Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[LNER4479]

At this rate, I'll have finished not only Polperran but Pentowan as well before we get a change to play trains properly again... 

There’s a sort of ‘result’ trying to get out there?

Take care - we feel your pain having been through it earlier in the year this side of the globe. Simple things like going out for a meal are things to be cherished here at the moment …

Edited August 20, 2021 by LNER4479

[Barry O]

Fingers crossed that you and your good lady can stay safe. Keep working on the railway and have a few train driving sessions.

 

Baz and her indoors

[St Enodoc]

13 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

At this rate, I'll have finished not only Polperran but Pentowan as well before we get a change to play trains properly again... 

There’s a sort of ‘result’ trying to get out there?

Take care - we feel your pain having been through it earlier in the year this side of the globe. Simple things like going out for a meal are things to be cherished here at the moment …

Thanks Graham. Yes, as one of my operating team pointed out earlier, the next time we get together I might even have built the S********n...

[St Enodoc]

It was sunny, mild and calm today - almost spring-like, although we still have a week and a half of winter left - which was ideal for spraying the two points I built during the week, so after gapping them I did exactly that. To stop me from being tempted to rush ahead and lay them before the paint had hardened off, I ran through the rest of the Saturday sequence. I cheated a little by not running the railbus workings, or the last long china-clay train of the week, and I also ran the freights in a very token way, namely just the loco, a couple of wagons and the brake van.

 

During the late afternoon, our old friend W C Wolseley turned up and took a couple of photos.

 

This is the 1540 (Saturday) Penzance - Paddington parcels train (as you might have noticed before, I do like parcels trains). It's a short but interesting formation which will of course pick up and drop off various vans on its way East.

 

The loco is 6988 Swithland Hall of Laira. This is an old Bachmann model with split frames and has had a couple of the axle muffs replaced. For the moment it still runs fairly well.

 

The leading van is an ancient Tri-ang SR utility van with the Roxey Mouldings detail kit applied. Obviously not in the same league as the new Hornby version but it looks good as a layout van. Behind that are a Bachmann 12T van and a Hornby Gresley full brake. This must have worked down in place of the diagrammed Western vehicle and is being sent packing as early as possible. The first three vans all run through to Paddington but the last, a standard Bachmann Mk 1 BG, will come off at Taunton and be attached to the 2320 SO Taunton - Birmingham Moor Street.

 

A little later we saw the 1920 (Saturday) Penzance - Plymouth ordinary passenger, hauled by 5969 Honington Hall of Penzance (a standard Bachmann model). The Lima Siphon G, which has had Bachmann 9 ft Pressed Steel bogies and new buffers fitted, will continue to Paddington on the midnight parcels, while the Bachmann E159 BCK and the BSL E147 BC (the one that gave me so much grief last year) will terminate at Plymouth and form the 0845 (Monday) to Newton Abbot.

 

I made a few tweaks to the sequence while all this was going on, mostly to keep Mk1 and ex-GWR stock apart (although there is of course a standing instruction that all BS-gangwayed stock working into Mid-Cornwall must be fitted with adaptor gangways).

 

I'll write up these changes ready for the next run through the sequence, which I intend to start (and possibly finish) before the next proper running session, whenever that might be.

Edited June 29, 2022 by St Enodoc
images restored

[Barry O]

How easy was it to change the bogies on the Lima Syphon may I ask? I have one with its original Lima Bogies and it is very draggy despite opening the axle pinpoints out in the bogie.

 

Baz

 

PS china clays may be started today as I await more ballast....

[St Enodoc]

6 minutes ago, Barry O said:

How easy was it to change the bogies on the Lima Syphon may I ask? I have one with its original Lima Bogies and it is very draggy despite opening the axle pinpoints out in the bogie.

 

Baz

 

PS china clays may be started today as I await more ballast....

It's a bit tricky, Baz. The way I did it was to drill out the Lima mounting hole, fit a new mounting plate on top of the floor and clip the new bogies to that. If you use the original mountings the vehicle rides too high. If I remember I'll remove a bogie and take a photo.

[Barry O]

3 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

It's a bit tricky, Baz. The way I did it was to drill out the Lima mounting hole, fit a new mounting plate on top of the floor and clip the new bogies to that. If you use the original mountings the vehicle rides too high. If I remember I'll remove a bogie and take a photo.

Thanks!

Might just reduce the length of the axles- I did have some shorter axles for Lima bogies but I must have used them all.

 

Baz

 

 

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Thanks!

Might just reduce the length of the axles- I did have some shorter axles for Lima bogies but I must have used them all.

 

Baz

 

 

Yes but the Lima bogies are all wrong - that's why I changed them.

[Denbridge]

Just now, St Enodoc said:

Yes but the Lima bogies are all wrong - that's why I changed them.

Stafford Road models on shapeways do 3d printed bogies that are a direct replacement for Lima.

[St Enodoc]

Just now, Denbridge said:

Stafford Road models on shapeways do 3d printed bogies that are a direct replacement for Lima.

Not 30 years ago they didn't!

[Denbridge]

23 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Not 30 years ago they didn't!

I meant for Barry . All my ex Lima syphon run on etched bogies.

[KingEdwardII]

9 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Consequently, our September running session won't happen.

Perhaps you need to start thinking about some running sessions done remotely via Zoom and some technology to enable control of trains via the internet?  

 

Yours,  Mike.

[Jesse Sim]

Looking good John, can’t wait to be a part of the operational gang…..when I remember there’s a running session. 

[ianathompson]

2 hours ago, KingEdwardII said:

Perhaps you need to start thinking about some running sessions done remotely via Zoom and some technology to enable control of trains via the internet? 

 

I don't know whether you are joking or serious!

 

There is an article about achieving this in February's Model Railroader.

The participants in the documented session were in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, The Orkneys and Queensland.

The layout was either in New York or New Jersey.

 

As a dyed-in-the-wool Luddite, as befits a Yorkshireman, I can confirm that the AFK will not be following suit!

 

Ian T

[Chamby]

15 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

The NSW Government has announced this morning that the stay-at-home rules for Greater Sydney will be extended to the end of September (no surprise there, I have to say). Consequently, our September running session won't happen.

 

At this rate, I'll have finished not only Polperran but Pentowan as well before we get a change to play trains properly again...

 

I feel for you guys in Oz, but every cloud has a silver lining and your loss will probably be our gain...  The quality and pace of your modelling and associated posts have been even more excellent than usual of late, and I for one look forward to more!

 

And yes, if it all gets too much the S********n would make an excellent modelling interlude, something completely different.   Although it will signal the end of an epic era of banter, if this particular project is actually completed!

[Chamby]

9 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

.... a Hornby Gresley full brake. This must have worked down in place of the diagrammed Western vehicle and is being sent packing as early as possible....

 

A Gresley or Thompson full brake in the SW is perfectly feasible.  Daily services ran from Newcastle and York to Swindon and the South Coast, via the GC and Banbury, sections of which were diagrammed for onward passage throughout the Western and Southern regions.  Parcel vans were also detached at Woodford Halse from the more numerous Sheffield and Nottingham to Marylebone services, and tagged onto inter-regional services from there.  NE CCT vans, as well as the Thompson and Gresley bogie stock.

 

All a part of normal business.

 

On a completely different tack, have you plans to model the Broccoli traffic?  A regular run from Ponsandane to Paddington, using ex-beastie wagons.

[TrevorP1]

wttreprints on eBay will sell you a reprint of the potato traffic arrangements for 1953 - Carol thinks I’m quite mad when she sees me with it.

 

Potatoes or Broccoli, beastie wagons being hustled along at 50mph by a Castle makes a great sight in model form!

[St Enodoc]

10 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

Looking good John, can’t wait to be a part of the operational gang…..when I remember there’s a running session. 

When there is a running session...

[St Enodoc]

4 hours ago, Chamby said:

On a completely different tack, have you plans to model the Broccoli traffic?  A regular run from Ponsandane to Paddington, using ex-beastie wagons.

 

4 hours ago, TrevorP1 said:

wttreprints on eBay will sell you a reprint of the potato traffic arrangements for 1953 - Carol thinks I’m quite mad when she sees me with it.

 

Potatoes or Broccoli, beastie wagons being hustled along at 50mph by a Castle makes a great sight in model form!

I have a full set of Winter 1962-63 broccoli workings (and Spring 1962 Isles of Scilly flower workings) from a different source.There is a 1705 SO Marazion - Oxley in the sequence. Perhaps that will do...

[St Enodoc]

9 hours ago, ianathompson said:

 

I don't know whether you are joking or serious!

 

There is an article about achieving this in February's Model Railroader.

The participants in the documented session were in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, The Orkneys and Queensland.

The layout was either in New York or New Jersey.

 

As a dyed-in-the-wool Luddite, as befits a Yorkshireman, I can confirm that the AFK will not be following suit!

 

Ian T

I spend (more than) enough time on Zoom/Teams for work so I don't plan to use them for playing trains.

[aardvark]

On 20/08/2021 at 12:16, St Enodoc said:

The NSW Government has announced this morning that the stay-at-home rules for Greater Sydney will be extended to the end of September (no surprise there, I have to say). Consequently, our September running session won't happen.

 

At this rate, I'll have finished not only Polperran but Pentowan as well before we get a change to play trains properly again...

 

Please keep up the great work. Your posts, and the ensuing banter, provide much welcomed entertainment while this lockdown continues ...

 

... and absolves me of the necessity of doing anything myself.

[St Enodoc]

6 minutes ago, aardvark said:

 

Please keep up the great work. Your posts, and the ensuing banter, provide much welcomed entertainment while this lockdown continues ...

 

... and absolves me of the necessity of doing anything myself.

Thanks! I hope the cross-border Iron Curtain isn't giving you too much grief.

[St Enodoc]

The paint on the two points had dried fully by today, so I cleaned the rail heads and the mating faces at the switches then laid them and their connecting track.

 

Everything went smoothly and here they are:

 

Treloggan Junction 14 points are on the left and 13 points at the top. The track here (the Loop) will have dummy trap points at both ends, as it is not a passenger line, but I won't add those until everything's wired up.

 

This is in fact the beginning of the fifth power zone, the Terminus zone. It extends from the Down end of Indian Queens Halt all the way to the buffer stops at Polperran and Pentowan. The reason for making the break there is so that loco turning movements at Treloggan Junction will all be confined to a single power zone.

 

I tidied up the end of the straight track, the 12000mm curve, the start of the 760mm curve and the first point at the triangle. Within the limits of "give" it's turned out well.

 

I won't lay the rest of the triangle until I'm ready to go right round the bend (ha!) into Pentowan. I will fit the point motors and connect them to the frogs, though. There is a good reason to do this sooner rather than later, because...

 

...the triangle, of course, needs the polarity of one of the legs to be changed to avoid short circuits. I've decided that the reversible section will be the whole of Polperran including Treloggan Junction 13 points as seen in the foreground here. I could use an electronic auto-reverser for this but a) I haven't got one and the local shops have no stock; b) I have an inbuilt aversion to creating short circuits intentionally on the layout, even if there is a reason for doing so; and c) they are not cheap.

 

Instead, I'm going to use a spare Cobalt iP Analogue point motor, wired in parallel with the one for the point itself, to reverse the polarity through its changeover switches - in effect a power-operated DPDT switch. It should work, as there will be no need for a "dynamic" polarity reversal - the point will have to be set before anything runs across it.

 

Tomorrow, possibly some wiring as I can't lay any more track permanently until I've built the Barry slip.

Edited June 29, 2022 by St Enodoc
images restored

[Keith Addenbrooke]

54 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

 

Really like the way this particular view is developing - I think there’s something about watching a train on this sort of open line that’s really enjoyable, and well worth incorporating into a layout design where possible.

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by Keith Addenbrooke

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Really like the way this particular view is developing - I think there’s something about watching a train on this sort of open line that’s really enjoyable, and well worth incorporating into a layout design where possible.

 

Thanks Keith, I agree and it's something I've had in my mind for the branch from the start. The continuous series of curves, except for the short straights in the platforms, is a big part of that.