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It obviously feels out of place among decent working locos and is trying to get back down south..

 

 

 

John

 

A Schools did work into Darlington from Nottingham on a railtour.  Despite being capable of running the train on its own it had a pilot -  after all it did start on the Midland  - an LMS 2P that was already withdrawn.   The Schools did most of the work and probably pulled the 2P (pushed? - I'm not sure which was on the front in both directions) as well.

 

The Schools was probably the only other 4-4-0 in the same class as the Shire/Hunt, being in effect a big 3-cylinder 4-6-0 shortened to fit the silly small turntables they had down there.

 

Les

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Well, that is it for this session.  The layout is now packed up and standing on end in the workshop - and I've even vacuumed the floor.....

 

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I've got the boxes over the ends done, though the one at the farm end needs another upright to screw tight into- a smaller job that can wait for next time. Note that the road now continues right up to the edge of the board.

 

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The pic shows it bends upwards.  Both of the boxes were painted black on the inside before assembling them.  The black paint on the outside can wait until December/January.  The lane now continues right to the board edge and the foliage along the board edge is complete.  

 

 

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A huge improvement for a small amount of work was putting the white line on the platform edge (it acquired one by 1955 according to pics, perhaps even earlier). It will need a little more work over the humps on the down platform, but those are still proving a little problematical.

 

One job I didn't get done was touching up the ballast through the station, but I've worked on colouring it at the farm end.  Over all if the layout were summoned to a show next weekend - hopefully not - it would be some distance from being the worst in the show.   Now all I've got to do in the final spasm before Sileby is bring it to life and add the static grass clumps to the cow field and the embankments..

 

More pics still on file.  I might get them posted.  Meanwhile NO PLACE is up on its stands so I can get the couplings changed over to Kadees in time for Woodthorpe show on the 27th.

 

Les

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Well, that is it for this session.  The layout is now packed up and standing on end in the workshop - and I've even vacuumed the floor.....

 

attachicon.gifIMG_8764.JPG

 

I've got the boxes over the ends done, though the one at the farm end needs another upright to screw tight into- a smaller job that can wait for next time. Note that the road now continues right up to the edge of the board.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_8763.JPG

 

The pic shows it bends upwards.  Both of the boxes were painted black on the inside before assembling them.  The black paint on the outside can wait until December/January.  The lane now continues right to the board edge and the foliage along the board edge is complete.  

 

 

attachicon.gifIMG_8771.JPG

 

A huge improvement for a small amount of work was putting the white line on the platform edge (it acquired one by 1955 according to pics, perhaps even earlier). It will need a little more work over the humps on the down platform, but those are still proving a little problematical.

 

One job I didn't get done was touching up the ballast through the station, but I've worked on colouring it at the farm end.  Over all if the layout were summoned to a show next weekend - hopefully not - it would be some distance from being the worst in the show.   Now all I've got to do in the final spasm before Sileby is bring it to life and add the static grass clumps to the cow field and the embankments..

 

More pics still on file.  I might get them posted.  Meanwhile NO PLACE is up on its stands so I can get the couplings changed over to Kadees in time for Woodthorpe show on the 27th.

 

Les

 

Les,

 

Look forward to seeing Croft Spa in the North East, at some point.

 

Regards,

 

Roy

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Les,

 

Look forward to seeing Croft Spa in the North East, at some point.

 

Regards,

 

Roy

 

It would be nice to get the chance to bring it.  However I'm not holding my breath as Hawthorn Dene has only had one invite and No Place none yet....

 

Still sorting trains for Hawthorn Dene at Warley.  Croft Spa will be erected when I get home next Sunday.

 

Les

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  • 3 weeks later...

Croft Spa is now erected in the shed and I've started on the last blast to get it finished before Sileby in February.  First job was to sort out the trains (not quite cart before horse as there will need to be a couple of selective rolling stock purchases).

 

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The fiddle yard is good and full and all the trains seen here have passed the "will it run through the designated road and ten times round the front without an incident?" test.  A pair of second hand coaches are coming from Hattons (a blood and custard Mk1 for the troop train and an extra Met-Camm Pullman) and I need to get one more Mark 1 at Peterborough next Sunday.  Remarkably little expense to finish the job.  An upgrade purchase of Thompsons can wait.  there is also a twin-art pair of coach sides to inflict on Mr Simon...

 

As with Hawthorn Dene I've arranged for one road in each direction to only have one train in it.  That allows a "circulate while troubleshooting or nattering" option.

 

 

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Instead of the magnetics on HD (which still work on the new system) I've gone for the dry wipe system unashamedly nicked from Banbury.  It worked at Warley on HD.  As the board is steel the magnets from the former system stick to it so they can be used.  Biggest difference is that the fiddle yard has 12 roads, giving 11 trains each way in the sequence.

 

 

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I have this thing about fields of cows.  Cows produce cow pats, often repeatedly in the same place.  These seem to generate grassy tussocks.  Something I've never seen modelled.  Here is my attempt....  

 

 

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Last one for now the signature train - London to Catterick Camp troop train, 8 coaches hauled by a tender-first V2 on express headcodes.  The prototype ran to Darlington, passing Croft Spa Northbound. Here the loco ran round, and pulled the train tender-first on to the Richmond branch as far as Catterick Bridge, passing through Croft Spa Southbound.  The V2 then ran round the train again and pulled it up the Catterick Camp branch chimney first.  For those whose geography doesn't stretch to this part of the ECML, the Richmond branch turned off at Eryholme Junction, about 5 miles South of Croft.  The junction pointed towards Darlington.  The Catterick Camp branch left the Richmond branch at Catterick bridge with the junction pointing towards Richmond, hence the two reversals needed.

 

I've been picking brains about this train to try to get info on its composition, notably Chris Nettleton of the Gresley Society and Tony Wright.   So far it would seem that the train would not have a buffet, partly as it appears to have been limited to 8 coaches.  I'm not sure if that was the maximum that would fit in the loop at Catterick Bridge or at Catterick Camp.  The Richmond and Catterick Camp branches were Route Availability 9, so there must have been a reason other than weight why a V2 was used rather than a Pacific.  TW and CN both thought a buffet would have been unlikely, and TW suggested that the stock would be whatever was standing spare at Bounds Green at the time- so therefore a bit older and tattier than the best trains.  My idea of using a York V2 was favourably received on the grounds that York's V2s turned up just about everywhere.

 

So- having got a Farish V2 that will haul 8 coaches tender first it is renumbered as 60907 of York, one that didn't have outside steam pipes.  Seen here running South through Croft Spa on its way to Catterick Bridge. 

All for now.  I have a new vid but it isn't uploaded yet.

 

Les

 

 

 

 

 

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Looking at the cow pats I think they are a little generous for small cows like these...

 

The biggest ones are no more, the smaller ones being left and some smaller and newer (ie lighter hued) ones added.   Who would have thought cow pats could be such an issue?

 

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Northbound Tees Tyne Pullman heads through the station.  I do have a headboard for the loco on one of the two Pullmans.  That will help justify having so many A4s as once it is fitted that loco will be out of the Hawthorn Dene roster.  I'll probably order a second headboard for the other train next time I need anything from those nice Fox people...

 

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Also northbound is the daily class 33 working to Tyne Yard.  It wasn't a class 33 every day as they were sometimes changed off at York, and occasionally it was a pair of class 33s.  Given the length of the train I'm sticking with one loco.  This is another Croft Spa only train.

 

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The class 33 meets up with a Southbound train from one of the Durham quarries, either on the main line or up Weardale.  Probably pushing it to have a class 27 on this one so I'll confine the class 27s to Hawthorn Dene and use one of the class 24s for this working.  The brake tender and wagons run on both layouts, though for Croft Spa it can be one wagon longer.

 

Apart from remodelling cow pats I've been darkening the grass alongside the railway, and painting people, either colouring up unpainted Preiser ones or recolouring cheapo Chinese ones.  Today's post brought the two secondhand coaches.  Hatton's secondhand dept has done it again- the Mk1 second turned out to be a Stanier.  It will stay in the collection- I'll probably use it in a parcels train after weathering it.  I only really NEED one more Pullman now, a second.  It isn't all that urgent so I'll just keep an eye on Hattons and eBay.  The other goody in the post was a pack of 4 bicycles, two child size, one womens' and one racing bike.  They have been placed on the layout to make a bit of a change from Marsh ones.

 

All for today.

 

Les

 

 

 

 

 

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G'Day Folks

 

Could you not, paint the head of pins green/brown, and push those into your fields, to represent 'fresh' cow pats ??

 

manna

 

PS, Nice layout.

 

why didn't I think of that?

 

May well try it in the morning.

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https://youtu.be/M9tG549sFDU

 

As promised the vid of the two diesel-hauled trains.  Stopped a little early as the B..... B-tankers decided to part company with each other YET again.

 

I've just realised it is only just over two months to the layout's first outing- panic...

 

 

Thinking a little more clearly most of the work involved is tidying up.  The biggest items are re-doing the lighting rig and getting the layout cloth made.  Most of the rest is touching in little unfinished bits and trying to get the platform edging to stick straight.  I feel an impending trip to Steve's emporium to get some evergreen to do it more solidly along the front edge.

 

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Second attempt at the cow pats. The new ones are probably a bit too faint.  I'll have a go at Manna's method tomorrow.  

 

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A close up look towards the big open barn.  Mr Simon thought it needed another "posher" tractor and maybe a little more clutter.  He also suggested darkening the stone a little.  That might not happen as the dirty thinners are very pale at the moment.

 

 

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One of the smaller bikes at the back of the semis.  I still need a little more in this garden, though it is nearly there.  The biggest area for touch-up is the pathways round the backs of the houses on Belgrave Terrace.  This is perhaps the best of them...

 

Still much to be getting on with.

 

Les

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  • 2 weeks later...

More pics in the next day or two - I've been checking trains and adding things like grass tufts and garden sheds, all terribly exciting (not) but needed to lift the overall standard of the layout.

 

Second show booking - May 18th and 19th MRX Manchester.  Very many thanks to Peter Crichton for inviting a layout he hasn't seen....

 

Les

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One or two more pics

 

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More grass above the loading dock. I've used static grass tufts here to get the sort of overgrown stuff that appears where no lawn mower can get anywhere near.  In the foreground I've been applying Milliput into the gaps in the platform edging.

 

 

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In the lift-out part of the cricket ground population has started to appear, together with a decent-sized hut for equipment.  The hut is a Ten Commandments one with a good deal of paint applied in drybrush increments to make it look appropriately wooden.  Still some more chairs to put out, and spectators to add milling about or looking bored since that useless lot in the middle can't find the ball.

 

 

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Mr High-bungalow and his family are out in their small back garden.  It must be unusually warm for County Durham.  Not even raining, despite the cricket match...

 

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Looking along the gardens showing some tidying up and a couple of garden sheds that have appeared.

 

Much more to do.

 

Les

 

 

 

 

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OK, so I promised you video.

 

I'm getting the hang of this joining lark, so four of the faster trains in sequence. The background still shows how much needs to be done to make it good enough as an exhibition layout, but it is getting there....

 

 

Enjoy.

 

Les

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Second video- this one is a lot longer.

 

 

It does show I've made some progress upgrading the ballast over the last 4 days, but it also shows there is a lot to do.

 

One pic as well-

 

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Showing the extra population around the cricket pavilion on the lift-off board.  I still have to paint the flagpole white and find the cricketers from the batting team to have lounging around the pavilion.  From this angle the silver of the post top merges with the grey of the tee-shirt of the man standing behind.

 

Another day touching up ballast tomorrow....

 

Les

 

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Merry Christmas to all.

 

As a teaser, did anyone spot how many of the trains in the last video ran past a non-existant signal box. For protection it isn't attached, and I'd removed it to work on the platform and ballast and forgotten to put it back. It can just be seen in the car park behind the station building!

 

I've added another half dozen people today, together with six cats and four dogs, and it isn't easy to tell......

 

Les

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A couple of pics

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Cat on a hot station roof - must take the brush to the ends of the buildings.....

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It occurred to me that the cricketers' caps wouldn't be white. the batting team have red caps and the fielding team dark blue. Allows me to put a couple more red-capped batsmen around the pavilion.

Various bits ordered in a Boxing day binge. Edit will be to format as I've used Chrome instead of the Edge to post and itcan't se RMWeb's formatting....


Les

 

I've got a young lad from Bingham Club coming over tomorrow to learn how to operate the layout, and Mr Simon is home Friday morning to Sunday morning, so I may get chance for more video making.  More likely I'll get it in the neck from Mr Simon about all the things that still need doing....

Back to online ordering.

Les

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Pics later in the week I hope.

 

I've spent today working on the lighting rig.  I found out why it didn't work at Warley, a torn copper contact in the LED strip.  I've replaced this strip with a length from the old lighting, then re-used the best bits to double up the strip on the angle.  Tomorrow's pics should make this clearer.  The important thing is that the lights work and the connectors are protected.

 

Les

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Today's pics aren't making the lighting rig clearer because I didn't take one.....

 

I'll try to get it erected over the weekend if there is enough headroom in the shed, and that might explain it better...

 

First off a set of pics showing the improvement by putting a coat of black onto the frame.  It will need a second coat- one coat gloss doesn't mean one coat but two, as always.  This stuff is by Rustolineum, so the wood won't go rusty at any rate.

 

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Still a little touching up to do on the front edges.  I'll find a sacrificial small brush and do that over the weekend.  The second coat of paint will get done on Monday afternoon as I'm at Railway Club on Tuesday morning. 

 

Next, the farmyard with a greater population.  I'm not sure whether it needs another human here (there is one by the tractor with the muckspreader), though I might put a couple of walkers in the lane behind.

 

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Having carefully stuck the Jowett Javelin down wonkily I've added the Moggie Minor parked in such a position as to justify the Javelin not being straight.  Makes a feature of a b-up.  I think the parapet stones still need some colour work doing.

 

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Watership Down it isn't, but a rabbit is the only thing crossing the railway over the bridge at the North End.  I've since added some more static grass to the edges of the track over the bridge.  If I get another rabbit or two a procession might yet happen.

 

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The bus shelter is now in place, though they might be waiting some time for Oxford or BT to do a red Bristol LS or MW.  A bus would help hide the less-than-perfect kerb here.

 

 

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Last for today, the area around the cricket pavilion is nearly done.  There will be a hot dog van arriving shortly and with its queue and a couple more sitting figures (plus a flag) then I think I can sign that bit off until after the first show.  I reckon the back gardens are also about ready to show.  There are more urgent bits still needing upgrading and bringing to life.

 

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That's all folks.  Waiting now to see what the post brings tomorrow- the mobile shop and the hot dog caravan are still waited.

 

Les

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Bits still arriving and population growing..

 

The hot dog stall I ordered turned out to be an ice cream trailer, must read the blurb.  Now installed in the car park, with a small but growing queue.  I've decided the estate car can be the tractor for the caravan rather than the Chairman's posh wheels.  I still need something more in this area- maybe a tent in one corner with a couple of happy campers...

 

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The rabbit has moved off the bridge to a safer field over the railway. This might be because the foxes are using the bridge as a run- the hikers on the back corner haven't yet materialised to scare them into running a bit faster.  the short-sighted squire can't have got his gun out - either that or he hasn't seen them.

 

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A local train is parked in the carriage dock siding.  Is it a failure or a cricket special?  In reality it is parked out front to give me another road to play with while sorting a minor electrical issue on the exit to the fiddle yard.  I still need to mock up a catch point.

 

 

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There is even a badger on the bank- and a squirrel to plant now I've repainted it red ( just in case the lady who told me the one on Hawthorn Dene is the wrong colour pays a return visit to Sileby   The trouble is she was right- greys hadn't reached County Durham by the sixties).  If I can remember where the squirrel is I might have to use the mobile phone to get a pic of it.

 

post-13358-0-76649000-1547073916_thumb.jpg

 

Meanwhile testing the trains goes on...

 

Les

 

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Some cruel close-ups.

 

or at least some that came out...

 

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In the farmyard a hen has decided to lay on the bonnet of the Land Rover.  cruel enlargement shows where I didn't overpaint the markings on the vehicle.  Farmer's shiny new tractor in the background.

 

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Jethro attends to the tractor wheel while Farmer Fred looks on.

 

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It looks like the Witnesses are about to visit Mr High-Bungalow.  I wonder if they will be prepared for the swimsuit party going on in the back garden.  The dog might have to cover his eyes...

 

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Tennis players round the back of the cricket pavilion.  They look OK from normal viewing distance, thank goodness, though I'm not convinced by the failed Dusty Springfield hairdo.

 

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The White Rabbit DOES have the cricket ball.

 

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Last one for today- the trap point (which I referred to incorrectly as a catch point) is now in place, but still needs a little ballast infill behind it.

 

Not a lot done today, though I did call in at Steve's Emporium (aka Access Models) and get some static grass to have a go at the bare areas on the cutting sides.  I also picked up another car for the car park - the Club Chairman can have a cream MGB.  A pack of trainspotters complete the haul- Barry and John are having a session on the ECML at Croft.  All I've got to do is work out where they are going to be standing this time.  

 

A set of dustbins are on order from eBay, and the happy campers with tent arrived in the post this morning.  The tent will need toning down a little before it gets planted.

 

That's it for tonight.

Les

 

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