John76

Mike I used a milling machine to open out the body side windows. It was a lot quicker and you get consistent openings. John

Hi Mike Do you have these two books? Both have photos of Lewden Crossing. The first (Rails Through Barnsley) has a photo taken in 1958 shows the box in green and cream. The second book (The Sheffield Asthon Under Lyne & Manchester Railway) has a photo taken in 1967, and the box has been repainted in light grey and black bargeboards?. Have you seen them? I'm guessing the paint scheme at Lewden would be similar to Wentworth given the proximity of these two boxes. John

Mike Signal box looks great. i had never realised that there were windows round the back. How did you do the lamp by the door, and what is the black marker for on the front and end? John

Does this help? No pictures though any more. John

Will you be 'bending' the points to fit the 5ft radius?

I thought the whole layout performed brilliantly and from an operational perspective it was great to watch. Bring on the EM1s and the overheads.....

Mike Have a look at this: - At about 6:44 you can see the distant signal for West Silkstone Junction, albeit a 3 aspect according to the box diagram. Also, at 8:08 you pass a 2 aspect c/l section signal en route to Barnsley Junction. Both of these would be the same vintage as the colour light at Wentworth Junction. Hope this is useful. John

Mike The signals really look the part. For those of us whose primary interest wasn't (but might end up being) steam, whats a parachute tank???? is it just a small water tank? Any photos would help? I'm guessing there must have been a similar arrangement up at West Silkstone Junction. John

Mike Can’t believe what a difference that has made. Looks great. John.

Hi Paul, If at all possible, would you be able to upload these photo's again please. Thanks in advance John

Have a look at this photo. Note the date and read the associated comments. https://www.flickr.com/photos/24041160@N02/5187301494/in/photolist-2jL4R9j-8Uoh1E-4Cuhh6-4H9r8q-8Ukj56-b8PPbz-CWJuCL-CWJuEj-WW5MkA-CWJuDC-CWJuDh-CWJuCA-7YyN1L-b9rCyR-5xGtob-CQp1sk-657bTL-2iNKwC4-e3MaQv-2iNPWzy-4Sf56z-WvXh7N-WvXh8Q-YnRRyu-e3SNZW-CVpbD3-Wp3NQ5-CVpbDy-WvXh8u-8UkkUX-8UkkFX-e6oas7-cEMYBq-cADhkm-dy3KL6-R8aXkz-o8Hw4R-rbo9jT-2giUZ3o-aBrZXz-2giV9jg-DffvAg-2giV9iu-cEM7AG-f6AnZL-iUQWgW-i8mS8F-dBm8Au-f5EHpV-dvY2hy My guess is that at the time of the accident, the banking locomotive 26038 hadn't been converted (and never was) to MU operation and probably didn't have the clear call system installed. John

Mike These are looking great. i'm guessing the size of the resin body hasn't been an issue in the end. Did you ever consider doing an overlay etch for the lower body sides to get that distinctive dip in the centre? John

Mike Given that you have said the resin EM1s were made 5% larger to accommodate shrinkage that never occurred, will that cause you any issues when you offer up the new cabs? John

Mike, Excellent as ever. Can you clarify how the auxiliary catenary and contact wires are secured to the registration arms. Have you had to un-solder to paint everything or do they (wires) fit into tiny slots in your arm etch? John

Mike This all looks great. How easy was it to solder the wires to the registration arms while keeping it under tension and in the right place? Also, how long is the wire run you have built and does it go over any baseboard joints? John

Mike, Looks like its starting to come together. Have you left the 'Y' hangers off the portals until you work out the position of the wires in relation to the track, and will the height of the contact wires drop as it goes into the tunnel as the prototype did? John

Mike Great work. How are you going to mount them on the layout?

Fascinating. Thank you. John

I watched you for a good 20 minutes at the southern end of the fiddle yard and was fascinated to see how much work was involved to get the trains ready at the 'back of the house'. I could see you were better left alone but watching helped me start to understand how you operate Grantham and get the variety of trains out front. I really enjoy this element of operating a layout and it is often lacking on others. is there any chance you could share with us what it is you do 'back of the house' and how the fiddle yard operates? What came first, the operating schedule or the fiddle yard? Scenic stuff and authentic trains are great but realistic operation does it for me and Grantham has all three. John

Bells of different shapes and sizes John

Mike I'm assuming you will end up with quite a few anchor posts around the junction itself as well to cater for all the overhead wires for the sidings and going down the colliery branch. Have you noticed that there were more than one type anchor post as well? The ones along the Worsborough branch were a lot more substantial than the ones used elsewhere. Oh and have you spotted the double facing anchor post that sat along side the Banking siding at Wentworth junction? See below..... John

Mike If you mean along the four track main line from Moor Road towards Elsecar Junction, then yes. John

John Always good to see new photos of the Worsbrough branch. I particularly like this one of 76049 ‘banking’. John.

John Great photo. There are three things I like about it: - the replacement pantograph the three empty MGR wagons at the back of the train and Dodworth pit and muck stack on the horizon. John

Paul You may recognize these then..... The signal box was built a few years ago and is out for repairs after suffering some damage in store. The water tower is my current building project that still needs windows, doors and of course the water tank! I keep meaning to post the measurements on here for Beeley Wood TSC and Wharncliffe Wood Sub Station. If you are building WSJ then please post updates on here. Even if its just your plans. it would be great to see it progress. John