thegreenhowards

Personally I found Vol 1 of Banks and Carter a truly inspirational read and it is probably what started me down the road of modelling correct formations rather than just putting a few coaches together to form something that might have been a train. I was blissfully aware of the errors until Tony pointed them out and while they are a shame, for me it doesn't detract too much from the utility of the book. I will be in the queue for Vol 2. Andy

Thanks Tony, I think that you’ve told me about the smoke defectors before - I’ll get round to it eventually I promise! What is the grate lever? Is that the over on the side of the cartezi truck? Andy

Tony, I have a couple of DJH A3s, 60052 and 60108. Both were eBay purchases for just over £100 and, unusually, both worked fairly well on arrival. I think I had to tweak 60108 as it has American pickups and there were some shorting issues but 60052 worked perfectly. There were certainly some issues with 60108 (single chimney with smoke defectors , banjo dome, lamp iron position and the front buffer beam was a mess), but 60052 is as bought. 60052 has a quiet Portescap while 60108 has a DJH GB1. One day, I'll get round to weathering 60052! Andy

I love Diamond Jubilee. Did you have to do a tender swap to get the correct streamlined tender, or have Hornby done one like that? Andy

I took advantage of a quieter day today to try setting the whole layout up in the garden. This is the first tim3 since I built the hills. These three boards are looking rather bare, but at least they have their protective sandtex coat on. They are noticeably heavier than last time I got them out! The other three boards look a bit more finished, but still plenty of work to do. Next steps will be rhodi on the hill behind the platform waiting shelter, a quick ‘flock over’ of the other three boards and getting the circuit round the garden complete. Andy

That’s a lovely idea, but you’ll understand if I get the basics working first!

Tony, I thought you might like to know that Charwelton ‘into the ‘80s’ is at Railex this weekend. It’s the first time I’ve seen it in any guise, and I thought that layout was magnificent (including the working semaphores!). the trains all seemed to have credible formations and the weathering was convincing and homogeneous. I watched for a complete sequence - best part of an hour. Here are some photos. The locos were all DCC sound fitted which I know is not to your taste but I do think it works particularly well with diesels - I could tell what class was approaching before it was visible. The rest of the exhibition was excellent with several standout layouts which would have been worth the admission on their own. Also the traders were mainly specialist cottage industry types who were well worth talking to. No box shifters here! All the best Andy

Jeremy, Many thanks for that description. I think it all makes sense now. I’m hoping that when I buy the kit of the ground signal it will have some prototype notes on how it worked! I wonder whether I’ll need to pack a green flag with the layout exhibition kit to enable truly prototypical operations! Regards Andy

Ok, back to Glenfinnan. Rob, thanks for your photos, I was hoping you might have the answer in your fantastic archives. I had seen and wondered about the little post in your 37 photos, but dismissed it as a milepost is similar as it looked too rectangular. However, the Black 5 picture is just what I needed and @03060’s blow up makes it even more clear that this is the beast I’m after. Thanks to John for the detective work - if only Andrew from Wizard had been there yesterday like he used to be! Looks like I’ll have to put a postal order in as I also need a finial which I seem to have lost from his kits of the lattice home signals. But I do hate paying postage! Thanks also to Rob for the engineering train photo. I allow myself up to RETB introduction, so 1987 is just OK. Are they concrete sleepers in the first two opens? I have bought some Peco individualay ones to allow me to create such a load in my Turbots based on a photo which Al Tait came up with on the MIOG group. Andy

Thanks for all your replies yesterday. Railex was very good. It’s always been a cut above the rest in terms of the quality of layouts and traders, but I think this year was even better than other I remember. The only criticisms were the heat and catering, not directly the fault of the organisers. I lasted until 1630 despite intending to leave earlier to get home for the championship play off final, but I had to admit defeat at that stage from fear of heat exhaustion! Standout layouts for me were: Charwellton into the ‘80s, a what if GC main line roundy roundy with diesels and credible formations all weathered to a uniform high standard. Grindly Brook, A large 0 gauge transition era roundy roundy nicely signalled and scenicised and excellent reliable operations. Again, good weathering, but not as consistent as Charwelton. Hope under Dinmore, pre grouping LNWR/GWR joint with unusual stock well executed. Wendover, 1920s, GCML with interesting rolling stock of varied ages - some X04 type growlers, but again lovely to see mainly kit built locos and stock. And last, but certainly not least, Addison Road. 1920s Kensington Olympia under its old name with cross London trains and wonderful scratch built Oerlikon electric units which actually arc in the third rai! Jeremy you must get yourself to see this masterpiece. It was my third time but I was still transfixed. The LBSCR I3 with lined LNWR coaches on the sunny south express is an absolute joy. The traders were also very good. No box shifters and only one selling overpriced ‘tat’. The majority were cottage industry types selling interesting modelling products and really interesting to talk to. I spent too much as normal. For Glenfinnan, it was mainly more scenic materials including heather clumps from WWS which you’ll be seeing shortly. And some bouncing signal servo mechanisms from Dingo servo mounts for the two lattice signals I built before Dapol brought theirs out. So by the time I got home from that and watched the play off final before I found out the result (I’d taken the precaution of recording it), it was too late to think about this thread so I’ll respond in my next post. Andy

Thanks Jeremy, It’s becoming clearer now. So in photos, I should be looking for a small ground based stop disk on the headshunt near the point controlling access back to the mainline? How would moves onto the headshunt from the down platform have been signalled? As for your photo, a useful reference but it rather spoils the 5,4,3,2,1 elegance! I’m off to Railex now, so won’t post again until this evening. If anyone’s going, let me know. Andy

Jeremy, Many thanks for your comprehensive reply. I’m still trying to get my head around all of the points you make, not being a signalling expert myself. One question for now, if I may. What is a stop signal? I.e. how does it differ from a shunt signal or home signal? I’ve no idea what it would look like and don’t remember seeing it in any of the photos I’ve collected of Glenfinnan. Regards Andy

Thanks Rob, I don’t think I’ll match your scenic abilities but I’m pleased that it’s starting to look like the prototype from a suitable distance. I’ve struggled with the subtleties of replicating rhododendrons and gorse, As for the signalling, it looks 6,7&8 were spare for future expansion which never happened. I may use them for the fiddle yard. I had always wondered about the slightly perverse looking numbering, but having seen your lower photo, it all makes sense. That’s quite neat pulling 5,4,3,2,1 in one direction and 11,12,13,14,15 in the other. I assume 4 and 12 were facing point locks? I find it surprising that point 10 was controlled by the signal box, but the point by the dock was not - presumably a point lever locally situated. Any idea why that would be? Would 9 be a shunt signal back onto the down platform? If so would shunts into the dock be hand signalled? I’ll look up Robert Dey in due course, thanks for the tip. Andy

I’ve been concentrating on one board to try and get it finished scenically and I think I’m nearly there. Here is the bogies from the station end graced by a lovely Primo larch tree which is a distinctive feature of the prototype photos. At the other end, the Intentio lineside hut finishes it off nicely. In other news, I have resolved how I’m going to do point and signal control. I was serving on the bring and buy stand at the Gauge O Guild Kempton Park show last Saturday and this rather lovely lever frame arrived. So I snapped it up before it even went on offer to the public. The levers are all functioning signal frame levels - just like the real thing! On the business end there is a bank of DPDT switches which can control Dapol signals or Tortoise point motors. I’d like them to control my DCC Cobalts, but I may have to swap them out for Tortoises unless anyone can think of a way. My plan is to use the original signal diagram for Glenfinnan as below and use the correct numbered levers. What 6,7&8 did, I have no idea! I intend to bury the lever frame behind the hillside, roughly where the grey patch is on this photo. By the way this shows the hillside painted in Sandtex as recommended by Paul. I bought two testor pots in light brown and grey and they’ve done three boards with a tiny bit left over. Andy

We were graced by a visit by William Ascough of Ace Prodcts tonight and he brought a couple of his locos to run - a GNR K3 and a Southern K. Here is the K3 posed with my GNR liveried C12. And here is the K class. Rob has made a roof for his signal box and detailed the interior. Here is my attempt at an arty shot from inside. Andy

I have formed the hillsides on the Fort William end board today and applied mod roc to the next board as well. The route blasted through a rock cutting just east of Glenfinnan and I formed this from Woodland Scenics shaper sheet as shown below. Here are the two boards with the plaster drying Andy

Yes, I have a half built 52f kit with the same excuse!

Steve, I believe 69814 went to the cross to haul sleeper ECS which the N2s struggled with over the Ferme Park flyover. I don’t think the trial was a great success as it didn’t last long! Andy

Thanks for the suggestion Paul. I’m not sure I have the patience for a controlled experiment, but I’ve bought a couple of testor pots and will see how it works on as many boards as they will cover.

I’ll also be interested (😬) to see how the layout deals with being outside. The scenic boards will only be outside for short periods in dry weather and will be stored in the garage in between. The board I showed is the one with fibre glass hillsides. The others may need more protection but I was hoping waterproof PVA would seal them. Andy

Rob brought his 3D printed signal box along tonight. I think it really looks the biz and neatly covers up the gem levers which we use to control points and signals. It’s still missing a roof which will come when he’s fixed the right printer for it. The rest of us are petrified to touch it as those handrails look very delicate!

I’ve started populating the cuttings with shrubs, I think they were mainly gorse and Rhododendron. My attempt at gorse is in the foreground. The taller bushes behind will be Rhody when I get some magenta scatter for the flowers (I’m setting the layout in late spring) and further along are bare shrubs waiting for foliage to be added. The rubberised horse hair will need trimming. Comments welcome.

Paul, I’ve just finished reading through your thread having been put onto it when you commented on my Glenfinnan thread. I love the concept…and the execution to date. The list of timelines is very useful, I will be referring to that in future! I found myself wanting to reply on things and then remembering that the original post was a year ago and in fact most of the comments I would have made (e.g. side platforms at Ranochan) were addressed later in the thread. I see you’ve managed to justify quite a bit of goods traffic. I was trying to be good and limit myself to what I have pictures of - i.e. tail traffic on the tea time train of oil tankers, Interfrigos and steel carriers. I was going to go back to the ‘60s for more varied goods traffic. But I am itching to use my Heljan cargowaggons, so I may succumb to an imaginary naval base type excuse! I look forward to following your progress. Andy

Speaking of red lining (and A5s), have you considered Fox lining transfers. I used them on this O gauge A5 which is nearing completion. The red lining is fiddly but quite easy provided you do it in stages and seal the previous stage which decal fix in between. I tend to do mine in front of the News at 10 but got it finished during the Coronation -all those marching horses don’t need full concentration! You’d need a glossier surface than your c13. I use Halfords black gloss and will seal it with Matt lacquer once I’m happy with everything just before the weathering. Ideally I’d use the Fox transfers for the main straight bits and a lining pen for the fiddlier bits, but I seem to have mislaid my pen. This loco was a bargain eBay purchase bought non working and in a hideous paint job but rather nicely scratch built by a ‘C J Lawley’ in 1997 (anyone know him?). All I’ve done is get it working (which was a matter of soldering the gearbox mount back together so that the gears engage), strip it (hard work!) and repaint. Regards Andy

Yes, it is the metal one… and very nicely built. You also sold me a plastic Mailcoach Coronation on the same day - in fact that’s what I’d come to collect… the Silver Jubilee was just an ‘honest Tone’ extra! The Coronation was fine at speed but didn’t bear close scrutiny. I moved it on when I heard a rumour about the Hornby one fearing it might become worthless. Andy