Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[bgman]

4 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

it's the toilet window

 

Just need to install a sound decoder for added realism then ! 

 

Yours

 

T.Crapper

[St Enodoc]

11 hours ago, TrevorP1 said:

 

Just arrived at Burngullow Lane. Running in on the rollers this afternoon hopefully.

 

It's an impressive looking model - very black! To bring out the best I think some professional weathering is called for. 

Photos please!

 

Edit: Just spotted the one on Burngullow Lane. Nice!

Edited October 8, 2021 by St Enodoc

[St Enodoc]

Today I touched up the ballast where there were small gaps and left it to dry.

 

In the meantime I worked through the sequence until I reached train 549.

 

Tomorrow I plan to check the new track for any obstructions, using a four-wheeled wagon pushed along very gently so that I can feel any tiny bumps from stray ballast and clean them up. Once that's done and dusted (literally) the layout will be ready for our November running session. It might be time to do more on the St Enodoc lever frame next, especially if I can get to the car spares shop for some more red epoxy spray paint.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

On 07/10/2021 at 18:47, Nick Gough said:

The Zig-Zag Railway features in the new tv series of 'World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys' on UK Channel 5.

 

In the first episode, covering the 'Indian Pacific' train, from Sydney to Adelaide, they had a short sequence at the Zig-Zag. There was an interview with one of the engineers and covered their problems. One of the locomotives was shown in steam and running test trains from one end of the line to the other "before they can reopen to the public ."

 

I don't know whether it can be viewed down under but this is the link:

https://www.my5.tv/world-s-most-scenic-railway-journeys/season-5/episode-1-73e361d8-869d-44e0-a758-b91361d73409

 

On 07/10/2021 at 22:49, St Enodoc said:

Thanks Nick. I'll check the link. Even if it doesn't work, we often get that sort of programme over here on cable so I'll look out for it there too.

 

We took the IP all the way to Perth in 2012 - great fun. When circumstances permit we plan to ride the Ghan too.

Jumping back a bit, thanks for this pointer - I don’t often get control of our TV, but I’m up first this morning so have had a chance to have a watch: an enjoyable way to start my day off .

 

19 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

The Zig-Zag sequence was interesting for the fact that Top Points Signal Box and the station platforms there didn't appear which made me wonder if there is still a lot of reconstruction work required in that area?   Bottom Points 'signal box' appears in the background in several shots and looked to be in good condition.  If you're interested at all in the railway route and its history/associated railway things you might be disappointed because neither Valley Heights Preservation site, nor Leuralia Toy & Train Musum, nor the once important rail centre of  Lithgow don't get a mention at all

 

As I mentioned previously the continuity of the main IP run left quite a lot to be desired with the hilarious sight of 'rolling grasslands' an hour after starting and before the train reached the Blue Mountains 

Despite the shortcomings, I do enjoy this series.  I don’t watch these travelogue shows as a rule, but having the narrator off screen keeps the focus on the journey (plus you get Bill Nighy’s unique approach to pronunciation).

 

As for the journey, it’s not one I expect to ever take - after all, head West from here and you get to Caldy, but that’s another story…

 

Have a good weekend, Keith.

 

Edited October 9, 2021 by Keith Addenbrooke

[St Enodoc]

21 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

head West from here and you get to Caldy

The third mention of Caldy in just two weeks. Strange days...

[St Enodoc]

A rather hit-and-miss afternoon today.

 

First, I finished fettling the ballast, cleaned the rail heads again, applied some graphite and ran a few test trains over all the track and points in all directions, both chimney-first and bunker-first. That went well enough, the possession has been given up and the line been signed back into use.

 

I then ran some trains on the main line but running through the Branch platform at Porthmellyn Road for a change. That revealed a few vehicles that were prone to derailing, so I swapped them end-for-end in the time-honoured way, which cured most of them. Some weren't so easy to fix, all involving cam-operated close couplings. I like these where there is a rigid connection to pull the couplings across but where you have DGs or other non-rigid couplings they aren't so good. I think I'll gradually work round all those affected and remove the cam mechanism, fixing the couplings direct to the bogies in the old-fashioned way.

 

I still had some time left so I took out the 14xx, cleaned its wheels and tried that out too. This is an ancient Airfix body that I detailed more than 40 years ago and when the Airfix chassis gave up I fitted a newer Hornby one. One of the features of this mechanism is that the rear axle is supported by a fairly weak spring, which allows the loco to see-saw about the trailing drivers (the ones with the traction tyres). This gives a most peculiar appearance in motion, so I removed the spring and packed the rear axle so that the weight of the loco is carried on the two outer axles with the traction tyres barely touching the rails. There should still be enough tractive effort for the single autocoach on level track.

 

So far so good.

 

Getting it all back together was a right faff though. For the life of me, I couldn't get all the pickups in place at the same time to clip the keeper plate on. After nearly an hour of this, I cut the pickups off the traction-tyre axle altogether. That made things a bit easier but I think I've rather mangled the remaining pickups and they might not work as well as before. Anyway, I've brought the whole thing indoors so that I can have another go during the week.

 

As a result of all that I've done nothing else to the signal box but I hope to do a bit more this week during the evenings .

[St Enodoc]

After dinner, I straightened up 1419's pickups and also removed one of the thin plastic shims I'd used to pack the rear axle, which turned out to be just a tad too tight when I screwed all the bits back together. Apart from a slight limp, which has always been there with this chassis, everything is fine now and trials on the rolling road and test track were successful.

 

I'm tempted to remove the traction tyres altogether, as there's no risk now of the groove catching on point blades, but I think I'll leave them until they fall off of their own accord.

 

1419 and W187W can now sit in Polperran 8 road until there is somewhere for them to go to at Pentowan. Of course, they might make the odd trip up to St Enodoc and back, just because...

 

To stop them feeling lonely, I could finish detailing the GRCW SPC too, which has been on hold for a couple of years.

[Ashley Bridge]

2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

After dinner, I straightened up 1419's pickups and also removed one of the thin plastic shims I'd used to pack the rear axle, which turned out to be just a tad too tight when I screwed all the bits back together. Apart from a slight limp, which has always been there with this chassis, everything is fine now and trials on the rolling road and test track were successful.

 

I'm tempted to remove the traction tyres altogether, as there's no risk now of the groove catching on point blades, but I think I'll leave them until they fall off of their own accord.

 

1419 and W187W can now sit in Polperran 8 road until there is somewhere for them to go to at Pentowan. Of course, they might make the odd trip up to St Enodoc and back, just because...

 

To stop them feeling lonely, I could finish detailing the GRCW SPC too, which has been on hold for a couple of years.

GRCW. SPC ? Do tell?
 

Rich

[Oldddudders]

Gloucester Parcels Car?

[5BarVT]

1 hour ago, Ashley Bridge said:

GRCW. SPC ? Do tell?

Gloucester Railway and Carriage Works. Single Power Car.

i.e. Bubble Car class 122.

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

7 hours ago, Ashley Bridge said:

GRCW. SPC ? Do tell?
 

Rich

 

6 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Gloucester Parcels Car?

 

6 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Gloucester Railway and Carriage Works. Single Power Car.

i.e. Bubble Car class 122.

Paul.

What Paul said, although it wouldn't have become a class 122 until many years later (as Ian will appreciate!). I've no idea when they became known as bubble cars.

 

W55000 is from the first Dapol batch so the biggest task is to change the numbers to Gill Sans and move one of them to the right (in both senses) end. Destination blinds and a driver, plus a few other odds and ends with some dabs of paint here and there, will finish the job.

[Barry O]

19 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

 

 

What Paul said, although it wouldn't have become a class 122 until many years later (as Ian will appreciate!). I've no idea when they became known as bubble cars.

 

W55000 is from the first Dapol batch so the biggest task is to change the numbers to Gill Sans and move one of them to the right (in both senses) end. Destination blinds and a driver, plus a few other odds and ends with some dabs of paint here and there, will finish the job.

Shouldn't take long.. bit like borrowing real DMUs in Leeds many moons ago..

 

Baz

Edited October 11, 2021 by Barry O
spell flippin chuckr!

[The Stationmaster]

14 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

 

 

What Paul said, although it wouldn't have become a class 122 until many years later (as Ian will appreciate!). I've no idea when they became known as bubble cars.

 

W55000 is from the first Dapol batch so the biggest task is to change the numbers to Gill Sans and move one of them to the right (in both senses) end. Destination blinds and a driver, plus a few other odds and ends with some dabs of paint here and there, will finish the job.

'Bubble car' seems to be a much more modern term - they were always SPCs to us on the Western although the last time I had anything directly to do with them was in 1978 but they were still officially SPCs well into the 1980s when I was back in RHQ initially on Passenger Ops.

[5BarVT]

I used the term bubble car in the late 70s but that would have been unofficial speak.

Paul.

[5BarVT]

On 10/10/2021 at 21:54, St Enodoc said:

Destination blinds

How do (will) you do your destination blind?  Do you print your own or do you purchase from one of the 4mm sign makers?

Some of the blinds on sale are ‘interesting’ as they don’t match photos of the real thing and have modern destinations that wouldn’t have existed at the time the units were in service . . .

Paul.

[5BarVT]

On 09/10/2021 at 07:50, St Enodoc said:

In the meantime I worked through the sequence until I reached train 549.

A question about operating using sequence numbers and your Next Train display.

With both up trains and down trains, if you only operate the next train one at a time, does that mean that trains will not pass on the layout or do you have separate Next Up and Next Down displays?

Thinking about when you have Pentowan added, how will trains from Pentowan be sequenced so that they arrive at Porthmellyn at their right sequence slot?

If you guessed these questions are arising because I’m trying to think how I will sequence my layout, you wouldn’t be wrong!

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

17 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

How do (will) you do your destination blind?  Do you print your own or do you purchase from one of the 4mm sign makers?

Some of the blinds on sale are ‘interesting’ as they don’t match photos of the real thing and have modern destinations that wouldn’t have existed at the time the units were in service . . .

Paul.

Here's one I made earlier:

 

 

[St Enodoc]

11 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

A question about operating using sequence numbers and your Next Train display.

With both up trains and down trains, if you only operate the next train one at a time, does that mean that trains will not pass on the layout or do you have separate Next Up and Next Down displays?

Thinking about when you have Pentowan added, how will trains from Pentowan be sequenced so that they arrive at Porthmellyn at their right sequence slot?

If you guessed these questions are arising because I’m trying to think how I will sequence my layout, you wouldn’t be wrong!

Paul.

Paul, the train numbers run in strict sequence (obviously) with no distinction between Up and Down, Main and Branch, etc. Friday runs from 1 to 145 and Saturday from 501 to 666 so that we know which day it is (increasingly difficult at our age...).

 

The number corresponds to the point in the sequence at which the train starts its journey, no matter where from. The idea is that when a train does start, we advance the display so that everyone knows what comes next. The actual despatching and regulation is down to the yardmasters and signalmen (and, to a lesser extent the drivers). If it all gets out of hand the Fat Controller steps in.

 

Here's a copy of our current sequence. The missing numbers are for Branch trains that don't appear yet.

 

wtt mid cornwall 1952-1957-1958 draft 10a stage 4 main line, railbus, clay master.xlsx

[St Enodoc]

On 05/10/2021 at 10:46, St Enodoc said:

No good. Even though I repaired the muff, it was too far gone to hold the wheels firmly. I'll have to wait until I get some spares (which are on their way, together with a replacement motor mount and bracket for the T9).

The spares arrived today (from Peter's Spares, for those who hadn't guessed - usual disclaimer) so I hope to get 7905 back in service this weekend. Mind you, now that our stay-at-home regulations have been relaxed I won't have so much train time as in recent months. Haircut Friday morning, dinner out Friday night, cinema Sunday afternoon - I'll be glad to get home for a rest after that lot.

[St Enodoc]

2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

The spares arrived today (from Peter's Spares, for those who hadn't guessed - usual disclaimer) so I hope to get 7905 back in service this weekend. Mind you, now that our stay-at-home regulations have been relaxed I won't have so much train time as in recent months. Haircut Friday morning, dinner out Friday night, cinema Sunday afternoon - I'll be glad to get home for a rest after that lot.

It only took ten minutes to restore 7905 to health. I tested it on the test track and then on the layout, including a challenging combination of points and slips at fairly high speed. It's running better now than it has for many moons. I only changed the one muff - I'll adopt a "fix on failure" philosophy for these I think.

 

A tip for anyone using these spares - gently run a knife blade round the end of the square hole to create a bit of a lead for pushing the stub axle in.

[5BarVT]

9 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

The actual despatching and regulation is down to the yardmasters and signalmen (and, to a lesser extent the drivers). If it all gets out of hand the Fat Controller steps in.

Many thanks for the explanation.

Perhaps I need to be patient and get some running experience with intelligent dispatch (i.e. me) before trying to automate the complete sequence.  That, though, needs a more complete layout . . .

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

21 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Many thanks for the explanation.

Perhaps I need to be patient and get some running experience with intelligent dispatch (i.e. me) before trying to automate the complete sequence.  That, though, needs a more complete layout . . .

Paul.

Have you looked at @john dew's Granby Junction topic? He has automated his sequence. I can't remember what system he uses because it's all way above my head but it might give you some ideas.

[5BarVT]

8 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Have you looked at @john dew's Granby Junction topic? He has automated his sequence. I can't remember what system he uses because it's all way above my head but it might give you some ideas.

Oh Yes!  I have Traincontroller Gold as he does.  He has automated sequences triggered from a manual input which I have done successfully.  It’s the next stage that I’m overthinking - push a ‘big button’ at the start and sit back while the sequence happens.  It may well be that I what I think is the holy grail would actually be boring when I get there!

Perhaps I should scale my ambitions back to something that keeps me involved.
I got Traincontroller initially as something I could use to do the interlocking and panel diagram for me.  I have since moved on to wanting a lever frame (well switches actually) and GWR 20s and 30s signals (the latter being Clive Mortimer's fault!).  But having got the programme I found that its inbuilt interlocking properties manage most of what I need and that its ATO abilities are attracting me more and more.
All of which is (will be) an excuse to avoid scenery . . .

Good job there’s room for all types in this hobby!
Paul.

[St Enodoc]

41 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Oh Yes!  I have Traincontroller Gold as he does.  He has automated sequences triggered from a manual input which I have done successfully.  It’s the next stage that I’m overthinking - push a ‘big button’ at the start and sit back while the sequence happens.  It may well be that I what I think is the holy grail would actually be boring when I get there!

Perhaps I should scale my ambitions back to something that keeps me involved.
I got Traincontroller initially as something I could use to do the interlocking and panel diagram for me.  I have since moved on to wanting a lever frame (well switches actually) and GWR 20s and 30s signals (the latter being Clive Mortimer's fault!).  But having got the programme I found that its inbuilt interlocking properties manage most of what I need and that its ATO abilities are attracting me more and more.
All of which is (will be) an excuse to avoid scenery . . .

Good job there’s room for all types in this hobby!
Paul.

Sounds good, Paul. If I were a lone wolf, I'd think seriously about having a system that would run the trains while I just sat in the signal box pulling the levers - rather like some of the simulations that are available but with trains you can actually touch and feel.

[Denbridge]

29 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Sounds good, Paul. If I were a lone wolf, I'd think seriously about having a system that would run the trains while I just sat in the signal box pulling the levers - rather like some of the simulations that are available but with trains you can actually touch and feel.

Have you seen McKinley railway on you tube?

They use computer control for trains on the mainline as well as entering/leaving the stations, with operators handling train make up, breakdown etc manually. Impressive stuff.