doilum

Another small detail in the photo. The "emergency winder" was mounted on a large road vehicle and operated by the Mines Rescue team. There was probably just the one to cover all the areas of the South and North Yorkshire coalfields.

The nose has a similar look to the Ford based Rochdale GT I once owned. They did a convertible called the Riviera. The Austin 7 underpinnings look a tad too narrow for the body. The Rochdale used the sloping headlights from an early Porsche or Beetle but these appear to be the standard Lucy's type. Shame that MrPhilby never got round to publishing volume one of his guide to British kit cars.

Somehow I have not come across this fabulous image before. My late father was head teacher of the village school 1966 -73. Prior to his appointment, two small children had been killed playing between the wagons down near the river basin. The release of another batch of loose wagons under gravity caused the parked wagons to compress with fatal consequences for the children stood between them. In an almost bizarre twist of coincidence, the consequences of playing with colliery wagons is at the heart of the plot of "The Hills of Heaven" which would see S134 repainted as the#"7" in the photo.

S134 He 3168 was rebuilt at Allerton Bywater workshops circa 1970. It was then moved across the road to the colliery where it was stored in the wagon workshop. The paintwork was not quite finished lacking the lining and gloss lacquer. Sometime circa 1979 it was put into steam to appear in a BBC children's TV film The Hills of Heaven. Repainted green with an Awdry style "7" in yellow on the bunker it was sent via BR metals to the stump of the Methley Joint which ran up to Newmarket colliery. Most of the film had already been shot at Bickershaw using He 3776 which was also given the green makeover despite being recently resplendent in lined out blue. If anyone knows why they had to go to all the expense of creating a Yorkshire doppelganger I would love to know more. When the couple of days filming were done,S134 was returned to Allerton Bywater Colliery where it was left outside until mid 1981 when Hunslet approached the NCB with a view to undertaking some research. This was agreed on the condition that Hunslet sent their own engineers to recommission the loco. Originally it was planned to undertake the research at Allerton Bywater but the austerity was too tall to work beneath the screens, so it was transfered across the river to Wheldale where it could work the mile of internal track that linked it to the washers at Fryston. The test work was completed in late '81 but this was a very long cold winter that saw several diesel failures and S134 was in use until the following September. During this time it gained celebrity status and is probably the most photographed and filmed Industrial Locomotive this side of the pennines. It was then retired to Embsay whee it was repainted red and named " Wheldale".

I forgot to add that it is much easier to clean up tarnished parts whilst they are still flat / attached to the fret. A bonus also being that after a quick wash the finished model is ready for a coat of etch primer. Paint. Now THAT is another can of worms......... We all have our own favoured approach. The key is to be open to advice and new ideas but default to what experience tells you works best for you and the tools available.

So I have six months to build the Selby canopies 😁

Perhaps the only time I would disagree with Mr Edge but in the land of solder cleanliness IS godliness. Nickel silver isn’t quite so fussy but having prepped brass properly half an our previously it gets a quick kiss from the fibreglass pencil immediately before soldering. Not sure if you are aware but most of the assembly is done with 145 degree solder. Save the electricians solder for wiring or attaching a small item that might be disturbed by future soldering.

Aware of that. This was a random connection to the Wrexham area. Turns out this was a red herring as the history of the United Cooperative ties it firmly north of the border. The mystery continues!

But no obvious colliery name in the online lists.

Odd thing is that there are no geographical instructions accompanying the name of the colliery. Suggesting that it is local? Sadly no obvious candidates from lists of Scottish mines.

The united cooperative seems to confirm the Scottish location. Have we a full picture of the wagon?

A really daft question. Are we sure that the Brechin is the one in Scotland? i entered “ Brechin” into google maps and one option seemed to be for the Wrexham area. Unfortunately it will now only recognise the settlement in Scotland.

My good lady is incredibly short sighted. Without her glasses she can read the washing instructions on a gnats underwear. No definitive answers sadly but she supports the earlier idea of two words and an ampersand. She suggested, without any prompting, that the first word might be “Bute”. I am aware that the Bute fortunes were made in the Welsh valleys.

Don’t let historic variations in spelling rule out a possibility. Especially where railways are concerned!

Whitwood? Briggs&co Castleford.

The fact that the wagon was to be returned to a specific colliery suggests that the co op had a long term deal with this particular mine. Perhaps held shares? This would add weight to the argument for the colliery being local to Brechin. If this co op were aiming to source coal from outside the local area it might be more likely to be delivered in the colliery owners wagons on an ad hoc basis as the co op took advantage of best prices available at that time. When I get a little time I might have a look through the Powsides catalogue for other co op societies and see if any of those are tied to a particular colliery. You are right of course about the different types of coal. Research on our Selby project has revealed that the price of a ton of coal to the customer could vary by over 50% depending on the nature of the coal supplied.

Perhaps I should have said this first time. If the 4mm kits go together like the 7mm versions you will have no complaints. That said, everything in 7mm is that bit larger and easier to assemble. The Hunslet 15&16” locomotives were most straightforward to build.

Start with a wagon.

To those in area 8, Barnsley is in the south!

It might have been the setting up day that wasn’t available. Wouldn’t argue with Jackie but my source is very close to the events team! A pity as I have either helped or exhibited at every summer show since the Halifax days.

For the record, the Barnsley venue wasn’t available for the required date this year. The rest is Guild politics. A pity as the venue was more than adequate and would have grown once people got to see that the town has moved on since the strike......

None of the Q6 had water scoops so I suppose this was a a standard NE layout?

Excellent. Just what I needed.

Thanks. Is that “ yes” to the double pull rod system ? I cannot get my I pad to talk to 52f models!!

My incomplete kit came from the bay of E without instructions. So far that hasn’t been an issue. Now I find I have twice as many tender brake pull rods as I need. Did the Q6 have a double pull rod system on the inside and outside of each wheel like the Bulleid Pacific’s or did the kit designer intend that they should be “ doubled up” to represent a thicker pull rod. I do not know the origin of the kit and careful study of my Yeadons register has not provided a definitive answer. I may be able to call a favour and get little brother to have a crawl around the shed floor at Grosmont but that will be next weekend at the earliest. All help gratefully received.