TheSignalEngineer

I started with a bit of upgrading a Lima 42'BG and Siphon with the correct bogies and a bit of weathering. My follow up idea was to make an LMS Period 2 BT from an Airfix Lav brake. I then bought a Comet Push-pull cab etch but didn't like the way it fitted to the Airfix body shape so I made my own end. Out of all the bits I had I made a non-corridor 3rd. Hornby brought out the Period 3 suburbans so I bought a brake and a compo. After the next run a box shifter was selling a bulk pack so I had a BT and another non-corridor coach left over. I sold the one and used the Comet end on the BT to make a P3 Push-pull. As I went from success to success with these I decided to make a rake of LMS Vestibule stock for an excursion set using Comet sides. Whilst cutting up the donors I realised I could make a Period 1 all-door TK and a BCK which were never done by Mainline, Replica or Bachmann. The bits left over from those will make a 57' Ambulance Coach to BG conversion. Currently just waiting some finishing is a Class 122 DTS to go with my Dapol bubble car. It gets a bit addictive once you start.

Thanks Andrew, I'll email you to discuss the inaccuracies of the kit in the hope that they can be corrected. Whether or not we can then justify running it on Clayton is a different debate. A bit late for the time frame of Clayton but snippets that may be of use for others like me modelling in the in the 1950s in my case the Black Country. Despite the regular protestations that the Diagram 120 vans were for the GE Section they did manage to escape even before the days when NPCCS became common user vehicles. Michael Harris included two pictures in his LNER Standard Gresley Carriages book, the first 70229 at Bulwell Common on a Nottingham Victoria to Mansfield train in 1947, the second 70221 at Easingwold branded 'On loan to Easingwold Light Railway' in 1957. David Larkin used a later picture of 70217 at Shields Junction in 1962 in his General Parcels Rolling Stock booklet.

I remembering photographing the same train at Barnt Green c1982 on a day when it was a Rat and single CCT

I believe that what is shown as a PMV from Cardiff to Dudley, D70 1.25pm Wolverhampton to Hartlebury, was actually the GWR Palethorpes van. The return working went from Cardiff to Shrewsbury on a Crewe train then to Wolverhampton LL on the Shrewsbury - Paddington parcels.

I worked a few times with a Stanier at Birmingham. Regarding my family I don't know of any connections with famous names but we had family members working on signalling for about 120 years. I also found that one family member worked as a carpenter for Evans O'Donnell, predecessors of Westinghouse at Chippenham. There were a whole string littered thoughout the Cousins, Uncles and Aunts somewhere approaching 20 and counting.

Looks like the Saturday lunchtime job from Curzon St to Worcrster

The same on the LMR on schemes up to about 1970, nicknamed 'Cuckoos'. Speakers pointing each way on top of location cases about 2km apart. Some of original ones could do different calls for different departments, S&T, PW and electrification. Abandonded early 1970s IIRC. I remember having a lot of problems around Saltley PSB area, sometimes the neighbours cutting the speaker cable to shut them up and others the local miscreants nicking the amplifiers to build big sound systems in the ghetto.

Not so much as spending two hours in freezing fog next to the canal at Bournville correcting errors in the changeover supervised by a so-called expert in the system. Less said about him the better but he retired with a very impressive CV. Cadburys had a 'Nookie Shed' just by Bournville station where couples could be seen sneeking in during the night shift. That building didn't have any windows.

A Great Aunt of mine was the first in the family to have a TV set. To be ready for the Coronation she bought it a couple of months earlier. Her husband was involved in the local football club so she had a dummy run for the big day by holding a house party for a few family and friends to watch the FA Cup Final. It was the famous occasion when Blackpool beat Bolton Wanderers which became known as the Matthews Final. That's first time I can remember watching TV,

That's a nice one John, quite late to be in traffic use I would think?

I don't know what the limit was for that bit but assuming it was something like a Kingsbury - Washwood Heath trip it was pretty flat. On a similar type of line from Stafford to Rugby via Bescot they could take equivalent of 64 loaded 13T mineral wagons in the LMS Western Division Loads book.

I think pushing the van out then returning west pulling it was the norm for engines to the Sutton Park line and Walsall. Pulling it out then propelling was common going to Washwood Heath. Regarding which crossover was used it was probably a matter of convenience. I would agree that going out onto the Nuneaton line was more common as once you had passed over the junction on the way out the Fast lines were then clear. Using the Fast lines crossover would be less likely as the engine would be blocking the Up Fast for the whole move then both Fast lines coming back.

Credit card breathes sigh oh relief.

I used to listen to AFN and Luxembourg on one of these. https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/vidor_regatta_cn420a.html Supposed to be portable but with the battery in I would change that to "transportable" as it weighed about 5kg.

Interesting. My departure from signalling design was accelerated by a falling out with a former Chief S&T Engineer when I was staff rep for Management grades. He was intent on removing all specialists in traditional signalling, including locking designers, fitters and testers. I upset him during a reorganisation by producing a graphic which predicted that at the rate of progress in nearly 40 years since nationalisation some mechanical signalling would be around for a similar length of time. ln the big railway I predicted the last box closure to come c2030. I am wondering now if I was a bit short in my timescale.

1979 at Kings Norton just after closing time on a Sunday night. I was trying to find a fault on an RT Reed remote control system during commissioning some alterations for the original Birmingham Cross City service. I won't go into details but the curtains were closed very quickly when she noticed the lights round the location case at the end of the garden. Back in the swinging sixties there were several office affairs going on near to ours where the participants were a bit careless about taking account of the advent of tower blocks. I well remember word going along the omnibus circuit between signalboxes about where to look on the last train. Great hilarity one night when the young lady in question was seen leaving the train by a signalman and it turned out to be his station master's daughter.

I've been to some National Trust properties in the last few weeks. Although we had pre-booked timed tickets there was no need to scan as at all the places wheee a ticket was needed the sraff had a list of all those booked and the arrival times. Nowhere did we have more than two people in front of us, generally straight in.

The LMS Twins probably each carried more without getting as far as being renumbered

At the moment I seem to have five airfix/Dapol 57' underframes but don't have a Period 2 roof, just three for the P3 BTK

A relative of mine who was a driver at Monument Lane used to collect empty Johnnie Walker wkiskey bottles as on a rough rider they could be laid down in the locker and stay put rather than risk falling over. Personally the hardest and hottest work I did was taking turns as blacksmith's striker. I found the best lunchtime antidote was some fish and chips with plenty of salt followed by two or three pints of Ansells Mild. Most of the gang seemed to carry a small bottle of salt in their bag for use at lunchtime and it went on all kinds of sandwiches. Salty bacon was also very popular especially amongst the Irish members of local contract gangs.

Thanks, will try to remember to check the site for its return.

Talk of the 1909 cut off took me back to when my parents bought a house in 1967. The old gentleman next door was born at Nether Whitacre. As a youngster he had worked a steam engine pumping out the workings on a bridge site on the new line. Don't forget the brake van. It wasn't unknown to propel one all the way to Washwood Heath. When working Under The Wood if we had something heavy to carry we would get the train to Water Orton then stand by the exit signal from the sidings to hitch a lift. On one occasion we had to take an fpl, some cranks and timber to the West Junction. We loaded it on to a dmu at Saltley and the local lineman Doug Swain arranged for an engine and brake to come into the Down platform. The kit all went onto the end of the brake and was rapidly unloaded by the worksite and the loco sent on its way.

Well, I did but @billbedford has redone his website and this item no longer appears to exist. Doh!!

The plate is fixed to the wall then the slider is set to the height that the nearest rail should be.

Doubtful as withdrawal came only three months later.