ecgtheow

"Here's one I made earlier" as they say - actually before 1977, when we moved house & is the 2nd of the only 2 locos I have ever built. I didn't paint it & can't remember who did. It needs a new motor, which doesn't obstruct the cab, though the original motor still works well, a new gearbox & better wheels, but all that will have to wait until significant progress has been made building a new layout. That has to take precedence. William

Tony wrote a couple of days ago that he had only ever seen 3 completed LRM K2's. Well here's mine, so perhaps there are rather more kits bought & built than often thought? William PS. Having photographed it I realise that I need to have another go at the weathering

Thetford Bridge plan.pdfThetford bridge layout %22mainline%22.pdf Sorry but the pdf files don't seem to be attached. I will try again after investigating why not

OK Barry, I have to come clean. This is my home layout, currently in its very early stages of development. Definitely breaking your baseboard edge and straight line rules! IMG_1908.JPG Two foot wide baseboards, eight lines (including loops) and two island platforms... with very little scenic space. With the limited space I have available, after much deliberation I decided what the hell and went for it. Much of my railway experience has been on platforms at mainline stations, and I wanted to recreate that feeling where the outside world is... the outside world. So operation became the priority, but with modelling skills undertaken to a high standard within the station confines. The boundaries of the layout will be defined by brick arches on the facings of the baseboards and their parapet will provide edging to the baseboard tops. The inspiration for this is Leicester Central, the track plan and station itself draw much from that location, within the constraints of the space I have. I felt it better to compromise as little of the station area as possible at this stage. In this case, running parallel to the board edges maximises this. It is my hope that in time, I will have a larger, dedicated room to work with and then will be able to develop the street scenes at a lower level around the current boards. In the meantime, building the station environment itself to the standards that I aspire to, will be modelling challenge enough for now! Phil Here's layout plan with few if any straight lines except in the yard. After starting 3 complex layouts which were never anywhere near finished because every time we moved home the dimensions of the space available differed, I settled on a model of Thetford Bridge because it seems to offer good operational opportunities, but one could also just watch through trains go by & it is all on a curve which is tightened considerably in the model (see outline plan showing the "mainline" & position of points to facilitate baseboard construction). It can also be built to scale in the 5.3 m by 4.4 m room housing it. It will also be 1.5 m above the floor, so the the tightness the curve should be less obvious as it is viewed more or less at eye level. The "mainline" isn't a semi-circle but 2 90 degree complex curves with easements at either end to allow the use of "mein Gleis" flexible 2.18 m radius points at the crossover in the station & a 4.36 m radius Y-point where the single line becomes double.Another potential advantage is that one can stand more or less at the mid point of the curves & view everything at about the same distance facilitating making scenery with forced perspective which should not look odd. The storage yard uses Peco code 83 curved 5'/3' radius points to give loops as long as possible. Most of the baseboards are built & track laying has started. I hope it all works out as planned. William

The subsequent discussion about 3-D printing shows that it has come a lot recently & FUD is definitely better than WSF though a bit brittle. Here is a photo of a GNR G1 0-4-4T made from a GNR Models body & chassis, by a model maker who has become a friend. As a result of following this blog it has been sent off to Geoff Haynes for painting & lining, which except in plain black is far beyond my abilities

Tony, It's common misconception, but Cobusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris) was born Swiss & only became a French citizen in 1930 when he was about 43. William

Some took the high road, we took the low road & then got lost. ecgtheow (William)

Many thanks to 4069 & Jamie. As is often the case oral family history can be misleading: on further investigation it's clear that my grandfather was an LNWR engine driver, but he died in 1943 when he was 74, which was news to me, so obviously the medal he got following an accident on the railway wasn't fatal for him at least. I still don't know anything about his time on the LNWR except that successive census records show that he started as an engine cleaner, then an engine stoker & lastly as an engine driver. William Jenkins

And now for something completely different: it's a plea for help. My grandfather, William Jenkins the same name as mine, was an LNWR engine driver based presumably in Birkenhead where he lived according to the 1911 census. He died long before I was born, but the story in the family is that he died in a railway accident for which he was awarded a posthumous medal, which I saw when young, but do not have. How can I find out more about him? The LNWR Society webpage search for staff has not helped. Thanks to anyone who can help, William Jenkins (ecgtheow)

Yep, very nice indeed & 5 years ago I too would have considered buying the coaches, but I couldn't wait for the MARC Models kits & bought a Golden Age coach set instead (perhaps I should have waited?) The loco that pulls my Silver Jubilee set is also a Hornby model, but I have weathered mine using photos from the 1930s as a guide instead of repainting it. William

Edit because I checked & found that I got the hp figures wrong: it should be 4000 hp for the Hudsons & 6000 hp for the Niagaras, though the latter were measured at 6,700 ho at 62.5 mph

You wonder about longest & hardest continuous steam turns. Admittedly the 20th Century Limited was not in the UK but from 1938 the Dreyfus Super Hudson 4-6-4s (6000 hp) ran the 960 miles from New York to Chicago in 16 hours including a few stops & later in the early 1940s the 4-8-4 Niagaras (8000 hp) were scheduled to make the return trip in 15.5 hours. The latter locos ran an average of 26,000 miles/month. That's long hard running, but the Hudsons did find starting difficult which is why they were fitted with boosters on the trailing truck.

Just spoke to Peco & was told that the OO gauge large radius Code 75 bullhead rail points are expected to be available in September.

Coachman makes a good point. My wife often accuses me of being a stick in the mud about not embracing new fangled things as I get older & she'e right. However, I am sticking to DC not because I don't understand it (I do very well) but because I have so much else to do to complete any thing like a layout. William Jenkins (ecgtheow)

The Dreyfuss Hudsons were, as others have pointed out or implied, built for sustained high speeds on the Waterlevel Route i.e. more or less flat track with few gradients & needed a booster to get them going from a standing start. The 4-6-4 arrangement allows for a much bigger firebox supported by the trailing truck than on a pacific for sufficient steam production at high speed. Also these Hudsons originally ran with 275 lb/in2 boiler pressure, but at that pressure they bent their rods, so it was reduced to 265lb/in2. Though the "streamlining" almost certainly didn't improve their performance, it looks dramatic to me. It was a 4-8-4 "Northern" loco that superseded the Hudsons on the NYC, but only for a short time, as the diesels took over in the late 1940's.

All the chat about the relative performance of ECML pacifica has encouraged me to write about the the New York Central J3a Dreyfus Hudsons. Though they were clearly bigger then the UK pacifics, their performance was remarkable for 1938. Their maximum tractive effort was nearly 54,000 lb & they produced 4,700 hp at 77 mph allowing them to haul the 20th Century Limited with up to 17 coaches the 961 miles between New York & Chicago in 16 hr with an average speed of 60.1 mph including 6 intermediate stops. They had roller bearings on all axles & the last 5 had roller bearings on their connecting & coupling rods as well. In case they are not familiar to some here is a photo.

Interesting that Derek has done exactly what is required for international medical statements to be valid - day in numerals month in letters & year in full in numerals. So today is 08 Dec 2016. It's infallible. William

I don't have any of these, but if all else fails many similar point levers are available in the USA. Just look at the adverts in Model Railroader to find them. Travelling at present so don't have access to any of the US magazines.

Dear Tony, Just a suggestion at add even more realism to your excellent photo of the 2 B12's crossing. The wooden fence in front of the bridge stands out as if it's just been creosoted absolutely perfectly (maybe it has been, though that seems unlikely?) & the contrast to the nearby telegraph pole is stark. In reality wood like that fencing weathers quite quickly to a silvery grey. William Jenkins

Many thanks to all for responses to my question about what weathered coach roofs looked like. It's all very helpful & once I get round to actually weathering a few coaches in about 2 weeks time (if the weather holds), I will put some photos on here to show if I have succeeded or NOT!). William Jenkins (ecgtheow)

Now that the weather is better I plan to start weathering a series of coaches outside starting with LNER Gresleys, slightly modified Hornby coaches initially & then some kit built ones. Although I have taken photos of the sides, ends & undercarriages of prototypes I haven't got any photos of weathered prototype coach roofs, so can anyone suggest where I can find some on the web, please? After the Gresleys I shall move on to other types of LNER coaches & then some LMS ones, so my request is applicable to more or less all roofs of post 1923 coaches except GWR & SR. William Jenkins

Tony, I think that there was only the one ex-GER "Restaurant Car" on the M & GN in BR days & that it was then branded "BUFFET", but I need to check when I get home in a few days. If I am not sure, I will ask on the M & GNR Circle e-line. Incidentally I have built one of these D & S kits in GER livery, but unfortunately it's not quite correct as it was supplied as modified by the LNER. I'll post a photo later. William

Yes, there are more pensioners active in the hobby now than before, but there are now many more pensioners in general than there used to be. Life expectancy is increasing at a surprising rate currently about 1 year more every 5 years, so don't be dismayed. Looking on the bright side one no longer collects one's gold watch on retirement then dies in the next couple of years as was the case when I was young. Instead many of us can enjoy years of active life that our predecessors could not, so perhaps more but oder people will be returning to the hobby than previously. William

Thanks very much Tony, It really sets my mind at rest that at least most of the locos will work with most of the track & it shouldn't be too difficult to adjust those that don't. Elsewhere on this or another forum there is extensive discussion on 4 or 5 "standard" b2b measurements for 00 track & locos, which seems to have confused many correspondents & it certainly confused me. Given the regular praise for the running qualities on LB, I will try to do what you do & expect that it will work & if it doesn't, that will be because I haven't done things properly in most cases. William

Tony, You mention back to back measurements, which are easy to fix on wagon & coach axles, but what about loco driving wheels? So far I haven't had much trouble, but that was with a small layout whereas I am now building a much bigger one & proposing to use C + L plain track & with a mixture of points from different manufacturers, Peco, Roco & Tillig either because I have them already, or because they allow the configurations that are needed for the track plan. You seem to have no trouble running a mixture of locos including modern RTR & kit-built locos probably fitted with Romford wheels, or possibly Gibson or Ultrascale on hand-built track on the viewing part of your layout & Peco 75 in the fiddle yards. So my questions not just to you, but to others on this forum with much more experience than me, are: 1. What b-to-b measurement should I plan on using a mixture of C + L plain track & Peco 75 points? 2. Would the optimal compromise answer for question 1also allow me to use Roco & Tillig code 83 points? If not, is there another compromise that would allow all 3 makes of points to be used? 3. How does one change the b-to-b distance on RTR locos & on locos fitted with Romford, Gibson or Ultrascale wheels? Sorry if that list of questions seems very demanding, but I think the answers or comments from you & others would help not only me, but lots of others facing the same dilemma. We can hardly test every combination of makes of points for all our locos fitted with different makes of wheels & then change their b-to-b especially if we don't know how to do it. We would like to hear about & benefit from the experience of others. Thanks & best wishes, William