GRANBY JUNCTION - Shunting Siphons for the Up Parcels with a Manor!

[7APT7]

On 12/02/2020 at 15:40, john dew said:

 

 

Thanks Jamie, glad you like it The station roof is also a (modified) Scalescene kit. The arches are made from laminated card! Its a very ingenious design whereby quite slender arches create a very robust structure

 

Regards

 

John

 

Hi John,

 

I want to do a wide span station roof like you have, so it is part or modified Scalescene kit that I need to be looking for...?

How many platform does it cover or better still what is the width of the Arch....?

 

You have some great buildings and a lot going on, this must have taken you year's to get this far... but very impressive, I have to say...

 

Regards

Jamie

[john dew]

17 hours ago, 7APT7 said:

 

Hi John,

 

I want to do a wide span station roof like you have, so it is part or modified Scalescene kit that I need to be looking for...?

How many platform does it cover or better still what is the width of the Arch....?

 

You have some great buildings and a lot going on, this must have taken you year's to get this far... but very impressive, I have to say...

 

Regards

Jamie

 

Hi Jamie

 

Thanks for the compliments!

 

My roof is 49" long,18" wide and 9" high (from track bed). It covers 5 tracks and three platforms. There are 16 supporting arches at 3 1/2" centres.

 

I modified the kit by leaving parts of the roof unglazed (for ease of access), strengthened the central beam, and made it in two sections for ease of removal.

 

You can build the kit as long as you like. It might be possible to vary the width but I think it would be quite challenging. 

 

There is also a smaller roof available.....I think it is part of the medium station kit.

 

Hope this helps

 

Regards

 

John

 

 

[banburysaint]

John 

 

A great layout full of inspiration. I always enjoy seeing what the latest developments are. On the mpd area you have a few stands/platforms for the shed cleaners to use to clean the locomotives. Are they scratch built or kits, as I am trying to find something similar for my shed. Kind regards Peter 

Edited March 4, 2020 by banburysaint
Correcting my spelling!

[john dew]

On 04/03/2020 at 14:48, banburysaint said:

John 

 

A great layout full of inspiration. I always enjoy seeing what the latest developments are. On the mpd area you have a few stands/platforms for the shed cleaners to use to clean the locomotives. Are they scratch built or kits, as I am trying to find something similar for my shed. Kind regards Peter 

Hi Peter

 

Thank you for the nice comments!

 

They are all kits I bought on ebay about 15 years ago. They were made by a company called Gem I think. The figures, hydrants and standing boiler came from the same source.

 

I dont think the company is still manufacturing but you may be lucky with ebay or googling

 

Kind regards

 

John

 

 

 

[banburysaint]

John 

 

Many thanks for your reply much appreciated. I have a few gem bits I will have a Google and search of ebay 

 

Regards Peter 

[M.I.B]

[john dew]

 

What a difference a week makes!

 

A fortnight ago we flew from Vancouver to spend  a week with friends in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. Obviously we were aware of the impending pandemic and, although there was no travel advisory in place, did consider cancelling. In truth, other than the outgoing flight being half empty there was virtually no evidence of an emergency either at Vancouver Airport or during our very relaxing stay in our friends beach side apartment......it was, in fact, quite idyllic.......

 

The week was over far too soon and we returned home to find the world turned upside down. We are now in self isolation not only because of the return flight but also because many of the 270 confirmed cases and deaths (6) in BC have taken place in a Care Home about 2 miles away from our house. Fortunately we are well stocked up......although the wine is somewhat depleted......and both daughters live near us and can do top up shopping for us.

 

We can still walk the dog in a nearby park......keeping 6' away from fellow walkers..........the weather is springlike (albeit cooler than Mexico), there is lots to do in the garden and I am permitted from time to time to venture into the railway room.  All things considered we are very fortunate.....and continue to count our blessings.

 

Best wishes

 

John

 

 

[Neal Ball]

Greetings from lockdown Spain @john dew

 

Stay Safe and take care. Looking forward to lots of postings while you are in lockdown.

 

Regards, Neal.

[richard.h]

13 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

Greetings from lockdown Spain @john dew

 

Stay Safe and take care. Looking forward to lots of postings while you are in lockdown.

 

Regards, Neal.

Couldn't agree more, I put a post on last Saturday mentioning the lockdown, we were virtually the first area in Spain to receive one and the intention was to prevent people from the big cities moving out to their coastal holiday homes and bringing the virus with them, and now look how serious it has got within a week.

 

Most of what I would term the Steam Generation are in the high risk category age wise so the important thing is to stay safe and of course keep on modelling and posting.

 

Regards

 

Richard

[Neal Ball]

1 hour ago, richard.h said:

Couldn't agree more, I put a post on last Saturday mentioning the lockdown, we were virtually the first area in Spain to receive one and the intention was to prevent people from the big cities moving out to their coastal holiday homes and bringing the virus with them, and now look how serious it has got within a week.

 

Most of what I would term the Steam Generation are in the high risk category age wise so the important thing is to stay safe and of course keep on modelling and posting.

 

Regards

 

Richard

 

Stay safe Richard.

 

Yes we also heard that the Madrid second home owners were flocking to Mazarron and the Mar Menor.

 

Stay safe. Neal.

 

 

[mullie]

Big piece on the southwest news last night wanting to keep second home owners away from Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. We simply don't have the infrastructure to cope with them for the long term.

 

Martyn

Edited March 21, 2020 by mullie

[TonyW]

We have the same situation on the Isle of Skye, trains of campervans are heading up here and no doubt they will bring the plague with them.  There are only two Coop stores on the island and many items have been out of stock for two weeks.

 

Tony

[5BarVT]

Ditto Gwynedd, Scottish Highlands etc.

Paul.

[john dew]

We are now entering day 28 of self isolation.......I cant really call it a lock down .....Canada seems to have a slightly more relaxed approach than the UK.....certainly the Mounties are not rushing about fining people. The emphasis is on self distancing and using common sense when shopping for essentials......fortunately the liquor store is deemed to be essential.

To be honest, with us both retired (from work and sailing) daily life is pretty much unchanged. Admittedly, its a little surreal, during the daily dog walk chatting to people from a carefully calculated 2M distance or, even more bizarre, drinking rose on the deck with Daughter#2......seated 2m away.....clad in rubber gloves daintily holding the glass she has specially brought with her!

So I continue to spend 2 or 3 hours most days in the train room. Not much modelling, the majority of the time has been spent fine tuning the automated commutor runs to and from the bays at north end of Granby. All the eight locos involved have now been converted to Zimo chips plus some form of stay alive which has resulted in a significant improvement in consistent accurate stopping. Not to the extent that I no longer check that the loco has uncoupled/ coupled........but now I do so in the expectation that it has been successful.

The downside of all this operation and consequent leaning over the layout has resulted in an increase in "collateral damage" to the usual targets......signal poles and lamposts.





Daily maintenance recently! Lost count of the number of times the yard lamp has been fixed........dont even ask about the branch signals.......out of shot for obvious reasons.


Change of pace........ the shot above reminded me of some earlier photos that I took after adding some children playing in the terraced street which hides the storage yards...................the first is a close up, cropped from the shot :






Another figure from the Langley school girls kit








and finally.......Jones the milk:





Keep well......stay safe

Best wishes



John

[richard.h]

 I am always knocking over the lamps on my layout and a lot got broken, to help with this instead of drilling the small hole required for the wiring and peg I drill a 3mm hole.

A length of 3mm dia plastic tubing is then used, the base and wiring of the lamp goes through this and together they are fitted in the baseboard.

This gives the advantage that there is now some 'play' in the fitting so that if caught the lights can move slightly and don't immediately bend or break.

 

Keep Safe

 

Richard

[Neal Ball]

Evening @john dew in years to come you will be able to regale the grandkids with tales of your daughters visit and her bringing her own glass.

 

I might have already said, but here in Spain that sort of visit would not be allowed. We can’t go out at all. Once a week to the supermarket and that’s it. Walking the dog is ok, but close to the house. I’m not allowed to go for a run or bike ride :-(

 

As you say very different in Canada.

 

Have a good evening, stay safe.

Neal.

[john dew]

Thanks for the comment Neal.....I hope all is well with you in Spain. We are very fortunate here .......all the key graphs are lower and flatter than the other provinces . Our Chief Medical Officer was previously in charge in Toronto during the SARS epidemic.....the experience seems to have been invaluable. For us the lockdown continues and the bottle of rose on saturday with our gloved and socially distant daughter has now become a ritual.

 

One of the many attractions of this hobby is the fact it is so varied.......if one gets fed up with one particular job (ballasting springs to mind) one can swiftly change gears and focus on something entirely different.


Having spent most of the last few weeks running trains I decided to take a short break and do some people painting:
 

 

On the left are some 3D printed figures from Modelu , on the right a set of white metal cast figures from Langley


Quite a contrast:
 

 

 

Neither are perfect for Granby. The Modelu figures were scanned from real live models circa 2018. In many ways they are more natural, particularly the drape and look of clothing.......albeit they can be difficult to paint accurately. However a glance at any photograph of the late forties shows that workmen of that era were generally shorter and considerably slimmer than these rather well fed gentlemen!



The Langley figures are almost the direct opposite. These guys look more suited for a Victorian or Edwardian time period.


 

Beautifully engraved .....they are generally a delight to paint...the exception being the faces which can be less than convincing.

Overall they are a little small.....almost as though they were designed at the mid point between 00 and H0....the overall impression can be a bit Hobbit like 

Despite all this they can be quite effective in situ.......here are two on the Canal Warehouse





The trick is to avoid placing such different styles side by side

Fortunately the intended location for these guys couldnt be further apart

The Langley figures will go on the Metcalfe Warehouse which is part of the Engine Shed Back Scene




Their smaller height and exaggerated poses should work well when viewed from a distance....sort of forced perspective.


Some of the Modelu figures will go on another Metcalfe Warehouse 1n the opposite corner of the room




This warehouse is part of the storage yard screen immediately above the computor screen. Right in my face so to speak.......I will have to exercise extra care with the painting.....I dont want to be constantly reminded of  that wayward drop of smudged paint.



There is a third warehouse, also in a very prominent position, that needs attention.

The flat roof of the Soap Factory right by the doorway
 
 

I have a cunning plan for this........something a bit different :




I hope you are all well and enjoying life as best you can during the lockdown

Best Wishes

Edited August 25, 2022 by john dew
25/6/22 Photos

[trw1089]

Hi John

 

hope you and your wife are going well with all the pandemic hullabaloo.  Really enjoyed catching up on all things Granby, certainly some impressive work you’ve been doing with the post office and hotel buildings, and that parcels rail car is a beaut.

 

Take care

Tony

[Neal Ball]

Great to see the update @john dew and that you now have a Saturday socially distance ritual.

 

We have fallen into a Friday night ritual with friends running our own quiz via FaceTime. 
 

We will get through this, although it’s a bit inconvenient, but it has meant I’ve done loads of work on Henley. It’s the start of week 5 over here.

 

Take care and stay safe.

[john dew]

On 11/04/2020 at 15:31, trw1089 said:

Hi John

 

hope you and your wife are going well with all the pandemic hullabaloo.  Really enjoyed catching up on all things Granby, certainly some impressive work you’ve been doing with the post office and hotel buildings, and that parcels rail car is a beaut.

 

Take care

Tony

 

Hi Tony

 

Its good to hear from you and very nice of you to think of us.

 

We are both well  .....the lockdown doesnt affect us too much although we missed the usual big family dinner we normally have at Easter....we have had had a series of sunny days here so its all systems go in the garden.

 

I guess you have been busy at work...I get more updates from linkdin about you than I do of your layout! I do hope you are both well and coping  as best you can with all this disruption to everyday life.

 

 Best wishes

 

John

[saxokid]

Realy nice modelling here john!!

just looked through all your pages..

 

 

many thanks neil..

[john dew]

Thanks Neil.....glad you liked the layout.

 

Your address was a blast from the past.....I was born in Bebbington and lived in Heswall for 10 years before emigrating to Canada.....39 years ago, almost to the day.

 

Best wishes

 

John

[john dew]

Thanks for all the ticks guys!

 

Its been brilliant weather here without any rain for a fortnight. Gardening has tended to be the priority.....we grow lots of vegetables most years but it seems an even better idea this year.

So not too much time for modelling but on a few days I did manage to spend an hour or so in the railway room.

I left you with this assembly line  waiting to be painted:

A week later:




As before, Modelu on the left and Langley on the right  plus a few additions.......the first of which are in the foreground:




It may be hard to believe but this group is destined for the roof of the Soap Factory:





A bit of Family history may help.....I met Mrs D in Oldham (which perhaps explains why Granby sometimes looks more like a town in East Lancs than North Wales). Her Mum used to work in one of the many cotton mills there. In summer the mill girls used to sneak up to the roof during their dinner time in the hope of getting a tan. One has to admire their optimism! 

I  have always wanted to reproduce this on Granby. The figures are from a Langley beach scene and the close up exposes the rather crude finish. Hopefully this will not be so obvious at normal viewing distances.


The Langley workmen, while still a bit Hobbit like, have a better finish and were fun to paint.




Some will go on the warehouse behind the Engine Shed but the gentleman top left has been painted up as a rent collector or tally man and will go on the terraced housing modules....the guy on the right will go in the goods yard


Most of the Modelu figures are actually loco crew but all,bar one, have been painted as warehousemen or lorry drivers

 

The chap with the white shirt is from Montys models.....he was in the paint shop for light repairs so I included him in the group as a comparison.  He is actually a little shorter and definitely slimmer than the Modelu figures but, unlike the Langley figures, can be placed alongside them on the layout.

 

 To finish.....here is my favourite figure from this batch




Its Thursday so it must be a cheese and Branston pickle sandwich for  Dai's lunch

 

It looks as though Dai's missus was over generous with the pickle..... I think he might be about to spill some!

Keep well everyone!

Best wishes

John


 

Edited August 25, 2022 by john dew
25/8/22

[trw1089]

Hi John

 

You are certainly the master when it comes to painting figures, they look brilliant.

 

Also you are right about work, but the lockdown has meant no travel which has meant I’ve actually had some decent layout time of late.

 

Keep up the great work my friend!

 

Cheers

Tony

[john dew]

 

 

Time to get these figures into a more realistic location







On a factory roof!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wrights Soap Factory is right by the door and conceals the light switch.......so every day when I come down and turn the lights on I can smile at the thought of mill workers trying to get a sun tan in Oldham/ Granby
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mystery of the empty deck chair.......


The fourth figure in the kit was Miss Marple knitting a long woolen scarf.........hardly suitable for a mill roof
 

 

 

So here she is posed more realistically, waiting for the autotrain at Brewery Lane Halt at the other end of the branch line





I do hope you are all keeping well

Best wishes

John

Edited August 25, 2022 by john dew
25/8/22 Photos