Geordie Exile

Revisiting the photographs, and the ballast is hard-packed and almost smooth. I need to model what I see, not what I think it should look like!

That looks much nicer! There's fine white silica sand available for aquaria, so I might get hold of some and have a play. Appreciate the pointer. R.

I've been looking at a couple of photos of the colliery itself and you're right. The shoulders are quite coarse as there's no traffic just there, but everywhere else seems almost smooth. I think I've been aiming for what I think ballast ought to look like. I'll keep at it!

Hi both. Sand is a real option, which I'd not considered. My first reaction to Geraint's post was "ah yes, but how do I colour it?" but Jan's post gives me the answer. I'll go take a look at the link! The loose grain is still pretty good - here's a picture from above (which I ought to have done in the first place). Ignore the shiny-ness from the metallic paint, I'll fettle that with an overspray of more matt black just as soon as it stops snowing and I can get out to the shed! Hmm, the photo appears to be only focussed on one area, dead centre - probably something to do with the camera on my phone - but that area does give a good idea of the overall effect. Cheers Richard

I've been playing with actual scenics. To be fair, it's a scrap of wood about 14cm long and 8cm deep, but I want to get a feel for ballasting. None of the commercially available ballast that I've found is fine enough in my opinion, in particular with the shallow sleepers of Easitrac compared with Peco's offering for N. I've an inexhaustible supply of coffee grounds, so I've tried that, with the traditional dilute PVA approach. The first attempt wasn't great, but while the glue was not quite dry I tamped it down, then a spray of black, then a gentle overspray of metallic black, especially between the sleepers, and it's not too shabby. Whaddya think? (The really obvious spots of unpainted coffee aren't obvious at all to the naked eye. I think I'll add a quick coat of matt varnish to everywhere bar between the tracks, which look good and oily with the metallic paint.)

Thanks for the advice Jim. I hadn't thought about the risk of bending the rails, and had been considering some leftover underlay from the leftover flooring, so I'm glad I mentioned it. R

There is so much to think about! As part of my practice-run at turnout-building and tracklaying I'm putting together a shunting plank, using a piece of leftover laminate floor. With one eye on the future, and another on my bank account, I'm hoping to incorporate it into the layout as the exchange sidings, if everything is good enough. To this end, having drilled holes for the droppers (I only just remembered to drill one for the TOU!) it's occurred to me that i need to consider whether I want to isolate each siding, which seems to make sense as I'll build for DC rather than DCC. And should I put down a raised trackbed so I can put in a proper cess? Will I actually have track laid by the end of the year as I promised myself? The clock's ticking...

Posing on my workbench is my Christmas present to myself: a sheet each of wooden and steel hoppers from the elves at Fencehouses. (Erm, Bob Jones, actually). I need a bigger gloat box, because that's where they'll sit for some time.

I've been waiting for Woodhead Colliery Museum to re-open, as they have pretty extensive archives for the Northumberland pits. Ultimately it's a nice-to-know rather than a game-changer. Haven't tried NCM so thanks for the pointer.

Thanks for this link, Steven. I came across it about a year ago then failed to bookmark it and have been looking for it on and off ever since! I do wonder if the East Holywell Veterans Club members were playing with the researchers though. The map on p33 that you're referring to seems to have a few errors on it. Number 13 labelled "Weigh Cabin" is definitely the new washery, built in 1926, and one of the few buildings on the map that were in existence in 1973 when the colliery closed. A plan drawn at the time of construction shows a weigh cabin to the north. Number 12 ("Fewick [sic] Pit Winding House") is the Heapstead - the shaft is correctly marked on the map, whereas the Winding House was the building immediately to the left. At the time of the map the Winding House was of stone, and was rebuilt in brick in 1946. The aerial photo on P34 is really useful - the demolition doesn't appear to have started, and the tracks may have been lifted but their positions are still relatively clear. Richard

The upcast shaft was about half a mile west at the old Backworth B Pit. When the C Pit (one mile north west of Fenwick) was closed, that became the spoil heap for the surviving Backworth mines (Eccles, Maude & Fenwick) so yes, the heap at Fenwick stopped growing in, I think, the fifties or earlier. The plan below shows a 2012 survey (the coloured bits) with the approximate positions of the other (by then demolished) buildings added in black by me. The green circle within the heapstead was the working shaft, with the earlier, capped Clennel shaft shown NNE of it. I'm fairly certain I've identified the Heapstead, Picking Belts and Washery correctly. The other buildings labelled in purple are: A - Office; B - Sheds; C - Generator/Turbine House; D - Warehouse (extended significantly to the footprint shown after the closure of the pit); E - Baths & Canteen; F - Winder House. I've gone into this much detail because it helps organise my thoughts, and to show that it's not a winder house, nor an upcast shaft, nor a washery - although I'm grateful to all for the suggestions, honest! R

That's the one, Chris. Looks like an office block at first glance, but fulfilled some purpose or other somewhere in the production process. This is the only view I've found of the building from the north: (source https://www.flickr.com/photos/105225401@N02/11205463396/in/album-72157638347641634/) As you can see, it straddles at least one track. Although there was a second (well, actually, it was the first) shaft in the vicinity, it was probably 100 yds away towards the picking belts and capped long before this building went up. Goodness knows what function the circular concrete annexe-on-stilts served: windows ought to be a clue, but not to me. The building appears to be lit internally, suggesting floors corresponding with the horizontal lintels (?), plus lighting. Most photos (including the one for which you provided a link) show something within it, so my plan is to bung more somethings into it and make the windows more translucent than transparent. And it's just occurred to me that it doesn't appear to have any stairs, internally or externally. I am flummoxed; but I guess ultimately I can still make a reasonable facsimile of the exterior and just deal with my bafflement by hitting the Christmas beer supply

From zoomed in on a piece of model track, to zoomed all the way out: the real Fenwick Pit on a snowy March morning, exactly 50 years ago. And there's that building I mentioned. I think of it as the "coal processing plant" as in spite of much conversation with several folk who knew the pit, there's no real consensus on what it actually is. (No, it's not a second, more modern heapstead - like most of the other buildings it sits on 'stilts' and has tracks running under it.) (source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/105225401@N02/11205463956/in/album-72157638347641634/) Pretty, ain't it? Richard

Ok, I'm much happier with my 2nd attempt at an Easitrac turnout kit. Rather than droppers dangling from the switch rails, I've attached them to their respective stock rails via a brass half-sleeper and a dot of solder. A full brass sleeper is at the toe, duly cut and Milliput-ed back together. I've put a slim shim of plasticard under the milled crossing as there was a slight height difference between it and the rails. And I've had to produce a replacement tie bar as I managed to mangle the one in the kit, and this one slides much more smoothly. My thanks to @Caley Jim and other members of the Forth & Clyde AG for their (surprisingly) gentle and (unsurprisingly) encouraging critique of my botched first attempt. I've filed significantly more off the blades than in the earlier version, which has made all the difference in how snugly they sit against the stock rails. Do I now attempt a PCB sleeper version yet? I dunno. There's another building which forms part of the colliery and which dominates every photo, so I think I'll turn to that next, and come back to track in the new year.

And I think I said recently that I pride myself in keeping a tidy workbench. Ahem.

I wish I'd seen their NCB sheet before paying twice the price from Fox for a quarter of the number of decals. Thanks for the pointer. Richard

That's my first Easitrac turnout done. I guess 'Awkwardlifiddlitrac' didn't tick the marketing boxes. And while hair-tearing and sweary-word-uttering featured throughout, it's clear that a great deal of thought has gone into the design of the kits, and I'm pleased with the result. I can't say I'm looking forward to trying my hand at PCB sleepers, but I won't know until I give it a go. And am I missing something? I've added droppers where I think appropriate: the milled crossing, both rails at the toe, both inside rails at the heel, and both switch blades, giving a total of 7. As the Easitrac chairs probably have a lower melting point than solder, I've done this during the various stages of construction, which meant the milled base was mounted on a 1mm plasticard sheet, which then had to be mounted on a short length of 4x2 with holes drilled to allow the droppers to dangle. How do other folk deal with this additional challenge?

For someone who doesn't like doing buildings, they're looking mighty fine, Jim. Richard

Have you been watching? Note to self: unplug the webcam after the FCAG Zoom call

Stumbled across this today (I love the internet!). BEhind the metal hoppers is the chimney from the weighbridge building. The winding house lurks in the mist far left. As I'm currently working on the track plan, it's fascinating to see that one of the roads has been lifted. I imagine that's how my first PCB sleeper attempt will look anyway, so now I've a prototype for it! I do wonder if it's worth showing sleepers at all, given just how much crud there is between the tracks.

Thanks, gentlemen. (On a side note, if I'd gone for a RMWeb pseudonym along Andy's lines, I'd have been 2mm Dick. Think I'll stick with Geordie Exile ) Richard

One day I will be able to answer others' questions rather than continually asking them. Until then... I'm staring at the eight pages (plus associated step-by-step photos) of the Easitrac turnout kit. There are references in both to this handy wee gadget: Namely, the etched plate assembly/soldering jig. It's probably really obvious, but I can't see it in Shop 1, and I don't have the skills, dimensions, materials or inclination to make one. No doubt someone will reply with "1-nnn" and I'll perform the statutory facepalm. Richard

Thanks Ian. I did this with the 21T hopper to good effect, but simply forgot with the Toad. (Forgot? Perhaps my subconscious was reminding me about all the bits that ended up in my fingers the last time I used it!) I'm also seriously considering an ultrasonic cleaner as I'm not great at removing extra flux etc in between sessions, and I've a lot more wagons to do before the rake becomes a fleet.

I've finally got a full train. Sort of. The J94 is an out-of-the-box Farish, so needs re-wheeling and a lot of detailing. At the other end is my latest kit, an association Toad E, awaiting its DGs and some weathering. It looks as though the brake vans were added at the exchange sidings as they don't appear in any pictures of the colliery system. And they're all sitting on 500mm of Easitrac. Progress feels glacial, but I don't have a deadline, so who cares? Edit: ooft, that close-up is cruel!!!

I'm about to knock up a(nother) pair of DGs, and I've not used blackener before. Should I blacken the individual elements before construction, or after? Is it better to brush it on, or dunk the elements in a wee blackener bath? Thanks in advance Richard