A Nod To Brent - a friendly thread, filled with frivolity, cream teas and pasties. Longing for the happy days in the South Hams 1947.

[NHY 581]

40 minutes ago, 2ManySpams said:

Took the opportunity to survey the inside of this old GWR goods shed yesterday...

 

On arrival they kindly gave me a ping pong bat, which was nice. 

 

Meanwhile I obviously carried on with the in-depth surveying work.

 

 

 

 

Handy research for that twee little Great Western Branch line terminus you're building.......

 

 

[Oldddudders]

11 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Actually, GEC is about the same age as god's dog:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_Company#:~:text=The company was founded in,£1 billion a year.&text=In June 1998%2C GEC sold,on the Paris stock exchange.

 

So it's obviously not a time travelling crate!

In its glory years, Arnold Weinstock was the engine of the company. Shortly after he died, my late boss was meeting a chap about a proposed new station in Northamptonshire. The chap was part of a landowning family, with traceable heritage of more than a thousand years, who were investing in new housing on part of their estate. The conversation drifted to AW and his works, whereupon the chap said he'd once sold him a couple of cars. It seemed unlikely that AW would be buying a nice motor or two in the backroom of a pub, and it turned out that the chap's family owned Jack Barclay, Rolls Royce dealers of Berkeley Square....

[BWsTrains]

12 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Actually, GEC is about the same age as god's dog:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_Company#:~:text=The company was founded in,£1 billion a year.&text=In June 1998%2C GEC sold,on the Paris stock exchange.

 

So it's obviously not a time travelling crate!

 

You could draw a roughly parallel chart and slowly developing fate / demise for Imperial Chemical Industries, my employer in some form or other over a 36 year span. These days Companies can go from apparently "viable as ongoing concerns" to a puff of investment dust in a matter of days it seems.

 

ICI's slow burn decline was for me fascinating to follow as I joined during a period of great confidence for the future. Later events were nothing at all to do with my efforts I can assure you.

[MrWolf]

My father worked for Thorn Electrical Industries and they suffered much the same fate.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorn_Electrical_Industries

 

 

[Pendennis]

Both GEC and ICI were driven by charismatic leaders, Arnold Weinstock and John Harvey-Jones.  They became amongst the largest and prestigious UK companies.  When they retired, short-term focused "get rich quick" leaders took over, the rest, sadly, is history.  Almost a history of the UK over the last 40-50 years.

[gwrrob]

Another footbridge shot by Trevor Jones [Hornby Magazine] sees a Castle speeding through with an express whilst a prairie shunts a SR van in the yard.

 

[Kevin Johnson]

Rob these shots taken by Trevor are amazing.🙂

[BWsTrains]

On 26/03/2023 at 22:39, Pendennis said:

When they retired, short-term focused "get rich quick" leaders took over, the rest, sadly, is history.

 

Not the main reasons in ICI's case, perhaps a contributing cause. After all, who uses a Nokia phone these days either and they were very well run company?

 

Many of ICI's top businesses are still top class today, Heard of Astra-Zeneca anyone?

It's just that the new divisions were growing rapidly and the old decaying. Industries that were rooted in 19th Century technologies combined will all the lack of awareness of their impacts was a recipe for inevitable decline. Management could do nothing against that tide.

 

 

 

 

[Coach bogie]

11 hours ago, BWsTrains said:

 

Not the main reasons in ICI's case, perhaps a contributing cause. After all, who uses a Nokia phone these days either and they were very well run company?

 

Many of ICI's top businesses are still top class today, Heard of Astra-Zeneca anyone?

It's just that the new divisions were growing rapidly and the old decaying. Industries that were rooted in 19th Century technologies combined will all the lack of awareness of their impacts was a recipe for inevitable decline. Management could do nothing against that tide.

 

 

 

 

My wife has a similar work history joining ICI straight from university, full of excitement which soon was dampened working in a very run down Teesside site. I will add that some management was/ were blinkered on the potential of their products. In her short time as ICI a shelf of potential products built up with no enthusiasm from above to develop. She was sold to Dupont. Within a week of takeover, suits arrived asking what was on the shelf. She was asked if her passport was up to date, and was on her way to Texas, the same day. Totally different culture.

 

Mike Wiltshire

Edited March 28, 2023 by Coach bogie

[1466]

On 26/03/2023 at 12:10, MrWolf said:

My father worked for Thorn Electrical Industries and they suffered much the same fate.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorn_Electrical_Industries

 

 

I , too , did 10  years at Thorn .

At the time that take overs were all the rage , a “story” went around .

Sir Jules is driving down the M1 when he notices a company. “ That would fit nicely in my Group “ he thinks and despatches the Acquisition Team .

A month later they report back . “ We bought that company 5 years ago “. 

[MrWolf]

Small world. He did his apprenticeship at Wildt Mellor Bromley, then National Service (RE), Cascelloid (Home of Palitoy, producers of Mainline etc) then 1962-88 at Thorn.

[Clive Mortimore]

16 hours ago, BWsTrains said:

 

Not the main reasons in ICI's case, perhaps a contributing cause. After all, who uses a Nokia phone these days either and they were very well run company?

 

Many of ICI's top businesses are still top class today, Heard of Astra-Zeneca anyone?

It's just that the new divisions were growing rapidly and the old decaying. Industries that were rooted in 19th Century technologies combined will all the lack of awareness of their impacts was a recipe for inevitable decline. Management could do nothing against that tide.

 

 

 

 

In the early sixties ICI developed a blue paint that didn't fade as fast as other blue paints. Their chairman at the time was a Dr Richard Beeching. You all might be familiar with this gentleman as his next job was chair of British Railways. Odd that the "modern image" railway  repainted everything that moved with the new ICI blue paint soon after his appointment......must have been pure coincidence. 

 

 

[gwrrob]

Rapido have shewn the painted samples of their brake vans including the toad on Facebook.

 

[Neal Ball]

28 minutes ago, gwrrob said:

Rapido have shewn the painted samples of their brake vans including the toad on Facebook.

 

Thanks Robin…. Do you think it’s going to be “the definitive “ Toad?

 

Although I notice the SECR van doesn’t have the “droopy” handrails. 

[gwrrob]

6 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

Thanks Robin…. Do you think it’s going to be “the definitive “ Toad?

 

 

Definitely better than the Oxford Rail model.😀

[Clearwater]

On 27/03/2023 at 16:20, gwrrob said:

Another footbridge shot by Trevor Jones [Hornby Magazine] sees a Castle speeding through with an express whilst a prairie shunts a SR van in the yard.

 

 

What i like on this shot is how the crop gives an illusion of another half dozen coaches behind the ones we can see.

 

Also, if I was trainspotting, I'd be a bit annoyed by the frosted glass on the bridge preventing me seeing the locos numbers!

David

[MrWolf]

Or is that glass steamed up by over excited  trainspotters? I seem to remember that bridge sides were annoyingly just too high for kids to see over as well.

[Ian Hargrave]

1 hour ago, gwrrob said:

 

Definitely better than the Oxford Rail model.😀

 
So candid opinion sought please….I have an OR 6 wheel Toad. Toad or turkey ? 

[MrWolf]

21 minutes ago, Ian Hargrave said:

 
So candid opinion sought please….I have an OR 6 wheel Toad. Toad or turkey ? 

 

Well I have one, bought at a too cheap to ignore price, I also have two planked and one plated four wheelers. 

The real problem is that central rear window, which owes more to the downstairs lav of a 1950s council house than Swindon.

There's an article on improving the OR TOAD, on here somewhere. They're miles ahead of what else was available at the time, basically breathed on 1970s Airfix and Mainline offerings, so have a go.

I'm also trying to think of a way to 3d print a replacement rear panel, which sorts the issue of the extra rear window and the wrongly positioned genuine windows. The GWR did alter the rear lookout windows so beware though! It can be sorted out with a few bits of plasticard though.

The Rapido Toad looks as good as you might expect from them, but I imagine that the price of such excellence will be around the price of my four out of favour Oxfords.

[Dunsignalling]

17 minutes ago, Ian Hargrave said:

 
So candid opinion sought please….I have an OR 6 wheel Toad. Toad or turkey ? 

As it is, or as it could be?

 

It really depends how much work one is willing to put into it, and how much better you consider "good enough".

 

The bits that look right pretty much are, but rectifying those that aren't doesn't looks like being easy.

 

Do-able, IMHO, but with a distinct risk of it going horribly wrong! Just as well they aren't too expensive!

 

I have one (and a 4-wheeler) that have been in and out of their boxes a dozen times while I build up the nerve to start cutting them about.

 

John

 

[Ian Hargrave]

Thanks gents. I’ll pass on surgery. It was bought a few years back for £14:50. The new Rapido version will be over twice the price….though given the quality of their current output I’m sure it’ll be superior 

[gwrrob]

Thanks to a heads up from @McCall siphons have photos now on their website.

 

Here’s a sample of one of GWR versions. Delicious indeed.

 

 

 

[Coach bogie]

On 29/03/2023 at 02:44, MrWolf said:

 

 

I'm also trying to think of a way to 3d print a replacement rear panel, which sorts the issue of the extra rear window and the wrongly positioned genuine windows. The GWR did alter the rear lookout windows so beware though! It can be sorted out with a few bits of plasticard though.

The Rapido Toad looks as good as you might expect from them, but I imagine that the price of such excellence will be around the price of my four out of favour Oxfords.

Personally I think they are value for money and it takes very little to alter the rear centre door. It was never a window. The door opened to allow the guard to place a lamp on the lamp bracket.

 

I have several. some have the door using discard Airfix Toads which were always on the slim side. I just cut it from one of the side panels. This one I bought from NRM Shildon. I like to buy something when I visit as it is free to get in. This uses planked plasticard. If anyone is concerned that the planking does not line up, I have images to prove some did not.

 

I also shorten the couplings which stick out way too far (as do the Rapido ones) in my opinion.

 

This was a BR one as they were sold out of GWR ones. Quick repaint and lettering to an allocation more appropriate for my line.

 

It is a different diagram to the Rapido, so you could justify both.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[MrWolf]

I've got several unbuilt Ratio Toad kits I bought to do conversions with, ironically shorter or six wheeler versions. I'll probably cannibalise those.

I'm certainly going to be tempted by the new version, (Anyone know when, where from and how much yet?) but I certainly won't be throwing out what I have because it's no longer "This week's shirt". 

In fact once the new one is in the shops it might be the time to buy lots more OR Toads for under a tenner apiece!

[gwrrob]

I’ve just seen the layout list for the Bristol show later this month. There’s one in OO called Gara Bridge and wondered if anyone knew anything about it or seen photos.