Chester Northgate reimagined

[woodenhead]

There had been a class 24 crawling along the track this evening.

 

Generally things are good but I’ve had to get the logic of the frog wiring on the single slip sorted in my head.  Thought I could operate both motors as one address but the loco shorted in one area.  Had a bit of time to think and I realise I need to point the blades so they route the power where it is headed.  Tomorrow will split the addresses and try again.  But apart from that looks good so far, though I am very out of practice using the NCE Cab.

 

Track needs a good clean too

 

Edit: split the address for the motors on the slip so no longer operating in tandem and problem solved - I need to remember to set the blades to the route of the train regardless of whether the loco actually uses the blades.  The 24 went over the longest set of points without an issue on dirty track.

Edited December 12, 2022 by woodenhead

[woodenhead]

It's been a long time but the trackwork is complete, the old platforms are down for something to put the buildings on, a class 108 is sat in platform 3 and a 24 is warbling in platform 2.

 

 

Just in time for the arrival of a class 28 and some Conflat Bs in the next couple of days.

 

Impromptu loco line up and this isn’t all of them.

 

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by woodenhead

[woodenhead]

To coin a phrase from a well known chainsmoking alient "Sing my beauty".  Seems I inadvertently learnt how to lock the engine and rev it up rather than drive it towards the camera.

 

[woodenhead]

With tracklaying nearly complete, I want to add two additional sidings each side of the current freight sidings for additonal storage of parcels wagons, thoughts turn now to operation.

 

I've fitted Dapol magnets to the far end of the three platform roads and a quick test has demonstrated they work for me.  I've not laid any more yet until I understand how far I can shunt without the delay action failing - the further the better as most shunting will come from two points on the layout.

 

This means though I now need to start adding Dapol couplings to the locomotives and chosen end vehicles of trains focussing on the passenger / parcels vehicles first and freight stock later.

 

Also fast realising I have too much stock again even after putting some back into boxes, in the summer I added coach sidings to the old version of the layout and out of the boxes came a load of maroon Mk1s - so now with a reduced layout I have too many Mk1s out and I've not even got any sleeper vehicles out or a prized green Bulleid set for an inter-regional from the South.  Looking at my loco stud, that too is too big for operations so I think some of the blue locos need to go back into boxes - one of the 40s, a 47, the 50 and the 52. 

 

Whilst I am presently operating a pseudo 1967/68 layout my loco fleet also suits mid1970s so I think I will work on stock swaps to change periods rather than keep locos sat gathering dust whilst not in use.  So in 1970s mode, the maroon stock, LMR steam and only green engines can go back into storage and out come the BR Blue brigade with dominos.  As some of my locos have had body swaps with green shells I can simply swap the bodies if I need to - except the green class 108 - I seriously do not like removing the bodies on DMUs, one day one will snap.  The mark 2 coach set as nice as it is probably belongs in the 1970s as it would have been frontline in the late 1960s and this allows me another Mk1 mixed rake of maroon and blue grey which is rather attractive, perhaps a catering set with Buffet car.

 

So what sort of services does this version of a reimagined Chester Northgate have?

• CLC services to Manchester Central (of course!!)
• CLC service to Romiley via Stockport Tiviot - some extended to Sheffield Victoria and Cleethorpes (loco hauled)
• DMU service to Birkenhead
• DMU service to Wrexham and loco hauled to Shrewsbury
• Loco hauled services to Preston and Barrow (using the Mickle Trafford connection with the Chester to Warrington line)
• DMU services to Liverpool Central and Southport (using the Mickle Trafford connection with the Chester to Warrington line)
• Parcels traffic will originate from lots of places operating mainly at night but with some daytime services.
  • Paddington (diverted from Chester General after end of Birkenhead ex GW services)
  • York
  • Sheffield
  • Preston
  • Manchester
  • Liverpool
  • Cardiff
• Freight traffic will be tripped from Warrington Arpley and will simply be a couple of minerals, box vans or conflat Bs.

Still contemplating some additional services but the above already feels full

• An ex GC inter-regional from the south coast, that has found itself now diverted via Birmingham Snow Hill that runs on Saturdays.  It's a blatant attempt to justify some green Bulleids I couldn't part with 😀
• Sleeper service - but to where unless it is Scotland and added to anglo-scottish services at Preston - but really that would be a Chester General service via Crewe.  Another attempt at finding a use for several Mk1 sleepers lying around.
• Postal Service - diverting the Shrewsbury to York postal via Chester Northgate and then on to Manchester via the CLC.

 

So next actions:

• Lay the final two sidings
• Select the stock for the layout
• Box what is out of use
• Select the end vehicles and replace couplings with Easi-shunts
• Add Easi-shunts to the locos
• Decide locations for additional Easi-shunts

[Flying Pig]

On 12/12/2022 at 22:41, woodenhead said:

There had been a class 24 crawling along the track this evening.

 

Generally things are good but I’ve had to get the logic of the frog wiring on the single slip sorted in my head.  Thought I could operate both motors as one address but the loco shorted in one area.  Had a bit of time to think and I realise I need to point the blades so they route the power where it is headed.  Tomorrow will split the addresses and try again.  But apart from that looks good so far, though I am very out of practice using the NCE Cab.

 

Track needs a good clean too

 

Edit: split the address for the motors on the slip so no longer operating in tandem and problem solved - I need to remember to set the blades to the route of the train regardless of whether the loco actually uses the blades.  The 24 went over the longest set of points without an issue on dirty track.

 

 

If you connect the points together for control as below, which is a likely prototype arrangement, then the slip polarity should just drop out naturally when you set the route.

 

[woodenhead]

@Flying Pig I realised that if I don't set the unused blade of the point in the direction the train is headed then it shorts.  I just can't slave both slip motors together which I did originally, and as you allude it will get easier when I macro in the route setting so it will happen automatically.   I just haven't gotten around to doing any macros yet.

 

I'm just glad I took the plunge and added the slip, I have feared doing one with the frogs live and powered but it's there now and working.

[Flying Pig]

I like the slip very much - it makes for a very interesting and convincing throat.

 

2 hours ago, woodenhead said:

I just can't slave both slip motors together which I did originally

 

I was thinking you could slave together the point and the far end of the slip (2a and 2b on my sketch) so they work together as a crossover. Then you don't have to remember to set 2b separately to get the right frog polarity when you run a train over the diagonal from the carriage sidings.  Is that not possible?

[woodenhead]

@Flying Pig I see what you mean and it does meet the criteria with regards the route.

 

I shall have a play sometime soon, the less point references I have the easier to macro.

 

Thanks for the suggestion 😀

[woodenhead]

For some obscure reason - ah yes - headcode boxes, I have ordered some more class 108 replacement bodies, this time blue with headcode box to replace the plated over versions which would be a mid 70s incarnation.

 

And another green 25 body.

 

I've decided that I am not going to be ordering anything in OO which I had planned (GWR Railmotor, 44xx and B-sets), don't tell Mrs W I shouldn't really have ordered the Genesis coaches.  Thing is, I am quite happy with the N layout and the thought of a second layout being half built doesn't feel like fun. 

 

So treated myself to more bodies, I mean it's not more trains, it just more clothes to dress my existing trains in 😄

[simonmcp]

I like the, "... clothes to dress ..." angle, that should stop any "do you really need that" arguments from any other halfs 😀.

[woodenhead]

Some plonker did not allow enough space for the bufferstops when planning to place his easi-shunts with a class 40.

 

He could have popped his hand into the box of cr8p of the previous incarnation and got one out, but no he thought he could do it by eye alone. 

 

Class 40 arrives and literally has to bump the bufferstop to be far enough onto the magnet - cutters out later to move one or two sleepers.

 

Also the loco isn't sited when at the very end of the platform so I need a visual clue at the other end to know when to stop, however,  a loco on the magnet does uncouple which is the whole point so yay success.  And why didn't I order another pack of magnets last night whilst I was getting free postage - plonker indeed.

[woodenhead]

Have looked again at the class 40 / uncoupling magnet position today, and thankfully it's not actually a problem and no work is required.

 

However, the other end of the layout is causing a problem today and I am not yet sure if it is stock related, track related - it's probably a bit of both.

 

The problems seem to be:

1. The very first point on the layout where trains will enter is not closing fully - the motor will require a small adjustment to push the blade tight.  It seems to be causing some coaches to derail.
2. Short wheelbase locos, the 04 and the 08 don't like entering the single slip when moving off the layout - both stop at the same point, larger locos don't hesitate, it might be a dead frog which I need to test for
3. Easi-shunts are hanging a little low in places and fouling point mechanisms which is a recipe for derailments and/or shorting.
4. The locos, especially the steam and shunters are running woefully, not helped I don't think by the DCC steps that seem to be very slow to increase/decrease making them prone to stutter and stop/restart.

All in all, I am a bit p1ssed off this evening and feeling a little angry again at N gauge which I like to champion when I can, but today it's showing it's downsides in abundance and the urge to sell it all looms again.  It's not like I haven't test everything on DC before putting it back on the layout, cleaning the wheels etc, just want a bit of smooth running again so I can play trains, is that too much to ask?

[woodenhead]

Ok, anger has been breathed out, time to inhale some mindfulness.

1. Adjusted the bar throw on the errant point, problem solved.
2. It is a dead frog, had my ampmeter on it, so I need to examine the wiring to see why it's dead, should hopefully just be a bad connection.
3. A little upward pressure on the drooping curved bar seems to have lifted it sufficiently
4. Clearly, I need to look at the momentum settings and do some more intensive running in.

Still frustrated when OO seems to just work, which I know isn't always the case but it all seems to have a greater tolerance than 2mm.

 

Anyone imagining several rakes of Mk1 coaches hitting the sales may just have had those hopes dashed...😀

[5BarVT]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

Easi-shunts are hanging a little low in places and fouling point mechanisms which is a recipe for derailments and/or shorting.

I had/have one loco which shorts as it leaves one siding.  I have tracked it down to a droopy kadee that brushes against both sides of the frog gap  - a unique combinations of track curvature, loco length, and kadee droop. 00 is not immune!

Paul.

[woodenhead]

New clothes have arrived unexpectedly, I thought Bachmann were shut for Christmas, this had to have been mailed last week when I thought they'd closed.

 

Headcode fitted DMUs in blue dresses and another 25 in a green shirt.

 

And 5 minutes later my additional easi-shunt couplings from TMC arrived.

[woodenhead]

On 26/12/2022 at 19:36, woodenhead said:

Ok, anger has been breathed out, time to inhale some mindfulness.

1. Adjusted the bar throw on the errant point, problem solved.
2. It is a dead frog, had my ampmeter on it, so I need to examine the wiring to see why it's dead, should hopefully just be a bad connection.
3. A little upward pressure on the drooping curved bar seems to have lifted it sufficiently
4. Clearly, I need to look at the momentum settings and do some more intensive running in.

 

So issue number 2 was quite simple - the wire to the Cobalt for the frog was too short and not latching into the socket.

 

Sorted and shunters now pass over the previously dead section.  Shows how important wiring your frog over relying on the blades is.

 

A shunter has brought in train without stopping over the points, the coaches were stopped at the right position and then the loco uncoupled using the magnet.  I think that is a success 😀

 

Just item 4 to look at.....

Edited December 28, 2022 by woodenhead

[woodenhead]

I've had stock on the rolling road to day to give them a run out, and a blast on the metal brushes for a clean, things seem to be returning to normal.

 

Except for the 08 - it was stuttery even on the rolling road, until I removed the second set of brake blocks and suddenly it appears a lot better.  The other set of brake blocks came off last week when I discovered they were hanging down a bit and fouling points, now it appears the other set was fouling the wheelsets.  I cannot even tell they are off, so nothing lost but performance gained.

 

Need to build some loco cassettes next week...

[woodenhead]

A busy weekend, set myself 8 tasks, 7 completed and the outstanding might not be required.

 

More easi-shunts arrived, so all locos and coach rakes are now easi-shunt fitted.  All but one of the parcels rakes are also fitted mid train with easi-shunts so I can remarshall the trains in the station.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fourteen loco cassettes retracked and rail joiner soldered to one end - keeping the cassettes simple for the time being.  But this will reduce handling locos, especially steam engines.

 

 

 

Also located my Kadee uncoupling stick, and it works on easi-shunts so now I might not need to place magnets anywhere apart from the bits of the railway hidden in the station or too far for me to reach easily.

 

Started on a timetable, it includes where to bring trains in, where to shunt them to and a record of what is stabled where - I hope this will let me find operations interesting.  I have added mid train easi-shunts on the parcels so I can split trains when they arrive and remarshall them.

 

I've finally cracked getting the bodies off DMUs simply, it took a couple of old credit cards as shims but the bodies came off a lot better than in the past where I thought the chassis was going to be bent.  Happy with the backdated blue with indicator panel.

 

 

Only slight downer, I found a couple of the points are shorting when a DMU goes over them - not noticed it before but the points are solidly over so it might be back to backs.  Bit more investigation in the week when I feel like it.

[woodenhead]

Deep joy - I have sourced a business of small parts who do N gauge building bits  and I can build an overall roof for the station.

 

https://yorkmodelrail.com/product-category/n-scale/industrial-construction-n-scale/

[woodenhead]

Thought is still going into the timetable, I have drawn a schematic for the layout and named locations.

 

These locations are in the timetable so I know where to place/obtain stock and as the timetable develops I shouldn't end up with something unworkable.  I've also got my point motors labelled here for reference, macros to follow to route set.

 

From this I have 4 places to locate trains, platform 3 is the only one split as it will on occasion hold two DMUs.  There are five loco holding points, Loco 1 is for locos waiting to attach to a departure, 2,3 and 4 short term stabling with 5 blocked by 4 so longer stabling.  Goods 2 and 3 can be used to stable DMUs at night, Goods 3 is the only remaining true goods element for a few wagons only.  Sidings 1 and 2 are used to remarshal parcels services, siding 3 is for long term storage (actually unpowered), I keep my spare parcels vehicles here which I will swap out for another train occasionally.

 

The timetable will reference all these locations and I will keep tabs on what is located where when planning it so I don't create a move that isn't possible.  I recognise I need a plan like this otherwise I will become bored, the timetable tells me what to do, over time I can add more to the timetable or attempt additional services around the timetable e.g. excursions.  This really all comes as a result of my fascination with how Bradfield Gloucester Square operated.

[5BarVT]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

This really all comes as a result of my fascination with how Bradfield Gloucester Square operated.

If you haven’t discovered yet, you will do: timetable planning is as fun (if not more so) than running said timetable.  And as time consuming (if not . . .(see previously)).

Enjoy!

Paul.

[woodenhead]

It's been months, but this evening a DMU arrived, a passenger train departed behind a class 42 and the 08 stuttered about shunting a parcels train into a platform for loading.

 

Maybe the mojo is coming back.

 

Thought I had destroyed the chip in my 08 fiddling about to check on contacts, luckily I'd just loosened one of the power connections and a couple of turns of the screw brought it back to life.  I think it needs a good run on the rollers and a look at the speed settings on DCC, I think the profile for this and my DMUs is too gradual and starts too low so the loco/DMUs stall and struggle to get beyond it.

[woodenhead]

Another couple of months of indecision and mojo sappingness.

 

So I fixed the big issue affecting me - two teeth removed that I was petrified of having extracted, but in the end it all went without pain or problem.  Mojo back - no so fast, my 08 was being a complete nightmare and I found myself in an N gauge existential crisis.

 

There are a lot of points in the station and if I need to shunt anything, the loco and the coaches must cross them, well the 08 wouldn't go more than a couple of centimetres without stopping and then refusing to restart because the chip had such a low starting point, simply it tripped out before it could get moving, a push would restart it but still too slow to get going.

 

I cleaned the track with a rubber, put the loco on the metal brushes and increased the starting speed on the chip - it did a little but not a lot.  The crisis began and there I was thinking - dump the lot, go back to OO and accept N is not for you ever again.  That's quite a statement to make, an even harder pill to swallow - most of my modelling investment (if you can call it that) is in N - there aint much OO left.  Nevertheless I began dreaming of a OO layout - something involving a Welsh class 37, perhaps a mix of tops and pre-tops, a backwater stabling point and maybe some wagons.  It got worse, then I planned a whole loop around the room until reality hit me on XTrackCAD - the curves would not even be radius 2 unless I ditched the N gauge completely.

 

This led to what if the N gauge went around the room and a week of this dreaming later I am still toying with the idea of one of two layouts - one is a complete rip it up and start again (been here so many times when things got a little difficult) or a second option that isn't unattractive - adding a loop around the room with a fiddleyar offshoot but connected to the terminus - so out of the fiddle, as many circuits of the loop as I desire and then into the station.  This second option sounds great as I don't need to destroy anything I've already built and I get a continuous run as well - the only fly in the ointment is that the track might run very close to the existing station so I either accept this or cover it in some way just past the station.

 

However, I did begin looking at the 'how do you clean your wheels' thread and today I bought some WD40 Contact Cleaner, note the bold bit, it is not standard WD and it safe for plastics too.  A quick wipe of the track and some cotton bud wiping on the 08 wheels, and it is running a lot better, not perfect, it doesn't still like changing direction, but, it went over the throat many many times.  Problem now is probably that I have cleaned the points but not the track that leads to either end of the throat so the loco is back on dirty track.

 

So a good clean is due, I probably need to cut down the locos on the layout to a more manageable volume as well so they are not all out getting dirty, at least till I know that is the issue and I have some trains working fine.

 

But at least I am not planning a whole move to OO and thinking how I might extend from a terminus.

[woodenhead]

Cloth and spray can in hand I got to work on the station last night - the troublesome 08 did the throat and each of the platform lines without a stutter.

 

I never realised until recently that track rubbers put down as much as they lift up, so in future I will stick to the contact cleaner and use the rubber for stubborn marks that are then cleaned again with the cleaner.

 

Locos next, one of the 25s was a bit sticky last night, needed some lubrication and a bit of DC running on the rolling road.  Note to self, keep them loose, don't expect them to run faultlessly after 6 months standing idle.  Might need to invest in a cradle so I can use both hands when cleaning the wheels too, maybe one of those track cleaning pads on a stick as well.

[melmoth]

Somebody (  @Barry Ten ?)  , somewhere recently suggested experimenting with graphite on the rails to aid conductivity.