Martin S-C

That appears to be a van of quite different design. And I see Kevin has noted this as well. https://www.igg.org.uk/rail/00-app2/joint/mandgn.htm My bad I read "...built to typical Midland designs..." as "...built by the Midland Railway." Amazing how easy it is to make such a mistake. No objections from me. I wonder why you ask - does this mean you'll be bidding on a couple on e-Bay? There's 3 or 4 loitering about there with intent ATM. I plan to grab 2 if poss. Given the above discussions and my purposes for them, remodelling them into HBR types is a no-go, but with a kit underframe and tweaked I think they would make nice fictional vans for my NMR or GSR, or even a Craig & Mertonford or Aire Valley van. Thank you all for the input, all very helpful.

Can't see the loco, a nasty pea-souper has rolled in.

You could say newsagency but that doesn't seem to have quite the same olde tyme effect. I agree on a more subdued colour of some kind for the shop nameboard. Looking at colour photos of even the 1950s and 60s, shop fronts were really pretty dull with lots of low key colours like industrial dark greens, browns and wine reds. It wasn't until plastic and back lit fascias came in and shop owners began to make a real effort to drum up custom that bright colours, illumination and all that became common. A town high street in the 30s would seem positively drab to our eyes. I personally think even the pale blue-grey is a bit daring.

And...

Another day working on the baseboards. Neil and I are now at the east end of the layout at Snarling station and Armisford Mill. It was one more day of slow going, laying out the boards to hold the hidden circuit storage loop sidings at +2" with their protective backing screens and the Snarling and Armisford boards above them at +5". Lots of measuring, cutting, re-cutting, fussy clearance checks, a bit more cutting, checking again where the Cobalts will fit, fettling of support legs and such. West end of Snarling station board with the climbing gradient from Puddlebrok at the left rear. The entry track to the circuit's hidden storage loops is just below it where the scrap piece of code 75 is. The curved cut-out is the start of the branch on its falling grade to Coggles Causeway which will be at left foreground. The R/H end of the same board showing the hidden circuit storage entrance with its protective backing screen in place. A peek underneath. The backing screens will stop any derailed trains from falling off the rear of their trackbed and will catch any little bits like couplings, buffers, etc that always seem to fall off models in the most awkward places. My plan is to paint this hidden area overall in white emulsion, including the underside of the boards above, to make things as easy as possible to see. I might even fit some small LEDs under there. The SE corner of the layout where the loco coaling stage and Crown timber siding will be in the far corner. Checking clearances for the three tracks of the up and down storage roads and centre through road. The two storage loops will be about 6ft 6ins long and each able to hold three trains. Test placing track of the three hidden roads with blocks at the left to support the Armisford mill board above. Armisford mill building itself will be right in the centre of this image. Another view with part of the protective backing screen for the hidden loops in place. Where the short supports are will be left open for hand and visual access to the loops. After this pic was taken Neil and I were discussing access and support for the upper board and I suggested we use lengths of 20mm wooden dowel as we can put some between the tracks and once painted they'll look tidier.

Thanks for the info Annie. If it's an HBR van then I'll put it in HBR livery. I haven't even bid on either yet but will do now.

The horse box and open carriage truck are delightful. I'm aware you didn't build the route and its possible that scenery parts are limited but platform edges were not painted white until the WW2 blackout.

Your railway room is impressively tidy and you woodworking is superb. Your sector plate construction is good enough to prepare food on! Very clean and shiny.

Is his name Wally?

Black ones, yes. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STAEDTLER-PIGMENT-LINER-Graphic-drawing-pen-in-9-different-line-widths/130932589495?hash=item1e7c30c3b7:m:mJwjxD56bXpLi8gZp3pY4Og&var=430159832512 White - don't think so, irritating as this is the colour I need. Fantastic tank engine Annie. Must.. make.. model... of... it....

Steed is going to have to be very quick at untying knots if he's to save Emma in time - assuming that engine is even moving of course. Looks like this may have been shot at Chessington?

I've received a pack of 1950s steam BR loco lining from Jim at Model Master (very helpful gent - no other connection, etc etc) and the orange in the orange-black-orange sequence is very strong and quite distinct from the yellow ochre of the paint finish. I'll be trying some of this out over the next day or two. By very, very, VERY carefully using a scalpel I could cut the transfers lengthwise and make the bands black-orange-black. That will have to be a job for when I'm feeling especially alert and patient, however. As a short intermission of sorts I have spotted these two wagons on e-Bay. The M&GN one has a container that is no use to me, being from the 1930s, but the lettering looks reasonably accurate as does the colour. The Midland supplied the M&GN with wagons so this should be a Midland 3-plank diagram D.818 which was a 9ft 6ins WB, some with short brake levers and some with long. The earlier undiamgrammed 3-plank opens were 9ft WB and all had short brake levers. This underframe has a long one. The model looks like 10ft WB to me. It's dirt cheap right now and I could swap the body onto a 9ft underframe kit I have spare. Was wondering if anyone has any input such as "don't bother", "eek, avoid at all costs", "yeah, worth a punt", etc. The SR banana van is livery-wise of no interest to me and would be repainted but the actual construction of the van body is a tooling that I have never seen before and could work well for a fictional pre-grouping wagon, maybe again, on a different kit chassis. Its again on e-Bay at a cheap price. Does anyone know what prototype Hornby are trying to replicate with this van?

I call it Cardwell's Improved Engine Vomit. Lets face facts, it's a pretty weird colour.

That's the crew's pork pie stash. Some seem to have gone a bit grey and mouldy though.

Thanks for the input. The colour on the loco is actually quite a deep ochre shade. It has come out much paler in the pics, but that could be just my monitor or graphics card's colour balance. The orange of the lining is a much more vibrant colour. It shows up well on my screen at end-of-nose range. The two are quite distinct. I am still mulling this over. When the BR coach lining sheet arrives I will try those on one side of the loco and my Staedtler pigment liner pens on t'other.

Maybe it could haul boats OFF trains. That would need some muscle? Local coal mine down a slope somewhere? Need some grunt to get the wagons out of the short private line?

If weathered wagons look **** isn't that a good thing? My mate brews his own beer and he assures me hop content is not linked to whether its an IPA or not. Now whether IPAs originally had a lot of hops I do not know but today's don't!

I did suggest that option as well. The GWR used ground signals frequently in places other companies might not, they certainly had a pair at Highworth, the upper section of which was always only one engine in steam. I did also place a heavy caveat on my post that I was no expert.

Yes, very much so. Its why we might find it amusing but back in the 30s it wasn't.

I am no expert but to me this looks like the absolute essentials: 1) Four. 2) Two stop signals, two ground discs. 3) One stop signal is the "starter" [1](because it controls trains starting away from the station) and must go at or near the right hand end of the platform and certainly before the loop point converges with the main running line at the level crossing. This controls trains leaving the platform to return to the junction ("up" trains). A second stop signal [2](a "home" signal because it controls trains arriving "home" into the station) is needed somewhere to the right of the turnout beyond the right hand end of the platform, near the level crossing. You're very limited on space here as the tunnel is right next to the level crossing, however this did happen on the prototype so you are on safe ground. I would suggest it is placed on the inside of the curve to give loco crews the best chance of seeing it. Alternatively it can be argued that placing it on the outside of the curve might allow easier sighting of it via a crewman leaning out of his cab to the LEFT (inside of the curve) as you look in the train's direction of travel. You have alternative options though. One is to leave it off altogether and assume it is at the non-modelled end of the tunnel. In that location it could be assumed to be positioned where it is easily seen and it would be safer to have it there than to have one right outside a tunnel exit which would give loco crews no time to react unless there was an extremely low speed restriction here, say 10 or 5 mph. Or you could make a cute and unusual arm slung from the tunnel mouth entrance as long as the tunnel arch is built high enough. This would give approaching train crews a better chance of sighting it. Your other two signals are ground discs. One should go adjacent to the turnout that controls the release of the loco from the left end of the layout [3]. The other would go in front of the turnout that allows a loco using the run round loop to return to the main running line and over the level crossing [4]. You can get brass kits to have working ground discs from companies like MSE or alternatively have non-functioning ones which you can more easily and cheaply build out of bits of scrap plastic card, rod, etc. 4) The faces of the signal arms or discs must face the direction of the movement they are controlling! So the Starter arm will face along the platform and away from the signal box, the Home signal by the tunnel mouth will face the tunnel mouth and the two ground discs will both face towards the left end of the layout. 5) Well, an ignorant reprobate like me has owned layouts so the answer is probably yes. All the other turnouts control access to sidings and would be operated probably by hand and the loco crew would be waved across them by the shunter. I should add: 6) The GWR was famous for often installing more signals than the law required and they might also therefore add a Starter signal to control movements direct from the loop to the running line which would control the departure of goods trains direct from the loop. As this is a running movement and not a shunt movement a ground disc would not be allowed to control it, so another starter could be placed at [5]. This is a GWR foible though and not essential.

Kevin, I may have asked you this before but how did you make the point rodding - are they commercial components? MJT perhaps? or MSE?

Is that sign advertising "Gaytime Chocolate Bars 6d" ?

When I built my digital version of Highworth it had only 1 signal; a starter at the end of the platform. This was a one engine in steam set-up though. There were two ground signals IIRC, one at each end of the main run round loop. Your arrangement looks very similar. Remember that signals were primarily present for safety and to the Board of Trade that meant "safety for the paying public" so if any trackwork does not see the movement of loaded passenger carrying vehicles or movements towards loaded passenger carrying vehicles, such areas were usually not signalled.

I have the 0.7mm bullet shape head. Water based but too thick for 4mm work. I bought it to make up chalked wagon destination notes but went back to my ordinary acylic paints (thinned) and a fine brush. I think the paint pen would be okay for 7mm scale and up. I don't know that they make a finer tip. I also have these Staedtlers which are superb and go as small as 0.1mm. I have only found them in black so far. The tip isn't brush or felt, or fibres, it seems to be a plastic nozzle with hairline cuts in the shape of a flower petal style or " * " pattern and the ink probably flows by a combination of capillary and pressure. This super close up should show the structure.

I left out the samples. Eejit. Now my babblings have a reference point.