Marshcastle

[Jordan]

08 601 standing as station pilot shunting the vans...

I seem to recall the Station Pilot I always saw circa 1979 was 08 9xx(something or other...)??
But then I have a memory like a sieve....

I never realised Birmingham could be such fun...

Once the Westerns had gone, there was nothing 'special' in terms of motive power that went near the place, until the Hoovers were the last Class of 'individual' locos left on the rails....

 

[Captain Kernow]

I seem to recall the Station Pilot I always saw circa 1979 was 08 9xx(something or other...)??
But then I have a memory like a sieve....



Once the Westerns had gone, there was nothing 'special' in terms of motive power that went near the place, until the Hoovers were the last Class of 'individual' locos left on the rails....

And yet, what would we now give to see a load of trains there formed with Mark 2Ds and Class 47s.....

 

[marsa69]

I hope you're going to model an authentic Indian take away? Wouldn't be Birmingham without one

 

[Neil]

And yet, what would we now give to see a load of trains there formed with Mark 2Ds and Class 47s.....

Yes I remember being stupidly excited at catching one of the Virgin X country loco hauled trains from Donny to York when I'd taken my daughter there shopping. Last regular loco hauled train I've been on.

 

[Simon]

And yet, what would we now give to see a load of trains there formed with Mark 2Ds and Class 47s.....

Sounds good to me, that was one of my favourite model combos on the Monkton Combe model and I used to enjoy such sights on the real Cotswold Line, now happily being invested in by your mob

In answer to an earlier request and after having dug out a few wagons in the interests of research for project "cac", here is a freight running wrong road through Rowley New Street with the headcode for a passenger train running on to the southern region, I think.



Looks as though the traffic is worse tonight, and I can just see a rather out of period train hiding in the background on the terminating bay line

Simon

 

[Captain Kernow]

here is a freight running wrong road through Rowley New Street with the headcode for a passenger train running on to the southern region, I think

'1Vxx' headcodes denote inter-regional trains that terminate on the Western Region.

 

[iploffy]

I seem to recall the Station Pilot I always saw circa 1979 was 08 9xx(something or other...)??
But then I have a memory like a sieve....



Once the Westerns had gone, there was nothing 'special' in terms of motive power that went near the place, until the Hoovers were the last Class of 'individual' locos left on the rails....

BNS had a succession of 350's one if the being 601 which incidentally is now at Soho

 

[Simon]

Platforms now all surfaced, ready for painting and further construction of bridge piers and car park foundations etc.




There are some hideously large "mind the gap" issues, a dual result of relatively sharp radius but mostly having built everything with clearances to allow "Eurostar" services access to each platform

The island platform is a good 6 mk 1s long while the "main" platform is about 5 mk 1s.

Just got to work out the numbering now

Simon

 

[iploffy]

Are you having wires Simon? the eek is for the thought police who say an electric loco is just a power converter!!!!!!

 

[Old Buffer]

Are you having wires Simon? the eek is for the thought police who say an electric loco is just a power converter!!!!!!

Ian,
I don't want this to get into a serious discussion or argument, but an electric loco is nothing more than a transformer on wheels, take it away from the wires or 3rd rail and it stops.

 

[iploffy]

I was Joking !!!!!!!!! but the same principle applies to a steam engine remove the coal and it stopsHa Ha joke over
lets enjoy Marshcastle come on Simon you know you want to string 'em up

I was hinting at the electric Eurostar but I suppose you could put the 2x37 and the generator coach with them as an alternative

 

[Simon]

I was Joking !!!!!!!!! but the same principle applies to a steam engine remove the coal and it stopsHa Ha joke over
lets enjoy Marshcastle come on Simon you know you want to string 'em up

I was hinting at the electric Eurostar but I suppose you could put the 2x37 and the generator coach with them as an alternative

No wires as it'd be too fiddly and I havent got any trains for it anyway - great idea though!

Anyway, I'm currrently building the car park, I've just stopped by the computer on my way out to the shed for the superglue and one or two other bits.

Photos may appear later

Simon

 

[Simon]

Project cac cluttered - nah, this is what cluttered looks like

Car park decks all walled, proper supports for deck 1 built and in place, point motor and microswitch fitted and contained within LH bridge abutment of foreground bridge, bridge abutments and supports for "station bridge" constructed.

As you can probably see, the capacity to store and display large numbers of road vehicles is a key requirement



This picture shows the "buildings" below the car park first deck. I imagine that the doors lead to service plant and a current thought is to imagine that the bay underneath is also a motorail terminal, with an access ramp leading down from the street on the foreground bridge down to rail level parallel to bay and disappearing under the car park. On reflection perhaps not, better an access for vans going to the parcels bay, newspapers, post office etc.

All good fun, I also fancy extending the other siding a bit further round the bend....

Simon

 

[Jordan]

Oi..!! This 'ere Rapid Progress is no good, y'know... it makes some of us look bad!! (he says who hasn't managed to get up to his loft for a week... )

 

[Simon]

I'm still stuck in cardboard city, tonight I lowered the overbridges for increased "dramatic effect" and built some "proper" decks incorpating pavements and a lay by for buses near the station

View back through main bridge:



Pavements in place on "proper" roadway/deck:



Some better looking vehicles!



Toot toot!

 

[Simon Dunkley]

I was Joking !!!!!!!!! but the same principle applies to a steam engine remove the coal and it stopsHa Ha joke over
lets enjoy Marshcastle come on Simon you know you want to string 'em up

No wires as it'd be too fiddly and I havent got any trains for it anyway - great idea though!

Doesn't seem to be required for Virgin Pendolinos (Pendolinoes?), if you have seen their TV advert for their new bank...

 

[Jordan]

Doesn't seem to be required for Virgin Pendolinos (Pendolinoes?), if you have seen their TV advert for their new bank...

The Virgin Pendolino on our layout runs fine without Overhead as well.......

 

[Simon]

Another session in cardboard city today.

I decided that the second siding could do with going around the bend a bit more so extended the baseboard with cardboard - what else?

I have also added the side walls to the main overbridge and constructed the access slope down into the parcels bay, which has also acquired a second platform face (on to which the access slope runs) to facilitate loading and unloading of parcels and mail.

The main bridge piers are glued in place and I have started filling all the exposed corrugated cardboard edges.



The main work though was to come up with some suitable platform level building that will sit under the "station tower". After several false starts, I ended up with the below, which I think looks OK.

The next and biggest (cardboard) task is to construcy a credible "station tower", to which end I am studying pictures of big modernish buildings, a complete contrast to my normal "architectural interests"



I really ought to have some of those dreadful "clasp" buildings somewhere too!

Simon

 

[Steve Cook]

Must be heading towards a cardboard shortage in Bath at this rate
Good to see more progress, including cramming more track in, I look forward to a playing sesson when you complete the loop

 

[Jordan]

Did Cynric laser that for you..??

One thing I'm finding fascinating about all these "fun" layouts being built at the moment is the different approaches taken to progressing them scenically...
Simon is playing at Blue Peter, Steve is getting into the delicacies of point rodding... I am painting the track, although I'll leave ballasting of some sections until other scenic work is in place. After all, in the real world, ballast and track are usually the last things to be put in place, rather than the first....