Leaderboard

Having made a few posts about the general arrangement and a few details about Swan Hill, I'm just getting around to signalling so it might be a good moment to post the provisional signal diagram "for comment and suggestions" and see what comes up! Swan Hill is GWR and dates to 1927 (or thereabouts). The track layout is loosely based on a reduced version of Uxbridge Vine Street with the goods yard accessed on a reversal (from road No 3) similar to the arrangement at Windsor central station. Traffic is predominantly passenger and the branch is double track throughout (for a double track branch with nothing much at the end of it, see GWR Uxbridge High Street). As at Uxbridge Vine Street, engines can only run round by reversing stock out of the arrival road (No 2) and running round on the crossover (points 1a and 1b). Parcels, horses, milk and other perishables are unloaded in Siding 1 and the loading dock. Other freight - coal, timber, construction materials and so on - goes to the goods yard via Road No 3. Road No 3 can be used by a push-pull service in addition to providing goods yard access: all three roads have direct access to the Up Branch line. The layout is wired for DC operation with 4 controller "zones" - the Up sidings (siding 1, loading dock and headshunt) are on controller 1 (C1: coded yellow for wiring). The Up branch is C2 (red), the Down branch C3 (blue) and Road 3 and the goods yard are C4 (green). Switches, relays and a Megapoints servo driver reverse the points, change frog polarity and allocate controllers and track feeds. Thus, reversing point 11 on the diagram allows C2 to take over control from C1 and, similarly, reversing points 10, 23 and 24 allocates C2 to take over from C4. Reversing point 23 causes C3 to take over from C4 (except for the line to the right of point 24) so that access can be obtained from Road 3 to the Down Branch. The same actions remove power feeds to parts of the track so that conflicting moves are prevented. When all points are set normal, the 4 controllers can operate the different areas independently. What is needed now is signals...

I've had to take a few days annual leave from work and I've utilised it to finish off a couple of vans. Working on the basis you can't see both sides of the van at the same time I've played with timeframes and put different liveries on each side. The white patch on the LSWR van is the light reflecting, it looks fine in real life. I can also see the camera cruelly brings out the worst in my painting (and transfer setting) some of which I need to touch up and some of which will need the willing suspension of disbelief,or I'll just drive it round the layout (which I haven't built yet) at a scale 200 MPH so no-one can see it!.

Having done my first RTR wagon conversion I was overtaken by the urge to assemble what ever rolling stock I could that needed minimal work to run. The attraction was that I could assemble realistic train formations long enough to test any future track work. In the limited testing I had already done I realised that constructing track and not immediately testing it was a really bad idea. Right now I'm working with a layout that has taken 30 years plus of very slow construction and almost zero testing with the kind of workings I was dreaming of, and the consequences are, you guessed it, almost everything falls off the rails very quickly - boo! Interestingly enough the worst performers should be the best - my coaches running on compensated (MJT) bogies - somehow I have failed to build them flexible enough and they run no better than uncompensated stock, e.g. my converted Bachmann Mk1s. So I thought, lets P4 convert as much of my RTR stock as possible so I can assemble four to nine car rakes, and (purists look away) even leave on the tension lock couplings within the rakes. If I can get these uncompensated rakes to stay on my new track then I have really succeeded! Then I can build really proper (compensated and 'real' inter car couplings that won't result in a sharp intake of breath) at my leisure, knowing that they will run better (hopefully) .... And amazingly I can get these to roll almost without falling off - If I attended to the joins between my RTR flexi track, especially at base board joins then it would be even better, as these are now the source of most derailments. But actually half the source of these problems are 30 year old sagging base boards, that are lined up to be replaced by new ones made from 12mm ply ... So some pictures: So in platform 1 (nearest) stands a mixed express formation with Mk1 coaches supplemented with LMS catering cars, Mk1 BCK (Bachmann), LMS Period II RCO (Hornby ex Airfix), LMS Period III Dia 1999 SO (Mainline), Mk 1 SK (Hachette) and nearest Mk 1 BSK (Bachmann). With the addition of a CK and another SK that becomes a short 'Pines express' rake. One day I'll build the LMS Period III RS (dia 1902) and RCO to make the catering cars that ran in th ePines until the summer of 1961. In platform 2 is a mixed ex LMS and GWR rake typical of the S&D semi fasts that ran in the 60s, from the front a Hawkesworth BSK (Hornby), a Collett SK (Mainline), and two Airfix Staniers, CK and BSK. The stock siding has my BR freight train rake in the course of conversion, (wheels done, couplings in progress) and then in Platform 3 my two coach ex LMS local set (Airfix lavatory non corridors). All rakes have tension lock in between, Dingham at the ends. Now looking the other way, but now the mixed LMS / GWR rake has been changed to an all LMS 3 coach rake, all ex Airfix Staniers as worked both S&D and Bristol-Gloucester semi fasts, the Collett coaches are now in the bay now the above looking the other way .... now to get some more locos running .....

It took a while for the early railway companies to decide on the best design for points / switches / turnouts. Personally I've always liked the "stub point" design in which the running rails move to set the road, rather than the typical blades. Perhaps it's a design for sleepy sidings rather than high speed main lines: A broken PECO streamline point seemed an ideal starting point to add a stub point to the layout: Pulling off the blades was therapeutic for the eight seconds it took, and cutting through the running rails was quick and easy with a mini-tool. It's actually a rotary tool used by nail technicians to work on nail extensions. I bought it for around £7 on eBay, and it's been an excellent buy. I hoped a tool designed for work on delicate fingers would be useful for delicate modelling work, and it does have very manageable slow lower speeds. It's the first tool I've had that actually lets me cut and grind rails accurately. I wouldn't want to cut through massive sheets of brass with it, but it's perfect for softer materials. The last few inches of the track before the stub point aren't glued to the baseboard so the flexible track can move from side to side to match up with each road: Control is by a coffer stirrer super-glued to the front sleeper of the flexitrack. I haven't decided whether to power the sidings or use rope shunting, so I'll probably do both. The clearances do look as if they were inspired by Triang Series 3 track. Leaving a couple of centimetres of the blades superglued to the sleepers would produce a more realistic model with less flexitrack movement and smaller gaps between the rails.

I really love photographing my layouts and my ultimate aim is to make the locos and settings as realistic as its possible in 00 Gauge. Getting as much as possible in focus has always been a bug bear of mine. The relationship between F-Stop, shutter speed and ISO is complex to understand and I should imagine professional photographers spend a long time to master it. I haven't quite managed this and have always found that the higher the F-Stop then the yellower the image simply because the more depth of field (or more in focus you want) then the smaller the aperture. In addition, my camera will only stop up to F8. A medium aperture but one that still restricts the amount of light you need. This always spoils the photo and no matter how long you keep open the shutter you can never get rid of the yellowing effect. Camera's therefore love loads of light where this is concerned so I decided to cobble together my own powerful lighting rig. It had to be on the cheap because professional lighting rigs are an astronomical cost. The above shot under the rig. F8 at ISO 400. The camera sets the shutter speed itself and I set a two second timer delay to defeat any camera shake. The 'Heath Robinson' style lighting rig. I found an old overhead projector at my local tip and took it apart. I put the fan and bulb assembly into a wooden box, created a reflective direction device out of hangers and mounting card and put the whole thing on top of a stand that I bought secondhand from a builder for a fiver. It was really cheap to construct and it works quite well. Mind you, despite the fan it gets very hot so I don't leave it on too long in case the whole thing falls apart! The rig is about as good as it gets in creating artificial sunlight. It's either that or lug the layout down from the loft and wait for the sun to come out and you could wait a long time over here for that! Now to get rid of those pesky shadows on the backdrop! This is my take on a smashing prototype picture in Hornby's latest mag regarding coloured light signalling on the Southern. The picture was of a Class 33 double heading with a BR Standard 5MT out of Waterloo in 1966. A summer afternoon at Folgate Street. Note how the light rig casts realistic shadows under the signal box gantry. Light and shade. Notice how the focus drops away and yet this is the best my Fuji Bridge can do. It's a lot better than my other smaller 'snap' Panasonic Lumix which has a much narrower field of focus. The only other route is photo stacking, but this seems like a magic trick far beyond my capabilities. I guess I'll always be an analogue fuddy duddy!

Here are the 4 locos renumbered and renamed with a wash going on the roof of the first one to give a comparison with the factory finish, later on applied to all 4 and left to marinate for a few days

Right, that'll do. Enough of this blogging nonsense! Finishing the Bagnall (for now) feels like a good place to stop. It needs varnish and weathering, but those will wait until the name and numberplates turn up. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it, the modified bits have worked well, so I'll probably do something similar for more locos in the future. Another project that's come up every now and then over the course of this blog is the AEC shunter, which now runs! Needs a flywheel adding to smooth it out a bit more, but I'm happy with where it is now, and looking forward to weathering it so it doesn't look quite so toylike. See video at the end of this post. But I'm stopping the blog here, mainly because I have to remember to post something each day, and if I have a less motivated day, or too much goes wrong, it just turns into trying to talk about nothing. So I'll go back to posting in my various threads, thanks to those who have followed and commented on this blog, I've tried to take onboard as much of the useful info as possible! If you do want to keep up with any of the things I've been working on, see these links: Workbench thread Layout thread

Growing up with trains Thanks to my dad’s interests, I was raised on a healthy diet of trains, canals and anything powered by steam. It was therefore inevitable - after receiving a Hornby GWR Mixed Traffic train set for Christmas - that I would develop an interest in modelling for many years after. My first layout was an extension of my first train set, with various different pieces added over time. It was safe to say it kept me busy until my teenage years, when I craved something more. At this stage, I was given access to the extensive loft where – with Dad’s help – I created a two-track loop with some sidings which allowed me to run longer trains. The loft was an ideal space for a model railway and would have been the envy of many modellers! Sadly, no photos seem to exist of that layout, no doubt a result of being a teenager at the time; you don't tend to be too concerned about the future! It was also the case that my attention was taken by all manner of other things and the loft layout ever seemed an endless task. It was never completed and I moved out of the house in my early twenties, taking much with me but leaving the skeleton of my former creation behind. Moving on A year or so into having my own home the modelling itch started again. I dabbled with creating a garden railway in 00 but it never really came together and I didn’t have the experience to make it operational. I soon decided that size was the issue and went for something smaller and more manageable. Layout 3 was a single loop of track with an emphasis on developing interesting scenics. This was where I learned many new techniques, made a few mistakes and had a great deal of fun in the process. One huge mistake was in the materials used to create the baseboard. I ended up using the chunkiest and heaviest wood around and now the whole thing weighs a ton! A new adventure After a few years layout 3 (I’d never really named any of my projects!) reached a stage where it wasn’t fulfilling my operational needs. It was just a loop of track after all. So I started a new project. Layout 4 would also be small but with an emphasis on operational interest this time round. I settled on a baseboard of 5ft by 16 inches, which would fit nicely in my shed and also be reasonably easy to relocate if required. I played with some track and agonised over the design for some time, eager to get it right. I was interested in the idea of shunting puzzles so I settled on a series of sidings with a main through line above them. The through line would have hidden areas at either end, so trains could realistically enter or exit from the “rest of the world.” However, during the track laying stage, it became apparent that to hide even a modest length of train in these off-scene sections, I would waste a lot of the board. The track was modified and the layout became a branch terminus. At this point track was laid and weathered, point motors installed and all electrics wired to a crude control panel. I looked to developing the surrounding scenics. Discovering the Hawkhurst Branch Originally I was going to use a Peco plastic kit for the station building but soon decided to build my own. I had had some success with scratch building structures and really enjoyed it. I am only a novice, so you can judge my efforts for yourself below. This is a half-relief scale model of the house in which I grew up – complete with pets! - made for my parents’ birthday. I started to research station buildings on Kent lines. The only real brief for this (as yet unnamed) layout was that it would be Southern region. Being born in the late eighties I never had any experience with mainline steam and had no connection to any particular railway company. However, having lived in Kent all my life, being only a short drive from Ashford and volunteering on the Kent and East Sussex Railway, I figured Southern was the way to go. If I were to build my own station building, I would require a prototype first. I started looking at Colonel Stephens’ light railways (the K&ESR being one) and soon discovered the Hawkhurst Branch. Although I had heard about this line, I had never put any energy into finding out more, despite having visited the now abandoned Badgers Oak Tunnel on a Geocaching hunt with my fiancee one day! I located some books on a well-known online auction site and started reading. I was fascinated by the history, particularly by the way that so little of the line remains today. I visited a few of the remaining locations; much of this line is very close to home. Addleford Green is born! I went straight back to layout 4 and began to plan around the idea of it being part of the Hawkhurst branch. It was a terminus so the most likely station was Hawkhurst itself but I had no interest in directly modelling a real location. I ultimately decided that layout 4 would represent an alternative history, where the Hawkhurst line was extended beyond Hawkhurst (as was the original plan on the real line) to a fictional station further into Kent. In reality they would have aimed for Ashford or Tenterden; in my world they never reached the main towns, instead falling short somewhere in between. I struggled to fit what I wanted into the existing design and after many weeks of agonising, decided I had to start again. I scrapped pretty much the whole layout so far and came back with a not-too-dissimilar-but-better version that would allow me to do everything I wanted. It had to include the following: A station that could accommodate a loco and two carriages Engine shed Goods shed At least two sidings Enough scenic space for a hop form But I still didn’t have a name for my new layout. I spoke to my long-suffering-but-very-patient-about-trains fiancee. Could she think of a name that sounded like a village in Kent? After a few suggestions she came upon Appleford Green – a portmanteau of two Kent locations. I didn't like the Apple prefix, feeling it felt a little too twee, so I softened the name to Addleford and the rest is history. A very long history, which I'm sorry you had to read! All for now, Jonathan Next blog: A tour of the track and wiring...

Nörreport station, Copenhagen. Every day after work, I wait here for my local train home. Today it’s late, rush hour is over. Everyone is tired, noone is talking, noone is present. We’re not really here, we’re already somewhere else. While I wait, commuter trains roll into the platforms and leave again. Many are nearly empty, having already dropped off most passengers at Copenhagen Central. They will terminate soon, at the next station. Then an ICE train pulls into the platform, all the way from Berlin. At the sight of it, something stirs inside the weary commuter: A slightly unusual train, an arrival from far away. Is there anything like it? And thoughts begin to wander... Imagine a fine summer’s day in 1906. Imagine the bay platform of a junction station. A 517 class arrives with an autotrailer. Bit of a cliché, I grant you, a bit twee. But as a tired commuter, I’ll go with twee any time! And the autotrailer, which one is that? Ah, it’s the unusual A12 from the Plymouth area. Oh and look, here’s another train. River Class No. 69 “Avon”. Odd that, I thought I’d sold it some time ago? And what’s a fast engine like that doing in a bay platform? Never mind, it’s my daydream so I can do what I want! Argh, what’s all this disturbance now? Oh, it’s the Nivaa train. Well that’s no use for me. And quit staring at me people, I’m not really here, can’t you see that? Ah that’s better. Now this is what I call passengers! Stylish, sophisticated and not a care in the world. No ashen-faced commuters here! A-ha, here's the River again. And the infamous fireman known as "Mad Charlie", in conversation with Station Master A. Woodcourt. I wonder what they’re talking about? How she’s running today, maybe. Or the qualities of different kinds of coal. Or the Bambatha Rebellion. Certainly not tax forms or car repairs or any of the other trivial matters of today's world. Speaking of the Bambatha Rebellion (yeah well, look it up), here’s some real buffalo power! And it’s propelling an interesting 6-wheel U28 clerestory. And here’s a Buffalo with a tender! Well sort of: The Armstrong Goods were pretty closely related to the Buffalo tanks, if I’m not mistaken. And in my daydreams I’m never mistaken! Now what? Oh, it’s the train I’m in. So it arrived? I got on board? Never even noticed! We commuters are like robots sometimes. But look, it’s been snowing again. Looks nice with the lights, eh? And these are decent DMUs: comfortable, sleek, effective. Come to think of it, reality isn’t that bad after all. I wonder what’s for dinner? Click images for full size