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Johnson Street IEMD

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  1. Johnson Street IEMD
    23rd September 2021
     
    As the layout continues to move forward, the depot scenes continue to gain a more polished look - although different in their usage and track work access, both the electric shed and the long term maintenance sheds are operated by the same TOC so they will get the same sort of treatment - expect to see a similar look to the electric shed, as seen here, with the yellow hazard markings for the inspection pit edges soon also.
     
    Just beyond the Buffer Stop will be a terminating wire mast taking the catenary wire and also the support wire into some isolators on a mast.


  2. Johnson Street IEMD
    11th September 2021
     
    OLE
     
    Yesterday (writing this, on Sunday) I had a brief visit to see how things are coming along with the layout - getting to see the backscene board nicely in place, looking at where the OLE masts would be placed and what exact form they would take - PIC 4 shows roughly how it might look - having found some brackets a couple of years ago that ''might be'' adapted - siilar in overall resulting appearance to those seen at Chester's Making Tracks layout - but also ones with a variance of appearance, getting to see how Ian's ideas for the space of the fiddle yard would be best used - the thinking is that there may be room for a programming track on the add-on fiddle yard board - more on this to follow - as well as a few snaps from our discussion time - DB Blue and Multimodal had a brief sortie out on the layout as well - mini clips to follow. Unfortuantely, my phone died on this session and i had forgotten to take my charging lead with me :-(
     
    For those who haven't seen this layout before, I am using nBrass portals with scratchbuilt cantilevers - inspired by those from the Chester Cathedral layout - as well as others seen at Crewe IEMD, unfortunately PECO's multi-track portals havent arrived in time. The single masts and terminating gantries will be based on PECOs single track masts - the catenary wire is all PECO.
     
    Fiddle Yard
     
    The track which is the entrance exit for the layout currently splits into three lines and myself and Ian are currently discussing how best to work an additional fiddle yard track which will come out from under the tunnel section, and potentially have two/three tracks, one being for programming and also two for preparing loco arrivals onto Johnson Street IEMD.
     






  3. Johnson Street IEMD
    6th September 2021
     
    Whilst I was chasing Cans and Dysons, my eager beaver @amertonman was pulling my backscene and cracking on at pace to get my layout finished off.
     
    The idea is that a long enough fiddle yard siding will be sufficient to rotate the loco movements to depict their movements in and out of Johnson Street IEMD.
     
    This is all good progress ... i am actually pinching myself :-)
     
    OLE's coming soon .... Wooooooooooooooo !!!!!!
     
    Then my fully functional depot scene becomes an electric depot ... 
     




  4. Johnson Street IEMD
    31st August 2021
     
    The man in charge of bringing Johnson Street IEMD to life is making tracks on the later parts of the project and having undertaken an exercise in testing all of the points and their respective motors - he's now laid the hard standing between the tracks on the Long Term repair shed before undertaking a similar exercise on what will be the electric depot. Voila !!!
     
     

  5. Johnson Street IEMD
    1st September 2021
     
    September, that spiffingly super month - and the electric depot now has its hardstanding sorted, following on from the work to do a similar thing at the Long Term maintenance shed. Thank you @amertonmanfor the speedy progress - expertly modelled by Multimodal, Armistice and Shed 65.


  6. Johnson Street IEMD
    22nd August 2021
     
    Having recently changed to a new project manager who has the time and know how to complete the project. The layout has also been moved nearer to its eventual position and as part of preliminary inspections, the layout wiring has been adjusted and is all now working as it was originally plumbed in - thank you @amertonman.
     
    @amertonman has also been tasked with harnassing the third of my DCC sound chips for a Class 66 to a recent acquisition, Bachmann's most recent DB Cargo Class 66, 66100 Armistice, having already done so with rebranded DBS 66s, creating red 66009 and 66065.
     
    The previously seen Class 60s, DBC 60100 and DBS 60007 and the Class 67, 67028 have been culled to grow my Bachmann DB90 pool, having now got to seven, with four now DCC sound fitted.
     
    The project as it is has the following still to do:
     
    1 Concrete Hardstanding areas completed between the tracks - and outside both the electric shed and long term maintenance shed
    2 Backscene mounted for the full eight foot
    3 lighting inserted into the buildings (main shed, staffroom facilities, regional office and portacabin)
    4 Assembly of the nBrass Multitrack gantries, applicable cantilevers along with the PECO catenary masts and the wires 
    5 Any other remaining things which come to light
     
     
     
     
    This evening Barbie got to see her new home alongside Multimodal and two red sheds, 66065 and 66100
     
     
     
     
     
    Kat@johnsonstreetIEMD
     




  7. Johnson Street IEMD
    7th August 2021 - Malcolm (90024) and Multimodal (90019) at Making Tracks
     
     
    Having first laid eyes on the Chester Cathedral layout on Youtube several months ago, seen below on Hornby Magazine's clip, I just knew i had to see it, not on someone's video as such, but get out there and see it in the flesh, there have been a number of exhibitions where OLE layouts have been present but this was probably the first where i was either (a) able to get involved in or (b) had sufficient enough knowledge to go along and ultimately learn something being at a point, where my own layout would benefit from such input.
     
    The layout visually doesn't disappoint and the team have done incredible work to pull it together with everything that's going on in the world at the moment - the level of detail is brilliant and represents the WCML brilliantly and the good thing about it is that visually it hasnt changed much in nearly sixty years since electrification was completed in the earlier stages therefore this allows for a wide variety of stock and traction to be shown 
     
     
    I just knew it would also be the perfect place to see the Bachmann Class 90 get to stretch its legs, my stable of Bachmann 90s have had to be patient whilst Johnson Street IEMD has been taking shape, most recently seen here:
     
     
    and although one or two have had nice trips out to various locations along the ficticious network such as Stacton Tressell
     
     
    and Rose Heath (which is also in development - the buildings seen on the layout are positioned where things are going but the orientation of the scene will very different once finished - I joke with the owner that it would look lovely covered in knitting - he isnt having it - but it's a great place to run diversionary paths for 4M25/4S47 etc - and will hopefully soon get to see what this looks like in the flesh having seen doubel headed Skodas working to go with my Malcolm rake - again - you have to ''imagine'' the OLE here at Rose Heath - being just like seen at Making Tracks.
     
     
    one had to only imagine what the OLE looked like, here was a location of a hybrid West Coast mainline, the perfect stomping ground for the Skoda
     
     
    Soooo ... Chester Cathedral - yes, there are lots of clips of Chester for you all to see - out there on YouTube - having managed to make it there for a second time without snarly traffic holding us up, it didnt quite according to plan and in the end Jack was the only one to make it out unscathed, due to the CV set up on Bill having been different - having been configured for the small movements at Johnson Street, Jack, seen below going round light engine.
     
     
    Third time lucky at Chester's Making tracks exhibition which is open till 3rd September and well worth seeing if you aren't too far away from Chester, best book in advance to avoid potential embarassment but the people at the Cathedral are a friendly bunch and in a way, it's nice to think i have somehow contributed to a good cause, having been three times. It hasnt been oversubscribed as such so one might get away with popping in on ad-hoc. Is it easy to get to, whats the parking like etc, i hear you asking, i used the park and ride at Boughton Heath, and managed to get there, initially via the A41, and then by the A54 but you can get there on a number of different roads - just google it - you basically park your car and take the bus into Chester city centre - the bus takes you to a bus station which is a short walk away from the Cathedral and only costs a few quid to get there and back on the same ticket and that also includes your parking - brilliant ... that bit couldnt have gone any better ...
     
    First time round I'd been stuck in traffic and just missed them, second time round, was biesieged with CV problems and ''so called poor'' intermodal wagons, third time lucky, and despite a wave of criticism from some quarters, Malcolm and Multimodal got to do a lap with the mixed Malcolm intermodal rake that I have been working on for a few months - and boy, didnt it look great if slightly a bit short - the other wagons and boxes were there but there had been some teething issues with them - Malcolm firstly doing a lap with some Blue Circle cement wagons
     
     
    before we moved on to the Intermodals later in the day - firstly Malcolm
     
     
    and then Multimodal
     
     
    we didnt manage to get as far as double heading but it was great getting to see the 90s in their natural habitat - the only shame being that there were none already present with a number of BR blue Class 86s and 87s on duty ...
     
    well done boys (Malcolm, Jack and Multimodal)... this is what I had waited several months to get to see. We didnt get our luck with the weather this time but having seen the below, my enthusiasm wasnt going to be washed away.
     
    Thank you also to @dmu 156 for giving both myself and my OLE local chief engineer Ian @amertonman to get to see how the knitting was replicated at Chester - several aspects of this are going to be replicated at Johnson Street. 
     
    Kat@johnsonstreetIEMD
     
  8. Johnson Street IEMD
    1st August 2021
     
    Having recently attended the Making Tracks event at Chester Cathedral a few weeks ago and firstly got stuck in traffic, secondly, got stuck with my CVs - Bill made a oh so brief but not very impressive appearance - Jack, faired slightly better - see third and fourth clips - and possibly a tiny little boob with the coupling rods on the Bachmann intermodals, a third time lucky mission was sought, and in order to do this, my Skoda CVs needed adjustment and through this process a number of positives have come to light, including getting to see my 90s in double heading manoevres and thus learning that not all the chips are the same or even pair up easily, this leads me to the conclusion that to stick with the majority variety and maybe in time, swap the minority chip for a majority one possibly, but lots of things to do before then.
     
    DB Blue and Malcolm - my favourite pair
     
     
    Multimodal and Malcolm (with DB Blue in the foreground)
     
     
    Jack at Chester Cathedral scenic side
     
     
    Jack at Chester Cathedral fiddle yard side
     
     
     
    So what does this all mean - novice talk !!
     
    Here and now, Bill is carrying the odd DCC-sound chip, that's fine, for the time being, that's how we'll go with it ... it was my thinking that one or two of my 90s may be on individual workings, like charter workings etc etc, that could then work for a 90 like Barbie.
     
     
    In other news
     
    A new occurence has happened as well with my 90s, previously, it was either a buffer or a horn grill coming off, but tonight one of the light covers has come off - oh well, these things happen ...
     
    Kat@johnsonstreetIEMD
  9. Johnson Street IEMD
    7th June 2021
     
    A recent opportunity presented itself to make one of my DB90s sound fitted and knowing that two of them were still analogue. It was a toss up between Barbie and Bellshill to get the nod, well its ladies first and Barbie has gone digital and the sound has gone to Multimodal which I expect to be the busier of the two.
     
    A quick clip of this is below:
     
     
  10. Johnson Street IEMD

    Multimodal, Malcolm and Bill do Rose Heath

    By Johnson Street IEMD,


    Johnson Street IEMD - Locos out on duty
    26th May 2021
     
    With the ready supply of DB Cargo Class 90s out of Crewe IEMD due to Grand Central's demise, DB have opted to increase the number of different services 90s are hauling, starting with a trial on 4X40 Shell /BP tanker service from Warrington  bank Quay to Wembley sidings, seen passing Rose Heath to the south. Meanwhile Malcolm rail 90024 out on test but failed just south of Rose Heath station.
     
    Note:
     
    In the real world, there is a place near Lockerbie where Malcolm Logistics DB66/DB90 services pass each other. A couple of months ago when there were six Skodas at Mossend, those being Multimodal (90019), Bumblebee3 (90020), Bumblebee2 (90029), Jack (90036), Christine (90037) and Backbone (90039), there was a 90 on both 4M30 (Southbound Early) and 4M25 (Southbound Late) services from Mossend (Grangemouth) to Daventry and they actually passed each other in the early hours of the second day - the northbound 90 then was on 4S49 as the later southbound 4M25 was not that long into the journey to Daventry. I am not aware this has ever been caught on camera. I use Rose Heath as the fictitious place where this occurs.
     
    For those who aren't aware, it's common place for Class 66s to be used to cover 90s on 4M25 and they mainly do 4M30 - hopefully DB will get the 90s to a place where they are operational on both services as was the case a few months ago.
     
     
  11. Johnson Street IEMD
    Layout Update
     
    On a day when three DB Cargo Class 90s went to Warrington to recover a Class 325, three DB Class 90s also made a short trip down the line to Johnson Street IEMD. Multimodal, Malcolm and DB Blue all got chance to see their forthcoming new home and I got to see how much progress has been made and also what's still to do before Johnson Street IEMD is signed for active workings. 
     
    Palisade fencing has gone in around the main electric shed including a gate out to the northern side of the facility. The arm-co fencing has also been put in to place alongside the head-shunt track as far as into the Long Term maintenance shed to the right hand side of the depot. The small McDonald's restaurant has been installed and an access road has gone in for the Parcels depot to the right of it including a gated access area.
     








  12. Johnson Street IEMD
    10th May 2021
     
    Soooooo good news, a little more headway on the layout the access to the yard is nearly sorted, the fencing alongside the diesel depot. 
     
    The ground outside the postal depot lorry access area now has a hard standing.
     
    The long term store siding is a bit more greener.
     
    Pictures of progress made



  13. Johnson Street IEMD
    Saturday 1st May 2021
     
    Having thought my 90 pool was going to remain at six for the foreseeable future, I underestimated one key consideration, "desire"... :-)
     
    Having seen a couple of 90s which had wetted my taste buds, a Grand  Central liveried one and also a Scotrail liveried one, this was the inevitable sign of things to come.
     
    The latter of these two really interests me as Johnson Street IEMD is going to become a centre of excellence for the maintenance of not just the Class 90s but there will be 92s, 86s, and others too.
     
    There will also be long term maintenance works going in with some locos, 90s in particular being readied for service. One of my current fleet of 90s is in that position, 90018 Pride of Bellshill, is in the long term store pool at Crewe. It will take on that role at Johnson Street IEMD too. 
     
    The intention was to also have a loco which was warm stored and the more I thought about it, the more I thought Barbie (First Scotrail Barbie liveried 90, 90021 - the last of the three surviving 90s in this livery) made sense. 
     
    It was maybe fate that the wonderful world of Squirrel Rail was just about to showcase the latest in 90 liveries being, yes, first Scotrail. It probably a little more pristine than what I had in mind for my project - seeing this really got my mind racing and having had some dialogue with the main man, the deal was done, Barbie was coming to Johnson Street IEMD, not the one I had seen but a more tired Barbie.
     
    Well, having been given a headcode and clearance to leave the Squirrel Rail painting facility, Barbie proceeded on 1J90 up the GEML across the London outer connecting lines and up the WCML to Johnson Street IEMD, making good time as she went. She even took time to call in at Topp Trains holding sidings
     
     
    before meeting up near the depot with classmates Malcolm, DB Blue and Jack.
     
    Kat@johnsonstreetIEMD 



  14. Johnson Street IEMD
    What a great prize !!!
     
    Imagine Backbone@JohnsonstreetIEMD !!!
     
    He would fit nicely in with the "Team Red Skodas" at Johnson Street IEMD !!!
     
    Kat@johnsonstreetIEMD 
     
     
    Johnson Street IEMD on Youtube
    Johnson Street IEMD on Instagram
     
     
     
    DB Cargo UK (@DBCargoUK) Tweeted:
    We’re giving away a Class 90 model to celebrate the findings of a report commissioned by the Rail Delivery Group which highlights the value of rail freight.
    Make sure you’re following us then like and share this post to enter! T&Cs: https://t.co/1ICsqmt9ee
    #BackboneOfTheEconomy https://t.co/3rE6J8VlDR https://twitter.com/DBCargoUK/status/1387364769695469571?s=20'
     
     
     
     




  15. Johnson Street IEMD
    19th March - Multimodal arrives
     
    Christmas 2020 for Johnson Street was one which would see the arrival of two more DB Cargo Class 90s. They would both be red and would hopefully add to the variety of DB liveries that will litter Johnson Street.
     
    It was always envisaged that their arrival would be in the early part of 2021, this further delayed by a few decalling issues, availability and then the emergence of the Glider decals for 90037, which ironically was the one loco I didnt want DB to relivery.
     
    90037 was, after all, branded DB to start with and although an unusual livery on the 90, alot more common in 66 form, the removal of EWS branding and opposite cabside logos and nose logos makes for a subtle cosmetic change to the EWS form. This is also seen on the Class 60, 60 065, Spirit of Jaguar which is regularly used as a shunting loco primarily at Toton but is also used on training runs. 
     
    Soooo having reliveried my favourite DB90 after Malcolm and DB Blue, I was seriously tempted to postpone Multimodal's arrival in place for Christine. As fate would have it, complications with the glider decals meant that it was going to have to be tackled at a later stage. These were originally created by rainbow railways and printed onto the loco Bodyshell - it may be that I opt to source one of their own Christine examples as per their earlier creation, the Malcolm Rail 90, 90024.
     
    With 90019 and 90036 being the two arrivals a last bit of snagging was undertaken and with Jack eager to return to the Midlands, it was Multimodal who followed up light engine.
     
    Thank you to Ben at Bensresprays @cambo74 for his patience on this project. 
     




  16. Johnson Street IEMD
    8th February 2020
     
    Today saw the second Bachmann 90 (90034) sound fitted and also the first run out of DB 90 number three, 90024 on a flying lap of the Topp Trains test track, trust my phone to die in the recording of this
     
     
     
    it's going to be sooooo much better with DCC sound, which it will have in about two or three weeks time. 90034 had been having some teething issues a few times back whilst on a run out at Rose Heath but I understand these to have been cured and with her now sound fitted also, my man in the know is going to help me to configure a consist set up for operations out of Johnson Street, DB 90's will still work in singular form also, on ECML, GEML and GWML supporting works and will be back and forth from Johnson Street.
     
    In addition to the 90s, there will also be operations of 60s, 66s and 67s.
  17. Johnson Street IEMD
    Like it or not ?
     
    DB Cargo's latest Class 90 relivery comes in the form of an unusual black livery with the "backbone of the economy branding" on the side and a promotional video to follow with it.
     
    As an active follower of the DB90, I was surprised when I first saw this some weeks ago, initially thinking it was all about peculiar. It turns out DB in Germany did the same with another electric loco, I'm guessing electric hauled freight plays a much greater part as opposed to in the UK. It also seems to be a strange choice for a 90, given that DBs 90s aren't exactly busy at the moment ...  
     
     
  18. Johnson Street IEMD
    Sunday 21st February 2021
     
    Rewritten (27th)
     
    Having recently added Pride of Bellshill or as I now fondly refer to him "Bellshill" (DB Schenker liveried 90018) back in October, I thought it extremely unlikely that I would be looking at two skodas poking their heads out of my stocking on Christmas day but tis the season of magical things, isnt it ? Like it snowing, the lovely food we all get to eat, seeing friends and family, we should all enjoy this soooo much more next time round in 2021 (hopefully she says)
     
    Sooo with Bellshill (018) having recently joined Bill (028), DB Blue (034) and Malcolm (024) in what was a colourful scene for Johnson Street, the need for a bit of a reality check in the livery colours seen "on shed" . This is a modern DB yard - so red is the prominent colour- with this on mind - it makes sense that the next two 90s reflected this ... in the form of Multimodal (019) and Jack (036).
     
    So why Multimodal and Jack you could ask ?
     
    Multimodal was the first of the new look DB90s - i had actually tried to get to see its naming ceremony at the NEC in Birmingham, yes that's right, DB Cargo took it by truck and lowered it onto tracks inside a hall there for its naming at the ''Multimodal '' logistics event in 2017" - see pictures below - these are not mine..
     
    Unfortunately, i had just missed it, but made up for this at York's National Railway museum (NRM for short) to see 028 get named into "Sir William McAlpine" - there are some clips of this on my youtube and instagram channels.
     
    Getting back on topic - 90019 - I  had originally had this in DB Cargo livery in the days of Hornby's 90 being the only modelled form -  having had it rebranded from what was already a very fancy looking Hornby Class 90 with a partial CJM nose which itself was liveried into DB Schenker - CJM is a kit you can get which updated the look of the Hornby 90 into a more accurate depiction. It looked more more realistic but that's alot of remodeling to do if you have half a dozen 90s - this is one of the reasons I opted for the Bachmann class 90.
     
    Driver Jack Mills (90036) or as i call him "Jack" was actually the first Class 90 to be liveried into DB Schenker red back in 2015 I think it was - and was named at Crewe station - the naming ceremony is on YouTube by youtuber railuk. It was also the first commission I had done back when I got back into modelling, I still have a little clip of this somewhere. 
     
    As soon as I caught the sweet scent that Bachmann were doing the 90, i culled all of my Hornby 90s, knowing I may have less examples but equally more higher quality, detailing, new age tech (dcc lighting, sound etc) but ultimately consistency in appearance.
     
    Sooo Multimodal and Jack it was ... (see pics below - there will be a more closer look at them following)...  two more red Skodas, which is more than fine, the majority of the active pool are red, so to have a mostly red pool is reflective of what one might see at Crewe Electric Depot on any given day.
     
    It is my intention that when the time comes for the next 90 (90s) that I look to add one or more of the more unusual liveries to the pool, yes, there are still a few other red DB 90s but they can wait - with these two arrivals,  the DB red 90s are fully depicted
     
    DB Schenker - 018
    DB minus Schenker - 036 & 040
    DB Cargo - 019, 028 & 035
    DB Glider - 037
     
    with only the Glider livery outstanding, the next one to arrive will almost certainly be:
     
    EWS First Scotrail (021)
    ex-Grand Central (020, 026 and 029)
    DB Glider (037),
    DB Backbone (039)
     
    There are also the long term store varieties of EWS not seen on the network for a long time now, they are:
     
    017, 023, 030, 031, 032 and erm 033?
     
    and the 90s which weren't EWS'd which are still in pre privatisation sectorisation Railfreight Distribution variants (or RfD for short), their numbers are:
     
    022, 025, 027, 038
     
    .......
     
    Note, the reliverying expert Ben from Bensresprays - has undertaken this commission and he has said these are very much first drafts and there are a few snagging issues which he will sort before these are finished but they are about 90-95% right in my opinion - there will be some updated pictures of these posted in the coming days.
     



  19. Johnson Street IEMD
    January 2021 Update
     
     
    DB 66139 gets sound ... and ...
     
    Recent arrival Ex-EWS DB liveried Bachmann Class 66 has now been sound fitted, thank you to @amertonman (with a Bachmann 66 sound chip and speaker).  Do I keep the host sound 66 027 ? well, I think it's probably going to go, but im still umming and arring on that subject, we'll see...  Currently, two of my three DB66s are now sound fitted, 66009 and now 66139, its my intention to get 66065 sound fitted, and when the time is right, 66117, the newest Bachmann DB 66 will be added, sound fitted and weathered also.. The crux of it is, i have two unaccounted sound chips, which have gone astray, which are ready to go into 66065 and 66117 when it comes... so as soon as they re-appear, we should see 66065 sorted and a little later in the year 66117 also ... another job for you Ian @amertonman..
     
    and ...
     
    Will there be any more 66s for Johnson Street ? I think four is more than enough ... more electric traction is needed, before any more diesels arrive ... 2021 should see the emergence of the Accurascales Class 92 as well as the new Heljan Class 86, both of which are going to feature at Johnson Street, but probably a little further into 2022, we will have to see what happens ... The Dyson is probably more likely to arrive first, trouble is I cant really make up my mind on the livery I will opt for firstly, I like the three beasties EWS transiitionary grey livery (92017 ? ), i could also see the DB Schenker (92042) and DB Cargo (92016) variants working - i am also toying with the idea that GBRf could sub-contract their electric traction maintenance to Johnson Street so then the Cally Sleeper and GBRf 92s could also be seen here also. 
     
    The plans for the 86 are less clear, i had initially thought about DB operating a pair wet-leased from Freightliner, also, I liked seeing 86101 and 401 working the Caledonian Sleeper but sadly that finished with the arrival of the Mk5 carriages, now, one of the 86s is now in the hands of LSL, i am not sure about the other, maybe DB could use it ? 
     
    January Transfer window open
     
    So, there is movement afoot at Johnson Street IEMD, the layout itself may well be coming back home soon, with not much progress being made due to circumstances outside the control of the build team, and with Covid being what it is. The loco fleet at Johnson Street is going to see a little movement also, watch this space for more soon, incomings and outgoings expected shortly.
     


  20. Johnson Street IEMD
    Johnson Street IEMD: layout and loco update: Boxing day 2020
     
    First of all, I want to say Merry Christmas to all those people who view my blog, it has been an unprecedented and turbulent year all across the planet - and the kind which we probably thought we would never experience in our lifetime, the history of those who lived in the times of the plague seemed like such a long long time ago and would we/could we ever be experiencing such a thing ourselves with all the advances in medical science? ... well, yes we have and still are living with this - as a result of this - the world of the railways and model railways has been put back into perspective on one hand but on the other has been a great source of comfort during times of such isolation for many, me included in on that and although my layout isn't back and completed - i have followed the life and times of the DB90 as seen in Stafford on my YouTube channel Johnson Street IEMD, by going to the footbridge and back daily to catch 4M25 - I have got to see a number of the active pool, including my favourite 90, Malcolm (90024), I have also seen several others and even nicknamed them all appropriately, so there is Bill (90028), Jack (90036), DB Blue (90034), Christine  (90037) and Bumblebee1 (90026) - which also features some clips of my layout as well - should you view any of my videos, its also worth looking at the description in there, which gives you some background to the locos featured.
     
     
     
    Rail-related Christmas presents
     
    For those of us who are rail enthusiasts and modellers out there, Christmas represents the chance to add freshness to one's layout or their plans, for me personally, I have been able to do a little bit of this too, my ''Christmas box'' isnt expected to arrive till after Christmas, so its going to be a case of watch this space for this - but i think it will be more than worth the wait. I have also acquired a sound unit for my Bachmann ex-EWS DB 66139 so that will join 66009 with DCC Sound. Its my intention to sound-fit 66065 with sound at some point in 2021  and have one of the new DB66s from Bachmann, 66117 put aside for me by my local model shop, which will be weathered and sound fitted also.
     
    OHLE progress
     
    A few weeks ago, my man with the soldering iron came back to me with the latest progress on working up my nBrass gantry masts - unfortunately, he is also very busy with other railway related projects and these have been pulled together in between other works.
     
    It has been my intention for a while now to have some nBrass multi-track masts to portray the look of the WCML for my electric depot, to have the look of Crewe Electric Depot (IEMD) about it - so i have spent time looking at both the OHLE on the approach to Crewe along with unusual mast designs featuring on the UK electric network.
     
    Inspiration for anyone tackling OHLE beyond the basic offerings
     
    Its a really interesting area within railway modelling, in that UK modellers currently really only have a small part of the infrastructure needed to depict OHLE. If you are a continental modeller either here or abroad, you're reasonably well catered for, but f you are modelling for UK OHLE however, a sparse collection of gantries are available, for the single masts, you're asking yourself am I going with Dapol or PECO - and for the multi-track masts, if you are modelling the WCML, then its either nBrass or one of the other kit form masts, like scalemodelscenery and torri-laser (found on Ebay) and having to scratch build your cantilevers - or adapt from similar masts, as one or two have done - the problem with this is - of course, the detail aspect - and OHLE in its general nature is a VERY VERY VERRRYYY detailed component on a model railway layout - if you are looking to portray as accurate a layout from a detailed perspective, then you are going to want your OLE to reflect this also.
     
    if you're looking for inspiration on this subject, there are four really useful youtube channels to have a look at when it comes to OHLE and also the scratchbuilding of it,
     
    1 - Dave at Dean Park Station has built some very good ECML three-track masts, which are about as good as I have seen - i am pretty sure Dave has a video for how he did these
     
    2 - Minsterley - there is also the OHLE on Minsterley's layout which is equally impressive, maybe slightly more so due to the complexity and variety of structures, this appears to be more WCML in its style.
     
    3 - Wratting Road - Jack has adapted both the catenary wires presenting them in a more realistic blackened look - and also adapted both the PECO masts for greater accuracy and also the masts before the tunnel entrance are brilliant as is the terminating single mast which I am going to try to replicate on my layout and he has a video for this aspect - check out his youtube channel for more
     
    4 - Davidson Parkway - also has some impressive masts, and OHLE - and appears to have gone with nBrass and Dapol.
     
    My OHLE plan
     
    For my forthcoming layout, i've opted to adapt nBrass multi-track gantries for the sections of several parallel tracks - I have decided to go this way as I feel they will offer the most rigidty for the multi-track sections, the basic framework of these are pictured below as well as the mockups which will take the basic shape from the Nbrass structures - having studied the knitting outside Crewe Electric depot - I'm also using PECO for the single track sections. I am also adapting a gantry from Hornby for the terminating gantries which are postitioned at the rear of the electric shed and also the two holding sidings - and adopting Wratting Road's approach to terminating single track OHLE too.
     
    Back in August I had taken some of the early bits of OHLE I had with me at the time to mock-up how some of my masts would look on the layout, note, none of these will be on my finished knitting project. The nBrass three/ four track sections will feature similar to the below and the cantilevers will be adapted to fit these structures as per the design mockups that I have illustrated - and PECO masts will be used in conjunction with these also - the mast which sits opposite to the end of track where 90028 sits - was representative of where one of the terminating gantries will be positioned - although the trackwork here still needs to be taken a little further back so there is room to accomodate a DB66 or 92 also...
     
    My 90s
     
    My current DB 90 pool sits at four, with 90018 joining 90024, 90028 and 90034, back in late October, the latter three being sound-fitted. As my 90 fleet grows, I am planning to depict some of the more varied liveries which are either active or in some level of stored status within the DB90 pool, I'd like to add several other liveries to this group, there's the now classic EWS maroon livery, im still pondering whether to opt for 90037 in ex-EWS instead of the newer DB Christine livery, there is also the currrent First Scotrail Barbie liveried 90021, which is expected to return to traffic in 2021, so that will be a sight for sure when paired up to the one of the newer DB Cargo liveries and of course, the other two new liveries Grand Central, which I have nicknamed Bumblebee livery, and each 90 to have gained this livery has been named in order of gaining this livery, so 90026 was the first, so I refer to this as Bumblebee1, 90029 was the second so this is Bumblebee2 and 90020 is Bumblebee3. This of course is now ex-Grand Central having been debranded, 90026 has already been used on 4M25 workings with 90036 a week or two back now - and features on my YouTube channel both at Stafford Station and a short way down the tracks at my favourite footbridge.
     
    The most recent new livery is 90039 in ''I am the backbone of the Economy'' livery, and this is the first DB Cargo 90 livery that I am really not that struck on - its one which should i find myself being tempted to do a factional livery, that this one I might go with a spin on Malcolm Rail or the keyworkers branding as seen on 66113. I am also planning to have at least one fictional livery, which at the moment is likely to be 90027 which is still in RfD in long term store at Crewe - it had been thought that this was one such loco to have been one to be returned to traffic alongside 90030 but its understood that this has been abandoned now for the time being, this would still be a good one to have done in a really grubby state to reflect its time stood still but with a new lease of life, a nameplate ready for it in Johnson Street IEMD and some appropriate DB logos of course.
     






  21. Johnson Street IEMD
    26th October 2020
     
    Bachmann DB Cargo 90018
     
    I had been planning to leave this review on here back in September, but my plans regarding the fourth instalment on my DB 90 fleet had been a bit up in the air, anyway, several weeks of plans being changed a bit, I finally settled on 90018 in DB Schenker red ''The Pride of Bellshill'' in a mucky tired state. 90018 was the second of the four DB Schenker branded Class 90s, following 90036. and subsequent to this 90029 and 90040. Subsequent to the rebranding of the business into DB Cargo UK from DB Schenker, three of the four 90s lost their Schenker branding, becoming what I call DB minus Schenker livery, one of those, 90029 has recently been reliveried out of DB red, the first 90 to be done so, and reliveried into the unfortunate Grand Central livery, now further more debranded - but for some reason 90018 hasn't - there are still Class 60s, 66s, 67s and 92s wearing Schenker so why not a 90 !!! 90018 has actually found itself in the long term storage pool at Crewe awaiting new wheelsets, having been gone from one of the busiest class members to one of the quietest. 90018 has been transformed brilliantly by Bensresprays @cambo74. 
     
    I asked for a mucky 90, and well, 90s don’t really get dirty like 66s or other locos, but this is a good interpretation of this I feel, without being from a stock image as such.  It's interesting that I should have this one, as I had initially come across 90018 in Hornby format a good few years ago in what was then a highly detailed respray and was actually my favourite DB90 model back then, I had it rebranded into DB 90019 some time later, but it was one of the first two Hornby 90s to be photographed at a then threadbare Johnson Street IEMD, then with 90035. It’s my plan for DB Schenker branded 90018 to have a similar existence at Johnson Street IEMD being there for long term maintenance works.
     
    Bachmann Ex-EWS DB 66139
     
    This is actually the third reincarnation of the Ex-EWS Class 66 that I have owned, having initially had an ex-EWS DB 66 - the one from Bachmann, 66065, then, having rebranded a 66135 into 66002 only to find it wouldn’t take a 21pin sound Bachmann unit, i ummed and arr-d about this - before letting go of it, I should have hung on to it maybe and TTS-fitted it - so i have finally found a 21-pin example, which is still in ex-EWS form, unlike 66065 which is now in DB red. I plan to DCC sound chip this one as soon as the model shop find my sound chips, or it will be sorted by acquiring another such unit.






  22. Johnson Street IEMD
    16th September 2020
     
    Its been quite a busy time for those paying attention to the world of the Class 90, Freightliner have not that long ago acquired Greater Anglia's 90s with them going to EMUs, they have also been in the process of reliverying several of these into G&A Orange and black and even more recently than that, they have started putting some of them into service, even those which were are still in ex-GA are now working on FL workings, which tehnically means Freightliner have FIVE different livieries all on the go at any one time, Grey, Green, Powerhaul, G&W and ex-GA.
     
    Over in the DB camp, there has been the sad news that Grand Central are no longer taking trains, (more precisely 90s, dvts and five carriages) to Blackpool North from London Euston, so 90s 026, 029 and 020 should be back at Crewe IEMD in their stunning Black and orange liveries also, their future unknown, over at the paintshop, 90037 has been liveried into DB red with a striking and rather unique gliding livery and named at Knottingley depot yesterday, in addition to this, Malcolm Rail 90024 has been back on test, with classmate 90034 down to Stafford, and back to Crewe. I cant believe I missed this, not only because I knew that it was due back through - as it has been recently reinstated having been out of the active DB90 pool for over a year and had been having an exam at Crewe IEMD, before going out on test, but also because it was paired for the test run with 90034, one of my four or five favourite DB 90s, an unusual pairing as the first time they have been together in these liveries, Malcolm and DB Blue, a DB90 pairing that doesnt feature an EWS or DB 90, and also two of my soon to be four Bachmann DB 90s - who said train spotting was fun !!!
     
    90034 is the father figure of the DB pool, it literally does everything there is to be done,
     
    go and do work for GA on GEML, done
    go and work for East Coast for ECML, done
    go back to GEML and sit around at Ilford for a year, done
    go and retrieve a broken down 66, done
    go and do 4m25, for Malcolm, done
    go out on test with team mate Malcolm , done,
     
    Disappointing is that I was on annual leave and would have gone to Yorkshire or even Stafford station to see either happen, but ended up missing out on both, despite being on a daily 90 bulletin group and signed up to wnxx.com.
     
    Still, there usually is a flipside, DB 90 number four, could now take a further twist, in a positive light, 90018 was the loco I was going to go with, having originally planned a ficticious take on 90030 in ex-EWS DB

  23. Johnson Street IEMD
    Modelling inspiration this afternoon caught in the form of some live footage of two of my favourites, DB 90028 and 90024 on 4M25, and also a short while after LSL's 90001 passing through Stafford.
     
     
    I originally planned to catch 90024 asap when it had been due to be testing after having been reinstated by DB. Unknown to me, at the time, it had actually been down to Stafford with 90034 and I'd missed it which i was really cross about, sooo having seen it was back on play on 4m25, I set out to catch it Tuesday just gone, it didnt run  I had my wires crossed, so Wednesday, but no, DB Blue and Malcolm had a falling out, and DB Blue was sent home  early after misbehaving at Mossend. Soooo, up went Sir Bill (90028) to do the run today, as it turned out, today has been the best of the three days, getting an additional bonus seeing a third 90, okay not a DB one, but LSL's 90001 as well.
     
  24. Johnson Street IEMD
    10th September 2020
     
    Those of us following the real world activities and operations of the modern railway have been saddened to hear that as a result of the unprecentedented circumstances that we are living with across the planet are leaving their imprint on the world of the railways as well as everything else. Grand Central who have emerged as an operator delivering passenger services to the eastern side of the country to lesser stations than the main operators and were due to extend their reach across the West side of the UK with services from Blackpool North to London Euston using Class 90s, Mk4's and DVTs in the very much tried and tested push pull arrangement which has been in use since BR were doing this on the WCML back in the early 1990's, followed on by Virgin, West Coast, GNER, Virgin East Coast and later LNER as well as tertiary operators like Wrexham & Shropshire amongst others using 67s and DVTs and later 68s.
     
    This planned extension to the reach of Grand Central has however come to an abrupt stop with the DB90s firmly stuck behind what seems like a permanent red light before even getting out of the starting station following an announcement from Grand Central this afternoon announcing that the planned launch of services out of Blackpool North which had been delayed and was, I understand, to be starting early 2021, will now no longer be starting as a result of the continuing lull in the rail users and the nation amongst every other stuck in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. This news, aside from the impact that it will have to those in Blackpool and those who were due to be working to deliver this service will now not see the stunningly liveried mk4 express trains making their way up and down the West Coast main line, hopefully something can still be done for the planned services, I had a suggestion from a fellow modeller that GC were exploring doing services using CL91s out of Liverpool Lime Street, so it could be a possibility that the ''trainsets'' could be used in this way - here and now, of course, the 90s, will in all likelyhood make their sorry way back to Crewe IEMD to await their livery fate, 90026 had only just been amended to show the DB logo on the side flank like 90029 and 90020 and the fourth of five, 90039 was at Toton for GC treatment, it has yet to revealed as making it into ''Bumblebee livery'' or not, it had gone to be repainted alongside class member 90037 which was set to be painted into DB Cargo red - if this has come out whilst readying for this process - maybe it will instead be painted into DB red or even an additional DB Malcolm variant, which would, at first hand, make sense, (given DB's continuing works with Malcolm on Daventry to Mossend, although I understand that the existing agreement on this was due to run till this year) whether as the Scottish highland style as per 90024 or as one or two the DB DRS 66s were done in dark blue and Malcolm branding, maybe this could be done - personally speaking, I'd love another of the Scottish Highland themes as per their lorries which I understand there are to be six different scene-scapes.
     
    For those who have made the rather bold step to have a Grand Central Bachmann Class 90 reliveried, and are considering parting with this, I will say, I would still have a Grand Central liveried Class 90 at my forthcoming layout and should anyone be looking to sell one, then i would be open to discussing the matter further. In the meantime I am looking forward to the arrival of my latest DB 90, 90018 whilst still hoping that, like the Newcastle United takeover, that this matter isnt totally finished, not only for the modelling aspect but for everyone involved.
     

  25. Johnson Street IEMD
    24th August
     
    Having seen my layout recently has really given me the taste for getting it finished soon, it sorted as it's becoming like the never ending story, well, fortunately, with little things going in the background, hopefully, it will nearly be sorted, I have  the next DB 90 coming along in a paint shop far far away - and also the gantries designed to carry the 25kv wires, today,  several of the flat pack gantries arrived from Nbrass - their gantries are the nearest thing we have to perfection out there for intricate representation - with a bit of jiggery pokery, i'll soon have a mix of two, three and four track gantries which span across the depot scene as well as the more well known PECO single track masts - so, i hear some say what are NBrass, they do OO and N gauge catenary amongst other things - their catenary comes flatpacked and you have to make it up using a soldering iron plus a widget type thing they give you to assist making the oblong structures. 
     
    I also have one or two gantries for the terminating wires to be taken away at the ends of sidings - a bit of a gaff by the makers of model OHLE maybe - all overhead lines must run to somewhere, right?, what about sidings, most layouts have them, right? well, Johnson Street has the three sidings at the end of the shed - which also takes overhead wires into it - the two tracks to the left - the holding pen sidings as well as the head shunt electrification and also the shed loco siding, all of which will have terminating overhead wires into single or multiple end masts. Studying the existence of these across the network has been part of my research planning into the wheres and whatfors of this layout and the occasional visist to railway stations on the WCML like Manchester picadilly which has a number of electrified teminating tracks - Stafford also has a siding which is electrified and the Network rail base in South Stafford has one siding which is electrified also, so lots of food for thought there.
     
     


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