West Highland Line V4, a 1980's West Highland Line layout

[young37215]

A few days of pottering and loco servicing have reduced the amount of operations. Although I am running the 1981 WTT, I could not ressist the 37012 and 20085 combination which would have been more likely in 1983 seen heading the down sleeper arriving at Crianlarich. I must finish my version of the 1983 WTT to be more prototypical with the 37/20 Mk1 sleepers and which will also cover the Autumn 1983 introduction of the Mk3 sleepers and ETHEL.  

 

[03060]

Just came across this thread and thought that it would be of interest to others on here as we seem to keep raising questions on this subject, only 5 posts so not a long one but good information from two very respected members from the world of wagons.

[young37215]

18 hours ago, 03060 said:

Just came across this thread and thought that it would be of interest to others on here as we seem to keep raising questions on this subject, only 5 posts so not a long one but good information from two very respected members from the world of wagons.

 

The thread highlights how difficult it is to achieve absolute accuracy with what we model. I know that all of my TTA fleet are numbered incorrectly for the WHL but I have not got to the stage of feeling the need to start a renumbering programme yet. I have this pencilled in for lockdown 17!

 

37033 has charge of 7V86, 0606 Mallaig Junction Yard to Sighthill seen arriving at Garelochead

 

[young37215]

I started making the preparations to create power districts by adding several isolating fishplates around the layout to divide it up into potentially independent electrical sections. I thought that this would be a sensible first step on the way to implement what several people more electrically competent than me had advised to be best practice. Power continues to be fed from the single BUS where for reasons that I dont understand, the isolating fishplates appear to have the effect of curing my spurious short on starting up track power. So for now I will leave things as they are, the layout is working as I want and Cab Control appears to be happy. What more could I want?

 

37/20 combination depart Crianlarich with the sleeper heading to Fort William.

 

[young37215]

37022 heads the delayed 0700 Mallaig to Glasgow caused by the failure of 37108 at Mallaig into Crianlarich. 

 

[young37215]

Several months ago I sold my old Hornby ETHEL in anticipation of the new ones on the horizon. My Hornby version had served me well over the 10 or so years I had owned it but a combination of the the pitza cutter wheels occassional short circuiting on pointwork and the aged bodyshell meant that I fancied an upgraded version. I decided to go fo the Heljan ETHEL largely because it is unpowered. After 2 hours faffing around in an effort to make the loco usable, I am now having second thoughts. Out of the box I think the loco looks the part despite the documented shortcomings. My problems arose once I wanted to actually use the loco rather than just look at it. It seems the detailed bufferbeam will not work with tension lock couplings which foul most of the pipes including the unnecessary steam heat pipework which I have now removed. The choice then seemed to be remove the rest of the detail or take the whole bufferbeam off. Neither feel particularly appealing on a model costing over £150! In the end I settled for removing the entire bufferbeam as a temporary measure just to see how it ran which so far is good with no derailments or short circuits.  

 

I am not yet sure on the way forward but I am very disappointed with Heljan. It is as if the model was designed by someone who has never run a model railway. In too many years of modelling I have never encountered so many obstacles to using a purchase. So far and despite exercising care I have managed to snap off part of an air pipe. Now some of the shortcomings feel more pronounced and the absence of ETH fittings is particularly irritating. 

 

37081 had the job of hauling the Mk3 push pull set with ETHEL heading a Sunday excursion from Edinburgh to Oban. 

 

 

 

  

[mallaig1983]

Sorry to hear that you’ve had problems Rob. It does look a lovely model and thank you for sharing  your evaluation. At £150 it is a bit pricey but a price that you and others, myself included are willing to pay to get something that is such a West Highland icon. I will however be holding fire with a purchase at least for now. If it won’t go round corners with tension lock couplings what’s it going to be like we Kaydees? Really appreciate your review. I really hope you can overcome these issues as it really does look very nice heading to Oban with the MK3s. 
I have included a couple of pics from the December 1983 issue of Rail Enthusiast which I hope are of interest if not already seen.

Andy

 

 

Edited April 2, 2021 by mallaig1983
Grammar

[Dougjuk]

Hi Rob,

 

Well it looks the part, hopefully it will settle down, shame they did not plan for it to be hauled !!!!

 

regards

 

Doug

[Alcanman]

Shame about the problems with your Heljan 'Ethel'. You're probably aware that SLW have also announced an Ethel although theirs is motorised.

 

Here is my photo of 97251 'Ethel 2' with 37264 at Oban, probably 1984

[young37215]

3 hours ago, Alcanman said:

Shame about the problems with your Heljan 'Ethel'. You're probably aware that SLW have also announced an Ethel although theirs is motorised.

 

Here is my photo of 97251 'Ethel 2' with 37264 at Oban, probably 1984

 

ETHEL2 was my first for 'haulage' when on 23rd August 1984 37085 dragged it up the WHL on the sleeper which I was on whilst doing an All Line Railrover. I was on the sleeper from the south in a nice warm compartment which I think explains why I ended up so far north in that I slept until we were north of Dumbarton!  My move that morning ended up being 37085 to Tyndrum Upper (proper name in those days) for the walk to Tyndrum Lower via the Little Chef for breakfast. 37027 returned me to Glasgow on the 0800 from Oban. Tyndrum was the furthest north I got on the WHL until the late 1980's, this was my first time north of Arrochar. 

 

No flashes of inspiration overnight with a solution for my new ETHEL. Practically I can only see that I will have to remove and/or cut back some of the fitted pipes to enable the bufferbeam to be returned to the loco so that it will work with tension lock couplings. 27032 followed 37081 northwards with the Eastfield breakdown coach although I am not sure what has broken down yet; time will tell!

 

 

[young37215]

I have added several posters at Crianlarich to match those visible in various pictures from the early 1980's. The posters are self adhesive ones from Ebay which have been stuck on thin pieces of plasticard with the edges painted black and glued to the building with PVA. The one thing I am missing is an early 1980's WHL timetable on a poster where, I believe, the entire timetable was printed onto a single poster for use at all stations. Any takers? 

 

 

 

 

 

[mallaig1983]

Really nice bit of detail there. 

[young37215]

22 hours ago, mallaig1983 said:

Really nice bit of detail there. 

 

It is surprising how little detail there is at most of the intermediate stations on the WHL, even before the de-manning caused by the RETB introduction, by the early 1980's they had become very run down. Finding unique identifying features is a challenge.

 

A busy by WHL standards midday scene at Fort William sees 37043 departure for Mallaig with the 08.37 from Glasgow and 37178 waiting to do the same with 14.00 ex Fort William. 20085 is the idle station pilot and 20184 sits on the stock for the 16.30 teatime service.

 

 

 

[Alcanman]

'It is surprising how little detail there is at most of the intermediate stations on the WHL, even before the de-manning caused by the RETB introduction, by the early 1980's they had become very run down. Finding unique identifying features is a challenge.'

 

Here is a photo of Spean Bridge station which I visited in 1985. Some nice details and a tidy looking station. 

 

Love the Fort William pics, brings back great memories.

[young37215]

20 hours ago, Alcanman said:

Here is a photo of Spean Bridge station which I visited in 1985. Some nice details and a tidy looking station. 

 

I have always felt Spean Bridge is the odd one out in terms of WHL stations, I am not sure why although the two platforms compared to the usual island might be the reason. Nice picture nevertheless, the lack of activity being so typically WHL.

 

Back at Crianlarich 37026 arrives from Oban with the midday train to Glasgow.

 

[young37215]

The opposite working to 37026, the 1254 Glasgow to Oban is headed by work stained 37039 seen arriving at Garelochead. The trains are booked to pass at Arrochar. 

 

  

[young37215]

Having passed 37039 at Arrochar, 37026 rumbles in to Garelochead where it will pass another north bound train. Elsewhere I am now just waiting for the delivery of a DPST switch so that I can create the 2 power districts that I have been preparing for. I have decided to avoid seperate circuit breakers at this time, the cost being prohibitive in my view although it will be easy enough to wire them in should I change my mind.

 

I am also gearing up for a return to more normal times when I hope to have some friends around for running sessions. Cab Control has Engine Driver software that enables a smart phone to be used as an additional controller. My issue is more one of signalling where I am planning the use of single line tokens to protect trains from head on collisions in the same way as the WHL operated pre RETB. A single token for each section will be sufficient as I only have 1 signal box being the main control panel meaning the token can be returned to the central point after the train has transited the section. Possession of a token will be mandatory to access the section in question thus creating operational safety. My research has shown that examples of tokens used on the WHL change hands for several hundreds of £ so I wo'nt be using originals! I will initially create tokens from card and provided they deliver what I want, I will get some made from aluminum or similar material. 

 

[mallaig1983]

And instantly adding another layer of realism to an operating session. That’s a really good idea. I guess the potential for error seriously increases when more operators are introduced. You have replicated the West Highland line and built a long single track railway with passing places so section tokens is the logical answer. I think it’s brilliant. Would you be having miniatures, half size versions? 
I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Great stuff.

[BoD]

1 hour ago, mallaig1983 said:

....so section tokens is the logical answer. I think it’s brilliant. Would you be having miniatures, half size versions? 

 

... and interlocking them with the signalling?  Probably a step too far?

 

Do you use DCC accessory decoders to control your points or do you use a more traditional system?  If the former having a circuit breaker on the main bus and separate accessory bus is really useful if, like me, you occasionally drive into a trailing point with the route set against you.

[young37215]

18 hours ago, BoD said:

 

... and interlocking them with the signalling?  Probably a step too far?

 

Do you use DCC accessory decoders to control your points or do you use a more traditional system?  If the former having a circuit breaker on the main bus and separate accessory bus is really useful if, like me, you occasionally drive into a trailing point with the route set against you.

 

Point and signal control is through a non DCC Megapoints network with an independent power source unaffected by any track related shorts caused by incompetent signalling of which there are more than there should be! I have not considered interlocking at this time although I believe Megapoints may be able to do this. My current thinking for tokens is a simple affair probably made from cardboard to test and prove the system. If it works as I hope I might be tempted to create more representative tokens. At the moment this is in its early stages of development and I want to see how it works before spending money on it.

 

37033 enters Garelochead with 8B13, 1315 Sighthill to Corpach where it passes 37026 on 1T32.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by young37215

[young37215]

Work on the power BUS to make ready for the 2 power districts continues. Below is a schematic attempting to show what I am doing, from having a horseshoe shaped power BUS the BUS will be cut in half at approximately its midpoint. The half (or district) that powers the fiddle yard section around to Ardlui shown as Section A in pink will be connected directly to the power supply from Cab Control. The second half (district) controlling Garelochead around to Fort William shown as Section B in orange will have a DPST switch installed between the CC power supply and the BUS.

 

The on/off switch will enable starting up track power to become a 2 step affair to reduce the initial power surge of all locos attempting to grab some power at the same time which can trip CC's short circuit protection. The split of locos is typically 2/3rds in the fiddle yard area with the remaining 1/3rd in the Fort William area. Indications are that this will stop the short circuit protection activating on start up and once past the start up, CC runs quite happily providing sufficient power for the whole layout. If the switch does not solve the issue then it looks like I will have to buy a power booster which at around £200 will be an unwelcome expense.  Fingers crossed...  

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by young37215

[mallaig1983]

This looks a sensible idea and fingers crossed it works as planned and saves you the expense of the power booster. 
Could you please explain why you are specifically using a DPST switch? Is this the fancy name for an On/Off switch? I do struggle to get my head around electrics but can make sense of it with diagrams but some of the terminology is baffling. Still so much to learn.

[ISW]

1 hour ago, mallaig1983 said:

Could you please explain why you are specifically using a DPST switch? Is this the fancy name for an On/Off switch?

A typical 'on/off' switch will only make/break a single wire. So, on a normal 2-core wire (positive & neutral) only 1 gets 'cut' by the switch. A DPST (double-pole, single throw) switch will 'cut' both wires in a 2-core wire, hence the 'double-pole' bit of the name.

 

Ian

[ISW]

3 hours ago, young37215 said:

Work on the power BUS to make ready for the 2 power districts continues.

Rob,

 

I'll bet that's 'fun' on an already complete layout. Sorry, new definition of the word 'fun' ...

 

What's the driving force behind the change? I ask as I understood it having different power districts is to enable one area to have a short circuit without affecting all the others. Hence the requirement for an SCD (short circuit detector) on each power district.

 

3 hours ago, young37215 said:

CC runs quite happily providing sufficient power for the whole layout. If the switch does not solve the issue then it looks like I will have to buy a power booster which at around £200 will be an unwelcome expense.  Fingers crossed...  

There 'may' be other options regarding boosters. For my PowerCab there is the normal SB5 booster (~£180), but also a build-your-own option from MERG (~£60), and one from DCC Concepts (~£160).

 

Ian

[mallaig1983]

38 minutes ago, ISW said:

A typical 'on/off' switch will only make/break a single wire. So, on a normal 2-core wire (positive & neutral) only 1 gets 'cut' by the switch. A DPST (double-pole, single throw) switch will 'cut' both wires in a 2-core wire, hence the 'double-pole' bit of the name.

 

Ian

Thanks for explaining. Every day’s a school day.