[Greyvoices]

Hi Peter,

Hornby could only send me one Brush Type 2 even though I asked for more as replacements for my crumbling mazak examples. The one that they did manage to find is strange in that the box claims it to be D5829 though the model inside is D5657 which is ok by me because I already own a very nice modified Lima Brush Type 2 numbered D5829.

Comparison of modified Lima (D5829) and bog standard Hornby (D5640). With a little bit of work, not least to the mechanism, a very good model can be made from the Lima loco. The only thing left to do on this model is to replace the windows.

My conversation with the Hornby Customer Care Manager left me with the impression that there were no Brush Type 2 locos in the pipeline except for the Railroad version which are basically upgrades of the Lima model. I bought a blue Railroad Class 31 just for the upgraded chassis, mechanism and DCC socket but it lacks the valance under the buffer beam of the original prototypes so I have as yet retained the Lima chassis's in my Lima locos. If Hornby produce a green Railroad Class 30, complete with end valances then it will be time to reconsider.

Best regards ................ Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Peter Ankers]

Thanks for that John. I think they will all look good passing through WSJ. I have a feeling that the EE Type 4's were used on the through trains between Colchester and Newcastle but the memory is fading a bit now. Incidentally, I'm writing this from sunny Bury St Edmunds.

Best Regards,
Peter A

 

[Greyvoices]

A belated thank you for your comments Peter. I do indeed remember the EE Type 4's being used on the Colchester <> Newcastle service, taking over from Britannias. I think I have may have a somewhat fuzzy photo of a Gateshead D200'er approaching Beeton's Way crossing, just to the west of Bury St.Edmunds station one sunny evening in, I think, 1960. This was long before they put in a bridge and made Beeton's Way into a road. Happy days. I must scan in more of my photos.

I normally restrict my posts on this thread for when something relevant has actually taken place. Today I am breaking that rule just to say that not much has been happening on WSJ this month because I have been a bit active on other threads and ..... and ..... I am being asked to return to work. Yes it seems that there is still a need for an opinionated old sod in the modern railway. I have been asked to buff up my CV and I was surprised to find that I've not looked at it for 8 years. I hate CV writing.

I will know more about what will be required of me in the next few days but I hope that I am not too distracted from my modelling projects. Whilst considering whether I should accept the offer of work, after thinking through what one has to think through when having adjusted to retirement and you now find yourself once again contemplating wearing a tie, making up a list of pros and cons, my thoughts turned to my last unbuilt D & S kit, the Saffron Walden 2 coach push pull set. I had felt guilty about spending so much whilst my wife still had an outstanding list of house improvements that needed to be funded. The prospect of extra cash made my mind up and, although the contract has not yet been signed I am here with pen poised.

I found this wonderful photo in the midst of David Hey's collection:

Link to photo of Saffron Walden push pull set at Audley End

Does this make me a shallow individual?

Best regards ............... Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Iarnrod]

Best wishes, John. I sometimes wonder if my father would have loved to go back to his civil engineering as a consultant to remind the whippersnappers about how things really worked!

 

[16A]

I also wish you well with your intended return to the 'rat race' John. Having been out of it for 3 months myself, I can honestly say I wouldn't return for a Kings ransom....

 

[Allegheny1600]

QUOTE (Greyvoices @ 3 Apr 2014, 18:41) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Does this make me a shallow individual?

Best regards ............... Greyvoices (alias John)
Hi John,
Not on your Nelly! I think that is a very considerate thing to do, raising some cash so you can do house improvements for your beloved. With the cost of those, I hardly think a pair of even D&S kits would make all that much difference.
More power to your elbow Sir!
Lovely picture btw,
John E.

 

[Greyvoices]

A lull in my workload which I had hoped to exploit and get some modelling done .......... but .......... I put my back out so my status on the active scale has to be towards the slob end. I sometimes think that these obstacles to progress on WSJ are in some way self inflicted. It is infuriating as I have been travelling in Germany and Belgium without any mishaps but as soon as I have the chance to spend some uninterrupted time at home I become a prisoner of the sofa. This has not stopped my mind from working so I have been busy on other threads which were initially a very enjoyable way of spending time of a hotel evening.

There has been one WSJ related development as a much sought after model has been delivered:

Heljan BRCW Type 2.

Another view:

The as delivered weathered model awaiting the addition of headcode disks and DCC decoder.

One of these early D53xx diesels has been on my wanted list for some years but Heljan initially modelled the loco as re-allocated to Scotland in 1960. I remember them being delivered new to Hornsey MPD in January 1959 where they were put to work on the GN mainline inner and outer suburban services. I spotted my first examples at Cambridge, for nearly 18 months working there on a variety of services over the Royston/Hitchin GN/GE link. Although WSJ is set to the East of Cambridge in my model world Cambridge TMD would frequently purloin a Hornsey or Finsbury Park loco to work to Bury St.Edmunds or Thetford. In reality I never saw any of this loco type East of Cambridge.

There is only one more prototype diesel yet to be produced in r-t-r and that is the D61xx, (Class 21 before being rebuilt to Class 29) the North British diesel electric version of the diesel hydraulic D63xx (Class 22). A few of the D61xx class were allocated new to Hornsey, Stratford and also Ipswich. Now these did penetrate into West Suffolk and I have vivid memories of them at Bury St.Edmunds working pickup freights before the whole class was moved North to Eastfield in 1960, coinciding with the move North of Class 26. Dapol have promised a model of the Class 21 but so far they have stuck with the Class 22. Hatton's have offered a pre-order facility for the Class 21 for the past three years but obviously Dapol have delayed the build of this model. Hornby did produce a Class 21 many years ago but their model just does not do it for me though the one example I have is a favourite with the grandchildren:

Just as an aside, I can remember the Class 27, the higher powered development of the Class 26, being allocated to the Midland Main Line working services out of St.Pancras. Somewhere I have a photograph of a bunch of them on Cricklewood shed alongside prototype diesels 10000 and 10001 in 1961. Happy days, spotting around North London aged 11, being safely looked after by a bunch of older boys. Eventually the Class 27's were also moved North to Scotland and so ended a very interesting period of early diesel locomotive history. Many years later in the 1980's I was working in Scotland and saw the tail end of the Class 27 story. I took some photographs which I must one day scan and share.

I can almost hear the more hard headed of you saying,"ok so another loco in a box to put in your cupboard but when are you going to get some track laid for West Suffolk Junction?" A very good question.

Best regards ................ Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Iarnrod]

Good to see you back, John, and best wishes. Hope the grandchildren didn't miss you and their railway too much!

 

[Greyvoices]

I can almost hear the more hard headed of you saying,"ok so another loco in a box to put in your cupboard but when are you going to get some track laid for West Suffolk Junction?" A very good question.

Over 7 years later and no track has been laid .......... but ......... but ........... there is a layout in the space where West Suffolk Junction was to have been constructed, in the garage, Hennigsdorf Nord.
Some progress has been made with that layout but the British side of my modelling has been confined to gradually accumulating models that never get taken out of the box and have never turned a wheel. What's the point of that? Some British models do get to be seen as they sit forlornly on my bookshelves collecting dust or getting in the way when I want a particular book. They can also be the cause of raised blood pressure when my wife comes into my study to show me a latest purchase of the "does my bum look big in this" variety. This always entails a raised elbow pointed directly at the prescious locos and me shouting, "watch out".

IMG_0912 (2).jpg

• Greyvoices
• 27 d ago

This by the way is the view from my desk and every day these locos look accussingly at me. So I had an idea. Why not make a display or extended diorama where the locos can be seen in context. Not a layout as such but of course powered up etc. Perhaps with a cover of some sorts to keep everything clean. Not exactly the full West Suffolk plan but a part of it, a module that if things change as I progress through my dotage can become part of a grander scheme.

IMG_0914 (2).jpg

• Greyvoices
• 27 d ago

Now this is the view of my desk as I sit here. The plan is to put a 64" x 22" shed layout behind the monitor; of course after sweeping away all the clutter, books, printer etc. I have a Brassmaster turntable, the Bachmann diesel maintenance shed, just ordered a lazer cut northlight steam shed and of course I have enough track to circumvent the globe. The grandchildren have long outgrown any interest in their layout so I could cut a piece of that as a baseboard and I have a variety of points and point motors .......... you get the picture.

So a steam and diesel end to end small layout upon which locos can be displayed and moved about a bit. Perhaps I might actually get something completed.

Best regards ..................... Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[dwb]

There's nothing so sad as a loco that can't be run... I look forward to seeing how your idea progresses and whether you can stop it becoming an 'L' and then a 'U' ...

David

 

[Greyvoices]

Thanks David,

I have just started to re-read this thread from post one and I found that it is filled with a lot of old blokes having fun with memories, anecdotes and following up all manner of loosely related topics that, for a post or two take us away from the "On my layout" theme. It can often be somewhat toe curling when looking back at the ramblings of your former self and when I wrote in 2013, "Thrust me into a room full of short sighted women bearing trays groaning with pies and beer and I'm in my element but ask me to understand a wiring diagram and I grow weak between the ears" I start to suspect a form of mental imbalance. The chair of our local U3A recently asked if I would like to set up yet another book reading group (apparently the 4 they have are heavily over subscribed) but I never heard back from her when I put forward that absolute peak of 20th century literary acheivement, The Sophia Loren Cookbook as a suitable opening subject. Seems like I haven't improved much since 2013. Anyway, I digress ......................

I've been looking at the granchildren's foam and ply sandwich baseboard layout and it will be an ideal donor for the shed diorama/layout. The kids are now 17 & 16 and have lost all interest (athletics and ersatz rock climbing now being prefered). Looking back I see that it is Julian who brought up the foam/ply baseboard idea and I have been pleased with its performance ........... it did not warp even though it is very light. I will have to carry out some surgery as the kids layout had no underboard electrics whatsover.

P1030906.JPG

• Greyvoices
• 26 d ago

Grandkids building their model railway

Looking back to 2013 and the grandkids layout under construction (from post 119 of this thread)

As you see the foam is sandwiched by 2 sheets of this ply and, once I have cut out a 64" x 22" section I will modify the bottom ply sheet so that there are large cutouts for under baseboard point motors and wiring. I will also add a frame around the edges to satisfy the unblinking eye of SWMBO.

I thought about making an acrylic display cover so that the layout can be dust proof but initially costings for that are not very encouraging (in the region of £200) so if anyone can offer a better suggestion I ould be appreciative.

Best regards ...................... Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[Julian2011]

I don't know what you might think to transparent sheets, supplied cut to size, which might be rather less pricy than kits or fabricated covers.

These might give you an idea of the sort of costs.
Acrylic

3mm Clear Acrylic

Clear acrylic sheets cut to size, a perfect Perspex alternative from Cut My Plastic. Available in many thicknesses, a more durable and lightweight alternative to glass.

www.cutmyplastic.co.uk

Polycarbonate

3mm Clear Polycarbonate

Buy 3mm polycarbonate sheet from Cut My Plastic. Fast delivery, high quality and low price.

www.cutmyplastic.co.uk

High Impact Polystyrene
3mm Clear High Impact Polystyrene Sheet (HIPS)

Would you need more than a top, front and two sides, with a scenic background for the rear? It seems that there are suitable glues for joining them together and, maybe some narrow right-angle polished brass strip to add a touch of class to cover the glue in the join.

I recently had delivery of 4, N Gauge, coaches of the British Military train, The Berliner, which used to run every day from Berlin to West Germany, whilst the wall was up. Having matched it with some locos, which seem to be right for the time, I ventured behind the other bedroom door for the 4' x 3'5" sandwich, which had languished there since those earlier times you mentioned.

I got to thinking about a DCC Bus, droppers and point motors, a dangerous activity at 75, involving more energy than common sense should allow. The Ply, foam sandwich, shunting Inglenook had a 2" gap under all the track when it was built. The 4' x 3'6" board doesn't have anything cut into it yet. I came round to consider the idea that the Bus and droppers could be run in small shallow trenches, cut with a small Router Bit. On the top would be easier to service and little problem to camouflage, but not easy to modify with the Router, once track is laid. Perhaps cut into the underside instead, with holes drilled up, to reach the track, might be easier to add to. Also, point motors don't seem to come, scaled to N Gauge, but there are lots of suitably sized, tiny, Servos, which could sit in a small depressions Routed into the top. Just thoughts for the moment, but I thought it might be relevant to share, at this stage.

J

 

[34C]

Looking back I see that it is Julian who brought up the foam/ply baseboard idea and I have been pleased with its performance ........... it did not warp even though it is very light. I will have to carry out some surgery as the kids layout had no underboard electrics whatsover...

It was something of a Eureka moment for me when designing the current layout, that the DCC track power bus need not be under the track support, as it was just two wires rather than the bundle of switched section feeds, and that's easy to conceal. No need to drill holes for 'droppers' to each rail length, fine wires go under flexi track very easily with a cut in the sleeper base linkages as it is laid.

What about the point motor busses? My arrangement is they go on top of the track support, but at the rear. However the point motors are on the underside: but all groups of motorised points are on separate boards which are wired inverted and tested off the layout, then installed and permanent unions to the track and point busses made then.

...I thought about making an acrylic display cover so that the layout can be dust proof but initially costings for that are not very encouraging (in the region of £200) so if anyone can offer a better suggestion I would be appreciative...

Don't bother! Throw a sheet over it. The problems with a transparent dust cover are that it is bulky, awkward to lift and store off the protected item, and are either lightweight and not robust, or if robust are heavy adding to the handling difficulty.

And finally the sheet dust cover can just be lifted off, taken outside, and have any dust that has settled shaken off. You have to clean a rigid dust cover, carefully...

 

[Julian2011]

I replied on the assumption that, as a desk display, of limited size, to display the locos which were currently sat vulnerable, isolated, lacking in rails, collecting dust, vulnerable to purchase bum check elbows, cold, draughty, no access to power or control... sob... sniff... another sniff... a display cover would allow them to be seen on rails, once again with power available, to come to life for moments of movement around even that limited space, with happy stories to be told about what had happened to locos in the past and when rested, still providing a visual feast of historical colour and memories... 🤔

Alright, alright, enough now... hat, coat and slide out of the door. I may be wrong but I had assumed the idea was to make a cross between a display in a cover, with the additional ability to be shuffled around the display, when the moment was right.

J

 

[Greyvoices]

I may be wrong but I had assumed the idea was to make a cross between a display in a cover, with the additional ability to be shuffled around the display, when the moment was right.

J

That's exactly what i had in mind Julian.

34C ... your comment about top of board bus is, as they say in the best of circles, knob on. I thought about a trough along the edge of the board with a cover that could be lifted off to facilitate tinkering with the wiring.Come to think of it that's exactly what British Railways adopted with their concrete lineside troughing.

Reading through this thread some more I came across a familiar name, Ian Willets. I had quite a few GER and BR (E) coach kits built for me by Ian but I never sent him the last 2 kits of the Saffron Walden push/pull set. It still rests in a desk drawer. Temptation.

Best regards ................ Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[34C]

Right, misunderstood the intent. Possibly my bias showing from one previous experience, I helped with construction of just such a thing, which (good outcome!) gave me the 'kickstart' to resuming an active interest in model railway.

The big issue is that the covered layout has to run very reliably in all respects, or the cover has to come off, with the handling difficulty that goes with that. The solution that was developed - beyond using well established sound practise in layout construction and optimising the model's operational performance - was to operate everything on an every other day basis as the minimum frequency of use.

That quickly got 'old' for the owner, who was a more of a 'once a month operator' and the cover was thrown and a sheet was used. Whip it off, shake it out, prod the loco that didn't start to get it going. That was a DC set up, and DCC may well help in reducing the frequency of operation required. I am convinced that a large share of my layout's 'everything starts every time' reliability is due to DCC; but that's untested for occasional use, because I operate daily.

...vulnerable to purchase bum check elbows...

I can usually work out what a spill chucker has done to mangle the input, but this one has me beat!

 

[Julian2011]

Quote>
I can usually work out what a spill chucker has done to mangle the input, but this one has me beat! </Quote

Sorry 34C, I should have made that clearer; reference to John's comment about his rising BP, eight posts back.

Quote> Some British models do get to be seen as they sit forlornly on my bookshelves collecting dust or getting in the way when I want a particular book. They can also be the cause of raised blood pressure when my wife comes into my study to show me a latest purchase of the "does my bum look big in this" variety. This always entails a raised elbow pointed directly at the precious locos and me shouting, "watch out". < /Quote

I get similar reactions when my 16 yr old daughter examines new purchases.

J

 

[34C]

Aha! The females of my immediate family (and the broader tribe) restrict themselves to the little smile and slightly raised eyebrows supercilious look.

Except my dear wife, who has been won over by Pullman Cars; and regularly asks if anyone is making any of the Royal train coaches, a couple of which she got to view the interiors at the NRM in time past, via a fellow from her University undergrad days. (There's a real interest in passenger vehicles, her maternal Grandfather was a foreman joiner at Swindon carriage works, and she has some royal vehicle crockery which he 'salvaged' in the 1920s. And then there was the guy working on the L&Y club carriage restoration at Oxenhope, I could see the increasing look of desperation on his face at the never ending stream of detailed questions. He certainly earned the donation that day...)

 

[Greyvoices]

I am taking all these comments on board ............. thank you. I have made a mental note that I must not let my wife anywhere near my Pullman Cars. I have no need of my blood pressure rising to a dangerous Pullminary level.

The comments about covered layouts are well made and I've started thinking about a theatre stage type of layout with a top and ends. No idea what they are called but ............... typing the appropriate question in google took me to this charming website : Theatrical Layout Design. Interesting.

Best regards .................... Greyvoices (alias John)

 

[34C]

...The comments about covered layouts are well made and I've started thinking about a theatre stage type of layout with a top and ends...

Now there's a thought. Add a pull down roller blind - like the safety curtain of a real theatre! - and the dust cannot get in while the layout isn't in use..

On this line of theatrical presentation; Miniatur Wunderland. Have they gone to any lengths to keep the dust etc. from the mass of visitors off the layouts? Positive air pressure gradient from layout section to viewing space would be one way.