Gresley Junction

[Tony Wright]

41 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

All this talk about artics reminded me that I promised to run some of my pre war articulated stock when I finished the sequence. First up is the tourist stock. There were two versions of the tourist rakes, the long 12 car version formed BSO/twin~TO,RB, Twin TO, Twin TO, RB, Twin TO, BSO and the short version as featured here formed BSO, Twin TO, RB, Twin TO, BSO. Here it is behind V4, Bantom Cock which is a scratch built body on a Hornby chassis with a fairly horrible Hornby tender drive. I bought it second hand a while ago. I then replaced the valve gear with help from ‘Sir’ a couple of years ago, and have bought the correct Dave Bradwell 3500T tender kit, but have yet to build that. So you’ll have to ignore the dodgy tender! 

 

...and an aerial shot

 

I will leave it the reader to decide whether this is filmed during the short period when Bantom Cock was being tested out of Cambridge or post war in Scotland.

 

and now the stars of the show...

 

And finally the ‘compulsory’ video!

 

 

Lovely stuff Andy.

 

I can't remember: did I make one side of the valve gear (it looks like Jamieson parts), and you make the other? At least it hasn't come apart!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[thegreenhowards]

40 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Lovely stuff Andy.

 

I can't remember: did I make one side of the valve gear (it looks like Jamieson parts), and you make the other? At least it hasn't come apart!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

More or less Tony,  You made one side while I watched and maybe did one or two easy bits. Then I took the other side home and did that myself. It does occasionally jam with the nut holding the conn rod onto the front wheel hitting the back of the rod from the slide bar assembly. I think I need to file the nuts down a bit and move the pistons out in the cylinder block.  However, a bit of bending rods sorted it out for the run today!

[thegreenhowards]

Today’s instalment in the pre-war artic series is The Coronation. 

 

 

This rake is built from the Mailcoach kit to an acceptable built not brilliant standard. I think it looks the part running past at speed, but they are certainly not showcase coaches. There’s a nice chime whistle on this video for those who like such things.

 

 I bought the set from Tony Wright, but I forget who built it originally. Here are the coaches:

 

It is hauled by a Hornby Gadwall straight out of the box. I will tart it up, but it’s not a priority as, sadly, this rake spends most of its life in a box. Does anyone know how often the non ‘Commonwealth’ engines pulled the Coronation? 

 

I went to see Tony to pick this rake up. It was very reasonably priced given its less than perfect finish, but sadly for my wallet, Tony had acquired some much more tempting (and expensive) stock the day before I visited. But that’s tomorrow’s episode as I’m saving the best for last!

 

Andy

 

 

[JamieR4489]

7 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

Does anyone know how often the non ‘Commonwealth’ engines pulled the Coronation? 

I think non Commonwealth engines must have been quite common as there were only 5 out of Haymarket, KGX and Gateshead's total allocation. In RCTS part 2A it says that 4497 was the second most common A4 on the Coronation (after 4490).

 

HTH,

Jamie

[thegreenhowards]

Final instalment of the 3 part pre-war artic series and I was saving the best for last. This is the Silver Jubilee built from a Marc Models kit and, IMHO, it runs well and looks superb. I bought it via Tony Wright, but again I’ve forgotten who built it originally. Tony, if you’re reading this could you remind me?  I have two locos which can haul this train, the first is Silver Link which was acquired with the set and is a repainted Hornby version in the days before Hornby did a decent ‘Silver’ A4.

 

...and the other is Quicksilver which is one of the Hornby limited edition versions picked up on eBay.

 

Both look good, but Quicksilver is definitely lighter grey - any thoughts on which is correct?

 

The rake itself is the main attraction so here is a rear view with the Tailboard and the rear artic evident.

 

...and here are the other individual coaches, the triplet...

 

..and the other twin, coaches E and F

 

Finally here is the obligatory video.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by thegreenhowards

[thegreenhowards]

A couple of weeks ago I showed the down pick up goods leaving some wagons for the Dunstable branch. It’s taken a while for me to get round to doing anything with them partly because of the nice weather and partly because i got sidelined onto pre war artics. But today they left Gresley Jn for the branch - no wonder British Railways lost all its pick up goods traffic if it took so long!

 

There has been some talk on Wright Writes and Eastwood Town about the Hornby J50, so I have used 69897 for the branch goods. An N2 or N7 would probably be more appropriate, but I have five J50s and want an excuse to run them.

 

In the video, I show her picking up the 5 wagons left by the mainline pick up.

 

 

And then running round the train.

 

I hope these show that she runs pretty smoothly. I had some problems getting her to run smoothly on DCC, but the addition of a stayalive has worked very well.

 

Finally here she is waiting to depart.

 

 

 

 

[trw1089]

Hi Andy

 

One of the big problems with the J50 is their reliance on plunger contacts to get connection from the pickups to the motor.  On mine it frequently gets lubricant (oil and grease) around the pads that the plungers contact on the lower keeper plate.  Keeping them clean makes it run better, but the permanent fix would be to replace the plungers with soldered wires.  I’ve been threatening to do that on mine for ages but keep persisting with the existing arrangement.  The stay alive will help greatly, but solving it will mean replacing the plungers I reckon.

 

Cheers

Tony

[thegreenhowards]

3 minutes ago, trw1089 said:

Hi Andy

 

One of the big problems with the J50 is their reliance on plunger contacts to get connection from the pickups to the motor.  On mine it frequently gets lubricant (oil and grease) around the pads that the plungers contact on the lower keeper plate.  Keeping them clean makes it run better, but the permanent fix would be to replace the plungers with soldered wires.  I’ve been threatening to do that on mine for ages but keep persisting with the existing arrangement.  The stay alive will help greatly, but solving it will mean replacing the plungers I reckon.

 

Cheers

Tony

Hi Tony,

 

You may well be right there. What I found weird was that all three of my Hornby J50s ran perfectly on DC, but turned into stuttering wrecks on DCC. They’re back to perfect with the stayalive, so that will do (for now at least).

 

Andy

 

 

[thegreenhowards]

Those who follow Wright Writes will have seen that I have spent much time on my A5 kit, but have slightly lost my MoJo on that. Work will return to that shortly but, while the weather was cooler, I tackled ballasting a large chunk of the remainder of Gresley Jn. This included the approach to platforms 4 and 5 and the goods loop.

 

...the section through platforms 4,5 and loop.

 

In this picture you will see another ongoing project in the background. This is the station building and overall roof for Gresley Jn. Sadly this has stalled because of my home printer’s poor colour rendition (the far section of roof/ wall) compared with my old work’s Laser printer (the nearer section). Eventually I intend to have a double span (think KX or York), but That might have to wait until I have worked out a way round the printing problems.

 

The final section of ballasting is the most noticeable, which is the approach to the southern ‘canal’ tunnels.

 

The areas between the tracks are painted for the moment, but will be treated to a covering of Woodlands Scenics ‘Cinders’ ballast when I restock. The ballasting has involved three different types of ballast as my stocks ran low and I have blended them together with paint. I started with Precision Paint track colour, but when that disappeared very quickly, I turned to Wickes Matt emulsion tester pots in dark greys and browns mixed together.  I intended the  overall effect to be more uniform than it is. I feel that the prototype ballast can vary in appearance quite considerably but I’m not sure whether this scales effectively. I’d be grateful for any comments.

 

Finally a before and after photo of the canal tunnel end showing the impact of my new track work through the third tunnel mouth and the ballasting. You saw this photo way back on page 3.

 

and here is how it looks now.

 

I note that the passenger having a heart attack on platform 4 in November is still In the same position today. Superglue is coming out now!

 

Andy

 

 

 

[31A]

16 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

The ballasting has involved three different types of ballast as my stocks ran low and I have blended them together with paint. I started with Precision Paint track colour, but when that disappeared very quickly, I turned to Wickes Matt emulsion tester pots in dark greys and browns mixed together.  I intended the  overall effect to be more uniform than it is. I feel that the prototype ballast can vary in appearance quite considerably but I’m not sure whether this scales effectively. I’d be grateful for any comments.

 

 

 

I think variation in the colour of ballast looks more realistic rather than less, especially in station and yard ares - I think model railway ballasting is often too uniform.

 

The station looks very grand, and will be even more so when finished!

 

[thegreenhowards]

19 minutes ago, 31A said:

 

I think variation in the colour of ballast looks more realistic rather than less, especially in station and yard ares - I think model railway ballasting is often too uniform.

 

The station looks very grand, and will be even more so when finished!

 

Thanks for that encouragement.

 

On the second point, I suspect you’re trying to say (Politely) that it’s too grand for a medium sized junction station...and you’re right! I’m straying from the realms of the probable here for two reasons:

1. Because the whole of Gresley Jn is a learning experience for me being my first layout since my teenage years and I want to try things which will have relevance or could be reused on my ultimate layout which will be King’s Cross; and

2. Because I like it!

 

Having said that ‘Gresley’ could be quite a sizeable place and Peterborough had an overall roof, so it is not completely impossible.

 

Andy

[31A]

5 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

Thanks for that encouragement.

 

On the second point, I suspect you’re trying to say (Politely) that it’s too grand for a medium sized junction station...and you’re right! I’m straying from the realms of the probable here for two reasons:

1. Because the whole of Gresley Jn is a learning experience for me being my first layout since my teenage years and I want to try things which will have relevance or could be reused on my ultimate layout which will be King’s Cross; and

2. Because I like it!

 

Having said that ‘Gresley’ could be quite a sizeable place and Peterborough had an overall roof, so it is not completely impossible.

 

Andy

 

No, not really - I like stations with overall roofs, and I approve of your model!

 

Peterborough station had an overall roof after all, and for a long time Hatfield station had a canopy that spanned the up slow line:

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hatfield_railway_station_(postcard).jpg

 

[CUTLER2579]

Andy,

Both Grimsby & Beverley had overall roofs as far as I can remember and neither place was extra large.

Regards,Derek.

[thegreenhowards]

1 hour ago, 31A said:

 

No, not really - I like stations with overall roofs, and I approve of your model!

 

Peterborough station had an overall roof after all, and for a long time Hatfield station had a canopy that spanned the up slow line:

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hatfield_railway_station_(postcard).jpg

 

Thanks. I was aware of the Hatfield roof, but hadn't seen that photo. Thanks for pointing it out.

[Tony Wright]

On 07/05/2020 at 11:51, thegreenhowards said:

Final instalment of the 3 part pre-war artic series and I was saving the best for last. This is the Silver Jubilee built from a Marc Models kit and, IMHO, it runs well and looks superb. I bought it via Tony Wright, but again I’ve forgotten who built it originally. Tony, if you’re reading this could you remind me?  I have two locos which can haul this train, the first is Silver Link which was acquired with the set and is a repainted Hornby version in the days before Hornby did a decent ‘Silver’ A4.

 

...and the other is Quicksilver which is one of the Hornby limited edition versions picked up on eBay.

 

Both look good, but Quicksilver is definitely lighter grey - any thoughts on which is correct?

 

The rake itself is the main attraction so here is a rear view with the Tailboard and the rear artic evident.

 

...and here are the other individual coaches, the triplet...

 

..and the other twin, coaches E and F

 

Finally here is the obligatory video.

 

 

My apologies for taking so long to respond, Andy.

 

If my memory serves, your Silver Jubilee set was built/painted by Geoff Haynes for the late John Brown of Spalding MRC. It thus has an impeccable pedigree.

 

 

 

Geoff also repainted the Hornby A4 for the train (provided by John). In this case, it's incorrect inasmuch as the tender is the wrong type (a 1928 corridor type, not towed by SILVER LINK until 1955, and then only for a month or two). The horizontal handrail is also the wrong shape for 2509, and the front coupling should be recessed, with shorter buffers (as your QUICKSILVER should be for most of the time the train was only seven cars-long; perhaps all the time, I'm not sure). 

 

In my view, both your A4s are too light in the main body colour. They should match the colour of the train. I don't suggest you repaint the train to match the locos!

 

Regarding your ballasting, which scale did you use. LB is ballasted with N Gauge ballast (as was Stoke and Charwelton). OO ballast always looks too big for OO. 

 

As for colour, what I've always done is to mix up a general colour for the ballast and apply it uniformly over the whole system (as does Norman Solomon). Once it's down, it can then be altered by dry-brushing to suit. And/or built up further to cover sleepers.

 

I hope the following shots illustrate what I mean.....

 

 

This is a view looking south along the main line at Little Bytham.

 

When this was laid and ballasted, all the ballast was the same, uniform colour. Subsequently (after the pictures of the SJ were taken) the (less-used and thus not as well-maintained) lay-byes/headshunt were changed by dabbing various acrylics in a dry-brush fashion to alter the colour and build up material over sleepers. All the scenic-side trackwork and basic ballasting was Norman Solomon's work, as was some of subsequent dry-brushing, with me doing some, particularly in the goods yard and the limestone loading dock. 

 

When I laid/ballasted the MR/M&GNR trackwork, I adopted the same approach.

 

 

 

 

The second track over the girder bridge was only ever a truncated siding and saw very little use (except to store wagons). 

 

These views might be of help.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by Tony Wright
to clarify a point

[thegreenhowards]

Thanks for the comments and photos Tony,

 

I knew the silver Jubilee set had a good pedigree; I just couldn’t remember what it was!

 

As for ballast, yours looks superb. I always use either N gauge or ‘fine’ ballast - normally the latter. In this case the majority was ‘fine’ granite chips from Cheltenham Model Centre with some woodland scenics grey and cinders, both ‘fine’ as opposed to medium or course. I think your artists eye has achieved more subtle colouring than mine. I have never got on with dry brushing and applied this in quite the opposite manner; it was sloshed all over in a very dilute mixture.
 

Andy

 

 

[37Oban]

6 hours ago, CUTLER2579 said:

Andy,

Both Grimsby & Beverley had overall roofs as far as I can remember and neither place was extra large.

Regards,Derek.

As did Brigg, Market Rasen and one of the Gainsborough stations. I think it was Lea Road but I could be wrong.

 

Roja

[thegreenhowards]

Those who follow my Coulsdon Works thread will know that I have been working on a couple of Mk1s for the 1951 version of the Heart of Midlothian. These are one of the original anthracite electric D.700 kitchen cars and an RSO neither of which are available RTR. They are now complete so here is the train they were built for.

 

 

I normally prefer coaches of LNER origin, but it is nice to be able to run a uniform rake of marks 1s

 

Here they are running past in the video.

 

 

[bigwordsmith]

Surprised to see a parcels van 3 from the end - was the tail portion slipped somewhere?

[thegreenhowards]

11 minutes ago, bigwordsmith said:

Surprised to see a parcels van 3 from the end - was the tail portion slipped somewhere?

Yes. The rear three coaches were from Aberdeen with the rest of the train starting from Edinburgh (if you could read the coach boards you would be able to see this, but they’re rather small in the photos!). Mark 1 BGs were pretty rare on the ER in the early ‘50s with only three of the 1951 batch allocated. Presumably these were two for this train (One northbound, one southbound) and one spare.

 

The complete formation was

BTK

TK

CK

FK

RFO

RK

RTO

TK

TK

BG

TK

CK

BTK

 

I don’t know what the booked traction was, but it is an excuse to run my blue A4. 

 

Andy

[bigwordsmith]

7 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

Yes. The rear three coaches were from Aberdeen with the rest of the train starting from Edinburgh (if you could read the coach boards you would be able to see this, but they’re rather small in the photos!). Mark 1 BGs were pretty rare on the ER in the early ‘50s with only three of the 1951 batch allocated. Presumably these were two for this train (One northbound, one southbound) and one spare.

 

The complete formation was

BTK

TK

CK

FK

RFO

RK

RTO

TK

TK

BG

TK

CK

BTK

 

I don’t know what the booked traction was, but it is an excuse to run my blue A4. 

 

Andy

 

And a fine sight it all is to - blue loco with crim/cream stock!

[St Enodoc]

50 minutes ago, bigwordsmith said:

 

And a fine sight it all is to - blue loco with crim/cream stock!

A beautiful combination.

[Wingman Mothergoose]

1 hour ago, bigwordsmith said:

Surprised to see a parcels van 3 from the end - was the tail portion slipped somewhere?

No slip working on the ER. Or anywhere else for that matter in BR days apart from one working on the WR

 

Chris

[thegreenhowards]

19 hours ago, Wingman Mothergoose said:

No slip working on the ER. Or anywhere else for that matter in BR days apart from one working on the WR

 

Chris

You’re quite right. I focused on the word ‘portion’ rather than’slipped’. The portion was attached at Waverley in a conventional way.

[thegreenhowards]

Those who follow my Coulsdon Works thread, will have seen that I have been putting together an empty coal train, something that was missing from my run through of the Gresley Jn sequence. Well it is now up and running.

 

 

...and gives me the opportunity to watch two coal trains passing on ‘Welwyn’ viaduct.