john dew

Thank you! I am leaving the hotel until a little later.....its a perfect summer job at a table on the deck under a sun umbrella with a glass of rose nearby. Just need to finish my Heath Robinson irrigation system then I will have more time for modelling. Best wishes John

Time for something different: I guess you are all thinking.......... "Goodness..........he has finally finished the Hotel he started in January!" Well.....not quite. The hotel remains a facade.....roofless, no sides and no back. However if you looked closely at the photo you may have noticed that there is a cross close to the bus It started life as a kit of laser cut wood components from Ancorton Models which are easily assembled into this: And now converted to granite with two bronze statues of WWI soldiers "resting on their arms reversed" Quite pleased with the granite effect. Base coat of mid grey then three or four coats of different shades sparingly applied using really cheap acrylics....the ones that dry shiny.....bad for clothing but perfect for this. Finally, to create highlights, white paint just tinted with grey... stippled very lightly with a dry brush. Less happy with the figure painting although the lighting has created unwanted highlights. The figures have been painted with Vallejo Bronze and then washed in assorted tints. I wanted to replicate a memorial where the original bronze has, over time, become coated with verdigris and grime. Being picky, and I am about stuff like this, it not quite right.......but hopefully I can get away with it from 3' The figures are, of course, from the Modelu range of WWI soldiers.......I do wish they would do the same for WWII The detail is both exquisite and accurate.....correct pattern steel helmet crisply defined on back pack.....sword type bayonet in scabbard and perhaps the best ....the detailed short magazine Lee Enfield right down to the sling Three feet away in the centre of St Asaph's Square: Quite apart from mill girls sunbathing on a nearby roof, the passengers' clothing suggests a spring/summer scene........so why the wreaths? I think they are normally removed about 30 days after Armistice day and in any event there would be far more for a town the size of Granby. The smaller number might suggest a regimental celebration. The Royal Welch Fusiliers depot is (well, will be eventually) in Granby Castle...........their anniversary day is naturally March 1st ...St Davids day... that might work. Alternatively they were awarded a number of Battle Honours from the Gallipoli Campaign......Anzac Day is April 25. I can probably weave a legend around that. Back to the future........this scene is not yet complete. St Asaph's Square is a busy traffic interchange and although the memorial can serve as a roundabout for now, in 1948, a policeman would have been on point duty. Its another scene from my childhood in Great Crosby that I have always wanted to incorporate into Granby. My memory is that the "Bobby" had white elbow length gloves or covers and stood on a small raised plinth. Another essential task I can spend hours researching! Hope you enjoyed this trip down the by ways of my memory and imagination Best wishes from Vancouver John

Hi Richard Glad you like the scene and many thanks for the helpful comments. Safety chains make a lot of sense and now in the deepest recess of my memory I seem to recollect seeing them on Warehouses on Liverpool Dock Road. I need to make some changes by adding a load spreader to prevent the crate from being crushed so I will add a Safety chain as well....thank you for the suggestion I wonder if you could expand on the pulley block stop.....as I suspect is now obvious....I am somewhat mechanically challenged Best wishes John

You have to stop this Brian.....you will have me wavering!

So there is a bonus of sorts for the continued delay on shipping 41xx (GWR livery).......at least I will be able to order the decoders ahead of time! I will be interested to know how much space is available....hopefully I can put a lifelink and supercap in as well as the chip. Sorry to hear about the TT....I know just how frustrating that sort of thing can be.....I didnt join Merg either! Best wishes John

Engineers are so decisive!

No pretty scenery this week or mention of RR&Co........just a bit of philosophy and a sequence of workhorse photos as I continue to focus on my latest acquisition. Regular readers will know that I use an old Army mantra to evaluate possible purchases: Must have Should have Could have I always qualify this with the caveat that I am talking about discretionary spending on a hobby. "Must have" has a somewhat different connotation in the real world....particularly in 2020. It does remain a useful way of evaluating priorities.......looking at new GWR releases this year..... With a rake of 4 almost unused GWR suburban coaches, Granby must have one or more of Hornby's retooled large prairies.....now expected in June. I should, and almost certainly will, buy a Mogul from Dapol........my Mainline split chassis expired years ago I could........perhaps.... buy one of Bachmann's 94xx panniers.....4 or is it 5 years in the making.... now due December. However only 9 were built in 1947and only one ventured north .....to Wolverhampton..........stretching towards Rule 1 territory Rule 1 is always a convenient get out but, to my mind, if applied without question can negate all the effort that has gone into the layout to ensure some sort of historic accuracy. Here is a good example : Rails/Dapol Terrier! Absolutely stunning model with great reviews. I spent a considerable time trying to devise a justification for running one on Granby. Problem is the GWR only had two (taken over from the Weston Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway in Somerset) and #6 was scrapped January 1948...........with the sunbathing scene Granby is definitely placed in the early summer of 1948! Reluctantly I decided this was a case of "Should not" However Bachmann's Ivatt Class 2 , seen here straight out of the box, easily qualified as a " Could have" Not only was there an operating requirement with the 4 car LMS suburban set, the locos were introduced in 1946 and operated in North Wales. However the price was the clincher......79 GBP and that is before deducting VAT. Thats the sort of pricing I remember from over a decade ago. Recommended retail is shown as about 150 GBP although I think regular retail was close to 120 GBP. Not sure what went wrong with Bachman's sales estimates but throughout this year there have been a series of heavily discounted prices on a very wide range of their locos. Smaller retailers and customers who paid full price on initial release would not have been too impressed. I am beginning to think I should add a rider to "could have" purchases.......never buy on initial release! I must say I am very happy with my new purchase. Good finish with some very fine detailing and smooth running and perhaps most important decent haulage. She coped with the climbing curve out of the storage sidings without difficulty.....which is not the case with some locos out of the box. LMS drivers nicknamed the class "Mickey Mouse".........Mighty Mouse might be equally appropriate Looking a bit too pristine in the storage yard This shot was intended to show just how diminutive she actually is. On reflection comparing her with a Super D and a Castle is hardly fair! At least it gives us another opportunity to admire Tony's weathering! That Super D has more Air Miles than most....China-UK-Australia-Canada Lightly weathered with just a little real coal, crew, Class B headlamp code,tender pickups and a Lenz Silver Chip .Now by way of contrast a few related locos: Ex Midland Johnson 3F 0-6-0.........one of the many ageing locos the Ivatt was designed to replace 6418s big sister Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 4F Commonly known, with some justification, as "Mucky Ducks". Some might say it is a triumph of function over design.......Wikipedia suggests that some enthusiasts think it the ugliest British Loco ever. I have had this loco for many years and never used it very much.....it probably qualifies as a "shoudn't have". I finally got the pick ups sorted and she can now be seen regularly on the Down goods circuit. This is a better comparison shot To finish a too lengthy post, here is a repeat shot of 6418 moving off shed to take over the Granby-Crewe run. Best wishes from Vancouver

Hi Tony Thanks for posting those photos......you are a master at weathering. I still use your Super D as a guide when weathering black locos. For some reason I struggle with black locos....much more comfortable with green ones......its no doubt all those panniers I have done! I found the Ivatts particularly difficult because they had theoretically only been in service for about a year on Granby.......really filthy after wartime service is easier than slightly filthy! I think mine should perhaps be revisited! Best wishes

No time for a post last week I am afraid.......gardening, including shifting 3 yards of top soil became a priority. I doubt if I spent more than an hour in the train room. Since then we have had a couple of rainy days.....who would have thought one would welcome rain in the Pacific North West? Time to catch up with the 4 coach LMS suburban set that we last saw arriving at Crewe (Storage siding D5) hauled by Ivatt 2-6-2T number 1206 Now on the return journey, another Ivatt, 1202, storms up Granby Bank: Once the train has cleared D5 the original loco 1206 moves to the storage turntable Here we see 1206 scurrying back to completely clear D5 so the block can then accept another Up suburban train from Granby Meantime, 1202 continues on its journey to Granby with the Down train Just like a stopped clock a fixed signal can occasionally be correct! As the train approaches Platform 6 the relief loco can be seen on the turntable At one stage I had thought of doing a loco run around rather than an exchange at Granby but that would have meant Platform 5, the main Down line, being blocked. So I reverted to my usual pattern of three locos being allocated to a set train. One loco at each terminus and one on the train. When this train isnt being run, the carriages are stored in the vacant carriage siding seen above and two locos are in Granby Shed Time to introduce the third member of the cast: Yet another Ivatt......this time the Class 2.... a 2-6-0 tender version. Although labelled 2F it was designed and used for mixed traffic duties and often seen with passenger trains in North Wales. She is a brand new loco for Granby .......more on this next post. For now......lets enjoy the sunshine! Natural light and shadows........not often seen on Granby. The train room gets very little sun but in summer time there is a brief period in the late afternoon when one side of the layout is flooded with light. So much so that from some angles it is impossible to take photographs. However, just occasionally the sun angle and subject position coincide with quite pleasing results: I hope you enjoy this picture as much as I do Best wishes from Vancouver where there is still soil to shift and its started to rain.....not sure if I am pleased or sad! John

Hi Tony Very impressive......you must have spent hours cutting everything out. Time well spent though, you have created a unique model. It sounds daft saying that about a row of terraced houses but no other layout will have a row quite like yours....well done Painting should be interesting! Best wishes John

Hi Neal Having run out of Coopercraft I have used some quite nice white metal castings from, I think, Dart Castings. They are in the style used in GWR waiting rooms rather than on platforms and dont have the distinctive wrought iron metal casting at the ends. They work under Granby’s overall roof ......possibly they may work for you? I fo like the way you have renovated the station and its roof. Somehow it always seems more difficult to do a refurb than start from scratch...you have done a grand job Best wishes john

Thank you so much for all the ticks......it is so encouraging. Not sure if this post will be so popular. There are a few hand held shots that are a bit dodgy....I really need to invest in some sort of cantilevered tripod.....plus there are some computor screen shots! I left you with 1206, a LMS Ivatt 2-6-2T, hauling a rake of 4 non corridor coaches on its way to Crewe Nearing the end of its journey......having travelled at least 6' ......the train enters the approaches to "Crewe" Running parallel , as it leaves the storage turntable, is the relief loco 1202. This loco will eventually take the train back to Granby This is a screenshot of the Storage Yard Block Diagram. Occupied blocks are coloured pink and display the train assigned to it. D5, the unoccupied block at the bottom, serves as the destination block for 5 different services from Granby......at any one time it can be Barmouth, Oswestry, Ruabon, Shrewsbury........right now its Crewe At the bottom is a blow up of D5. The red and yellow arrowheads represent brake and stop markers that are assigned to different schedules and or locos. Each pair of brake and stop markers are set up with specific distances. D5 is 73" long If I wanted the train to stop at the very end of the block the Stop marker would be set at 70" (to avoid fouling the adjacent line). The brake marker would be set to activate after the the train had traveled 46" from first entering the block.....once activated the train would progressively slow for 24".....finally stopping at 70" For this schedule I want the train to stop over the uncoupling magnet which is 54" from the start of the block. The train having entered the block has to travel for 30" at 20mph before the brake marker is activated.. This screen grab was live so you can see train has in fact travelled just over 30".........the uncoupling brake marker is activated ( Yellow square) and the loco throttle (bottom right) is showing just a littleless than 20 mph The loco will progressively slow for the next 24" and eventually crawl over the magnets: Once the loco has traveled 54" the stop marker is activated At the finish of every schedule you can set up a list of commands In this case the Kadee Shuffle and start the schedule to couple the relief loco at the other end of the train If you are following closely you may well wonder why the uncoupled loco has to move 7" away from train? The relief loco has not only to couple but also push back the train 4" to avoid fouling the main line exit point At the end of the coupling schedule another list of commands Another Kadee Shuffle to ensure coupling has taken place Train Controller now matches what has happened on the layout .....1206, the original loco, is separated from the train. So there we have it......all done......full house! D5 is not a storage siding as such. Trains ending a schedule here are essentially turned round and sent on their way. When not required they are stored elsewhere. The Crewe and Ruabon trains are stored adjacent to Granby Shed. In this photo, the GWR Barmouth train can be seen on the right. At the very top of the sidings you can just see the 4 coach GWR suburban set.....patiently waiting for some large prairies. Hope you enjoyed this.....I tried to keep the RR&Co stuff to a minimum but bearing in mind how essential it is to the operation of Granby I cant avoid mentioning it from time to time! Other RR&Co users will note that, for simplicity, I glossed over the coupling schedule where the relief loco has to stop in an already occupied block......a tale for another day perhaps. My best wishes from a very sunny Vancouver John

Great post Neal......I thought that sort of thing only happened to me! Cheers John

I dont think they have changed much......I have one that I bought second hand over 20 years ago......it is pretty much the same as the one I bought brand new to replace the Heljan. ( from Hong Kong for $450 cdn) three years ago The DC Control unit is identical for both as is the indexing. The most obvious difference is noise level....the old one grunts and wheezes its way round To use with DCC and RR&Co I use the expensive but excellent Fleischmann Turncontrol units .....setting up and operation is identical Regards John

After the last few posts featuring 4 mm. figures you could be forgiven for thinking that Granby was a static diorama. Its time for a few locomotive shots During the last few weeks I have also been developing and testing the 4 different passenger services that I want to arrive and depart from the south end of Granby Junction. Last year, when I first started this exercise, I think I mentioned that I had a problem storing some of the trains that I wanted to run. Two had to be stored in the carriage sidings that run alongside the Engine Shed: On the left is a GWR two car B Set and a small Prairie already to back into Platform 6....not entirely prototypical but.....no problems On the right is an LMS 4 car suburban set......here the siding is not long enough to accommodate a loco as well. To set this train up for an Up departure a pilot will have to couple, back the train into P6 and uncouple....the train loco will then leave the shed and couple to the other end of the train. Not quite as easy as it sounds. The shed exit road enters the P6 road and thus shortens its effective length. It can be done but it is a bit complicated to do automatically and involves pulling some wool over Train Controllers eagle eye........but thats for another day! Right now, lets assume mission accomplished, so we can see the LMS train departing from Platform 6 (the Down Relief line) and in the act of crossing over to the Up main line With cosmetic signals in fixed positions there are occasions, like this, when something will look fundamentally wrong! Moving swiftly on......the train is hauled by an Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T . They were introduced in 1946 and look very different from the pre grouping "Lanky" tank and ex-LNWR Webb Coal tank that I use on the Northern suburban services to Birkenhead I have a bit of a soft spot for these locos......as a boy I lived near the Liverpool-Southport electric line.....these were the only steam locomotives I ever saw, as once a day (weekdays only!) they hauled two blood and custard coaches from Southport to join up with the Liverpool Lime Street-Euston train at Edgehill. Sadly, close ups reveal that HMRCS straw lettering doesnt match Bachmann's lettering! The relief Loco waiting in the storage yards is the original 1202 In historical terms, these two locos would have been among the newest to run on Granby.........in real terms they are veterans. I guess I bought 1202 over twenty years ago. The re-numbered 1206 was bought more recently...actually in B.C.....it is nevertheless of the same vintage. They are the last split chassis locos operating on Granby. It is, perhaps, a bit of a leap of faith that they will be capable of consistently performing with the precision that this complicated routine will demand. More on this next post.......... ......meantime, lets go back in time to 1948 as an 18 month old 1206 crosses Granby viaduct Amazing what you could achieve with a Box Brownie! Stay safe...keep well Best Wishes John

I’ll ave you know thats Gwyneth Jones from Accounts and her Mum is going to give her heck when she gets home for showing so much leg......whatever will they say in chapel?

Hi Tony I am so glad you like the sun bathing scene.....if nothing else it proves that not all GWR BLTs look the same It was nice of you to reassure me about road vehicles being relatively clean in 1948.......but I fear you may be leading me into a trap regarding the relative climates either side of the Pennines I cant speak for 1948 but in Oldham, in the very early 60s, I have not so fond memories of the smog rolling up the Failsworth Road from Manchester.....my highly polished, souped up Ford Anglia didnt stay clean too long Best wishes John

Hi Mikkel That is very kind of you and much appreciated. You had to go back a couple of posts for an explanation of the sun bathing: "A bit of Family history may help.....I met Mrs D in Oldham (which perhaps explains why Granby sometimes looks more like a town in East Lancs than North Wales). Her Mum used to work in one of the many cotton mills there. In summer the mill girls used to sneak up to the roof during their dinner time in the hope of getting a tan. One has to admire their optimism! " I should probably have underlined the last sentence! And the mystery of the empty deck chair.......the deck chair in itself is a very ingenious brass fret and I liked the idea of one being on its own but I do feel that Miss Marple knitting on a mill roof would stretch even Agatha Christie's imagination! Best wishes John

I have now added some of the painted Modelu figures to this Metcalfe Warehouse which conceals the northern entrance to the storage sidings: As with the soap factory, in my previous post, its in a fairly prominent position. Its right above the computor screen so every time I run some trains (which is quite often!).......I look at the rather bland frontage and am reminded that I need to do something with that loose flapping cable......not at all shipshape and seaman-like Two doors opened plus some weathering and a few figures make a big difference....particularly with the cable singled and weighted : I dont know why but I am curiously reluctant to weather my road vehicles. They appear on the layout fresh and pristine straight from the Oxford Bubble, whereas my locos and rolling stock all have varying degrees of weathering. Its quite daft and needs to be corrected so at long last I made a start with Wynn's lorry. The tarp is a Smiths Wagon sheet turned inside out and crumpled. The shots above were taken on the bench......perching the tripod on the computor screen was not very practical so this is about the best shot from a normal viewing position A typical Granby dark satanic mill.....definitely merits a 1948 style photo: I hope you are all staying safe and keeping well. Best wishes from Vancouver John

Andy.....Thank you for all the hard work you have put in to create the raffle. I found that opening post totally heart warming and moving.....in fact it moved me to press the donate button. Good luck John

Time to get these figures into a more realistic location On a factory roof! Wrights Soap Factory is right by the door and conceals the light switch.......so every day when I come down and turn the lights on I can smile at the thought of mill workers trying to get a sun tan in Oldham/ Granby The mystery of the empty deck chair....... The fourth figure in the kit was Miss Marple knitting a long woolen scarf.........hardly suitable for a mill roof So here she is posed more realistically, waiting for the autotrain at Brewery Lane Halt at the other end of the branch line I do hope you are all keeping well Best wishes John

Hi Tinker Great idea to add tender pick ups. I find it makes a significant difference. If you are worried about space in the tender for all the wiring why not eliminate the Plug and socket for the decoder and wire direct to the tender socket. You will have to cut the red and black wires anyway to add the tender pick ups. Cant tell from the photo if everything is colour coded but I would trace anyway.....I have had LH loco pickups attached to red wires from Hornby! My new Zimos have arrived so now the little people are all painted I should have the conversion finished next week. Keep Well Best Wishes john

Thanks for all the ticks guys! Its been brilliant weather here without any rain for a fortnight. Gardening has tended to be the priority.....we grow lots of vegetables most years but it seems an even better idea this year. So not too much time for modelling but on a few days I did manage to spend an hour or so in the railway room. I left you with this assembly line waiting to be painted: A week later: As before, Modelu on the left and Langley on the right plus a few additions.......the first of which are in the foreground: It may be hard to believe but this group is destined for the roof of the Soap Factory: A bit of Family history may help.....I met Mrs D in Oldham (which perhaps explains why Granby sometimes looks more like a town in East Lancs than North Wales). Her Mum used to work in one of the many cotton mills there. In summer the mill girls used to sneak up to the roof during their dinner time in the hope of getting a tan. One has to admire their optimism! I have always wanted to reproduce this on Granby. The figures are from a Langley beach scene and the close up exposes the rather crude finish. Hopefully this will not be so obvious at normal viewing distances. The Langley workmen, while still a bit Hobbit like, have a better finish and were fun to paint. Some will go on the warehouse behind the Engine Shed but the gentleman top left has been painted up as a rent collector or tally man and will go on the terraced housing modules....the guy on the right will go in the goods yard Most of the Modelu figures are actually loco crew but all,bar one, have been painted as warehousemen or lorry drivers The chap with the white shirt is from Montys models.....he was in the paint shop for light repairs so I included him in the group as a comparison. He is actually a little shorter and definitely slimmer than the Modelu figures but, unlike the Langley figures, can be placed alongside them on the layout. To finish.....here is my favourite figure from this batch Its Thursday so it must be a cheese and Branston pickle sandwich for Dai's lunch It looks as though Dai's missus was over generous with the pickle..... I think he might be about to spill some! Keep well everyone! Best wishes John

I was thinking the same thing......I spent forever trying to get my join lines perfect....shouldnt have bothered! cheers john

Thanks Neil.....glad you liked the layout. Your address was a blast from the past.....I was born in Bebbington and lived in Heswall for 10 years before emigrating to Canada.....39 years ago, almost to the day. Best wishes John