| Re: Model railways - marshalling your train for the right time in history Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 17:47, 14th January 2026 |     |
Thanks again, grahame.
I was thinking more along the lines (pun intended!) of one of my heroes - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Trevithick
1804 - see image here.
CfN. Image not available to guests
| Re: Model railways - marshalling your train for the right time in history Posted by grahame at 17:00, 14th January 2026 | |
Ah, yes. Thanks, grahame. Image not available to guests
"Pioneering ... 1804", anyone?
CfN. Image not available to guests
"Pioneering ... 1804", anyone?
CfN. Image not available to guests
Bit of a compromise ... got to start somewhere. Wikipedia tells me
The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway, situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway, run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. since 1960.
Originally built under an act of Parliament, the Oystermouth Railway or Tramroad Act 1804, to move limestone from the quarries of Mumbles to Swansea and to the markets beyond, it carried the world's first fare-paying railway passengers under an agreement effective from 25 March 1807
| Re: Model railways - marshalling your train for the right time in history Posted by ray951 at 16:25, 14th January 2026 | |
Building a model railway - could you run a Dukedog hauling a load of dogfish and a toad? How about a Western Diesel on the front of a rake of Mk 5 carriages? Could a class 101 unit be seen at the same time as class 195?
Doesn't Model Railways Rule 1 apply - namely "It's my railway, so I can run what I like." Image not available to guests
| Re: Model railways - marshalling your train for the right time in history Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 16:18, 14th January 2026 | |
Ah, yes. Thanks, grahame. Image not available to guests
"Pioneering ... 1804", anyone?
CfN. Image not available to guests
| Model railways - marshalling your train for the right time in history Posted by grahame at 15:56, 14th January 2026 | |
Building a model railway - could you run a Dukedog hauling a load of dogfish and a toad? How about a Western Diesel on the front of a rake of Mk 5 carriages? Could a class 101 unit be seen at the same time as class 195?
To help modellers get it right (or embarrass them into buying more models that are right together, the rail modelling companies describe three products by eras; I've put this with examples into a GWR context
| Era | Name | Years | Example |
| 1 | Pioneering | 1804 - 1869 | North Star 2-2-2 |
| 2 | Pre-Grouping | 1870 - 1922 | Lode Star 4-6-0 |
| 3 | Grouping | 1923 - 1947 | Pendennis Castle 4-6-0 |
| 4 | Early British Railways | 1948 - 1956 | County of Dorset 4-6-0 |
| 5 | Late British Railways | 1956 - 1968 | Evening Star 2-10-0 |
| 6 | British Rail Pre-Tops | 1957 - 1971 | D821 Greyhound |
| 7 | British Rail Tops | 1971 - 1986 | Brush 47 |
| 8 | BR Sectorisation | 1982 - 1997 | HST |
| 9 | Privatisation | 1996 - 2008 | Thames Turbo |
| 10 | Network Franchising | 2006 - 2017 | Same Ole Trains |
| 11 | Present Day | 2014 on | IET |
