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Team Traction

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  1. Team Traction

    History and Background Infomation

    By Team Traction,


    Background Info
    History and Contextual Information on the Project:
    (Information sourced from Wikipedia)
     
     
     
    Suburban services (The Jazz):
    The Great Eastern was renowned for operating an intensive suburban service known as the "Jazz" service. The different classes on the trains were indicated by different coloured stripes along the top of the carriage sides. The stripes allowed passengers to find their compartments more quickly at stations and reduced stopping times. They were yellow for first class and blue for second class. In 1920, the GER also introduced a system of colour-coded boards on the side and rear of the guard's van, which would be nearest the gates and concourse at terminus stations and thus allow passengers to identify the service they needed. This colourful combination was regarded, in the parlance of the time, as 'jazzy'.
    Serving the East End of London, the London Docklands and the capital's eastern suburbs, the Great Eastern's suburban services had a much greater proportion of working class industrial workers, labourers and lower-ranking office workers than the suburban networks of the likes of the London and South Western Railway or the Metropolitan. The GER had to transport greater numbers of passengers commuting in and out of the urban centre and at lower fares. The GER encouraged passenger numbers with low-price 'workman fares' services which ran in the early morning and late evening. There was a symbiotic relationship between the railway and property development - the existence of the railway made it possible for even industrial workers to move into new housing developments in the suburbs which then provided extra custom for the GER. The GER itself invested in property development near its routes and in some cases even built its own housing on land purchased as part of railway construction.
    The service was initially operated by 2-4-2T engines and these were later superseded by 0-6-2T engines of the N7 class. At Liverpool Street station alterations were made to the signalling so once a train had arrived and was emptying, an engine was attached to the other end of the train whilst the train engine was detached. When the train departed, the locomotive on the buffer stops moved to the locomotive siding at the other end of the platform to await the arrival of the next terminating service.
    Turn round (train arrival to train departure) could be achieved in as little as four minutes.
     
    As you can make from this description, The Jazz was a high intensity suburban service, at one point the most intensive in the world. It will no doubt be a challenge to recreate in the Simulator, but we are going to give it out best shot.
     
    Photo Courtesy of
    Ken Cook/Rail Archive Stephenson
     

  2. Team Traction

    Network Plan

    By Team Traction,


    Background Info
    Here we will describe exactly how this route is intended to be developed, although this could be subject to change later.
     
    The route will be recreated in stages, known as Phases. Each "Phase" will be released to the public when it is done, And work in such a way that when the next phase is complete all the user has to do is redownload the file, and any extensions or changes will be automatically added. 
     
    In the future I plan to link this project up with another currently ongoing project, which is backdating the Great Eastern Mainline from Ipswich to Shenfield, set in the same era, Starting with Ipswich Dockyards. The first phase of which is due to be released in the next few weeks. If you want to learn about this, please go to my discord linked here.
     
    For now, I will outline all the future phases of this project, and what each one will entail. Attached is a link to an interactive map which outlines where each phase will go, for those who don't know the area:
    https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1X6stWeFx0o9iTaJ0XRFpy-9CED1Zo6Sg&ll=51.622081915420054%2C0.01676414488795075&z=12
     
    Phase 1: Shenfield Electrics
    Phase 1 is the most straightforward section, Backdating the existing Great Eastern Mainline, from 2012 to 1950s condition. This section runs as far as Shenfield and runs "under the wires", Completed in 1949, With the brand new "Shenfield Electrics". Notable features of this section include a completely rebuilt Stratford and Liverpool St stations, Bishopsgate Goods Station, Stratford Works, Ilford sidings and the infamous Brentwood bank.

    Phase 2: The Central Line
    Phase 2 recreates the Eastern section of the Central Line, From Stratford to Ongar, a first in Train Simulator. Run alongside LU Standard stock as far as Epping where steam-hauled trains handle shuttles to Ongar. Also included in this section will be the Hainault loop, Running form Woodford Via Hainault down to Ilford, Relinking with the GEML.

    Phase 3: The West Anglia
    This Phase recreates the WAML from Stratford as far as Cheshunt. 
     
    Phase 4: To Enfield Town
    This Phase recreates the line to Enfield Town, now part of the overground. Also included are the Edmonton and South Tottenham link lines that join to the WAML.
     
    Phase 5: The Chingford Line
    This Phase recreates the line to Chingford, now part of the overground.
     
    Phase 6: Palace Gates Branch
    This Phase recreates the lost branch line to Palace Gates. This is currently the limit of what we are intending to develop for this network.

    Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Look forward to hearing your thoughts.
     
  3. Team Traction
    Hello everyone,
    today I'm officially launching "The North Norfolk Railway in OO Scale. It will do what it says on the tin, recreating Weybourne Station in OO Scale.
     
    For those who don't know, The NNR is a 5 1/2 mile Heritage Railway on the coast of Norfolk, East Anglia. It Has 3 Stations, Sheringham, Weybourne And Holt. Its on the Former branch from Sheringham - Melton Constable and connects to the National Network. It owns a wide selection of Steam Locos, From 0-4-0s to 2-10-0's and is largely supported by the M&GN Society, whom themselves own several locos and rolling stock. I have decided to model Weybourne Station as it is the main "Hub" of the railway, being where the Loco shed and the C&W Department are based. 

    Here's a track plan depicting what Im going to be modelling
     
    I will aim to update this blog as regularly as possible, So stay tuned!
    -TeamTraction 
  4. Team Traction
    VINTAGE SET: INTRODUCTION
                                                                                                                                                                                       
     
    INFORMATION SOURCED FROM THE M&GN SOCIETY'S WEBSITE
     
    REALITY CHECK:
     

    M&GN No.3
    This vehicle was a garden shed for over 60 years and is a miraculous survivor. It was built by the Midland railway and transferred to Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway ownership in 1903. It has been rebuilt and now sits on a 1913 Midland 6 wheel steel frame.

    M&GN No.129
    This five compartment third class vehicle was cocooned inside a bungalow at Pott Row, near Kings Lynn for 60 years. It was built by the Great Northern Railway and was transferred to Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway ownership in 1903. It has now been restored to full working order and sits on a converted tube wagon chassis.
    (Above: M&GN no.129. Steve Allen)

    LNER BYP 6843
    Our 'newest' vehicle in the Vintage set, it is often found in use with the Quad-Art set. It was used in departmental service and arrived on the NNR in 1969.
    (Above: LNER BYP 6843. Steve Allen)

    GER No.7
    Built for the Wisbech & Upwell tramway and later transferred to the Kelvedon & Tollesbury branch before it closed, it then survived for 23 years as an onion store. Following transfer to two preservation sites, it was passed into M&GN Society ownership in 2002. GER No.7's sister vehicle, No.8 had a moment of fame in the 1952 Ealing Comedy, The Titfield Thunderbolt. Our No.7 has been restored with a replica bar, as per that fitted in No.8. 
    (Above: GER Wisbech Coach. Steve Allen)

    GER No.853
    This vehicle survived as a bungalow at Mattishall, near Derham. The brake compartment Has been converted to give disabled access to the vintage set.
    (Above: GER 853. Steve Allen)
    __________________________________________________________________________________
     
    MODELLING THE SET:
     
    As per my introduction post, each coach is ranked on the difficulty of construction:
     
    M&GN TZ 129 SILVER
    W&U TRAMCAR 7 GOLD
    GER BTY 853 PLATINUM
    M&GN SALOON 3 GOLD
    LNER BYP 6843 BRONZE
     
    The TZ is a Diagram 3D kit with a RTR 6W chassis. The tramcar is a Scratchbuilt body, but Im considering replacing this with a 3D printed coach. The BTY Will be a complete scratchbuild. The saloon is a scratchbuilt model with a RTR 6W Chassis. The BYP was brought as a complete kit that just needs a Renumber.
     
    This project is already at an advanced stage and will most likely be the second complete.
     
  5. Team Traction
    SUBURBAN 4 PROJECT: INTRODUCTION
                                                                                                             
     
    INFORMATION SOURCED FROM THE M&GN SOCIETY'S WEBSITE
     
    REALITY CHECK:
     
     
    BRAKE THIRD – E43357
    This carriage was built at York in April 1956. It is designed to seat up to 72 passengers and carry up to three tons of goods in the guard’s brake van. It spent all of its working life on the Eastern Region of BR on the Great Northern lines from King’s Cross. It was withdrawn in December 1976 and purchased by the North Norfolk Railway in early 1977 arriving at the Railway in May 1977.

    THIRD – W46139
    This carriage was built at Wolverton in December 1954. It is designed to seat up to 108 passengers in nine compartments. It spent its early working life on the Western Region of BR before transferring to the Eastern Region in 1966 to work on the Great Northern lines from King’s Cross. It was withdrawn in April 1972 and purchased for preservation. It passed through two ownerships before being donated to the NNR in April 2011.

    THIRD LAVATORY OPEN - E48001
    This carriage was built at Doncaster in February 1956. It is designed to seat up to 80 passengers in two large open compartments separated by a short internal corridor and two toilets. It spent all of its working life on the Eastern Region of British Railways on the Great Northern lines from King’s Cross. It was withdrawn in October 1977 and purchased for preservation. It, too, passed though two ownerships before being donated to the NNR in April 2011.

    COMPOSITE LAVATORY – E43041
    This carriage was built at Doncaster in May 1956. It is designed to seat up to 61 passengers (19 first and 42 third class). The first and third class sections of the coach are separate, each with its own toilet. It spent all of its working life on the Eastern Region of British Railways. It was initially used on the Great Eastern line from Liverpool Street to Ipswich and finally on the Great Northern lines from King’s Cross. It was withdrawn in November 1974 and soon after purchased for preservation at the North Norfolk Railway.

     
    (All four courtesy of Steve Allen)
    __________________________________________________________________________________
     
    MODELLING THE SET:
     
    As per my introduction post, each coach is ranked on the difficulty of construction:
     
    THIRD: SILVER BRAKE THIRD: SILVER THIRD LAV OPEN: GOLD COMP. LAV: GOLD  
    The Third and Brake third will be RTR Bachmann Models which will get a simple repaint, Renumber and varnishing + weathering.
    The TL And CLO will have custom Laser-cut sides, with Cooper-Craft Ends and roofs with Replica Railways Chassis. They will then have the same treatment as the T and BT.
     
    This project is already making leaps and bounds and will most likely be the first complete.
     
  6. Team Traction
    Project: North Norfolk Railway: STOCK LIST
    This is a list of all Carriges that are on the NNR. Some are running, some are currently cosmetic, however I will produce a working model of them.
     
    Each item of stock is listed with a rank in BOLD detailing the complexity of the build. The categories are defined here:
    BRONZE: RTR With only minor Mods needed (Renumbering)
    SILVER: Kit Built stock or RTR with Moderate Mods (Painting)
    GOLD: Part Scratch-build or RTR with Major Surgery
    PLATINUM: complete Scratch-build
    TBC: Stock yet to be studied and categorised
     
     
    LOCOS
    __________________________________________________
     
    Steam
    Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST Wissington 1700: GOLD
    Hunslet Fitzwilliam 0-6-0ST 16’ Ring Haw 1982 SILVER
    GER Y14 0-6-0 564 GOLD
    GNR N2 0-6-2T 1744 SILVER
    Standard 4 2-6-0 76084 BRONZE
    LNER B12 4-6-0 8572 BRONZE
    S&DJR 7F 2-8-0 53809 BRONZE
    Standard 9F 2-10-0 92203 BRONZE
    WD Austerity 2-10-0 90775 PLATINUM
    Diesel
    Class 03 D2063 BRONZE
    Class 08 D3935 BRONZE
    Class 08 D3940 BRONZE
    Class 11 12131 BRONZE
    Class 20 20227 SILVER
    Class 31 D5631 BRONZE
    Class 37 D6732: BRONZE
     
    DMU
    Class 101 DMU – 51228/56062 BRONZE
    Class 101 DMU – 51188/56352 BRONZE
    _________________________________________________________
     
    CARRIGES
    _________________________________________________________
     
    MK1 Stock
    E1969 RBR Crimson & Cream - Cromer Dining Set GOLD
    M3116 FO Crimson & Cream - Cromer Dining Set TBC
    E3868 TSO Maroon TBC
    E4236 TSO Maroon  TBC
    E4372 SO Crimson & Cream –  Cromer Dining Set GOLD
    E4521 TSO Maroon - Under overhaul TBC
    E4641 TSO Crimson & Cream - Cromer Dining Set BRONZE
    E4651 TSO Maroon  TBC
    E4667 TSO Crimson & Cream - Cromer Dining set BRONZE
    E4843 TSO Maroon TBC
    M4958 TSO Maroon TBC 
    GE21103 BCK Maroon TBC
    E21224 BCK Bare metal - Undergoing major overhaul TBC
    E25189 SK Maroon TBC
    M26012 SK Maroon TBC
    W35148 BSK Maroon TBC
    M81033 BG(K)Crimson & Cream – Cromer Dining Set BRONZE
     
    Suburban 4 Stock
    BT E43357: SILVER
    T E46139: SILVER
    SLO E48001: GOLD
    CL E43041: GOLD
     
    Quad-Art Set
    48861, BT SILVER
    48862, Y SILVER
    48863, T SILVER
    48864, T SILVER
     
    GER BTK 295 SILVER
     
    Mainline Set
    LNER BG 70621 SILVER
    LNER TTO 13584E SILVER
    LNER RB E9128E SILVER
    LNER TK E12493E  SILVER
    LNER BSF E1866E SILVER
     
    Vintage Set
     
    M&GN TZ 129 SILVER
    W&U Tramcar 7 PLATINUM
     GER BTY 853 PLATINUM
    M&GN Saloon 3 GOLD
    LNER BYP 6843 BRONZE
    __________________________________________
     
    WAGONS
     
    TO BE COMPILED AT A LATER DATE
  7. Team Traction
    at long last here are some photos of my layout, taken on the 4/1/17.
     
    sorry for the blurriness in some of the photos, my camera does not like to autofocus.
     
    the pictures are on Imigur as the files are to large for RMweb
    as always, please leave your comments about the layout down below, i try to answer them all!
     
    http://badboib1203.imgur.com/all/
     
    (please ignore the silly username, I made this account ages ago and will change it)
  8. Team Traction
    Hello one and all, today is my first Update blog, where i know i promised photos, but they are not ready at this time. for now, i will share an insight into my goods waybill system. So sit back, relax and enjoy. as always ant feeback or comments are greatly appreciated, as i try to respond to as many as possible.
     
    So, waybills. the reason why ive chosen to introduce a waybill system is as described earlier, my layout is a 7x2ft end to end, and i chose waybillas as i would like to add operational interest to my layout, and make my railway feel like its a part of the real world.
    My layout, like ive mentioned before is set in a fictonal part of Devon, and i have studied the real railway netork around where my layout would fit in the real world. i have estabished that trains coming from or going to the east would go to stations such as Poole, Brighton, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, London and more. these lines going to the east would carry a lot of war supplies to the naval harbours, and likley also have a flurrying fish trade. to the west you could get to places such as Yeovil, bath, Bristol and Swindon. I've taken all of these lines into account, and around these, I've designed my waybills.

    so take this waybill, for example. this is for War supply wagons. this can incorporate Warwells, Warflats, or general goods vans carrying war supply's like ammo, bombs etc. the first row shows where the goods is going to and where it has come from. line 2 can also show a final destination for the cargo if it is different to the first stop. eg. if empty Warmwell come from London that need to go to Bristol, but they need to stop at Warmwell to pick up their load. on the waybill it would read to; Warmwell, from; London, destination; Bristol. line 3 shows the goods carried by the wagon, so in our example it would read "Tanks." the customer, is a purely cosmetic category, but it adds a touch of realism to the waybill. the next row, "Empty" is a simple tick or cross saying whether the wagon is loaded on this trip. the next two, wagon return and return empty, are simple yes or no questions asking if, once the wagon has arrived in the goods yard, will it return to its original destination, and will it return empty. the row after is the category of wagon this is, and on this example its war supply wagons. the colour on this section depicts the colour of dice I would use to select traffic, but that part of the system I'm still working on. below that it shows the wagon type, so in my worked example it would say 50t Warwell. the final line is any other notes that you need to add. these cards are printed and then laminated, so they can be wrote on with whiteboard pens and rubbed off with each goods working.
     
    thanks for taking the time to read this waybill system is WIP And is not fully complete. as always, any feedback or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
     
    I'm planning another February update later in the month, so keep a look out!
     
    Cheers,
    Brad.
     

  9. Team Traction
    Good evening,
    Hello, My Name is Brad, I'm 14 and my first ever layout Is Called RAF Warmwell. The layout is set In 1941 in the heart of WW2 In Devon.(By the way, google RAF Warmwell, its a real place, but I'm not basing it off it, I just like the name ) I was originally going to model a heritage railway yet I didn't want to fall into the stereotype of "Your a young modeller, so you are doing a heritage railway" so I combined my love of trains, and WW2 planes and somehow managed t fit it all on a 7ft x 2ft OO Gauge layout. I will provide some photos, but I need to tidy it up first, so for now I will describe it. from east to west you have my bedroom wall, from which I have a bridge and a ramp providing a scenic break to a non existent fiddle yard. the bridge has a road going over a single railway, yet the bridge is double track. I did this on purpose so I could fit some 009 Track adjacent to the OO line. heading over, we have the main RAF Base, which takes up a majority of my layout. there is no runway, that would be off to the south, yet this is jut the plane stabling point, big enough for 4 spitfires and a bleinhim (Which im now building) and a small concrete strip playing host to the control tower, and the supplies & vehicles. just north of this strip, is a 2 track sidings and goods yard, which plays host to both OO and 009 track. north of that is the single platform station, only big enough to accommodate an auto coach + 48x. heading west, we have the only Road n the layout, with two level crossings, one 009 to the south and one OO to the north. at the far end of the layout, we have a church, yard and station halt in the foreground, and behind the line we have a small hill with house on top. the track is Hornby+ Peco, with insulfrog points, DC control. if you have an questions, please comment and ill be happy to answer. Happy new year!
  10. Team Traction
    normally I post these updates monthly, but I've been avoiding writing about this for ages. Oh well, here goes...
     
    3 months in and im already talking about the end? its a long story.. at the end of February the offer was given to me to relocate my layout to a new place with more room, better lighting, better equipment and more working time, who wouldn't refuse? so the day of the move came, I dismantled my layout the best way I could. now the trouble is, I had never designed this layout to be able to be moved, it was always meant as a permanent fixture... so I load it into the van, and half way through the journey we heard massive CRACK and our worse fears had been realised... the board Split. luckily everything from my old layout was salvageable, but the boards and grass wasn't...
    to top it all off Im browsing the internet one evening and pull up an old raiway map and to my horror the place I named my whole layout after
     
    would have been on an SR route
     
    so now im back to a new bare board, and a layout with no name. but I took this as a chance to redesign the layout, a second chance if you will, and have upgraded the track to have 4 sidings instead of 2, and also have a run around loop for my trains. I have upgraded the infrastructure of the layout and will definitely make sure it is transportable this time!!
     
    I have definitely learned from this, but there can only be good times ahead:
    my Sub terrain for my layout should be arriving soon, I've just had my birthday so my layout has had a cash injection I have started a number of mini projects one of which I will show you shortly the layout is now securely in its new home so there's a lot of benefits to that!

    for now, I just have to stay motivated and keep on chuffing!
    Brad.
     

    as always, please comment down below, im happy to answer any questions and im in desperate need of some constructive criticism!
  11. Team Traction
    Wow... long time coming eh?
    Firmest I'd like to apologise for the lack of updates, I feel quite guilty about it. The resin being is that nothing new could happen to my layout until I got my sub terrain, and it's taken until august to get it.. nevertheless I've got it now and I've been working flat out on the scenery ever since. I also got chance to modify the track plan one more time, and I'm happy with this final layout. Ive decided to make this railway on a GWR/SR joint route so i can run a variety of stock, including my fave, a Q1 locomotive. So about the scenery, I've been able to have a slight extension to my layout which has allowed for a runway on my layout. I've started the ballasting and the grasss, I've placed hedges, trees and buildings, it's all coming together. I'd say my layouts a 1/4 done now, which is brilliant. Please leave some comments or constructive criticism below, I'd love to hear it.
     
    Cheers, Brad
     

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