CKPR

Indeed and there are various other isolated small structures marked on the offical plan and visible in the distance in photographs that might fit the bill for an explosives store. I certainly wasn't thinking that the small goods shed, as marked on the plans, was for the storage of explosives. I grew up in Keswick in the 1970s when it was still a mining and quarrying town and remember hearing the warning siren and subsequent explosions from the Coledale mine near Braithwaite.

Why were there two goods sheds at Mealsgate ? This is a long shot but I'm thinking that the one on the goods wharf, which is smaller and cruder than the goods shed proper adjacent to the carriage siding on the 'right side' of the tracks, was summat to do with mining. Not coal mining, as there was a short branch to the nearby colliery, but the mineral mining high up on the nearby Caldbeck fells. The M&CR apparently considered building a branchline to Caldbeck but sensibly thought better of it given the ups and downs of the various markets in the mid 19th century. They had obviously identified Caldbeck as a potential source of traffic and without a direct line, this would have left Mealsgate as the nearest railhead. I'm therefore speculating that this shed was for the transhipment of valuable minerals (particularly barytes and copper) rather than general goods. I'm now wondering whether one of the other seemingly random sheds at Mealsgate might have been for the storage of mining stores, including explosives ? Given the various downturns in the fortunes of the Caldbeck mines, a couple of sheds at Mealsgate would probably have been sufficient to deal with the fluctuating and declining traffic.

There were two good sheds at Mealsgate, the smaller of which was on the goods wharf. I can only find one photograph of this shed, which was taken from the over bridge as might be expected and hence rather lacking in detail [its the same photograph that shows the platelayers hut]. Here's my interpretation based on guesstimated dimensions and proportions and made from materials in stock, mostly leftover Evergreen sheets and including another Grandt Line window that looks right even though it probably isn't. I need to finish off the doors, rainwater goods, etc and also the representation of the interior framing.

Remember that the LNWR never identified their locomotives (OK, only the later big tank engines) as you already knew that you were travelling on The Premier Line so there was no need to tell you...only lesser lines had to advertise themselves !

Rw.LNWR trouser colours, if you look on Facebook at a site called "On Historical Lines", you'll find a lot of really useful info about pre-grouping railway uniforms, much of it in this post: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/KNFMFyGn2vkGQjZk/

Looks like it is a Scottish Borders and Northumberland placename meaning a farmstead or enclosure by a stream (the maiden name of my friends, who is Welsh on her dad's side, was Bunton, which is probably the same derivation ?)

Probably still the best book on the railways of Carlisle is 'Carlisle - Rail Centres No.6' by Peter W Robinson published in 1986 (There's a more recent and excellent book, "Rails across Carlisle" by Steven & Jeff Davidson, focussing on the yards, depots and goods lines of Carlisle but it's pretty rare and I've only ever seen the copy I bought from C&M Models).

Tattie pot, Cumberland sausage and sticky toffee pudding ?!

The M&CR goods & coal depot adjacent to Carlisle Citadel was officially called Crown St. Goods, but was also known as Bog Goods ! This area of Carlisle was once known as Bogfield and there's a Bog Junction on the goods lines just to the south of Citadel.

It took me some time to work out from the maps and photographs that the area immediately to the left of the goods wharf was actually part of the goods yard and not just rough ground - when I realised this, the roadways marked on the map all made sense. I scraped and sanded back the basic scenery and went to work with DAS, paint [Delux Vintage "Jenny Wren"] and pastel chalks. One result of all of this reworking is that the trackwork and groundwork is slowly acquiring that elusive mucky patina from all the dust [the point motors and switches are safely below the surface]. Noo en marra, eer's Robbo Langley an Bill Gibson, an awl 'Slater' ter hos, at wurk int new yard, unlarding deliverees frum "Campbell's Model Manufactory"

As Phil @SteamAle might recall, No.30 runs like a smooth sewing machine on extra strength smooth oil thanks to a heavy white metal body and a Comet double reduction gearbox with a rigid chassis but a 'free-bogie' tender.

There was a rumour that one of the 'Yorkshiremen', in this case No.30, had been seen working to Mealsgate and now photographic evidence has come to light...of course, the date of the supposed sighting was 1st April 1922 !

Unless this is West Virginia and that is the infamous Mothman, in which case it is very realistic...

A bit more progress on the scenery. I've found that I can do scenic work on the layout for 10-15 mins here and there - that it's in my study and I work at home two days a week helps in this respect. I've been pleasantly surprised in the way different areas are coming to life and a sense of both place and space is emerging. I'm going to turn the layout around at the weekend and work on the other side. I haven't got round to moving and remodelling the electrics yet so I'll be able to actually run some trains when I can get to the controls again !

PM me and I'll look up the extant drawing and photos for you.

It's a possibility but comparison of the drawings of both vehicles [there is an HMRS drawing of the M&CR box] indicates that the M&CR box is different from the Caley boxes in several ways, not least in having an assymetrical wheelbase. It's also simpler in it's build with much less of the finesse or detail of the Caley vehicle. Taken together, we concluded it was either a copy or a substantial rebuild. Either way, it was a pig to make in 4mm !

We had some discussion on here a few years ago about whether the M&CR's older type of horsebox, seen here on the left, was a rebuilt ex-Caley horsebox or another instance of Maryport works copying their neighours.

Just posing the branch passenger train in the obviously unfinished station and I'm struck by how all in proportion everything is. Well, at least to my eyes anyway. I am particularly pleased, not to say relieved, that the original guesstimates and compromises from the initial build weren't too far out and fit well with the more recent and hopefully more accurate work. The second photo shows that rebuilding the goods wharf in line with the prototype has certainly paid off as again, it all looks in proportion now. Again, I know that No.26 was really the Derwent branch locomotive and that No. 17, although built for the Bolton Loop, was soon transferred to other duties. Trouble is, my other two M&C locos, No.7 and No. 30, are both 'big' 0-6-0s and rather unsuitable for 'Mealsgate'.

Thank you Jim @Caley Jim that's really helpful - I was planning on using large sheets of thin card to form the forecourt/yard and platform [you can see the platform walls and some internal formers in the photos above] for 'Mealsgate' and will now try using thinned DAS on the card to integrate all of these surfaces with the rest of the scenery.

Very nice to see a tram on the workbench and I've found my thoughts wandering back to the topic after an abortive attempt some 30 years ago to model the Carlisle trams using the old Keil-Kraft kits.

I would endorse everything that Jim @Caley Jim says about DAS and it's also very pleasant to use and readily sandable without the nasty dust associated with polyfilla or plaster. I've been happily smoothing away lumps & bumps and making ditches & paths with nothing more than some old sandpaper and I think that there's definitely something more relaxing about working with 'natural' materials such as wood, card, metal and now clay. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of styrene in my model making (but definitely no resin ) and my wagons are all the better for it. That said, I do sometimes wish I'd gone down the old-school Pendon or S scale path and used card & ply from the start of my pre-group modelling in the mid-1980s (Mike Longridge's classic book on building 4mm rolling stock sits on my bookshelf to remind me of the path less chosen).

Feels likes its starting to come together a bit more now, especially since I started to use DAS for finishing off the landscape - its definitely my new favourite modelling material ! NB I know the sign says 'Allonby'...

Thanks to Phil @SteamAle for alerting me to a bundle of M&CR material on the bay of E. Here's the record from 120 years ago of the journey of a parcel from Cockermouth to Kirkbride via Brayton that involved the LNWR, the M&CR, the Caledonian and the NBR, all without leaving Cumberland.

Definitely Winton ! It was the subject of an article in RM November 1976 and it describes the climax of the Silver Jubilee running non-stop through the station.

The Easter shows at York in 1976 & 19 77- boiling hot, cramped (remember those pillars in the Assembly Rooms ?) and chock full of classic 1970s layouts. From memory, I can recall 'Rewley Road', 'Winton', 'Yatton Junction', Bill Hudson's 'Tideswell' and Ian Futers latest 4mm NBR layout.