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


john dew
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5 hours ago, amdaley said:

Great to see you back John.

This thread is a tonic for anyone in these trying times.

Stay safe.

Tony.

 

Thank you Tony thats really very kind of you.

 

Its good to be back!

 

 

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3 hours ago, richard i said:

Glad to here you are improving. Hope the turntable behaves itself.

richard

 

Thank you Richard

 

I am glad to say the TT is behaving impeccably. They are actually very very reliable. Malfunctions are usually self induced. You may recall , about 5-7 years ago I managed to spill a jar of ballast on the TT on the other side of the layout. Once I corrected that unforced error it has run perfectly and accurately without ever a moments hesitation

 

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1 hour ago, brianusa said:

Hi John, glad there is an improvement.  My tale has not ended yet, sad to say!  A couple of months ago I broke my hip, the classic eighty six year old problem:o.  While its been fixed the pain still exists although it will get better, so I'm told.  Like you it has prevented "workin' on the railroad" and I've got a train caught between two blocks, out of reach naturally, so no playing trains until I can get up and get under.  Getting under the layout is a lot harder these days than when it was all set up about twenty years or so ago so it may be a while yet:fie:

Always good to see your recent additions

       Brian.       About to retire to the A/C train room for a few days.  If I can't play trains, at least I'll be cool!

 

Hi Brian

 

Its good to hear from you but I am so sorry to hear that your hip is still painful and preventing you from "playing trains". I know how frustrating that can be. I also share your dislike of having to crawl under the layout to fix something.......lithe and flexible are not adjectives that spring to mind. There is no way you can work around the stalled train or recruit a helper......its a bit far for me to pop over.

 

I envy your A/C. The Railway room is in the basement and its pleasantly cool here but right now the mercury is climbing upstairs. Its unusual to be writing on here to someone in the same time zone and near identical weather

 

I do hope your hip continues to mend and it will not be too long before the trains are running again

 

Best wishes

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Morning @john dewglad to hear you’ve got over everything and clearly as a bonus for all those pills, you have a new bright shiny turntable.

 

Glad to have you back and posting again. RMWeb hasn’t been the same without our visits to Granby.

 

Take care, Neal.

 

 

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11 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

Morning @john dewglad to hear you’ve got over everything and clearly as a bonus for all those pills, you have a new bright shiny turntable.

 

Glad to have you back and posting again. RMWeb hasn’t been the same without our visits to Granby.

 

Take care, Neal.

 

 

 

Thanks Neal that is very kind of you.

 

I have been remiss in not congratulating you on your new turntable. You did a super job with the painting. I am rather envious of the appearance. It is a far more accurate representation of a GWR turntable than mine. I am afraid I had to sacrifice appearance for functionality. I have tried to eliminate the more obvious traces of its continental origin but it still looks nothing like a GW table.

 

Is yours working now? I am interested in how it deals with indexing

 

Best wishes

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10 hours ago, M.I.B said:

So pleased to see you back in the railway room John.

 

Thanks Tinker.......in this weather I am glad to be back down here in the cool. How is your 12" to the foot building getting on? I do hope everything is on schedule.

 

Best wishes

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Hi John, glad to see you posting again. Sounds like it's been an unpleasant spell. Pneumonia and forest fires is one thing, but a malfunctioning turntable! 

 

Only joking of course, pleased to hear that it's behind you.

 

It's interesting that Fleischmann don't do turntables anymore. I wonder if that's because there isn't a market for them, or are they too much trouble for them?

 

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5 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

 

It's interesting that Fleischmann don't do turntables anymore. I wonder if that's because there isn't a market for them, or are they too much trouble for them?

 

Most popular era in Germany is the early diesel and electric era. No need for turntables. Also much more a “ have lots of tracks and watch many things go round and round” types of layouts too. 
richard 

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5 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Hi John, glad to see you posting again. Sounds like it's been an unpleasant spell. Pneumonia and forest fires is one thing, but a malfunctioning turntable! 

 

Only joking of course, pleased to hear that it's behind you.

 

It's interesting that Fleischmann don't do turntables anymore. I wonder if that's because there isn't a market for them, or are they too much trouble for them?

 

Fleischmann is now part of Roco. I guess they dropped the formers table in favour of the latter which is a more 'scale product.

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8 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Hi John, glad to see you posting again. Sounds like it's been an unpleasant spell. Pneumonia and forest fires is one thing, but a malfunctioning turntable! 

 

Only joking of course, pleased to hear that it's behind you.

 

It's interesting that Fleischmann don't do turntables anymore. I wonder if that's because there isn't a market for them, or are they too much trouble for them?

 


Thanks Mikkel

 

You omitted the heat dome….which has returned…..with the smoke ……certainly been a summer to remember!


Regarding Fleischmann, I was told that some of their H0 track tooling had worn out and it had been decided, no doubt by Rocco, that they would not replace it but concentrate on N gaude

 

Best wishes

 

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  • john dew changed the title to GRANBY JUNCTION Little people, with appropriate legends, for the Talbot
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1 minute ago, Neal Ball said:

It’s great to see the Talbot hotel again @john dew, you have a lovely set of characters there.

 

It looks as if Dave Thomas has had one or two too many pints of mild, I’m sure I can see him staggering there!


Thank you Neal ….My that was quick….I hadnt even finished editing the title!

 

You may be right about Dave. Good job for him that I havent finished painting the policeman!

 

I am glad you popped in because I wanted to ask which of the Heljan and Dapol railcard you like the most? I am particularly interested in reliable running.

 

Best wishes

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2 hours ago, john dew said:

Its Dave Thomas

Given that it’s Granby, might it be Dai Thomas?

All very nice John, both the painting and the stories.

Paul.

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1 minute ago, 5BarVT said:

Given that it’s Granby, might it be Dai Thomas?

All very nice John, both the painting and the stories.

Paul.

 

Thanks Paul.

 

You are correct, of course it should be “Dai”. That was careless of me. I will try to remember to include some Dais with the next batch!

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3 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

 

Brillant John, especially those last two shots. Very classy. My only question is: Who sweeps the pavements? :)


Hi Mikkel


I guess the same guy who didnt check the road was in good nick before taking a load of photos:mad:

 

Glad you like the photos 

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3 hours ago, john dew said:

of course it should be “Dai”.

Which will completely change the pronunciation of “Thomas”!

Paul.

Edited by 5BarVT
Grammar
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13 hours ago, john dew said:


Thank you Neal ….My that was quick….I hadnt even finished editing the title!

 

You may be right about Dave. Good job for him that I havent finished painting the policeman!

 

I am glad you popped in because I wanted to ask which of the Heljan and Dapol railcard you like the most? I am particularly interested in reliable running.

 

Best wishes


Interesting question @john dew hopefully I can answe in just over a week when the sound decoder arrives for the Heljan railcar.

 

The Dapol ones have proved to be smooth running, with excellent creep capability.

 

At the moment, I’m not pleased that to get the full lighting ability, on the Heljan model, I have to order an ESU decoder.  As I understand it, it would be possible with a Zimo decoder, but I would have to rewire the board and/or change the parameters. I have therefore ordered an ESU v5 with Legomanbiffa sounds from DC kits, which will be my first sound from them.

 

Looks wise, the Railcars from both Dapol and Heljan are great.

 

I will let you know the rest of the story when the decoder arrives.

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  • john dew changed the title to GRANBY JUNCTION better late than never: weathering the 94xx
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Ballasting and weathering the storage turntable continues. Meantime here are some shots of Granby's latest loco

Bachmann's 0-6-0 Pannier Tank.........here it is straight out of the box:

 

 

222183209_2.5Pristine.jpg.8bea566ff612c8e26045dd14ead675f8.jpg

This news is not exactly hot off the press. The model was finally released in January, after an interminable wait. It took me a further 3 months to convince myself it was ok for Granby. Then summer etc intervened before I was able to start weathering and detailing. It was only last week that she was finally ready for service!

The 94xx class was designed as a replacement for the long serving 57xx pannier tanks. The design criteria included increased power along with a more "modern" appearance. Allegedly the GWR General Manager "requested" that the CME get rid of the "old fashioned" dome. 

Here is a comparison:
 

681358855_1Pannier.jpg.f7343d133b54083edbc002b08144da73.jpg

 

580157672_2Pannier.jpg.d3abdfaca7b254a82ed72cc41cd8e0ed.jpg

 


Although over 200 locos were produced only 10 were made before nationalistion. Of these, only 9408 ventured north of Watford...... to Oxley (Wolverhampton). There is no evidence it ever got to Chester or Wrexham, hence my hesitation about it being ok for Granby. The model received very favourable reviews so I decided it may have spent a week or so at Granby as the station pilot.

I then promptly ordered the wrong etched plates 9407.......so thats top of the to do list.

I have tried to make the weathering reflect less than a year in service
 

1491620176_3Driverside.jpg.7da951969529071614b282be30a733ef.jpg

 

Light dusting of mud/rust below the running plates on brake pads etc.

Roof and running plates painted with matt black and light dusting of soot
 

504701420_4Fireman.jpg.050786b405d79f7544f63133e256f0d2.jpg



Modelu Headlamps and crew added. It is great being able to slip the lamps directly on to their irons.
 

Smokebox painted matt black/steel mix

 

1202604569_5Front.jpg.fccb571d9ee91726dcc73de961053646.jpg
 

Touch of steel paint on some steps where paint has been pretend chipped off by Modelu boots.

 

1628120229_6Rear.jpg.bb1ed3864bd68b15a9fff49dea9a92cd.jpg

 

 

Inside of bunker rusted. Fire Irons and real coal added.


DCC requires a Next 18 chip. Accessing the PCB involves removing the body which is very easy. I learned from the Youchoos install guide (a really useful resource) that there are easily accessible solder points on the PCB for a Stay Alive which was a big plus because you cant directly attach Stay Alive to the economy Zimo Next 18

Performance without Stay Alive was not great but once I squeezed a couple of Tantulums in and set CV 56 to 22 (its a coreless motor) it was stunning......very happy camper.

Its a gorgeous model. The detail is superb. Like the prototype its very heavy and handles long heavy trains with ease.

Regards from Vancouver

 

 

 

 

Edited by john dew
Amended "request to get rid of dome" photos 17/8
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2 hours ago, john dew said:

Ballasting and weathering the storage turntable continues. Meantime here are some shots of Granby's latest loco

Bachmann's 0-6-0 Pannier Tank.........here it is straight out of the box:

1450075824_2.5Pristine.jpg.d1f771e19983ebfcffba2d80c5ca8b84.jpg

This news is not exactly hot off the press. The model was finally released in January, after an interminable wait. It took me a further 3 months to convince myself it was ok for Granby. Then summer etc intervened before I was able to start weathering and detailing. It was only last week that she was finally ready for service!

The 94xx class was designed as a replacement for the long serving 57xx pannier tanks. The design criteria included increased power along with a more "modern" appearance. Allegedly the GWR Chairman told Collet, the CME, to get rid of the "old fashioned" dome. 

Here is a comparison:

2112914058_2Pannier.jpg.1ba108496536ef11defaad64e4cb3f72.jpg

 

 

932919458_1Pannier.jpg.e0fbaaac992b446cec3510377f64dc7f.jpg



Although over 200 locos were produced only 10 were made before nationalistion. Of these, only 9408 ventured north of Watford...... to Oxley (Wolverhampton). There is no evidence it ever got to Chester or Wrexham, hence my hesitation about it being ok for Granby. The model received very favourable reviews so I decided it may have spent a week or so at Granby as the station pilot.

I then promptly ordered the wrong etched plates 9407.......so thats top of the to do list.

I have tried to make the weathering reflect less than a year in service

886062594_3Driverside.jpg.adb497477e565d1e6e15ca2e21549118.jpg

Light dusting of mud/rust below the running plates on brake pads etc.

Roof and running plates painted with matt black and light dusting of soot

288068210_4Fireman.jpg.53eff9b35224057f188d6ca517613824.jpg

Modelu Headlamps and crew added. It is great being able to slip the lamps directly on to their irons.
 

Smokebox painted matt black/steel mix


476427567_5Front.jpg.e5f2a7140195778bb629c19f7e90a4d7.jpg

 

Touch of steel paint on some steps where paint has been pretend chipped off by Modelu boots.

 

756679172_6Rear.jpg.8a418a6b7e290b3ccaed13fa99ca43ad.jpg

 

Inside of bunker rusted. Fire Irons and real coal added.


DCC requires a Next 18 chip. Accessing the PCB involves removing the body which is very easy. I learned from the Youchoos install guide (a really useful resource) that there are easily accessible solder points on the PCB for a Stay Alive which was a big plus because you cant directly attach Stay Alive to the economy Zimo Next 18

Performance without Stay Alive was not great but once I squeezed a couple of Tantulums in and set CV 56 to 22 (its a coreless motor) it was stunning......very happy camper.

Its a gorgeous model. The detail is superb. Like the prototype its very heavy and handles long heavy trains with ease.

Regards from Vancouver

 

 

 

 

The real reason there wasn't an 'old fashioned dome' was that these locomotives were basically pannier tank versions of Collett 2251 tender engines. Incidentally, the 94xx was designed by Hawksworth after Collett had retired.

Edited by Denbridge
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5 hours ago, Denbridge said:

The real reason there wasn't an 'old fashioned dome' was that these locomotives were basically pannier tank versions of Collett 2251 tender engines. Incidentally, the 94xx was designed by Hawksworth after Collett had retired.

 

I know they used the 2251 boiler but maybe that was because they wanted to eliminate the dome?

 

I notice that Locomotion refers to Sir James Milne, GWR General Manager ( not Chairman) "requesting" that the design be a modernised version of the 57xx class. I knew Hawksworth was responsible for the design. I think I was mistaken in assuming that the original request was directed to Collett. I had forgotten he retired in 1941. Thank you for commenting, I will amend my original post

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10 hours ago, john dew said:

 

I know they used the 2251 boiler but maybe that was because they wanted to eliminate the dome?

 

I notice that Locomotion refers to Sir James Milne, GWR General Manager ( not Chairman) "requesting" that the design be a modernised version of the 57xx class. I knew Hawksworth was responsible for the design. I think I was mistaken in assuming that the original request was directed to Collett. I had forgotten he retired in 1941. Thank you for commenting, I will amend my original post

Apart from lengthening the frames to accommodate a bunker everything "under the skin" is identical to the 2251 class. Sadly, these days, the NRM is the last place to rely on for accurate information. Their descriptions of the priceless collection are pitiful. 

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