The Bigbee Line

Listening to steady rain in Boscastle. Here at my sisters for a week with my New Lady. Having a great time. Been bridge spotting along the route of the North Cornwall Railway. Ernie

I mend the real things and like you still manage to enjoy modelling (when I get time). I wonder, occasionally, what sort of railway system we would have if there had been a revolution in Victorian times? Something more European maybe....

Another thought. “many a true word is spoken in jest”, how about a 'Holman F Stephens' light railway standard for modules. Just a thought, back to sorting out the new workshop.

I'm in thinking mode at the moment. If a 'roundy roundy' had an 18" board width at the rear and a 20" board width at the front, would 2'10" as an operating well width be enough. We're talking just enough room, not a dance hall. Thoughts please Ladies and Gents.

It's me again. The US Southern Railway shows 13 feet as the centres on double track = 45.5mm in HO. http://southernmodeler.info/Hundman/SOU_Standard_Plans_-_Roadbed_Sections_-_MM_199308.pdf RGS online shows 1970mm as the distance between rails on double track. This when added to 1435mm (gauge) gives 3405mm centres = 11'2" = 44.64mm in OO. http://www.rgsonline.co.uk/Railway_Group_Standards/Infrastructure/Guidance%20Notes/GEGN8573%20Iss%203.pdf If someone could sense check my figures it would be appreciated. So a 45mm minimum dimension for track centres isn't too out of the question. If there is a throw over problem on curves, ease the curve. That's 'my two cents'. Hopefully I'll lay some Peco code 75 at 45mm centres at the weekend (on some of the excellent Tim Horn boards). I've also got a code 55 No.8 turnout to lay. It'll be interesting to see how the two line up.

I must admit my comments were mischief making regarding the double track. However I do want to be able to run between boards and single track should not be a problem. The main stumbling block for me will be platform clearances. Best stick to using the scenic boards and yards. I'm interested to see where this thread goes. Maybe someone wants to suggest a non Peco point as a standard? Radical but would be a clean break for most people and a step up in quality and appearance. Suggestions please.

2 inches 50.8mm as opposed to 46 or 44.67mm. Hmmmmmm. As someone who reduced the Roco standard 6 foot of 66 mm to 50mm. I would suggest we stick to the 2inch spacing. With 9 inches to the edge of the board from the first track. So multiple track boards are (number of tracks x 2) + 18 as the board width. Simple. I want my boards to be able to run US outline HO and UK OO. The HO will be mainly code 55 single track!

Looking good. For the benefit of others could you run through the modifications to the paste table. Have you changed the plywood on the top? The Monon is reasonably well documented and had an interesting selection of locomotives.

Not many UK suppliers that are as amenable. Tops marks to Frank Sergent.

Since the last post the coupler situation has made progress beyond expectations. I have corresponded with Frank Sergent (Sergent Engineering, Knoxville, Tennessee) and one of my FT A units made an 8000 mile round trip for a fitting session at the Sergent Engineering workshop. There is a distinct lack of 'rear end' pictures of FTs. To ensure prototype authenticity Frank visited the Southeastern Railroad Museum at Duluth, Georgia to inspect 960604, a former Southern FTB unit. The results of his efforts the results are beyond expctations. As a tester these are images of the EC87M040K coupler with a Kadee on another A unit for comparison. These images show the couplers on the rear of the A unit and the resultant gap when an A and B unit are coupled.

Keep the doors open. The stuff on the canopy is real birds s**t. Try a sparrow not a seagull

Paul, Well spotted. Here is a 'normal' one from the 1990's at Grantham when rebranded as a ZHV - B573934

In the real world the colour on the glass would be provided by seagull guano (now wasn't that polite). Not sure how often it gets cleaned off these days. So maybe an overspray in various greys and light greens would do the trick? IIRC the glass used to be 'Georgian wired polished plain'

Coachmann is on the right track (pardon the pun, it was deliberate). The fact that most model locomotives will negotiate these curves is a wonder in itself. With a long articulated locomotive your asking for one power unit to curve one way and the other to do the opposite. In the real world there have been derailments where the transition (straight track) between two opposing curves wasn't long enough. In one case there were two derailments 12 months apart with the same type of vehicle, where the wagon was initially blamed. Then the penny dropped and it was realised that the track was non compliant. With these loco's you might need to have some 'route restrictions' ie routes where the loco doesn't go. Avoiding reverse curves etc. Don't expect the impossible from the loco.

Brian, I've had three detached at one go; one 'flamer' and two others detected as 'hot' Regards

Here are a couple of wagons loaded at Betteshanger in Kent. They 'tripped' to Dover Town Yard then later on worked over to Cricklewood. I think that Orgreave Coking Plant was the eventual destination. I worked the train from Dover Town on a few occasions. A common occurance was a hotbox on the plain bearings. I remember detaching at Tonbridge, Maidstone East, Swanley and Hither Green. There was a hot box detector as the train approached Tonbridge so they were detected and alerted to the box at Tonbridge before the flames were visible. These pictures and two wagons detatched for that reason. First MCV B266280, 8 block clasp brakes and empty/load device. Then MXV B596094 (The MXVs were originally MCVs but 're-branded' to indicate the different types of brakework) 4 block pusher brakes

Various pictures taken from my period at Toton with EWS. 08480 23rd November 2002 08516 17th February 2004 2ith a long shunt of RUDD wagons from the ballast Sidings at Sandiacre. I'm waiting to cross to get to the depot. The same loco, 08516 on 10th September 2003 Spotted on a trip to Wembley on 28th November 2002, 08526 I have plenty more with some detail shots of air tanks, couplers and cab interiors if anyone is interested.

edited after iphone posted with no text: I was susprised by how early the wooden troughing was replaced by Concrete. One wooden trough was the oil filled cable supplying the Substations, the other trough contained the cables to send the control signals to the Substations and TP huts. Lots was replaced in the early 1960's

Sounds good. The third rail will have received a good coating of de-icing fluid in it's lifetime. Hence the dark colouring.

That's what happen when you have a snatch. Usually the coupling fails first. Usually down to "inappropriate use of power and brake". If you are braking a long train and then apply power before the brakes have fully released, the resultant snatch can break the train in two.

Been away for a couple of days. Great progress Pete. Really like the pictures. Very inspirational.

I passed out as a guard at Ashford, Kent, in 1981. I worked 16 and 21 ton minfits to Ashford and Canterbury West (from Tonbridge on the 0748). Ashford then had a pit and unloaded installed.

In the early 1980's there was a freight from Tonbridge, I think it was 07h48. It was a Y path via Canterbury West or Folkestone to Ramsgate. When I was learning the road I went with the train via Folkestone East and I'm sure we detached some 100 tonners. Conveying heavy oil fuel for the Cross Channel Ferries. Any ideas where it was unloaded.

After looking on Google it is Connel Ferry, sorry about the mis-information about Mallaig. It must have been on day two of the trip after I had been to Oban.

Two images taken whilst on the way to Mallaig in the late 1990s. Any idea of which station?