LNER4479

Continuing on at Upperby. Was - naively - hoping to lay the goods lines onwards, now that the goods lines part of Upperby Juncs have been laid. But there's a problem! This centres around the single slip at the heart of the formation, seen more or less at the centre of this picture. There's some point rodding required to facilitate crossover operation connected to this point ... and they run under the goods lines. So this slip has to be laid for keeps ... so as the rodding can be installed ... before the goods lines can be laid. Trouble is, to accurately position the slip, the adjacent WCML double junction needs to be in position - the alignment of the main lines is, as always, paramount. The pointwork pictured has thus been prepared (modified), ready to be temporarily fixed in position. And now with the key single slip itself in position ... but not yet fixed down. Doesn't look too bad? The above exercise allowed for the piece of cork underlay to be fitted, matched to the outline of the foam pieces of the WCML pointwork. Duly painted, the single slip can now be permanently fitted Two square holes cut, with the usual rat's nest of pre-wiring added. Fitted! All that effort for one point. Now, where were we?

My understanding (for what it's worth) was the such vehicles stayed largely parochial in the early BR period (as did ex-GWR types?), but as the 1950s wore on - and certainly by the 1960s - they became much more common user and were seen over the length and breadth of the country. I've seen (1960s) picture of them at Aberdeen, marshalled into fish trains (were their floors strengthened or were they suitably strong anyway? Anti-corrosive coverings?)

Evening Tony et al. Talking of the Peter Lawson collection, I picked up the latest consignment on Monday. More tempting morsels will be on their way in due course, including some rolling stock items. As some of the rolling stock items are of GWR origin, with the agreement of gwrrob of this parish, I have just posted some details on the Nod to Brent thread, as per the following link. A couple of pics below, to give you an idea - but details of all items photo'd (for now) are on the above thread.

Some other GWR passenger vehicles from the Peter Lawson collection I've come across three trailers. The other two are RTR, but this one appears to be kit built. Rather nice (to my untrained eyes) And now some Siphons. Starting with a 'J' (even I can read!) Siphon G. Is there an RTR equivalent of this? Another G And ANOTHER G - but different style of panelling?(!) As I say, all are for sale, looking for good homes. There's one or two other items of NPCCS, if they would be of interest. Please PM me or Tony if interested. And do feel free to pass on details elsewhere. As you'll already be aware, there's various kit built locos (all in BR condition). Tony has done a sterling job in selling most of the first batch I gave him, but I've just picked up some more(!), so stand by for further details on Tony's thread in due course. Anyone planning a visit to the York show, there should be some on Tony's stand there (I'm also at the show, with Grantham) Thanks for your forbearance. Graham

Greetings to all in Glorious Devon, where the sun always shines (even at night time). With the blessing of the genial host of this thread, I am posting a series of pictures which may be of interest. As one or two may be aware, with the assistance of the good Mr (Tony) Wright, I am undertaking the not inconsiderable task of finding new homes for the sizeable collection of my Dad's modelling friend, Peter Lawson. It's largely a LMS / GWR collection, with a bit of ex-GCR LNER thrown in (all in the BR era). Much of it is kit built. Tony and I can deal with the ex-LMS and LNER stuff; however, we're beyond the limit of our competence when it comes to the former GWR stock(!) Accordingly, I'm posting the following here, in the hope that you knowledgeable types can identify the vehicles concerned and (possibly) the origin of the models, ie which kit they might have been built from. They're all for sale, at the best reasonable price, with the usual 10% to CRUK. They will have been built at some point over the previous 40 years, so some may be quite old by now. But I have no information on that aspect. If nothing else, I hope they are of interest as models in their own right. A Corridor third. Sides look fairly crude (thick window bars). BSL? It may have Comet bogies. As with all Peter's coaches, it's fitted with homemade hook and bar couplings, designed to run as part of a rake. A brake third. Looks to be similar origin. No idea(!), other than to say it appears to be a corridor third of an older style. Are those what you folks call 'American' bogies? Nice. Another corridor third? Love those curved door handles! Brake third. Is this one of those long 'dreadnought' coaches? Another brake third. AND another(!) A composite. Looks to be the same style as 4556 above. A brake composite, no doubt handy as a through coach? A more modern style Composite. Collett? Ditto? Some more to follow.

Grantham's 70ft turntable takes about a minute to revolve 180 deg. It feels / looks about right to me. It runs off an independent power supply so you just leave it running and can be moving something else around on the shed whilst it's in operation. This was first test, 9 years ago. It's long since been detailed and finished! And please don't play the video with the sound turned up - it really isn't THAT noisy!! (one of those where the camera microphone is picking up any sound going).

So it is! I was thinking that was the Quad set ...

Meanwhile ... Just a quick note to say that, following a photo session at last year's Hornby GETS show, the layout is scheduled to be in the next edition of said mag, out ... pretty soon now! Bizarrely, Grantham is also appearing simultaneously in April's RM. It's like waiting for a bus! Enjoy.

You may recall(?), back in the dim n distant past of August last year, we set the layout up for a fortnight in Jonathan's barn, to undertake a little bit of maintenance / improvement work, practice running and ... photography. Below is an example, kindly photoshopped by John Smart. Well ... drum roll, please ... the images captured happily made the cut with a certain long-established railway modelling magazine (the one that used to be for the 'Average Modeller') and the layout is set to feature in the 'April' issue, due out on March 14th, to coincide with the layout's appearance at the York show. This was the plan all along, as originally hatched with the erstwhile editor, the good (albeit sometimes 'stern') Steve Flint. Anyhow, glancing through the current edition (my Dad gets RM; I get BRM and we exchange mags once read), in particular the 'next issue' section, it seems that Grantham will be 'Layout of the Month' no less. Well chuffed about that. By way of celebration, below are some of the images that didn't make it to the final copy - all pix have been embargoed until now. Needs a bit of photoshopping out of the background but otherwise a 'classic' Grantham platform end view. Tom Foster's weathering is shown to particular effect from this angle. Mr King brought along his exquisite iron ore rake and several different views of it were taken. One may have made it into the article. The phantom curtain wigglers haven't quite managed to eliminate the background! All Mr Wealleans' (stock) and Mr Bolton's (buildings) work. Not a streamliner in sight! Aah - here's one! Enjoy the read and / or see you at the York show in a 3 and a half week's time. (and if that wasn't enough excitement, Shap is also the feature layout in the next issue of another railway modelling magazine (the one that shares its name with a red box RTR manufacturer). It's like waiting for a bus ...)

So now, the exciting layout news ... Should be first post on the next page 👉

Forgot to bring my tea tray with me.😖 Did see the course set out though (again, for the first time)

Well, glad all this of some interest (to some). After the sensational conditions of the previous two days, there was always a danger of Thurs 22nd being something of an anti-climax. The weather certainly turned duller. However, one of my TM colleagues wanted to do a recce to one of my other favourite places round these parts ... Back out over THAT viaduct (again!). Destination ... St Moritz 😎 Some of my TM colleagues don't really 'get' St. Moritz but I love it. It really is a place like no other, famous as the home of winter sports and given a memorable name drop in the classic Peter Sarstedt song 'Where do you go to my lovely?' It's all about the location, best viewed from across the lake, railway station to the right. Did I say lake? I haven't actually been in the month of February before, so this was the first time I've seen the lake set out for the famous 'White Turf' event. That's right - horse racing on the (frozen!) lake. The ice clearly thick enough and the temperature clearly cold enough here. Zoom in on the left hand side mid-distance, and you'll see the unmistakable course perimeter fences (quite apart from the cars, hospitality tents, etc). Only in St. Moritz. Well, if it's good enough for horses, it's good enough for me! Farewell for now. Due back here twice in the summer 😊 The train back had one of those lovely restaurant cars again! Time for a midday 'snack'. Changed at Filisur for the train on to Davos, seen crossing the also spectacular Wiesen viaduct. Further change at Davos for the onward train to Landquart. The descent down into Klosters is another favourite of mine. Not sure how the royals are going on skiing on that little snow?(!) A final rendez-vous in Landquart with my fellow TMs. The others had been suitably underwhelmed by the nearby designer outlet village. Ah well, can't please everyone all the time. Great little trip. Hoping to do something similar again at the same time next year. Austria was mentioned. And now - let's focus on the layout.

That MIGHT just have been the legendary Stuart Sellar? He died only last year, at the age of 86. Famous within GRJ but probably far more famous for his contribution to ScotRail and the SRPS, including project managing the reintroduction of steam on the FW-Mallaig route in the 1980s Obit here: https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/obituaries-stuart-sellar-railwayman-and-founding-member-of-the-scottish-railway-preservation-society-4343626 Mind you, there are about 400 of us TMs so apologies if the above is a case of mistaken identity ...

That's not been my (admittedly very limited) experience in the past. Sounds(!) like it's improving all the time then. It was ever thus for evolving technology...

First time I did it was in 1988 - in the opposite direction. We'd stopped off at Alp Grüm for a photo session. I was just blown away by it all. I seem to recall that we all fell asleep on the train from Tirano to Milan! (was with a group of like-minded fellow railway management trainees. We 'did' most of west Europe in three weeks of non-stop travelling) If poss., I always try to arrange the trip as per last week. For 'first timers' there really is no finer introduction to Swiss mountain scenery (IMHO). Incidentally, Varenna's not a bad spot to spend a couple of night before taking the trip onwards.

Weds 21st continued ... All too soon, our onward train was scrambling up that last curve into the station. Note the lake, still in view from this lofty vantage point. Alp Grüm isn't the summit; the railway climbs still further until it reaches the amazing lago Bianco and the absolute summit at Ospizio Bernina (7392ft a.s.l.), Europe's highest open railway pass (ie not in a tunnel). More fabulous conditions. Looking back to Ospizio station (left). There's a lake under all that lot somewhere. In the summer, it's a glorious Alpine blue colour. On the descent out of the pass, the line zig-zags close to the Morteratsch glacier. That's the second glacier you see on the run. Here's the fun fact - on the more famous 'Glacier Express', you don't actually see any glaciers!! (the latter train takes its name from the Rhone Glacier - which the modern train bypasses courtesy of the 1982 Furka base tunnel). Our train was headed for St Moritz; however, we were booked into a hotel at Chur. So, two quick changes of train (but all well within Swiss stride) at Pontresina and Samedan took us onwards over ... The Albula pass. Almost an anti-climax, after the wonders of the Bernina route, but this is all part of the UNESCO listing, owing in no small part to how the railway spirals its way up (or, in our case down) the pass. It's almost impossible to photograph from the train but I always try! We're about to embark on a clockwise, descending spiral in the mountainside (to the right), which will bring us out on the railway line below. Rather easier to photo (provided you're ready for it) is one of the last of the notable structures (in this direction) - the iconic Landwasser viaduct. Inspiration behind 'Team Grantham's 2019 GMRC heat layout (desperately trying to keep the link with Grantham going!). Note that opening the large panoramic windows to best capture the scene is de rigeur on these trains! See the blue vehicle second to last? That's the rather splendid restaurant car! Time for a cuppa to reflect on all that wonderful Alpine scenery and amazing railway engineering.

Close, but no cigar. No, my favourite introduction to the railways of Switzerland is the amazing* Bernina pass route, north from Tirano, in Italy (*not just me saying that - UNESCO agree with me 😆) The plan for our little trip revolved around this journey and it was a relief to see the forecast gradually improve until we had a largely sunny day😎 We retraced our steps out to lake Como but then carried out along the remainder of this extensive branchline to its terminus at Tirano. After over two and a half hours on the train, it was time for a coffee stop in station square. What makes this way into Switzerland so memorable, is that the trip out of Italy - whilst very attractive - is on a nondescript, graffiti-ridden (usually) train, with unmanned stations, dilapidated buildings. You exit this world on the left (cream coloured building) and then step across the square into the station building on the right. An enclave of Swiss swishness and an extremity of the iconic red trains of the Rhätische Bahn (Rhaetian Railways) RhB. The contrast could not be more complete and just serves to accentuate the remarkable journey that is about to unfold. The trip starts in Italy but within 10 minutes, we're into canton Graubünden (the Grisons) and soon encounter the first of the remarkable pieces of railway engineering - the Brusio spiral. We were on that railway below less than 60 seconds previously. Beyond Brusio, we're running alongside Miralago, a beautiful Alpine lake. The snow-topped mountains ahead are where we're going. Above Poschiavo (a major RhB depot) - centre of the picture - the railway starts its climb into the mountains via two long, snaking S-bends. Look carefully and you can see bits of the railway lower down the slopes. The scenery changes from side-to-side as the railway does a sequence of U-turns. That's the Miralago lake we passed earlier in the distance. We're now above the snow line and undertaking further zig-zags as the railway travels further vertically than it does horizontally. The final 180deg curve of this remarkable stretch of line, brings us into the amazing mountaintop station of Alp Grüm, only accessible by train. On a day like this, you simply HAVE to break your journey here, just to take it all in, overlooked by the Palü glacier. I know of no finer (railway) restaurant balcony to enjoy your goulash soup and beer. Many of my fellow TMs have done the Bernina Express in the last couple of years, but none had broken their journey here. It was a magical hour - nice when it all works out as planned.

I wouldn't normally get involved in such a discussion, as I am resolutely in the Dinosaur Control camp. However, I'm asking for a friend ... Irrespective of pitch / tone considerations, two fundamentals need to be met for steam sound to even start to be realistic: 1) The 'chuff' to accelerate in time with the loco (not go up in discontinuous steps), with the correct chuffs to the revolution (4 per rev for a 2/4 cyl. loco; and 6 per rev for a 3 cyl. loco) 2) The 'chuffs' to stop altogether when the locomotive is slowing to a stand. This should NOT require the input of the operator(!) - the system should sense the load on the motor (or equivalent) and adjust the sound accordingly. Are there any steam sound systems out there that achieve both of these? I might have heard No.1 but not - to date - No.2. As I say - asking for a friend. (FWIW, we do have two sound diseasels on Shap - that work on DC - and it's reasonably acceptable)

It's beautiful work (as always) but, heartbreaking though it might sound, the correct decision in a situation like this is almost always to start again. Two associated thoughts: 1) If this is a pivotal piece of track, critical to the smooth operation of the shed, is it going to end up as an Achilles heel if you plough on? 2) If the layout is 'here to stay' then it's worth investing in it's future It'll all make much more sense this morning now you've slept on it. And it'll take you less time to get to the same point (no pun intended) second time around.

Well, the layout is shortly to awake from its winter slumbers - with a little bit of additional excitement thrown in. Before that - and by way of a 'wake up' - been on my travels again. Just a quick few days, with fellow group of GRJ Tour Managers (ie we paid our own way on this occasion). Getting to be a bit of a tradition - a get-together trip out-of-season. Otherwise, we tend to pass like ships in the night. To get the most out of our time together, we agreed to fly out (Mon 19th) and meet up at our designated rendez-vous point. The Alps looking particularly enticing from seat 22A of my flight out from MIA (Ringway) to ... ... the fair city of Milano. They have trams here. There were some REALLY old ones running around but didn't have my wits about me to capture one on the old camfone, so you'll have to take my word for it (I'm not really very clued up when it comes to trams). The weather was set fair for the Tues (20th) so we headed out to lake Como for a bit of leisurely familiarisation. Here are my travelling companions, freshly decanted from Trenord's finest. If you book on a GRJ tour and get one of these as your Tour Manager then run for the hills (ha!) For those unfamiliar with your Italian lakes geography, Como is three legged and lovely lakeside town of Varenna is at the apex of the lake, served by the train. From there, ferries take you across the lake to Bellagio (the main tourist hotspot) and ... ... Mennagio. Just look at these conditions. This is mid-February and it was shirt sleeves weather. No-one about (but enough bars / cafes open). Absolutely gorgeous. I'd been here before but none of my colleagues had; they left with a favourable impression. Back in Milan, enough daylight left to take in the spectacle of the Duomo square. They even have gondolos in Milan. Who knew? Next - my favourite European train journey bar none. And a special stop en route. All we need is the weather.

More tracklaying ... Working on the third out of four fan of points in the fiddle yard. And that's the down fiddle yard essentially done - just a few plain lengths to complete. A ten coach set of Hornby Gresleys looks suitably 'lost' in there. The longest road as laid will take a 19 coach train - answers on a postcard(!) More prosaically, each road will be set up to take two trains if required, so more likely a longer road would be used to store two (shorter) trains, with a longer formation occupying one road on its own. One more fiddle yard session probably ... then we switch to Peco bullhead for the track through the station 🤓

Yay - platforms! Looking good, Houston 😀

Oh lumme. Don't encourage them. It'll be kn0bs and c0cks next ...

Whatever ... He certainly looks 'magnificent' in original garb (TW pic) It's me 😄

More work on the 'festive challenge' Fairburn. Work on the cab doors area. The rear (bunker) unit detaches separately, making things a little tricky. Suitable 'L' channels cut and soldered and handrails affixed. Can doors, steps and balance pipes added. Bunker rear detail (I like adding the detail 🤓) Cab roof ventilators. And, at risk of lily gilding, an ancient supply of 5A fuse wire being used to add beading round top of bunker. Beginning to look something like? Side tanks unit next.