Abbotswood and Norton Junctions - layout build

[Downendian]

16 hours ago, Phil Bullock said:

 

 

 

Had planned to work all day but noticed weather forecast so packed up at lunch time … went to Sodbury Vale show in Yate, met up with @Downendian , a pleasant afternoon!

Working outside has its own dynamics … the railway is only a mile away and when the wind is in the right direction passing trains can be clearly heard. About 11.30 this morning there was a heavy rumbling … a proper train! This resolved in to a distinct 6 to the bar beat … a 3 cylinder steam loco , then the sound of a Stanier hooter came down the breeze. Until 60 years ago this would have been a sound often heard in Churchdown…. A jubilee! Brilliant…. And spine tingling.

Nice to see you albeit briefly too Phil, my grandsons were quite keen to return to the playground behind the halls where we spent much of our time! A nice little show though, I did politely refuse my grandson Harry’s request to buy him a number of locos - I explained the different scales to them, attempting to persuade an N-gauge layout route. However they both insisted they want it to be the “same as grandads”.

 

Turning the clock back fifty years or so ago I was often awoken in the night by Westerns growling away with their 02-0300 departures on Tytherington stone trains.  As our house at the time was a little over a mile from the Winterbourne embankments in Bristol, I must of heard the entire class at some point.
Neil 

[Phil Bullock]

5 hours ago, Downendian said:

Nice to see you albeit briefly too Phil, my grandsons were quite keen to return to the playground behind the halls where we spent much of our time! A nice little show though, I did politely refuse my grandson Harry’s request to buy him a number of locos - I explained the different scales to them, attempting to persuade an N-gauge layout route. However they both insisted they want it to be the “same as grandads”.

 

Turning the clock back fifty years or so ago I was often awoken in the night by Westerns growling away with their 02-0300 departures on Tytherington stone trains.  As our house at the time was a little over a mile from the Winterbourne embankments in Bristol, I must of heard the entire class at some point.
Neil 

Ah they are allowed playgrounds at their age! Two very polite young men, a pleasure to say hello to them! The logic of being the same as grandad makes sense … they can run their locos on your layout! 
 

Yes trains in the night are special …. It was the Llantrisant - Kingswinford coke that shook Worcester most nights around Midnight…

Edited February 19, 2023 by Phil Bullock
Grammar…

[Liam]

You can hear the trains on the West Coast Main Line from our cottage in Moffat, Dumfriesshire. And even at the university campus at Northampton can a train sometime be heard, even though there’s a mile between the locations and there’s much more in the way of settlements there than up in Moffat/Beattock.

[TrevorP1]

On 19/02/2023 at 19:02, Phil Bullock said:

Yes trains in the night are special …. It was the Llantrisant - Kingswinford coke that shook Worcester most nights around Midnight…

When we holiday in Cornwall it’s usually at our favourite place west of Burngullow. The Cornish main line is at the bottom of the garden. I often go out to see - and hear - the up ‘beds’ come up from Combe in the dark at about 10:40. Always stirs the senses.  Carol, and possibly our dog who is usually with me, are totally unimpressed!

[The Stationmaster]

1 hour ago, TrevorP1 said:

When we holiday in Cornwall it’s usually at our favourite place west of Burngullow. The Cornish main line is at the bottom of the garden. I often go out to see - and hear - the up ‘beds’ come up from Combe in the dark at about 10:40. Always stirs the senses.  Carol, and possibly our dog who is usually with me, are totally unimpressed!

I always find it fascinating how the same train can get so many different names.  At Paddington and Old Oak the Sleepers were always 'the sleepers' to any of us who over the years had anything at all to do with them;  with the destination name added back in the days when more than one ran from Padd and O at one time used t assist in ordering the stores for the Sleeping Car Attendants.  

 

The two ladies at Old Oak who actually made the beds - by then in the days we were down to just the one sleeper train - always called the train 'the sleeper'.  When i was on the Taunton patch I think all my staff referred to the Penzance/Plymouth train as 'the sleeper' but in the Westbury area the Up train, in particular, was always 'the waker' to many of my Signalmen but 'the sleeper' to everybody else. (The waker of course derived from it being the first train of the day on what had been a dead time of night before the stone trains began running at night.)

 

Oddly in my entire 26  years (plus a bit of a 27th year before joining BR full time) on the WR I never heard the train called 'the beds' by anybody and even when we referred to it at meetings down in Plymouth and Cornwall it was always 'the sleeper'.

[MJI]

2 hours ago, TrevorP1 said:

When we holiday in Cornwall it’s usually at our favourite place west of Burngullow. The Cornish main line is at the bottom of the garden. I often go out to see - and hear - the up ‘beds’ come up from Combe in the dark at about 10:40. Always stirs the senses.  Carol, and possibly our dog who is usually with me, are totally unimpressed!

 

Back in early 80s i was in Plymouth did half a degree before failing.

 

Anyway the sleepers were mark 1s 14 or 15 coaches and always had 1 or 2 50s on.

 

50s on full power echoing by that car park are unforgettable.

 

Btw ended up in it instead, if i had skipped a year would have done that instead, but never mind 6 7 years to retirement about 40 years a programmer.

[MJI]

On phone so cases odd IT not it.

[Liam]

9 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

I always find it fascinating how the same train can get so many different names.  At Paddington and Old Oak the Sleepers were always 'the sleepers' to any of us who over the years had anything at all to do with them;  with the destination name added back in the days when more than one ran from Padd and O at one time used t assist in ordering the stores for the Sleeping Car Attendants.  

 

The two ladies at Old Oak who actually made the beds - by then in the days we were down to just the one sleeper train - always called the train 'the sleeper'.  When i was on the Taunton patch I think all my staff referred to the Penzance/Plymouth train as 'the sleeper' but in the Westbury area the Up train, in particular, was always 'the waker' to many of my Signalmen but 'the sleeper' to everybody else. (The waker of course derived from it being the first train of the day on what had been a dead time of night before the stone trains began running at night.)

 

Oddly in my entire 26  years (plus a bit of a 27th year before joining BR full time) on the WR I never heard the train called 'the beds' by anybody and even when we referred to it at meetings down in Plymouth and Cornwall it was always 'the sleeper'.

I’ve always called any sleeper train ‘the sleeper’, although GWR call the Paddington to Penzance one the Night Riviera, and in a film I saw last year someone called it the Stella Express!

 

Also, I believe the Euston-Fort William sleeper is sometimes unofficially known as the Deerstalker Express.

[JeffP]

Years ago, 1970's, the "Night Aberdonian" ran Kings Cross to Aberdeen, last pick up was Doncaster.

[TrevorP1]

9 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

I always find it fascinating how the same train can get so many different names.  At Paddington and Old Oak the Sleepers were always 'the sleepers' to any of us who over the years had anything at all to do with them;  with the destination name added back in the days when more than one ran from Padd and O at one time used t assist in ordering the stores for the Sleeping Car Attendants.  

 

The two ladies at Old Oak who actually made the beds - by then in the days we were down to just the one sleeper train - always called the train 'the sleeper'.  When i was on the Taunton patch I think all my staff referred to the Penzance/Plymouth train as 'the sleeper' but in the Westbury area the Up train, in particular, was always 'the waker' to many of my Signalmen but 'the sleeper' to everybody else. (The waker of course derived from it being the first train of the day on what had been a dead time of night before the stone trains began running at night.)

 

Oddly in my entire 26  years (plus a bit of a 27th year before joining BR full time) on the WR I never heard the train called 'the beds' by anybody and even when we referred to it at meetings down in Plymouth and Cornwall it was always 'the sleeper'.

 

Thinking about it, I'm not sure where I picked up the use of the name 'the beds'. I wonder if it's a modern day enthusiast term that I've picked up from the inter web... 

[Phil Bullock]

@PjKing1 @Enterprisingwestern

 

Does this qualify as hand built track?

 

Pretty solid! Any train SPADing and testing the loop trapping arrangements is likely to lose its buffers when it hits the stops ….. 😀

Edited February 22, 2023 by Phil Bullock

[PjKing1]

This is the slippery slope Phil, in a years time you’ll be P4!!!!! 😂

 

Paul

[Phil Bullock]

Finished the point rodding at Abbotswood today… even got some of @The Stationmaster s  low level rollers there in the 6ft! Time for a bit of gratuitous posing…. 

Edited February 24, 2023 by Phil Bullock
Photos

[Phil Bullock]

There’s a very nice video here covering Brum to Bristol and Bath … Norton and Abbotswood appear about 18.30 

 

BNS to Bristol and Bath video

 

Meanwhile on the layout static grass is growing…

 

Phil

[mullie]

Phil, good to meet at SWAG and have a chat. Will try and get to see the layout once it is on the circuit. Trouble is anywhere is north of where I live.

 

Best wishes

 

Martyn

[Phil Bullock]

16 hours ago, mullie said:

Phil, good to meet at SWAG and have a chat. Will try and get to see the layout once it is on the circuit. Trouble is anywhere is north of where I live.

 

Best wishes

 

Martyn

Yes was great to meet up … have been meaning to come to SWAG for years, have a bit more time now I am retired.

 

We may visit the West Country at some time … all options are open! 
 

Cheers

 

Phil

 

Edited May 13, 2023 by Phil Bullock

[Phil Bullock]

Been ballasting too and we have our first building! All looks a bit too stark, weathering needed to blend things in a bit! 

[JeffP]

On 12/05/2023 at 09:10, Phil Bullock said:

There’s a very nice video here covering Brum to Bristol and Bath … Norton and Abbotswood appear about 18.30 

 

BNS to Bristol and Bath video

 

Meanwhile on the layout static grass is growing…

 

Phil

Enjoyed that film.

Can anyone identify the two sheds passed after Cheltenham?

Last five minutes or so.

[Phil Bullock]

37 minutes ago, JeffP said:

Enjoyed that film.

Can anyone identify the two sheds passed after Cheltenham?

Last five minutes or so.

Sheds are Gloucester Barnwood … ex Midland, derelict and empty… then Gloucester Horton Road, then Bristol Barrow Road and finally Bath

 

Hope that helps 

 

Phil 

[JeffP]

Yes it does.

The only one I ever visited was Horton Road in 1974 diesel days.

Thanks.

[Phil Bullock]

Having done the platforms and ballast at Norton today I just had to trial fit the signal….

[Phil Bullock]

Couldnt resist a gratuitous hydraulic photo tonight with all the action at the SVR this weekend…

 

841 Roebuck heads through Norton Junction up to London whilst D7093 brings the Cardiff Tidal - Soho pool tanks … a regular Hymek turn … up from Abbotswood 

[younGGuns7]

13 minutes ago, Phil Bullock said:

Couldnt resist a gratuitous hydraulic photo tonight with all the action at the SVR this weekend…

 

841 Roebuck heads through Norton Junction up to London whilst D7093 brings the Cardiff Tidal - Soho pool tanks … a regular Hymek turn … up from Abbotswood 

Loving it ❤️👍👍

[Phil Bullock]

Thanks for all the likes and kind comments folks. Hopefully should not be too long before we are able to do some video … the photos give clues to possible sight lines, should look good! Some new stock since the old layout too….

[Downendian]

Looking great Phil !