[hairyhandedfool]

Glentress

The completion of 'Phase 3' means that Glentress appears for real for the first time, I have cobbled together enough straight track for the main running lines and might even be able to fit one of the sidings with what is left of the straight track. Anyway here we go......

As you can see I have had to lose one of the sidings, for some reason the fourth just won't fit so there is some breathing space, although the 'Peebles' end needs some adjustment as it goes slightly too far across. Good job I added in those headshunts then. Another addition to the plan is another point on the 'Up Loop' line I think the real railway would have a run off line to prevent SPADs being too dangerous!

Stock

The good thing about the 1998-2000 period is the vast array of liveries it has, the end of BR and the beginning of corporate identity.

An 'Intercity' livery HST heads a Cross Country (VXC) service out of Peebles.

(I am aware the grey stripe on the restaurant car should actually be more like biege)

An EWS 47 hauls some RES super GUVs on the evening mail run through Peebles South Junction

 

[hairyhandedfool]

The last scenic area has a base, the entrance to the tunnels (to the storage yard) was put in place last night:

One of the sidings at Glentress was laid out, here is a view along the length of the station area:

Electricity was applied to the main section of the layout temporarily to see how it all works and given that the track was dirty still, it ran rather well.

The temporary electrical connection:

The GNER HST gets its first taste of electric in years:

Two 37s haul a ballast train up the hill and into the sidings....

....Past the old shed at Glentress....

....All the way along the siding....

....Out of the sidings and past a stabled class 60....

.... and the the end of the station (bit blurry).

 

[madon37s]

Love that 'S' bend mate very nice. The 37s look good on the ballast train.

I like the HST nuclear flask train by the way. They should be ok on the mainline!! Anyone remember the Peak being run into the flask at 100mph!!!!

I like the Engine shed who makes that?

Kind regards

Paul

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I have seen the pictures of the peak hitting the flask, but don't remember seeing it at the time.

I hope to have a verge/hill rising between the Branch line and the mainline to seperate them a bit and make it all a bit less flat, but I liked the idea of it from the get go.

The engine shed is eight of the ex-Airfix (now made by Dapol) engine shed kits built together. It is built into two 2ft 'roads', which is enough to cover two class 156 units completely. I have another similar shed which was made of two ex-Airfix sheds (one 'road' about 1ft long) which can just be seen in the picture of the 37s passing the class 60.

 

[7113]

QUOTE (madon37s @ 25 Feb 2009, 09:02) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Anyone remember the Peak being run into the flask at 100mph!!!!

Yes, I actually found the CEGB leaflet on it in the "library" the other day. If memory serves it was one of a number of tests arranged at the time to allay fears of accidental damage to the flasks! The following link says it all, although only 3 coaches were used - http://www.old-dalby.com/Crash.htm

Regards

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (hairyhandedfool @ 25 Feb 2009, 10:42) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I have seen the pictures of the peak hitting the flask, but don't remember seeing it at the time.

I hope to have a verge/hill rising between the Branch line and the mainline to seperate them a bit and make it all a bit less flat, but I liked the idea of it from the get go.

The engine shed is eight of the ex-Airfix (now made by Dapol) engine shed kits built together. It is built into two 2ft 'roads', which is enough to cover two class 156 units completely. I have another similar shed which was made of two ex-Airfix sheds (one 'road' about 1ft long) which can just be seen in the picture of the 37s passing the class 60.

Here you go ;

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Thanks for the link Brian, I'll have a look latter when I'm not on the work PC.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Work on the electrics is ongoing, but during a test yesterday it appears as though power is getting round the pointwork and providing electric to all the platforms at the Glentress end of Peebles station, instead of just one at a time

so I'm gonna have to come up with some trap points to isolate the electric further.

I had a couple of thoughts about Peebles station itself too. I thought about putting an overall roof on the main part of the station and a newer lower canopy on the near platform, but after putting up the Hornby roofs I thought it would look strange (not neccesarily a bad thing), so put a further overall roof section up (giving it a look not unlike Blackburn), which will maybe give it the look of a station that was once more important than it currently is, any thoughts?

The station is going to have a wall down the side anyway, so the roof could be perched on that somewhere. But that made me think, what if I put a platform on the near side of the layout for the existing 'short' through line (or even make it a through line with no platform) and then lengthen the short terminus platform to a through line. This would give the added bonus of lengthening the 'short' through platfrom slightly.

The front of the roof with a 47 and some 156s beneath it. the 47 is on the short terminus platform.

A look along the roof (The platfrom is too keep it level till I get some walling)

Two 47/7s under the roof

The buildings will need to be replaced though, something bigger would be needed I think.

Just a couple of other pics taken last night.

An 08 hauls some HEA coal wagons up the hill from the branch...

And goes into the head shunt after depositing the wagons in the yard at Glentress....

The 60 backs onto the HEA wagons, ready to go back downhill.

 

[frame69]

I like the canopy shots,hes a monster,you are gonna need a pidgeon shooter under there!

Big stations look cool

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Hmmmm, pidgeons.... Gonna need a big net!

So, following on from my thoughts in my previous post, I removed the shorter through platfrom to extend the short terminus platform to a through platform. I think if I do this perminantly the former through platform line will be a non-platform loop line. Anyway to illustrate what I mean about it all here is 47474 on the end of a parcels train in the newly formed through platform....

And here is the temporary plan for the station mouth at the 'Scottish' end....

Also, I had a brain storm last night, having thought I was short of straight track, I realised I had track in three train packs which had previously been bought for me. there was just enough track to lay out the section above and Glentress yard....

I am going to use old hornby points (the ones that are already knackered) to make some form of catch points, so that I can isolate the electric more easily. Here is one I have already done....

I know its not exactly realistic, but it is only temporary ('till I can convert everything to DCC)

 

[frame69]

Hi H, I dont know if it was intentional but do you need extra support underneath? I noticed in the first pic.

Or is it just my eyes going? I am 40 in a few weeks!!!!

 

[hairyhandedfool]

For the baseboard?

I was just looking at that, I might have to do something, although I don't think the camera has been too kind in the shot. It is supported in the same way as all the other boards, but there does appear to be an issue with that one.

 

[frame69]

I've noticed it with a few of mine,a carpenter friend said untreated wood can fluctuate when exposed to alternating temps. etc...I only noticed it because of the surroundings,flat platforms etc...

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Progress

Only a little progress this update, I have added the trap points to help isolate stray electricity, one is shown below.

I have also placed a couple of bridge arches on the layout to give an idea of where the road will cross the railway. It is currently supported by wood columns that are far too large and will obviously have to be replaced. The road will run down the side of the railway towards Glentress and eventually cross the line again. Just after the bridge at Peebles there will be a junction from which a road will run down the length of Peebles station, where there will be a station entrance.

The shed building at Glentresss yard has moved sllightly to allow a fueling area for the DMUs.

The yard itself is now full of units awaiting the first day of service, ATN will hae 4 units stabled and fueled overnight.....

....And Scotrail will have two units stabled for an early morning service....

I am considering having a Cross Country service stable over night on the freight road as no freight will operate in the early hours, other than the mail trains.

 

[frame69]

Looking good,have you made any videos of it yet?

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Not yet, but maybe soon. I want to get everything running smoothly first.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Testing was continued yesterday, with longer trains tested to see if they can climb the hills to the summit at Peebles. Whilst it wasn't a complete success I did get some more photos.

The 37s return the ballast train to the storage sidings....

And rest in the sidings (for some reason the flash didn't work!)....

The longest train on the layout visits a rather empty Peebles station....

And returns past a 67 on a crew training run....

Showing the period in question nicely, a Cross Country HST heads for Peebles....

And the rear power car is the Intercity livery one seen earlier in the thread....

 

[Chinahand]

Nice looking pictures Hairy though a little dark if I may say so. Some additional (temporary) lighting might help.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I have put together a mock up station building, made from paper it was really just to check my measurements were upto stratch, anyway, here it is....

The view over the canopy. I think the buliding rises to high and maybe 2cm could come off this when properly built.

The view down the Canopy. There will be a stairwell on the left with a glass exterior around it, a lift down the centre and the platform entrance on the right with Managers offices above and a Cafe on the top floor. Is it me or are the stairs too steep? Reducing the height of the building will reduce the steepness slightly of course, but would it still be too steep?

The back of the building. I haven't yet decided on the placing of windows here but top floor will be shops the next two floors down being Control Room, Staff facilities, etc, etc. The Ground floor will be the back of the Ticket Office, an entrance for the scottish bound platforms will be near side, opposite the main platform entrance. The bit leading of to the left will be were the main street entrance will come from and will be two level as detailed above.

The platform level. This view shows the side of the building under the main street entrance. The lines that are just visible are glass panels, although I am not sure about them being on the first floor, it will give a good view inside the station on the ground floor.

The corner view. Just to show how the windows line up in this view.

I am debating another small track plan change at Peebles, to double the passing line and use them as temporary sidings and passing lines. The stock is for illustrative purposes.

Stock Photos.

Yes more stock to show! First up a veiw of the trains in the 'Scottish' fiddle yard at the start of play. Two units sit at Glentress over night and two at Heaton (Newcastle), leaving five in the fiddle yard. At some point soon (hopefully) the 150, 156s and 158s will have Kadees to allow coupling between classes.

And finally a rare visitor to Peebles, 158799 prepares to head back to Newcastle.....

....and calls at Glentress on its way.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

More stock was put on the layout last night, including five of the new breed.....

And two of the old guard......

The flasks made their way along the layout....

And it was a Duff day at Peebles.....

The arrival of the 31s on a charter meant an 08 was needed to shunt the arriving mail vans (there were two mail trains running which split at Peebles and only one platform available!)

The extra capacity is clearly in use in this view....

A view normally obsured by a 156, an 08 drags the last XC service into the sidings for internal cleaning overnight....