Grantham - the Streamliner years

[LNER4479]

Congratulations on your achievement so far. I look forward to seeing further developments on thus excellent layout. Although my modelling is based on the "wet side" of the Pennines, long association with Leighford, Stoke Summit and even Charwelton has given me a sneaking regard for the LNER/ ER! Power to your elbow!

 

Thanks Terry. That's certainly an impressive 'hall of fame' layout list to have been associated with! A model railway friend of mine made a start on a OO representation of King's Cross some years ago but hasn't progressed it in recent years. But he keeps referring to one day hiring one of the NEC halls at Birmingham and attempting to assemble as much of the ECML as possible from the various individual depictions that have been created over recent years!! I'm hoping, now that I am living close by, to re-kindle his efforts on KX and at least get that and Grantham hooked up if nothing else!

 

How did you create the double crossover? have you got a separate picture of it and how you made this please.

 

I think Ian that you're not the first to ask that question. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph it during assembly, but I'll 'see what I can do' for a future posting. Suffice to say that it involves fairly savage butchery of some items of Peco pointwork so is not for the faint-hearted! But seems to work OK once done.

[Jack P]

Can't wait to see Grantham set up in it's new home!

 

JP

[tetleys]

LNER4479

I've just spent a couple of hours browsing your Grantham layout and I congratulate you, living just round the corner in Ancaster I have some empathy with the station. I also admire you new railway room and commend you on your choice of wife. 'railway friendly AND a grafter' such an asset is to be cherished. Good luck for the future and I shall follow with interest.

 

Dave S.

[LNER4479]

Thanks Dave,

 

I appreciate you taking the time to look through my thread. I hope it didn't impact too much on progress with your latest creation which of course many of us are eagerly anticipating.

 

Just about to 'head north' with Grantham safely tucked away in the hire van so I hope to report on the satisfactory installation at the end of the weekend.

[tetleys]

Thanks Dave,

 

I appreciate you taking the time to look through my thread. I hope it didn't impact too much on progress with your latest creation which of course many of us are eagerly anticipating.

 

Just about to 'head north' with Grantham safely tucked away in the hire van so I hope to report on the satisfactory installation at the end of the weekend.

 

Don't mention it, it was a real pleasure to check 'yet another ECML' layout and it certainly won't slow up my modelling, I check out RMWeb during down time in the evenings, being Friday I made the 'ultimate sacrifice'. I relenquished the remote control to Julie for Gardener's World! I then got so engrossed in your Grantham layout I neglected to retrieve the remote, now she thinks a precedent has been set! (Thankfully she's got no interest in Soaps or reallity, phew).

Good luck with the layout move but I don't envy your heating bill.

 

Dave

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

I'm suffering from 'Railway Room Envy'....

 

 

Can't wait to see Grantham out of boxes and back in one piece. It's my favourite EMCL layout at the moment.

[Anglian]

Well folks I've been 'sitting on this' for a little while now, not daring to 'count my chickens' in case it was too much to hope for - but I can now reveal that last week we took possession of our new house.

 

I say 'we' because with the full blessing of my fantastic wife, our property search had a very simple remit: 'large room with a house attached'(!) Accordingly, we have purchased a former methodist chapel & school room (combined). This had already been converted by the previous owners which means it is directly liveable in (that was my part of the bargain!). However, very thoughtfully, the previous owners had converted the former school room area only (spacious two-bed bungalow) and left the chapel building untouched (but for the removal of the ecclesiastical accoutrements). The guy's hobby was restoring classic cars so used it as his garage (and very handily installed a load bearing concrete floor so it's dead flat)

 

This means that I have taken possession of a space measuring... wait for it ... some 42ft by 28ft in which to indulge my own hobby. For someone who has always tended towards large (prototype) layouts it is surely as much as I could ever want. 30 years ago, I could often be found doodling imaginary layout concepts within a space this size; now - god willing - that dream is a reality (I was actually going for 40ft by 20ft so I've exceeded my brief a little!!)

 

There is actually a little bit of work to do yet before Grantham can be moved in (for one thing the floor is heavily oil-stained in places!) but I'm hoping that it will be in there by Christmas (2012!) and work can actively resume on the layout itself.

 

It's a busy time at the moment, as you can imagine, but I'll try and get a couple of pictures posted to give you an idea.

 

Yessss!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

That's fantastic news. I'm really enjoying reading of your Gratham and look forward to the details of your progress once you're in your new home. You must have fallen over backwards when you saw the space.

Edited November 10, 2012 by Anglian

[LNER4479]

Hello All,

 

Well, the great day has come and gone and Grantham is safely in its new home. Here’s how we got on.

 

Your carriage awaits! Grantham is awakened from its slumber of the last six months as the hire van arrives.

 

I was accompanied on the journey by a not-so-little-anymore person. As it was such a nice day we paused with the van to allow Grantham to be photographed alongside some of northern England’s well known railway sights. Can you identify them?(!)

 

No.1. the clue here is that there are (sadly) no longer rails over this graceful viaduct

 

No.2 Look carefully, there is a railway here(!) Very much still open this one…

 

No.3 There appears not to be too much to go on here, but check out the background for a ‘sign’ of railway history(!)

 

Arrival! This is Grantham's new home from the outside.

 

I love a railway room you can back a van into! Not-so-little-anymore person and the good lady prepare for the unloading.

 

With the van gone, the components of Grantham are scattered about the room awaiting assembly

 

And a few hours later:

 

This view is from the top of the office roof, which doubles up as an excellent viewing gallery!

 

My good lady surveys the scene and immediately declared it to be more homely! At that we ‘drew stumps’ at the end of a satisfactory day.

 

I’ll get the buildings and some stock out to take some further pictures for the next posting in due course.

 

‘Robert’

Edited November 10, 2012 by LNER4479

[d winpenny]

I wish I had the same space to put my layout, looking great

 

David

[tetleys]

LNER4479,

 

Was your route passing the Darlington to Tebay rail route, do I spot the M6 and is that the ski lift on the road from Middleton in Teesdale across to Alston? I think I cycled part of this route a few years ago, if I'm wrong it wouldn't be the first time but if, on the other hand I am correct I shall forward my address for delivery of the 'mega prize'.

 

Naive of Ancaster

 

PS Glad to see you supervisiong while the female team members did the heavy work, true leadership qualities always rise to the surface.

Edited November 11, 2012 by tetleys

[LNER4479]

Naive of Ancaster,

 

Sorry, only two correct (and I think you might have fluked one of them!)

 

Assuming you have answered in the order in which I posted the photos then as follows:

 

No.1 - Not the Darlington to Tebay route... but see further below

 

No.2 - Yes, that is the M6 - but could you be more specific? I was actually referring to the electrified mainline railway that can be made out just to the right of the railway. Being alongside the M6 this can only of course be the West Coast Mainline and this is one of its most picturesque spots that always gladdens the heart of the rail traveller.

 

No.3 - No, most definitely not Middleton-in-Teesdale to Alston! Both were of course NER branchline termini but a railway twixt the two would have been a 'challenge' for even the most audacious of Victorian engineers. However this is the Darlington to Tebay route (or Tebay to Darlington in the direction in which we were travelling). As I say, there is a clue in the background as to exact location.

 

So, to slightly mis-quote the immortal words of Eric Morecambe - 'you got the right answer, but not necessarily in the right order'!!

 

LNER4479

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

My first thought was, crikey - Granthams's new home is bigger than my home! My second thought was you're going to have to make Grantham even bigger now to fill all that space!

 

Fabulous, when's the first 'open house' and can I be first in the queue? I'll even bring my V2 with me.

 

Edited November 11, 2012 by Dr Gerbil-Fritters

[61070]

Robert - it's looking fantastic in there already. Nice day for the move too.

 

Can I have a go at the quiz please (if it's still open) ?

 

1 Lowgill viaduct?

2 The Lune Gorge (from A685)

3 Stainmore summit?

 

Slightly intrigued by what the yellow triangular sign on the outside of the door might be warning us of? 'Stand well back from the edge of the baseboard - streamlined trains pass through this station'?

[tetleys]

I stand corrected but one of the photos did look like a ski lift that is between Alston and Middleton but if I'd checked out the road it is twice as wide as the one I cycled over. I suspect 61070 may have the correct answers, well done.

 

I think you could be tempted to fill a bit more available space now that it has become available although only you can decide that. Good luck and I'll follow with interest.

 

Dave

[LNER4479]

Spot on John! (no flies on you)

 

The replica Stainmore summit sign (visible in the background, in line with the rear of the van) was only re-instated this year, as part of the 150 celebrations of the route (I think I'm right in saying) and I think I recall seeing a picture of Steve Davies (head of NRM) pictured alongside it during the celebration weekend (I believe the original sign can be seen in the museum). There was certainly a big 'do' at the emergent Kirkby Stephen East preservation centre this year (which we also drove past yesterday).

 

Not sure about the 'danger children sign' - it came with the house! I like your interpretation of it though!

[LNER4479]

My first thought was, crikey - Granthams's new home is bigger than my home! My second thought was you're going to have to make Grantham even bigger now to fill all that space!

 

Fabulous, when's the first 'open house' and can I be first in the queue? I'll even bring my V2 with me.

 

 

People with V2s certainly welcome Dr G-F! My thought is to have a first 'open house' in the spring. One reason is it will be warmer (although it's been lovely in the chapel/railway room today with the sun streaming in) and lighter nights for driving to/from (bit of a long trip from the midlands - sorry!). Other reason though is that there is a lot of non-railway stuff still to do in the house and that's the main focus over next few months. Important to keep the balance to maintain the fantastic co-operation of the good lady...

 

I think you could be tempted to fill a bit more available space now that it has become available although only you can decide that. Good luck and I'll follow with interest.

 

Dave

 

Well, as both yourself and Dr G-F have mentioned the space issue then I'm happy to share future thoughts with you.

 

At some 32' x 17', I always knew that there would be plenty of space left over in a room some 42' x 28'. However, some of this is taken up by the 'office' building (where my workbench plus library is now being set out). Unusually for estate agents, they actually under-estimated the size of this, claiming it to be 8' x 6'. In actual fact, the 6' dimension turns out to be nearer to 9'! Subtracting that off the 42' longitudinal dimension gives 33'; with no idea of this when I first started Grantham (in 2007), the final length dimension has ended up at a smidgen over 32' so I'm in with about 8 inches to spare - phew!

 

However, no denying that the width dimension is 'generous'! Free from the limitation of the office, that leaves a vacant space down the south side of 42' x 11' to 'fill'!! I guess many would settle for that as a space for a complete layout. The 'grand plan' therefore is as follows:

 

Being a portable layout, Grantham is not intended as being the layout that will fill this space in the longer term. With a fair wind, another 5 years might have it 'finished' such that it could remain packed up between exhibitions and possibly even ultimately found a sympathetic second owner(!) No, the grand plan for my 'layout of a lifetime' is to fill the chapel/railway room with a permanent layout that will be my take on a north of england location I once saw described as the 'greatest junction station of them all'. Not York (tempting!) but over to the very north-west corner of england: Carlisle!

 

For indeed I am actually at heart a BR (LMR) modeller and Grantham is in fact a lengthy sabatical (but a hugely enjoyable one at that) so I intend eventually returning to my 'roots'. I can show you outline plans I sketched some 25 years ago for Carlisle, day-dreaming of the day when I might have such a space to fill. Nothing like a bit of long-term planning! Another way of looking at it is the retirement project (a few years off yet).

 

But important not to get too side-tracked at the moment. I have a layout to finish first. So it's pre-war ECML to the fore for the time being!

 

'Robert'

[tetleys]

Thanks for the insight into your future plans and good luck with your eventual journey from the ECML to 'The Dark Side'.

Only kidding but you'll need a lot of help operating Carlisle.

 

Dave S

[LNER4479]

Thanks Dave,

 

Get well soon yourself - I saw your unwelcome news re your bike accident, sounds nasty. At least you've got an excuse for endless hours browing RMWeb at the moment!(?) There really is an endless variety of inspirational work on here.

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

As if one awesome layout wasn't enough, next stop Carlisle? Judging by Grantham I have no doubt you'll achieve another winner!

 

Makes my piddly four turnout shelf switcher ambitions look very tame indeed. I need to up my game!

[LNER4479]

Read all about it - Grantham First run in new home!

 

Following the move last weekend, I was – frustratingly – working away last week, so we’ve had to wait till this weekend to ‘have a play’. Fortunately, a visiting collection of LNER stock was on hand so we had quite an array. As I was running the layout, there was limited opportunity to take photos but I made an effort at one point so here are the results:

 

Quite an apple green fest! I’m sure your powers of loco observation are up to the task but a couple of items of note. The ‘A4’ is not an A4 but of course the unique W1 in its rebuilt form (1937 onwards). The C5 in the foreground is an old McGowan Models kit, recently completed. Not all locos on view are ‘classic’ Grantham locos, but there again, almost anything could turn up on a running in turn from Doncaster!

 

The Coronation set gets an airing, with Dominion of New Zealand in charge (and very nicely it ran too).

 

Later on, I pointed the camera at the fiddle yard which hasn’t featured before now.

 

Although Grantham is in essence a ‘roundy roundy’ layout, the fiddle yard has been designed with certain things in mind. For a start, there’s a turntable, as I have an aversion to the same loco/train running in the same direction all day, so the idea is to replace the loco after each run, turn it and send it back the other way with another train. That should vastly increase the variety ‘out front’ and make the presentation of trains through Grantham more convincing. It is a fiddle yard afterall!

 

Work has concentrated so far at the north end where most loops are laid. By contrast the south end is pretty bare; most of the cork shown here will eventually have rails on it. The two roads either side (ie far left and far right) are the through running lines forming the continuous run, the idea being that once a train is out, any shunting (mainly loco moves) can be undertaken in the meantime.

 

This view shows some of the connections to the through running lines at the south end. To the right is what I’m calling the ‘link board’ and there will be six dead end sidings for additional stock storage to make best use of the space between the front and the back of the layout. The teaks that can just been seen to the right are on one of these sidings, laid temporary for now.

 

So, there you have it – Grantham is fully christened in its new home. Hopefully I can now provide a steady supply of ‘new’ photos going forward as I have the layout on hand to work on.

 

‘Robert’

Edited November 19, 2012 by LNER4479

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Wonderful! And an intelligent approach to what a staging yard should do - it's not just a set of loops to park trains.

 

Looking forward to more pictures of your ace trackwork, too! Locomotives schmocomotives, I like track!

[JCL]

That's looking fantastic Robert. It looks like a lot of ballasting is to feature in your immediate future!

[fishytrains]

Nice to see your layout up and running, even if you still have lots of work to do.

 

Mike

[LNER4479]

That's looking fantastic Robert. It looks like a lot of ballasting is to feature in your immediate future!

 

Hmm...yes...you noticed that then!

 

I can at least apply for a 'please excuse me' note so far as the fiddle yard is concerned I hope? Otherwise, I intend to apply 'light ballasting' only to the currently untreated tracks, on the basis that lesser running lines and sidings (especially) had a rudimentary approach (including ash ballasting) compared to the carefully manicured appearance of the mainlines and I want to portray that contrast on the model.

 

Not top of the 'to do' list just yet though! Building the remaining depot board and laying the remaining tracks thereon might feature first, not to mention a (reliable) working turntable - something I'm agonising over a little at the moment, to be honest!

[LNER4479]

In response to some previous requests, here is a post giving details of Peco point modifications. Firstly, introducing a curve into a slip point (fortunately, there was a job on hand involving a single slip):

 

Here is the new item fresh out of the box. We’re about to cut into £30 worth of nickel silver and plastic…(!)

 

The pencils indicate where the gaps will be made to the webbing to allow the curve to be introduced. Leave well alone in the middle section with the moving bits; only a slight curve is possible but it will make all the difference.

 

Two clean cuts for each gap required then remove the piece of plastic web.

 

Here are all the 8 gaps created. (as you can see I use a Stanley knife, perhaps a touch heavy-handed but I’ve gotten used to them over the years)

 

Now the ‘magic’. Hold the point firmly at both ends and bend as if you were using flexi-track. The pressure should be firm but steady. You’ll feel it ‘go’. The link wires are of course the thing to watch. There’s enough room for the webbing to move slightly around the hole where the wire is connected to the underside of the rail – but only a slight movement, so don’t go mad! If the worse comes to the worst the link can be wired separately afterwards (but they are surprisingly robust and I have never dislodged one yet)

 

This hasn’t come out too clearly but what this is showing is that I have used one of the bigger webbing off cuts to reinsert in the gap on the outer rail to help retain the ‘curve’. This is because the outer set of sleepers will slide back to their original position otherwise (the inner ones usually hold).

 

Et voila! Can you see the curve? It’s quite subtle but does create a great effect and of course dramatically increases the flexibility of the points. This whole modification took me no longer than 20 minutes to do. The principles apply equally to all points in the range.

 

Here’s where it’s going. The older style double slip wasn’t really ‘working’ at the north end and it should in fact be a single slip anyway

 

Gone! Here it is installed, albeit for a trial fit only. A bit of real tracklaying beckons; the bottom left leg leads into the depot yard and this track has yet to be laid. I hope to report back on that shortly.

 

 

The other request was about the ‘super scissors’. Unfortunately these are in and installed on the layout and it would be rather expensive to do one just for demonstration purposes! However, on this one (by South box) one of the legs has yet to be finally fixed down so I pulled it apart to at least show some of how I did it.

 

Reassembled, the pencils indicate where the joins are. It can readily be seen therefore that the poor old short crossing is heavily mutilated in the process. One point to note (not that obvious from this picture) is that the sleeper ends next to the joint need to be undercut to remove sufficient plastic to allow the fishplates to be slid on the rail.

 

Here is an aerial view showing the full affect (which I have to admit I quite like). With the two slips as part of the configuration perhaps this makes it a ‘mega scissors’? The top right corner of the formation is a long radius and forms the key facing point for the choice of routes as a train approaches Grantham from the south. Straight on for the down main (obviously), turning left then back to the right over the double slip accesses the down relief (leading to the back through platform at the station), straight on across the same slip to the through goods line. A gorgeous three-post somersault bracket signal controlled the junction in the 1930’s and will – in time – be replicated on the model. Meanwhile, the two legs off the bottom right double slip lead to lay-by sidings, hence a freight train turned off the mainline can then set back across the bottom leg into the sidings then subsequently depart, either across from bottom right to top left to regain the mainline or straight back over the bottom leg for the through goods line. Some classic steam-age track design at work here, rarely – if ever – seen on the modern railway.

 

Hope this is all of some use and interest. Happy to answer any questions arising.

 

‘Robert’