Lime Street Station

[sir douglas]

Is that all or most of them?

[lezz01]

As I said earlier it's really great news.

I remember seeing Lime Street on what must have been it's first outing at Bletchley leisure centre when it was a length of retaining wall between two fiddle yards. It must have been at Expo EM as I was working for Roger Webster on the Ratio Models stand. I thought then that it was going to develop into a most spectacular layout.

Anyway you guys should have a big lift now and your mojo should be well and truly back.

Regards Lez. 

[Michael Hodgson]

Absolutely delighted to hear your news.

 

Before your posting about the recovery, the previous one was about bringing the loco fleet up to strength.  So hoperfully you now have more than emough to keep the service running.

[Fair Oak Junction]

Absolutely fantastic news!

[Barry O]

Great News!

 

Baz

[Middlepeak]

Wonderful news, which restores my faith in human nature somewhat. As someone who's never seen the model, I can only think it will be all the more spectacular when I do have the chance to view it. My best wishes to all the Lime Street team. Your expertise and commitment really justifies this unexpected reward!

 

Geraint

[Bloodnok]

15 hours ago, Simond said:

I do hope the trader (who should be praised for his initiative) was lucky enough to have paid by some means that identifies the seller.

 

... And ideally by some method where he can recoup his loss, too.

 

15 hours ago, Simond said:

And further, I hope the local constabulary are able to make further enquiries.

12 hours ago, andytrains said:

I hope the Police have the resources to follow this up.

Problem with car boot sales are that no record is usually kept of the sellers attending.

10 hours ago, Simond said:

We can hope the buyer took a photo of the boot from which they were sold, and the number plate thereon…

Unfortunately, after (checks thread) ... sixteen months, it's likely the collection has been through a few hands. The chances of the car boot sale seller being the same person who stole them is not high TBH.  He could well be another trader who thought he bought a bargain lot, found the same "something wrong", didn't make the connections the most recent trader did, and instead decided to cut his losses by shifting them at a boot sale where any buyers couldn't come back to find him.

[Rumblestripe]

Well this is a most surprising turn of events. What a lovely bit of news to start the week.  

 

I do hope that the trader who did the right thing doesn't end up out of pocket. Will the insurance reimburse him?

[Dragonboy]

Wonderful news for you all. Well chuffed at this outcome.

[richard.h]

Fantastic news you must be delighted that you can get back on track now.

 

It just proves that whoever stole them had no model railway background and didn't realize that they wouldn't run on standard 00 gauge track which has turned out to be a blessing for you.

 

Richard

[Barclay]

Staggeringly good news - On several occasions I have wondered what I would do or how I would feel if this had happened to me and it was very hard to even contemplate. The joy must be boundless. Going forward, I hope the security at Lime Street is now suitably strong!

[Jon Fitness]

This is so good to hear! I felt awful after hearing what happened last year and to see all those locos returned has  almost blown my mind. So happy for you all.

JF 

[hayfield]

It must be a tremendous relief to get your locos back, lets hope the perpetrators get caught and punished

 

In one way what has happened has been instrumental in adding sound to the layout

 

Out of curiosity you now have a lot more new motive power to add to the original loco fleet, is there a plan to intergrade/replace loco stock ? 

[Siberian Snooper]

Nice to have some good news, for a change. I hope that you can now get back on the exhibition circuit again and I can get to see this amazing layout again.

 

 

[Steve Hewitt]

Another step forward........

 

Prior to the return of our stolen locos we were making good progress in rebuilding our stock and in the process adopting DCC features in the new locos - including lighting and sound.

In our time period Edge Hill shed had an allocation of ex-LNWR 0-8-4T engines which managed a lot of empty stock movements.

The prototype on shed.

 

Here is a model we have made of one of them:

 

 

The model is based on a Brassmasters kit, but incorporates a G2 0-8-0 chassis by Bachmann.

You see it here in its almost final state.

It has been backwards and forwards between myself for the basic construction as a DC model in EM gauge.

Rob then tackled the painting after contributing many of the fine details.

Back to John for the installation of the DCC features and addition of the Transfers.

This is the condition you see here.

It will be back to Rob again shortly for matt varnishing and touching up of the weathering, after which it will be returned to John and be ready for service!

 

Speaking of "service" , we are hoping to be able to start running sessions during the first quarter of 2024.

First there is completing of the DCC installation and its integration into the existing control system.

Then there a couple of repairs to complete, which because of their nature and location will require the dismantling of quite a large part of the layout to gain access.

Only then will we be able to start operator training..............

 

Steve

 

[Simond]

Hi Steve,

 

Happy New Year to you and the gang!

 

Good to hear of your progress, and looking forward to hearing of your forthcoming new running sessions.  Will there be video?

 

atb

Simon

 

 

[Steve Hewitt]

Hi Simon,

Happy new year to you.

 

Yes, I expect there will be quite a bit of video shot once we are training again.

Explaining how we are using DCC and the techniques for operating will probably need video with a "voice over".

 

Steve.

[Steve Hewitt]

Turning the Corner...............

 

A long time has passed since we were able to operate the layout properly.

This has been fruitfully spent with the replacement of the stolen stock, and the conversion to DCC operation as well as a number of other improvements and developments.

 

Last week Rob and Noel spent one day with John dismantling the whole layout and storing it as if for transport.

With everything safely stored it allowed a decorator to repair and restore the ceiling where some water ingress had occurred.

 

John is now re-erecting the layout and completing any outstanding tasks board by board.

In addition to a thorough cleaning, these include repairs to a damaged point mechanism which has been inaccessible previously and modifying some wiring to accommodate our DCC operation. The ten long storage roads at the rear of the layout each previously used a diode controlled section to prevent locos over-running into the buffers. This method doesn't work with DCC and has been replaced by relays to isolate each track end.

The camera which presents the view of these tracks to the operator has been relocated to improve control.

 

The first two boards are now complete and re-erected including all paperwork and are fully tested.

 

The next board ( Board 7) will not be as easy as there is quite some wiring to do.

This one has the new circuit board for the fiddle yard  loco release and all associated wiring plus through wiring for the re-sited fiddle yard camera.

It’s going to be a case of shoe horning a place to site the circuit board !

 

Only another dozen boards or so then we can start operating again.

 

Steve.

 

 

[Steve Hewitt]

On 12/02/2024 at 21:19, Steve Hewitt said:

Turning the Corner...............

 

A long time has passed since we were able to operate the layout properly.

This has been fruitfully spent with the replacement of the stolen stock, and the conversion to DCC operation as well as a number of other improvements and developments.

 

Last week Rob and Noel spent one day with John dismantling the whole layout and storing it as if for transport.

With everything safely stored it allowed a decorator to repair and restore the ceiling where some water ingress had occurred.

 

John is now re-erecting the layout and completing any outstanding tasks board by board.

In addition to a thorough cleaning, these include repairs to a damaged point mechanism which has been inaccessible previously and modifying some wiring to accommodate our DCC operation. The ten long storage roads at the rear of the layout each previously used a diode controlled section to prevent locos over-running into the buffers. This method doesn't work with DCC and has been replaced by relays to isolate each track end.

The camera which presents the view of these tracks to the operator has been relocated to improve control.

 

The first two boards are now complete and re-erected including all paperwork and are fully tested.

 

The next board ( Board 7) will not be as easy as there is quite some wiring to do.

This one has the new circuit board for the fiddle yard  loco release and all associated wiring plus through wiring for the re-sited fiddle yard camera.

It’s going to be a case of shoe horning a place to site the circuit board !

 

Only another dozen boards or so then we can start operating again.

 

Steve.

 

 

Board 7 ...............

 

As mentioned above, the modifications to Board 7 are to facilitate the Engine Release function for each of the 10 Fiddle Yard tracks.

 

This is the circuit board John has made:

John explains: "This shot is a close up of the new circuit board I made before Christmas for the loco release, each of the relays will serve two fiddle tracks, shorting out the dead sections at the far end of each track. The blue and grey wires lead to the individual droppers."

 

And here you can see where John has managed to fit the new circuit board to Board 7:

Quite a lot going on !

 

Once John has completed the documentation and erected Board 7 it will be on to Board 8.

 

Steve

[Steve Hewitt]

Running time at long last.......................

 

It is several years (four?) since we were last able to run the railway.

Covid and the Burglary are now behind us and many updates/improvements  have been completed.

In addition to the many scenic improvements we are well on the road to our conversion to DCC for train control.

Two of the three operating positions have been converted and we look forward to having the third available in the not too distant future.

 

As part of the DCC conversion it has been agreed that all the operators will need to undergo re-training. 

Initially this is being done on a one to one basis with each operator spending one or two days with John for intensive learning.

 

I have just completed my first training day and will have another in a couple of weeks.

A lot of the system is unchanged and familiar. The route setting is very familiar, but when it comes to driving the trains much has to be re-learnt.

Fundamental is the use of Forwards and Backwards direction of the locos as opposed to Up and Down directions of the track.

A whole new system of Sound control has been developed using control buttons with dedicated functions, such as Short Whistle for a steam loco, or Short Horn for a Diesel. The actual sound produced in response to each button is determined by the individual loco's sound chip.

 

Actual control of the trains is improved beyond anything we could have imagined. The use of Momentum and Inertia have eliminated sudden starts and stops , and "Stay Alive" has smoothed out progress particularly at very slow speed in the platforms and for Coupling and Uncoupling. Combined with the synchronised "Chuff Rate" we seem to have eliminated the tendency to drive at excessive speed. Remember there is an overall speed limit of 25 mph.

 

I did manage to get a couple of Video clips on my phone:

 The Jackshaft shunter leaves the "Back Road" for the Cutting.

 

 A Jubilee climbs through the cutting towards Hedge Hill.

 

I'll try for more videos and photos at my next training day.

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

[MR Chuffer]

13 minutes ago, Steve Hewitt said:

 A Jubilee climbs through the cutting towards Hedge Hill.

Won't get far, no coal in the tender! But great stuff.

[AY Mod]

20 minutes ago, Steve Hewitt said:

Initially this is being done on a one to one basis with each operator spending one or two days with John for intensive learning.

 

So, so glad to hear all this. It's a bit like a favourite band getting back together.

[Free At Last]

3 hours ago, Steve Hewitt said:

A Jubilee climbs through the cutting towards Hedge Hill.

The posh hearea.

[Michael Hodgson]

4 hours ago, Steve Hewitt said:

Running time at long last.......................

 

It is several years (four?) since we were last able to run the railway.

 

 

Wow!  Is it really that long since I saw it?

Looking fantastic as ever.

[steve45]

Steve, its good to see you praising some of the benefits of DCC. Hearing sound on this layout will be amazing. Is it too early to ask if you have any exhibitions planned?