john dew

Magnificent!

Hi Colin I need them for milk and parcels trains and the occasional South coas express from Liverpool and Manchester. Right now I use 2 Hawksworth vans in the fictional chocolate and cream livery plus a K40 that Mallard very kindly made for me using Comet sides on a surplus BSet coach.

Thanks Neal. Glad you like it. I was determined to get some policemen into the street scene. It was surprisingly difficult to get the correct uniforms for our period. Mikes Models all have shirts and ties- the constable on point duty came from them. I filed his chest smooth (painful) and painted on a collar- having done all that I positioned him so you cant see the front anyway. Conversely the Modelu bobbies are too victorian- leather belts and external truncheons- more filing. I keep reading about your coach building with awe and envy. I am afraid that I can no longer believe your forecast of the imminent release of GWR PBVs and at some stage will have to make an attempt with Comet sides- I have plenty of donors. Best wishes

Hi Brian Good to hear from you. Hope the hip is getting better. Lots of grime around the canal and engine shed but your comment is a timely reminder that my buses hardly coincide with my recollection of the Ribble buses lining up on Skelhorne St outside Lime St. I have to say my memory of Northern England, right up to the early sixties, was one of all pervading grime. The soot from the coal fires got everywhere. The impenetrable winter fogs were literally lethal. I try and get my work a day tanks, moguls and 0-6-0s as filty as I remember them at Crewe and Chester but I do try to leave the passenger expresses with a vestige of polish. I find it much more difficult to achieve that look- a case of less is more? Best wishes

Hi Bill @longchap Thanks for the nice comments. There is so much dust on the Austin 7 its hardly surprising it got a ticket. I guess that cameo is a bit of a cliche but I couldnt resist it! Great to hear from you........hopefully everything is all sorted.......it sounded like a very persistent and unpleasant bug you had. I suspect, being poorly, you were not able to read my post of Feb 9- there was a bit in there that was intended to cheer you up

Better late than never, here are some shots of the new wall and station frontage extension. Weathering the wall was a fine balance between looking like something from the Cotswolds or being to dark and satanic. I tried to grade it so it is darkest by the canal and gradually lightens The frontage extension was not originally planned. It was a result of the size of the hotel's footprint. It now makes accessing the turntable impossible without using a stool. However there is definite upside- the rather unlikely one way system I created in front of the station now looks far more feasible Some off topic trivia- the Crosville Bus station is actually a Wills Taxi Drivers shelter that I bought at least 30 years ago- not realising they are only found in London. Introduced in Victorian times by Lord Shaftesbury, they are now listed buildings- there are very few left. Its good to be able to use it after all these years. If challenged I am sure I can devise a suitable legend. Another antique: The police box was bought to amuse my grand daughters who, at the time, were avid fans of Dr Who. It doesnt attract the same degree of interest now they are both in their mid twenties Bobbies on the beat- now there's a novel concept. Actually their presence serves to emphasise the year is 1947, as do their uniforms, traffic signs and belisha beacons. One of the other obvious time stamps on Granby is the number of army vehicles and servicemen It is easy to forget that all young men were conscripted to serve for two years and most of their travel was done by train. I hope to add more servicemen to garrison Granby Castle as and when I build it. First priority however is to move to the other side of the room and demolish some back scene prior to extending the storage sidings. Regards from Vancouver where it is sunny and a rather crisp 34o F

First update of the New Year, hardly a promising start. I have been a bit preoccupied with non railway matters and when I did get into the Train Room I spent most of my time running trains! I did find time to populate the extension in front of the hotel and finish the Wills Stone Wall that surrounded it. By way of a reminder, here is a shot from December showing a section of the wall and tunnel which connect the extension with the the canal/warehouse scene. For the first 4-5 years, most of the buildings on Granby were built from plastic- Ratio/Langley kits or scratch built from Slaters/Wills sheets. Then I was introduced to Scalescene and most of the subsequent buildings were created from paper and card. I have tried to avoid having large structures in plastic and card in close proximity but sometimes its unavoidable: This is a bit like Check Point Charley, where East meets West or in this case Old meets New! The warehouse was built for Granby II circa 1998- the Hotel in 2021 I originally separated the yard from the hotel with a Scalescene wall but it seemed to make the contrast more obvious. I think the new wall provides a more pleasing link with the tunnel/edge wall. Its a little lower than ideal but I didnt want to impede the view of the hotel kitchens from the other side. It also allowed me to install the Langley Gate set which make a nice focal point at the end of a rather narrow Richards Yard Cruel close up to show/expose the detail: The Gate pillars are scratch built from off cuts. Tons of fun trying to file the edges to 45o to get mitre joins. I had even more fun trying to photograph the guy on the other side of the gate. Bit like painting engine crew that will never be seen. I spent ages giving that fellow a green tie. Close examination of the signs shows I am nearing the end of this project. I have long since used up all the GWR Tiny Signs. I guess the Blue signs are pre grouping from the Granby Jctn Rly and British Rail were awfully quick off the mark with the others. The next shot exposes how little space I had to work with in accommodating the hotel and the duck under: Its only a narrow lane so I deliberately put just a few people here. The young man who has just parked the MG may be of interest to some: Willliam Longman has just popped over from Liverpool for the day. Any resemblance between Mr Longman and a fellow GWR enthusiast of this parish is, of course, entirely coincidental. Now for the last scene: I had originally intended to call this "Ladies who lunch" but then I found guy in a trilby to lean against the lamp post- the second lady was swiftly moved elsewhere and we now have: "Dancing in the Rain" -very appropriate for Vancouver! Next post I hope to show the continuation of the wall and rather more people.

Hi Rodger Thanks for the info......my next job. There is lots of room in the Hornby Prairie for extra weight....makes a big difference. Best John

Thank you Neal for organising this poll and the tactful reminder that I had yet to vote! All done now I subscribe to the school that cares more about reliable realistic running than ultra perfect, rivet counting detail. I already have a significant number of Panniers all gainfully employed on Granby. They look the part and run well. In consequence, like Captain Kernow and others, I am not sure I really need an additional 57xx no matter how fine the detail. However I am attracted by the idea of high spec models of any of the last four items on Neal's list. Always assuming that the selected class was actually in service in 1947 and likely to have been seen in the North West. Lyons "History of GW Engine Sheds 1947" shows the three major NW Sheds in 1947 actually had more pre Collett panniers than 57xx. Granby has none (I ignore an ancient non workin 2721 gathering dust on a "display" case) 57xx etc 30xx and higher Others ie numbered lower than 30xx Birkenhead 7 11 Croes Newyd 1 11 Chester 9 0 I may have been too simplistic with my division. Please tell me if there are pre Collet panniers numbered below 30xx and I will amend. This may be a NW phenomena : Newton Abbot 5:1 Exeter 8:1..............yet Taunton 3:6 I could go on......but you can guess how I voted.

Hi Phil Wow...you do get up early! With the 8 hour time difference and assorted domestic tasks I only just found time to try it out. I had done the rear screws but never thought to try the one right at the front.....I did mention dumb! Its off now, so time for a bit of filing to deepen the axle slots. Generally it runs well but stalls on couple of areas where the track is less than perfect. Hopefully this will fix it but if not I will remove the PCB and hardwire a Zimo + SA. I dont expect all manufacturers to follow Accurascales Manor example but it would be nice if the PCBs were set up so it is easy to add an SA. Again many thanks for your prompt and helpful reply

Hi Phil I am afraid this will sound like a really dumb question…..but I cant locate the single pivot screw to remove the rear pony assembly from the chassis. Could you possibly give me clue? Best wishes

Hi Neal Although I have been checking in quite regularly I got a bit behind with correspondence in January- so much so that I have only just changed the "Happy New Year" title on Granby Forgive me for taking so long to congratulate you on finally bringing the saga of the turntable to such a successful conclusion. I was so pleased that the replacement panel finally arrived and actually worked properly. You must be a very happy and relieved. Loved the video. Turntables, when they work properly, are such fun. I guess you are equally happy with the Dapol Top Light announcement? A six car rake should look quite at home on Henley. I am wrestling yet again with reality and Rule 1. They look such attractive coaches that perhaps a three car set will not look too out of place on fictional Granby? Best wishes

Hi Iain As I thought I had made clear, it was a direct quote from Great Western.org steam locomotives. Thank you for the clarification it had always puzzled me. Best wishes

Thanks Miss P Great Western.org is my bible in these matters. It states 7817 was built January 1939 and the first shed allocation was Newport Croes Newyd. Perhaps a safer option would be to change my order to 2 Hinton Manor 7818 and change one to 7817? Anthony Manor appealed because I liked the idea of a shirt button

Hi Fran Firstly thank you for the prompt and helpful way you have replied to each and every query. I intend to rename the Anthony Manor I have on pre-order to 7817 Garsington Manor- a Croes Newyd loco…..probably with Fox plates. Do you (or Miss Prism @Miss Prism) know of any glaring reason why this would be a bad idea? Best wishes

Thank Bill........never had a moments doubt. They are a pleasure to install and so reliable. I find the zzzzzz as they move across so satisfying. Are you going to be able to set routes with your DCC system? Best

If it is PST, right now you need a snow plough. I am afraid I wont be awake for any of Robin’s suggested times. As usual I will wake up to 20 pages of “ nothing for me”.

Hi Jon I removed the PCB and filed down the screw mounts. This provides sufficient space to hardwire a Zimo MX617 and Supercap (6700uF) Have you done any of the modifications listed in the Hornby Prairie thread? I added almost 100gm of lead, eased the body screws and filed down the front pony truck mount. I would recommend all of these! Happy New Year

A couple? Two prairies? ……You can never have too many prairies ps they are the correct decoders for the Dapol prairie or mogul

I think the Dapol chimney (foreground) is, perhaps, fractionally taller and wider than the Hornby example. The difference is exaggerated because the "copper" caps are different. The Dapol version is clearly deeper and the emerging chimney is "copper". I suspect the difference will be less obvious when the cap is weathered and the chimney portion painted black

I will try and take close ups of the two chimneys later today. Why didnt I spot that? Cant see the wood for the trees!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Arrived just in time for Christmas........the Dapol Large Prairie. Its shown here in virtually out of the box condition. The loco number has been changed to 5174 (Chester Shed 1947) with engraved plates. The buffer beam numbers will be changed when I weather her. Visually its very attractive with an abundance of neat accurate detail. The brass safety valve cap is a delightful moulding but the highly polished finished would, perhaps, be more suited for a Horse Guard's helmet than a hard working loco. A touch of dullcote should solve that. In the opening shot you can see that the slide bars have been splayed for clearance purposes. Its not proto-typical and it does jar somewhat. However its not that obvious when running so I can live with it. As with the Dapol Mogul, decoder fitting is innovative. Ease out the push fit smoke box door with the provided tool, pull out the PCB, plug in the Next 18 decoder and replace.....job done. There were reports of poor running with frequent stalling over point work. Happily that does not seem to be the case with my model. Neither is haulage an an issue. At 300gm its 50% heavier than the Hornby Prairie which needed packing with lead before it would look at 4 coaches. However RR&Co is very demanding. There is a suggestion of hes itation below speed step 4. I may need to file the rear pony truck axle slots down a little I mentioned detail and innovation......the cab roof slides off: The rear cab windows are individually glazed and just look at the protective bars The back head detail is astonishing: Not sure how much will be seen, but its nice to know its there. It will definitely make it much easier to add crew. The coal load is quite realistic but it is removeable and the bunker is fully modelled Here is a comparison shot with the Hornby Prairie. Its bit unfair with a pristine 5124 and a more realistic workstained 4129 I have been running the Hornby Prairies for a year now. Initially they were very disappointing. After all the remedial work particularly hard wiring Stay Alive Capacitors, they are now solid reliable performers. Although my heart is still beating a bit too fast when they approach some of my point work. The Dapol prairie is much more sure footed. To finish...... a three company colour comparison...........which is the authentic GWR green? To my mind the Dapol Prairie is pretty close to the Bacjmann 94xx. Even allowing for the heavier weathering, the Hornby green looks a bit washed out. All a bit subjective......we have had a load more snow here and that may have reflected into the light in the Train Room. Best wishes from a very cold (23o F) Vancouver

Thanks Tony……nice to hear from you. Hope you had a good Christmas. Cant make any promises about panniers……..they have a tendency to creep into the scene without me noticing. All the best for 2022

Hi Brian Good to hear from you. Sorry to learn that your hip is taking so long to heal. Lets hope your recovery will be complete early in 2022. You are absolutely right not to venture out in this weather. Quite apart from the snow, the temperature here is at an all time low. Inland -25o can be par for the course but not on the coast…..its really is b****y freezing. Keep safe, Best wishes

Definitely a white Christmas here!