GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

[user=312]dooferdog[/user] wrote:

That must have been one chilly loco to drive in bad weather, one hopes they didn't have to do too much tender first running either. A half cab shunter must have been bad enough but at main line speeds in December that back plate would have seen a lot of close attention.

They must have been tough in those days, probably no good whinging to a shop steward either, he'd have come just as hard a route…

Doug

I think the difference in both physical activity and working conditions over a 50 year period is quite astonishing

I picked up a second hand biography " Life on the footplate"  or similar written by a GWR/WR firemen during the period immediately after WWII…… like most, if not all, footplatemen he worked his way up from labouring in the coaling station….to shed cleaner then he passed as Fireman so he got promoted to an open cab heaving 8-10 tons of coal per shift.

Many of the Star locos were running until the early fifties

Thanks for the post Chris…..glad you like Granby!


[user=401]pnwood[/user] wrote:

Hi John

I've just spent a pleasant few minutes catching up after being away on my hols. The issue of horse power being vital to the railways especially so in the pre war years is more often than not overlooked by modellers. The stable is an essential addition to Granby and perhaps would be much larger given the size of your facilities.

We all have space limitations though and compromises have to be made. Better to have a small stable than none at all and as with all of your buildings will look the part :thumbs

Thanks Nick …….you are absolutely right about the size……I did think of turning it parallell to the tracks and making it bigger……but the thought of making two matching roof ventilators convinced me that less might well be more in this case:roll:

There is, of course, a much larger set of stables on the other side of the tracks serving the main goods warehouse…….its in the basement so, sadly, cant be seen:lol:

Kind Regards from Vancouver where it is now sunny but cool ……far better than wet and warm!

I have just thought of a sensible use for a camera-drone….

A flyover of Granby…yeah! Do it, John, do it!

(O.K. nurse, is it really time for another pill. Napolean says he has had his….)

Doug

[user=312]dooferdog[/user] wrote:

I have just thought of a sensible use for a camera-drone….

A flyover of Granby…yeah! Do it, John, do it!

(O.K. nurse, is it really time for another pill. Napolean says he has had his….)

Doug

  Dont tempt me Doug otherwise I will never get the layout finished!




I am getting near the end of the Parcels Depot segment. In fact I just  have to add some figures and detailing and hopefully I can be shunting  parcels vans by Christmas

Too many photos for one post so today I will focus on the old Stable building.

You may recall I intended to base this on the photos in Stephen  William's  excellent book "Great Western Branch Line Modelling" . It was  clear from this that ,like many GWR structures, their stables were  built to a very precise standard plan

I got a lot of help from both Doug (Dooferdog) and Marty. who emailed me  copies of the original drawings for Abingdon, Park Royal (which was  enormous!) and Castle Cary which was very compact


Here is the drawing that Doug posted in the Stables Thread

dooferdog wrote:

Come   to think of it, I have permission from Trevor Booth, a very nice man   and illustrator of the Silver Link book on GWR modelling to post his   illustrayions from the book, is this what you have in mind shown on a   stables building?

If so it won't be too difficult, I'm sure.




Doug

I only have a very confined space….about 25 scale feet long as opposed  to the 46' above…….Petermac accused me of attempting to design a battery stable!:)

Fortunately Castle Cary fitted the bill……25' long with one window  either side of the door. It didnt have any roof ventilators but I really  wanted to include at least one because they are such an iconic  feature…….so here is a cruel close up of my broad brush version





There are a couple of departures from the standard design……the  stables were almost invariably built with bricks with blue engineers  bricks used for trim but I wanted the building to look part of the  complex so I kept with the stone.

The other departure, which I now regret, was to pitch the roof higher  than the drawing. I did this because the mock up looked too small in  relation to the Parcels Depot…….the problem is that now I feel the  building is somewhat out of proportion……whatever we are where we are  ……and hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Lots of detail from the drawings which I enjoyed modelling…..the  vertical panels above the door and below the windows are "Hit and Miss"  ventilators……the description carefully enscribed on the drawing in  victorian copper plate……something I had never heard of, yet when I  googled Hit and Miss I got a load of hits (sorry ) from sites try to sell me such ventilators in 2014


Here is an even crueller close up of one the sluices and a tap for the  now removed horse trough……set into the wall exactly as specified!



There is a later shot where I have sorted the Scalescene grids and added a trace of the trough supports

This has always been a warts and all thread so here are a few shots of  the roof vent construction……..geometry has never been a strong  point…….the offset vent is definitely not as specified!












With the arrival of the internal combustion engine the redundant stables  became stores or the gable wall was knocked through, doors added and  the building was converted to a garage






The protective rail around the Petrol Pump appears to have been a  specified safety precaution…..you can see it on two of Stephen  Williams illustrations

It would seem to be a worthwhile precaution bearing in mind the dented and scratched state of this example 





Hope the post wasnt too long and you enjoyed my tale of the stables as much as I did making it.




No room for many loco shots but I will leave you with a Christmas puzzle






If the Star that I last featured could be described as a Greyhound this must be something of a mongrel?:)

It must have been a mongrel (Dukedog) John, as they cut up 9022 on the 31st August 1957…

The stable has come up great, very nice indeed. :thumbs 

As for the high pitch roof, a good excuse would be 'with a higher roof, we could fit more hay in the loft…' ;-) 

Cheers, Gary.

Sweet work on the stables John.
They do enhance Granby.
Your loco is one of the Dog class Not being a GWR expert either a Duke or Bulldog.
Cheers,
Derek.

[user=878]Gary[/user] wrote:

It must have been a mongrel (Dukedog) John, as they cut up 9022 on the 31st August 1957…

The stable has come up great, very nice indeed. :thumbs 

As for the high pitch roof, a good excuse would be 'with a higher roof, we could fit more hay in the loft…' ;-) 

Cheers, Gary.

There was a prize……..and you have won Gary……but you have to collect it in person.;-)

Glad that you like the stable…….the problem with the hay loft rationale is that I dont think the standard design actually had a loft…….I suspect they hand balled it from those provender wagons that Coopercraft used to make.

[user=477]shunter1[/user] wrote:

Sweet work on the stables John.
They do enhance Granby.
Your loco is one of the Dog class Not being a GWR expert either a Duke or Bulldog.
Cheers,
Derek.

Weird ……I tried a multi quote reply……and failed…….whatever…………..

Thanks Derek…..glad you like the stable. With your profound knowledge of the Big Four (and before:oops:) I suspect you are teasing me…….however for those who didnt guess Gary got it in one……..its a Dukedog which was cobbled together by the ever parsimonious GWR in the Thirties (can you believe that?) from bits from the Bulldog class and pieces from the even older Duke class.

The designer (Collet) called it the Earl class and named some of the locos after board members who had been pestering him to name a Castle after them!………………the foot platemen called them Dukedogs……guess which name stuck!

As I've been concentrating on finishing the wiring and point control for Market Havering, it's been a month since I looked in on Granby and I'm most impressed with the progress you've made in that time. I love the little converted stable block though it has meant that I'm going to have to incorporate one into MH now. I also love that Star and am very envious of your Dukedog. I just wish someone would bring one out in N Gauge.

Excellent work as usual John and your 'broad brush' has produced a very believable little cameo.

Thanks Trevor ……..glad you like it. You will have fun building one in N
 
Hope the wiring is going well on Much Havering….I have missed your posts.

Best Wishes for Christmas

This is what I believe is called the wrap on the Parcels Depot …….all done and dusted

Its also a wrap on the modelling year 2014……..so now seems a good  time to wish all you guys, and particularly those who have contribuited  to the thread with advice and encouragement, a very Merry Chritmas and a  Healthy and Prosperous New Year





First off a few more photos of last week's "mystery mongrel". It was indeed a Dukedog.

Seen here huffing and puffing its way up Granby Viaduct to the refineries at Ellesmere Port

Huffing and Puffing because like its prototype the model struggles to  pull the skin off a rice pudding……..despite all manner of added  weight and coupling adjustment.

Nevertheless it is a very attractive model











It started off as BR early emblem but is now the first and currently  only loco on Granby in GWR Wartime Black……..I keep working on the  time stamps!




Dodgy G transfer which is probably why the train is diagrammed to run permanently on the Down Circuit



The office is done







Chimney and signs added plus……………


Some people and trucks all from Monty's Models (Dart Castings)



Monty's figures are so good that I try and avoid mixing them with other  makes. The trucks and barrows are a delightful set and look as though  they have been copied straight from Stephen William's book


Fire point added……… 







Why LNER ??  The old GC warehouse was bombed which is why this depot is  so busy  and at the time you couldnt get GWR for love nor  money…….and I have never seen LMS variants






The GWR Bedford arrived just in time……absolutely right for this  period but why it had pristine white bumbers and mudguards I know  not…..all corrected plus a dash of dull cote


How many guys do you need to hitch up a mechanical horse?




Here is a long shot ………the next section will be a row of  Scalescene terraced houses…..the first block of which can be seen  below





I built this block in October to check out the technique before  embarking on the more ambitious phase 2…….glad I did…….I found  it to be very challenging…..more about this in the New Year

Despite allegedly careful measuring, the completed block was deeper than I  expected and,  in consequence, the Parcels yard became somewhat longer than I intended

So I have finished up with this piece of space filling whimsy

 


Whimsy because I dont believe sub depots like this ever existed….certainly I havent found any evidence of one.

I did learn that Palethorpe's sausage vans had no connection with  Cambridge or Wiltshire but came from Tipton in the Black Country………one is always learning something new in this hobby!


Its a modified Ratio Provender Store that I have dollied up……its actually one of the first models I ever  made…nigh on 20 years old……so there is some sentimental  attachment




I am very undecided about it ……..no prototypical basis…..perhaps  it looks what it is…..a somewhat contrived space filler……if I  remove it I can just park a few more trailers…………on the other  hand Oxford might announce a 1948 Morris Palethorpes van!

Comments…..Advice…… Yea or Nay would be much appreciated





Have a great Christmas!


Edited to remove Market Drayton and replace with Tipton :oops:

Great modelling as usual John with some lovely little touches. I also found the Scalescenes Terraced Houses a bit of a 'challenge' but have eventually completed a block of 12.

I don't think the inhabitants of Market Drayton would appreciate being described as living in the Black Country though. I used to live about 12 miles away in Wem and Market Drayton is actually a very nice little market town in Shropshire. The main industry is farming but there is a good brewery there.

All the scenes look very authentic John and simply ooze realism.   Very well done.

Ken

A yea from me.:thumbs

Great series of photos John. There is life in all of them making Granby a busy place. The terraced houses, goods shed office and the Palethorpes Sausages sub depot all look good. :thumbs

Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year. :cheers

Cheers, Gary.

I love it all John.Busy looking scenes with plenty of character.Loads of railway with those brick terraced buildings and Warehouses plus Railway essentials.
Have a great festive season with all your family and 2015 will be an excellent vintage year.
Cheers,
Derek.

Great attention to detail John, really like it  :thumbs

I remember seeing barriers around petrol pumps, but when and where escapes me.

The black and white picture of the Dukedog is particularly atmospheric.

Looking forward to more in the new year.

Merry Christmas.


Ed

[user=946]Chinahand[/user] wrote:

Great modelling as usual John with some lovely little touches. I also found the Scalescenes Terraced Houses a bit of a 'challenge' but have eventually completed a block of 12.

I don't think the inhabitants of Market Drayton would appreciate being described as living in the Black Country though. I used to live about 12 miles away in Wem and Market Drayton is actually a very nice little market town in Shropshire. The main industry is farming but there is a good brewery there.

Thanks Trevor thats very kind of you.

We will no doubt talk more about the terraced houses in the New Year

Palethorpes    That will teach me to rely on memory at my age and after some RLW  


They moved to Market Drayton in 1967 :oops::oops::oops:  I should have said Tipton which is in the Black Country…..I will edit it……thanks for pointing it out…………that would have been embarrassing

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

 I should have said Tipton which is in the Black Country…..I will edit it……thanks for pointing it out…………that would have been embarrassing

Now you're talking. Tipton, Oldbury, Smethwick. That was the real Black Country.

Another corner done up to your usual very high standard John. :thumbs:thumbs

I've said many times before that it's not really the layout that sets Granby above many others, it's the details and this corner is no exception. 

A small are but so much to look at and study without even casting an eye over the "train bit".  The quoins on the stable block are super as is the little fuel pump scene.

Regarding the sausage depot ……….my only comments are that, from France, the fall pipe on the left looks a little "hefty" and, along with what others have said, some dirt would look great.  I wouldn't give a thought to whether Mr Palethorpe ever had such outposts.

Had you been modelling the 60's or 70's, you could have installed a hot dog stall for it to service ……..

Our very best greetings of the season to you and to Doreen - have a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year. :cheers