GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

The thing I like most, is the smoothness of your track laying, John.   :cool:

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

The thing I like most, is the smoothness of your track laying, John.   :cool:

:It's a no no You have to be joking…….I winced throughout the sequence where the iron ore train reverses over the points.

But flattery is always very acceptable:thumbs

Cheers

John

Yep.  It's a bit bumpy in the second video in one place, but the first one is very smooth.

Those of you patient enough to watch the Freight video will be familiar with this view of the exposed storage sidings 





The only difference is that the front siding is now occupied with its regular tenants. Two  "out and back" suburban trains. The first train, a GWR B Set starts from here "Chester" and now does a complete circle of the layout, stopping at Granby before terminating in the very rear storage siding "Ruabon" where the loco uncouples and another prairie couples at the rear ready for the return journey.

Behind the B Set is a 3 car LMS set at "Birkenhead" with Jinty 7524




Once the B Set is clear the LMS set can leave Birkenhead for Granby………at the same time an identical train leaves Granby for Birkenhead. :shock:


 


The two trains meet  pass one another on Granby Bank




The RR&Co schedules needed a lot of fine tuning to strike a balance between having the Up train standing too long at the signal or running the risk of the entry points at either destination being thrown prematurely :roll: 

As the down train from Granby, Lanky Tank 10695, enters the storage siding it passes a Webb Coal Tank 7841 ready for the return journey

 

Meanwhile at Granby




As the Up train enters Bay Plattform 2 it passes the loco sidings where another Lanky tank 10698 is waiting, ready to release the incoming Loco once the passengers have departed.

Both loco exchanges involve automatic uncoupling and coupling…….they take place at roughly the same time on either side of the layout :roll: This requires a combination of supreme confidence in the RR&Co profiling of the 4 locos involved, coupled (sorry!) with sharp eyes and swift reaction in the event the said confidence is misplaced!

The sequence is by no means perfect but with a bit more snagging I think it will soon be ready to video. First though I have to bite the bullet and weather those totally implausible silver carriage rooves along with the shiny black LMS locos. That's not how I remember those tank engines at Liverpool Exchange and Southport Chapel Street so many years ago! 


 




Regards from Vancouver

John

 

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

Both loco exchanges involve automatic uncoupling and coupling…….they take place at roughly the same time on either side of the layout :roll: This requires a combination of supreme confidence in the RR&Co profiling of the 4 locos involved, coupled (sorry!) with sharp eyes and swift reaction in the event the said confidence is misplaced!

This quote from my last post was a slight over simplification. :roll:


When the loco uncouples at Granby its relatively easy for the sharp eyes and swift reaction to come into play





I knew there was a good reason for not glazing the station roof





Just enough space for my ham fist to do some swift fingerpoken.



The uncoupling in the storage yard on the other side of the room is slightly different 





Guess where the uncoupling magnet is! :roll:. It would seem the Design and Building manager didn't get the email from the Operating manager about the need for  "sharp eyes and swift reaction" when he built this rather substantial warehouse last year! :oops:


I had hoped to do something clever with a mirror or even a camera but the reality is that if the loco overshoots the magnet (perhaps 1 in 20) one quick bit of fingerpoken and all is well………..but not with that solid lump of Victoriana complete with girder bridge on top!


The workaround is to rewrite the schedules so the loco uncouples in the block before……easily accessible from an alley way between the terraced houses……the released loco moves to the end of the siding under the warehouse……followed at a safe distance by coaches now pushed into storage by the relieving loco all ready for the return trip to Granby .


To finish here is a shot, which I rather like, of one of the ex L&Y tanks at the loco sidings water tower









Last time you will see 10698 in out of the box condition. I have now almost finished weathering the locos and coaches involved in this routine


Regards from Vancouver 

Very nice John  ;-) Better again with more lighting as shots can look grainy with low lighting and that in no way reflects on your modelling skills ;-)

Phil

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

Very nice John  ;-) Better again with more lighting as shots can look grainy with low lighting and that in no way reflects on your modelling skills ;-)

Phil

Oops…..sorry for the late reply……this slipped through the net.

Thanks Phil……..you are, of course absolutely correct. I still don't have a proper photo lighting rig. Sometimes I re arrange the room track lights but more often than not I just shoot……..and I am afraid sometimes it shows. :sad:

I will underline "lighting" on my birthday wish list! :lol:

Best wishes

John

  

Unlike the UK we have been enjoying some rather pleasant spring weather. The downside, of course, is that the garden beckons…..not so much an invitation more like a command!   

So modelling has taken a bit of a back seat, however I have managed to finish the weathering of the locos involved in the LMS suburban routine. 

Four locos are required. One for each of the two trains and a relief loco at both Granby and Birkenhead (Storage).
All have to be not only ultra reliable but also have similar performance characteristics.

The first three were easy to select.

Two ex Lancashire & Yorkshire 2-4-2 Tanks….".the Lanky tank"



and an ex LNWR Webb Coal Tank



Choosing the fourth loco has proved something of a challenge

I cant make up my mind between an 0-6-0 Jinty……..the LMS equivalent of the GWR pannier





or this Ivatt 2-6-2T




Both are long serving veterans of Granby II……..in fact 1202 may have even briefly graced Granby I  which makes her over 20 years old.

Both were amongst the first locos to receive TCS decoders (hard wired of course) when I first started with DCC. After some experimenting I found it was better to pay a little more and now only use Lenz. The TCS give an ok performance but they all have a very noticeable spike in their speed curve and there is perceptible surging at the lower speed steps. On a roundy roundy its not an issue ……..they run their schedule and one hardly notices these imperfections ……its a different manner when performing very precise manoeuvres alongside more modern locos with Lenz chips. So a Lenz Silver Mini is on its way from Cornwall and I just have to decide which loco it will go in.    
Finally here is a before and after with the Lanky Tanks and a carriage





I confess to having some misgivings when I started to apply multiple washes to the carriage roof and the military part of me regrets the loss of the highly polished loco. However I do believe that one of the hallmarks of a believable layout is consistency………and that is what I am slowly trying to achieve in grimy Granby

Regards from a sunny Vancouver    

Looks like the windup version with the hole in the side of the tank between M  & S  

All nice loco's John!
I must admit that with Pen Y Bryn, buildings and scenery have always had priority and there has been very little train movement in all these years, a question for you now that you're DCC, do you find that it's far less forgiving than DC, I mean where rails and wheels need to be that extra clean?

Phil

[user=606]Sol[/user] wrote:

Looks like the windup version with the hole in the side of the tank between M  & S  

    I always think the same thing Ron.

I keep meaning to find out what its for………its only on the LH side. From the shape I don't think its a drain cock?

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

All nice loco's John!
I must admit that with Pen Y Bryn, buildings and scenery have always had priority and there has been very little train movement in all these years, a question for you now that you're DCC, do you find that it's far less forgiving than DC, I mean where rails and wheels need to be that extra clean?

Phil

Thanks Phil

l think you are a bit hard on yourself regarding train movement on Pen Y Bryn. The shots of the engine shed and the Mogul are amongst my favourites :thumbs

Not sure whether DCC is more forgiving…………I rarely have locos stop unexpectedly now…..my running issues centre on the precision with which they stop!

There is no question that the more frequently you run trains on DCC the track becomes cleaner

Its 10 years since I converted …….during that time I think the running qualities of RTR Locos have improved (tender pick ups for instance) and I have learned a lot about loco maintenance…….I am an absolute expert in stripping and assembling a pannier :lol:

I spend a lot of time making sure the wheels are clean and that the pick ups never lose contact. I have also steadily weeded out insul frog points. Lots of little things and I guess they all help!

Best wishes

John






 

It's probably me John, but if there's a few mls of hesidancy with DC, then it's hardly noticeable, but the same with DCC sound means the sound it cut dead and that is very noticeable!
Phil

Ah…..sound thats something I havent tried.
I have read about some of the issues….one solution that some people use is to fit a stay alive capacitor…..something I have used on a couple of suspect runners

John, if your decoder so can knock out sound then it's well worth sticking a speaker in ;-)
Phil

Here is the video about Suburban passenger trains that I have been writing about for the past few weeks

Its a little longer than I intended but I found it very difficult to capture the sequence in a coherent manner……..there are a minimum of three locos in motion throughout and the activity takes place on both sides of the room at the same time.

I also included a little clip at the end (which you can skip) in an attempt to show how RR&Co handles absolute block working.


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I had just finished the video when I received the sad news of my friend John Flann's death. John always used to poke gentle fun at my enthusiasm for DCC and computers so its only fitting that every time I see this video I will be reminded of our friendship.

Lovely video John.

Sorry to hear of your friends passing.

Thanks Phil…..that is much appreciated
John

Hope you enjoyed the video!

During a lengthy running session the layout suffers quite a lot of "collateral" damage ….particularly at the fringes.

With Easter and some ok weather, modelling last week was mostly repairs and maintenance. Particularly signals,  chimney pots and horizontal people.


This device was much used:






I wish I could devise a hinge for my signal posts…..I have lost count of the number of times they have been repaired 

The Metcalfe buildings which screen the storage yards were all removed for the shoot. 




The three separate modules of terraced houses were used in Granby II …..must be 15 years old and are now showing their age……..so a bit of judicious weathering helped to conceal the many scars.

Lots of chimney pots and in some cases stacks replaced…….they are really vulnerable when leaning over. 

By fiddling around with the spacing I created this yard immediately in front of the uncoupling magnets on the LMS siding………the uncoupling is pretty reliable but its prudent to check!




Another gap to check the Loco spur………and a chimney pot that got missed.





All back to normal so 2409 Dean Goods can shunt the yard 










I even found time to put a tarp on that leaky van





Regards from Vancouver where it is now very wet and likely to continue so…….lots of time for modelling!


John

More going on with this layout than you can shake a stick at....well done John;-)