Brighton Trafalgar - An Edwardian LB&SCR Terminus

[St Enodoc]

12 hours ago, Lacathedrale said:

I think the thing with the biggest potential blast radius is couplings but in the interest of keeping the objectives small, I'm going to let that smoulder on in the background. EDIT: While I do some testing, can anyone suggest ways to neatly slice through sleepers to fit magnets in the roadbed?

William, if I've read this right you're still undecided about couplings, so why are you thinking about magnets (if I've read it wrong, ignore me...)

[Lacathedrale]

@St Enodoc you're right. One of the things I reckon I've identified is that I have a habit of rolling forward work i.e. as soon as one thing is delayed waiting for parts, delivery, paint to dry then I spin up the next piece of work in parallel - and end up with myself in a tangle with so many simultaneous bits on the go. First things first is to chip the locos - in order to faciliate that I've stuck a piece of flex and roadbed to a plank of wood so I can use it to test the stock in my office instead of the garage.  I could use that same plank to test the magnet install if neccesary, but let's worry about that another day.

 

Here's the bay platform, showing a horse cart on the 'road' surface and the loading bank behind. I have used different bits of hardboard and foamcore to yield a slightly higher unloading bay then the rest of the platforms, and I think it looks nice. The van behind is still equipped with P4 wheels and re-wheeling all my Victorian stock is yet another 'tuit' project that I'm going to not think about!!

 

[St Enodoc]

6 minutes ago, Lacathedrale said:

One of the things I reckon I've identified is that I have a habit of rolling forward work i.e. as soon as one thing is delayed waiting for parts, delivery, paint to dry then I spin up the next piece of work in parallel - and end up with myself in a tangle with so many simultaneous bits on the go.

I had noticed...

[Lacathedrale]

2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I had noticed...

well, in my defence, the intention was to maintain a level of Inertia - but I can see the downsides too.

 

I’ve been going back and finishing up lots of old projects over the last couple of weeks rather than starting new afresh - not just in model railways, but with my wargaming and DIY as well.. 

 

So far, the change and tack has been a good one. 
 

As an aside, I feel that this thread deserves re-factoring and putting into a couple of blog entries to summarise the work and then closing off, because the ratio of progress to pages is pretty ridiculous!!!

 

EDIT: I appreciate the irony of another no-content post in this one! 

Edited February 7 by Lacathedrale

[simon b]

1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said:

 

As an aside, I feel that this thread deserves re-factoring and putting into a couple of blog entries to summarise the work and then closing off, because the ratio of progress to pages is pretty ridiculous!!!

 

EDIT: I appreciate the irony of another no-content post in this one! 

 

I wouldn't worry about the progress to pages ratio, we've got over 135 pages in the Minories thread just talking about building it. 

[Mikkel]

Hi Will, that horsedrawn cart is plenty of content for me. Did you print it yourself?

 

I knew the time would come for 3D printed horsedrawn wagons. Lots of variety and presumably a quick low cost print.

[Lacathedrale]

11 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

Hi Will, that horsedrawn cart is plenty of content for me. Did you print it yourself?

 

I knew the time would come for 3D printed horsedrawn wagons. Lots of variety and presumably a quick low cost print.

 

Hi MIkkel, yes I did - Slajanok has loads of road-rail transport STL's: https://www.printables.com/@Slanjonok - They are ostensibly for 1:148 but scale up just fine. I am sticking with Andrew Stadden for my figures, but for fairly mundane objects and loads that creator's got it covered - lots of GWR stuff there!

 

17 minutes ago, simon b said:

 

I wouldn't worry about the progress to pages ratio, we've got over 135 pages in the Minories thread just talking about building it. 

 

Well I know from my own experience when I see a 20+ page thread it puts me way off. I'll give it some thought, as I have a blog off-forum that it would also make sense to publish more concise updates there too so refactoring would not be wasted effort by any means.

 

Three down, three to go!

 

 

 

[Mikkel]

32 minutes ago, Lacathedrale said:

 

Hi MIkkel, yes I did - Slajanok has loads of road-rail transport STL's: https://www.printables.com/@Slanjonok - They are ostensibly for 1:148 but scale up just fine. I am sticking with Andrew Stadden for my figures, but for fairly mundane objects and loads that creator's got it covered - lots of GWR stuff there!

 

Thanks for that, some nice stuff there. I like the Charabancs!

 

What is the adress of your offsite blog please?

 

[Lacathedrale]

@Mikkel it's just a placeholder for now - https://www.interlocking.blog/

 

Yes, Terry - you've definitely forgotten something...

[Mikkel]

Thanks, great title for the blog! Interesting to see some of your back catalogue.

[Lacathedrale]

I have updated my blog (https://www.interlocking.blog/) with a huge amount of consolidated information from this thread and my workbench. I'll still be using this thread for less formal updates though, so if you don't care to go outside RMweb that's no problem.

 

While digging around for the loco info for the blog I went down a Terrier rabbit-hole and ended up swiping a black livereid Hornby A1 for eventual goods lined-black livery (well, technically Loco Dept. but don't tell anyone)

Edited February 8 by Lacathedrale

[Andy_C]

The blog format is excellent. Put the link to it under your name on here?

[Mikkel]

Those new pages on Brighton Trafalgar are a pleasure to browse. Good to see it all together in an easily accessible format. It shows just how far you've come with this. An LB&SCR treat. 

[Lacathedrale]

I have harvested all the information we've discussed and proposed for the layout's locomotives here: https://interlocking.blog/brighton-trafalgar-lbscr/locomotives/
 

The most significant is (with lots of help from @Nick Holliday) establishing plausible actual locomotives for the layout for the models I have in my possession.

 

And on that note, I've managed to get chips in my other three locos. Unfortunately, this trio are far more problematic than the E4 or Atlantics:

 

Both Terriers are very jerky runners. I had hoped the even power on DCC would improve that from DC, but it looks like I'm also going to need to fit stayalives in them.

 

The E2 has had the tank sides rubbed down and the start of the weathering removal process, but is probably the least consistent runner of any of them - it's almost as if the motor armature is getting stuck, but it could be another inconsistent pickup with the rigid chassis?

 

[Caley Jim]

DCC will do nothing for a chassis that isn't already mechanically sound.  Best to get them running smoothly under DC before fitting the decoder.

 

Jim

[Lacathedrale]

@Caley Jim I think the Terriers simply have dirty wheels, but the E2 has gone from temperamental to uncontrollable. I've got a Zen DCC decoder in there that I've used in the past, so I can only thing it's got some dodgy config on it but setting CV8 to 8 isn't working, not can I re-address it. More fiddling required (of exactly the kind I wanted to avoid!)

 

I managed to find a rake of the Ratio LNWR corridor coaches which are for me enough for a representation of a rake for the Sunny South Special. Though I'm fully aware that the train's motive power was swapped at Kensington to LBSCR, I think it would be neat to run an LNWR loco into the layout for some variety. I don't know enough about the Sunny South Special to know if the  new(ish) LNWR Improved Precedent would be appropriate (or at least plausible)? I get the impression I'll have to either find or build a kit for a Whale Precursor or even a Prince of Wales?

 

EDIT: I've also updated the thread title to represent the current working name for the layout of Brighton Trafalgar - I'm not sure it'll stick, but I "ET" just confuses me with Eastwood Town.

Edited February 10 by Lacathedrale

[Oldddudders]

Bradley notes that as well as the well-known exploits of I3s in reaching Rugby - with excellent coal and water consumption - LNWR Precursor #7 Titan was run through to Brighton on multiple occasions. While LNWR aficionados might be disappointed to see a Precedent in its place, I think the overall result would be just as effective in demonstrating the Brighton's relationship with the North Western. 

[wessy]

The LNWR use of Croydon Central may help you. This was the station at the end of a very short branch from the LBSCR main line and it closed in the 1890s, to be replaced by Croydon Town Hall. I have a copy of the LNWR public timetable for 1879 and it shows several LNW trains from Kensington, and at least a daily one from Willesden low level. I know that Croydon is more 'outer London' than Brighton Trafalgar, but 'Rule 1' may apply. Unfortunately, tank engines would be the usual power. At that time, it seems that the connections for LNW services from the north were at Willesden, where passengers would change for Kensington or Clapham Jct. 

If changing at Willesden, with luck one might meet this young lady, as painted by Tissot.

[Lacathedrale]

Based on the advice in the general discussion thread, I decided to grab the kit built precursor-class 4-4-0 to pull the sunny south special - and after I had pulled the trigger, did I realise that it would need to be stripped and repainted, and potentially some difficulty in fitting a DCC decoder.  While that is not beyond my ability it is likely to add to the inertia rather than to help alleviate it, so I also purchased a 2-4-0 improved precedent-class,  Lucknow. This is almost certainly too old and underpowered to pull the real train, but for my five coach reduced service it is both prototypically plausible and will allow me to run that service immediately rather than sequestering the LNWR items in a cupboard until the precursor is finished.

 

I should also add that the coaches are in a pretty ropey state and will need to go through the paint shop at least - but they are usable in their current state and the cost was less than buying the kits unbuilt.

Edited February 10 by Lacathedrale

[Lacathedrale]

Today's playtime went a little well - both Boxhill and 643 are running as expected, but bizarrely I cannot change the loco address of Boxhill from the default. Sending the commands, the loco reponds with the little motor blips, but then proceeds to ignore it. Bloody DCC!

 

On that note, ex-No.638 "Millwall" has arrived and by complete chance I already had a DCC chip for it in my stash - the last thereof - which was compatible. Clearly, it's in the process of being repainted from the dirty IEG it'd have worn as a pumping engine at Three Bridges into the resplendent lined black livery as "Loco Department" for duties at Brighton Works, and some comedian has painted something profane and inscrutable on the bunker - but it does move nicely!

 

[Penrhos1920]

10 hours ago, wessy said:

 

 

I can understand that she’s travelling with a trunk 2 bags and a hat box.  But I can’t fathom out why she needs to take a milk churn as well ??

[Curlew]

2 hours ago, Penrhos1920 said:

 

 

I can understand that she’s travelling with a trunk 2 bags and a hat box.  But I can’t fathom out why she needs to take a milk churn as well ??

That's in case she gets stuck in a compartment with no access to a toilet - maybe? ;) 

[Mikkel]

There's a nice little collection of Tissot's traveller paintings - including those lovely women - on this website: 

 

https://thehammocknovel.wordpress.com/2016/01/20/victorians-on-the-move-by-james-tissot/

 

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, Mikkel said:

There's a nice little collection of Tissot's traveller paintings - including those lovely women - on this website: 

 

https://thehammocknovel.wordpress.com/2016/01/20/victorians-on-the-move-by-james-tissot/

 

 

That is an extremely useful reference for the colour of casks.

[Lacathedrale]

Lovely picture! Quick play around and I managed to get Boxhill readdressed but both it and 643 are still a bit i

Jerky. I think the track needs a good (first!) clean:

 

for the sake of comparison the E4 is perfect, I think it’s the longer wheelbase:

 

 

the e2 continues to misbehave, but I think it’s some kind of intermittent short so I’m going to get it apart and insulated with heat shrink.