Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[Barry O]

Coming along nicely!

 

There is a picture of one of the railcars on the Midland main line just down from Chapel. It was used for a short time on the Buxton shuttle....very tempting....

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

Coming along nicely!

 

There is a picture of one of the railcars on the Midland main line just down from Chapel. It was used for a short time on the Buxton shuttle....very tempting....

 

Baz

You know you want to...

[Module00]

Cornwall, realy interesting subject and congratulation for your work. 

Edited August 13, 2017 by Module00

[Barry O]

You know you want to...

wonder if my new found pension can pay for one...........

[St Enodoc]

The only piece of new work that I wanted to get done before the BRMA visit was the extension of the temporary Platform 3 at Porthmellyn Road.

 

I stuck down two 2 ft lengths of foam underlay and fixed about 4 ft of Scaleway track using masking tape, as before. I moved the buffer stop to the end of the extended track.

 

The card mock-up is actually for St Enodoc goods shed but I thought it would look good at Porthmellyn Road in the meantime.

 

While the glue for the underlay was drying, I started to tidy up the railway room. I thought it would make sense to put the stacked St Enodoc baseboards roughly where the rebuilt St Enodoc station will go, so I did this and filled the space around them with various boxes of stuff. I also moved some of the magazine shelves around so that the baseboards and boxes are protected from passing people (and vice versa).

 

There is still a large space where Pentowan will go and I also left room for people to move direct between Porthmellyn Road and Penzance, which won't be possible once the branch is built.

 

For the BRMA visit we won't be running the sequence but just letting trains circulate on the Up and Down Main lines. The configuration of the loops after last year's remodelling is such that this is much easier if Down trains run to and from Penzance and Up trains to and from Paddington. This is the opposite to what happens when we run the sequence, so I ran all 16 trains from where they start the sequence to the other set of loops. There were two clear loops in each set, so I filled these up with some more trains.

 

 

The extra trains include the sleeping cars, another milk train, two china clay trains, a parcels, a short goods, a B Set and a couple more expresses. As some of these trains are quite short, there was room for three trains on some of the loops. I now have 26 trains on the layout, plus the railbus, which is roughly half the final capacity at Paddington and Penzance.

 

Tomorrow I'll load the new sequence on to the layout computer and also start to repair various bits of rolling stock that having been waiting quite some time for attention.

Edited July 20, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[Andrew P]

The only piece of new work that I wanted to get done before the BRMA visit was the extension of the temporary Platform 3 at Porthmellyn Road.

 

20170819 001 Porthmellyn Road looking Down.JPG

 

I stuck down two 2 ft lengths of foam underlay and fixed about 4 ft of Scaleway track using masking tape, as before. I moved the buffer stop to the end of the extended track.

 

20170819 009 Porthmellyn Road looking Up.JPG

The card mock-up is actually for St Enodoc goods shed but I thought it would look good at Porthmellyn Road in the meantime.

 

While the glue for the underlay was drying, I started to tidy up the railway room. I thought it would make sense to put the stacked St Enodoc baseboards roughly where the rebuilt St Enodoc station will go, so I did this and filled the space around them with various boxes of stuff. I also moved some of the magazine shelves around so that the baseboards and boxes are protected from passing people (and vice versa).

 

20170819 008 general view towards Tremewan Tunnel.JPG

There is still a large space where Pentowan will go and I also left room for people to move direct between Porthmellyn Road and Penzance, which won't be possible once the branch is built.

 

For the BRMA visit we won't be running the sequence but just letting trains circulate on the Up and Down Main lines. The configuration of the loops after last year's remodelling is such that this is much easier if Down trains run to and from Penzance and Up trains to and from Paddington. This is the opposite to what happens when we run the sequence, so I ran all 16 trains from where they start the sequence to the other set of loops. There were two clear loops in each set, so I filled these up with some more trains.

 

20170819 005 Paddington looking Down.JPG

 

20170819 007 Penzance looking Up.JPG

The extra trains include the sleeping cars, another milk train, two china clay trains, a parcels, a short goods, a B Set and a couple more expresses. As some of these trains are quite short, there was room for three trains on some of the loops. I now have 26 trains on the layout, plus the railbus, which is roughly half the final capacity at Paddington and Penzance.

 

Tomorrow I'll load the new sequence on to the layout computer and also start to repair various bits of rolling stock that having been waiting quite some time for attention.

 

 

 

 

It's coming on really well mate, seeing yours I now wish I had more Tracks in my Storage Yard. 

 

Your planning and attention to detail is to be commended and I hope you have a good and enjoyable running session.

 

All the very best,

Edited August 19, 2017 by Andrew P

[St Enodoc]

It's coming on really well mate, seeing yours I now wish I had more Tracks in my Storage Yard. 

 

Your planning and attention to detail is to be commended and I hope you have a good and enjoyable running session.

 

All the very best,

Thanks Andy. As you will recall, one of the main design criteria for the layout was enough storage to run a wide selection of trains. Even so, I'll only be running about 60% of the trains from the real timetable and those will only be about 60% of the length of the corresponding prototype trains. I'm also doubling up quite a lot of stock, in the same way that Gilbert on Peterborough North and Tony on Little Bytham do.

 

I think it will be a good meeting in two weeks' time. It will be less intensive than a full sequence session but for me just as busy, as I will be explaining a lot of things to the visitors. I hope that as a consequence of the meeting I will be able to add more operators to the regular team as well. I've got my eye on one or two so we'll see what they think!

[St Enodoc]

Today I had a good go at some stock that had suffered from travelling 10,000 miles to its new home. Detached couplings, detached roofs, detached underframes, you name it - also one of the china-clay wagons that didn't appreciate being knocked to the floor accidentally by a young visitor last year. Altogether, about a dozen more wagons and parcels vans are now ready for service.

 

I also loaded the new sequence for the train describer.

 

Here it is proudly displaying the first railbus working of the day.

Edited July 20, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[NHY 581]

This is all looking very nice and very promising.

 

Oh to have time/space to dabble as such.

 

 

Splendid stuff.

 

Rob.

Edited August 20, 2017 by nhy581

[Richard Mawer]

Today I had a good go at some stock that had suffered from travelling 10,000 miles to its new home. Detached couplings, detached roofs, detached underframes, you name it - also one of the china-clay wagons that didn't appreciate being knocked to the floor accidentally by a young visitor last year. Altogether, about a dozen more wagons and parcels vans are now ready for service.

 

I also loaded the new sequence for the train describer.

 

20170820 001 train describer with railbus.JPG

Here it is proudly displaying the first railbus working of the day.

John

 

What software do you use and can it be synced to a fast clock?

 

Its all looking good. Hope the visit is good fun.

 

Rich

[St Enodoc]

John

 

What software do you use and can it be synced to a fast clock?

 

Its all looking good. Hope the visit is good fun.

 

Rich

All strictly manual Rich. It's just a set of PowerPoint slides which are advanced manually using the wireless mouse. I'm not clever enough to generate it direct from the Excel sequence list I'm afraid. To link it to a clock, I don't see why you couldn't set up the slideshow with the appropriate delay between slides.

 

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have a design in mind to butcher a mouse with an accessory decoder and relay to bridge the button contacts, so that the drivers can advance the train describer display by using a macro. I'm going to wait and see how things develop as the sequence grows more complex before deciding whether or not to do that.

[Barry O]

Coming together well St Enodoc although I didn't see a certain pannier among the stock. Has it gone AWOL again?

 

Hat, coat, see you soon.....

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

Coming together well St Enodoc although I didn't see a certain pannier among the stock. Has it gone AWOL again?

 

Hat, coat, see you soon.....

 

Baz

Thanks Baz.

 

1664 is still here but it's playing up at the moment (not hiding) so isn't on the layout. As you may recall, it has an old Airfix MW005 motor in it that draws quite a lot of current, so I have a feeling that it is overloading the decoder.

 

There are three options I think:

 

1. Fit a new motor/gearbox.

 

2. Fit a higher-capacity decoder.

 

3. Wait for an RTR version, which if I read the runes correctly might not be all that far off...

[St Enodoc]

I now have 26 trains on the layout, plus the railbus.

27 + 1 now, as I found room for another short parcels train - and there might still be enough space for one more goods using some of the wagons I mended today...

[The Stationmaster]

Thanks Baz.

 

1664 is still here but it's playing up at the moment (not hiding) so isn't on the layout. As you may recall, it has an old Airfix MW005 motor in it that draws quite a lot of current, so I have a feeling that it is overloading the decoder.

 

There are three options I think:

 

1. Fit a new motor/gearbox.

 

2. Fit a higher-capacity decoder.

 

3. Wait for an RTR version, which if I read the runes correctly might not be all that far off...

 

An 005 drawing too much current - wonder what's wrong with it or is it a post MW Developments made model?  Speaking to the designer of the MW 005 some months back (when we met in the waiting area at the local surgery) the very Mr Wright who designed the windings and 5 pole arrangement said he was looking for low current consumption but after he sold the rights to, I think, MRC, they simplified the windings and things went down hill quite a lot.  Somewhere I have a brand new original MW version sitting in its original box - it came in a mixed auction lot a few years ago.

 

Incidentally the chap who designed it was one Geoff Wright but he called it MW instead of GW for reasons which might be readily apparent to some folk

Edited August 20, 2017 by The Stationmaster

[St Enodoc]

An 005 drawing too much current - wonder what's wrong with it or is it a post MW Developments made model?  Speaking to the designer of the MW 005 some months back (when we met in the waiting area at the local surgery) the very Mr Wright who designed the windings and 5 pole arrangement said he was looking for low current consumption but after he sold the rights to, I think, MRC, they simplified the windings and things went down hill quite a lot.  Somewhere I have a brand new original MW version sitting in its original box - it came in a mixed auction lot a few years ago.

 

Incidentally the chap who designed it was one Geoff Wright but he called it MW instead of GW for reasons which might be readily apparent to some folk

Mike, it's probably more to do with poor gear meshing than the motor itself. When I get a round tuit I'll strip it down and have a proper look. From memory it came in an Airfix/MRRC-branded box and I would have bought it in about 1980.

[Jesse Sim]

Looking good, cant wait until the running day. 

 

Shall i bring a nice Garter blue A4? 

[St Enodoc]

Looking good, cant wait until the running day. 

 

Shall i bring a nice Garter blue A4? 

As long as it's DCC, yes.

[Barry O]

The mw005 should be OK. I have used a lenz silver on a Ks Mk2 for someone and that worked...just.

 

If you are regearing it I can recommend high level kits.

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

The mw005 should be OK. I have used a lenz silver on a Ks Mk2 for someone and that worked...just.

 

If you are regearing it I can recommend high level kits.

 

Baz

Wot, the decoder or the motor?????

[St Enodoc]

27 + 1 now, as I found room for another short parcels train - and there might still be enough space for one more goods using some of the wagons I mended today...

29 + 1. As I thought, there was room for half-a-dozen wagons and a pannier. Then I spotted a spare piece of track just long enough for 1419 and its trailer. I think that really is it for now as the GRCW single-unit hasn't been chipped yet...

[St Enodoc]

No particular reason for this other than to make my 3000th post on my own topic. So there.

[Stubby47]

No particular reason for this other than to make my 3000th post on my own topic. So there.

 

I did a similar thing...

 

[Barry O]

missed it... tarnation!

[LNER4479]

1664 is still here...

A very good number ... chosen purely at random, I presume?

 

No particular reason for this other than to make my 3000th post on my own topic. So there.

Huzzah!!!