Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[robertcwp]

19 minutes ago, Barry O said:

@robertcwp the sides I was offering @St Enodoc were bought from you.

 

Baz

I don't remember that!

[robertcwp]

19 hours ago, TrevorP1 said:

Generally 1958 - 1960ish but I run stock/locos from outside this period as complete trains, eg my ‘Cornish Riviera’ is based on the 1963 set and runs with a Western or Warship. 

It’s all a work in progress but I aim to get things as correct as I am able.

There would still have been lots of GWR dining cars in service in the late 1950s but the WR would have had Mark 1 RUs in service too. If I recall correctly, The Cornishman and Royal Duchy had Mark 1 RUs well before the Cornish Riviera did. In summer 1959, the Penzance section of the Cornishman (SX) was BSK, SK, SK, CK, CK, RU, SO, BSK. In the peak summer season, there was an extra SK ahead of the rear BSK and the Kingswear section ran as a separate train.  SX the Penzance section of The Royal Duchy was BSK, SK, SK, SO, RU, FK, BSK.

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, robertcwp said:

There would still have been lots of GWR dining cars in service in the late 1950s but the WR would have had Mark 1 RUs in service too. If I recall correctly, The Cornishman and Royal Duchy had Mark 1 RUs well before the Cornish Riviera did. In summer 1959, the Penzance section of the Cornishman (SX) was BSK, SK, SK, CK, CK, RU, SO, BSK. In the peak summer season, there was an extra SK ahead of the rear BSK and the Kingswear section ran as a separate train.  SX the Penzance section of The Royal Duchy was BSK, SK, SK, SO, RU, FK, BSK.

A good example there of how I compress my train lengths, Robert. To get to my target 60% length, my  Cornishman is formed  BSK SK CK RU BSK (5 instead of 8) and my Royal Duchy is formed BSK RU FK BSK (4 instead of 7). My Cornish Riviera is formed BSK CK RU SO SK BSK (6 instead of 10).

[Oldddudders]

1 hour ago, robertcwp said:

 The Cornishman and Royal Duchy 

Not being a WR modeller, I nevertheless relish memories of seeing both trains at Par more than 60 years ago. 

[St Enodoc]

It was indeed a short session today, although not as short as the Gabba Test Match - 34 wickets, and the game won and lost, in fewer than six sessions of play. Very strange.

 

Anyway, the first job was to see what happened if I changed the "odd" carriage siding from road 7 to road 9. Although it looked tidier on the baseboard, it actually reduced the capacity by about a coach length. That's because the gain on 9 road was more than offset by the loss on 7 road as a consequence of the point springing off nearer to the stop blocks. Consequently, 7 road will remain the odd one out.

 

So to joists.

 

To get to the correct baseboard height there are two sets of joists at right angles to each other. The transverse joists are at the bottom as these will form part of the beach/sea scenery later. The longitudinal joists will in turn allow for a low wall and promenade. The whole effect should be reminiscent of Dawlish or of what @gwrrob has done on ANTB.

 

I've only screwed the transverse joists in place where the ply tops join so far and only fixed the front and rear longitudinal joists at the stop blocks end and the rear joist at the Polperran end. The rest will be placed loosely at roughly 400 - 500mm spacing to let me get a screwdriver in between, with their final location determined once I know exactly where the point motors, signal and uncouplers will go.

 

The rear joists (on the left in this view) are set in from the edge as otherwise there'd be no way to screw them in place from below (the same as at Polperran).

 

I've left the transverse joists overlong at the front until I work out exactly how wide the boards will be.

 

Next, I'll put the ply tops back on and fix them in place ready to set out the whole track layout and get ready to lay the foam/cork trackbed. It would be good to get all that done during my two-week Christmas and New Year break.

 

Oh, and the Carol Service was excellent, with the music the best it's been for many a year - not least because it included many of my favourite carols and hymns.

 

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by St Enodoc

[TrevorP1]

2 hours ago, robertcwp said:

There would still have been lots of GWR dining cars in service in the late 1950s but the WR would have had Mark 1 RUs in service too. If I recall correctly, The Cornishman and Royal Duchy had Mark 1 RUs well before the Cornish Riviera did. In summer 1959, the Penzance section of the Cornishman (SX) was BSK, SK, SK, CK, CK, RU, SO, BSK. In the peak summer season, there was an extra SK ahead of the rear BSK and the Kingswear section ran as a separate train.  SX the Penzance section of The Royal Duchy was BSK, SK, SK, SO, RU, FK, BSK.

 

Thank you Robert, that is pretty much what i am basing my formations on although like John they are 'edited highlights'. The CWNs you have made available have been an enormous help. It is also the reason my Cornish Riviera is an early 1960s train as I haven't got the correct GW diner pair.

 

I'm using an SO to partner the RU but I'm wondering if an RSO would be more appropriate? It would be straightforward enough to build or convert. 

[robertcwp]

1 hour ago, TrevorP1 said:

 

Thank you Robert, that is pretty much what i am basing my formations on although like John they are 'edited highlights'. The CWNs you have made available have been an enormous help. It is also the reason my Cornish Riviera is an early 1960s train as I haven't got the correct GW diner pair.

 

I'm using an SO to partner the RU but I'm wondering if an RSO would be more appropriate? It would be straightforward enough to build or convert. 

The RSO lacked the middle door and had a different window spacing so conversion would involve new etched sides. There is no need as the WR seems to have made much use of ordinary open seconds with 2+2 seating as part-diners, often with only two or four bays laid. Usually, the non-smoking and non-lavatory end was adjacent to the RU. This may have been at least in part because, in their early days, the RUs were all smoking.

[TrevorP1]

6 minutes ago, robertcwp said:

The RSO lacked the middle door and had a different window spacing so conversion would involve new etched sides. There is no need as the WR seems to have made much use of ordinary open seconds with 2+2 seating as part-diners, often with only two or four bays laid. Usually, the non-smoking and non-lavatory end was adjacent to the RU. This may have been at least in part because, in their early days, the RUs were all smoking.

 

At least I'm right on that score then, if only by default! A shame in a way as the RSO would be something different.

[5BarVT]

2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

It was indeed a short session today, although not as short as the Gabba Test Match - 34 wickets, and the game won and lost, in fewer than six sessions of play. Very strange.

I also understand that in a local 20 over game a record has been set of a score of only 15 all out.

 

2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Oh, and the Carol Service was excellent, with the music the best it's been for many a year - not least because it included many of my favourite carols and hymns.

Glad you enjoyed it.  I suspect I might have too.  Ours is tonight but will have more ‘modernised’ ones than I prefer.  (I must be getting old and grumpy!!!).  Still looking forward to it, as the message is unchanging and will ring out loud and clear.

Paul.

[Clive Mortimore]

2 hours ago, robertcwp said:

The RSO lacked the middle door and had a different window spacing so conversion would involve new etched sides. There is no need as the WR seems to have made much use of ordinary open seconds with 2+2 seating as part-diners, often with only two or four bays laid. Usually, the non-smoking and non-lavatory end was adjacent to the RU. This may have been at least in part because, in their early days, the RUs were all smoking.

Ah Robert there is more than one way to peel a potato (vegan friendly).

 

[St Enodoc]

14 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

I also understand that in a local 20 over game a record has been set of a score of only 15 all out.

Yes, the Thunder failed to live up to their name!

 

14 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Glad you enjoyed it.  I suspect I might have too.  Ours is tonight but will have more ‘modernised’ ones than I prefer.  (I must be getting old and grumpy!!!).  Still looking forward to it, as the message is unchanging and will ring out loud and clear.

The music was good. The readings not so much, being from some modern translation rather than the good old AV.

[St Enodoc]

My Christmas and New Year break began today, so I started the holiday in the proper fashion with a decent session in the railway room this afternoon.

 

First I fixed the plywood tops to the joists at Pentowan, using the usual KD blocks. The two boards nearest to the buffer stops, on the right, are fixed both at the front and back but the next is only fixed at the back, until I decide how much it can be cut back. The front longitudinal joist is loose for the time being, for this reason. The fourth board, where the line curves round to Treloggan Junction, is only resting in place at the moment. I need to trim the existing trackbase to match before I screw this board into place.

 

 

After that, I did some more marking out, reducing the track centres between Platforms 1 and 2 from 150 to 140mm. This will give me an island platform width of 100mm, which matches two Ratio canopies side by side.

 

 

I'm still playing with the arrangement of the long curve. My latest thought is to move the four points as close as possible to the double slip, which will give a bit more room between Pentowan and Treloggan Junction and also, I think, make it easier to fair in the curves between the points and the respective tracks that they lead to (the three platforms and the loco spur).

 

Veronica has also finished work (from home) now, so I think a little Friday cocktail is in order.

[Barry O]

If you are offering... I will have a Margareita please...

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

53 minutes ago, Barry O said:

If you are offering... I will have a Margareita please...

 

Baz

OK, in about a month's time.

[drduncan]

Mine’s a Horse’s Neck, heavy on the Angostura Bitters, please.

Duncan

[St Enodoc]

As Father Christmas and Rudolf prepare at St Enodoc for their work tonight, Veronica and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our home to yours, wherever you may be.

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by St Enodoc

[Neal Ball]

Re: Friday Cocktail.

Our cocktail of choice last night was a very nice Kringle cocktail (Vodka; Peach Scnapps and Cranberry) shaken, not stirred 🍸

 

The new trackwork and new boards is going to look interesting, but at this rate, you will run out of space to stand in the middle!

 

Have a great Christmas.

[St Enodoc]

39 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

Re: Friday Cocktail.

Our cocktail of choice last night was a very nice Kringle cocktail (Vodka; Peach Scnapps and Cranberry) shaken, not stirred 🍸

 

The new trackwork and new boards is going to look interesting, but at this rate, you will run out of space to stand in the middle!

 

Have a great Christmas.

A simple G&T last night for us. We may well end up with some more elaborate recipes as the holiday goes on!

 

More to follow on the new boards.

[St Enodoc]

I think I've got the Pentowan approach track layout sorted now. The only bit I'm not 100% sure about is where the track to Platform 1 runs alongside the double slip.

 

I've set it out with a length of straight track in parallel with the straight road through the slip but I'm worried that this might look a bit odd with the curve of the loco spur alongside it. On the other hand, a curved section next to the slip might also look odd... I'll have another look at this.

 

Anyway, I've inked everything in for now. The only part that's still in draft is the goods yard. This was, and still is, planned to have two goods sidings in the corner outside the long curve but, following recent discussions here, I'm thinking of adding an extra track to act as a headshunt/loco standing road. This might be handy for the station pilot (an EE 350hp shunter) if nothing else. I'll keep thinking about that - there's no rush as it will be the last section to be laid.

 

Finally for now, @Neal Ball just mentioned the apparent lack of space now the new boards are in place. Actually, it's real not apparent at the moment! No need to panic, though - everything is oversized at the moment until I work out how much I can cut away and how much I want to leave for scenery. There will definitely be a clear space of at least 600mm between Pentowan and Wheal Veronica, which will open up at the Treloggan Junction end to accommodate the Pentowan lever frame and signalman (the black bar stool shows roughly where he will sit).

 

More on Boxing Day with luck.

[Neal Ball]

4 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

I think I've got the Pentowan approach track layout sorted now. The only bit I'm not 100% sure about is where the track to Platform 1 runs alongside the double slip.

 

I've set it out with a length of straight track in parallel with the straight road through the slip but I'm worried that this might look a bit odd with the curve of the loco spur alongside it. On the other hand, a curved section next to the slip might also look odd... I'll have another look at this.

 

Anyway, I've inked everything in for now. The only part that's still in draft is the goods yard. This was, and still is, planned to have two goods sidings in the corner outside the long curve but, following recent discussions here, I'm thinking of adding an extra track to act as a headshunt/loco standing road. This might be handy for the station pilot (an EE 350hp shunter) if nothing else. I'll keep thinking about that - there's no rush as it will be the last section to be laid.

 

Finally for now, @Neal Ball just mentioned the apparent lack of space now the new boards are in place. Actually, it's real not apparent at the moment! No need to panic, though - everything is oversized at the moment until I work out how much I can cut away and how much I want to leave for scenery. There will definitely be a clear space of at least 600mm between Pentowan and Wheal Veronica, which will open up at the Treloggan Junction end to accommodate the Pentowan lever frame and signalman (the black bar stool shows roughly where he will sit).

 

More on Boxing Day with luck.

 

I'm looking forward to a drivers eye video of the trains moving around.

 

Have a good Christmas.

[St Enodoc]

Just now, Neal Ball said:

 

I'm looking forward to a drivers eye video of the trains moving around.

Hmm, that will be a challenge! I don't have any equipment to do that, so I'll need to discuss with Charles and the other operating team members. Watch this space.

[Barry O]

Iam still looking forward to the appearance of the Shackleton!  Hat, coat see you later!

Baz

Edited December 24, 2022 by Barry O

[Barry O]

7 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

As Father Christmas and Rudolf prepare at St Enodoc for their work tonight, Veronica and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our home to yours, wherever you may be.

 

H like this.. that's a first!!

 

Baz

[5BarVT]

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

I think I've got the Pentowan approach track layout sorted now. The only bit I'm not 100% sure about is where the track to Platform 1 runs alongside the double slip.

I think you’re right about the straight - it looks odd to me.  A slight curve will look better, but might (will?) affect clearance points on P1/loco spur.  Are either of them tight?

Paul.

[Nick Gough]

8 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

As Father Christmas and Rudolf prepare at St Enodoc for their work tonight, Veronica and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our home to yours, wherever you may be.

 

Merry Christmas to both of you as well!