Play trains!
Although Laurence was feeling under the weather, we had the pleasure of another visit from Chris Holmes. Chris will be operating with us at the Burton show and had brought some stock along for a running session. Geoff and Stephen also had stock to run and the cassettes were soon filled, prompting the need for more of them to be constructed.
Our usual light-working of trains had (presumably) never created the need for two loco's in tight proximity before and the intensity of this session soon showed up some problems. Electrically, we discovered that two sections were fed from stock rails rather than frogs, which meant those points were not isolating the sections beyond. The operational problems were again due to over-population with trains/loco's, which we wouldn't normally have done. Basically, both passenger trains and goods trains to-and-from the quarry all need to perform a run-around manoeuvre. If passenger and quarry trains are worked through the station area at the same time (for operational interest), the sequencing of these manoeuvres needs to be performed in the correct order. We will rectify the electrical issues, but we will also develop some basic running principles that obviate 'log-jams'. There is also limited operational work in the simple station area, e.g. yard deliveries, coal and coke deliveries, ash collection, non-mineral deliveries to and from the quarry etc. We need to develop a list of these activities to remind us of the prototypical movements available.
John's Peco Hunslet and Gakken coaches. Stephen's bo-bo diesel based on Woolwich, using a GE-44 chassis.
Chris's Bagnall ‘Katie’,
built from a Roy Link kit (before the kit was taken over by Wrightlines).
Chris's scratchbuilt Kerr Stuart diesel and bogie wagons made from modified 00 Ratio kits.
Geoff's
Japanese brass, 0-6-0 diesel kit. Chris's bogie wagon made from a modified 00
Ratio kit.
The 'new' mineral wagons. 17 were show today - all empty - which prompted the need to get half of them filled with rocks.
Chris’s Barclay ‘A’ class, built from the Wrightlines kit on a Hornby (?) L&Y Pug mechanism.
Chris
gave the new location for the station water tower the thumbs-up (he'd suggested
this on his previous visit). Using this facility created our first 'log-jam'.
Uncoupling and moving the loco forward to the tower gives a tantalising
opportunity to bring another train in, but the run-around is blocked. We
determined that it will be necessary to complete the refuelling and then move
the loco to the front of the coaches, before bringing in another
train. Obvious enough, but we got caught out at least twice.
Geoff keeps adding little details and often waits to see if we notice them. This week he owned up to a pair of 'Beware Trains', which means that the post box and plants must have crept in a few weeks ago.
