Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[St Enodoc]

26 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Very pretty and a good reason to visit Sydney in November.  Would be a bit of a b*mmer to have had to return to U.K. this year before they came out!

 

I don’t remember light rail from my 2015 visit: is it new?

 

Paul.

The part you see here opened in 2019. It runs from Circular Quay along George Street, through Surrey Hills and out along Anzac Parade, where it splits into two branches for Randwick (L2) and Kingsford (L3). It crosses the original light rail system (L1), that opened in stages from 1997 to 2014, near Central station.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_rail_in_Sydney

[Penlowry]

4 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

The part you see here opened in 2019. It runs from Circular Quay along George Street, through Surrey Hills and out along Anzac Parade, where it splits into two branches for Randwick (L2) and Kingsford (L3). It crosses the original light rail system (L1), that opened in stages from 1997 to 2014, near Central station.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_rail_in_Sydney

And of course in places is laid on top of the original original light rail system that was closed between mid 1950s and 1961. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/28/erased-from-history-how-sydney-destroyed-its-trams-for-love-of-the-car

[The Stationmaster]

4 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

The part you see here opened in 2019. It runs from Circular Quay along George Street, through Surrey Hills and out along Anzac Parade, where it splits into two branches for Randwick (L2) and Kingsford (L3). It crosses the original light rail system (L1), that opened in stages from 1997 to 2014, near Central station.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_rail_in_Sydney

And here's a tram, sorry LRV, on a section of the system (which wasn't really a system then) as it existed back in late 2004.   And of course both of my working visits to Aus were unfortunately timed to ensure that I missed the jacaranda in flower

 

[Clive Mortimore]

8 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

No layout work today, for a change. Instead, Veronica and I had a very nice lunch in the City, after which we went for a walk (two walks, actually) to look at some jacarandas. These came into bloom about three weeks late this year, because of the cold and very wet start to spring.

 

Here is Sydney Town Hall, with the Sydney Light Rail tracks in the foreground. These are catenary-free from here to Circular Quay, using the Alstom in-ground APS power supply system.

 

After enjoying these trees at Circular Quay, we took the ferry to Kirribilli where the displays are quite spectacular and extremely popular.

 

Carabella Street is just up from the ferry wharf...

 

...while McDougall Street has to be closed to vehicles at weekends, such are the crowds taking photos in the middle of the road.

 

A short stroll up the hill to Milsons Point station and the train home brought a very pleasant afternoon to an end.

I don't believe that is Austraila, where are the Roos, the blokes in bush hats, and people being eaten by crocs?

 

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a Coolibah tree
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
"You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me"

 

Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
Up jumped the swagging and grabbed him with glee
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag
"You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me"

[Tim Dubya]

22 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

 where are the Roos, the blokes in bush hats, and people being eaten by crocs?

 

Radstock but the roos and crocs are a little different to the Aussie ones here... but just as deadly! 

[Coach bogie]

3 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I don't believe that is Austraila, where are the Roos,

 

At the lineside, trainspotting!

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

[John Besley]

4 hours ago, Tim Dubya said:

 

Radstock but the roos and crocs are a little different to the Aussie ones here... but just as deadly! 

 

I saw a Croc on the banks of the river Teign last week.... think is was a size 9

[aardvark]

5 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I don't believe that is Austraila, where are the Roos, the blokes in bush hats, and people being eaten by crocs?

 

They're all in the LRV, heading to Chinatown for a meal.

 

[St Enodoc]

7 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

And here's a tram, sorry LRV, on a section of the system (which wasn't really a system then) as it existed back in late 2004.   And of course both of my working visits to Aus were unfortunately timed to ensure that I missed the jacaranda in flower

 

But you did get to the AMRA exhibition at Liverpool!

[Nick Gough]

3 hours ago, Coach bogie said:

 

At the lineside, trainspotting!

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

 "Tchk tchk tchk"

 

What's that Skippy?

 

There's a train coming?

[The Stationmaster]

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

But you did get to the AMRA exhibition at Liverpool!

And I have the proof

 

[St Enodoc]

6 hours ago, Coach bogie said:

 

 

Dinner on legs.

[St Enodoc]

As our next running session is in a week's time, I didn't do much to the layout today. Instead, I started the LM&S buffer stops. These went together very well and, after I'd worked out a convenient sequence for the build, I completed all five that I had in stock.

 

The first one was glued together with cyano but this got a bit messy, so for the rest I used 5-minute epoxy. With the help of several bulldog clips, everything went quite smoothly.

 

 

I used spare SMP plastic sleepers to hold the rails in place. The ones at the front were easy to slide on to the whitemetal rails. I fitted the ones under the structure itself by bending them to open the chairs then bending them back to close the chairs around the rails.

 

I then added some dummy copperclad sleepers using UHU. A few more dabs of glue to simulate chairs will finish the job.

 

Tomorrow might be too windy to spray these. If so, I might build the two Mainly Trains ones to finish off the current stock of kits.

[aardvark]

I gave that a "thought provoking", as it provoked me into opening my own LMS highland buffers for the first time since I bought them in 2016, only to find that they too include whitemetal rail. In the infinite wisdom that belongs to novices, I'd assumed that the buffers fitted over your own rail.

 

 

Looks like I'll need to cut back my railheads 🤦‍♀️

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by aardvark
proofreading is not my superpower

[St Enodoc]

As forecast, the wind today was far too strong for spraying, so I did indeed build the two Mainly Trains buffer stops.

 

These were designed probably some 40 years ago and I suspect that that moulds are about the same age, as the single castings for each side are a lot less crisp than the two parts of the LM&S ones. The two castings are also not quite mirror images of each other, which meant that the holes for the rear tiebar weren't quite in line, so I left that off.

 

 

Nevertheless, these will suit Wheal Veronica quite well, as one might expect the buffer stops and, indeed, all the permanent way there to have received a lower level of maintenance than the running lines.

Edited November 20, 2022 by St Enodoc
too not to

[St Enodoc]

Based on a recent discussion here:

 

I think that the buffer stops at the ends of Porthmellyn Road No 1 Spur and No 2 Spur should have white lamps but that the others, which will be in sidings, don't need any lamps. Some of those at Pentowan might need them too but I'll work that out later.

[5BarVT]

4 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Based on a recent discussion here:

That wasn’t a discussion, that was The Stationmaster giving us the benefit of his vast knowledge and telling us how it is.

:-)

My gut feel for Pentowan was one in the spur, but I see that it is called Goods Yard so may be not.  And possibly one on the short siding immediately adjacent to platform 1.

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

Just now, 5BarVT said:

That wasn’t a discussion, that was The Stationmaster giving us the benefit of his vast knowledge and telling us how it is.

:-)

My gut feel for Pentowan was one in the spur, but I see that it is called Goods Yard so may be not.  And possibly one on the short siding immediately adjacent to platform 1.

Paul.

Thanks Paul. I can check photos of Newquay for Pentowan, which I haven't done yet. No rush for those!

[The Stationmaster]

On 20/11/2022 at 09:17, 5BarVT said:

That wasn’t a discussion, that was The Stationmaster giving us the benefit of his vast knowledge and telling us how it is.

:-)

My gut feel for Pentowan was one in the spur, but I see that it is called Goods Yard so may be not.  And possibly one on the short siding immediately adjacent to platform 1.

Paul.

The short spur by the signal box should have a white light in the best regulated of worlds.  But a rather indistinct 1964 photo on the Cornwall Railways website suggests that it might not have had one by then.

 

An interesting question must be how arriving freights were dealt with on the 1946 layout?   The longest and easiest way of receiving them would be to run them to a platform line and clearly platform No.3, adjacent to the yard, would be used as it not only offered the necessary length but also avoided the need to check/set seven handpoints for an arriving train (assuming they bothered to comply with the Rule Book). Maybe the answer lies in photos - 'somewhere'.  but I doubt there were any , lamps on stop blocks on the sidings.

 

Amusingly while seeing if the 1939 Appendix was of any help the propelling of up to 12 coaches was permitted between Newquay and Tolcarno Jcn at that time provided that the points were clipped towards the Gannel Siding at Tolcarn Jcn.  

Edited November 21, 2022 by The Stationmaster
My error re the Gannel Siding deleted see later poast

[St Enodoc]

16 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

The short spur by the signal box should have a white light in the best regulated of worlds.  But a rather indistinct 1964 photo on the Cornwall Railways website suggests that it might not have had one by then.

If that's the one showing D6342 in the loco spur, then I think that any lamp would be hidden behind the loco. The photo shows the large concrete block behind the rail-built buffer stop protecting the signal box from any runaway locos. That block seems to have survived until the closure of the box in 1987 (and possibly longer).

[St Enodoc]

A quick, not comprehensive, flick through some books tonight showed that the loco spur didn't have a lamp at all, according to an undated but late steam-era photo (plate 113) in Mitchell & Smith's "Branch Lines to Newquay". Although I have plenty more photos of the platforms at Newquay, most of them seem to be taken from a distance or facing the other way, so I'm not sure whether there were any lamps on the three platform roads. I might add red lamps, just because.

 

Regarding the spur next to Platform 3 (real numbering - Platform 1 in Mid-Cornwall Lines numbering), I couldn't see anything conclusive there either but I might add a white lamp as it's next to the passenger platform (edit - but the 1936 GA says on page 157 that this is only needed where "the Driver of the shunting engine cannot see plainly the buffer stop" and then only at the discretion of the Divisional Superintendent or District Traffic Manager. Since I hold both those positions on the Mid-Cornwall Lines, I have determined that such a light is not required).

 

The rest of the sidings - goods yard and carriage sidings - almost certainly didn't have any lamps.

 

Any more thoughts folks?

Edited November 21, 2022 by St Enodoc
Additional information

[LNER4479]

15 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

 

Any more thoughts folks?

 

[checkrail]

Barbie buffer stops!

[St Enodoc]

21 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

The propelling of up to 12 coaches was permitted between Newquay and Tolcarno Jcn at that time provided that the points were clipped towards the Gannel Siding at Tolcarn Jcn.  However according to Tony Cooke the facing connection from the Newquay direction towards the Gannel Siding was removed in 1928 - in fact Tony gives a precise date for the removal.

I'm not sure which was the Gannel siding and I can't see a reference in my copy of Cooke section 11 to any track at Tolcarn Junction being removed in 1928. However, there seems to have been no facing connection to the siding on the Up side of the main line after the layout was expanded in 1940. There was, though, a facing connection to the sidings next to the Newquay - Chacewater leg of the triangle - but that was a signalled move, so doesn't really help with your query.

[St Enodoc]

21 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

An interesting question must be how arriving freights were dealt with on the 1946 layout?

I don't know. The Down Inner Home had a main route indication (but no Draw Ahead) to the Sidings (40), so perhaps they went into the "Loop" road next to Platform 3, from where the loco could run round via Platform 3 itself and shunt the goods yard.

 

Alternatively, the loco could hook off at the Down Inner Home and run round via the Up Main, then propel the whole train into the sidings, although that would block both main lines during the move.

 

The goods yard on the model Pentowan will be laid out quite differently of course.