.

 

 

To begin with behind a wheezing Director like this (that's not 'me', by the way - my school blazer was blue).

 

Later, the journey was by DMU. 

 

Standing on the platform which curved off to Gainsborough, one had a good view of............

 

 

The North Country Continental Boat Train, at the time of the D11s always hauled by a B17. 

 

Later on...........

 

 

This became a Britannia job (though we never stood on the far side of the line). 

 

Of course.............

 

 

The main reason for 'spotting at Retford was to see things like this. 

 

I've said before that I consider Retford to be the 'greatest model railway' ever made (and still being made). Granted, the personal memories are a strong factor in my assertion, but it is on the 'heroic' scale, created originally by a visionary.

 

No doubt (as has happened in the past) others will name layouts which (in their opinion) 'enjoy' the same 'status', but, unless they're based on an actual prototype and are as near as damn it to scale, they are non-starters for the epithet in my book. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

On the topic of the footbridge and views from it, here are a couple of recent additions to my original image collection:

 

60053_Retford_25-8-55 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

 

60114_Retford_25-8-55 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

 

And one from north of the footbridge:

90034_Retford_25-8-55 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

[sandra]

Hello Tony,

 

A few days ago you mentioned problems with outside frame locomotives. I’ve built several of these as I’m rather a fan of these types of locos. I’ve not had a problem with four coupled engines as these seem fairly easy to set up. The problems I’ve had are with six coupled locos where I seem to have spent hours soldering and re soldering the cranks trying to get the chassis to run properly.

 

For some time I’ve been building a Nucast kit for a GWR Flower class. I’ve been testing it today and here she is on Retford.

Coincidentally she is about to pass under the marvellous footbridge. The model is hauling the eight coach set of the down Talisman. This is quite a heavy train as it mostly consists of kit-built coaches but the loco has no problem hauling it. This is probably because it has a solid brass chassis under a heavy white metal body.Here is another photo of her this time on the flat crossing at Retford. I am ashamed to say that I bought this kit from W & H models in 1983 and I’ve been very slowly building and rebuilding her ever since. The loco which is 4118 Polyanthus, was initially built in OO but as some point I decided to experiment with P4 and she was duly converted and worked quite well. However I decided that I could never build the type of layout I wanted in P4 so she was then converted to EM. Some minor details are still to be done but she is nearly complete. Obviously she will not be a regular performer on the Talisman.
 

Sandra

[Barry Ten]

I have to agree with Mark and John B about the La Mesa layout as being "up there" with Retford; I've had the pleasure of visiting it twice and it really is remarkable in scale and fidelity to the prototype. I've also visited Tehachapi itself a couple of times which helps with getting a feel for the area the layout depicts:

 

 

 

See:

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/178084-a-visit-to-tehachapi-in-2002/#comment-5115963

 

 

[St Enodoc]

9 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

I honestly think it's more of a 'model museum' than a singular model railway.

That is what it's always been, as intended by Roye England.

[Tony Wright]

8 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

That is what it's always been, as intended by Roye England.

Thanks John,

 

But has that distinction always been made?

 

Tim Rayner has just made a splendid distinction between the two camps. Retford is a model of a (real) railway, whereas those creations which are 'made-up' are model railways. 

 

My take on such matters is quite simple (illustrated by Robert Carroll's recent post); can one observe a prototype picture and then take a shot from a 'similar' angle of a model of that actual prototype? I've tried with my own trainset and, certainly, on Retford, but the physics don't entirely allow it (prototype huge, camera small - model small, camera huge). I hope you see what I mean. 

 

That all of Pendon's models are of actual prototypes, there's no doubt; and the modelling is peerless, but its overall 'prototype' never existed. As Roye England wished - it's a model museum; in many ways, much, much more than just a model railway! 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

10 hours ago, robertcwp said:

On the topic of the footbridge and views from it, here are a couple of recent additions to my original image collection:

 

60053_Retford_25-8-55 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

 

60114_Retford_25-8-55 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

 

And one from north of the footbridge:

90034_Retford_25-8-55 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

Thanks for those Robert,

 

The date for the shots is just a year before my first visit to that footbridge.

 

All the locos are very familiar, though. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony