TheSignalEngineer

Extracts from the 1959 Working Timetable General note Line Specific entry Note that 90mph was permitted between Honeybourne and Stratford as opposed to the usual 75mph blanket restriction normally applicable.

That would probably be the smallpox one, as it was usually done by scratching the skin. My mother was our doctor's secretary when there was an outbreak in Birmingham c1960. Due to the workload of a mass vaccination programme I got roped in to help and the doc paid me piecework for recording the names and addresses of all of those done. Routine TB vaccination at school around 13 years old used to be the norm in the UK but this was stopped in 2005 when the Health Ministry decided that those children were unlikely to get TB. How they decided that I don't know as vaccination had been universally done in schools since 1953. It was decided that only certain groups such as health workers and families or those living in areas where the disease occurred regularly should be done.

We left Vancouver on time but a freight train failure put us three hours down by Jasper. Beyond there we lost time waiting to pass freights but gained time on various sections by shortening stops in the middle of the night and made up a bit on the last leg and were just under three hours late into Toronto. The first delay led to so interesting operations with getting locos to the failed train and into a loop, then an improvised connection for some passengers at a loop in the middle of nowhere. Later we had a a stop to pick up a party with kayaks to get them round some difficult bits of river and a whistle stop to deliver supplies to a trapper at a cabin in the woods.

That reminds me I've got a DTS for a 122 in the work in progress box that needs finishing. Lima DMBS on centre coach chassis. Cutting along the door lines where possible is the easiest way of covering the joins. Don't forget also there is a line of rivets just under the gutters so you need to be more careful than I was when you pick where to cut. The headcode box is too small for a 121 and too big for the destination blind on a 122 so you might want to reshape it a bit. The Railcar site is a good place to look for some background. https://www.railcar.co.uk/ This is the page from the BR DMU Stock drawing book showing the outline drawing of a Class 121 DTS. Two were fitted with gangways in the late 1980s and became Diagram 513A

No need for ovens or boiling water. If the cans have come in from a cold place and time is short I find that a jug of water about hand hot for a couple of minutes is usually warm enough. Plenty of shaking seems much more important for rattle cans especially as your hand will slightly warm them.

I don't see the generic coaches as being for the purist, but if they draw people in some of whom go on to build a modelling masterpiece all well and good. Perhaps some people who buy may be encouraged to visit exhibitions as they get hooked. As for me, my progression over the last 60+ years has been one of evolution 1953 with Hornby O Gaouge clockwork fixed to sheets of hardboard to make it quicker to lay and put away 1954 my pride and joy, Father Christmas brought me a Bassett Lowke Prince Charles. Really thought that was the dog's wotsits. 1958 went into Hornby Dublo 3-rail 1960 started plastic kit buuilding 1962 built first 2-rail layout for my little cousin 1967 Parents moved house and I was working away, Work, College and girls took precedence over modelling. 1976 now married with children and own house. Built retro HD layout 1978 built small roundy for son. Around that time Mainline and Airfix were changing the game with better models. Started building better plastic kits. 1982 Moved house, too much work, trains got packed away except for son's layout which was used as a test bed for my occasional kit builds. 2002 Approaching my intended retirement and started again with a shunting plan for a test bed. 2007 Time on hands (occasionally) so laid foundations of present layout. May get finished sometime soon, but meanwhile have progressed from what would now be regarded as toys to better stuff including overlaying layout coaches with brass sides and making non-available items from RTR.

A few more from me Dome Car Sunset More mountains and lakes Refuel and restock at Jasper Train stretched out behind us heading for the wheat country. Rather nice Trestle Viaduct back there. Evening in the Diner

A few shots from our trip in May 2006, mainly between Kamloops and Edmonton IIRC Photos by MJ Steele In the Dome Car The driver stopped each dome car by the waterfall for photos Mpuntain views from the Dome Car Lineside wildlife

We've still got 323s running in the pre-Arriva livery with the old sticky back plastic branding pulled off.

We slowed down to a crawl and the driver kept sounding the horn so we went up to the dome and there was a large Grizzly sitting in the middle of the track When we got about 50 yards away he got up and lumbered back into the woods. We used the Canadian as we wanted to get from coast to coast but as said elsewhere if you want the better views it would be worth checking out the tourist operators. There are one-way and round trip tours available. We were lucky in a way that we were delayed between Kamloops and Jasper for about three hours due to a failed freight tran. This put the whole of the Rockies section into daylight. Because of the delay our train was going to miss the connection towards Whistler, so we were held in one of the loops near Jasper whilst the other train came in and the passengers from our train were transferred to the other. The Jasper route used to be good for big freights, I don't know the current situation but at that time there was a lot of container traffic through Vancouver. On one occasion we stopped at a loop and when the freight arrived it was 170 wagons and took four minutes to pass us.

When I semi-retired my son suggested we do a big train trip. When he was little we used to travel around the UK on 48 hour jaunts using my free travel. In 2006 we decided to fly out to Vancouver and back from Halifax, NS, travelling only by train in between. The first leg was on the Canadian. I don't know what the service and stock is now but we travelled in the ordinary seat, eating in the dining saloon which was the bottom deck of the leading Dome Car back then. In three days on the train we had formed quite a good dining club. Overall a good trip, but 24 hours on the Canadian Shield can be a bit boring. Whatever trip you decide on there the Rockies by train are awesome. You need to check the schedule to make sure the best bits are in daylight. Will try to post some pics later when I am back to the desktop.

The Parkside BY was the first kit I built when I returned to model making after retiring from work. I have a bit of a record for my kit building to be covered RTR, as my next was a Pillbox Brake followed by a 3H Coke Hopper and a bit further down the line a Parkside Plate.

Things can change very quickly. Dad had been unwell for some time but just generally old age and his body was giving out. He had been caring for Mom with help from my sister even though he was 90. They had been in a home for a couple of weeks while my sister was away. I was down there on the Monday with them and made arrangements to go to their flat on Thursday to get it ready and do the shopping, staying over to pick them up on Friday to take home. Whilst driving down I got a call from my Son who was over visiting to say that day had had a turn during the night so I diverted to where he was staying. He picked up well during the afternoon and the three of us went for a walk round the gardens chatting about our vegetable planting plans for the spring and the merits of various varieties. On the Friday I called the chairman of a ex-service association where he was Chaplain, he came over and had a nice chat before one of his Clergy friends came to give us all communion together. Shortly after that he had to be sedated and never properly came round again dying on Monday. Mom died quite suddenly from a heart attack three weeks later, so in the space of six weeks I went from cooking a meal for them at their home to two funerals.

There was also quite a bit of era overlap. My earliest railway memory is of sounding the whistle on a Jubilee at New Street sometime around my second birthday. I can vividly remember the heat of the fire as I was lifted onto the footplate by the driver, who just happened to be married to my Great Aunt. At that time there were mainly black engines there, but BR green was starting to appear. I also remember catching a train at Corfe Castle during our holidays in 1953 and the coaches still being in Southern railway green livery. In 1961 I travelled on a return excursion from Windermere Lakeside to Birmingham in an LNER Buffet Car which looked more like a 1930s film set then in 1963 I travelled in a Gresley coach from Taunton to Birmingham still resplendent in LNER guise inside right down to LNER carpet in the First Class. A couple of weeks ago I was looking at a picture I took in 1967 at Plymouth. Through the coach window can be seen an LMS mirror, although the coach was actually delivered just after nationalisation,

My main modelling is restricted to the period from the change of BR crests to before the advent of yellow panels, so 1956 to 1961 in general terms. The area is the Black Country around Dudley. I've found pictures and recorded sightings of about 40 classes of steam locos so far. I'm at least seven steam, two diesel shunters and four railcar/DMU types short. As for coaching stock it is almost anything produced by the Big Four except for a few special types, and for wagons there are at least twenty on this year's Poll that don't have a decent RTR presence but appeared every day in the area. My kit stash / cut'n'shut pile doesn't seem to reduce however much I work on it.

Reading the blog entry echoed a lot of my Dad's last few days. You must preserve Sandy's work as I expect some of the sites have already fallen to the march of 'Progress'. It's clear from topics on here how much we rely on material like photo collections from years ago to do our research. Also if I'm feeling low I look through few old things from trips we did when I was little right up to my Dad's sermon notes for my Daughter's wedding where he gave a brilliant address faultlessly at the age of 83 without visibly referring to his prompt cards. I've also got a video interview done by Birmingham Museum about Mom and Dad's experiences of growing up in 1930s Birmingham and serving during WW2. Mom is featured in the World Wars Oral History display at the Museum and a picture of Dad in uniform when serving in India was used for posters around the city centre advertising the opening of the exhibition. Great memories of times now gone but kept alive in our thoughts. Enough rambling from me, you have enough to do without having lots piled on, but remember that communities of people with common interests can be helpful at bad times if only for a bit of cyber-conversation.

Two screenshots today as I scrolled down through View New Content and pressed the Load More Content button A jump from three hours ago to July 4 Pressing the browser's refresh button corrected the situation This was using Chrome on my desktop but I have had the same happen on an Android phone.

I like your style. A bit like playing football in the park. For my own part, as a teenager in the Hornby Dublo years I built a GWR 0-6-0 from a Kitmaster City of Truro boiler, some styrene sheet and a lot of filler. It sat on a Gaiety Pannier chassis, didn't really look like a 2251 but the main thing was it ran and could pull a few wagons. My wagon building efforts started with Airfix Minerals, two of which have been modified and fitted with modern wheels still put in an appearance on the long coal train over 50 years on. There are usually about 10 unstarted kits waiting on the shelf. At three score plus ten I did my first overlay with Comet sides, you're never too old to try something new. RTR has given me things I couldn't do but there is a lot of enjoyment to be had from seeing your own efforts setting off down the track.

I've just done a totally unscientific trawl through some of my go to sources for layout research pictures. Unfortunately photographers concentrated on the front end but of the brake vans visible I didn't manage to find a GWR Toad in revenue service after February 1965.

John, none of our words can make up for personal loss. Cherish the memories of the good times, those will be with you always.

As Mark says, dates varied for various styles of fitment, but off the top of my head our general fitment arrangements in that period would be Absolute Block areas Only at Distant signals and Intermediate Block Distants. MAS areas All signals capable of showing a yellow aspect on Passenger running lines and some through Goods lines especially if used for Passenger diversions. At two aspect R/G signals following a run of three or four-aspect signals on Passenger lines or fitted goods lines. At the signal acting as the Distant for the signal protecting the junction of an unfitted line with a fitted line. Between the signal protecting the exit from a Goods Loop and the points connecting it to a fitted through running line.

I did some looking around when they were announced. IIRC the last I found working commercially were in the 1966/7 period.

Cooker hoods are made not to go rusty. If it had been any old steel sheet it would have been outside on the wet for a few days.

My 16T Minerals built from kits have a thin bit of steel sheet on top of the plastic floor. The steel came from shortening a cooker hood chimney. It's sprayed with primer then rust colour before powder weathering and matt varnish. Adds about 25 grams to the weight.

Been looking at too many Ivo Peters pictures.