Burchill Edge Sidings - BR Blue Carriage/NPCCS Sidings, with a nod to Manchester Red Bank & Bristol Malago Vale

[9C85]

Latest addition to the fleet...

[9C85]

The entire loco fleet 

[9C85]

One more to end the day...

[Steven B]

Classes 31 & 40 next?

Edited June 2, 2020 by Steven B

[9C85]

4 hours ago, Steven B said:

Classes 31 & 40 next?

Possibly.  I had a 31 but it was in Dutch livery.  I wish I had kept it now and had a go at painting it. But it looked nice as it was.  I have never really been 'into' 40s, but I suppose the layout is screaming  (or whistling? ) out for one. 

[9C85]

4 hours ago, Steven B said:

Classes 31 & 40 next?

If anything, I would really like a Peak

[Steven B]

Class 45s weren't as common as 40's but they weren't unheard of:

http://www.hall-royd-junction.co.uk/Hall_Royd_Trains/Red_Bank_parcels.html

 

Steven B.

[9C85]

On 01/06/2020 at 17:31, 9C85 said:

Latest addition to the fleet...

 

OK so now I have a couple of observations/questions relating to noise.

I have had a running session tonight with the 25 and had it playing the role of 'station pilot' - taking ECS to and from the off-scene 'station just down the line'. I then made up an excuse for it to rearrange the parcels stock to test out the Kadee delayed action uncoupling.  Everything went well but I did notice that the loco was running noisily.  There was no juddering, and it had no problem doing the 'Kadee shuffle' at a crawl but it was noticeably noisier than the other two locos. At one stage, I cleared the longest section of track so I could get it up to a reasonable speed. The noise coming from the loco was at such a level that those people not in the know might think that it was fitted with DCC Sound.  It sounded like a tube train accelerating and slowing down. 

I naturally Googled possible causes and one that is plausible is that it is a new (as in second hand but hardly used) loco that has been stuck in a box for quite a while. It is in immaculate condition and the box it came in has all the paperwork and detailing packs etc. Therefore, the loco may need stripping down and relubricating? This is something I have never done so could do with some advice on the sequence of dismantling and the lubricant to use.

One other possible cause is that when I first got the loco, I took the bodyshell off to check if it had directional lighting  (it doesn't). I am sure I was careful, but when I checked the decoder, two of the wires from the plug to the decoder were broken.  Naturally, when I then tried running the loco without the bodyshell on, it wouldn't budge. 

The decoder is a lokpilot v1 basic.

I managed to solder the wires back together but the only form of protection I could give the joints was thin slivers of insulating tape crudely wrapped around the cotton-thin wires.

Could these repaired wires be introducing interference to the signal from the decoder and causing the noisy running? As I mentioned previously, there is no juddering so I suspect it's noisy gears as opposed to intermittent power loss.

 

[37114]

If it is an old model (but new) then lubrication could be an issue, the main area to focus on would be the bogie gear towers, here is what I would do.

- Take off the body shell

- unscrew the bogie gear tower from the cast block (1 screw on top)

- The bogie will then hang down, there should be enough slack in the wires to pull the bogie away from the block 

- Try turning the shaft on the top of the bogie by hand; feel for any stiffness or noise.

 - Repeat for the other bogie.

- While both Bogies are off, try putting some power to the motor to see if the noise is coming from there (assuming the bogies are not at fault).

- If you need to oil the bogie gears then remove the side frames. I have sold all my Bachmann class 25s but from memory there is a clip on the inner end, insert a thin knife blade between the side frame moulding and the gear block and pull the frames downwards.

- With the frame removed you will see a white mess with some gears in them. Clean up the mess and relubricate the gears.

- As Haynes manuals would say, reassembly is the reverse of removal. Fitting the drive shafts is a pain however, no real tips other than perseverance 

[9C85]

[Tangoman69]

Atmospheric picture

[9C85]

I have just had my first ever dabble at weathering. I bought some Humbrol Black Wash to have a go with. I have just tried it out on one side of a BG. I am not entirely sure that I am doing it right.  I took the model straight off the layout - no cleaning, no varnish

 I still need to do the underframe and roof, but I am going to wait until I get an airbrush for those jobs.

Edited June 10, 2020 by 9C85

[9C85]

On 21/04/2020 at 20:22, 9C85 said:

It's a fictional setting, but has the intention of reflecting the goings on at places like Manchester's Red Bank and Bristol's Malago Vale carriage sidings

Definitely looking more Malago Vale than Red Bank stock-wise at the moment. 

 

I keep looking at and bidding on GUVs but they always get away, but I seem to fall on bargain Mk1 coaches. 

Early Father's Day present.  Repainted Hornby coaches. The previous owner did a good job of it. 

[43110andyb]

On 10/06/2020 at 20:09, 9C85 said:

I have just had my first ever dabble at weathering. I bought some Humbrol Black Wash to have a go with. I have just tried it out on one side of a BG. I am not entirely sure that I am doing it right.  I took the model straight off the layout - no cleaning, no varnish

 I still need to do the underframe and roof, but I am going to wait until I get an airbrush for those jobs.

Looking good! I certainly wouldn’t be put off putting a wash on the bogies, I often prefer to keep away from the airbrush on occasions. The one thing I can never get right without the airbrush is the roof though.

[Coach bogie]

I was sorting out some images. At the Bury end of Red Bank sidings was Cheetham Hill signal box. Mechanical signals and points controlling the top end of Red Bank sidings and where the line split for Bury and Newton Heath.

Mike Wiltshire

 

[9C85]

1 hour ago, Coach bogie said:

I was sorting out some images. At the Bury end of Red Bank sidings was Cheetham Hill signal box. Mechanical signals and points controlling the top end of Red Bank sidings and where the line split for Bury and Newton Heath.

Mike Wiltshire

 

Thanks for this. There's a YouTube video by someone called Onemanc  which shows the 'box when it was working 

[saxokid]

Layout coming along treat now!!

[9C85]

11 hours ago, Coach bogie said:

I was sorting out some images. At the Bury end of Red Bank sidings was Cheetham Hill signal box. Mechanical signals and points controlling the top end of Red Bank sidings and where the line split for Bury and Newton Heath.

Mike Wiltshire

 

There's a space next to the arrival/departure road on my layout and I am contemplating having a small signal box - or perhaps a bigger  but derelict one?

[cheesysmith]

or for something different, a burnt out signal box and replacement portacabin next to it.

[9C85]

3 hours ago, cheesysmith said:

or for something different, a burnt out signal box and replacement portacabin next to it.

Really really rough drawing (using a feature I just discovered on my phone) of where the structure could be. I am coming round to a dilapidated signal box, but perhaps I should steer clear of making things too run down , as the layout is supposed to help me relax and cheer up 

[9C85]

Saturday evening shunt.  Passenger trains laid up and papers ready to go out 

[9C85]

One last view from the bridge before heading home 

[37Oban]

5 hours ago, 9C85 said:

Really really rough drawing (using a feature I just discovered on my phone) of where the structure could be. I am coming round to a dilapidated signal box, but perhaps I should steer clear of making things too run down , as the layout is supposed to help me relax and cheer up 

Why not a box that has only just been closed, perhaps a month or so? Not fully dilapidated but with a wee touch of decay about it!

 

Roja

 

 

[9C85]

I have just finished painting and weathering the 'track' side of the wall forming the abutment and support for the girder bridges in the centre of the layout.  This bit of wall won't be visible to the viewer 99 per cent of the time, but it might show up in a photo or two, so I thought I would do it. 

As for the bridges, at the moment they are going to end in mid air on the side with the retaining wall.  There is a thin sliver of mdf that they rest on. It's amazing how I can suspend disbelief and rationalise that two massive structures could be held up by a lintel 

I think I am going to model the bridges as former railway bridges with just a deck and no track. I would prefer that to a road bridge with a static car or two. The upside of the story is that in the future, the double track bridge becomes part of a tram network, and the single track becomes an integral part of a cycle route.

Before...

 

After...

[9C85]

So here goes....

 

My first video of the layout...