Little Weldon

Hello All, BR stopped running pigeon trains in the late 1960s (1968-9 ?) due to changes in transporting livestock regulations, and pigeon clubs increasingly hiring in large lorries. The LNER in particular, had Full Brakes (BG) dedicated to pigeon traffic, Newcastle to Cornwall comes to mind. As I am not into pigeon racing, I have no idea as to its current popularity, but old issues of "Railway Magazine" used to specifically mention pigeon traffic whilst steam haulage was the norm. Thinks, 1968 is now 56 years ago ! so many preserved railways now have locomotives and BR Mk1 carriages which have spent more time preserved than they did with BR.

As a teen, the Big Four seemed a long time ago (then 30+ years past, now of course, 100 years past). Growing up in the 1960s, WW2 was a relatively recent event, the Anzac Day marches had long columns of WW2 veterans, and with the thinning ranks from WW1. (We would sit a watch the direct TV telecast, commentated by Danny Webb.) This year (2024) will see very few WW2 veterans, and a thinning of the Vietnam veterans, who are now 75+ years old.

The PECO Wonderful Wagons in #197 above, has a lovely trellised green advertising hoarding in the background, any chance of some details please ? Reminds me of the following article, Ref/ It pays to advertise, Allan English, NSWGR advertising hoarding, pp10-13, AJRM/Australian Journal of Railway Modelling no. 8.

I have seen a recent video of a 4mm scale (?) Helston, with a sign saying "13,079 miles to Griffiths Brothers Tea" ref/ 16 miles to Griffiths Bros tea, Bob Cooke, pp29-30, Branchline Modeller no.3 / later renamed AJRM. Griffiths Bros Tea was founded in the1880s, based in Richmond, Victoria, sourced its tea from Kashmir and Assam, and exported to the UK ! It was a temperance company according to its Articles of Association, all staff had to take the pledge, and alcohol drinkers were not employed ! ( Whilst Australia may have a reputation for heavy drinking, though alcohol sales per capita have been declining for over 30 years now, Australia also once had a very vociferous, and influential, temperance movement. Camberwell, Victoria is still a "dry" suburb !

I have enjoyed your wonderful submissions, and this ramble, way off topic, ends now, Best wishes and regards, Echidna.

 

An enjoyable ramble, I love to hear these reminiscences that I also drift into as I approach my 70th, my railway and industrial mindset still in the 60's of my childhood when I was still a kiddie and blissfully unaware of the world around me, in my second childhood I embrace tech with vintage, best wishes Echidna, Jim

 

Hi Echidna, there is one on eBay UK at the moment with several pictures :-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36473116...sHJeP0I3bx1z79n6YsoaArg-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

And from a Dinky Toys catalogue, UK 8th edition :-



Jim

 

Dear Jim, thank you for the follow up, and your nice comments are greatly appreciated, with warm regards, Echidna

 

Hello Jim and others, re #203 above, Dinky Cat nos 755 & 756, the typically English UDC / Urban District Council street lamps that you would see in late 1950s, 1960s films and TV shown in Australia. I used to regularly go to Canberra for the ANG / Australian National Gallery ( now NGA / National Gallery of Australia, marketing you know ) Spring Exhibitions, as they had some amazing Exhibitions, I particularly remember the Impressionists (quite a fan) June - August 1984, where they had over a million visitors, a record at that time, and it was like Flinders St (Melbourne) at Peak Hour, packed to the gunwales. Anyway, I subsequently went walking around the adjacent suburbs of Barton and Forrest, and was surprised to see the same lamp posts, in cast concrete, and speckled with dark coloured stones, though the light was pretty dim for the 1980s, but probably considered fine in the 1950s. (I am also partial to Canberra's Brutalist Architecture, which is actually very good indeed.)

Whilst I was aware that English Town Planners were engaged to assist with Canberra's rapid growth in the 1950s, I had not expected to see English lamp posts ! In the 1980s the NCDC / National Capital Development Commission, the town planning authority, actually had a plan specifically related to street lighting, for the purposes of achieving safe illumination without (hopefully) increasing light pollution, hence the spread of top reflector street lamps, which I understood were intended to become the standard replacement light fitting. Whilst I am unaware if this was fully implemented, the area around Parliament was quickly retro fitted ( do not ask how quick ! ), and in a later visit I thought it was good achievement with better illuminated paths without lighting up the sky, so you could still see the night time sky, something you notice if you do NOT have this where you live.

Also ref Dinky Cat no 785 Service Station, a term no longer sign posted at a petrol station anymore, for the same reason, no service is now provided ! I remember when a railway station ( not a Train Station, we call them Depots, and they are for authorised railway staff only ) had a Ticket and/or a Booking Office, something one would think was a obvious requirement. Now we have either a Customer Service window, or latterly an Information window, which is usually closed, and the passengers (sorry, customers) are assumed to be able to read, and work out for themselves how to buy a ticket, or where to go for the appropriate train. And soon, we will have no ticket machines at all, an electronic "ticket" linked to your bankcard (Visa, Mastercard, whatever) which will deduct the appropriate amount from your Account. And if you do not have an electronic ticket ? Good question ! Another grumpy rant over, best regards to all, Echidna.

 

Hi Echidna. Life gets you like that, manned ticket offices are dissapearing fast especially on the London Underground and local Overground services which is proving invaluable to those who barge thtrough the barriers without using a ticket or an Oyster card (an electronic ticket, which is a near field contactless card or smartphone with the same feature), and they do so quite blatantly. Kids to adults without hiding their faces, they do it so often that I believe TFL (Transport for London) find it cheaper to let these thieves get away with it rather than pay the transport police to catch them.

On a lighter note did you notice item 773 "Robot Traffic Signal, 4-face" I have never heard of traffic lights called that before, have you?

Jim

 

Dear Jim, thank you for your reply. My wife and I were fortunate to do a Rhine Danube River cruise to Budapest last year, and the Budapest Underground has no barrier gates at all, just a number of tap on stands in the entrance foyer. I spoke to a Hungarian railway worker ( who spoke reasonable English) about this, and he said they rely on honesty and hefty fines by Ticket Inspectors !

No, I have not heard of traffic lights called robots either, but as they are a late 1920s design, and robots were the in thing, it probably makes some sense.

Regards to all, Echidna.

 

There is an excellent Hungarian film called 'Kontroll' that is about a day in the life of ticket inspectors on the Budapest underground.