Apr 20, 2024, 05:56 am

News:

New, New TardisBuilders!


Metbox Catalog Cleanup "To Do" List

Started by hb88banzai, Mar 21, 2018, 05:20 am

Previous topic - Next topic

hb88banzai

Mar 21, 2018, 05:20 am Last Edit: Apr 21, 2018, 11:46 am by hb88banzai
Split off from http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=8583.0

I'll also prioritize posting those other Boxes - Spoilers below  :).

"To Do" List:
Spoiler


Preliminary List of those Box Topics I will be either creating or adding to ASAP -- I will change the colour of each to Green as they are checked off as being created/updated):

A54 Lambeth Bridge--add more and better captures from doc film "I am a Policeman"
B9 Knightsbridge--add photos I ID'd some time ago showing replacement Post
C62 Waterloo Place Post-- include photos I ID'd some time ago (stills, not clips).
C64 Park Lane, Site 1--add probable ID'd photos of the original Box - one hi-res from Mike other night shot from long ago (ideally scan the night view) - Posted and provisional ID here http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=6971.0
C68 Euston Square--create Topic from Frith photo and BBC Britain on Film - Series 2 Episode 4 Work - Look at Life FULL-360p-(1965 Metpost at 10.30)
D81 -- work up a Topic from the ID made by Starcross from the "Police--Colour" and "Lost" 1956 clips (original re-tagging/linking by Starcross of an "In the Media" file as a Metbox Catalog Topic undone to preserve provenance and keep things straight, but will probably use last post where ID was made and split off as basis for new Topic with the addition of original captures.
F14 Cromwell Road -- add capture from "Hangman Waits" 1947
H7 Manchester Road/Isle of Dogs - adding all the other photos and maps I had accumulated for it, plus new captures
H8 at Millwall Docks (aerial photos I found some time ago)
H4 Shadwell -- create Topic with aerial photo
H12 Tower Hill -- add "Dateline Diamonds" 1965 pics
J31 Gates Corner -- start Topic with possible blurry photo of Mark 5 Box
K1 Boleyn Tavern -- start Topic with Mark 0 photos and glimpse of Site 1 Mark 2 (may need to be scanned)
K7 -- work up a Topic from the photo of the Prototype I found and put in http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=5113.0
K10 -- add all the aerial pics and other pics of the Prototype (and later MetBox) I worked up as part of http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=5113.0 Article I worked up a long, long time ago
K13 -- work up a Topic from the Daily Mirror article Pete posted long ago that I ID'd
L7 Chelsea Bridge -- adding pics from "A Dandy in Aspic" 1968
L9 Kennington Park -- add Mike's hi-res photo of interior (and scan and post similar image in Bunker's book) provisionally ID'd by others and confirmed by me http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=7416.msg93079#msg93079
L13 (adding the Kentish Drover pics)
L11 on Old Kent Road -- from "Genevieve" 1953
M8 Rotherhithe--create Topic from possible blurry aerial pic
N12 Stamford Hill -- add all the Mark 0 pics and rather complicated siting history I had found (though also still need to scan the Met Box photo I had found in a book)
P36 Dulwich Village -- add pics and siting of preceding Mark 0
P42 New Cross Gate -- add Mark 0 pics and complex siting history I had found
R10 Woolwhich Armory, Middle Gate--Work up Topic from Daily Mirror article about Trollybus crash by Pete a long, long time ago http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=5210
R19 Tranquil Vale -- Post and explain ID of Mike's hi-res pics - originally posted here http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=6971.0 and ID'd here http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=7572.0 and here http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=7571.0;attach=133445;thumb
R31 Northumberland Heath, Erith--Work up Topic from Daily Mirror article about wrong Box Siting http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=5217.0
R38 Beresford Square Post--Work up Topic from photos I found long ago (one of which was re-found by Pete, but mis-ID'd by him) - correct Met List regarding commissioning dates
S3 Aldenham--create Topic from aerial photos
S6 Watford By-Pass--add aerial photos
S7 Stanmore Broadway--add photo from Pete (Site 2) and additional info about Mark 0 and Prototype sited at different site (Site 1) as discovered by Mike and myself
S10 Shenley Road -- add captures from "The Human Jungle: Dual Control" 1965
S11 Stirling Corner -- add aerial photos I discovered
S14 Kingsbury Circle -- Update pics and split off original question
S18 The Ridgeway, Mill Hill -- create new Topic from ID of box in http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=7476.msg109102#msg109102
S23 Canons Corner -- add captures from "Skid Kids" 1953, plus aerial photos
S30 Staples Corner -- from BBC Panorama on the 1960s (plus aerial photos)
S43 Kilburn Station -- create Topic from aerial photo
S46 Whitestone Pond--add aerial photos of both Mark 0 and Mark 3
S49 Swiss Cottage Station--add photos from "Hampstead, 1961"
S65 Bignell's Corner--Work up Topic from ID'd photo from 1939 BBC TV shoot on The Barnet ByPass and captures from "The Saint: The Contract" 1965
T7 Cranford--work up Topic from captures from film "Raising a Riot" 1955
T19 Littleton -- from "The Night We Got the Bird" 1961
T25 Sunbury -- add possible earlier site or proposed site map
T27 Hampton Court -- add capture from ??? recently posted (have to find it)
T29 Upper Halliford--work up Topic from captures from film "Life in Danger" 1959
T43 Gunnersbury Park--post finding regarding "Lavender Hill Mob" to both this Box and the relevant "In the Media" Topics
T50 Ealing Common--create Topic from pics and captures here http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=5101.0 and here http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=5086.msg81703#msg81703
T53 Dean Gardens, West Ealing -- create new Topic from photo
V7 Richmond Station -- Create new Topic with aerial photos to compensate for old mis-identification
and V11 Gasworks Bridge -- Sort out and separate confusion from old mis-identification and add maps
V14 Mortlake Green -- from "Separation" 1968 (plus aerial photo)
V31 Robin Hood Lane -- post pre-war photo discovered by Pete
V39 Richmond Road, Kingston--modify and update provisional posting by Pete
V44 Surbiton Station--add capture from "Confessions" aka "The Deadliest Sin" 1955
V55--form Topic from "Bitter complaint about a Putney box!" newspaper article
V57--Tibbets Corner--Followup with Dalekoracle on offered high res scan of postcard, modify and Post
W27 Figge's Marsh--add additional aerial photos found a very long time ago
W28 Collier's Wood Station -- add comments on siting and photo of later Box site (may need to be scanned)
W30 Tooting Bec -- create Topic based on provisional ID of Box glimpsed in "Scotland Yard: Late Night Final" 1953
W39 Clapham Common Station -- create Topic based on photos (one may need to be scanned) and maps (Site and Resite)
W40 -- Create Topic from Daily Mirror newspaper article
X2--create Topic from captures from film "The Traitors" 1962 and aerial photos
X12 North Circular -- updated with pics and info from "Penny and the Pownall Case" 1948 and "Look, Signal, Maneuver" 1960s
X4--create Topic from clip capture and ID here http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=5086.msg84361#msg84361
X6 Kinsel Rise -- add aerial photos
X24--create Topic from aerial photo and Prototype info
X41 Perivale--create Topic from aerial photo
X48 outside the Adam & Eve PH, Hayes-- from "Peeping Tom" 1960
X49 Coldharbour Lane, Hayes -- Adding "The Two Ronnies" 1971 pics and aerial photos as well as update Mark 0 history
X54 Hillingdon Circus -- add low res of 1930s pic as interim until hi res scan
Y19 Muswell Hill Roundabout -- add photos of prior Mark 0 and story behind it (origins of Mark 0s)
Y33 Palmers Green -- add photos, including prior Mark 0 and complicated siting history
Z7 Purley Corner -- create Topic using photos of Mark 0 and glimpse of Mark 2 in aerial photo
Z9 Coulsdon Box -- add copy of newspaper article regarding erection of Prototype in 1929 and aerial photos of original siting of Mark 0
Z24 Wickham Road, Shirley -- add aerial 1938 photos
Z27 Selhurst--create Topic from aerial photo
Z49 New Addington -- Create Topic from photos and info on replacement "Box"
Z32 Thornton Heath -- Figure out what to do with spurious Box ID and subsequent discussion
Z42 Robson Road, Tulse Hill -- Parse incorrect ID of blurry shapes in photos and post aerial views of Box (if remembering finding same correctly)
Create Topic for Knight's Hill Prototype (no direct replacement)

Sort out and add to the various Hendon and Peel House Box/Post Topics, including various listings in "Metbox Catalog", "In the Media" and "Unknown" sections

Sort out and add to the Radiolympia and Ideal Homes Exhibition Topic(s)

Sort and add various Non-Trench MetBox/MetPost communication points that were part of the Met Box System

Sort and/or add various Met communication points that are on periphery of Metbox System - used and sometimes show up in lists, but not numbered (often holdovers from Fixed Point Box days, eg Trafalgar Square Pillar Box).

Sort and add various newspaper articles that show or mention particular Met Boxes not otherwise dealt with above.

Provide maps to all Topics that don't have them (where available), and update older, low res maps to better copies.

Comb through my digital archive, Unknowns, and In the Media Topics (all Police Box Topics, really) again to organize and pick up any stragglers

Collate and create moderated (ie, continually updated) "Unknowns" Article with links to source Topics to organize long-term searches for still unknown Boxes and Posts, as suggested by Pete, Mark and others.

And, of course, the scanning and posting of physical photos, postcards and signs from my collection.


More mid-range time frame "To-Do"s:

Add new chapter to "...Prototypes" Article regarding "The 10"

Create Articles on:
   Search for and ID of origins of Crich Box
   Box/Post numbers over time - deductions and corrections as to how many, when and where, and of what type (soooo many errors)
   Non-Trench type Met Boxes/Posts "When is a Police Box not a Police Box?"
   Box/Post signaling systems used over time, with electrical/wiring diagrams, details and explanations, etc
   Updated scans and discussion of origins/provenance of Trench Plans
   Locks and Keys, including keying guides for:
       Met and other city's Box keys (where available)
       TARDIS locks and keys over time (Yale type)
   Police Box and Met Box Mythbusting -- Common (and uncommon) myths and misconceptions; setting the record straight -
        Including the following myths:
          There were only 3 types of Met Box
          The difference between Marks 1 & 2 were just the signage
          All Met Boxes were concrete except for a few "mock-ups" or experimental examples
          The Trench plans were the original 1929 blueprints, proving the above
          Mark 1's didn't originally have top lights or handles when commissioned
          Mark 1's had lead sheathed roofs
          Mark 1's were made entirely of wood
          Mark 1's were made entirely of concrete
          Mark 0's were just decommissioned Railway watch boxes purchased by, or given to the Met
          Non-Box or Non-Post communication points weren't numbered
          Met Boxes being used as mini-jails until transport could arrive was either a myth or an afterthought
          The Dinky toy was wrong, Met Boxes never had red top lights
          Met Boxes had blue lights at one point
          The first Police Box that looked like a TARDIS was installed in Newcastle
          The Cushing Box is a close copy of a Met Box
          Etc.
   Series of "Origins" Articles about the precedents to the later Met System and its Boxes/Posts, including (but not limited to):
       Met Fixed Points 1870 and 1877
       Chicago 1880
       Glasgow 1891
       Early Met Police Telephone Boxes (Mark 0s) 1897
       Crawley's System (Sunderland, then Newcastle and beyond) 1923
       
Create at least rough draft CAD drawings of all Met Box Mark types to:
   Create "Usual Suspects" chart
   Create "Spotters Guide" (mostly details of roof lines and window patterns in addition to "Usual Suspects", with annotations)
   Create Article on differences in form and construction over time


Not directly tied to the Metbox Catalog, but at least loosely related (as will be seen in some cases):
   Create Topics or update existing Topics with findings for:
       High Wycombe
       Hastings (but also re-research and document alternative theory for Hastings connection)
       Dover
   Update Glasgow Database and Catalog with all findings (lots, and lots) as per Met section
   Coordinate with Starcross on Articles for each Glasgow Box Mark type
   Create at least rough draft CAD drawings of all Glasgow Box Mark types (with similar reasons/goals as with Met Box CAD drawings above)


And finally, on a more personal note, create Topic on building and history of the TARDIS Assembers Union/Gallifrey One TARDIS with what photos I can ferret out of storage.


[close]



May take a few weeks to get to all the short term items (the list has grown), so please be patient - in short, if you find anything old in the "In the Media" section that you are itching to post to the Metbox Catalog, you might want to check it against the above list to avoid duplication of effort.

More long term there is the need to update all the listings in the Met Database (including coordinates, map notes (internal), correction/refinement of location descriptions and streetviews (using photos and maps and what notes we have from Mike), notes regarding any dating and/or Box type irregularities, resite annotations with new database entries where warranted, etc) and create basic Topics for each and every Metbox that doesn't already have one, including at least Streetviews and OS map extracts (where available).

Dalekoracle

That'll be a lot of work Alan, merging In The Media boxes into the main Metbox List, but well worth it, and will be appreciated by us all, I'm sure.
Thanks for taking on this gargantuan task.
Mark.

hb88banzai

Mar 21, 2018, 10:15 am #2 Last Edit: Mar 22, 2018, 01:52 am by hb88banzai
I've split this portion off.

Mark - I'm still adding to the list, actually, so come back in a few hours  ;). Seems logical to take the time now to work it up as a good "to-do" list. There's more to do than this in various areas, but it's a start - and as you can see. long overdue.

Also taking the time to change awkward Topic names for Boxes as I go down the list, at least in the main catalog (others I'll worry about later).

domvar

Great work Alan, your efforts are much appreciated.

Dom

hb88banzai

I've completed at least a first stab at listing all the Topics and other general things that need to be done in short, mid, and long term -- visible under "Spoilers" above.

I'm sure I've forgotten or passed over some things (it's not a comprehensive list either, after all, leaving out a lot of niggling details/updates I've wanted to do here or there like normalizing the Topic names, posting blowups, etc), so if anything comes to mind for those brave enough to look under the "Spoilers" tag, please do let me know.

Now on the the real work...

lym

Is there anything I could do to help with this cleanup project? I have plenty of free time and I've been immensely bored lately, so I'd love to do anything to help with progress.

petewilson

Might be best to PM Banzai  limerence...
But in the meantime feel free to do your magic and colourize more B&W photo's to relieve the boredom!   ;D

Pete