Our world in miniature, hobbies

Hi all Just a bit of train chat. Some of the distinctive features of Southern region locomotives included locomotive tenders, which as the Southern did not have water troughs, had to be huge, some of the smaller locomotives like the 700 class, had tenders that were longer than the loco itself. The 700 class was actually a long loco, the boiler tube & smoke box enlarged so as to accommodate the steam superheating tubes. This pic of our model, shows the length of the boiler to good effect. The loco has brought the pickup goods from Longford Park into Hounds Hill, where it is now awaiting for the area pilot to attach at the far end, so as to reverse the train onto the main through line, the train can then continue north to Washwood Heath. This is another point of train chat. In the early twentieth century, track layouts were very universal, so as to allow any train to go from anywhere to anywhere with a minimum of interruption. Once rationalisation took hold, junctions taken out & so on, this often required reverse operations like this here. Passenger trains too, at some locations. A pilot loco would be attached to the wrong end of the train so as to safely pilot the train in the wrong direction. The next two pictures show the operation at Hall Brooks. This is also why most goods trains in Hall Brooks have guards vans at both ends. The area pilot, pannier tank is attached to the goods train & once clearance is given, will pull the whole train, including the class 700 that remains attached, onto the mainline & into Bramble Lane, before then being detached, allowing the class 700 to carry on north. Hey, it's all good fun hey whilst waiting to go to a late lunch with our family.

Hi all & Hi Dreamtime I have this train stuff so bad. I fancy this one as well! Pam prefers this to the weathered Southern class 700. The same price too. The model The real thing March Peterborough East to Cambridge stopping train An Eastern region D class 4-4-0. The Hornby model has weighted boiler & tender electrical pickups in addition to the loco drivers. I have always liked the British 4-4-0s but up to now, models have always been iffy, both for pulling power as well as electrical pickup issues. This model dispenses with those issues. We might have to reinstate our direct service From Hall-Brooks to Melton, via Market Harborough if we have this loco. What a pip!

Hi all The D class now ordered from Hattons. The way to do this, is for me to show Pam an ugly loco, then show her a nice one. It works ever time. I don't suppose that my enjoyment of "playing trains" is much different now as it was when I was ten years old. We make it macho by calling in it big boys toys, or I have only made it for the grandchildren & so on. The fact is that I do enjoy it. Even more as it gives me a working picture of what I can no longer see day to day. Maybe I take things too seriously, but even as a train-spotter child, I was as interested in the operations every bit as much as watching the puffing. The fact that the shed master had a blackboard of loco allocations & duties, some performed by the same loco day after day. So, that is what I enjoy at Hall Brooks. The new D class will initially work the Bishops Heath to Curzon St daily parcels & in my mind I can picture it as though it was reality. It will mean that either the Fowler 3F or the Super D 7F will have to come off, as the space on the railway is designed to operate with sixteen mainline locos, two shunters & three multiple units, (that is two DMUs & one EMU). At present, HallBrooks has in each direction, one through express passenger New St to Paddington. A Bescot to Banbury through freight, Two through mixed freights to Northampton & Worcester, plus a daily pickup goods from Houndshill & Longford Park to Coventry & Nuneaton. The EMU provides a shuttle between Bishops Heath & Curzon St, whilst one DMU runs between Houndshill & Leamington & the other from Priors Field to Bramble Grove. HallBrooks video clip with an awful commentary. & a bit more Have a good day all.

Hi all Look what arrived at 9am today, Vac & steam pipes fitted, detailing added & now waiting on Penny Park viaduct for photos & final inspection. First turn of duty for the D16, Bishops Heath to Curzon St parcels. Parcels trains were fascinating to watch, as they started as a light loaded train as here, picking up vans & carriages on the way. It was common to see vintage rolling stock on these trains, where one time passenger coaching stock, now out of date is being used on parcels traffic.

Hi all The end of a delightful Friday supper & shunt evening, our guests have gone home, leaving our Hall Brooks railway, just as it should be, tidy & ready for the next shunt or play trains day. The diesel shunter is parked up for the night The track cleaner wagon has made a rare appearance, giving the track-work the first wipe for ages, ensuring that the next shunt evening will be as much a pleasure. All of the passenger trains have gone, just leaving the goods wagons in the sidings & goods shed. As usual, Mayjan & Pat are stood on Bishops Heath Platform. I don't know how they are going to get home, after the last trains & buses have long gone. The snag is that they are stuck to the platform with blue-tack. I keep meaning to replace the bolt hole road (it permits access to the through fiddle-yard) (the bit of road going skywards) before recording pictures, but getting old I keep forgetting to put it back flat. The last picture being of Longford Park goods yard. I am delighted with the performance, even the two new locos, which really need running in were very good. Performed without hitch. Good night all

Oh dear, It's a good job it's blue-tack and not chewing gum, yuk! I notice there are no garbage disposal bins about Mr.Station Master do you think you could oblige. (and could you direct me to the 'Ladies' please) I don't think Mayjan and Pat can wait till the morning !! Thank you

Hi Dreamtime, Hi all Before the days of wheely-bins, stations used to have a rubbish truck or wagon, which was taken away a couple of times a week. The stationmasters house has an aluminium dustbin, which was collected by the dustmen just the same as any other resident.

Hi all Following a delightful meet up with friends for a Belgrade breaky, I wandered into Antics in Shelton square, only to be bowled over with the huge stock of Bachmann & Hornby locos, maybe the best display that I have seen in Antics ever. The loco that caught my eye straight away was this beauty. A Southern region S15 class, heavy goods & mixed traffic loco. Looking at some of my most recent posted pictures of "OUR" railway, the informed amongst you must be wondering where on earth Coventry is located, as the nearest I ever saw one of these was Banbury yard. A train-spot friend saw them at Cheltenham St James, but I never. I liked the Southern railway management, as if left to their own devises, they were well ahead of anywhere in the UK with electric traction, they hated diesels, & would have kept steam to run side-by side with electric. Their last real development engineer, O. V. Bullied was all for this mix. It was Whitehall that kicked this into the long grass, no one else. Anyway, my days of trainspotting had their highlights, & one was seeing one of these S15 class locos leave Morton Cutting Yard, (that was the main national distribution yard from Southampton docks) with a freight so long I could not see the end. Minutes later it was still going past, until the Queen Anne guards van trundled by. I could still hear the thunderous roar of the loco thrashing away in the distance pulling its one thousand ton goods train heading north. Now, having already taken delivery of a Southern class 700 freight loco, which is now very happily working freight & stopping passenger at Hall Brooks, will the domestic authority take kindly to yet another Southern inroad stamping its weight over Penny Park viaduct? Tune in next week. (Words being spoken in my phantom raspberry blower voice of old London Town) ps This is how I remember them.

Here's one I fotted at Sheffield Park earlier this year

Hi & thank you Midland Red, What a cracker of a picture. One of the nice aspects of our model railway thread, is for me, the fact it is a model & it is ours, we can manage it however we like, hey! Also, as with Midland Red, the fact that I am mentioning other geographical locations, brings you all closer to us, here in Coventry. Whitehall has a lot to answer for, regards our railway management, where for political gains, operating boundaries were changed for no good reason other than politics. The Southern region was a well run outfit, which had arms linking the far west country as well as the Midlands. One of their classic trains for the west country was the "Atlantic Coast Express", so popular that even in the sixties, on Saturdays it left Waterloo as three separate trains. That was all dealt a huge blow, when at the stroke of a pen, it's operations into Cornwall & the Midlands was transferred to its rival, the Western region. Within a couple of years, those operations were shut leaving huge tracts of the UK without a railway. It was obvious what the Western region would do, shut down the competition, which is what they did, just for their selfish ends. Sitcoms like "Yes Minister", is very accurate in concept, of the worst of so-called democracy.

Hi all Looking evermore like a Southern Region takeover, two Southern locos rest between duties at Bramble Grove. As if to rub it in, West Country Pacific locos have taken over from the Western Region Halls on this service from Redhill. For most train-spotters, all news in the late fifties & early sixties was bad news. At least our news is fiction, for our fiction railway. The next pictures, shows the local train services, the Southern Region steam stock in Hounds Hill, whilst the third rail electric waits for its commute to Curzon St. Mayjan & Tricia have just boarded the EMU for some Birmingham pre-Christmas shopping. Travelling "first". The returning service to Redhill. Whilst sister loco waits to run tender first with the Sunday afternoon stopper to Oxford. Is that one of our members waiting to board the local to Oxford?

Hi all When the line was laid to serve the Keresley colliery, it's junction at Three Spires was intended to be a Y junction, so that trains could travel in the direction of Nuneaton without a shunt reversal. So, that is what we are doing at Hall Brooks.