mikemeg

One final photo of the inside of the roundhouse shed at Hull Dairycoates. This building, up to 1955, housed six turntables within a singe building. There was also a four road straight shed and various other buildings on the same site. Cheers Mike

Or, perhaps, this one. I don't know where this is, though it's obviously a North Eastern shed; the smoke hoods are the North Eastern design. It could be Hull Botanic Gardens, though there are other more likely contenders for the photo's location, particularly as there are J27 and Q6 freight locos in the shed. Hull Botanic Gardens was only ever a passenger locomotive shed. Again, this photo just 'tells it as it was' inside one of these places. Both this photo and the one above are courtesy Mick Nicholson. Cheers Mike

Yes! I guess like many of my generation, who loved the railways, an abiding memory of the age of steam would be these great sheds with their soot and grime; especially on a Sunday. On a sunny day, the shafts of sunlight coming through any broken or missing panes of glass, would light the places with almost solid beams of light, piercing the stygian gloom and illuminating some part of a locomotive, creating a myriad patches of light and shade; or reflecting off oil filled puddles of water creating prismatic ripples of colour which shone up from the floor. On a Sunday, almost silent were these places, save for the sound of hissing of steam, the faintly audible dripping of water and the occasional flutter of a pigeon disturbed in its lofty roost. Magical places!! Happy days!! Cheers Mike

Yes, it is a Y1 0-4-0 Tank. At the time of the above photograph, Hull Dairycoates had four Y1's - 68137/39/40/41. So 8139 is the one with the chalked on number. Cheers Mike

Reverting to the topic area (I knew we'd get back, eventually) I have re-started work in the N8, while also doing the J21. So a reminder of what one of these locos looked like, way back in the early 1950's. This photo, which is the prototype loco for the model, was taken in one of the darker recesses of Hull Dairycoates shed around one of the six turntables under cover. What a place this must have been, on a Sunday in the early 1950's!! Cheers Mike

Keith, Many thanks for the kind words. I really don't mind folk going off topic on the thread; I do it frequently. As must be obvious, I do enjoy building the locos, though in my retirement, I enjoy building all sorts of things. I spent my working life in computing, later Information Technology, so largely office bound. The contrast, in now 'using my hands' to do things and make things, is hugely enjoyable and rewarding. Once again, many thanks. Regards Mike

No need to go away. These diversions make the thread more interesting. Like you (I'm assuming) I've had a lifelong interest in aircraft and aviation. In technology terms, an odd companion to the steam locomotive, I grant you but, at their design best, each is equally impressive as pieces of beautiful engineering. Regards Mike

Yes, I photographed one of these aircraft, stationary, at the Royal International Air Tattoo, at Fairford in 2019. Had to go a very long way back to get the whole thing into frame. As you say, this must be some kind of record for longevity for any piece of military hardware, though the Tu 95 'Bear' might also come close. Cheers Mike

Thanks to the two contributors above. These old photographs often have no place or date attribution, so the history of the locomotive can give some indication of probable place and time. By the time of its withdrawal - Feb 1937 - this loco must have been around fifty years old. They lasted well, these old North Eastern locos. Some of the G5's, J71's, J72's, J77's, etc. must have seen sixty plus years of service. That said, some of the surviving English Electric Type 3's (originally D6700 - D6999) must also now be approaching or even have reached sixty years of service. Strange how, as kids, we almost resented the intrusion of these main line diesels as they replaced the steam locos which we loved. Now these same diesel locos are, themselves, historically important machines, much admired, much photographed and much missed. Cheers Mike

I guess regular readers of this thread will have seen some of the photographs, from Mick Nicholson's growing collection, posted on here. I continue to receive copies of some of Mick's photographic acquisitions which are assiduously filed away on my PC. Given the recent postings on the test building of Arthur's North Eastern Class A/LNER F8, then this photo, again from Mick's collection, is particularly applicable as it shows an F8 on a train. The date of the photo isn't known but it is certainly 1923 or later as the locomotive carries LNER markings. The location is given as Croft Spa and just look how tidy the permanent way and the ballast shoulder is!! Cheers Mike

NORTH EASTERN KITS LNER J21 With the addition of the two layers of smokebox wrapper - the snap headed rivet version as the top layer - then a quick check to ensure that everything lines up and sits square. As yet, nothing is fixed, so if it fits in this state then it should all fit when soldered together. So the major loco superstructure is now largely complete, though still a great deal of detail to add. Cheers Mike

John, I'm not sure, though Arthur might like to comment. I always receive the test etches flat but I know that the boilers in the production kits are often pre-rolled. Regards Mike

NORTH EASTERN KITS LNER J21 After the boiler is rolled and soldered up, then the firebox sides need to be profiled. It is difficult to offer any hints or tips for this other than to take this process very slowly and check the firebox against the footplate/cab assembly constantly. I normally 'tease' the bottom of the firebox sides straight using a steel rule. Once the bottom of the firebox sides are sufficiently straight then the transition curves - to bring the straightened bottoms of the firebox sides back to vertical - can be added using an appropriate former - I use a 3/8" diameter piece of brass rod - for this operation. The final check on the firebox profile is the embossed ring on the cab front. If the rear of the firebox follows the profile of this ring and if the bottom of the firebox sides align with the small vertical lugs on the footplate, then everything is about right. At this stage the smokebox and boiler are simply screwed together, though nothing is finally fixed as the smokebox still needs its wrappers adding and there is a lot of detail to be added to the boiler wrapper. Cheers Mike

NORTH EASTERN KITS LNER J21 The internal structure of the smokebox - the longer, superheated variety - has been assembled and soldered up. The boiler barrel has also been rolled and seam soldered, after which the circular nickel silver former has had an 8 BA nut attached to it and then the former is soldered into the front of the boiler wrapper recessed around 1.5 mm from the front end with the nut facing into the boiler . This will allow an 8 BA cheese headed screw to be used to pull the smokebox rear and boiler front together, once the half round brass ring is fitted to the end of the boiler wrapper. I still have to 'unroll' the bottom of the firebox and then adjust the two firebox sides to the correct profile. Cheers Mike

Another couple of photos of J21's, both of these carrying the longer superheated smokebox. The first photo is 1946 or later as the loco carries its 1946 number and was taken at what looks like Penrith; the second photo is post Nationalisation. Note that the tender totem, on the second photo, is the smaller variety as carried by many of the smaller tank locos. As always, the photos are courtesy Mick Nicholson's collection. Stephen (Retro-man) I haven't forgotten your query and will photo the 'innards' of one of the D20's to show the pick up arrangement. Cheers Mike