john dew
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Posts posted by john dew
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Thanks for all the ticks guys. I am glad you like the photos and hopefully my description of the routine. I enjoy devising these operational schedules but sometimes worry about being both boring and confusing. In an attempt to alleviate the latter I thought this week I might try an experiment:
Here is Granby's track plan from last years BRM article:
I still find it totally amazing that AndyY could produce this very accurate schematic just from a bunch of photos and a few brief comments .
Here is an enlargement of the track area involved in the current routine which involves getting two Siphons from the Parcels Depot leaving them ready for pick up in the Up Siding:
I left you with this shot of the pilot coupling to the first Siphon in the lower siding of the Parcels Depot with the other Siphon in the siding immediately above the depot building
The Pilot pulls the coupled siphon back to clear #90 . The track leading from the foot of this turnout is just long enough to accommodate a Pannier and one Siphon but as a precaution #67 leading to Bay P1 is thrown prior to the start of the schedule.
The Pilot propels the Siphon into the upper siding to couple with the second siphon.
The ultimate destination of this routine is the Up siding which can be seen top right between the Signal Box and Water Tank - an uncoupling magnet marks the spot!
In the time table, I think I will probably split this routine into two. The movements I have described can be done at any time without interfering with any other schedules. In fact while the pilot and siphons are stabled here I can run the daily schedule of the Parcels Rail Car into the depot.
However a condition for running the Up Parcels is that its pick up vans are stabled, ready for pick up, in the Up Parcels Siding - so now for the second half of the routine.
As you may have guessed from the turnout # the parcels depot was rather an afterthought. The original single siding was designed as a head shunt for Platform 1. Now roles are reversed and I use P1 as a head shunt to access the Parcels sidings - not sure how prototypical that might be.
So here, in a particularly poor photo, you can see the Pilot propelling the two siphons across #67, out of the Bay complex and on to the Up lime
The shot is hand held from an Iphone - and it shows. But I rather like it - to my mind it captures the look and feel of a box brownie photo taken, from a footbridge, by a 10 year old in 1947!
The magnet somewhat spoils the effect but it is a genuine "mark the spot" as I struggle to identify the perfect uncoupling point for another routine!
Below the pannier uncouples, leaving the siphons in the Up siding while it reurns to the Bay area:
With the Siphons ready for pickup the Up Parcels from Chester can now approach Granby :
I did promise @Edwardian an LNER variation!
This post has gone on for far too long - next week (or thereabouts), I will explain why the the Up Train is leaving the main line and entering the Bay Area - can it possibly be hoping to enter the Parcels Depot?
But hang on - that looks like a Manor ?
It is indeed 7807 Compton Manor.
Before Andy Y ( I am not surprised I cant I @ tag him) and @McC are overwhelmed with another shoal of complaints - this time:
"how could an ex pat in the wilds of Canada have possibly received his Accurascale model before a Birmingham post code"
I should explain: this is a Dapol manor.
One Accurascale Manor, with my name on, is in a suitcase in Liverpool and I am patiently waiting the arrival of the second before pressing the send button. Loyal followers can expect a detailed unboxing review, with luck, in mid September.
Best wishes from, sadly, a very smoky Vancouver - the smoke has drifted 400 miles from Kelowna, a city of 150,000, where 10% of the population have already been evacuated.
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It is generally accepted that the 57xx class disc were changed from Blue to Yellow by BR in 1950. Sadly this view was not accepted by Bachmann who steadfastly supply all their panniers with Yellow discs regardless of livery
Wikipedia is delightfully vague about the 2721 class disc colour - blue or yellow! It would seem you are in the clear Graham!
Regarding disc position -I believe that pre war they were generally in the "high" position, during the war there was an instruction to re-site them just above the cab side loco# plate. This was apparently to limit the torch light exposure when crew took over a loco - not sure how diligently this was carried out!
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2 hours ago, Edward said:
Just wonderful posts ! Though the new title might be thought a trifle narrow for those of us not modelling GWR. Hahaha.
Thanks James and my apologies. I am afraid I have a yen for alliteration in my titles!
I am not totally GWR-centric - the lead van in the parcels train will be a rather splendid LNER Teak PBV !
Best Wishes
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2 hours ago, M.I.B said:
Those SIPHONs look great now John. Good work.
Thanks Tinker - glad you like them. They are not weathered as heavily as much of Granby's stock. I painted the undergubbins ( as per @gwrrob ) with my standard muddy black mix but the topsides just had mutiple washes of diluted grimy black wash - the model is so crisp and well detailed it almost seemed like sacrilege! Heaven help me when the Manors arrive!
Best wishes
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All the Accurascale Siphons have now all been weathered - including 2924 which you may recall was mysteriously damaged and had to be sent back to Liverpool for replacement.
Here is a before and after - out of the box :
and lightly weathered:
Perhaps the most noticeable change, apart from the roof, is the blue paint on the Axle Box covers. Apologies for nit picking but its such an outstanding model its hard to believe that Accurascale intended it to use such a pale shade, its almost white, daubed on in that fashion. Mind you my paint looks a bit bright now - I think a bit more wash is required.
2780, the van in the foreground, was converted in 1938 to run as part of an Ambulance/Casualty Train. Ventilators were added to the roof, along with electric lighting, and the louvres were replaced to eliminate draughts and make it light proof. Towards the end of the war the van was returned to regular service and louvres returned to the upper body. I delight in learning about these pieces of trivia.
Now they are ready for service the siphons will work on Granby's regular parcel train. Here are two of them at King St Parcels Depot:
I have a long established routine where the Down train drops off one van and then , on the return from Chester, drops off one and picks up two. Lots of shunting involved particularly when assembling the two vans for the Up train.
Cue for a Pannier:
The Siphons are slightly longer than the LMS PBVs that I previously used so I have had to adjust a number of brake and stop markers. I also found that, on the Siphons, the Kadees hang a minute fraction too low and just catch the edge of the surface mounted uncoupling magnet. It would not be a problem, of course, if the uncouplers were mounted below the surface. Unfortunately with my butterfly mind I am constantly "improving" schedules and thus moving magnets!
A quick tweak with the pliers and all is well (for now) :
More to come - possibly with a Manor!
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Hi Colin
Not long before you are running some trains!
I fear that my old shed looks far too grimy for sunny Devon - you will have quite the challenge there.
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Hi Neal
Sadly I missed Grange Week but it would be very remiss of me if I did not contribuite to Pannier Week!
You have done a super job stimulating all this interest!
Best wishes
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While we eagerly await the arrival of the Accurascale Manors, @Neal Ball has been encouraging fellow GWR enthusiasts to share images of other classes. Last week was Grange week which, sadly, I missed.
Better late than never, here is 6832 Brockton Grange:
Regularly scheduled on the Milk and Parcel train routines along with its class mates Hardwick Grange (the original Hornby release) and Llanfait Grange, they are super reliable and I find them, in modek form, more powerful than either Bachmann or Hornby Halls .
and now Drum roll :
Granby's contribution to this weeks Pannier Parade:
The first loco I ever possessed was a pannier so I have a real soft spot for them - as in real life they are such hardworkers. They have always been good runners but now they all have Zimo chips and Stay alive their performance is stunning. I confess that, with automatic operation, I can get a little twitchy about the loco stopping exactly over the uncoupling magnet (peering nervously over the buildings to check all is well) - but not with these guys!
Like most of my locos they are weatherd and fitted with crew, irons, coal and head lamps. They have all been re numbered with etched plates, mostly for Birkenhead and Chester. I have a nasty feeling that not all should have top feeds. I am rather envious of @gwrrob 's war time black pannier and I should probably have at least one shirt button.
Nearest to the camera is 6404 a Birkenhead loco that runs the branch Autotrain. Immediately behind, with the copper capuchon, is 9408 from Oxley - at first sight an unlikely loco for Granby but it spends most of its time shunting the storage yards!
The 8750 and 57xx coupled together at the back are stabled at Granby Shed and carry out banking duties on trains from Bersham Colliery. The leading 57xx 5723 works the Cynwyd branch B Set and next to it with the Pilot Head Code is 5725 which is currently very busy shunting my siphons in and out of King St Parcels Depot.
Not all the panniers are on parade - 3742 is trapped in Platform 3 behind the B Set and 5791 is permanently coupled to a shunters truck in Castlegate Goods yard and there another three non working in Granby Shed
I guess its true - you can never have too many panniers!
Regards from Vancouver
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I had not realised they kept GW livery throughout their war service - that answers my question, many thanks for such a swift reply
Best wishes
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23 hours ago, Coach bogie said:
it re-entered service in 1946. It was originally built in 1937 but by 1939 it was called up, lost the side louvres and gained the vents as an ambulance car. When returned to the GWR the louvres were replaced but the vents were left in situ. I agree, they do look good with roof vents. In my teens, I used to see some of these, in Manchester on parcels and newspaper trains and did not know why some had vents and some did not. Joys of ignorant youth.
Mike Wiltshire
I am intrigued by the shirt button - this livery ceased circa 1942 for locos and carriages - I assumed brown stock as well. So this van either retained it during service as an ambulance car or it was re-applied when it re-entered service in 1946? Both scenarios seem a bit unlikely.
Puzzled in Vancouver
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5 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:
Right sir here is an extract of something I posted back in 2020 in a thread about the number of vehicles permitted behind the brakevan. I think this is the o nformation you need but if not please ask further and i will do my best to sort any queries.
Thanks Mike that is great - bearing in mind the dearth of RTR GWR PBVs its a big bonus and rather more relaxed than I imagined. Basically only one GWR PBV required in the centre of a 5-7 van parcels train - excellent
Thanks for once again taking the time to help me out.
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1 minute ago, The Stationmaster said:
One pob;ished set of figures gives the following detail for trucks of livestock handled per annum -
1903 - 264
1913 - 238
1923 - 123
1933 - 37
This might well include draught horse sent at Goods Rates but it's not clear if it includes animals sent at Passenger Rates. But clearly such traffic dropped from an average of c.5 trucks weekly in 1903 to fewer than one a week in 1933
Will do John but not tonight as it is a rather complex subject and of course it chghanged over the years. Basically down to teh number of wheels permitted behind the rearmost brake van. but also the question of wewhene two Guards were required or not trequired.
I don't know about modern racing shells but when they hulls were made out of plywood an eight was normally in three sections which bolted together to form the complete boat. So relatively easy to transport from a ength viewppoint. Fours, coxed or not, and smaller boars were monohull so the maximum length that needed to be handled was coxed four -s eating four oarsmen and the cox.
Thanks Mike thats very kind of you - no rush I am still weathering siphons and waiting for the replacement
1947 would be great! I had a feeling it was related to the number of Axles.
off topic but as a retired sailor I have to ask - when they bolted the hull sections together how did they make the section joints water tight?
Best wishes
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5 hours ago, Neal Ball said:
Moving away from loco crew this morning....
Hall class 4-6-0 no 4909 Blakesley Hall is seen arriving at Henley-on-Thames with a Parcels train.
Blakesley Hall is making a lot of noise as it arrives into Platform 2 at Henley-on-Thames, it then shunted the stock into the Mill Lane sidings. I only used this platform, so I could get this straight-on angle of the stock*:
Monster van; K22 Full Brake; Outside framed Siphon G; Southern PBV.
In reality I suppose I would need a luggage van from the LNER (Rowing crews from Cambridge) and also a van from the LMS (Rowing crews from Rugby).
It then got me wondering about teams in the 1930's from overseas, having brought their own "Skiffs" with them.... with teams from as far away as the USA; Argentina; Australia; Japan as well as closer to home: Germany and Switzerland and they were just the ones I found easily.
Arriving by boat into Southampton etc. would the skiffs simply be loaded into a luggage van, together with the oars. It would make for a busy pre and post-Regatta scene at Henley-on-Thames in the 1930's.
Thinking about it now, that must be why the goods yard was emptied out of all non Regatta traffic.
*I've often thought I could do with another metre of track in the station approaches, so I can better photograph trains arriving.
__________________________________________
I then found this on-line - a 9 person (8 crew plus the cox) skiff in the Thames Challenge cup race in 1935:
Just look at the lovely old cars on the River bank.... They were obviously the half of the worlds population that didnt come by train!
Nice photo Neal. I wonder how many GWR modelles around the world have been dusting down their parcels trains with the arrival of the Accurascale Siphons.
Certainly the case in Vancouver!
Could you or @The Stationmaster jog my memory about the position of the PBV occupied by the guard in such a train?
I cannot remember how many PBVs were permitted to trail the van occupied by the train guard.
I assume that the guard had to be from the same company as the loco and that he had to occupy a company PBV.
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2 hours ago, Neal Ball said:
Thank you - the best I could do was an Austin! They look like the sort of cars people with money would have....
I also looked up "Skiffs" this afternoon. Apparently they are 62ft long!
Which would suggest that they are too big to go into a PBV - but then I read that you break them down for transit. I couldn't fathom what sort of size they would then be....
I was puzzled how they got them in, full length, through the side doors of a PBV! Then I thought about vans like the Siphon H with end doors but I guess if they were Ikea flat pack style the problem goes away.
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@The Stationmaster - I think there is a room marked "Porters" in the main part of the building.
It does seem logical to have the toilets and utiliies (lamps,oil,coal etc) situated in the flat rooved annexe. separately from the passenger and staff rooms.
I would agree with @melmoth, the arrangement in "Stores and Lamps" does suggest an enclosed stove rather than an open fireplace - which makes sense from a safety aspect. However, there are two chimney pots shown and only one stove - the other fireplaces shown in the plan match up with the number of pots on the other two stacks. I had assumed that lamp rooms/huts required some form of ventilation to avoid a hazardous build up of fumes - could this be connected to the spare pot?
As Mike said, some interesting questions. Trivia research, one of the optional charms of our hobby
Regards from Vancouver
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Its Canada Day and as forecast my Siphons have just arrived - they definitely deserve all the accolades: .
Got some work to do before they start running :
Paint the rooves dark grey then weather - pristine white is a tad unrealistic for Merseyside/North Wales 1947.
Change couplings to Kadee, they say #17 works but I will initially play safe with #18
Not sure about the pale blue paint on the axle box covers - may deepen it before weathering.
Remove the B.R. W from 2780
There is some discussion about the paint colour of the van ends - black or brown? I have both, 2780 is black and 2789 brown. I suspect I will leave them as is.
Unfortunately it is not all good news:
,
Not certain when or how it happened but the outer packaging was untouched, as is the stylish and very robust Accurascale box. The clamshell case was also untouched.
Disappointing but I have nothing but praise for the reaction of both Accurascale @Accurascale Fran and Hattons @Hattons Dave . Within an hour of my email notification, a replacement 2924 was put on one side awaiting the return of the damaged item, which is now winging its way back across the Atlantic to Liverpool. All will no doubt end well.
Best wishes from a gloriously sunny Vancouver - clear blue skies and no smoke.
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1 hour ago, railtec-models said:
I think the Customs wait you just had was the longest I've heard about. I've had some folks in the likes of Canada and Aus and elsewhere in the EU have the transfers in hand within 5 days. Just depends I suppose.
As for steam loco plates, I've already done a few (unadvertised) of the oblong variety. If I know the dimensions and assuming they're of a straight-forward text, i.e. no fancy embellishments, then they're as easy as diesel loco plates. I do have the Nameplates of the Big Four book which specifies a lot of dimensions though, so that's helpful. But when it comes to the curved variety, then yeah, the different radii of splashers causes an absolute headache. I have done the odd one or two curved plates before (for Irish steamers, randomly), but I'll perhaps look to begin with the oblong type.
If you wanted to experiment with curved plates Steve @railtec-models could I suggest starting with the upcoming Accurascale Manor?😇. I am sure there are a number of modellers like me who want to re-name their new loco to reflect the locale of their layout. In my case 7801 Anthony Manor is to be re-named 7817 Garsington Manor which spent the first half of its life at Croes Newyd -
so there is one certain order for you!
Hope you dont mind me borrowing your thread Neal to lobby for a shed that is a long way from Henley.😀
Best wishes
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On 15/06/2023 at 12:11, gwrrob said:
What a difference a few weeks makes and working from a 1940s reference photo supplied by @BenL, now shewn to @Islesy for a future batch maybe and the work of @toboldlygo back to his best.
Super paint job. Many thanks for solving my dilemma regarding the correct way to paint the roof for the forties. Now I just have to wait for them to cross the Atlantic ( and the Prairies) !
Best wishes
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Excellent Post - thank you
I have been dithering about trying Steve's 3D cab plates. I ,too, dislike changing buffer beam numbers and with transatlantic mail rates it makes sense to use a single supplier. Now with your recommendation I should iffing and butting.
Best wishes
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On 11/06/2023 at 04:36, Neal Ball said:
Welcome back John, its always good to hear from you.
Do you have a Siphon and Manor on order? (I'm pretty sure the latter is a Yes, but not sure about the Siphon.)
At the moment I am not sure what service it will be on... However, I am bound to find a use for it... Expect lots of "Manor shots" in the near future....
Hi Neal
My apologies for not answering - I got diverted into Show business and Ancient History!
Yes the Siphons are on their way from Liverpool - racking up the Air Miles. When they do arrive they are destined to star in the regular Parcels routine that I have been tinkering with for almost a decade. Currently this train is scheduled with a Grange but that may well change to a Manor fairly soon 😃.
Best wishes
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2 hours ago, banburysaint said:
http://kilburnwesthampstead.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-kilburn-state-cinema.html?m=1 this page has a poster for Cliff's appearance at the Empire.
Apologies for thread drift.
No worries this thread has always drifted about!😃
Actually I am delighted you sent the link - it brought all manner of memories flooding back. My first posting with Littlewoods was to their store in Kilburn High Road, almost opposite the cinema - I spent over a year there and saw a lot of shows at the
EmpireState - Count Basie, Kid Ory, Louis Armstrong and MJQ - had to buy tickets for all those guys - Cliff's show was the only freebie.-
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Even I have heard of Adam Faith - and then there was Cliff Richard who I once saw live at the Kilburn Empire (?) - they were handing out free tickets
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On 08/06/2023 at 20:00, OnTheBranchline said:
@john dewAre you affected much by the forest fire smoke where you are?
We are beginning to get some smoke from Alberta but we have seen a lot worse - nowhere near as bad as Toronto.
We get smoke drifting down from the Interior to the coast most summers but it has started a lot earlier this year - not good news. Fortunately our record 32 days without rain ended on Thursday - amazing how swiftly we move from whining about the rain to complaining about the lack of it!
Apologies for lack of updates - too much time spent on the garden!
Best wishes
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Hi Grahan
Colin is correct, 14xx numbers did not appear until 1946. The shirt button livery was replace starting in 1942 so you can have GWR livery with 48xx plates between 1942-6
The 58xx class was a small (20 locos) sub set of the 48xx 0-4-2 class designed principally for light branch freight work - they were not fitted with autotrain equipment - and this absence is reflected in the DJM model 5801 that you have. If you do couple it with an autocoach I doubt if the average punter would notice the missing kit provided it is re-numbered - after all the entire model run was designed and released sans ash pans!
Best wishes
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GRANBY JUNCTION - Shunting Siphons for the Up Parcels with a Manor!
in Layout topics
Posted
Thanks Tony - good to hear from you. So glad you like these shots, I am never sure how interested non RR&Co addict will be in describing these routines. Isn't the siphon a super model? Both the detail and the running are brilliant. I also like the back story about the war service of some of them.
I guess you are going to be stretched to come up with a legend about a Manor in Yorkshire?
Best wishes