Update No.36 - 04.11.12

Hello everybody, I hope all is well with you all.  All is currently tickety-boo in Corky's world so I thought it was once again time to share my model railway and full sized railway exploits with you all...you lucky, lucky people!

What fantastic adventures await this time I hear you all cry!  Well, a couple of days ago there was a mammoth operating session on the Corkscrew-Lines including the setting of a new haulage record.....absolutely hellfire!  I have also now received the fold up desk and chair as mentioned last time so I have constructed some useful items which should make my modelling in Hampshire far easier.  You may also be interested in some class 66 contrasts.  Not a loco type I will be purchasing for the line but some interesting photos nonetheless I hope you'll agree.  Dreadful!

Peak power with a lengthy freight heading away from the Turbo-Banjo.....Hellfire!

Spam-Can on the Waterloo parcels blasts up the grade as a Warship descends

Helix and level 2 trackwork in operation

Visiting Corkettes

A couple of days ago my great mate and long term Corkette, Wibble arrived in the Fens clutching a bag of goodies....Oh my Lords!  I had hoped Rooster would also come along but he was otherwise engaged - more on that later.  A Dutch liveried Heljan class 26 and a Large-Logo Bachmann class 37 were plonked down on the loco line in lower yard and the fun began.  For the next 7 or so hours a pair of middle aged men, who really should know better, reverted to their childhoods and had a ball running a huge variety of trains around the room and up and down the helix...Dreadful!  What a wonderful hobby this is!

A pair of big kids.....Oh My Lords!

"Leave me in charge...you go and make the tea....where's the risk!"

During Wibble's long and illustrious railway career he has been no stranger to pressure and stress having been a Controller for GB Railfreight and therefore being well accustomed to juggling multiple tasks and keeping a watchful eye on numerous simultaneous situations.  It shouldn't have come as a surprise then when he proceeded to feed train after train out of lower yard onto the mainline until 5 were circling the room all at slightly differing speeds.  I departed the room to make the tea (essential for anything model railway related as you'll all know) and left my railway in Wibble's capable hands.  Can you guess where this is going yet?

I returned to find Wibble hopping up and down and shouting a series of expletives as he desperately attempted...in vain, to stop a Bullied West Country hauled parcels train coupling up to the rear of a Class 37 hauled brake van special as they both descended the helix....Oops!  So much for the principles of Absolute Block Signalling with only one train in the section at one time...haha!  After much jabbing of the red emergency stop button a major catastrophe was averted and calm was again restored with a cup of tea and a slice of cake to calm the nerves.

The Bachmann 37 tops the helix with it's mighty 60 wagon freight...What a beast!

With it's English Electric 12 Cylinder diesel at full chat, the mighty Tractor thunders on....Hellfire!

We decided we'd try something less complicated after lunch and started to assemble a lengthy freight train composed of 4 wheel vans.  The idea was to see which locos had the best haulage power.  This was a largely academic exercise because all of the home fleet can tackle the helix without problems with an 8 coach train or similar length freight.  This was just a bit of fun!  You may remember Wibble brought his class 37 along for a running session earlier in the year and it managed to haul no less than 13 passenger coaches up the mighty helix.  Having established most resident locos stalled with between 45-50 wagons, we were expecting big things from it and we were not disappointed.  The loco is fitted with DCC sound and after a very gentle start in the yard to get the slack out of the couplings, I gradually opened her up and the train of 60 wagons assaulted the grade and began to wind round the helix.  The room was filled with the symphony that is the classic English Electric full bore 12CSVT sound track....Hellfire!

Wibble climbed inside the helix and filmed the momentous moment when his beast clawed its way to the summit and a new haulage record for the Corkscrew-Lines had been established...Oh My Lords - Dreadful!  As you can probably gather - a good time was had by all!  I am thinking of having some regular "run what ya brung" sessions on the Corkscrew-lines in the future so Corkettes can turn up and let their pride and joy loose on the mainline.  Let me know if any of you regulars would be interested in attending and I'll set the wheels in motion.  


New Arrivals on the Corkscrew-Lines

Nothing particularly exciting has been delivered to Jones-Towers recently.  I have however received some acrylic paints and some glue ready for my kit building projects and a few heavily discounted model trucks and cars.  Finally another of my favourite Lenz DCC chips.

Kit building sundries!

The long awaited fold up exam desk eventually arrived here last week and having tried it out for size I decided to make a few improvements and generally get ready for using it down south.  I decided to increase the size of the modelling area by adding a set of corner pieces to a sheet of plywood to create a larger table top which will not slip and can be simply lifted on and off.  Then I made a glue bottle holder and base from some plywood offcuts and a paint pot holder from some more scrap plywood.  Hopefully this will prevent any unwanted spillages and helps to keep things organised.  You can see the finished desk below complete with modelling lamp and the essential iPod dock.  I am happy to report there is plenty of spare desktop space for the essential cup of tea too....Dreadful!

Paint pot sized holes drilled out and about to cut the plywood

They won't win any prizes for looks but they work and they were free!

Fold up exam desk and chair as delivered

Underside of enlarged desktop with corner pieces fitted.

All ready to be taken down to Alton where a large pile of kits are waiting to be started.  I may need to make a few more modifications but this should be portable and light enough to be moved all round the country with me if neccessary.

Music and light added.  Just needs a cup of tea and it's ready!

Full Sized Railway Adventures

I stumbled accross an interesting train at Spalding station the other morning.  This is the leaf-fall season as you will all know and the fleet of railhead treatment trains are hard at work water jetting the railheads all over the country.  Many years ago I spent a season driving these trains over the Great Northern and West Anglia routes and I know it is a particularly filthy process and the trains get exceptionally grubby.  However, the pair of class 66 locos at Spalding with the RHTT looked so grubby I had to take a few shots.  After all, GBRf take a particular pride in the appearance of it's fleet so this was a very unusual sight....Oh My Lords!

66 744 "Crossrail" at Spalding with RHTT 03.11.11

66 744 "Crossrail" at Spalding with RHTT 03.11.11

66 743 at Spalding with RHTT 03.11.11

In total contrast to the above shots, I delved into the Corky archives and found some shots taken in April 2006 when I was a GBRf driver based at Peterborough.  I was booked to take a light loco from Peterborough to Felixstowe via Ely, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich and work an intermodal train back to the East Midlands.  I wandered out to the loco roads and found 66 718 which at the time had only been in the country for a few days.  Now I have driven many very clean locos in connection with special trains or naming ceremonies but I had never driven anything this pristine before.  The seats even had plastic covers...Oh My Lords!  I remember it was an awful trip because I needed both cab windows open to try a get rid of the almost overpowering new paint smell which had given me a thumping headache by the time I arrived in Suffolk.  Anyway, the contrasts are quite marked!

66 718 in Ipswich Yard - 18.04.06

66 718 in Ipswich Yard - 18.04.06

66 718 in Ipswich Yard - 18.04.06

66 718 in Ipswich Yard - 18.04.06

66 718 at Felixstowe Container Terminal - 18.04.06

Future Adventures

Well that's almost it from me my little Corkette chums.  I will be attending a couple of model railway shows this month so if any of you are thinking of going too let me know and we can meet up and have a mini Corkette Convention...Hellfire!


Spalding Model Railway Show - Sat 10th Nov

Warley (NEC) Show - Sat 24th Nov

  
The Next Corkette Generation Arrives! 

Last but most definitely not least, there has been a major disturbance in the Corkscrew-Lines "Force" today.  My great mate and long term Corkette, Rooster, has today become a father for the first time.  His beautiful wife Lesley gave birth to gorgeous Samuel James today and everybody is doing well.  Congratulations mate - I couldn't be happier for you both.

I can already imagine Rooster giving Samuel a lift up to see what's happening on the top deck of the Corkscrew-Lines in a few years time....Dreadful!  The next generation of Corkettes has arrived...fantastic news!
  

Until next time my friends...

Corky!