GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

Yes, all included in the price  :doublethumb

For the last few weeks my railway time has been disrupted by a series of medical appointments. However I did find time to finish the tunnel mouth and most of the wall edging

Here are some before and after shots

From the Railway room entrance:






I ran out of overlays for the wall so for now I will focus on the tunnel mouth

Here is a before and after from inside the layout:





The camera is a great fault checker………I tried so hard to subtly graduate the weathering from the extreme grime of the tunnel through to the first wall panel but I think I need to apply a few more diluted dirty black wash.

The buttress is designed to hide the transition between the straight sheets of wall used for the tunnel and the wall edging modules. Its made from offcuts of wall material…..sanding the mating edges down to 45o angles was a ton of fun….fortunately I was given dispensation to do this upstairs while watching one of Netflix's less than stellar offerings. 

Top right there is a glimpse of the newly installed yard gates……all will be revealed next post.

Now its time to put the tunnel to use……..



A Dean Goods emerges with the afternoon pick up goods for Cynwyd. The lock keeper hardly looks up from hoeing his vegetable patch. I rather like this cameos but more often than not it gets cropped out..



The Dean is one my favourite locos. Its a genuine silk purse from sow's ear story. When it first arrived it was a total dog…..the only loco I have ever returned…..the replacement wasnt much better but I persevered fitting a Zimo chip and butchering the tender to squeeze in a Stay Alive Capacitor. Now its superb …..ultra reliable. Its time I kept my keep promise to do video of her shunting the yard at Cynwyd




Regards from Vancouver

Really good pic's there John. I don't see anything wrong with the stonework painting.

 Contrary to what some say, you can get a loco with as many pickups as it's got wheels and have decently laid track and still they run like 3 legged goats… until you put in a stay alive.

What a diffference, wow. The new tunnel mouth transforms the scene. Your layout continues to evolve and get better. Keep bringing out the photos and videos to provide inspiration to the rest of us - well me at least, shouldn't speak for other people.

[user=1886]DaveH_Murcia[/user] wrote:

What a diffference, wow. The new tunnel mouth transforms the scene. Your layout continues to evolve and get better. Keep bringing out the photos and videos to provide inspiration to the rest of us - well me at least, shouldn't speak for other people.

I agree. The photos are great and provide inspiration to me, too.

Looks great to me John, the tunnel area etc. and "Lots going on" is an under statement!

  â€œWow” is far too overused to do justice to what your latest work has added to Granby.  I’ll need to find a new one if you keep this up John.




While every picture tells a story, yours speak volumes, as there are many small slices of life which many of us more mature chaps can easily associate with through your well observed modelling.
 
‘Nuff said. Thank you John. Please don’t stop.
 
Very best,
 
Bill

PS, the tunnel mouth is perfectly in keeping and transforms the scene. Very subtle, very “gran”!

I absolutely agree with you Bill - such a lot to see and all so memory jogging.

I hope your medical appointments haven't been too worrying John and that things are at least under control …… :hmm

What I find incredible with Granby John,  is that you must have had everything pre-planned on a clean sheet from Day 1.  Otherwise, how would it all fit together so perfectly now ?  How on earth did you plan so accurately all those years ago ?

The shot Bill copied above is a prime example.  The canal side warehouse is something I remember from eons ago - a resin facade you'd had in stock for some time if memory serves me right.  I also well remember you building the lock, with technical information provided by Richard (Wheeltapper) who is sadly, no longer with us.

Then it all comes together to blend so perfectly into this latest picture.  That could not possibly have been by chance - it all fits so well.  Nowhere is there the slightest thing that appears to have been squeezed into a less than adequate space.  Everything has a legitimate reason for being there and accurately reflects how the real world looked in, certainly the early 50's - my memory is a little cloudy if one goes back much further ………………………  :roll: :roll:

As Bill says John - please don't stop !!

Hi Pete, Dave, Claus, Phil, Bill and Peter

Gentlemen I hope you will forgive the collective reply? I am frankly a bit overwhelmed, I dont normally get quite so many replies quite so quickly for a single post.

Thank you all for your very kind comments. It is always very satisfying to receive such positive feed back.

A couple of individual comments

Pete: Totally agree about Stay Alives. Over the last two years all my non tender locos have had SAs fitted. Not cheap and in some cases messy but absolutely worth the the time and money. It has transformed my operating

Peter: As always you are too kind but I really must dispel any idea you may have that I am a meticulous planner.  I have always had a sort of very loose general plan but the detailed buildings and structures have evolved over time and often get modified.

 The hotel site outside the station must have been vacant for 4-5 years while I pondered how best to use the space meantime it was a very convenient place to park the evening glass of wine. The hotel, particularly the rear, was very much a case of design while building. It turned out larger than I planned hence the major extension to the street in front of the station. This in turn meant that I needed a new tunnel mouth! Having inadvertently created a problem and then found a solution I will admit to spending a lot of time trying to make the new structure blend in with the existing structures…..Bill's " Very Granby" was praise indeed!

Too modest John. Definitely too modest. Your layout ranks among the best. How about using a drone to catch a video of the whole thing running.  ;-)

Those latest set of photos are fantastic. Great work!
Do you have a birds eye view showing the layout?

[user=2057]TeaselBay[/user] wrote:

Those latest set of photos are fantastic. Great work!
Do you have a birds eye view showing the layout?

Thanks Chris thats very kind of you :thumbs

Not sure if this is birdseye but I stood on a stool in the corner and used max wide angle




The extreme right hand corner…..canal viaduct and storage turntable…..is missing

Otherwise hope this is what you asked for?

Best wishes

That puts things in to place a little, but standing on a stool in the corner? I trust the boss didn't find out, my wife goes on full alert if she hears me using my circular saw or getting out ladders. I have the luxury of two screens on the pc, so brought the latest picture up on one then used the other to look through previous detail shots and tried to locate them on the overall shot. It did help me visualize it more as a layout than a serious of fantastic cameos.

Hi Dave

Glad it helped. I sometimes wish I had the software programme that the magazines have with an overall plan and then links to highlighted sections. One can but dream!

       A very Merry Christmas from Vancouver





Wishing all YMR members a very happy Christmas and a prosperous and healthy 2022. Special thanks to all who follow Granby. Your comments, advice and support throughout the year make my weekly (?) attempts to write something lighthearted and amusing really worthwhile.

In other news, here is a picture of Granby shed which you will not have seen before:


 
I occasionally post Black and White shots in the "Realistic Models" thread on RMWeb. This has been selected to appear in the February edition of BRM which appears Dec 31. Its the first time shots of Granby have ever appeared in a magazine so I guess that quite a memorable start to 2022!

  Hello John and a very Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones too 😊
   
  Good to see more new Granby photos and congratulations with your forthcoming appearance in BRM which is well deserved. RMWeb does some good work and good to see your name popping up over there.
   
  Have you see the new photos of the Accurascale Manor release today? The opening tender water filler is a neat new idea. I cancelled my pre-order for the Dapol version some time ago and think I may now go for the Accurascale version with a Siphon G in tow.
   
  Keep warm, stay safe,
   
  Best,
   
  Bill  :cheers

Thanks Bill………hope you had a great Christmas……….its definitely a white one in Vancouver



I think you are right about the Accurascale Manor……..it looks quite amazing…..cant wait for mine.

Hi John,

We have sun today and temperatures comfortably above freezing, but your winter snow photo looks absolutely lovely.

I'm wavering whether to order Accurscale's 7801 Anthony Manor with or without sound, as it comes with ESU chipped sound, 3 speakers, stay alive pack and free post from Ireland at a most attractive euro price point.

Best,

Bill

 

Brrrrrrrrr !

It looks lovely on postcards and through triple glazed windows John but I hate the stuff.  

You've got quite a fall there - is it average for this time of year ?  When we do get snow, it's  usually just 1 day a year - we wake up to white over and it's all gone by noon.

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

Brrrrrrrrr !

It looks lovely on postcards and through triple glazed windows John but I hate the stuff.  

You've got quite a fall there - is it average for this time of year ?  When we do get snow, it's  usually just 1 day a year - we wake up to white over and it's all gone by noon.

Its unusual for us in December. We start seeing snow on the mountains behind us from November on but the snow liner rarely drops below 1500’….we at 600’……we usually get a couple of heavish snowfalls in late January/February.

This is unusual, the heavy fall was on Christmas Day, day time temperature has stayed around -7o with clear blue skies……the snow remains clean and crisp……its quite magical…..very cold at night and there is a heavy snowstorm forecastfor for this evening which is not so good.