GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

 [user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

As always John, an inspirational bit of modelling and I like the named scenes: Singing in the Rain is a great name for the tableau and great to see Mr Longman make it to Granby!  Those gates are just perfect for the end of the lane.  As always, you show an eye for creating points of interest everywhere.
Michael

Thanks Michael. Glad you like it.  That was a very narrow piece of real estate and with the main road disappearing into space I needed some sort of feature not only as a link but also to draw the eye away.

So pleased you spotted Mr Longman. Sometimes I fear I am too subtle. I feel a bit like Maturin in the Patrick O Brien novel when his dog watch joke inadvertently developed a time delay fuse :lol:.  I am hoping that eventually I will find a suitable site for a literary gent in a fedora.

Best wishes

A 'literary gent' or Sam Spade, though you may need to add a cigarette from the corner of his mouth.

Cheers
Evan

[user=2089]Ssamm[/user] wrote:

A 'literary gent' or Sam Spade, though you may need to add a cigarette from the corner of his mouth.

Cheers
Evan

Better late than never, here are some shots of the new wall and station frontage extension.

This was the scene last fall with the hotel completed but unfinished edging and an absence of people:



and now with the wall made from Wills Random Stone sheets



Weathering the wall was a fine balance between looking like something from the Cotswolds or being to dark and satanic. I tried to grade it so it is darkest by the canal and gradually lightens 




The frontage extension was not originally planned. It was a result of the size of the hotel's footprint. It now makes accessing the turntable impossible without using a stool. However there is definite upside- the rather unlikely one way system I created in front of the station now looks far more feasible






Some off topic trivia- the Crosville Bus station is actually a Wills Taxi Drivers shelter that I bought at least 30 years ago- not realising they are only found in London. Introduced in Victorian times by Lord Shaftesbury, they are now listed buildings- there are very few left. Its good to be able to use it after all these years. If challenged I am sure I can devise a suitable legend.




Another antique: The police box was bought to amuse my grand daughters who, at the time, were avid fans of Dr Who. It doesnt attract the same degree of interest now they are both in their mid twenties

Bobbies on the beat- now there's a novel concept. Actually their presence serves to emphasise the year is 1947, as do their uniforms, traffic signs and belisha beacons.  




One of the other obvious time stamps on Granby is the number of army vehicles and servicemen



It is easy to forget that all young men were conscripted to serve for two years and most of their travel was done by train. 

I hope to add more servicemen to garrison Granby Castle as and when I build it. First priority however is to move to the other side of the room and demolish some back scene prior to extending the storage sidings.

Regards from Vancouver where it is sunny and a rather crisp 34o F

It just keeps getting better.

Very nice John :)

Hi Pete and Phil

Thank you for the comments- glad you like it. I am afraid the painting on the figures is still not up to your standard Phil! :sad:

Best Wishes

Really wonderful, John…. that wall makes such a difference.  I do so like the busy nature of the scene with the people and traffic and the imposing buildings.  I think your figure painting is pretty top notch too!
Michael

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

Hi Pete and Phil

Thank you for the comments- glad you like it. I am afraid the painting on the figures is still not up to your standard Phil! :sad:

Best Wishes

Looks pretty good to me John  ;-)

Thanks Michael……you are too kind  :lol: I am afraid my figures dont stand up to really close scrutiny. You may have noticed I tried to replicate the blue and white arm band that all Police Constables wore when on duty. But I had to bin the close up it was too blotchy :sad:

Best wishes

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

The next shot exposes how little space I had to work with in accommodating the hotel and the duck under: 



Its only a narrow lane so I deliberately put just a few people here. The young man who has just parked the MG may be of interest to some:



Willliam Longman has just popped over from Liverpool for the day. Any resemblance between Mr Longman and a fellow GWR enthusiast of this parish is, of course, entirely coincidental.

 Hello John,
   
  Thank you so much for gently pointing out the tale of Wm Longman’s Granby excursion, probably trainspotting if I know anything about the young lad’s escapades with his open topped MG. I am however smiling with the glow of fellowship and humbled by your kind words and support, which are just the thing to bring some sparkle back to a chap!
   
  It’s warm and sunny today and I’m tempted by some gentle gardening to make room for all the new growth. I’ve been persuaded not to spend time in the railway room just yet, despite my claim that having fitted all the point motors, there’s little to do under the baseboards, but the bride is determined to keep me away from any restricted space contortionist activity until I’m fixed. I know she’s right, so I’ve negotiated the construction of the platform which is straightforward enough and probably not hazardous to health. It also means I can place the Dapol signal on the layout.
   
  Very best,
   
  Bill
  

Wonderful shots as ever John - one really gets a feel of a bustling city centre with all that activity. 

I love the little side street with Bill's parked MG and then the poor Austin 7 (?) getting a ticket.  As with all your scenes, there's so much going on and such clever observations perfectly reproduced.  Every scene tells a story but above all, they are all so very realistic.  Where on earth do you get your inspiration from - that alone is amazing, even without the modelling.

Could the lady at the hotel door possibly be HM arranging dinner for her Jubilee ?

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Wonderful shots as ever John - one really gets a feel of a bustling city centre with all that activity. 

I love the little side street with Bill's parked MG and then the poor Austin 7 (?) getting a ticket. 

Yes Peter, but this Austin 7 is way more fun:



There's not enough time to always be sensible!

Bill  ;-)

[user=1814]Longchap[/user] wrote:

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Wonderful shots as ever John - one really gets a feel of a bustling city centre with all that activity. 

I love the little side street with Bill's parked MG and then the poor Austin 7 (?) getting a ticket. 

Yes Peter, but this Austin 7 is way more fun:



There's not enough time to always be sensible!

Bill  ;-)

Now you’re talking :)

Very nice Bill - is it an "Ulster" ?

  Oh yes Phil, it took a bit of learning, but it gets the job done in ways most could never contemplate. A proper Mr Toad transport of delight!
   
  Correct Peter, 1936 vintage, two previous well known owners, who never did the right thing with it, but now restored to carefully researched period condition with some racing mods for more smiles!
   
  Sorry John, no more hijacking, just more lovely Granby,
   
  Bill

Hi John,

Just saying how much I enjoyed solving this week's jigsaw #537 and thank you very much for providing a particularly fine scene from Granby to entertain us.

https://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=16981&forum_id=32&jump_to=307392#p307392

Be well, best,

Bill

Yes Bill - it was fun to do and not too easy either.  :thumbs

:oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:

My apologies guys- I had no idea there had been all those replies. The email system of reply notification has definitely gone on the blink! I received nothing from YMR about Granby?  Having said that I make a point of checking YMR every day so its very remiss of me not to have noticed such nice responses from old friends  :oops:  Thank you all.

To add to my embarrassment I hadnt realised that Alan selected the side street for this weeks jigsaw. I guess I had better download and learn how to play! At least I won't have to look far to check the full picture :lol:.

Fantastic car Bill- I am very envious. Many many years ago, before I discovered sailing, I used to rally (not very well) in a souped up Ford Anglia and then a MG Midget. The Oxford model is of an earlier version of course. It has had your name on it Bill from virtually the moment I bought it. I originally intended to have you suspended from the upper floors of the hotel with a couple of workmen in a bosuns chair- fortunatelly for once I adhered to KISS and "less is more". I rather like the way that simple cameo turned out.

Not sure if HM ever wore a flouncy dress quite like that Peter. The style is a bit early for 1947. Bouffant slips were all the rage in 1958. We used to sell dozens of them in Kilburn High Street. Quite the career change for me. At the start of that year I was charging around Germany in an Austin Champ (more on this later) with a Vickers MMG section   :roll:
 

Some twenty plus years ago I used to co-drive for a friend doing the British Tarmac Chamionship rallying. We both worked at MIRA (Motor Industry Reaserach Association) so the MK2 escort was in a matt blue with crash test stickers all over it. Needless to say we often got called crash test dummies. Now there is an idea for a cameo on the layout - must check when mk1 or mk2 escorts were first around.