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Gresley Junction


thegreenhowards
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Love the video.
That three cylinder chatter from a freight loco sounds strange to an LMS Central Section man like me.
Did my eyes catch an old Triang Hornby mineral wagon in that train?
I hope so, because that means it's not just me who's still using those old warriors.
Happy Christmas.
Regards,
Chris.

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2 hours ago, Sandhole said:

Love the video.
That three cylinder chatter from a freight loco sounds strange to an LMS Central Section man like me.
Did my eyes catch an old Triang Hornby mineral wagon in that train?
I hope so, because that means it's not just me who's still using those old warriors.
Happy Christmas.
Regards,
Chris.

Thanks. I do like the sound project on this. It’s recorded from the K4, ‘roughened up a bit’ and then adjusted for wheel size.

 

More than one Triang Hornby I’m afraid! A few steel and a few 7 planks. I know they’re not right but putting together a 45 wagon coal train is expensive and they can be picked up for under £5, plus they run reliably when the wheels are swapped for modern ones and, once weathered, I don’t think they look too bad as part of a long train. Just don’t tell Headstock! To balance the train out there are several Parkside kit built minerals which look much better but I have to put them at the back as they fall off if they’re towards the front.

 

Merry Christmas to all.

 

Andy

 

 

Edited by thegreenhowards
Adding the parkside kit sentence.
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I’m finding it quite frustrating as each train which emerges from the fiddle yard throws itself off the rails at some point or other. Most seem fine once they’ve done two or three circuits as though they somehow ‘warm up’. I don’t quite understand this but even when I go back to them the day after they now seem to run faultlessly. Some problems are more obvious, and my Hull fish was one of those. Several vans consistently jumped off the rails at the end of the viaduct and one over my diamond crossing.
 

The diamond crossing was caused by a dropping tension lock which was quickly solved with a pair of loppers. The viaduct problem was more significant. It’s always been a bit rough there and seems to have got worse over the last few months. I tried weighting some of the worst offenders - previously unweighted Parkside kits. This improved things but they still sometimes derailed at speed.  So I lifted the track, packed it with ballast and glued it back down - I felt like Network Rail! It’s still not perfect but much better and I don’t seem to get derailments now. 
 

Now the train is running smoothly, here it is - a final picture for now with the temporary back scene. The K3 is a SE Finecast kit bought off ebay and renumbered/ weathered.

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and here is a video.


 

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As you are in the attic I wonder if temperature changes over the years have had some effect on the boards and track?

 

Your videos on different parts of the layout always seem to have decent running, so there can't be that much wrong.

 

If you'd had a little branchline with two DMU's and a class 31 in the spare bedroom, no doubt the running would have been perfect - but not so much fun I think!

 

John.

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3 hours ago, John Tomlinson said:

As you are in the attic I wonder if temperature changes over the years have had some effect on the boards and track?

 

Your videos on different parts of the layout always seem to have decent running, so there can't be that much wrong.

 

If you'd had a little branchline with two DMU's and a class 31 in the spare bedroom, no doubt the running would have been perfect - but not so much fun I think!

 

John.

I’m sure you’re right. It gets pretty warm in summer and can get cold if we ever get a winter. It’s not damp though so shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The end of the viaduct has always been a bit of a lurch which you may have spotted in some videos (although I tried to hide the worst if it!). I think a bit more movement over last Summer must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
 


 

 

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11 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

I’m sure you’re right. It gets pretty warm in summer and can get cold if we ever get a winter. It’s not damp though so shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The end of the viaduct has always been a bit of a lurch which you may have spotted in some videos (although I tried to hide the worst if it!). I think a bit more movement over last Summer must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

 

Andy

I am sure that temperature variation will be a big part of the problem.

In my railway room - where I suspect that the variation is not quite as great as in your loft - I have had instances in very warm weather where track expansion has acrtaully closed isolation gaps in the rails that I have cut with a Dremel - and these are relatively wide.

So given the length of some of your track runs, it would not be a surprise if expansion were to cause similar problems, track warping or other issues.

Tony

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1 hour ago, Tony Teague said:

 

Andy

I am sure that temperature variation will be a big part of the problem.

In my railway room - where I suspect that the variation is not quite as great as in your loft - I have had instances in very warm weather where track expansion has acrtaully closed isolation gaps in the rails that I have cut with a Dremel - and these are relatively wide.

So given the length of some of your track runs, it would not be a surprise if expansion were to cause similar problems, track warping or other issues.

Tony

Hi Tony and Andy

 

Conversely if the track is laid when very warm it can contract when cold so there are large gaps between the rails and the fish plates are not holding them tight enough allowing the ends to wiggle under load and catching the odd wheel throwing the train off the track. Hence it not happening every time.

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Thanks for all the comments on my track problems. I’m sure that temperature fluctuations are part of it. Indeed the oldest part of the layout which is the section through the station was laid about 9 years ago and was my first track laying for 35 years. I forgot about expansion joints and ended up with some pretty warped track which I had to lift and cut small sections off to allow for expansion. I also ignored the rule about a wire to every piece of track. This has resulted in occasional loss of power to sections and I had a couple of those recently when I started running trains again. I find that a drop of electrolube on the rail joiners and a wiggle with some pliers generally restores power. Not the right way but it seem to work!
 

The viaduct section was laid much later but is compromised as the section beyond the viaduct needs to lift out for access to the water tank (the perils of loft layouts!). This has resulted in a double rail joint as shown below. The discolouration is because the PVA is still drying after my repairs. I will test this next week once it’s fully dried and post a video.

 

CFDDFE7D-6073-45A6-B269-64158660314E.jpeg.20db161a39c82f6a42f4f8aa37205005.jpeg

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Next rake to be tested is my down Aberdeen fish empties. I had to choose a down train as the up is out of use for the track repairs discussed above.
 

5D55D389-A105-45CD-8C4D-576327405A93.jpeg.552b2e5593d4aee5fcb15007d690f249.jpeg

Again this proved problematic. initially I had a couple of Hornby couplings drop out of the slot on the bottom of the wagon and result in a detached train. A spot of superglue sorted that.  I then went for a higher speed circuit and the loco self-destructed its valve gear as shown below. I’ve had problems with the valve gear on this one before, so I think it needs a rebuild and I will have to get rid of the white metal rods which go into the cylinder. This is a Nucast V2 on the original white metal chassis bought for £60 on eBay. 

 

B734F2BB-0654-4B6F-90E5-5F856A62BCBA.jpeg.674ad7c8264da18b53b9ffe915a3f43c.jpeg
 

I found a replacement V2 off shed - 60814. This is another Nucast V2 but on a brass chassis with a quiet Portescap. A lovely loco which was another ebay find but a bit more pricy at £85. Still a bargain compared with the silly money Bachmann are now asking!

 

Here’s the video showing (I hope you agree) how quiet the motor is.


Happy New Year to all Gresley Jn followers.

 

Andy

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22 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Happy new year Andy.

image.png.4d89f7c7d61317d17c76b64483a7777e.png

Is there enough meat on the cross head to bend it over a tad once it is back in the slide bars and/or are the side bars too far apart and need a gentle squeeze to hold the cross head in place.  

Clive,

 

Yes, I think that would be possible. But the problems are greater than that. The rod linking the cross head to the centre driver had bent almost 90 degrees and I bent it back before the photo. So I think I need to strengthen that - perhaps by laminating some brass strip on the back. And I suspect I also need to deal with the white metal rod which goes into the cylinder.

 

I will investigate and report back - probably on Coulsdon Works.

 

Andy

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Today’s train was more straightforward to get going. It only needed one coupling mismatch and a couple of undone 3links sorting and then ran perfectly. Probably helped by RTR reliability with the loco which is the excellent new Hornby model renamed and weathered by me and fitted with YouChoos’ sound project.
 

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And by popular request here is the video.
 

 

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I spotted a container on a Lowfit. :nono: They were not allowed to be carried on a Lowfit, it had something to do with the containers ability to slide sideways and become out of loading gauge. :rtfm:Not sure how they travelled in Medfits and Highfits without sliding sideways.  :scratchhead:

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1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I spotted a container on a Lowfit. :nono: They were not allowed to be carried on a Lowfit, it had something to do with the containers ability to slide sideways and become out of loading gauge. :rtfm:Not sure how they travelled in Medfits and Highfits without sliding sideways.  :scratchhead:

I know it wasn’t allowed, but I think there are pictures of it happening in practice. I can’t for the life of me remember where I saw that photo though! If nobody comes to my defence I will remove it for now!

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52 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

I know it wasn’t allowed, but I think there are pictures of it happening in practice. I can’t for the life of me remember where I saw that photo though! If nobody comes to my defence I will remove it for now!

Don't remove it on my account, I too have seen photos of containers being incorrectly transported.

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10 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

They were not allowed to be carried on a Lowfit, it had something to do with the containers ability to slide sideways and become out of loading gauge.

 

What year are you in, Andy?   That regulation came in a few years into BR (it also covered the LMS D1986, which had been partly intended for containers) and as you've both said was often broken anyway.  

 

Weren't Meds and highs a bit narrower in the body than a Lowfit, hence it not being a problem?

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, jwealleans said:

 

What year are you in, Andy?   That regulation came in a few years into BR (it also covered the LMS D1986, which had been partly intended for containers) and as you've both said was often broken anyway.  

 

Weren't Meds and highs a bit narrower in the body than a Lowfit, hence it not being a problem?

 

 

 

I have a fairly flexible timeframe from nationalisation until 27/9/1962. But I tend to concentrate around the late ‘50s. This train is probably defined by 60522 with the early emblem as it had a general in March 1958 when I presume it got the later version.

 

Some of the wagons may define it as well but I haven’t thought that deeply, it’s just meant to be typical of a late ‘50s fitted goods. I presume that regulation would have come in by then, so perhaps I should remove the container.

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13 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

I know it wasn’t allowed, but I think there are pictures of it happening in practice. I can’t for the life of me remember where I saw that photo though! If nobody comes to my defence I will remove it for now!

 

I'm sure I've seen some pics too, but heaven knows where!

 

The branding on lowfits, not to be used for containers, suggests that at least some events had happened for this to be considered necessary.

 

John.

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15 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

I know it wasn’t allowed, but I think there are pictures of it happening in practice. I can’t for the life of me remember where I saw that photo though! If nobody comes to my defence I will remove it for now!

 

I thought the reason it was forbidden was because the Lowfit's bodywork (with the sides and ends being hinged) wasn't strong enough to hold the container in place.  Not sure what's given me that impression, though!

 

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2 hours ago, 31A said:

 

I thought the reason it was forbidden was because the Lowfit's bodywork (with the sides and ends being hinged) wasn't strong enough to hold the container in place.  Not sure what's given me that impression, though!

 

What ever reason containers were not supposed to carried on Lowfits but some staff couldn't/wouldn't/didn't read the instructions on the side. Therefore Andy's wagon-container combination is wrong but prototypically correct. :read:

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4 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

What ever reason containers were not supposed to carried on Lowfits but some staff couldn't/wouldn't/didn't read the instructions on the side. Therefore Andy's wagon-container combination is wrong but prototypically correct. :read:

A lot of staff couldn't read, or claimed not to be able to read, anything at all - except their payslips...

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5 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

A lot of staff couldn't read, or claimed not to be able to read, anything at all - except their payslips...

I think it’s no different today. The only thing they can read now is a positive Covid test!

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