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Not much EM Progress, so a visit to 'Bowton's Yard'


Dave at Honley Tank

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Last week I did not report how I was converting the Bachy Crab, because I had done no trial running. I'm afraid that is still the case! I've just left the workshop in frustration after dropping so many clangers that todays progress has been negligible.

 

 

 

So this week's input to the blog that started so as to report progress on a new EM layout, will be a series of photos of 'Bowtons Yard'. This is a freelance S4 layout which is based on distorting the history of John Summers & Sons, the steel makers who moved from Stalybridge in Cheshire to Hawarden near the Welsh border, close to Chester. The plant is still there today but under what name and if still producing steel, I know not.

 

 

 

Summers almost certainly moved to Chester because of very poor rail access at the Stalybridge site which was known as Globe Iron Works. All of that is true.

 

 

 

In my distortion of history, John Summers joined forces with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway to build a single line goods only branch from Dukinfield station, (near Guidebridge). In order to make this branch more financially viable, and because a good flat site was available in the district known locally as 'Tame Valley', about half way along the route to Summer's plant, a small goods yard with warehouse and coal drops was built and came to be known as Bowtons Yard.

 

 

 

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Here we are looking towards Stalybridge, with our back to the Great Central warehouse. The buildings are all scratch built to fit the site and are made from down-loaded brick papers etc purchased from 'Scalescenes'.=: - an excellent range. They all follow typical Lancashire cotton mill designs and are several stories high acting as a three-dee backscene.

 

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The land contours lent themselves to allow a few coal drops which the local coal merchants are happy about. The road is the vehicular access to the warehouse; at the bottom of the slope is a road tunnel which gives access to the yard proper.

 

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These two shots show us the GC shed which shelters the exit to 'Guidebridge' hidden sidings from normal view.

 

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One of many horse drawn vehicles comes out of the darkness of the road which tunnels under the railway after passing through a valley of 'dark satanic mills'.

 

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Same horse & cart but a view showing the relationship of road and rail.

 

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This shows the road tunnel entrance to the yard.

 

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An ex GC 'Pom-pom' waits for a road. The larger mill, less than half of it in this view, is a scale model of 'Globe Worsted Co's mill at Slaithwaite but Lancashire-ised by being in red brick rather than York stone.

 

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Same again, different angle.

 

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Looking towards Guidebridge and showing most of the layout. The loco is a J72 which is totally silly, no such loco would have come so far south and west !!

But they were delightful little engines, so I have to have one. This one was based at York during the period depicted.

 

 

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A W-D in LNER livery waits for the shunter to assemble its train. The sloping road entry to the yard out of the road tunnel is also shown here.

 

That's it for now, I hope to get back to the Crab next time.

Have a good modelling weekend,

Dave

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  • RMweb Gold

Wow. That's great. Are the mill buildings actual prototypes or have you put together real features/dimensions to suit your location? I am trying to produce ex-GCR prototypes in 2mm at the moment, but this is inspirational. Guide Bridge is (was) a wonderful location (busy/varied too). Is that an Alan Gibson J11?

 

Alastair

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Hello Alastair,

Your very kind!

The biggest of the buildings, the right hand end of which is behind the J11 & the LH in front of the austerity, is a model of a real mill, but the prototype is in stone and is/was a woolen mill, while the model is supposed to be a Lancashire cotton mill in red brick with stone trimmings.

The building labelled "Brock Mill" is a three building complex which was built to fit the site. The road up to the yard passes through this complex which also includes a mill yard and an enclosed over-bridge building that crosses the railway to the third building of the complex. This overbridge was designed to disguise the exit to the Stalybridge hidden sidings/Summers works. These three buildings used the Scalescenes kit for a three story factory but the parts were much modified to suit the site.

The J11 was my first, all-metal scratch built loco and runs on my first scratch built split axle chassis. Its pushing toward 30 years old and the only purchased items were the Portescap motor/gear train, Gibbson all metal wheels and the handrail knobs.

I should have mentioned the disused coach. That body was set down there to see how such a feature would look. As a model of a GC lavatory composite its too good to be used for that job; I'm looking for a scrap 'Thomas the Tank engine' coach body to sit there, - suitably modified of course.

 

Thanks for your interest and kind comments,

Dave

PS I was married at the church that is across the road from Guidebridge station. (Too many years ago to talk about though!!!!)

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  • RMweb Premium

Hi Dave

I'm a big fan of industrial railways set in the North of England and this is terrific!

Any more pictures showing recent progress?

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Hello 'Sasquatch',

My visits to RMWeb have been rare over the last few months and I've only just read your comment; apologies!

 

Work on Bowton's Yard has been even less than visits here, I've been building a few PMVs for a parcel train to be entered in the clubs annual competition.

More recently I've been installing a small profile milling machine in 'Honley Tank'.I plan to 'blog about both subjects shortly.

Best wishes,

Dave

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