Waverley West

Another nice set of pics, Peter. A ScotRail 47 and a grimy centre headcode 40. What's not to like? I have a centre headcode 40 tucked away in a box which I really should get round to working on. I only have a split box one on the layout at the moment, plus D200. Cheers Dave

Nice one, guys. I think a few will be winging their way to Waverley West - BR blue, Large Logo, original Railfreight and Coal Sector at first glance. What with Accurascale's plans as well (not to mention possibly Heljan's 47 if that's up to the mark too), the next few years are looking expensive. It'll be nice to have some 56s which don't drag the leading wagon off on every reverse curve too. I have to agree with Lee's comment about Hornby not listening.

I've said it before but I'll say it again... Absolutely superb modelling and an astonishing rate of progress.

Agreed. You can sign me up for a minimum of three, and possibly a whole rake. Very distinctive, colourful wagons. It would be good to see some progress.

Just stunning.

A few recent shots from a spotting trip to Princes St Gardens and Edinburgh Waverley...

Hi folks, A rake that hasn't had much of a run-out for a while is WW's breakdown train. It was seen yesterday passing through Princes St Gardens on a rare outing behind Eastfield-based 37191. By the time it returned some hours later, I had started to wander up the hill to the Old Town, but was lucky enough to get a shot of it. Here are a few shots of it as it passed through... Cheers for now, Dave

Thanks bogie! You may have somehow managed to take a shot of Waverley without any trains, but you didn't manage one of Waverley Bridge without any buses, that really would have been something! Cheers Dave

Happy for you to keep saying it, sb67! Seriously though, that's very kind, thanks. Cheers Dave

Thanks guys. I had a tip-off about the book and I managed to get a copy. It really is excellent both for the quality of the photography and for its value for reference purposes. My only disappointment was that it wasn't in colour, which would have been a big help as regards weathering and general colouring. Still, can't have everything! Definitely worth the money though. Cheers Dave

As others have said, wonderful modelling. I spent many a happy hour at the station during the late 70s and 80s. Will be watching your progress with interest. Regards Dave

Hi folks, Well, not a huge amount to report here, although I have been working away on various projects, including the fitting of interior lights to my TPO rake. Although the windows on the TPO coaches are tiny, the rake often runs in the dark and I think the suggestion of activity inside the coaches makes the fitting of lights worthwhile. I have now started working on my InterCity Swallow HST rake. This will involve the fitting of Lazerglaze glazing, Extreme Etchings window frames and interior lights. The rake has otherwise already undergone the usual WW work, including a complete respray, detailing of interiors, etc., etc. I am also planning on extending the rake by a FO, which will involve the challenge of getting it to match the coaches that have already been done as closely as possible. Other than that, now that the Princes St Gardens refresh is largely complete, I have had a few very enjoyable running sessions recently, which has been fun and a change from working on the layout. Here are some pics taken during some recent operating sessions. 37418 runs through Princes St Gardens with a Speedlink service. 47642 departs Waverley bound for Inverness... A window-hanging gricer watches D200 closely as it pulls into Platform 17 on a service from Dundee... An InterCity Swallow-liveried power car snakes its way into Waverley on a service from Aberdeen to Kings Cross... Light and shade on the north wall of the station from a low sun... Inverness-based 26038 runs through the station another Speedlink service. Fellow Railfreight-liveried 26025 in the background is awaiting its next duty as station pilot. Later that evening, various services ready themselves for departure. On the far left is the stock of a service to Inverness, next to a Glasgow Push-Pull rake. Then a couple of DMUs on local services to Fife and Glasgow (via Falkirk Grahamston), and on the far right a cross-country service which will head for Carstairs where it will be joined with the rest of the rake from Glasgow Central. Having returned from Inverness, 47642 departs once again... ...with a motley rake of Mk 1s and air-conditioned Mk 2s in tow... Cheers for now, Dave

Brilliant find, Smallwonder. Some great shots of Waverley and Haymarket in particular (not that I'm biased or anything). Such a wonderful era with a fantastic combination of varied and interesting traction and attractive liveries. I've seen parts of that video before but I haven't seen it all for some reason. As millerhillboy says, much better quality than standard 1980s fare. I presume there's a part 2? Cheers Dave

Love it!

Hmm, another one ordered (25296). This is already getting expensive. Must be strong... Incidentally, I came across this site recently: https://www.derbysulzers.com/ It's full of useful information, photos and allocation histories, etc. for each loco. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone wasn't aware of it. Apologies if it's been mentioned before in this thread, but the thread is already on 17 pages! Dave

Whenever I run Waverley West to the real (1986) timetable, I get behind very quickly. It soon ends up more as a sequence of trains, rather than an actual timetabled service.

Of course you are, silly me. Like you say, why would you do it any other way?

Yes, definitely the scale for a layout like this, plenty of scenery, lovely sweeping curves and full-length trains. Very nice. I presume you're not running this to a real-time timetable like Caolisport, are you?

Coming along very nicely, Mike! You've been making some good progress recently. Adding the variation in the colouring of the gas mats has made a big difference I think. Cheers Dave

Looking through some old shots to find some pics of the pre-refresh Princes St Gardens, I came across some photos that I couldn't resist posting again. The countryside section of the layout is moving up the refresh-needed list. It could do with some trees in particular, along with general repairs and detailing. Talk about a layout never being finished. Ah, the halcyon days of summer... Looking down from the line to the river below... Cheers for now, Dave

Hi again folks, As I'm now nearing the end of the Princes St Gardens refresh, I thought it would be interesting to see some "before and after" shots of this part of the layout. Here is the Princes St Gardens section before its recent refurbishment (with the footbridge temporarily removed)... Before... After... ...and looking the other way... Before... After... Overall, I'm pretty happy with the refresh. The colouring is much more how I want it to be and how it was in the second half of the 1980s. The trees are a particularly noticeable and major improvement and the lowered footbridges are much better too. It would be interesting to see similar shots of the station before and after its lockdown 1 refresh. Cheers Dave

43065 City of Edinburgh passes through Princes St Gardens as it approaches Waverley station. Contrast and compare...

Hi folks, Here as promised are a few pics of the new buffer-fitted HST power cars which are now in service. First up, appropriately enough, is 43065 City of Edinburgh, bringing up the rear of an Inverness to Kings X service as it passes through Princes St Gardens and into Waverley. This is the powered car and is standard Hornby apart from weathering and the fitting of a driver and sound. The dummy car has had much the same treatment, except that the leading bogie has been modified so that it can be swapped for another bogie fitted with an ordinary tension lock coupling. This is the dummy car running in "operational" form with the original bogie... For this project, I bought a rear bogie from Hornby spares. With the exception of missing flange guards and the added tension lock coupling, this bogie is virtually identical to the front bogie, even down to the cab steps. After swapping the bogies over, you end up with a dummy power car fitted with a standard coupling. Replacing the powered power car at the other end with another dummy enables the set to be dragged as a failure. Using a micro-connector for the bogie pick-ups enables the bogies to be swapped over in just a few seconds. To save having to buy another HST set, I guess you could run the rescue logo and powered power car together as a double-header instead. (Please excuse the wonky buffers in the photo!) This is the original bogie modified to take the micro-connector... A quick swap and a few seconds later you have a coupling-fitted bogie on the front... The modification came in handy on the following day when the set was declared a failure on another southbound service, this time from Aberdeen. Two Coal Sector Class 37s were taken off MGR duties to haul the miscreant as far as Waverley. Here are some shots of the ensemble as it passed through the countryside, then Princes St Gardens and into Waverley... It was a really interesting and ultimately successful project and definitely worthwhile. The bogies take a few seconds to swap over and the range of possible rescue locos is huge. I've seen a shot of Large Logo 37418 heading south from Inverness on the Highland main line with an InterCity Swallow rake in tow. I've also seen two Dutch 26s arrive at Carlisle with a similar rake, which were then swapped for an RES 47. I'm looking forward to experimenting with the possibilities. Right, back to finishing off the blue/grey HST rake. Hope to be back soon with another update. It will soon be time for the sun to reach round as far as Waverley in the evenings, which is always good for photos. Stay safe one and all, Dave

An old black and white shot of 26041 entering Waverley station with a Speedlink service. Shot undated, but I think it must have been summer '88...

Hi folks, Just thought I'd post a few pics of the latest addition to WW's McRat fleet in the shape of Inverness-based 26041. This loco has been done in ex works condition, based on the condition it was in in Roy Harrison's excellent Inverness video. Complete with clean paintwork, shiny buffers and Inverness stags on the bodysides, not a condition normally associated with Railfreight 26s! The rear cab has been fitted with Lazerglaze glazing, but I clumsily broke one of the windows for the front cab (they're surprisingly thin), so I'll have to order some more. Here it is, running first through the newly almost-completed Princes Street Gardens, followed by Waverley. Apologies if some of the pictures are similar to my previous posting. It's currently being test-run on the same rake. In other news, the buffer-fitted, InterCity Swallow-liveried HST power cars are now in service. The dummy car has interchangeable bogies which can be swapped over, depending on whether I want to run the rake as a failed unit. Two Coal Sector 37s are currently doing the honours as rescue locos. More on this to follow. Work has being continuing on fitting the blue/grey HST rake with lights, which is now virtually complete. I just need to scatter some newspapers around the tables now and it will be complete. I have also upgraded a spare FO to add to the rake, so that it now has two FOs as per standard East Coast rakes. The ballasting and trackwork in Princes St Gardens has now been finished too and the two small sections of path in the gardens renewed, ready for repainting. One of the next jobs will be to refurbish the lift-off section above the Mound Tunnels, as it's looking a bit tired now after all the manhandling during the recent layout refresh. Hope to be back soon with another update. Stay save one and all, Dave