Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

I agree in principle with Tom also.

As regards "For each station, you explicitly state what period you aim to recreate, so everyone knows and agrees", IMHO that should be a key component of the L&BR's formal 'future strategy' for the rebuilding of the railway, something which - after some 20 years - still does not appear to have materialised :-(

 

I believe that many stations were never repainted in the inter war period due to lack of funds by all the Big Four companies, the LNER being the worst

 

On a number of levels - not only did it not get round to it with some stations, but of the stations that it did repaint, it actually chopped and changed its station colour scheme at least twice between grouping and Nationalisation. As a Great Central London Extension modeller I watched Bachmann fall into this trap with its Great Central station buildings, which are offered in three colour schemes:

- GCR green and cream
- LNER brown and cream
- BR(LM) maroon and cream

With the last one, perhaps surprisingly, you're on safe ground because in a moment of triumphalism BR(LM) did rapidly repaint anything nailed down when they finally got their hands on the GC - so even stations with a future life expectancy of 2 years got assimilated into the Midland Borg.

But what possessed them to go for the short lived brown and cream LNER scheme I don't really understand - because if you're modelling the 1940s right through to the LM takeover, what you actually mostly want is LNER green and cream, which is not the same as GCR green and cream.... My surviving employees of the southern end of the extension are adamant that the brown was long gone there by nationalisation.

 

I am very taken by the lionheart terracotta livery tbh, as for the buildings on the railway,,, too much green lol

 

Could be true. Blackmoor signal cabin appears to have still been in its L & B paintwork when I photographed it in 1967 (some way north of Blackmoor by then) - as attached. Bratton Fleming station on the evidence of a 1935 photograph of the porch with LP 6.24 above the doorway, was only repainted once by 1935. Evidence of the rest of the Southern Railway not surprisingly is slim. The SR Engineers Officers' Conference discussed painting of stations in April 1930 and it's chair (Mr G. Ellson) commented that 'stations on unremunerative branch lines or at country places were more frequently renovated than some of the more busy stations on the main line, or near London and it was desirable to adjust things. In reviewing lists of stations to be taken in hand this year it was decided that Streatham Hill, Boxy and Sunbridge Park which had not been renovated since 1916, 1918 and 1919, respectively, should be taken in hand forth with and that the following stations should stand over a little longer.' (all London East and Central, last painted 1922 and 1923).
Reading into that and assuming the policy extended to North Devon, L & B Stations are unlikely to have been repainted more than twice, possibly only once, in the SR period up to the L & B closing in 1935.

 

Two months ago I mentioned on this forum that I had emailed one of the Trustees offering to sponsor the roof lamps on Coach 9 in the hope of getting them a more accurate representation of the originals, and had not had a response. The responder on the carriage team told me maybe there had been an email issue and that he was seeing the Trustee concerned shortly with a view to a reply. But still nothing. What is it with these people, I ask myself ? But I am tempted to withdraw the offer.

 

Oh! I remember seeing Sir Gerald Nabarro MP looking like Jimmy Edwards, strutting down Wolverhampton High Street in about 1970 expecting any other occupiers of the pavement to move aside. And I recall he created mayhem on the SVR. So maybe, you're right.

 

But you'd have to take down the concrete nameboards (can't abide 'running-in boards' - that term didn't appear pre-war that I am aware of) at Chelfham that John Mack-Smith restored, or alternatively add the Southern Railway wooden weighing machine extension to the station and replace the down starter.

 

...and of course the SR had more than one shade of green and I'm not convinced that the correct versions have been used in every case. But, as I'm sure we all know, there often a lot of difference between what the 'rules' said, what the management thought, and what the workforce actually did

 

Sorry Mike, that is my fault, not the Trustee's, it is something I will ask him, in fact I've just noted it on my desk pad for when I see him maybe this week.

With Dad having been in hospital for near two months after a heart attack resulting in a double heart bypass op three weeks ago it's been somewhat hectic since April! He has now this last weekend been signed off by the physio, carers and district nurse and the doctors have said he is "doing extremely well". I have lost count of the trips to hospital I've made, but I know Costa did very well out of me there hehe
I will be giving you a call when things have calmed down, I did receive your parcel, of which I am extremely grateful for and when I get some quality free time I will look at it properly, especially now I have the PC back up and running right

 

As has been mentioned many times paints and its pigments were mixed, on site, by painters to suit their location. The colour was that seen and chosen by the mixer - usually a foreman. Hence slight differential of shade. Also location played a part in quickly changing the colour slightly e.g. near the sea or near an industrial plant.

 

Sunlight is the worst, it can alter the shade by quite a bit in a very short few months. We use UV blocking varnishes now but it still alters over a season or two. So a freshly painted carriage will look different even if the recipe is exactly same and especially where carriages have a predominantly sunny side.

 

Would that - especially as we now have more sun than 100 years ago - be adequate justification for installing the turntable?

 

Hmm, not really, even if you turn them, any freshly painted carriage will be a few shades different.
The French side of the carriages Jim has said deteriorate quicker than the Welsh, which is interesting as the prevailing wind and rain is from the Welsh side. As long as you are aware, it does mean you can adjust any paint program accordingly, maybe slipping in a refresh to the French side perhaps inbetween overall repaints. Something not so easily done if they are turned etc.
As it is each side will have the same prevailing deterioration, which you can then deal with in its own way if that makes sense.

 

I learnt at the AGM weekend last May that electric lighting powered by a battery fitted in each individual carriage has been fitted to some of the existing L&BR carriages. Battery charging will entail using either a power landline or removing the batteries for charging in a workshop. As it stands means the train guard cannot switch all the interior lamps in the train formation on/off from the Guard's Compartment.

 

Maybe they will be fitted with wireless switches operated by a remote control given to the Guard?

 

Each carriage does indeed have LED lights, they do work, but getting them right is way down on the list of priorities as we don't really run in the dark and have no tunnels... Yet? Hehe

 

I was going to say wireless, with each carriage having it's own battery. This way any carriage combination can be used...including say 5, 11, 7 and V23.
It's also possible to have them on a light sensor. so they come on automatically.

 

Regarding the colour green I have been told that the green use on the L&BR was from the same batch of ex LSWR electrical stock, according to Paul Gower by the time the L&BR coaches where painted green paint technology had improved by 100% and it was far easier to batch paint to the same shade across the SR depots.

That said the green used on both the central and the eastern sections of the SR where also different, but not by much, the major difference was due to the amount of varnish used and just how yellow it became, after drying.

It was more common to rub coaches down after five years and to re-apply a number of coats of varnish, on average SR coaches where painted only every ten years, with a touch up of the varnish every five years.

Of course the time between repaints when the all over blue on the SR emus came in to being was much quicker then that and even quicker when it changed to Blue and Grey. Of course by this time they where being spray painted and not hand painted of the 1930's.

 

I thought brush painting lasted a lot longer than the BR blue to blue-grey transition?