Marcus' Model Railway Journey

Washery Halt - O Gauge - Wayne Hopkins​

Coal preparation plants or "Washeries" as they where known were erected at collieries to separate shale and stone from small pieces of coal. Sometimes a washery would serve more than one colliery. This layout depicts a small washery which is not part of a colliery complex.

The layout is 20ft by 2ft 2ins consisting of five boards arranged on a curve. Each board has a raised back scene.

A single line runs along the back and is seviced by a two road fiddle yard. The line is quite separate from the washery so it can be run on DC or DCC depending on the locos used.

The trackwork either side of the washery is arranged on gradients so all wagon movements are either under gravity, by creeper or propelled by locos. This avoids coupling and uncoupling.

Full wagons of unwashed coal are brought to the tippler where they are unloaded on to a conveyor. From here the dirty coal is taken to the washery where debris is removed and transported by another conveyor to the aerial ropeway filling station ready for transfer to the tip.

Clean coal is loaded into empty wagons ready for the return journey.

Two Lancashire boilers supply steam where necessary.

Three operators are needed, all of whom are happy to answer any questions.

Cardiff Model Railway Show

Societies and Demonstrators for 2022​

Cardiff Model Engineering Society​

Cardiff Model Engineering Society - Miniature train rides - Steam, Diesel, Electric and Tram rides in delightful parkland at Heath Park in the capital city of Wales. - www.cardiffmes.com - Facebook

Cardiff South Wales Trolleybus Project​

Cardiff South Wales Trolleybus Project - A stand selling items to raise monies for trolly bus restorations - www.cardiff-trolleybus.org.uk - Facebook

Dean forest Railway​

Dean forest Railway - www.deanforestrailway.co.uk

Derek Mundy​

Derek Mundy - Demonstrating O gauge buildings, wagons etc

Fred Lewis​

Fred Lewis - Demonstrating High End Loco Construction - www.welshwizardlocoworks.co.uk

Geoff Kent​

Geoff Kent - Demonstrating Scratch Building With Plastikard

Great Western Study Group​

Great Western Study Group - Promoting and encouraging interest, research and modelling of the Great Western Railway. www.gwsg.org.uk

Michelle Davidson​

Michelle Davidson - Demonstrating Scratch Building Wagons

Miniature Armoured Fighting Vehicle Association - MAFVA​

MAFVA - A large dislay of static military models

Mike Gill​

Mike Gill - A dislay of static military models

Model Electronic Railway Group - MERG​

Model Electronic Railway Group - an international group, based in the UK, which was set up to promote interest in the use of electronics and computers to all aspects of railway modelling. www.merg.org.uk

Mr Mod​

Gareth Hiscocks - 1/6 Scale figures and vehicles depicting WWII

Network Rail​

Network Rail - We own, repair and develop the railway infrastructure in England, Scotland and Wales. That’s 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We manage 20 of the country’s largest stations, while all the rest – over 2,500 – are run by the train operating companies.

Paul Rolley​

Paul Rolley - Model making demo

PPM Models​

PPM Models - Demonstrating 3D printing

Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (South Wales Group)​

Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (South Wales Group) - The RCTS is Britain's leading organisation for people interested in all aspects of railways past, present and future and is highly regarded by both professional railway people and enthusiasts, a position it has held since its formation over 75 years ago.www.rcts.org.uk/branches/south_wales/ - Facebook

Welsh Railways Research Circle​

Welsh Railways Research Circle - For over 35 years, the Welsh Railways Research Circle (WRRC) has been bringing together researchers and modellers who are interested not only in the mainline and branch railways of Wales and the Border Counties, but also the tramways, tramroads and the many rail connected industrial locations across the Principality. www.wrrc.org.uk

So, What's Next?

To date I have been in negotiations with a shed builder to build a rather large shed in my garden.

The dimensions will be 30' X 10', that should be plenty of space for a multi road circuits.

I have been designing the main station for this layout.

It will be based on a Great Western Railway station, it will have up and down fast roads in the centre of the formation with the two platforms located on loops and have a small goods yard.

This is one end of the station.

The mid section, where the two platforms would be opposite each other on the loops.



Please note that these drawings are not to scale and may change on the final installation, they are for information only.

The opposite end of the station.

What are Up and Down lines?

In British practice, railway directions are usually described as "up" and "down", with "up" being towards a major location.

This convention is applied not only to the trains and the tracks, but also to items of lineside equipment and to areas near a track.

Since British trains run on the left, the "up" side of a line is usually on the left when proceeding in the "up" direction.

On most of the network, "up" is the direction towards London.

The Valley Lines network around Cardiff has its own peculiar usage, relating to the literal meaning of traveling "up" and "down" the valley.

Individual tracks will have their own names, such as Up Main or Down Loop.

Trains running towards London are normally referred to as "up" trains, and those away from London as "down".

Hence the down Night Riviera runs to Penzance and the up Flying Scotsman to London King's Cross.

This distinction is less meaningful for trains not travelling towards or away from London; for instance a Cross-country train from Manchester to Bournemouth uses "up" lines as far as Reading and "down" lines thereafter.

Let's have a chat about points.

Turnouts - Points or Switches​

Points are movable sections of track, allowing trains to move from one line to another.

Terminology​

In the UK we usually refer to a turnout as (a pair of) points, and in America as a switch.

I thought a diagram labelling the parts of a turnout as we in the UK refer to them would be a good idea.

Please note that my terminology may not be correct and the names of the parts might differ from those used in your part of the world.

I will try to remain consistent in my references on this subject, even if I am consistently wrong!

Points come in a variety of lengths and types.

Here is a right hand Peco Medium (length) Point

Points can either be in “Reverse” or “Normal”.

Reverse being : The position of points where the reversed position indicates that the points are set for the less commonly used route.

Normal being: The position of points where the normal position indicates that the points are set for the more commonly-used route, usually straight running.

Here's a handy GIF that demonstrates.

"Facing and Trailing"

Anyone not familiar with railway terminology will find it useful to understand the difference between 'facing' and 'trailing'.

When a train traverses a turnout in a facing direction, it may diverge onto either of the two routes.

When travelled in a trailing direction, the two routes converge onto each other.

With double track, facing points are generally avoided, partly because they are a safety risk, and partly because they are more expensive than trailing points because of the extra safety features required.

Points are said to be 'trailable' if trains can travel through them from one or other of the diverging routes even if they are not set for that route.

Types of Points.

Three way point

'Y' Point

CATCH TURNOUT, LEFT HAND​

The purpose of a Catch Turnout is to derail a vehicle before it rolls out of a siding or branch line on to a main line.

Three way asymmetric point

Curved point

Double Slip

Basically a double slip is a cross between a crossover and two points.

A double slip switch (double slip) is a narrow-angled diagonal flat crossing of two lines combined with four pairs of points in such a way as to allow vehicles to change from one straight track to the other, alternatively to going straight across. A train approaching the arrangement may leave by either of the two tracks on the opposite side of the crossing. To reach the third possible exit, the train must change tracks on the slip and then reverse.

The arrangement gives the possibility of setting four routes, but because only one route can be traversed at a time, the four blades at each end of the crossing are often connected to move in unison, so the crossing can be worked by just two levers or point motors. This gives the same functionality of two points placed end to end. These compact (albeit complex) switches usually are found only in locations where space is limited, such as station throats (i.e. approaches) where a few main lines spread out to reach any of numerous platform tracks.

Single Slip

A single slip switch works on the same principle as a double slip, but provides for only one switching possibility. Trains approaching on one of the two crossing tracks can either continue over the crossing, or switch tracks to the other line. However, trains from the other track can only continue over the crossing, and cannot switch tracks. This is normally used to allow access to sidings and improve safety by avoiding having switch blades facing the usual direction of traffic. To reach the sidings from what would be a facing direction, trains must continue over the crossing, then reverse along the curved route (usually onto the other line of a double track) and can then move forward over the crossing into the siding.

On my station design, there is a four road goods yard.

The goods yard is 'protected' from the main down line by a single slip.

The slip also allows freight trains to cross the main down line from the main up line being 'propelled' (being pushed by a tractive unit) by an engine.

Just updated the station drawing - I forgot to put in the crossover points to allow the passing loop to serve the down platform.

With the temperatures about to soar in the UK, this is how our guys at NetworkRail, who owns, operates and develops Britain’s railway infrastructure prepare the tracks for the added strain of higher temperatures.

Believe it or not, track expansion can be a bane to railway modellers too.

Here’s how we do it​

• We work closely with specialist weather forecasters and local weather stations to make plans and take action so rails are less likely to buckle.
• We have installed mini weather stations and thousands of track-side probes to monitor local conditions.
• We introduce speed restrictions during the hottest part of the day at vulnerable locations as slower trains exert lower forces on the track and reduce the likelihood of buckling.
• We paint certain parts of the rail white so they absorb less heat – and expand less. Typically, a rail painted white is 5°C to 10°C cooler.
• Our teams check track stability each winter as part of ongoing maintenance, and strengthen any weak parts before summer.
• As most track is made up of long pieces of rail that are stretched and welded together, there is much less chance of buckling in very high temperatures because there is reduced compression.
• When a track is made up from short rails bolted together, we leave small gaps between each one to allow for expansion.

July 19, 2022 9:48 am

Are trains running today?​

Where the UK heatwave has caused train cancellations and rail disruption​

Trains will be running slower due to the risk of rails buckling in the heat.

Rail passengers in England and Wales have been told to travel only if absolutely necessary today, as the mercury is expected to rise above 40C.

The Met Office’s first-ever red weather warning for extreme heat remains in place, covering large parts of north, central and south-east England.

Network Rail has warned of cancellations at short notice and extended journey times due to speed restrictions, as it urged the public to avoid unnecessary journeys.

Here’s what you need to know.

Where are there cancellations?​

Network Rail’s advice to only travel if necessary remains in place today, while vulnerable passengers and those with health conditions should avoid travelling altogether.

Train operators are telling passengers not to travel north out of London, further into the weather warning red zone.

With no services planned to run into or out of London Kings Cross all day, there are also now no Thameslink or Great Northern services planned to run north of London all day with East Midlands Railway only running very limited services between Derby, Nottingham, Luton, Bedford and London, which will stop altogether during the hottest part of the day (lunch time to 7pm).

There will also be very limited and disrupted services running into and out of London Euston (Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Railway) and London Marylebone (Chilterns Railway).

In London, there are delays on the Central, District, Elizabeth, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines due to heat-related speed restrictions. The Overground and Metropolitan lines are both part-suspended and delayed due to speed restrictions. There is no service on the Hammersmith and City line for the same reason, which is also causing minor delays on the tram network.

Merseyrail has announced “significant disruption” to services, with no trains running on the Kirkby line.

Greater Anglia has announced timetable changes, including a reduced service on the Norwich-London Liverpool Street, Cambridge-London Liverpool Street main lines and Southend-London Liverpool Street route.

Southeastern has said there will be no evening services to and from London Cannon Street on the Bexleyheath Line, and fewer services on other lines.

How does heat affect the network?​

Extreme temperatures make introduction of speed restrictions on railway lines necessary across the country to ensure the safe running of trains.

Steel rails absorb heat easily and tend to hover about 20 degrees above the surrounding air temperature, meaning they could hit 60C, making them more likely to bend, flex, and in some cases, buckle.

Trains run at slower speeds in extremely hot weather to place the rails under less strain.

Overhead electric lines are also susceptible to faults in extreme temperatures when steel wires overheat, which can cause them to hang low. This increases the risk of them getting caught on passing trains and knocking out the electricity supply.

How the heatwave is affecting services locally to me.

Just in case you speak Welsh.

Here's a nice map of my local main station.

As one of the major stations on the South Wales Main Line, Cardiff Central station carries a lot of responsibility, and with its grand halls reflecting the golden age of train travel, the glorious Art Deco architecture feels more than capable.

However, it nearly didn’t happen.

The site of Cardiff Central was part of the River Taff’s floodplain, and it was up to the great man himself, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, to come up with a workable solution.

His idea was to re-route the River, creating a safe and stable location for the station, and thus, in 1850 the original station was opened for business.

With several rebuilds and additions throughout the ensuing years, the glamourous Art Deco style was incorporated in the early 1930s, and today the Grade II listed Cardiff Central is the busiest station in Wales.

It’s just a short ten-minute walk to the home of Welsh rugby - the Principality Stadium, the Millennium Centre, and everything the city has to offer.

The Valley Lines Map

Full network map​

Wednesday 20 Jul 2022

Check before you travel: Lasting impact of heat means severe disruption to services on East Coast Main Line today​

Region & Route: Eastern | Eastern: East Coast
Passengers planning on travelling on the East Coast Main Line today (Wednesday, 20 July) are being urged to plan ahead and check before travelling as severe disruption is expected.

Teams from Network Rail need to carry out repair and recovery work after a fire spread onto the railway line in Sandy, Bedfordshire, which is on the route between Peterborough and King’s Cross.

The incident has caused major damage to signalling equipment and a level crossing in the area, both of which need complex repairs to be completed. Teams also need to inspect the track for damage after track temperatures reached 39.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, the hottest recorded place on the East Coast Main Line.

The fire at Sandy has also meant that the planned inspection of over 250 miles of track on the southern end of the East Coast Main Line has not yet taken place. This means that these inspections to check whether any railway equipment has been damaged by Tuesday's record-breaking temperatures will need to be carried out on Wednesday. If any faults are found, these will need to be repaired before trains can run as normal again.

This means that no trains will be able to run between Peterborough and King's Cross for the start of service today. Anyone who is planning on using the East Coast Main Line is strongly advised to check before travelling, which they can do via National Rail Enquiries or by contacting their train operator.

I've posted, in a different thread, a current special 'The Railway Magazine', celebrating it's 125 year anniversary.


We have all become more familiar with major anniversary celebrations lately, not least with the Queen celebrating her golden, diamond and platinum jubilees this century, but we are also entering a period of major railway milestones – such as 100 years since the ‘Big Four’ Grouping next year, and then 200 years since the Stockton & Darlington Railway opened in 2025.

But this month marks our very own ‘quasquicentennial’ (and yes, I did have to look that up!), as 125 years ago in July 1897 the first issue of The Railway Magazine was published.

It was a breath of fresh air at the time, as most other railway titles were more serious journals about engineering or finance, whereas The RM set out to appeal to a broader readership that had an interest in railways and their operations.

Such readers would later become known as rail enthusiasts, a movement yet to be established back then, and that broad appeal is a principle we hold true today – so in that core respect, we have changed very little over the subsequent 1455 issues.

There have, of course, been many changes since 1897 – both to this magazine and to the railways, and our joint histories are necessarily entwined.

We have chosen to illustrate this with a feature on the Great Central Railway this month, whose London Extension was covered in Issue 1 and therefore it is only right we cover it again now in our 125th anniversary issue.

However, we begin this special souvenir edition by setting the scene of how the railways looked in the late Victorian period, before going into the fascinating history of The RM itself – including its many owners, editors and style changes – before we trace key moments in rail history through RM archive stories and pictures, and end with a sketch of where our railways are today.

We also asked readers for their own favourite railway memories, and I can highly recommend reading the selection we have chosen, which are sometimes funny, sometimes touching, sometimes nostalgic, and sometimes all of these.

Enjoy!

You will find the magazine here on our forum https://forum.thenorthpacific.org/topic/9196106/

I noticed in the 'news' recently that they are now testing the 6th Class 69!

14th JULY 2022 - 69006 Makes it Debut at Longport LFD

So what is a Class 69?

So glad you asked!

GB Railfreight has announced that testing of the first Class 69s should begin on the Severn Valley Railway in January, with the locomotives entering traffic later in the year.

Ten Class 56s are being converted into ‘69s’ by Progress Rail at its Longport facility, near Stoke-on-Trent. They are required to meet GBRf’s growing portfolio.

Speaking exclusively to RAIL, GBRf Engineering Director Bob Tiller said that work was under way on seven locomotives, with three more to follow. The contract includes an option for a further six if required.

The idea to re-engine Class 56s, which were built in 1976-84, first surfaced just after the Trainload freight companies set up just before privatisation (Loadhaul, Mainline and Transrail) were acquired by Wisconsin Central to create what became English, Welsh & Scottish Railways (EWS). The Americans looked to upgrade existing British Rail fleets (such as the ‘56s’) before instead ordering 250 Class 66s, so no design was ever taken forward.

British Railways Class 56 56031 'Merehead' and Class 47 47290 at Cardiff Canton Depot on the 24th September 1989.
56031 was destined to be the first converted to a Class 69 (69001) 2020.

GB Railfreight Class 69, No. 69001, has now arrived at the Severn Valley Railway for testing, 13 February 2021.

Why resurrect the idea almost 25 years later?

Tiller explained: “We need motive power. Luckily I have been able to find Class 66s abroad.”

GBRf is using 66747-66749 that arrived from the Netherlands in 2012, 66750/751 (which arrived in 2013), and 66790-792 (which arrived in 2019), while 66793-797 are now arriving with all five due by next year from Germany. Alongside ten ‘66s’ bought from DB Cargo UK (formerly EWS), ten ‘60s’ and three ‘47s’ from Colas Railfreight, these helped GBRf to meet its requirements at the time.

The ‘56’ owes its heritage to several classes, including ‘37s’, ‘47s’ and ‘50s’, while its electronic controls were similar to those used on High Speed Train Class 43 power cars. However, the ‘56’ was often extremely difficult to maintain, with its power unit requiring excessive fuel consumption.

The plan to rebuild ‘56s’ as ‘69s’ was based on the need to improve emissions, to save costs through improved fuel economy, and to have a reliable locomotive while also enabling GBRf to encourage a standardisation across its fleet.

69001 "Mayflower"- built in 1977 at BREL Doncaster as 56031 having been stored since 2006 it was bought by GB railfreight and rebuilt with the same engine as the class 66 seen at Tonbridge station on its return on a test run from Tonbridge Yard via Tunbridge wells Hastings and Ashford on June 24, 2021​

Repainted by Arlington Fleet Services in Eastleigh, Class 69001’s new livery represents the longstanding relationship between GBRf and Progress Rail.

Tiller said the conversion work is much more in-depth than when Brush Traction rebuilt Class 47s as ‘57s’, or the rebuild of ‘73s’ (which, along with fitting MTU engines to HST power cars, was also one of his projects).

He explained: “It’s not quite as easy as it sounds. The cooler group is proven from an EMD GT42AC locomotive, the alternator is from a one-metre GP40 locomotive, and the electrical cubicle was specifically designed for the Class 69 project to fit within the Class 56 bodyshell.

“The cab inside is all new - the Brush controls have gone and it’s much more similar now to a ‘66’. We have kept the curved Class 47-style desk, but other than that it’s very Americanised. The front end has been redesigned and all the draughts have now gone.

“The ‘56’ bogies, wheelsets and traction motors have all been overhauled to a very high standard.

“One of the problems the ‘56s’ had was when accelerating from a stand, the fourth powered wheel would invariably raise up and suffer wheel spin, due to weight shift. So we have fitted a better traction control system, which should make it more controllable.”

Tiller added that the braking system has also survived from the ‘56’: “If we had changed that, it would have needed a much bigger redesign, so we have kept the D&M system throughout as well as upgrading all the in-cab safety systems to latest versions - for example, TPWS4.”

69002 on July 5, 2021 sporting the old BR large logo livery.

The cost of all this remains lower than buying brand new locomotives. Also, there is currently nothing available that meets one of the main criteria - standardisation. Where possible, GBRf wants its additional locomotives to be similar to the Class 66 that has proven so successful for the business.

“We looked at ways of enhancing the GBRf fleet, but keeping as much standardisation with the Class 66 as possible,” said Tiller, who added that because GBRf has a ten-year maintenance contract with Progress Rail, it made sense for the companies to work together to address the issue.

Class 56s, ‘47s’ and ‘60s’ were considered for re-engining and rebuilding, but the difference was that the ‘56s’ were available straightaway. They were acquired from UK Rail Leasing, which had several examples stored at its Leicester depot.

“With the assistance of UKRL Engineering Director Alan Lee, I looked at several designs that could work with the locomotives,” said Tiller.

“We looked at fitting a twin-engine Caterpillar design, an MTU V16 engine or even two Cummins engines, before settling on the EMD12N-710. These are what’s fitted in a Class 66, and these are ten brand new engines.”

Despite the engines being brand new 3A emissions-compliant, they are still of a design that had been discontinued due to emissions regulations imposed on the industry. This meant that GBRf 66779 Evening Star, which arrived in the UK in 2016, was the final brand new ‘66’ to be built for this market.

However, GBRf was able to prove that their emissions were an improvement on what had been in the locomotive previously. Furthermore, because the Class 56 retains Grandfather Rights on the network, the approval process is a lot quicker.

Retaining the main structure, weights, bogies, motors and drawgear enables GBRf to retain the track dynamics and rail interface of a Class 56, and thus the project can be classified as an upgrade.

“These are a very clever design by being able to shoe-horn everything into a UK design, with the work carried out here in the UK,” said Tiller.

69003 worked the 4Y19 12:30 Mountfield - Western Docks on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at Eastleigh, 7th April 2022

Longer-term, should GBRf want to buy brand new locomotives, these would have to meet Stage 5 emissions rulings. Currently there is nothing available that would fit into the UK loading gauge.

Currently, bodyshells are being transported from Longport to nearby Marcroft Engineering, which is shot blasting them and preparing them for eventual painting. The bogies are being overhauled by Pullman Rail at Cardiff Canton. When the finished ‘56’ bodyshell returns to Progress Rail, the conversion begins.

Donor locomotives are chosen on account of what works. A locomotive may have been stored for many years, or in the case of 56128 even been sold to a scrap merchant. But provided its bogies and traction equipment can be salvaged, then it can be rebuilt.

As for the progress of the project, it has been delayed only by the COVID-19 pandemic - including lockdowns in the United States.

Said Tiller: “We should press the button to start 69001 soon, and then it will begin load bank testing at Longport. After that, in the first week of January, it should go to the Severn Valley.”

GBRf will work on getting 69001 type-tested, but once it has completed its stint at the SVR it will move to Eastleigh Works, where it will join 69002, with Arlington Fleet Services contracted to repaint the ten locomotives.

The first to be released is likely to be 69002 in corporate GBRf colours, with the pioneer released in a livery designed to represent the partnership between the operator and Progress Rail. After that the plan is to release one locomotive a month from Longport.

GBRf class 69004 outside the works in her stunning BR Research livery! - 17th February 2022