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Gresley Junction


thegreenhowards
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Two rakes is definitely enough. I have c.46 wagons on my loaded and plan a similar number on the empty, but I’m still collecting/ weathering them. I have a cunning plan to use the 10 empties off the ‘Barnet gas’ trip to help make up the empty train. In a similar way the loaded trip formed the back of one of my earlier freights.

 

Does anyone know how the brick wagons got back to Peterborough? I.e. on the empty coal train or on a dedicated working?

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Today we have an up Cambridge Buffet Express, the 1515 from Cambridge, headed by Baby Deltic, D5905.

 

D88F4AAE-8A2D-4A0E-8811-BA4C25176E0A.jpeg.fdb2e1bda3d587012d51f70127bebda9.jpeg

 

The formation is a standard (1958) formation, but this is shown in the carriage workings as having an SK(8) as a strengthener added at Cambridge, but I’m not sure which end it would go on.  It’s not shown as a Mark 1 so I assume it would have been a standard all door Gresley and I’ve chosen to pout it at the from of the train. Other interesting vehicles are the SO.

FABA28DC-8C03-453F-8CFB-40BD07D9C6A6.jpeg.40782a32cf899f61c62dc59a12408877.jpeg

 

This is shown as having 52 seats and not Mark 1 or Thompson which I can’t quite work out. Photos seem to show a Gresley coach, but which diagram I’m not sure. This one is a MJT d.27A which has 8 bays of 6, so 48 seats. I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t have Restaurant Car branding on, but I’m loath to remove it before I’ve worked out whether it should be something completely different in the train.

 

The other interesting vehicle is the ‘tourist’ buffet built from a RDEB kit. 

EFC4B050-11D2-445C-BB91-FA54AB5E4ABE.jpeg.022ab55f68ad51aa7b8909b3ff045bf7.jpeg

 

I’m pretty sure that this vehicle is correct - photos seem to show a tourist rather than teak buffet.

 

Here is the video:

 

 

Andy

 

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I have been finding the small number of cassettes that I have pretty useful while running through the sequence, particularly with the changes to the fiddle yard which I completed at the end of last year. My cassette system has been through a couple of pilots over the last year - the first one didn’t work but the second one, seen below, works OK. However, I only had capacity for 10 cassettes and that’s not enough! 
6A592674-4AD8-4720-8B48-CDB7E2E07D64.jpeg.b4ec9b77479d2ff7e1acac3e6d598f5c.jpeg

Gilbert (Great Northern of this parish) kindly invited me to visit Peterborough North this week and I was very impressed with the system he has which gives much more capacity. So I decided to do something about it, and this morning went to my local timber yard armed with some cutting instructions. And this is the result.

 

79D857E5-AFAA-4A35-BA9E-ADA15344E555.jpeg.aee61f7f196650c032e3ce9f75068a09.jpeg

 

This will test my woodworking skills! I’ve also bought a strip of aluminium angle as this seems to be the trendy way to produce cassettes. It’s all cut very cleanly so should go together OK. I will report again shortly.

 

Andy

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I couldn’t run any trains today because the loft resembles a bomb site with all the cassette woodworking. However I have a couple of shots left from yesterday’s running. So, we have the down 1615 King’s Cross-Cleethorpes headed by 70036, Boadicea. The pictures focus on a relatively unfinished part of the layout which I haven’t featured much so far. But the ‘Gasworks’ tunnel mouth is fairly finished together with the canal scene above so hopefully they will distract from the unballasted track and lack of other scenic items.

 

1E153AE3-C905-4AC3-A6DE-F5398F3CC262.jpeg.3edda7296c414cf0ac10d700a2dd5536.jpeg

 

The full formation (based on Summer 1960 carriage workings) is shown in the video below.

 

 

It’s mainly mark 1s but there are a couple of more interesting vehicles. 

7267AC6B-2282-42C6-903A-A3A786A7DFD7.jpeg.0b131a80a60f5ff2945636ae3023efcd.jpeg

 

The buffet you have seen before on the Cambridge Buffet express, but the vehicle behind is a Gresley FO built from Mousa sides. I have also put a Gresley BSK on the back. This is not in the carriage workings but many photos seem to show at least one non mark 1 substitute on this train; either a Gresley BSK as here or a Thompson SK.

 

Britannias worked this service between 1961 and 1963 after they were displaced from the GE.

 

Andy

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Yesterday was a day out at the excellent Stevenage show. I spent too much (as normal), so a new loco will be appearing before long. As a clue, it may not be very reliable! I also bought a couple of kits - an Isinglass Dias 307 twin third and an O gauge Kirk Gresley non corridor brake third. Both are a departure from the norm for me, so will be interesting.

 

Anyway, today’s train in the sequence is the 1230 Hull-King’s Cross which was the regular diagram from Deltic when on loan to the East Coast. Here she is.

46EE7AAE-97FC-4A98-9BB9-5A7C177AB72A.jpeg.305cb633306bcb67bc7d4b8de6f99f5e.jpeg

 

It’s not the most exciting formation apart from Deltic herself consisting mainly of Mark 1s with just a Gresley Buffet to break the monotony. So I thought I’d take a wider view for the video, giving you an idea of what the railway room looks like as the train runs round.

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, davidw said:

Is the "Isinglass Dias 307 twin third" a 3d Print? If so do let me know how you get on

They’re ‘3D printed in resin’. I think the resin bit is significant as they don’t seem to suffer from the lines that conventional 3D printing exhibits.

 

It’s next on my to do list and I will write it up on ‘Coulsdon Works’. I’m nagging him for some Gresley 65 ft sleepers which he says he can do, so I want to see how this goes together.

 

Andy

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I’m still busy woodworking so haven’t run any trains for a while. The cassette system is working well. I’ve now finished the storage shelves and two cassettes. My standard cassettes are built from three 1220x50mm strips of 9mm ply. I then lay conventional track down them and put a block at the end. Very simple, they work and they’re cheap provided you use second hand track. Here is an example. In this case, I’ve used old unused steel track which I picked up cheap from a friend. As stuff only gets pushed onto the cassettes I don’t have to worry about electrical conductivity.

 

FE4A6C60-334C-47CE-9133-BB66EDC60F15.jpeg.4cc651e969f640b7cfa15f05827ef45c.jpeg 

 

I’ve also tried building one from aluminium as seems to be trendy. In this case screwed onto a standard 1220x50mm strip of 9mm ply. It looks quite smart, but I’m yet to be convinced that the extra cost and effort is worthwhile. I’ll give it a test and then decide on the rest of the cassettes I have to make up. Here is the aluminium version.

461D5553-922D-4C29-AC1D-AFAC2D4A86D8.jpeg.00c3f430c59b52a5aa0189b02d0b0cb6.jpeg

 

And here it is being loaded into my storage unit.

 

95778793-9F7B-496C-A596-AAB1ED06E53B.jpeg.a312aa733b696ebff0103d49bf1cfb8e.jpeg

 

Still lots of space to fill with rolling stock:D

Edited by thegreenhowards
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19 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

I’m still busy woodworking so haven’t run any trains for a while. The cassette system is working well. I’ve now finished the storage shelves and two cassettes. My standard cassettes are built from three 1220x50mm strips of 9mm ply. I then lay conventional track down them and put a block at the end. Very simple, they work and they’re cheap provided you use second hand track. Here is an example. In this case, I’ve used old unused steel track which I picked up cheap from a friend. As stuff only gets pushed onto the cassettes I don’t have to worry about electrical conductivity.

 

FE4A6C60-334C-47CE-9133-BB66EDC60F15.jpeg.4cc651e969f640b7cfa15f05827ef45c.jpeg 

 

I’ve also tried building one from aluminium as seems to be trendy. In this case screwed onto a standard 1220x50mm strip of 9mm ply. It looks quite smart, but I’m yet to be convinced that the extra cost and effort is worthwhile. I’ll give it a test and then decide on the rest of the cassettes I have to make up. Here is the aluminium version.

461D5553-922D-4C29-AC1D-AFAC2D4A86D8.jpeg.00c3f430c59b52a5aa0189b02d0b0cb6.jpeg

 

And here it is being loaded into my storage unit.

 

95778793-9F7B-496C-A596-AAB1ED06E53B.jpeg.a312aa733b696ebff0103d49bf1cfb8e.jpeg

 

Still lots of space to fill with rolling stock:D

Looks good, Andy. The aluminium angle looks prettier, but I'm not convinced it is more functional. I'm exchanging PMs on the subject with Peter (bigwordsmith) at the moment, and have just suggested having four wheel stock in the fiddle yard rather than in cassettes, as it is much more easier to derail very light wagons while moving a cassette from store to layout. Did I mention that when you were here?

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12 minutes ago, great northern said:

Looks good, Andy. The aluminium angle looks prettier, but I'm not convinced it is more functional. I'm exchanging PMs on the subject with Peter (bigwordsmith) at the moment, and have just suggested having four wheel stock in the fiddle yard rather than in cassettes, as it is much more easier to derail very light wagons while moving a cassette from store to layout. Did I mention that when you were here?

No you didn’t mention that. I think it will be a mixture for me. I have far too many wagons, so some will need to go in cassettes to be used occasionally. I also think I’ll move one or two complete trains like the Flying Scotsman which only runs once in my sequence to free up room for loose stock ion the fiddle yard.

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Used to cycle to Scunthorpe and Frodingham station, light nights, 19:30 to watch the Brit come in and leave for Doncaster. Last train of the day came through there instead of the East lincs line. Boadicea was a favourite.

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53 minutes ago, JeffP said:

Used to cycle to Scunthorpe and Frodingham station, light nights, 19:30 to watch the Brit come in and leave for Doncaster. Last train of the day came through there instead of the East lincs line. Boadicea was a favourite.

I wish I had witnessed such sights. Must have been fantastic.

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3 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

They’re ‘3D printed in resin’. I think the resin bit is significant as they don’t seem to suffer from the lines that conventional 3D printing exhibits.

 

It’s next on my to do list and I will write it up on ‘Coulsdon Works’. I’m nagging him for some Gresley 65 ft sleepers which he says he can do, so I want to see how this goes together.

 

Andy

Excellent I intend seeing him at Expo Em about some of his coaches.

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1 minute ago, thegreenhowards said:

Well if you want a 65ft sleeper drop him an email. He freely admits that emails bump things up his to do list!

Sadly not those - I'm after the FO-FO for the Talisman. And  roofs for the coronation triplet set. though It would be intereting to see how his 61.6 corridors come out.

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Well I’ve finally got round to running another train. Next in the sequence is the 1619 King’s Cross-Peterborough. This was formed of a fairly standard Peterborough 5 set with a BG on the front. The photos I’ve seen often have a Stanier 50ft BG on, so that’s what I've used. The 5 set itself should be a pair of BSK/SK steel articulated twins with a mark 1 CK in the middle. However, I’ve only built one of the twins so far, so there’s an ordinary SK/BSK Standing in and the CK is a Thompson as happened from time to time. These trains were often headed by a New England Thompson Pacific and it’s a chance to run my DJH ‘Wolf’ before Hornby ruin its relative rarity value. This was one of the first complete kits I built with a lot of help from Tony Wright. She seems to have lost her smoke box number plate which I will have to hunt for.

 

446A306C-63E6-400E-9AF5-17517B4BC177.jpeg.275307bfdee0c6a00a4912ba7156812e.jpeg2EE8FF95-B548-41C4-A6D3-6D6D31C50ED4.jpeg.7dc6b8c8f7bdd3eb3f14e54e98f0b3e1.jpeg

 

 

 

 

Andy

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I'd not particularly noticed the gas holders before but they look very impressive in that picture - how did you make them?

 

I've only made one steel BSK / SK pair for my "Peterborough" set too; I'm not sure whether I'll make another one!

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4 minutes ago, 31A said:

I'd not particularly noticed the gas holders before but they look very impressive in that picture - how did you make them?

 

I've only made one steel BSK / SK pair for my "Peterborough" set too; I'm not sure whether I'll make another one!

Thanks, I’m quite pleased with them. I made them from laser cut kits by Modelux. The kits are great but the instructions are non existent, so you need to be a bit of a detective to build them. They come ready Painted and weathered.

 

I’ve already admired your twin artic - looks great. I started on my second one while at the B&B last week, but I doubt much more will happen until I’m away again as that’s when I get concentrated soldering sessions done. 

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1 minute ago, thegreenhowards said:

Thanks, I’m quite pleased with them. I made them from laser cut kits by Modelux. The kits are great but the instructions are non existent, so you need to be a bit of a detective to build them. They come ready Painted and weathered.

 

I’ve already admired your twin artic - looks great. I started on my second one while at the B&B last week, but I doubt much more will happen until I’m away again as that’s when I get concentrated soldering sessions done. 

 

That's interesting, I hadn't heard of them.  I've seen a few Continental and American kits for gas holders, but they don't always look very 'British'.

 

Not sure I'll make another of those twins - I don't tend to like repeating things I've already done!  My set will probably stick with the Mk1 replacements!

 

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18 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

I wish I had witnessed such sights. Must have been fantastic.

Made a change from our usual faire of O4s, WDs, 9Fs, some B1s and even an occasional O2.

I also remember two Jubilees working in on separate occasions from Leeds or Sheffield.

The shed foreman stood at the entrance arms folded forbidding entry.

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On 03/12/2019 at 10:50, thegreenhowards said:

We've now run round the whole layout, so I think it's time for the stars of the show - the trains.

 

I don't have a set sequence, but I have a list of trains and try to operate them in rough order through the day. I start the sequence in the middle of the day and run through to the evening to allow me to run a few sleeper trains, for which I have a particular passion. The trains come from anytime between 1948 and the early '60s, but concentrated on the late '50s. I will post a picture of each train and will point out interesting vehicles as appropriate. For some I will also post a video as I think model railways are best when moving. The passenger trains have been compiled from the carriage working notices (thanks to Robert Carroll) and sometimes photos, but the goods and parcels trains are more guesswork as I don't have the equivalent goods working documents. Any constructive criticism would be welcome.

 

The first train is the down Aberdeen fish empties. I believe that this left Kings Cross about midday.

 

8E408FB2-E63D-48A6-8652-8D9580DBEF52.jpeg.193f755f67314d9ad3fed06a2a6c7a39.jpeg

V2 60850 on down Aberdeen fish empties.

 

The train is mainly formed of Hornby blue spot fish wagons all renumbered and weathered. There are also a couple of Parkside kits and a couple of old Wrenn vans. The Hornby vans are all coupled using the Roco system in NEM pockets which IMHO gives a big improvement over tension locks and allows quite close coupling as below.

 

AAB8F32F-8368-4AC7-9A2C-304D611D5AC6.jpeg.ed12c1a5a67591cab72e3413d92f0f37.jpeg

Hopefully this shows the Roco coupling to good advantage.

 

and here is a video of the train as it rounds the reverse curve.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsXPBbKS9-U

 

 

 

 

 


I wouldn’t have the courage to run 40 odd wagons behind any loco- outstanding layout Andy!

 

 ATB 

 

peter

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3 hours ago, bigwordsmith said:


I wouldn’t have the courage to run 40 odd wagons behind any loco- outstanding layout Andy!

 

 ATB 

 

peter

Peter,

 

Many thanks for your kind words. I find 40-50 wagons the limit before derailments become commonplace. I think I get away with that number because I’ve kept the minimum radius to 36”.

 

Andy

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On 14/01/2020 at 13:12, thegreenhowards said:

I’m still busy woodworking so haven’t run any trains for a while. The cassette system is working well. I’ve now finished the storage shelves and two cassettes. My standard cassettes are built from three 1220x50mm strips of 9mm ply. I then lay conventional track down them and put a block at the end. Very simple, they work and they’re cheap provided you use second hand track. Here is an example. In this case, I’ve used old unused steel track which I picked up cheap from a friend. As stuff only gets pushed onto the cassettes I don’t have to worry about electrical conductivity.

 

FE4A6C60-334C-47CE-9133-BB66EDC60F15.jpeg.4cc651e969f640b7cfa15f05827ef45c.jpeg 

 

I’ve also tried building one from aluminium as seems to be trendy. In this case screwed onto a standard 1220x50mm strip of 9mm ply. It looks quite smart, but I’m yet to be convinced that the extra cost and effort is worthwhile. I’ll give it a test and then decide on the rest of the cassettes I have to make up. Here is the aluminium version.

461D5553-922D-4C29-AC1D-AFAC2D4A86D8.jpeg.00c3f430c59b52a5aa0189b02d0b0cb6.jpeg

 

And here it is being loaded into my storage unit.

 

95778793-9F7B-496C-A596-AAB1ED06E53B.jpeg.a312aa733b696ebff0103d49bf1cfb8e.jpeg

 

Still lots of space to fill with rolling stock:D

Good idea with the cassettes, Andy (and good to see 60506 running so well).

 

As you know, I use cassettes on Little Bytham to give me four more Up trains, but I always have the fear of dropping them!

 

The following shots were taken nearly four years ago(!) now. 

 

622348305_cassettes01.jpg.ce57f82c024ca4d99ab7c6907cce2849.jpg

 

This one shows the access to the cassettes off the Up through road. Since then, the access point has been fitted with a spring mechanism which only sets the road to the cassettes once it's compressed. 

 

1858184886_cassettes04.jpg.10c5f6401d93e8d4056a2f681840df0b.jpg

 

And an empty cassette in position. I think aluminium angle is the best material for such cassettes. There is no electrical connection to them.

 

637584738_cassettes05.jpg.9553de7465a1c3182ec59ab1b5367c43.jpg

 

A full cassette in use. The block foam is a tight enough fit to hold the vehicles in place. 

 

By the way, those standard Bachmann Mk.1s have now had their roof ribs removed and have been weathered.

 

622662764_cassettes08.jpg.3093583ec498213db92c8cb8a4258394.jpg

 

Longer rakes need two cassettes. There is a slight gradient (deliberate) to the left. When not in use, a wooden block protects any runaways (along with the sprung point).

 

You will have seen my system in operation. 

 

I think the cassette principle is a good idea for allowing extra trains to be run, but I wouldn't like to use too many.

 

I hope the above is of some interest. 

 

This is a most-interesting thread.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Tony Wright
to clarify a point
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