Banbury in N scale - A great time at the Abingdon in March 2024

[Fat Controller]

Ah, so the IKA's are the Tiphook wagons then?

 

Ben A psoted the sem link but when I looked I htought they were a different type - I am not bery much up on modern (ish) wagons these days but improving with all the ones I have had to pick up on for Banbury.

 

Yes those would be of use Brian but when i would get round to scratch buildeing them I am not so sure, as pelnty of other items to do first. Its taken me 8 months to get these covered wagons to this point!

 

Ian

It might be worth checking with the NGS to see if they have any plans for a kit; Ben A might know.

[Guest billS]

I have seen the Didcot - Mossend wagonload service go through Banbury at about 9 o'clock several times recently. Every time I have seen it it consists of a long rake of loaded car/van carriers with a few MOD wagons tacked on the back. There are also sometimes some TTAs on it. The MOD wagons are usually vans and container flats, with the occasional open.

 

Have you modelled this train?

 

Are the car flats always on the service, and are any other types of wagon conveyed other than the types I have seen?

[roundhouse]

Yes we have modelled two MOD trains based on photos we have taken at Banbury on two separate Friday mornings.

 

Both modelled by Mike, one of our operators.

 

First one is flats with the MOD red/ maroon containers and a VGA at each end of the train hauled by an EWS 66. The containers are produced by C - Rail Intermodal. Still need a few more to complete this.

 

The second train we have done is much longer and is old containers with their previous owners names painted out. Has a bogie bolster at the rear, hauled by an EWS class 67.

 

 

 

Yet to model the Ddicot Mossend service. I have seen video of this service and it had car flats on it loaded up but not been at Banbury that late to see it myself.

[beast66606]

Yet to model the Ddicot Mossend service. I have seen video of this service and it had car flats on it loaded up but not been at Banbury that late to see it myself.

 

The few times I stayed late it also stayed late and aside from a fairly poor shot across the fields, I never caught it.

 

According to a rumour I heard recently the Banbury boxes will close next year (stress, rumour)

[roundhouse]

I guessed that the boxes would soon be on borrowed time considering the level of traffic on this route nowadays.

 

WIll be a shame but thats progress. Glad I have taken many photos of the signals and boxes whilst building the layout.

 

No doubt I will be making a fair few visits before any such changes take place. Theres enough good pubs in town to make it worth while!!

 

Ian

[Guest billS]

ok - for the record Didcot - Mossend wagonload consists:

 

15/6/2012 - single decker wagons with vans/cars - double decker wagons with cars - 2 x empty container flats - VGA van - 2 x empty container flats

19/6/2012 - single decker wagons with vans/cars - double decker wagons with cars - 1 x railfreight red OCA - 3 x VGA vans - 3 x TTA - 1 x empty container flats

25/7/2012- single decker wagons with vans/cars - double decker wagons with cars - 5 x VGA vans- 1 x railfreight red OCA - 3 x VGA vans

27/7/2012-single decker wagons with vans/cars - double decker wagons with cars - 1 x container flat with one container, 1 x empty Warwell, 2 x empty container flats 1 x VGA van

 

Mossend - Didcot wagonload

 

28/7/2012 - empty double decker coar transporters, 17x VGA vans

Edited July 30, 2012 by billS

[beast66606]

Here's my poor shot of 6X65.

 

Bishops Itchington

24 May 2011

66145 and 66144 on 6X65, 19:43, Didcot Yard - Mossend wagon load

[roundhouse]

Thanks for the photo - not a bad one considering its late in the evening.

 

Will have to see what wagons I can get to make up this service. car transporters not the easiest hting ot get in N scale but the rest should be possible.

 

Ian

[Revolution Ben]

Hi Ian

 

Aha! The steel wagons you want for modern day operations are the shorter French built ones coded IHA and seen here:

 

http://ukrailwaypics.smugmug.com/UKRailRollingstock/I/IHA/16165744_nLqp2L#!i=1881154041&k=xf2sQv5&lb=1&s=A

 

In case you haven't seen it, there is a pretty decent model of a similar type available from Modelbahnunion. It's actually of a larger prototype but scaled to 1:160 so doesn't look too bad, though it does benefit from having 1:148 scale bogies fitted.

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[roundhouse]

Thanks Ben

 

I have just received a package from ModelbahnUnion (Tomix couplings for the Farish Chiltern Clubmans so I can hopefully close couple and multiple them) so will get one of those wagons and see how they perform on the layout.

 

Very tempted to order the Dapol class 67 Diamond Jubilee from them aswell but it ain't cheap!

 

Ian

Edited June 25, 2012 by roundhouse

[roundhouse]

Hi Ian

 

Aha! The steel wagons you want for modern day operations are the shorter French built ones coded IHA and seen here:

 

http://ukrailwaypics...f2sQv5&lb=1&s=A

 

In case you haven't seen it, there is a pretty decent model of a similar type available from Modelbahnunion. It's actually of a larger prototype but scaled to 1:160 so doesn't look too bad, though it does benefit from having 1:148 scale bogies fitted.

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

 

Ben

 

I had a look on their website. They are out of one type but not another. However they look much the same to me so not sure if they are or not the same wagons.

By chance I was in Gaugmaster at the weekend and they had f the Railion ones in red for £54.00 a pair so if these are correct I can order from them.

 

Over the weekend I received my second set of decals for the DRS class 47 which I had put one decal on upside down and didnt notice till the following morning! (no, I hadnt been on the ale either). The loco now has both Compass logos on the correct way round and also the orange cantrail lining which took most of yesterday morning to get right. Now it just needs the small white loco numbers adding but so far haven't found any the correct size as they are smaller than the Fox class 20 ones.

 

A new farish class 66 in bardon agreggates freightliner livery was obtained at the weekend and now has a decoder fitted and weathered.

 

A bit more work done of some wagons but thats it for now till Santa Barbara has been out to Moors Valley in July 2012.

 

Banbury has just received the invite for Ally Pally next March, so quite a few shows coming up for the layout.

 

Ian

Edited June 25, 2012 by roundhouse

[roundhouse]

After working on some older layouts attention is now turning onto Banbury. The fiddle yard modifications carried out so far and tested last weekend when used on Santa Barbara appear to have reduced the number of derailments on the curves. Also the installation of Hex Frog Juicers on some turnouts that were problematic when Bnbury was last exhibited, are now much more reliable.

 

The last substantial remaining structures to be modelled which are the modular Ports-cabin type structures that will be At the front of the layout wil be started very shortly. Now that the Chiltern 168 units are working much more reliably after having the trucks hard wired to the decoder attention will turn to close coupling them using Tomix Delner couplings.

 

I will post some more photos of the progress as it happens.

next show is Silverfox in August 2012,

 

Ian

[Eggesford box]

The few times I stayed late it also stayed late and aside from a fairly poor shot across the fields, I never caught it.

 

According to a rumour I heard recently the Banbury boxes will close next year (stress, rumour)

2015 is the last date/rumour we have heard for the Banbury boxes closing

[roundhouse]

Will be a shame to see the boxes and semaphores go but at least we have about three years left to enjoy them!

 

That reminds me, I must do the two new semaphores south of platforms one and two.

[Eggesford box]

Hi.

 

took a few quick shots of the backs of the new semaphores as I presume you have plenty from the front. Off on annual leave after tonight for a week, yipee!

Day trips out with the kids Dohh!

PS, worked Banbury South earlier in the week when said 6X65 left a track circuit down behind it at Somerton, enjoying the box was not a word that sprung to mind!

Edited July 28, 2012 by Eggesford box

[roundhouse]

Thabks David

 

The safety cages are more elaborate than I thought. Not quite sure how I will model thm but microstrip is probably the only way.

 

Ian

[TheSignalEngineer]

Hi.

 

took a few quick shots of the backs of the new semaphores as I presume you have plenty from the front. Off on annual leave after tonight for a week, yipee!

Day trips out with the kids Dohh!

PS, worked Banbury South earlier in the week when said 6X65 left a track circuit down behind it at Somerton, enjoying the box was not a word that sprung to mind!

 

A far cry from those old LNW and Midland wooden 60 footers, some without even a hoop on the ladder, from my early days on the railway. Most of the GW ones were not so high but still hair raising like the one bolted to the side of Oxley Viaduct, though that did have a ladder cage.

[Eggesford box]

Not a problem with those signals since they are electrically lit but on the odd occasion I have lamped a signal with a safety cage up the ladder I found that you where likely to crack your elbow/humerus as you climbed up with the lamp in one hand. Health and safety I suppose but I think they are ugly to look at and just make lamping more awkward. Fortunately I no longer do that job.

Edited July 29, 2012 by Eggesford box

[roundhouse]

I often nearly knock myself out on scaffolding sometimes as you cant always see a scaffold tube with a hard had lip. Mind you its safer to hit your head on the scaffold with a hard hat on than not wearing one!!

 

I have now made a start on those two signals. The Ratio square post kits have had their posts rounded using a file. Next is to mount htem on a base as per one of Davids photos then make a start on the safety platforms.

 

I have now drawn up the Chiltern Railways 'portacabin' type offices so a start on constructing them will be made in the next few days.

 

The main task today was to modIify the Farish twin container flats. These have a habit of coming apart even on plain track. I have drilled a hole in the hook part of the intermediate coupling, insered a piece of thin brass strip, then bend t under the hook section. This now semi permanently couples the two parts of the vehicles.

 

The photos below probably show this clearer.

[The Stationmaster]

Not a problem with those signals since they are electrically lit but on the odd occasion I have lamped a signal with a safety cage up the ladder I found that you where likely to crack your elbow/humerus as you climbed up with the lamp in one hand. Health and safety I suppose but I think they are ugly to look at and just make lamping more awkward. Fortunately I no longer do that job.

Sorry to go off topic but it is interesting to hear that the subject of safety cages on ladders is now getting some attention in the H&S world - where some folk are identifying them as a greater hazard and potential source of injury than not having them

[TheSignalEngineer]

Sorry to go off topic but it is interesting to hear that the subject of safety cages on ladders is now getting some attention in the H&S world - where some folk are identifying them as a greater hazard and potential source of injury than not having them

 

From the photos it looks as if the platforms on those signals wouldn't even qualify as 'working at height'

[roundhouse]

I reckon that the safety platform is only about 5 - 6 feet off the ground so the safety cages do seem well over the top and make it very hard to model aswell!!

[roundhouse]

One other project I have been working on is adding the coal loads to the HYA wagons. One rake will run empty heading Norht and the other will be full heading towards Didcot.

 

I started off building a false floor out of plasticard but then decided this was too fiddly and the latest method is to cut the foam (redundant bits for the foam stock trays in cases) to size and shape, push them into each section of the hopper. A layer of PVA is then added and the very fine coal is sprinkeld on top to rough profile of the coal load.

 

Next, a dluted mixture of PVA is added as per the common technique for ballasting. Finally the last layer of coal is sprinked on top. The wagon is then left to dry overnight.

 

A couplr of shots of the finished wagons done so far. 21 one of them will be done to make up the laoded train.

Edited July 30, 2012 by roundhouse

[The Stationmaster]

An overhead view which might be useful for you Ian -

 

[roundhouse]

Mike

 

Thanks for that. I have seen this style of loaded coal and some with it filled up more but the top flattened off.

 

I have followed the style in your photo although its not that obvious in my photos. I suspect it varies at each loading terminal.

 

Ian

Edited July 30, 2012 by roundhouse