Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[Coach bogie]

Here is my A10 nearing completion. Note mine has the later roof vent configuration. One vent from each compartment was removed in the 1920's. I also put later bogies on as many received 9ft plate in the 1930's. This kit, too came from a bereavement sale, with castings missing needing new bogies anyway.  Width spacers are a must on these coaches as it is so easy to push the sides in. The roof has been assembled with a false ceiling with arc spacers to prevent sagging. Later kits had a brass roof. I glue my roof down as I have only had to remove a handful of roof sections over the years. Note also the toilet window which usually had an inner frame with an opening top section. My BR images all have them, though it could have been replaced.

 

In the past I had the Mallard kits for both the A10 and 11, bought in the days when I went for any GWR coach kit. I sold them on as my research increased as it is a challenge in finding a train to use it on. Comps were preferred to the West with the Birmingham and Wales route route mainly using all first.  Apart from boat trains, I know of only one train, to the West that had a regular first in the consist, the 16:30 to Plymouth which was usually an A13. This one will be used in a Paddington- Weston train that ran via Devizes. My excuse is Devizes is shut for track maintenance and the through corridor trains are reversing at Westbury. I asked David Geen why he did not produce the A13 as it is the only steel service stock toplight from that period missing from his range. The answer was they were not used in any of the train formations in his period using the genuine working timetables he has.

 

I look forward to seeing the finished item on your impressive layout.

 

My container arrives this week so coach building should resume, in Brisbane, when I can find some flux.

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

 

 

[BWsTrains]

2 hours ago, Coach bogie said:

This one will be used in a Paddington- Weston train that ran via Devizes. My excuse is Devizes is shut for track maintenance and the through corridor trains are reversing at Westbury.

 

Coming from W-s-M going to Uni in London (IC) this brings back an interesting long-lost and strong memories. Going home one weekend half-term and knowing the route well enough I was disturbed to find myself in unknown territory when my Weston bound train did much as you described. It was getting dark so probably late Feb and my concerns grew as the scenery disappeared to black. Finally back home it took a long time for me to find out the why/ wheres.

 

Suffered similar mystery tours when travelling back from Weston to Crewe then Wilmslow after weekends at home pre-uni. Long detours via Newport for trackworks and then an obscure and 11 hour route up the border which still escapes me!

 

Thx for the memory jog. Do give me a heads up if you come to Melbourne, we may share a long distant relative! Some of my troup inserted a "t" in the family name, as well as every schoolteacher I ever had.

 

Colin

Edited September 5, 2022 by BWsTrains

[St Enodoc]

On 25/08/2022 at 08:05, St Enodoc said:

Two pairs (one for now, one for Ron...) of 14xx traction tyres are now on their way from Yorkshire for a very reasonable price - thanks Andy @acg5324!

The tyres arrived today - many thanks Andy!

 

I'll report back when I've had a chance to fit them.

[St Enodoc]

On 04/09/2022 at 18:20, St Enodoc said:

The bracketed Up Home (20/21) from the Wheal Veronica branch is missing. That's because one of the wires that operate the bracket arm fell out and I couldn't get it to go back in and stay in, so I'll have to make up some new wires with longer tails.

I repaired 20/21 signal tonight - a little more fiddly than building it in the first place. I think that the reason it fell apart was that the pivot pin for one of the cranks had worked loose, allowing the wire to fall out. This time round I used longer tails and squeezed the ends flat to hold them in. A drop of solvent at the back and I think all should be well.

 

I'll darken the new wires with a felt-tip pen and install the signal at the weekend.

Edited September 8, 2022 by St Enodoc
speling

[St Enodoc]

Having woken to the sad but, to be honest, not surprising news this morning, I didn't feel the urge to do much to the layout.

 

 

However, I did instal 20/21 and 27 signals and also fitted a temporary fence to the front of St Enodoc Down end.

 

Finally, I cut back still further the baseboard edge at the Up end of Porthmellyn Road. This isn't to create a significantly wider gangway but to allow me to extend the scenery on the Branch side, giving more protection to the track, trains and signals.

[45568]

Hi John,

              Another wagon from Amanda Moger, the rebuilt wooden 'Grano'. Possibly of interest?

 

 

Cheers from WA,

Peter C.

 

 

[St Enodoc]

1 minute ago, 45568 said:

Hi John,

              Another wagon from Amanda Moger, the rebuilt wooden 'Grano'. Possibly of interest?

 

 

Cheers from WA,

Peter C.

 

 

Thanks - looks good.

 

Yes, there are quite a number on her list that are "possibly of interest"! I've got a couple of K's kits of the later version, one running and one not yet built, which is probably enough to be going on with at the moment.

[Coach bogie]

23 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I've got a couple of K's kits of the later version, one running and one not yet built, which is probably enough to be going on with at the moment.

I have brought a couple to build myself. I am tempted by the older ones though I will have yet to find an excuse to them as they usually ran between Birkenhead and Wrexham. Special grain consignment from the Channel Islands due into Weymouth is favourite.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[Sharky]

On 04/09/2022 at 18:20, St Enodoc said:

 

 

 

How'd them buses pass each other on such a narrow bridge??? 🤔 

[St Enodoc]

The next step to getting the signals working is to build the relay modules that will interface between the 9V dc points/signals power supply from the lever frame and the 1.5V dc regulated supply to the memory wire actuators.

 

There will be 18 working signals (8 disc is a dummy, as you will recall), so today I made up the relay module bases for these - a simple but repetitive job.

 

The choccy blocks are screwed to the bases, the relays are hot-glued and the hole is for a screw to fix the module to a convenient L-girder or joist. Once they're wired up I can instal them in groups under the layout then connect them both to the lever frame and the signals.

[St Enodoc]

1 minute ago, Sharky said:

 

How'd them buses pass each other on such a narrow bridge??? 🤔 

They don't. That's why they've stayed in the same place for months...

[St Enodoc]

Today I added the internal wiring to the signal relay modules.

 

The brown and blue wires carry the power to and from the relay coil, while the orange wires are the positive signal power feed that is switched by the relay contacts. The violet wires are the negative signal power return and are just looped together. There's a freewheel diode across the relay coil.

 

I had time to fit the modules to the layout but not to connect them up. I decided to fit them in four groups:

 

Up end, new baseboard;

 

Up end, original baseboard (this was a bit dark so there's a bit of camera shake - sorry!);

 

Down end, original baseboard;

 

and Down end, new baseboard.

 

Next Saturday we have our next regular running session, so I won't be doing any more before that, so the signals will still be purely scenic this time.

 

[St Enodoc]

A parcel has arrived from Hatton's with a Bachmann banner repeater in it, which will be made to work as the Treloggan Junction Up Branch Starting Signal repeater (just where the branch disappears through the bridge and the backscene to Polperran).

 

@Clive Mortimore will be delighted to know that, to make the postage worthwhile, the parcel also included two second-hand EFE Southern National coaches. One is yet another Bristol LS in cream/green livery on a Royal Blue service and the other is a Duple-bodied half cab AEC Regal III, also in cream/green. Possibly both are slightly out of period but they look nice. Not quite sure yet which bridge(s) they'll clog up.

Edited September 14, 2022 by St Enodoc

[Clive Mortimore]

15 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

A parcel has arrived from Hatton's with a Bachmann banner repeater in it, which will be made to work as the Treloggan Junction Up Branch Starting Signal repeater (just where the branch disappears through the bridge and the backscene to Polperran).

 

@Clive Mortimore will be delighted to know that, to make the postage worthwhile, the parcel also included two second-hand EFE Southern National coaches. One is yet another Bristol LS in cream/green livery on a Royal Blue service and the other is a Duple-bodied half cab AEC Regal III, also in cream/green. Possibly both are slightly out of period but they look nice. Not quite sure yet which bridge(s) they'll clog up.

You need to build more bridges. 😉

[Sharky]

43 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

You need to build more bridges. 😉

That means more buses! 

It's the rules. 

[St Enodoc]

Running session tomorrow, so I tidied up the railway room this morning then went out with Veronica for a long lunch to celebrate the 48th anniversary of my starting work in the rail industry.

 

As predicted, after that I didn't do much at all, model railways or otherwise.

[5BarVT]

I’ll have to remember that as an excuse for a meal out.  My 47th passed two weeks ago yesterday.  Or is it cheating seeing as I’m fully retired?

Paul.

[Barry O]

19 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Running session tomorrow, so I tidied up the railway room this morning then went out with Veronica for a long lunch to celebrate the 48th anniversary of my starting work in the rail industry.

 

As predicted, after that I didn't do much at all, model railways or otherwise.

Time for an escape plan.. we met 47 years ago.. lummy.. club members for 46 years.. how time flies when you are having fun!!

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

Today's running session went well. With just eight of us we were single-manned at Paddington and Penzance, with Dave T(u) putting his hand up for Porthmellyn Road signalman and four drivers as usual. I sat at St Enodoc as Fat Controller so that I could coach Dave through the workings at Porthmellyn Road. Towards the end of the session we actually managed to have three trains moving at the same time (intentionally). That was good.

 

For the next session in November I hope to have St Enodoc signals working and possibly to have made some progress on the St Enodoc hand point and uncoupler control panel. I'm also thinking about adding the Polperran/Pentowan auto and diesel shuttles to the sequence and possibly also the Branch goods, running to and from Polperran instead of Pentowan. We shall see!

[The Stationmaster]

On 16/09/2022 at 12:13, St Enodoc said:

Running session tomorrow, so I tidied up the railway room this morning then went out with Veronica for a long lunch to celebrate the 48th anniversary of my starting work in the rail industry.

 

As predicted, after that I didn't do much at all, model railways or otherwise.

Bloomin' strappers (as they say in South Wales).  

 

This summer was the 57th anniversary of starting work in the rail industry but as it was only a summer holiday job in the Stationmaster's Office at Paddington it probably doesn't really count.   However a week or two back was the 56th anniversary of my starting full time on BR and the start of what was to be just over a quarter of a century working on the Western.

[Northroader]

Pah! Sixty five years ago last week!

Edited September 21, 2022 by Northroader

[St Enodoc]

28 minutes ago, Northroader said:

Pah! Sixty five years ago last week!

Pah! Bet you're not still working though?

[Clive Mortimore]

48 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Pah! Bet you're not still working though?

I am not, but Mrs M thinks I should be. Off to cut more hawthorn for the horses to eat.

[Northroader]

5 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Pah! Bet you're not still working though?

Pah! Privatisation, dear boy! For accountancy reasons I became a guard at O.O.C.

[St Enodoc]

Today was a public holiday, declared by the Federal Government as a national memorial day for the late Queen. After watching the memorial service from Canberra, I put the afternoon to good use by connecting the remaining wires to the St Enodoc signal relay modules. All 18 are now complete, only awaiting connection to the signals themselves (remembering that the locations of the two section signals, 3 and 25, still aren't finalised and 12 disc isn't finished yet).

 

It was satisfying to test the modules by pulling each lever in turn and hearing the associated relay pick up.

Edited September 22, 2022 by St Enodoc