- an update on Robin Sharman's model railway
From 2007 and into 2008 my OO scale model railway Greetby Minster was updated and
modified. It was adapted to represent the present day. Consequently most of the locomotives
and rolling stock were replaced - disposal of redundant items helping to fund the new items.
The situation regarding passenger stock gave me a bit of a headache, as in the real world the
end of 2007 saw the transfer of the East Coast Main Line franchise from GNER to National
Express. Additionally the services in the East Midlands changed from Virgin Cross Country
to Arriva Cross Country, and from both Midland Main Line and Central Trains to East
Midlands Trains.
This picture taken in 2007 shows a GNER InterCity 125 from London Kings
Cross heading for Greetby overtaking a coal train on the
down slow line while the Pullman special heads south on the up slow
line. Soon GNER would lose its franchise to NXEC.
At the same time the whole layout was converted to Digital Command Control (DCC)
from the conventional method. This involved some rewiring, considerable investment
and the fitting of digital decoders inside all of the locomotives.
The track layout was also modified slightly. As you can
see from the diagram below,
some line singling has taken place although the basic
layout remains the same.
Some extra signals have been installed, and those out
on the main line have been
automated using the excellent infra-red detection system
made by Heathcote
Electronics. One casualty has been the ex-GN signal box,
which has been replaced
by a non-descript brick-built relay room now that the
station signals are controlled
from a signalling centre many miles away.
The following photos show the current scene in and around Greetby Minster.
The row of houses above the tunnels still stand although the traffic
that passes them has changed - especially the lorries.
A close-up view of the Bottle and Glass pub shows that it has gone
the way of many others. In the real world it has already been
moved to the Black Country Museum at Dudley so there seems to be something
of a time-warp taking place here! Those paving
slabs aren't looking too good either.
This view shows the size of modern lorries that travel our roads these
days. This is one of the familiar fleet of Ken Thomas from
Guyhirn near Wisbech. Presumably it has come via Peterborough and the
A1. Behind it Aardman fans will be delighted to see that
Mrs Tweedy's fine chicken pies are still being advertised on the hoarding.
What has changed at the station itself? Let's see ...........
There have not been many changes at the station itself, apart from
the withdrawal of parcels services. The sign tells us that
East Midlands Trains are now responsible for operating the station,
although other companies' services do call here.
Below the bridges 66136 passes through the station with a train of
old-style HAA coal hoppers past where the former Great Northern
signal box used to be. In the foreground a couple more class EWS 66s
await their turns of duty at the locomotive stabling point.
66136 heads out along the GN route with its coal train as a Freightliner
class 66 pauses at the signal guarding the junction at the entrance
to Greetby Minster station. This loco is at the head of a train of
empty 100 tonne capacity HHA bogie hopper wagons heading back to
collect more coal for one of the region's ever-hungry power stations.
In the foregound the now-singled ex-Midland line diverges.
A litle further along 66136 passes the last of the Freightliner hoppers
as it approaches the signal gantry with the green lights showing on
both signals. In the foreground the singled Midland line passes the
site of the now-closed Halam lane crossing. The old derelict signal box
that used to be here has at last been removed and the track is protected
by modern metal fencing, although strangely the GN line still has
the old-style post and wire fence.
A few minutes later a Freightliner container train hauled
by a Canadian-built class 66 locomotove passes the same spot as a line
of empty EWS coal wagons heads in the other direction. The first
wagon on the container train is carrying the BBC News liveried
container known as The Box. This dates the scene to late-2008
before The Box headed out on its journey around the globe, and
it illustrates just how connected to the rest of the world we
are now - the loco, the containers and the Skoda car all testify to this.
Another "sign of the times" is this single car class 153 unit in the
livery of East Midlands Trains (part of the Stagecoach group) seen
as it runs along the now-singled Midland line past the ruined remains
of Thorney Abbey with the canal tunnel entrance below it. .
As the four-track GN line curves round and crosses over the entrance
to Oxton Hill Tunnel. The Ketton Cement train is still made up of
the Tiger Leasing PCA wagons introduced in the 1970s (in my world at
least). Here they emerge from the tunnel hauled by 60022.
Our train continues its way along the Great Northern line .....
..... and heads down the gradient towards the double tunnel as two
of its sister locos head side-by-side in the opposite direction
hauling long trains of empty 100 tonne HTA wagons. I really think that
this is what railways are about, and what I want to replicate.
Not for me the often-modelled branch line of the steam era!
As our train disappears into the tunnel, we hear the once-familiar
roar of a Deltic behind us and preserved 55003 Meld races
past and into the tunnel on the fast line hauling a special train of
seven vintage Pullman cars. These are all named - they are:
Julia, Karen, Lucretia, Minerva, Nemesis, Ophelia and Penelope.
This
railway contains many cryptic references to my life
and interests - those who know me will doubtless spot some of them.