TheSignalEngineer

If you fancy a mix of types and liveries try this one on a train from Kent to the West Midlands in the late 1950s. There's probably a Bulleid in there somewhere amongst the high and low Maunsells and Mk1s.

The use made of the level crossing would probably determine how the signalling is treated. If it is a well-used road it would be a complete nuisance to both the road and the railway when it came to running round or shunting the yard. A lightly used road may have the gates normally open for the railway and only opened for the road on request. The LMS were not noted for over-provision of signals especially in lightly trafficed lines. My assumption in this case would be that the crossing gates were worked by hand by a signalman located in a small cabin at the crossing, probably a low-level affair or if operated by a porter signalman the lever frame may even be in the open air like several which used to be on the Bedford-Bletchley line. The release crossover may be worked from the frame if the distance is short or possibly by a ground frame at the left end of the platform.

Rusty timber?

I've not yet found a decent picture of that particular train, but certainly some mongrel sets about, especially on a Saturday. A colour picture at Stechford in 1959 shows a Black 5 with the first coach being a Maunsell in green. There's a picture on Hatton Bank reputedly 1959 but from the reporting number I would say no later than 1958, which shows a Churchward Mogul with 10 on. I suspect it may have been the Margate-Wolverhampton SO dated working. The first coach is a Blood & Custard Maunsell 4-compartment brake, followed by a Mk1 1 second in green and a B&C Maunsell 6-compartment brake. The train has high and low window Maunsells mixed with Mk1s and is equally split between green and B&C. Another picture in 1955 shows the Birkenhead - Margate with a Horsebox and Collet 3rd leading then the other three visible coadhes are B&C Maunsells.

When I was researching what ran on SR/WR trains through the midlands in the late 1950s I found 7864 in set 427 which was the Bournemouth - Birkenhead set. 7956 was our other visitor in the Margate - Birkenhead service. Regarding the Hornby coaches 7946 was shown as working with SO 1447 in 1957 between Waterloo and Exeter and again with 1447 in 1959 but I don't know on which service.

Before I comment on the signalling, a few comments/questions on the layout. The engine shed will need a trap point to protect the passenger line. What is the purpose of the level crossing? If the level crossing has a use how is it to be operated - signal box, crossing keeper's cabin? Assuming that the entrance to the goods yard is by the goods office, how does a road vehicle get to access the goods shed? Access to the coal stacks for a lorry seems a bit limited. When I worked in a coal yard about 55 years ago our stacks weren't right by where we unloaded the wagons. It is best to have some plan of what you want to run and how traffic will be dealt with to get a logical solution.

Halfords have Dot 4.

You may think that but I couldn't possibly comment.

One that doesn't want RMweb members to go to it.

Or some of the people any of the time.

We've had several years whinging about the state of the Airfix/Hornby Large Prairie and lack of a replacement for the Mainline/Bachmann Mogul. Now we are set for several months (years?) of moans about the replacements not being what I want as the handrail knobs are the post-1953 version or the spare lamp brackets are 6" too far forward. I wouldn't be in the least surprised if Dapol decided to throw in the towel on 4mm and take up knitting. (BTW they did get the lines right on the Class 122 with speed whiskers. Plenty of pictures in service around Birmingham c1958-60 with both the same width). Now if I can get my tongue out of my cheek I'll get back to putting the handrails right on my 74xx conversion.

A bit like my former Airfix Class 31, now long gone. Who needs a diesel sound chip when you have an Airfix motor inside.

Because of the way Snow Hill was designed it never really seemed a smokey place to me, just a slight hazy feeling under the main roof when the sun came out. The roof was fully open down the middle so smoke and steam from trains on the main platforms and through roads vented away and the place where locos stood on the outer Up platform had a smoke cowl above the track. Before the diesels taking over the place where there often seemed to be smoke was rising from the tunnel mouth under the booking hall.

Nearly 30 years ago I was involved in filming a documentary on Automatic Train Control. The shots where the permitted speed display increased and decreased as the signal aspects changed was down not to the equipment but my hand out of shot fiddling with the back of the dial. The 'action shots' apparently on the front of a train were done through the open front door of a Class 313 travelling at about 30mph with me wedged across the opening so that the cameraman didn't overbslance when we braked. Happy days, no elfin safety considerations, just get a good shot.

If I've got it right, the Up train was a bit of a complex one. It ran from Taunton as a Class 2 as far as Weston-s-m then became 1A30 to Paddington. The 8.50? Cheltenham to Swindon Class 2 arrived just before it. That was attached to the Taunton train together with a new loco and that went to Paddington. The loco then worked back on 3C07.

I'll post up a list of what I've found when I've been through them all.

Thanks Miss P. Good pictures of the driver's side seem few and far between, but I'll keep looking to match probably one of those at Stourbridge Jn around 1960. I've found shots today of 7403/4/23/27/45 with boxes and 7428 without. Edit: Shot of 27 without box in 1956, so jury out on that one.

Gives the impression that somebody forgot they need to raise the parapets even where the bridge isn't rebuilt to get OLE clearances. The building work has to be done before the Inspector calls. It can probably only be done under possession unless a platform is built over the track, and nowadays needs either a road closure or a very big barrier on the road side whilst it is done.

As Bachmann haven't announced a 74xx variation of the 64xx Pannier, I decided to bite the bullet and start the conversion I have had sitting waiting on the bench. Whereas the cab roof and bunker is quite straightforward I have a question about the chassis. I can live with the fact that there was a variation in the brake gear, I don't think it will be noticeable when running on the layout. Under the driver's side of the 64xx behind the steps there is a double box which I thought was the ATC battery and control box. I had been under the impression that the 74xx series were built without ATC and it was only fitted to a few on lines like the Fairford branch. Pictures of the driver's side seem to be a bit thin on the ground and those I have are lacking in detail at that level. However, quite a few have the box visible, so what was it and did they all carry it?

Subscription only?

Nice work. Some quite effective bits can be made from Peco in that way. I built a curved scissors for my layout using a single slip and two curved points. The closure piece is 12o at 47" radius

Time to finish off my 94xx conversion. Doesn't seem to have moved far in the production queue since last year.

10001 at 50% more than when the original models came out 4 years ago. EE Type 4 at a similar price to 10001, think that has just gone down my priority list a few places.

Nice to see the Bulleids but will have to wait for the BR green ones for a 3-coach set before I pension all of mine off. Probably just one wagon I am short of for my layout, but I am tempted by a disc EE Type 4.

Hatton site listing new Bulleid coaches. Are these retooled?