thegreenhowards

I’ve also used these couplings on my goods wagons and I find them excellent. But they’re not really necessary or suitable for coaches. They would do the same job as Bachmann pipes but less realistically.

Well I have only got one loaded rake and while I don’t mind running it more than once, I think it’s better spaced out! Also I don’t have that many mineral engines yet- need at least one more 9F and to fix my DJH WD 2-8-0, so can’t run it too often. The K3 might not be typical, but they did work (although may be not as late as 1958 which Gilbert’s admirable self discipline ties him to) and I’m rather fond of them. This one is a nice heavy Wills body (acquired from Tony Wright for a fiver) on a Bachmann chassis and pulls very well. As I said yesterday, if you weight a RTR chassis sufficiently it will pull as well as most kit built locos.

Gilbert, Did Tony look at the flanges on the wheels of those two coaches? I’m convinced they were much finer scale than standard Romford and that that is part of the problem with that rake. I use a mixture of tension lock, Roco, Bachmann ‘pipes’ and ‘Wright’ couplings. Basically: - ’Wright’ couplings on stock with kit built bogies - mainly the Elizabethan and catering cores. - Roco and Bachmann pipes on fixed rakes of RTR coaches. I find both work, but the Roco couplings do sometimes get bent and then come apart. However when they work I think they’re the best compromise between prototypical fidelity and practicality. The Bachmann pipes work well, but are a pain when I want to take my stock to my club. - Tension locks on all my loose stock and some of my fixed formations. They’re not the best looking, but they’re very convenient for putting stock together in different formations on a regular basis and they ’disappear’ under a corridor connector. I do get derailments if the hooks get crossed over when coupling up. Provided that is checked, then they’re pretty reliable except on some Hornby Mark1s when they sag and need glueing into their pocket. I run rakes up to 14 coaches/ 50 wagons and I’ve got to the stage where derailments are quite rare - although inevitably not up to Tony’s standards. However, I don’t detect any more problems with tension locks than other couplings. The problems normally arise when I’ve just out a rake together and it takes a few runs round to iron out all of the issues. Problems are normally caused by 1) back to backs not set correctly; 2) corridor connectors getting caught up with each other; 3) some of the old Bachmann Mark 1s with NEM pockets at the wrong height when accidentally used with ‘pipes’ or straight tension locks; and 4) crossed over tension lock hooks as above. Only the last of those is a tension lock issue, and that is easily solved with care. Tony’s couplings won’t always work for loose stock as you are not able to turn the coaches round so I’d be careful about going all out and replacing everything. Why not try one or two fixed rakes which are problematic and see if it solves the problem. I rather fear that your fiddle yard curves are a little too tight for the length of trains that you run, and that no amount of fiddling with couplings will fix that. Andy

Yesterday I went to visit Gilbert Barnett of this parish and his Peterborough North layout, hence no update on Gresley Jn. Anyway, Gilbert explained the coal workings to me and it seems that a coal train ran each way in the early afternoon when there was a gap in express passenger services. I had previously assumed that they ran overnight and early/ late but not during the day. I don’t yet have an empty coal train, so you will have to make do with a full one and pretend that this ran an hour or two ago on the sequence! This shows K3, 61870 on an uploaded coal train. K3s weren’t the normal power by the ‘50s, but they did run from time to time particularly before the influx of WDs and 9Fs. The train has a loaded brick wagon as the first vehicle. These were often included in the formation to improve brake force. There is a good picture of such a train with a K3 in Coster’s ‘Book of the Great Northern 1’ (p185). This train uses the freight loop through Gresley Jn station. The video shows it emerging from the tunnel and taking the slow line. Andy

Ugly?!!!! I think you mean purposeful at worst. Nothing the great man designed could be called ugly. And compared with those ugly waddling copper clad ‘duck’ things on the railway which must not be mentioned they are positively beautiful!

Thanks for your hospitality today Gilbert. As you said, some interesting discussion on formations and their variation from day to day and I found your description of how the cassettes work good food for thought. I need to work on getting the best out of mine. I can confirm that we had two long coal trains circulating continually while we discussed a wide range of issues. Andy

Today we have the up Flying Scotsman headed by my namesake Deltic, D9008, The Green Howards. I have has to bend my normal timeframe for this train as I wanted to be able to include D9008 in named condition and this didn’t happen until 1963. The formation is the Summer 1963 formation and the carriage workings helpfully give some of the actual carriage numbers allocated to the train which I’ve replicated. I’ve also fitted commonwealth bogies to all the Mark 1’s which didn’t have them (and Gresley bogies on the RU). The train still had one Thompson PV in the formation (3rd vehicle) as a throwback to former glories - the FK with ladies retiring room. This is swapped from my Elizabethan formation in the fiddle yard and can lead to derailments and swearing! The winged thistle headboard was slightly later still I think (1965?) but I like it so I rule one applies! I’ve tried panning the video this time so you can appreciate both the headboard and tailboard. I think this works OK, but let me know what you think. Andy

With Hornby’s announcement today, I thought we’d have a train with one of the fewThompson Pacific’s which they’re not doing. Here we have A2/1 Duke of Rothesay on an up secondary express, in this case the 0947 Newcastle-King’s Cross which had lots of different formations depending on the day of the week and the time of year. This one doesn’t quite match any of them but given that the vehicles are listed as ‘Newcastle to secure’, I suspect it rarely matched the booked formation anyway. The rake is a mixture of Kirk EV kits, Hornby SKs and an MJT CK, mainly built by yours truly, while the loco is a white metal kit sourced via Tony Wright. Here is the video - I’m afraid that you will notice the Portescap whine on the A2/1.

I suspect you can put your card away until next year. They’re saying Dec2020 and how often do they deliver on time?!

Steve, I’ve just finished reading your thread through from the beginning. Finsbury Square is a very convincing back story and you have executed it beautifully. I love the semaphores you’ve built and look forward to seeing some more. I shall be following from now on. Andy

Clive, I fit the flanged wheels and have no probs on Gresley Jn (min radius generally 36” with the odd 30” for curved points). I have to refit the unflanged wheels to run at my club which has a minimum radius of c.26”. This is a pain which means that many stay unflanged and as Gilbert says I don’t really notice and they’re easier to put on the track. Andy

As discussed a couple of moves ago, The Talisman should follow the Scotch goods quite closely...so here it is. In this case headed by 60020, Guillemot. This is the first train to return from the centre reversible sidings in the fiddle yard, and the only one that you will see a third time as it also forms the up afternoon Talisman. An the video - a nice short one today to make up for the epic yesterday. This seems a little jerky, bit it wasn’t like that in real life so I’m rather puzzled by what has caused it.

They both look good to me, but I think I prefer the first one. If the second was much browner/ warmer on the daylight setting then you did the right thing to change to auto for that exposure.

Next up on Gresley Jn we have an inner suburban arrival on the 1454 from Kings Cross with a standard mark 1 5 set (BS-S-S-S-BS). This picture shows it having ran round and ready to depart. These Bachmann Mark 1st are a good starting point, but benefit from flush glazing and close coupling as on this pair. The back of the train is still to do. Today’s video shows the BRCW type 2 running round its train. You’ll have to be patient with this one as it’s 2.5 mins long but I think it shows off the legomanbiffo sound project very well - one of the best that I have. Andy

Planning a layout can be a large part of the fun. I have several pipe dreams including an O gauge test bench and a garden railway, but I doubt they will come to pass.

Clive, I have dropped into the Sheffield Exchange thread from time to time. I love your plan - anything with a flavour of King’s Cross floats my boat, and it offers lots of operational interest. The layout seems to be coming on well which is why I was surprised you said it would take so long to finish. But if that includes time to build lots of rolling stock then I can understand. I’m rather impatient and would like to think that Gresley Jn will be substantially finished in 2-3 years so that I can think about another layout. Andy

Rather late for the train fix today, but hopefully it will be worth the wait. Here is the up Elizabethan with 60013. Trains don’t get much sexier than this - at least for me. This is the formation as it was in 1957 with 10 rather fine Thompson PV carriages and just one mark 1 on the back letting the side down. The Thompsons are all built from Southern Pride sides on Bachmann donors, so it’s a fairly weighty train, but no problem for a standard Hornby A4. Here’s the video. Andy

I have deliberately kept the list short so as to make it realistic. One of the reasons I started this thread was to give me an incentive to crack on with the layout, so let’s see if it works! Thanks John, my problem is I’m probably happiest building rolling stock, but I need too remember that there’s no point in having lots of stock with nowhere to run it! 7.5 years sounds like a long time. I hope too be well into bodging my next layout by then!

It seems to be the fashion to make new year resolutions for layouts. So, following the example set my Tony Teague amongst others (see https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/115550-churminster-stowe-magna-southern-railway/&do=findComment&comment=3783464 - his thread is well worth a look if you haven't already), here are my top three objectives for the year: 1. Finish ballasting the track - a bit of a chore, but well overdue and should be easy enough to knock on the head; 2. Replace the station buildings and get the scenery in the station area up to the standard of the rest of the layout (not necessarily finished, but largely presentable); and 3. Install at least 2 more working signals. There will be lots of other minor jobs (e.g. installing the trap points which those who follow Wright Writes will have seen me berated for) and hopefully a few new trains to play with, but if I haven't completed the three points above this year, I will be very disappointed and you will have the right to take me to task! Andy

Wouldn’t that imply that the scotch goods left after 1600?

Thanks. That sounds about right because I seem to remember stories of it being thrashed by Bill Hoole to keep ahead of the 1600 Talisman. I will have to amend my sequence. Andy

John, Thanks for your comment on the videos. They take quite a while to film and process, so it’s nice to know that they’re appreciated. As for the C1, thanks for your research. Given that I need a KX outer suburban example, I’ve more or less decided to go for 2881 in 1948 guise with LNER on the tender and I’ve ordered the decals for this in Modelmaster’s New Year sale. I did win a DJH C2 ‘Klondike’ (unmade) on eBay just before Christmas, so at some stage in the distant future I might be able to recreate the Plant Centenarian railtour from 1953 or the suburban trains that 251 and 990 worked in the week leading up to the tour - watch this space! Andy

I think it varied over the years from c.1400 to c.1600. I wasn’t even born and don’t have the freight WTT, so I’m relying on photo captions. Gilbert might be able to give us the definitive answer...at least for 1958.

Christmas and keeping up with taking videos of Gresley Jn for that thread has slowed up my workbench progress a little, but I have now made some progress with the d.16 RKB. The basic structure is now complete and I’ve built the under frame according to what I can see on the photos, but I don’t claim that it’s 100% accurate. There’s was definitely a heavy duty bogie at the kitchen end (MJT) and a standard bogie at the other end (Bachmann). The roof was the trickiest bit as none of the photos are definitive and some seem to show different vents to others. There were definitely some of the standard LNER oblong catering car vents and some photos seem to show a BR style round monsoon type vent. I’ve settled on the layout below, but it’s little more than educated guesswork I’m afraid. Next up decals and glazing. Then glueing the roof on. Any comments welcome. Andy

An iconic train today - the Scotch goods. This left King's Cross around 1600 and headed overnight to Scotland. It was fully fitted and kept reasonably short (about 25 vans I think) in order to allow it to travel fast. From inception to mid '50s it was V2 hauled - this is what they were built for, but sometime in the late '50s it switched to Pacific haulage. Anyway, V2's are my favourite steam engine, so I had to have one on the front. It should probably be black as the train switched to pacific power around the time the V2s were painted green, but my only black one is Bachmann and struggles with this train. 60835 is Nucast stuffed with lead and will pull anything I've asked of it. This picture is in the station (obviously!) and I think reinforces the amount of work needed in this area. I'm working on a Scalescenes station building at present, and when that is finished a major session on this area is called for. This picture gives a view of most of the train snaking round the S curve. Here's the video which shows the whole train.