GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

 

 Edited links now sorted

I do love the weathering on those LMS coach roofs, John. How did you do it?

Regards Connor

Thanks Connor

I used multiple washes of Vallejo Dark Brown grime……with various levels of dilution

I wasnt sure about them at first but they have kind of grown on me……out of the box they were far too pristine!

Cheers

John

Thanks John.

Regards Connor

What crooked signal?

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

What crooked signal?

Its not so much the crooked pole….albeit brilliantly straightened though…..but the arm:oops:

Both it and the Down inner home are “off”  as the Up train crosses the down line:oops::oops::oops:   

Nevertheless thanks for trying to sort out my blunders Phil:thumbs

Best wishes

John

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

Its not so much the crooked pole….albeit brilliantly straightened though…..but the arm:oops:

Both it and the Down inner home are “off”  as the Up train crosses the down line:oops::oops::oops:   

…………………………………………………………………………………..

Only a signalman (or driver) would notice that John and, as I doubt there are amny of either on here, I wouldn't worry unduly.

It's the overall picture that interests most members, and that can't be faulted !!

No post last week I am afraid…….gardening, including shifting 3 yards of top soil became a priority. I doubt if spent more than an hour in the train room.

Since then we have had a couple of rainy days…..who would have thought we would welcome rain in the Pacific North West?

Time to catch up with the 4 coach LMS suburban set that we last saw arriving at Crewe (Storage siding D5) hauled by Ivatt 2-6-2T number 1206

Now on the return journey, another Ivatt, 1202, storms up Granby Bank:





 Once the train has cleared D5 the original loco 1206 is moved to the storage turntable




Here we see 1206 scurrying back to completely clear D5 so it can then accept another Up suburban train from Granby


Meantime, 1202 continues on its journey to Granby with the Down train







 Just like a stopped clock a fixed signal can occasionally be correct :lol:





As the train approaches Platform 6 the relief loco can be seen on the turntable



At one stage I had thought of doing a loco run around rather than an exchange at Granby but that would have meant Platform 5, the main Down line, being blocked. So I reverted to my usual pattern of three locos being allocated to a set train. One loco at each terminus and one on the train. When the train isnt being run, the carriages are stored in the vacant carriage siding seen above and two locos are in Granby Shed


Time to introduce the third member of the cast:



Yet another Ivatt…….although classified as a freight loco 2F it was used for mixed traffic duties and often seen with passenger trains in North Wales.

She is a brand new loco for Granby …….more on this next post.


For now……lets enjoy the sunshine!

Natural light and shadows……..not often seen on Granby. The  train room gets very little sun but in summer time there is a brief  period in the late afternoon when one side of the layout is flooded with  light. So much so that from some angles it is impossible to take  photographs. However, occasionally sun angle and subject position  coincide with quite pleasing results:



I hope you enjoy this picture as much as I do

Best wishes from Vancouver where there is still soil to shift and its started to rain…..not sure if I am pleased or sad!

John

Super photos John…. they all really capture the atmosphere.  Being a loft dweller, I get no natural light and you are right about your last photo, it really brings out the detail of the whole scene and looks beautifully natural.  I am constantly having to fight shadows…. without much success if I'm honest.  One day i will do more than just point my iphone and hope for the best.  I particularly like the fifth photo, it really shows and the different heights and levels and the way buildings develop in the landscape over time.  One of the things I love about Granby is that it looks as though everything - the track and the buildings belong in the landscape and that there is a sense of time passing and the places developing and the busy-ness of it all.
Just a little bit awestruck

Regards

Michael

Lovely shots John, lovely modelling, much too much to take in with just one look!

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

Lovely shots John, lovely modelling, much too much to take in with just one look!

Wotesaid  :thumbs



Ed

A third agreement John - I too keep coming back for more.

You are indeed right about the lighting in that last shot - it's wonderful but then so is the subject matter.

Itching to hear about the new Class 2 Ivatt - and very impressed by the look of the model, even down to that difficult question of the footplate canopy - it looks excellent.

[user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

Super photos John…. they all really capture the atmosphere.  Being a loft dweller, I get no natural light and you are right about your last photo, it really brings out the detail of the whole scene and looks beautifully natural.  I am constantly having to fight shadows…. without much success if I'm honest.  One day i will do more than just point my iphone and hope for the best.  I particularly like the fifth photo, it really shows and the different heights and levels and the way buildings develop in the landscape over time.  One of the things I love about Granby is that it looks as though everything - the track and the buildings belong in the landscape and that there is a sense of time passing and the places developing and the busy-ness of it all.
Just a little bit awestruck

Regards

Michael

Hi Michael

Thats a lovely post…….thank you so much.

Interesting comment about the Iphone…….I keep meaning to use mine more…..I have a sort of gorilla type phone holder which enables me to shoot from new angles, particularly the track. One of my regrets about Granby is that I didnt design enough photographic angles resulting in lots of helicopter shots and over exposure of the viaduct!

I rather liked shot 5 as well! I guess its taken about 12 years to get like that . The height, of course, comes from the window sill. For many years shots from that angle where dominated by a real life rusty wheelbarrow in the vegetable garden behind, while I struggled to work out how to develop the space. Still not finished though ….there is a blank wall column and second lower sill currently occupied by fading examples of early card modelling…..usually carefully cropped out!

One of the reasons I enjoy following the continuing development of your Faversham layout is the multitude of contrasts with mine….location, atmosphere, era, operating company (including some rather curious locos)…….and yet we also seem to have similar styles……..a penchant for building significant structures, attention to detail and the creation of cameos that tell a tale.

Best wishes

John

Phil, Ed and Peter


Thank you for the comments guys…….so glad you liked the shots. I guess I am guilty of ignoring "Less is more" far too often. If I hadnt chosen an industrial locale I dont think I could have got away so much detail without the layout looking too crowded……there is no doubt I do enjoy trying to make realistic scenes and your continued support sure helps  maintain my enthusiasm.

Glad you liked the loco Peter……it was a rather abrupt and clumsy sequence but I hadnt expected the last shot to turn out like that and felt it was worth dwelling on for a moment……the Class 2 will have another turn in the spotlight shortly

Cheers

John

What can I say that hasn't already been said.

[user=1120]peterm[/user] wrote:

What can I say that hasn't already been said.

:thumbs Thanks Peter

Best wishes

John

No pretty scenery this week or mention of RR&Co……..just a bit of philosophy and a sequence of workhorse photos as I continue to focus on my latest acquisition.


 Regular readers will know that I use an old Army mantra to evaluate possible purchases:

                                        Must have        Should have         Could have 

I always qualify this with the caveat that I am talking about discretionary spending on a hobby. "Must have" has a somewhat different connotation in the real world….particularly in 2020.

It does remain a useful way of evaluating priorities…….looking at new GWR releases this year…..

With a rake of 4 almost unused GWR suburban coaches, Granby must have one or more of Hornby's retooled large prairies…..now expected in June.

I should, and almost certainly will, buy a Mogul from Dapol……..my Mainline split chassis expired years ago

I could……..perhaps…. buy one of Bachmann's 94xx  panniers…..4 or is it 5 years in the making…. now due December. However only 9 were built in 1947and only one ventured north …..to Wolverhampton……….stretching towards Rule 1 territory

Rule 1 is always a convenient get out but, to my mind, if applied without question can negate all the effort that has gone into the layout to ensure some sort of historic accuracy.

 Here is a good example :

 



Rails/Dapol Terrier!  Absolutely stunning model with great reviews. I spent a considerable time trying to devise a justification for running one on Granby.

Problem is the GWR only had two (taken over from the Weston Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway in Somerset) and #6 was scrapped January 1948………..with the sunbathing scene Granby is definitely placed in the early summer of 1948!  Reluctantly I decided this was a case of "Should not"

However Bachmann's Ivatt Class 2 , seen here straight out of the box, easily qualified as a " Could have"



 
Not only was there an operating requirement with the 4 car LMS suburban set, the locos were introduced in 1946 and operated in North Wales.

 However the price was the clincher……79 GBP and that is before deducting VAT. Thats the sort of pricing I remember from over a decade ago. Recommended retail is shown as about 150 GBP although I think regular retail was close to 120 GBP.

Not sure what went wrong with Bachman's sales estimates but throughout this year there have been a series of heavily discounted prices on a very wide range of their locos. Smaller retailers and customers who paid full price on initial release would not have been too impressed.
 
I am beginning to think I should add a rider to "could have" purchases…….never buy on initial release!

I must say I am very happy with my new purchase. Good finish with some very fine detailing and smooth running and perhaps most important decent haulage. She coped with the climbing curve out of the storage sidings without difficulty…..which is not the case with some locos out of the box.

LMS drivers nicknamed the class "Mickey Mouse"………Mighty Mouse might be equally appropriate

Looking a bit too pristine in the storage yard




This shot was intended to show just how diminutive she actually is. On reflection comparing her with a Super D and a Castle is hardly fair!


Lightly weathered with just a little real coal, crew, Class B headlamp code,tender pickups and a Lenz Silver Chip




.Now by way of contrast a few related locos:

Ex Midland Johnson 3F 0-6-0………one of the many ageing locos the Ivatt was designed to replace


 


 6418s big sister Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0  4F       


 


Commonly known, with some justification, as "Mucky Ducks".

Some might say it is a triumph of function over design…….Wikipedia suggests that some enthusiasts think it the ugliest British Loco ever.

I have had this loco for many years and never used it very much…..it probably qualifies as a "shoudn't have". I finally got the pick ups sorted and she can now be seen regularly on the Down goods circuit.

This is a better comparison shot






To finish a too lengthy post, here is a repeat shot of 6418 moving off shed to take over the Granby-Crewe run.





 Best wishes from Vancouver


John
 

What a super post, and great to see some more of the rolling stock.  I must say I am very impressed with your philosophy about time and place…..
"#6 was scrapped January 1948………..with the sunbathing scene Granby is definitely placed in the early summer of 1948!  Reluctantly I decided this was a case of "Should not"."  Just a few months out….  I am sure I would have stretched it, in your place.


There are some cases of Rule 1 being the philosophy of the modeller, and personally I have no problem  with that, it is after all, a hobby.  I am sure you would agree.  But I also admire the quest for accuracy, in terms of dates, setting, history etc.  I fear I will dither between the two.  


Also delighted to read:


"Commonly known, with some justification, as "Mucky Ducks".Some might say it is a triumph of function over design…….Wikipedia suggests that some enthusiasts think it the ugliest British Loco ever."  So not my beautiful Q1 after all then?  I knew it!


For me, it is great to read a bit of railway history related to you layout.


Regards


From a very warm and sunny Kent


Michael

Rule 1 is well and truly used on my layout but like Michael, I see a believable layout that's a treat to look at. About the only thing I draw the line at is no later than early diesels.

A great post there John

Rule 1 is always heavily applied whenever i buy anything if i like it i buy it . My layout is for my enjoyment and im not claiming it to be a museum quality model although i suppose my layout look is around the 60s i have no problem running a Lord of the isles alongside a HST. I can of course set things up to be exactly right for place and time but i suppose my advantage there is i am not that knowledgeable about railway history so what i don't know doesn't matter.

Brian

Same here. Although I was a youngster while steam was still around (born 1947) I lived in south London which was mainly electric. I used to hear steam locos shunting the yard at Gauden Rd Clapham, but never saw them as this was at night. So like Brian, what I don't know won't affect me.

[user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

What a super post, and great to see some more of the rolling stock.  I must say I am very impressed with your philosophy about time and place…..
"#6 was scrapped January 1948………..with the sunbathing scene Granby is definitely placed in the early summer of 1948!  Reluctantly I decided this was a case of "Should not"."  Just a few months out….  I am sure I would have stretched it, in your place.

Now you have me wavering Michael……it is beginning to edge towards could have….oh dear decisions decisions!

There are some cases of Rule 1 being the philosophy of the modeller, and personally I have no problem  with that, it is after all, a hobby.  I am sure you would agree.  But I also admire the quest for accuracy, in terms of dates, setting, history etc.  I fear I will dither between the two.  


Also delighted to read:


"Commonly known, with some justification, as "Mucky Ducks".Some might say it is a triumph of function over design…….Wikipedia suggests that some enthusiasts think it the ugliest British Loco ever."  So not my beautiful Q1 after all then?  I knew it!

You may think that….I couldnt possibly comment.


For me, it is great to read a bit of railway history related to you layout.

Regards


From a very warm and sunny Kent


Michael

So glad you liked the post and my philosophical meanderings

Cheers

John