Wentworth Junction

[Michael Edge]

The colliery link has now been fully tested.

Along with all the other steam locos The Garratt has to be able to get up to the pit for coaling at the screens, this one seems quite happy here.

The J11 has arrived from Barnsley Junction with the empties and is now propelling them with the brake van up to the pit. This part of the line is on an embankment, going into a cutting round the corner.

With the empties left in the fiddle yard, loco and brake van return with a train of fulls across the lifting flap.

Arriving at the junction the train engine hooks off and runs out of the way - in this case on to the up main line. EB1 waiting in the loco siding to assist, with full electric working after 1954 this would have been sent out from Wath to meet the colliery train.

The EB1 hooks on, the wires extend just far enough along the branch to do this, J11 now waiting on the down main.

26510 has now drawn the train out on to the up main, a shorter train could have used the colliery siding but this remained normal practice until a collision occurred in the 1970s when the WJ signalman forgot about two EM1s standing on the running lines.

With the train engine hooked on at the front the whole lot sets off up the 1 in 40, meanwhile the Garratt is returning from its last banking duty.

A last shot from the up siding, clearly showing the start of the gradient (the siding is level).

[Dave Holt]

Michael,

This really is coming together very nicely. You must be well pleased with the progress so far. It looks like scenic work is the next phase?

Dave.

[Michael Edge]

Next job will be painting and ballasting the track, although I might start building up the landscape in places. It has to be taken down this week to make room for checking Herculaneum before the Bristol show in May.

[Michael Edge]

Last two photos of WJ for now, tidied up before taking it down to put Herculaneum up.

The Garratt in the colliery siding is the other one available for the layout, also from a DJH kit but powered at both ends.

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Has Judith put the mesh up to keep you in, or did you put it up to keep Yorkshire miscreants out?

 

Mike.

[Barry O]

More coal wagons for Wentworth...

 

 

Baz

[Barry O]

and another 20T coke hopper

 

 

Baz

 

 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Barry O

[Michael Edge]

Wentworth Junction track painting done now, taking full advantage of the weather to do it outside.

Stacked in place in the shed ready to put it back up with Herculaneum crated up ready for whenever it might be allowed out again....

[John76]

Mike

 

What have you used to paint the track?

 

John

[Michael Edge]

Railmatch 1406 sleeper grime - all of Carlisle has been painted with this as well. It's a bit expensive, Wentworth Junction has taken 3 cans but spraying outside does use more paint. I hate to think how many cans have been used to paint Carlisle's 30m x 6m - but I haven't paid for that...

Just as I finished spraying I found a track buckle (sleepers broken out of the glue) - on the section across the middle which had to be laid in winter, the rest was done in warm weather. I left the board in the garage overnight to cool down a bit and glued it back in place with runny superglue.

Putting the layout back together today I had a strong sense of déjà vu - at most of the baseboard joints I had to trim the rails a bit - for anyone who doesn't understand this reference see the thread about Leeds Victoria and the 1977 Barrow exhibition.

[Barry O]

while Mike has been painting track I have dug out some more minerals to repair,, (can't have enough coal/mineral wagons!)

 

2 ex LNER Coal and 2 BR 21T opens

 

 

and three BR 24.5T minerals

 

 

and four BR 16T Minerals - buffers and couplings to be fitted.

 

 

Now I have a token 16T fitted mineral - does that make it 2 or three for the layout? I will back date the numbers etc these were  out of the "for weathering demos" pile(!)

 

Baz

[Michael Edge]

I've only got one fitted 16T mineral, so that will be two.

[St Enodoc]

On 31/12/2019 at 09:13, St Enodoc said:

I've got a couple of Q-drivers going begging - thumb wheels not sliders though...

 

On 31/12/2019 at 19:42, Michael Edge said:

I think we are still using the same circuitry but the hardware has moved on a bit from Mike Cole's - wasn't it moulded from  salad cream jar?

 

Here are two Q-drivers, good working order (possibly), one not-very-careful owner.

 

This is the front to the semi-cylindrical handset. The kitchen towel pattern is on the back...

 

...and here is the control box itself.

[Barry O]

I always wanted a Triang EM2. Instead one Christmas I was given a n AL1 and the Triang overhead gear for a simple layout.

 

Well look what just arrived

 

 

Wheels are now scale ones, I need some Judith Edge kits pans and a bit of paint is required!

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

6 hours ago, Barry O said:

Instead one Christmas I was given a n AL1

Did it run on Hartford Junction?

[Barry O]

6 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Did it run on Hartford Junction?

Yes as did my AL5 (modified and repainted Hornby Class 86)

Baz

[Barry O]

Well after not being able to visit the layout a trip out today to "have a play".. Will it be boring?  Nope.. plenty of ways to tie yourself up in knots as an operator.. 

 

If you like wagons.. well this one is for you. I believe there is one of every type of BR steel built minerals (16T, 21T, 24.5T) plus ex PO and others wooden minerals, steel carrying vehicles, tankers .. the lot. Banking operation works well (and no you don't need dcc to make it all happen)

 

A wide variety of locos (including 04/1, through to 04/8) and, ready for the dc overhead the odd EM1 and EM2 plus the "Shildon" ex NER BO BO electric as a Banker

 

Baz

[New Haven Neil]

Those electric locos float my boat - comes with being born next to the Harton Electric Railway I suppose!

[Barry O]

Neil.. think Raven 4-DO-4 Number 13 in BR steam loco blue lined in white/black/white lining... lush!

 

Baz

[Michael Edge]

I'm glad to hear it wasn't boring, there'll be plenty of electric locos on test before any catenary goes up but I'm not sure about No.13.

An attempt to see how many trains could realistically be out front at any one time produced this.

On the down line a Crab on a mixed goods with 26510 banking (in this case all the way up from Wombwell since 42864 needs a bit more weight), an O4 following with a coal train. Up to the junction the line was permissive block so trains can be stacked nose to tail along here. WD 2-8-0 on the up line with about 55 empties and two bankers waiting in the siding. The O4 coming off the colliery branch must be running very late since a J11 has already arrived at the junction with some more empties - parked in the up siding for now. The fiddle yard was looking a bit emptier than usual.

Electric banker on the mixed goods, the O4 is waiting at WJ's up home signal.

All moved on now, one of the bankers (S1 0-8-4T) has pulled the train off the colliery branch on to the up main for the O4 to hook back on at the front to take it up to Barnsley Junction.

As can be seen here ballasting has now started, I'd like to get this finished before the weather gets cold - the glues dries really quickly when it's hot. Incidentally it must have been extremely hot in here last Friday (far too hot to do anything) but none of the track has moved or gaps closed.

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Michael Edge said:

The fiddle yard was looking a bit emptier than usual.

Good to hear.

[Michael Edge]

I'm sure you could do better.....

[Barry O]

17 minutes ago, Michael Edge said:

I'm sure you could do better.....

nope there is only one passenger train and one parcels train.....

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

nope there is only one passenger train and one parcels train.....

...at the moment.

[Michael Edge]

Passenger train is an enthusiast's special (needs an LCGB or RCTS headboard), parcel train is a fairly regular diversion. I also have a photo of a V2 coming down the hill with an enormous empty stock train but otherwise it's just mostly coal, coke and steel going west with corresponding empties the other way.