24th January 2019

I write this, having come back from a night shift and being a little sort of a loose end... the layout hasnt made any more progress as far as I am aware but the loco fleet for Johnson Street has, somewhat, had an unexpected boost. I have managed to acquire two new locos, for a fraction of the going rate, the Canadian Maple leaf style Schenker Class 67 (018) as well as a recently released model shop exclusive Bachmann YIWI-London DB Class 66 (136). This ties up nicely up to my loco fleet of newly branded DB locos, which, hopefully by the summer should be:

60100 DB - being rebranded currently (as of Jan 19)
66009 DB - just back from the paintshop
66136 DB - Yiwi-London example
90019 DB - DB Cargo livery - named Multimodal
90028 DB - DB Cargo livery - named Sir William McAlpine - to be done some time this year

My loco collection will also include a variety of transitionary locos heading in the above direction, so there will be Schenker, Ex EWS and even EWS locos in the yard.

I have decided to let go of two fleet members. My second Heljan Class 86, maybe its going to be third time lucky, the second one, 86215 in Anglia livery, just wasnt a very good fit for my layout, so it either required a paintjob or to be sold on. It was sold on. I do love the electrics and I will definitely have another one or two in the future, just not right now in Anglia livery. It ended up being sold to someone in Suffolk, which I thought was cute the livery of the 80s down there, and the model getting to spend its days down there, seems rather fitting.

The second loco I have let go of, or rather am going to, its on ebay now, as of 24th January, is 66065. 66065 has recently come out of the paintshop at Toton and is now wearing DB red. I think I will at some point in the next 18 months get a second Bachmann DB Schenker 66 and rebrand one this way. It is in light of this, that I decided to let it go. I had been umming and arring around having it renumbered to one of the numerous still ex EWS'd examples, i like 111 and 112, for some strange reason, but this is taking far too long - i was going to make examples of such, but i thought better of it

I will post some pictures of the new fleet members soon.

7th January 2019 (later in the day)

The choochoo world seems to be playing its part to cheer me up today despite feeling as sick as a parrot. To see six Class 90s on duty on the West Coast in one day is my equiavelent to music to my eyes. The important ones, 90018 and 90039 on 4M25, the less important ones, the two Freightliner examples heading north bound, the race to get to get to the crossings towards was won by Freightliner alas, ahead by about five minutes. To then see what I believe to have been 90029 dragging 92015 YIWI-London south bound shortly afterwards, and then topped off nicely with a GA 90 on its own heading towards Crewe. Totally non modelling related, but loco-some all the same.

7th January 2019

I am writing this at ridiculous o'clock, being waylaid with some of bad cold thing. The latest update to the project is that the four tracks which were to sit under the OOT (Out of Town) area, this idea has been shelved after the quite incredible discovery on ebay of something virtually picture perfect. The guys in the model shop will configure the two left hand tracks off the turn out under the bridge into a curving section of track which will pop out under and beyond the OOT area and head off into the newly impending fiddle yard space which will be a junction of sorts, the left two lines heading off non electrified and the five tracks to the right electrified.

In time I will give this a name of some sort - something North Eastern themed maybe.

On the loco front mixed news - I hear there may be trouble ahead for anyone looking to buy a Bachmann Class 90. Me being 1 (019), 2 (024), 3 (036), 4 (037), and 5 (039) ... of them, a reliable dickybird tells me we could find ourselves waiting a whole lot longer.

Better News on the new Heljan Class 86 - but oddly only available in first generation form only here and now. Maybe like Bachmann, with their ''planned to be due soon to arrive ORRR '' Class 90, you would be better placed to offer three different examples and do the necessary cosmetic alterations as part of the proposition - opening your product to a wider market. I already one want 86401 or 101 in Cally Sleeper.

I have also snapped up a ''work in progress'' DB Class 67 which needs some TLC but with sound to boot and a lot less than one might think.

9th December

Mike and the Mechanics have managed to demonstrate a snapshot of the progress they are making on the running on the layout using one of my DB 60s,

https://youtu.be/ZT5LUEbtwWA

8th December Update

Following on from the developments in November, mainly that the men in the know have got round to sorting the wiring out under the boards and configuring the electric points in line with the planned systems, DCC related, alot of it goes over my head, but as long as it makes Johnson Street more techy and up to date, then, great. Mike and the Mechanics have been working on this and whilst this is all about 50% sorted, there are the cosmetic aspects of the project which are starting to come together. I am hopeful that in the next few weeks, we should see the framework which will support the road deck and bridgework across the layout and eventually what will support the O-O-T scene which will sit virtually on top of the holding pen for the locos on and off the depot scene will start to take shape. There has been much discussion about the hard standing areas of late, but i want this to be done with the plaster like effect. Anyway, the men in the know yesterday sent me a video of the first loco, a 37, to actually run on one half of the layout, a real ground breaking moment. I am hoping to add a video clip of this here or failing that - a link to my youtube showing this.

8th December Update

The layout has taken a further unexpected but exciting twist. An opportunity presented itself to snap up an exhibition standard fiddle yard, for which most of it could be accomodated close by to my scenic layout.This, of course has been duly snapped up - and it is my intention to run PECO catenary into the fiddle yard on one side ... with the other being reserved for non electric/steam and diesel. I will look to find a used mucky RHTT wagon combo and run 66s at each end.

I have posted some pictures of the fiddle yard below as it is now, the track layout is going to be adjusted so that it fits into the space I have in mind for it. This will make a seven foot running space which will run out of the scenic space on a likely twin track section into a seven track shunting space, at least four tracks of which, will be electrified - using a mixture of catenary gantries.