That's The Way To Do It (2)

 But First ...

Confirmed.

... confirmation that the |Go North West livery "tease" is indeed for service 41. Also confirmed is that the buses were previously branded Crusader with Go North East.

Snow ...

... at Derby above and on the Kyle of Lochalsh line below.

Whoops ...

The above picture appeared on line and in Kent local papers. It shows a car abandoned on the electrified railway line "near Stone Crossing station". No one was injured and a man was subsequently arrested and charged.

No one has explained how the car got on the line. The old gated crossing on Church Hill ...

... which was the access to the platforms, has been barred completely.

Entry/exit for the platforms is via a ramped access footbridge ...

... of substantial proportions.

All other roads nearby are either over- or under-bridged.

The newspaper articles don't say how he got there or how far along the track he had driven before realising that he was trapped.

The press suggest, helpfully, that doing something like this is not a good idea.

Stone Crossing (near the Dartford Bridge cum Tunnel) ...

... is not the most lavishly equipped of stations.

It does, however, have (still?) the most ridiculously quaint ticket office.

Stone Crossing enjoys a train every 15 minutes, two of them being the Thameslink half hourly service to Rainham. The other two are South Eastern services from Charing Cross to Gravesend.

Well worth a visit as part of a Kent exploration, but not the way chummy did it last Saturday night!

That's The Way To Do It - Livery

We have already learned (there will be a test next week) that fbb's fake pre-war tank wagon was never based on anything the ran on the big-train tracks. Wagons carrying petrol were required to be painted buff with a broad red stripe.

Wagons carrying less volatile fuels were supposed to be painted a terra cotta color, which explains this preserved Royal Daylight wagon ...

... and the Peco model. 

It seems that this was never fully enforced, but Hornby Dublo interpreted this as bright red for the kiddies.

It would seem that, for the less dangerous products, more latitude was allowed so that companies could advertise their wares by using company colours. 

Immediately pre- and post-WW2 the light, dangerous fuel tankers became aluminium or grey ...

... while vehicles for the "heavy" oils were black.

This was a sensible decision as spills and dribbles meant that any bright colour would soon become a sort of mud grey-brown and less than ideal for advertising purposes.

So, fbb's black Royal Daylight wagon in black ...

... probably represents a later model. To confuse the issue still further, all tank wagons were taken under state control "for the duration" and painted mud-grey to offer an element of camouflage.

Although there were thousands of grey "Pool" petrol wagons, and they hung around for years after the war, there have been very few models. This was a short-run product similar to the real wagon above, from Bachmann.

Note that the real wagon is saddle mounted, the model has its lengthwise cradle. fbb could own that model for £21,95 plus postage, but he won't as he already has that type in another livery.

It was not long, however, before keeping tank wagons clean went to the bottom of the list. Within a few months of delivery they all became very mucky.

Of course, you can buy your models ready sullied!

It must be fun to sort out all the possible combinations if you are trying to build a model railway for a particular set of dates.

And a word about price. In 1939 the Hornby Dublo tank wagon cost  2/6 ...

... which is twelve and a half pence in modern money. £1 in 1939 would be approx £69 today. So multiply pence in 1939 by 69 and you get the equivalent Hornby Dublo price for today. Answer £8.63!

The Oxford wagon examined yesterday sells for £18.95!

It is somewhat more detailed but it wouldn't last long if played with on the carpet.

The dis-assembling of a Hornby Dublo tank wagon is postponed.

 Next It's All On-Line blog : Thursday 28th January