mevaman1

Very many thanks to the Warner’s Team - you must have agonised over this decision. We (Redruth MRC) were going to meet tomorrow to decide whether we all still wanted to go with Hoopers Aggregates. As this is a very large layout we really didn’t want to let the show organisers down. However, a number of us have ‘underlying medical conditions’ and were somewhat fearful. At least I can now finish some of the stock that I had planned to bring and had run out of time to do so. All the very best wishes to the Warner’s Team. Hopefully we will see you after all of this is over. Take care, Andrew

For goodness sake- think of others! The reason for isolating those most at risk is in order to spread the demand on the NHS. If you become seriously ill you will need specialist care, perhaps on a ventilator. If too many people need this level of care at the same time then those who arrive at the back of the queue may die. Your approach of not following the Government edict puts others at severe risk. I am sorry but I have to strongly disagree with you.

I have a poor immune system in remission from Leukaemia and seriously at risk. I am really scared. I ask those who are unhappy about the measures proposed to think of millions of people like me. Please consider making severe sacrifices for mine and others benefit. Andrew

To be honest, I was expecting this. I hope that the Ally Pally Team get some clarity from government to enable them to make a timely decision.

I was due to go as part of a team operating a large layout. Owing to my poor underlying health, I am no longer going. This is putting pressure on our other operators, some of whom also suffer from poor health. In our discussions, please think of the operators and traders who are on the horns of a big dilemma.

The Scottish Government has just banned gatherings of over 500 people. I wonder how long it will take us to follow.

OK As a survivor of Leukaemia with a poor immune system, this virus is a real and present danger to me and my family. I am due to go to Ally Pally with a layout. I and my other operators are older men with a number of health conditions. Do we take a risk and go? We have a real dilemma. Andrew

Wo, wo, woah I have had Leukaemia and have a suppressed immune system. Are you suggesting that I am at risk of infecting others? My concern is being infected myself by those who are displaying no symptoms. We will have to wait to see how things pan out in the next few weeks and then decisions can be made.

I have just asked my friend Brian and he didn’t record the wagon numbers I’m afraid.

Hi sc2016. I am afraid that I don’t know the wagon numbers. I will ask my friend Brian who took the photos and let you know. Andrew

Hey Bif Thanks for the advice. I have one of Charlie’s Bachmann 47s fitted with your sound that I bought a few years back and this is loads better than this new Bachmann purchase. I haven’t checked the speaker set up in the DC kits fitted 47 and will take a look later. I confess to not being too keen on the Bachmann sound as the start up is pretty basic and it doesn’t have the notch up/down facility. I will probably bring the loco to Ally Pally for a new decoder/speaker purchased from you. Bif - 1 Bachmann - nil Remember that I only pay in pasties! Andrew

OK. Thanks Richard. I’ll go for the new speaker.

Thanks both. I have removed the speaker enclosure and sealed with blue tack but still get the hiss. Charlie, I’ll buy the speaker off you and get the sound reblown when I see you at Ally Pally. Do you still take pasties as payment ?

I am sorry if this has been covered before. I have bought a Bachmann sound fitted Dutch liveried 47346 and find there is pronounced speaker hiss. I assume that I should fit a new speaker. What would anyone recommend for this? Any advice much appreciated. Andrew

My main gripe (not just with Hattons) is that manufacturers produce amazing models and then spoil things at last minute by getting the aspects of the livery wrong - Hornby construction 60, Dapol early 73s, Heljan ‘Mainiine’ 58s for instance. It is such a shame as some real effort at the decoration stage (by detailed comparison with photos) would save all this. If this crucial stage of production is done well it leads to good sales. If it is wrong, manufacturers are left with unsold stock to be sold at heavy discounts (the early Dapol 73’s being a current example).

Some more photos and text from my friend Brian Aston: Another of the Coal trains in July 1996 ran double headed to the Docks so that after the first shunt had been completed one loco could be left at Falmouth for the Publicity photos the next day.

Reproduced courtesy of Brian Aston of this parish. In 1996 the local St Blazey management arranged to deliver a years supply of coal to a local Cornish Coal Merchant when he stocked up during the Summer. So in July a number of trains were booked from Swansea to Falmouth Docks for transshipment to lorry for the final 8 miles to Carnkie. Each portion left St Blazey or Burngullow to arrive onto the branch after the last train (which in those days was around 2100. So night after night I trekked out to Coombe St Stephen Viaduct hoping that the Single line was snarled up with late running trains and that the train would appear before the sun went down. Managed on the last night it ran.(Wont mention the other time when it ran early and still strolling across the fields).

Many thanks for the comparison. The difference in the weight of the E W S letters stand out but otherwise there’s not much in it for me.

I agree with Yes Tor that the letter width on the EWS is too narrow when compared to the real thing. I am currently holding off buying one until I see one in the flesh. I plan to keep all my Bachy machines as they run incredibly reliably and handle the vigour of exhibition handling but would like Hattons versions for running on my home layout. Has anyone a comparison photo of a Bachy EWS machine and the Hattons version? Andrew

Ran mine faultlessly down the club yesterday. I have discovered that these ran to Falmouth in the summers of 1995/96. A local coal merchant bought container loads when coal was cheap in the summer. The containers were unloaded by reach stacker in Falmouth docks and taken by lorry to the merchant’s coal yard. The services were generally hauled in Cornwall by Transrail 37s. However, I have seen photos of a 60 hauling a mixed rake of bullets and PFAs. Brilliant wagons. Thankyou Accurascale!

Just ordered a Cawoods bundle to go with the 6 already received. These are fantastic wagons! They ran in Cornwall on a short term flow to Falmouth in July 1997. These will look ‘ansum behind my St Blazey tractors.

Hi Fran Our (Redruth MRC) experience of running freight-focussed OO layouts is that uncoupling/derailing with bogie wagons generally happens between loco and stock. Stock/locos with couplings mounted on the bogies (Bachmann locos/stock, for instance) rarely cause problems. However stock/locos with chassis mounted couplings (some Hornby and Dapol locos/stock, for instance) often derail, particularly when propelling over complex pointwork. The problems generally stem from couplings not recentering and we apply silicon grease to the coupling cams to ease this. We have Dapol MJAs fitted with Kadees between the twin sets of wagons and this seems to work. So, the use of knuckler couplings fitted to inners, I think, is a good idea. The outer couplings may be more of a problem if fitted to the chassis. I can’t tell from the photo if this is the case and would value your confirmation. If possible, I would test the stock with a Hornby 60 propelling over a fan of pointwork! Hope that this helps and that I am not coming across as a ‘knowitall’. Andrew

This from Pip Dunn on FB. Today’s OTD is a significant one as on October 18 1987, 50149 “Defiance” undertook its first main line trials to be evaluated if the 50/1 Railfreight project was worth pursuing. These were not its first main line runs in its new two tone grey garb with yellow nameplates, but the official first tests under the scrutiny of the Railfreight sector to see if the concept was a good one. And to recall this day, I turn to Ian Horner’s notes, in turn generated from David Clough’s assessment of the day. The much anticipated freight trials took place on Sunday October 18 on the gradient between Westbury and Warminster. This section was ‘under possession’ - closed to normal traffic, which meant that the ‘50/1’ could be stopped on the incline to attempt various restarts without disrupting normal service trains. On a showery day the trials comprised of three runs at Warminster bank - with its gradient of around 1-in-70, hauling varying loads on the incline in conditions designed to test the locomotive’s ability to pull a load and just as importantly, keep its feet. The aim of the conversion was to produce a locomotive that could match the hauling capability of a pair of Class 33s, which called for tractive-effort similar to that of a Class 56. No standard ‘50’ could be expected to produce that but by re-gearing its bogies and derating the power unit, it was reckoned that 50149 would be able to deliver more power at lower speeds without overloading the electrical machinery. The danger however, was that reduced power output would leave insufficient capability to keep the load going once the electronics had got it on the move. The Chairman of the Class 50 Society, David Clough, witnessed the trials at first hand from 50149’s cab and reported on the day in the Fifty Forum, a flavour of which is reproduced below. For the first run departing around 0945, 50149 was handed a load of 11 loaded PTA – bogie aggregate box wagons, weighing 1,122 tons which it took to milepost (MP) 111 on the gradient for the first restart. With the driver feeling his way in, a slight traction motor overload occurred but the train pulled away well enough before being brought to a controlled stand near MP 111¾. Here the track continued to climb through reverse curves and restarting here imposed a more difficult task but again, 50149 did well and quickly achieved 12mph with 2,000 amps. Rain was falling when the third restart – at MP 112½ was attempted meaning the planned simulation of poor railhead conditions was not called for. As expected, in view of how things had gone so far, “Defiance” succeeded in its task quite easily. Another benefit of working in a possession was that a quick return to Westbury was facilitated by sending a Class 56 behind the train to attach and work back ‘wrong-line’. At Westbury three PGA four-wheeled bottom-discharged wagons were added to the train to produce a new trailing weight of 1,275 tons for the second run. Prospects did not look good as 50149’s engine shutdown even before reaching the first restart. The locomotive was soon running again but suffered a traction motor overload just above MP 111, at only 2,200 amps. Mr Clough noted that Driver Bevan of Westbury seemed happy to permit limited slipping but was careful to avoid high currents, helping to avoid wheelslip by throttling back when current reached 2,400 amps to around 1,800 amps - the usual maximum continuous current for a standard Class 50/0. When slipping persisted, 50149’s control system wound the power off then reapplied it and gave the driver highly effective control on a difficult railhead. The restart in the reverse curves proved difficult with the heavier load however, and the train slipped to a stand near MP 111½. After the rails had been sanded manually, “Defiance” made a clean restart but once clear of the sanded section, slipping reoccurred and the train ground to another halt. It seemed that oil dropped on the rails by the ‘56’ when it hauled the train back to Westbury earlier had made the 50149’s job a little more arduous than it should have been! For the final run, a load of 1,122 tons (22 PGAs) was picked up and the ‘50/1’ initially made a clean getaway but on the restart from MP 111¾ in wet weather, a traction motor overloaded at around 2,000 amps. Another restart was made with some slipping but the engine shut down at around 3mph and the train came to another halt. After more sanding, slipping and another traction motor overload the train limped on to milepost 112½ for the final restart. Perhaps surprisingly in view of the problems just experienced, “Defiance” positively shot-off up the bank and easily reached the summit where it was stopped to await a tow back to Westbury, where it arrived around 1515. Mr Clough concluded that 50149 had done what it had been asked to do – lift 1,275 tons away from rest on the 1-in-70 incline, but this could only be managed in good rail conditions. On curved gradients and where the railhead was slippery the ‘50/1’ struggled for adhesion and could not restart its load without sanding the rails – after which no more problems were encountered. Sanding capability had been removed from the 50s during refurbishment and it seemed this was sufficient to deem the class unsuitable for heavy freight work in the future without incurring the costs of reinstatement. As the staff from the Railway Technical Centre at Derby and BR (WR) at Swindon left to contemplate what they’d learned, Mr Clough paid tribute to the basic merits of the ‘first generation’ electronics in the Class 50 power and control circuitry which put the locomotives ahead of their time when introduced. Two decades on the systems were proved still capable of delivering the goods. After its freight trials 50149 visited Cardiff Canton depot before being used on general freight work in the Westbury and Exeter Riverside areas. It took a train of empty ballast wagons to Meldon Quarry on October 21 and largely remained on Departmental duties to the end of the month. Over the next few months 50149 worked various freight trains, but in November 1987, a collision between two of Laira’s China Clay 37s, 37670/671, saw the loco outbased at St Blazey depot in Cornwall as cover for one of the 37s. It spent most of 1988 on these duties, although did work to Gloucester and Tavistock Junction Yard on various freight trains, plus the odd other non-freight job on vans, ECS or even the occasional passenger train (a subject for a later OTD). In February 1989 the loco returned to Laira and was returned to its original number as 50049, repainted into NSE livery and added to the NSSA pool for Exeter St David's-Waterloo work. And of course, as we all know the loco survives today, and is back in a freight livery…. GB Railfreight livery that is!

Look what has just come up on FB! 50149 on a train of JUAs and PGAs. I know it was for the adhesion trials but there is a prototype for everything. Photo courtesy of Richard Holmes.

Rivercider Very many thanks for the reply. My stock sometimes uncouples on the layout so I’ll have an excuse now!