Grantham - the Streamliner years

[LNER4479]

Not wishing to be too self-congratulatory but if 1000 posts isn't a cause to celebrate (or at least 'take stock') then nothing is. Some pix to follow therefore (most of which you won't have seen before)

 

This is in 2007, after six months work with the first five boards constructed and just a bit of track down

 

We now move to 2010. A control panel and the first signal has been added and we have the now familiar scene of operators trying to fathom out how the bloomin' thing works   I had a 3 bed semi at the time - note how the south end of the layout squeezes through the doors into the conservatory!

 

Some of Mr Allatt's stock makes its first appearance, the Coronation set having just been newly completed at the time. On this occasion, the only way we could get it to move was with a J50 shoving at the back   Occasionally interested son is at the controls.

 

September 2011 and we're now starting to work on the connections round to the fiddle yard. I had three extant fiddle yard boards from a previous (abortive) project so that gave a bit of a helping hand at this stage. The first of these can be seen on the right.

 

First test set-up as a complete layout in April 2012 (...in a church hall in Luton! Well, it was convenient for the southern contingent and the journey there and back at least allowed us to practice transporting the layout)

 

Moments after the first train made a successful complete circuit the team celebrate. It took us 2hrs 40 mins from starting set up to get to this point, which I didn't think was too bad. That included temporarily constructing the final board and temporarily laying track on it (with the 'cut here' marks thus made I was then able to subsequently complete that board with confidence). Layout then went into store until...

 

...arrival in its new (and present) 'home' in November 2012 (ironically, another church hall!)

 

A week later, and its the first run in its new home. Most of the rest of the story you know from here; suffice to say that being able to have the layout permanently set up in its full form is a godsend and progress since this has been very gratifying.

 

Finally, a mention for this marvellous forum. Post No.1 was in July 2012 and the project is now in a totally different place to where it was then, thanks to the interest, contribution and camaraderie of a number of forum members (you know who you are!). It's obvious that a layout like this needs a lot of stock (and a lot of operators!) and hence is a daunting part of the challenge but the amount of additional stock that is now being made available to run on the layout overwhelms and humbles me at times. Virtually all perfectly compliments Mark Allatt's collection, meaning we can portray a truly representative selection of trains at our very first outing. None of this would have been possible without the medium of RMWeb so thanks to Andy York and the team for providing the service for this wonderful hobby of ours 

Edited January 27, 2014 by LNER4479

[Alister_G]

:locomotive: :imsohappy:

:yahoo: :dancer:

 

Congratulations!

 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

I missed it by one.  So I had to settle for a  Wordsell J77, Robert got a Thomson B1.

 

Curses!

[LNER4479]

I tried to 'bag' #1000 but, due to East Coast's painfully slow WiFi connection, Mr Wealleans 'Oy' post popped up whilst mine was still sending!!! I have now enlarged #1001 (nee #1000) with some photos to celebrate.

Edited January 27, 2014 by LNER4479

[LNER4479]

Some of my views from Saturday.

 

Jonathan has an air of calm satisfaction as goods trains take centre stage. A stopping goods service from Doncaster has called in the Up Yard as the B16 (which has fought every inch of the way NOT to be on the roster for Barrow Hill!) clatters through with a quite glorious fully-fitted van train (actually fish vans, masquerading as a meat train!!).

 

Another of Mr Wealleans 'star turns', a Raven pacific with an equally impressive parcels/ECS rake takes centre stage. You can see the sequence cards which will hopefully give you an idea of what's going on if you're coming to Barrow Hill (if you do manage to find out what's going on, could you please let us know  )

 

To redress the balance a little, here's one of my favourite trains from Mr King's collection. This is an east Coast 'semi fast' service (don't think they called them that in those days!), with one of the 1935 'Grimsby' sets at its core (BT(twin)-CK-BT(twin)), together with a strengthener and a 6-wheel brake. Fantastic stuff.

 

Fear not - here are the stars of the show! This is how they'll be displayed at Barrow Hill; any not in the line-up will be doing their stuff on the layout somewhere, being returned to this area after their run and the next one taking its place, etc. But all (hopefully) rostered to (reasonably) prototypical workings, eg the Haymarket ones only on the Coronation or the Flying Scotsman and so on. As Jonathan has said, you might need to bring your packed lunch and Tizer with you to see them all run!

 

And if you care to scroll back up to the top of the page, you can see that I've updated post no. 1001. Enjoy

Edited January 27, 2014 by LNER4479

[LNER4479]

Just a couple of pictures from earlier today.

 

Grantham 3 01.jpg

 

If I can crave your indulgence by repeating Tony's lovely photograph again, I thought you might be interested in an insight as to how the layout is to be operated.

This view depicts sequence number 02 (there are 30 in all), focal point of which is the 10.5 King's Cross-Edinburgh (unofficially known as the 'Junior Scotsman') calling at Grantham 11.54-11.58. I have diagrammed this to be a loco change (not sure if it was or not, but the timing of four minutes 'fits' - other trains only called for two minutes). It you look closely therefore, 'home' A1 4479 'Robert the Devil' has just detached from the train and is moving forward towards the Nottingham lines (note the junction aspect on the signal) to get clear of the mainline. As soon as this is complete, the A4 in the loco change siding (4901 'Capercallie' of Gateshead shed) will move forward and reverse onto the train, before taking it forward to Newcastle.

 

Waiting to follow (and thus making excellent cross-platform changes) are the 12.22 'all stations' service to Doncaster (K3 in platform 5) and the 12.30 service to Lincoln (D2 in platform 4). Meanwhile, berthed out of harms way on the through goods lines (to the right) are two northbound goods trains. This is a busy moment in the northbound direction as Grantham at midday is seeing the parade of expresses that left King's Cross at 10.0, starting with the northbound 'Flying Scotsman' that has of course passed through non-stop a few minutes before (sequence 01). The 10.15 Leeds is not far behind (sequence 03).

 

All the above timings from the 1938 summer timetable (courtesy of NRM Search Engine). The 30 sequences in the schedule are based on actual trains that ran (but just a selection to include the most interesting ones) and covers from just before midday (to capture the passage of the northbound Flying Scotsman) to mid evening (southbound Coronation). Quite a challenge for the operating team to concentrate on but I think its worth plugging away at as it is intended to add interest and 'purpose' to the running of the trains.

 

Most particularly, the shed gets used. Quite a lot.

Edited January 27, 2014 by LNER4479

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Excellent news - a properly operated 'model of a railway' rather than one of the roundy-roundy clones that infest exhibitions.  It'll be like a miniature time machine...

 

I am looking forward to hanging over the barriers at the north end, watching the locos changing and all the movement to and from the shed...

 

If only you could feature the pall of smoke that would be hanging over the place, and the noise of a fully functional steam shed....

 

Other exhibitors might not be so keen, but you could get away with it at Barrow Hill

[LNER4479]

That's an impressive building and not an easy one to put together as there are not many photos showing the building as a whole from which to work from.

Very nice!

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

Thanks for acknowledging that Jeremy.

 

Seven years of research (and counting) has thrown up numerous glimpses of the building behind a far more interesting (so far as the photographer was concerned!) locomotive/train. I have also been fortunate to secure a detailed aerial view of the station which gave some excellent roof detail (usually the hardest views to get, particularly with a tall building). So I simply sent what I had to Paul and he did the rest, creating a working drawing from the photos. A superb piece of prototype structure modelling.

[jwealleans]

Graeme KIng has posted some of his photos including a good one of the building here.

[Tony Wright]

More pictures from the successful weekend.

 

Perhaps Graham will explain what's happening in some of them, though most are axiomatic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though this one suggests an imminent loco change, it's not the case because (I think) the A1 is non-stop on the up 'Yorkshire Pullman'. The reason why I haven't included more is that Graham's beautiful up splitting starter 'merged' completely with the flip-over descriptions of the movements for the public's information behind it. It was thus beyond my powers with Photoshop!

 

 

 

 

Perhaps someone might like to add a smoky haze to the leaden sky in this shot.

 

There are a few more shots but I'll save those for another time if I may.

 

 

 

 

[Nelson Jackson]

Fantastic pictures, just shows the scale of the layout, absolutely magnificent. Well done.

[gr.king]

 

Grantham 3 02.jpg

 

 

Please forgive my self indulgent use of the forum's quotation function in order to make that image available again here too, but I do love the Edwardian Elegance of an Ivatt loco and Howlden clerestory stock. I'm jolly glad you took the picture and posted it on here Tony.

Edited January 27, 2014 by gr.king

[gr.king]

(if you do manage to find out what's going on, could you please let us know  )

 

But please don't wake the operators to tell them, just leave me the details lightly pencilled on the back of a £20 note.......

[Guest 2750]

Lovely photos Tony, my favourite has to be Jonathan's B16 thrashing through with the vans.

Are they fish Jonathan?

Edited January 27, 2014 by 2750

[jwealleans]

That rake was all fish, Tom and entirely Graeme's and Craig's work.  I think almost every other fitted vehicle we had to hand went into the rake 3 pictures further back, which is the 3.35 KX - Niddrie, the 'Scotch Goods'.

[LNER4479]

Perhaps Graham will explain what's happening in some of them, though most are axiomatic.

Having looked up 'axiomatic' in the dictionary, here are some explanations behind Tony's second set of photographs which largely follow on perfectly from the earlier description of the sequence in #1006.

 

The next train is the last from the morning northbound 'flight' from King's Cross, the 10.15 Leeds and here it is rounding the curve after calling at Grantham 12.16-12.18 [sequence no.03]. The main core of the train is formed from Roy Mears' lovely Kirk Gresleys (in reality it was the unique Quintuplet set - a project for the future!), with a through portion on the rear, formed of less prestige stock. 4479, which detached from her train in the previous move, prepares to back onto shed.

 

With the connections made at Grantham, K3 4005 sets off with the 12.22 all stations to Doncaster [sequence no.04]. As she does so, the southbound 'Silver Jubilee', running a few minutes early speeds through (due in King's Cross at 2.0).

 

Platform 5 isn't vacant for long. C1 Atlantic 4413 draws to a stand with the 12.37 arrival from Derby (Friargate) and Nottingham (Victoria) [sequence no.05]. On shed, 'rival' ex-NER C7 Atlantic 2169 might seem an exotic visitor but there are pictures of these machines at Grantham in the 1930's; it appears they found gameful employment on fast goods services.

 

Following only 15 minutes behind southbound is the Up West Riding Ltd (due in King's Cross at 2.15). For now, we have to content ourselves with simply detaching the Beaver Tail from the Coronation rake, but a separate set is planned in due course. The Derby train can be seen again in platform 5.

 

Jumping ahead slightly, this is the Yorkshire Pullman [sequence no.08]. One of Grantham's two A4s, 4494 'Osprey' (the last one in green) has taken up position in the south end loco change bay for the following Leeds-King's Cross service, due at 1.31 (and booked to stop for 4 minutes).

 

Excellent news - a properly operated 'model of a railway' rather than one of the roundy-roundy clones that infest exhibitions.  It'll be like a miniature time machine...

 

I am looking forward to hanging over the barriers at the north end, watching the locos changing and all the movement to and from the shed...

Thanks Dr G-F. Good to hear that at least one other person approves of the approach. If you hang around at the north end, you'll also see some stock shunting going on as the C12 station pilot has a few moves to do in connection with the local passenger workings. For yourself and anyone else who may be interested, you can see the above trains described in the complete schedule that we will be attempting(!) to run to at Barrow Hill.

Grantham Train Timetable_extract (B Hill)_sequence.docx

Edited January 29, 2014 by LNER4479

[Markeg]

Thanks Robert for posting a short chronology of the layout with photos.   I just wonder how the family coped with that large baseboard in the house.  Also the operational sequence is great stuff.

 

Thank you to Tony for his superb photos.  I think another book could be in the offing.  'A lifetime of LNER Locos and rolling stock on Grantham.'  You could produce all these photos in a book and I would buy it. 

 

Excellent stuff.

 

Mark in Oz

[bro sewell]

Wow, just spent a few days reading from the start, having only read bits from the other side, very much looking forward to seeing in the flesh at the Hill in a few weeks

 

May I ask, where is the Chapel/railway room located in the UK? Are you in the Grantham area?

 

See you all at the Hill

[CUTLER2579]

Wow, just spent a few days reading from the start, having only read bits from the other side, very much looking forward to seeing in the flesh at the Hill in a few weeks

 

May I ask, where is the Chapel/railway room located in the UK? Are you in the Grantham area?

 

See you all at the Hill

 

Oh No,nowhere near Grantham !!!    :cry:

 

Hup North,  Lad.

[LNER4479]

Oh No,nowhere near Grantham !!!    :cry:

But coming to Grantham for one weekend only next September   Courage, mon brave!   

[Barry O]

LNER4479,

 

Have you booked the Antonov 222 to get it there?

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

STOP PRESS:

 

arrive at Barrow Hill

[Mike J]

I've been watching this silently for quite some time now, but thought it was about time I stuck my two penneth in. This is jaw droppingly good. A real layout of a lifetime, and of my favourite railway in my favourite period. Congratulations to all involved and I'm only sorry I cannot make Barrow Hill to see it in the flesh. Thanks for sharing this wonderful project.

A very impressed and slightly jealous fellow LNER modeller.

Mike

[LNER4479]

That's very kind of you Mike.

 

Hopefully Barrow Hill will be just the start so keep a look out for other public outings in the future.

[LNER4479]

Have you booked the Antonov 222 to get it there?

All fitted in a LWB transit last time we moved it...and with room to spare. In fact we also transported one or two non-railway housey things (including two bikes, the rear mudguard of one can just be seen on the left) so I'm reasonably confident that, despite some additions since, it should all pack up OK. I'll try and remember to take some pix of the operation.