big jim

Couple more pics and vids

today was a handling assessment on the 56, drove over to chirk to get it ready for a 07:15 departure to newport with an instructor and another trainee loco for the day...... and onwards to journeys end at newport

no, left the opposite way to the washer!

Yes, I think it was the ex de-icer After fuelling it the signaller then put me out into the carriage sidings in derby station where i've been sat for the last 2 or so hours before heading back to sinfin Quite good being sat where i was as the sidig next to me is a dead end so no worries about anything running me over, lots of stuff coming in and out so lots of pictures from unusual angles compared to joe bloggs!! First i headed onto the platform to photograph this complete with dead pigeon headboard! My loco Then this rolled in Next up one of my old chariots came in from chaddesden Another shot of my loco

when i was here 2 weeks ago i was going to get a photo of the old EMU that has been sat here for years being used as a store/mess room, don't think i'll be getting any pics now....

First trip on my own today, already running 40 late into crewe, on the plus side managed to photograph this (which is also running late!) My train should be here soon!!

I'm sat looking at the final picture i have had my "eurika" moment, why not make the door bit hinged, but hinged so it drops downwards (hinges on the left as you look i to the shed) As long as any structure/embankment etc up against the outer edge of the hinged section has a slight angle to allow for the swing then the board should be able to drop down clear, any point wiring etc would then reach the board from the hinge side Obviously i'd have to be careful about knocking any scenics when entering the shed, i could also incorporate some sort of wiring "short out" that cuts power to the layout when the board is down to prevent locos plunging off the open end!

I've decided not to make the door bit removable unless i have a eureka moment before i finalise the design, its not too much of a problem to make it removable but i've got a feeling the final design may have 2 or 3 sets of points on that board all of which will need to be wired to accessory decoders and bus wires etc which is where it becomes complicated! My eldest in the pic is not that interested at the moment, he will be when trains can be run though, he was just hanging round waiting to take the iphone off me to play games!!

Another couple of hours this evening...... First up was marking up and cutting out the holes for the hidden track section, 3 1/2" wide so ample room to reach in to clean etc, cut to avoid the cross members, i then fitted the lengthways bracing under the boards before screwing them down (only the station side boards so far) Then took the edge off the boards where they narrow Fitted the joining board at the top end At the door end i was thinking about fitting it lower down so i could put a bridge across the recess, this may still happen, but probably not! Finally i fitted the inner risers in what i hope to be their final positions with sellotape just to see how it looks, i think once finished trains should look good climbing this section Nice bit of room for the p-way yard between the inclines, im thinking of making the incline against the wall a slightly steeper 3 degree one with a leveling out section 1/2 way along the wall before dropping down to board level The next job is to put some cork down on the hidden section ready for track laying then i can get some wood cut for the high level bit, im thinking of also putting a single low level spur off the main at the door end to run either the opposite side of the cleaning holes or as a scenic line which will head into the yard Really pleased with how its looking with just the risers taped into place

Been having a play around with the boards, i think maybe the pics of the new boards i posted last week may have been overlooked by people watching the thread as they are last post on page 1 and swifty11 replied within 2 mins of me posting them so viewers may not have seen the pics (as there is only 1 "like" on the pics!) as his was the last post viewed if you see what i mean! Anyway, going to use the offcuts to make up the cross pieces, both 2ft wide so plenty of room for the curves Called into trident trains earlier to get some scenecraft risers and a few lengths of code 75 flexi as well as a tracksetta gauge and peco track spacers Ive decided that the inner line on the curves is going to be the equivalant of 4th radius and the outer will be 24" radius so a nice 5ft curve at both ends So onto the pictures, you will have to use your imagination for now!! The end board will be 18" wide, obviously got to cut it to size! The track in this picture will be running below a raised area which will have the station etc on, i will be cutting holes to allow me to clean the track and retrieve any derailments This is the inner curve, 4th radius, it will begin to rise at around the 90o point of the curve while still inside a "tunnel" Still plenty of room for the yard and line from the high lavel to drop down Again, imagination time, this double curve will be on an incline (high end nearest the camera to get the line up 3" to the station area Which then curves back round, still rising slightly to the high level Plenty of room for the station And looking back into the shed The inclines are 2% incline which raises the track to 4 1/2" height over 16ft, i have however only used the pieces to raise it to 3" over 12ft, im going to use a single set of formers for each double line (got to buy one more set) which i will secure to the boards and use 3mm ply on top to secure the track to

did the trip to chirk again, drove it tonight though with the other driver observing, happy with what goes on in chirk, fuelled it myself too thats sorted as well it stayed lighter later tonight so i managed to get a few shots, nothing showing any infrastructure but hopefully a few interesting pics for everyone...... and finally managed to capture the WAG passing, light was going by the time it passed at 20:35 so its an "action shot" as the iphone cant cope with low light situations very well!

Turns out im not working it on my own tonight after all, still on it though the bonus being i dont have to drive a van to warrington now

They were last night, start as we mean to go on!!

i did get a pic of the rig but i'm a bit reluctant to post pics from "inside the fence"

refreshed warrington to chirk and back to crewe via the oxley curve tonight, again no pics en route but a good run, followed a stopper to chester and again onto the single line at saltney jn, plodded up gresford bank and onward to chirk where the train is backed in onto the unloading pad, split and the loco drawn forward for fuel before, once the train is unloaded its remarshalled and we depart for shrewsbury and beyond just 1 pic..... journeys end for me, the train then headed off to carlisle for reloading in the morning i'm working the train by myself later today (tuesday), my maiden solo voyage, was due to be the sinfins wednesday but i've stepped up due to sickness, looking forward to it

so today was board buying day, went to B and Q and got 2 sheets of 9mm ply, had them cut to size while there, the biggest being 8ft long and 2ft wide anf pd he smaller being just under 4ft and 18" wide, got to trim the corner off the big sheet to create a curve towards the smaller board just to give you an idea of what i have in my mind here is what i think im going to do.... the 2 curves are 4th and 3rd radius, will have plenty of space to have a few sweeping curves on the layout similarly at the other end it should fit nicely, still not decided on how to do the door area yet as its going to be a figure of 8 layout there will need to be 4 lines side by side, 2 dropping from left to right at the rear while the inner ones will rise right to left to get up and over the outer line the 4 tracks running across the door area, i may well put them above each other at this point, the upper board height are no where near where they should be but its only to get the idea the lower line will have a hole cut alongside it in case there are any derailments and for cleaning purposes the upper level should be the practically whole width of the lower board, leaving me plenty of room for a substantial station area, the platform in the pic is the old one from the last layout which is 6ft long lots of room for platform space looking at the other end the track can be above each other then the lower track will swing out and cut under the top line, that will be the crossing point of the figure of 8 again, 4th and 3rd radius curves, these will actually be code 75 flexi track when i come to lay it and will probably be a gentler curve too along the back edge the 4 track width at the rear will leave me with a fair bit of space for the freight/ballast yard just need to work out how to do the door area and get a board between the rear big boards

carlisle will probably be my limit north but never say never! refreshing chirk early next week, working the sinfin tanks on my own thursday and class 56 refresh in washwood heath on friday, maybe working a log train to chirk on saturday if my refresh goes ok

yeah we left kingmoor as the ecr 66 was being shunted out of the loco neck, he put us in at blackburn and it passed us there, double whammy, an ECR and a namer 66 on the same train (seacows i believe)

again nowt spectacular today, been assessed so i can now officially drive 66s on my own again, next stop 56 and 47 refresh, only one photo today....... and back in warrington, 60091 going the other way!!

lots of modelling time from now on just need to be able to get out of the house to do it!! i've sold all my chiltern units, i was going to keep a couple for old times sake then i saw what they were selling for on ebay and thought "old time my a***" and sold them!! keeping my chiltern 67, wrexham coaches and DVT as well as keith heller though, may well sell on the extra 67 ive renumbered and debranded/denamed as 67010 with no nameplates and oddball OHLE flash location as one chiltern debranded one is enough to be honest ive only got a colas 66 and 47 but have the sinfin tank train, the most 66s i've got are GBRf ones but i also have drs, fastline schenker and freightliner hence why i think the ex chiltern depot will be an EMD facility (like longport) so i can put the various liveries together passenger wise i have LM stuff (172 and desiro) a centro 150 and the wrexham stock, really the layout should still be midlands based going by that but they may well get sold on at some point for more north west dmu's

i'm hoping so, going to be an EMD class 66 depot though

Nothing particularly special today, day 3 of driving the S+C, 1 more to go tomorrow to get my handling hours finished then its onto refreshing chirk next week Couple of pics...... Hellifield Panoramic view!! And one for beast66606, some signals And while i wait at warrington for my train back at 18:36, 60091....

gbrf 66s have aux sockets and all 66s have a 74v supply with an american plug so using a us adapter means you can charge phones etc which is handy fastlines ex 66s had gps but no locos and i believe units have cab cameras in but they do have front facing CCTV the speed i went past i could have stopped for a cup of tea and a chat!! i'll see what i can do, got to get the phone somewhere where it is non obtrusive so i can set it running prior to departure and not touch it but still be able to charge on the move, i can put it in airplane mode (surely you can't be serious........ i am serious, and don't call me shirley) so it is ok to have on in the cab only a couple of pics today, first up hellifield, in the goods loop waiting for the block to clithero to clear which takes 30 mins as the line is 30mph for freight!! and at the other end, waiting at daisyfield jn, problems in the area so i had to sit and wait while they were resolved, left there 25 late, made up a bit by warrington and got in about 12 late

panoramic view of carlisle station