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

[Mikkel]

Hi John, congratulations on the BRM article. It really does the layout justice, I think. The photos are excellent, that second spread with the Dukedog and 64xx crossing the canals is a favourite.

 

I see you also managed to sneak in a "you can never have enough panniers" reference 😀

[john dew]

17 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Hi John, congratulations on the BRM article. It really does the layout justice, I think. The photos are excellent, that second spread with the Dukedog and 64xx crossing the canals is a favourite.

 

I see you also managed to sneak in a "you can never have enough panniers" reference 😀

 

Hi Mikkel

 

Thank you. I am so glad you enjoyed the article. I dont think anything written about Granby would be complete without a reference to panniers! I must admit that I was relieved that Debbie Woods ( the editor) selected some pannier photos from the multitude I had submitted.

 

Best wishes

[john dew]

The last two turnouts arrived from Liverpool - super fast service - and are now installed along with 4 additional sidings.



Sadly there was insufficient clearance to get the additional 4 car siding that I had hoped for. However the resulting siding is a generous 3 car and will easily accommodate a horse box train which will now be able  to make a twice weekly appearance.

The short radius siding above it may take my recent investment in a CMX cleaning car and its loco. Not sure which loco will have the power and weight to push (?) it. I believe most people use diesels which I dont have. It should be interesting finding which surplus loco will perform best.

Finally two short stub sidings for relief locos - job done  -  almost:



The package from Liverpool also had a roll of ID backscene. I fear it is going to be challenging retrofitting this to the installed boards. Fortunately Mrs D is ace at wall paper hanging.

The shot also shows the stripped down branch and village street which will have to be repaired and replaced.

I have added a few shots of the branch in better days.

They were taken for the BRM article to illustrate one of the signature routines om Granby. The daily collection of milk from the branch dairy for transhipment to Granby and thence on the main line to Rock Ferry (Birkenhead)



The B Set having arrived from Granby is stabled in the bay while the loco - a pannier (naturally) - collects two full tankers from the dairy



The tankers are uncoupled on the relief loop while the loco rejoins its train - draws forward from the bay, backs on to the loop and couples with the tankers



I am not quite certain whether this manoeuver would have been permitted with passengers already in the carriages (ie loaded from the bay) or if I have to draw the completed train back on to the running line platform for loading. Something I need to resolve before I finally produce the video! Hopefully someone can advise me - perhaps Mike @The Stationmaster will pop by?

You will not see these shots in the article because we used a photo of the tankers being transferred at Granby to illustrate my account of the routine - hope you like them - certainly more interesting than the building site shots that I started with.

 Regards from Vancouver

[The Great Bear]

1 hour ago, john dew said:

The short radius siding above it may take my recent investment in a CMX cleaning car and its loco. Not sure which loco will have the power and weight to push (?) it. I believe most people use diesels which I dont have. It should be interesting finding which surplus loco will perform best.
 

Until reasonably recently I used a Bachmann 56xx for this but it didn't quite have enough shove to reliably keep the CMX moving all the time, especially traversing some points. So I resorted to buying a cheap diesel loco from Ebay, which does move it better. Double heading, a couple of locos (panniers?) might have done the trick, but I've yet to grasp how to do that on my DCC system, no other cause to do it.

[john dew]

31 minutes ago, The Great Bear said:

Until reasonably recently I used a Bachmann 56xx for this but it didn't quite have enough shove to reliably keep the CMX moving all the time, especially traversing some points. So I resorted to buying a cheap diesel loco from Ebay, which does move it better. Double heading, a couple of locos (panniers?) might have done the trick, but I've yet to grasp how to do that on my DCC system, no other cause to do it.

 

Thank you for the feedback. Using a couple of Panniers sounds like a possibility for me. Happily,  setting them up double headed with RR&Co is very easy.

 

Best wishes

[Harlequin]

2 hours ago, john dew said:

The last two turnouts arrived from Liverpool - super fast service - and are now installed along with 4 additional sidings.



Sadly there was insufficient clearance to get the additional 4 car siding that I had hoped for. However the resulting siding is a generous 3 car and will easily accommodate a horse box train which will now be able  to make a twice weekly appearance.

The short radius siding above it may take my recent investment in a CMX cleaning car and its loco. Not sure which loco will have the power and weight to push (?) it. I believe most people use diesels which I dont have. It should be interesting finding which surplus loco will perform best.

Finally two short stub sidings for relief locos - job done  -  almost:



The package from Liverpool also had a roll of ID backscene. I fear it is going to be challenging retrofitting this to the installed boards. Fortunately Mrs D is ace at wall paper hanging.

The shot also shows the stripped down branch and village street which will have to be repaired and replaced.

I have added a few shots of the branch in better days.

They were taken for the BRM article to illustrate one of the signature routines om Granby. The daily collection of milk from the branch dairy for transhipment to Granby and thence on the main line to Rock Ferry (Birkenhead)



The B Set having arrived from Granby is stabled in the bay while the loco - a pannier (naturally) - collects two full tankers from the dairy



The tankers are uncoupled on the relief loop while the loco rejoins its train - draws forward from the bay, backs on to the loop and couples with the tankers



I am not quite certain whether this manoeuver would have been permitted with passengers already in the carriages (ie loaded from the bay) or if I have to draw the completed train back on to the running line platform for loading. Something I need to resolve before I finally produce the video! Hopefully someone can advise me - perhaps Mike @The Stationmaster will pop by?

You will not see these shots in the article because we used a photo of the tankers being transferred at Granby to illustrate my account of the routine - hope you like them - certainly more interesting than the building site shots that I started with.

 Regards from Vancouver

Regarding attaching Miltas as tail traffic, see the second para in Mike’s reply to me here:

 

[john dew]

Thank Phil. I had forgotten about that post. Excellent news - it would imply that passengers were aboard when the train was shunted into the siding - so that saves me two additional moves😀

 

Best wishes

[richard.h]

On 20/04/2022 at 21:07, john dew said:

 

Thank you for the feedback. Using a couple of Panniers sounds like a possibility for me. Happily,  setting them up double headed with RR&Co is very easy.

 

Best wishes

I have to agree with Great Bear, to work efficiently the CMX needs to be pushed at a slow speed if possible across all tracks and as yet I haven't found a steam outline loco that will do this consistently whereas a diesel will do it with ease, I normally use something like a Class 37.

 

I realise that diesels don't fit with your time frame but for reliable cleaning you may find that buying a cheap second-hand diesel locally is you best option.

 

Richard

[john dew]

3 hours ago, richard.h said:

I have to agree with Great Bear, to work efficiently the CMX needs to be pushed at a slow speed if possible across all tracks and as yet I haven't found a steam outline loco that will do this consistently whereas a diesel will do it with ease, I normally use something like a Class 37.

 

I realise that diesels don't fit with your time frame but for reliable cleaning you may find that buying a cheap second-hand diesel locally is you best option.

 

Richard

 

Hi Richard

 

Thanks for the feedback. I have been so pre-occupied with the storage yard extension, and of course the stock spread all over the layout, I havent been able to even test it yet. I will try it with double headed panniers because I have a pair permanently coupled for a banking routine but I suspect that you are right and I will have to buy a diesel. Not too many 00 of anything available locally I guess H0 would work ok though.

 

I will let you know how I get on

[brianusa]

Interesting project John,  Most of us have had similar experiences to your point motor; mine happened to be in a cutting where loco overhang carved its own path in the scenery!  After a touch of paint and dust, it's barely noticeable.

Good to see your lovely layout🙂

     Brian

 

[Edward]

Just to say how much I enjoyed your article in BRM.  Great pictures and details though only a flavour of the wonderful blogs etc that we get through this forum! 

As an aside I took note of your remarks over the choice of decoders and ,having been unhappy about the performance of many of my locos,  have began to fit Zimos plus  "stay-alives" to the best locos.  So far I've got 3 fitted and they have been transformed.  I must add thanks to the guys at Digitrains who are doing the work!

I ran them on a small club layout on Saturday and they performed faultlessly.

[john dew]

On 21/04/2022 at 17:26, brianusa said:

Interesting project John,  Most of us have had similar experiences to your point motor; mine happened to be in a cutting where loco overhang carved its own path in the scenery!  After a touch of paint and dust, it's barely noticeable.

Good to see your lovely layout🙂

     Brian

 

 

Thanks Brian. Good to hear from you. If trains are carving into the cutting that sounds as though you are back to running trains again? That has to be good news - glad you sorted the issue so quickly - wish I could sort my cosmetic issues like that!

 

Best wishes

[john dew]

12 hours ago, Edward said:

Just to say how much I enjoyed your article in BRM.  Great pictures and details though only a flavour of the wonderful blogs etc that we get through this forum! 

As an aside I took note of your remarks over the choice of decoders and ,having been unhappy about the performance of many of my locos,  have began to fit Zimos plus  "stay-alives" to the best locos.  So far I've got 3 fitted and they have been transformed.  I must add thanks to the guys at Digitrains who are doing the work!

I ran them on a small club layout on Saturday and they performed faultlessly.

 

Hi Edward

 

So glad you enjoyed the article. I am also delighted that, by switching to Zimo decoders, you appear to have got a similar improvement in performance to my self. When I first started in DCC I tried all manner of decoders and quickly came to the conclusion that " you get what you pay for". I found Lenz to be reliable and smooth running so standardised my locos with them. Its only  relatively recently I discovered Zimo. The running improvement is actually quite subtle but nevertheless noticeable. Add in SAs and ultra reliable running and I am a very happy camper.

 

ps Thanks also for the kind comment about the blog

 

Best wishes

[john dew]

At long last Spring has come to Vancouver so most of last week was devoted to gardening however Mrs D and I did find time however to fix the 10' of ID back scene to the existing backboards.

 

As you can see it was not entirely straightforward!  This was a case where Plan B had to be hurriedly put into action when we realised that double sided tape was not quite as adhesive as we had hoped.

I am very impressed with the product itself and I imagine with a brand new construction it would be easy to apply. Our problems resulted from being unable to apply it in situ. Leaning across 4' of baseboard and progressively removing the protective backing from a 5' long roll and then sticking it precisely on to the backboard was never going to work and happily we never attempted it.

Our solution was to mount the roll on to 2mm grey board and then stick the grey board to the backboard.
The Maximum length of the grey board is 40" and the two rolls of ID scenery were each 60" long. This meant we finished up with 2 x 40" and 2 x 20" boards. Each board had to be glued to the backboard so it was square not only with its neighbour but also with the base board and top frame. Plenty of opportunity for marital strife. We celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary next year so we have had lots of practice!

 

And in fact, alls well that ends well:





I am quite pleased with the overall effect. ID have a very comprehensive range but their townscapes and industrial scenes were too modern for Granby. Fortunately these house backs are not too far away from developments constructed in the thirties. I admit to a few anxious moments when I first checked the rolls in case there was a forest of Tv aerials

Having to use 4 separate boards resulted in two vertical joins but Mrs D believes she can make them disappear.

A greater challenge is at each end:






I have to re-position an assortment of Townscene low relief cut outs to camouflage the differing building style and sky treatment. The contrast will remain but hopefully will not be too obvious. It is, after all, at the very back of the layout and normally there is a screen of buildings in the foreground.

Hopefully I can show the result next week.

Meantime,  here are a few more shots of the Milk Tankers wending their way from Cynwyd to Granby:

 

 

Best wishes from a sunny but still chilly Vancouver

[sjrixon]

On 26/04/2022 at 22:46, john dew said:

 

Hi Edward

 

So glad you enjoyed the article. I am also delighted that, by switching to Zimo decoders, you appear to have got a similar improvement in performance to my self. When I first started in DCC I tried all manner of decoders and quickly came to the conclusion that " you get what you pay for". I found Lenz to be reliable and smooth running so standardised my locos with them. Its only  relatively recently I discovered Zimo. The running improvement is actually quite subtle but nevertheless noticeable. Add in SAs and ultra reliable running and I am a very happy camper.

 

ps Thanks also for the kind comment about the blog

 

Best wishes

Wish I'd gone with stayalives... I hate when the loco slowly starts, then stalls dead. 

[john dew]

4 hours ago, sjrixon said:

Wish I'd gone with stayalives... I hate when the loco slowly starts, then stalls dead. 

 

You can imagine how I felt with RR&Co - all the automatic movements are based on time and distance calculations, even a seconds hesitation spells trouble. The computor cant see any delay, so it assumes the loco is continueing to move resulting in the loco stopping short and missing the uncoupling magnet or failing to couple. If I am attempting a multi loco exchange the resultant chaos had to be seen to be believed.

 

Its not to late to start retrofitting SAs . I only started in late 2019 and over the last 3 years most of my small locos have been converted. Not cheap of course but I was able to sell on the replaced Lenz Chips and I guess I have been a lot more stringent about loco and rolling stock purchases. I can assure yiy that it transformed my operating experience.

 

Best wishes

[sjrixon]

I can imagine how critical that is. And, on a layout of that size even more so! 

 

I've tiny layout and to this day I'm amazed how hard I find it to keep the track clean enough to avoid minor stalls from time to time. 

 

I need more investigation! 

[john dew]

Last weeks project :  Complete the back scene by merging the existing, multi-layered, Townscene cut outs with the one dimensional, but more realistic, ID back scene photography



Having tried various combinations, I eventually came to the conclusion that it was not possible to achieve a seamless marriage between Impressionism and Realism.

Better to make a feature of the contrast with a big bold statement:



I was particularly anxious to retain the low relief engineering works. I built the brick built works 20 years ago from a Langley kit and added the scratch built section from Wills Corrugate. This is one of the various buildings scattered around Granby that are named after friends and family. 

I had to build a narrower Scalescene wall to lift it and provide clearance. Happily the trains themselves and the Terraced housing screen conceal the cantilever effect.

Here is a "before" of the other end of the ID Scene:




The solution - another bold statement:



On the far wall, I chose to retained only the sky from the ID Scene.The vertical contrast between the two sets of back to back houses proved to be too great in a single plane.

Despite Mrs D's magic, the corner join still persists somewhat but is less obvious when the Alma Mill is replaced in the foreground:



This shot exposes, in the foreground, some of the co-lateral damaged suffered from having to  lean across to access the far corner.

The road bridge, complete with bus, is now restored. Beyond the bridge the branch Engine Shed and Water Tower will shortly be put back in place.

The devastation in front of the bridge will remain a while longer. Once I have run some trains, the next big project is to install two automated Dapol Junction signal and hook them up to Train Controller.

Here is an overall shot of the storage extension and its back scene along with the terraced house modular screen.



Next week, at long last, I hope to finish the storage extension with a post about the track plan.

Best wishes from Vancouver

[Neal Ball]

That looks great John. The changes won’t be obvious as you rarely photograph from such a difference - no one will know!

 

Greetings from Sunny Spain, enjoy the rest of your week.

[Tallpaul69]

Great to see you are making progress! 

After reading your article in BRM, I have picked up following Granby again after being absent for a while.

 

I had hoped to get back to modelling this week having not managed a lot since Easter. However, jobs supporting my eldest son after their house move two weeks ago, sorting out my garage/model store after son's family's bikes were moved out last weekend, and it being time to get jobs done on the vegetable patch, have put pay to that idea! 

 

Better luck next week? - Fingers crossed!

 

However, I can report that it is also sunny in south Bedford shire!(If you ignore yesterday)!

 

Cheers

Paul

[john dew]

Thanks Paul - welcome back!

 

I hope you have better luck tan I with the weather in Bedfordshire. Here in the Rain Forest, in late may, we snow forecast!

[john dew]

Last weeks post was all about the Back Scene for the Storage extension. This week's focus is on the raison d'etre for the entire exercise

This was the scene in early March :



and eight weeks later:



Its not exactly as originallu planned. The tri-angular site was very restrictive and as the track laying progresses I found myself obliged to add a few inches of track here and there to ensure either clearance or a smooth transition. Each such inch added then resulted in similar loss in the sidings.

At first sight it might seem it was hardly worth all the effort but a quick summary of the stored trains will reveal some of the benefits :  .



From the top :

1  5 Car GWR Express + Castle 4-6-0
2  4 Car GWR Suburban - sadly where I lost an inch or so which means the loco has to be stored elsewhere.   
3  GWR Large Prairie GWR suburban relief
4  LMS  Ivatt 2-6-2T LMS suburban relief
5  GWR diesel railcar
6  GWR Horsbox train + GWR Small Prairie
7  The photo shows a GWR B Set but in practice it will be home to the 4 Car LMS Suburban

All these trains were previously stored elsewhere. Their relocation means I now have space for a 5 Car LMS Newspaper/Parcels train and a second 4 Car GWR Suburban and the big plus some empty slots making train movements less inter dependent.

Here is the "before" schematic from RR&Co



Clearly designed for tail chasing circuits. The subsequent addition of the Storage Turntable and associated Loco sidings, bottom left, created opportunities for a more realistic " out and back" operation. However this proved cumbersome because most such trains arrive in the bottom siding: Block 685 Barmouth. Obviously they have to be turned and immediately sent back before the next arrival to that block can be initiated

The "After" schematic shows how this situation has now been improved:

Note: the bottom block 685 has not been physically moved. It was just the most convenient way of fitting in the new sidings and point work into the diagram.



Imagine the arrival of a 4 car Suburban from Granby. I can drive it straight into the empty Block 803 and seconds later Block 685 is released and any one of the other trains in the new sidings can immediately depart. Generally it will take a little longer than that because I like to first complete the loco exchange for the return. Nevertheless Block 685 will be clear much sooner than before.

 

You may wonder why I am so concerned with automated loco exchanges in a storage area. It is essential with RR&Co that the actual composition and orientation of all trains precisely match that stored in the computor. Using the hand crane without then updating the computor can lead to unexpected and undesirable results. Better to let the computor do it all for you.

Now after 8 weeks slog and a lot of unplanned damage to the branch engine shed I can look forward to running lots of new trains.

Regards from Vancouver where it is sunny but only 12o. I see that @Neal Ball is expecting 29o in Spain at the week end. At least he sent his commiserations to those in cooler climates! 😃..........thank you Neal!

 

The weather is playing havoc with our normal gardening schedule. I have only just begun to harden off Tomatoes and Courgettest  (3 weeks later than normal) . Because of their prolonged stay in the Greenhouse some of the Tomatoe plants are already in flower and a Courgette - named imaginatively "Desert" - is bearing fruit!l

[5BarVT]

Well done John.

I’m currently doing battle with the light loco movements in the storage sidings.  Made even more ‘fun’ by having one set that runs alternately as 5 and 6 coaches and another that adds a GUV for its last Down run.

Paul.

[john dew]

57 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Well done John.

I’m currently doing battle with the light loco movements in the storage sidings.  Made even more ‘fun’ by having one set that runs alternately as 5 and 6 coaches and another that adds a GUV for its last Down run.

Paul.

 

Thanks Paul

 

I generally uses switches and pre-requisites to handle multi choice situations - I find its easier to embed everything in end of schedule lists rather than use successors - what do you use?

 

Best wishes

 

 

 

[5BarVT]

8 hours ago, john dew said:

I generally uses switches and pre-requisites to handle multi choice situations - I find its easier to embed everything in end of schedule lists rather than use successors - what do you use?

Pre-requisites are my friend too.  Either in a finish list or in section operations within the schedule.

It’s taken me a while to discover how to separate within trains (rather than just remove the loco) which held me back a bit on the adding/removing vehicles.  It was knowing that you were able to do it with the operations you described that meant I knew it must be possible and therefore persevered in investigating how it was specified in TC.

Paul.