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Great Southern Railway (Fictitious) - Signalling the changes...


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Hmmmm, maybe I should go about this the programmer's way, having variables for the amount of time between each station, and then manually set the starting time of each train, and see what it comes up with. I'm assuming double-track for most of the route, just that single-track bottleneck into Linton station through the tunnel (though the more I look at that, the more awkward it becomes. I think I may have to double that track...) so passing points aren't too much of a problem, although if I want a less-intensive service, I could single it, I suppose? More thoughts. Hum.

[Edit: It looks like by reducing the time taken in the two longest sections - at each end of the Linton to Guildford line - I can speed up the running speeds and bring the run-around time closer to 30 minutes without much further alteration to the timetable. Perfect!]

Edited by Skinnylinny
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You would be best to draw up a timetable graph (if that's the correct term for it) where time is on the horizontal axis and distance on the vertical, with stations marked on the latter.  Trains are represented by diagonal lines indicating their progress along the track, the faster the train, the steeper the slope of the line. Station stops show as horizontal sections of the lines.I.e., the train does not move while time goes on.  With that you can see the relationship of each train throughout time, see where they cross and/or connect with one another.

 

Jim

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I've tried drawing those, and I actually find it harder than working things out in a spreadsheet. Perhaps just the way my brain works. The difficulty with connections is that I'm trying to arrange connections with other companies' trains at my termini, and they don't appear neatly on the graphs. If the line's double track then passing places aren't quite so tricky, the only problem would possibly come up at the triangular junction just outside Linton (see page 1). Otherwise, it's effectively just a double-track line straight through (with the reversing at Linton)

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Another wagon update, I'm afraid. Working on the timetable is definitely a thing that requires me to be in a particular mood. Last night I was itching to get on with building something, and my hands landed on a Mousa Models (Bill Bedford) Midland Railway D.299 wagon kit. 

 

Given how numerous the prototype were, I felt I ought to have at least one or two. A nice, common, 5-plank open, I'd been keeping an eye out for the Slaters 4mm kit for months but never saw any at what I'd consider a reasonable price, so when I saw that Mousa Models do a kit for the D.299, I placed an order for two and waited. Delivery was not exactly lightning fast, and I ended up waiting about a month before the kits arrived, but they look to have been worth the wait.

 

The bodyshell is a one-piece 3D-printed resin part, modelled complete with springs and axleboxes. Other parts include etched W irons with all required parts to add springing - the first time I've done this other than a Peco "Wonderful Wagon", which wasn't - using wire springs and sliding etched hornblocks. Very finely printed brake gear (which had unfortunately broken in the box, and was replaced by some rather chunkier but hopefully more robust leftover brake gear from the spares box) and 3-link couplings(!) and sprung buffers round off the kit.

 

In common with what I believe to be Mousa Models' usual method, no instructions are supplied, but the fit of parts seems to be fairly self-evident, with locating tabs on the bottom of the wagon body for the fold-up etched W irons. After a false start where I made all the folds on one of the W irons the wrong way (meaning it didn't fit!), everything fitted smoothly and the result is as below:

 

post-793-0-54938000-1519150297_thumb.jpg

 

The wire springing seems to work very smoothly, and a bit of weight should make the wagon run even better. I still need to fit working couplings (tension-lock) and figure out how to paint the model without gumming up the suspension, but the whole kit went together in about 15 minutes. I need to tweak that drooping buffer head though!

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I should think the GSR would let any visiting locos use their TT.  I hadn't thought of the point as, at Castle Aching, there is no choice in the matter!

 

As to locos always pictured running chimney first, have you ever wondered where C Reginald Dalby turned Thomas?

What about a Ten-Wheeler 4-6-0 version of a Brighton Atlantic?

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Ooooh, now that'd be a beast! Unfortunately I'm trying to avoid any obviously-Brighton-styled locos as I'll have the real Brighton locos showing up from time to time.

Funnily enough, though, I was presented with this from a club member's unfinished projects drawer: A Stroudley G class! 

 

post-793-0-77420100-1519212591_thumb.jpg

OK, so it's missing a few bits (mainly a chimney and centre tender wheels, though its previous owner thinks he has these somewhere), and it's got a rather clunky tender drive (which does sort of work, however very loudly and protestingly, using two sets of crown gears to drive the tender wheels - no worms here!), but there's a slightly bigger (or should I say, smaller) problem:

post-793-0-69087900-1519212695_thumb.jpg

It's a beautiful scratchbuild (soldered up either out of tinplate or nickel silver)... in HO scale! At first I was thinking that the small size of the prototype might mean this wouldn't be so noticeable, but when even a OO scale Terrier looms over it... I don't know quite what to do with it. First things first, finding a new chimney and a repaint from the ghastly pinkish colour it is just now...

post-793-0-73721900-1519212812_thumb.jpg

On another note, for those hoping for O gauge milk vans, things are on the move but unfortunately my original CAD file has become corrupted so I am re-drawing it from scratch to suit O gauge. I'm also looking into the possibility of getting a proper tinplate roof made rather than relying on card... 

Edited by Skinnylinny
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I think the dimensions are way out from the Caley single, but remember it's a different scale! I'll take a photo of the two of them together this evening.

 

It is a little stunner, and I am sure you will find a good use for it.  I have a rather crude, but (I think) charming HO Scale 4-4-0.  The coupled wheels are, in 4mm scale, really too small for even a small mixed traffic 4-4-0, but, what the heck!

post-25673-0-73434000-1519219954_thumb.jpg

post-25673-0-51202600-1519219987_thumb.jpg

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Another beautiful loco has appeared from James' domain!

 

HO suits me fine... I have a W&U scheme in mind using entirely 3D Prints (Courtesy of Mr Simon Dawson) in HO scale. A neat way of getting right scale and gauge using readily available code 75 track!

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It is a little stunner, and I am sure you will find a good use for it.  I have a rather crude, but (I think) charming HO Scale 4-4-0.  The coupled wheels are, in 4mm scale, really too small for even a small mixed traffic 4-4-0, but, what the heck!

 

Ohhhhh now that really is a charming little thing!  If it is a GNoSR prototype, then it's a pity my loco probably would never have been within 500 miles of yours, but even so, what a lovely thing!

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It looks like a Cowan 4-4-0 from the GNoSR, which IIRC had 5’ drivers.

 

Thus we concluded: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/107713-castle-aching/?p=2779699

 

 

Another beautiful loco has appeared from James' domain!

 

HO suits me fine... I have a W&U scheme in mind using entirely 3D Prints (Courtesy of Mr Simon Dawson) in HO scale. A neat way of getting right scale and gauge using readily available code 75 track!

 

 

She had broken cover before, and is slated as WNR No.7 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/107713-castle-aching/?p=2804668

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Hmmm ...... that small and thin Brighton single driver might be convertible into some ancient and weedy 2-2-2T, in a sort of Craven (lack of) style.

 

You know, stick an ill-shaped saddle-tank on it, a cab that involves as many trip-hazards as possible for the crew to climb over, and a rear banker/tank on extended frames ...... maybe it started it’s long life as a 2-2-2 tender engine in the 1840s.

 

Northroader has built some of these weird Craven/Stroudley bitsa locos in 0 gauge.

 

Oh, but it has tender drive ........ all of the above, used as a stationary boiler round the back of the engine shed.

Edited by Nearholmer
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I don't think I could possibly convert it, and not just because I'm not a sheet-metal modeller very often. I would be terrified to take a saw or file to this model as there's no way I'd be able to finish it to the same standard it is now... Plus it's so charming as it is, I think it'll have to stay as a Stroudley G.

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They certainly are very attractive!

For sem34090 above, I have a picture of the (HO scale) G glass against a Triang (well, GBL, but who's counting!) Caley Single. Even with the difference in scales, I think the Caley Single chassis is unlikely to be much more than a starting point.

 

post-793-0-63612000-1519243671_thumb.jpg

Speaking of starting points, I had a thought on my bus home from work... Rather than necessarily having a 4-4-0 for the London express, and wanting to keep a vague sense of the same style of locomotives, I dug around in the spares box and found a Hornby T9 chassis I bought a while back at a show, planning on motorising a GBL T9. Given that I already have a (slightly modified) Wainwright C class for my railway, why not... a 2-4-0 tender engine?

Out with the screwdriver and Dremel, and another Great British Locomotives C class bites the dust, but... the motor fits very nicely inside the boiler, and the cab (with a little bit of carving) should fit, while still letting me fit the backhead in the correct position. What do we think?

post-793-0-64367500-1519243905_thumb.jpg

Larger driving wheels, inside cylinders... shades of the GER 2-4-0 T26 class, especially with the dark-blue-lined-in-red livery of the Great Southern Railway...

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Fascinating. If you haven’t already, might be worth you reading-up on who the Drummonds learned their trade from. Perhaps the GSR has as CME a third Drummond brother, also schooled by Stroudley (.even if it was Wainwright who designed the loco that you are eviscrating).

 

The T9 does have big drivers, though. Is that consistent with the sort of loco you’re after (GER class numbers aren’t my strong point, in fact I didn’t even know where the GER was until Edwardian started talking about it) ;-)

Edited by Nearholmer
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Hahaha well the idea is that this is a light, fast passenger engine, possibly for the fast runs to London (the timetable so far includes one run that is non-stop from Ascot - London (Waterloo) in the early morning). 6'7" drivers are fairly large, but this is a prestige, high speed loco! I'm not aiming for a Great Eastern look, and hopefully by the time I'm done with this it won't look very Great Eastern at all!

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They certainly are very attractive!

 

For sem34090 above, I have a picture of the (HO scale) G glass against a Triang (well, GBL, but who's counting!) Caley Single. Even with the difference in scales, I think the Caley Single chassis is unlikely to be much more than a starting point.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_20180221_182804576.jpg

 

Speaking of starting points, I had a thought on my bus home from work... Rather than necessarily having a 4-4-0 for the London express, and wanting to keep a vague sense of the same style of locomotives, I dug around in the spares box and found a Hornby T9 chassis I bought a while back at a show, planning on motorising a GBL T9. Given that I already have a (slightly modified) Wainwright C class for my railway, why not... a 2-4-0 tender engine?

 

Out with the screwdriver and Dremel, and another Great British Locomotives C class bites the dust, but... the motor fits very nicely inside the boiler, and the cab (with a little bit of carving) should fit, while still letting me fit the backhead in the correct position. What do we think?

 

attachicon.gifIMG_20180221_200014461.jpg

 

Larger driving wheels, inside cylinders... shades of the GER 2-4-0 T26 class, especially with the dark-blue-lined-in-red livery of the Great Southern Railway...

 

Fascinating. If you haven’t already, might be worth you reading-up on who the Drummonds learned their trade from. Perhaps the GSR has as CME a third Drummond brother, also schooled by Stroudley (.even if it was Wainwright who designed the loco that you are eviscrating).

 

The T9 does have big drivers, though. Is that consistent with the sort of loco you’re after (GER class numbers aren’t my strong point, in fact I didn’t even know where the GER was until Edwardian started talking about it) ;-)

 

Not really relevant to the conversion - which looks like a splendid idea - but the GER 2-4-0s in question are:

 

T26 or 'Intermediate', which is the mixed traffic class with the smaller coupled wheels.  You can make one of these by replacing the wheels of a Y14 0-6-0 with 4 larger ones and 2 smaller ones.  The GER did!

 

T19 - which your project is closer to, an express loco with larger wheels.  Lengthen the loco and swap in a front bogie and you've got a 4-4-0 Claud Hamilton.

 

I reckon that converting 0-6-0s to 2-4-0s is quite a good dodge.  I'll be doing it to produce my ex-CMR 2-4-0 rebuild, and Chris Leigh has converted an Oxford Dean Goods to a Dubs 2-4-0 in March's Model Rail.

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A little more work. It looks like the boiler will need to be lifted about 3" (scale!) for everything to fit inside, and the next jobs will be cutting out the front of the cab and trying to decide on a design of splashers - do I go for a single, long splasher with a flat top, or two separate ones, or one of the fancy, swooshy ones that Wainwright and others were so fond of (see the SECR D class for an example)? Decisions, decisions!

 

post-793-0-90947000-1519251873_thumb.jpg

 

Note: The boiler I'm using on this model is a spare, and there is another that will be hacked for the final model.

 

 

Edited by Skinnylinny
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