john dew

I guess they are a lot crisper than the very flashy Dapol girders I have just bought!

I have a very old Fleischmann in the storage yard and there I just painted the railings and removed the bridge house but I think I will go the Dapol girder route with the new one. Gordon S of Eastwood Town fame ( who along with Melmerby helped me make my mind up about the Fleischmann ) did this and posted a series of how to's. As you would expect he went the whole hog and cut out the outriggers on the sides of the bridge.........not sure if I have the courage to do that. It will be a while before it gets to the top of the list but the Greenhouse will come off pretty sharpish. Now you are converted to DCC have you thought how you will operate the TT? I will go into a bit more detail when I wire my control unit so you can compare options Regards

The reduced weight makes the haulage capacity pretty mediocre I replaced the weight, added tender pick ups and hard wired the decoder into the tender ......makes a huge difference to performance.

My new year resolution of "an update a week" has sure taken a beating. The advent of some sustained sunshine hasn't helped matters but the primary culprit is my elderly laptop. I use it for all my photo re sizing/editing and sadly it has been getting slower and slower and finally had to go into intensive care for a fortnight. It has finally emerged with a new hard drive but still has an irritating habit of randomly delaying a key stroke actually appearing on the screen........very frustrating. Fortunately you haven't missed much...........here is a rather rushed update I left you with this Buildings safely stored, most of the approach tracks ripped out already for the removal of the Heljan turntable. The minimum diameter for the Heljan was 10mm more than that required for the Fleischmann so I mistakenly assumed that it would be a straight swap! Not so I am afraid I wasn't looking forward to this one bit but fortunately all went well with minimal collateral damage and the Fleischmann was fitted into the enlarged aperture with no additional fettling Next step to set up the tracks on the TT, wire up the TT for DCC and relay the approach roads.........more on this shortly Yours in haste from a sunny Vancouver

Congratulations.........and if I may say so richly deserved. Now I have the challenge of getting the magazine in Western Canada! I hope you are going to post the photos in this thread Best wishes John

I guess that was the builders clearing the wrong site for the rather splendid new shed!

I imagine Dr Snodgrass had an emergency.......perhaps with the Finching sisters who dont appear to have moved for a while

I agree but I suspect given time I will succumb!

What a stunning photo Robin........deseves something more than a mere like. Lovely composition ......the Baby Austin is perfect Admiring in Vancouver

And Scalescenes have a Castle/Folly kit!

Thanks Bob No 47xx for Granby for sometime........the new turntable and decoder has made a large hole in my railway budget for this year. I would have been wary buying one immediately anyway because of experiences like yours. I cant check my purchases......fortunately over the years I havent had too many bad ones...........never actually sent one back although there are a couple I should have. I wish you joy with yours......I watched and admired your modifications. Regarding the shed......there maybe an issue with the roundhouse.....the tracks leave the new TT at a slightly different angle but I have a cunning plan that may result in a little more real estate!, Best wishes

Tony wrote about my last post that it was a "pleasant interlude".....I think the calm before the storm would be more apt. Here is a Before and After No I havent got the sequence wrong.......the first shot was taken in 2014 and the second last week I guess I have been agonising over this for a couple of years now. The shed area is a key element in Granby. Both visually......its at the entrance to the railway room, and operationally .......to avoid the main line operation being a series of tail chasers. Visually it has, I think, been successful. Operationally less so. The grimy concrete infills look great but in places they started lifting above track level causing uncertain running Two turnouts in crucial locations also affected consistent running Not a great shot but hopefully sufficient.......Locos approach the Ash pit by the track with the Tracksetta....the turnout to the right of the Tracksetta was badly laid and wired......locos tender first were quite often derailed......right by the window,the turnout is at the furthest extremity of even my long reach. Locos approach the turntable by a dog leg leaving the centre exit of the three way and entering via the bottom arm. The upper arm to the ash wagon road is really cosmetic. Tender first locos struggled when transiting facing points. For whatever reason I have never been successful with Peco Code 100 three ways. Regular followers may remember that a couple of years ago I binned a three way used in the storage yards. I probably could have bumbled along and perhaps eventually replaced the three way. The catalyst for this demolition job was the turntable. Five years ago the only Turntable directly supported by RR&Co was either not obtainable in the UK or prohibitively expensive. I had to choose between Heljan/Walthers and Fleischmann both of which could work with RR&Co subject to some limitations. Heljan was DCC ready, the Fleischmann was more expensive and required the additional , not insignificant, purchase of a decoder. I opted for the Heljan seen above. Under manual or DCC control it generally behaves impeccably.......it occasionally loses its memory which means all the exit roads have to be re-programmed which is a pain and its very sensitive to bits of loose ballast. With RR&co it can work well, and when it does its a delight but it has proved increasingly difficult to predict with any accuracy which end of the bridge will finish up at the selected exit road! You can imagine the problems that result as RR&Co attempts to drive the loco in the opposite direction. I said "increasingly" difficult. The most recent RR&Co updates have had some unexpected side effects with the Heljan linkage.. At the same time Fleischmann is now supported! So after much heart searching the offending turnouts are about to be replaced and a Fleischmann turntable arrived last week from Hong Kong. I realise that the above is of little direct interest to many readers but I thought some explanation was required for all this upheaval Track and infill removed, wiring tagged......Heljan ready to be disconnected. In case you are wondering all the buildings, equipment and people are safely stored away ready to return sometime in the summer. To finish here are a few of my favorite shots which hopefully will be eventually be repeated (without the infill!) When I was digging out those photos I found my first post about the Engine Shed (Page 3 I believe)....... in early 2013 I wrote: I am working on Newyd Shed (shades of Croes Newyd) ...... that serves Granby Junction. There are other projects on the to do list........but this is the last major project and will certainly be the last time I lay any track. Well I certainly got that wrong! Best wishes from Vancouver

Hi Tony Super video......thoroughly enjoyed it. Every time I watch one of your sound videos I start rethinking my " no sound" policy..........maybe I should start with just one pannier? I am very impressed with your station building. All the graft you put into making those castings is certainly paying dividends. Cant wait to see it in situ complete with some Yorkshire grime. Best wishes John

Having just read this...... http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/9-loads/9-tarps.htm......it is indeed the date of manufacture. The writer reckons the life span of a tarp would be 5-6 years........and a worn out tarp is pretty useless even with a war on.........so guess what I am about to do! Its another great article from that site......that guy is a mine of information. Cheers

Thanks Tony Interlude is a very appropriate description......I am just about to start some major demoiltion ........full report after the week end Cheers

.So glad you guys like the video......thank you for the comments and ticks During a lengthy running session the layout suffers quite a lot of "collateral" damage ....particularly at the fringes. With Easter and some ok weather, modelling last week was mostly repairs and maintenance. Particularly signals, chimney pots and horizontal people. This device was much used: I wish I could devise a hinge for my signal posts.....I have lost count of the number of times they have been repaired The Metcalfe buildings which screen the storage yards were all removed for the shoot. The three separate modules of terraced houses were used in Granby II .....must be 15 years old and are now showing their age........so a bit of judicious weathering helped to conceal some of the many scars. Lots of chimney pots and in some cases stacks replaced.......they are really vulnerable when leaning over. By fiddling around with the spacing I created this yard immediately in front of the uncoupling magnets on the LMS siding.........the uncoupling is pretty reliable but its prudent to check! I am currently painting a few kids to play football there. Another gap to check the Loco spur.........and a chimney pot that got missed. Actually that shot was included for the sausages.....they seem to have gone out of fashion on ANTB.....time for a revival All back to normal so 2409 Dean Goods can shunt the yard I even found time to put a tarp on that leaky van.............thank you MIB for the idea. Regards from Vancouver where it is now very wet and likely to continue so.......lots of time for modelling! John

Hi Brian Glad you enjoyed the layout........you are more than welcome to see it when you next visit Vancouver.......I keep forgetting how relatively close we are. Up until a few years ago we used to sail down to Seattle in early May to take part in their Opening day on the (Mortlake?) cut. Andy has answered your question about joint GWR LMS operation far better than I. That's another fascinating link you have found Andy....really interesting stuff there. It was neat to see the actual reporting sheets and some of the lateness reports Part of the attraction of Granby's fictional location was the opportunity to intermingle LMS and GWR because of the joint lines you mentioned. There was a weekly service from Birkenhead to the South Coast alternating GWR and Southern Stock.. The GWR had a regular connection from Chester via Warrington to Manchester.........so I have devised an imaginary link with the Pines Express! Living where we do we can be a little cavalier with geography.....I suspect your visitors at Gig Harbour are no more knowledgeable than mine Best wishes. John

Thanks Tony As you know I have always enjoyed the videos you have produced of Wakefield West so a comment like that is much appreciated. I like making videos but they sure take a lot of time..........I enjoy the creative challenge of trying to capture a complex sequence of moves into a coherent and interesting story but it definitely makes one focus on smooth running and perfect timing. Its amazing how those occasional bugs which one shrugs off in a normal operating session can come back to haunt you when filming. "Looking forward to more developments in the world of Granby"........ You must be a mind reader ​Best wishes John

If find that the Hattons 14xx need to be run frequently to achieve optimum performance. I find that if I havent run a routine for a few days they perform quite erratically.....I am just about to relegate one to a simple roundy roundy and they settle down and perform impeccably

Thats absolutely stunning Phil........I guess you wont be rushing to pre order one from Dapol! Best. Wishes John

Thank you Mikkel that is very kind of you. I must confess that filming through a gap was more a question of necessity than artistic choice! As you once observed Granby gives the impression of having grown organically over time. As I completed different projects I rarely gave thought to camera sight lines and now it is beginning to be something of a problem.......the floor was cluttered with temporarily removed buildings when I shot the video. You couldn't imagine a greater contrast with John's style. He did indeed spend a considerable amount of time considering the overall composition of his layouts .......it was a mark of his ability that the finished result looked so natural and uncontrived. Best wishes from Vancouver

Thank you so much for that response.........I was particularly tickled by the last para .......so tickled in fact that I forgot to rate it until this evening.......I do apologise. Its probably the nicest compliment I have ever been paid. John Flann was in his mid eighties........he was remarkably fit although there was a little scare last summer. When my time comes I rather hope it will be like John .....get up.....potter on the layout .......how evocative was that last shot with the glasses... I am so glad that you and your family enjoyed the video. To answer your questions.....the room is lit by adjustable LED spots on tracks but the room faces west and there are two reasonable sized windows ......which in the afternoon can cause marked variations when shooting the station area. The more frequently one runs trains with DCC the cleaner the track! Its one of the hidden benefits of DCC that you don't often read about. None of the locos involved had stay alive.......I do have a couple of legacy capacitors that I used to use to ensure the Hornby/Dapol 14xx ran ok.......I hardwired them to the autocoach and put pick ups on the coach as well. They are now in a Dean Goods and R.O.D. As you probably gathered from the video, smooth uninterrupted running is absolutely essential with RR&Co. Locos just hesitating rather than stalling can cause havoc. All the stop markers are based on a time and distance calculation from the moment a loco is detected entering a block. Its all very well "stopping the statutory 6' short...etc" (I admit I was showing off) ......if the approaching loco hesitates on the approach it stops short 8'.....fails to couple and departs for the head shunt empty handed........calamity...........so there is a lot of focus on properly adjusted pick ups (the locos used are prone to mis-alignment) and frequent wheel cleaning. You are quite right about the RR&Co clip........it was a bit of an afterthought and I am afraid it showed. Maybe I should just try a very simple video cutting back and forth between the loco and the screen.......but I wonder how many viewers would be interested? Once again many thanks for such a supportive post Much tickled in Vancouver John

Hi Nick That was a very moving obituary. You described John's qualities and inimitable style so well. I read it with a lump in my throat, nodding my head in agreement with each sentence. Thank you for writing so well about our mutual friend Best wishes John

Thanks Robin.......it is indeed......I know that I will miss him a great deal

Here is the video about Granby's suburban passenger service that I have been writing about for the past few weeks Its a little longer than I intended but I found it quite difficult to capture the sequence in a coherent manner........there are a minimum of three locos in motion throughout and the activity takes place on both sides of the room at the same time. I also included a little clip at the end (which you can skip) in an attempt to show how RR&Co handles absolute block working. ​https://youtube.com/watch?v=UPLVZqrTGm8 I had just finished the video when I received the sad news of my friend John Flann's death. John was one of the first followers of Granby and was very supportive of my posts. He did however enjoy poking gentle fun at my enthusiasm for DCC and computers so its only fitting that every time I see this video I will be reminded of our friendship. ​