Channel 4 (UK) tonight Sunday Jan 7

[Tim StevensParticipant @timstevens64731]

A model railway crossing Scotland – could be interesting – Channel 4, 8pm.

Regards, Tim

[Tim StevensParticipant @timstevens64731]

Longest model railway (?)

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

James May attempted 10 miles on the Tarka Trail in Devon in 2009, only managed 7 miles, track stolen and coins placed on line to short circuit by vandals.

[Tim StevensParticipant @timstevens64731]

I suspect that one reason for doing this in the Highlands, not known for being near to any nest of scallies, was to avoid such problems. The use of 50 volunteers, who (says the Radio Times) camped out on-site, was likely to be for the same reason.

I guess that the need for refuelling will also require volunteers, but I'm not sure how the engine(s) are powered.

Cheers, Tim

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Will deffo try to watch

Sundays just haven't been the same since Strictly finished

The trailer made it look like there are small steam trains being used

Edited By Ady1 on 07/01/2018 12:29:34

[OldironParticipant @oldiron]

Got that set to record in case anything else gets in the way.

Edited By Oldiron on 07/01/2018 14:00:54

[Ian ParkinParticipant @ianparkin39383]

What did people think of it? The programme that is

[Donald MitchellParticipant @donaldmitchell68891]

Pure Garbage.

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

First thoughts were that there were too many managers/designers/"experts" & not enough workers/experienced people. And true enough, there were differences of opinion which Strawman (???) had to sort out. I don't know why the loco came off at the end, but my admittedly limited experience of 00 gauge railways is that track of that size has to be more or less perfect, eg a 6mm gap is nothing to a full size loco, but scaled up it is, if you get my drift. And talking about drift (ha-ha) what about the boat? Where were the experts who knocked that together – I can't say designed because it should have been obvious that the boat needed to be perhaps more stable than a lifesize one if nothing else to counteract the life size waves etc!

Afterwards, talking to SWMBO, I started thinking about other things: legalistics, permissions, H&S would surely have been involved etc. None of which came over in the first program. As a result I had a look around elsewhere and found a photo showing that there were hoards of people hanging around all wearing yellow coats: there were security guards etc.. Also comments about problems with transport, certain people having to work in the dark just to get a part of the track actually laid because the "workers" were out of hours, and how to control an engine with no brakes on a downhill stretch

In short, we have only seen a subset of what actually went on, and in my perhaps distorted view, seeing the background to the project might well be just as interesting, or perhaps more interesting, than what they were trying to do.

Peter G. Shaw

I see Donald has beaten me to an answer. I think "garbage" is perhaps a little strong. But then, it is TV.

 

Edited By Peter G. Shaw on 08/01/2018 21:13:25

[David Standing 1Participant @davidstanding1]

I watched much of it. Pointless would probably be my kindest view of it.

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Certainly not 00 gauge more like 32mm track, one of the Garden gauges.

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

Sorry Kwil, my post was misleading in that my limited experience is of OO gauge, whilst this project is, I think, O gauge which is twice the size of OO gauge. Nevertheless, my point is that small track discrepancies whilst insignificant to full size do matter at this small size, and if scaled up to full size would be horrendous.

Peter G. Shaw

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

I think it will progress just like a micro history of railway building

They start off as a bunch of clueless wannabes and as the two weeks of intensive work progresses they will become a finely honed railway building machine

So I'm going to stick with it out of genuine interest

Great to see the initial failures not being hidden from the cameras and I expect to see tantrums, resignations and huge arguments in the following episodes

Someone has spent a bucket of cash on this intruiging project

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Posted by Ady1 on 09/01/2018 00:50:39:

I think it will progress just like a micro history of railway building

They start off as a bunch of clueless wannabes and as the two weeks of intensive work progresses they will become a finely honed railway building machine

So I'm going to stick with it out of genuine interest

…

I haven't watched it yet, but: Oh Gawd – you mean there are gonna be more episodes?

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

“Great to see the initial failures not being hidden from the cameras and I expect to see tantrums, resignations and huge arguments in the following episodes”
And how dull for the telly viewer would a carefully planned and executed build have been…no “drama” no “jepody”
This is not tv made for the likes of us ( what would be… we are generally in our sheds not watching telly)..its made for the mass audience with a hint at model train enthusiasts

[Sam Longley 1Participant @samlongley1]

I thought that the little train did really well & if it really is going to do the 70 miles then that is a big plus for it. On the manufacturers website I see that they sell for circa £1882-00. ( + RC gear). Considering the work that goes into a model steam engine I think that is not so expensive as it first sounds.They seem to do 2 gauges. 38mm & 45mm if I read the bumf correctly.

If somebody wanted to set up a garden railway there should be 20 miles of track only used 4 times stored somewhere ready to sell !!

 

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 09/01/2018 07:53:47

[Sam Longley 1Participant @samlongley1]

Posted by David Standing 1 on 08/01/2018 21:19:06:

I watched much of it. Pointless would probably be my kindest view of it.

Probably does seem pointless but it is far less pointless than a lot of things on TV & it does manage to get through a programme without loads of swearing or flashes of t.ts.( get out that man at the back who said "shame&quot

In the end it shows how a team of people get together & act to try to achieve something. That has to be better than laying at home on the settee with their feet up the wall , bag of crisps in hand watching football on TV

I found it entertaining to see the frustration & bewilderments & disagreements of different participants & how they react to challenges which to some might seem simple. However, if one threw in some member on this forum with their " know it all" experience, I expect it would be just as disorganised (& probably more argumentive) than the show depicts now. Trying to arrange & lead groups of strangers with different skills into working teams is a lot harder than actually doing the job.

You have to admit that building a bridge across a canal in a day, albeit for a model, is quite a challenge. I have taken my boat down that canal & it is quite wide. The TV does not really bring this out. I want to see it working in the next programme.

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 09/01/2018 08:14:19

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

I yawned a lot and switched channel half way through.

Rik

(but we DID enjoyed "Grandpa's Great Escape" )

 

Edited By Rik Shaw on 09/01/2018 10:10:37

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

And how dull for the telly viewer would a carefully planned and executed build have been…no "drama" no "jepody"

It's seat of the pants civil engineering to achieve a specific objective in 14 days

No cost over runs, no time over runs, no 100% solutions committee meetings or public enquiries, no unlimited public purse to bail you out

Get the job done son

bring me solutions don't bring me problems

If you can't do it step aside right now

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

I assume it actually happened last year? Surprised and disappointed that nobody on the forum knew and mentioned it as I'm sure people nearby would have been interested to go along, and perhaps in some organised way been allowed to run their loco on a stretch of the track after the main event.

The difficulty with the curved track seems so typical of so many products today. Somebody built one and were lucky it worked so they assume mass production can go ahead without further testing.

Remember the film production team for this would be arts graduates not the least bit interested in the technology just seeing it as a vehicle for stuff about people, characters, emotions and the 'optics' of the situation.

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Posted by Rik Shaw on 09/01/2018 10:09:27:

I yawned a lot and switched channel half way through.

Rik

(but we DID enjoyed "Grandpa's Great Escape" )

 

Edited By Rik Shaw on 09/01/2018 10:10:37

 

I reckon that ME featured In Grandpa’s Great Escape, issue 4568 (I think) was on display in the shop.

Not watched the channel 4 programme yet, the wife was watching “Vera”.

 

Edited By V8Eng on 09/01/2018 14:00:56

Edited By V8Eng on 09/01/2018 14:01:40

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

The one that always impressed me was the Alaska Highway built in WW2

Pearl Harbour Dec41

Construction starts March 42,

1700 miles and 200 days later Completed September 1942

They crunched through up to 17 miles a day in the middle of nowhere

[martin ranson 2Participant @martinranson2]

To Tim Stevens please … thank you for posting this bit of information about channel 4 … I am rather surprised that most of the replies are so negative and grumpy … yes, it is obviously extremely drastically edited and pruned down from all the footage that was probably shot … give the producers a chance to show a bit more of how the work progressed … I would ask some of the people who replied if they realise that we ( model engineers of all sorts ) do not represent a large proportion of present-day society … any non-engineering reader of this forum would possibly assume we were all rather jaundiced, prejudiced and tempramental … maybe we are ?

martin

[Tim StevensParticipant @timstevens64731]

I found the program very revealing – about the way a group of disparate self-styled engineers/enthusiasts could (eventually) work out what was required, and how the kit they were supplied should work. And of course there were failures, and I thought, a lack of people with the experience of such 'model sized' problems and how to solve them in the countryside and not in the laboratory. If a few more of them had spent their early days running a pre-war motorbike on six quid a week (as some of us did) I'm sure the failure rate would have been, well, different. But that is life – progress happens, and just as whizzy new stuff comes along, it pushes old-fashioned dodges out of favour.

I am looking forward to the next instalments, and the next installations.

And thank for the encouragement from Martin Ranson.

Perhaps we might see a couple of pages in MEW covering 'what went on behind the scenes' ?

Cheers, Tim

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

", a lack of people with the experience of such 'model sized' problems and how to solve them in the countryside and not in the laboratory. If a few more of them had spent their early days running a pre-war motorbike on six quid a week (as some of us did) I'm sure the failure rate would have been, well, different"

And therein lies a major problem: a lot of people today simply do not have any idea how to make do and mend. Or even how to do it in the first place. It's alright spending 7 years at school, then a further 3 or 4 years at university learning the theory, but what about the practical. I've seen some of them, and I wouldn't pay them in washers.

Peter G. Shaw

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