[Greyvoices]

I was born in 1950 in Bury St Edmunds. That says it all really. By using the resources available on the web I have discovered that I was born on a Sunday but other than a parent induced few years attendance at the Plymouth Bethren Sunday School the significance of the day of my birth seems to have had no lasting effect. (Goodness me, this is starting out like Lawrence Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy).

Let me start again. I have chosen to model a GER location circa 1950 because I was born in West Suffolk in that year. That's better. The catalyst for this was a hopeless case of homesickness following a few years living and working in mainland Europe. (I described this in an earlier thread within the 00 forum, "A return to UK modelling", so I will not bore you with a rehash of all that waffle. David the moderator suggested I move ramblings to this forum). I first thought of modelling Bury St Edmunds but when I dimensioned it for 4mm I soon became aware that to do it justice I would need a room 60 feet long. I can imagine that there may be the odd one or two reading this who will think, "why not N gauge? Such thoughts should be nipped in the bud as 2mm has never appealed to me; it just does not look right. Anyway, there is more chance of Stephen Hawkins threading cotton through the eye of a needle than yours truly usefully employing his 10 thumbs in the pursuit of 2mm modelling excellence. It has to be 4mm because that's what I started out with as a nipper in the fifties, it's a scale still small enough to conceal modelling imperfections, especially if you squint a bit, plus I am just able to place the models on the track within a reasonable timespan. What of 7mm? Too big, too expensive and shoddy modelling skills all too apparent.

So, the lack of 60' to play with and a complete inability to accept compromises that would enable a 4mm version of BSE, complete with 31E and the must have bridge over Fornham Road plus the cannot do without Thetford and Sudbury branch junctions has led me to the conclusion that I must find another location to model. I think it best that the quest to find the right location should be the subject of a separate post so I'll leave that subject for later. My researches have proved to be most enjoyable, the armchair modelling phase being a pure delight not least because you always have one hand free to hold a beer glass.

Even though, for a time, I was unsure what my model would depict I was determined that it would be somewhere in West Suffolk. This knowledge allowed me to make a start on the locomotive and rolling stock fleet. This process commenced whilst I still lived in Germany where I was fully employed and properly remunerated. Being then in my late fifties I could well imagine the not far off time when my income would be severely depleted and my faculties somewhat dimmed. I therefore started to collect the minimum core fleet that would be needed for a true representation of 1950 West Suffolk. This is another "subject for later" as there is much to tell. In the meantime I thought that you might appreciate a glimpse of the pride of the fleet:

GER E4 62783 built for me by John Houlden. An Alan Gibson kit fitted with a DCC chip.

There are so many other elements involved in this tale that I wish to write about. Perhaps that is the intrinsic charm of railway modelling, this multi discipline pastime that can become so important in one's life. I believe that it is this complexity that keeps it fresh in your mind. If you weary of detailing yet another coal wagon you can be revitalised by contemplation of the next trackwork installation or avid study of your bookshelves or the internet to get an accurate composition of the 07:52 all stations stopper to Cambridge. There is also the problem of where can I put my layout? I did a lot of research on this question, bought books on the subject, scoured magazines etc. and the conclusion I came to was that our house in the UK (which we hung onto whilst we were abroad) was just not good enough. I managed to convince my wife that when we returned to the UK we had to move. After much negotiation this has happened, the principal requirements being a decent kitchen and an integral garage that could be converted into a railway room (you can guess which was my wife's stipulation. Sexist? Me?). This has now been acheived, a house found and moved into that we both like, kitchen extended as per without which, "you can forget it buster", garage door removed, replaced with windows and a door punched through into the house plus a radiator plumbed in so that it is nice and snug. Now all that remains is for the detritus of 63 years to be cleared away from the garage and the walls and floor suitably finished off:

That's approximately 20' by 9'. Not quite the 60' that I dreamed of but certainly useful enough. Unfortunately a lot of the clutter is boxes full of models and I am going through a process involving selling what is surplus, donating what I deem still worth something and possible benefit to good causes and taking erstwhile prize possessions that time has deemed worthless to the tip. I will soon be able to start on the shoulder height baseboards upon which West Suffolk Junction will rest. More on this anon.

I think that is enough for the first post. I will appreciate comments, suggestions, criticism if gently put and kindly in intention plus of course, bucketfulls of encouragement.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

Thank you for your posts Ian, Norm and 34c.

I would like to take up points that were raised by 34c (or should I call you Hatfield?); I did consider the option of wrapping Bury St Edmunds around the room but somehow the idea never quite got my juices running (for those of you so blessed please isolate your graphic memory function immediately). I even considered an exhibition layout that would gradually evolve to tell the whole story but considering it took a whole club of individuals in Ely to create a small country station (Thurston - what a brilliant layout) what chance would I have on my todd. (or should that be with one d). No I had to find another solution.

Inspiration came via that most wonderful of books, East Anglia's First Railways by Hugh Moffat, published in 1987. I had read about all the competing railway proposals in the early 1840's but until I came across this book did not understood the sheer complexity of ideas and schemes that were vying for parliamentary approval and investment funds. It eventually boiled down to who had the most clout, the deepest pockets and the brass neck to ensure that it was their plan that was the eventual winner. I think that many modern politicians and financiers would feel very at home in the speculative swamp of the 1840's. The only unchangeable in a very changeable world is human nature. Within this beautifully put together book are many maps and diagrams and I've made a copy of a couple of them so that you might have a better idea where I am going with this:

I have simplified it somewhat as there were other proposals in the intermediate years that I have excluded

I have a sneaking feeling that my map may upload a bit on the small side. If that's the case I will try again.

The gist of all this is that the geography of West Suffolk railways could oh so easily have been very different, in fact, if the Ipswich faction had not won the day the Norwich - London route would have passed through Bury St Edmunds via either a direct line to Colchester or via Stansted. Both these lines would have made the route between Thetford and Bury St Edmunds into a far more substantial affair and this had a certain attraction for me. I further imagined the Cambridge - Mildenhall route being extended to a point on the Thetford - Bury line around Barnham (as was originally proposed by the GER following flooding on the more northerly route at Lakenheath).

So there we have it, I have decided to model a might have been location, that was half built with the other half only getting as far as the parliamentary approval stage. That's good enough for me. It's located in West Suffolk, it's not a complete figment of my deranged imagination and, (a very important and) it is possible to do it justice in my railway room (nee garage). West Suffolk Junction has gained spouse approval, has a tentative track plan (more on that anon) and just requires the contractors to complete the initial clearance work.

 

[Greyvoices]

 

[Greyvoices]

Mike, if you had been based in Honnington in the early fifties you could have strolled from the camp to Severn Hills halt to get to Bury and the Nutshell public house. Unfortunately passenger services ceased in, I think, 1953 so I cannot remember them. what I can recall is that the track stayed in situ for many years and I spent many happy hours playing in the cutting a mile or two north of Bury. It was also a convenient escape route when caught scrumping in an adjacent orchard. Nowadays we would be branded hooligans and placed on ASBO's and the like. In the fifties we were just called boys with high spirits, which in Suffolkese would have made me a hellwhoop. Come to think of it, I've not stolen an apple for over fifty years.

Sorry about that, now where was I. Ah yes, Mike being based at Honnington. Another railway location about 3 miles from the airfield was the WW1 sidings complex that was laid in the grounds of Elvedon Estate. This was the location chosen for the very first Tank Corp training ground, the tank only just having been invented and the first few built in Yorkshire. A group of soldiers were mustered and billeted in tents. Soon the tanks started to arrive, by rail to Barnham and thence by road, along the A11, into the estate grounds where training would commence. The tanks did so much damage to the road and were so visible during the road transit phase that it was decided to lay a line right into the training area, leaving the Thetford - Bury railway somewhere near Severn Hills Halt, a south facing junction. Once both tanks and men were familiarised they would be sent, initially by rail from the new railhead, off to the hell that was the front line. That was the start of the Tank corp. What an incredible sight this must have been, perhaps a March J15 taking over a train of GN or NER Warflats (or whatever they called them back then) and hauling them to Thetford then on to the Bury branch. I imagine this routing because it would then be easy to set the train back into the spur without any reversals. The outward routing I can imagine would have been via Bury yard. I had no idea about any of this before I came across an article in a Great Eastern Railway Society Journal. I bought their compilation DVD containing digitised issues Nos 1 to 140. What a fantastic resource. I have one of those new fangled tablet thingys and it is a real joy to sit in a train, able to swish my fingers and bring up whatever takes my fancy from this fascinating collection of articles, diagrams, maps and photographs. Possibly the best investment of £25 I have ever made, if I exclude the cost of my honeymoon.

I just tried to copy in a google maps page of Honnington and thie southern area of the Breckland. I failed but if you are interested have a search for it yourselves.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

Ah Gavin, blast me if you hent seen right through my innate but friendly East Suffolk/West Suffolk rivalry.

 

[Greyvoices]

You are right LF&T, Bury St Edmunds station is an absolute gem. Strangely it seems to be a seldom photographed location with very few pictures available from the earlier years. It is a pity that the overall roof is not better documented because it must have been an interesting place back then. It seems to have been a twin roofed structure sharing common supports between the middle tracks. The centre "through" tracks were used for making up trains and by the 1950's the middle road adjacent to the platform 1 track was used for stabling carriages. A man was employed to wash the carriages with a long handled brush. I remember this very well because in 1957 I was in hospital having my tonsils out and the carriage washer was also a patient on the same ward. I have never forgotten what he wrote in my autograph book:

She stoops to pick a rose
A rose so sweet and tender
She stooped a little further
Then bang went her suspender

How appropriate for a boy of seven. I saw him back washing carriages a few weeks later so the West Suffolk General must have sorted out whatever it was that ailed him. I imagine that there had been a man just like him, scrubbing away at dirty carriage windows for all the preceding 111 years since the opening in 1846. His job must have disappeared around 1959 when 31E closed and all local passenger workings went over to diesel or were covered by Ipswich and Cambridge.

In 2008 I contacted some well known names in the model building world and asked them to quote me for a 4mm version of BSE station. Nobody gave me a price, all stating that they were booked solid for years to come. I know where you are coming from LF&T but if I was to start on a model of BSE then the station buildings would have to be to a professional standard, something my ten thumbs and impatient temperament could never achieve. I will have to leave BSE for somebody else to take on. Pity though as I would have been sorely tempted to put the clock back to 1890 and model that roof.

Once again I must refer anyone who wants to know more about this area, and BSE station in particular, to the Great Eastern Railway Society Journals DVD for the most comprehensive article that I have found. No, wait, how could I have forgotten to mention that very special work, " Great Eastern Engine Sheds", by Hawkins & Reeve. More specifically volume 2. If I were the castaway on Desert Island Discs I would choose Volumes 1 & 2, suitably bound together, to be my chosen book.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

34C

I enjoyed reading your very interesting comments which sent me straight to my bookshelves to hunt down a RECTANK.

As usual discussing these matters brings to mind some of my own personal experiences which I hope nobody minds me sharing. I know that I waffle but. as Descartes famously said, "I think therefore I waffle". (Would you believe that I studied literature and philosophy at university?)

Many years ago we had a bit of a problem with the loading of loose concrete sleepers on Salmon or Sturgeon wagons. The means of securing the sleepers was changed and it became difficult to stop them moving laterally if the running became, shall we say, lively. An incident occurred between Diss and Norwich with a couple of sleepers being out of gauge and grazing along the side of a contra running train. An enquiry was scheduled but we had to move fast to prevent any repeat of this potentially life threatening problem so I called for the assistance of a regional loads inspector. These inspectors were very senior men, thinly spread across BR, perhaps only half a dozen of them. After a couple of days working with the inspector making sure that the correct procedures for loading these wagons were in place and understood by relevant staff we decided to have a drink before he journeyed back to his own region. We were sat in a pub opposite Liverpool St. chatting about this and that and one of his tales concerned the loading of tanks onto warflats. He recounted how a long train was shunted up to the loading ramp, the tanks having to be driven right along the train to load up. Gradually, the train started to fill up, the loads inspector ensuring that the tanks were centrally placed on each wagon to keep them within gauge. All went well until one cocky tank driver drove recklessly onto the wagons and, ignoring all hand signals placed his tank with tracks overhanging out of gauge on one side. The loads inspector asked him to restart and square up the tank but the driver refused. The inspector had a word with a sergeant standing on the blind side of the train, away from the tank driver. The sergeant, so enraged that an inferior could be so cavalier and insolent scambled over the train accosted the driver and, not getting a reply to his liking promptly gave him a swinging right hook to the jaw. Eventually, when the tank driver was revived, he was only too willing to do as the inspector asked. I can see the loads inspector in my minds eye, shaking his head and lamenting the fact that we could not use a similar form of discipline on recalcitrant railway staff.

I think that's enough for now; my other warflat story can wait for another day. In the meantime here is a photo of my former East German layout, complete with a DR version of a Warflat but this time loaded with Trabants:

This is how they loaded these luxury East German vehicles, side by side. I hope that the chap who loaded that leading green Trabi did not suffer the same fate as the tank driver.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

At last, something positive to report after all those anecdotes. Over the weekend I was re-acquainted with my East German layout which I parted with nigh on 8 years ago. It was stuffed, unused in the back of a shed so I thought that it would be better if it came home for refurbishment. You saw a glimpse of it a couple of posts ago but now it is a little bit bashed about though some kind soul has upgraded the under baseboard wiring so now it is for DCC operation, which I take to mean that everything is live. The scenic section is 9' long.

I have foolishly promised to have it ready for a show in June with all the overhead wires re-instated (I like doing that) and a possible extension board to turn what is a terminus into a through running station (fiddle yard - station - fiddle yard or through to another layout). I will be doing this whilst finishing off the walls and floor of the workroom (ex-garage) and making a start on West Suffolk Junction. Seems a bit of a tall order but at least I do now have somewhere to test my GER/LNER/BR rolling stock and the various DCC conversions that this entails.

So, on Saturday morning the workroom looked like this:

but by Sunday evening it looked like this:

I still have to level it, join it up, get the electrics plugged in and running etc.. West Suffolk Junction will run a couple or so feet above this and circulate the room. I am feeling a bit pleased with myself because from losing my enthusiasm for all things continental in 2008, the move back to the UK and the search for a house with space enough for my modelling activities has resulted in a realisation that I now have the capability, or should that be the capacity, to have an interest in both H0 and 00. The benefit in a resumption of my East German modelling is that I can keep in touch with my old group of continental modelling chums (or more accurately, group of old chums). Chatting with them on Saturday was delightful.

This week my wife and I are going to the funeral of an ex railway colleague who has left us at far too young an age and it has made me think about the passage of time. We spend so much energy planning the dream layout yet how many of us actually make a start. It is surely for the best to just get cracking, get something built lest it is too late. Even a shunting plank that can only be brought out in the evenings after dinner is much better than wishful thoughts in the armchair and models never leaving a drawer.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

Just to balance out the H0 bias in the last few posts I thought I'd upload a decidedly 00 photo:

Hornby L1 with an ex GN six wheeler (built by Ian Willetts), a Bachmann Thompson and an ex GER 2nd class corridor coach (built by John Houlden) posing on the kitchen table.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

I just hope that there are no tank drivers reading this thread Julian.

Those are great pictures Iarnrod as they really illustrate the difficulties in loading these vehicles. I assume that the flat wagon must be continental as it seems to be carrying a full UIC identification panel. The rails also appear to be fastened with nuts which is not British practice (except for that strange NER variety and that is totally different). If only our loading gauge was just a little bit bigger we could have had a lot more military traffic going by rail in the UK.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

It just had to be Germany Ianrod, thanks for the confirmation.

I was just wistfully looking at an Airfix model of a WW1 Female tank being offered for sale on Ebay. I must resist.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

What a beauty:

This picture is copied from an Ebay listing. I don't think that the seller will mind. As I have already said, I am very tempted but then I'd have to have 10 of them, find 10 RECTANK models to put them on, source a J15 in GER livery, also an NER coach for the drivers plus sundry other items to complete the scene.

However. I must resist. I am trying to downsize my continental collection, shrinking from anything post war in Germany to the present day so that I am left with East German late fifties to the wall coming down. Also of course GER in 1950 ........ ish ......... but also ex GER territory diesels in the early sixties. If I add WW1 GER tot he mix I'll be back where I started, a room full of boxes with no space for even a small layout.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

This topic has become decidedly military in flavour and I for one don't mind that one little bit. It's refreshing to know that what is often just a chance remark sparks a memory, interesting anecdote or perhaps just a downright witty riposte. I think it's called communication. I've never been in the military though it sometimes feels as if I've earned a campaign medal or two. My work on railways has brought me into contact with odd branches of HM Forces a time or two and it was always a pleasure dealing with professionally minded people who had a natural respect for the professionalism of others. I think it comes with the territory. Mind you, I've also met a few who were b****y idiots, but they would have been b****y idiots in civvy street so that was no reflection on the service to which they belonged.

I could ramble on for hours with my railway/military tales (shock horror) but I will discipline myself and mention just one. I had dealings with a certain railway yard in the east of England where one of the chaps who worked there had been in a Panzer Corps. Yes, in WW2 he had been in the German army driving a tank. He had been captured, brought back to the UK as a prisoner but after the war ended wanted to stay here. He was a great bloke, not exactly an Einstein but he was good hearted and would never intentionally harm anyone. On top of this he was a very good worker. I happened to be visiting the yard and joined the blokes in the mess room for a cup of tea. The ex Panzer driver had just returned from his summer holidays, a trip by train to somewhere south of Austria (oh the joys of free staff travel). When asked if all had gone smoothly he said yes but with the exception of some little difficulty in Vienna. He was pressed for details and had the mess room in fits of laughter as he related how he had fallen asleep as his train approached Vienna where it terminated. He slept on, even as the empty stock was shunted out of the station into the carriage sidings. He did not know how long he slumbered except that when he awoke it was dark and he was unsure of his whereabouts, even which country he was in. He decided to walk back to the station, suitcase in hand, along the darkened tracks. Unfortunately he started off in the wrong direction, doggedly tramping on into the unseen countryside. He told us how he finally made it to a smallish sort of town just as the Sun came up. From there he just resumed his travels, the night spent walking along the tracks probably quite insignificant compared with some of the ordeals he had endured in his former life. The atmosphere in the mess room was wonderful as they did not laugh at him but were laughing with him. He would be nearing his century if still alive today. It's a pity that I cannot recall his name.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

Everybody should have an Uncle Frank and Geneva Airport, I spent a whole year commuting through there, out from East Midlands on a Sunday afternoon and back each Friday evening. It cost me a fortune in chocolates to keep things sweet at home. Under the thumb --- not me. We had a portrait painted a while back and it clearly shows that I am the boss in this house. If there is any interest I'll post it here.

Anyway, back to the main topic. I have completed the initial setup of the returned layout, fathomed out the wiring and hooked up my ZTC 511 (which I intend slaving through the ESU Ecos 50000 as I've heard it all works better that way). I bought the Ecos in Germany just before the colour one came out. Good timing. I had a little running session this evening, some of the locos never having been run before. Goodness but I have some cleaning to do as the track rubber couldn't shift some of the grime. In another thread I have been trying to convince a chap who is no doubt far more knowledgeable than me that steel track is better than nickel silver. After this evenings gungefest I will definitely be laying steel rails on West Suffolk Junction.

Tomorrow I will at last get to see if the coaches that I've had built with Bill Bedford couplings run through the points and curves ok. I have a thing about close coupling and find the all too frequent six foot gaps between coaches really off putting. If the Bill Bedford couplings work well then I intend fitting all fixed rakes in this manner. Here is a Bachmann Thompson coach coupled with a D&S kit GER coach (built by John Houlden):

I think that this type of coupling would look really good on blockenders, the slang term for so-called suburban non-corridor stock. Eileen's Emporium list them on their website and I also think that there is another make but I cannot remember where I saw them. If anyone has experience with this type of coupling I would welcome a second opinion.

It's really great to be active with modelling once again though the refurbishment of the returned layout looks a bit daunting; I will have to completely dismantle the now rather tired remnants of the overhead masts and wires and start again. A lot of this is salvageable however so hopefully I will not have to spend too much.

Whilst I have been busy with today's activities I have been thinking about the dear chap whose funeral we attended in Wales yesterday. He was only 11 weeks older than me but sadly he will not now enjoy his years of retirement. My wife had to put up with my usual running commentary about how the railways have gone to the dogs. After 80 minutes in a single car DMU rattling between Derby and Crewe she started to agree with me. Crewe always seems colder than everywhere else in Winter so having to wait for a delayed connection to Chester did not help. Even if the trains run on time a cross country journey like this averages around 25 miles per hour, 4 hours to do about 100 miles. They call this progress but I know that journeys times away from the main routes into London have not improved. They should scrap the HS2 idea and spend the money on improvements that benefit people throughout the country.

Enough of my ranting .............. Best regards ...... Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Greyvoices]

Yes Norm, the plan is to have a few semi permanently coupled rakes, that is if I can sort out adequate fiddle yard capacity. As you can imagine form my chosen location there will be a variety of Gresley and Thompson corridor and non-corridor sets, various rakes of parcels and horsebox vehicles, milk tanker trains and of course the usual gamut of freight trains, not forgetting p/way movements.

The snow has induced a quiet day at home and I have been busily adding a couple of plug points prior to cladding the external wall. Thankfully the wall is already double skinned, the converted garage already feeling quite snug even though the outside temperature is -2 but an extra layer of insulation will not go amiss. If I think back to my youth and my attempts create a layout in a loft I am amazed how I could have put up with such extremes of temperature.

I have been hunting around for some IPA, isopropanol, as the tracks on the returned layout are in a shocking state. Scrubbing away with a track rubber seems to have no real effect, the rails seeming to be coated with generous dollops of Hattie Jacque's gravy. I can see the sense in exploring the idea of an on board source of power, something that is from time to time suggested by the more experimental amongst us. I know that we now have the benefit of "stay alive" for the DCC brethren by why not go the whole hog and install rechargeable battery packs. If only Hornby live steam had been developed for digital control.

I was also very magnanimous today as I offered to relocated the small second fridge into the railway room so that my wife could use the space gained in the kitchen extension for more cupboards. What a selfless act!!! This was one of the many decisions I made today and it is so nice to have a woman who readily accepts my ideas as being inspired. Here is the portrait I mentioned in an earlier post where I am demonstrating the usual assertive behaviour that railway modellers adopt with their wives:

Does this look familiar?

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

 

[Greyvoices]

Thanks for the tip Angie. I clicked on the link you provided and have just this minute ordered a 5 litre container.

You have seen right through me Norm as I have to admit that having what now has become a chilled drinks cabinet close to hand underneath the layout has long been part of the dream. Boys will be boys but men must have beer. Having followed Angie's lead and bought 5 litres of IPA for the layout I have bravely volunteered to go out in the snow to do the weekly supermarket shopping so that I can swiftly populate the under-baseboard drinks dispenser with the other type of IPA. Norm, you hit the bull's eye.

I feel that I should acknowledge the painting I featured in my last post. It is The Pale Complexion of True Love by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale (1898) I hasten to add that the title of the painting in no way reflects the true nature of the relationship between myself and my wife. Phew. I think I got away with it.

Hopefully something more on topic in the next post.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

Will Thinners, that well known country and western singer. Sorry LF&T, I do not know the answer but suspect that thinners may well leave an unwanted residue but of course I stand to be corrected.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

Thank you for that link LF&T, well worth reading to remind ourselves of these very brave men. Just how many lives they saved that day can never be calculated but it probably would have been in the hundreds. They are part of railway and British history and so shall never be forgotten.

The article mentions the Class 66's being named after them but I thought that there had been Class 47's also named in their honour.

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

 

[Greyvoices]

Julian,

Prone - genuflect. This is probably what has been my undoing because I have never been prone in front of anyone and genuflecting is instinctive. Perhaps I might try abject surrender to see if this makes me any happier but will it have a positive effect on my modelling?

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

 

[Greyvoices]

It's Monday lunchtime and it is eerily quiet. The snow brings with it a sense of calm for those who can afford to forgo the pleasures of work, shopping etc. Motorists are deterred by the icy conditions resulting in a sort of time warp as traffic reverts to 1950's levels. My wife puts on her boots and woolly hat, stuffs books into a rucksack and crunches off through the deep and crisp and even towards the library leaving me to re-enter my own time warp as in the railway room the calender is permanently stuck in Summer 1950:

The B17 is I think a PDK kit I bought ready made from Terry Smith. The C12 is purchase from Ebay.

The nationalisation of the railways in Britain took some time to be fully reflected with the corporate livery on all locos and rolling stock. Many still retained their pre-1948 identities for quite some years and I can still remember ex LNER and even ex GER coaches still in teak or Stratford brown late into the fifties. Some locos were never re-branded and, by adopting the year of 1950 I can run an interesting mix of trains. Perhaps the most colourful aspect of the railway scene in the fifties were the ex private owner wooden bodied wagons that were never re-painted, their original livery fading with much replacement of damaged or rotten planks that were also never painted. The recent issue of weathered and repaired ex private owner wagons by Bachmann are perfect for my era.

Hornby N2 fitted with sound by Keytes of Essex with a Hornby coach from the Olympics 1948 set (bought separately). Those couplings have to go.

As you can see from these photos I could not resist populating the H0 East German layout with some of my 00 stock. I just had to put some of my models on the tracks as most have never before turned a wheel.

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