john dew

I was initially going to buy one of the bargain BR black 52xxs at around 79 Pounds......then on ANTB (!) I was persuaded, correctly, that it was only the 2-8-2s that were seen in the North West.........so I started looking at a black BR 72xx 100 pounds +_.........then I realised they were unlikely to appear in GWR war time black.........so it was finally the green one one at 120 pounds......I think that is called price creep. I had to do a lot of googling to get that price......none of the big box guys had them and not all the smaller shops take off VAT which is significant for me It seems to me that it is very rare for the GWR versions to sell out before the BR.......look at all the Kernow sale items and the Dapol railcar #8......not suggesting GWR outsells BR but anecdotal evidence suggests the ordering ratio should be adjusted by both the Red and Blue teams. Very happy with my purchase even if it was somewhat over budget! Good luck with your search John

Hi Robin R3225 is in green.....Great Western I bought mine last fall had to search around a bit Cheers John

I suspect they had to get up to that speed to make the gradient......I noticed that as they added more wagons the locos started to stall when they entered the second curve while the end of the train was still transiting the first curve. Regarding layout speeds, I think it rather depends on the size of the layout. Granby is 18' x10' but with the station complex on one long side and storage sidings on the other its really only on the 10' curves at either end that trains can approach full speed. If you want realistic acceleration and braking , as I do, 10' isnt very long. In these sections maximum speed for express passenger trains is 35mph, ordinary passengers 20- 25mph and freight at 15 mph. I suppose one could argue with some justification that the layout isnt big enough to run realsitic speed.......however, sadly, not an argument that has found much favour with Mrs D. My speeds are calculated by RR&Co but next running session I will be counting carriages and wagons per second as practised by St Edonoc.........it will be interesting to check the speeds with the RR&Co throttle.speed Cheers John

Hi Tony Quite the coincidence! When I checked the video I immediately recognised your style. That was a very interesting trial......not least because I noted none of the GWR 2-8-0s made the final three.......not entirely surprised though. Probably the longest train on Granby is the iron ore train....hauled for the last 10 years by a Hornby 8F. Seeing how comfortably the Super D beat the 8F its no surprise where the Super D is now! Incidentally your ex-teacher has an amazing collection of stock in that fiddle yard Cheers John

Hi Andy Thank you for that great post. What an eclectic mix of videos. I spent a very relaxing 30 minutes (with a glass of wine) learning a great deal about the Super D.......so glad Tony twisted my arm, One of the things that really stood out to me was how close coupled the wagons were on that Yorkshire preserved railway.......I guess one gets used to the gap of tension locks or kadees....but it was a real eye opener to me seeing how close the real thing is. Thanks again for posting the videos......after seeing them my Super D is definitely getting promoted to the Iron Ore train! Best wishes John

Now for something completely different. The subject of this post is far removed from last weeks elegant green Hall 4-6-0 with a colourful rake of passenger rated parcel vans. Epitomising the grit and grime of Granby........a rugged work horse: The schoolboys at the end of platform 4 are quite excited spotting this loco for the first time on Granby . A Bachmann G2A 0-8-0 sometimes known as a Super D These were produced by the LNWR to haul heavy mineral trains.First manufactured in the 1880s over 800 of the assorted sub classes were produced.........400+- were handed over to BR on nationalisation and the last loco was withdrawn in 1964. I have admired this model since the day it was first released......however LMS tends to take second place on Granby. Despite the attraction, it dropped into the "could have" list.......as opposed to must have (eg 43xx Mogul) or should have (47xx Night Owl).........and there it remained until a few months ago.. While discussing my new 72xx a few posts back, i was reminded of my liking for the G2A. Out of the blue Tony (trw1089), a long standing internet friend, told me he had a surplus BR G2A. He made me an offer I couldnt refuse....... reliveried, re numbered and weathered at a very attractive price. Bearing in mind Tony lives in Queensland Australia 9376 is now a much traveled loco! Incidentally when Tony asked me what number I wanted, knowing little about the LMS,I looked up the class in Wikipedia........where the lead photo shows 9376 at Crewe in 1948....problem solved. I think his weathering really enhances some of the superb detail on the model I have only recently started to weather my locos so having an example like this in front of me is great. I think the overall effect is very impressive and far more subtle than I had realised.............by way of contrast there is a factory weathered 14xx in the foreground of the next shot. So photo shoot over........ 9376 continues on her way to Birkenhead Docks. Apart from looking the part the loco also performs very well.......slow crawl, smooth steady acceleration and very powerful. The steel tubes were a temporary assignment. Hopefully the next time you see her will be on a video hauling a long iron ore train. Regards from Vancouver where, in January, we enjoyed a record 248mm of rain. John

Australia is listed as Bein sports.....Canada a big fat zero. I will observe strict 24 hour embargo before commenting here .....will that be long enough? Cheers

Well its correction/apology/George Washinton time. I finally located the photo that Andy had sent me and its actually of 4903 Astley Hall.....not 4905 Barton Hall. I guess I opted for geography (Barton was shedded at Chester in 1950) rather than history. Furthermore the tender is GWR not G crest W! So my brief claim to authenticity on Granby is no more! I cant say Barton Hall never had a 3,500 gallon tender but I certainly cant claim that I have seen photographic evidence that it did......I have trawled the internet searching...just in case. In fact if you google Barton Hall you will eventually see the photo of Astley Hall that I referred to. ...... Its not the end of the world..... I will leave Barton Hall as is (though I might change the tender decals!)......but I really didnt want to mislead anyone. It wouldnt surprise me that Bob (81C) knew this already...........in which case, I do appreciate you nudging me in the right direction in such a subtle manner.....thank you! Regards to all John

What bogies and buffers did you use? As I am sure you could tell, mine are the original (although the wheels were replaced of course) .....the vans seem to ride rather high and sway around like a Pendolino! I guess you are looking for a result against Wales on Saturday.........first time in years I wont be getting up at the crack of dawn to watch the six nations......not availablle on Canadian Tv...grrr Regards John

Thank you! The style and content of Granby are so different from Castle Aching comments like that are particularly appreciated Kind Regards John

Hi Bob Not sure about homework.......It came from a guy called Andy, cant remember his nom de plume...GWRxxx or similar,who suddenly became a "deleted member" just before Christmas. He was quite active on ANTB and appeared to be very knowledgeable about GWR locos. It was he who prodded me into renaming and weathering my Halls. He gave me a lot of useful advice and sent me a load of photo links......which of course I cant find now! Best wishes John

Thanks for all the likes gentlemen. Here is the Parcels train having completed its van exchange steaming over Granby viaduct en route to Wolverhampton I have a lengthy list of things which I would remedy if I ever started Granby IV (which I won't) One of them is undoubtedly to plan for more photographic sight lines. My apologies for yet more photos of trains on the viaduct......as Granby gets more built up this is about the only place where I can get something approaching a reasonable shot of a train. One of my three elderly Siphons.........they are such iconic GWR vans, its a mystery to me why they havent been updated and re-released. Having said that, there has been a marked absence of any GWR NPCS in the past five years........a period in which we have seen CCTs for the other Big Three and PBVs for the LMS and LNER....not sure about the SR. I wonder if Hornby burnt their fingers with the Hawksworths that appeared in GWR livery for a only very short time. In fact, I understand that the Brake Van never appeared in GWR livery? Whatever....needs must.....I added "Great [crest] Western" and some weathering and it doesnt look too out of place in a 1948 parcels train. Sorry about the white wall tyres on the SR van.......I suspect I only weathered one side http://yourmodelrailway.net/images/emoticons/icon_redface.gif. They are beautiful highly detailed models and like the prototype very useful. The LMS Brake is one of four I bought from Hattons in the mid nineties at a knock down price because the window glazing had come loose.....great bargain Talking of bargains: This is one of the Hornby Halls you could pick up as recently as last year for 50 GBP! Adderley Hall, out of the box.......Great Western on the tender in Hornbys unique green and lined (after a fashion) I learned on ANTB that lined Halls were as rare as hens teeth in 1947. I bit the bullet and repainted loco and tender with Precision paint. Nowhere near as good as Robin's but still acceptable. Somehow an unlined Hall in "proper" GWR green looks so much more powerful and less toylike. Renamed and renumbered to 4905 Barton Hall......shedded in the North West in 1948 and actually photograped with the Collett 3500 gallon tender. Thats about as close as you will get to authenticity on Granby! http://yourmodelrailway.net/images/emoticons/icon_lol.gif Applying the 3' rule, which I frequently do, 4905 is the perfect example of a layout loco......looks the part from 3', super reliable and happily hauls six car trains over my dodgy track. I guess the new decals look a bit shiny http://yourmodelrailway.net/images/emoticons/icon_cry.gif Regards from Vancouver ....where in the month of January we have enjoyed one day without rain........well it is called the Rain Forest

Thanks guys.....so glad you like the post. As you may have guessed the sequence is part of the script of a RR&Co routine I am developing. Its taking far too long to develop.All that coupling and uncoupling takes a lot of testing in order to get a reasonable (90%) level of certainty. Almost there with this segment and then I will have a go with a video Best wishes John

You are teasing me of course Mikkel.......its a figment of my imagination using a goods shed rescued from Granby I........but the flattery is very much appreciated. Best wishes John

Hi Bill At least your pension will be index linked! Mine remains at precisely the same amount as when I started to draw it over a decade ago. It is quite bizarre that UK emigrants, living in the old "Dominions" , do not have their UK Govt Pensions index linked.........if I had emigrated to France or Italy.....or even Bulgaria (I believe) it would be different. Rant over......Canada has other attractions and fortunately I am not reliant on the monthly transfer from Tyneside......just annoys me! To return railway matters..........like you I am eagerly anticipating a Barclay for the brewery and an unlined green Dean. Still no news of the latter......I thought it was on the boat in late December? Best wishes John

Thanks Andy........I am so glad you like the photos. It is very re assuring to know that you think that I have created something approaching the look of an industrial landscape in the late forties...........I spend a lot of time trying to embed realistic "time stamps" although I have to say Granby owes more to my memories of East Lancashire than North Wales! Best Wishes John

Good Morning all. As promised, here is the Up Parcels sequence. I sometimes think my posts are a bit verbose so this time I have tried to tell the tale with photos and minimal explanation. The first stage involves the station pilot moving two outgoing vans from the parcels siding to the outer trailing siding off the Up line. The parcels depot was something of an afterthought......the facing platform, Bay #1, has to be used as a head shunt. The incoming Ellesmere Autotrain, seen above, normally uses Platform 1 so it has to be redirected to Bay #3 The pilot leaves the vans in the siding and returns to the Parcels siding to clear the Depot siding ready for the incoming vans In this shot, taken from a passing aeroplane, the 10.05 Birkenhead-Wolverhampton parcels hauled by an unidentified Hall approaches Granby Junction. The train consists of a fixed rake of 4 vans plus 2 vans at the rear which will be exchanged at Granby. The Hall enters Bay #3 just vacated by the autotrain on its return journey to Ellesmere... Once clear of the Bay entrance the train reverses into the second (inner) trailing siding The two incoming vans are uncoupled ready to be transferred by the pilot to the now empty Depot siding The Hall.....4905 Barton Hall... returns to Bay #3 and, once clear of the entrance points, reverses into the outer siding to pick up the two vans previously left there by the pilot. Once coupled, the completed train moves back on to the main Up line ready to resume its trip to Wolverhampton. I have some slightly better shots of Barton Hall from the other side, leaving the station, which I will post later this week. Regards from a wet and windy Vancouver John

Hi Bill My apologies for not replying sooner. We normally correspond in anther place..........so having read the above in my email I went to the said other place to reply and of course could find nothing........yet another sign I am moving gracelessly into my dotage. Glad you like the Brewery. Sorry to hear about the weather ......didnt realised it rained like that on the Loire....although, for us, in the rain forest its the winter norm..... after a brief respite we have another straight 7 days to look forwrd too! Best wishes John

I do agree with you about the steepness of the most recent price increases. When I was involved in marketing, admittedly in the last century, there was a clear correlation between price and units sold. We would estimate the demand for an item in monetary value. If we were obliged to increase the selling price by 10% the sterling estimate remained unchanged but the unit estimate was reduced by 10%. If we had to increase the sp by more than 10% and particularly if we breached a critical price point the sterling estimate was reduced resulting in an even greater reduction in the unit purchase. We were buying from a number of manufacturers and not shackled with a significant minimum order requirement. I do wonder what effect these increases will have on Bachmanns inventory levels. I did a double take when I read your anniversary tag........how did he know that I first started modelling in January 1991 (Granby I) I asked myself.....then I realised you were writing about a rather more significant anniversary Best wishes John

Hi Tony Glad you like it.....I was originally attracted to Hook Norton because their site had a schematic showing where the various processes were located. This meant I could design the buildings in a realistic fashion. However, the more I studiedit the more fascinated I became with the actual design features and the way these features were maintained on buildings of different heights and shapes........obviously I have had to use some modellers licence but hopefully the finished model will have at least a passing resemblance to Hook. I knew I would get into trouble with you re the Pannier shot......and there are more to come. I tried to get a quit pro quo in early....did you not notice the background in the Dean video........a LNER (actually my only) loco on Granby! Best wishes

Hi John So glad you approve. In an attempt to get that distinctive aroma I could, perhaps, leave the odd empty can of Speckled Hen lying around? On reflection Doreen might have the odd word to say about that! Thanks for posting that tip about the louvres. I have spent a lot of time over the years looking at Hintock et al for ideas......cant believe I missed them. Simple yet effective.....great example of your "less is more" philosophy. I think I am committed to my plasticard for this build but I will certainly be using it in the future. 7 days of rain forecast here so I guess you will be getting some snow shortly. Best wishes John

Back to the brewery! The copper house roof now has gable windows and a ventilation turret. Apart from adding gutters and drain pipes, its complete . It would have taken forever to try and make individual louvres for the ventilators and I suspect the end result would have been disappointing. The ridged plasticard I used to create faux louvres was still quite time consuming; The main brewery building will have these vents right round the roof so the turret was useful practice in precision cutting The part finished water tank is now on top of the the grist mill tower Hook Norton has a continuation of the tower wall on one side of the water tank. I copied this feature, even though I dont understand its original purpose. On the model , though, it helps conceal that the water tank (a Dapol/Airfix kit).is smaller than the towers standard Scalescene footprint. It will also support the gabled roof that finishes off the structure I guess this is the first display of Danby Brewery's colour scheme. Green was bound to be the main colour from the moment I ordered "Coronation", a Barclay 0-4-0 from Hattons. Choosing the second colour took rather longer as the two tone effect on the Tank will be repeated below on the Sack Hoist and thus become a prominent feature of the entire bulding. Another feature that will be replicated on the hoist is a row of narrow windows on each floor Cutting the window frames for the tank was therefore more useful learning experience. Still to do.......Sack Hoist, Vents and gabled turreted roof on the main building and gabled roof on the water tank When I get involved in a major project like this there is always a danger that it will occupy all my available modelling time resulting in no trains being run for weeks........this time I am try to exert some self discipline by only spendingt 2 or 3 days a week on the brewery. In the other half of the week I am continueing to develop a fairly complex routine involving both a milk train and a parcel train. Last week I started a small component of this routine.....a sequence involving the station pilot shunting some parcel vans from the depot in preparation for pick up : More to come.........but I did promise a Pannier photo1 Regards from Vancouver

Hi Sorry about the red herring with the conflict between TC and stall motors linked to Lenz decoders! I did hesitate before mentioning it. DCC Concepts sell a two unit solenoid decoder https://www.dccconcepts.com/manual/owners-manual-ads-2fx-solenoid-accessory-decoder/ which I use for retrofit turnouts.......they work fine with me.....why not check with them if they are ok with 18 volts DC? Regards John

Glad to be of help. I am not familiar with the LS 100 but I do use a number of LS150s. I am sure that they would handle the Seep uncouplers. However I have a suggestion. I believe Cobalt Analog decoders are "stall motors" like the Tortoise that I use? The LS150 (and I assume the LS 100) were designed for solenoid turnout motors not stall motors......they work but that is why you have to modify them with resistors. With Train Controller they can cause problems as they process commands in sequence rather than simultaneously. In other words Tortoise has to complete its slow zzzzzzz throwing the blade before processing the command for the next turnout. So if you start a schedule and the first 2-3 points are on the same LS100 there is a high probability that the train will pass over the turnout in mid throw! It got so bad I rewired some of the turnouts so didnt have too many adjacent turnouts on the same decoder.......even that wasnt enough so I bought an NCE Switch 8 (?) designed for stall motors and put the eight most used turnouts on that......worked a treat......they throw simutaneously. If you have to buy an additional decoder rather than buy a LS150 I would consider the latest version of the NCE Switch 8......similar price to the LS150 I recall. Move some of your turnouts to the switch 8 and hook up the uncouplers to the now vacant slots on the LS 100 Just a suggestion Cheers John

I assume you have accessory decoders for your turnouts? If so connect the seep uncouplers to a decoder and allocate a unique number to each Set up a TC push button switch (A) for each uncoupler and using the connection tab enter the decoder number........I can't recall if you can set up pulse mode direct from those properties If not you should set up a second pushbutton (B) and in the operation tab : Activate switch A in pulse mode Turn off switch B There may well be a more elegant solution but the above will work HTH Regards