LNER4479

Great stuff from John, Roy and Jonathan. 2750 might be the 'forgotten' hero of the time - but not forgotten by us. I regard her as one of the four iconic pacifics from the era that are routinely requested from Mark Allatt's collection, the others of course being 4472, 4468 and 4498 (I'm sure I don't need to quote the names of those three). If we're talking iconic, then 2509 should be added to that list as well but - happily - we also now have her as part of the regular stud in any case, thanks to Barry O. A few more random thoughts about No.2750 and March 5th 1935. The contrast between her performance - as an A3 - and the Nov 1934 run of 4472 - as an original A1 - was there for all to see. Many believe that No.4472 didn't actually achieve the magic 100 on her run, the trace from the dynamometer car otherwise holding steady at @98mph but for a momentary blip up to 100 that defies the laws of physics. But No.2750 was so far over the line (as the historical article outlines) as to put it beyond doubt - and with a heavier train. And with the same driver! The legendary Mr Sparshatt. The running - southbound in particular - is of particular note because it was a day of sustained high-speed. By contrast, Mallard's great day was little more than 11 minutes of all out thrash and done with. The concentration required of a driver, in the dirty, vibrating and deafening environment of a steam locomotive cab travelling at speed, to coax the maximum performance whilst dutifully observing every signal and calculating ahead for each approaching speed restriction - all of which would be memorised in his head - for four hours without a break is quite extraordinary and not often fully appreciated. And this was a man who had already travelled north earlier in the day so was well in to a long day. No wonder he got such a hero's welcome upon return to The Cross. 5th March to 27th September 1935. That was the total time elapsed between this run and the public debut of No.2509, the first of the A4s. Must be unparalleled in railway history as so short a design and manufacture period for such a significant locomotive type. Which then went straight into service and handled the first three weeks of the new service without any back up until the next loco was available. Quite extraordinary. Did I read or hear somewhere that Mr Pegler's first expression of interest in 1963 was actually for No.2750 (BR 60096)? But finding that it had already been condemned, he then switched to No.4472. The rest, as they say... Without doubt, No.2750 and the events of 5th March 1935 definitely worth remembering and celebrating.

WAKEFIELD SHOW REPORT Well, as you might have already spotted elsewhere, Grantham has attended its 11th show, the rather excellent Wakefield 'Diamond Jubilee' show, which has had rave reviews, sharing as we did the hall with classics such as Copenhagen Fields and Halifax Kings Cross. As always, in the hurly-burly of show time it can be all too easy to forget to take photos; as always, therefore, Sunday morning proved to be a good time to get the camera out. Here is the usual general set up view. Unusually, we had a barrier line at the back of the layout, exposing the unrefined nature of the fiddle yard to close audience scrutiny. Not always ideal from the operators point of view but folk do like to see your stock, particularly as a lot of it is only seen briefly round the front. A closer - but still aerial - view of the station. Pure fluke (honest) but my new Quint local set happens to be in the station (Plat. 5) waiting to form the evening departure to Nottingham (Victoria) and Pinxton. Down on shed, A1 No.2549 'Persimmon' was a 'first time' visitor on the layout, whilst in the background lurks Jonathan's newly acquired 'Valour', still proudly wearing her 100 years poppy - and quite right too. Another 'first' was the working road system. Of course you'll have to take my word for it, but the lorry shown on the bridge did spend most of the weekend shuttling from one end of the layout to the other - interrupted by the occasional altercation with the other two working vehicles! Some form of semi-automation (as is planned) is now high priority for future shows... Most delightful of all, we came away with two awards! First of all, this for Jonathan's recent labour of love in recreating the demonstration 1888 Flying Scotsman set to run with GNR No.1. I suspect this might be the first of many awards this exquisite piece of modelling picks up over the next few years. And, the 'Best Scenic Feature' was awarded to Paul's always impressive granary building that forms the iconic backdrop to the Up Goods Yard. Nice work, guys. Finally, I happened to be 'out front' for my one stint away from the layout as move 9-and-three-quarters came around. Here then is our full recreation of the events of 30th June 1938, when the LNER launched its brand new Flying Scotsman coaches in a most enterprising way. Switching location from Stevenage to Grantham, No.4498 herself has brought the new Gresley set (the work of Roy Mears) into Platform 3, followed by GNR No.1 with the 1888 rake pulling alongside in Plat.5. The regular main panel operating team of Andrew and Adam seem well-pleased with themselves. Did you spot them in the photo above? Master figure painter Tom Dewdney only needed to be shown the actual picture of the day at Stevenage, with the LNER top brass (including Gresley himself) gathered round the locos, to produce this delightful finishing touch. The depot operator was designated to plonk this removeable feature in place once the trains arrived! With everybody safely transferred from the old, rattley six-wheelers to the new, plush pressure ventilated ones, the two trains set off on a parallel departure. Mr depot operator prepares to swoop... Surreptitiously, the group of figures are safely retrieved as the two iconic trains glide elegantly across Harlaxton Road bridge. In the foreground is another of the working road vehicles (the Harrington horsebox). Getting a traction engine working for a future show would be a fun challenge! Meanwhile, in the background, hopefully the south fiddle yard operator's sixth sense is working well with the trains heading towards him as he otherwise holds court with some barrier leaners. There will now be a small intermission whilst some of us go into 'demo' mode for Warley this coming weekend. More news after that, all being well.

My contribution to the articleated 'show and tell' discussion. This is my depiction of exactly the sort of parsimonious recycling Andrew refers to. The five vehicles in this rake started out life as 6-wheeled and 8-wheeled (rigid!) vehicles. A photo of a set like this in Grantham's Platform 5 with a large-boilered Atlantic at the business end, forming a local service to Nottingham, was the inspiration, some 10 years ago (and - yes - the photo shows the set in immaculate condition. Back from its last ever visit to Doncaster carriage works, perhaps?). Components came from four separate sources (Danny Pinnock, Bill Bedford, Frank Davies and Graeme King (resin bogies)). Full details of the build (which actually started two years ago) on the Grantham thread. Not yet finished (underframes and interiors still to do), I nevertheless got it to this reasonably presentable state to be running at Wakefield over the weekend. Better pictures to follow - this was just a quick camfone snap immediately prior to packing the vehicles into the box for the show.

Yes, your name did get mentioned on occasions during the weekend, Jamie... That would be our electrics/electronics whizz, Andrew (that's him at the controls of our trainset, just above the '&' of your nameboard. He likes a challenge). Glad to hear that his repair held up for the rest of the show and congrats at having got your first show under your belt. Grantham safely delivered home and unpacked by 10pm last night. The two awards we took home with us were a lovely surprise and I was particularly delighted that they recognised individual contributions of two members of 'Team Grantham'. Glad to hear of the bumper attendance. I think you're definitely in the running for 'exhibition of the year'!

Pretty fair in the round. We had a bit of a curate's egg day by our standards. On occasions we appeared to be having a 'purple patch' where things were going well, following by an attack of the gremlins / operator error where maybe things didn't look quite so good. Having a barrier line alongside the main axis of the fiddle yard as well as the front can be a bit of a double edged sword. Folks like to examine your stock and are often genuinely interested in how the fiddle yard works; however it is a fiddle yard where a fair degree of 'fiddling' is required which ideally should be done out of the public gaze (doesn't excuse points being wrong, mind). Thanks for kind comments nonetheless; let's see what Sunday brings...

...aided and abetted by the lateral, floor level, cross-layout bracing bar having become dislodged! Once that was discovered, I could breath again...

Anyhow ... Layout all safely transported to Wakefield, set up and miraculously working OK with minimal fuss. Nicely settled down during the evening's running and ready to go - all being well - in the morning. We've already had a first running of the Stirling No.1 1888 train recreation and the set of coaches below, both of which performed splendidly. Great show with other star layouts there and friendly atmosphere. DO say hi if you're coming along.

Are they also bringing a full size bridge to put it on?

Hi Chris, Just to clarify - is this a 2mm set of etches you are referring to? Graham

I shall have a hunt around for that then ... when my bottle of CIF runs out ... in about 25 years time... Meanwhile, the set has progressed to the orangey-brown stage. Teak staining to take place tomorrow, leaving just enough time for it to dry off before packing up in its box. It will therefore be anomius anynimuss ... un-numbered for the weekend. Oh - and we're going to have a go at making the road system go (forgot to mention that earlier!)

Well, it wouldn't do to bore the readership with every single detail of the process would it now? A picture of a bottle of CIF (the new(-ish) name for 'JIF') doesn't have a lot going for it

Never throw anything away - you should see my pencil case!

Look forward to seeing you there, Frank. Quite a list of things to do yet though, including all underframe detail(!), windows, lettering. I might just find time to get the buffers fitted to the brake ends, but we'll see. Of equally importance (to me) is that the set seems to run reliably, important for show running. Should be quite a 'Howlden fest', with Jonathan's 1888 'Flying Scotsman' set also debuting!

Well, as you might expect, it's all 'go' with only days to go before the (Wakefield) show. Top of my list is the Quint set which, whilst not fully complete, I'm determined will be in service. At the end of the last update, all roofs were on. But there's still a lot to do... Door top rain guards... Ventilators and lamp tops... Coach end gear. There's some insanely small parts on the brake etches - but I like small detail! These are the parts for the emergency brake gear. A priceless picture from good 'ol Modellers Backtrack provides the reference source. Just the vacuum brake stand/hose to fit. Roof skylights for the guard's areas. And finally(!), the ventilator hoods. Not all vehicles in the set appear to have these fitted so I've replicated that. Seems to me to be typical of these sets, based on vehicles at the end of a long, hard life, all with a different story to tell. Of course, all of this has been 'times five'. Five bodies ready for painting. Primer and roof colour being sprayed. For the full effect - come and see at the show (or wait for the post-show pictures) Meanwhile - danger! Man at work beneath baseboard. Despite Grantham having been to ten shows now, there's always things still on the 'to do' list. In particular, the South Box operating position has been working on a temporary control box of which Mr Heath-Robinson himself would have been proud. But no longer! Andrew, our electrics / electronics whizz has made a pucker control box, seen here. He has also come up with a more advanced control card for the Veissman signal motors to prevent overloads and shut downs so also took the opportunity to install some of these during a whirlwind 24 hour visit. Hopefully, that will result in less head-scratching sessions interrupting the smooth flow of trains... And there is always scenic enhancements that can be done. Here Tom 'detail' Dewdney is fixing in place some prepared parts to bring to life the previously bare area alongside the depot entrance line. Pictures show this to have been the province of the local p-way gang, with their stock of spare bits n pieces to attend to any bit of trackwork in need of their loving care and attention. There's still some sort of Network Rail depot on this spot to this day. Next report will be of the show itself!

In case you missed it on the 'Grantham' thread, here is the part-built prototype alongside Jonathan Wealleans' recently acquisition (originally built by Mike Edge). Poppy headboard available from Fox transfers.

Latest progress: a spot of test running at the weekend

Been a privilege to have this Single and train running on the layout this weekend. Now part of the Grantham roster and will be running at the Wakefield show in just under two weeks time...

As if you needed any further encouragement to attend the show, see this new (old) train running on Grantham for the first time:

Nope - we was busy rehearsing for Wackerfield in two weeks time; Spalding is NEXT year. Do try and keep up...

Ahoy there! With less than two weeks to go to the Wakefield show, it was a delight to host some of the Grantham team for 'dress rehearsal' running session and general 'fettling' weekend. Happiness is a full layout. Without trying too hard, our intrepid photographer chanced upon this eclectic mix over on the west side of the station. GN types, as always, to the fore but there is a GCR (ROD) interloper in there. One of the purposes of the exercise was to give some of the prestigious sets a thorough try out, for which it was a delight to host Roy Mears and a rather bulging suitcase of stock. We don't often get the chance to give these sets a decent run away from the spotlight of a show, so no apologies for several photos of them coming up. Here, the doyen of the streamliners, with No.2509 herself, bursts out from under the Great North Road bridge and races past South Box. One of Graeme's resin J6s observes from close quarters. Approaching the station, look what's coming the other way? A final shot, at the north end of the station. The ancient J54 pilot provides the typical old-versus-new contrast which was such a hallmark of the era. Returning to the Flying Scotsman set, here it is viewed from the north end of platform 1 & 2, A3 4480 'Enterprise' heads the other way. But the real star of the show is the all new move in the schedule. Coming as it does between moves 9 and 10, it is already irreverently known as 'Move 9-and-three-quarters' and will feature for the first time at the Wakefield show. It's another opportunity to give the 1938 Flying Scotsman set a spin (my No.4467 'Wild Swan' stands in for now; in normal circumstances it will be No.4498 'Sir Nigel Gresley'), paired up with the Stirling Single No.1 and Jonathan's meticulously recreated 1888 demonstration train. We are, of course, seeking to depict the events of 30th June 1938, with Grantham playing the part of Stevenage, where the two trains met. Given that there is almost inevitably a GNR Atlantic knocking about on the layout these days, we took the opportunity to create a generational line up of classic steam ECML motive power. But it's the 1888 train that really repays close examination. Here are two views which I hope goes some way to portraying Jonathan's wonderful work in putting this together. In a slightly different vein, we had a bit of fun trying to recreate a famous Grantham picture with the driver looking out for the 'ready-to-start' signal. Finally, whilst hopefully an enjoyable picture, a touch of genuine reverence as it is of course the milestone 100th armistice anniversary next weekend. The modern 1918-2018 poppy on the top lamp bracket is a delightful touch on another of Jonathan's recent acquisitions. See this loco also running at Wakefield. See you there, if you're able to make it to the show.

For clarification: We run two formations with triplets in them: The 1938 Flying Scotsman set, for which Roy Mears has had bespoke sides made for a triplet of the correct style The 'Junior Scotsman', for which Roy (again) provides a standard Kirk triplet set (ie as per the one you're making Tony) So no apparent call for one. However, one of the things lost in the post-Warley 2016 van theft was my old PC triplet set which was largely valueless but I did have a soft spot for. So, if your current creation doesn't make it 'down under' then it could find a home on Grantham...

I've taken the plunge. Flight tickets booked to enable me to be in the Ogden (Utah) area on 10th May 2019. Always wanted to go to Promontory Point in any case. #4014 planned to be on display in Ogden station 9th-11th May, according to UP website but will be on the lookout for Cheyenne-Ogden move info nearer the time to hopefully see her in motion. Also planning to see #4006 (St Louis) and #4023 (Omaha) as part of the trip. I will then have seen six of the eight surviving Big Boys

Similar-ish experience for me Jamie once in the 1980's with 46229 over the S&C. We were hauled northbound by a cl.45 (technically more powerful) which was down to about 35mph by Stainforth sidings and doggedly stayed at that speed all the way to Ribblehead. I remember my Dad exclaiming 'what's up with this thing? I'm used to going up here at 50mph!', referring to some of 46229's legendary runs on the route. On the way back, with the additional NRM '55 club' vehicles bringing the load up to 14 bogies, @550tons, 46229 did indeed purr up Mallerstang at 51mph! Magnificent loco!

No 40s - but EE Type 4s are tolerated (the ones whose numbers start D2xx). I have to confess that, although I have little time for the under-powered, overweight prototypes that were laughingly regarded as a suitable replacement for a Duchess - pah! - the whistling effect when Barry's one laboured up the hill was quite effective and certainly added something. Bit of a pain in the fiddle yard when it needed to be moved (due to time-consuming DC-DCC start up routine) so we resorted to crane shunting it and all was then well. Ah - talk of the devil, here it is now, staggering over the summit...