GRANBY JUNCTION - Shunting Siphons for the Up Parcels with a Manor!

[john dew]

I am reluctant to start replacing buildings and engines in the shed area until this area at the back is finished

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are two issues....the undeveloped window sill at the top and the surface mounted tortoise at the front

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tortoise had to be surface mounted and remotely connected because the mineral train storage lines are immediately below. Previously I had concealed it with an extension of the coaling embankment but I want to use the space for some offices, stores and a mess room .

 

The tortoise will be concealed beneath two heavily modified Station Masters houses from the Scalescenes Medium Station

 

 

 

 

 

Its not a typical GWR structure....not sure they had two storey mess/office buildings on a medium sized shed but you can see why I need the height. Fortunately John Wiffen uses this Dutch Gable feature in a lot of his kits including the small engine shed. Ths kit provided the entrances to the six bays of the roundhouse, so.hopefully, it will look as though it is all of a piece .

 

Lots still to do......meantime on to the window sill

 

 

 

 

 

I have been putting off dealing with it for ages hence the assorted vignettes of the vegetable garden that appear at the back of the coaling ramp. 

 

A piece of fine carpentry will act as a foundation

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of long serving buildings plonked in position to see what it will look like

 

 

 

 

 

The idea is to create sub units .....a street scene, the old brewery etc each of which can be accessed separately  for detailing and dusting........I am working on a 4' pole with a hook for the end unit!.

 

I keep looking at that Coaling Ramp and wondering if a Kernow 1361 could climb up it ........I am very tempted, even though they never ventured into North Wales......Robin on ANTB isnt helping at all with some brilliant photos

 

Regards from Vancouver

 

John

 

 

 

]

Edited September 12, 2022 by john dew
12/9/22 Photos

[St Enodoc]

I am reluctant to start replacing buildings and engines in the shed area until this area at the back is finished

 

 

1 Tortoise.jpg

 

 

There are two issues....the undeveloped window sill at the top and the surface mounted tortoise at the front

 

 

1 Tortoise close up.jpg

 

 

2 Tortoise Close up.JPG

 

 

The tortoise had to be surface mounted and remotely connected because the mineral train storage lines are immediately below. Previously I had concealed it with an extension of the coaling embankment but I want to use the space for some offices, stores and a mess room .

 

The tortoise will be concealed beneath two heavily modified Station Masters houses from the Scalescenes Medium Station

 

3 House.jpg

 

4 House.jpg

 

Its not a typical GWR structure....not sure they had two storey mess/office buildings on a medium sized shed but you can see why I need the height. Fortunately John Wiffen uses this Dutch Gable feature in a lot of his kits including the small engine shed. Ths kit provided the entrances to the six bays of the roundhouse, so.hopefully, it will look as though it is all of a piece .

 

Lots still to do......meantime on to the window sill

 

 

3 Window sill.jpg

 

4 TT overview.jpg

 

I have been putting off dealing with it for ages hence the assorted vignettes of the vegetable garden that appear at the back of the coaling ramp. 

 

A piece of fine carpentry will act as a foundation

 

 

5a Shelf.jpg

 

 

A couple of long serving buildings plonked in position to see what it will look like

 

 

6 Shelf occupied.jpg

 

 

The idea is to create sub units .....a street scene, the old brewery etc each of which can be accessed separately  for detailing and dusting........I am working on a 4' pole with a hook for the end unit!.

 

I keep looking at that Coaling Ramp and wondering if a Kernow 1361 could climb up it ........I am very tempted, even though they never ventured into North Wales......Robin on ANTB isnt helping at all with some brilliant photos

 

Regards from Vancouver

 

John

 

 

 

]

Looking good John. Can you get at any of it from outside through the window? That would avoid bringing in Twizzle as a subcontractor.

[john dew]

Thanks John

 

Access from outside isnt really feasible......I would still have to unlock it from the inside and below the platform....I did suggest leaving it unlocked to the domestic authorities....didnt go down too well!

 

Cheers

 

John

[81C]

John if your worried the Kernow 1363 won't pull up that ramp as no one will let on what it's capable of pulling  the Hejan one will it cruises along with

20 Hornby milk tanks and a brass full brake, to make it correct it will need a set new 1361 plates the 1363 are incorrect for this model.

 

. 

 

 

Bob

[john dew]

Its been super hot in Vancouver......85o in the house. Fortunately the railway room is a semi-basement and stayed quite cool.
 

The coaling stage suffered a certain amount of collateral damage when it was removed earlier in the year. Its now been repaired and tarted up a bit......like its owner its quite elderly.

The ramp has been refurbished and Scalescene walls added to separate it from what will become a street scene behind

 

 

 

 

You may recall the Tortoise for the turnout is surface mounted and concealed by the modified Station building

 

 

The actuating arm is concealed by a store room that has been cobbled together from Scalescene paper, Wills corrugate and some scrap drain pipe

 

 

Apart from the drunken chimney pot (yet again!) I like this next shot. I think it captures 1947 Granby rather well. Particularly with no tomato plants peeping coyly over the rooftops,
 

 

 

This is my first attempt at the Scalescene retaining wall complete with plinths,buttresses, reverse batter and  parapets!

 A bit over the top for this location, most of it is obscured by the single storey mess room extension. It was however a good opportunity to practice for a long run (circa 4')  that will lead off from the other side of the coaling ramp.
 

 

It all looks strangely deserted!  Lots of people and stuff to add. I am leaving it for a while until I get some new figures etc from Modelu. Most of the old shed staff were from the Monty range (with some Gem and Dapol ex Airfix in the background). I am a big fan of both but I think they look even more convincing if kept apart.


This turntable/shed project seems to have been going on forever but at last I believe I am now making some tangible progress...........I may even find time to run some trains!
 

 

 

 

This weeks jobs......Gardening apart, reinstall the sandhouse and water crane. Finish the ash siding.....I think its now safe to add people there.................oh and fix that b****y chimney pot...again.

Regards from Vancouver where we have had two very welcome days of rain

John





 

Edited September 12, 2022 by john dew

[M.I.B]

Retaining wall is brilliant John.  I envy your building modelling skills.  

[Edwardian]

Its been super hot in Vancouver......85o in the house. Fortunately the railway room is a semi-basement and stayed quite cool.

 

I left you with this shot of the coaling ramp and the new raised back scene area.

 

 

6 Shelf occupied.jpg

 

The coaling stage suffered a certain amount of collateral damage when it was removed earlier in the year. Its now been repaired and tarted up a bit......like its owner its quite elderly.

 

The ramp has been refurbished and Scalescene walls added to separate it from what will become a street scene behind

 

1 Coaling Unit.jpg

2 Coaler from Side.jpg

 

You may recall the Tortoise for the turnout is surface mounted and concealed by the modified Station building

3b Tortoise.jpg

The actuating arm is concealed by a store room that has been cobbled together from Scalescene paper, Wills corrugate and some scrap drain pipe

3c Tortoise.JPG

Apart from the drunken chimney pot (yet again!) I like this next shot. I think it captures 1947 Granby rather well. Particularly with no tomato plants peeping coyly over the rooftops,

 

 

5 Buttress Wall.jpg

 

This is my first attempt at the Scalescene retaining wall complete with plinths,buttresses, reverse batter and  parapets!

 

 A bit over the top for this location, most of it is obscured by the single storey mess room extension. It was however a good opportunity to practice for a long run (circa 4')  that will lead off from the other side of the coaling ramp.

 

 

6 Messroom.jpg

 

7 B&W.jpg

 

It all looks strangely deserted!  Lots of people and stuff to add. I am leaving it for a while until I get some new figures etc from Modelu. Most of the old shed staff were from the Monty range (with some Gem and Dapol ex Airfix in the background). I am a big fan of both but I think they look even more convincing if kept apart.

 

 

 

This turntable/shed project seems to have been going on forever but at last I believe I am now making some tangible progress...........I may even find time to run some trains!

 

 

8 Coaling.jpg

 

 

This weeks jobs......Gardening apart, reinstall the sandhouse and water crane. Finish the ash siding.....I think its now safe to add people there.................oh and fix that b****y chimney pot...again.

 

Regards from Vancouver where we have had two very welcome days of rain

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming along a treat.

 

I really like the composition, in particularly with the Scalescenes complex covering the point motor, and I do think those old Bilteezi low relief terraces are very effective.

[john dew]

Retaining wall is brilliant John.  I envy your building modelling skills.

 

Thanks Tinker.....you are too kind.......card,paper and the three foot rule can hide a multitude of bodges.

 

I must admit I am quite chuffed with the wall once I fully understood the destructions. Its very versatile......it can do slight curves and sloping ground so hopefully it will transform the lead in to the shed

 

Cheers

 

John

[john dew]

Coming along a treat.

 

I really like the composition, in particularly with the Scalescenes complex covering the point motor, and I do think those old Bilteezi low relief terraces are very effective.

Thank you James. The Bilteezi tenement is a veritable antique.....I bought the kit from Norman Wythenshawe in the early nineties and it has featured in all three versions of Granby. Compared with Scalescene it looks a bit crude now but its perfect as background....sadly its no longer obtainable

 

Best wishes

 

John

[BWsTrains]

Lovely work John, nice to hear from you after a break.

 

Sounds as if that's unseasonably hot for Vancouver,

PS any news on Dean Goods?

 

Colin

Edited August 13, 2018 by BWsTrains

[john dew]

Lovely work John, nice to hear from you after a break.

 

Sounds as if that's unseasonably hot for Vancouver,

PS any news on Dean Goods?

 

Colin

Hi Colin

 

Thank you....glad you liked it.

 

Summers in Vancouver are generally very pleasant.....consistent mid to high 70 s......mid 80 s is unusual. After a prolonged period without rain we invariably get quite serious forest fires in the interior and the smoke drifts down to us on the coast.......thats starting to happen last few days......not pleasant.

 

I was just about to write to you about the Dean.......Oxford sent me a brand new model as a replacement......despite having been tested by them the rear tender pick ups were flat against the chassis sides....just like others have reported. Someone used the phrase “deliberate”......it has happened so frequently I am inclined to think that an instruction at thefactory may have been mis interpreted.

 

Performance so far is like the curates egg......when its good its good ....when its bad its rubbish. Which ,of course is no good at all with automatic operation......fingerpoken is not an option!

 

The wheels were dirty and other pick ups needed adjusting so it has improved somewhat but at low to medium speeds there is still a slight but noticeable hesitation during the cycle..I am not sure of the cause......I will try and show it on a video.

 

I dont think I can use it on complex routines but hopefully it will eventually perform ok on a simple circuit routine.

 

I am of the school that can tolerate design flaws but demand consistent smooth running. I appreciate Hattons and Oxfords help in trying to resolve the issue but I am not sure if I will be rushing to buy an Oxford loco in the future!

 

Best wishes

 

John

[john dew]

Following on with my comments about the replacement Dean Goods, here is a 30 second video showing the Dean Goods with a Lenz Standard at speed step 7 ....scale 8 mph.

 

By way of comparison its followed by a Bachmann Collet same decoder, same speed step

 

 

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrJeiRKoJyc[/media]

 

 

May be I am just picky but I expect locos to run like the Collet. There is clearly some resistance which the motor struggles to overcome (I suspect the gear worm connection?).........I do wonder what impact the decision to discard the twin flywheel has had on performance.

 

The good news is that at higher speeds the problem goes away .........from the mid point (step 14) the movement is quite silky with no sign of hesitation.

 

I dont feel confident to use her on complicated shunting but I think she can earn her corn on the Down goods circuit.............once all the silver paint has disappeared and she has been suitably weathered,lamped,coaled and crewed

 

Regards to all.

 

John

 

 

[M.I.B]

John,

 

Is the hesitation perhaps due to "burrs" on the gears which will rub away in time - your Collett has had more use and is now fully "run-in".

 

Just a thought.

 

That said - the Colletts were always great runners, especially considering how old they are.  My oldest one was  bought new in 80 or 81.

[john dew]

John,

 

Is the hesitation perhaps due to "burrs" on the gears which will rub away in time - your Collett has had more use and is now fully "run-in".

 

Just a thought.

 

That said - the Colletts were always great runners, especially considering how old they are.  My oldest one was  bought new in 80 or 81.

Hi Tinker

 

I think you may be right.....I certainly hope so! It was reassuring that it performed so well above 10 mph. The problem I have in running it with RR&Co is the uncertainty of it stalling as it slows down through the speed steps to crawl speed when stopping at a signal.

 

The black Dean works well because I fitted a surplus TCS KAT keep alive. That may be the ultimate solution if this Dean continues to be unreliable at slow speeds. That will mean hard wiring and carving out the tender and putting up with the mid speed spike that I have never been able to smooth out in any TCS decoder.......swings and roundabouts!

 

Incidentally I meant to write to you......I was easily able to fit the Lenz Standard into this Dean by cutting (and sealing off) the redundant function wires and only leaving the red,black,orange and grey wires intact.......so now I can hard wire the silver mini into the Ivatt 2-6-2t after all

 

Cheers

 

John

[M.I.B]

Thanks John - I will now look for a Lenz Standard when I have some spare funds - but it has been a very busy summer of building in the 12" to1' scale.

Edited August 16, 2018 by M.I.B

[john dew]

Thanks for all the likes and ticks guys.....very encouraging

 

Not sure why I always start or end with the weather here but......you may have seen in the UK papers that our provincial government has declared a state of emergency because of the forest fires in the interior. It must be horrific there but even on the coast where we live its pretty unpleasant as the smoke drifts down. On a clear day we can see Mount Baker in the USA 100+ miles to the south , now we can barely discern Burnaby Mountain....a largish hill 5 miles away. It reminds me of the smog that used to roll up from Manchester to Oldhan. The sun tries to break through but its not at all nice outside.

 

Net result ......I have done a lot of modelling!

 

 

This weeks jobs......Gardening apart, reinstall the sandhouse and water crane. Finish the ash siding.....I think its now safe to add people there.................oh and fix that b****y chimney pot...again.

All done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water Crane and associated stuff. I think this was Springside........its for Locos that are to coaled,,turned and out again.......there are three Mikes Models for the GWR shed roads

 

 

 

 

 

Hydrant.....one of six...........these are from Gem.........more to come from Modelu for the shed roads

 

 

 

 

Ash Pit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sandhouse........or should it be Sandfurnace?

 

 

 

 

I was never sure where to position this, then I stumbled on a photo of Leamington Shed.....with the sand wagons stabled on a siding  off the turntable......a precedent for everything

 

 

 

 

I struggled to represent 1:76 sand. The grains of the real stuff were far too big. Not sure this mix of Cinnamon, Mustard and Turmeric does the trick.....I may have overdone the turmeric

 

 

 

 

The last two shots kind of reflect the atmosphere outside

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I first edited the last shot I almost discarded it because it seemed too crowded and cluttered. then I realised thats exactly the atmosphere I am trying to create in the shed area..

 

 

Best wishes to all

 

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by john dew
12/9/22 Photos

[BWsTrains]

Hi John,

 

lovely photos.

 

Regarding sand I'm not sure if the following will work but yellow bricklayers sand is a mix of very coarse to very fine particles. I use it to get various sized "cuts".

• a coarse sieve to give > 1.5mm
• then thru a fine sieve to get 0.75 - 1.5mm cut
•  + what's left for paving etc..

 

After the sieving steps ,the rest you could add to a tall jar (with lid) of water, add a drop or 2 (not too much) washing up liquid, Cover, invert to mix well and let stand.

 

Now watch for the remaining heavies should quickly settle out, if there are enough fines these should stay suspended just long enough for you to decant them off, put to one side until they in turn settle out.

 

I think this might well work because wet brickies sand sets solid if it dries out, a sure sign there's some very fine material is in there!

 

Try it, otherwise find a lump of yellow garden clay, dry it rock solid, break up as fine as possible and sieve. Flotation won't work on clay as it is mostly fine particles and these are ionic enough to stay suspended almost for ever, think yellowy water in dams.

 

Regards,

 

Colin

Edited August 21, 2018 by BWsTrains

[Mikkel]

Great scenes, John. I really like the sandhouse, very nicely done. The spicy mix is creativity at its best. Whatever next, weathering with Chilli powders? :-)

[M.I.B]

Great work and inspirational as ever John.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[trw1089]

Hi John

 

Some great reading, images and videos. With the Dean Goods, I don’t think it is gearing as it is only occurring on a full revolution of the driving wheels. I would look for a bit of flash on the back of the drivers, or if you can do it a a slower speed step, stop it as soon as it hesitates and check if the rods are loose. If not, that indicates a bind, but that’s quite unusual in most RTr mechs. Other things to check for are bent pickups getting caught between the frames and the drivers, flash in the stub axles etc. if you want to get really into fault finding, you can remove the motor and see if it still has the hesitation as a rolling chassis.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Cheers

Tony

[john dew]

 

Great scenes, John. I really like the sandhouse, very nicely done. The spicy mix is creativity at its best. Whatever next, weathering with Chilli powders? :-)

 

 

Thanks Mikkel thats very kind of you........I hope you are not trying to curry favour?

Edited August 22, 2018 by john dew

[john dew]

Hi John

 

Some great reading, images and videos. With the Dean Goods, I don’t think it is gearing as it is only occurring on a full revolution of the driving wheels. I would look for a bit of flash on the back of the drivers, or if you can do it a a slower speed step, stop it as soon as it hesitates and check if the rods are loose. If not, that indicates a bind, but that’s quite unusual in most RTr mechs. Other things to check for are bent pickups getting caught between the frames and the drivers, flash in the stub axles etc. if you want to get really into fault finding, you can remove the motor and see if it still has the hesitation as a rolling chassis.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Cheers

Tony

 

 

Thanks Tony thats very helpful

 

I have checked the pick ups because that actually happened with the first one. I will check the rods as you suggest .  Could you expand on Flash on the drivers or stub axles.......as you know mechanics is not my strong suit!

 

Best wishes

 

John

[amdaley]

That's some lovely work there John :good:

[M.I.B]

Thanks Tony thats very helpful

 

I have checked the pick ups because that actually happened with the first one. I will check the rods as you suggest .  Could you expand on Flash on the drivers or stub axles.......as you know mechanics is not my strong suit!

 

Best wishes

 

John

 

 

John,

 

Flash is basically an excess of casting material that creeps out in the gaps of mould halves.

 

Usually seen in plastic model kits and has to be trimmed off - some "cheap" kits or Airfix kits made from old work moulds were more prone to this than others.

 

Imagine a small thin shark fin attached along the length of a cast plastic RTR wagon axle/wheelset and you won't go far wrong.  Sometimes they are complete "seams".  Airfix Castles often had these moudling seams running down the length of the boiler top. 

 

These excess lumps and bumps will foul bearings or axle retainers and give a "lumpy" or "sticky" ride, until they wear smooth, or even worse, they will wear away at something else if that "something" is made of a softer material.

[john dew]

Edited to add.......   wow I hadnt realised this is post # 1000 ......not quite at ANTB, SOSJ or Little Muddle levels but a milestone for me........many thanks to all the followers who put up with my ramblings

 

 

 

This is the rather happy conclusion to the saga of my Oxford Dean Goods.

Some of you may remember that.....Shipment of the original order was delayed......when it arrived in Mid April it proved to be a non runner.After a fair amount of correspondence it was sent back to Oxford for repair. When it was returned in late May/early June it turned out to be still a non runner. After being returned to Oxford again they sent me a new replacement. I wouldnt give it 10/10 for performance.......there is a video a few posts back (#987)........however the running is improving and hopefully will continue to do so now it is rostered on the Down goods circuit.

So almost 9 months later it was time to set up the loco for service on Granby.

Here is a rather out of focus shot of the loco straight out of the box

And some better shots...... as she is now






 

 

 

 

I confess that I am apt to over-weather but in this case feel its more than justified. A Dean work horse built in 1893 with a last possible repaint in 1934, would undoubtedly look very grimy in 1948. 


After the weathering, lamps were added

 

 

Followed by Crew, fire irons and real coal

 

 

 

 

I will concede the individual lumps of coal are a tad over large. However a splendid photo in the annals of the Warwickshire Railway proves that the Hornby style coal pile is quite prototypical!

In any event I had no choice as it conceals a rather bulky Lenz Standard Decoder.

 

 

 

And a change of number.

I think Engraved number plates always improve RTR models. In this case I had no option. The model was originally numbered 2475, which was requisitioned by the government in 1939 and shipped to France with the British Expeditionary Force. She did not return.

On the other hand 2449 was allocated to Oswestry Shed in 1946

 

.    


I managed to remember to re number the buffer beam

 

 

 

About a year ago I was told that Hornby had incorrectly positioned the rear buffer numbers on my 72xx. So with the the transfers out I finally got round to correcting it........better late than never Bob!

 

 

 

 

To finish here is Dean Goods 2449 in 1948







Kind of matches the weather here right now. Summer is over.....its wall to wall rain this week.

Edited September 6, 2022 by john dew
photos 6/9/22