GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

I preferred the street scene with the shops ,looked a bit more natural.   you know what us oldies are like with change.
Enjoyed the video John . 

[user=269]MaxSouthOz[/user] wrote:

I think that you have made the right decision, John.   :cool:

Thanks Max…..are you sure….? :lol:


Marty wrote:

I  reckon reverting to the warehouse buildings is a winner there John. If  you want a bit more obscurity for your storage yards maybe a smoke  generator for a chimney or two….

following along.

cheers

Thanks Marty………I think there may be space for a chimney :shock:

sparky wrote:

I preferred the street scene with the shops ,looked a bit more natural.   you know what us oldies are like with change.
Enjoyed the video John . 

Glad you liked the video Reg…….its only the tall shops that have gone ….the smaller ones remain but have to be  de-modernised……..where modern is anything after the Coronation…..and thats stretching it a bit. :lol:

Thats the Queen's coronation not her Dads……I think I just missed that  :lol:

Phil.c wrote:

What  a very busy layout John!  Impossible to take it all in with just a  look-see, and I believe you also have time to run trains as opposed to  me, …good stuff…keep it up!
Phil

Thanks Phil………".Busy Layout" eh?? :hmm

 Do you mean scenically or operationally?

Scenically…….guilty I am afraid.  I am a firm believer in "Less is more" but invariably fail to put the concept into practice :oops:.

 I always think layouts like yours (Pen y bryn) and Much Murkle  (Nick Wood) owe some of their charm and appeal to the fact they are so skilfully understated

Operationally…..I do enjoy using RR&Co to get a lot of locos in play at the same time. I find if I dont run a few trains each week I forget some of the sequences with horrible results.


Best wishes to all from a very very wet Vancouver

Too much is never enough, John.   :lol:

John, busy in a good way, but it must be difficult keeping the track clean in some of those tight places, especially DCC as I find it is a bit unforgiving!
I have to confess that I have not run my loco's for a considerable amount of time, the thought of getting everything clean now is a bit daunting!

Phil

[user=753]Phil.c[/user] wrote:

John, busy in a good way, but it must be difficult keeping the track clean in some of those tight places, especially DCC as I find it is a bit unforgiving!
I have to confess that I have not run my loco's for a considerable amount of time, the thought of getting everything clean now is a bit daunting!

Phil

Thats one of the reasons I try to run Trains regularly……..it keeps the track clean. Dont understand the technicalities but regular use with DCC does seem to keep the track clean

I keep meaning to buy a track cleaner but I seem to get by with the very occasional use of a Peco eraser.

You have to bite the bullet Phil……your layout is too realistic to lie fallow

Best wishes

John

I have one of those brass drip cleaners, expensive too, I even bought a class 37 to pull it as my weighted loco's just wheel spun!
 Phil

as John says, running trains is the way to keep track clean,I run mine three /four times a week and clean track that way
:thumbs ;-) :cool:
Owen

The factory is finished



I should have taken shots of the components . The two gable units are designed to be joined together or they can be extended with one 2 window wide insert. You cant see the back so I used both inserts at the front and set the gables at right angles to better fit the site and to create something a bit different.

The back is just plain card strenthened Scalescene style. The complete unit is mounted on a card base so it can be liftd out of the way if there is an issue with the storage siding entry throat which, when in position, it hides

I guess this shot tends to confirm the view that Granby is more reminiscent of East Lancashire than North Wales…….what a shame the GWR didnt run into Oldham!




I chose the Phoenix signs deliberately to suggest a new start after the war.The mill could well have been used as a temporary barracks……..I should try and insert a few faded WD markings

The kit came with stone coloured quoins which I didnt think looked quite rightt I preferred to leave the corner fold lines painted out with waer colour.

The rather bright Metcalfe brickwork was toned down with a fairly hefty dusting of grubby pastels




Hoist Crane added from bits and bobs. The roof is Scalescene paper……applied as one sheet…..normally I do strips but felt I could take a short cut here


The road bridge was cleaned up and lamp posts re positioned. I am quite pleased that the exposed storage yard doesnt look out of place




The bridge deck is removeable…….there are two elderly point motors with peco frog switches in the support on the left…….which sadly need too frequent attention

One more item I can check off my 1947 time stamp bucket list……..the letters E W S painted on a wall! 



Tor those who were not around during and immediately after WWII (most of you I would guess) the letters EWS (emergency water supply) could be seen in all manner of places to guide the Fire Service to alternative supplies should the water main be blown up. In this case the Mill Lodge (off scene)

Still on the bucket list is an above ground bomb shelter……we had one on our suburban street in North Liverpool…..prtty sure it was still there in 1947. I will try and fit one in up the street

So there we have it…….another dark satanic Mill to add to Granby's landscape 







Next post ……will be a change of pace

I am working on my main line passenger rakes……..starting with the Birkenhead to ……somewhere in the West Country Express. Havent sorted the exact destinations yet but it will include two through coaches to Port Bredy…..my neighbour  :lol: John Flann's new layout and it will be hauled by a Star. 

I think it's time for another one of these, John.



It's a cracker.

Very atmospheric John and I think it fits in very well at Granby  :)
Cheers 
Ron

Very impressive John!

Phil

I'm glad you mentioned "dark satanic Mill" John, as when I opened your post I thought…..

Wow, what a beast .

Looks absolutely brilliant  :thumbs :thumbs :thumbs



Ed

A beautiful mill there, I wouldn't do it now you've nearly finished that mill, but one thing I haven't seen on a layout is an old building with fading camoflage paint. Round here even the old married quarters were painted all over with camoflage paint during WW2, and it still shows where it hasn't been painted over.

Thanks guys……glad you liked it


[user=1938]The Q[/user] wrote:

A beautiful mill there, I wouldn't do it now you've nearly finished that mill, but one thing I haven't seen on a layout is an old building with fading camoflage paint. Round here even the old married quarters were painted all over with camoflage paint during WW2, and it still shows where it hasn't been painted over.

Good point about camouflage……there was a small power station on the Liverpool-Southport electric line which was still camouflaged in the sixties……I imagine its long gone now though.

Apparently dairies which were in white pre war were often camouflaged…….I did think of doing mine but finally decided it wouldnt look right in that location


Thank you for the elephant Max…..much appreciated

Regards to all

John

As promised this post is a switch from dark satanic mills to Express Passenger trains.

I have spent a lot of time developing my "out and back" suburban routines but I also run a number of "roundy roundy" schedules……just to watch the trains go by.

i can only devote two storage roads to Passenger Expresses. On the Down line two five coach rakes do a tail chasing routine. My dilemma…… should I do the same on the Up line or instead run one long train of eight/nine coaches.  .  

















The Star and both Castles handle nine coaches with ease and it is rather impressive as the train thunders through the station on its first circuit and then belts over the viaduct…….on the other hand its sheer length is perhaps too much given the overall size of the layout…….as you can see it is certainly difficult to photo effectively  




I need to come to some sort of definitive solution because I will be adding coach roof boards……..if I run two trains one will go to Paddington and the other to the West Country. If its a long train as shown it will definitely be to the West Country hence the two Southern Coaches (I understand it was not uncommon to see these in Birkenhead Woodside)

Right now I am thinking of Birkenhead-Granby-Bristol-Plymouth with two through coaches to Penzance and of course two through coaches to John Flann's Port Bredy……..the Southern Coaches were originally diagrammed for Penhayle Bay……..but Rick's (Gwiwer) is mothballing that layout when he moves to the UK.

Any suggestions/comments particularly about a Southern destination would be most welcome. I know its all fiction but I would like it to be credible fiction!

Excellent photos, John.   :thumbs

Fine quality.

Good stuff John as usual!

Phil

I can`t comment on southern John but my layout is 20ft lomg and I find a 6/7  coach train looks just right ,hope this helps
:thumbs ;-) :cool:
Owen

Thank you John for sharing these photographs with us, not only are they great photos, they go to show the high quality and depth of work you have put into the layout.

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

As promised this post is a switch from dark satanic mills to Express Passenger trains.

I have spent a lot of time developing my "out and back" suburban routines but I also run a number of "roundy roundy" schedules……just to watch the trains go by.

i can only devote two storage roads to Passenger Expresses. On the Down line two five coach rakes do a tail chasing routine. My dilemma…… should I do the same on the Up line or instead run one long train of eight/nine coaches.  .  
















The Star and both Castles handle nine coaches with ease and it is rather impressive as the train thunders through the station on its first circuit and then belts over the viaduct…….on the other hand its sheer length is perhaps too much given the overall size of the layout…….as you can see it is certainly difficult to photo effectively  




I need to come to some sort of definitive solution because I will be adding coach roof boards……..if I run two trains one will go to Paddington and the other to the West Country. If its a long train as shown it will definitely be to the West Country hence the two Southern Coaches (I understand it was not uncommon to see these in Birkenhead Woodside)

Right now I am thinking of Birkenhead-Granby-Bristol-Plymouth with two through coaches to Penzance and of course two through coaches to John Flann's Port Bredy……..the Southern Coaches were originally diagrammed for Penhayle Bay……..but Rick's (Gwiwer) is mothballing that layout when he moves to the UK.

Any suggestions/comments particularly about a Southern destination would be most welcome. I know its all fiction but I would like it to be credible fiction!

How about Dover? Maybe a boat train. I always remember seeing the Golden Arrow, if I recall correctly, pulling out of Waterloo.
Bob