Grim-up-North; Goathland, Queensbury & Bradford.

[Sasquatch]

In a big effort to get things moving I blew 4 months modeling budget on one of these...

 

After much research and over procrastination, this one seems a little big. 18000 BTUs could handle a building twice the size of the train room but the bigger the unit the less it has to work and for those days when it gets above 90F there won't be a problem neither if we have one of those winters when it gets down below 10F. Besides there was a whopping $200 discount voucher!

 

The lift up section is coming along nicely. The track beds with associated under bracing are in place and the cork track bed can go down.

A plan has been hatched to create electrical contact across the join when the board is lowered using brass section (which has also been purchased). The 16 contacts required will be fastened down to some decent ply which I'll cut dovetail fashion. Complicated enough, it's taken all afternoon to work out!   This evening I'll start cutting the wood.      

[manna]

G'Day Folks

 

You won't regret having one of those Air Cons. But they don't like the cold to much, keep the outside unit covered.

 

manna

[Sasquatch]

On 04/10/2023 at 15:47, manna said:

G'Day Folks

 

You won't regret having one of those Air Cons. But they don't like the cold to much, keep the outside unit covered.

 

manna

Yes! I've earmarked a spot on the next door building under the overhang where we use to store firewood.

I fear that I just might have gotten a unit too big and it might be a case of installing the big one in the house. Not such a bad idea which has many advantages such as losing the seasonal window air conditioners, saving on all the firewood work (more modeling time and less chainsaw), doing away with two ugly and costly electric baseboard heaters, we gain breaker space in the electrical panel and hopefully save on the electricity bills. 

The big unit is paid for and I think we can scrape the money together for a smaller unit for the garage! In the end at least one of the new units should pay for itself.

[Sasquatch]

Work on the lift up section is ongoing. There will be a post here explaining how the electrical connections and assembly of the whole thing come together when it's finished. Don't see the point in braking that up into little chunks of information, especially if pictures of the layout are available like these...

 

 

 

 

Squatch

 

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Sasquatch

[jcredfer]

2 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Work on the lift up section is ongoing. There will be a post here explaining how the electrical connections and assembly of the whole thing come together when it's finished. Don't see the point in braking that up into little chunks of information, especially if pictures of the layout are available like these...

 

 

 

 

Squatch

 

 

Blimey...  you were late getting there.  Given where you are, when you took those pictures, you can't have caught that last train.

 

Still, on the bright side, what a lovely place to have to book into the local, for Beers, Diner and a place to kip.

 

Enjoy

 

 

...   we enjoyed the views, too.

 

[Sasquatch]

3 hours ago, jcredfer said:

 

Blimey...  you were late getting there.  Given where you are, when you took those pictures, you can't have caught that last train.

 

Still, on the bright side, what a lovely place to have to book into the local, for Beers, Diner and a place to kip.

 

Enjoy

 

 

...   we enjoyed the views, too.

 

Of course we were late. That J15 seemed to take all day hauling that rake of old rattly 6 wheelers up there. The hiking was grand too and after wrapping the beer in wet news paper it was icy cold! A simple reward, that peak is the same height as Ben Nevis! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Sasquatch

[jcredfer]

Wonderful pictures and landscape, lots of back scene ideas there, with clear distance tones to use.  That's all a great reason to put up with the climate swings, and the occasional bear.

 

...  Is that some young fella, you met on the hike??

[Sasquatch]

1 hour ago, jcredfer said:

Wonderful pictures and landscape, lots of back scene ideas there, with clear distance tones to use.  That's all a great reason to put up with the climate swings, and the occasional bear.

 

...  Is that some young fella, you met on the hike??

You are just too kind Julian!

[boxerbayrailway]

Nice photos Shaun !   You captured the evening lighting just right.  I feel like I'm on the hillside,  taking in the scene.

Looking forward to seeing the future developments.     Cheers,   Felix

 

[Sasquatch]

22 hours ago, boxerbayrailway said:

Nice photos Shaun !   You captured the evening lighting just right.  I feel like I'm on the hillside,  taking in the scene.

Looking forward to seeing the future developments.     Cheers,   Felix

 

Thanks Felix. Here's a few more...

Station offices. I've been looking for that cat everywhere.

 

Technically I was trespassing when I took this one of J15 No.7524 waiting to depart. Luckily all those officials in the Day-Glo vests weren't about that early!

 

Here she is leaving. The signalman has been very prompt returning the starter to danger.

 

Mr. Dapolman is going to be late for work after his long commute. Very much so now that he just missed the push-pull service.

 

The vicar is up early too as 3F tank 47406  traverses the viaduct light engine.

 

Honeydukes in Pottyshire is already open for breakfast, I feel a full english coming on but hold the beans. I hate beans!

Regards Shaun. 

[Sasquatch]

That last set of images seemed to cause a hell of a lot of trouble. 

I took them with the iPhone upside down yesterday. This morning plugged the phone into the computer, downloaded the images, cropped and resized them in paint in the normal way etc. Had to upload them one by one (because both the mouse and left click are not working) only to find they were all upside down. There's normally some auto correct that rights them. I'd opened one of the images in another program to straighten it and saved the changes. This image was the right way up however. After cursing a lot and opening each of the others in paint a second time to save it as a Jpeg (which corrected the matter) I realised what the problem was...

 

When taking this image yesterday evening,..

 

I'd set the camera on the phone to take warm dramatic pictures before heading into the garage! 

 

Talk about throwing a spanner in the works!!

 

Squatch 

That changes the image type!!!  

[St Enodoc]

7 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Honeydukes in Pottyshire is already open for breakfast, I feel a full english coming on but hold the beans. I hate beans!

Don't worry, beans is off.

[Sasquatch]

The latest trick up my sleeve was to buy a cheap webcam and install it under the Queensbury lift off scenic sections, so that we can see what's going on under there.

This involved making and adding a new mount in the tunnel so as to place the cam nearer the baseboard joint. Trains can be held here on either board in one of six loops. If one up and one down are left unoccupied for through running, that leaves holding lines for 8 short trains or 4 long ones or a combination thereof. 

 

The new access hole has proved its worth. The tricky bit was how to achieve a full screen running view on the laptop.

 

After doing a quick internet search and downloading VLC media player and wasting the best part of yesterday afternoon on that, I tried a different program this morning. OBS studio. This is a pretty cool program and worth looking into further. The camera still didn't show up in the OBS source menu but that was only a simple case of allowing desktop apps to access the camera in settings. 

 

 

One last job to do is to get a USB extension cable and mount the cam USB plug next to the control panel which will allow the laptop to be removed to the house with ease and have the screen placed in a sensible position during running sessions. 

 

I don't know what's up with the programs but is anyone else having problems with image orientation?

Trains later today, once the issue has been solved of upside-down images!

 

Squatch 

 

Edited October 14, 2023 by Sasquatch
topsy turvy image

[Sasquatch]

Here we are then, all the right way up too!

 

There're all kinds of trains all over the layout. Running sessions have been interesting!

 

Starting at the back in the up (or clockwise) loop behind Goathland, three trains are stacked up.

First in line is a V3 tank engine with a rake of rather dull looking 6 wheeled old rattlers.

 

 Waiting to depart Queensbury for Castle Junction there's a double headed passenger train.

 

Also at Queensbury we find a black five with a 5-coach rake. The engine will be uncoupled from the train and run round the triangle so that it can return to Bradford. That is only after some trains have traversed Goathland anticlockwise and we've seen a few departures from the terminus!

 

Bringing up the rear is an item of new stock. Replicas LMS open third. A previously loved example from a well know Liverpool outfit. The roof vents look a bit too proud but it's a pretty nice carriage for under six quid.

 

Working our way back towards the terminus we find the last train to have left with a Leeds Train. It's waiting in the loops behind the terminus next to a short perishables train. When the layout is finished two trains leaving here could run in opposite directions around the garage and eventually arrive back here in the down loops! The first coach in the rake is an older Bachmann Thompson BCK, flush glazed and detailed. Next month's modeling budget might just get spent on a fair few more packs of SE flush glazing and some more wheels! 

 

At the terminus, A1 North British is ready to depart with a Pulman service. There's another rake of Stanier steel carriages in platform 5 behind a Hughs crab which constituted a trans-Pennine train. Again, bringing up the rear there's another new (secondhand) open, this time in BR maroon which was only a fiver.😁 The lower price was probably due to the lack of couplings. For the time being I have just added Jackson wheels and swapped out one bogie with the earlier version which explains why they are both at the rear of each train. The rest of this train is made up of a pair of Dapol Staniers and a nice barely used Hornby BK. Dapol's glazing needs a lot to be desired!!

 

Also previously enjoyed, is this GNR J13 (LNER J52). Just has to be the best 24 pounds I've ever spent. It was in mint condition externally and just needed a good service where the original factory effort had turned to a candy like substance. Once removed and a few drops of EZ lube applied it runs extremely well, so has been pressed into service as Exchanges pilot. We see it here about to place that rake of old teak stock in the neighboring platform so that the engine can be turned and watered ready for the return journey all the way back to the newly lit tunnel with the safety of the up-to-the-minute surveillance system.

There's also a parcels train in platform 1. I'm wondering if the parcels trains always ended up in platform 1 because it was out of the way or due to the fact it was the shortest. The same practice was used at Brighton if I recall correctly.

 

Squatch. Having far too much fun!!       

 

 

[boxerbayrailway]

Looks like you're having a lot of fun running trains everywhere !   Love the Black 5 w/ rake but also the A1 NB in blue,  a favorite !

I'll have to come over for a visit soon !   

Cheers,

Felix

[Sasquatch]

Has anyone seen or heard from Adrian AKA Mr. Westerham Station recently???

I do hope that he's alright.

[jcredfer]

I went to check and saw that you had done the same.  I haven't seen any other posts, elsewhere.  I can only echo your sentiments.

 

 

[ChrisN]

You both probably know that he last visited RMWeb on 27th July, so either he has gone on a long holiday, or he has lost his mojo?  (Hopefully.)

[Sasquatch]

52 minutes ago, jcredfer said:

I went to check and saw that you had done the same.  I haven't seen any other posts, elsewhere.  I can only echo your sentiments.

 

 

 

7 minutes ago, ChrisN said:

You both probably know that he last visited RMWeb on 27th July, so either he has gone on a long holiday, or he has lost his mojo?  (Hopefully.)

Could be a computer crash also! That happened to me, it was a while before we could afford a new laptop. Back before I had an up-to-date iPhone!! 

[Sasquatch]

Not much progress this week.

Some track has been laid. Whooppee! On the lift up section where work continues in fits and starts.  Truth is that I ordered some special screws that never showed up and I can't move forward with things until I find the right screws to fix these electrical contacts.    

 

Instead, I've been mostly enjoying running the trains. Although the layout is far from finished, it's a lot of fun to operate. All the running helps identify lots of little problems which are receiving attention. These include gummed up loco mechanisms, dirty switch blades strange short circuits and sticky point mechanisms. All the sticky ones are on the Queensbury section. This has its own power source and I suspect that needs replacing with a beefier transformer. Goathland (and Exchange) have a nice old printer power supply which dishes out 3A at 24V. When used via a Capacitor Discharge Unit gives a really good pulse of current! I might just run a nice speaker cable from Goathland's power pack down to the CDU on Queensbury. I know that will do the trick and just involves some more crawling about!

 

So, the trains.

First one is Preserved std. class 4MT tank. This was acquired last year used. It's the NYMR's workhorse. Was on the wish list for 11 years.

 

 

I've a fondness for class 4 tanks. Upon my first ever visit to a steam railway with my grandfather as a young teenager, it was a class 4 which hauled the train to Horsted Keynes. Unbeknownst to me at the time, they were probably the only steam engines that would have been seen at my local station of Falmer during my lifetime. They brought the Cuckoo line stock over to Brighton from Eastbourne to be cleaned. Sad to think that I was just a toddler when steam vanished from service in Britain.   

 

After seeing a YouTube video, 80135 has been out for a run on the layout. Unusually though, it's pulling Southern green MK1s. The last section of the Cuckoo to close was that short run from Hailsham to Eastbourne 45 years ago last month. I wouldn't know which coaching stock made up those last passenger services but it's quite nice to see a splash of BRSR stock green at Goathland. For a change!

 

The other engine that's shot to the top ten of my roster is LNER 1974.

 

The first Bachmann engine ever purchased. Bachmann seemed to be breaking new ground at the time. Although still having split chassis design, it employs a gear chain which allows nice control when pulling away. Unlike the Ringfield motor tender driven Hornby offerings of that time.

 

My old example has seen some service alright. The lined out mixed traffic livery and capable nature of the prototype lends itself to almost every duty.  Besides, J39s, to my eye fall into that category of "just how a steam locomotive should look". 1974 has been stripped down and degreased with acetone, re-lubed with Kadee's powdered graphite and had a bit of detailing. (Namely a class B headlamp and polished brass fittings). Still a bit noisy but a nice runner once again!!     

         

 

Squatch.

[Sasquatch]

During yesterday evenings running session, I actually did a little bit of modeling. Calling it a little is over exaggeration too!

There's a picture of 80135 taking on water at the North end of Goathland's up platform, that I've always wanted to replicate.

This one. 

The Airfix USAF guy standing on the loco isn't poking out of the chimney even though that's how it looks and he'll get some fresh blue overalls in the morning.

 

 

After setting the 2-6-4 tank to rest next to the water column and finding two suitable figures, some proof snaps were taken but it didn't look right. That water facility was just too static! 
So, I hacked it up with a razor saw, filed the two parts flush, centrally drilled out two 1mm holes and inserted a stiff pin. To finish off the chain molding was scraped off and replaced with some Roco bendy chain. 

 

 

Now it swings!

 

 

 

The down platform has been repopulated with passengers and luggage waiting for the next train to Pickering. 

 

 

Squatch.

 

    

[john new]

On 15/10/2023 at 03:39, Sasquatch said:

Here we are then, all the right way up too!

 

There're all kinds of trains all over the layout. Running sessions have been interesting!

 

Starting at the back in the up (or clockwise) loop behind Goathland, three trains are stacked up.

First in line is a V3 tank engine with a rake of rather dull looking 6 wheeled old rattlers.

 

 Waiting to depart Queensbury for Castle Junction there's a double headed passenger train.

 

Also at Queensbury we find a black five with a 5-coach rake. The engine will be uncoupled from the train and run round the triangle so that it can return to Bradford. That is only after some trains have traversed Goathland anticlockwise and we've seen a few departures from the terminus!

 

Bringing up the rear is an item of new stock. Replicas LMS open third. A previously loved example from a well know Liverpool outfit. The roof vents look a bit too proud but it's a pretty nice carriage for under six quid.

 

Working our way back towards the terminus we find the last train to have left with a Leeds Train. It's waiting in the loops behind the terminus next to a short perishables train. When the layout is finished two trains leaving here could run in opposite directions around the garage and eventually arrive back here in the down loops! The first coach in the rake is an older Bachmann Thompson BCK, flush glazed and detailed. Next month's modeling budget might just get spent on a fair few more packs of SE flush glazing and some more wheels! 

 

At the terminus, A1 North British is ready to depart with a Pulman service. There's another rake of Stanier steel carriages in platform 5 behind a Hughs crab which constituted a trans-Pennine train. Again, bringing up the rear there's another new (secondhand) open, this time in BR maroon which was only a fiver.😁 The lower price was probably due to the lack of couplings. For the time being I have just added Jackson wheels and swapped out one bogie with the earlier version which explains why they are both at the rear of each train. The rest of this train is made up of a pair of Dapol Staniers and a nice barely used Hornby BK. Dapol's glazing needs a lot to be desired!!

 

Also previously enjoyed, is this GNR J13 (LNER J52). Just has to be the best 24 pounds I've ever spent. It was in mint condition externally and just needed a good service where the original factory effort had turned to a candy like substance. Once removed and a few drops of EZ lube applied it runs extremely well, so has been pressed into service as Exchanges pilot. We see it here about to place that rake of old teak stock in the neighboring platform so that the engine can be turned and watered ready for the return journey all the way back to the newly lit tunnel with the safety of the up-to-the-minute surveillance system.

There's also a parcels train in platform 1. I'm wondering if the parcels trains always ended up in platform 1 because it was out of the way or due to the fact it was the shortest. The same practice was used at Brighton if I recall correctly.

 

Squatch. Having far too much fun!!       

 

 

Parcels would generally* go into a platform at the station edge to aid road vehicle loading. I did visit Bradford Exchange as a boy but memory is too poor; however, isn’t the other side a big retaining wall so road access would have to have been on the opposite side.

 

* not exclusively, some termini had a road access up a wider than standard platform.

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by john new
Extra note added.

[woodenhead]

46 minutes ago, john new said:

 

* not exclusively, some termini had a road access up a wider than standard platform.

 

I always thought those wider platforms with road access were for Hackney carriages to pick up arriving passengers rather than parcels.

[john new]

2 hours ago, woodenhead said:

I always thought those wider platforms with road access were for Hackney carriages to pick up arriving passengers rather than parcels.

May have been luggage then I remember from school boy days. All a long time ago. Would need to check photos.

 

Updated

 

Some clips in Terminus (the 1961 film) and the Cuneo painting in the NRM confirm my school boy memories of the wide platform at Waterloo being used for parcels and especially newspaper traffic.

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by john new
Added an extra note

[Sasquatch]

5 hours ago, john new said:

Parcels would generally* go into a platform at the station edge to aid road vehicle loading. I did visit Bradford Exchange as a boy but memory is too poor; however, isn’t the other side a big retaining wall so road access would have to have been on the opposite side.

 

* not exclusively, some termini had a road access up a wider than standard platform.

 

Of course. Quite obvious when you think about it. The other side of Bradford (The GNR side) had carriage sidings and there was a big retaining wall on the West side of Brighton station. 

Besides, as I found out yesterday during a running session, that platform on Exchange is too short for anything longer than 2 coaches!

It's just long enough to hold a parcels van up at the buffer stops and an N1 with two 50' suburban coaches or a twin.

 

5 hours ago, woodenhead said:

I always thought those wider platforms with road access were for Hackney carriages to pick up arriving passengers rather than parcels.

 

  

5 hours ago, john new said:

May have been luggage then I remember from school boy days. All a long time ago. Would need to check photos.

 

Updated

 

Some clips in Terminus (the 1961 film) and the Cuneo painting in the NRM confirm my school boy memories of the wide platform at Waterloo being used for parcels and especially newspaper traffic.

 

As built that would have been the case. Times change however and I'm pretty sure during the 70s under a socialist government such practice was abolished. I do remember taxis under the roof at Brighton but that was on the eastern end of the forecourt, double gates at the head of the Victoria mainline platforms and seeing Royal Mail vans on it. There was even a curb on either side of the road on it!!

 

It was possible to sneak onto the newspaper train if you missed the last train down the night before, standing room only and they were unloaded there too I believe. The layout at Brighton is arranged with 3 lines converging on the station and those on the eastern side (platforms 7&8) were and still are mostly used for east coast services to Lewes, Seaford, Eastbourne etc.

 

   No doubt I've opened a can of worms and someone older and wiser might throw a little light on this subject.

 

Thanks for your input.

Regards Shaun