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

[john dew]

Well spotted! Actually it's another of my attempts at a time stamp......for a 1947/8 layout I have nowhere near enough black GWR Locos.......It's an off the shelf B R liveried Collett.......an absolute bargain at 55 GBP 10 months ago..........to which I applied the very first British Railways lettering

 

I reliveried the weathered black BR Dukedog with wartime GWR letters though!

 

Kind regards

[County of Yorkshire]

Well spotted! Actually it's another of my attempts at a time stamp......for a 1947/8 layout I have nowhere near enough black GWR Locos.......It's an off the shelf B R liveried Collett.......an absolute bargain at 55 GBP 10 months ago..........to which I applied the very first British Railways lettering

 

I reliveried the weathered black BR Dukedog with wartime GWR letters though!

 

Kind regards

 

Sorry to interject into your wonderful layout thread John, but I thought you may be interested in a couple of pictures of my wartime black Collett Goods with ROD tender. I think we probably capitalised upon the same deal ten months ago as that's around what I paid for mine - a 'silly cheap price' as I like to put it! I think this livery sits quite handsomely on the loco, it's different.

 

 

 

Cheers, 

 

CoY

Edited November 20, 2014 by County of Yorkshire

[M.I.B]

.....for a 1947/8 layout I have nowhere near enough black GWR Locos.......It's an off the shelf B R liveried Collett.......an absolute bargain at 55 GBP 10 months ago.........

 

 

 I was "away" when the box-shifters cleared these out, so I missed them  It's the only gap in my loco stable, and probably the last loco I will buy unless something very special comes out (re-tooled/new mould for the Dean Goods, or an Aberdare).

 

I think that the next "new" RTR GW engine is most likely to be a Night Owl, but I am lucky to have a kit built one already.

[john dew]

Sorry to interject into your wonderful layout thread John, but I thought you may be interested in a couple of pictures of my wartime black Collett Goods with ROD tender. I think we probably capitalised upon the same deal ten months ago as that's around what I paid for mine - a 'silly cheap price' as I like to put it! I think this livery sits quite handsomely on the loco, it's different.

 

Cheers, 

 

CoY

 

Hi CoY

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

Nice photos.......nice loco

 

I think you did a better job with the transfers than I!

 

How do you find the running performance? I have a Lenz Standard chip and I have added tender pick ups and without any load it is amazing...... crawls around at speed step 1 without any hesitation. Hauling capacity is another matter

 

Asked to haul even three coaches up the slightest incline and she demurred!  I have now added as much lead as I can reasonably accommodate (I have a feeling I moved the decoder to the tender to get more weight to the drivers) .....I have great lumps in the cab which I have to find a disguise for.  As a result her performance as Granby station pilot is now reasonable but it was an awful lot of fuss and palaver.......which I didnt have to do with my earlier Green ROD tender

 

Just wondered how you got on?

 

Regards from a very wet Vancouver

[john dew]

I think that the next "new" RTR GW engine is most likely to be a Night Owl, but I am lucky to have a kit built one already.

 

Well you definitely got that right !

 

      IMG_20141121_151545.jpg

 

 

I do agree with you regarding the Dean Goods.......I think they are such an iconic GWR loco and I find their war service quite fascinating

 

I am afraid I have given up on my attempts to get either of my two Hornby Models to run satisfactorily (tender drive traction tyres .....ugh!!)

 

I dont normally get involved in wish lists but in this case......I really do wish Hornby would do an upgrade......mind you if I am in wish mode an upgraded mogul from Bachmann wouldnt come amiss!

[M.I.B]

If it wasn't a Night Owl the new GW RTR would have been a re-tooling of the Saint in time for some milestone in the other Didcot new-build.  But that is a dangerous call so close to Hornby's Stars being issued.  They both fill a similar "slot" in loco rosters and periods,  and not everyone would be lucky to be able to afford both.

 

My older Dean is a K's kit with a recently upgraded motor - so it runs beautifully (especially compared to it's younger plastic RTR brother).

[john flann]

John, I've just had a closer look at the two  latter images in your post #177 and, two items look familiar. Thank you.

[john dew]

The first part of this post  shows how I inserted the point for the second parcels siding......I had some doubts about writing it up....teaching my grandmother to suck eggs etc........but on the other hand it might be of use to some.....after all I learned this technique some years ago, from a similar post by Gwiwer.

Iif you are bored and particularly if you have lovely hand laid track I suggest you quickly scroll halfway down. There you will find, for a change, a few not bad loco shots


The first cut is the deepest! 



I use a square and masking tape to mark the cut line and then use the square again as a guide when cutting

On the second cut I tend to undercut slightly and file the ends back to minimise gaps.


The siding was laid on foamboard so it was quite easy to scalpel up the top sheet complete with ballast and debris.



Note the cleaned ends on the cut siding rail and insulated joiners ready on the new point


One sleeper is removed from the toe end and metal joiners, opened up lightly, are slid on to the rail leaving only the tip exposed.



The insulated joiners are quite flexible......insert them into the rail at a slight angle....lower the point to the track bed and using pliers slide the metal joiners along to connect with the points.......simples.......  honest! 



Once satisfied I have a good fit, I remove the point and solder dropper wires before drilling holes and reinserting the point.




These Peco surface mounted solenoids may not look very prototypical but they are definitely ideal for retro fitting. They are very reliable you just have to make sure they are mounted level and square.

The downside, of course, is the inability to change frog polarity. In some previous retrofits I have been reluctantly obliged to insert insulfrog points

However for this exercise I discovered this little gizmo



Its a twin output DCC Concepts solenoid decoder. It throws the point motor, switches the frog polarity and has connections for push buttons and LEDS on a switchboard (albeit redundant in my case as I use RR&Co).

Its very easy to connect up (no soldering) and very simple to programme. I have not been a great fan of DCC Concepts in the past but this is a well priced useful piece of equipment .



Here is the siding done and dusted......ballasted and rails/sleepers weathered





Long shot before starting work on the removeable cover





I am using Scalescene printed setts for the Parcels depot yard (more on this later) and, in the foreground, the foundations and walls for the first terraced houses are in place

In the background, you can see I have repaired/replaced the wall over the cutting that leads into the low level storage siding.





As I was preparing this post, it occurred to me that I sometimes get too focused on reporting the project in hand. I forget that other areas, which I see every day, are rarely shown or repeated in this forum.

So here is a little diversion. The next few shots have little to do with the current project but are of areas that I probably havent written about for 3 or 4 years


Bit out of focus but a linking overall view of the top left hand corner of the railway room





The Autotrain, which you lost saw at Canal Street approaches Brewery Lane Halt.

I am eagerly looking forward to a new 14xx  (or two)......... next year ???








 
Finally a close up of Collet 2259....lamped up as the Station Pilot with coal, fire irons and lots of lead.....so much so that I am struggling to find a place for the crew!

This is the loco we discussed at the end of my last post



To justify the Hawksworths etc the layout has to be based just a few months after nationalisation.....early 1948.........so here is one of my time stamp attempts .....the initial temporary British Railways Logo.

On the prototype, in1948, the war time GWR logo was removed and the temporary "British Railways" applied......In 2014 it was roles reversed.... I had to painstakingly remove the the BR early crest that the model came with!

 

Edited November 26, 2014 by john dew

[M.I.B]

Thanks John.  Informative and inspiring.  I love that corner warehouse.

 

How did you gently remove the Lion and Wheel from 2259 - glass fibre pen, or T Cut, or some other method........

 

I too have Hawksworths, but I am prepared make/bend the rules a little.

[john dew]

Thanks MIB  .............glad you like the goods warehouse.

 

I used a glass fibre pen and the back of a scalpel blade.......it took a surprisingly long time and in closeup there was a polished area but it seems to have weathered away now.

 

I dont get too hung up about dates but I try and get the varying logos in roughly the right proportion for post WWII and the idea of an early British Railways rather appealed to me

 

Regards

[M.I.B]

The two 2251/RODs on Ebay this weekend sold for £15 more than the box-shifters flogged them off for last year!

 

Ebay madness!    Softly softly catchy monkey as they say.  Luckily money doesn't burn a hole in my pockets.

 

Thanks for the logo removal tip for recent Bachmanns - each maker and age of model is different.   No-one has sussed how to gently remove paint on recent Hornby coaches..

[john dew]

Its time we had a picture of a pannier!








Over a 20 year period many, many panniers have run (and sometimes stalled) on the three different versions of Granby. Right now I have 8 or 9 doing regular turns including a very ancient split chassis.....No 7768.

5773 .....renumbered from the issue 5771, is a couple of years old and, like her sisters, is an absolutely superb performer.....she shares the duties of shuttling a B Set back and forth between Granby and the low level storage siding where she will shortly have to complete a regular unsupervised run around .......she has to be a superb performer!

This, I guess, is a relatively smooth segue into my progress with one of the buildings that will be covering the storage siding.

Here is one of my infamous blue shots of the original Parcel Depot  




This was built at least 12 years ago as a Goods Shed for Granby II......... long before I discovered Scalescenes. I had moved on, somewhat, from using exclusively kits or Wills sheets. Its made of Slaters stone sheets bonded to a card shell with assorted internal wood supports. Its pretty sturdy but suffered a lot of ancillary damage/cannabilisation as I "borrowed" assorted Ratio add ons for other projects.


So now the windows have been replaced and re-glazed, new window arches added, doors rehung and I have added quoins to the corners......one of Ratios most useful innovations for broad brush bodgers like me:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drainage and gutter arrangements dont warrant close examination......very broad brush!

I have added a few signs.....the entire strip is so narrow that the street leading from the station will have to be One Way and I have set that thought up in the Depot yard with a suggestion of a separate entrance and exit.

There is a lot of weathering required on the new signage but first I need to complete a couple of ancillary buildings

Here is a mock up of the office
 

 

And at the far end, overlooking Brewery Lane, a very crude mock up of a converted stable block

 

 

 

 

This is something of a hobby horse of mine!

I often think that modellers of the 30s,40s and 50s tend to neglect the significance of Horse power in operating the railways and indeed many other aspects of everyday life in the preceding decades.

As a boy living in a suburb of Liverpool, I can recall that our milk was delivered in a churn on a pony and trap. The refuse collectors (we called them dustbin men) tipped the waste from bins into a wagon drawn by a cart horse.

The GWR, like the other railway companies , used horses throughout their operation....collecting and delivering freight and hauling wagons for shunting. All these horses had to be looked after. There was a hospital for 400 horses in London. Special wagons to deliver provender and remove (for sale) manure. The horses had to be housed. Larger depots had multi floor stables while small branch stations had purpose built stables to a standard GWR design.

With the advent of the internal combustion engines the horses were steadily replaced and the stables became redundant. However, they were rarely demolished immediately, rather they were converted to stores or more often than not converted to become a garage for the new fangled lorries.

Ever since seeing a converted stable on John Flann's iconic "Hintock" I have been determined to create a stable for "Granby". ..........so now is my opportunity.

The model will be loosely  basedl on the GWR standard design illustrated in Stephen Williams  "Great Western Branch Line Modelling"  Part 2
 

[john flann]

John, indeed the railway Parcels traffic warranted large depots and I don't think many appreciate how extensive it was. Nor what comprised a "parcel".

 

You've also done your homework regarding the railway horse. However you are" misinformed" regarding the stables at Hintock; they are still very much in use as this image shows and with Nell patiently waiting outside after enjoying her oats. Pardon me posting on your thread.

 

 

PS, if you wished to build any stables resembling those at Hintock I do have a series of images demonstrating their construction.

Edited December 4, 2014 by john flann

[john dew]

Hi John

 

You never need to apologise for posting here.

 

My apologies to Nell for inadvertently making her redundant.

 

Open or closed it was your lovely photo of the stable (Nell was absent at the time.... out working no doubt) that inspired me!

 

Kind Regards

[john dew]

Greetings from the Rain Forest where we are currently enduring a major storm as a load of warm wet cloud straight from Hawai dumps on us!

 

I left you with this mock up of the stable building





Since then Slaters 2mm random stone bonded to the card base and door and windows openings cut out.

Ratio window arches added along with quoins to conceal the corner joint





Similar treatment for the office plus a door step from plastic strip.






Ratio industrial windows plus glazing added.

Lots of trim being prepped in the background





Steps for the office from 2mm card clad with Scalescenes paper. Technically, I believe, one shouldnt mix media but with a little weathering it should look ok








Totally unrelated to the current topic...... here are some shots of another iconic GWR locomotive class


Star Class "Knight of the Grand Cross" rolls down the incline from Granby Viaduct with the 4.17pm from Exeter and Bristol. Unfortunately its not a Saturday so I cant show you the through coach from Hintock.......the SO service that connects with the GWR hotel at Port Bredy  (Hope I got that right John!)








I guess there is a tenuous link with the current topic......thats the new south end loco spur, new point motor and station building foundation!.










Hopefully the real BC coal,fire irons and rather nice Monty's Models crew draw attention away from the fall plate and dusy cab roof........until I mentioned it of course







I know Hornby are not the flavour of the month for all manner of reasons and personally I think twice before pre-ordering their models from my regular retailer (in Liverpool).

However this is a purchase I do not regret







 

[john dew]

I am getting near the end of the Parcels Depot segment. In fact I just have to add some figures and detailing and hopefully I can be shunting parcels vans by Christmas

Too many photos for one post so today I will focus on the old Stable building.

You may recall I intended to base this on the photos in Stephen William's  excellent book "Great Western Branch Line Modelling" . It was clear from this that ,like many GWR structures, their stables were built to a very precise standard plan

I got a lot of help from both Doug (Chubber) and Marty. who emailed me copies of the original drawings for Abingdon, Park Royal (which was enormous!) and Castle Cary which was very compact


Here is the drawing that Doug posted in another forum

dooferdog wrote: Come to think of it, I have permission from Trevor Booth, a very nice man and illustrator of the Silver Link book on GWR modelling to post his illustrayions from the book, is this what you have in mind shown on a stables building?

If so it won't be too difficult, I'm sure.




Doug

 
I only have a very confined space....about 25 scale feet long as opposed to the 46' above.......A friend accused me of attempting to design a battery stable!

Fortunately Castle Cary fitted the bill......25' long with one window either side of the door. It didnt have any roof ventilators but I really wanted to include at least one because they are such an iconic feature.......

 

The model is too small for a station as busy as Granby but it only serves the Parcels Depot..........but there are other stables under the main goods warehouse......unfortunately they cant be seen

 

 

 

Here is a cruel close up of my broad brush version





There are a couple of departures from the standard design......the stables were almost invariably built with bricks with blue engineers bricks used for trim but I wanted the building to look part of the complex so I kept with the stone.

The other departure, which I now regret, was to pitch the roof higher than the drawing. I did this because the mock up looked too small in relation to the Parcels Depot.......the problem is that now I feel the building is somewhat out of proportion......whatever we are where we are ......and hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Lots of detail from the drawings which I enjoyed modelling.....the vertical panels above the door and below the windows are "Hit and Miss" ventilators......the description carefully enscribed on the drawing in victorian copper plate......something I had never heard of, yet when I googled Hit and Miss I got a load of hits (sorry) from sites try to sell me such ventilators in 2014


Here is an even crueller close up of one the sluices and a tap for the now removed horse trough......set into the wall exactly as specified!



There is a later shot where I have sorted the Scalescene grids and added a trace of the trough supports

This has always been a warts and all thread so here are a few shots of the roof vent construction........geometry has never been a strong point.......the offset vent is definitely not as specified!












With the arrival of the internal combustion engine the redundant stables became stores or the gable wall was knocked through, doors added and the building was converted to a garage






The protective rail around the Petrol Pump appears to have been a specified safety precaution.....you can see it on two of Stephen Williams illustrations

It would seem to be a worthwhile precaution bearing in mind the dented and scratched state of this example 





Hope the post wasnt too long and you enjoyed my tale of the stables as much as I did making it.




No room for many loco shots but I will leave you with a Christmas puzzle






If the Star that I last featured could be described as a Greyhound this must be something of a mongrel?




 

[john flann]

You always tell a good and enjoyable tale, John. I much enjoyed it as I do admire your enthusiasm.

[M.I.B]

Nice stable John.

[john dew]

Thank you for the likes Guys and particularly MIB for posting........I have to say your location is becoming increasingly obscure.....maybe thats the plan

 

 

 

You always tell a good and enjoyable tale, John. I much enjoyed it as I do admire your enthusiasm.

 

Thanks John.......as always you flatter me.......I have a long way to go to match your literary skills.....

Edited December 19, 2014 by john dew

[john dew]

This is what I believe is called the wrap on the Parcels Depot .......all done and dusted

Its also a wrap on the modelling year 2014........so now seems a good time to wish all the members of RMWeb and particularly those who follow this meandering thread  a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year


First off a few more photos of last week's "mystery mongrel". It was indeed a Dukedog.

Seen here huffing and puffing its way up Granby Viaduct to the refineries at Ellesmere Port

Huffing and Puffing because like its prototype the model struggles to pull the skin off a rice pudding........despite all manner of added weight and coupling adjustment.

Nevertheless it is a very attractive model

 

 

It started off as BR early emblem but is now the first and currently only loco on Granby in GWR Wartime Black........I keep working on the time stamps!




Dodgy G transfer which is probably why the train is diagrammed to run permanently on the Down Circuit



The office is done







Chimney and signs added plus...............


Some people and trucks all from Monty's Models (Dart Castings)



Monty's figures are so good that I try and avoid mixing them with other makes. The trucks and barrows are a delightful set and look as though they have been copied straight from Stephen William's book


Fire point added......... 







Why LNER ??  The old GC warehouse was bombed which is why this depot is so busy  and at the time you couldnt get GWR for love nor money.......and I have never seen LMS variants

 

The GWR Bedford arrived just in time......absolutely right for this period but why it had pristine white bumbers and mudguards I know not.....all corrected plus a dash of dull cote

 

How many guys do you need to hitch up a mechanical horse?

 

Here is a long shot .........the next section will be a row of Scalescene terraced houses.....the first block of which can be seen below
 

I built this block in October to check out the technique before embarking on the more ambitious phase 2.......glad I did.......I found it to be very challenging.....more about this in the New Year

Despite allegedly careful measuring, the completed block was deeper than I expected and,  in consequence, the Parcels yard became somewhat longer than I intended

So I have finished up with this piece of space filling whimsy

 

Whimsy because I dont believe sub depots like this ever existed....certainly I havent found any evidence of one.

I did learn that Palethorpe's sausage vans had no connection with Cambridge or Wiltshire but came from Tipton in the Black Country.........one is always learning something new in this hobby!


Its a modified Ratio Provender Store that I have dollied up......its actually one of the first models I ever made...nigh on 20 years old......so there is some sentimental attachment




I am very undecided about it ........no prototypical basis.....perhaps it looks what it is.....a somewhat contrived space filler......if I remove it I can just park a few more trailers............on the other hand Oxford might announce a 1948 Morris Palethorpes van!

Comments.....Advice...... Yea or Nay would be much appreciated





Have a great Christmas!
 

[M.I.B]

 

Dodgy G transfer which is probably why the train is diagrammed to run permanently on the Down Circuit

 

 

My replacement Grange arrived this week.  Like your Dukedog it was a "cycling lion" version and so underwent similar surgery. 

 

I also had a "G" issue which was rectified with weathering.  I over weathered it, then cut back the weathering around all 6 of the letters to make it look like the tender lettering had had a cursory "lick and a promise".  It has turned out OK.

Edited December 22, 2014 by M.I.B

[john flann]

John, you too have a Happy Christmas!

 

As to 'space" there is no requirement to fill every space with something. Space is just as important as things.Consider my Sheepcroft Yard for instance, and now HTQ - space there is the essence of it.

[nickwood]

John, you too have a Happy Christmas!

 

As to 'space" there is no requirement to fill every space with something. Space is just as important as things.Consider my Sheepcroft Yard for instance, and now HTQ - space there is the essence of it.

 

John

 

I wish you a Merry Christmas and JF is right regarding filling the space, less is sometimes more.

[john dew]

My replacement Grange arrived this week.  Like your Dukedog it was a "cycling lion" version and so underwent similar surgery. 

 

I also had a "G" issue which was rectified with weathering.  I over weathered it, then cut back the weathering around all 6 of the letters to make it look like the tender lettering had had a cursory "lick and a promise".  It has turned out OK.

 

Hi MIB

 

Glad your Grange arrived safely......IMHO one of the best locos Hornby has produced......its a regular work horse on Granby......very reliable

 

Have a great Christmas

Edited December 24, 2014 by john dew

[john dew]

John, you too have a Happy Christmas!

 

As to 'space" there is no requirement to fill every space with something. Space is just as important as things.Consider my Sheepcroft Yard for instance, and now HTQ - space there is the essence of it.

 

Thanks John

 

Even before I saw Nick's post above as I was dithering over the sausage shed  I was constantly reminding myself of your sound advice........"Less is more" !

 

Best Wishes from a Crisp but Sunny Vancouver