Mol_PMB

In an attempt to change the subject slightly, may I offer the Knutsford Road swingbridge? As seen here in the centre of this view: https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/EPW021587 This is a road swingbridge over the Manchester Ship Canal. The MSC railway ran along the canal bank, and at this location it ran under the tail end of the swingbridge. The bridge clearance above the rails was only a couple of feet so the bridge had to be swung for trains as well as for ships. The location was particularly unpopular with the lengthman responsible for maintaining the track on this section as it could only be properly inspected when a ship was passing. It gave an unusual opportunity of a train having a major 'bridge bash' although I don't believe this ever happened here. The canal and the swingbridge are still in use but the MSC railway is long gone. However, the curvaceous route of the railway crossing on the skew bridge in the middle distance is pencilled in for the 'Northern Powerhouse Rail' high speed line. Will it ever happen? That's a discussion for another thread too...

Ben, I still need to come and see your amazing layout! Not sure when I'm next heading that way but let's try and organise something. And if you're ever in the Manchester area come and give me a shout.

I'm really not sure what anyone can do that's worth that sort of money! The Prime Minister's salary is about £150,000 so how is running a moderate-sized ferry company worth 3 times as much as running a country of 67 million people? But perhaps we shouldn't stray into politics... Mol

The behind-the-scenes tour is well worth booking too, it gives you a different perspective on the challenges of making it all work and keeping it all working! And you get to see the zombies in the graveyard (which only those who have been on the behind-the-scenes tour will understand).

There was once a brass kit to provide a complete replacement chassis for the Lima 4F, which suited Slaters wheels and would be more likely compatible with Peco track. It takes some modelling skill to build but I think could provide a solution. I'm not sure if they are still available. Somewhere in my cupboard of shame I think I have one that I never got round to using. Mol .

That's the sort of thing that could turn up unexpectedly on @Darius43 's inspiring MTK build thread.

Some interesting wagons creeping into those photos too, especially the 6-wheel van which I cannot immediately identify. Possibly an LMS flavour to it - @Compound2632 will no doubt identify it if so? Always interesting to see coke hoppers too, there were several subtle variants. Many thanks Dave, keep up the excellent work!

It still seems reasonably common on the Manchester Ship Canal wharves, perhaps because it's an unusual place to visit. The daubings don't seem as arty as those at Horta, but if it is now forbidden then the crew of the Happy Falcon have helpfully provided a full list of suspects to the authorities! This is at Partington:

I have some of the GNR society wagon books. I'll have a look when I get home and see if they are useful for lettering sizes.

Do mariners the world over leave a memento of their visits on the quayside? It's not something you often get to see as a normal punter. This is a berth at Eastham on the Manchester Ship Canal - I think the former de-masting berth but I may be wrong. I particularly like the message from Tequila!

See-board at the start and Tea-board at the end perhaps? (commencement and termination of a TSR)

Classic Mersey tugs in Canning Dock: 1960s diesel tug 'Brocklebank' and 1903 steam tug/tender 'Daniel Adamson' (originally named 'Ralph Brocklebank'): Modern Mersey tugs at work in the channel, with tanker 'Nordic Breeze' inbound for Tranmere. 'Svitzer Trident' at the bow, 'Svitzer Amazonas' by the bridge, and the newest tug on the Mersey 'Svitzer Elizabeth' out of sight as stern tug. 'Svitzer Trident's regular master was moonlighting as captain of the veteran steam tug 'Daniel Adamson' from which this photo was taken. He took us for a quick detour en route to Manchester to have a nose at what his other tug was up to!

It's the future: net zero railtours. A load of colourful diesels on the front doing nothing more than provide highly-amplified DCC sound effects, and an electric loco subtly pushing from the back.

I would have thought that the Institution of Mechanical Engineers could have done better than this, which is surely AI-generated. https://events.imeche.org/ViewEvent?e=7674 Let's not forget that the IMechE was founded in 1847 with George Stephenson as its first president, and incorporated the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in 1969.

Hank Marvin = Starving ? Marvin the Paranoid Android?

Good question, so I’ve just weighed it. 2.3kg at present. It will increase when more details, track etc are added.

Only one engineer was daft enough to build a swing aqueduct! In the background here: The nearer swingbridge carries several bus routes, should you prefer a bus on a bridge. CEG Orbit distinguished itself soon afterwards by trying to sail to Belfast through the Isle of Man. Fortunately it ended up beached rather than wrecked on rocks. Here’s the might of the Royal Navy at the same location at Barton Swing Aqueduct:

Everything costs more these days. I don't think it's a bad price for a full day out - cheaper than a main line steam railtour. The MSC is particularly expensive for them to sail on because they have to pay the pilot fees and for the locks and swingbridges to be worked. That's one of the main reasons the Danny normally operates on the Weaver - they can offer a more attractive fare and still cover costs. But the hard-core MSC nerds like me will pay the extra for it!

Thanks Steve! After agonising for years about how to make the bridge, it turned out to be quite easy in the end. A bit of design and CAD work with advice from friends about tolerances, upload the drawings and within 5 days the parts were delivered. The cost was about £250 including delivery and VAT, so not cheap but not nearly as bad as it might have been. To that I'll need to add the cost of bribing a friend with TIG welding skills to stick it together. The viaduct is a key part of the layout: by far the biggest structure on the Broc branch, it's the first thing you see as you walk through the door, and it's at eye level, so it needs to be good for that 'wow' moment. The real thing has 3 spans and I only have room for one, but even so it's 3'6" long and quite dominant. Cheers, Mol

I am continuing to cut up logs, but something more exciting happened this afternoon. My laser-cutting order arrived, 18 parts cut from 1.5mm 316 stainless steel. 17 of the pieces fit together to make the big viaduct span. I could have done with the assistance of a pet octopus but I got all the bits interlocked together eventually! This is a dry assembly upside-down: I wrapped some parcel tape around it to hold it together and then took a few photos of it in situ: The next stage is for it to go to Boston Lodge for welding - there are 52 TIG welds needed on the top and bottom faces only. There will be a lot more detail added eventually, but for now I'm very pleased that the parts fitted together well and the span captures the appearance of the prototype whilst being quite strong. I had one more part laser-cut at the same time, a tracklaying template to set an accurate 1 metre radius. This will help me lay the curves accurately and avoid tight spots:

I'm pretty sure they're smaller than 870mm. Turbostars etc are 840mm new, and I think these are smaller than that. Let me ask Northern maintenance control and see if he knows.

Talking of 'Old Skool', on Sunday I'll be taking a trip from Liverpool to Manchester on the Daniel Adamson, 121 years old. I think there are still a few places available: https://thedanny.digitickets.co.uk/event/19521565 Here's a photo of the Danny's trip to Manchester last year: And in more regular territory on the River Weaver:

This link for the very similar 195s may be useful. It contains some outline drawings and gives bogie wheelbase as 2.25m https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj4m6relPGFAxXcZkEAHcKQCKwQFnoECEcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.prgloo.com%2Fmedia%2Fdownload%2F10c154dc2f474e71b25d0844cc7b56c5&usg=AOvVaw0bsXkgDa2eFlrkZsC9g0be&opi=89978449 Despite having done a lot of work on the yaw damper bracket issues on these in a previous job, I'm afraid I no longer have access to the technical data and I can't remember the wheel diameter range.

I was very pleased to see this prickly character snuffling around my garden this morning, gathering nesting material:

The MSC had three classes of small 0-6-0 side tank. 13 to 22 were built by Hunslet; represented by 16 and 22 in the photos in my previous post. 23 to 51 (excluding 25, 26, 34i, 36) were built by Hudswell Clarke to a very similar specification to the Hunslets, but with a rather cleaner appearance (e.g. no raised rivets); represented by 35 in the photos in my previous post. 52 to 71, 76 and 79 were more Hudswell Clarkes, almost identical mechanically but with longer tanks; represented by 68 in the photos in my previous post. Very similar locos were also built for other industrial users, although the MSC had the majority. One Hunslet and four Hudswell Clarkes (two of each type) survive in preservation. The gaps in the number sequence were other loco types including various saddle tanks, and the much larger Kitson side tanks. Rapido Andy has a soft spot for the Hudswell Clarkes. But don't go twisting his arm just yet - he's on holiday! Mol