Grosmont Jnc

South Pelaw set up and ready to run at Warley.

Actually @Porcy Mane of this parish!

South Pelaw now dismantled and the baseboards stacked ready to be transported to the NEC for Warley show next weekend, 25 & 26 November.

Good to see the layout again today, Paul and catch up. Everything seemed to be working very well and the show was well attended. Joe

South Pelaw now safely back home in Jarrow - all unpacked by 6pm this evening. Really enjoyed the weekend - the layout and its operators mainly behaved very well! Joe

Out of the above, sadly only Nunthorpe, Driffield and Barton Hill are left. Cave, Oxmardyke and Norton-on-Tees are MCB-OD crossings supervised by York ROC and Rigton is a CCTV crossing supervised by Harrogate SB.

Russ / Mick - Barton Hill on the York-Scarborough line still has wheel worked barriers I think. Joe

Another product of lockdown modelling which appeared on the layout for the first time on Saturday was my North Eastern Kits N10, 69101 - shown here on a train of pit props in Stella Gill Yard. Joe

After the first lockdown I finished a North Eastern Kits N10 which some of you may have seen on Arthur Kimber's NE Kits thread. It was based at Bowes Bridge up to withdrawal in 1962 and it probably never ventured down to South Pelaw but it will in 4mm form! Martin Lloyd has built a rake of 21 ton hoppers as described in our blog http://southpelawem.blogspot.com and other members of our group have been working on various projects so we'll have plenty to test and install when we can work on the layout again. Joe

Although we haven't been able to get to the layout much during 2020 various projects have been carrying on at home. I decided to add to our existing forest of signals and build a couple of miniature arm shunt signals for Stella Gill, one of which is shown here.

Arthur Thankyou for your kind words. I have to say I would really recommend the N10 as a great starter kit for a beginner like me so if anyone out there fancies one - message Arthur. If not I'll have another one! I'm assuming COVID has caused all sorts of issues, but dare I ask is there any further news on the J25?? Joe

A total contrast to the lovely Tennant above, I have recently finished one of Arthur's N10 kits. It's my first loco kit and went together really well, and I learnt a lot in the process. It is a depiction of 69101, based latterly at Bowes Bridge and withdrawn in April 62. It is in EM gauge and I've used Arthur's compensation as provided for in the kit. It has a High Level gear box and one of Chris' lovely coreless motors. It will spend its life shunting rakes of mineral wagons into the yard at Stella Gill. (Sorry about all the junk in the background - I don't know how to edit it out!). Joe

I think it was 1908, but I wouldn't like to swear by it. When I was a signalman at Goathland in the 1990s an old guy called George (Grayson?) who lived in the old mill at the north end of the station used to come in for a chat and he could remember the bridge being replaced when he was a child. Originally bridge 27 only had the Up and Down Main on it, the depot siding was accessed via a very tight radius turnout off the Up line which came off the north (Grosmont) side of the bridge and went through a diamond crossing in the down (not a single slip as later) and onto its current formation. When the 3rd span was installed for the depot siding the signalbox was moved forward slightly I believe. Anyway here's a pic courtesy of the NRM via the NYMR archive and John Hunt. Note the whinstone crushing/loading plant in the background. Joe

L / J73??

Martin has updated our blog with some more of Tony Lambert's stunning photos. And there's a little reminder that we'll be exhibiting the layout at Expo EM North this weekend (7th & 8th September)!

Looks like we've made the cover of the ExpoEM Autumn publicity leaflet! https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/140952-expoem-autumn-2019/&tab=comments#comment-3516004 Joe

Looking good Richard. I've managed to get away with the Loadhauler+ on the N10 after some advice from Chris G. If you're putting the motor in the firebox you'll be better off with your choice of gearbox given the tight space. I had to file the axleboxes / hornblocks to fit the gearbox in but the axle now has enough room to rock from side to side etc. The only issue I have is that at certain angles the gearbox catches on the hornguides, but that is not a problem for my eventual gearbox / motor position. Good luck with the inside motion! Joe

Our blog http://southpelawem.blogspot.com/ has been updated with some recent pictures, again by Martin. Joe

Some great pictures on here Trevor, I'm looking forward to seeing more! The Q6 picture going up the bank in the last set is definitely at Esk Valley - the last 2 coaches are on Esk Valley Viaduct and you can see Oak Tree House and Esk Valley Bank in the background. Joe

I couldn't resist the Cartman t-shirt with 'respect my authority' on it! We had a great weekend, although we are still learning and improving so I hope it was worth watching. Johndon has now passed out as a signalman which is great for me because it means I can be let loose driving trains! A gent came to see the layout who had been a booking lad in South Pelaw signalbox and he said that at the end of his shift he often went home with his sandwiches untouched because it had been so busy. We probably only capture a fraction of that but even so it was good to be relieved by John and sent for a meal break! Joe

It was great to finally see Low Baring in the flesh at Goathland show today, congratulations to Paul on such a lovely layout. The Goathland show is a cracking exhibition - thanks to all at Whitby MRC (including Boris and various others of this parish!). I think everybody was wilting in the heat a bit today - we certainly had to repair to the hostelry at Beck Hole afterwards to cool down! Joe

South Pelaw is now dismantled, stacked and ready to go! Do come and see us next weekend at Railex North East, John Spence Community High School, Preston Rd, North Shields, Tyne & Wear NE29 9PU. http://www.railexne.com/ Joe

Don't worry John, you won't be the only exhibition first-timer. I'll be having hours of fun in chaos central i.e. South Pelaw signalbox! Joe

One of our group (Richard Clayton) has started his own RMweb blog, focussing on his work on locos and rolling stock ready for our first exhibition. See http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/2318-gadgies-blog/