Hello again my friends from Crank Central here in Corkscrew World! I hope you are all well and truly up to your elbows in cranking, nedding, modelling and thrashing nonsense...you know it makes sense!...Dreadful!
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| This one's for you Johnny - 55 016 approaches Reading - 28.11.81 |
I regret to inform you all that this is a bit of a holding update as I have very little to report this month regarding physical progress on the Corkscrew-Lines itself. Hopefully this will be the last update where there is little 1:76 action to report as very significant events are now in the pipeline (or should that be inter-connecting tunnel!) and I'll tell you more about that below. It sounds like an excuse (because it is) but I have once again had very little available modelling time. For the last couple of months I have been working 12 hour shifts in London which actually equates to at least 15 hours away from home. Factor in sleeping and eating and as anybody who regularly works such shifts will tell you, there isn't much time left for anything else. Weekends mean free time which is actually spent doing all the chores that have built up during the week. Things however are about to change as I have decided to ease off on the overtime and try to get more Corkscrew-Lines based action into my life.
Despite my lack of layout based fun, there have been loads of interesting things going on which either relate to the layout or are fascinating transport enthusiast based events in themselves. A holiday in Sweden and Denmark produced about 500 images of which a fair proportion were transport related...more of that anon. There has also been the realisation of the long overdue "Digital Decades" project which I referred to last year back in update No.51. It is a steep learning curve but I think I am now making some progress with digitizing 25 years worth of negatives and slides. A monumental task which I will undoubtedly be continuing for decades to come. The header photo is an example of a 35mm Kodachrome slide which has just gone through my "5 minute good enough" scanning process. Anyway, there's loads to get through so lets crack on - Hellfire!
Tunnel Vision - To bore or not to bore...that is the question!
As I described in the last riveting update (stop sniggering at the back) the question of how to incorporate the helix into the Corkscrew-Lines mk2 has been weighing heavily on my mind for many months now. Making the decision to construct an outbuilding (Helix-House) to house it was just the start of another series of questions, options and ideas which I am happy to report have now reached a logical conclusion. After pondering long and hard on the types of structure, relative sizes, heights, finishes and perhaps most importantly - does it represent value for money? a decision has been reached. If all goes according to plan then in the first week of August a builder will be laying concrete foundations and then constructing a bespoke outbuilding with a fully insulated timber frame and a flat roof which will fully comply with the relevant planning guidelines for outbuildings. The height will be limited to 2.5m and the structure will be clad in timber boarding which I will paint to resemble a classic railway type structure. The Helix-House will butt up against the existing garage wall and once it is complete an opening for the 4 track levels will be knocked through.
I won't go into any more specific detail at this stage as certain things are still fluid and subject to change and anyway, as always I will be documenting the build with photographs which I will share with you all via this site. This new structure is of course fundamental in the layout being a success and as such I took the decision to do things properly with an outbuilding that would not only just house the helix but also double up as a year round workshop for layout construction and as a generous store for all of the usual garden based equipment any household accumulates. Of course once the Helix-House is complete then I will have no excuses - track laying will begin and can continue without any further obstructions. I wanted to have the first level trackwork laid and the lowest levels of the helix finished before the end of 2015 and this should now be possible - Dreadful! Over the next few weeks I anticipate spending some time taking down the baseboard sections around the break-through point on the adjoining wall. I am pleased I managed to resist laying track in this area because it is simply a matter of loosening some bolts and stacking the boards to one side ready to be erected again when the Helix-House is born.
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| Lord Dowsby inspects - the previous shed has already gone. |
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| He's as excited as I am - helix heaven on the way! |
Keep On Trucking
Another newly realised advantage of residing in Sussex again, and specifically so close to Brighton, is the frequency of transport related events in the area. Back on the 3rd of May the annual classic truck and bus run organised by the Historic Commercial Vehicle Society from London to Brighton took place and the vehicles in the now time honoured fashion assembled on the seafront in Brighton after their exertions on the A23. Our great mates Jo & Neil joined us as we inspected these magnificent beasts from a very different era. Neil is a fully fledged "Yorkie" munching trucker himself so certainly appreciates the advances which have taken place in the world of the commercial vehicle in the last 50 years or so. I peered into some of the truck cabs and concluded that I have much more room in the front of my car what with encroaching engine bays, transmission tunnels and steering wheels the size of Saturn's rings! Anyway, I hope you enjoy a small selection of images taken on Madeira Drive in Brighton which demonstrate perfectly how progress since the 1960s has resulted in the admittedly far more efficient but sadly totally characterless vehicles on today's roads.
The obvious link to the Corkscrew-Lines is these vehicles are of the era modelled and I have a lovely side hobby of collecting models of similar trucks and buses for use on the layout. I am more than happy to share more images of the day as I seem to have accumulated quite a few! Maybe next time my friends.
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| An absolute Beast - Oh My Lords! Dennis F107 from 1964 |
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| Commer trucks from 1953 & 1960 - The tiny cab twins! - Aren't they cute? |
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| The Blues Brothers - Neil's favourite... the Thames Trader...and why not? |
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| If only modern trucks looked and sounded this good |
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| A pair of stunning heavyweights from a previous era - Hellfire! |
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| What a beauty - Leyland Tiger Cub/Burlingham Seagull - 1956 |
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| AEC Regal IV again with Seagull body from 1952 - Wonderful |
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| AEC Regal IV prototype from 1948 |
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| Leyland Tiger Cub/Weymann Fanfare - 1960 |
Project "Digital Decades" - Let the scanning begin!
As I previously described, it has been a long held ambition of mine to scan or copy my extensive collection of slides and negatives so I could have an archive of images stored on hard drives and ready for access and possible digital manipulation. This is an enormous project but I have in the last few weeks begun to slowly copy some of my earliest colour slides. This has been a very interesting process not least because I had no idea just how poor some of my earliest images actually are. There are certainly plenty of shots where my photographic technique let me down badly but the biggest culprit seems to be the limitations of the film emulsions (especially Agfachrome) and the 35mm camera I was using at the time. I used a Pentax MV1 SLR in the early eighties and as this was an aperture priority camera with a simple colour light system to confirm exposure. With no control over shutter speed many images are slightly blurred and when combined with the slow speed of the film emulsions it is fascinating to appreciate just how the modern digital image is such an enormous advance over 35mm film.
Now with a library of images numbering tens of thousands it is simply not practicable to put every slide or negative through a digital film scanner - life is simply too short! I have constructed a fast copy set up using my Samsung NX1 digital SLR, a top quality Samsung 60mm Macro lens and a light-box. The camera is held on an inverted Manfrotto tripod head and by using the flip up screen on the camera and the built in close focusing aids I can completely fill the viewfinder with a 35mm slide. Once you get into a rhythm you can take 100 digital copy shots in an hour and then get them onto the PC by simply removing the memory card. Another couple of minutes per image using Adobe Lightroom and some simple adjustments to exposure, colour and composition can be made.
This is a quick "5 minute good enough" process which produces a digital image which can be used as a basic image for the archive. It is not going to be a perfect copy or compare that favourably with an image taken on one of today's D-SLRs but it is certainly good enough. If an image justifies a bit of extra work or is considered worthy of more enhancement then so be it but the goal is to scan as many images as possible. The Exeter St Davids images below are an excellent example of what I am trying to do. The original Kodachrome slides are now 34 years old and a combination of a very dull October day and the limitations of the camera have resulted in flat images which could certainly benefit from additional manipulation but they are good enough for the archive as they stand.
I will occasionally share some of my old images with you all in future updates but to kick off we have a perfect example of how the railway of today with it's relentless diet of ruthlessly efficient class 66s cannot even start to compare with the railway I grew up with. Picture the scene at a cold and grey Exeter St Davids on October 26th 1981 as a HST prepares to leave for Plymouth and a humble class 33 sits in the centre road with a ballast working from Meldon Quarry bound for the Southern Region via Exeter Central. This is absorbing and interesting enough you may think but then you realise the ballast train will be banked up the fearsome grade to Central by a class 50 no less. The express passenger loco sits burbling waiting to give the plucky Crompton a big shove up the rear. I feel sorry for today's enthusiasts who have never experienced this type of everyday action with small locos being thrashed to within an inch of their lives...Hellfire! The sights, smells and sounds...Dreadful!
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| 33 011 with a ballast working from Meldon Quarry - 26.10.81 |
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| 50 038 acting as a banking engine for the climb to Exeter Central - 26.10.81 |
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| The copy station set up in the Ned Cave |
New Arrivals on the Corkscrew-Lines
It has been a very quiet month or so with regard to purchases for the Corkscrew-Lines. As there have been no new loco releases the only arrivals at Jones Towers have been some wagons and another classic 1960s coach. The expensive wagons were the newly released Bachmann Tube wagons which as expected are excellent. They seem exorbitantly expensive however when compared with the bulk packs of bargain 4 wheel box vans and Presflo hoppers I ordered from Hattons. There were also some Conflat wagons which were going for a very reasonable £6.50 each so it seemed rude not to stock up!
So May and June may have been a quiet months but I am bracing myself for the next couple which are shaping up to be a lot more expensive...and exciting! It looks like about half of the items of rolling stock I have had on pre-order over the last few years are all scheduled to arrive in a container at the docks in the next few weeks. Bachmann's retooled Warships - the class 43 variety look spectacularly good in the review samples and I have a pair of these essential beasts on order. Just as exciting is the imminent arrival of the Dapol class 73 EDs. These again look to be spectacular locos as does the Hornby Class 700 Black Motor 0-6-0 steam loco which will possibly be here as early as next week. Then we have the Kernow commissioned Class 02 tank locos and the gate stock which again look fabulous. There are other items of coaching stock (including the Royal Mail sorting van) and wagons which could also plop on the mat in the next month or so. Oh cripes! Maybe I should keep working the 12 hours overtime after all!
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| Tube...what more can I say? |
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| Bargain wagon packs and another Oxford Diecast coach |
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| Grey Cars Weymann Fanfare - Gorgeous! |
On The Buses!
You may remember my Corkette chums that last October I joined my best mate Johnny "Napier-Boy" Herbert for an evening of classic bus travel and beer drinking in Paddock Wood as part of the infamous Thursday night "Wind-Up". Well once again I find myself reporting back on a day spent trundling across the English countryside on a classic bus. Only this time there were 3 buses, and a Thumper DEMU before we could get to the beer - Hellfire!
The day began at Chelmsford as we boarded a magnificent 1966 Bristol FLF and set forth for the Epping & Ongar railway at North Weald station. The Bristol was quite a beast and despite being of similar vintage to myself, behaved itself without too many moans and groans - not something I can always boast. The Epping & Ongar provided a Thumper and a trip along the line to Ongar and back included a visit to the DEMU cab where Mrs Corky was very excited to get behind the controls! Having been joined by another long term Corkette - the esteemed Andrew Wylde, the next highlight was a tour around the local countryside on a RT bus before we again climbed aboard the FLF to head back to Chelmsford. That wasn't the end of the adventures though - oh no! Next up was a surprisingly sprightly Leyland National which with the familiar cacophony of screaming engine sounds took us to a country pub in the Essex countryside for a few beers - Hellfire!
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| Quality traction line up at North Weald |
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| Help...I'm lost - where's the 3rd rail gone? |
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| Mrs Corky gets to Thump! |
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| All aboard for an Essex excursion |
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| Proper beer and a proper bus! |
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| Anorak Alert! - If you see this group alert the authorities - do not approach! |
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| I just had to touch this lovely old girl! |
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| A much younger Corky touches another FLF in 1988...as you do! Clan Coaches of Plockton in the Scottish Highlands. |
The Bridge
Sarah and I are huge fans of the Nordic-Noir crime drama and a particular favourite of ours is the dark and brooding series "The Bridge" which for those who do not know centres around the magnificent Oresund bridge which links the cities of Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmo in Sweden. When deciding where to go for a weeks holiday last month we thought a form of pilgrimage to the real bridge and area was an excellent idea. So another long held Corky ambition has been realised as we travelled to Scandinavia and spent a fantastic week in and around Malmo and Copenhagen with numerous trips by train over the Oresund bridge.
Sweden was a real highlight for me and I very quickly fell in love with the country and the people who were universally friendly and rather embarrassingly seemed to all speak better English than many residents of Blighty! I have no intentions to emigrate (sorry to disappoint you all) but if I did then it would be Canada or Sweden for me - Spain is far too hot and full of Brits! Anyway, I digress. As this is supposedly a transport enthusiast blog I will major on the numerous transport delights we encountered with just a few holiday snaps.
First up is Malmo with some shots of the local buses (green) and the local trains. I first thought the mega bendy-buses were trams as they have a double ended look but the driver sits at one end and the engine sits at the other so they are just buses but with a futuristic styling twist. The railway yards at Malmo held all sorts of exciting stock and locos. This was a family holiday so I didn't spend too much time lineside...shame!
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| Van-Hool mega bendy-bus - looks like a push-me-pull-you! Malmo |
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| Typical Swedish local service - Malmo |
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| Shunting action in the extensive Malmo yards |
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| Inter-City sets berthed at Malmo |
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| The transport interchange at Malmo Central station |
Malmo city itself was satisfyingly clean and civilised with fantastic buildings, museums and cultural delights. It was nothing like the grey and unwelcoming city as portrayed in the TV series. With a beautiful beach, wonderful parks and some spectacular architecture, including the stunning Turning Tower, I would recommend it to anyone.
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| Swedish AC loco power with a Rc6 loco at Malmo in the latest livery |
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| Wonderful retro styling |
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| Old and new liveries on Stockholm express coaches |
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| Malmo Lido and the iconic Turning Tower |
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| The Oresund Strait with Denmark on the horizon |
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| Swedish meatballs with a warming blanket |
We hopped on a local train one day and headed to Helsingborg further along the Skane coastline. This was the normal crossing point via ferry for travellers between Sweden and Denmark before the opening of the Oresund bridge. The ferries still cross every few minutes and the town was a lively slice of typical Swedish life. It seems the Swedish have similar strange "Crank" tendencies similar to our own as a classic 1950s single decker bus was trundling around the port presumably doing a Scandinavian equivalent to the "wind-up". Finding an old Swedish Railways coach on the beach front converted into a cafe was another nice surprise. Couldn't help wondering if a BR Mk1 could be craned into my back garden as the ultimate "Helix-House" - alas not enough room in our current house.
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| Helsingborg Harbour |
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| Crank-tastic! 1950s Scania-Vabis ex Swedish State Railways |
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| Absolutely Hellfire! |
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| A ferry sails every 10 minutes or so |
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| Ferries cross between Denmark and Sweden |
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| Literally a transport cafe! Another Helsingborg delight. |
After a thoroughly enjoyable day we waited at Helsingborg railway station for our train back to Malmo expecting to catch another of the sleek modern local units. However I was very excited - probably far too excited in Sarah's opinion, as a classic Swedish AC locomotive (Rc6 class) glided into the platform with the express from Stockholm. On we jumped! Proper loco hauled action all the way back to Malmo - Hellfire!
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| Rc6 haulage from Helsingborg - Hellfire! |
The other centre for fun and games was the Danish city of Copenhagen where I very quickly found the central railway station and was delighted to discover the regular diesel hauled services via the ME-15xx class locos hauling double decker stock. These mean looking machines produced some decidedly non environmentally friendly fruity noises...nice! The buses were yellow, as they seemed to be everywhere in this part of the world, and the quickest way to get around was by boat. In fact, just as with Venice, the locals seemed to head for the bright yellow bus-boats which zipped from one side of the harbour to the other with indecent haste.
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| A giant wanders amongst the buses - Tivoli Gardens |
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| ME Class diesel at the fantastic Copenhagen Central station |
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| Loads of noise - Dreadful! |
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| Copenhagen buses |
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| Oh dear - that sky looks threatening! |
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| A typical Copenhagen bus - on water. |
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| Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen - recommended. |
Being typical tourists we boarded one of the sightseeing boats and headed out into the harbour for the guided tour. The sky was magnificent with brilliant sunshine and a mean and moody black cloud bank in the distance - very photogenic. The only problem was the cloud bank was actually coming our way and being the well prepared tourist types we are, we had no brolly or proper protective clothing with us. Sarah took the next photo on her phone showing the inevitable result. I was not feeling too happy at this point having taken about 5 minutes putting on the pathetic plastic poncho and getting soaked! Sarah of course found all of this extremely amusing. I was all dried out and happy again within the hour when the sun came out again but the moral of the story is...do not trust a boat with no roof and confiscate your wife's phone under similar circumstances!
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| Corky the cone-head - good grief it rained! |
The final selection of photos are from the extraordinary Malmo Museum of Transportation and Technology. Surely the most interesting and eclectic mix of exhibits I have encountered. How many museums have Saab fighter jets next to a genuine German U-Boat? A thoroughly enjoyable time was spent here.
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| A genuine locally constructed U-Boat...I kid you not! |
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| Which could be fully explored - dive! dive! |
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| Mrs Corky looks at home in the airfield Control Tower |
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| So many interesting exhibits |
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| Not sure why a model of a GNR single is here |
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| Classic Swedish motoring |
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| Talk about a split personality! |
Miscellaneous Musings!
So there we have it my friends. Not much model railway action I will concede but hopefully you enjoyed the update anyway. As the Helix-House is at last now on the horizon then proper model railway construction action will begin again soon...I promise! I could have held fire and published an update in a month or so's time but I thought it best to reassure you all the Corkscrew-Lines project is still alive and kicking but just going through a fallow period.
Next time I should be able to show you some images of the latest arrivals on the line which will probably include plenty of diesel-hydraulic, electro-diesel and ex LSWR steam traction. I also need to do some serious sketching of the construction system I'll be using for the new helix. This will be more modular than the last and of a much greater diameter allowing for broader curves and a less challenging grade.
Anyway, time to wind up (at last I hear you all cry!) as I'm off to Wembly to see ZZ Top in concert - yet another ambition realised!
I can't seem to help myself. Every day at work I get a new opportunity for a bus backside photo so here is another of my occasional "bus backsides from the van" shots...enjoy!
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| Double stamps! |
And last but not least...Swedish confectionery certainly wasn't what I expected!
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| Oh dear! |
That's all for now Folks!
Corky!
