GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

I have meant to make this observation previously after seeing works and track laying in progress (eg Ron, Ian and John's); now my layout is a lot smaller than many and I have found a great aid to track planning and setting out is to mark with a felt tip pen on the baseboard surface, a 9" grid.

9" is a useful size, and I have found it helpful. Perhaps its a bit late here given how far you've got John, and I'm most impressed with the scale of it all, plus its apparent complexity.

Given your period and thinking 'long and thin' it could be a stabling/repair area for stock and locomotives returned  from Europe, hospital coaches being stripped out, some ROD locomotives being 'civilianised'?  I don't know how realistic that is, but it might be worth a Google or two..

or

a breakdown crane depot/servicing area. With jib-runners etc they must measure at least 2ft long in scale.  A big open front shed with two gantry cranes out across the tracks, some machinery, a flickering welder, a glowing brazing hearth, a crane jib in parts between the tracks, some bogies being painted, yards of steel lifting cable flaked out in long loops here and there, cable drums on low loaders wound with replacement cable, all fenced around, private track gates and a night-watchman's hut with brazier,

but you may want something more ambitious…….



Doug

This is one heck of a layout, lovely and the scenic work is tremendous. Do you have to crawl uder each and every time you want to do testing?

Phill

Just managed to catch up with this superb work John. i've bookmarked several pages for future reference.

I must echo your earlier comments about "modelling alone", but being in this club really does make it feel that the others are just down the road, with some help, advice and layout standards to aspire to.

Chris

[user=450]wogga[/user] wrote:

John i assume the entrance is under the canal, do you not get a wet back crawling under?:lol:

With all that sailing i guess you are use to tight spaces.

Pete

Very droll Pete

 [user=394]ddolfelin[/user] wrote:

Crawling through that lot must keep you supple, John.

It's the first time I have appreciated your layout in context - super.

I am afraid it is more of a crawl under rather than a duck under. There is about 40" of headroom and I am a little over 6' so it is a quick drop down to all fours and straighten the knees and stand up……..I am quite used to it now and, as you say, its one way of keeping fit

It was originally going to be a lift up section and I did install positioning dowels and made sure all the wiring stayed on either side. However the canal got more and more complex and in the end I lacked confidence in my joinery and realised the thing was going to be lifted up 2 or 3 times a day……so its kind of semi permanent now.

Given hindsight it wasnt the best design choice particularly the extent to which I am gambling on my continued good health……plenty of RLW should do it

[user=465]Stubby47[/user] wrote:

Could you make the twin tracks into :

1. a fan of carriage sidings ?
2. coal / ash sidings to supply / service the tracks around the TT ?
3. a small brewery or abatoir complex (lots of sheep in wales…)

Stu

Thanks Stu…………..Carriage Sidings are a distinct possibilty even as a temporary measure before embarking on something "more ambitious"

There is about a 3" drop from the TT to this level so I am not sure about TT service sidings

I have a brewery at the other end of the layout……..I think two might provoke unfortunate comment.:roll:

An abbatoir sounds a really neat idea…….all sorts of different traffic in and out…….maybe a Welsh Pasty Factory that should get the Cornishmen going:lol:

[user=312]dooferdog[/user] wrote:

Given your period and thinking 'long and thin' it could be a stabling/repair area for stock and locomotives returned  from Europe, hospital coaches being stripped out, some ROD locomotives being 'civilianised'?  I don't know how realistic that is, but it might be worth a Google or two..

or

a breakdown crane depot/servicing area. With jib-runners etc they must measure at least 2ft long in scale.  A big open front shed with two gantry cranes out across the tracks, some machinery, a flickering welder, a glowing brazing hearth, a crane jib in parts between the tracks, some bogies being painted, yards of steel lifting cable flaked out in long loops here and there, cable drums on low loaders wound with replacement cable, all fenced around, private track gates and a night-watchman's hut with brazier,





Doug

but you may want something more ambitious…….

Again very droll


You have a superb imagination Doug……thank you…………two great ideas to chew over…………I have always wanted a break down crane……..In the short term I suspect I may have to opt for something less ambitious as a temporary filler…..all my surplus pension goes on electrics right now but certainly something to look forward to 

Thanks again for the suggestions guys…..lots to think about

Very much enjoying the ride John (& Co.), keep it coming.

I am afraid the next few posts may be somewhat tedious…..no scenery….no cameos…..certainly no header nominations……

I am now making a determined attempt to complete the main line.

So…… this shot is at the opposite end of the room to the turntable area that I was discussing in last weeks post



Running behind the Brewery are 4 tracks climbing on a gentle gradient from the storage yards towards the proposed main station 

In the front, hidden by bits of track, the branch also climbs, at a steeper gradient, towards the station




The branch line has to cross the main lines so that the coal trains can access the hidden line that was shown in the canal saga 




This  involves a series of 6 curved points. A Xover from Up Main to Down Main then Down Main continues with 3 trailing points to Down Relief, Branch and after a short block a carriage Head Shunt 




The next series of points will comprise 3 double slips accessing 6 platform faces, the Engine Shed road and the hidden coal line

However taking a stage at a time……… last weeks main task was to wire up 5 of the curved points



5 tortoi in line abreast……I used your method for the first one Max where I had a depth constraint but thereafter reverted to the standard installation which works fine with the new wire……no need to remove or even ease the spring……….I have to say your fitting description was a huge help:thumbs

Meantime at the other end of the room;




The Turntable module set up for easy access while I sorted out the wiring:roll::roll::roll:

You can read all about the technicalities here http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=8175&forum_id=151

Many thanks to Geoff for his patience with my bungling 

The 3 way point works a treat (again thank you Geoff for the wiring diagram)

The Turntable set up is deliberately simple while I learn how to operate it with the computor……there are only two active roads, one for entry/departure and one for storage when turned

Locos will be able to use the TT from any of the storage sidings but the siding off the 3 way will accommodate 3 coaches plus a loco so I hope to run quick turnround  commutor trains with tender locos in addition to the tank loco B Sets





You will be relieved to learn that there is a happy ending to the cats cradle of wiring to the right :cheers

More tomorrow

 

 

 


 

"no header nominations.."

Not so sure about that, John.
It makes a nice change to see the 'guts' on display.

John, I've just been browsing your thread and noticed an earlier comment about paints, at least you have a model shop reasonably handy in Vancouver, my nearest is over 100 miles away and strictly 'American' so I have had to look elsewhere.

What I found in 'Michaels' , I think they are in Canada too is an acrylic paint sold under the Ceramcoat brand with a colour of 'Bambi Brown' and I use that for the GWR dark stone. You can see it on my goods shed for example, and it looks good enough to me.

You might care to investigate.

Thanks John………..I will……we have a Michaels locally….I will look out for it

Kind Regards

The wiring on the Turntable module for both the 3 way point and the TT itself has been tested and tested and tested……so the module has now been fixed in position



The Peco point motors in the bottom left hand corner dont drive any points…..they are just there to power the switches mounted on top…….one determines whether the TT turns clockwise or anti-clockwise by switching the polarity, the other acts as an on/off switch. RR&Co sends signals thru the Lenz DCC system telling them when to turn on and in which direction to turn. Next job……to stop at the required exit:roll:

For once I dont have to apologise for an out of focus shot……the TT is actually moving……..bearing the largest loco seen to date on Granby and a "namer" to boot




A 4-6-0 68xx Grange Mixed Traffic 4-6-0    




As I wrote earlier the next few posts are not going to be very interesting but I am reluctant to disrupt the continuity of recording the layouts development. So I thought I might liven them up, from time to time with some photos and remarks on the locos that will run through Granby Junction (eventually) So where better to start than with 6818 "Hardwick Grange"




From the 20s the The GWR had an clear cut hierachy when naming their locos…..All 4-6-0s, the most powerful were called after "Kings"  then came "Castles"  and then 3 classes which were named after stately homes within GWR territory. Halls, Granges and Manors.

This model was produced by Hornby about 5 years ago. It was generally well received by the experts and was compared very favourably with the Bachmann Hall (which I also have) that was released at the same time. However for reasons that are not clear to me it was apparently a poor seller and was never or hardly ever repeated.

Regardless, it is one of my favourite locos. I think it has very elegant lines and it is a superb runner. Once the main line is complete I will be using it on the Birkenhead Paddington trains that pass through Granby……before then I have to do some detailing…..crew,coal,lights and kaydees on the tender.

One change I have made is to the tender where I have replaced the shirt button logo used by Hornby with the G W that you see above

This isnt the Grange tender but you can see how inappropriate the shirt button logo was when applied to large surfaces. Dont lets even think about the gross amount of coal hiding the tender drive Ringfield motor:twisted::twisted: 

 


GWR publicity dept was generally very surefooted but the shirt button logo was a screw up on a par with the bizarre rebadging of British Airways in the 80s

You have to wonder what they were thinking about (and Hornby for that matter)




 Bit off topic but I hope you found it of interest

 

Great idea to show us the locos that will run on this beautiful layout. I am looking forward to the next one!:doublethumb

 

Thomas

All good, John.  :thumbs  Could you improve that coal by sticking some real coal over it?  PVA will do it and it improves the look no end.

Thanks Guys…………so I cracked the 5000 view barrier….wow!

I do put real coal on Max. I have a precious store that I look after very carefully. That is one of the worst examples of a Hornby tender drive (its off the early 28xx 2-8-0)……apart from the fact the motor doesnt work the mound is so high it is difficult to add further height to it…………I have a Dean Goods that I detailed and in the end I just painted the plastic coal to make it more realistic

Thankfully Hornby dont make tender drive any more  

Keep it coming John it's all good stuff  :thumbs

This Shirt-button/GW  saga interests me as I am modelling 1930s.

My diesel railcar is S'button, my pannier is 'GREAT WESTERN', my 45XX is G. W. R. and my 'B' Set is GREAT[Large Crest]WESTERN and I have yet to convince myself that running them together would not be an unforgivable anachronism.

Similar concerns must enter the modellers mind over the birth of the 'Great Four' as I refuse to believe that on one day all locos were company colours and the next they were BR black! As for Kings and Castles in blue……


Interesting pictures, keep up the story line.


Doug

Doug

Nothing wrong in running shirtbutton and the crest together or the crest and BR black/blue.

Have a look at
http://www.gwr.org.uk/Liveriescoach1934.html
http://www.gwr.org.uk/Liveriescoach1942.html

Livery changes would have been done from the more important engines and stock down or when a repaint was due. I believe the BR livery changes were decided on sometime towards the end of 1948 so it would have been 1949 possibly before the blue Kings and the "Ferret and Dartboard" appeared.

Anyway it's your world, run it how you see fit.

Chris

Thanks for that, Chris :thumbs !


Doug

Thanks for the comments guys

Sorry I didnt get back to you sooner Doug.

Chris is correct if your layout is based after 1942………..with the caveat that only old grungy locos should have a rather faded "Great Western" because the shirt button was introduced in 1934

If your layout is based in the late 30s then you shouldnt really have GWR (Tank Engines) or G crest W on the tenders because they were not introduced to replace the shirt button until 1942……..interesting that they did it in the middle of the war

Technically you shouldnt run your GWR prairie without changing the logo but as your layout is based on the assumption that WWII didnt happen there is an easier solution….the layout is based in the early 40s:lol:

which I hope to base on a rather unusual premise, that WWII didn't happen. No War Duties, no British Rail, no common user, no decline following the straightened circumstances that pertained following 1945. 

This search for accuracy, that we all have, coupled with the necessity for the viewer to suspend belief in some areas is perhaps worth a thread in its own right

Regards from Vancouver

Thanks, John. It's something to think about, but plenty to do before then! I've stuck the replies on a Windows Note in my documents for when I get to the 'fiddling about stage'.

Doug