Marcus' Model Railway Journey

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Chiltern Railways​

The 15th of March will also see strike action carried out on the London Underground and will mean that no Chiltern Railway services between London Marylebone and Aylesbury via Amersham will operate.

Throughout the 15th of March, customers travelling between London and Aylesbury will be able to do so via High Wycombe.

The rail operator wishes to advise customers to triple-check their travel plans ahead of making a journey on the above dates and to be aware of the time of the final service of the day.

Wednesday the 15th of March:
  • No Chiltern Railways services will operate between London Marylebone and Aylesbury via Amersham.
  • Customers wishing to travel to London Marylebone from Aylesbury will find services available via High Wycombe.
Thursday the 16th of March:
  • No Chiltern Railways services will operate north of Banbury.
  • Services will start generally between 8am and 9am,
  • Services will finish between 4pm and 5pm
  • 1 train will operate per hour Marylebone – stations to Oxford (and vice-versa).
  • 1 train will operate per hour Marylebone – stations to Banbury (and vice versa).
  • 1 train will operate per hour Marylebone – stations to Aylesbury (via High Wycombe, and vice-versa).
  • 1 train will operate per hour Aylesbury Vale Parkway – stations to Amersham (and vice-versa).
Saturday the 18th of March:
  • No Chiltern Railways services will operate north of Banbury.
  • Engineering works between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury, will mean that no rail services will operate to Aylesbury via High Wycombe – a rail replacement bus will be in operation.
  • Services will start generally between 8am and 9am
  • Services will finish between 4pm and 5pm
  • 1 train will operate per hour Marylebone – stations to Oxford (and vice-versa).
  • 1 train will operate per hour Marylebone – stations to Banbury (and vice versa).
  • 1 train will operate per hour Marylebone – stations to Aylesbury (via High Wycombe, and vice-versa).
  • 1 train will operate per hour Aylesbury Vale Parkway – stations to Amersham (and vice-versa).
  • 1 bus will operate per hour Princes Risborough – stations to Aylesbury
To find out more, customers can visit: http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/strike
 
10th March 2023

Inside The Train Shed

Made some progress today.

Partially assembled another upper assembly, I had to cut short production today due to a hospital visit.

It was 5°C outside, but it was sunny too and I thought 'sun shining on shed = warmer shed'.

I was right, the shed was 15°C inside! ^_^

Hoping for more sun tomorrow.

Here's how I 'solve' the problem with warped sections, the only surfaces I can use with the clamp is the warped wood and the edge of the baseboard top.
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The problem is that if you use the clamp itself you will damage the edge of the board.

So, using a couple of blocks of wood to support the packing piece of wood, protecting the board edge, just tighten the clamp to push the warp straight and tighten the screw to secure into position.

It's a bit 'Heath Robinson', but it works. :)

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11th March 2023

Britain’s oldest working steam locomotive to visit Blaenavon​

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Furness Railway No 20 on October 24, 2015

Furness Railway No.20, which is Britain’s oldest working steam locomotive, will be visiting Blaenavon’s Heritage Railway, formerly known as the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway, in late May and early June.

The visit has been made possible thanks to the Furness Railway Trust and is part of the railway’s 40th-anniversary celebrations and is also the locomotive’s 160th birthday.
 
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Big Pit Halt Station on Blaenavon’s Heritage Railway​

To commemorate the visit and to encourage people to visit the railway to view the historic locomotive, children aged 15 and under will be able to travel free on all dates when the engine is operating.

It is believed that this will be No.20’s first visit to Wales, so it is a great chance to ride behind the iconic locomotive.

Originally constructed 160 years ago in 1863 by Sharp Stewart and Co., Furness Railway No.20 is an 0-4-0 tender locomotive is one of a batch of eight similar engines that operated on the Furness Railway in north-west England.

However, as traffic grew, it quickly became obsolescent and in 1870 it was sold to the Barrow Haematite Steel Company, where it remained in service right until 1960.

After being withdrawn from service, it was donated to a school before being purchased by a group of enthusiasts determined to restore this historic locomotive to steam.

A Heritage Lottery Fund grant award of £97,000 allowed restoration work to continue, and it was given a heavy overhaul before returning to steam in December 1998, 135 years after its construction.
 
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“Rosyth No 1” and “Caledonian Works”, previous guest locomotives at Blaenavon’s Heritage Railway​

Furness Railway No.20 will be operating at Blaenavon’s Heritage Railway during the following weekends:
  • 20th and 21st May;
  • 27th and 28th May (Coal Train Weekend);
  • 10th and 11th June (Model Railway Show).
 
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1914-built 'Rosyth No.1' charges into Furnace Sidings​

Nathan Russell, the Railway’s Events Coordinator, said of the visit:

“It is a delight to welcome Britain’s oldest working steam locomotive to Blaenavon for our fortieth-anniversary celebrations.

“It is a remarkable survivor that is testament to those who were determined to preserve the engine against all odds, and we really hope that many will come along to see her in action on our beautiful and challenging railway, and it is why we are allowing kids to travel free on the days when it is operation.

“I would like to give my thanks to the Furnace Railway Trust for allowing this historic visit, and to our Operations Director Alex Hinshelwood and the Railway’s steam Department for their efforts in securing the locomotive.”
 
11th March 2023

Embankment improvement work will see buses replace trains between ​

Tunbridge Wells and Hastings this Easter​

Rail replacement buses will be in operation over the Easter period from the 7th to the 15th of April as essential embankment improvements are made​

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Work on the railway at Wadhurst​

Network Rail is advising passengers who will be travelling between Tunbridge Wells and Hasting this Easter to check their travel ahead and to add more time than usual for journeys whilst the vital work takes place.

The embankment improvements will take place over a nine-day period from Good Friday on the 7th to Saturday the 15th of April.

The project will see a team of Network Rail engineers work around the clock in order to stabilise cuttings and embankments to prevent any effects from future landslips at:
  • Wadhurst
  • Frant
  • Snape Wood
Whilst the work is underway, buses will replace Southeastern train services which operate between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.

Wadhurst and Frant will both see sections of reinforced concrete wall built in order to stop trees and soil from getting onto the tracks.

Areas close to Snape Wood will have hundreds of five-metre-long soil nails driven into the cutting, which will help stabilise it.

During the period of work, 500m of track will be replaced alongside the rebuilding of sections of track slab in Mountsfield tunnel, which is close to Roberstbridge.

The track slab acts as a track bed for the running rails, conductor rail and sleepers through the tunnel and also supports the tunnel structure itself.

The current track slab was built in the 1970s and is now ready to be replaced after 50 years of use.

Wadhurst has already seen two extended line closures since October 2021 and this latest essential work marks the third.

The choice to close the line once again is the least disruptive approach for passengers and would require a number of weekend closures otherwise.

The work comes as part of a multi-million-pound programme which tackles challenges in reliability for the Tunbridge Wells to Hastings line since its initial build 170 years ago.
 
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In the Mountsfield tunnel​

Fiona Taylor, Network Rail’s Kent route director, said:

“It’s great to see the huge investment being made to improve the reliability on the line between Tunbridge Wells to Hastings.

“It’s a really complex part of the railway which was built in the 1850s along very hilly ground, which meant that the Victorian engineers had to excavate steep cuttings, long tunnels and build miles of embankment.

“While there is never a good time to close the railway, completing the work in an extended closure means that we can avoid causing more disruption to passengers by closing the railway over a series of weekends.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience whilst we carry out these essential works.”
 
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New track in the Mountsfield tunnel​

Scott Brightwell, Southeastern’s operations and safety director said:

“We know that closing the railway for a short period isn’t ideal, but it is essential to complete the improvement works.

“We’ll make sure that all of our customers know exactly how to complete their journey between Hastings and Tunbridge Wells while Network Rail carries out this vital work.

“Our message to our customers is to check their individual journeys on the Southeastern website or app.”
 
11th March 2023

More Rolling Stock and Locomotive Arrive for ETHNON RAIL :)

A parcel arrived yesterday containing the set I ordered a couple of days ago

I have been after this set for a few years and at last, I now own it. :yaay:

Hornby OO train set "London Olympics 1908"

It is a limited edition and comes with its certificate of authenticity.

The box includes:

GWR 4-4-0 County class locomotive "county of Radnor"

GWR 3rd Class Clerestory Composite Coach '953'

GWR 3rd Class Clerestory Brake Coach '3379'

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11th March 2023

Inside The Train Shed

No progress today. :ermm:

Too cold! :blink:

Hoping for a more milder day tomorrow.

Todays temperature

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11th March 2023

SPOTLIGHT

British Rail Class 14​

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BR (Swindon) Type 1 (later Class "14") 650 hp 0-6-0 No.D9528 in BR two tone green livery trundling through Cardiff Central station, October 1965​

The British Rail Class 14 is a type of small diesel-hydraulic locomotive built in the mid-1960s.

Twenty-six of these 0-6-0 locomotives were ordered in January 1963, to be built at British Railways' Swindon Works.

The anticipated work for this class was trip working movements between local yards and short-distance freight trains.

The good all-around visibility from the cab and dual controls also made them capable of being used for shunting duties.

The order was expanded from 26 to 56 in mid-1963, before work had started on the first order.

They were numbered D9500-D9555.
 

Technical details​

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In July 1964, the first of a class of 56 locomotives appeared from Swindon Works.

These were later designated as TOPS Class 14 by British Railways.

They are known as 'Teddy Bears' by enthusiasts, following a comment by Swindon Works' erecting shop foreman George Cole who quipped "We've built The Great Bear, now we're going to build a 'Teddy Bear'!"

In outline they have a cab offset from the centre with bonnets at each end, with a fixed 0-6-0 wheel configuration rather than bogies as seen on all the other Type 1 classes.

The locomotives were powered by a Paxman 6-cylinder Ventura 6YJXL engine with a Napier turbocharger producing 650 bhp (485 kW), connected to a Voith L217U hydraulic transmission and Hunslet final drive.

The axles were connected by coupling rods and driven by a jackshaft located under the cab, between the second and third axles.

The plate frames were of 11⁄4 inch steel and deep buffer beams almost to rail level.

One was of similar thickness to the frames, the other of 5 inch thick steel to act as ballast and to even out weight distribution.
 

Operations and preservation​

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D9538 Cardiff Central 10 July 1968​

Originally all were allocated to depots on the Western Region of British Railways, but in January 1967 twenty were sent to Hull (Dairycoates) on the Eastern Region (ER), followed by thirteen more later the same year.

At Hull they were intended for work around the docks, but the tasks were beyond the capabilities of a single locomotive; and since two locomotives required two sets of crew, they were not popular with the region.

In 1968, all 33 ER locomotives were placed in storage, and were subsequently withdrawn on 1 April that year.

The Class 14s, like many other early diesel types, had an extremely short life with British Railways – in this case not because of poor reliability, but because many of its envisaged duties disappeared on the BR network a few years after they came into use.

BR started to dispose of members of the class from mid 1968, and the entire class had been sold to industry or scrapped by the end of 1970.

In their new careers in industry, many had a working life two to three times longer than that with British Railways.

The industries in which they were employed, such as coal mining, declined during the 1970s and the class again became surplus to requirements.

Several have since found a third lease of life on preserved lines where they are ideal for both light passenger work and with works trains on the maintenance of permanent way.
 
Class 14 Fleet Members - Scrapped

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Class 14 hydraulic locomotive D9538 -Scrapped at BSC Corby September 1982​

LocoIndustrial careerIndustrial Number Withdrawl DatesDisposal
D9501—–—Scrapped at C F Booth, Rotherham (June 1968)
D9503BSC Harlaxton
BSC Corby Steelworks		6511/68–07/74
07/74–09/80		Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/80)
D9506—–—Scrapped at Arnott Young Ltd., Parkgate (05/68)
D9507BSC Corby Steelworks5511/68–09/82Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/82)
D9508NCB Ashington903/69–01/84Scrapped at D. Short, North Shields (01/84)
D9509—–—Scrapped at G Cohen Ltd., Kettering (11/70)
D9510BSC Buckminster
BSC Corby Steelworks		6012/68–06/72
06/72–08/82		Scrapped at BSC Corby (08/82)
D9511NCB Ashington–11/68–07/79Scrapped at NCB Ashington (07/79)
D9512BSC Buckminster
BSC Corby Steelworks		6312/68–09/72
09/72–02/82		Scrapped at BSC Corby (02/82)
D9514NCB Ashington407/69–12/85Scrapped at NCB Ashington (12/85)
D9517NCB Ashington811/69–01/84Scrapped at D. Short, North Shields (01/84)
D9519–––Scrapped at G Cohen Ltd., Kettering (11/70)
D9522–––Scrapped at Arnott Young Ltd., Parkgate (05/68)
D9527NCB Ashington607/69–01/84Scrapped at D. Short, North Shields (01/84)
D9528NCB Ashington203/69–12/81Scrapped at D. Short, North Shields (12/81)
D9530Gulf Oil Co.Ltd., Waterston
NCB Mardy Colliery
NCB Tower Colliery		–09/69–10/75
10/75–08/82
08/82		Scrapped at NCB Tower Colliery (08/82)
D9532BSC Corby Steelworks5711/68–02/82Scrapped at BSC Corby (02/82)
D9533BSC Corby Steelworks4712/68–09/82Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/82)
D9535NCB Burradon
NCB Backworth
NCB Ashington		3711/70–01/76
01/76–09/80
09/80–01/84		Scrapped at NCB Ashington (01/84)
D9536NCB Ashington503/70–02/85Scrapped at NCB Ashington (12/85)
D9538Shell-Mex & BP Ltd., Shellhaven
BSC Ebbw Vale
BSC Corby Steelworks		–04/70–02/71
02/71–04/76
04/76–09/82		Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/82)
D9540NCB Lambton
NCB Philadelphia
NCB Burradon
NCB Ashington		3611/68–11/71
11/71–06/72
06/72–01/84		Scrapped at D. Short, North Shields (01/84)
D9541BSC Harlaxton
BSC Corby Steelworks		6611/68–08/74
08/74–08/82		Scrapped at BSC Corby (08/82)
D9542BSC Corby Steelworks4812/68–08/82Scrapped at BSC Corby (08/82)
D9543—–—Scrapped at C F Booth, Rotherham (11/68)
D9544BSC Corby Steelworks5311/68–09/80Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/80)
D9545NCB Ashington–11/68–07/79Scrapped by D. Short, North Shields (07/79)
D9546—–—Scrapped at C F Booth, Rotherham (11/68)
D9547BSC Corby Steelworks4912/68–08/82Scrapped at BSC Corby (08/82)
D9550—–—Scrapped at C F Booth, Rotherham (11/68)
D9552BSC Buckminster
BSC Corby Steelworks		5909/68–06/72
06/72–09/80		Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/80)
D9554BSC Corby Steelworks5811/68–08/82Scrapped at BSC Corby (08/82)
 
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Class 14 Fleet Members - Exported

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Belgium - Moerbeke, An industrial locomotive (0-6-0 shunter) under repair, the rods taken off on June 7, 1987

LocoIndustrial careerIndustrial Number Withdrawl DatesDisposal
D9505APCM Hope, Derbyshire–09/68–05/75Exported to Bruges, Belgium (05/75)
D9515BSC Buckminster
BSC Corby Steelworks
Hunslet Ltd		6211/68–09/72
09/72–12/81
12/81–07/82		Exported to Charmartin, Madrid, Spain (07/82)
D9534APCM Hope, Derbyshire–10/68—05/75Exported to Bruges, Belgium (05/75)
D9548BSC Harlaxton
BSC Corby Steelworks
Hunslet Ltd		6711/68–08/74
08/74–11/80
11/80–07/82		Exported to Charmartin, Madrid, Spain (07/82)
D9549BSC Corby Steelworks
Hunslet Ltd		6411/68–11/81
11/81–07/82		Exported to Charmartin, Madrid, Spain (07/82)
 
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Class 14 Fleet Members - Preserved

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D9500 at barrow hill on July 13, 2007

LocoIndustrial careerIndustrial Number Withdrawl DatesDisposal
D9500NCB Ashington111/69–?Preserved at Peak Rail
D9502NCB Ashington–07/69–?Preserved at East Lancs Railway
D9504NCB Lambton
NCB Philadelphia
NCB Bolden
NCB Burradon
NCB Ashington		–11/68–08/73
08/73–12/74
01/75–09/81
09/81–?		Preserved at Kent & East Sussex Railway
D9513Arnott Young Ltd., Parkgate
NCB Crigglestone
NCB Astley
NCB Ashington		3807/68–11/68
11/68–09/69
09/69–10/73
01/74–?		Preserved at Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
D9516BSC Corby Steelworks5611/68–10/81Preserved at Didcot Railway Centre
D9518NCB Ashington706/69–??/87Preserved at West Somerset Railway
D9520BSC Corby Steelworks
BSC Glendon		4512/68–03/81Preserved at Mid-Norfolk Railway
D9521NCB Ashington303/70–11/84Preserved at Dean Forest Railway
D9523BSC Corby Steelworks
BSC Glendon		4612/68–10/81Preserved at the Wensleydale Railway
D9524BP Grangemouth–07/70–09/81Preserved at Peak Rail
D9525NCB Lambton
NCB Philadelphia
NCB Ashington		–11/68–03/75
03/75–10/87		Preserved by Heritage Shunters Trust
D9526APCM Westbury–01/70–04/80Preserved at West Somerset Railway
D9529BSC Buckminster
BSC Corby Steelworks
Bardon Hill Quarry		6108/68–09/72
09/72–03/81
02/09–06/10		Preserved – normally at Nene Valley Railway
D9531Arnott Young Ltd., Parkgate
NCB Crigglestone
NCB Burradon
NCB Ashington		–07/68–11/68
11/68–10/73
10/73–04/74
04/74–?		Preserved at East Lancashire Railway
D9537BSC Corby Steelworks5211/68–11/82Preserved at Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
D9539BSC Corby Steelworks5110/68–02/83Preserved at Ribble Steam Railway
D9551BSC Corby Steelworks5012/68–06/81Preserved at Severn Valley Railway
D9553BSC Corby Steelworks5411/68–?Preserved at Vale of Berkeley Railway
D9555NCB Burradon
NCB Ashington		–03/70–02/75
02/76–??/87		Preserved at Dean Forest Railway
 
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D9504

Fifty six of these Swindon-built centre cab type 1 locomotives were introduced in 1964 to work on shunting duties, local freight and transfer trip workings.

They were introduced during the Beeching era - the very time when the work for which they were intended was rapidly disappearing.

Thus they saw only two or three years' BR service and earned the nickname "Teddy bears".

On withdrawal by BR they found a ready purchased market in industry and continued to enjoy a much longer lease of life in such use.

Three examples have seen use on the K&ESR, although only one remains on temporary loan.

Class 14 locomotives have proved capable of handling heavy works trains and running the passenger service in emergencies.

Here D9504 stands in the sidings at Tenterden Town on June 13th 2019.

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BR Swindon Class 14 D9518 at Williton on September 2, 2012 still wearing NCB blue from her days in service at Ashington, Northumberland ​

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On October 20, 2021, D9521 is seen on the fueling point at Norchard on the Dean Forest Railway, which just happens to be beside the water tower for steam engines too.

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