60091 Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 continuing... A few more photos from todays track work.... 40003 and 25245 at work this morning. As work was completed by mid afternoon only two timetabled services were disrupted - the SuO morning Glasgow-Nottingham, with 47053, which ran wrong line from Dent before regaining the up line...and the SuO Nottingham-Glasgow with 46047 running through a 20mph temporary speed restriction past the works site. With work almost completed, 40003 waits to depart for Leeds. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 Hello Alan, The attention to detail makes your layout. Prototypical train formations from the period and actual location really do paint the scene and jog the memory of those glorious blue diesel days. Keep posting shots of the real thing and their model counterparts - lovely! Thanks and best wishes, Chris. Hello Chris Thanks for your comments about the layout. I did a bit of research (looking at photos) to find suitable/typical freights c1979-81. As always, given the size of the layout, compromises had to be made to fit them into the fiddle yard. Sadly I've very few photos of the line in blue diesel days. In the early eighties I spent too much time trainspotting, underlining as many numbers as possible in my Platform 5s. When I photographed the 47 at Ais Gill I'd spent most of the day at Tebay and Scout Green on the WCML. I got back to Kirby Stephen and decided to follow the S&C along Mallerstang, over Ais Gill as far as Dent: my first proper visit to the line. Before that I'd passed Ribblehead while driving through the dales and was lucky enough to catch 46002 crossing the viaduct. A dull 46002 in 1980! My first photo taken on the S&C. Regards Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Nice pictures David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 A New Arrival... Just arrived today - the final member of the family, another 25 245! Excellent slow speed control. It's now being run in as I type this. The original plan was for 4xClass 25s and 4x Class 47s. Now reduced to 2 of each to save money but also the 12 locos I now have are more than enough to handle what's in the fiddle yard. I'm now going to choose two suitable numbers for the S&C and then both will be weathered together. I'm not going to criticise Bachmann for making the effort to add the extra detail... but .. the front handrails are too prominent, so I intend to alter them, pushing them closer to the body. There's some discussion about this on the site - (see Products and Trade, Farish, Class 25). Other stuff.... My railway modelling has hit the buffers! I've another post to bring developments on Sunderland Stabling Point up to date, but there's been no work on the layout for weeks. It's different/awkward shape makes it difficult to fit into a small house and I,m having to seriously consider if 00 is practical where I'm now living. In addition the old locos have turned out to be poor runners... and even a moderate replacement programme would probably be £1000+... a sobering thought...! So.. some relaxing refurbishment work on a friends N gauge building and scenery for is new layout There are still vague plans for a north eastern, L shaped, 00 layout in the attic but also some serious thought being given to go over permanently to N Gauge... with an idea for a modern-ish military branch - I'm blaming emt_911 for that! Decisions decisions.... but happy that I,m still enjoying myself with S&C 79-83.... Cheers Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Physicsman Posted November 14, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 14, 2014 Alan, the good thing is that you are actually doing something, especially with that lovely N gauge layout of yours. And dreaming/anticipating is great fun - I've been doing that since I axed KL last December. If you are withing striking distance, you'll be very welcome to come over and "play" with KL, once there's something to play with! Keep the posts coming. You're inspiring my thoughts..... Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted November 15, 2014 Author Share Posted November 15, 2014 The shortlist for the Class 25 conversions has been finalised and is.... Loco..........alloc 1980......alloc 1982 25041..........KD ............withdrawn 25056..........KD ............withdrawn 82 25060..........SP................CD 25036..........SP................KD 25246..........ED................CD 25224..........CD................CD All photographed on the line or on services via the S&C between 1978-83. Nice photo of 036 - on the Nottingham-Glasgow! ...but unfortunately with small snowploughs. 25041 gone too soon. Also noticed that the Farish loco 245 had gone by 82. Probably on it final working over the line. Ex works 25245 pilots 45037 on the Kingmoor - Toton. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.C.M Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Great pics Alan, I like the one looking down from the hill. You really have to look hard to see that it's N gauge. The locos these days looks so good, once you have weathered the 25s they will look great. Cheers Peter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 Earlier this week I got a couple of photos of 40 024 towing 25 245+25 245 (surely some mistake) off to Crewe for renumbering.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 Work begins with the 25s loosing their previous identity. Numbers, and on one loco the BR arrows, are carefully removed. Next is work to re fit the handrails closer to the body. The first handrail was removed with pliers which were too large which led to slight damage. Fortunately they aren't glued into place, only pushed into minute holes. For the others I used a pair of large tweezers, gently and slowly working the handrails loose. Using the smallest drill I had the holes were made deeper. I'm using PVA to re attach the handrails as the new holes are larger. The glue should hopefully fix the handrails and fill any surrounding gap. The handrails are then replaced, being pushed closer to the body... before and after shots... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted November 22, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 22, 2014 Amazing how much better they look with just that small adjustment. Well done, Al. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share Posted November 23, 2014 Amazing how much better they look with just that small adjustment. Well done, Al. Thanks acg_mr When the first Class 25 arrived I realised altering the handrails would be an improvement. Can't take credit for the "how too".... see acg5324 posts under Product and Trade-Farish-Class 25 on the site. (Sorry not sure how to add the link) Despite the handrails being too prominent, I'd rather manufacturers made the effort to add these details. Even unaltered they're a big improvement over having them moulded to the cab front. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Finishing the Class 25s Finally got the 25s weathered this morning Going back a couple of days - touching up the handrails where the paint had been damaged. Numbers selected.. I'm going to cheat again and put different numbers on each side... To begin it's going to be 25056 and 25246. I prefer to replace numbers with blocks of 2-3 numbers together from the transfer sheet - not possible with 246, each number having to be cut and fixed in place separately. This makes getting everything evenly spaced and level very difficult. I wanted to persevere with 246 because of the different position of the bodyside numbers. Weathering begins. IMO the most important job is to cover the gloss black plastic of the underframe and bogies. It's unfortunate this is where the one piece moulding of the underframe stands out. There are excellent colour references in the book. For bodyside weathering I chose a photo of 25 245 - very grubby with the body half covered in pale brown dust/grime. In contrast the other photo reference was 052 with a light dusting along the lower bodyside. 25 056 weathered and ready to return to traffic. Subtle weathering similar to the other locos on the layout. 25 246 Maybe finished...? I wanted one loco on the layout heavily weathered and thought a Class 25 towards the end of it's working life would be a good choice...but not sure if this is too much on a small N gauge model. I'll run it for a now and see how I feel about it in a couple of weeks, Cheers Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HealeyMills Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Hi Alan, Some nice improvements to your 25's. Will you be adding the buffer beam details too? Cheers Lee Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted November 27, 2014 Author Share Posted November 27, 2014 Hi Alan, Some nice improvements to your 25's. Will you be adding the buffer beam details too? Cheers Lee Hi Lee Detailing the buffer beams is something I've been giving some serious though to recently. The N gauge couplers do look awful ... and considering their size, it's amazing how useless they can still be, with different trains dividing at different locations, for no apparent reason. The major problem with detailing the buffers and losing the ability to couple up at one end, is the way the layout operates. Three locos run round their trains, either on the scenic side or in the fiddle yard, while all locos are turned every 2-3 months to even out wear and tear on motors etc. However, with all twelve locos now available, a major re-working of how the layout runs might be possible. Detailing buffer beams is not something I want to do to only 3-4 locos... it will be all or nothing! .... and then there are the moulded roof fans and grills to replace-another big improvement I'd like to make. Cheers Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 Ok - someone remind me not to meddle with things I shouldn't meddle with... Years ago I could strip down and re-build a Ringfield motor blindfolded... however I can't say the same about N gauge and therefore I've always limited myself to a bit of simple maintainance. So when 40 024 developed a strange knocking noise and seemed very short of power, I should have realised it was a job for the experts.... But I decided to have a look.. removed body, bogies etc, gave everything a good clean - no obvious problem. Twice put everything back together - loco ran again but problem not solved... - third attempt - put everything back together and I now have an ex 40... it has ceased to be.... dead! Might try again tomorrow. For now, thank goodness I bought the second Class 25 to keep the timetable running. a distraught Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Grafarman Posted December 5, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 5, 2014 Ok - someone remind me not to meddle with things I shouldn't meddle with... Years ago I could strip down and re-build a Ringfield motor blindfolded... however I can't say the same about N gauge and therefore I've always limited myself to a bit of simple maintainance. So when 40 024 developed a strange knocking noise and seemed very short of power, I should have realised it was a job for the experts.... But I decided to have a look.. removed body, bogies etc, gave everything a good clean - no obvious problem. Twice put everything back together - loco ran again but problem not solved... IMG_0876.JPG - third attempt - put everything back together and I now have an ex 40... it has ceased to be.... dead! Might try again tomorrow. For now, thank goodness I bought the second Class 25 to keep the timetable running. a distraught Alan Give Bob at BR Lines a call 01287 633036; he's usually happy to talk you through repairing things yourself if it's possible or he'll fix it for minimum charge - just had a dead class 37 and a noisy 150 power car back from him both now running sweet and smooth... David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 Give Bob at BR Lines a call 01287 633036; he's usually happy to talk you through repairing things yourself if it's possible or he'll fix it for minimum charge - just had a dead class 37 and a noisy 150 power car back from him both now running sweet and smooth... David Hi Grafarman - Thanks...and agree If you have a problem with n gauge he's the man to sort it out. In the past I've caught up with him at local shows. His first repair job was on a Class 45 which flew off the layout while it was under construction, and took a nose dive down the attic stairs.... a nasty mess! With the 40, I might have altered the polarity when putting it back together.?? I'm going to work on it tomorrow and try a couple of things - If that doesn't work, it will be a phone call to Bob. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Knocking sound. Have you got split gears, perhaps it's jammed now. Do the wheels run freely if you remove them from the motor? I've a 40 which is currently a 1-Bo-Co-1 as a result of a split gear which locked my loco. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 Knocking sound. Have you got split gears, perhaps it's jammed now. Do the wheels run freely if you remove them from the motor? I've a 40 which is currently a 1-Bo-Co-1 as a result of a split gear which locked my loco. Hello woodenhead Thanks for that possible reason for the knocking sound. The noise was definitely coming from only one end. Power and pickup from that end were also weak/poor.. Been busy today so haven't had a chance to have another look. Hopefully will have time to investigate further tomorrow. Cheers Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium richierich Posted December 14, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 14, 2014 Sounds like a cracked gear. The curse of N gauge locos strikes! Although reading elsewhere on here, some people just replace the gear rather than the wheel set, which is something I'm going to investigate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold scottystitch Posted January 13, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2015 Sounds like a cracked gear. The curse of N gauge locos strikes! Although reading elsewhere on here, some people just replace the gear rather than the wheel set, which is something I'm going to investigate. Yes much cheaper to just replace the gear. I bought a pack of gears from BR Lines, much cheaper than buying whole wheels sets. Pop a wheel off the axle, the cracked gear should slide off no problem. Then slide a new gear on. it will be stiff, but it will go. Pop the wheel back on and check the back to back and then Robert is your Father's Brother. So to speak Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben pez Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Really impressive layout this! Looks so much like the s&c Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Suprise! An update for S&C 79-83... ...and it'll the arrival of ETH on the layout with 47 403 on the morning Glasgow - Nottingham service. This is one of several e bay purchases made in the last few months. 403 was bought along with a 37 with a plan to re paint them into Railfreight grey. However I don't think my skills are up to producing a descent repaint on an Ngauge loco and in the end I couldn't bring myself to ruin a classic Gateshead generator. Freight services under threat - include both the last remaining speedlink to use the line and the Kingmoor-Wilsden vans. 47315 on the northbound Severn Tunnel Jct ABS passing 47155 on the Wilsden service. The reason for the services being lost is the need to reclaim pointwork from the fiddle yard to be used on this..... Yes - it's offical, I've gone over to N gauge....I've deceided I like long trains and lots of scenery. This is the Calder Valley 1980-90ish and it will be a permanent layout in the attic which will eventually replace S&C 79-83. I'll probably start a new thread at some point although I've realised I'm not very good a giving day by day layout progress reports. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
branchie Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 You're not splitting the layout up are you?!? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60091 Posted August 21, 2015 Author Share Posted August 21, 2015 You're not splitting the layout up are you?!? Hi branchie Sorry for the late reply. I dont get the chance to visit the site as often as I'd like to these days.... The ultimate fate of the layout is still at least a year away. There's a possibility a friend , who,s also an S&C enthusiast, might take it but he's lately moved to a smaller house. Otherwise it will probably be dismantled...starting very gradually with the removal of a couple of fiddle yard tracks for the new layout. Nice to see Stewie!... Family Guy - one of the few shows on TV I try not to miss... and one of the very few that never fails to make me laugh. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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