Collingwood - A Privatisation Era Southern Region Layout

[RJS1977]

Simon

 

Thanks for posting this - the layout is looking good.

 

It would be nice to have it at Kenavon sometime but I'm afraid we can't run to van hire, and it sounds as if the set-up time is rather longer than we can accommodate, so sadly I don't think it's a practical proposition for us.

 

However I'd be more than happy to help operate at other shows (I can only do Saturdays) if needed.

 

Richard

[Lowlander]

Hi Simon

 

On my Hornby 08 I put two sugar cube speakers behind the radiator grill and hid the stay alive on the cab floor. I removed the eight pin base on the chassis and just hard wired the four main chip wires. Or alternatively you could just send it to Richard at Roads and Rails to do. 

[St. Simon]

Quote

Hi Simon,

Photo as promised.  Slightly tricky getting the body off - now ive got to work out how to refit the cylinders at the front that obstructed the body fixing screws!!!

FYI front is to the right: 8 pin plug in socket, decoder on top of motor, stay alive behind radiator (in speaker space?).

Something like a DCC Concepts ZNmini4 looks like it might work physically (haven't checked the electrical spec).

Paul

 

On 23/02/2023 at 03:52, Lowlander said:

Hi Simon

 

On my Hornby 08 I put two sugar cube speakers behind the radiator grill and hid the stay alive on the cab floor. I removed the eight pin base on the chassis and just hard wired the four main chip wires. Or alternatively you could just send it to Richard at Roads and Rails to do. 

Hi,

 

Pleased to say that my Class 08 is now sound fitted and it wasn’t as hard as I was expecting. I haven’t fitted a stay alive yet as they were sold out at Roads and Rails, but will do at some point!

 

All other preparations have been completed for Basingstoke, but I’m sure I’ve forgotten something!

 

Simon

[Ian Morgan]

Congratulations, best in show at Basingstoke against some stiff competition.

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by Ian Morgan

[Graham_Muz]

Geez.... stand in front of the station buildings why not... 

 

 

seriously tho, well done @St. Simon and well deserved.

[RJS1977]

Took me a moment to recognise Simon on Saturday as I'm so used to seeing him with a red shirt on....

[The Stationmaster]

On 12/03/2023 at 09:59, Ian Morgan said:

Congratulations, best in show at Basingstoke against some stiff competition.

 

Excellent Simon and very much deserved although there was, I agree, some stiff competition.  Definitely a show for high quality layouts so you did really well.

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

Well, what a nice weekend that was!

 

For the past week, I had been a little nervous about Basingstoke, as I had completed all the preparations for show well in advance and there wasn’t anything I could think of that I needed to do and thought that it was going to be fine. That’s what made me nervous, it was the same feeling I had before GETS, and that wasn’t the greatest of shows!

 

So, Friday, we picked up the van, picked the layout up from storage and the stock from my house and arrived at the show fairly early. This was an advantage as we had a great spot for unloading! From when we opened the van door to walking out the hall, we had set up in 2 hours, this included testing and getting all the stock out. We only had a small fault to deal with, the cross over into the yard, 590A/B, wasn’t functioning, but that was just the output connector on the MERG module wasn’t pushed in quite right.

 

Saturday morning comes around and I managed to get the smaller things that needed to be done (info boards etc) with an hour to go before the show opened, I even managed to run the first through trains without incident. Now, something had to be wrong!

 

 

However, I’m very pleased to tell you, we didn’t have any real major issues throughout the weekend. I was really pleased with the layout and crew performed.

 

There were some minor issues throughout the weekend, we found that the reliability of the Automatic Route Setting that I had introduced gradually got worse through each day of the weekend, so the system needed resetting every so often. I suspect this is some form of time confusion issue. It also made the layout operate slower as the two ends operated independently so often ended up having conflicting routes being set, so I think I’m planning on going back to have a single signaller that co-ordinates everything, but retaining the ARS for breaks etc. I also need to do some work to alter the overlaps for a couple of signals to allow some of the ‘conflicting’ moves to be allowed as that was slowing operation.

 

The sequence was interesting, as somehow we got out of sync yet we weren’t out of sync, so I’m not sure how I managed that and will have to think again about that. We did find that my GWR Class 158 didn’t like the diamond crossing (even though it worked at the test weekend) and my 4-CEP suddenly didn’t like one board joint on Sunday having gone over it all day on Saturday. Also, we decided not to use the Stone Terminal because we still had some buffer locking issues as we propelled in (easily resolved for the next show with some longer couplings).

 

The final issue was that now we were running more trains more intensely, the cassette system was great. It was slow to change trains and we ended up finding it easy to have a driver and a fiddle yard operator at each end rather than a combined role. So we are looking at making both ends a traverser system.

 

But I do think these are minor issues and the weekend was really good, we put on a good show and entertained the audience and ourselves.

 

Of course, as you have seen, this was all topped off by winning ‘Best in Show’. I was absolutely astonished by this, there were some superb layouts at the show and I do feel as though I’ve done them out of a good award! I’ve always wanted to win a best in show, but never really thought I had something that deserved it, so to win one with Collingwood on only it’s second outing was fantastic.

 

Only one problem with it though, I now have to buy cakes for the office….!

 

 

There are a few potential invites in the offering, but I’ll confirm them when it is all formalised. For now the next exhibition is:

 

Farnham & District Model Railway Exhibition 2023 – October 14th & 15th 2023

 

Finally, a few photos of the weekend:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simon

[St. Simon]

On 12/03/2023 at 09:59, Ian Morgan said:

Congratulations, best in show at Basingstoke against some stiff competition.

 

Thank you Ian, and nice to meet you!

 

On 12/03/2023 at 19:45, Graham_Muz said:

Geez.... stand in front of the station buildings why not... 

 

 

seriously tho, well done @St. Simon and well deserved.

 

Of course, the Station Buildings made up at least 50% of the award! 😆

 

On 13/03/2023 at 12:20, RJS1977 said:

Took me a moment to recognise Simon on Saturday as I'm so used to seeing him with a red shirt on....

 

Haha, sorry, I did do a very brief stint behind the KMRC till to get @Graham_Muz out of the muck!🤣

 

On 13/03/2023 at 19:29, The Stationmaster said:

Excellent Simon and very much deserved although there was, I agree, some stiff competition.  Definitely a show for high quality layouts so you did really well.

 

Thank you Mike, I was pleased that abundance of Signalling Engineers (which seemly included half of my colleagues!) at the show were happy with the layout.

 

Simon

 

 

[5BarVT]

16 minutes ago, St. Simon said:

Thank you Mike, I was pleased that abundance of Signalling Engineers (which seemly included half of my colleagues!) at the show were happy with the layout.

I’m waiting on you coming further north!

Congratulations on Best in Show.

Paul.

[St. Simon]

18 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

I’m waiting on you coming further north!

Congratulations on Best in Show.

Paul.

 

Hi Paul,

 

Thanks, I know that @AY Mod was keen to get Collingwood to a Warners Show, so you never know!

 

Simon

[AY Mod]

1 minute ago, St. Simon said:

 

Hi Paul,

 

Thanks, I know that @AY Mod was keen to get Collingwood to a Warners Show, so you never know!

 

Simon

 

Certainly so plus I hope you'll be hearing from @SouthernRegionSteam soon too following the weekend. ;)

[The Stationmaster]

20 hours ago, St. Simon said:

 

 

Thank you Mike, I was pleased that abundance of Signalling Engineers (which seemly included half of my colleagues!) at the show were happy with the layout.

 

Simon

 

 

Talking of whom did Kevin turn up?

 

(Sorry  if Mike and I mentioned such things as E10,000 and then briefly mentioned - out of your earshot the rest of the,Reading mechanical locking Office Instructions)

[phil-b259]

On 14/02/2023 at 20:57, St. Simon said:

 

Once I had finished all the necessary infrastructure upgrades, I had a minor scenic upgrade to make with the addition of more of the orange army near the RRAP:

 

 

In the future, I am planning to have a lookout protecting the gang that will have a lookout flag when a train approaches, watch this space…

 

 

 

Given the use of lookouts is rapidly being phased out on the real thing (The ORR has told NR their use MUST END as of this Summer) in favour of line blockages (with additional protection wherever possible as the ORR are also concerned about the high numbers of line blockage irregularities with trains entering line blocks when they shouldn't) and your layout seems to incorporate all 'mod cons' so to speak, are you sure thats something you want to do?

 

(Note your gang are also inappropriately dressed - its been mandatory for well over a decade now that 'All orange' (i.e. you must wear orange high vis trousers - not jeans) when on NR infrastructure.

[St. Simon]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

Talking of whom did Kevin turn up?

 

(Sorry  if Mike and I mentioned such things as E10,000 and then briefly mentioned - out of your earshot the rest of the,Reading mechanical locking Office Instructions)

 

Hi Mike,

 

Yes, he did, in fact he was present at the Best in Show Presentation! He was very impressed ad couldn't find fault, apart from my crossing barriers lifted to 90 degrees rather than 85 degrees (and I would consider that a perfectly valid, but small criticism). In fact a former colleague of mine who had spoken to Mr Weston on Monday mentioned the fact when we happened to meet in my office on Tuesday, what a small world!

 

3 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

Certainly so plus I hope you'll be hearing from @SouthernRegionSteam soon too following the weekend. ;)

 

Yes, we spoke briefly on Sunday about potential ties in with BRM 😉

 

1 hour ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Given the use of lookouts is rapidly being phased out on the real thing (The ORR has told NR their use MUST END as of this Summer) in favour of line blockages (with additional protection wherever possible as the ORR are also concerned about the high numbers of line blockage irregularities with trains entering line blocks when they shouldn't) and your layout seems to incorporate all 'mod cons' so to speak, are you sure thats something you want to do?

 

(Note your gang are also inappropriately dressed - its been mandatory for well over a decade now that 'All orange' (i.e. you must wear orange high vis trousers - not jeans) when on NR infrastructure.

 

A good point Phil, although the layout is set before the 'Port Talbot Incident' after which lookouts and red zone working started to fall out of favour, so I don't see too much of a problem with providing one. Although I will include a info board near it which states that LOs are no longer allowed.

 

In terms of the clothing of the gang, you are right in that they aren't displaying the correct behaviour in regards to their attire, but they aren't many available models of high-vis clad track workers that I haven't already used, so it is a little bit of a compromise!

 

To be fair, the layout doesn't quite comply with the latest standards, if it were CD808 should be a controlled intermediate signal and I could provide OTAT Controls for CD821 / CD822 over LB Track Circuit. 

 

Simon

[phil-b259]

27 minutes ago, St. Simon said:

 

 

In terms of the clothing of the gang, you are right in that they aren't displaying the correct behaviour in regards to their attire, but they aren't many available models of high-vis clad track workers that I haven't already used, so it is a little bit of a compromise!

 

 

A bit of orange (and white to represent the reflective bands) paint would quickly sort that out - PPE tends to fade a bit after a few washes and so having mis-matched shades isn't an issue.

 

But I accept it is a bit 'rivet counter of me though to object....😉

[St. Simon]

Just now, phil-b259 said:

 

A bit of orange (and white to represent the reflective bands) paint would quickly sort that out - PPE tends to fade a bit after a few washes and so having mis-matched shades isn't an issue.

 

But I accept it is a bit 'rivet counter of me though to object....😉

 

Hi Phil,

 

It's alright, I don't mind 😀

 

To be honest, I hadn't actually noticed that they were missing some orange until your post, next time I have the board out I'll see if I can manage to get the paint out! Although I'm pretty terrible at painting figures!

 

Simon

[The Stationmaster]

20 hours ago, St. Simon said:

 

Hi Phil,

 

It's alright, I don't mind 😀

 

To be honest, I hadn't actually noticed that they were missing some orange until your post, next time I have the board out I'll see if I can manage to get the paint out! Although I'm pretty terrible at painting figures!

 

Simon

Maybe you could leave them as they are and find. a model ORR Inspector to suitably position giving them a rollocking for being so naughty?

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

Just to let people know that the Exhibition Diary for Collingwood has some new entries:

 

• Alton Febex - Saturday 3rd February & Sunday 4th February 2024 - Eggars School, Alton, Hampshire
• Tonbridge Model Railway Exhibition - Saturday 15th February 2025 - The Angel Centre, Tonbridge, Kent

These are in addition to the next show:

• Farham & District MRC Exhibition - Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th October 2023 - Aldershot.

I'm still vaguely working on the upgrades to the layout, including a new RFID system which I'll reveal more of later.

 

I'm also starting to design a new, small, home layout, so keep an eye out for that!

 

Simon

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

I have been busy this week producing this for the layout:

 

 

Yes, you might be saying why do I need to produce a 'panel' for the layout when I already have one, but actually I've re-drawn the panel.

 

Why? Well, several reasons, firstly there were a few changes that I needed to make to the signalling to make improvements to the operation. This required changes to the screen layout. Secondly, there several poorly drawn areas in the old panel (there were lots of white lines around the double junction thanks to the fact that JMRI doesn't like diagonal edges on graphics), so I wanted to make a 'cleaner' panel, it may not seem like much has changed but it is noticeable. Thirdly, there well a few elements missing thanks to space, so I made everything a little smaller and more spaced out. Finally, there have been some changes in standards and controls that I wanted to incorporate.

 

The other thing was that I have had several people ask me for the graphics so they can produce their own workstations, however the original panel was all totally custom. With this new one, I have now developed a modular set of graphics that can be used to create any layout. I'm not sure whether I'll make these available to people or not yet.

 

So, what are the big changes?

 

• 'Cleaner' modular graphics for a more consistent look
• Collingwood Viaducts are now shown
• Junction Names now shown, with 596A/B gaining the name 'Funtley Junction' (Funtley is an area between Fareham and Botley).
• New Warner Route provided from CD816 to CD810 using a Restricted Phantom Overlap. This allows a train to come into Collingwood Station when a train is departing the, something that was frequently at the Basingstoke show
• 596A Trap Point now shown (as it is now required for the signalling)
• CD822 now has a 'swinging' overlap so that trains can approach it whilst something is routed out of the Eastleigh Fiddle Yard and vice versa, again something which was frequently needed at the Basingstoke.
• CD808, which protects the Southampton Fiddle Yard, has now become a 'Controlled Intermediate' Signal. This was part of the new standard which has seen Automatic Signals banned for new works.
• 'On Train At a Time' or OTAT controls are provided for 596A Points at Funtley Junction. Another newly introduced thing.

 

I'll do more posts discussing Controlled Intermediate Signals and OTAT Controls in the future.

 

Simon

 

 

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

I have just got news of another show for Collingwood:

 

• Abrail 2024 - Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd March 2024 - Abingdon & Witney College, Abingdon.

 

I'm looking for exhibitions in the later half of 2024, I would like to spread the layouts wings northwards slightly, so if you would like Collingwood to come and exhibit at a show, please PM me.

 

Now, I also need to ask for some assistance. For many years I have been very lucky in having an excellent operating crew around me, however it is getting to a point where my operating crew are getting less able to commit to shows. So, I need to find some 'new blood' to allow me to continue to exhibit the layout. The problem is, bluntly, not finding people to help, it is finding people who can integrate our existing team in a social able manner (i.e. who we can put up with!)

 

I'm looking for a couple of people in fairly close proximity to the Reading / High Wycombe areas who are willing to travel with us to exhibition, carry stuff around and is willing to put up with an eccentric Signalling Designer, oh and who is willing to have a laugh as well! (sorry it sounds a little like a dating advert!) 

 

The most pressing need is for 'day' operators at Tolworth (11th & 12th November), so if you think you can help, send me a PM on here and we'll have a chat. I can't guarantee that I will need help, as I'm still organising my current crew.

 

In other news, little has happened as I have been concentrating on my new layout Bryn y Brenin Mawr, but I have now started to think about Collingwood again, so you'll start to see more happening.

 

Meanwhile, I relaunched my blog a month or so again  which will contain most of the future updates from Collingwood and Bryn Y Brenin Mawr, Currently, my series on Signalling Collingwood is playing out: https://modelrailwaysignalling.blog/

 

Simon

Edited June 29, 2023 by St. Simon

[5BarVT]

2 hours ago, St. Simon said:

eccentric Signalling Designer

Tortology?

:-)
Paul.

[The Stationmaster]

27 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Tortology?

:-)
Paul.

Going on the basis of some I have worked with over the years, and maybe even, to a small extent, one I have worked for,   Plus trying to understand exactly why one had done a particular job on an industrial site the way he had done it (which the folk operating it didn't understand either).  I would say that it is a definite tortology.

 

Who. else but an original thinkinin signal engnieer could devise a workable version of track circuit block working which didn't use continuous track circuts (and didn't use axle counters or any other form of train detection either.  You've either got to be  thinking way outside the box or you need to be locked away in one to come up with an idea like that.

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

We just has a very nice weekend playing trains, testing things and having @SouthernRegionSteam over to photograph and video the layout for BRM.

 

I will put my efforts in a gallery on my blog during next week, but here is a initial tease:

 

 

Luckily I had access to the same meeting room on the office, but unfortunately this’ll be the last time I can use it as we are moving offices in September and there’s no meeting rooms!

 

Simon

[SouthernRegionSteam]

16 hours ago, St. Simon said:

We just has a very nice weekend playing trains, testing things and having @SouthernRegionSteam over to photograph and video the layout for BRM.

It was a very enjoyable day! As per usual, I spent far too long enjoying good company and taking thousands of photographs, but it was great to see you and your dad again, as well as your colleague. Lots of chatting, lots of tea, and a layout featuring first-rate modelling and incredibly complex signalling - no surprise there then from you, Simon! It was also great to see @Graham_Muz's lovely station buildings up close.

Thanks so much for a wonderful day. Here are some behind-the-scenes photos. It will take me a fair while to work through the photos and stack them all, but I look forward to seeing the finished photos in print. The videos should also be very interesting!

 

 

 

All the best,
Jamie