6990WitherslackHall

They would have probably stalled. If i was doing that, i would definitely have the banker. I'm not too sure if trains without the banker managed to get up there (they would have probably done) but it's better to play it safe than risk it.

I was fascinated by an article in the May 2020 Model Rail Magazine (No.273). It showed Peter Marriot building a model of Locomotion to display a couple of OO models based on the NRM's locomotive collection. The layout was 81cm by 40cm (about 2ft 6in by 15in) and had 10 tracks. 7 for the museum itself, one for the Locomotion running line and two for a representation of the Bishop Auckland branch. For the Museum's front, he had used a photograph printed on A2 paper and removed the sky and foreground. It was only a display layout but it still looked fantastic.

I guess that was a nightmare for drivers and firemen.

I watched the Fort William to Malliag one, I loved the programme but, at first, i thought that it would be a documentary like Flying Scotsman: On the Footplate, where the driver/fireman gives us a commentary about what they do. it did get a bit boring at times but the scene when the train was going over Glenfinnan Viaduct was brilliant.

That is actually a good idea. It did used to have a standard gauge line running through it. (It was the terminus of the Alston Line which ran from the junction at Haltwhistle) Now it has a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railway running through it that operates as the South Tynedale Railway. As a layout, if it was set in BR Steam days, You can get locomotives, DMUs and rolling stock which are both ready to run and kits in O, OO and N gauge which can easily be renumbered and renamed. If you wanted to do it as it is now, (S.T.R), it is do-able, but i'm not too sure about how you would represent the locomotive and rolling stock.

Pickering pics.docx I have made a word document with pics of the station to help me. i have also made another one with signs located in the station. i am making the trackplan on TRAX with the help of google maps. I need to get the position of the shed right.

such as W1 No. 10000 "hush hush" probably something the A1SLT would recreate.

Do you mean this monstrosity?

True. I'm not exactly too sure on it's top speed but I know that it ran on lines permitted to Merchant Navys. And it was limited to run at 50mph.

Forgot to mention that bit. Bulleid was brilliant and there are a few of his locomotive classes that he designed preserved today.

The layout is going to be in OO gauge (1:76). I have made a word document which is saved on a memory stick which contains pics of the station and signage. I am also going to use Google Maps to try and get the position of the track right.

Speaking of turbines, what about a turbomotive?

The Leader class basically was a disaster. Nothing like this has ever been built before. Numbered 36001-36005, it had been designed by Oliver Bulleid (who made the Q1 0-6-0 and the WC, B of B and MN 4-6-2 classes) it weighed 130 1\2 tons rather than the proposed 110 t ons. The driver and fireman were separated from each other in cabs at each end of the locomotive. The fireman's compartment was where temperatures 50 degrees Celsius were recorded. Consequently, trial runs had the No.2 end leading because the cab was not too hot. Also, the 0-6-6-0T was too high for the water column which led to a copper chute and a leather bag having to be carried on the locomotive so it could use them. When the project was scrapped, 36002 was only days away from steaming, 36003 was largely complete and 36004 and 36005 were basically frames and a boiler temporarily mounted on a rolling chassis. These were all scrapped.

It's a shame she's going. I'm glad I managed to get a ride behind her when I did.

£94 a week? when you think bout it it is not that much...