Gresley Junction

[thegreenhowards]

It’s 1550 at Gresley Jn and that means it’s time for one of my favourite trains of the sequence, the up Elizabethan. Our photographer has got into his Tardis and shifted back to 1957, the final year in which the buffet car was in the formation. Here is the train on ‘Welwyn’ viaduct.

 

 

‘Sir’ will tell you that 60013 didn’t work the Elizabethan in 1957. I am working on creating a replacement, probably 60009, but Hornby A4s with streamlined corridor tenders seem to fetch a premium and I keep getting outbid. 

 

And here is a side on shot clearly showing the FK with ladies retiring room. Sadly it also reminds me that I need to paint a river fading into the distance on the back scene. That is likely to challenge my artistic skills!

 

Here is the video. I hope this is proof that Hornby A4s will haul anything reasonable asked of them. This is 11 coaches, the first 10 of which have brass sides and white metal bogies.

 

 

[LDM34046]

WOW.

 

That viaduct is incredible. A great model and love watching the long rakes pass over it! 

[thegreenhowards]

I feature another iconic 1950s ECML Train today but this one’s not quite so comfortable - the Scotch goods. By the late ‘50s this was pacific hauled and I’m running out of V2s you haven’t seen, so late ‘50s it is - headed by top shed A4, Woodcock.

 

 

 

and here is the video.

 

https://youtu.be/9o-YIYU_3gU
 

 

[bigwordsmith]

I always used to hate trucks, but since moving away from those old plastic wheeled Hornby horrors I've grown to appreciate them. Your Scotch Goods looks smashing!

[thegreenhowards]

4 minutes ago, bigwordsmith said:

I always used to hate trucks, but since moving away from those old plastic wheeled Hornby horrors I've grown to appreciate them. Your Scotch Goods looks smashing!

They can be quite troublesome can't they!

 

I have far too many and I need to weed some out. But running the sequence is at least getting me to make better use of them. Things like the Scotch Goods rake have appeared twice so far and (spoiler alert) some of it will appear again tomorrow.

[bigwordsmith]

Unfortunately, having collected many over the years I lost track of what's in the store. It seems that I should have done a count before dropping into Froude & Hext on a visit to Swindon a couple of years ago - they had just discovered a load of new, boxed mainline trucks that had been in their store for around 20 years and they were selling them for £4.50 a piece. I bought a hundred and ended up getting a very good deal.

 

However, at the time I had a 37' x 12' railway loft!

[bigwordsmith]

If you're looking for a Hornby A4 with corridor tender, I've got a very old Hornby one ( tender Drive) which doesn't like my heavily ballasted code 75 track. Otherwise it pulls like a trailern ( ha ha)  and used to rattle round my code100 layout with 9 Wren pullmans astern.  It's incorrectly named as Sea Eagle - should be Walter K Whigham, but it's out of a job with me

 

I did repaint and reline it a few years ago, can't even remember what colour it was!

[bigwordsmith]

I've also got a Bachmann Bittern if you're desperate!

[thegreenhowards]

3 hours ago, bigwordsmith said:

Unfortunately, having collected many over the years I lost track of what's in the store. It seems that I should have done a count before dropping into Froude & Hext on a visit to Swindon a couple of years ago - they had just discovered a load of new, boxed mainline trucks that had been in their store for around 20 years and they were selling them for £4.50 a piece. I bought a hundred and ended up getting a very good deal.

 

However, at the time I had a 37' x 12' railway loft!

You can lose a lot of wagons in that space! 

 

As I go through the sequence this time, I'm photographing every wagon, coach and loco and inputting them to a database. An entry consists of a photo like this.

 

And a spreadsheet entry like this.

 

 

So when I finish the sequence I will know what I've got. I just have to keep it away from the missus!

[thegreenhowards]

Peter,

 

Thanks for the offers of A4s. I have concentrated on Hornby loco drive versions as I find they look the part and pull anything asked of them. If I had an older model, I probably wouldn't be so tempted to use it. I'm in no rush, so I'll hang on until I see what I want at a sensible price. Anyway, my budget is mainly going on O gauge stuff at the moment.

 

Andy

[Tony Teague]

3 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

 

As I go through the sequence this time, I'm photographing every wagon, coach and loco and inputting them to a database. An entry consists of a photo like this.

 

And a spreadsheet entry like this.

 

 

So when I finish the sequence I will know what I've got. I just have to keep it away from the missus!

 

I've got one of those - a spreadsheet that is, and it is truly shocking!

I suggest building in some hidden formulae that reduce overall cost and value, or limit their maximum values

[thegreenhowards]

1 hour ago, Tony Teague said:

 

I've got one of those - a spreadsheet that is, and it is truly shocking!

I suggest building in some hidden formulae that reduce overall cost and value, or limit their maximum values

Just wait until you start adding 0 gauge stuff to it!

[thegreenhowards]

Another goods train today. This time it’s an Inverkeithing to KX East Goods Class C and our photographer is still at the viaduct to catch it.

I don’t really know what was carried on this train, but I saw Gilbert’s version had a cattle van at the front so I thought it was an excuse to use my cassette which consists of a head of cattle vans with assorted other vans behind. This creates the first 4’ of the train with the balance being the rear of my scotch goods rake. I hope the subterfuge isn’t immediately obvious! It’s hauled by a K3, 61870, as might have happened in the early ‘50s. This one is a Wills body on a Bachmann chassis.

 

Another photographer was lower down in the valley for a (perhaps more typical) upwards view of the viaduct.

 

...and here’s the video.

 

 

[Tony Teague]

3 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

Just wait until you start adding 0 gauge stuff to it!

 

Not a chance!

(Well, never say never).

[St Enodoc]

4 hours ago, Tony Teague said:

 

Not a chance!

(Well, never say never).

You'd get a pretty good 0 gauge layout in your space...

 

Just saying.

[Tony Teague]

7 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

You'd get a pretty good 0 gauge layout in your space...

 

Just saying.

 

Hmmm....

Not without removing the OO gauge one - in which I have rather a lot invested!

 

[thegreenhowards]

1 hour ago, Tony Teague said:

 

Hmmm....

Not without removing the OO gauge one - in which I have rather a lot invested!

 

I agree with that sentiment! I love the presence that 0 gauge gives but, for me, dabbling in 0 gauge at my club seems to be a far better bet financially and space wise. I could never really achieve the sort of long mainline trains in 0 gauge which I manage in 00 so it will be a different sort of layout. If I ever have an 0 gauge at home it would be a garden railway.

[John Tomlinson]

I was interested, and a bit surprised, to see that Hattons have quite a good discount on their "O" gauge A3's.

 

No doubt these are inferior to a well made and painted kit built loco, but nonetheless.....

 

John.

 

P.S., now £579 v's £750. Also applies to their RTR A4's.

Edited December 4, 2020 by John Tomlinson
Added P.S. after checking prices.

[thegreenhowards]

4 minutes ago, John Tomlinson said:

I was interested, and a bit surprised, to see that Hattons have quite a good discount on their "O" gauge A3's.

 

No doubt these are inferior to a well made and painted kit built loco, but nonetheless.....

 

John.

 

P.S., now £579 v's £750. Also applies to their RTR A4's.

John,

 

I saw that and very nearly succumbed. However, I read up online about them and it's not very complementary! Whether this is just key board warriors having a pop I don't know, but I don't feel like parting with £579 to find out - especially as I haven't got a layout to test it on yet. 

 

We bought the timber for our club 0 gauge layout yesterday and construction will start shortly in my (well ventilated) garage. I'm hoping that counts as outside from a Covid POV! But sadly we're a few months off running any trains.

 

Andy

[thegreenhowards]

Today is a special day at Gresley Jn as we get to salute King George VI and Queen Elizabeth as they take a trip back from Sandringham to London on the royal train coaches. Rather than the full royal train there are two saloons attached to the front of a Standard Cambridge Buffet Express.

 

Here is the formation at rest at platform 3.

 

...and leaving Gresley Jn.

 

Finally a close up of the royal saloons 395 and 396.

 

The loco is RTR Hornby and apart from renumbering and lamps I haven’t done anything to her. Having praised RTR haulage power yesterday, I have to admit that the B1 struggled with this 9 coach rake. She got round the circuit but the wheels must have done twice as many revolutions as normal! The six wheelers are heavy and the bogies are a bit stiff. I clearly need to do some work on the coach bogies and fit some weight in the loco.

 

My eventual aim is to build some of the other royal train vehicles and run it as a dedicated formation. Bill Bedford did the sides a long time ago and I’m working on him to do another run.

 

This train is also the primary home of my D.78V buffet car which got another airing. It’s now acquired Wedgewood Blue curtains following a recommendation from @jwealleans.

 

[bigwordsmith]

Not sure if their majesties would have looked at the sharp end of the loco, but the lamps are a bit awry!

 

Otherwise a lovely train!

[thegreenhowards]

1 hour ago, bigwordsmith said:

Not sure if their majesties would have looked at the sharp end of the loco, but the lamps are a bit awry!

 

Otherwise a lovely train!

Lining up four lamps isn’t easy!

[manna]

G'Day Folks

 

I think I read somewhere, that two B1's were used on the Royal Train ?? although being only two coaches + a standard set only warrants one loco, always a thought !

 

manna

[thegreenhowards]

3 hours ago, manna said:

G'Day Folks

 

I think I read somewhere, that two B1's were used on the Royal Train ?? although being only two coaches + a standard set only warrants one loco, always a thought !

 

manna

Interesting question that Manna. Pictures of the east coast royal train in BR days are quite rare. I was expecting the challenge that it should be B2, Royal Sovereign which I think was the designated engine for these runs. One day, I’ll build a B2 but that’s a big gap for now - a missing big green engine for ‘Sir’s’ list? Longer distance runs seemed to get a single pacific.

 

I based my (non royal) train on the one on the title page of ‘The Power of the B1s’ which had a lovely apple green 61333 on the nose and then a rake of teak liveried all door Gresleys (at least as far as I can make out). I’ve not seen a picture of a single or double B1 on the royal train. Can anyone else help?

 

Andy

 

 

[great northern]

1 hour ago, thegreenhowards said:

Interesting question that Manna. Pictures of the east coast royal train in BR days are quite rare. I was expecting the challenge that it should be B2, Royal Sovereign which I think was the designated engine for these runs. One day, I’ll build a B2 but that’s a big gap for now - a missing big green engine for ‘Sir’s’ list? Longer distance runs seemed to get a single pacific.

 

I based my (non royal) train on the one on the title page of ‘The Power of the B1s’ which had a lovely apple green 61333 on the nose and then a rake of teak liveried all door Gresleys (at least as far as I can make out). I’ve not seen a picture of a single or double B1 on the royal train. Can anyone else help?

 

Andy

 

 

I would think that it should be Royal Sovereign if available, and if not I believe Ford Castle was the reserve engine. Arguably, you should have Royal Sovereign anyway, as it was booked for a regular daily turn to KX and back. You really do need a B2 Andy.