Jesse Sim

Morning Tony, Having seen your comment on the PN thread about the B17. I have the Hornby B17, but i need it to have a GS tender. If I kit built one, is it possible to have it detachable, in order to get to a decoder? Or is it better to move all the tender wiring to the locomotive? Jesse

Gee, i need to get me hand on some kits, struck yourself a gold mine there! Chuck a few pictures up on here, I don't mind at all. Talk about the NCE, brought another controller for the fiddle yard and i cant get the bloody thing to work! I was never expecting to visit Retford, Tony Wright really sprung and surprised me with that, it was an excellent day. I was able to meet the owner of The Gresley Beat, at Warley 2016, whilst i was helping the Grantham boys set up. Cliff isn't it? Never seen the layout I'm afraid. Thanks Mark Jesse

Hey Tony, Thanks for the kind words, really appreciate it. Not to worry, they are easy to reach to underneath. No need for real cleaning as the loco will sit at the start of the siding, which is on the other side of the back scene. Plenty of room to get my hands down the guts. My parents actually just booked flights to bu**er off for a few days up there tomorrow, for a funeral, so not a happy trip, but still, a couple of nights away from work will do them good. I will certainly take you up on that offer mate, cheers. Like wise if you're ever down here in Sydney. Jesse

Well, I spotted this photo in one of my many books....LOOK, a bus on a bridge!

Aha! Knew it was something obvious. Well that works out all good, still use the double track across the bridge, but have a crossover before the bridge as a loop siding and have the other track damaged/overgrown. Most likely what the ECML would look like about 20 years after my era.

A shoestring? - explanation please. It is probably something simple.

Thanks mate, Mitch has already mentioned that he will buy a loco so when he is over he can run his loco on the layout. I need to get one, they are so much fun!!! Thats not a bad idea, would it be a single line or double?

Thought I would share this here, my scenic side trackwork, wiring and point motoring is now all complete. We are at Brighton Junction, a fictional section between Grantham and Peascliffe tunnel on the ECML. Looking south towards Grantham at the Junction and passing loops. More photos and updates on my thread, 'Brighton Junction'.

Alright, so the last few weeks I've had my mate, Mitchell, helping me with some wiring. He fixes spas as a job, so kindly offered to do some soldering for me. Yesterday i decided to do some timber work. After three weeks straight of wiring, I thought its not a bad idea to give my brain a rest! Another mate, Chris, let me borrow his Makita drop saw, but he offered to hang around and help, on the condition that there were a few cold beers passed around. Which I did not complain one bit. So we decided to tackle the very skinny entrance where you walk down the side of the layout. Here's Chris, who is a qualified chippy, (carpenter), measuring everything up. Voilà, nice curve, easier access for people that are not as skinny as I am! Next, after Mitchell arrived, we decided to start the raised section on the north end of the layout. I wanted this done in order to cover the fiddle yard sidings that come back into the scenic section. That way when i have my visitors round in a few weeks time they get the gist of what the cutting will look like, that wraps itself along the track work. Here are the boys hard at work. Getting them last few screws in place. The finished product. You can just see the sidings underneath. After all that work, Mitch and myself hung around and did some little jobs, like a bit of wiring, placing the extra sleepers under the track and cleaning up. This is me by the way, if no one knows what I look like! I got a lot of sh*t back in school for having this hobby, so now, to be able to have my mates eager and interested in helping me, means a lot. It was an awesome afternoon, cant wait to have them all round for a beer and to teach them how to operate it. Look at that, much better! Very, very happy and proud of myself.

Well, after a year since visiting England, staying with you Tony and talking about kit building, I finally have two GNR tender kits on their way from London Road models. Old GNR tenders were used by the LNER to cart the white sludge that was left over from the water softening plants, as this is my first attempt at kit bashing, it thought what a brilliant idea. Even if they turn out horrible, i could still use them. John from London Road models helped me out and found some extra buffer beams and happily gave them to me for nothing. Do i need to get a jig of some sort? Or is that only for locomotives? Wish me luck.

Well, I have my first running session in 18 days, so need to get some stuff done. I promise there is a railway under all that mess! Pleased to report that all scenic point motors have been completed!!!! Currently going though and checking all the track to either add pins or dropper wires, also adding and gluing sleepers with their chairs cut off. Almost completed this simple but effective Metcalfe kit to disguise the south end fiddle yard entrance. I shall then cut the timber for the top board that will eventually create the LMS lines, which will be unpowered. Although the LMS didn't run over the LNER lines where the fictitious area of Brighton Junction is situated, it makes for a nice scenic break.

You leave Warley, hes in the back of your car, kidnaps you, demanding why you left him behind. "Henry the Hoover, faithful vacuum or deranged kidnapper; Henry the Bagger? "

Um, excuse me, Leave that BR layout alone, get back to Grantham with the beautiful Green and Blue!

Just ordered two of the LR Models tenders to start of my kit building career. Thanks for all your help Jonathan.

Never mind the Railway, show us that kitchen!

I can imagine. Not long until you'll be down under in the land of Beers, Babes and no worries!!!

THIS TIME LAST YEAR I WAS ON MY WAY TO THE UK! Now you're posting these photos, plus the memories thay pop up on facebook, thats it, see you all soon!!!!!! one way ticket please.

Here we have the north end fiddleyard entrance, the track gang has been in and tweaked the layout to enable smoother running. I had problems with derailments, due to the points being curved. This is all down to limited space. I have now re-worked it, everything flows lovely now. The lines immediately out of the back scene, from left to right: UP ECML, DOWN ECML, UP BRANCH and DOWN BRANCH with the crossover between the two to allow access for down branch trains to move into the down main storage yards. Closest to the camera we have the three Lincoln services kick back sidings. We see the three fast lines, with the V2, 04 and Deltic. The two slow lines for the coal and goods train, they can be run across all lines and run onto the up branch, allowing the use of one train for both Colwick and NE collieries. Now to the lovely electrics side of things. A of yesterday the two cobalt levers are in, after wiring them and completely frying them. They control the branch crossover pictured, allowing down trains to move across into the down main storage yards, and the first point on up side. Here we see what it will actually look like, the points are covered by the North end tunnel bores, my representation of Peasecliffe tunnel. Control Panel coming along nicely, you see the two Cobalt Levers to the right that operate the 3 hidden points.

When I was using Seep motors they would always end up smashed to bits, me throwing them at the wall when I couldn't get them to work has nothing to do with it. Since then my patience has improved and I know what I'm doing. Although I did switch to Cobalts for the scenic section and a mix between them and peco for the fiddleyard. I havent had a problem yet, but i am hopeless with electrics, I thought my wiring was neat and tidy, until I went to Johns house. Yikes, left mine for dead.

I wonder how many new swear words I would of heard if I was there...?

Managed to fry two Cobalt S Levers yesterday, think i might be wiring something wrong here......

Thanks Graham, I honestly did Graham, I remember seeing it in BRM in 2014, was it? I think I have mentioned that before last time I was over. I believe it comes down to jealousy, same with my Holden Ute, people come and nit pick out all the faults and you ask if they have a car, the answer always no. Same with modelling, nit pick any fine detail or try and sabotage it in anyway because they are jealous of something that you have that they don't. Shame really. I still haven't dived into kit bashing yet, have 2 London Road Models tenders waiting for me to start on. Saving up for an Antex soldering iron at the moment.

Started on the south end scenic break, a traditional Metcalfe viaduct, cut to a single arch. Nice and simple, but will look the part none the less. Maintenance continues in the north fiddleyard, waiting for the energy to kick myself back into gear.

Just to clarify something that I have had a few people message me about.... I am not copying the layout; Grantham the streamliner years. My representation is of a fictitious length of track between Grantham and Peascliffe tunnel called '"Brighton Junction". So, although everything considering locations, train formations, etc are the same, it is a totally different layout. Yes the Grantham layout inspired me very much and I am glad to call the Grantham team my friends, but in no means am I copying such a magnificent layout.

When are you down under Baz?