Lapford station in N gauge.

[Cowley]

It’s the 25th, Merry Christmas everyone.

I’d better post this before we plunge into the copious amounts of alcohol that we’ve been given today...

It’s the current flagship of the railway, Dapol class 50 - 50032 Courageous, seen here arriving at Lapford on its way to Exeter hauling the Exeter spare set that was broken out whenever there was a shortage of DMUs (so frequently) in the 1989 - 1991 period.



50032 was a departmental (DCWA) machine in those days having been retired from front line Network Southeast work and it looked absolutely knackered.
There’s a photo of it here at Barnstaple on a railtour taken by my good friend @Ash Bridge around then showing just how bad it looked:



I sent TMC a load of photos (including the above one) and got them to renumber and rename the original model (50037) and fit the detail pack to the front, plus weather the hell out of it as per the photos.
I really love this loco. Can you imagine seeing something looking this dilapidated out on the mainline today?

 

[xotGD]

Excellent again. But I think you need to model some cranks at the droplights for a fully authentic look!

 

[Iskra]

I did think the 50 might be saved until last. It’s an excellent model and the weathering is amazing too. I do like a 50 and it’s got a good back story on your railway too.

 

[Ash Bridge]

I did think the 50 might be saved until last. It’s an excellent model and the weathering is amazing too. I do like a 50 and it’s got a good back story on your railway too.

From memory I think she only survived for 2/3 weeks beyond this Pathfinder railtour I was aboard, was it a main generator failure or catastrophic flashover? I think Mr Cowley can probably confirm?

Back to his model railway, I've yet to see it in the flesh but every time I look at those Lapford station shots I'm just blown away by the way he's captured that location so faithfully, the amount of fine detail in there is just amazing.....a great achievement there Mr C!

 

[Cowley]

Excellent again. But I think you need to model some cranks at the droplights for a fully authentic look!

I did actually do that to an old 00 Lima coach and I might have a go at doing an N gauge one at some point because I was quite pleased with it.
Here’s ‘Bert the Basher’ wishing that life was still a bit more black and white.
“Things were simple then” mutter mutter “Sulzer or EE that was your choice” mutter mutter “no one did bog carts” mutter mutter “wouldn’t be seen dead” mutter mutter...

I did think the 50 might be saved until last. It’s an excellent model and the weathering is amazing too. I do like a 50 and it’s got a good back story on your railway too.

Thanks @Iskra and apologies for anyone that’s seen these photos before as I’m sure I’ve used them on one of the other threads.

From memory I think she only survived for 2/3 weeks beyond this Pathfinder railtour I was aboard, was it a main generator failure or catastrophic flashover? I think Mr Cowley can probably confirm?

Back to his model railway, I've yet to see it in the flesh but every time I look at those Lapford station shots I'm just blown away by the way he's captured that location so faithfully, the amount of fine detail in there is just amazing.....a great achievement there Mr C!

Thanks for that, I’ve bombarded with plenty of stuff about the place this last couple of years!
I think you’re right about 50032 Mr Bridge. It often seemed to work turn and turn about with 50042 Triumph on departmental duties and quite often they were paired up. 50032 packed up around that time as you say, but 50042 clung on for a good while longer.
I wouldn’t mind a model of 50042 at some point, but I’d like another 47 and possibly another 37 too. Plus a 101, plus a Skipper, plus maybe a 25... argh stop!

 

[Peter C]

It’s the 25th, Merry Christmas everyone.

I’d better post this before we plunge into the copious amounts of alcohol that we’ve been given today...

It’s the current flagship of the railway, Dapol class 50 - 50032 Courageous, seen here arriving at Lapford on its way to Exeter hauling the Exeter spare set that was broken out whenever there was a shortage of DMUs (so frequently) in the 1989 - 1991 period.

View attachment 87649

50032 was a departmental (DCWA) machine in those days having been retired from front line Network Southeast work and it looked absolutely knackered.
There’s a photo of it here at Barnstaple on a railtour taken by my good friend @Ash Bridge around then showing just how bad it looked:

View attachment 87648

I sent TMC a load of photos (including the above one) and got them to renumber and rename the original model (50037) and fit the detail pack to the front, plus weather the hell out of it as per the photos.
I really love this loco. Can you imagine seeing something looking this dilapidated out on the mainline today?

That model looks really good - always good to see a 50 out and about, even if just on a model railway
The model also looks really well-weathered, like the real thing. Looks as though it's had quite few hard days' work!

I did actually do that to an old 00 Lima coach and I might have a go at doing an N gauge one at some point because I was quite pleased with it.
Here’s ‘Bert the Basher’ wishing that life was still a bit more black and white.
“Things were simple then” mutter mutter “Sulzer or EE that was your choice” mutter mutter “no one did bog carts” mutter mutter “wouldn’t be seen dead” mutter mutter...

View attachment 87681



Thanks @Iskra and apologies for anyone that’s seen these photos before as I’m sure I’ve used them on one of the other threads.



Thanks for that, I’ve bombarded with plenty of stuff about the place this last couple of years!
I think you’re right about 50032 Mr Bridge. It often seemed to work turn and turn about with 50042 Triumph on departmental duties and quite often they were paired up. 50032 packed up around that time as you say, but 50042 clung on for a good while longer.
I wouldn’t mind a model of 50042 at some point, but I’d like another 47 and possibly another 37 too. Plus a 101, plus a Skipper, plus maybe a 25... argh stop!

Apologies for jumping in but you've given me an idea with that - I'm now trying to find a coach I can experiment on adding people to like that! Probably a Buffet Restaurant - the best coach in a train...

Hope you had a merry Christmas,

-Peter

 

[xotGD]

Here’s ‘Bert the Basher’ wishing that life was still a bit more black and white.

Dreadful!

 

[Cowley]

Just having a bit of a tinker with the new extension at the Barnstaple end of the layout tonight. Inspired by @Peter C I’ve actually incorporated a bit of superelevation into the curves...

 

[Peter C]

Just having a bit of a tinker with the new extension at the Barnstaple end of the layout tonight. Inspired by @Peter C I’ve actually incorporated a bit of superelevation into the curves...

View attachment 87808View attachment 87807

I'm loving the superelevation you've done on those curves! They really add something to the layout.

-Peter

 

[Iskra]

‘The next train to call at platform one will be the BR Pendolino service to Exeter...’

It looks excellent and conveys a real feeling of speed.

 

[Cowley]

I must admit that I am quite pleased with it.
I’ll be doing a lot of testing through those curves before settling on it though. It needs to run perfectly in this scale otherwise it’ll drive me up the wall...

 

[reddragon]

How would super elevation work with long freight trains? Could they fall over?

 

[Peter C]

I must admit that I am quite pleased with it.
I’ll be doing a lot of testing through those curves before settling on it though. It needs to run perfectly in this scale otherwise it’ll drive me up the wall...

I've found that it's the same with 00 gauge - it needs to be perfect or it's not worth having the effect as trains derail all the time.

How would super elevation work with long freight trains? Could they fall over?

In my experience with 00 gauge they don't - the superelevation isn't enough to turn a train over. A long freight train would work like any other train I suppose.

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

Yes and to be fair the longest freight I generally run is only around the length of five or six coaches anyway.
This is a good photo showing the level of cant through the station back then. It’s not my photo and I’m not sure where it was from either.

 

[reddragon]

I've found that it's the same with 00 gauge - it needs to be perfect or it's not worth having the effect as trains derail all the time.


In my experience with 00 gauge they don't - the superelevation isn't enough to turn a train over. A long freight train would work like any other train I suppose.

-Peter

My container train will be 25 wagons . . . . .

 

[Peter C]

My container train will be 25 wagons . . . . .

Should be alright as long as you have a powerful enough engine as the superelevation can be a struggle for smaller engines.

-Peter

 

[reddragon]

Should be alright as long as you have a powerful enough engine as the superelevation can be a struggle for smaller engines.

-Peter

Perhaps a trial bend to test it? haha, but I only have 11 wagons so far unless I add all my stone / tankers!

 

[Peter C]

Perhaps a trial bend to test it? haha, but I only have 11 wagons so far unless I add all my stone / tankers!

That would probably be a good idea - make sure the transition from curve to straight/level is alright though, and try not to put points straight after superelevated sections

-Peter

 

[hexagon789]

Just having a bit of a tinker with the new extension at the Barnstaple end of the layout tonight. Inspired by @Peter C I’ve actually incorporated a bit of superelevation into the curves...

View attachment 87808View attachment 87807

Takes a lot of trial and error to get right, especially with 'S' curves. Maybe I should have an 'S' curve, a former BR ScotRail engineer who worked on the track side told me the one thing 47/7s were good for was buggering up the 'S' curves about a week after he'd had them sorted!

Yes and to be fair the longest freight I generally run is only around the length of five or six coaches anyway.
This is a good photo showing the level of cant through the station back then. It’s not my photo and I’m not sure where it was from either.

View attachment 87835

Nice lean. I think Carstairs wins though - tight curve AND reverse canted, always makes it look like a 47s about to topple over I think.

 

[Cowley]

Takes a lot of trial and error to get right, especially with 'S' curves. Maybe I should have an 'S' curve, a former BR ScotRail engineer who worked on the track side told me the one thing 47/7s were good for was buggering up the 'S' curves about a week after he'd had them sorted!


Nice lean. I think Carstairs wins though - tight curve AND reverse canted, always makes it look like a 47s about to topple over I think.

You’ve got me wondering what section of track has the most cant in the uk now? The 115mph curves through Hatfield must be up there?

 

[hexagon789]

You’ve got me wondering what section of track has the most cant in the uk now? The 115mph curves through Hatfield must be up there?

Somewhere in the South West - it was excepted from current standards due to 'grandfather' rights. It was 7.25" iirc, I cannot recall the exact location.

That was supposed to be the most cant on a UK railway, certainly pre-HS1 which may have more than 180mm.

Edit: found it!

It's Collumpton reverse curves and it's 8 inches. There is a special exemption to the 1999 rules specifically for it.

 

[Cowley]

Somewhere in the South West - it was excepted from current standards due to 'grandfather' rights. It was 7.25" iirc, I cannot recall the exact location.

That was supposed to be the most cant on a UK railway, certainly pre-HS1 which may have more than 180mm.

Edit: found it!

It's Collumpton reverse curves and it's 8 inches. There is a special exemption to the 1999 rules specifically for it.

Well I never. That’s only about 9 miles from here!

 

[reddragon]

Somewhere in the South West - it was excepted from current standards due to 'grandfather' rights. It was 7.25" iirc, I cannot recall the exact location.

That was supposed to be the most cant on a UK railway, certainly pre-HS1 which may have more than 180mm.

Edit: found it!

It's Collumpton reverse curves and it's 8 inches. There is a special exemption to the 1999 rules specifically for it.

You need to do the N / OO gauge conversions too!

 

[hexagon789]

Well I never. That’s only about 9 miles from here!

No excuse to not to irl prototypical research then!

You need to do the N / OO gauge conversions too!

You're on your own with those calculations!

 

[Peter C]

You need to do the N / OO gauge conversions too!

You're on your own with those calculations!

To make your calculations easier, see the program on this site: http://wordsworthmodelrailway.co.uk/

-Peter

 

[hexagon789]

To make your calculations easier, see the program on this site: http://wordsworthmodelrailway.co.uk/

-Peter

Darn, now I don't have an excuse to not implement track canting...

 

[Peter C]

Darn, now I don't have an excuse to not implement track canting...

Haha I just bodged mine and it works - for now at least! I expect it to fall apart in a hilarious comedy-show manner at a moment's notice...

-Peter

 

[hexagon789]

Haha I just bodged mine and it works - for now at least! I expect it to fall apart in a hilarious comedy-show manner at a moment's notice...

-Peter

I know the feeling - I have tried experimenting with it previously, one such experiment came close to ending the career of some motive power...

 

[Peter C]

I know the feeling - I have tried experimenting with it previously, one such experiment came close to ending the career of some motive power...

I spent around an hour the other day solely working on a few inches of track because an engine started derailing - the joys of model railways!

-Peter

 

[reddragon]

8" = 200mm or 3mm OO gauge at 1/76 scale