TAUNTON TOWN Model Railway Club
You are never too young (or too old) to enjoy model railways
Week 2
Q 1. Who led a force of 2,000 men to evict 150 men and their contractor from Mickleton Tunnel works on the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway?
A. Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Q 2. Why were the nameplates of GWR engines bearing the names of towns removed during the late 1920's and early 1930's?
A, Because passengers thought they were train destinations
Q 3. Where is the summit of the main line between Paddington and Bristol via Bath?
A. About 1/2 mile west of Swindon.
Q 4. What were the 'Long Charleys'?
A. Coaches built for the new broad gauge service from London to Birmingham in 1852, so called because of their 38ft length. They were the first eight-wheel coaches to be used on regular main line passenger services in Britain.
Q 5. How were third class passengers carried on GWR trains from its opening until 1844?
A. In open wagons.
Q 6. What was a Fantail signal?
A. A rectangular arrow-shaped board painted on one side green (caution) and the other side red (stop) used from the 1840s.
Q 7. Who proposed the toast of 'The Great Western Railway' at the Centenary Banquet at Grosvenor House, London, on 30th October 1935?
A. HRH The Prince of Wales.
Week 3
Q 1. Which terminal station, built specifically for suburban traffic and opened in 1909, had the unusual space-saving feature of two traversers to release engines?
Q 2. What were Cyclops, Hercules and Samson?
Q 3. When the South Devon Railway main line was being planned Brunel adopted a steeply graded curving route between Newton Abbot and Plymouth. Why?
Q 4. Two saloons of the GWR 1897 Royal train, Nos 9002/3 were sold out of service in 1935 for holiday use on the Welsh coast near Aberporth. One, No 9002, was moved in 1982. Where is it now?
Q 5. In Broad Gauge days the Great Western operated an underground line in London. Which one?
Q 6. In the earliest days of the GWR what did a handsignal with one arm raised above the head indicate to a driver?
Q 7. Who was in personal charge of the visit of No 6000 King George V to the centenary celebrations of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad?
