Jim smith-wright
Western Thunderer
Yep. Already changed to the later logo, I just haven’t took a piccie of it.
P4 New Street
- Thread starter Jim S-W
- Start date
Yep. Already changed to the later logo, I just haven’t took a piccie of it.
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
With the number of Daves on this Forum we can have one from every county!
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
We always seem notice these things after we have taken the photograph. C'est la vie
.It's nice to see vehicles taking as much prominence as the rolling stock and locos.
Jim smith-wright
Western Thunderer
Been busy knocking up a few more trailers.
Starting with this offering from Knightwing. Although the cabs they supply are to a slightly larger scale the trailers, or at least this one, is pretty much spot on for 4mm scale. I changed if from a 3 axle type to 2 axles and fitted some spare Base toys wheels but that was pretty much it.
This 40ft flatbed is something I've had for a while. Its from RTI, brought when Frank was still with us. It's a somewhat basic kit with just the bed, bogie and wheels supplied. The rest is knocked up from bits and bobs.
When I built my last batch of tractor units I printed enough registration plates for the trailers too. Do you think i can find them now?
Starting with this offering from Knightwing. Although the cabs they supply are to a slightly larger scale the trailers, or at least this one, is pretty much spot on for 4mm scale. I changed if from a 3 axle type to 2 axles and fitted some spare Base toys wheels but that was pretty much it.
This 40ft flatbed is something I've had for a while. Its from RTI, brought when Frank was still with us. It's a somewhat basic kit with just the bed, bogie and wheels supplied. The rest is knocked up from bits and bobs.
When I built my last batch of tractor units I printed enough registration plates for the trailers too. Do you think i can find them now?
Jim smith-wright
Western Thunderer
The plan for New Street has always been to feature a selection of engineers trains. The ones I have had in mind are a rake of loaded mainly 4 wheeled hoppers, a rake of loaded bogie hoppers, a rake of loaded grampus style wagons (partially fitted), a rake of empty salmons and a mixed rake of unfitted oddities(also empty). All of these trains have been started to a degree and most of them many years ago. However I had an urge to get at lease one of these trains finished off and it was the bogie ballast hoppers that appealed the most.
These have been pretty much done for years with most just needing the hand wheels and safety screens finishing off.
The oldest model is an old Cambrian kit for a Sealion. Because this model does look a little different to all the others it will actually form part of the 4 wheel rake so that it doesn't stand out.
Next up a couple of Lima Sealions. An excellent model for its time let down only by the odd bogies. Ive replaced them with Cambrian ones.
The Lima tooling went to Hornby and rather than just stick it in a 'railroad' range box they did actually do some decent upgrades to this model. Mainly the bogies but also adding the safety screens. The rest is as Lima designed it with the exception of Hornby moved the end handrails from the top of the platforms to the buffer beams and replaced the inner original handrails (which were plastic) with better wire ones.
The above image serves to show the changes made. The hand wheels have been replaced with Stenson Models etched ones and the safety screen, while a commendable effort, wasn't fine enough in my eyes. I've used cut down etches from Extreme etches intended for the class 56 bodyside grills. I also replaced the buffer heads with some from MJT. The livery Hornby applied to these seem to be a hybrid of the earlier light grey version applied in the later dark grey style. I couldn't find any like this so the lower black band was added.
Also from Hornby the later welded Seacow. Again the screens were replaced. These too had the lighter grey livery so they were resprayed into the darker grey.
Bachmann have also done a Sealion and theres not a lot wrong with it as it comes. I still changes the screens and hand wheels for consistency throughout the rake.
The super easy conversion to a lima Sealion is to remove the vacuum cylinders to turn it into a Seacow. Lima did brand some of their RTR models Seacow but they retained the vacuum gear.
A more involved conversion is to stretch the lima model to produce the larger 50ton Whale. These were started way before the Cambrian Kit appeared although they do now ride on their bogies. Hand wheels are again from Stenson models.
Although a modest train for New Street its still virtually as long as Brettell Road!
These have been pretty much done for years with most just needing the hand wheels and safety screens finishing off.
The oldest model is an old Cambrian kit for a Sealion. Because this model does look a little different to all the others it will actually form part of the 4 wheel rake so that it doesn't stand out.
Next up a couple of Lima Sealions. An excellent model for its time let down only by the odd bogies. Ive replaced them with Cambrian ones.
The Lima tooling went to Hornby and rather than just stick it in a 'railroad' range box they did actually do some decent upgrades to this model. Mainly the bogies but also adding the safety screens. The rest is as Lima designed it with the exception of Hornby moved the end handrails from the top of the platforms to the buffer beams and replaced the inner original handrails (which were plastic) with better wire ones.
The above image serves to show the changes made. The hand wheels have been replaced with Stenson Models etched ones and the safety screen, while a commendable effort, wasn't fine enough in my eyes. I've used cut down etches from Extreme etches intended for the class 56 bodyside grills. I also replaced the buffer heads with some from MJT. The livery Hornby applied to these seem to be a hybrid of the earlier light grey version applied in the later dark grey style. I couldn't find any like this so the lower black band was added.
Also from Hornby the later welded Seacow. Again the screens were replaced. These too had the lighter grey livery so they were resprayed into the darker grey.
Bachmann have also done a Sealion and theres not a lot wrong with it as it comes. I still changes the screens and hand wheels for consistency throughout the rake.
The super easy conversion to a lima Sealion is to remove the vacuum cylinders to turn it into a Seacow. Lima did brand some of their RTR models Seacow but they retained the vacuum gear.
A more involved conversion is to stretch the lima model to produce the larger 50ton Whale. These were started way before the Cambrian Kit appeared although they do now ride on their bogies. Hand wheels are again from Stenson models.
Although a modest train for New Street its still virtually as long as Brettell Road!
Jim smith-wright
Western Thunderer
A few more vehicles for New Street, starting with...
The VW beetle (this is probably asking for trouble!) Both from Oxford Diecast. On the left I filed off the canvas roof and filled the back window to make an earlier oval window version. This is based on the actual car that a chap I used to work with owned but he did a load of modifications to it not long after he found it in a barn. On the right a 'cal-look' version. I ground of the bodyside trim and that on the bonnet off as well as filling in the holes for the bumpers. The front suspension has been lowered and on the back some wheels from a Cararama Porsche.
Long time followers might be aware of my liking of the good old Mk2 Transit. My small fleet being a combination of ABS bonnets and Corgi bodies. However now theres Tiny City. A Hong Kong company that does MK2 transits ready to plonk. All of far eastern prototypes and mostly bus type bodies (they do a handy looking ambulance by the way). This one was stripped and re-liveried into British Transport Police livery. My liking of the mundane is pretty well obvious by now however the BTP offices were at New Street station in the 80s and there was always a police vehicle or 2 parked at the station.
The VW beetle (this is probably asking for trouble!) Both from Oxford Diecast. On the left I filed off the canvas roof and filled the back window to make an earlier oval window version. This is based on the actual car that a chap I used to work with owned but he did a load of modifications to it not long after he found it in a barn. On the right a 'cal-look' version. I ground of the bodyside trim and that on the bonnet off as well as filling in the holes for the bumpers. The front suspension has been lowered and on the back some wheels from a Cararama Porsche.
Long time followers might be aware of my liking of the good old Mk2 Transit. My small fleet being a combination of ABS bonnets and Corgi bodies. However now theres Tiny City. A Hong Kong company that does MK2 transits ready to plonk. All of far eastern prototypes and mostly bus type bodies (they do a handy looking ambulance by the way). This one was stripped and re-liveried into British Transport Police livery. My liking of the mundane is pretty well obvious by now however the BTP offices were at New Street station in the 80s and there was always a police vehicle or 2 parked at the station.
Jim smith-wright
Western Thunderer
The good old Corgi MAN cab. I fancied something a little different so I converted it to the longer cab version. It sits on an Oxford diecast chassis.
Remember the Tiny City police van I did? At the time I mentioned they also did a decent looking ambulance and this is it. I removed the Hong Kong markings. Painted the window frames black and the blue lights were given a coat of Tamiya clear blue (as supplied they were clear). I figured since I work for the ambulance service I probably should have one somewhere. Don't worry I'm not planning any car crash cliché scenes!
Jim smith-wright
Western Thunderer
I may have mentioned before a plan to have a mixed engineers train for New Street. This will be the closest I will get to what could be vaguely referred to as a traditional goods train. For this I've completed a couple of the good old Airfix brake van kits.
Pictured above on test on Brettel Road, the bauxite one features roller bearings left over from a Chivers kit and Oleo buffers from Accurascale. The dutch one also has Accurascale buffers (spindle this time) and plated ends. Both feature a new, thinner roof. Ive retained the original chassis with internal rocking compensation at one end and added the underframe trussing Airfix missed off. Theres an etched underframe option for those who are interested and I can direct you to this thread https://www.scalefour.org/forum/vie...p;p=87934&hilit=brake+van+bradwell#p87934 if thats something you fancy having a look at.
While time travelling engineers trains were 'invading' Brettell Road this 31 appeared!
Pictured above on test on Brettel Road, the bauxite one features roller bearings left over from a Chivers kit and Oleo buffers from Accurascale. The dutch one also has Accurascale buffers (spindle this time) and plated ends. Both feature a new, thinner roof. Ive retained the original chassis with internal rocking compensation at one end and added the underframe trussing Airfix missed off. Theres an etched underframe option for those who are interested and I can direct you to this thread https://www.scalefour.org/forum/vie...p;p=87934&hilit=brake+van+bradwell#p87934 if thats something you fancy having a look at.
While time travelling engineers trains were 'invading' Brettell Road this 31 appeared!
Jim smith-wright
Western Thunderer
Here you go Matto - sorry it took a while. 
as it was only in 1978 a mate of mine first took me trainspotting, at New Street.... 
Jim smith-wright
Western Thunderer
The 31st of March 2023 turned out to be a very interesting day.
The initial minor disappointment of George, The Stourbridge Junction station cat, being unaccessible for some fuss (he was perched on a filing cabinet at the back of the ticket office having a wash) was quickly tempered by this turning up!
This wasn't what I was out for mind you. The main event was a tour of New Street's signal box which you may know has recently been decommissioned. Network Rail ran a ballot for people to have a look round and having been unsuccessful with that my visit was saved by my friend Tom who had a spare ticket.
I wasn't expecting to find a lever frame but there is one. Its located on the third floor which is used for training.
The fourth floor is a gigantic relay room. It still had that lovely electrical machines smell.
These are called K packs and each one controls 1 thing outside in the station. Theres no plug in a laptop and diagnose a problem with these things. If something goes wrong an engineer would need to use their knowledge of which pack is causing the problem, lift it out and use and the paper schematics that are kept on the same floor to fix it. All under the pressure of something on the station being shut down and the general (organised) chaos that would ensue. We were told that some of these pack have never been touched since the day they were installed. About 60 years of reliable service!
The view from the fifth (top) floor window. The Building directly ahead is about the only thing thats unchanged since my version of New Street set in the late 80's. The blue building stands where the original lamp block stood and is still called that.
Finally the panel. Who knows how many millions of movements were controlled by this in its lifetime? All the platforms are bi-directional and all worked via permissive block working. Everything being safety netted by the relay room downstairs. We were told it would take a signaller 6 months to become proficient in using the panel although there was one guy who learnt it in 8 weeks.
It genuinely is mind blowing! Thanks to the Network Rail Staff who looked after us all.
The initial minor disappointment of George, The Stourbridge Junction station cat, being unaccessible for some fuss (he was perched on a filing cabinet at the back of the ticket office having a wash) was quickly tempered by this turning up!
This wasn't what I was out for mind you. The main event was a tour of New Street's signal box which you may know has recently been decommissioned. Network Rail ran a ballot for people to have a look round and having been unsuccessful with that my visit was saved by my friend Tom who had a spare ticket.
I wasn't expecting to find a lever frame but there is one. Its located on the third floor which is used for training.
The fourth floor is a gigantic relay room. It still had that lovely electrical machines smell.
These are called K packs and each one controls 1 thing outside in the station. Theres no plug in a laptop and diagnose a problem with these things. If something goes wrong an engineer would need to use their knowledge of which pack is causing the problem, lift it out and use and the paper schematics that are kept on the same floor to fix it. All under the pressure of something on the station being shut down and the general (organised) chaos that would ensue. We were told that some of these pack have never been touched since the day they were installed. About 60 years of reliable service!
The view from the fifth (top) floor window. The Building directly ahead is about the only thing thats unchanged since my version of New Street set in the late 80's. The blue building stands where the original lamp block stood and is still called that.
Finally the panel. Who knows how many millions of movements were controlled by this in its lifetime? All the platforms are bi-directional and all worked via permissive block working. Everything being safety netted by the relay room downstairs. We were told it would take a signaller 6 months to become proficient in using the panel although there was one guy who learnt it in 8 weeks.
It genuinely is mind blowing! Thanks to the Network Rail Staff who looked after us all.
Jim smith-wright
Western Thunderer
They told us over 7000 people applied.
Clarence3815
Western Thunderer
Any one know what happened with the Don Jones model of New Street?
Jim smith-wright
Western Thunderer
It all went in a skip after he passed away. I believe the local sea cadets tried to save the US aircraft carrier he had in his pond but it broke up when they tried to move it.
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
What an incredible waste. I visited a few of his Open Days in the very early '80s and it was an amazing layout. He had the power station cooling towers then, I don't remember an aircraft carrier, maybe that came later.
Re the real New Street, so did the original (LNWR?) lamp block brick building finally get demolished, or did the new blue building just replace the old pre-fab stuff that sat on top of it?