[Greyvoices]

Dear all,

Enthusiasms can take over every waking moment if you are not careful and a balance has to be struck between the real world, (requiring a job to make some money to pay my bills type of world) and the world in your head (that's the one where we construct the layout of our dreams or plan the purchase of the next super detailed model that has just been released).

The dynamics are slightly different for me as I work for a well known European Freight railway company and spend most of my waking hours grappling with the complexities of cross border train movements, the incompatibilities of locomotives in the fleet with the various signalling systems and the logistical problems of moving freight trains in 8 countries. As you can imagine this keeps me pretty busy and for many would be the realisation of a dream, the chance of merging your hobby with your work; but, and isn't there always a "but", to pursue my career I have to live in Germany. Not exactly a hardship you might say but after three years of living and working in "mainland Europe" I am starting to feel the odd pang of homesickness as the novelty starts to wear off.

The first thing to appear was an overwhelming desire for steak and kidney pudding and the whole gamut of meat pies that we enjoy in the UK (nothing comes close here) and the, I have to admit, continuous craving for a pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord bitter. I can drown out the latter problem by consuming copious amounts of the local lagers but the meat pie issue depends on friends back in the UK bringing with them a can of Fray Bentos S&K when they visit. My wife is reluctant to help out on the meat pie front as she worries about nonesenses such as high blood pressure and obesity! I am resisting the urge to paraphrase Professor Higgins here but those of you who are old enough will know to what I allude.

The second symptom of homesickness happened about 6 months ago, waking up one day to find that my interest for continental HO modelling was just not there any more. For the past 10 years this has been a constant companion. This started in the UK but I had a load of mates all interested in German, Austrian or Swiss railways and I was drawn more and more into that world. To be honest, the models are better though they do cost nigh on double the price (and that's before you include the huge price rise caused by the drop in the value of the pound). However, back to that morniing when I awoke to find I had lost that interest. For a day or two I did not know what to do. I was travelling between offices so my work days were long but I was dreading the weekend back at home. What was I going to do? I was facing the prospect of having no excuse for my wife when she asked me if I wanted to go with her for a walk in the woods. Pointing at a chaotic modelling table and claiming to be at a critical stage in the assembly of a Prussian Water Tower or the like never failed to get me off the hook. But what now? She would surely sense this change in me and, sensing a vacuum move in for the marital kill, the only choice being between a long walk or a short walk.

Thankfully, relief was not long in arriving. That first motiveless weekend saw me surfing the internet for want of anything better to do (trying to look busy so I would not be asked to join my wife in a shopping expedition). We lived just outside Berlin at that time and I did not mind in the least going into the city but a trip to a supermarket in the suburbs was something to be avoided. I was idly looking at "you tube" when a link came up for the prototype Deltic. I don't know how that link appeared because I was certainly not looking for UK railway material, probably just one of those coincidences that the weak minded claim as evidence of a sixth sense or, even worse, proof positive of divine intervention. Whatever. What I found myself looking at was a short clip of a sound fitted Deltic prototype model. I could see that this was a very good model and the sound was not too far off that I remember hearing from the lineside at Sandy as a nine year old being thrilled by a flash of blue that being tested on an A4 diagram. Within a week I had located one of these models for sale on ebay. A week later it was on display atop the bookcase.

What followed was a gradual rediscovery of the railways of my youth in East Anglia. Book purchases came thick and fast and then odd models started to trouble our postman. We moved house to southern Germany to be nearer my new office and the rate of purchases increased. Spurred on by the sound of the Deltic I switched to digital (something that I had avoided with my continental models) and so far have only burnt out one model ( the Hornby D5512 but no worries, I have 2 of them). I bought the 2 D5512'ves following reading the article on this forum. Sadly I did not read the "fitting a sound chip" section as closely as I should have done. No matter, a new circuit board will have it as good as new.

Enough of this. I have rambled on enough this Sunday afternoon. My wife will soon be back from her walk and I must hide the empty beer bottles (sadly they had only contained lager but that was thankfully wet). As you can see I have survived the loss of a passion and replaced it with another. Now when I am travelling back from a meeting in some far flung city I relax by trying to decide wether I should model the Cambridge bay platforms 5 and 6 plus engine shed and a bit of the through platform, or should I be a bit more rural and go for a more pure Great Eastern experience by modelling my home town station, Bury St.Edmunds (obviously not all of it as if I kept scale distances I would have to tunnel through to the neighbours bedroom. Choices, choices. This is what the hobby is all about, giving a bloke (or blokess) the chance to dream about a world of our own making, plucked from memory or reflecting what we see today. My only concern now is that I don't know if the original Deltic had route clearance up to Cambridge. No way and no reason would it have ever been allowed into platforms 5 & 6 but it may have been eased onto the shed. If I model Bury St.Edmunds the Deltic would have to stay on the bookcase but, (yet another but) I could get my 4mm civil engineering gang to work on the route so that the Deltic is diagrammed for Kings Cross > Newmarket race specials and has to come forward to Bury to run round the stock. It's my world so I can do what I like. Obviously my homesickness is quite a factor as I was born in B.S.E over 58 years ago and moved on to live in Cambridge when I was 17. A lot has happened in the intermediate years but just now those formative years are much in my mind and are influencing my modelling choices. Thank goodness the hobby gives me that focus. Isn't that what it is all about?

Best regards to all .......... Greyvoices

 

[Greyvoices]

Gentlemen (I presume it's just gentlemen),

Thanks for all your comments. I now have ideas on purchasing meat pies, advice from down under to dabble in home brew (this I will avoid because I am still trying to forget the taste of the beer a mate made in a zinc bath - I was cross eyed for a week) and much more.

I think that "a change is as good as a rest" neatly sums it up. To model continental in the evening but also to work on continental in the day is a bit too much. Today at work I have been grappling with the organisation of maintenance in Italy of 3 x DC 3000 volt electric locos, arguing with a manufacturer about the suitability (un-suitability) of 7 multi-system AC/DC locos, arranging for the sale of an unwanted Mak G1000 diesel. Tomorrow it's a discussion about our Class 66 fleet deployed in Benelux/Germany and reviewing driver resources for the new year.

After that little lot all I want to do is get back home and sink back into the green diesel era in the east of England. Digital sound is opening up new opportunities as I think back to those days and I am wondering if I can buy a model of Hereward the Wake that sounds like the one in my memories. In 1959 (when I was 9) I daily witnessed the last fling of steam in Bury St.Edmunds, and what a last fling. Each evening, somewhere around 18:00, a Britannia would arrive with a commuter train from Liverpool Street that had run via Cambridge. After all passengers had alighted it would then set back into the loop avoiding line that snaked around the loco shed (31E). Once this train was safely stowed a southbound boat train for Harwich would arrive from the north powered by yet another Britannia. As this engine was taking water the northbound boat train ran in from the Ipswich direction behind yet another Britannia. So, six evenings a week this fantastic scene would be payed out, three Britannia's in a small cross country station at the same time. Once the two boat trains had departed the train ex Liverpool Street that had been lanquishing in the sidings, crept forward into the station, sometimes taking a last chance for some water before it departed ECS for Ipswich. Happy days. Is there anyone on this forum who can remember this? Within a year it was all over, the through train from Liverpool Street became a boring interconnecting Cravens from Cambridge to Ipswich. The boat trains were hauled by EE Type 4's (though it was still interesting to see if the loco was a much prized Gateshead allocation) and somehow the magic was gone. Yes I can just about remember the B17's on the boat trains but for me the Britannias are the ones that matter. Mind you, I would willingly sacrifice a limb for the chance to get my hands (or would that by then be a singular hand) on a model of a D16/3 fitted with accurate sound.

There we are, we all have our memories which fuel our present interests, be they electrics, underground, Scotland, the Midlands, SNCF or whatever. Whatever and whereever it fills an obvious need. Thank you all very much for replying to my post, it is much appreciated.

Now, where can I buy a zinc bath in Basel?

Best regards ........... Greyvoices

 

[Greyvoices]

Fast forward 4 years ...........

Yes it's been a while since I joined MRF. A lot has happened since then and now I am once again living in my adopted Derbyshire. My work became ever more complicated, at first successfully combating the negative effect on railfrieght caused by the credit crunch but the double dip and resultant Euro problems gradually took their toll. We moved back home but I carried on working in trans-european freight but this time commuting to Belgium on a Sunday evening and returning late Friday night. I never thought that I would say it but I have become rather bored with the Eurostar. It could not last and finally I ground to a halt, deciding to stop work and swap the Berne gauge for 4mm 00. I have therefore been taking it easy these past few months, coming to terms with life without work and asking myself the question, "is this all there is"? Those of you who immediately think of Lottie Lenya will know how she responds to that, "then break out the booze," which does it for a while but endlessly staring into the bottom of a pint pot is hardly the best way to lift the spirits. It slowly dawned on me that now I had the opportunity to realise the model railway of my dreams and I started getting the house in order to enable this to happen. This meant converting the garage into a proper room, replacing the garage door with a window, thinking that this would give me all the space that I needed. Of course, being a husband there has to be a bit of a trade off so I had to sacrifice 3 feet at the back of the garage to be part of the kitchen extension thus heading off any complaints from my better half. We each got something out of the build. So here I am, with time on my hands, 18 feet by 9 feet of room that is exclusively mine and a head full of plans.

I've had a bit of a false start because I could not decide on my ideal track plan. I met up with a dear chap in Bushey who delights in manufacturing track and he made me a very nice facing crossover utilising C&L components. We were discussing him doing more for me but this coincided with my post work indecisive slump. There was also the problem of dabbling in Templot. I have come to the conclusion that my brain is wired in a non Templot way as I just could not get the hang of it. This surprises me because my formative railway career involved interpreting track diagrams, constructing 4'8 and a half inch (sorry I have forgotten what the Alt + combination is for a half) gauge track formations. I have fond memories of supervising the construction of prefabricated lengths for the Royal Border Bridge, Berwick on Tweed, trimming back the inner rails to effect the required sweeping curve and ensuring that the sleepers that would have fouled the inner brick wall buttresses were suitably shortened to match. An absolute doddle compared with Templot. I know that many swear by it but my brain architecture must be more Numbsot than Templot.

So what am I planning? First off I am going to reclaim the East German Epoch 4 layout that I used to exhibit. It has been languishing in the back of a hut, in need of a bit of overhead wire refurbishment. But, (I was taught never to start a sentence with a but ........ ), those of you who have taken the trouble to look back over the earlier posts in this thread will no doubt be wondering if I have reverted back to continental H0. It's a bit presumptuous of me to think that anyone would bother revisiting those posts but those of you who are more sensible, with better things to do with your time I will summarise the dilemma I was faced with. (If you think that "dilemma" should be spelt "dilemna" then check this out, http://www.dilemna.info/index.php ). My interest in continental models had deserted me owing to a combination of working for hours each day with the real things and homesickness following years living in Berne, Berlin and then on the German side of the border near Basel. My sense of loss was alleviated by a reawakening of my interest in the railways in the East Anglia of my boyhood and the improved models available in 00 gauge. I can assure you that I fully intend recreating, as best I can, a Suffolk idyll set in 1950 (the year of my birth). The H0 layout is an end to end and will nestle at waist height below the main, 00 shoulder height layout that will encircle the room. In an earlier post someone mentioned having both H0 and 00 and I now too seem to be blessed with a dual interest.

I think that I have taken up enough of your time so I'll end this waffle. I will post again in a few days with "THE PLAN" and perhaps a photo or two. In the meantime I think it's time for a beer. How wonderful it is to look in the fridge and gaze upon serried ranks of Spitfire, Cumberland Ales, Pedigree and Timothy Taylor instead of a kuehlschrank mit Ganter und Rothaus.

Best regards to all .......... Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Greyvoices]

QUOTE (hoonsou @ 3 Jan 2013, 21:25) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hello John and welcome back to the forum.

When I was a nipper, we lived in two railway carriages at Bury St Edmunds.

You have intrigued me Hoonsu, I realise that you have no memory of the carriages you lived in but I hope that your relatives can help out with more specific details such as where they were located etc.

Your more general points about my supposed "interesting life" makes me smile because the one thing that I have learnt is that a drab office is a drab office wherever it might be located. I have met the odd chums from my school-days who never left my home town but have had very happy and successful lives. My problem was that I spent so much of my formative years at the local railway station that I started to wonder where the trains were going to. Surely, a move to Australia is far more adventurous.

I liked the points made by cvr1865 (alias Simon) and 34C and in due course I would like to amplify the points they raise but before I do that I thought it best that I should master the techniques involved in posting to this forum. I want to add photographs and track diagrams so have been reading through the various threads where people blessed with the patience of saints (surely there must have been some impatient saints) try to lead the witless such as myself through the various steps needed to be successful contributors. My next post may well be a complete cod's ear!

Best regards ............ Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Greyvoices]

BE WARNED. This post will contain my efforts at the more advanced posting techniques.

I feel a tad more comfortable with the intricacies of posting to this forum following an intensive course of study which involved dipping into various threads, each of which added a little bit to my knowledge. I am truly amazed at the dedications of some contributors who must spend hours each day making MRF the success which undoubtedly is. It would interest me to know the demographics of the membership but I imagine that the typical age is sixty plus.

This reminds me of a comment made by my wife many years ago when entering the German Railway Society annual show in a hall in Oxford. Encountering the dense mass of humanity and layouts, turning to me with wrinkled nose she said,"this smells like old men". I tried to convince her that the smell was in fact that of dusty layouts which spent most of the year entombed in grubby sheds and the pungency could be explained by crude electric motors that produced a by product of ozone. The question that has remained unasked for all the years since that day is how did she become such an expert on what a hall hall full of old men would smell like! (safe in the knowledge that my "ramblings" are interesting to at least one forum member I continue to ramble).

My study of the forum has made me realise that what am waffling on about is something of a hybrid topic comprising the following (now trying the list function for the first time):

1. 00 Rolling stock and infrastructure
2. East Anglia, specifically West Suffolk and part of Cambridgeshire
3. H0 East German Epoch 3 & 4 as a side issue
4. Various links and references to railway information and resources.

I have to ask if I am contributing to the correct forum? I am loathe to split across two or more threads because I just could not keep track of such complexity. A moderator's advice would be a help here.

My study of MRF has also made me realise that a successful thread is one that is "owned" by all of the contributors with the original author of the thread being merely a catalyst for like minded individuals to add their two pennarth.

Now it's to try posting an image. I am sorry but it is of the H0 layout which is to be refurbished and extended because it is booked into a show next June (I must be mad). I really want to get cracking with my 00 West Suffolk layout which I have dubbed, "West Suffolk junction" and a start will be made on that this year. In the meantime here is an image of the H0 layout,"Glatzau (Sachs.)" which depicts an East German location before the wall came down:

Perhaps another image to test my skills further:

Fingers crossed.

Best regards ............ Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Greyvoices]

In my eagerness to try out adding images to my post I somehow forgot the niceties of correct english usage. I apologise for my bad grammar and missing words. Perhaps a string of senior moments?

But as I am posting again perhaps another image:

This is a Thompson suburban blockender built by Larry Goddard. I have not been idle since 2008 but have been steadily collecting rolling stock and locomotives appropriate for West Suffolk junction.

Best regards ............. Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Greyvoices]

Simon/Anthony, thanks for the positive comments. I am afraid that my photography needs a bit more care but I do like the arty effect of the out of focus standard lamp.

David, I take the point about moving my activity to two distinct locations; I'm thinking about it. I suppose that my reluctance to have two threads on the go at once is because there is so much that is common to both H0 and 00. Even with the 1:1 scale I had no problems adapting my BR philosophy for the requirements of the railways in, for instance, Germany or Switzerland. A brake test is a brake test wherever it is performed. Having said that there were some variations that I had to learn such as the fact that it was sufficient to brake test only the last wagon on a train in Italy but in Belgium the requirement is for the last two wagons to be tested which was a potential issue for trains running between these two countries. Of course we adopted the more stringent regulation across the whole of the company so that we would never be caught out with a brake defective vehicle running next to last on any train heading for the North Sea ports. This was the type of belt and braces approach I was used to on BR so it was natural to introduce it on the "mainland". Back to the subject of modelling, I abhor the idea of mixing scales and can remember the feeling of dissatisfaction I had as a child in the late fifties when double heading with my Jinty and Princess Elizabeth. I think that's enough off topic waffle for one evening.

Brian, to answer the question about the funny looking yellow vehicle on the engineer's siding on Glatzau (Sachs.), it is a whitemetal kit of a DR prototype used by infrastructure workers, a sort of eastern bloc Whickham trolley. I picked it up on an Ebay auction some years ago. If only I had the skill to make such models myself but I am blessed with ten thumbs so it's out of the question.

This is the only other photo I have of this model but when (and if) I start up a Glatzau thread in the H0 forum I'll amplify the description.

One last thing, I have received your communication Simon. Thank you. I will reply.

Best regards .................. Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Greyvoices]

I have taken David's advice and started a thread entitled, "West Suffolk Junction" in the On My Layout forum. I decided to proceed as I have been much encouraged by the reception that this thread has engendered.

As usual I am asking myself why I am doing this, why I am sharing my thoughts via this medium. I have this predilection for navel gazing (for the dyslexic amongst you I am not referring to a desire to look at sailors). If I fast forward I quickly come to the conclusion that I do it because it is enjoyable. There are two ruling disciplines in life for me, duty and fun. My wife would probably add the un-english concept of love but my upper lip is so stiff that I could never possibly admit to that.

I will close by suggesting to hoonsuo (alias Peter in Australia) that he should perhaps not disclose his identity. Do they have the equivalent of the RSPCA down under?

Best regards ......... Greyvoices (alias John)