GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

  S’mae John

  Very impressive video.

  Managed to get the milk train to make an appearance on Woodside, timings may need some adjustment, remains to be seen if I can get it heading back at the right time to fit in with the arrival time at Granby. Here it is leaving the fiddle yard behind Ragley Hall en route for Hooton and the dairy somewhere around Rock Ferry/Port Sunlight.


  
  â€¦ and now there’s a Granby – Birkenhead passenger service been mentioned….

  As you say Birkenhead did have an allocation of Colletts, they survived there after Nationalisation until 1957. I think they were sometimes used for freight on the Hooton – West Kirby branch. Once I’ve finished with 1961 timetable, the plan is to run 1955/6 timetable when the West Kirby branch was still open for passengers – so I can get my 0-4-2T on the layout. Now if I had a 2-6-2T I could possibly include a service to Granby  â€¦that’s Christmas sorted!

Keith
  

[user=1798]Woodside[/user] wrote:

 S’mae John

Very impressive video.

Managed to get the milk train to make an appearance on Woodside, timings may need some adjustment, remains to be seen if I can get it heading back at the right time to fit in with the arrival time at Granby. Here it is leaving the fiddle yard behind Ragley Hall en route for Hooton and the dairy somewhere around Rock Ferry/Port Sunlight.



… and now there’s a Granby – Birkenhead passenger service been mentioned….

As you say Birkenhead did have an allocation of Colletts, they survived there after Nationalisation until 1957. I think they were sometimes used for freight on the Hooton – West Kirby branch. Once I’ve finished with 1961 timetable, the plan is to run 1955/6 timetable when the West Kirby branch was still open for passengers – so I can get my 0-4-2T on the layout. Now if I had a 2-6-2T I could possibly include a service to Granby  â€¦that’s Christmas sorted!

Keith

Hi Keith

I like your Milk Train. I have to say its a lot cleaner than when it left Granby……and a somewhat different composition. :lol:  But it is headed by a black Hall albeit different name and livery!

No rush to get the Empties back…….my train is in lock down in the Birkenhead Rock Ferry while I sort out yet another electrical crisis. Could take ages ….it makes Petermac's "troublesome point" look easy peasy.

Your comments about the large prairies in Birkenhead were interesting……I wonder if they were used when the commutor passenger service aroundo Chester was converted to DMUs or ???  I know Chester was allocated a number of Collets 4 car non corridor sets that were better known for their use with Prairies in the suburbs of London and Birmingham.
 
 :off topic  Talking of Birkenhead to Chester reminds me of one of the more bizarre journeys HMG sent me on. In 1955 it took me all day to do the 50 mile return trip from Formby to Saighton Camp near Chester

Formby - Liverpool Exchange                               Liverpool-Southport Electric

Liverpool James St -  Birkenhead Hamilton Sq    Mersey Underground Rly

Birkenhead Woodside - Chester General             Birkenhead-Chester  ex GWR/LMS Joint

Chester - Saighton Camp                                     Crosville? Bus

 The trip was to have my eyes tested for those horrid steel rimmed glasses that  fitted under gas respirators. I had to wear them as a recruit and then  immediately binned them.

Apologies for the digression……..amazing how minor memories linger…….if only I could remember where I put the back to back gauge last night  :oops: :roll: :lol:

oh dear, John - I hope the electrical problem does not prove to be too challenging.  I dread anything going wrong in that area - not my strong point at all, so i hope you have happy news soon!
Michael

I do hope your electrical problem doesn't cause you too many headaches John - if you get stuck, just give me a shout - as you know, I'm a dab-hand at these things ………………..
I'm also slightly intrigued as to why you had such a tortuous journey just to get your eyes tested - were you prohibited from using certain routes or were HM Forces just using up surplus budget ?  Gas masks ?  I didn't realise the still issued them when you were fighting for King/Queen and Country - although maybe yours were for Cold War nerve gas etc.   I of course, am far too young to remember ( :roll:) but I'm told I had a Mickey Mouse version although, as I'd have been inside the darned thing, I don't think I'd have cared what the outside looked like ……………………..  

S’mae John

Get this in while our fibre is functioning again, went off again yesterday, came back an hour ago all by itself – engineer due Tuesday.

The Hall is actually a green one, so no problems there …as for the wagons, they are straight out of the box (quite heavy too – the Hall will slip when restarting from the signal). I have thought about attempting some weathering, but for now that is just another job to add to what is already an infinite list. Fear not ‘rush’ is not a word which appears in my vocabulary – and I’m sure you’ll solve your electrical difficulties long before I even make it through the next hour of the ’61 timetable,  let alone start the 55-56 version. Can’t be certain what services the Chester Collets were used on, but you’re right Chester (West) did also have an allocation, which probably ran on services from Chester Northgate.

I can visualise every step of your journey from Formby, it is amazing how just a few station names activate the old memory cells…..if it had been me though I’d have got on a Rock Ferry train at James St and stayed on it, then picked up the Chester train at Rock Ferry – saved the walk from Hamilton Square to Woodside. Local knowledge!

Good to see it’s not just me that has a problem finding tools…..

Keith

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

oh dear, John - I hope the electrical problem does not prove to be too challenging.  I dread anything going wrong in that area - not my strong point at all, so i hope you have happy news soon!
Michael

Thanks for the good wishes Michael. I am afraid its like one of those very minor house renos…..which finish up with the entire roof needing re-tiling :shock: Modelling particularly the electric part has taught me to be very patient…….Carpe Diem is all very well but not when tracing a short! Hopefully I can post something more informative later in the week

Best wishes

John

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

I do hope your electrical problem doesn't cause you too many headaches John - if you get stuck, just give me a shout - as you know, I'm a dab-hand at these things ………………..
I'm also slightly intrigued as to why you had such a tortuous journey just to get your eyes tested - were you prohibited from using certain routes or were HM Forces just using up surplus budget ?  Gas masks ?  I didn't realise the still issued them when you were fighting for King/Queen and Country - although maybe yours were for Cold War nerve gas etc.   I of course, am far too young to remember ( :roll:) but I'm told I had a Mickey Mouse version although, as I'd have been inside the darned thing, I don't think I'd have cared what the outside looked like ……………………..  

Thanks Peter……if you lived a bit nearer I would take you up on that offer…….the trail is leading inexorably to a couple of turnout which will involve a caving expedition to examine the wiring…….and you are so much younger than I :lol:

Back to my bizarre journey……it was, in fact, the most direct route to Saighton Camp which was the nearest Military Hospital unless of course you had a car. As it happened I was brought up in Formy and the family Optician (with my optical prescription) was about 15 minures walk fron the Barracks  but the Army tended to discourage recruits making suggestions like that!

I guess they were still planning for the last war…..it was mustard gas……..all the transport had discs which were supposed to turn colour if gas was detected. The camps I was stationed at in the UK all seemed to have a small building in a remote corner that served as a gas chamber. We were supposed to pass through once a year wearing respirators. I dont think we actually had gas masks on permanent issue…..it certainly wasnt part pf our regular Battle order……….all a long time ago now

Best wishes

John

 

[user=1798]Woodside[/user] wrote:

S’mae John

Get this in while our fibre is functioning again, went off again yesterday, came back an hour ago all by itself – engineer due Tuesday.

The Hall is actually a green one, so no problems there …as for the wagons, they are straight out of the box (quite heavy too – the Hall will slip when restarting from the signal). I have thought about attempting some weathering, but for now that is just another job to add to what is already an infinite list. Fear not ‘rush’ is not a word which appears in my vocabulary – and I’m sure you’ll solve your electrical difficulties long before I even make it through the next hour of the ’61 timetable,  let alone start the 55-56 version. Can’t be certain what services the Chester Collets were used on, but you’re right Chester (West) did also have an allocation, which probably ran on services from Chester Northgate.

I can visualise every step of your journey from Formby, it is amazing how just a few station names activate the old memory cells…..if it had been me though I’d have got on a Rock Ferry train at James St and stayed on it, then picked up the Chester train at Rock Ferry – saved the walk from Hamilton Square to Woodside. Local knowledge!

Good to see it’s not just me that has a problem finding tools…..

Keith

Hi Keith

Thanks for your post

Glad you liked the journey……I thought it might bring back memories. You may well be right about Rock Ferry……the Orderly Room just gave you a Travel Warrant and an itinerary…….and you did as you were told. I often wondered how they handled the accounting for a trip like that ……..I can recall sometimes exchanging a warrant at a booking officw but most times the warrant covered the entire journey.

Hope you get the fibre sorted soon, it must be a right pain without it. Like most people in Vancouver our power and telephone/fibre are carried on poles. Lots of trees of course and inevitably some get blown down in the winter bringing the lines with them…..the Hydro crews are pretty good and outages rarely last more than a couple of hours (fingers crossed)

Best wishes

John

It is a known fact John that electrical problems only ever occur in the most inaccessible places - I think there's a law to that effect.  The whole idea of electrics and electronics on model railways makes me wonder why in heaven's name, we consigned clockwork to history ………………

Just remember - red to red, black to black and blue to bits …………………… :roll:

Speaking of mustard gas, I recall there was a not insignificant fenced off area up near the summit of Bowes Moor near Barnard Castle with danger signs all around.  Sheep grazed there during the winter months but were denied during the summer.   There were the remains of concrete roads and low foundations of a couple of brick built buildings.  This intrigued me and subsequent research revealed that, after WW1, the site was used to store mustard gas in oil drums. Being either unable or unwilling to dispose of the stuff, it remained there for years until eventually, some of the drums began leaking.  The ground was thus poisoned.  Summer warmth drew the absorbed gas closer to the surface whilst in winter, it sank deeper into the peaty soil.  It was suggested that the surface could never, ever be broken for fear of releasing the gas.  I have no idea what became of the site but it remained sealed and dangerous certainly until 2000 - some 82 years after the 1918 armistice. A mustard gas attack in WW1 was thought to be  responsible for triggering the emphysema that eventually killed my Grandfather.  Very nasty stuff !!

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Speaking of mustard gas, I recall there was a not insignificant fenced off area up near the summit of Bowes Moor near Barnard Castle with danger signs all around.  Sheep grazed there during the winter months but were denied during the summer.   There were the remains of concrete roads and low foundations of a couple of brick built buildings.  This intrigued me and subsequent research revealed that, after WW1, the site was used to store mustard gas in oil drums. Being either unable or unwilling to dispose of the stuff, it remained there for years until eventually, some of the drums began leaking.  The ground was thus poisoned.  Summer warmth drew the absorbed gas closer to the surface whilst in winter, it sank deeper into the peaty soil.  It was suggested that the surface could never, ever be broken for fear of releasing the gas.  I have no idea what became of the site but it remained sealed and dangerous certainly until 2000 - some 82 years after the 1918 armistice. A mustard gas attack in WW1 was thought to be  responsible for triggering the emphysema that eventually killed my Grandfather.  Very nasty stuff !!

Indeed it was……..My Uncle never fully recovered from a gas attack right at the end of WWI 

 Despite my electrical issue I managed to make some progress with getting the prairies ready for service.

The front NEM coupler pocket is the correct height but set well back, fortunately a Kadee #20 is just long enough. The rear pocket is too low, Hornby provide an offset tension lock, so to use a Kadee at the right height I had to butcher the tension lock and use that as a support for a Kadee #17 mounted on top of that and the housing. The housing itself was loose in the pocket and kept falling out so it had to secured with a dab of superglue…..grr!

Having added the etched plates the next job was to renumber the buffer beams


Sadly Fox's number transfers are larger and brighter than Hornby so I had to replace both sets of numbers. They look almost too bright but weathering will tone them down. I managed to run out of numeral one……..fortunately I found the remnants of an old Modelmaster card. They are actually fractionally smaller and a tad more subdued than Fox but it is barely noticeable. Fox have changed the composition of their transfers and applying them was much easier than with Modelmaster. Less soaking time, slid smoothly from the backing and easy to adjust………happy camper!

Despite the little niggles I think the close up shows why I am so impressed with the fine detailing on the prairies

Finishing on a high note I managed to resolve the short circuits that had closed down the storage yards…….which makes me a much more relaxed modeller……I will post about it towards the end of the week

Regards from a hot and smoky Vancouver……….there are a number of forest fires in Washington State and the smoke is drifting North……not very pleasant.  

Pleased you sorted the electrical problem out John. 

It could be a Great Western wheeze to make their investors think they had more locos than in fact, they did but on my ex LNER and ex LMS locos, we use the same number back and front ……  


The detail does indeed look stunning but I wonder why they got the NEM pocket placing so wrong.  It's just about the only thing that can be standardised on model railways and they choose to ignore it.

I wonder if an under slung 146 or 148 could be used.

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Pleased you sorted the electrical problem out John. 

It could be a Great Western wheeze to make their investors think they had more locos than in fact, they did but on my ex LNER and ex LMS locos, we use the same number back and front ……  


The detail does indeed look stunning but I wonder why they got the NEM pocket placing so wrong.  It's just about the only thing that can be standardised on model railways and they choose to ignore it.

we use the same number back and front ……  

I think the pocket is low to accommodate the way they have mounted the trailing pony. In fairness it has improved the running significantly compared with the old prairie………interestingly it is a about 7% faster running bunker first………I have to profile the locos for RR&Co, alternate speed steps are measured using contact indicators over a 6' run………..Speed Step 28 showed 45mph forwards and 49 mph backwards

I should add that 45 mph was the intended max speed with CV 5 at 90…with CV 5 at the default she scaled 93 mph which is bit too quick for Granby

Cheers

John

  

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

I wonder if an under slung 146 or 148 could be used.

Not sure Pete…..I just run the 4 sizes of NEM fishtail

Cheers

John

John, I hope I'm not trying to teach you how to suck eggs, but CV 66 trims fwd speed and 95 trims reverse so that you can get the same top speed in both directions.

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

John, I hope I'm not trying to teach you how to suck eggs, but CV 66 trims fwd speed and 95 trims reverse so that you can get the same top speed in both directions.

Absolutely not Pete…….I didnt know that…….have stored the numbers carefully away to try out.

Do they adjust all the speed steps or just 28?

Cheers

John

I think they must do all steps, but I've only used them on 128.

That is very smart numbering, John, and I can't tell the "ones" apart.  I haven't attempted transfers since my childhood days of making model planes - and invariably they got wrinkled or folded!
Very helpful information on the CVs too, from Pete.

Michael

Not all decoders, i.e. budget ones (especially rebranded), have cv 66 and 95 activated. These are optional ones. Caveat emptor.

Nigel