Newcastle Haymarket Tramsformed

I love the minimalist layouts built over the years by Ian Futers. I've tracked down magazine back numbers featuring them, been to at least 4 exhibitions simply because one of his models, sometimes under new ownership, was there, I even have a part finished 00 gauge pastiche of Newcastle Haymarket warping nicely in a rather damp loft.

Recent posts by Chris Mears on his excellent Prince Street Terminal blog reawakened my interest in Ian's
work. When he went on to mock up a tram terminal using the Newcastle Hamarket track plan, I began to wonder what the actual model would look like if it were updated, as if it had been incorporated into a modern rapid transit system. In fact, if the station really existed, it might well have become part of the Tyne and Wear Metro, which uses high level platforms, some of which are ex railway, with tram style articulated cars.

In Nottingham, our local tram system, the southern terminus is on the old Great Central Railway viaduct, which ran over the city before plunging into a tunnel through to Nottingham Victoria Station.

The pre-tramway shot, above, shows the location. Trams now approach down the street on the left of the photo (the tunnel mouth through to Victoria can just be seen) then swing onto the viaduct. The brick part has been replaced by a modern concrete structure, once over the road in the foreground the original structure is used. At the end, a modern tower-like building, see left, provides access to the platforms. Since it was only built for plain double track, the viaduct has been widened using a metal structure, topped with a concrete deck.

The rails are set into the concrete. The station throat is a scissors crossover, allowing access from the double track approach to either platform. Beyond the buffers, behind the camera, the original Great Central crossed Station Street, then went over the four platforms of Nottingham Midland station on a huge bridge, now demolished. With the news this week that two more routes are to be added to the Nottingham network, this scene will soon change. Tracks will again run southwards from here and a new bridge will be built over the Midland station, still in use.

Returning to Haymarket, the viaduct here includes platforms, so unlike the Nottingham example, no widening would be necessary. The original station building would be demolished and, since the trams are much shorter, the line would be cut back, probably at around the white noticeboard seen on the booking office wall in the picture to the left. A tower, with lifts, would be built to give access from street level. With the bridge removed, a small plaza, with flowerbeds, could be set around the street entrance.

Were I to try this in N gauge, and I'm very tempted, I'd add a loop at street level for my Tomytec moving bus, emerging from under the far bridge, that looping back round through the new 'Station Plaza', to return behind the backscene. Tomytec produce 66mm radius curves so the layout would easily fit onto a 20cm wide board. A new take on an old idea, and a real salute to an inspiring railway modeller.

Tetsudou controller problems

My battery powered Tetsudou controller was delivered yesterday. I unpacked it excitedly, sat my Bachmann streetcar on the track and - nothing!! Well, the lights came on, but that was it. Tried posh Duracell batteries, still no result.

I then tried the batteries directly on the tram - still nothing, so I guess 4 AAs don't put out enough juice for the Bachmann motor. I found a 9v PP3 in the cupboard and connected it to the wheel - this resulted in a reasonable pace.

Since I really like the controller and being able to operate away from mains power, this leaves me two options. I could fit a PP3 into the device. It comes apart easily enough and there's more than enough room. My only concern is that there's a fair bit of circuitry at the top and I don't want to burn it out with a 50% voltage increase. Has anyone else run them successfully with an uprated supply?

The other alternative is to stick to models that work on 6v. I'm not particularly in love with the Bachmann - it was secondhand so I should be able to sell it on without loss, and I was going to order one of the TM-TR01 based models anyway, plus a Portram or two when the chasis comes back on sale. Being Tetsudou models, these must work with the original setup? If I take this route, am I painting myself into a corner regarding future acquisitions? In particular, I could be tempted by something from Modemo in the future.

Any advice would be welcomed!

You wait all day for a tram then...

OK, so the original quote refers to buses, but it's close enough. After finding the first video of Shōkakuji-shita, I was skimming through the other videos by seigen120kaihin and suddenly spotted what had to be route numbers amongst all the Japanese characters. Two therefore appeared to be route 1, so hopefully included more of Shōkakuji-shita. And here it is, at the end this time (final 40 seconds), and filmed from the other side. A lot of reflection off the windows, but the opposite side of the street this time

. Not sure of the time of day - when I have nothing better to do I'll perhaps work it out from the position of the sun - but that's quite a high frequency service. One tram's just leaving as our's arrives.

Shōkakuji-shita: video at last

I came across Shōkakuji-shita on the Nagasaki Tramway system on the net a while back, especially through the blog of Chris Mears.. It's a superb minimum space prototype, only 1 point, but plenty of traffic and quite unique scenically, built on the edge of the river, with a backdrop of characterful properties clinging to the opposite bank.
It's the terminus of routes 1 and 4. For a colourful map of the system, take a look here. There's loads of YouTube videos of the Nagasaki Tramways, many filmed from from the driver's perspective. Until now however, none of them appeared to feature Shōkakuji-shita - even the route 1 journeys appeared to stop short. Doubtless they are out there, but my inability to read Japanese makes searching difficult.
I've finally come across this however - not the elusive cabview I'd really like to see, but the first minute does give some good views of the station.

Now to continue ploughing through YouTube to find some more!

A prototype for those Tomix loops?

Of course, these tiny loops of Tomix track may be great fun but they're hardly prototypical. Are they?
A system I've become very interested in is the Slaskie Tramways, in Upper Silesia, Poland. It's a complex network in an old industrial area, largely operated by classic cars, derived from Tatra  PCCs. Here's a great overview. I've been exploring some of the routes in Google Earth and came across this gem.

It's just north of Pogon Akademiki. Route 27 trams terminate there (other routes continue), then run forward to this loop to turn before heading back. Here's a map should anyone be interested.

Another one is nearer Katowice, allowing trams on routes 23 and 37 to turn. It's more scenic than the first example and has a rather neat little station, Szopienice Petla, inside one of the triangles.

Here's a view of the station on Streetview:

And if these aren't prototypes for a Tomix loop, I don't know what is!

My Tomytec Moving Bus has arrived!

I'd always fancied the Faller road system, in HO or N, but had always been put off by the cost. Most of them seemed to run a little too quickly for my tastes too. Then I started seeing descriptions and videos of the new Tomytec Moving Bus on the net. It seemed to run at a more realistic speed and was a lot cheaper. Trouble was, it was also out of stock everywhere.

In the meantime, my wide tram track arrived and I was really impressed with the whole clip together / take apart concept. As a family, we keep coming back to the idea of living on a boat at some point. This being England, it would be a narrowboat, only 7 feet wide and probably about 60 long. No room for a permanent setup of any description, just like the Japanese households this track is designed for. The fact the bus would fit into the setup clinched the deal and as soon as I saw stock appearing again, I ordered a set from the brilliant Plazajapan EBay store. Good job to, a day later they were all gone again!

It arrived yesterday, faster than I'd expected and before I'd obtained the all important LR44 batteries. Another quick online purchase saw them arrive today, so tonight was test night. And what a brilliant addition it is! Once I'd figured out how to put the automatic stop together, it added a whole new dimension. The bus can be set to run automatically, stopping each lap for about 10 seconds, then moving off again. This left me to drive the tram, stopping to connect with the bus, reversing every so often - a good old fashioned play in other words!

I added a couple of Oxford Diecast models (a London Country Queen Mary PD3 can be seen chasing the tram in the top photo) and my Hornby bus depot as background colour. Next job is to make a few filler pieces for these to sit on - nothing too fancy, I envisage a series of small bases that can be fitted around the track in various configurations and packed away when not in use.

Here we go again...

My tramway modelling currently includes 00 gauge (progressing nicely, if slowly), N scale (currently held up by the non arrival of my Tomix wide tram track from Japan, G scale (scaling back since the line's outside in the garden, ground level and the soil's already waterlogged for Winter), plus O9 (a Gnomy tram on a Bachmann N chassis, which comes out each Christmas. This year it'll use the Tomix tram track, an improvement on the Peco curves of previous years - if the Tomix arrives before Christmas - see above...).

For inspiration, relatively locally (at least the kind of distances that people in the US or Australia would consider local) we have the modern tramways in Nottingham, Sheffield and Birmingham, plus the wonderful Crich museum. And Heaton Park not too much further on, with a growing fleet of 'proper' Blackpool trams, which is more than their hometown can muster these days...

Ah yes, Blackpool - until recently, my favourite destination - sun, sea, chips and unique, classic tramcars, carrying the masses the length of the Fylde coast. Now swept away in a tide of modernisation that fails to recognise that most of the journeys were undertaken by holidaymakers, for whom the old double deck clunkers were an attraction in themselves. Sadly the council seem unaware of the numerous successful heritage operations around the world, such as San Francisco and Lisbon to name but two. It'll be interesting to see how things pan out once the new Flexities arrive.

To finish, here's a couple of views of my favourite spot on the tramway, the southern turning loop at Starr Gate, firstly with a Balloon car waiting to head north through the Illuminations.

 And finally, a little of the character - think English seaside, stick of rock, George Formby - that will inevitably disappear when the line is rebuilt to modern, clinical standards.