mac1960

The Stationmaster My local large station and goods yard was Huddersfield which had both a large Goods Shed and yard. Indeed the Goods shed a large 4 storey building is a listed structure and is still with us. The yard was close to the then steam shed and had the obligatory Coal Drops and Cattle sidings. I was born in 1960 and remember the steam shed in operation and Coal Wagons and indeed Coal Trains as they were a pretty staple traffic on any Trans Pennine route back then. The goods shed was full of the Brown std vans with and 03 Shunter. There used to be prior to my arrival long distant freights leaving from Huddersfield directly to the likes of London , Liverpool etc but these had gone by the 60,s and such vans as there were went to Healey Mills by trip working. The last vans I witnessed there were Transfesa / Ferry Vans which used the old Cattle Dock siding's. These brought Italian food products to a local whole sale Italian owned merchant who specialised in that market, and the product was loaded directly on to trucks/ vans on arrival. Probably no more than 3- vans and they again came by trip from Healy Mills with a 37 / 25 on the front. This would be early 1980,s.

Sol I think it changed in the mid 60,s when the the large concentration yards like Kingmoor, Healey Mills, Tinsley came on line. Previous to that some larger towns did have individual freight train starting from their freight yards, but afterwards they were trip worked to the local concentration yard and started from there.

One last photo of the new order with a Green DMU heading down the bank with a stopper to Skipton calling at all stations from Carlisle. Also the Inspector calls with the Royal Barge on an inspection trip of the district with a Class 2 for power. Horton will not be winning the best kept station award as Mr Taylor who was the station master at the real Horton in Ribblesdale had moved to Settle by now. Hope you enjoyed the photos, and sorry bout my ramblings but time for bed here its been a long day !!

Well a few more photos from our (though I was not there) pre photo shoot. I am away again so I hope these up load ok. A Class 40 heads North for Carlisle underneath the southern occupation slew bridge while the farmer or could be vet heads toward Horton in his Mk1 Land Rover. A grimy 8F coasts down hill for Leeds and home with the crew dreaming of a pint of Tetley's or two already, know doubt . Jubilee Hardy heads North on heavy parcels from Bradford - its those bloody Grattan catalogue Christmas additions know doubt ! Well into the climb now with the Fireman t starting to ache a little, I hope he has kind driver, but at least its a dry day. A 4F not far from the cutters Torch heads north with a pick up freight through the trees, complete with with its late Yellow stripe, probably its last paint job ! The pick up freight with a 4F , and the Up Bradford stopper with a Scot Sir Fredrick Harrison both get underway in Horton, though one will definitely get an easier trip ! However both have up coming appointments with the cutting torch unfortunately, however they got their newly acquired Yellow stripes in September 1964, though Kingmoor cleaners obviously did not like theirs judging by the colour of her ! A not unusual fate for Kingmoor based locos as many photographer's back then commented upon. I think most also hated the Yellow stripe, but to me that is so evocative of the time, and therefore it has to be included in our model of this time, which is autumn in the period1964 -67 for those interested in these things. The stopper earlier glides into Horton with little effort with Scot Sir Fredrick Harrison on the front, while farmer Noakes looks on with Shep at his flock . An earlier photo of the 4F heading under the occupation bridge from the South.

Well we took advantage of the good weather yesterday and Horton was moved to its permanent home yesterday afternoon but is disassembled awaiting erecting. I am not sure when this will be as I am away again but hopefully sooner rather than later. I have received the proof copy photos from the shoot on Saturday which look very good but I obviously cannot share these until after their publication in the magazine . However when Horton is re erected I will post further photos of various locomotives and indeed trains.

JRSS / Dragonboy Thank you for the kind comments with regards to Horton. The photo shoot went very well with Jonathan Newton of the Hornby Magazine. The layout behaved itself, with no issues at all over the 4 hrs it took to complete. We now have to write up an article to go with it, which will be shared by myself and Richard. As for when it will be in the Magazine I am not sure, and neither is Jonathan. Basically it depends to a degree on what layouts are coming up already. This layout is mid 60,s BR steam diesel, so it depends on how many of this type of layout are coming up to be featured in the magazine. You obviously don't want just this type / period of layout, so in short it could be sometime. I know there are 2 other layouts that Richard was involved with (Staly Vegas / Mills bridge - which are modelled in the same period as Horton) and these are ahead of Horton for publication in the Hornby Magazine, with Mills Bridge being the first of those. Staly Vegas the other one was also photographed yesterday, with a video and still photos and an interview with Richard, so I would say maybe in the next 12 months with regards to Hortons appearance in print. We are thinking of doing another layout together that would be more exhibition friendly, as we have found through the build of Horton that we work very well together. This would have to be more on the Staly Vegas size due to storage issues, and would have to sit under Horton when not in use, but currently this has only just started to be discussed with senior management (my wife !!). As for what it would be, I favour a more urban view, and we have discussed the line around Oxford Road in Manchester with the line on a viaduct with maybe just the end of a platform, and one point to the outer edge of a bay platform. This would obviously require overhead wires if we were to do that particular line, which Richard is unsure about for an exhibition layout, but they would not be operational. The period would be the same as Horton, so early to mid 60,s and the stock would be largely the same as Horton with addition of some AC electric traction obviously in the early Electric Blue colour scheme. However we are some way of on this yet. Our next task is to get Horton back to my house in the next few weeks, and set up and running, and I can then get some more photos of trains and layout which I will then post, though not up too Jonathan's standard alas. Thanks once again for your comments.

Back on small photos again firstly a Patriot on Bradford stopper meets a 4F heading North on a pick up freight. Class 40 whistles up the bank heading for Kingmoor. A 9F heads rattles down the bank disturbing sleepy Horton heading for Widnes. A relatively new Clayton Cl 17 back then heads for Stourton with a semi fitted freight. Not so old and the relatively new pass with Cl 40 northbound for Kingmoor and another Long Meg heads South.

Well I have been working, but my co conspirator has been playing trains and sent me the following, so I thought I would post these as we have been preparing for a magazine photo shoot tomorrow. So see what you think. Firstly the local Ribble Bus crosses the northerly slew bridge in a ray of natural sunshine courtesy of the skylight. It really looks like a natural Sunbeam which I suppose it is. An 8F heads North for Kingmoor. Another 8F rattles South through Horton with a fitted freight for Stourton. Th steel train seen early passes the goods shed. Jubilee Sturdee head north on a Leeds to Carlisle parcels with Pen y Gent as a back drop.

Border Reiver Thank you for the photo. If you go onto the S&C Layout and look at the latest Horton photos you will see something in N Gauge which may look familiar. However I am awaiting the Box Code Cl 45 being released hopefully later this year or early next as currently we are using GF Cl 45 however they do look in keeping. Thanks again.

Well as you can see below we actually had some stock running yesterday, and the perimeter has been painted as you can see from the smaller photos underneath . There were some issues not unsurprisingly, notably with 9F front pony trucks which dont like Double Slips !! The latter maybe be able to be improved by changing the front Pony Trucks to ones with a slightly deeper flange, however as you can see the Britannia's had no such issues, and an 8F did the honours on the Long Meg. I was away for this, but back today, so will pop down later this week as I think I have the Pony Trucks already as it is a none issue, its just finding them ! I will post some more when back. Cheers Mr Mac

Apollo Thanks for the comments on the back scene. It’s good to know that you were there at the time, and therefore you can tell us what we have done wrong or right as far as you recollect , as neither of us were obviously present, and our knowledge is all based on photo and video from back then. The photo is a bit dark so cant see that much but control panel does look very good as you say. Cheers

Apollo Thank you for the photo. We did get Sankey Signs to make a miniature version of that for Horton. However the setting for our model was when the line was a little more distressed in the mid 60,s shall we say so. The garden's had seen better days by then though. Cheers

Well just got back from my travels last night and received these of the completed tweaked Horton. Further work was carried out on the back scene and some finer details, and detritus of the railway scene back then added. The joints in the back scene boards are not too noticeable, and the colours and detailing and perspective look really well. Horton has now been dismantled so that the legs can be lowered by around 200mm as we found that working at its current height would cause some issues with track cleaning etc and of course the inevitable derailment in operation with back scene in place ! Also the fascia has to be painted and it will then be re built facing the other way in the room its currently in for its photo call in late April. After that I hope to have it back home for the May Day weekend fingers crossed. We will be having a running in day with certain iconic trains like the Thames Clyde Express, Anhydrite freight, Bradford Stopper, Jubilee Powered Express, the local DMU stopper (steam left this before our time period) and an assortment of other freights. There were other interesting services like the sleeper services and Motorail services (as they would become) and the Bescott Carlisle via Leeds Freight which was the longest freight service by the same crew in the country at the time, and had the Mechanical Stoker fitted 9F for traction. Also of course there was the Condor service which was Double Headed Class 26 or 25 by our time frame I believe. However all these latter workings traversed the route over night and or in the early hours, and in the autumn this would be in the dark obviously. Even though we can play with the lighting, pitch Black as it would be (and even more so back then) in the Dales is pretty well dark, and you would be able to see very little other than lights from the locomotive, and maybe the odd light on a farm building if Mr Herriot, or the local equivalent was visiting . The station lights would be out, as the station closed at night, and the Signal Box would have its lights dimmed to aid the signalman's night vision when watching passing trains for hot boxes or tail lights etc. The trains themselves were 95% freight apart from the aforementioned sleeper and Motorail Services and indeed the S&C really came alive at night with freight, which is demonstrated by some of the signal boxes being unmanned during the daylight hours due to the paucity of traffic. So there was little point in modeling these movements as in reality there would be very little to see as a viewer , and indeed there are very few photos of the services. I think I have seen one of a Britannia on the North Bound Motorail service near Ribblehead which was in high summer, and the service may have been running late and it is not a great photo, just unusual. Anyway I will post photos of the completed painted fascia and the forementioned trains on the running days in April, as I am now working in the UK until June, so all being well Horton should be home and active before then. As always please come back on photos or my ramblings, as everyday is a school day as an old boss of mine used to say ! May I wish you all a Happy Easter Weekend, and hope for better weather during it, as its not looking promising up here. Cheers Mac

I have read the Terry Essery tale of woe with he Mechanical Stoker on that turn. There was an issue in that the Coal used on them was really incorrect as it was too lumpy, and jammed the screw as we did not have enough locomotives with Mechanical stokers to justify correct Coal. It needed to be more like power station Coal apparently. The US railroads had no issues with mechanical stokers when correct Coal used.

Also looking forward to seeing this at York. Just trying to work out which day to attend.

Maybe the tanks were getting tired and with the spread of diesel traction and indeed Beeching closures the 4MT became available. Also better cab for the winters up there or indeed summer to a degree .

They built new concrete cattle pens on the Manchester to Huddersfield line between Stalybridge and Miles Platting which I re call as a child, but I don’t think they were ever used. That would be mid to late 60,s. I can’t remember seeing any cattle trains back then either but I was only at Primary School.

JRSS The paintwork is for the outer screen, or walls of the stage as I would perhaps best describe it, and just makes it look finished and also helps with visual aspect of the model. The "skirt" is just to make it look finished and tidy as Mrs Mac prefers to see less 240v cables, and as the room it is going in is up stairs in our house, and she walks passed it a couple of times a day she has a quite legitimate say. As for exhibiting it we have not given it that much thought, and it’s not the easiest to dismantle and re-erect when at home, though it would be easy to build in a hall. The other factor is work unfortunately, and weather as we live quite high up, so winter could be challenging moving in and out. After its completed and bedded in we might have to see, because I would like people to see it, and for those involved in supplying parts etc to see the fruits of their labourers in the setting intended. It would be easier perhaps for longer shows maybe, like York for example, rather than a one or even two day show. However we are getting ahead of ourselves, and of course it’s rather presumptuous of us to even think of shows like York when nobody has seen it, how ever Richard has a good track record at that show so you never know. In April we will be having a running day with some of the more iconic trains which were present on the line at the time, and I will post photos of these as and when. However please dont mention split head code Peaks, as we are having to await those being made currently by Rapido, so we are still on older GF ones but with correct Head Codes and altered bogies. Rapido are doing Class 44 first which despite their names never really came up the S&C as far as I know unless a publicity thing. However unfortunately split head codes were the earlier ones to come to Holbeck and for me are always the ones I associate with the line, but we will just have to wait and see how long Rapido take to get to the Class 45 as we do need two. Cheers Mac

I remember dropping an American girl friend at York in 1978, who was heading back to Cambridge via Huntingdon and it was a Class 55 still in Blue, but I can’t remember the name or number unfortunately. I think they were used on the stopping service to KK, after HST had taken over the fast services. Cheers

Some further afield with Bescott 9F with mechanical stokers on the Bescott Carlisle freight via Leeds coming to mind. Also some Tinsley and Healy Mills freights which would be Tinsley and Wakefield, and possibly Mirfield Normanton Royston if steam operated. Quite a few Yorkshire sheds contributed to the traction available. For example some Jubilee locomotives from Farnley making the occasional trip to Carlisle. Also Bolton had trips over the S&C as I have a photo of their 48773 in 67 and other Manchester sheds. There are also pictures of A1,s on freight which were York based at the time as a totally left field occurrence. Also I have seen late video by Gavin Morrison of a Crab in autumn 1967 which would probably be Birkenhead based at the time. So quite a wide spread to choose from which is one of the things I liked about the S&C back then. Cheers Mac

Well sorted out what the photo issue was but just received these as the weather has been poor, so Richard completed the back scene on these two boards below, so will just leave these in place. Just the other one to complete the full back scene at the North end. I have to say it really does evoke the Dales now and its weather. Interestingly we were discussing the thing that most evokes the area and feel of the S&C on the project, and made the biggest difference, you maybe surprised to hear that we both think it is the Drystone walling we used supplied by Osbournes and the Grasses from Mini Nature (Germany) procured through the New Model Shop in Peterborough.

Well some more photos of the painted back scene in place, which for some reason have come out in a small size when up loaded and I am not sure why. There was some train movement just to check nothing was catching. Predictably all the diesels were fine but the Dapol 9F had some clashes with the valve gear which were easily remedied. Also we dropped the size of the signal on the North end of the station, and introduced the painted White square on the bridge (these were done to aid crew sighting the signal arm) and are iconic to the Coal Road Bridge at Dent, so I thought it would be good if we had one as well, though cutting down the signal was a nervous undertaking. There is further painting to be done on the back scene just to complete it, other than that we are largely done with the modelling. We had to remove the AWS ramps however as they constantly fouled locomotives, even when cut down slightly surprisingly. There is the external painting to be done of the frame and the fitting of a suitable material to act as a skirt, which was measured today, and a suitable colour chosen, and its not Black ! Anyway I am away on my travels in Africa again so it will be a few weeks before I see the model again though Richard said he would send further photos when the back scene is finally completed. As always please feel free to give us any feed back or comment or indeed questions on Horton and I will do my best to answer them and I will try to get some enlarged photos later.

Chard Thank you for the information very informative. I’m seem to have duplicated the post by accident so sorry for any confusion. Cheers

I’m building a 1964 -67 autumn layout and I’m trying to understand the train set for the Thames Clyde Express which was strengthened during the winter as the original Waverley was cancelled during the winter. I haven’t been to quickly find the answer on line hence my question . Help appreciated. Cheers Mac

Well a few photos of the start of the colour palate as its called I am told but still away to go. We are dropping the amount of Snow / Haw Frost on Pen Y Gent as well as it was starting to look more like Mount Fuji. oh and we are moving it a tad as well ! However I think you can see what we are aiming for. Incidentally I got the detail on the composition of the Thames Clyde Express and un like today 1st Class was scattered with in the train around the Buffet / Restaurant car. The other thing which I had totally forgotten (shows how long since I was last on a locomotive hauled train) they had 2nd class breaks at both ends which is sensible when you consider the issues of running around. Anyway will post more when we have stopped moving mountains around and colours are more fixed.