Castle

Horse: There may be a set of etches sat at chez Castle for No. 92 all ready! Worsley works is your friend here. I knew £5 in the 1900s was a fair bit of cash but in today's market to see how a communication cord works it seems cheap! Hi All, I haven't forgotten No. 92 but I wasn't happy with the pictures I have so I will need to get a few more and it's been busy at Didcot recently. The latest update for all things Mk. 1 Castle is now on line here: http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/guide/projectitems/4079project.html You may notice a quite big change... All the best, Castle EDIT: I will take a few pictures of the seats as they move for you Horse so you can see how they work.

Hi All, Sorry about the break in transmission - I had a visit to the the Castle parental units to do but we are back on track now! So, No. 93 then... We will finish this vehicle off tonight and then deal with No. 92 later on. We will start with a look through the double doors into the large saloon. There are lots of familiar details for us to see including the handrails, ventilators and lamps in the ceiling and the walkover seats in the middle to far distance. We can also see the composition of the floor. The cross planking making up the actual floor (a detail that harks back to broad gauge times) and the way that the duck boards are fitted on top of that in areas where foot traffic occurs. The big difference to the passenger seating here is the 2 bench seats, arranged in pairs facing each other. These features are present here at the start of the 20th century with these vehicles and they have their equivalents in No. 231, built in 1950! If it 'ain't broke don't fix it I guess... It also shows up the placement of the carriage prints in the vertical spaces between the windows. I thought another look at the remarkable walkover seats was in order - they fascinate both kids and adults when they are demonstrated to them. I tell the kids that they are Transformer seats! Then we can see the view looking back down the other way too. You can see where I have been as I haven't shut the doors and you can just make out the boiler in the distance. The eagle eyed among you out there in RMWEB land will have noticed the small brass signs above the doors. They look like this in close up. £5 sounds like a bargain now but it must of been many monies indeed when these things were built! Right, back to the controls. Straight ahead is the regulator handle with its notches. In order to open or close the regulator, you have to pull down on the latch, move the regulator and then let go of the latch. You can also see that it has been pined up out of use as No. 92 is attached at the moment. The vacuum gauge is also visible. To the right of that is the bell code apparatus. Underneath is the complex wiper controls (!) and the wire for operating the whistle. At the bottom of the driver's window is the brake handle and the chain and pin to lock it out of use. The driver's door and tip down seat. On the wall is a holder for a flag. Then we have the handbrake pedestal and the cover for the regulator mechanism. Above the other end window is the traditional notice about not sticking your head out the window at the wrong time and the modern ID plate as required by main line regulations. The fireman's side door although, if the fireman is stood here in operation, we have a problem... Finally the little sign in the cab about not letting passengers in here! It's by order too... The only thing better than seeing these pictures is seeing it in the flesh and having a ride in it so keep an eye on the DRC roster for her steaming dates. That will do for tonight. More later in the week! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Just a quick post of our tour of Nos. 92 & 93 for tonight - I have had a busy day! This is the vestibule between the small and large saloon. It's only a small space but it is packed with details. This is the drivers side door to the outside world. The storage rack is here alongside another bell code instrument to allow the guard to communicate with the loco crew. Here is the light... ...and the ventilator. The communication cord is also visible here too. On the fireman's side there is another smaller rack. Both sides have a lever like this near the door. I have asked people what they think they are for and answers range from "is it the handbrake?" (wrong but a very sensible guess) to "it must be the ejector seats for irritating passengers" (a fair degree less sensible a guess and very, very wrong!). The lever of course, folds out the steps so that passengers can alight from the railmotor at places where there are no platforms. Then there are the doors to the main saloon. We shall go through them tomorrow! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Hmmmm - large prairie you say? All the best, Castle

Perhaps a 'Craggy Island' one would be good...

Hi All, Today we will look at the luggage area and the small saloon. First, a last look into the engine compartment, from the luggage compartment. Those tip down seats are present on the main line today in the disabled toilet coach of the HST. Funny how these good ideas keep cropping up isn't it?! Why is there a hand rail in here? Because the whistle chord runs down the middle of it. On the floor there are a few destination boards. We have a wide range of these for all occasions at Didcot. My favourite being the ones that say 'Far, Far Away' and 'Infinity and Beyond'! The one for Looe is kept in pride of place above the door to the C&W Department's convenience... This area is where the large plastic auxiliary water tanks go when No. 93 is performing on the main line. There is a simple hose type connection that links into the fireman's side filler pipe and it is switched on with a ball valve fitted to the tank. This extends the range of the Railmotor considerably but requires careful management otherwise it just spills out all over the track. The sight glass for the water tank you ask? It's underneath the coach body so no checking on the move... The doors are beautifully panelled. The one on the right has the door knob on, the lever and bolt is on the one on the left. Leather straps for raising and lowering the windows are of course standard throughout. The other door here leads into the small saloon. The flooring is of a duckboard style construction. There are another pair of tip up seats here too. Note that all the doors this far are single sliding doors but the main saloon doors in the distance are double. Time for a few details: The inside bit of the roof ventilators. The standard brass hanger for the handrail. The switches for the electric gas lights (!). Finally for the luggage compartment, the GWS says thank you for all the help, financial and practical, with the restoration of No. 93. This is the small saloon. It has seats of the walkover type. The following text from the steam railmotor project website explains the seats: "One of the remarkable features of interiors of Railmotors and early Autotrailers was the installation of seating with movable backs that allowed passengers (if they wished) to always face in the direction of travel. This style of seat was more commonly found in tramcars of the period, and as far as is known was not fitted to any other passenger carrying vehicles manufactured by the GWR." "The style of seat fitted by the GWR was designed by Henry Safford Hale of North 6th Street, Philadelphia USA, and was patented by him under patents 3478 (1902) and 5957 (1905) They were manufactured in the USA by Hale & Kilburn who had works in Chicago and New York as well as Philadelphia." "The seats were also manufactured in the U.K. by G.D. Peters & Co. who’s works stood alongside the GWR main line at Slough. – The site was rail connected, and delivery of seats to Swindon would have been an easy matter. Peter & Co seats were exported all over the world, and some ended up being fitted to rail vehicles in Australia, eventually being repatriated by the Society for use on the Railmotor Project." There are two types of window in the small saloon. This is the small twin type... ...and this is the large single type. Note the roller blinds that can be employed by patrons. They sport faithfully replicated GWR fabric. A few more details - this is the replica gas light that is actually an electric light. The leather hand straps, reminiscent of London Underground practice. A reproduction notice. One of the many carriage prints present in the vehicles. They are reproductions but very high quality ones and take from originals in the GW Trust's collection. Finally for tonight, here are the catches and handles on the doors. These are standard throughout the passenger compartments. The project website for the railmotor project is still extant and tracks the remarkable story of the survival and rebirth of Nos. 92 & 93. This can be found by clicking on he link below: http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/zrailmotor93/archivenews_13/archivenews_13.html Well, that will do for tonight! We will look at some more of No.93 tomorrow night. All the best, Castle

Hi All, It goes like this: On the main line, most of the time No. 5051 had No. 6998's Hawksworth tender. During this time, No. 5051's tender was displayed with No. 6998. When No. 5051's ticket finished, No. 6998 got her tender back so that. No. 5051 could be displayed in original condition. When the aimed cosmetic restoration started it was found that there wasn't much metal left in a few places - yikes! No. 4079's tender was finished and just taking up space in the works so an agreement was reached whereby No. 4079 loaned her tender as a static exhibit to No. 5051 and No. 5051's tender is lined up for restoration work. That's where we are at... I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Here we go then - the innards of No. 93! This first post will deal with the locomotive end cab. This is the view from the cab windows. The bunker is in front of everything and the rails are there to protect the glass from the coal. Yes, that's right - the handbrake is in the coal bunker... The tray on the left has the gauge glass protector and the wash out plugs in it as she is ready for a boiler wash out. On the wall on the driver's side is the bell code system. Above us is the air conditioning. The doors at this end are sliding and have a rudimentary safety feature in the form of a steel bar that can be hooked in place if the vehicle is running with the doors open. As you can imagine, this can be a very warm place indeed so that is a common occurrence! Down the fireman's side of the boiler is a rack for the fire irons. At the back is the pipe that leads from the filler flap in the side of the coach body down to the water tank between the frames of the coach. Down near the floor is one of the 2 injectors. The final point of interest this side is the condensation coil for the hydrostatic displacement lubricator. Moving round the boiler at waist level is the lubricator itself. The white paper behind the glasses is a common trick to make the oil dripping up through the lubricator more visible. Above front and centre is the pressure gauge and the whistle valve above that. The wires leading away are for operating the whistle. Under this is the two steam supply valves for the injectors, one each side. Up and to the left is the safety valve. It gets a bit loud in here if they go off! It's a great encourager for good boiler management on the part of the fireman... It's ok by the way, the L and R refer to the placement of the parts of the valve when it is on the ground but when it is mounted it is reversed. The marks are as a reminder if anything gets stripped in situ. We do know which way round left and right are... Underneath that is the gauge frame with the glass and protector removed for the wash out. The try cocks are on the right, the lever to turn the frame on and off is the thing with the red handle and the lamp iron for night running is below that. Just below the lubricator is the regulator handle and valve. The linkage to the left is connected up with the pin on the end of the chain when the railmotor is being driven from either the end cab or the trailer. The two large pipes leading away from the valve are the two supply pipes going down to the cylinders and the small bore pipe goes to the lubricator. The large pipe to the right with the white lagging is the exhaust pipe leading up to the chimney. Below that is the firebox door. The two doors are on slides and are opened when hot with a special tool that comprises of a hook that wraps around the rather furniture like knobs and pulls them open one at a time. The fire is only tended when stationary as having the doors open on the move would cause cold air to rush over the lower tube plate which would not be good for it, potentially causing leaks. This next picture is a busy one. The exhaust pipe can be seen going up to the chimney. Nestled in the crook of the pipe is the brake valve and associated controls. To the right of that is the vacuum gauge. To the right of that is the steam heat and below it is the blower. To the right and slightly above the steam heat gauge is the driver's side clack valve that admits water from the injectors to the boiler. Below that little lot is the reverser. To the right of the reverser is the mason's valve and below that is the second injector. Next to the injector, on the floor is a mud hole door, the old seal and the bridge that fixes it in place when in the boiler. The the left of the reverser quadrant (the bit with the notches in) is for the cylinder drain cocks. The damper door controls are on the other side of the firebox door. A side view of the reverser... ...and a close up of the clack valve. The gangway on the driver's side is the one used as the corridor to the passenger cabin and therefore is kept clear. The unusual shape of the boiler can be seen here as well as the sliding window in the cab side and the large inspection hole in the side of the boiler. In the final corner is the filler pipework for the other side, the spare coupling and the wheel chocks. With that, our tour of No. 93 closes for today. I have pictures of the full interiors right down to the other end of No. 92 - would that be of interest to everyone or shall I just do the other two cabs as per SS's request? If people would like to see them, I shall continue posting this week. Please let me know! One last thing - part of a certain Mk.1 Castle got a paint job. It is currently having a holiday behind No.5051 as this locomotive's tender is undergoing restoration. EDIT: here is some more detail shots of K14's wonderful work in action! http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/100373-collett-4000-gallon-tender-chassis-lining/ All the best, Castle

Hi SS, This is no problem! I'm 'on shed' at the weekend! All the best, Castle

Hi MIB, I think it has to be the Mogul - the most numerous tender class the GWR had... All the best, Castle

Hi All, Not hugely - they have a relatively light wood and steel construction, a small car style engine and gearbox so they don't weigh a lot.* How do I know? The restoration of the Trolley at Didcot has been taken on by the young volunteers and they manoeuvred it from an isolated stretch of track to a connected bit over some distance with little interference and keen observations by the adults! All the best, Castle * This is of course a relative term - everything else on the railway is REALLY heavy!

Hi All, It's not as good as the other works here but,sitting here in the bar car at Didcot I am reminded of a daub that I once undertook... I am guilty of at least one pub sign it would seem! Enjoy! All the best, Castle

Black Ice - AC/DC

Hi Rich, Depends which one you mean! No. 92 - the Churchward era one is a Diagram U, No. 190, the Collett era one is Diagram A.30 and the Hawkswoth era No. 231 is A.38. Further information and pictures of the collection is to be found here: http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/guide/map.html I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Hi HitchinLoco, It has a GWR FRUIT D in there somewhere - more than welcome here as a result! All the best, Castle

Hi All, I'm glad everyone had a great day - it was a pleasure showing you all round the greatest GWR train set in the world! Thanks to everyone who braved the wet and enjoyed themselves. It is always a real pleasure for me, Leigh, Laura, Pete and Ali to show round a group of people who are as interested and passionate about our hobby as you all were. That's all folks for the 2015 Tour - we look forward to the 2016 one! One last request - show us your pictures people! All the best, Castle PS: A big thank you has to go to our signal box tour guide extrodinaire too - thanks Mike!

Hi All, The centenary measurements are easily made Rich - no worries! Remember that our aero wagon is actually the removable water tank wagon for the 50 ton crane with a bit of creative carpentry on top! 12:30hrs is fine although I will get to the entrance at 12:00hrs so everyone can meet up and say hello. The signal box will be free just after 12:00hrs so we will need to step on it to get that bit done first before No. 93 resumes services on the branch. All the best, Castle

Sorry to hear that Dutch Master - please accept my condolences. Next year perhaps? All the best, Castle

Pretty Tied Up - Guns N' Roses

Hi All, Trevor - no problem! St Simon - no problem! All the best, Castle

Hi Stewart, Radstock box is on the list as Stationmaster will be giving his annual talk on the intricacies of GWR signalling! Frome is a little more problematic as it is only accessible via a running line and as the running line is in use, I can't take visitors there. Maybe after the branch line stops operating, but you will have to wait until after the tour if that is ok? I will see what I can do on that front but I can't promise anything at this stage. All the best, Castle

Hi Jeff, See you there good sir! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Graham: no problem - see you there! The cost are for a normal Didcot steam day, there is no additional charge for the tour as is done by RMWEB members for RMWEB members. Ali: Sorry to hear that ! Put yourself down on the 2016 tour by all means! All the best, Castle

Hi Doug, In theory this is possible, Pete S is going to see about getting the keys as it is understandably, a tightly controlled space at DRC (what with all those greasy loco restorer types floating about!). I will see Pete this weekend so we will find out. All the best, Castle

Ok KGV - no worries!