P. D. Hancock was an early member of the Edinburgh and Lothians Miniature Railway Club. Recently the club has been presented with a small section from the final incarnation of his Craig and Mertonford layout, Dundreich. Some photographs may seen here:
Edit - June 2020 update connection to photos now in Google archive:
https://get.google.com/albumarchive/112904466287746079405?source=pwa
Additionally I have acquired 6 x OO gauge locos and a small quantity of goods stock and, Lord Craig himself.
The E&LMRC has also been presented with a quantity of books, black and white photos and colour slides including many of the original illustrations for the MRN and RM articles and the book, Narrow Gauge Adventure. As club librarian I am somewhat overwhelmed at the moment but also overjoyed at having such a pleasant task sifting through and cataloguing his collection.
Malcolm
Thanks, Malcolm, for posting the photos of the relics of PDH's original CMR, which I very much enjoyed. It is good to know at least something has been saved.
I had a look through my published photos and found the following:
Some photos of the CMR loco 'Colin' on the C&DR in 1993:
http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/colin2.jpg (http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/colin2.jpg)
http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/colin6a.jpg (http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/colin6a.jpg)
Photos of 'Angus' posed on Rae Bridge when it was being repaired by Ian Turner, in 2005:
http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/angus2-mp.jpg (http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/angus2-mp.jpg)
http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/angus3-mp.jpg (http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/angus3-mp.jpg)
Photos of 'Moira' and 'Duncan', after being restored by Rod Allcock in 2006:
http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/pb094208.jpg (http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/pb094208.jpg)
http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/pb094204.jpg (http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2008/img/pdh/pb094204.jpg)
Photos of CMR wagon no. 1 which is in regular service on the C&DR with a detachable permanent way load, and the branch carriage which runs on two ex CMR Kemtron bogies:
http://www.009dutch.nl/cdr/main/foto/rollingstock/works/pict2050.jpg (http://www.009dutch.nl/cdr/main/foto/rollingstock/works/pict2050.jpg)
http://www.009dutch.nl/cdr/main/foto/rollingstock/passenger/pict2069.jpg (http://www.009dutch.nl/cdr/main/foto/rollingstock/passenger/pict2069.jpg)
Hi Malcolm,
The 009 Society will once again be exhibiting at Modelrail Scotland in February 2013.
Alongside the layout will be the Society Showcase Stand and a demo stand.
Would it be possible to have one or two items of Phil Hancocks work at the exhibition with the 009 Society
It would make an outstanding contribution to the stand.
Stan Williams
Good thinking, Stan! ;)
Great news Stan, and an exellent idea!
I wonder if the RM authorities would permit some high quality scans of extracts from a selection of his articles to be used as background material (and as a background)?
QuoteHi Malcolm,
The 009 Society will once again be exhibiting at Modelrail Scotland in February 2013.
Alongside the layout will be the Society Showcase Stand and a demo stand.
Would it be possible to have one or two items of Phil Hancocks work at the exhibition with the 009 Society
It would make an outstanding contribution to the stand.
Stan Williams
Stan
Yes, that ought to be possible. It will however not be Dundreich which is sitting next to me as I type this. My problem in getting something ready for next Feb is not just a lack of time but there is now a lack of space as my daughter's hoped for move out of the family nest has been put off until next spring. >:( Guess in whose room Dundreich, Craig Castle etc were going!!
I am hoping to get to the St Andrews show and we can discuss the matter in more detail then. If not we can revert to e-mails.
Malcolm
The October 2012 issue of 009 News is almost a PD Hancock special with, in addition to the information regarding Dundreich and photos of same, photos of Craig Castle, Rod Allcock's 'Joan' and the 'Woolwoth Hoppers' and a colourful Lord Craig visiting Dwffyr Uchaf Quarries. Nothing for years then all this at once. Whew!
Malcolm
All
lovely topic and lovely photos. Is my mind playing tricks but all I have previously recalled from RM is in monochrome and all these pics just emphasise how good C and M was for its time-and still is. The purely freelance stock all has that really quite possible look
Many thanks to all for the pics
Peter Smith
No there were colour photos in the RM in 1979 / 80 / 90 / 93.
Malcolm
Whilst we old-timers have had a lot of private correspondence of late regarding the Craig and Mertonford, it is, perhaps, a little sad that the younger, in this case, under 50, modellers probably have no understanding of the significance of the CMR. They probably see the remains of a well made scenic 009 layout with a bit of standard gauge, quite commonplace nowadays.
The significance of this layout can never be underestimated. This was THE first narrow gauge layout of it's kind. When Phillip Hancock described in the Model Railway News in November 1950 his planned narrow gauge model railway, and his reasons and experiments in making this decision, no one had really done this before. There was no N gauge available to help him out, everything had to be made or adapted. The article itself includes a plan of Craig, almost exactly as it appeared some three years later and PDH admitted that at the time it existed on paper only.
The Craig and Mertonford Railway was like a beacon in those far-off years, at the time we were lucky to get two narrow gauge articles a year in the Railway Modeller, compare that with the current issue alone which has, I think, three articles (thank you Steve Flint) and indeed showed us all what was possible, even if no one else could achieve it! The CMR, to many of us, was a real living breathing railway that just happened to have had a model made of it. To put matters in perspective, at that time there was an energetic correspondence in the Model Railway press as to whether it was worth it or not to build model railways in 2-rail, or should they all still be 3-rail. We have come a very long way but the Craig and Mertonford Railway should still be revered by everyone. If you get a chance to see this relic, do not miss the opportunity.
Rod
Hello Cornelius
I hope you take my previous comments in the spirit in which they were intended, I have no wish to patronise anyone but do think that something must be done to make those who are unaware of the significance of the CMR, Aire Valley etc. realise the importance of our heritage.
On that point, I presume you are aware that most of the Aire Valley locos. and stock reside in the society's Heritage Collection (along with David Mander's Stronalacher locos. and stock.)
Rod
I think that there is a point here. I am new to 009 modelling in the sense that I have recently returned to modelling after a few decades in which life and family took up so much of my time that I did no modelling at all. So I am both new and an old timer. I'm afraid that without threads like this I would be one of the people who see a layout similar to many others, albeit well conceived, nicely detailed and well done. I may have been aware of this layout and others like it in the past but now they have slipped from my memory. Thanks to Rod I now have a better idea of the significance of the layout.
So I suggest that some effort be made to publicise the significance of this in more detail and to a wider audience.
For example, there is the Society Showcase, which I have seen at several shows, but it has absolutely no information on the models. In current jargon, it lacks intrepretation. Some display boards with layout photos and the sort of context described so eloquently by Rod would make such a difference.
Frank
I known that there is a lot of stuff in the 009 Society heritage collection that members may not be aware of, there is a selection of Pete Wilson
I'm in two minds about the showcase (if I'm correct in thinking we are talking about the glass cabinet). Information about individual models is very desirable but on the other hand the display of so many models side-by-side, uncluttered by labels and viewable from all angles is fascinating and definitely eye-catching at an exhibition.
At the risk of inventing a lot more work for someone, I'd want it both ways ;) with an exhibition catalogue, portfolio, Rolodex or whatnot beside the case to flick through for further information. Realistically, it exists in the wealth of information there just for the asking from the exhibitors so perhaps more general signage would help. My memory may deceive me, but I seem to recall a ring binder of information.
What I did enjoy when last I saw the cabinet was spotting the group of "Paul Windles", what people had done to A1 kits and of course seeing the "PD Hancock" on display. The Juggernaughts were impressive too, but not my kind of 009 model. Models in glass cases at exhibitions can sometimes be not all that interesting but the case is a good size and being able to compare so many models in close proximity is interesting.
Quote from: cornelius on September 25, 2012, 18:49... As a mere slip of a lad at 35 I count myself lucky that, while visiting my grandfather as a kid I was able to make use of my uncle's collection of Railway Modellers from the late 50s onwards and so read up on the C&M, Aire Valley etc while still at a young age. ...
The funny thing is that my narrow gauge involvement came about in a very similar way, but about 20 years earlier. My father was a keen 00 modeller as it took him back to his travels to Britain in the 1950s. Somehow he got hold of a large number of 1950s and 1960s Railway Modellers and Model Railway Constructors. These resided in a row of box files in his study. At age 16 or 17 I had already read about the Craig & Mertonford, but as you say within the context of contemporary modelling. There were the Aire Valley, various layouts by George Hanan (who remembers the Castle Valley Railway?) and of course the Augher Valley by David Lloyd. And there was a lot of excellent standard gauge modelling going on even in those early days. What set off my narrow gauge modelling was really my mother complaining about the huge fold-down standard gauge tail-chaser blocking my bedroom. So my Dad suggested I change to a narrow gauge shelf layout, using Egger equipment. This coincided with a visit to North Wales in 1967.
What is vastly different in today's modelling is that there is more emphasis on (excellent) scale modelling instead of the fictitious theme approach. What PDH and his contemporaries did was dream up a real railway and build a model of it. I remember reading the early magazine articles avidly, and thinking up my own theme along similar lines. I think the key is the word 'freelance' which today is often frowned upon, but which opens up a whole world beyond the constraints of scale modelling. If PDH and his contemporaries have left a legacy to us, this is it. But PDH through his imaginative writing was the one who appealed to us most of all.
Regarding safeguarding PDH's and other heritage and keeping the knowledge alive, I think it cannot be solved in a forum discussion. I'm sure many measures exist within the Society that can be built upon. One discussion we had on the NGRM forum was how to create a digital library or at least an index of old narrow gauge modelling publications, in view of questions often cropping up. The main obstacle here is copyright, but if we tread carefully I'm sure something can be done.
My 009 News was waiting for me when I came home last night. I had forgotten how atmospheric the layout was and I don't think I've ever seen colour photos of it.
The architecture and stonework is spot on (I guess) for a peninsula off East Lothian.
The enduring image in my head is of the band on parade.
Here's the (or a) real Dundreich :) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dundreich_-_geograph.org.uk_-_211793.jpg (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dundreich_-_geograph.org.uk_-_211793.jpg)
Ah, I had been meaning to look it up. Somewhere in Peebleshire according to PDH. Photo obviously not taken on a dreich [Scots to English translation - miserable, cheerless] day.
Malcolm
Stan
Lord Craig thanks you for your hospitality at the Dwffyr Uchaf Quarries and advises that he is most pleased with the photograph of himself in front of the loco.
Malcolm
Quote from: Malcolm on September 27, 2012, 13:23
Ah, I had been meaning to look it up. Somewhere in Peebleshire according to PDH. Photo obviously not taken on a dreich [Scots to English translation - miserable, cheerless] day.
Malcolm
Another fictional Dundreich. Perhaps you can remember a BBC Scotland comedy series (Laugh I nearly paid my license fee) that included a very young Robbie Coltrane? There was sketch featuring the Laird of Dundreich. The location lived up to its name!
I've just checked my copy of "Narrow gauge adventure" to check the location of Craigshire. I imagined it being bigger. Am I correct in thinking that PD drew his own line drawings? It looks like the "Part of Craigshire" track plan is signed "PDH 1964". The layout drawings have echoes of Wainwright.
Do not forget folks that, unless Pete has since said otherwise, his Charwel Cwm Bach locos were handed to me for the showcase ON LOAN only and not donated to the Society.
Quote from: Tigger on September 28, 2012, 08:11
Do not forget folks that, unless Pete has since said otherwise, his Charwel Cwm Bach locos were handed to me for the showcase ON LOAN only and not donated to the Society.
Pete has since said otherwise David. When Julien had the heritage collection, all items that were on the inventory as being on loan were checked with the owners and they were either returned to the owners or a proper donation document was drawn up, passing ownership of the items to the Society. When I took temporary guardianship of the collection from Julien, in order to take catalogue photos, the documentation accompanying showed this. Collection was then returned by me to the Society and subsequently to the appointed keeper of the Heritage Collection, which is as the situation stands currently as far as I know.
Mick
Malcolm,
We were pleased to meet Lord Craig and hoped his visit to the quarries will help him with his plans for the C&M R.
Regarding the showcase which travels with our layouts around the UK.
I would like to say, that Garry takes great pride in having a different collection of locos for almost every show.
Sometimes a themed Paul Windle collection and depending where we are a collection of locos from a certain railway
ie the FR/ WHR and so on.
The collection will normally be made up from stock that Garry, Roger, Bill or myself have.
Some of the stock seen at one show will be possibly running on a layout at the next show.
With that it would be difficult to print out what is in the showcase, but someone is always on hand to explain to a visitor the contents of the showcase.
From the favourable comments we receive, it appears to go down well, in fact we have exhibition managers asking us to bring it along with our layouts.
Stan.
Quote from: rod335 on September 25, 2012, 17:48
Whilst we old-timers have had a lot of private correspondence of late regarding the Craig and Mertonford, it is, perhaps, a little sad that the younger, in this case, under 50, modellers probably have no understanding of the significance of the CMR. They probably see the remains of a well made scenic 009 layout with a bit of standard gauge, quite commonplace nowadays.
Like Steve, I had access to large stacks of Railway Modellers when I was younger and had an 8'x4' 00 roundy roundy, which happened to contain articles on the CMR.
Whilst on a holiday to Wales with my parents the first railway book I bought, and read cover to cover was a copy of PDH's book. I still have it, and re-read it every few years.
At 28 I guess the magazines that were available at second hand stands at exhibitions when I was growing up will now have become superseded by those from the 90s and early 21st Century. At least it's still easy to get hold of a copy of Narrow Gauge Adventure which will hopefully remain the case.
Great to see part of the layout still exists and is being actively preserved. I hope to be able to see it for real some day.
Regarding Lord Craig - flicking through Narrow Gauge Adventure again I was reminded that he made figures from wax on a wire armature. Is this the case with this gentleman?
Nobody seems to want these old RMs these days, too heavy for carting to exhibitions. The best place to look is preservation sites and stations including those with book shops. Many of these refuse magazines these days as they take up too much space to sell at 10p each. I always browse them if I see them but dont buy even at 10p. I suppose they will be put on CD/DVD at some point if they havent already. No doubt in 30 years time they will be collectors items at
Quote from: petersmith1942 on September 29, 2012, 21:33
Its perhaps advancing years or rose tinted spectacles but the creativity skill and imagination demonstrated in those days far outweighs the search for absolute fidelity apparent in current magazine layouts and often achieved out of the box
Peter Smith
One of the reasons I like 009! A good number of club standard gauge exhibition layouts are big but less than exciting. Perhaps understandably they take the opportunity to make maximum use of the large areas available in exhibitions, but it can lead to bland layouts.
The C&MLR was so full of
character.
Perhaps one reason why some of the old layouts were good is that they developed and were redeveloped over a long period of time. There appears to be rather more build, scrap and try something new every few years now.
During the Valkenburg show in the Netherlands, Rod Allcock brought with him the restored Craig & Mertonford diesel loco 'Joan', which together with a number of the so-called 'Woolworth hoppers' visited the Craigcorrie & Dunalistair Railway during the course of the weekend. Photos appear in the photo album of the Valkenburg show here:
http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2012/gallery37/index.htm (http://www.009dutch.nl/archive/2012/gallery37/index.htm)
The Valkenburg show offered a great number of interesting narrow gauge model railways, including many in 009 or H0e. A full report will appear in due course, on the Dutch Group website on the 'recent' page.
http://www.009dutch.nl/ (http://www.009dutch.nl/)
Just now I uploaded a short video to Youtube, showing 'Joan' at work on the C&DR, hauling a string of the so-called Woolworth hoppers. The loco is an excellent slow runner thanks to Rod Allcock's work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkZzhuoZ8SQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkZzhuoZ8SQ)
QuoteI've just checked my copy of "Narrow gauge adventure" to check the location of Craigshire. I imagined it being bigger. Am I correct in thinking that PD drew his own line drawings? It looks like the "Part of Craigshire" track plan is signed "PDH 1964". The layout drawings have echoes of Wainwright. GraemeD
You are correct Graeme. PDH did draw his own plans which, despite showing a scale, I would call them sketch plans rather than scale plans.
The echoes of Wainright is not pure co-incidence. PDH was a keen hill walker and admirer of Wainright and, if I recall correctly, they did meet.
Malcolm
QuoteJust now I uploaded a short video to Youtube, showing 'Joan' at work on the C&DR, hauling a string of the so-called Woolworth hoppers. The loco is an excellent slow runner thanks to Rod Allcock's work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkZzhuoZ8SQ
Ted
As they would say in Glasgow; 'pure dead brilliant'
Malcolm
Malcolm
I don't know if PDH and Wainwright ever met but I do know that PDH told me they had a degree of correspondence, being out of similar moulds. Indeed PDH made no secret of the fact in conversation that Hill Walking was his major passion, taking precedence over railways and railway moddelling. Of course, then there was Scottish Church Architecture as well.... He regretted greatly that his failing health, and the death of his long-time walking companion, led to a curtailment of his walking activities.
Rod
Quote from: Malcolm on October 01, 2012, 18:14
Ted
As they would say in Glasgow; 'pure dead brilliant'
Malcolm
;D
Rod
Was it your good self who mentioned the Wainright connection in an e-mail? Before replying to Graeme I searched two forums and my saved e-mails without success. I could remember Wainright being mentioned by someone and with my memory being far from infallible I wrongly recalled meeting rather than correspondence.
Malcolm
QuotePosted by: GraemeD
Regarding Lord Craig - flicking through Narrow Gauge Adventure again I was reminded that he made figures from wax on a wire armature. Is this the case with this gentleman?
Graeme
Lord Craig is a lump of whitemetal.
Malcolm
Quote from: rod335 on October 01, 2012, 19:25
Malcolm
I don't know if PDH and Wainwright ever met but I do know that PDH told me they had a degree of correspondence, being out of similar moulds. Indeed PDH made no secret of the fact in conversation that Hill Walking was his major passion, taking precedence over railways and railway moddelling. Of course, then there was Scottish Church Architecture as well.... He regretted greatly that his failing health, and the death of his long-time walking companion, led to a curtailment of his walking activities.
Rod
Many thanks Rod and Malcolm for shedding light on this. It just struck me the other night leafing through "NG Adventure" again that the essence if not the exact style of the diagrams was reminiscent of Wainwright. No doubt influenced by school tech. drawing and commercial drawing office style of the period.
For readers outside the UK, this is Wainwright or "A.W." (he never used his first name as he hated it).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wainwright (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wainwright)
The books are little gems.
Malcolm
I honestly can't remember if I mentioned the Wainwright connection to you, nor can I remember when PDH told me. I'm sorry to say that I was not aware of AW until Julia Bradbury's television programmes and the only time I met PDH was about 2006 although he and I spoke by telephone on several occasions before and after that meeting, so I can't really shed any more light on this.
Rod
Greetings all from a just joined west coast (of Canada) member. In the first copy of 009 News I was delighted to read of the 'surfacing' od Dundreich and other C&M relics.
I have a part copy of RM Volume 1 #7 Oct - Nov 1950 in which PDH wrote an article titled "Why not a Narrow Gauge Layout". I can scan a copy if desired privately. I also have a copy of his "Narrow Gauge Adventure".
I have indexed all the copies of UK Model railway mags in my posession including RM from 1955 in part with most recent complete years which I can check for articles.
Regards to all
David J Elliott
Quote from: Malcolm on October 02, 2012, 14:50
Lord Craig is a lump of whitemetal.
Oooh, that's cruel! (I might remember that one. Makes a change from "lard tub")
;D
I hear his lordship made the trip to ExpoNG recently. Sadly I didn't get to meet him. From a personal point of view it would be really nice to have a photo of him on Isle Ornsay at some point as PDH's work is partly responsible for my Scottish leanings when it comes to NG railways.
Quote from: invercloy on November 09, 2012, 19:44
I hear his lordship made the trip to ExpoNG recently. Sadly I didn't get to meet him. From a personal point of view it would be really nice to have a photo of him on Isle Ornsay at some point as PDH's work is partly responsible for my Scottish leanings when it comes to NG railways.
Well Tom I'll give you an incentive. His lordship does not like visiting building sites as he gets his boots covered a white stuff called 'Polyfilla' and then I have to clean them! :( So you finish the layout and I'll speak nicely to the old boy when he returns from his travels. We'd both love a visit to Skye. ;)
Malcolm MacLeod of MacLeod
Equerry to Lord Craig
Hon Chairman
Craig and Mertonford Light Railway
Craig Castle
Craigshire
[Somewhere east of Dunbar]
Dunber?!!!!!!
Rod
That sounds good, Malcolm, I shall have to get cracking! :)
It is most remiss of me not to have updated this topic before now. With the last postings in Nov 2012 anyone coming across this topic now might be concerned that the lack of postings from Craigshire mean that the Craig and Mertonford has closed. Nothing of course could be further from the truth - it is just resting having successfully survived its first ever exhibition. 'Dundreich' survived its 500+ mile round trip undamaged and Lee Marsh has said he is prepared to make his locos and rolling stock available should 'Dundreich' be exhibited again. Mick's photos can be found at http://micksrovingreporter.blogspot.co.uk/
Having had a hectic time preparing
I notice it is some time since my last posting so here is brief update on what has been or not been happening.
I have been undertaking some not so scholarly research into the writings of PDH by going through the magazine articles and the book Narrow Gauge Adventure. This has, for instance, enabled me to compile a list of the named characters of Craigshire and I will write this up in a Who's Who in due course and yes thank you, I have fully recovered from my stay in the Craigshire Sanitorium for the Sorely Afflicted [see posting #169 above] but completing the Who's Who may cause a relapse. I have also started a survey of the CMR coaching stock, will have to update a survey of the goods stock then there are the locos, the standard gauge etc etc and so the list goes on. Someone has even suggested a biography of PDH!!! Thank goodness longevity runs in the family as I will need very moment of my time here on earth to get everything completed. I am also busy cataloging some surviving notes, correspondance and drawings by PD which date from the early 1950's and now owned by Lee Marsh, who also owns most of the standard gauge and the CMR narrow gauge stock from Craigshire. PD was not a man to throw things out so it would be very interesting to be able to trace his work from the late 1950's onwards. PD was a dab hand at the engineering drawing but whilst his drawings are excellent for their time I suspect research in the past 50 years or so reduces their interest and technical worth to modellers.
I have also completed a brief history of what happened to the Craigshire and the CMR between 1987 and now and fully detailed in a separate document the conservation and restoration undertaken to Dundreich. As work proceeds on other parts of Craigshire's remains it will also be fully documented.
And what of Dundreich and the physical remains of Craigshire? Safely stored for the moment as I need to get through the cataloguing mentioned above and finish work on scanning and cataloguing papers, etc belonging to the Edinburgh and Lothians MRC. I never knew archive cataloguing was a skill railway modellers required but I do now!
Malcolm
To reawaken this thread, those of you with an interest in all things CMR will be delighted to know that the body of the original 'Joan', the Kemtron Diesel, has resurfaced and will soon be winging it's way towards the Society's Heritage Collection. Quite what is to be done with it is another matter.
Well done Rod, another PDH item unearthed!
Keep looking for Agnes!
Mick
Congratulations to Rod for negotiating the safe return of Joans body. That is two locos that have been saved for posterity this year, dare we hope Agnes is out there, as you know I have my doubts but then I never thought Joan would turn up!!! Lord Craig of course is not amused at Joans return.
I note Agnes had a Kemtron Stubby chassis so did Joans chassis end up under Agnes?
Good year for PDH and the CMR.
Malcolm
That is good news. I wonder what an eavesdropper might think? - "return of Joan's body" :)
I have been thinking EXACTLY the same thing!
Cue innuendos about her needing a thorough overhaul of her big end etc.....................
Mick
I couldn't possibly say....
Quote from: GraemeD on December 21, 2015, 08:58
That is good news. I wonder what an eavesdropper might think? - "return of Joan's body" :)
Yes what would you think if you were an eavesdropper in the Burke and Hare pub in Edinburgh!!
Malcolm
Following on from the donation of 'Joan' the diesel to the 009 Society.
Circa 1967 Bob Milne from Kirkcaldy answered an advert in the Railway Modeller placed by P D Hancock and met with him shortly thereafter and purchased six 'American' wagons and the body of 'Joan' the diesel from the CMR. Earlier in the week Bob crossed the Forth to visit the little bit of Craigshire that exists in my spare bedroom and to deliver the wagons back into Lord Craig's care and back onto the CMR stock lists.
The wagons are : -
1. A bogie open wagon described by PDH on page 112 of his book 'Narrow Gauge Adventure' as 'adapted from an American HON3 gauge kit of parts.'
2. A bogie work car or works vehicle, part open wagon part brake van, as described by PDH on page 110 of his book 'Narrow Gauge Adventure'. See also page 39 of the February 1955 Railway Modeller.
3. A bogie caboose, No.18, which on page 107 of the May 1954 Railway Modeller is described by PDH as 'Kemtron Denver and Rio Grande Western caboose'.
4. A bogie box car which on page 107 of the May 1954 Railway Modeller is described by PDH as 'Nevada County Box Car'. A photograph of appears on page 111 of the May 1960 Railway Modeller.
5. A 4 wheel caboose about which nothing is recorded by PDH however what appears to be one end of the vehicle appears in a photograph on page 32 of 'Narrow Gauge Adventure'.
6 A bogie open wagon, No.7, converted from two Rokal TT wagons and seen in a photograph on page 26 of the February 1956 Railway Modeller [and in other unpublished photographs].
The wagons have been donated to the Edinburgh and Lothians Miniature Railway Club's P D Hancock Collection whilst, as you are already aware, the body of 'Joan' has been donated to the 009 Society.
Photographs of the wagons can be viewed here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/112904466287746079405/CMR20TheAmericanWagons
Malcolm
Crikey, two and a half years since I posted here. Time really flies by which at my age is not a good thing!
A few weeks ago Dundreich, Craig Castle and the CMR rolling stock were moved into the Edinburgh & Lothians MRC clubroom to give the members a private viewing of the main artefacts within the E&LMRC P D Hancock Collection. I only took a few photos [which were taken for Rod Allcock's benefit] and attach two of Duncan and Moira when we took the opportunity to run them with rolling stock contemporaneous with their short lives on the first layout in the mid 1950's.
Duncan can be seen with the American work / boom car, a very light wagon which, according to PD, was just about all he could haul uphill. He has a new chassis which enables him to pull a much heavier load nowadays however he is still to fat wide to squeeze through the platform road at Dundreich and must always use the back loop. Moira with her new chassis, old one preserved in running order, looks quite at home with her train of Rokal wagons and 4 wheel American caboose.
Layout back home with me so that I can modify one of the fiddle yards which I have been intending to do since the layout was at the 009 Convention in 2013!!
Malcolm
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4879/45921576681_e2663773da_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cXW5S6)Duncan with American boom car Nov 2018 (https://flic.kr/p/2cXW5S6) by Malcolm MacLeod (https://www.flickr.com/photos/157354560@N03/), on Flickr
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4872/45872143362_712ae11601_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cTyJ4u)Moira with Rokals and 4w caboose Nov 2018 (https://flic.kr/p/2cTyJ4u) by Malcolm MacLeod (https://www.flickr.com/photos/157354560@N03/), on Flickr
Great photos Malcolm.
Without repeating in full what has already been posted on NGRM, for the benefit of those who don't already know and for those who have an interest in Philip Hancock, re-awakening this thread is very timely as this year marks the 70th anniversary of "PDH's" first published article in Model Railway News in 1948, what would have been his 90th birthday and this month also marks exactly 68 years since his 2 separate pioneering narrow gauge modelling articles appeared in the October/November 1950 issues of Railway Modeller and the November issue of Model Railway News - which are agreed to be the foundation markers of the Craig & Mertonford Railway, acknowledged as not only one of the first narrow gauge layouts in any scale, but the pioneering 9mm gauge NG railway in what we know and celebrate today as 009.
Still an inspiration after all this time!
Mick
Some additonal photographs of Dundreich at the E&LMRC clubroom have been posted by Linny Linehan.
WARNING some are of a heretical nature as they feature the NBR / NER standard at Dundreich
https://imgur.com/a/H8KxWrv (https://imgur.com/a/H8KxWrv)
Malcolm
Great photos. What impresses me about the C&MR is that it looks so good in colour photos. Many older layouts looked very garish when colour pictures started to appear. There was of course nothing like the range of material that we have now which made life harder; but the CMR looks as good, if not better in colour than it does in B&W.
Paul
Considering its age, Dundreich dates from early 1970's, the colours have survived well. Dundreich was stored for 25 years in PD's loft away from natural sunlight which has kept the colours wonderfully fresh. I myself store it in a darkened room so the colours should survive for a good few years.
The album below has some more photos of Dundreich taken while the layout was displayed at the Edinburgh and Lothians MRC's clubrooms. They were taken by Jeremy Christie partly as an exercise in 'Focus Stacking' by using a tablet to control his Canon SLR to take the photos which were then combined in Photoshop to give the final image.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gCgVg1FVLYD2qX2L8
Malcolm
Malcolm,
Thanks for posting those. I've been a fan of the CMR since my teens when I first saw it in RM. To me it has a quality that I find very hard to define - something like character or charisma that is missing in many other, otherwise excellently modelled layouts.
I'm familiar with photo stacking from seeing it used in astronomical photos but only recently heard of it being applied elsewhere (actually photographing cactus flowers) to achieve greater depth of field in close up photos. It looks to be a worthwhile technique to use on models as well.
Good to know that Dundreich is in safe hands.
Paul
I think it is fair to say that for me, the CMR achieved the status of a 'real' railway when I was discovering the narrow gauge. Things that happened on the CMR were just as real, maybe more so, than what happened on the TR and FR as the CMR was more accessible to me. If it happened on the CMR, then it must have happened in real life.
Quote from: rod335 on January 30, 2019, 17:31
I think it is fair to say that for me, the CMR achieved the status of a 'real' railway when I was discovering the narrow gauge. Things that happened on the CMR were just as real, maybe more so, than what happened on the TR and FR as the CMR was more accessible to me. If it happened on the CMR, then it must have happened in real life.
What ever you were on Rod, it must have been good stuff!!
Seriously I do get what you are saying and in many ways I agree, if perhaps not as literally as you, the CMR did take on a life all of its own through the words of PDH.
Brian Meldon
Sorry Brian but I fear you have not the slightest idea of what I am talking about!