Herculaneum Dock

[queensquare]

17 hours ago, Michael Edge said:

After a long period of storage the layout wasn't exactly on its best behaviour at Leeds, made worse by lack of operating staff. That's usual at our own show but this year was really difficult although some willing volunteers were trained up successfully. For the last two hours the DCC failed and we couldn't run very much at all properly.

The layout is now stacked up in the garage, still needs covering up. It does take up quite a bit of space (no, we don't have too many bikes in there - only four) but we can work round it. Next outing not known but we did get some enquiries at Leeds.

 

Morning Mike, you have our sympathy. We had similar problems with Wadebridge and Padstow at Uckfield a couple of weekends ago - albeit the other way round. A combination of out of practice operators and a layout that hadn't been moved for a couple of years meant that  Saturday morning was a little fraught. Things got steadily better as the weekend wore on and things were going well by Sunday pm.

I think this scenario will be fairly common as the exhibition circuit slowly wakes up from its enforced slumber.

 

Jerry 

[Michael Edge]

As mentioned elsewhere I have added an extra facing crossover at the end of the fiddle yard, this is in operation now with Wentworth Junction but it's reall for Herculaneum Dock.

Templot drawing set out on the track before starting, this crossover will allow access from the kickback sidings on the inside of the fiddle yard to the MDHB system and also to the middle road from Central to Brunswick. In the other direction it will be possible to run into the kickbacks from the route into Central. It's very long with very flat crossings.

Crossover built on the bench, track removed, holes drilled for the Tortoise point motors.

Glued in place, with Evostik this time (No More Nails isn't very good at low temperatures), and weighted down with various lumps of steel. It's been tested now with everything that runs on WJ but still plenty of Herculaneum stock to check before its next outing at Bristol in April.

[Barry O]

So

 

Van .. booked

Operators.. ready

Wagons and Vans to Mike for coupling sorting.. done (He already has tankers and coal wagons as he isusing some of these on Wentworth Junction)

 

I need to.. clean loco wheels, check out the coaching stock and prepare for a long drive...

 

 

See you all at Bristol Show!

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

31 minutes ago, Barry O said:

So

 

Van .. booked

Operators.. ready

Wagons and Vans to Mike for coupling sorting.. done (He already has tankers and coal wagons as he isusing some of these on Wentworth Junction)

 

I need to.. clean loco wheels, check out the coaching stock and prepare for a long drive...

 

 

See you all at Bristol Show!

 

Baz

Last time I was at Bristol Show was 1980 with Dave Walker and Laxative Bridge.

 

Have fun.

[Michael Edge]

Last time I was there was 1984 with the LMRS O gauge layout - Brent.

[Barry O]

Was there on both of those occasions.. how time flies!

Baz

[roundhouse]

See you there Baz.

 

We were next to Herculaneum Dock at the Liverpool show.

 

Operators organised. Car serviced and some new tyres.

 

Just need set Banbury up to give it a test as it hasnt been run since last May. Stock has alredy had a full service.

 

This will be the layouts first show since September 2019.

Edited April 6, 2022 by roundhouse

[Barry O]

Spent today sorting out controllers which have gone pear shaped electrically. 5 sorted so far some spares are available if required

 

 

Baz

[Michael Edge]

All the stock checked and packed now.

Once the fiddle yard was empty I set up all the LOR on it, partly to check the signal operation which went a bit haywire at Leeds last year and partly to test the new train.

The sprung points make running rather difficult without the end bits in the fiddle yards but everything seems OK. The new train needed a bit more weight in the power car, it slipped a bit coming off the crossover in Herculaneum station. I think the problem at Leeds may have been connected with the TrainTech automatic signals, some of which have a facility to hold at red white shunting moves are carried out. These need to be set back to auto by the same means with the DCC controller - interrupting the power supply (as suggested in the instructions) doesn't always do this reliably. The automatic colour lights are an important feature of the LOR as it was a world pioneer in this technology - I still can't figure out a way of working the semaphore shunt signals, although they are movable.

At the other side of the shed Wentworth Junction is crowded with stock not used on Herculaneum.

[Barry O]

Touch wood layout is running OK at Bristol.

 

FAQs

 

It's based on a large area of Liverpool Docks

 

It is not based on New York

 

A lot of the locos are scratchbuilt or kit built

 

Yes the Liverpool Overhead does come off for transport

DG couplings are used with electromagnets spread about the layout . The operators can see white sleeper ends to see where the magnets are.

 

Baz

[KeithHC]

And looks good in the flesh as well. It was one of my must see layouts yesterday….

 

[Michael Hodgson]

It was running nicely at Thornbury this afternoon.  A group of visitors said that as it was as electrified line it was obviously Tyneside - but I didn't disappoint them by saying anything.

[Barry O]

Yes..it was Chicago, or New York or France(?) According to some visitors......

 

Baz

[Andy Ross]

This is all true. 
 

But the good news is a lot of people did know it was Liverpool. 
 

It is still surprising the number of people who can still remember riding the overhead railway. 
 

Andy 

Edited May 2, 2022 by Trams and Locos

[Michael Edge]

We had a number of gremlins and as usual I spent a fair amount of time under the baseboards fixing things but it did settle down and ran pretty well most of the show.

It does take a huge amount of time and effort to get it out though, some of us left for Thornbury with the layout lunchtime on Thursday, we managed to get mst of it set up (apart from the LOR) by 7pm. Friday morning saw the overhead and all the stock on, just about in time for opening. It was a good show but very long and tiring, it takes nearly two hours to dismantle and pack everything in the van followe by a 180m journey to get it back to Barnsley and quickly stowed in the shed and garage - and the others still had further to go then.

It's hard work but gratifying to see how well it was received at the show.

[LNER4479]

A very enjoyable weekend spent being part of the Herculaneum team - apologies I had to slope off and thus avoid the pack away yesterday evening.

 

Such a disinctive model of an unusual prototype. As well as the main (CLC) running lines, you have the loco depot, extensive goods yard, docks railway and - of course - the amazing overhead railway to contend with. Always something going on. I've loved it from the first moment I saw it (at Warley, more years ago than I'd care to remember - and I did instantly recognise where it was) and it's great to be able to have a go all these years later.

 

Not the best from a 'depth of field' point of view but this is my attempt to show the dock lines beneath the 'dockers' umbrella'.

 

'Oi - send me some more wagons!' is the shout from the dockmeister.

This gives some idea of the extent of operations in the goods yard. A loaded steel train has arrived in the goods reception and awaits disposal and onward transhipment into the ship building yards. The fiendishly complicated (well, no not really) main control panel for the yard can be seen bottom left. I know folks sometimes like to see such things.

 

The perhaps lesser known view down at the Liverpool end. The main running lines out of Liverpool Central feature a relief running line at this point. Centre is the steel terminal and alongside is some banana traffic and a load of coal empties awaiting their locos for departure out of the yard. The name of the other overhead station has escaped me - apologies.

 

People also like views of fiddle yards apparently so here it is. It looks deceptively simple ... but it's not, as a fair amount of turning trains round and sending them back is involved. Only roads 5-8 (counting L-to-R) are the 'roundy-roundy roads.

 

It requires steady concentration, the ability to view numbers from a distance - and to be tall enough to peer over the backscene from a seated position to drive the overhead railway (DCC powered)

 

'NEVER park a loco across the baseboard joint!' I think we were all duly admonished at some point over the weekend.

The amazingly compact Brunswick (8E) loco depot, pretty much 'as it was' from what I understand.

 

'Right, let's sort this mess out'.

Barry's obviously lost another of his dock locos under the 'umbrella' again.

The dockmeister has found some wagons to play with.

 

Thanks to all the team for a thoroughly enjoyable weekend - and a great show as well. We're provisionally there (Bristol) with Grantham in 2024.

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by LNER4479

[St Enodoc]

1 minute ago, LNER4479 said:

Some pix; explanations to follow in a mo...

Rossi catching flies...

 

I'll refrain from suggesting any other captions.

[LNER4479]

You might have let me finish the full post first!

(trouble is, file size when first loading up the pix - only allows 10MB at a time. Once you load what you can then post, they get reduced in size so can then add more. Yes, I could reduce them in size before posting but that's a bit of a faff when Andy Y's software seems to do it for you)

Edited May 2, 2022 by LNER4479

[Barry O]

some additional shots from the weekend

 

I operated the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board for periods over the weekend  and you can see most of the operating team on Here.., @LNER4479 (Red Leader) aka "Captain Custard" , Andy ( @innocentman), Mike Edge and  (@Trams and Locos )Mr Ross... taken late Saturday when the crowds ha thinned a bit.. missing from  teh Photo @kirmies, Judith Edge and ..me

 

 

I ventured to the coal dock for a while..

 

 and then a quick shot towards a Liverpool Overhead Train on its way to Toxteth Dock

 

 

 How the Fell go here (via Manchester Central on a test run) is a mystery .. but  it is NOT the KR one..

 

And we had teh advantage of some nourishment from Judith Edge Kits

 

 

 

Baz

 

[AlfaZagato]

I would've thought brass a bit hard to eat...

[Stephenwolsten]

Great set of pictures.  Thanks for posting.

[ianathompson]

 

I missed this post when I posted on my own layout.

 

Its a great layout and captures the atmosphere of the docks and LOR very well (from what I can tell, as I knew neither of them).

I believe that I once saw the layout somewhere (probably York) in the flesh years ago.

I tend not to go to exhibitions but it stuck in the memory.

 

Thanks for the photos.

 

Ian T

[Barry O]

Like your layout @ianathompsonthe layout has a purpose when operating it. Fun..but.. quite tiring. 

 

Baz