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BASINGSTOKE 1958-67 (87ft x 25ft)


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Unfortunately Duke the posts appear as they are approved but at the rtime stamp of submitting so they can become ‘lost in the post’ as it were.
Regardless - things are afoot to help with you with that.

RAF96,

That's very kind of you. Which will aid me greatly in figuring out which day of the week it now is, and whether I've posted something already and which pictures I've already used !

 

 

 

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                   BASINGSTOKE 1957- 68 - SIGNALS OLD & NEW.

Basingstoke being an Inter-Regional junction originally built by two different railways, has some interesting signalling history that has to be catered for on my layout.

 

 


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Hi Duke - Fabulous work - it's like watching a series on TV, you cannot wait for the next episode. Keep it coming! BB

Hear, hear!  Makes me want to head out to Spain as soon as possible.  The museum sounds very interesting too.  Shame a few days' holiday would be followed by two weeks of quarantine!

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I can only concur with BB and once again doff my digital cap to you. The level of detail in research, design and execution is stunning. It's the Game Of Thrones of layouts, less the dragons.

You may be wrong, as the Dragons appear to have just crawled out of the woodwork. More news to follow.

The Duke 71000 

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BASINGSTOKE 1958-67. COVID 19 squashing my layout !

 


 

As I'm not prepared to sit around for 2-3 years twiddling my thumbs. The only solution is to move my layout back into the industrial unit the Mayor is lending us. Which it turns out is slightly bigger than I thought at 18 metres x 6.7 metres, and reduce the layout size to fit this space. 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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These things are sent to try us Duke.

We had a similar funding situation in Cyprus with medication. The Gov funding was based on last year’s usage so when the money ran out we were told to go and buy our meds from the pharmacy, until next year.

Maybe the replan will turn out for the better.

As they say in Cyprus αργά αργά (slowly slowly) which actually means we can’t be bothered today, maybe we will look at the problem tomorrow after we go to the coffee shop. In hindsight it is a good logic as it gives you time to ponder things before making a decision.

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These things are sent to try us Duke.

We had a similar funding situation in Cyprus with medication. The Gov funding was based on last year’s usage so when the money ran out we were told to go and buy our meds from the pharmacy, until next year.

Maybe the replan will turn out for the better.

As they say in Cyprus αργά αργά (slowly slowly) which actually means we can’t be bothered today, maybe we will look at the problem tomorrow after we go to the coffee shop. In hindsight it is a good logic as it gives you time to ponder things before making a decision.

Cyprus  Mmmph, RAF !  So how are your half a dozen new F35B's, are they behaving themselves ?

 

 

So the Cypriots are much like the Spanish, "manana manana" (tomorrow tomorrow). 

 

 

As for the Basingstoke replan, I have completed this and will post it seperately as it will no doubt take a day or two to get through the admin department. 

 

 

The Duke 71000

 

 

 

 

          

 

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This puts a model railway into the business arena. And as I have done for over 40 years with all my exhibition layouts, I take advantage of these business opportunities. But Spain might as well be on Mars, because it simply does not figure in the minds of any exhibition manager in Europe. And the Spanish have no idea whatsoever as to the extent of railway modelling and exhibitions elsewhere in Europe. I'm therefore the only one in the Museum who knows how to go about this. So layout shrinkage will hopefully ensure I get onto the European circuit !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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BASINGSTOKE 1958-67 -

"Sets" of anything from 2 -10 coaches were permanently coupled. "Loose" vehicles included nearly all the various types of catering vehicles, which were added to various trains as and when needed. The "Loose" pool also included a number of Third Opens, kept at strategic locations including Basingstoke, so they could be added to overcrowded trains during the journey.  

 

 


 


 

 

    


 

 


 

 

 


 

 


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Splendid stuff, Duke. I really hope you are able to promote Hornby through the exhibitions. There is nothing to rival a personal presence in an export market and striking up good business contacts.

Quite a few years ago, when I visited countries in Central and South America for the first time, many of the people who had heard of our products asked me "Why is it that no-one from your company ever visited us before ?"  They were very appreciative of the visit and excellent business followed. They also commented on the absence of our competitors !  That gave me a nice feeling. 😆  We later won the Queen's Award for Export Performance.

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Splendid stuff, Duke. I really hope you are able to promote Hornby through the exhibitions. There is nothing to rival a personal presence in an export market and striking up good business contacts.

Quite a few years ago, when I visited countries in Central and South America for the first time, many of the people who had heard of our products asked me "Why is it that no-one from your company ever visited us before ?"  They were very appreciative of the visit and excellent business followed. They also commented on the absence of our competitors !  That gave me a nice feeling. 😆  We later won the Queen's Award for Export Performance.

Jimbopuff,

Having worked in many fields including Advertising and Marketing, I'm fully aware of their benefits. Indeed when the layout is complete and on virtual permanent show, I'll be quite happy to plaster the four bare walls around the layout with British model manufacturers colourful posters, including Hornby.

 

There is much more potential in Spain for Hornby exports  However there are a mountain of cultural problems to overcome before those exports could become a reality.

 

Let me put you in the picture, and its terrifying:

 

I was taken into the local exhibition hall a year ago, on the pretext there was a model railway. On the door a notice said: "No minors" ! Inside I found middle aged couples each with a 1.4m square table, with 2 inches of sand on them. In these mini sandpits all the people were playing with a small child's toy aimed at 5-10 year olds called "Playmobil". The youngest person in the building was the 21 year old son of one of the "users". I simply walked out in disgust. 

 

I followed this unbelievable incident with a little research. Playmobil is second only to Lego in toy sales in the world. The average age of users in all countries except Spain is between 7.25 & 8.5 years old. In Spain the average age of users is 42 years old. Further Spain with 2.3 Million users is the biggest market in Europe. So big the German manufacturer has actually set up a plant in Spain, to satiate this demand. Setting up a plant in Spain helped the manufacturer get around many of the local cultural barriers. (Market research statistics courtesy of Playmobil). 

 

Indeed Hornby's own Spanish agent, has told me more on how Playmobil got into Spain. It seems they first bought up a defunct Spanish toy manufacturers brand name, and launched the product under that name. Only more recently changing the name to Playmobil here in Spain. There is of course no reference to the intended age of users on Spanish packaging, unlike in other countries.   

 

The Duke 71000    

 

 

   

 

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BASINGSTOKE 1958-67 - LAYOUT STOCK - Other Regions coaches.

 

Basingstoke station was one of those rare places on the network, fed by a multitude of Regions locomotives and rolling stock. Which means the layout needs all sorts as well. Around 25% of the layouts coaching stock is therefore from other than the Southern Region.

 


 

 



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PS. There is another Post with pictures currently awaiting "Admin" clearance !

The Duke 71000

 

...despite repeated requests on your behalf.

Thanks for the help. No rush, I simply added the "PS" to advertise the fact, for other members. You could say it's "service with a smile 😛 ".

The Duke 71000

    

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Super informative information about the coaching stock. I run all of my "limited" number of coaches in "Sets". Will you be adding the 3rd rail to any of your layout. I have it on the main line. BB

Bulleidboy (and other interested viewers).

 

 

 

 

My solution was to substitute Peco's little brass nails, in place of the china pots. Then solder Peco's code 60 (3rd rail) to the nails.  As for the Heljan Class 47, I hacked out the centre of the detachable fuel tank to make that narrower, so it no longer clobbers the 3rd rail. 

 

 

 

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Was the Brit on an incline?  Did it stall? .... Terrible aren't I - wouldn't believe it's one of my favourite locomotives, but many say 'that incident' was poor planning and driving, relatively speaking.

 

Layout's sheer size makes it more impressive, seeing full-sized trains being hauled, not remotely filling the length of track.

 

It's obviously a 'work-in-progress' - signalling and 'realistic accessories and weathering' are required ... state the obvious, but looking good.

 

Al.

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