A 2mm loco service point

[StuartM]

Those windows do look very sharp - glad I'm going to give it a try now!

 

The building and general weathering of the brickwork looks really good!

I shall be interested to see the results next time I visit Liverpool Lime st

[StuartM]

Today a class 128 parcels units pays a visit to the depot and stands next to the newly installed oil tank which is still waiting to have it's pipe work and walkway installed.

Also the experimental class 49 paid a brief visit later in the day as well

[StuartM]

For those who don't know, the class 49 was another short lived class of locomotive that was trailed on the midland region back in 1973 with a view to replacing the class 20 fleet.

In 1955 the BRB came up with a modernisation plan to replace steam traction with diesel traction. When deciding on what would be the best form of Diesel locomotive to use the BRB looked to America as they had been using a large diesel locomotive fleet for some time. The Americans used large single cab locos that could be worked together depending on the weight of the train load and it was (and still is) a common sight to see trains with 2,3,4 or even 5 locomotives all working together. The BRB took this idea of multiple working as required and asked the English electric company to build a fleet of 100 single cab type1 locomotives, the idea being that locos could be added to or taken off of trains as required.

Although this was a practice that worked well in America due to the long distances and train weights involved, it didn't work that well here in the UK and BR ended up with a large fleet of underpowered single cab locos that were difficult for for crews to use due to the poor visibility when the loco was travelling bonnet first. To overcome this the class 20's were often coupled together in pairs nose to nose, this in effect provided a 2000hp loco with a cab at each end. After 15years of hauling coal trains around the Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire coal fields the CM&EE of the midland region broached the idea of replacing the class 20 fleet with a single locomotive as this would reduce operating and maintenance costs, as one engine is cheaper to run and maintain than two. So it was with this in mind that the Midland region engineering dept looked abroad for a suitable production locomotive that they could trial and they settled on an American design, the GE B23 which had an output of 2250hp.

A single loco was shipped over from America in early 73 and was transported by road to Toton where the loco was load and gauge tested and pained into the BR corporate livery and classified as class 49.

The loco was quickly put to work hauling coal trains and proved very popular with the crews as the loco had better pulling power than two class 20's and was more comfortable in the cab. The maintenance crews also took to the new loco as it was easier to work on and more reliable than a class 20 and the operating dept liked it because it was cheaper to run than two class 20's and was more reliable with an availability of 95%, a figure unheard of up until then.

After six months the Midland Region management approached the BRB with a view to buying 50 class 49 locomotives to replace a fleet of 100 class 20's. The BRB approached the Heath government but were refused due to the industrial unrest and the instability of the times, the Heath government being replaced by the short lived Wilson government etc the request for £35m for a fleet of new freight locomotives was rejected. And that was the end of the class 49. A class of one loco was no good to the operating dept so the decision was taken to ship the loco back to GE in America. Perversely enough three years later the MR got their wish of new locomotives but in the form of the class 56.

 

All of the above is of course complete tosh and a figment of my imagination.

[StuartM]

I want to add some additional detail to fill up the large empty area of ballast between the staff building and the depot.

I've taken the original staff building and reduced it in length by about a third and I've started to put together an oil/ fuel tank, but to be honest I'm not quite sure which placement of buildings works best so I'd be grateful if you'd give me your opinion on which you prefer, below are four variations, so if we call the first photo no:1 and the last no:4, I'd be interested to know which one you think works best

Rgds,

StuartM

[lordhinton]

 

All of the above is of course complete tosh and a figment of my imagination.

 

 

being 15 and nowing around 40% there is to know about br i actually belived it until i saw that!

 

dan

[bcnPete]

No 3 for me...looks a little less cluttered that way...

[Guest Natalie Graham]

I like the first arrangement. The building with no windows does a good job of filling the corner without drawing the eye to the inevitable right angle in the sky, while the large tank in the foreground breaks up the view of the track and makes the scene appear longer.

[queensquare]

I like number two. The three to one ratio of buildings/tanks etc behind and in front of the tracks is better ballanced than the two plus two which I feel is too regimented. The variety of shapes and sizes of the three along the back works well and breaks and softens the large, plain brick wall.

 

Jerry

[richbrummitt]

No 3 for me...looks a little less cluttered that way...

 

I'm with Pete. I think it looks the most likely arrangement to have existed imo. Perhaps you could reduce the size of the original building still further to the size of a hut and use it along the front edge of the layout somewhere.

[Stubby47]

Pic 3 for me. It puts the office closest to the depot, for convenience. In pics 1 & 2 the windowless building's door is too restricted - if the door opened out you'd not be able to get past it.

 

Also would the fuel tank be raised up on some sort of frame work, to provide a head for the fueling station ?

 

And I also believed the story about the class 49....

[PaternosterRow]

I quite like the look of No 2 - the buildings look right together. These will all simply dissolve into the background once you have trains in front - how about a few shots with the stock and let us have another look at it? Anyhow - it's looking superb. Well done for carrying it through to the end.

 

Mike

[StuartM]

And I also believed the story about the class 49....

I've always been good at telling tales, although most of it is true just not the class 49 bit

 

Thanks all for the opinions, your right about the door Stu, so I might swap the buildings around and add some more photos with some additional stock

Rgds,

StuartM

[StuartM]

Taking the opinions given into account, the only definite conclusion is that option 4 was the least favourite. I've also taken on board Stubby's comment about accessing the doors of the second building and one of the Pete's wanted some stock in front to detract from the buildings, so below are some shots of what I think will now become the fixed building plan. All that remains is to fix everything in place including the new concrete slab and then blend everything together with some additional weathering

[Guest Natalie Graham]

I could have believed the class 49 bit as I lost track of what they called those funny box things when they gave up on names like Brush type 4.

[StuartM]

I've now laid the new concrete slab and fixed all three structures in place.

The staff building has had a light fitted (for future use) and the safety railing has been extended through under the bridge as has the concrete path which leads to the station the depot serves (well in my imagination anyway). The store building has had a ladder and a couple of hose pipes attached to it and the oil tank has had a walkway and ladder fitted. The story with the oil tank is that as the depot is land locked the only way to get oil to it is by either bringing in drums of oil in a wagon once a week or as will the be case here by lorry from the road above via some pipework which has yet to be constructed and installed which is the next job closely followed by some more weathering the blend the whole lot together, then some fine detailing and I'm done!

[Scottish Modeller]

Hi Stuart,

 

Path leading to station...

 

See photo!

 

Thanks

[StuartM]

Well I am officially finished!

I added the last small details and weathered the buildings and then wired up the lights, hence the night time shots below.

Tomorrow I'll take the final photos in daylight and then that's it, all done!

The diorama actually looks better in real life than I can get the photos to portray but for now I'm happy with the result and I've learned quite a bit along the way.

[Earlestown]

Stunning build and photography.

 

Dave.

[PaternosterRow]

Well done Stuart. It's a superb layout and one of the contenders for first place. The photography is very good by the way and as someone who models in 4mm I'm becoming more convinced that 2mm actually gives a better impression of detail and reality when done like this.

 

Regards

 

Mike

[StuartM]

Well done Stuart. It's a superb layout and one of the contenders for first place. The photography is very good by the way and as someone who models in 4mm I'm becoming more convinced that 2mm actually gives a better impression of detail and reality when done like this.

 

Regards

 

Mike

Thanks Mike,

 

If I've persuaded you to give 2mm a try then my job is done, come on over, you won't regret it, full length trains await you

 

Below are some test shots of the finished detail before I do the final entry photos

Rgds,

Stuart

[StuartM]

A couple of close ups what started it all off

[eldavo]

Lovely work.

 

Cheers

Dave

[Will Vale]

Looks wonderful, really good stuff. Seeing the stock on the rails makes the balance of the whole scene make sense. I love the picture with the train passing on the lower lines.

 

That said, I can't help wondering if it could do with a few weeds or some litter in the foreground, but maybe that's more of a post-privatisation thing?

 

Will

[hughconway]

A great looking layout. I wonder if you would be able to take more pictures with a larger depth of field. Whilst the current photos are very artistic they highlight the fact it is a model due to the very shallow depth of field which you would not see if the picture were of a 12":1ft location. You will of course need to ensure the layout is well lit but some stopped down pictures from track level will really show this layout off as a stunning example of finescale. Also, it would be extremely enlightening to see a picture of the layout with some 4mm rolling stock next to it to really show just how small this is!

 

Thanks,

 

Hugh

[StuartM]

Thanks for all the replies I will try an accommodate peoples requests if possible, for now another couple of cropped photos, more to follow