Mortimore's Yard - '70s trip freight workings

[Kiwi_Ed]

Adrian, thanks for sharing these trips to Mortimore's Yard with us, truly enjoying them!

[class"66"]

More nice pictures..

[HillsideDepot]

Late afternoon means rushing home for tea, in the hope that nothing unusual will turn up while '70s classics such as fish fingers and Angel Delight are consumed at a speed which will almost certainly draw mother's disapproval.  

 

Back at Mortimore's Yard the class 03 Pilot has now reappeared from it's work deep in the docklands and has deposited a rake of empty Presflo tanks ready for return to Blue Circle's works at Westbury.

 

 

Here 46053 is coupled to the empty tanks and the crew conduct a brake test before departing for Westbury, no doubt being looped at least once to allow a DMU of returning commuters to pass ahead of them.

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by HillsideDepot
Photos re-instated after Dediserve debacle

[rob D2]

I'm still eating fish fingers and angel delight !

Not sure if I prefer butter scotch or strawberry though.....

 

Nice peak !

[HillsideDepot]

Thanks for the generous comments and "likes".

 

I finally started work on the small extension this week, not that the plan is set in all aspects yet, but I realised that I need to see some of it in 3 dimensions to work out the detail. In my usual way, this will no doubt take ages to complete as I wander through my various interests, model railway and otherwise, but there's no rush.

 

As well as cutting the board to size, I made a start on the "cabin" which will sit facing the stop blocks. Still a way to go yet, but I hope it is already looking the part. The rear of the building will be set into rising ground, as will the right hand end. However the retaining walls are far too high at the moment, but how the land will rise is one of the, as yet, unknown features, so for now the wall is simply the height of the building as the brick sheet had been cut to that size.

 

 

In other news, local spotters say that an ex-works North British Warship was seen in the sidings briefly during the week before scuttling off again. Reports suggest that it was missing its push-up roof vents and buffer beam valances...  

Edited September 3, 2022 by HillsideDepot
Photos re-instated after Dediserve debacle

[HillsideDepot]

Just a small update today.

Very little actual work has been done, but with the office building's walls now assembled and a few more ideas for the coal yard extension I have been playing with a few rough "buildings" laid out on the paper plans I already had. There are several aspects of the plan I wasn't sure about, but I think its all coming together now. A few Wills sheets (or even off cuts of approximate size) Blu-Tac'd together really help to formulate ideas.

Just as I found when I was planning the layout originally, having the ideas laid out over a period of time really helps. It's not so much the time spent looking at the plan/mock-up that counts, but the "down-time" when ideas can form while I'm doing other things and I can pop back to the mock-up and adjust things or try ideas. Of course there comes a point where pencil and rubber have to be swapped for craft knife and cutting mat, but I find this gentle evolution of ideas is what works best for me.

 

I doubt I'll be doing much over the next few days, as I have lots of paperwork to do for our newly formed Scout Network, and I'm supervising a Duke of Edinburgh expedition for Explorer Scouts over the weekend. Still, plenty of time for more ideas to ferment and mature - I'll certainly be taking a notebook/sketchpad with me, just in case. 

[HillsideDepot]

The shadows are starting to lengthen, the Pilot engines have finished their work and gone their separate ways. The 03 has gone back to Hillside Stabling Point, whilst the 08 has gone over to Westonmouth Central to become the West End Parcels Pilot for the night.

 

That leaves just one more working to visit Mortimore's Yard, but just to use the run round. Fresh off the depot 25279 arrives with a brake van as 0B20. It will run round here before heading to Somerdale Works to collect the Vanfits of chocolate.

 

 

There is little time between the factory finishing loading the train and the departure from South Depot of the trunk trains which the vans will use to distribute the chocolate across the country.

 

 

But the staff are well aware of that, and the loco is soon at the end of the line ready to run round the brake van. The crew will be keen to get the job done as their efficiency is usually rewarded by a box of chocolate misshapes and seconds left in the Checker's office at Somerdale. All unofficial, but it helps keep the wheels of industry turning sweetly (sorry, couldn't resist!).

 

As the warmth of the day passes, the track starts creaking and knocking as the rails contract. The jingle of a distant ice-cream van mingles with the sound of children playing, but Mortimore's Yard slumbers.

Edited September 3, 2022 by HillsideDepot
Photos re-instated after Dediserve debacle

[Andrew P]

Hi Adrian, some superb shots there, I love the low level pics, really good.

 

Thanks.

[37114]

I really love the last picture Adrian, full of atmosphere. 

[HillsideDepot]

Thanks for the comments.

 

I like the low level shots too, in fact I've left the row of terraced houses removable so that I can get the camera in for some angles. The view towards the blocks is bit of a favourite too, Rob, but as the stops are within millimetres of the end of the layout the background is a problem, which is why I'm adding a short extension. It's taken a while to get it "right" in my mind, but I think I'm there now. The land rises towards that end of the layout, and presumably continues to do so, which helps. I've also found another couple of Chippenham buildings to include. One I only know through a photo, and the other I wish I could find a picture of as I'm working only from memories. But like the rest of the structures "inspired by" rather than "a scale model of" is the approach.

 

I really must stop browsing and typing and begin cutting and gluing!

[HillsideDepot]

Finally a little progress, but the emphasis needs to be on "little"!

 

There's no rush though, and this sunny weather has encouraged me outside this week rather than doing work in the model room. The evening walks around the local countryside have been really enjoyable, as was kayaking on the Avon during a morning off work, but swimming in the river, even in a dry suit, was surprisingly chilly!

 

Anyway, the plan is becoming slightly more three dimensional now.

 

 

The extension is the area beyond the red line, and the edge of the new board is the purple line. The water tower (photo from the Calne Branch book just visible) is an approximation of the one which once stood between Mortimore's building and the lorry sheds. I will have the structures in the wrong order, and I thought long and hard whether I was happy with this or not, but the spacing didn't really work out with the board join, I was unsure if I'd be able to lift and move the lorry sheds, and anyway, this is Mortimore's Yard and not Chippenham yard. The height of the tower where it is now planned will also help to hide the corner which is an advantage, and it seems to all "work".There will be some more coal staiths between the board join and the water tower, built in Mortimore's breeze block style.

 

The yard office/mess building is much as has been shown before, although the roof is actually cut now. The building itself keeps getting moved around the plan, a centimetre this way and that, angled a bit, then straightened again. I really need to fix the roof as I think part of my indecision stems from the retaining wall at the right hand side which currently gives the impression the building is longer than it is. 

 

Behind that, and Blutac'd to a box of wood screws is the end of Downing Rudman & Bent's joinery factory. This will be at a higher level than the railway, hence it's current position stuck on a box. The space at the right hand side will be filled by cyclone dust extractor, something which was surprisingly hard to find any photos of on the web. I remember the real one burning down one Friday night in the mid 1980s as we saw its remains on the following morning as we walked to the station.

 

The extra length on the head shunt now gives me space to stable a Pilot there (that will annoy the Gaffer, being right outside his office), and means that a Western can use the run round without having to compress its leading buffers on the stop blocks to clear the point blade with its trailing wheel set! The extra length of coal siding could allow space for more wagons, but I'm still having thoughts about what I want to do in that area.

Edited September 3, 2022 by HillsideDepot
Photos re-instated after Dediserve debacle

[Ramblin Rich]

Hi Adrian, been following this with interest. You have given a very convincing 'back story' to the sequences which makes seemingly mundane day-to-day running more varied and believable. Looking forward to seeing more with the extension in due course.

[HillsideDepot]

Time for another small update. I'm certainly not a prolific builder, unlike a number on here, so don't expect too much to have changed. But things have been moving along gently; it is supposed to be fun after all.

 

Firstly an overview

Comparison with the previous update will show that the factory has grown. Originally it was too similar in size to the railway "cabin" for my liking, so I enlarged to be as big as possible in the space available. The structure to the right is a wood dust extractor tower, which was a challenge to locate photos of. It is based on photos from Google Steetview of the timber merchant's next to the railway in Hereford. It was reading Big Jim's Colas topic which had a distant shot of it in the background and after bit of a search around on Streetview a few angles were saved and enough information gained. Yes, that is a pot of table salt in the framework, I think it will be just the right size for the cylindrical part of the cyclone!

 

The corner is coming together nicely, although the base of the water tower was quite complex and took a couple of attempts. It's not 100% accurate for the tower in Chippenham goods yard, but should be pretty close and hopefully more interesting and believable than anything I could have designed myself. The coal staithes here are more like the ones used by Mortimore's, although only roughly placed at the moment. I'm unsure what I'll do with the existing wooden staiths on the layout, the whole area probably needs a rethink, but I have considerably less width across the yard to work with than in reality. The stack of coal sacks is destined for a second lorry, and now I know a bit more about the subject the original lorry needs some reworking.

 

Finally the cabin is ready for painting and detailing although the exact size and shape of the retaining wall on the right won't be decide until the landscaping starts coming together.

 

Although not in any of the photos I am also working on some Lanarkshire Model Supplies GWR stop blocks to upgrade from the Peco ones currently in use.

So that's it for now, and with a nice day forecast for tomorrow I'll be out walking on the Wiltshire Downs. I expect there will be plenty of wet and cold days in the coming months which will be ideal for hiding away at the work bench, so if the Met Office is correct the countryside takes priority while summer clings on.  

Edited September 3, 2022 by HillsideDepot
Photos re-instated after Dediserve debacle

[37114]

The extension is shaping up well Adrian, I will be interested to see your bufferstops when complete as I am thinking of a similar upgrade.

[Crisis Rail]

Decent stuff going on but I have never been a fan of diecast vehicles on layouts even bin lorries and fire engines with flashy lights.Divides opinion but it seems like it is something my son and us all for that matter played with years back.Toy trains are enough and I wish modellers concentrated on them in the worlds we try to create but to me vehicles just don't sit right at all.

 

Each to their own.

 

Ian

[HillsideDepot]

The extension is shaping up well Adrian, I will be interested to see your bufferstops when complete as I am thinking of a similar upgrade.

 

Thanks Rob. It is taking time as ideas are still developing as structures appear in 3-dimensions and don't necessarily "work" with each other as I want.

 

I'll certainly take some photos of the stop blocks when they are done. I'm not building them as intended, though. As cast the running rails extend some distance from the block itself, but there are places where I need the full length of the siding, on occasion. Yes, I know stock would usually be left short of the blocks, but such are the problems of modelling in a limited space. So I am removing the running rail from the casting and using Peco (yes, I know, horrible stuff, but consistently "wrong" is probably better than it suddenly changing to more realistic C&L at the end of each siding) as an integral part of the stop. The first two will be for the extension, so will be built around new track, but the other 4 will hopefully be built around the existing track, although time will tell.  

 

That complication aside, I'd say go for it, they look superb as a kit of parts, almost a shame to cover in the grot, grime, rust and muck found at the end of the line. 

[HillsideDepot]

Decent stuff going on but I have never been a fan of diecast vehicles on layouts even bin lorries and fire engines with flashy lights.Divides opinion but it seems like it is something my son and us all for that matter played with years back.Toy trains are enough and I wish modellers concentrated on them in the worlds we try to create but to me vehicles just don't sit right at all.

 

Each to their own.

 

Ian

 

I'd especially not be a fan of flashing lights on model road vehicles, die-cast or otherwise. Come to think of it, I'm not sure the yellow Dennis and subsequent turquoise green Leyland bin lorries of my youth even had rotating beacons.  

 

I respect your opinion Ian, but the road vehicles of my youth are probably more important than the trains. With Bristol FLFs passing the door every half an hour until 1975 when Leyland Nationals (HEU120N, usually) took on half the 297 car-workings I saw far more of Bristol Omnibus' buses than I did of BR's trains. Likewise George Flower's dark green Leyland Ergo tipper, complete with orange grab which parked up overnight in the cul-de-sac next to our house, the green Westinghouse Brake & Signal Company Ford D Series which Mr Hopkins sometimes brought home at lunch time, the Southern Electricity Leyland FG "light mender", the aforementioned dust carts, and the purple Ford D Series sweeper and more were all very much part of my childhood. And it is creating an impression of that which was the spark which developed into Mortimore's Yard. Trains, back then, were usually only seen in the distance, and then you had to be lucky to see one, hoping that one would come along when you had a brief glimpse of the line.

 

Yes, many of the die-cast offerings don't match the finesse and detail of many of our railway models, and indeed there have been some real oddities along the way like the "caricature" ECW bodied Olympian which Corgi did in their OOC range. But my Britbus "Red Arrow" AEC Swift is very different to my much played with (although it was a Bristol RE in my young mind) Dinky Toys version of the same type of vehicle; the Britbus one doesn't have a bell to ping, nor opening doors for starters! 

[Crisis Rail]

....you'll love it here Adrian.

 

http://www.britishcommercialvehiclemuseum.com/

 

A fair way up from Wiltshire - but if your ever passing.....

 

Ian

[Crisis Rail]

Yes  - I see your point all about the time machine aspect of way back when and such.

 

This still makes me cringe from a few years back - and it's my own attempt.......

 

 

...the Notwork Rail Mog set me back about £30

 

Ian

 

 

[HillsideDepot]

It's been a while since I posted any progress, and in truth things have been a bit slow. But so be it; it is a hobby after all.

 

Anyway, I have built the baseboard for the small extension and after a bit of rearranging the railway room to slide the layout along on its trestles I have temporarily added the new bit. I need to take the adjoining board down to connect the extension correctly and get the run-round and coal siding tracks lined up to cross the join (the sidings remain where they are), but I needed to fit it temporarily to spur me on.

 

Even in an incomplete state I can see how the addition works, and I like it! It's been a slow development process, but hopefully the addition looks credible and believable. I know there is still a lot to do, but as I pass by the door to the layout room this end of the layout is visible in the corner, and all of a sudden the layout looks "complete" even if the scene is still far from complete.

 

Enough waffle, here are a few 'harsh' snaps (taken with flash as I left it too late in the day): 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by HillsideDepot
Photos re-instated after Dediserve debacle

[class"66"]

Some more nice work here!!

[37114]

It's been a while since I posted any progress, and in truth things have been a bit slow. But so be it; it is a hobby after all.

 

Anyway, I have built the baseboard for the small extension and after a bit of rearranging the railway room to slide the layout along on its trestles I have temporarily added the new bit. I need to take the adjoining board down to connect the extension correctly and get the run-round and coal siding tracks lined up to cross the join (the sidings remain where they are), but I needed to fit it temporarily to spur me on.

 

Even in an incomplete state I can see how the addition works, and I like it! It's been a slow development process, but hopefully the addition looks credible and believable. I know there is still a lot to do, but as I pass by the door to the layout room this end of the layout is visible in the corner, and all of a sudden the layout looks "complete" even if the scene is still far from complete.

 

Enough waffle, here are a few 'harsh' snaps (taken with flash as I left it too late in the day): 

 

 

DSC_0055.JPGDSC_0059.JPG

 

Looks like the actual weighbridge is not long for this world as have heard that NR are planning to remove it as part of the revamp of the bridge at Chippenham station which is a shame and creates some problems for the Bentley MRG unfortunately

[HillsideDepot]

On 29/11/2015 at 18:22, 37114 said:

Looks like the actual weighbridge is not long for this world as have heard that NR are planning to remove it as part of the revamp of the bridge at Chippenham station which is a shame and creates some problems for the Bentley MRG unfortunately

 

That's a shame. I haven't been up there since the footbridge has been finished, but when they were assembling it poor old Mortimore's building already looked over shadowed and insignificant.

 

 

Still, that's one of the reasons I build models, to recapture the past. Maybe not exactly as it was, but the research takes me part way there, then I decide whether the reality fits the model I want or whether I'll "adjust" things to suit - and of course, when the research is often just one's memories that can be selective (faulty/incomplete) to begin with!

Edited September 3, 2022 by HillsideDepot
Photos re-instated after Dediserve debacle

[HillsideDepot]

As it's a month since the last update I thought I ought to post something by way of a year end message.
 

Not much has happened at Mortimore's Yard for a while, although following the move layout of the layout to allow the extension to fit I decided to move the supporting trestles slightly too (they are spaced to allow either Mortimore's Yard, or Westonmouth Central to be supported) better suit the longer layout. But that's no easy task as the area under the layout is filled with my EFE bus collection, so I had a project lasting several evenings to remove, sort and restack the fleet. Of course it's never that simple as I also decided to change the vehicles on display downstairs at the same time. Still, it all looks a lot tidier now and I even have a rough idea where to start looking for a VRT or a Volvo B10BLE.

 

I then made a small bus diorama for a local bus operator as a "thank you" for storing a couple of Dennis Dart buses that I am part owner of. As well as storing the buses between purchase from First and finding a barn as their long term home, he has also allowed us to strip a withdrawn example from his fleet for spares and was quite happy for his fitter to do some work on our buses in company time.

 

 

Here's a quick snap of the diorama as it neared completion. The relevance is that the company is the current operator of the route shown here on the Bristol LD. The proprietor was delighted with the model, the other office staff were more interested in the tin of Quality Street!

 

So, as a year ends, what is more appropriate than to look at brake vans? For some time I've had just enough vans to get by (OK, plenty really, but just like locos, how many is "enough"?) but a couple of recent Bachmann releases have helped as have several ex-trainset London Transport livery versions bought cheaply from Cheltenham Model Centre a while back.

 

 

A few hours have been spent going through Paul Bartlett's wonderful site to find likely examples to reproduce (or be inspired by, at least) plus a reread of the HMRS book on the subject to refresh my memory on livery application. I think I've now decided what I'm doing and hopefully getting a prototypical selection.

 

One van which interested me on Paul's site is B951383 which is branded "To work between EER Calvert and Lawrence Hill" and recorded at Hitchen in January 1977. Given it's location presumably it's branded use had ceased, but I wonder what it was used for? I know of the 6V73/6M71 Calvert - Cardiff London Brick Company Train, which detached a portion for Lawrence Hill, so was it part of this? I know the wagons were delivered to Lawrence Hill by a Trip from East Depot, but collected by the main train. Was the van used for the propelling movement out of Lawrence Hill? Or am I way off the scent? As I have "borrowed" the brick train for Mortimore's Yard it's a little detail which pricked my curiosity.

 

On the left of the photo are an SR Pillbox and a MR van with duckets. The later will become DM298174 which Rivercider photographed at Tavi Junction in 1980 (a bit late for M Yd, I'll have to do it in a less weathered state).

 

So, as the Guard leans on the veranda and the van swings out onto the mainline may I bid you all a Happy New Year, and thank you for all likes and comments in 2015.
 

[37114]

 

I then made a small bus diorama for a local bus operator as a "thank you" for storing a couple of Dennis Dart buses that I am part owner of. As well as storing the buses between purchase from First and finding a barn as their long term home, he has also allowed us to strip a withdrawn example from his fleet for spares and was quite happy for his fitter to do some work on our buses in company time.

 

 

DSC_0028.JPG

 

Here's a quick snap of the diorama as it neared completion. The relevance is that the company is the current operator of the route shown here on the Bristol LD. The proprietor was delighted with the model, the other office staff were more interested in the tin of Quality Street!

 

Nice model Adrian, can you convince them to turn out one of their Enviro200s in NBC green???