thegreenhowards

I do shrink them a bit to between 1&2MB each. The problem arises when I try to upload more than 6 or 7 photos in a day. Do you think I should go further with the shrinking?

Final photos of the Aberdonian now that RMWeb isn’t complaining that I’ve used too much data. A pair of end vestibule SKs made from Kirk kits. One is standard Kirk, although with Bachmann bogies, the other I bought half built in P4 with MJT underpinnings and finished it off. I don’t think you can tell on the layout which is which! A D.20 SLC which provided the sleeping accommodation for Fort William. Mousa sides on a Hornby donor. ...and finally the D.11 RU which served dinner as far as York. This is another Kirk cut ‘n’ shut with MJT underpinnings. It’s a bit rough, but is the only way of creating this coach AFAIK. I hope I didn’t bore you with all the coach pictures. I’m afraid that this train is a favourite of mine as I built 10 of the 14 coaches, so you’ll have to indulge me a little. Andy

That looks like a much bigger job!

Tony, Are you sure that the gears are split on the newer Hornby locos? I often find that the motor worm disengages from the lower gear attached to the drivers. This is easily cured, sometimes by re-tightening the screw holding the motor in place, and sometimes by wedging a sliver of plasticard into the motor mounting to force the gears to re-engage. Apologies if I'm stating the obvious. Andy

Tony, I'm in the process of converting a DJH A1 (eBay bought I'm afraid) to 60154, Bon Accord, with roller bearings. Could you remind me which washers you use to represent the roller bearing axle box keeps? I've done it before with my 60156, but I can't for the life of me remember where I sourced the washers - I blame the onset of senility! I've done a search on 'Wright Writes', but I can't find any reference which is surprising given how often the topic comes up! Regards Andy

In this post I will run through the formation of the Aberdonian. It was made up as follows: BG (from photos normally Thompson or Gresley steel) BSK(4) (Gresley) SLSTP (Thompson) SLF (Gresley 61ft) SLF (Gresley 66ft) SLC (Twin Gresley d.161/2) CK (Mark 1) 2* SK (7) (Gresley end vestibule) BG SLC (Gresley d.20) BCK (Mark 1) RU (D.11) The first 11 coaches went to Aberdeen, while coaches 12/13 (SLC/BCK) was a portion for Fort William and the RU served dinner until York and then returned to London on an up service. Most of my rake is kit built / bashed, so I will describe the more interesting vehicles below. The BG is a D.198 Gresley steel version based on Comet sides on a Hornby donor. For those interested I have written up the build here. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/135510-coulsdon-works/&do=findComment&comment=3547353 The BSK(4) is built from Mousa sides on a Hornby donor. Next is a Thompson SLSTP based on Mousa sides on a scratch built floor with 247 ends and MJT roof and under frame details. The build is written up starting here. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/135510-coulsdon-works/&do=findComment&comment=3324289 The 61ft SLF is standard Hornby so I haven’t bothered photographing that. Next is the the 66ft SLF is another Kirk cut ‘n’ shut - the one which delayed me running this train. It is written up here. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/135510-coulsdon-works/&do=findComment&comment=3851471 The twin SLC is D.161/2 of which only two were built and dedicated to service in the Aberdonian from new until the late ‘50s. These were built from Kirk cut ‘n’ shuts which I wrote up here: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/135510-coulsdon-works/&do=findComment&comment=3246132 I seem to have hit the limit again, and it won’t even let me load more in a separate post, so I will continue tomorrow. Does anyone know a way round the 10MB limit?

I promised the Aberdonian would feature on Saturday, but when I dug the rake out of the cardboard box where it’s been living for best part of a year, I realised that there was some work to do. I’ve been backdating the rake to fully Blood and custard livery from mixed maroon and blood and custard but I’d forgotten that I still had to finish off the 66ft SLF as well as replacing roof board/ corridor connectors etc. Hence the delay. Anyway, I managed to do all that over the weekend, so here is the full rake as per the 1956 summer carriage workings (FX and SUN to 30/06 and from 10/09). I’ve given you a line side view in which the focus fades out towards the rear and a high level view so that you can see the whole train. This is 14 carriages and my heaviest passenger rake with which my Bachmann A1s struggle, so I use a DJH A1 with plenty of added lead. Here we see Patrick Stirling. I will need to change the tender emblem or find another DJH A1 to finish the backdating process, but you’ll have to bear with me for now. The headboard is light blue which I think means that it’s Scottish Region. Does anyone know whether this would have worked through to King’s Cross, or do I need to repaint it? In the next post I’ll detail the formation (needs to be a separate post because of the 10MB photo limit) , but here is the video of the full formation. Andy

I’ve just finished another Kirk cut ‘n’ shut. This time it’s a Gresley 66ft SLF. These are very elegant coaches and a particular favourite of mine. I’m hopping that Isinglass will do some kits in due course, but until then Kirk cut ‘n’ shuts are the way to go. Here is the coach. The sides and ends come from the shorter SLF which Kirk did. The roof and under frame is MJT with Heavy Duty bogies. This will form part of my Aberdonian rake which I‘ve been backdating from 1957 (mixed Maroon & C/C) to 1955 (all C/C). The displaced maroon SLF will form party of my Night Scotsman rake.

Found it! Thanks for that Gilbert. Sadly putting all the data together there is no D16/3 which worked Cambridge - King’s Cross in the late ‘40s and carried an ‘E’ number which is what I wanted to renumber my Hornby E2524. But having narrowed the range down using the RCTS book, I’ve found a good photo online of 62525 in unlined black with no valence, so that will be my choice. Andy

Tony’s work well, but I don’t think they’re necessary on most trains. I rarely have problems I can’t solve with the various NEM pocket solutions and Tony’s do mean a fair bit of work if you’ve got a lot of coaches. So for me, it’s Tony’s solution on long kit built rakes if I have a problem. Otherwise tension lock, Roco or pipes. And definitely tension lock on loose stock so that it can be turned round. Andy

Today we have the Ivatt branch push pull returning to Gresley Junction. You have seen this heading out with the loco leading, but not in ‘push’ mode. A nice short video today to make up for yesterday’s monster. Once again this features the new industrial walls in the background. Next up on Gresley Jn we have one of what I regard as my specialities, the overnight trains. So watch out for the Aberdonian tomorrow.

Today we feature the 1925 King’s Cross- Peterborough. This is an unusual train in that it was formed of a standard Cambridge line corridor 6 set with a couple of non corridor strengtheners and a BG on the back. In addition on Tuesdays it had a vanfit from St Albans to Doncaster added at Hatfield and I have chosen to model that being attached at Gresley Jn. As it’s 1959, the baby Deltics have arrived and are still trusted with longer distance trains, so here is D5905 arriving at Gresley Jn with the train before the vanfit is added. Today’s video shows the attachment of the vanfit and departure of the service. Hence it is longer then usual, so you may want to skip it if you can’t afford a couple of minutes. I’ve assumed the train loco comes off and picks up the van rather than a pilot adding it at the back. Any comments on which is more likely would be welcome.

Not with the Met Camms that I can remember. I do get that sort of problem from time to time but it’s normally with a Hornby coach where the coupling has drooped or a Bachmann older style which should have the cranked couplings and has been fitted with ordinary couplings - the latter is easily rectified! I think mine are helped by using corridor connectors which seems to steady the whole train. I use the ones from Fair Price Models which are good value. If I do get the problem, I normally replace with a Bachmann ‘pipes’ connector in the NEM pocket or use a ‘Wright’ style hook and goal post arrangement. Andy

Today we feature the down Master Cutler, 1920 King’s Cross-Sheffield which started running on this route in Sep 1958, but the train featured below is rather later being formed mainly of the Met Camm Pullmans which were introduced in c.1961 and headed by DP2 which worked this train mainly in 1964. This is a bit late for my time period, but DP2 is an important part of the Deltic story and they are my favourites, so I had to feature it. Since the last run of this train, I’ve managed to fit the end name board to the brake coach. You may also note the new wall around the industrial area which I finished off this morning. This uses the Scale Model Scenery industrial walls kit. Now I need to consider what to fill that corner with as the current structures are definitely space fillers. I’m probably thinking of the Scalescenes factory , but I think that will have to wait until I’ve made more progress on the station side. Here is the video of the Master Cutler.

I look forward to the ‘proper’ D16/3 - they look much more distinctive with the valance. Is there any way of telling which locos had valances and which didn’t in BR days other than finding a photo? Yeadon doesn’t seem to provide a list. Andy

Tony, I’ve been meaning to respond to this since Friday, but I’ve been away and time/ WiFi have not been available simultaneously to manage one. The thread has moved on since then, but I hope you’ll forgive me pulling it back. Your ‘RTR’ train certainly looks good, but it got me thinking about post war liveries so I did a bit of research. I’m surprised by the choice of engine. My understanding is that only the two royal D16s were painted green after the war and indeed in 62618’s case, Yeadon states that it was in wartime black until Oct 1949, by which time it would have presumably not have had ‘LNER’ on the tender. I know Yeadon is not perfect, but he normally gets this sort of thing right. Also as one of the Royal engines, I would have thought it was an unlikely loco for a local train on the M&GN. You might be better off with one of Hornby’s excellent black version, but even then I suspect you’d need to add tablet catching apparatus for the M&GN. With regard to the Hornby Gresleys, I’ve always taken the view that their ‘tubbiness’ is made up for by all the other detail and the finish which is better than I could achieve. I’d rather spend my effort in producing models of the 100+ diagrams which Hornby don’t produce (especially catering and end vestibule stock) rather than the six which they do. This is especially true in teak and yours look good - the weathering certainly makes them look less like toy trains. However, again I have a question about the livery. My understanding is that the use of ‘3’s on doors and (most) lining ended pre (or during?) the war. If I’m right, then while you could get away with ‘LNER’ on the sides up until the early ‘50s, the doors need some attention and the lining needs weathering away. Personally I prefer to use the limited editions of British Railways liveried teak Gresleys which Hornby did a few years ago with no ‘LNER’ and ‘E’ numbers as seen here on my layout. Gresley Jn. These were available initially as part of train packs (Kingfisher and Olympics) and they then did the FK,RB and SLF separately. They are available second hand from time to time. I know that I need lamps for the loco (this has since been rectified) and having seen yours, the coaches and loco will now enter the weathering shop. I send this email in the spirit of learning and I’ll be genuinely interested in the responses as I have a few vehicles with ‘3’s on the doors which I don’t run while waiting attention. Andy PS I love the D&S stock. I’m really hoping that Danny will reintroduce some of his NE carriages as several came south.

Well the weather improved slightly and we managed to do some walking on Sunday and Monday. It felt rather arctic on the summits with 50mph winds driving ice particles into our faces, but that gives the walk a real sense of achievement. More so because my friend managed to complete his second round of all the Munros (Scottish mountains over 3,000ft of which there are 282) becoming only the 331st person to manage this feat (according to the Scottish Mountaineering Council records). The hotel WiFi however was not so cooperative. It worked on my phone, bit not on the iPad - hence no Gresley Jn updates. I’m home now having caught the sleeper from Dundee last night, so we can return to Gresley Jn in the 1950s and watch N2, 69574 arriving with the 1854 from King’s Cross. This is on my quad art set which has been seen several times before. The loco seems to be a very old scratch built example. I picked it up at an exhibition and replaced the wheels and motor and repainted into BR livery. It now runs nicely and is different to the Hornby model in having the later group standard buffers. Here is the video.

I think the coach looks better and if this was a fictitious layout, I’d go for that. But this is PN. You’ve invested heavily in creating a superb model of a real location. So I think you have to try to do the best you can to replicate what was there I.e. Nene sidings. It won’t be perfect, backscenes never are, but it will be PN. Sorry to create more work! Andy

I’m sitting in my room at The Glen Clova Hotel watching the rain stream down, so no hill walking today. I’ve made some progress with some MSE signals this morning and will post more when they’re looking respectable. But in the meantime, we have the 1233 Grimsby Town to King’s Cross which was formed of a standard steel 5 set with a BG for flowers from Spalding and a BZ for loco spares from Peterborough. As you may remember my steel set is only half built so one of the artics has been replaced by a pair of Gresley teaks. Please excuse the ‘dead’ person on the platform. As I’m away, I can’t go and retake the photo! Here is the video.

I’m sitting on an Azuma on my way to Dundee supposedly for a weekend’s hill walking but Storm Denis might put paid to that. I’ve got some MSE components for Gresley Jns signals in my bag in case we’re hotel bound! I managed to take some photos amidst packing yesterday, so today we have the up Queen of Scots pullman headed by 60130, Kestrel. This rake is not quite as developed as my Yorkshire Pullman rake as it has been living in a cardboard box for a couple of years. It’s the correct 10 car formation, but still needs roof painting, some back dating of Pullman emblems, corridor connectors and roof boards and a couple of cars need renaming to common ECML versions. The back three cars are older style Hornby QoS ones with precision labels names and repainted roofs and scrub up ok I think. I did manage to fit the head and tail boards yesterday, and have pannned the video to show this off.

Thanks for the comments on the station building. I agree that it’s rather ornate but I envisage Gresley Jn being a cut above Hatfield despite sharing the timetable. But yes the cupola can go and the bay is plenty long enough. I intend to experiment with an overall roof as well - just to see if I can do it. If you’re allowed one at Peterborough.....

Thanks, I hope this one will last a while as it seems to be unused. I bought it second hand about a year ago. The detailing pack was still sealed (although sadly that is not unusual!) and the wheels show no sign of use. As you can see from the video it’s pretty smooth and quiet. The slight slowing down and speeding up again was caused by operator error. I.e. me trying to operate the video and loco at the same time.

I’ve mentioned before that, in running through this sequence, I’ve discovered that I’m short of the more mundane locos and B1s in particular. So I spent this morning chipping a split chassis B1 which I’ve had in its box since I bought it thinking it had the more modern chassis. This is the first split chassis loco that I’ve converted to DCC and I was expecting it to be difficult, but it was actually very easy. So here we have 61008, Kudu on the 1849 King’s Cross Royston. According to the carriage workings, this is a standard outer suburban corridor six set with a Thompson BS(5), S(8) added for peak strengthening. Kudu was a King’s Cross engine briefly in 1956, but I think I’ll be renaming her in due course - probably to Hitchin regular 61027, Madoqua. You will see my new station building behind Kudu. I’ve had to put it the wrong way round for now as the tower and cupola foul the sloping ceiling. I’m debating what to do with it, but I’m currently thinking I’ll have to move it to the right taking up some of the bay platform and lose the cupola (which is a shame having struggled to build it - serves me right for not measuring properly! Does anyone have any other ideas for me? Kudu is pretty smooth for a split chassis engine as I hope this video shows.

Many Thanks Tony, coming from you that means a lot. I do try to eliminate problems as they occur in the way that you advocate, but still more seem to pop out every time I have a visitor! There are a couple of places where my woodwork means that I have a slight ‘summit’ at the baseboard join which occasionally causes derailments and I don’t know how to fix that without major surgery. As for smooth running, that is easy with modern RTR and tender pick ups. I have some issues on an insulfrog diamond crossing (the one above with 60048 on it) with shorter wheelbase locos and particularly kits without tender pick ups. I tend to solve this by adding tender pick ups if possible, or a DCC stay alive unit if not. I know you don’t approve of such black magic, but it does the trick in this case. Andy

Indeed! I don’t think we’ve had any ‘snap’ moments on the loco front yet though. As you seem to post twice a day and probably have less trains to run (having lost all the KX suburban/ Cambridge trains), I imagine you‘ll soon be well ahead of me.