Jack374

Some recent shots from Derbyshire & Leicestershire: Freightliner Powerhaul 66504 pulls up to the exit signal on the East Midlands Gateway exit/arrival line, which joins the freight-only Stenson to Sheet Stores Jn lone at Gateway West Jn. The train would reverse in Castle Donington EMDC before joining the MML near Ratcliffe Power Station, in the background of this shot... Our very own 'Big Jim' was crew on 66737, as it is pictured below easing into EMG on final approach. The terminal is behind me at this spot... DRS-hired, DB-owned, ex-EWS livery 66031 was caught at Barrow hauling 57307 'Lady Penelope' to Toton from Crewe. The 66 has stayed at Toton...is it the next for a repaint? Finally, Halloween yesterday saw GBRf 66752 and 66761 either end of a UTU Network Rail jolly from Derby RTC to Toton and back, a short run of less than 30 or so miles. Seen at Spondon just east of Derby with a very autumnal feel... Thanks, Jack.

On Wednesday I was lineside early doors to see the only remaining non-refurbished and active DB tug in maroon ex-EWS colours - 60065 'Spirit of Jaguar'. It was in transit from Toton, where it’s resided for the last year or so without leaving, to Didcot for driver training. Seen at Stenson in the first rays of light: Thanks, Jack.

As usual, excellent pics Jim and very informative about the 66s in multi - I’ve never heard of that before. I’ve seen lead locos powering and rear locos idling before (usually when not in multi) but rarely vice versa. I did see a DRS 37/20 combo like you describe once but think the lead loco was low on power. Is it advisable to do that when in multi on non-RHTT trips? I imagine the rear loco will go through more fuel if it 'pushes' all the time, but as the RHTT changes direction so much I imagine the difference between the locos is negligible. Yesterday I actually went to Spondon to see you and waited for a good while but you were held at East Mids Parkway for ages and I had a doctor's appointment! I’ll try again next time you’re over this way. Jack.

Very nice models James, I’ve seen them before on your thread. I would’ve seen George (and yourself possibly!) at DEMU this year but clearly not. I must admit I knew there was a brake modification to warrant the MHA -> MPA code change but I’ve just found Adrian Nicholls' very informative Flickr photo on the subject: So effectively no wheel face brake discs! I’ll probably include a couple of MPAs for the sake of it, but of the 1000-odd MHA fleet they can’t have done them all yet! Recent photos of rakes I’ve seen suggest maybe 1/3 to 1/2 in each rake are converted. Jack.

Thanks Jules! Once I've (successfully) moulded some I'll let you know and send you some, save you making more than you need to... S-Kits produce a resin body for the 11-rib variant, which I've seen used before (Mr Makin & Mr Bryan (?) spring to mind), so I've ordered 3, yet to arrive. Cheers Jo...those pictures will prove very useful indeed - many thanks! It is odd Hornby supplied only one, and most recently none, per wagon. No bother though as I'll mould the 4 I have. The brake distributors are included by Hornby but severely malnourished in terms of size and detail. I've ordered some from Stenson Models for the MFAs so I'll have some spare for the MHAs/MPAs. Once again thanks for the info - I didn't know whether to rate your response as 'informative', 'thanks' or 'funny' due to the last photo - I hope you weren't involved in any way! Thanks, Jack.

Good evening all... As usual, university/work/life (in that order) have snaffled much of the modelling time I’ve had over the last 8 weeks since the last update. I’ve come off furlough and resumed work and university at full chat - the summer was good while it lasted! To continue on from the last post in September, Mick kindly held a socially-distanced gathering of Deadman’s Lane operators and we had a bit of a running session. I took along the container rake, which needed some adjustment of almost all the couplings, however the magnets performed superbly once adjusted. Below is a shot of the whole train and another summer project, the ZZAs: The container rake has been parked now, mainly due to lack of exhibitions to run the rake and also I’ve lost interest temporarily. I won an eBay listing for 8x modern container wagons (KFA, KQA, FEA twin & 2x FLA twins) recently, so I’ve got another KFA and KQA to add to the rake. The FLAs and FEA pair may be sold and replaced by a different intermodal flat set to those already in the rake, to be arranged at a later date... I also had chance to test the 222. By then it had received coats of Halfords white, black and Ford polar grey...since then it has had one blue band added but nothing more, as my mojo for the unit has waned and so have the ideal spraying temperatures! I'll probably pick this up next year now at the earliest. The last few weeks I’ve been finishing a Dapol 68 for a friend, adding my custom lighting PCBs which are now on their 3rd or 4th iteration. I’ve explained the principle before when I did my loco, but briefly: the Halo marker lights are produced by 4 tiny 0603 SMDs arranged in a square - routed through the thicker, custom milled PCB below - and shine through some 3mm OD (0.5mm wall) silicone tubing. I used to do the head and tail lights with 2mm bi-colour ‘lighthouse' LEDs, however I’ve now opted for another (thinner, below) PCB which I’ve soldered another pair of 0603 SMDs to, shining through some simple 2mm fibre optic. This means the heads and halos are the same hue. The 2mm optic and 3mm tube are separated between with your average household tinfoil, giving 0 light bleed! While I was at it, I updated my model, and although the lights appear blue below they look fine IRL. The picture is poor but I took it whilst both models were out... The space on my 'bench left by the storage of the container rake mentioned before has been filled by a new project, applicable to use on Fordley, DL or really any other modern layout. I’ve had some form of rake of 2-axle ballast wagons for some time, which has chopped and changed until now when I’ve got a small rake I’m happy with. The rake consists of 8x MHA/MPAs, 3x MFAs and 2x MTAs, representing any rake running around the network in the last couple of years, although the MTAs are a stretch with hardly any left now which don’t resemble baked bean tins... The MHAs are a mix, with 3 of Hornby's initial bodged attempts which represent no prototype. These are to be re-bodied; I’ve an order in with S-Kits currently. Some brake discs and other goodies have been ordered from Stenson Models whilst enough 13" and 16" OLEOs have been ordered from Accurascale - these are for the MHAs and MTAs...if anyone knows a source of 18" sprung OLEO buffers for the MFAs please LMK! For this rake I think sprung buffers will look really good with working instanter 3-link couplings - some Smiths instanter links have been ordered too. One issue I need to tackle on the MHAs - which I know Jules has resolved superbly by scratchbuilding - is the lack of air distributors on the wagons. There should be 2 per wagon in opposite corners, as shown below in a photo I took at Preston: In reality, between all 8 wagons I’ve got 4. Hornby only provide 1 per wagon, and whilst that means 1 has been lost to the carpet monster, the most recent triple pack I bought had none on any wagons. The solution will be to alter the current mouldings (shown below) as they stick out too much IMO, and then resin cast as I’m not making 12 from scratch! One second hand MHA I bought was ridiculously heavy as it had a permanent load. I weighed it out of curiosity and it was 430g - only 50g less than a ViTrains 47 or one of my Bachmann 37s!! I set about removing the load, and my suspicion as to load material was confirmed, as the previous owner had effectively loaded the wagon full of 'liquid lead' shot then dusted some ballast on top! Some chiselling, drilling and swearing later, and I made this: After a thorough clean-down including tools and hands (being a large amount of lead), I was left with the bottom-most layer of lead which was not for shifting, so I glued the two halves together, reinforced with plasticard underneath, and I’ll add a false floor of the thinnest plasticard I have to hide the lead. You can hardly see the join, and won’t at all when it’s weathered! Finally, the last major task I can start without any supplies having arrived is to convert one MTA into a higher-ended ex-Dutch variant, as seen below at Toton in 2018. I’ve seen a couple, and quite fancy a varied rake which will feature Dutch, EWS, DB and Mainline colours! I decided it was best to remove the ends altogether with them being way too thick, so this was achieved with a junior hacksaw, sharp craft knife and files: Thats all for now, so far the research and start of the ballast wagon rake has/will be enjoyable - getting back to some proper traditional bread and butter modelling such as disc brakes, buffers and general detailing. I’ll plod along with this as and when in the next few months. Ta for sticking with my workbench thread and reading the drivel...stay safe, and happy modelling! Thanks, Jack.

I can echo previous comments on here about the speedy turnaround from Hattons' pre-owned department...ordered yesterday morning, picked & packed a few hours later and on my doorstep in Derby this morning with standard £4 delivery...superb! Regarding the issues, as reported there are no cab steps or handrails (both of which will be easily fixed, and I’ll make the pesky handrails chassis-mounted), and there is a minor glue mark on the body side above the number: Also some small black marks near the 3 beasties motif on one cab side: Looks like the stag is trying to grow a beard. Neither of these issues concern me much, and will both be hidden by renumbering and weathering. A slight wobble was reported in the description but we know the resolution(s) now. Also 2 buffers are askew/one popped out with little force. The sealed detail bag and box are mint. I've yet to run it (need to fit Bif's V5 and EM2/Sugarcube combo) so I’ll save final judgement until I have, but I am seriously impressed by the model. Compared to a Bachmann offering, it's a monumental upgrade, which (unfortunately for Hattons) has been marred by random QC, livery and design issues. Hopefully future batches will address these niggles and provide the well-earned financial return Hattons deserve. I originally had great expectations when the spec and scope of the models was announced, then slowly I became very sceptical when they were released. Having a few Bachmann examples, I could justify neither the price of a new Hattons one, nor the effort required to rectify any possible issues. However, recently (when looking into improving one of my Bachmann models) I was reminded of the extraordinary - IMO benchmark - spec of the model, which addressed numerous shortfalls of the Bachmann shed; one huge one for me being fully independent, prototypical lighting. This, along with Hattons' apparent realisation that they could sell returned/QC rejected versions as pre-owned, persuaded me to bite the bullet. Would I be happy with this loco, described as new, had I spent £150? No. Am I happy with this loco, described comprehensively as used, having spent £110? So far, absolutely! Thanks, Jack.

An excellent set of photos Pete, you’ve captured a great sense of depth in a narrow space...particularly the shots you can get from low down 'on the beach'. Rapid progress as well! Jack.

...And now layouts based in all counties from Cornwall to Norfolk! Another two AS 37/4 prototypes can now be found on the RHTT circuit in Yorkshire, which will (very soon) also mean any heaviness of weathering will be suitable for these two! (Both pics are Flickr links embedded) Lots of DRS 37/4 (and 37/0 with some 37/7) action on this year's RHTT operations. Jack.

I’d say incorporating a pan without any extra arms which is servo-operated, as well as actually giving thought to how the sound will fit/sound it’s best already puts it miles ahead - IMHO. I'm very much looking forward to the 92 and (as has been said many times) would rather take a minor knock to the delivery schedule than any compromise on detail/accuracy/livery. I’m also very glad I’ve opted for a sound-fitted version what with ESU having looked at the pantograph and Legomanbiffo mentioned for the sound. Thanks, Jack.

Just had an email from Rails about some 'bargain' 009 Heljan locomotives for £139.50...not sure how much of a bargain they are but compared to the RRP seems a good price... https://railsofsheffield.com/groups/3179/bargain-Heljan-oo9-locomotives Also I was browsing DCC Supplies' site and there are a few items that I thought were good value in their clearance: https://www.dccsupplies.com/cl-5034/clearance-items.htm I noticed some first batch (livery error) Dapol DRS 68 bodyshells for a tenner...useful if you want to produce a 'plain' livery cat such as 68026 et al a few years ago or ex-ScotRail 68006/7 currently. Jack.

Today I unexpectedly saw a couple of 'Tugs', which were meant to go via Nuneaton but instead went through Burton, Stenson and Loughborough on their way from Bristol Barton Hill WRD to Leicester LIP. The duo were the first two DCR 60s - 60055 'Thomas Barnardo' and 60046 'William Wilberforce' - working 0Z60 through Barrow upon Trent in a nice spell of sunshine: (Flickr links to my photos) 60046 was reportedly deposited at Leicester whilst 55 ran to Toton. Thanks, Jack.

Many thanks Jules...I look forward to seeing it done too!! With apologies for the gap between updates...this has mostly been due to numerous little tasks being completed. To start, I re-did the manual point rods by drilling circular 25mm holes with a spade drill into the rear (operating) side of the boards. The ends of the rods (3mm brazing rod) were bent at right angles and a small stub left, enough to get finger purchase to pull...no euphemism intended... To connect to the point tie bar, some 1mm steel wire was bent at a right angle at one end and passed through a chocolate block then the other end was formed into a shape which could throw a simple switch, used for frog switching. The switch was mounted in 3mm plastic sheet and glued with UHU and hot glue to make sure it won’t move. I originally (naively) didn’t think I needed to switch the frogs separately and could rely on the point blades to make contact - how wrong I was! Now for cassettes. Not those with music on. For the 'fiddle yards', I’ll be using cassettes made from half-square down pipe with track lengths hot glued in place. To provide power, a strip of phosphor bronze was soldered to each rail and a 6mm hole drilled beneath. On the board(s), some 6mm brass bolts were used which were soldered into the track bus by soldering straight to some brass washers. The screw ends poking through have since been sorted... Finally for now, this afternoon I set up the 4 'main' boards to have the longest run yet and test everything - all worked first time! Unfortunately, I only ran locos as there wasn’t enough room to put up the 5th board (upstairs...), I haven’t made any long cassettes yet, and I haven’t got any wagons ready! The 2-wheelers in the shot below will be the first set to be 'done proper' on my workbench very soon... That’s it for now. Next I’ll make longer cassettes, add the remaining backscenes and carry on with detailing as well as stock. Signals and the auxiliary (18V DC) bus are also high on the agenda. Ta for sticking with the layout! Jack.

Superb video Simon...as has been said many times, can’t wait to stand and watch the trains rush by at an exhibition - hopefully in the not-so-distant future. I don’t know what it’s like there but it’s hissing it down here...lots of modelling time this weekend methinks! Have a good un Jack.

Nice to see you again today Jim, I only went to Barrow but got a video today...ta for the tones... An almost full load today, could've done with that yesterday! Pink 66587 on 4L10 as well you would've passed on your way in. Thanks, Jack.

I chatted with Jim yesterday as the train awaited permission to enter the terminal, and he said he’d seen the article in MR (I haven’t) and it provided an accurate view of the terminal. The M&S "East Mids Distribution Centre" (EMDC) falls into the category you said first; as far as I’ve heard/read/been told, the rail link was a requirement of the planning permission and has never served the terminal with M&S traffic - though I’ll gladly be proved wrong. It’s the remains of Castle Donington CEGB (power station) arrival and departure lines - some good shots of coal traffic with 'proper' motive power using the lines can be found on Flickr or similar. Currently EMDC terminal is used by ROG to store units, locos and stock as the line is a dead end, with no run round next to the EMDC itself. From memory there have recently been class 56s, 319/769 'Flex' donors/conversions (Castle Don being close to Loughborough Brush) and currently there are a number of ex-TFW MK3s which ROG have acquired. When EMG was built and the rail link connected, any trains arriving or departing to the east towards Loughborough/Leicester and the MML have to use the EMDC run round, which is situated away from the EMDC terminal and parallel to the Stenson-Sheet Stores freight only line. For example, the daily DBC working has to use the EMDC on arrival AND departure as it uses the line to Loughborough, however Jim's train doesn’t have to use the EMDC at all as it travels through Birmingham up to Stenson Jn. To add to confusion, the Freightliner working arrives from the west so doesn't use the EMDC, but departs east so does have to; in my shot from yesterday it was awaiting a path onto the SSJ line to travel the short distance to the EMDC to run round. The terminal, EMDC, working arrangements and history of the area are very interesting - to me at least, and EMG has provided plenty of new workings and photo opportunities since it came online. Jack.

Saw this shot on Fb, superb image Simon! Jack.

No he simply drove past (in a fully electric vehicle...couldn’t hear him approaching!) and acknowledged with a wave as he passed. Of anywhere I’ve been the EMG security staff are the most friendly I’ve experienced. I’ve chatted to that particular chap a couple of times and the first time he gave me directions to get good photos! Full marks to EMG for their approach to the public...new, well built foot and cycle paths allowing you to walk basically through the middle of the site, and very friendly staff. Great photos Jim, lots of creative angles to be found on that line. Jack.

With the nice weather today, I had no excuse not to come and see you down the road! As you eluded to, just before you arrived at the terminal I saw Freightliner 66504 approaching the departure signal at Gateway West Jn, with the backdrop dominated by the dormant Ratcliffe Power Station: Then I headed to just outside the terminal, and took a couple of pole shots as you arrived: I could hear the train for ages on approach but it was quite slow going. Finally a shot from ground level from the footpath up to the distribution center on top of the hill... Thanks Jim, I'll try and get out the rest of the week in a couple of places. Might stay more local (and sheltered!) tomorrow if the weather forecast comes true... Thanks, Jack.

Favourable timings as well with the inbound working arriving late afternoon...I shall have to pop down the road in the next few days! Jack.

Very nice Pete, lots of different scenery snippets in a (relatively) small space. It’s coming along nicely! Jack.

It’s that time of year again... Yesterday was the first run of the 3J89 RHTT from Stapleford & Sandiacre (basically Toton) to Toton TMD, which was scheduled to run to Crewe and back, then to Worksop, Newark, Lincoln and Nottingham. DB red 66114 led a nice clean pair of FEAs then ex-EWS 66111 on the rear, seen at Stenson in South Derbyshire. The remainder of the run was caped when it returned to Toton after these shots, and instead two VSTP paths to Crewe and back - both headcode 3J89 - were run. Clearly no leaves have fallen yet west of Toton! Also one from yesterday afternoon of Freightliner 66601 'The Hope Valley' approaching Ratcliffe on Soar (Leics.) with the 6M91 Theale LaFarge to Earles Sidings (Hope) stone... Thanks, Jack.

There have been a couple of 'Shed' workings of interest through Derbyshire in the last few days. The first was Freightliner 66553 topping DRS 66425 on the DRS-operated 4E49 Daventry to Doncaster Marshgate 'Tesco's'. The southbound working from Tees Dock had failed that morning so 553 dragged 431 (the failure) onwards, and presumably worked the return to re-position 553 in the North East. This is only the second time (from memory) that something other than a DRS operated 'Shed' has worked these trains, the other occasion being 37218! I doubt a single tractor would cope now, as the trips load to 40 flats, usually mostly loaded too (39 boxes in this shot)..... ...And again at Barrow on Trent, on Monday the 6K50 Toton to Crewe trip produced 4 'Sheds' in 4 colours from 2 different operators. Pink ONE 66587 led Freightliner Green 66554, DB 66044 and Maritime 66051... (All pics are my Flickr links, click for more info) The modern railway is nothing if not colourful. Jack.

DB's operational class 60 fleet took another blow on the 14th after 60015 couldn't take power at Willington, south of Derby. DRS 66430 (which was behind) pushed the train into Sunny hill loop just south of Derby, then 67028 was despatched as 1Z99 to take the train on some 3 hrs late. I headed to Derby station to see it: Thanks, Jack.

A good afternoon was had today with a couple of operators to compensate for the lack of exhibitions...the layout performed as faultlessly as usual, and the operational length of track on the layout actually increased while we were there! (Mick fixed a siding...) Usual disclaimer in these times; there's plenty of space in the layout 'well' and around it...which may even increase soon. Ta to the team for having a socially-distanced get together and Mick for having us. So, a few photos: Thanks, Jack.