Grantham - the Streamliner years

[ROY@34F]

"Robert",

I like your north box,captures it very well;But the windows were 4 panes deep,and on the door end 5 deep,as I'm sure you're aware.As always of course,a bit of compromise when using kit parts to speed things up a bit.I'm thinking of trying to make windows,hopefully like those on P/Boro' North layout,which were made of course by the expert,Peter Layland.

Like you,I can't find any views of the box from the rear,but I did't think the windows went all the way across.Just a fair way in from each end,with brick in the middle where the fire/chimney was.It would be nice if someone could clarify this.

Kind regards,Roy.

[LNER4479]

Thanks Roy,

 

Yes, I know the windows aren't deep enough (they're not on my representation of Yard Box either incidentally!). However, I'm fairly certain on the positioning of the stove/chimney. Three pieces of evidence and one deduction led me to depict it as I did, as follows:

 

There's a picture in the Cawston book of an Atlantic by the west side of the box. Unfortunately, the loco itself hides most of the box structure(!); however the roof can be clearly seen, along with the chimney which is at one end, as I have depicted it.

 

Secondly, John (61070) posted some lovely pictures of the inside of the box some while ago on his 'Returning to Grantham' thread on the LNER forum. On the basis that they are publically available on that site (if you know where to look!) I hope John won't mind me posting them again here (one cropped slightly):

 

These clearly show that the windows were continuous on the west side - my 'deduction' therefore is that this was necessary to give the signalman an unimpeded view of movements over that side. However, the stove had to go somewhere(!) hence the corner (about the only bit of the inside that cannot be clearly determined from John's (father's) photos. In the Cawston book, there appears to be a second stove pipe coming through the roof at the other end - were there therefore two stoves, one at each end? In the above pictures, it looks like the stove (and pipe) has been moved to the centre (different from LNER days)?

 

Finally, there is a picture of Grantham North box at the very end (1970's) on this website http://tillyweb.biz/abcw/granthamnth1.jpg which again shows the brick chimney to be in the place I have depicted it, so I'm fairly certain about that detail at least.

 

One other detail that I've since realised was different between LNER and BR days was that the signalbox nameboard was white lettering on a dark (black?) background in my era so I need to re-do those!

 

I've posted my pic again to allow direct comparison, as we're on a new page.

 

Hope this helps?

Edited November 11, 2013 by LNER4479

[gr.king]

 

Those wheels were also lined by hand. I must be mad!

Don't worry, there are plenty of us lunatics about. I upgraded my older Hornby B17 and D49 in a fairly similar way too.

 

As you may see elsewhere, I think I've now devised an almost zero-cost solution to the problem of making necessary items of my rolling stock "Kadee compatible" for convenient operation on Grantham.

Edited November 11, 2013 by gr.king

[ROY@34F]

Thanks "Robert".I'm really glad to be proved wrong actually.I must have seen the pictures in John's thread,but forgot.

Thanks again .That's more or less settled it.

Roy.

[LNER4479]

As you may see elsewhere, I think I've now devised an almost zero-cost solution to the problem of making necessary items of my rolling stock "Kadee compatible" for convenient operation on Grantham.

Duly 'clocked' - thanks. Looking forward to seeing them 'in action'!

[Barry O]

quite cunning that Mr King!

[LNER4479]

Mrs4479 has just referred it as a 'bodged' coupling   Shh - don't tell 3279...(!)

[Barry O]

califudged may be more appropriate...

[gr.king]

I'm almost tempted to change my user-name to Bodger, but it would only cause confusion.

[61070]

Secondly, John (61070) posted some lovely pictures of the inside of the box some while ago on his 'Returning to Grantham' thread on the LNER forum. On the basis that they are publically available on that site (if you know where to look!) I hope John won't mind me posting them again here ...

 

I don't mind at all Robert - it's good to see the pictures being useful as reference points for your model of Grantham North box.  The Inspector standing behind signalman Albert Eldridge is Phil Craft.  Following the recent festival featuring No.4468 at Grantham Phil's son got in touch, recalling a period when he enjoyed the benefits of having a Station Inspector as a father:  "It takes me back to many Sunday afternoons spent pulling the levers in North Box, and being privileged enough to be able to go on the footplate of most of the iconic engines, including Mallard, when they were in the loco.  I even remember a trip to Boston sat on the open back of a goods guards van."

...and who's that on the left in school cap and short trousers with long socks - hitched to the proper height I'm glad to see?  My first - and perhaps only - appearance in the hallowed pages of RMweb!

Edited November 13, 2013 by 61070

[LNER4479]

I had a suspicion that might be you, John! Excellent

[Flying Fox 34F]

Here is 'Osprey' back in service at Grantham

 

IMG_8181.JPG

Not quite sure how she's ended up on the Pullmans, being a Grantham engine, but there you go. Tom's subtle weathering show's up well I think

 

You might also notice something else 'new' in this picture...

 

IMG_8182.JPG

This creation of North Box has come about from the fusion of two Knightwing kits, using the window parts left over from the creation of Yard Box. North box was a double-sided box (ie windows both sides) so two sets of Knightwing windows were required. Although not wholly accurate, and lacking the fine-ness that comes from the use of an etched assembly, it will do for now. Pictures of it from this elevation have been almost impossible to come by, so I hope the Grantham regulars will forgive any inaccuracies. Steps have since been added, and there's still a few more painting details to do (eg the roof of the out-building!)

 

IMG_8178.JPG

This is the view from the depot operating position and the box certainly adds to this scene. It looked a bit bare without it.

 

IMG_8165.JPG

Finally (and completely unrelated to any of the above), the sun was shining in yesterday morning and caught the B17 full on broadside   Those wheels were also lined by hand. I must be mad!

Graham,

As per usual i love the work you are doing. I have been pondering your comment about pictures of the westside of Grantham North box. I have managed to locate a suitable photo taken in 1962. You need to look in a copy of "The Eastern Before Beeching", page 35. It shows the locking room wall to have had alot of brickwork renewed or windows filled in! The nameboard is even in the correct colours as you portray. Mind you the photo you referred to does show white painted letters with Mr King's Atlantic. I hope this helps

Paul

[cornish trains jez]

Graham,

As per usual i love the work you are doing. I have been pondering your comment about pictures of the westside of Grantham North box. I have managed to locate a suitable photo taken in 1962. You need to look in a copy of "The Eastern Before Beeching", page 35. It shows the locking room wall to have had alot of brickwork renewed or windows filled in! The nameboard is even in the correct colours as you portray. Mind you the photo you referred to does show white painted letters with Mr King's Atlantic. I hope this helps

Paul

 

Great find. I also have this book and have just checked out the photo. Excellent shot of the West side!

[LNER4479]

You need to look in a copy of "The Eastern Before Beeching", page 35.

 

Great find. I also have this book and have just checked out the photo. Excellent shot of the West side!

Thanks guys! Not one in my collection, so I'll need to have a scout round. Thanks for the tip off.

 

Anyhow, that's enough on signal boxes for now. Lovely structures as they are, no use having a signal box if there's no railway to 'signal'...

 

Been looking forward to this. The eagle-eyed might have noticed trains using the east bay (the old platform 1); however, this was only temporarily laid track. Time to fix it down for keeps...

 

A few hours later, and here is the cork all fixed down. This is 1/8th inch (3mm) cork, which is the best match for the track running onto the adjacent line laid on the Peco foam. Simply glued down with Evo-stik (other makes of wood adhesive are available), with pins tacked in place (where it has a tendency to curl or bubble up) while it sets.

 

Glue set (and pins removed), now I'm painting it dark grey (nothing more sophisticated than kids water-based paints from Early Learning Centre! ) as a base covering (and a 'will do for now' look until I get round to ballasting)

 

Here's some of the pointwork getting a spray of Matt 29 as a base track colour (I subsequently spray Tamiya red brown (TS1) on the sleepers as well)

 

With the paint dry, I scrape away the top surface and clean up with a track rubber before laying.

 

Here I've marked the position of the points and am drilling the slots for the point motor actuating pins.

 

Finally(!), we're ready. Ah, happiness is a drill, hammer and a pack of track pins...

 

(to be continued)

Edited November 16, 2013 by LNER4479

[Guest 2750]

Thanks guys! Not one in my collection, so I'll need to have a scout round. Thanks for the tip off.

 

I have a copy, if you can hold off until the 7th, I will bring it along.

[Barry O]

Robert - perhaps the use of an electric mini drill would speed up pin fitting?

 

Looks good and that should make life a lot easier when operating the layout.. keep on tracking!

[Flying Fox 34F]

Its good to see your simple track painting method. Far easier than hand painting when fixed in place. Have you done anything to the pointwork to improve the electrical connections with the switch rails. I know in the past that the tabs that Peco use can be a pain!

[LNER4479]

Robert - perhaps the use of an electric mini drill would speed up pin fitting?

I do usually use a mini drill Barry, but I only had a few pins to knock in on this occasion and it's a bit of a faff to set up the power supply (for the mini drill)!

 

Have you done anything to the pointwork to improve the electrical connections with the switch rails. I know in the past that the tabs that Peco use can be a pain!

Over many years of using Peco track, I've always found that direct contact between point blade and the rail is usually enough to provide the electrical connection (bearing in mind the Peco points use an over-centre spring, so the point blade is always being pressed against the rail). On the odd occasion where it doesn't work, a quick clean of the inside face of the rail/blade with a piece of emery paper usually does the trick. I regard the tabs as very much secondary.

[LNER4479]

To continue (and in fact finish) the account of the track gang's efforts in the east bay area...

 

Having laid the pointwork immediately adjacent to the up main, the sidings (well, more spurs to be truthful) to the north end (right hand side) are in place

 

This shows the trailing connections to the up main that were swept away when the platform was extended and the north junctions simplified. But they are extant in my version and will be used for attaching/detaching the odd horse box to/from the rear of southbound trains.

 

Finished! Platform one and adjacent horsebox/parcels van loading siding are prominent in this view. The crossover is - ahem - a figment of my imagination as I don't believe that one existed in the pre-war era (if ever at all). However, it is needed for operational reasons due to the significant compression that has had to take place in this area (see below). Despite the compression, it looks as I'll have enough room to portray one or two of the motley collection of huts that inhabited the area to the right of and beyond the loading siding.

 

The D2 demonstrates the typical train length that this bay platform will be able to handle (ie not very much!) Any longer and the end of the train will be off the platform on arrival - not ideal where non-corridor stock is involved! You might note from the previous picture that I have shortened the Peco buffer stop to squeeze the maximum length possible out of this road.

 

There now follows a demonstration of how this is all intended to work. Grantham operators please note (I shall say zis only vonce)

 

The D2 arrives in off the up main (let's say from Boston?) whilst the J52 waits by to assist with the shunt. Apparently, there was a station pilot duty allocated for this area...

 

The train slows to a stop underneath the canopy that used to cover platform 1 (until it collapsed under the weight of the winter 1947 snows!). The horsebox demonstrates where...er...horseboxes will be handled!

 

If platform 4 (the west bay) is free then the pilot will simply transfer the stock over to there and the engine release is straightforward. However, in this scenario, the stock will return (to Boston) from platform 1 so the pilot has instead drawn the stock off clear of the 'fantasy' crossover, allowing the D2 to free itself.

 

The J52 has placed the stock back in the platform and returned to its starting point. The D2 can now move into position ready to get away to shed. Although not fully apparent in this view, the J52 and the train is too long to clear the crossover that the D2 is traversing, hence the extra crossover.

 

Finally, the D2 reverses out across both up and down main in one straight move (thus minimising disruption to trains doing roundy-roundies)

 

 

Right - just needs a signal or two to complement all this...

Edited November 21, 2013 by LNER4479

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Outstanding! I really must try and get to see this. I wouldn't mind if there were no trains running, I could just admire the track all day....

[Barry O]

Robert

 

that looks great - and at last some Computer Based Training(!). But that crossover makes all the difference..

 

Best regards

 

Barry O

[manna]

G'Day Gents

 

A totally plausable explaination, I suppose in real life the headshunt was 300yds long !!!

 

manna

[LNER4479]

I wouldn't mind if there were no trains running, I could just admire the track all day....

O there'll be trains running all right

(at Nottingham the plan is for various slow speed shunting moves back and forward to show that stock can still run satisfactorily over butchered modified Peco pointwork)

 

A totally plausable explaination, I suppose in real life the headshunt was 300yds long !!!

Exactly! It's a sobering thought that, despite having a fantastic total space at my disposal, the reality is that the whole area I'm depicting is approx. 50% of the length it should be. So it's not surprising that the east bay area has ended up a little squeezed. Should have done it in N gauge ... (well, perhaps not!)

[gr.king]

Potential North Box operator now getting a bit worried. Can you just explain "the bit about the things" again?

 

As for horseboxes, Jonanthan likes those. I'm sure he ought to specialise in attaching and detaching them.......

[jwealleans]

Did someone say 'horseboxes'? You can never have too many, you know...

 

I may be too busy fiddling with myself round the back to be involved in any detaching malarkey. Once we have a proper goods yard, though, I'm your man.