LNER4479

So it is! I was thinking that was the Quad set ...

Meanwhile ... Just a quick note to say that, following a photo session at last year's Hornby GETS show, the layout is scheduled to be in the next edition of said mag, out ... pretty soon now! Bizarrely, Grantham is also appearing simultaneously in April's RM. It's like waiting for a bus! Enjoy.

You may recall(?), back in the dim n distant past of August last year, we set the layout up for a fortnight in Jonathan's barn, to undertake a little bit of maintenance / improvement work, practice running and ... photography. Below is an example, kindly photoshopped by John Smart. Well ... drum roll, please ... the images captured happily made the cut with a certain long-established railway modelling magazine (the one that used to be for the 'Average Modeller') and the layout is set to feature in the 'April' issue, due out on March 14th, to coincide with the layout's appearance at the York show. This was the plan all along, as originally hatched with the erstwhile editor, the good (albeit sometimes 'stern') Steve Flint. Anyhow, glancing through the current edition (my Dad gets RM; I get BRM and we exchange mags once read), in particular the 'next issue' section, it seems that Grantham will be 'Layout of the Month' no less. Well chuffed about that. By way of celebration, below are some of the images that didn't make it to the final copy - all pix have been embargoed until now. Needs a bit of photoshopping out of the background but otherwise a 'classic' Grantham platform end view. Tom Foster's weathering is shown to particular effect from this angle. Mr King brought along his exquisite iron ore rake and several different views of it were taken. One may have made it into the article. The phantom curtain wigglers haven't quite managed to eliminate the background! All Mr Wealleans' (stock) and Mr Bolton's (buildings) work. Not a streamliner in sight! Aah - here's one! Enjoy the read and / or see you at the York show in a 3 and a half week's time. (and if that wasn't enough excitement, Shap is also the feature layout in the next issue of another railway modelling magazine (the one that shares its name with a red box RTR manufacturer). It's like waiting for a bus ...)

So now, the exciting layout news ... Should be first post on the next page 👉

Forgot to bring my tea tray with me.😖 Did see the course set out though (again, for the first time)

Well, glad all this of some interest (to some). After the sensational conditions of the previous two days, there was always a danger of Thurs 22nd being something of an anti-climax. The weather certainly turned duller. However, one of my TM colleagues wanted to do a recce to one of my other favourite places round these parts ... Back out over THAT viaduct (again!). Destination ... St Moritz 😎 Some of my TM colleagues don't really 'get' St. Moritz but I love it. It really is a place like no other, famous as the home of winter sports and given a memorable name drop in the classic Peter Sarstedt song 'Where do you go to my lovely?' It's all about the location, best viewed from across the lake, railway station to the right. Did I say lake? I haven't actually been in the month of February before, so this was the first time I've seen the lake set out for the famous 'White Turf' event. That's right - horse racing on the (frozen!) lake. The ice clearly thick enough and the temperature clearly cold enough here. Zoom in on the left hand side mid-distance, and you'll see the unmistakable course perimeter fences (quite apart from the cars, hospitality tents, etc). Only in St. Moritz. Well, if it's good enough for horses, it's good enough for me! Farewell for now. Due back here twice in the summer 😊 The train back had one of those lovely restaurant cars again! Time for a midday 'snack'. Changed at Filisur for the train on to Davos, seen crossing the also spectacular Wiesen viaduct. Further change at Davos for the onward train to Landquart. The descent down into Klosters is another favourite of mine. Not sure how the royals are going on skiing on that little snow?(!) A final rendez-vous in Landquart with my fellow TMs. The others had been suitably underwhelmed by the nearby designer outlet village. Ah well, can't please everyone all the time. Great little trip. Hoping to do something similar again at the same time next year. Austria was mentioned. And now - let's focus on the layout.

That MIGHT just have been the legendary Stuart Sellar? He died only last year, at the age of 86. Famous within GRJ but probably far more famous for his contribution to ScotRail and the SRPS, including project managing the reintroduction of steam on the FW-Mallaig route in the 1980s Obit here: https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/obituaries-stuart-sellar-railwayman-and-founding-member-of-the-scottish-railway-preservation-society-4343626 Mind you, there are about 400 of us TMs so apologies if the above is a case of mistaken identity ...

That's not been my (admittedly very limited) experience in the past. Sounds(!) like it's improving all the time then. It was ever thus for evolving technology...

First time I did it was in 1988 - in the opposite direction. We'd stopped off at Alp Grüm for a photo session. I was just blown away by it all. I seem to recall that we all fell asleep on the train from Tirano to Milan! (was with a group of like-minded fellow railway management trainees. We 'did' most of west Europe in three weeks of non-stop travelling) If poss., I always try to arrange the trip as per last week. For 'first timers' there really is no finer introduction to Swiss mountain scenery (IMHO). Incidentally, Varenna's not a bad spot to spend a couple of night before taking the trip onwards.

Weds 21st continued ... All too soon, our onward train was scrambling up that last curve into the station. Note the lake, still in view from this lofty vantage point. Alp Grüm isn't the summit; the railway climbs still further until it reaches the amazing lago Bianco and the absolute summit at Ospizio Bernina (7392ft a.s.l.), Europe's highest open railway pass (ie not in a tunnel). More fabulous conditions. Looking back to Ospizio station (left). There's a lake under all that lot somewhere. In the summer, it's a glorious Alpine blue colour. On the descent out of the pass, the line zig-zags close to the Morteratsch glacier. That's the second glacier you see on the run. Here's the fun fact - on the more famous 'Glacier Express', you don't actually see any glaciers!! (the latter train takes its name from the Rhone Glacier - which the modern train bypasses courtesy of the 1982 Furka base tunnel). Our train was headed for St Moritz; however, we were booked into a hotel at Chur. So, two quick changes of train (but all well within Swiss stride) at Pontresina and Samedan took us onwards over ... The Albula pass. Almost an anti-climax, after the wonders of the Bernina route, but this is all part of the UNESCO listing, owing in no small part to how the railway spirals its way up (or, in our case down) the pass. It's almost impossible to photograph from the train but I always try! We're about to embark on a clockwise, descending spiral in the mountainside (to the right), which will bring us out on the railway line below. Rather easier to photo (provided you're ready for it) is one of the last of the notable structures (in this direction) - the iconic Landwasser viaduct. Inspiration behind 'Team Grantham's 2019 GMRC heat layout (desperately trying to keep the link with Grantham going!). Note that opening the large panoramic windows to best capture the scene is de rigeur on these trains! See the blue vehicle second to last? That's the rather splendid restaurant car! Time for a cuppa to reflect on all that wonderful Alpine scenery and amazing railway engineering.

Close, but no cigar. No, my favourite introduction to the railways of Switzerland is the amazing* Bernina pass route, north from Tirano, in Italy (*not just me saying that - UNESCO agree with me 😆) The plan for our little trip revolved around this journey and it was a relief to see the forecast gradually improve until we had a largely sunny day😎 We retraced our steps out to lake Como but then carried out along the remainder of this extensive branchline to its terminus at Tirano. After over two and a half hours on the train, it was time for a coffee stop in station square. What makes this way into Switzerland so memorable, is that the trip out of Italy - whilst very attractive - is on a nondescript, graffiti-ridden (usually) train, with unmanned stations, dilapidated buildings. You exit this world on the left (cream coloured building) and then step across the square into the station building on the right. An enclave of Swiss swishness and an extremity of the iconic red trains of the Rhätische Bahn (Rhaetian Railways) RhB. The contrast could not be more complete and just serves to accentuate the remarkable journey that is about to unfold. The trip starts in Italy but within 10 minutes, we're into canton Graubünden (the Grisons) and soon encounter the first of the remarkable pieces of railway engineering - the Brusio spiral. We were on that railway below less than 60 seconds previously. Beyond Brusio, we're running alongside Miralago, a beautiful Alpine lake. The snow-topped mountains ahead are where we're going. Above Poschiavo (a major RhB depot) - centre of the picture - the railway starts its climb into the mountains via two long, snaking S-bends. Look carefully and you can see bits of the railway lower down the slopes. The scenery changes from side-to-side as the railway does a sequence of U-turns. That's the Miralago lake we passed earlier in the distance. We're now above the snow line and undertaking further zig-zags as the railway travels further vertically than it does horizontally. The final 180deg curve of this remarkable stretch of line, brings us into the amazing mountaintop station of Alp Grüm, only accessible by train. On a day like this, you simply HAVE to break your journey here, just to take it all in, overlooked by the Palü glacier. I know of no finer (railway) restaurant balcony to enjoy your goulash soup and beer. Many of my fellow TMs have done the Bernina Express in the last couple of years, but none had broken their journey here. It was a magical hour - nice when it all works out as planned.

I wouldn't normally get involved in such a discussion, as I am resolutely in the Dinosaur Control camp. However, I'm asking for a friend ... Irrespective of pitch / tone considerations, two fundamentals need to be met for steam sound to even start to be realistic: 1) The 'chuff' to accelerate in time with the loco (not go up in discontinuous steps), with the correct chuffs to the revolution (4 per rev for a 2/4 cyl. loco; and 6 per rev for a 3 cyl. loco) 2) The 'chuffs' to stop altogether when the locomotive is slowing to a stand. This should NOT require the input of the operator(!) - the system should sense the load on the motor (or equivalent) and adjust the sound accordingly. Are there any steam sound systems out there that achieve both of these? I might have heard No.1 but not - to date - No.2. As I say - asking for a friend. (FWIW, we do have two sound diseasels on Shap - that work on DC - and it's reasonably acceptable)

It's beautiful work (as always) but, heartbreaking though it might sound, the correct decision in a situation like this is almost always to start again. Two associated thoughts: 1) If this is a pivotal piece of track, critical to the smooth operation of the shed, is it going to end up as an Achilles heel if you plough on? 2) If the layout is 'here to stay' then it's worth investing in it's future It'll all make much more sense this morning now you've slept on it. And it'll take you less time to get to the same point (no pun intended) second time around.

Well, the layout is shortly to awake from its winter slumbers - with a little bit of additional excitement thrown in. Before that - and by way of a 'wake up' - been on my travels again. Just a quick few days, with fellow group of GRJ Tour Managers (ie we paid our own way on this occasion). Getting to be a bit of a tradition - a get-together trip out-of-season. Otherwise, we tend to pass like ships in the night. To get the most out of our time together, we agreed to fly out (Mon 19th) and meet up at our designated rendez-vous point. The Alps looking particularly enticing from seat 22A of my flight out from MIA (Ringway) to ... ... the fair city of Milano. They have trams here. There were some REALLY old ones running around but didn't have my wits about me to capture one on the old camfone, so you'll have to take my word for it (I'm not really very clued up when it comes to trams). The weather was set fair for the Tues (20th) so we headed out to lake Como for a bit of leisurely familiarisation. Here are my travelling companions, freshly decanted from Trenord's finest. If you book on a GRJ tour and get one of these as your Tour Manager then run for the hills (ha!) For those unfamiliar with your Italian lakes geography, Como is three legged and lovely lakeside town of Varenna is at the apex of the lake, served by the train. From there, ferries take you across the lake to Bellagio (the main tourist hotspot) and ... ... Mennagio. Just look at these conditions. This is mid-February and it was shirt sleeves weather. No-one about (but enough bars / cafes open). Absolutely gorgeous. I'd been here before but none of my colleagues had; they left with a favourable impression. Back in Milan, enough daylight left to take in the spectacle of the Duomo square. They even have gondolos in Milan. Who knew? Next - my favourite European train journey bar none. And a special stop en route. All we need is the weather.

More tracklaying ... Working on the third out of four fan of points in the fiddle yard. And that's the down fiddle yard essentially done - just a few plain lengths to complete. A ten coach set of Hornby Gresleys looks suitably 'lost' in there. The longest road as laid will take a 19 coach train - answers on a postcard(!) More prosaically, each road will be set up to take two trains if required, so more likely a longer road would be used to store two (shorter) trains, with a longer formation occupying one road on its own. One more fiddle yard session probably ... then we switch to Peco bullhead for the track through the station 🤓

Yay - platforms! Looking good, Houston 😀

Oh lumme. Don't encourage them. It'll be kn0bs and c0cks next ...

Whatever ... He certainly looks 'magnificent' in original garb (TW pic) It's me 😄

More work on the 'festive challenge' Fairburn. Work on the cab doors area. The rear (bunker) unit detaches separately, making things a little tricky. Suitable 'L' channels cut and soldered and handrails affixed. Can doors, steps and balance pipes added. Bunker rear detail (I like adding the detail 🤓) Cab roof ventilators. And, at risk of lily gilding, an ancient supply of 5A fuse wire being used to add beading round top of bunker. Beginning to look something like? Side tanks unit next.

Excellent! It's time for the OO vs P4 argument ... er, friendly exchange of views. Not had that one for a while😁 I know one thing - I couldn't attempt what I'm attempting layout-wise in P4. It's madness in OO as it is 🤪

Perhaps Squires should go the whole hog and acquire Markits as well? Maybe those discussions are already taking place?! Maybe there are lots of other secret negotiations going on we no nothing about?!! Whatever - stay tuned for the next exciting episode of: 'Railway Modelling - a hobby in decline?'

Evening Tony. Have you not yet heard the latest news re Squires acquiring all the DJH tooling etc, with stated intent to recommence kit manufacture? Don't go hunting for the thread elsewhere on this forum, however ... (bit of an argument broke out!)

Hopefully you charge accordingly?(!)

Yep - seen it Peter; just about to respond. I've had quite a few PMs overnight, so it looks as if the sale of the ex-LMS locos will get off to a good start. I'm still cataloguing but if you want to get in there before they get passed on to Tony for general sale then feel free to PM me with anything you might be interested in. It's generally medium to small stuff so no pacifics etc; more the characterful stuff that was the real bread n butter of the railway.

Meanwhile ... The LMS are coming! Whereas almost all GWR types have a RTR equivalent, there's some in this little lot with no such competitor. I should give due notice however that not all of these will make it to open sale. I'm a lot more in my comfort zone with locos like this and, aside from myself, there's a few other preliminary expressions of interest that may account for some of these. The good BarryO called in today for a cuppa and can vouch for the consistent build quality and running characteristics of these. There's more where these came from, including some RTR. Once it's all catalogued, I'll make the full list available. Feel free to PM me in advance however if you're in the market for these and other similar loco types. As always with Tony finding new homes for locos, 10% of proceeds to CRUK.