thegreenhowards

Today its the evening peak Stirling branch train. You’ve seen this train before as I assume the Stirling branch has a pretty basic service worked by just one train set - N7, 69637 and a D.210 twin art. I’ve tried to give a different angle on it this time. There should also be a Ivatt branch train at this time. I’ve modelled the Ivatt branch on the Hatfield-Dunstable branch and looking at the CWN is appears that there were four train sets on this branch plus a quad art which worked through to Moorgate. Two of them arrived in the morning, laid over and departed again in the evening peak. I only have two branch sets to form my service with none laying over, so the 1809 to Ivatt is cancelled this evening! This is good news though as I now have an excuse to buy more trains! Here’s the video of the Stirling branch train departing.

Gilbert, Do you put the corridor connectors on both ends of the coaches or just one end? I tend to put them on just one end and it doesn’t seem over-tight when I push the coaches together - one connector and one blanking plate. I do occasionally turn the coaches round (for coach roof board reasons) and if I get two corridor connectors then it does feel very tight. Also are you using the fair price models connectors or the bigger (and much more expensive) Modellers Mecca ones? Andy

I didn’t make any progress over Christmas as my wife thought the dining room should be used for dining - fancy that! But I did get a delivery of the second baseboard from fellow club member, Peter, and I have done some more track laying this week. I started by laying the track out roughly and marking where I needed to lay cork. The cork was then glued down with PVA and left to dry overnight under some weight - I knew all these railway books would come in useful! Yesterday afternoon the cork looked quite neat. This morning I have been track laying. The soldered copper clad strips at the baseboard edge have been a bit awkward and took several soldering tweaks to get smooth enough. The rest went down pretty easily. So we now have this. I have soldered droppers to every bit of track, so the next job will be to join them up. Then I hope to be able to test some trains.

Jonathan asked the question a week or so ago about a B1/L1 double header and I promised that it would feature soon. Well today’s the day. This is the 1739 KX- Baldock double headed as far as Hitchin where the B1 came off and went forward to Peterborough with the Peterborough portion of the 1752 to Cambridge and Peterborough. Photos I’ve found of this train are both from 1957 so it may not have lasted long. The L1 was bunker first in both so that’s how I’ve portrayed it - despite it looking a bit strange. Here we have 61394 and 67772. I apologise for the L1 looking ex box. It’s my daughter’s and she won’t let me weather it! The train itself was a standard non corridor 6 set, mainly Mark 1s with a couple of Thompsons. It had three peak strengthened added to the front - all Thompson in my case which is what the CWN shows (but the photos suggest Mark 1s). here it is emerging from canal tunnel. And now at rest in platform 2. The video is a bit longer than normal to show the pair accelerating away from their station stop and following them round the layout. I’m particularly pleased with how the DCC ‘consisting’ worked on this pair. They worked seemelessly together. It was much easier with a pair of Bachmann RTRs than trying to match the two Atlantic’s - one Bachmann and one kit built with Portescap.

I think I may need to do some of that, but I’m going to try the slightly longer couplings first. They’re in the post.

I was tempted by Hitchin stalwart, 61027, Madoqua, the only one I’ve modelled. But I agree with Manna, it has to be Bongo for the Bongos.

It’s now 1810 at Gresley Jn and time for the up Glasgow-KX. I’m basing this train on the Summer 1958 formation but all in Crimson/ Cream livery so probably Summer ‘57 (I don’t have the CWN for Summer ‘57 but assume it would be similar). It’s headed by 34A streak, Wild Swan. It’s an impressive looking 12 car rake. As I’ve mentioned, I’m experimenting with Hunt magnetic couplings. They seem to work fine on all Mark 1 trains of 11 coaches or less but when it gets heavier/ longer than that I seem to get occasional unscheduled uncoupling. I also have the problem of how to incorporate non NEM stock in the train. This service featured an ex Coronation dining twin as below. This normally runs in my West Riding set (hence the coach roof boards) and I’m not planning on converting all my sets over to Hunt couplings any time soon. So these will stay as hook and goalpost couplings. The question was how to allow it to run on the Glasgow rake which is otherwise made up of loose stock with Hunt couplings. The solution I’ve adopted is to have dual coupling converter coaches like this. The magnet doesn’t interfere with the hook and vice versa. I may run into problems with this but so far so good. Any other observations on Hunt couplings would be welcome. Finally the video - this took a couple of takes as the train split in to two halfway through the station on take one!

It sound to me like it’s very much a positive for the images and a negative for progress with the layout. Why fix those things if you can edit them out later?! One thing I’ve found is that taking even my basic photos highlights problems on the layout. I don’t necessarily correct them and retake the photo, but I do try to address them before the next shot in the same location. Andy

I agree John, As one of those modellers, who likes to ‘plough my own furrow’, I need all my modelling time for.....modelling! I couldn't justify spending an hour photoshopping before putting a photo on here. People seem to appreciate what I put on even though it shows the full scene ‘warts and all’. If I ever get Gresley Jn to a state where photos of it could be published, then hopefully a professional would be sent round to do justice to the layout. I appreciate that the equation is very different for a pro or for a keen photographer. Andy

I think a Thompson deserved a loco names after him and at least it’s got his full Christian name. I like all the names really but I’ll go for Watling street as the ‘least good’.

I did think about trying to get away with that but it slowed right down at the ‘click‘ which would not be quite right - momentum doesn’t scale! It still has a bit of a grinding noise if you listen to the video which if I’m being generous might sound like a WD!

Today a new loco makes its debut on Gresley Jn. I say ‘it’ because while Pacifics are ‘she’, I’m not sure that can apply to a WD 2-8-0! Anyway, here is 90015. This is a recent eBay purchase of a Bachmann WD having decided I need more WDs. It was a bargain (£72) having been described as ‘having a distinct click’. I thought that would be a few tweaks to the valve gear and hey presto...wrong! I ended up spending about 4 hours fiddling with it. The problem turned out to be the coupling rods binding on the cranks. So I had to strip the coupling rods off and ream them out. It now runs well forward but still with a slight click in reverse. It was a satisfying job but in vfm terms I’d have been better buying less of a project! This will not stay as 90015 as it was a Mexborough or Colwick engine until the late crest era and anyway it will upset my DCC loco numbering system if and when I acquire Quicksilver! So, I’ll be looking to renumber it shortly, but there are so many detail differences that could be a bit of a nightmare! Gilbert has provided some useful goods info and I understand that class Fs would have been used to get coal up to London - no opportunity foregone as there was so much. So it consists of a few GM opens and vans and then half of my loaded coal train. Here’s the video should you want to admire lots of slowly trundling coal trucks.

I agree with those two, but Donny and Darlington never made it past the second tier. I accept they may have a special case with the LNER though! I would plead that Queens Park is pretty much on the Great Central but with my honest hat on, I can see why we were overlooked.

Enough football banter, today is a more prestigious train, the 1735 KX- Newcastle which still had a scattering of Thompson brake vehicles and the wonderful ex Silver Jubilee triplet in 1956. Today it is headed by Grantham A3, 60064, Tagalie. The more switched on amongst you will be saying why has he put a double chimney/late crest loco on a 1956 train. I can only plead lack of attention to detail. My notes said Grantham A3 and this was the only one available. It was only later after I’d put the train away that I realised my mistake, so please bear with me. Here is a shot of more of the train entering the station area. And now moving on to the viaduct. Finally here’s the video. This shows the full rake with the slightly incongruous BG in the middle. This is as per the CWN. Apart from the Elizabethan ones, I don’t think any BGs were painted in custard and cream to match the stock.

They’re all good so I abstain from this one.

I got that reference. I was illustrating less successful teams that were honoured with a name.

Doncaster Rovers...Darlington? And if you want a competition in failure we’d win hands down!

PM sent.

Phil, I have the Parkside instructions for a similar LNER D.5 horsebox which gives positions for that. Would you like a copy? Andy

Tonight I feature the 1615 Cambridge-KX. In 1958 this was a standard corridor six set of which there were 8 rakes. It consisted of a mix of Gresley BSK(3)s; a Thompson FK and three Mk1 TSOs and tonight it’s headed by B17, 61662. This is a bit of a flight of fancy for me as it’s been renamed from Manchester United to Queens Park Rangers. The LNER didn’t have the decency to name one after the mighty ‘R’s and I had to correct that! Here is the full train on the viaduct. This set has a couple of coaches added at Hitchin; a non corridor second and a BG. I assume these would have been added on the back but the CWN doesn’t say so I’m guessing. The video shows the train heading over the viaduct. Finally a view of the train at rest at platform 5.

No contest then - Wolf of Badenoch. But I think there is an embarrassment of riches in this list which means a lot of deserving names won’t get a look in (Dante, Bronzino, Robert the Bruce etc.). And I’m still waiting for your favourite A1/1 name poll! Andy

Your 200 move sequence will take days, if not weeks, to run through. That’s fine as a solo project or to share on here if that takes your fancy but I think you need something shorter for when you have visitors (if that’s ever allowed again!). I have a rough short sequence based on running everything already set up on my fiddle yard rather than the ‘made up’ trains. But my fiddle yard is only 15 roads (some of which contain 2 trains) and a few lay backs. So this amounts to around 25 moves which takes 2-3 hours. I think that’s the practical max for a friends visit. Andy

Clarification question: Is that all the A2s or just the Peppercorn variety?

Tony, As you know my location is also fictitious and I also have a wide time frame ‘48-‘62 in my case. I have solved the schedule problem by basing mine on Hatfield in Summer 1958. I have then added a few bells and whistles for trains which didn’t run in 1958 - like the ECML Presflo cement train. One of my branches is based on the Dunstable branch and the other made up (as the other two Hatfield branches closed in the early ‘5os and I don’t have a TT. You added an extra degree of complexity with your rangIng geography but you may be able to get some inspiration by studying a TT and trying to base yours on that as much as possible. It does make me run a lot more local trains than I did before. If you already knew all that then please ignore but I thought it might be useful. Andy

Morning Andrew, When you varnish, do you spray right over the windows? I’m afraid I rather enjoy accumulating stock when it’s with a purpose - I.e. to form a particular train. I enjoy the modelling side too but I’m happy to mix and match to form up a rake. It sounds like you have a gold bar fetish. You may need to see a counsellor! Andy