Quote from: Newportnobby on Yesterday at 11:15:40 AM(Before anyone sends a Wallace & Gromit hitman for me, I do have Yorkshire blood in me )

You been drinking again

can't remember the last time I bought  a railway, model railway, or wargames mag.
all seem to end up with more and more adverts, less and less content, and higher prices

Before continuing with the museum tour, here is one last picture concerning Cramptons:



Now, back to the "Platforms".
Platform 2: The Beginnings of the 20th Century



This striking-looking engine is 4-4-0 No145 "Coupe-Vent" of the PLM, built 1900, withdrawn 1932.
Coupe-Vent means "cut wind" and clearly refers to the attempt at streamlined bodywork. If this was fitted at the time of construction it must be one of the earliest attempts at railway aerodynamics.
The name puts me in mind of the 9F hauled coal trains with a fitted head that ran on the former Great Central much later. These were known as "windcutters"

This was the only exhibit on Platform 2 that caught my eye sufficiently to take a photo, so on to Platform 3.

Platform 3: Between the Roaring Twenties and Global Crisis

Again, only one vehicle attracted my camera in this section.



This is Bugatti Presidential ZZy 24408 fast railcar, ETAT, 1933, withdrawn 1950.

Ettore Bugatti designed one of the first modern high-speed rail vehicles in the world. His first RAILCAR was tested near the Bugatti factory at Molsheim in Alsace in 1933.

The Bugatti railcars were built as single, double or triple 'car' units with either two or four petrol engines centrally mounted in one of the cars. Each car was mounted on two 8 wheel bogies and the linked engines were arranged to drive two or four of the eight axles via drive shafts with hydraulic clutches and reversing gears.

This modular system of powered and trailer cars could be arranged in various combinations to suit the different needs of the French railway companies from the smallest 36 seater to the triple set 144 seat train.
 
These railcars were highly successful being light, clean and comfortable as compared with steam powered rolling stock. Their chief asset was speed and the railway companies were able to drastically reduce long distance journey times.

From the end of 1933 for five years the Bugatti factory built and maintained more than a hundred railcar units which resulted in a huge expansion of the small factory and much needed revenue in the difficult economic climate of the time.

Ettore Bugatti was not a formally educated or qualified engineer and it is remarkable that he was so successful with this revolutionary rail project which he personally conceived, designed and developed between 1931 and 1933. Every aspect of the system was carefully considered and he took out numerous Patents to protect his rights to his inventions. Many aspects of the design were developed from his ideas for motorcar components. The engines, for instance, were practically the same as used in the luxury class Bugatti car: the Royale. The cable operated twin shoe drum brakes were similar to the Bugatti car brakes of that time.
 
There were many entirely new ideas. The railcar chassis, body and the arrangement of the lightweight monocoque bogies with sophisticated systems for achieving a smooth, stable, quiet and comfortable ride were entirely novel. As always with Bugatti the method of construction of each part was conceptually integrated with the design of the part itself. Several of the relevant Bugatti Patents were for special machining processes and the factory layout was neat, logical and efficient.

These Bugatti railcars were designed to run on petrol/alcohol fuel of which there was a plentiful supply in France in the early 30s. However, this fuel became more expensive and eventually the Bugatti equipment was phased out on economic grounds. For a time, though, they had been a well known and popular feature of the French transport system.

This example has four engines. You can just see the front of a Bugatti Royale to the left of the picture.
 
Here's one of the 12.7 litre, straight eight cylinder, 24 valve, monoblock type engines:




Platform 5: Anyone Can Travel By Train
I failed to take any pictures here, so on to

Platform 6: 1938; Creation of the SNCF





Steam locomotive 141 R 1187 Mikado, SNCF, 1945. Oil fired, built by Baldwin.

 They were used all over the French rail network from 1945 to 1974.

At the end of World War II, there was a shortage of locomotives, and to quickly obtain the large number needed locomotives were ordered from the main American and Canadian locomotive builders under the Lend-Lease Program (and not the Marshall Plan, signed in April 1948, as often written).
The design was based on the Green Bay & Western Railroad's Mikados, based somewhat on the USRA Light Mikado, suitably modified to meet the SNCF loading gauge. Modifications included the overall height, the fitting of European couplers and buffers, left-hand drive, smoke deflectors (to a unique and instantly recognisable style) and a Kylchap exhaust on the second batch.

The first order for 700 engines was placed in February 1945 with production split between the "big three" American locomotive builders: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, Pa, American Locomotive Company, Schenectady, NY, and Lima Locomotive Works, Lima, Oh. Once financing was made available, the second batch of 640 engines was ordered from the "big three", plus the Canadian manufacturers Montreal Locomotive Works, and Canadian Locomotive Company, Kingston, Ontario. Most of this batch were built as oil burners, burning preheated heavy fuel oil (known in French as 'Mazout'), unlike the first batch which had all been designed as coal fired.
The massive introduction of oil fired locomotives was due to the fact that in the immediate post-war period, quality coal was in high demand and SNCF was consuming 9 million tons per annum. Oil thus allowed savings in coal, even if in many depots it required a revolution in working conditions. The extra range permitted by oil—700 km (435 mi) instead of 400 km (250 mi)—explains also the more intensive use of the locomotives. The enginemen nicknamed the locomotives mazoutières or charbonnières ("coal-scuttles") according to fuel employed; oil-burners were also called les goudronneuses ("tar spraying machines") by their crews.

After the second world war, the American manufacturers' output had been boosted by the war effort. Thus from July 1945 to May 1946 the 700 141 R of the first batch were built in only eleven months. slow down in February and March, and to continue until finished in May, an average of almost three engines per day! By way of comparison in French locomotives works (French industry having been weakened by the war) it took four years, from June 1948 to July 1952, for the manufacturer Schneider to deliver 35 241 P to the SNCF.

For the SNCF, this type of machine constituted a small revolution – with simple expansion and very advanced construction techniques, the 141 R 1101–1340 were the only SNCF steam locomotives equipped with Boxpok wheels, and roller bearings on all the driving and coupled axles, as well as a one-piece cast steel frame. The bar frames and the axle box bearings of 141 R 1–1100 were excellent which made them powerful machines but economical to maintain. For 141 R 1101–1340, the maximum mileage run between two main works visits was up to 230,000 kilometres (140,000 mi). Easy to drive, they offered relatively modern comfort for both drivers and firemen. The cabs were fully enclosed, equipped with comfort and ergonomics hitherto unknown to SNCF crews. Driving and firing controls were within reach while seated, with automatic coal feeding thanks to the mechanical stoker, and oil-firing was even easier. They were banalisées ("standardised"), that is, not assigned to a particular crew.

On 19 October 1975 the last 141 R in use with the SNCF, 141 R 1187 of Vénissieux depot, worked a special return working between Lyon and Veynes. Four locomotives of Narbonne depot were leased to the Hellenic State Railways from November 1973 to April 1974.

Have fun,

Ali

Just bought the October issue and it's gone up to £6.45
I reckon that's the death knell for it as far as I'm concerned. Every time I buy it I try to justify the purchase to myself but it's just getting too hard.
It's never up to date with news
Sometimes there's no N gauge in it at all
Exhibitions can be looked up on sites like UK Model Shops
Reviews don't seem objective enough for me
Layouts can provide ideas but it's not easy to contact the owner with questions

I tend to spend an hour or less reading it and then pass it on to my friend Rob so, him being a Yorkshireman, he gets it F.O.C.
(Before anyone sends a Wallace & Gromit hitman for me, I do have Yorkshire blood in me )

Sad to hear that Robert Redford died today. A film he starred in 1975 directed by Sidney Pollack featured a soundtrack by Dave Grusin. The film also starred Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson and Max von Sydow and is rarely shown on TV. Dave Grusin released a live album in 1984 featuring some of the best session players at the time. So, here from the album is the theme to that film...


@kusojiji might like this as do I.

RIP Robert

Tim

Cheers Chris,

You're coming up with some great suggestions     

All best wishes

Kevin

 

The room is beginning to take shape Kevin and impressive magnifying lamp. After all that another well earned meal and pint are in order !

Hi All,

All is going well, and thank you George. 

The advantage I am finding is I have a free canvas to do what I want, rather than adapt a "Second hand" space

All the units are in place now and held together with the brackets



There are plug sockets on the back wall that I won't be able to reach, so I am doing the same as I did before, and running an extension lead from the socket through to a filler panel next to one of the drawer units



For lighting, I have a magnifying lamp I got last year from "Expo" at the Basingstoke Exhibition. It was an ex display lamp that was at a very reasonable sale price     





All going well, and the modelling room should be done soon. I have got the first model out ready to build     



All best wishes

Kevin

 

That settles it. I'm not going anywhere near soldering!

Apart from anything else, stepson #2 is a notorious tightwad who would never cough up for a professional repair. I'll be lucky if he buys the glue.

Cheers,

Chris

Quote from: Jim Easterbrook on September 16, 2025, 02:17:26 PM

Quote from: EtchedPixels on September 15, 2025, 10:16:44 PMIf it's pewter then silver soldering is somewhere between the two - bit like brazing.

Ahem. Melting point of pewter - 170-230°C. Melting point of silver solder - 600-700°C.

Fair point. It seems to get called silver soldering even though it's not actually silver solder