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Gresley Junction


thegreenhowards
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Tony,

 

Many thanks for your comments. I certainly agree the aluminium angle is an elegant solution, but it’s more expensive and takes longer to make compared with my ‘three planks of ply and a bit of old track’ method. So I’m still weighing up which way to go. I think that my cassettes are shorter than yours which makes them easier to handle, but means I need more to make up a train. What size of aluminium do you use? I used 19mm x 11.5mm angle 1.5mm thick. The 11.5 is very tight in terms of fitting in the side of a vehicle’s body, so I would go for 19x19 if I use any more.

 

I like the idea of a sprung loaded safety system on your cassette road. Was this prompted by the ‘flying loco’ incident on my last visit when I had to catch a loco in mid air as it run off the cassette road at full speed?!

 

Andy

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Today we have the up Norseman. This train was a different formation on most days of the week, but I have chosen to model the 1958 MO formation.

 

FCCA93F9-7C81-46DE-B250-6816C902542F.jpeg.2e419004abeb91b8f0973d9ce849dc4d.jpeg250E7874-A4D5-4DCC-8853-725C4FFA0AC2.jpeg.540bcd5686bc18e84af280610d838453.jpeg

 

I’ve given you a choice of a lower ‘trackside’ image which results in an out of focus background with my iPhone and a higher viewpoint which has a better depth of field.

 

The formation was all Thompson until at least 1956, but I don’t have crimson and cream catering vehicles, so I’;ve had to go later when Mark 1s had started to infiltrate. There was still a four car catering core of Thompson stock:

8FD39E29-09F8-44E4-97C1-28686F360706.jpeg.4aafa5f5dd6cb161b08582ec29b4418f.jpeg

 

FO/RF, and

EEAB627E-F7CF-4252-96CB-1625E49B7D68.jpeg.8377ba1c4e2dc164346d9aa6e41f870a.jpeg

RSP/RSO

 

I’ve also included a three compartment Thompson BSK vice Mark 1 at the rear which Andrew Neale (Headstock of this parish) tells me was a regular on the Norseman. The coach roof boards come from the excellent Pacific Models range (attached this evening before taking the photos!). Sadly, I seem to have mislaid my headboard.

 

9519DC2A-91F8-4C61-A018-D035557302FD.jpeg.0f1bb885f165a51fc2e90b9ef181f434.jpeg

 

Here is the video which shows the full formation.

 

 

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12 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

Tony,

 

Many thanks for your comments. I certainly agree the aluminium angle is an elegant solution, but it’s more expensive and takes longer to make compared with my ‘three planks of ply and a bit of old track’ method. So I’m still weighing up which way to go. I think that my cassettes are shorter than yours which makes them easier to handle, but means I need more to make up a train. What size of aluminium do you use? I used 19mm x 11.5mm angle 1.5mm thick. The 11.5 is very tight in terms of fitting in the side of a vehicle’s body, so I would go for 19x19 if I use any more.

 

I like the idea of a sprung loaded safety system on your cassette road. Was this prompted by the ‘flying loco’ incident on my last visit when I had to catch a loco in mid air as it run off the cassette road at full speed?!

 

Andy

Thanks Andy,

 

I'll measure the dimensions of the aluminium angle I used later (I've got visitors today), and I'll also take a picture of the spring-loaded point.

 

And yes, you'll make 1st slip in the 1st X1 yet!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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1 hour ago, CUTLER2579 said:

Andy,

sometimes the cheapest is the dearest in the long run.:diablo_mini:

 

Regards,Derek.

I agree. But if I'm spending more I want to be convinced that it's actually better. Apart from elegance (which doesn't matter in the fiddle yard of a home layout) I can't see any advantage in the aluminium. That's why I'm going to pause building any more until I've tested what I have.

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10 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

I agree. But if I'm spending more I want to be convinced that it's actually better. Apart from elegance (which doesn't matter in the fiddle yard of a home layout) I can't see any advantage in the aluminium. That's why I'm going to pause building any more until I've tested what I have.

Most of mine are still perfectly OK after several years of use. The ones that aren't weren't put together accurately enough in the first place, for good reason that I won't go into.

 

Most of my spur is electrically dead, so if I leave the point set for straight ahead, a loco can't go more than a foot or two. As to length, it's a bit of a trade off, but I'm finding that three 3ft don't actually take much longer than two 4ft, being easier to manoeuvre. As we've discussed too, if we are operating alone there is no-one else to consider, so it can take as long as it takes!

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5 hours ago, great northern said:

Most of mine are still perfectly OK after several years of use. The ones that aren't weren't put together accurately enough in the first place, for good reason that I won't go into.

 

Most of my spur is electrically dead, so if I leave the point set for straight ahead, a loco can't go more than a foot or two. As to length, it's a bit of a trade off, but I'm finding that three 3ft don't actually take much longer than two 4ft, being easier to manoeuvre. As we've discussed too, if we are operating alone there is no-one else to consider, so it can take as long as it takes!

I think mine should be pretty robust as 9mm ply glued and screwed to 9mm ply sides should be pretty bomb proof.

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Today we have the return of the Tees Tyne Pullman headed this time by monster power in the form of D9006, as yet unnamed. I haven’t found a good way of changing the 4 character headcode on my diesels - has anyone else?
 

C3A49FA5-9066-4E9E-BE96-FF9275A73281.jpeg.7114a52880654fbaf40249e8499c7a14.jpeg

 

The video is on max zoom in my iPhone to emphasise the S curve.  I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or not!

 

 

Andy

 

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6 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

I agree. But if I'm spending more I want to be convinced that it's actually better. Apart from elegance (which doesn't matter in the fiddle yard of a home layout) I can't see any advantage in the aluminium. That's why I'm going to pause building any more until I've tested what I have.

As promised, Andy...................

 

The aluminium angle I used is 30mm x 30mm. It's not cheap - about £8.00 per cassette but it's more substantial than ply or MDF. 

 

I set the gauge to OO and then fix both angles to a piece of wood. One must be very selective in choosing the wood - it must have no twist!

 

817287697_cassettes001.jpg.50ae316e1c9b02ca4ec800a49c779ff1.jpg

 

Here are the cassettes ready for use. Blocks of wood were Araldited into the ends, and a piece of foam stuck on to those. 

 

I'm not sure if it's 'elegant', but it certainly works. 

 

335974589_cassettes002.jpg.69def22e66caacffc5657193074473f3.jpg

 

The fixed end of each cassette just rests between these wooden blocks.

 

Now for the spring point.....

 

2092890223_pointspring01.jpg.5c4d182ddc9ae1b19f5647d7d4054c50.jpg

 

1046704874_pointspring02.jpg.be8e19adcdda94903cb81b8fb3756b72.jpg

 

1161667080_pointspring03.jpg.4b4333cbe96fc8fdd33dbe791874e8d3.jpg

 

There is no electric feed beyond the point leading to the cassettes.

 

100% reliability and safety. Thanks to my good friend, Ray Chessum, for making this.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

Today we have the return of the Tees Tyne Pullman headed this time by monster power in the form of D9006, as yet unnamed. I haven’t found a good way of changing the 4 character headcode on my diesels - has anyone else?
 

C3A49FA5-9066-4E9E-BE96-FF9275A73281.jpeg.7114a52880654fbaf40249e8499c7a14.jpeg

 

The video is on max zoom in my iPhone to emphasise the S curve.  I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or not!

 

 

Andy

 


you should be able to print out alternate head codes on an inkjet printer using black highlight and white print. does anyone know what font they used? Was it Gill Sans?

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5 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

As promised, Andy...................

 

The aluminium angle I used is 30mm x 30mm. It's not cheap - about £8.00 per cassette but it's more substantial than ply or MDF. 

 

I set the gauge to OO and then fix both angles to a piece of wood. One must be very selective in choosing the wood - it must have no twist!

 

817287697_cassettes001.jpg.50ae316e1c9b02ca4ec800a49c779ff1.jpg

 

Here are the cassettes ready for use. Blocks of wood were Araldited into the ends, and a piece of foam stuck on to those. 

 

I'm not sure if it's 'elegant', but it certainly works. 

 

335974589_cassettes002.jpg.69def22e66caacffc5657193074473f3.jpg

 

The fixed end of each cassette just rests between these wooden blocks.

 

Now for the spring point.....

 

2092890223_pointspring01.jpg.5c4d182ddc9ae1b19f5647d7d4054c50.jpg

 

1046704874_pointspring02.jpg.be8e19adcdda94903cb81b8fb3756b72.jpg

 

1161667080_pointspring03.jpg.4b4333cbe96fc8fdd33dbe791874e8d3.jpg

 

There is no electric feed beyond the point leading to the cassettes.

 

100% reliability and safety. Thanks to my good friend, Ray Chessum, for making this.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing. I like the idea of the sprung point. Do you have to physically hold it over while the train is being loaded into a cassette?

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6 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

Thanks for sharing. I like the idea of the sprung point. Do you have to physically hold it over while the train is being loaded into a cassette?

Yes,

 

Though it's dead easy.

 

One just puts the cassette in place, depresses the spring and pushes the rake into the vacant road. Then it's the opposite when the train has run. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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Thinking about diesel headcodes, both Fox and Modelmaster do/ did printed sheets of letters and numbers that can be used. I've never known if the sizes were constant across all diesel classes - I suspect not - and certainly they vary across models, as do the sheets on offer from the trade.

 

If you are asking about access to the headcode boxes to make the change, then my experience ranges from dead simple to hopelessly destructive! A lot depends on the amount of glue used by the factory to hold the box assembly in place. With the Bachmann Deltic you need to go inside the bodyshell and carefully using a sharp knife attempt to cut through the glue around the box assembly. With luck pushing from outside should eventually allow the assembly to be removed from the inside. You'll see there is a clear oblong trough, the big bit, in which a black strip sits and has the printing on. Sometimes this black strip can come out on its own. As a fallback, if you end up damaging the clear part, Shawplan do a very nice etch and clear replacement for EE boxes that suit the Bachmann models, and you can replace using this.

 

John.

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5 hours ago, John Tomlinson said:

Thinking about diesel headcodes, both Fox and Modelmaster do/ did printed sheets of letters and numbers that can be used. I've never known if the sizes were constant across all diesel classes - I suspect not - and certainly they vary across models, as do the sheets on offer from the trade.

 

If you are asking about access to the headcode boxes to make the change, then my experience ranges from dead simple to hopelessly destructive! A lot depends on the amount of glue used by the factory to hold the box assembly in place. With the Bachmann Deltic you need to go inside the bodyshell and carefully using a sharp knife attempt to cut through the glue around the box assembly. With luck pushing from outside should eventually allow the assembly to be removed from the inside. You'll see there is a clear oblong trough, the big bit, in which a black strip sits and has the printing on. Sometimes this black strip can come out on its own. As a fallback, if you end up damaging the clear part, Shawplan do a very nice etch and clear replacement for EE boxes that suit the Bachmann models, and you can replace using this.

 

John.

Thanks, that sounds like a way forward. I think I'll start by seeing if I can get into the Deltic. Then order some stuff from Fox (as I think Modelmaster have pulled out of doing decals or are in the process of doing so). I'm on a decoder fitting fest at the moment so it won't be for a while.

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Hi Andy

If I may add to the cassette storage theme, my cassettes are made from aluminium angle screwed to marine ply strips and the are electrically live as I needed to be able drive trains onto and off of them, including their related locos; this is achieved through a couple of large sprung brass side clips.

 

SJPP117010502200117.jpg.511c2e07cd606ef2a28cc91e729fd8dc.jpg

 

It may look a bit crude but it works!

 

Cassettes are long enough, at 5 feet, to take a loco and 4 coaches:

 

SJPP117010802200117.jpg.72fdadb2cdef74e1e593fc59568f77b0.jpg

 

The power feed is controlled via the entry point - so if it is not set, then the track and cassette are dead, and there are two micro-switches under the cassette body - one of which prevents the point being set when no cassette is present, and the other lights an LED on the panel to show that the cassette is in place.

 

SJPP117010602200117.jpg.d125216395cea424344dc9d7b8c77fd8.jpg

 

Because it is necessary to reverse into the storage cassette, which is in the hidden fiddle yard, there is a further light on the panel which I have labelled "Limit of Shunt" which tells the operator when the train has gone far enough past the entry point to enable it to be switched and the train backed in - I hope that makes sense!

 

SJPP117010902200117.jpg.bf03accf2a7fa5059c36eb3f75522b87.jpg

 

Aside from the need for electrical connectivity, I chose to use aluminium angle because it also provides some side protection to the train from falling off the cassette whilst they are being changed over, and because the two strips provide some strength to prevent the long narrow strip of plywood from twisting.

 

Tony

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Tony,

 

That looks wonderfully complicated and very professional in the way that I would expect at Churminster. 

 

I have no real need for protection as my cassettes are all reversed onto and the point is manual. So I just pull the rakes on by hand. I can see that the aluminium will keep the ply from warping and offer side protection for the stock but I think my side strips of ply should do that as well. I will build a few more and then evaluate both.

 

Andy

 

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There has been a lot of discussion of the ECML cement trains on Wright Writes recently, so I thought now would be an appropriate time to run mine (it doesn’t have a fixed place in the schedule as I don’t know what time it ran). I’m modelling the presflo era train - I.e. between 1960 and 1961. I have seen photos of it with two brake vans, possibly because it served two destinations in Scotland, so that is how I have chosen to model it. The train is about half made up of airfix kits picked up for next to nothing at toy fairs and rewheeled and, in some cases, repainted with the rest being Bachmann. I’m not sure about liveries. There should definitely be some yellow wagons and probably some bauxite, but I suspect the grey ones were slightly later. I have a lot more Airfix wagons to resurrect, so will harmonise the train then.

CBF8F625-DF0C-4971-9B43-1F29F1D8CCEE.jpeg.03098a648f8028fa7b800e5b948e69c0.jpeg90F73199-B112-45EB-913F-452C53185532.jpeg.3871a4f2af3c53e03c6394efa704f334.jpeg

 

Here is the video:

 

 

 

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Today we feature a brand new engine (it must be new because there isn’t a speck of weathering on it!) arriving at Gresley Jn on a parcels train. It is crossing from the down slow to platform 4 where it will recess while parcels are unloaded and it’s overtaken by an outer suburban train (which will be next to feature). 

C97471F9-E6A7-4AF1-89E9-28AED9123F15.jpeg.a2b08bc362bebc5d2e16586ea9c51d54.jpeg

 

And here is the video.

 

I really must put a division into the tunnel to black out the view of trains leaving the fiddle yard!

 

While, I think I know what the various passenger trains should consist of, I’m less clear on parcels trains. I’ve seen photos of mixes of vans like this, but I’m not sure whether a type 1 is appropriate power. Any comments welcome.

 

Andy

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41 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

Today we feature a brand new engine (it must be new because there isn’t a speck of weathering on it!) arriving at Gresley Jn on a parcels train. It is crossing from the down slow to platform 4 where it will recess while parcels are unloaded and it’s overtaken by an outer suburban train (which will be next to feature). 

C97471F9-E6A7-4AF1-89E9-28AED9123F15.jpeg.a2b08bc362bebc5d2e16586ea9c51d54.jpeg

 

And here is the video.

 

I really must put a division into the tunnel to black out the view of trains leaving the fiddle yard!

 

While, I think I know what the various passenger trains should consist of, I’m less clear on parcels trains. I’ve seen photos of mixes of vans like this, but I’m not sure whether a type 1 is appropriate power. Any comments welcome.

 

Andy

Hi Andy 

 

The parcels is OK. You have a a brake van for the guard and a BTH is at home on a parcels. 

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It’s my birthday today and my wife took me to the theatre to see ‘Touching the Void’, so a late update this evening.

 

There were two evening peak outer suburban trains from King’s Cross which consisted of Peterborough and Cambridge sets combined and splitting at Hitchin for their respective destinations. The formation was basically a standard Cambridge 6 set and a Peterborough 5 set combined.  The first was at 1700 with the Peterborough portion leading while the second at 1752 was the other way round. The second train tended to be double headed to Hitchin with the two engines working forward on the two portions, but I think the 1700 was a single engine. The 1752 will be featured in a few days, but today we have the 1700 headed by A2/3, 60513, Dante (DJH). I bought this engine (ready built) over a year ago, but I find chipping kit built locos quite problematic and tend to put the job off, so I only got round to doing it over the weekend (with a few others which will feature soon). There were some problems - bits fell off and needed reattaching - but it was easier than many others. Here’s the train. You’ve seen the rake before in it’s separate portions, so I’ll focus on the loco and the leading artic which is the most interesting part of the formation.

 

A7AC43F4-E6CE-4D3E-AAD5-5011D158A659.jpeg.08fd672fcf1e7dfdeb9016b2a7296d24.jpeg1EA2AA11-0B1E-42A4-A6CD-C54286B628EB.jpeg.9ea9c17871afa09b03a69d6cfa2a7e17.jpeg

 

And here’s the video.

 

 

 

 

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Today we have Falcon on the up Sheffield Pullman. She was a regular on this service while on loan to the Eastern.

 

42A8E29F-B9BF-4FC4-9511-E232525D332C.jpeg.30c3431639ab722f52d66d306b4f4d57.jpeg

I hope you enjoy the ‘Maybach music’ on the video as I went to considerable effort to squeeze a large speaker into the fuel tanks!

 

 

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21 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

Today we have Falcon on the up Sheffield Pullman. She was a regular on this service while on loan to the Eastern.

 

42A8E29F-B9BF-4FC4-9511-E232525D332C.jpeg.30c3431639ab722f52d66d306b4f4d57.jpeg

I hope you enjoy the ‘Maybach music’ on the video as I went to considerable effort to squeeze a large speaker into the fuel tanks!

 

 

 

No doubt when I get Waverley Route V2 up  and running it will give you an awful sense of Deja Vu - I suspect our collections of stock and locos are very similar, although I've not gone DCC - I don't think I could cope with the operational complexities, and hearing the horror stories of folks like Phil the Duck, I'mnot sure I want to go there!

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7 minutes ago, bigwordsmith said:

 

No doubt when I get Waverley Route V2 up  and running it will give you an awful sense of Deja Vu - I suspect our collections of stock and locos are very similar, although I've not gone DCC - I don't think I could cope with the operational complexities, and hearing the horror stories of folks like Phil the Duck, I'mnot sure I want to go there!

DCC has its moments but I wouldn’t go back. I love the sound and the sense of controlling the loco rather than the track. Wiring would be easier if you had a small fleet of DCC ready locos but with my fleet I actually think dc would be easier as all the hardwiring of chips takes a long time.

 

I suspect a lot of ECML modellers have very similar fleets, but it’s still fun recreating all those iconic trains.

 

Andy

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