Train spotting at Finsbury Square

[31A]

Not much to report from Finsbury Square of late; not that I have been idle, but have been working on another coach for Peterborough North, which I hope will be ready to be revealed before too long.

 

Yesterday evening I walked down to York station to see a Special arrive from King's Cross; quite a special Special as it was a private charter to mark the return to the main line of the preserved A2 pacific, 60532 "Blue Peter".  So great to see this engine running again after so many years!

 

I was slightly miffed to find it was to arrive in Platform 11, which is not great for photography.  Nevertheless I managed a shot of sorts as she ran in.  Passing me, it was obvious what a good job they've made of the restoration and she seemed to be in fine fettle with no clank or knock to be detected.  There was a good audience!

 

 

Then I made my way to the 'new' station exit (on the NRM side), where I was able to get a better shot from the footbridge stairs.

 

 

 

Walking down a bit further, I found by holding my phone above my head I could shoot above the security fencing, and got this video of her taking the empty coaches out (note headlamp code);

 

 

 

Talking of Peppercorn Pacifics, back in the Spring I was able to obtain another Bachmann A1, 60130 "Kestrel" as a result of a horse trading deal with Gilbert @great northern for another coach I'd built for PN.

 

It seems to be one of the early produced models and benefited from a little bit of fettling.  Chief of which being that the cab fallplate rests on the front of the tender and lifts the back end of the loco, such that it can hardly move itself let alone pull a train.  Anyway, that was easily fixed with a pair of pliers, and I also fitted lamp irons that can be used to hang lamps  on the rear of the tender.  The model seemed to be unused or nearly so but the 'white grease' on the gears etc. had solidified, and had also seized up the sprung axle, so I stripped that out and re-lubricated with oil, and now she is a good runner.

 

I thought she would benefit from a set of decent etched nameplates, and sent to Fox for some.  I had thought Fox plates were the best available, but when they came I was quite disappointed.  I had fixed them on before it struck me that the typeface and letter spacing didn't seem right at all:

 

 

There matters rested until I met Brian Mr. 247 Developments at a show and bought another set from him; these are much better:

 

 

The model depicts the loco in its final condition with the smokebox door lamp iron lowered and the smokebox door handrail consequently split in two, and also carries electrification warning labels, so I've weathered her quite heavily to depict an 'end of steam' condition whilst still in reasonable mechanical order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[davidw]

2 hours ago, 31A said:

Not much to report from Finsbury Square of late; not that I have been idle, but have been working on another coach for Peterborough North, which I hope will be ready to be revealed before too long.

 

Yesterday evening I walked down to York station to see a Special arrive from King's Cross; quite a special Special as it was a private charter to mark the return to the main line of the preserved A2 pacific, 60532 "Blue Peter".  So great to see this engine running again after so many years!

 

I was slightly miffed to find it was to arrive in Platform 11, which is not great for photography.  Nevertheless I managed a shot of sorts as she ran in.  Passing me, it was obvious what a good job they've made of the restoration and she seemed to be in fine fettle with no clank or knock to be detected.  There was a good audience!

 

 

Then I made my way to the 'new' station exit (on the NRM side), where I was able to get a better shot from the footbridge stairs.

 

 

 

Walking down a bit further, I found by holding my phone above my head I could shoot above the security fencing, and got this video of her taking the empty coaches out (note headlamp code);

 

 

 

Talking of Peppercorn Pacifics, back in the Spring I was able to obtain another Bachmann A1, 60130 "Kestrel" as a result of a horse trading deal with Gilbert @great northern for another coach I'd built for PN.

 

It seems to be one of the early produced models and benefited from a little bit of fettling.  Chief of which being that the cab fallplate rests on the front of the tender and lifts the back end of the loco, such that it can hardly move itself let alone pull a train.  Anyway, that was easily fixed with a pair of pliers, and I also fitted lamp irons that can be used to hang lamps  on the rear of the tender.  The model seemed to be unused or nearly so but the 'white grease' on the gears etc. had solidified, and had also seized up the sprung axle, so I stripped that out and re-lubricated with oil, and now she is a good runner.

 

I thought she would benefit from a set of decent etched nameplates, and sent to Fox for some.  I had thought Fox plates were the best available, but when they came I was quite disappointed.  I had fixed them on before it struck me that the typeface and letter spacing didn't seem right at all:

 

 

There matters rested until I met Brian Mr. 247 Developments at a show and bought another set from him; these are much better:

 

 

The model depicts the loco in its final condition with the smokebox door lamp iron lowered and the smokebox door handrail consequently split in two, and also carries electrification warning labels, so I've weathered her quite heavily to depict an 'end of steam' condition whilst still in reasonable mechanical order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sensational weathering on the A1 Steve. How was it achieved?

[31A]

2 hours ago, davidw said:

 

Sensational weathering on the A1 Steve. How was it achieved?

 

Thank you David, glad you like it!  Basically, I follow much the same procedure for weathering all my locos.

 

The first bit is a coat of Johnson's Klear (or equivalent) over the green bits (or the bits that would be green, on a black engine).

 

After that it's Humbrol enamels all the way.

 

Black parts that are not usually cleaned get a coat of a Matt Black 33 with a spot of Metallic Gunmetal (no. 53) mixed in so that includes smokebox, cab roof, tender top and running plates.  For a very clean engine I might substitute Coal Black (85) for the Matt Black.

 

Frames, bogie frames, tender frames, lower parts of firebox get the same but with some Chocolate (98) added as well.   Bogie wheels and tender wheels also get this.  When that's dry, I tend to dry brush over the frames with more Chocolate.

 

Then the 'green' bits get a wash over with a thinned mix of Coal Black 85, Chocolate and Metalcote Gunmetal 27004.  Then this is washed off; how much is washed off depends on how clean or otherwise you want the loco to be.  The beauty of including the Metalcote Gunmetal is that when dry this coat can be polished to give a nice sheen.  Usually cotton buds are the most convenient thing to use but you can end up having to pick lots of cotton wool fibres off the model.  To be honest I haven't found the best tool for this yet; and old toothbrush works well if there aren't any vulnerable details (e.g. on tender sides).

 

When the above coats are completely dry I go over the whole loco with a very thin wash of a mix of Matt Black 33 and Leather (62); again how much I put on and then wash off with a brush full of thinners depends on how dirty I want the loco to be.  This tends to harmonise the different processes.  For a dirty goods engine, this might be the only colour I would use.

 

Valve gear usually gets a coat of a mix of Coal Black and gloss Dark Brown (seems to be No. 10).

 

Oily bits (e.g. axleboxes, buffers, lubricators) get a wash of Coal Black and Metalcote Gunmetal.  This usually includes the driving wheels which get splashed with oil from the motion.  This can then be buffed up, as above.

 

Rusty bits - things like brake blocks and ashpan sides get a thin wash of Rust 113 (doesn't seem to be made any more, oh dear; Brick Red 70 is very similar) and lighter rust I mix up as I go from Leather / Orange Lining (82) / Red Brown 160.  On 60130 this included round the cylinder fronts and valve chests.

 

I might dry brush along the top of the boiler with a mix of Matt Black and Tank Grey (67) to represent the soot fallout from the chimney.

 

On 60130 I had a go at representing water dribbles on the firebox cladding from the safety valves by making streaks with a fine brush loaded with thinners, to take the weathering coats off.  I don't know whether this can really be seen in the photos!

 

Really, each loco turns out a bit different, but that's OK - I think by sticking to the above palette my fleet presents a fairly consistent picture.

 

[davidw]

54 minutes ago, 31A said:

 

Thank you David, glad you like it!  Basically, I follow much the same procedure for weathering all my locos.

 

The first bit is a coat of Johnson's Klear (or equivalent) over the green bits (or the bits that would be green, on a black engine).

 

After that it's Humbrol enamels all the way.

 

Black parts that are not usually cleaned get a coat of a Matt Black 33 with a spot of Metallic Gunmetal (no. 53) mixed in so that includes smokebox, cab roof, tender top and running plates.  For a very clean engine I might substitute Coal Black (85) for the Matt Black.

 

Frames, bogie frames, tender frames, lower parts of firebox get the same but with some Chocolate (98) added as well.   Bogie wheels and tender wheels also get this.  When that's dry, I tend to dry brush over the frames with more Chocolate.

 

Then the 'green' bits get a wash over with a thinned mix of Coal Black 85, Chocolate and Metalcote Gunmetal 27004.  Then this is washed off; how much is washed off depends on how clean or otherwise you want the loco to be.  The beauty of including the Metalcote Gunmetal is that when dry this coat can be polished to give a nice sheen.  Usually cotton buds are the most convenient thing to use but you can end up having to pick lots of cotton wool fibres off the model.  To be honest I haven't found the best tool for this yet; and old toothbrush works well if there aren't any vulnerable details (e.g. on tender sides).

 

When the above coats are completely dry I go over the whole loco with a very thin wash of a mix of Matt Black 33 and Leather (62); again how much I put on and then wash off with a brush full of thinners depends on how dirty I want the loco to be.  This tends to harmonise the different processes.  For a dirty goods engine, this might be the only colour I would use.

 

Valve gear usually gets a coat of a mix of Coal Black and gloss Dark Brown (seems to be No. 10).

 

Oily bits (e.g. axleboxes, buffers, lubricators) get a wash of Coal Black and Metalcote Gunmetal.  This usually includes the driving wheels which get splashed with oil from the motion.  This can then be buffed up, as above.

 

Rusty bits - things like brake blocks and ashpan sides get a thin wash of Rust 113 (doesn't seem to be made any more, oh dear; Brick Red 70 is very similar) and lighter rust I mix up as I go from Leather / Orange Lining (82) / Red Brown 160.  On 60130 this included round the cylinder fronts and valve chests.

 

I might dry brush along the top of the boiler with a mix of Matt Black and Tank Grey (67) to represent the soot fallout from the chimney.

 

On 60130 I had a go at representing water dribbles on the firebox cladding from the safety valves by making streaks with a fine brush loaded with thinners, to take the weathering coats off.  I don't know whether this can really be seen in the photos!

 

Really, each loco turns out a bit different, but that's OK - I think by sticking to the above palette my fleet presents a fairly consistent picture.

 

No airbrush?

[31A]

35 minutes ago, davidw said:

No airbrush?

 

No, I haven't got an airbrush.  I sometimes use aerosols for painting things, but for weathering I just use ordinary paintbrushes.

 

[31A]

Once again, not a lot of modelling to report!

 

But this time last week I had just got back from a successful journey round Europe by train, which went a long way towards restoring my faith in the German Railway system, in particular.  It wasn't a particularly railway-oriented trip, but I did take pictures of a few things that might be of interest.

 

With three chums, the plan was:

Day 1 (Sunday afternoon) - Eurostar St. Pancras-Brussels for the first overnight stop.

Day 2 - Brussels-Bamberg via Köln and Würzburg

Three nights in Bamberg

Day 5 - Bamberg-Stuttgart via Würzburg; overnight in Stuttgart

Day 6 - Stuttgart-Strasbourg; overnight in Strasburg

Day 7 - Strasbourg - Paris - London - home

 

Nothing much to report from the first day; the Eurostar terminal at St. Pancras was busy and contained various Olympic hopefuls on their way to Paris, but nevertheless the whole check in procedure took about 10 minutes.  The next day's Thalys (sorry can't get used to them being called Eurostar as well) was punctual from Brussels to Köln Hbf, where we had allowed a couple of hours for lunch at Früh am Dom.

 

 

So here we are waiting for ICE721 Dortmund-München which would take us as far as Würzburg.  We had planned this trip months before and initially this would have been High Speed Line to Frankfurt, to change there for Bamberg.

 

However DB had advised us by e-mail of various changes to that plan, due to the High Speed Line being closed for engineering work.  The upshot was that several hours would be added to the journey; the up side was that we gathered the diversion would take us vis the "Classic" route alongside the Rhine, and we didn't have to change at Frankfurt.

 

DB rail fares seem to be at least as complicated as British ones and likewise there are bargains to be had, and Roy who did the bookings had got us some very reasonable First Class tickets for this part, which turned out to be round a table for four on the 'river' side of the train!  How very civilised!!

 

 

 

I hadn't been looking forward to this bit as the plan had been changed so many times due to the engineering work that I thought it had "c*ck up" written all over it.  I needn't have worried, although in fact the train was about 10 minutes late throughout.

 

This was the only significant delay we encountered, and it was only significant because it meant we missed a 6 minute connection at Würzburg.  To be honest, we hadn't really expected to make that in any case, and Plan B was to catch the next RE (local semi-fast) to Bamberg instead, which was about half an hour later and got us to Bamberg at about 6.30pm which was quite OK.

 

At Würzburg, time to admire a well preserved roundhouse loco depot opposite the platform.  No locos in the roundhouse (possibly used for P Way machines?) but there was a clutch of diesel locos of various types in front of it.

 

 

From Wũrzburg onwards, we were on the €49 "Deutschland Ticket"; one month's unlimited travel on trains (other than Inter Cities), buses, trams, metros, etc.  throughout Germany.  The ticket took a good hammering on the local trains and buses around Bamberg!  The local trains we went on in that part of the world were from the "Red Box" company although other colours were also seen.

 

 

 

However the Würzburg-Stuttgart local train that we used to re-locate on Day 5 was a surprise bonus!  A REAL loco hauled train!  A modern electric loco, but hauling about half a dozen ex-DB coaches from the 1960s.  The first two were what we'd call probably call "Brake Seconds", with the "Brake" part converted for bicycle carriage, and the rest of the train ex DB Local Train "Silverfish" stock, including Driving Trailer on the rear.  A lovely ride (with fresh air through the open windows) along the "Frankenbahn" through Lauda and then twisting through vineyards along the valley to Heilbronn, Neckarsulm (with a huge Audi factory) to arrive at Stuttgart Hbf.  A "tick" for me to ink in on the German Rail Atlas.

 

The train seemed to be a 'one off' and if anyone knows anything more about it I'd be interested to know.  The other local trains we saw on the route were mostly modern yellow and white multiple units like the one on the right in the picture below.

 

 

 

 

More later!

[Clive Mortimore]

40 minutes ago, 31A said:

Once again, not a lot of modelling to report!

 

But this time last week I had just got back from a successful journey round Europe by train, which went a long way towards restoring my faith in the German Railway system, in particular.  It wasn't a particularly railway-oriented trip, but I did take pictures of a few things that might be of interest.

 

With three chums, the plan was:

Day 1 (Sunday afternoon) - Eurostar St. Pancras-Brussels for the first overnight stop.

Day 2 - Brussels-Bamberg via Köln and Würzburg

Three nights in Bamberg

Day 5 - Bamberg-Stuttgart via Würzburg; overnight in Stuttgart

Day 6 - Stuttgart-Strasbourg; overnight in Strasburg

Day 7 - Strasbourg - Paris - London - home

 

Nothing much to report from the first day; the Eurostar terminal at St. Pancras was busy and contained various Olympic hopefuls on their way to Paris, but nevertheless the whole check in procedure took about 10 minutes.  The next day's Thalys (sorry can't get used to them being called Eurostar as well) was punctual from Brussels to Köln Hbf, where we had allowed a couple of hours for lunch at Früh am Dom.

 

 

So here we are waiting for ICE721 Dortmund-München which would take us as far as Würzburg.  We had planned this trip months before and initially this would have been High Speed Line to Frankfurt, to change there for Bamberg.

 

However DB had advised us by e-mail of various changes to that plan, due to the High Speed Line being closed for engineering work.  The upshot was that several hours would be added to the journey; the up side was that we gathered the diversion would take us vis the "Classic" route alongside the Rhine, and we didn't have to change at Frankfurt.

 

DB rail fares seem to be at least as complicated as British ones and likewise there are bargains to be had, and Roy who did the bookings had got us some very reasonable First Class tickets for this part, which turned out to be round a table for four on the 'river' side of the train!  How very civilised!!

 

 

 

I hadn't been looking forward to this bit as the plan had been changed so many times due to the engineering work that I thought it had "c*ck up" written all over it.  I needn't have worried, although in fact the train was about 10 minutes late throughout.

 

This was the only significant delay we encountered, and it was only significant because it meant we missed a 6 minute connection at Würzburg.  To be honest, we hadn't really expected to make that in any case, and Plan B was to catch the next RE (local semi-fast) to Bamberg instead, which was about half an hour later and got us to Bamberg at about 6.30pm which was quite OK.

 

At Würzburg, time to admire a well preserved roundhouse loco depot opposite the platform.  No locos in the roundhouse (possibly used for P Way machines?) but there was a clutch of diesel locos of various types in front of it.

 

 

From Wũrzburg onwards, we were on the €49 "Deutschland Ticket"; one month's unlimited travel on trains (other than Inter Cities), buses, trams, metros, etc.  throughout Germany.  The ticket took a good hammering on the local trains and buses around Bamberg!  The local trains we went on in that part of the world were from the "Red Box" company although other colours were also seen.

 

 

 

However the Würzburg-Stuttgart local train that we used to re-locate on Day 5 was a surprise bonus!  A REAL loco hauled train!  A modern electric loco, but hauling about half a dozen ex-DB coaches from the 1960s.  The first two were what we'd call probably call "Brake Seconds", with the "Brake" part converted for bicycle carriage, and the rest of the train ex DB Local Train "Silverfish" stock, including Driving Trailer on the rear.  A lovely ride (with fresh air through the open windows) along the "Frankenbahn" through Lauda and then twisting through vineyards along the valley to Heilbronn, Neckarsulm (with a huge Audi factory) to arrive at Stuttgart Hbf.  A "tick" for me to ink in on the German Rail Atlas.

 

The train seemed to be a 'one off' and if anyone knows anything more about it I'd be interested to know.  The other local trains we saw on the route were mostly modern yellow and white multiple units like the one on the right in the picture below.

 

 

 

 

More later!

Finsbury Square has changed a bit since you last let me have ago at operating it. I don't remeber the overall roof?

[31A]

Just now, Clive Mortimore said:

Finsbury Square has changed a bit since you last let me have ago at operating it. I don't remeber the overall roof?

 

Do keep up at the back! 🤣

[31A]

Well Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof isn't much of a place for photographing trains at the moment as it is part of a huge construction site, as part of a big project to replace the present terminus with an underground through station.  The existing station building will be incorporated into it, but at the moment a tortuous covered passageway takes you round the building and through the building site to the platforms.

 

 

But we were able to see what it used to look like, thanks to an incredible N Gauge model railway on display in a shop unit opposite the station!  So there IS some model railway content in these posts, after all.

 

 

This was one man's life work (as well as being employed in the signal box at Stuttgart Hbf) and is an accurate representation of the railways leading into the station, and the surrounding area.  We were told it had formerly been housed in a disused station, and following the builder's death his friends and saved it and erected it in the shop unit.  Originally it was controlled from a replica of the signal box control panel, together with a replica of a signal box workstation, on the right in the picture below.

 

 

As you can see, it's a stupendous creation!  There isn't room to erect it in its entirety in the shop and the lines from the station are truncated inside the shop window.  So operation on this section is possible, but in a limited way.  Some trains shuttled backwards and forwards in 'push-pull' mode driven from Fleischmann controllers and electronic shuttle modules.  The other sections of the layout are displayed elsewhere in the shop unit, but are no longer connected to the main layout.

 

The buildings seemed to be mostly from card and had suffered a bit with age, but still a very impressive sight.  It didn't look as though many kits had been used!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the guys running the display spoke some English and was able to explain it to us.  We asked how they gained access to the middle of the boards.  He said unlike Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg which has hatches in the scenery, they had to put ladders on either side and then another ladder between them, and crawl across!  He told us the original builder hadn't expected it to grow so large so he hadn't planned for access!  For that reason, they don't run trains on the central section.

 

When it was removed from its original location they had had to cut it into sections, and then had grafted new track across the joins on the lines which were to be used.  He showed us where this had been done, but on a lot of the lines in the centre it wouldn't be possible to run trains any longer.

 

It really is an incredible creation and well worth a visit if in the area.

 

https://www.miniaturweltenstuttgart.de

 

 

Edited August 4 by 31A
Can't tell left from right!

[LNER4479]

23 hours ago, 31A said:

But this time last week I had just got back from a successful journey round Europe by train, which went a long way towards restoring my faith in the German Railway system, in particular. 

 

Great reports Steve - look forward to hearing the rest of the story.

 

Glad to hear that DB didn't (badly) let you down. I can happily report the same thing from my recent jaunt around central Europe. Maybe, just maybe ... 🤔 

 

 

Incidentally, I had a very similar viewpoint of the depot at Würzburg, albeit out of a train window. Really must spend a bit of time there on a future trip.

[31A]

1 hour ago, LNER4479 said:

 

 

 

 

Incidentally, I had a very similar viewpoint of the depot at Würzburg, albeit out of a train window. Really must spend a bit of time there on a future trip.

 

Thanks Graham; remarkable coincidence.  Your view seems to contain some better looking engines than mine did!  It looks as if it might be quite an interesting town actually, and it was one of those places that gave the impression when you stepped out of the train from Koln that arriving in Bavaria had brought you to somewhere 'different', as if the journey had crossed a north / south divide.

 

1 hour ago, LNER4479 said:

Maybe, just maybe ... 🤔

 

Fingers hopefully crossed!  We observed a lot of new signals with crosses on at Köln Hbf, and in the immediate area....

 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Wurzburg is well worth a visit.  Without wishing to dwell on WW2 too much, it is worth considering that almost 90% of the old city was destroyed in 17 minutes by the RAF in a single firestorm raid and what we see now is the painstaking reconstruction mainly carried out by the Trümmerfrauen (Rubble Women).  It's rightly a World Heritage site.  

 

[Northroader]

The RAF did miss the celebrated Tillman Reimanschneiders wood carvings in the Dom. He did some great work, and the facial expressions wer quite often of a questioning, challenging, nature, as this sort of thing:

 

 

My German hosts were showing me one, but I’m afraid I spoilt it by looking at the book he was holding, and telling them it was very apt, as his one Isiah than the other.

[St Enodoc]

13 minutes ago, Northroader said:

The RAF did miss the celebrated Tillman Reimanschneiders wood carvings in the Dom. He did some great work, and the facial expressions wer quite often of a questioning, challenging, nature, as this sort of thing:

 

 

My German hosts were showing me one, but I’m afraid I spoilt it by looking at the book he was holding, and telling them it was very apt, as his one Isiah than the other.

His resigned expression suggests to me that he's heard that joke rather a lot of times before...

[David C]

Fascinating to read of your recent experiences with German railways - and also relieved they were largely positive. I've planned a jaunt there next month also using Eurostar and was worrying about the reliability of Regio services due to several uncomplimentary pieces in the press and online. The main reason I am going there is to ride on the Steutalbahn which is part of the Franconian open air museum https://freilandmuseum-fladungen.de/de/rhoenzuegle. Like almost all heritage lines in Germany, it only operates on Sundays. There doesn't appear to be any alternative to the regional railways - not even any buses. 

 

I usually drop into your thread as Finsbury Square is amongst the very best modelling to be seen on RM Web, so thanks for documenting your work here.

 

Incidentally, the 1:1 scale railway-less version is only 5 minutes walk from where I used to work before retirement. Indeed, I still walk through it to catch a bus  to Kings X whenever I go to the MRC after arriving at Liverpool St.

 

David C

 

 

[31A]

8 hours ago, David C said:

Fascinating to read of your recent experiences with German railways - and also relieved they were largely positive. I've planned a jaunt there next month also using Eurostar and was worrying about the reliability of Regio services due to several uncomplimentary pieces in the press and online. The main reason I am going there is to ride on the Steutalbahn which is part of the Franconian open air museum https://freilandmuseum-fladungen.de/de/rhoenzuegle. Like almost all heritage lines in Germany, it only operates on Sundays. There doesn't appear to be any alternative to the regional railways - not even any buses. 

 

I usually drop into your thread as Finsbury Square is amongst the very best modelling to be seen on RM Web, so thanks for documenting your work here.

 

Incidentally, the 1:1 scale railway-less version is only 5 minutes walk from where I used to work before retirement. Indeed, I still walk through it to catch a bus  to Kings X whenever I go to the MRC after arriving at Liverpool St.

 

David C

 

 

 

Thanks David!

 

I have been to Germany by train four times now in the last two years, and this recent trip was by far the best in terms of punctuality.  Perhaps we were just lucky (we were aware of trains other than the ones we rode on being delayed), but I think we went on 11 trains in Germany on this trip and the only one which was significantly late was the Koln-Wurzburg ICE that I mentioned, and then only by about 10 minutes.  Not wanting to tempt fate and jinx your trip, but I would say that it often seems that the Regional trains are more reliable than the Inter Cities.  Perhaps because the Inter Cities traverse very long distances in many cases, and in doing so thread through many congested areas with each one bringing a risk of delay through congestion and conflicting paths, etc.  Anyway, I hope all goes well with your trip!

 

I don't think I've heard of the Fladungen-Mellrichstadt line before, it looks as though it should be a good ride and the open air museum looks interesting too.  Franconia is an underrated beautiful part of the country!   I had a trip to Bamberg last year as well, and we had a ride on the Dampfbahn Frankische Schweiz from Ebermannstadt to Behringsmuhle (near Forcheim) which was well worth the trip (albeit diesel hauled on the day).

 

Thanks for the kind words about my layout, glad you like it!  In case you didn't realise, the 'back story' is that the Finsbury Park-Moorgate underground line (since the 1970s part of the GN Electric system) was instead built as a surface railway to a terminus in the Finsbury Square area.  When I started the layout I was also fairly familiar with that part of London through work, and initially thought of calling it Finsbury Circus, but thought that sounded too pretentious!

[jwealleans]

21 minutes ago, 31A said:

I would say that it often seems that the Regional trains are more reliable than the Inter Cities.

 

This.   The wife and I went on a Great Rail holiday to Bavaria (led by one Mr. Nicholas of this parish) and on our free day took the cross country route to Nuremberg - four changes there, three back and one was only 7 minutes.  It all ran like clockwork, everything was within a minute or two of time.   Yet Steve can attest how badly the long distance services can go wrong and that holiday (our first time in Germany) was no exception, there and back alike.

[St Enodoc]

2 hours ago, 31A said:

When I started the layout I was also fairly familiar with that part of London through work, and initially thought of calling it Finsbury Circus, but thought that sounded too pretentious!

Shame. You could have built a model of Royal London House.

[Clive Mortimore]

2 hours ago, 31A said:

 

Thanks David!

 

I have been to Germany by train four times now in the last two years, and this recent trip was by far the best in terms of punctuality.  Perhaps we were just lucky (we were aware of trains other than the ones we rode on being delayed), but I think we went on 11 trains in Germany on this trip and the only one which was significantly late was the Koln-Wurzburg ICE that I mentioned, and then only by about 10 minutes.  Not wanting to tempt fate and jinx your trip, but I would say that it often seems that the Regional trains are more reliable than the Inter Cities.  Perhaps because the Inter Cities traverse very long distances in many cases, and in doing so thread through many congested areas with each one bringing a risk of delay through congestion and conflicting paths, etc.  Anyway, I hope all goes well with your trip!

 

I don't think I've heard of the Fladungen-Mellrichstadt line before, it looks as though it should be a good ride and the open air museum looks interesting too.  Franconia is an underrated beautiful part of the country!   I had a trip to Bamberg last year as well, and we had a ride on the Dampfbahn Frankische Schweiz from Ebermannstadt to Behringsmuhle (near Forcheim) which was well worth the trip (albeit diesel hauled on the day).

 

Thanks for the kind words about my layout, glad you like it!  In case you didn't realise, the 'back story' is that the Finsbury Park-Moorgate underground line (since the 1970s part of the GN Electric system) was instead built as a surface railway to a terminus in the Finsbury Square area.  When I started the layout I was also fairly familiar with that part of London through work, and initially thought of calling it Finsbury Circus, but thought that sounded too pretentious!

Finsbury Circus ? You wouldn't have room for the tranquil gardens. Sometimes when working at our then permanent blood donor site above Moorgate Station I would walk back to Liverpool Street through the gardens. For those few minutes it took, all of a sudden I was no longer in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city. If it was peeing down a quick cash down Eldon Street. I never took the Metropolitan unlike some of my colleagues who always seemed surprised I got to the Street faster than them.

[St Enodoc]

36 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Finsbury Circus ? You wouldn't have room for the tranquil gardens. Sometimes when working at our then permanent blood donor site above Moorgate Station I would walk back to Liverpool Street through the gardens. For those few minutes it took, all of a sudden I was no longer in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city. If it was peeing down a quick cash down Eldon Street. I never took the Metropolitan unlike some of my colleagues who always seemed surprised I got to the Street faster than them.

The station would have been built in place of the tranquil gardens...

[5BarVT]

8 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I never took the Metropolitan unlike some of my colleagues who always seemed surprised I got to the Street faster than them.

Only one quicker way - a push bike!

Paul.

[31A]

I'd never been to Stuttgart before but found it to be a very big and modern(ish) city.  Apart from the N Gauge model railway, there were other things of transport interest.  Firstly, it has an extensive U Bahn light rail system, partly achieved by replacing the city centre tram network by underground lines, and then running over tram routes or new track outside the central area.  The trams were metre gauge and the U Bahn is standard gauge and quite a lot of the lines seemed to be dual gauge; although we didn't see any narrow gauge rolling stock, the 'inner' rail didn't look entirely disused.

 

Anyway, even more interesting is the 2kms long Rack Tram line, known as the Zacke!  It climbs from the U14 interchange at Marienplatz through leafy suburbs to the terminus at Degerloch, which turned out to be a very modern suburban town centre.  Although tram-like a lot of it is on its own right-of-way, but despite the rack there are sections where it runs in or alongside the road.  Another quirky feature is that the trams push bicycle trailers ahead of them!  Bicycles are only carried in the uphill direction.

 

View of the lower terminus, looking uphill:

 

 

Car at the lower terminus:

 

 

Cycles being loaded:

 

 

and being taken off at the top:

 

 

Tram waiting to return.  This gives an idea of what the paved track looks like, with the Riggenbach rack down the middle.  Might be interesting for cyclists and pedestrians; they probably get used to it.

 

 

Further down the U14, at Südheimer Platz, is another curiosity, the Standseilbahn funicular railway which uses its original cars from 1929.  Not the easiest of things to take a picture of, but you get the idea.  The top station is described a "Bauhaus" style; it would be easy to make a model of!  The greenhouse-like structure in front of it houses some of the cable mechanism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Clive Mortimore]

11 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

The station would have been built in place of the tranquil gardens...

You seen Steve's railway room, the gardens would have to replace the box mountain.

[Clive Mortimore]

3 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Only one quicker way - a push bike!

Paul.

Or as in Steve's photo, a bike on a tram.

[31A]

Just to wrap up this travelogue, on the Friday we relocated from Stuttgart to Strasbourg by means of an ICE to Karlsruhe, a DB RE to Appenweier and an SNCF 3-car DMU (in fact 3 x single cars!) from there to Strasbourg.  In Strasbourg it was impossible to escape the Olympic opening ceremony, but we also became aware of the malicious attacks on the SNCF network; the LGV Est (which goes from Strasbourg to Paris) and the LGV Nord (which Eurostar trains use) were both mentioned.

 

All we could do was get to the station in good time on Saturday morning, not too difficult as the train we were booked on wasn't until 1047.  Lo and behold, everything was running perfectly!  We heard different accounts, that the saboteurs attacking the LGV Est had been foiled by a track gang, or that the attack on that line wasn't serious after all, but whatever, the TGV to Paris arrived punctually; in fact two TGVs arrived from different origins in Germany and coupled up and left at the appointed time, and arrived Paris Gare de l'Est a few minutes early, 1230.

 

We had allowed time for lunch in Paris and were booked on the 1612 from Gare du Nord to St. Pancras, but went to the Eurostar office in Gare du Nord directly on arrival.  We were told trains were leaving Paris at the booked time but being delayed by an hour into London.  We asked whether we could re-book onto the Eurostar an hour earlier and at first received a Gallic shrug and "I think it's full"; we weren't surprised to hear that but after a lot of keyboard tapping the computer says "Yes"!  Only when we had left the Eurostar office and compared tickets did we realise we'd actually got 4 seats round the same table - so full marks to the Eurostar booking clerk for that!  Lunch was curtailed, although I've never known Croque Monsieur to take half an hour to produce.

 

The Eurostar set off punctually and instead of being diverted (as we'd been given to expect) stayed on the High Speed Line, but near the junction for Arras came to a stand and then proceeded at walking pace for what seemed like a long way but probably wasn't.  At the junction we passed a veritable battalion of the Armée Orange surrounded by a tangled mass of cabling (the attack must have been well targeted), and we duly arrived into St. Pancras just after 1730; the time we'd first thought of!

 

I let the 1800 from King's Cross go as I thought it might be getting full by then and comfortably got a seat on the 1830, which also ran punctually as a good finale to a great trip.

 

Train and architecture spotting at Strasbourg station:

 

 

 

Parisien rooftops:

 

 

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