Hest Bank in 4mm scale

[TerryD1471]

It's a couple of years since I viewed the house (looking for somewhere for my parents) and most of the viaduct was intact. It was also possible to trace most of the trackbed of the garden railway. However, a conservatory seemed to be a fairly recent addition and that had severed part of the trackbed and one end of the viaduct., a great shame really.

 

The property is still for sale on Rightmove, here is the link,

 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39982899.html

 

Look at picture 6 and you can see the viaduct.

And in picture 9 too. It's a pity it isn't one of the bungalows that backs onto the railway. That would have made an interesting model; a model railway on a model railway. I'm sure it's been done before, but an excuse for me to do it would have been delightful.

 

Terry D

[TerryD1471]

I'm glad this forum has been re-categorised into a more readily and obviously accessible location.

 

It's good that there are so many quality layouts appearing here.

[RonnieS]

I'm glad this forum has been re-categorised into a more readily and obviously accessible location.

 

It's good that there are so many quality layouts appearing here.

 

 so many quality layouts appearing here too

Wolverhampton Model Railway Exhibition 2016 - Galleries - RMweb

 

UPDATED OCT 5th

13 attending Layouts the list is:-

ALSTONE QUAY - 0.16.5 Narrow Gauge exhibited by Terry Robinson

FRANKLIN – 0n2 Gauge - North American Narrow Gauge exhibited by Bob Harper

MADELEINA - 0n16.5 Gauge – Latin American Narrow Gauge exhibited by Ned Williams

BOWLEGGETT MANOR – 009 Gauge – English Narrow Gauge exhibited by Peter Cullen

HERGEST – 009 Gauge – A narrow gauge line near the England/Wales border exhibited by Peter Cullen

LOCH TAT – N Gauge – A depiction of the West Highland line in Scotland exhibited by Adrian Lambourne

LONGNOR – 0n16.5 Gauge – An extension of the Leek & Manifold Railway in North Staffordshire exhibited by Hugh Williams

STEAM ON THE CAMBRIAN – 00 Gauge – The former Cambrian Railway in BR days exhibited by Frank Collins

LOWFIELD – 00 Gauge – A small city centre terminus station exhibited by Cliff Homer

MARTINS HILL – N Gauge – American short line in Oregon exhibited by Mike Bartleet

DOLGELLY (1922) – 0 Gauge – The prototype location just after grouping exhibited by Phil Craythorn

MERTHYR RIVERSIDE – EM Gauge – Fictitious goods station in Merthyr Tydfil exhibited by Wolverhampton MRC

SODOR- 00 Gauge - An opportunity for children of all ages to drive the trains yourself.

(Thomas layout)

Confirmed Traders

 

Railwayania/Replica Railways 

Book Law Publications

Topp Trains 

All Components

Kevin’s Trains

Nigels Trains

Lcut Creative

 

Other Attractions

 

Modelling demonstrations

 

including Tony Wright and Chris Dunne - 00 gauge loco construction.

 

Display of large scale live steam models

Light refreshments

 

[TerryD1471]

In response to John Fitton's request for photos in Iain's blog on "motive power for Camden", it is with some trepidation that I post some pictures of Duchesses which appear on Hest.

 

The first one is a Wrenn Duchess bought in 1978 and scale-wheeled shortly afterwards. There are many things wrong with it, but nostalgia makes me keep it the way it is.

 

 

 

 

Aficionados of Stanier Pacifics will know that the colour, the numeral font, the nameplate, the firebox shape and the tender are all wrong. The tender is the usual Hornby Dublo error, perpetuated by Wrenn, which has the front end of an ex-streamliner (Type 1) and the back end of a non-streamline tender (Type 2). Also the sides aren't quite high enough.

 

 

An old Hornby Dublo Duchess, which still has the original tender, but which has now had:-

Rear footsteps carved off,

Side sheets extended with plasticard at back and top

Twin water fillers

Rear ladder

Coal pusher detail on bunker backplate

Wire handrails.

 

The loco has a Crownline Bissell truck and frame extensions,

Romford wheels, etched deflectors and nameplates, valve gear altered to represent mid gear(ish),

the skirt at the bottom of the boiler fretted out and the firebox carved away as much as I dare while still allowing the original motor to be hidden.

Regrettably the cab side windows have not been opened out as they should.

Hugely powerful, if a bit noisy. Dates back to 1988.

 

 

Another Hornby Dublo body shell, valve gear and tender, modified as above but this one has a scratch brass chassis, Romford 30:1 gears and an XO4 motor. This has allowed the firebox to be remodelled to a more accurate shape. Also the smokebox has been bevelled to represent an ex-streamliner as first rebuilt.

Circa 1989.

 

 

An even older H-D body shell, originally a "Duchess of Atholl". It has been fitted with a scratch brass chassis as above, so the firebox has been modified more nearly to correct proportions. XO4 motor and Romfords, but retains the original valve gear and the rather nasty trailing truck (which will be replaced some day). The tender is the original tinplate one, which is curiously more accurate than the later H-D one, for a non-streamline tender (which 46247 did tow in the late 50s), but the sides are too shallow. Circa 1986.

 

 

City of London built from a DJH kit about 2002. Fitted with a D13 motor and 40:1 gears, she is fast, smooth and quite powerful enough. She is one of 3 more or less identical DJH Duchesses. The cab roof is a bit too deep, the smokebox a tad too long and the firebox/boiler join had to be fettled carefully, but overall I shall be pleased with it when I have weathered the valve gear and matted the paintwork down a bit. Give me time!

 

 

Edited January 9, 2017 by TerryD1471

[92220]

Excellent work, Terry. Thank you.

Interested how much you had to fettle the DJH cab/roof/firebox/smokebox?

Iain

[richard i]

In response to John Fitton's request for photos in Iain's blog on "motive power for Camden", it is with some trepidation that I post some pictures of Duchesses which appear on Hest.

 

The first one is a Wrenn Duchess bought in 1978 and scale-wheeled shortly afterwards. There are many things wrong with it, but nostalgia makes me keep it the way it is.

 

 

Wrenn 46235.jpg

 

 

Aficionados of Stanier Pacifics will know that the colour, the numeral font, the nameplate, the firebox shape and the tender are all wrong. The tender is the usual Hornby Dublo error, perpetuated by Wrenn, which has the front end of an ex-streamliner (Type 1) and the back end of a non-streamline tender (Type 2). Also the sides aren't quite high enough.

 

H-D 46228.jpg

 

An old Hornby Dublo Duchess, which still has the original tender, but which has now had:-

Rear footsteps carved off,

Side sheets extended with plasticard at back and top

Twin water fillers

Rear ladder

Coal pusher detail on bunker backplate

Wire handrails.

 

The loco has a Crownline Bissell truck and frame extensions,

Romford wheels, etched deflectors and nameplates, valve gear altered to represent mid gear(ish),

the skirt at the bottom of the boiler fretted out and the firebox carved away as much as I dare while still allowing the original motor to be hidden.

Regrettably the cab side windows have not been opened out as they should.

Hugely powerful, if a bit noisy. Dates back to 1988.

 

46241.jpg

 

Another Hornby Dublo body shell, valve gear and tender, modified as above but this one has a scratch brass chassis, Romford 30:1 gears and an XO4 motor. This has allowed the firebox to be remodelled to a more accurate shape. Also the smokebox has been bevelled to represent an ex-streamliner as first rebuilt.

Circa 1989.

 

H-D 46247.jpg

 

An even older H-D body shell, originally a "Duchess of Atholl". It has been fitted with a scratch brass chassis as above, so the firebox has been modified more nearly to correct proportions. XO4 motor and Romfords, but retains the original valve gear and the rather nasty trailing truck (which will be replaced some day). The tender is the original tinplate one, which is curiously more accurate than the later H-D one, for a non-streamline tender (which 46247 did tow in the late 50s), but the sides are too shallow. Circa 1986.

 

DJH 46245.jpg

 

City of London built from a DJH kit about 2002. Fitted with a D13 motor and 40:1 gears, she is fast, smooth and quite powerful enough. She is one of 3 more or less identical DJH Duchesses. The cab roof is a bit too deep, the smokebox a tad too long and the firebox/boiler join had to be fettled carefully, but overall I shall be pleased with it when I have weathered the valve gear and matted the paintwork down a bit. Give me time!

Great to see them, but i am sure there were other members of the class which are crying out to be modelled

[TerryD1471]

Great to see them, but i am sure there were other members of the class which are crying out to be modelled

Good to hear from you Richard; how are things stateside?

 

Yes you are quite right!

 

46257 and 46234 are coming along, both being HD body shells with brass chassis.

 

There are also 46251 and 46232 which both came from Mr Wright's stable and are thus excellent models.

 

There are several Hornby ones, 46239, 46244 and 3 others which are awaiting identity changes.

 

I have a K's kit and a Model Loco kit (DJH by any other name!) to start building, not to mention the quartet of H-D body shells that I'm undecided about. So I'm not short of projects, just time!

 

All the best

 

Terry

[TerryD1471]

Excellent work, Terry. Thank you.

Interested how much you had to fettle the DJH cab/roof/firebox/smokebox?

Iain

Hello Iain

 

As you will know there is a certain amount of latitude when it comes to fixing the firebox and boiler together. It's really a question of doing it by eye, comparing the model with a side-on photograph of the prototype. I think, if I remember rightly, that 1) I established that angle first, 2) fixed the resulting  assembly to the footplate, then 3) took the cab roof and made it as shallow as possible, filing off as much as I could from the bottom edges, before fixing it to the cab sides. The result is that the cab assembly fits a bit too low on the footplate, but it's the best compromise in my view. I had to make it up as I went along, and it's quite a while ago now! Hope that helps.

 

As far as the smokebox is concerned, the error remains, because I discovered it too late!

 

ATB

 

Terry

Edited January 11, 2017 by TerryD1471

[richard i]

Good to hear from you Richard; how are things stateside?

 

Yes you are quite right!

 

46257 and 46234 are coming along, both being HD body shells with brass chassis.

 

There are also 46251 and 46232 which both came from Mr Wright's stable and are thus excellent models.

 

There are several Hornby ones, 46239, 46244 and 3 others which are awaiting identity changes.

 

I have a K's kit and a Model Loco kit (DJH by any other name!) to start building, not to mention the quartet of H-D body shells that I'm undecided about. So I'm not short of projects, just time!

 

All the best

 

Terry

The states are fine, there is a lot of discussion of the change of president. I avoid it by claiming as a foreigner I shouldn't have an opinion on it. I continue to work through the list of models I need to do the GCR through the ages. I have to kit or scratch build all the pregrouping stuff so I just brought city of Nottingham from Hornby to save time. This years work is to complete a full and an empty private owner coal train and to build carriages. Thankfully GCR trains were about 5 coaches long

[TerryD1471]

Conscience has finally persuaded me to add a further post here. I have been fired up by reading of "LNER 4479's" post about progress being made with his superb Shap layout. We often need an external nudge to get things moving again, and I hope this has done this for me.

 

Hest Bank remains a working layout which I go to every day and although I try to do some work on models or the layout itself, I am often side-tracked by "I'll just run this or "let's see if that is OK." The end result is that the (insufficient) time I can devote to the layout is consumed in "playing trains" rather than getting on with specific projects. Maintenance issues seem to raise their heads too. The squeaky or stiff-running vehicles (or locos) need to be lubricated and it sometimes comes as a shock to realise that a particular loco hasn't seen a drop of oil in 15 years!

 

Watch this space for more pics.

[Buhar]

Running sessions are surely the whole point of having a good looking layout, you shouldn't feel guilty about them.  Go where the mojo of the moment takes you.  Yes, there's always something to be done, but you've put in the hours previously on baseboards, track, electrics, ballasting, scenery and work on the stock so you've earned some time to watch the trains go by.

[LNER4479]

Conscience has finally persuaded me to add a further post here. I have been fired up by reading of "LNER 4479's" post about progress being made with his superb Shap layout. We often need an external nudge to get things moving again, and I hope this has done this for me.

 

Hest Bank remains a working layout which I go to every day and although I try to do some work on models or the layout itself, I am often side-tracked by "I'll just run this or "let's see if that is OK." The end result is that the (insufficient) time I can devote to the layout is consumed in "playing trains" rather than getting on with specific projects. Maintenance issues seem to raise their heads too. The squeaky or stiff-running vehicles (or locos) need to be lubricated and it sometimes comes as a shock to realise that a particular loco hasn't seen a drop of oil in 15 years!

 

Watch this space for more pics.

Well thanks for the mention and pleased that the Shap layout has 'fired you up'. Loved the Duchess parade above and look forward to see them in action passing through Hest Bank.

 

Here's a parade of Big Uns which will see service on Shap / Carlisle one day. Scratchbuilt 46208; Model Loco 46251; new Hornby 46256 which needs its bits adding(!)

[TerryD1471]

As promised

 

 

A Fowler 2-6-4T is just about to depart from Hest Bank with a Barrow-Preston working, having stopped briefly. A Stanier 8F meanwhile is just moving off the Morecambe branch onto the down main with a train of tank wagons from the Heysham refinery.

 

 

A test run is taking place with a part finished Duchess hauling a train of 13 Mk 1s northwards. The loco is a very elderly Hornby Dublo Duchess with scale wheels and a tender of similar origin modified to represent an ex-streamline tender. It performs very competently (if a bit noisily!) and will be finished in brunswick green as 46237 City of Bristol. The major problem with these old H/D bodies is the shape of the firebox which is a bit too fat to enclose the huge vertical motor; this has been thinned down as much as possible

 

 

An unfinished 46237 is heading north on a test train and crosses with an equally unfinished 46252 City of Leicester. This is an even older Hornby Dublo body shell which has had the firebox thinned down even more; it has been fitted with a scratch brass chassis and a Pittman motor and runs very smoothly, powerfully  and fast. It too will be finished in green and also tows an ex-streamline tender.

[TerryD1471]

Well thanks for the mention and pleased that the Shap layout has 'fired you up'. Loved the Duchess parade above and look forward to see them in action passing through Hest Bank.

 

Here's a parade of Big Uns which will see service on Shap / Carlisle one day. Scratchbuilt 46208; Model Loco 46251; new Hornby 46256 which needs its bits adding(!)

Lovely models thanks Graham. it's particularly good to see such a fine selection of Stanier pacifics in service. Just one question; what location is the layout? I initially thought Carlisle, but it obviously isn't so where is it?

 

Best

 

Terry D

[richard i]

They look to be coming along nicely.

Richard

[TerryD1471]

Just a few more pics to keep the ball rolling.

 

 

The southbound Royal Scot passes with a rake of 12 mostly mk 1s behind the unfinished 46252.

 

 

And here is the view from the front.

 

 

Just to prove it isn't all about Duchesses, two of the other locos on the go are:-

a scratch brass Black 5 chassis which once had a Jamieson body on it. I was unhappy with its shape, so stretched a Hornby Black 5 (old type) body shell by the necessary 4 mm to gain the correct length. Also a WD 2-10-0 which has been too long under construction. One day I'll learn to finish one job before I start another!

Edited April 27, 2018 by TerryD1471

[LNER4479]

Lovely models thanks Graham. it's particularly good to see such a fine selection of Stanier pacifics in service. Just one question; what location is the layout? I initially thought Carlisle, but it obviously isn't so where is it?

 

Best

 

Terry D

Hi Terry,

 

This is my Dad's layout where 46208 & 46251 currently run. It represents - rather than being a representation of - Aberdeen. This allows him to run Stanier and Gresley pacifics alongside each other. In truth Duchesses were unusual - but not unheard of - in Aberdeen.

[TerryD1471]

 

I thought it would be a good shot to have a view of an up express, hauled by 46256 Sir William A Stanier FRS, about to pass beneath the gantry signal just south of Hest, while a 4F waits for the road to join the down main off the Morecambe branch. I reckoned without the gremlin which derailed the 3rd coach as I pushed it back to a more photogenic spot, and was unnoticed until later. Happy days!

 

 

The same train viewed from a different angle and the 4F hauled freight is a typical pick-up working from Morecambe making its way to Carnforth about 4 miles north of Hest.

 

 

This is roughly the view that a spotter would have got if standing on the footbridge. Up expresses would have come off Shap and through Carnforth gathering speed on the flat stretch just before Hest and would have come through the station at anything up to 80 mph. Quite exciting to have been standing on the platform when that happened!

Edited April 27, 2018 by TerryD1471

[sir douglas]

ive got a poster of an up Coronation at hest bank in 1938

[TerryD1471]

ive got a poster of an up Coronation at hest bank in 1938

It looks very much like it's passing through Bolton-le-Sands station, the next one north of Hest. Within a minute or so it will be passing over Hest Bank troughs and, no doubt, picking up water. Cracking shot, isn't it!

[TerryD1471]

 

Looking south we see the 4F hauled freight coming off the Morecambe branch to join the down main as it makes its way northwards towards Carnforth.

 

 

Some time later a WD crosses over from the up main to join the Morecambe branch with a mixed freight.

[Tangoman69]

Mighty fine looking layout Terry

 

Regards,

 

Karl

[TerryD1471]

Mighty fine looking layout Terry

 

Regards,

 

Karl

Many thanks for your kind remarks, Karl. I'm very conscious that there is so much left to do scenically and in terms of locos and rolling stock. But I'm sure that I'd get on quicker if I didn't keep going into the layout shed and playing trains operating instead of tackling my list of "to do". So many other things in life to be getting on with too!

[TerryD1471]

This coronavirus pandemic has had some unexpected consequences. The fearfully long interval since I last posted anything here was a result of being ordained in the Church in Wales and finding myself quite busy.

 

I know it's a cliche about railways and clergymen, but I was a railway enthusiast a long time before I received "the calling." Not being able to do the usual church stuff has left me with a lot more spare time and as a result, a good many of the unfinished projects which had been staring at me accusingly, saying "finish me!" have now actually been completed.

 

The locos completed include a WD 2-10-0, 2 Duchesses, 2 Black 5s, a Britannia and a Hughes-Fowler Crab. Also there was a very large batch of coaching stock which needed only a comparatively small amount of work to bring to completion. I plan to take a number of pictures and post them shortly. Watch this space!

[ColinK]

Looking forward to seeing the results.