john dew

I have no hesitation in thanking you Mikkel! I must say I find it astonishing the thread has been running for so long......I guess the apparent increase in the speed of time passing is yet another sign of my advancing age! Best Wishes John

Thats very kind of you John....thank you. I am encouraged by your comment about Wrexham and its similarity to E Lancs. After my post I thought I had better find out a bit more about the textile industry in North Wales. I knew Courtaulds had a mill in Flint (I have a couple of PO wagons that say so!) but I was astonished just how extensive their involvement was.....one mill alone employed over 3000 people! Not cotton spinning but man made viscose (Rayon) originally known as artificial silk..........now I have to learn a bit more about how the raw material and finished product were packaged. I have passed this information on to Trevor Jones, the Stationmaster at Granby Junction. A blackboard notice has been set up in the booking hall Best wishes John

Thanks for all the support guys. Hi MIB I have had the Metcalfe kit for a few years......its very versatile.....low relief, half relief or the full monty. I have another set in low relief that I have to dolly up and fix behind the coal stage I look forward to seeing the finished Star tender. I always enjoy your Cranford posts. Hadnt realised you were back home......just in time for the Autumn Internationals. Just bought my sky day pass...early call for me on Saturday. I imagine you are looking forward to seeing how Scotland measure up against Australia this time Best wishes from a still wet Vancouver John

Hi Glad you liked Granby. There should be running numbers on the sheet that came with the sides.....I can try and find my copy if you can't find yours. The N gauge society commissioned a K42? In a number of liveries......the illustrations on their site are quite helpful and there is a long thread on RMweb which I found useful. I agree chocolate and cream will look good......if I do another one (I still have the donor's sister) I think I will try that although I am quite happy with the brown for my period Cheers John

Thanks for the reminder Mikkel....I forgot to say how much I admired the horse and nose bag. Totally agree with your remarks about horses and the railways.......they were much in evidence throughout the forties and they were still used, I believe , for shunting in the fifties. I hope to get to the UK in 2018....so if I can I will try and get in touch with you Nick. Thank you for the offer...much appreciated Cheers John

Thanks for the likes etc on the last post.......the factory is now finished I should have taken shots of the components from the Metcalfe Factory kit . The two gable units are designed to be joined together or they can be extended with one 2 window wide insert. You cant see the back so I used both inserts at the front and set the gables at right angles to better fit the site and to create something a bit different. The back is just plain card strengthened Scalescene style. The complete unit is mounted on a card base so it can be lifted out of the way if there is an issue with the storage siding entry throat which, when in position, it hides I guess this shot tends to confirm the view that Granby is more reminiscent of East Lancashire than North Wales.......what a shame the GWR didnt run into Oldham! Alma was the most convenient (ie shortest) Crimean battle.....the Boer War may have been more appropriate couldnt recall any suitable battles.....didnt fancy spelling out Ladysmith I chose the Phoenix signs deliberately to suggest a new start after the war.The mill could well have been used as a temporary barracks........I should try and insert a few faded WD markings The kit came with stone coloured quoins which I didnt think looked quite right I preferred to leave the corner fold lines painted out with waer colour. The rather bright Metcalfe brickwork was toned down with a fairly hefty dusting of grubby pastels Hoist Crane added from bits and bobs. The roof is Scalescene paper......applied as one sheet.....normally I do strips but felt I could take a short cut here The road bridge was cleaned up and lamp posts re positioned. I am quite pleased that the exposed storage yard doesnt look out of place The bridge deck is removeable.......there are two elderly point motors with peco frog switches under the support on the left, which sadly need all too frequent attention One more item I can check off my 1947 time stamp bucket list........the letters E W S painted on a wall! For those who were not around during and immediately after WWII (most of you I would guess) the letters EWS (emergency water supply) could be seen in all manner of places to guide the Fire Service to alternative supplies should the water main be blown up. In this case the mill lodge (off scene) Still on the bucket list is an above ground bomb shelter......we had one on our suburban street in North Liverpool.....pretty sure it was still there in 1947. I will try and fit one in up the street So there we have it.......another dark satanic Mill to add to Granby's landscape Next post ......will be a change of pace I am working on my main line passenger rakes........starting with the Birkenhead to ......somewhere in the West Country Express. Havent sorted the exact destinations yet but it will include two through coaches to Port Bredy.....my neighbour John Flann's new layout and it will be hauled by a Star. Regards to all from Vancouver.....where it is continuing to pour down

More congratulations from across the Atlantic! Well done indeed. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were all excited about you getting booked for your first show. It would be fantastic if I were ever to see MM in the UK.....one can always hope. Kind regards John

Here are some shots of the ends I used on my conversion I bought an end pack from Comet.but only used the stepped end.....you can see there was bit of fettling The build is covered in Page 17 (I think) of my layout thread........ Granby

Summer is long gone. Fall in Vancouver is damp at the best of times......this year has been the wettest October ever. Despite the opportunity to do lots of modelling I have spent forever deciding which of my "Big Three" unfinished projects I should start first. Is it just me or do we all get more indecisive with age? Finally a decision has been made (I think). The mess and yard offices for the shed will continue in a holding pattern (thats 4 years and counting).....ground will not be broken for the Station Hotel and General Post Office until 2017.....instead I will both refurbish and complete the low relief buildings that screen the storage sidings which occupy most of the right hand side of the railway room When one is inside the operating well, the low relief Metcalfe terraces are quite effective as a screen. However this is not the case on entering the room. Once one has passed the large Scalescene Warehouse there is nothing to conceal the storage sidings Over the years I have tried various solutions....none successfully. I decided that a road bridge over the exit tracks could work but I couldnt figure out how to make a credible transition with the extremely narrow terrace street......so I just let it stew for a while and worked on the other side of the room. I think the recently released Scalescene low relief Warehouse and Loading Bay kit may provide the answer. Before I can start I need to do a lot of repair work on the Metcalfe Terraces......they feature on the first page of this thread and are at least 9 years old......and it shows . Over the years they have been badly knocked about........whenever there is an issue in the storage area one or more of the modules are temporarily removed and they are now more than a little scarred......chimneys are particularly vulnerable. At the end there is a module of Metcalfe small terraced shops followed by some of their High Street Shops Never been comfortable with this scene. In isolation its a reasonably acceptable cameo but, as I said at the time, it looks out of place in the context of a Welsh industrial village. The terraced shops you can just see on the right of this shot are more credible except for the fascias.......here is a quote from one of my first posts Although I have been careful to avoid TV shops, Pizza Takeaways and other time period giveaways it has been pointed out to me, quite rightly, that the Fascia lettering is still a big giveaway......you did not see those fonts (the Newsagent is a glaring example) in 1947......at some stage I will have to do some remedial work: I guess 'some stage' has finally been reached.......once this has been posted its back to fiddling around with Office Libre fonts ! The larger shops were removed some time ago. Eventually they will appear in the high street cameo that I have been roughly assembling on the window sill above the main line into Granby. In their place I have some Metcalfe Factory components that at one time I was going to use at the far end. Repair the windows.....add a roof, backing and some detailing, maybe a factory chimney and hopefully this will make a more appropriate background screen. Regards from a very very wet Vancouver John

Thanks Mullie You didn't miss anything with the sound off.....glad you liked the video. Best wishes John

Thanks Andy......you are very kind about the music......it was the best of a very limited bunch from Iplayer? I need to sort something better but I am confused by copyright stuff Best wishes John

B****r I thought I had fixed that lamppost! Glad you liked the video Mikkel.....I know RR&Co isn't for everyone but I do enjoy showing what it can do. Best wishes John

Thanks John That's very kind of you Ps I omitted to thank everyone for the ticks etc on the last post....My apologies to all.

I hope no one was waiting with bated breath for "tomorrows" how I did it! http://yourmodelrailway.net/images/emoticons/icon_redface.gif I decided to make a somewhat longer video showing the routine and it took far longer than I anticipated and its still pretty rough anyway. You can see it at the end of the post.......do let me know what you think Now for a health warning. I am a broad brush coarse gauge modeller. If you are a sensitive soul skip to the bottom of the post.....the locos are sufficiently far away and out of focus so you will be unable to see the scary bits http://yourmodelrailway.net/images/emoticons/icon_lol.gif I explained the issue in the last post. With the NEM coupler pocket mounted on the pony truck it is impossible to ensure that a Kadee coupler will always be positioned in the centre of the loco. The obvious solution is to mount the pocket directly on to the underside of the chassis.......but that of course will foul the pony truck when it negotiates a curve. Even a coupler on its own will foul the truck. Surgery has to be applied to both coupler and truck. The coupler has to be cut very short and the pony truck carved back......completely removing the redundant NEM pocket and , I am afraid, the guard irons . It gets worse......the chassis is set quite deep into the body so there is not even a mounting point.......and at the front the body fixing screw is right below where the coupler will be mounted The solution was to build up very small layers of plasticard in each corner so that they neither cover the screw or foul the truck Then mount a very thin full width plastic bridge on the two layers.......I probably worry too much. I havent taken the body off since I chipped the loco in 2008! The rear was easier ....no fixing screw to worry about I could, and should have made a neater job of cutting the plastic shims After I had taken these shots I added a refinement http://yourmodelrailway.net/images/emoticons/icon_lol.gif by drilling both the shortened coupler and base. Then glueing and screwing the coupler to the base Here is a side view showing how much depth had to be built up Now a before and after albeit using different locos Apart from a missing head lamp and a fireman apparently standing on his head.....I like to think the only difference is the missing guard irons For the unconvinced a closeup Finally the video......its a bit shaky and I apologise for the quality its much fuzzier than I expected....and of course the music. Its primarily about the Prairie and a B set......but there is some background at the beginning you may like. A 64xx Pannier sandwiched between two auto carriages from Ruabon. An LMS 3F hauling steel pipes to Birkenhead, a Dukedog with empty Oil tankers heading to Ellesmere Port and LMS 8F shunting Iron Ore Wagons All with one mouse click.......one continuous shoot.....I just edited out the delays built into the run around [media] [media] As part of the freight sequence there is a rather nice double header Pannier goods which didnt make the cut......next time perhaps?

As followers of ANTB will know this is one of my favourite locos Its such.an iconic GWR branch loco and although the model is now somewhat long in the tooth I still think it excellent.. I originally ran them on Granby II and 15+ years later they are still extremely reliable and super smooth runners. When I started building Granby III and switched to DCC they were the first locos that I chipped. They seemed perfect for the branch passenger service This involves a loco exchange at Granby and a loco run around at the lower level Cynwyd branch,,,,,,,all run automatically with RR&Co . The B Set hauled by 4550 rolls into Cynwyd..........note the bus carefully placed off the bridge http://yourmodelrailway.net/images/emoticons/icon_lol.gif Crawls to a halt and uncouples 4550 runs around the B Set First outing for the carriage branding......sadly not transfers but looks ok applying the 3' rule and approaches the train to re couple.................... Which is where things started to go wrong. The NEM pocket that holds the Kadee coupler is mounted on the pony truck rather than the body. There is, of course, a lot of sideplay on the bogey wheels. As a result there is no guarantee that the coupler will be centred on the loco body...........thus there is no guarantee that the loco will couple! The hand of god is not a good idea at the best of times......on an automated routine it is the kiss of death as the loco charges up Cynwyd Bank leaving the coaches at the platform......... blocking the entry of the also automated auto train......mean time the hand of god is elsewhere. The immediate solution was to bench the Prairies....one has to be ruthless! They were replaced with Panniers and ever since the routine has run seamlessly........well almost, but thats another story. But I still hankered after the Prairies and from time to time........typically every time Robin posted one of his super shots on ANTB..... I would dust them down (literally) and give them another try........all to no avail Until I finally hit on a solution........and here is the proof on a rather fuzzy 16 second video [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRu9AmrGKC4[media] How did I fix it ......all will be revealed tomorrow

Sorry to hear about your parents trip...........a lot of the track we saw from the road seemed to be single and I did wonder about breakdowns. The other hazard of course is the weather.....we were very fortunate but it absolutely poured down when we crossed over Rogers Pass into BC and again when we returned to Vancouver.....on each occasion, from time to time, the road ran parallel with the railway and a couple of times we drove side by dide with Rock Mountain trains........bearing in mind how much they had paid for the trip they had my sympathy. Regards from a very sunny Vancouver (but the monsoon is on its way) John

Thank you so much Mikkel.......you have no idea how encouraging a post like that is ......particularly from a modeller of your renown. (I lurk in awe on your Farthing thread). Your suggestion that it has grown chaotically over many years is remarkably accurate! I have been building the layout since 2007 and there are still some prime real estate lots awaiting development......or in some cases re-development.........the long terrace of row of Metcalfe houses, which you may recall concealed the storage yards, has got sadly knocked about over the years.....the wreckers demolition ball looms. If I was really radical I would replace the back scenes they are rather dated and not very convincing.......its one of the reasons I like Black and white shots! Thanks again for your comments Best wishes John

Thanks MIB, much appreciated although I suspect you are flattering me......again To be honest I opted for all Brown to avoid the trauma of separating the cream from the chocolate.......maybe next time when your advice above will be.very useful. Glad the proposed tank sequence sounded credible........now I have to get it to work properly. Mr Gates sent me an update to correct all the mistakes he made with the anniversary update.........which promptly trashed the drive with all the data......fortunately all backed up.....so all I have to do is pay the computor shop $150 to fit a new drive and I can start running trains again..........I suppose corrupt drive is a more original excuse than leaves on the line! Best wishes John

Thanks Phil Without you I would never have attempted it......now having learned so much I may well have another go Best wishes John

I like the doubleheader Rob........hadnt thought of that .......just posted this on Granby Sunday was Thansgiving Day in Canada........so it was quite appropriate that I was able to finally complete the K40 PBV conversion that Phil so kindly built for me last April.......as I said in my thread I wouldnt have done it without your initial suggestion Rob and I certainly couldnt have done it without such generous assistance from Mr Duck.......many thanks guys I havent voted yet so I dont know if a K40 (unlike the K42) is listed........but its one item that now I am afraid will not get my vote! Bearing in mind Murphy''s law I doubt it will make much difference! However I will be ticking the Manor and Mogul boxes and I guess I had better tick the 517 box for Edwardian Regards from Vancouver John

Sunday was Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Some may feel it is rather appropriate that the Passenger Brake Van was finally complete I confess the delay was, in part, caused by me worrying about my inability to add the finishing touches, door handles and grab handles, in a competent manner http://yourmodelrailway.net/images/emoticons/icon_redface.gif. To my surprise the door handles, a minute brass etching were relatively easy.....and fortunately there were lots of spares to replace all the ones I screwed up or dropped and lost forever on the floor. I had more difficulty with the grab handles which had to be formed from 0.45 mm wire. Rather than getting two crisp 90o bends I tended to get an un-prototypical curved shape. I guess I should have tried to make some sort of jig. Anyway here she is up and and running. The Up Milk (empties) from Birkenhead (I am guessing Hooton?) hauled by 6818 Hardwick Grange entering Granby The two rear tankers are dropped off in the main head shunt. They will be returned to the dairy at Cynwyd as tail traffic on the branch B set Here is the Grange continuing its journey to Shrewsbury over Granby viaduct I think this is one of Hornby's best ever locos.....super reliable runner and impressive hauling power. Puts the Bachmann Halls to shame. Once I get the Milk sequence going the two Granges I have will have to handle the Down runs because the Halls struggle with 8 tankers and the PBV on the combination of curve and relatively gentle incline out of Shrewsbury (storage yard) Its hard to believe that its over six months that I posted this shot worrying about the lack of an appropriate Brake Van Fortunately Gwrrob of ANTB fame persuaded me to think about a Comet conversion and when I was about to chicken out Mallard (Mr Duck) stepped in and offered to build the coach, leaving me to do the finishing touches. Many many thanks to both of you and all who have encouraged me over the past 6 months......couldnt/wouldnt have done it without you. It is by no means perfect but to my mind it does just about look the part. Its undoubtedly been time consuming and occasionally more than a little frustrating but on the other hand it has also been quite enjoyable.....even relaxing occasionally.......and now after all that I do have a certain sense of achievement. I may well be tempted to try another conversion .....I do have lots of donors available. Regards from Vancouver John

Oops....sorry it's BR preserved Chocolate and Cream......livery like the Hawksworth PBV

Due Jan/Feb 2017 according to Hattons in GWR preservation chocolate and cream Still vacillating how far I can stretch reality on Granby! Regards John

Thanks John It was a very enjoyable trip......and we were lucky with the weather! I have similar reservations about my coach building skills. Wouldnt have attempted it without the push and much assistance from Phill (Mallard). Its almost done now and, applying the 3' moving target rule it will make my daily milk train look much more credible Kind Regards John

Thanks again for the comments and likes guys. There is no doubt Canada is a beautiful country. On the west coast we get a bit blase about mountains and water views but I have to admit the Rockies took my breath away. Now as promised......a change of pace.....the Okanagan Wine country. When we arrived in Vancouver, 35 years ago, BC wine was nothing special but it has improved dramatically and the better wines now command premium prices. There must be now nearly 100 wineries surrounding Okanagan Lake. They come in all shapes and sizes from the workaday : to buildings that wouldnt look out of place in Napa Valley California: The three shots above were taken at Mission Hill the winery that William and Kate visited on tuesday. As you can see it is all very spick and span......it rather reminded me of my army days just before the General's visit......stand still for too long and you are likely to be painted white! Personally I preferred the more relaxed ambiance of Quails Gate: More importantly their wine is at least as good and much cheaper! For sheer irreverence of the entire wine mystique you cant beat this place: Many wineries have displays of antique wine making equipment. Mission Hill have priceless works of art........these guys have: A display of old laundry machinery! Legend has it that during the gold rush the town laundry fronted as a brothel.....hence the name, No surprise to see how the winetasting bar is set up: The wine isnt too bad either and we had a very pleasant lunch on a shaded patio overlooking the vineyards and now.......a rather laborious attempt to introduce something about a railway. This is a close up of the vineyard shot [ The cross marks a level crossing and you can just see signs of the cutting through which the Kettle Valley Heritage Railway runs Hope you enjoyed the travelogue......next post proper modelling Regards from a still sunny Vancouver John