rope runner

Hi All, A bit more on some prototype background around calcining now, and appropriate rolling stock. Calcining is the process whereby iron ore is burnt with coal slack to drive off moisture, this readies the ore for more efficient transport and further processing. By burning the iron ore with coal slack the iron in the ore is converted from the "ferrous" state to the "ferric" state. The burning drives off moisture and also releases an appreciable amount of carbon dioxide. Recently quarried iron ore is wet and relatively "sticky" material versus other aggregates. Dependent on the moisture content this adds a considerable weigh to the material, important if you are charged "by the ton" once the ore is on BR metals on the way to the steelworks! Calcining was performed in Kilns, bays and clamps. The differences between these methods are covered more in-depth online if anyone wants to read further. The practice was phased out fairly rapidly owing to a continual rise in coal prices in the 1960's. The above is of significant interest to industrial railway operations as calcining was often done on the same quarry system and the quarries material, the wet ore being moved around by internal user wagons of varying types. Not shown below, but for interest - the calcined ore takes on a purple hue, the exact colour would depend on the local geology. Ship canal side tipping wagons Among the earliest standard industrial internal user wagons is the humble "ship canal" tipper. There were a variety of different designs with detail differences, though most were of the same general principles of an oak body with iron reinforcing straps/plates, with the wagon frames typically being made from elm. Bearings were plain and certainly the typical design featured no kind of springing. Lubrication of these wagons was a curious affair, the bearings periodically receiving a daub of animal fat, applied from a quarry worker from below. This was known as "fatting the wagons" - as noted by Eric Tonks in his series of superb books. A rake of ship canal wagons out of use at Pilton Quarries in Rutland in July 1956. By this time the wagons were out of use and stored in a loop. Also visible on the right hand side is the Ruston excavator which had previously been employed to load these wagons... A clearer (but not much!) photograph rescued from the Ruston Bucyrus offices. This was Ruston and Hornsby 30 ton steam shovel works no.640 which was delivered new to Pilton in December 1920. It was cut up on site in 1960. The model A sizable rake of these small wagons are required for the layout to operate in a prototypical way, coming across the junction and reversed up the line toward the off-scene calcine banks. This will require some locomotives fitted with dumb buffers, such as Hawthorn Leslie "JUPITER" as shown on a previous page of this thread. The models are from a mix of sources, thus giving a bit of prototypical variation and detail differences. There are four from the superb RT Models contractors wagon kits and four further which are a mix of scratch built parts and the discontinued Chilton Ironworks kits. The RT kits are a doddle. The Chilton kits used the same chassis as their colliery chauldron wagons, but these looked a bit too weedy to my eyes and so I've adapted them as shown below. The four "bitsa" ship canal wagons. A mix of scratch built frames and bodies to give a little more modelling interest. The complete rake of 8 wagons. Couplings are Roxey 7mm hooks on chain, fitted to one end only. They couple by the hook latching over a piece of wire between the frames and the hook will happily couple to the standard drawhook of a loco. Enthusiasts may note these wagons are fairly similar to the 3 foot gauge examples used at Kettering Furnaces and Scaldwell, certainly they operated on the same principle. More soon. Paul A.

I'm afraid you're thinking in rtr tramlines here - in most loco kits there is plenty of room and placement/access can be considerations during construction. Paul A.

A serious brute of a Hawthorn Leslie, as is often remarked at Tanfield. The curved profile of the cab roof looks like a challenge but you have good results. There was a loco of the same class at Irchester Quarries HL3892/36, the worksplate of which found its way to Mike Sharman's staircase in Cambridgeshire - attached with big lumps of blu tack! Paul A.

While this "smoke" kit is not of interest to me personally it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the smoke kit to appear on the market as a standalone product. I'd suggest TTS and Rapdio might want to consider going all-in on the technology now in both pre-fitted and after-market forms, before someone reverse engineers it. Paul A.

Hi All, It has been a while since I updated this thread. It's time to get back on track... The James Pain Ltd. Peckett loco BUCCLEUCH is now finished. The front of the tank has been modified to represent an earlier member of the class by using an etched overlay from my own artwork and then filling and sanding the join. The cab rear was also modified as the loco had the spectacles removed and replaced with wooden stretchers to hold the glass - the glass being absent from all the photos I've found. Markits turned brass whistle added too, as the Hornby plastic one is flimsy and liable to get snagged. I also etched my own nameplates for the model as the plate style of the prototype was not available from the likes of Narrow Planet, Ambis etc. They've come out quite well - for me these small details are key to capturing the character of the original loco. Differences in Peckett plate styles are noted below: Example of a Peckett plate with serif lettering. Nameplate originally fitted new to 0-6-0 Peckett 1981/40 at the Oxfordshire Ironstone Company. Plate later transferred to 0-4-0 Avonside 1822/19 when it was decided that all six-coupled locos at Wroxton should carry boys names and four-coupled would be girls. Finally, this nameplate was moved to Sentinel 10165 when the system was dieselised - the loco later moving to Harlaxton Quarries in South Lincolnshire and removed when the quarry closed. Quite a history! Example of Peckett plate with sans-serif lettering. Introduced from around 1906. This example is from a 3ft gauge loco at Scaldwell ironstone pits. Plate is brass...not that you would know it... I have a few irons in the fire and other projects ticking along simultaneously. The next updates will include some internal user quarry wagons, gauntlet track weighbridge and a big 0-6-0ST RSH. Paul A.

A nice shot of my father on the footplate here - thanks for posting. Paul A.

I'm not sure, quite possibly. He's certainly on eBay as this is where I originally sold him the kit! Paul A.

Thanks Andy, It's not me building it thankfully... and if it were I could probably make do without instructions, very much a rough guide only. Kits like this weren't so much "good for their time" as "the only option" if you wanted some models Paul A.

Many thanks for the advice regarding Sharman wheels. The ones here look recently manufactured, so fingers crossed! Paul A.

Hi All, As per the thread title I'm after a set of instructions for a Jidenco Armstrong goods 0-6-0 tender loco in 4mm. This is to allow an acquaintance to complete a part built kit, so hopefully someone can assist - if indeed Jidenco supplied this kit with any paperwork... Many thanks Paul A.

Hi Baz, Are there issues with Sharman wheels? I've just acquired some from the remaining stocks at Phoenix precision paints, are there shortcomings/pitfalls I should be wary of? Many thanks Paul A.

Superb news, I'll have to get a few of the unfitted early diagram 1/163. They should make a nice mixed rake with the Charles Roberts type already covered by Farish. Paul A.

You'd probably need to post a photograph to confirm but from your description it sounds like a Kingdom Kits example. Paul A.

The Paul Berntsen MW wheels are worth looking for if you can pick some up second hand. They're designed for spilt axles but have the correct number of spokes and are notably finer than any alternatives. Photo attached with some Sharman MW wheels. Paul A.

Ah yes, that was one of the ex-Corby RSH locos which was spuriously named in preservation. The original loco was unnamed and is of note in having been built to what is essentially a Manning Wardle design. A bit more to the above, I've checked the notes accompanying the negative and it was taken on 2nd July 1960, the loco being scrapped in the same month four years later. Paul A.

Phew, I've just zipped through and added all the photographs back in after the RMweb crash... added a few more prototype shots to old posts too. Here's another prototype shot in lieu of any modelling to show off at the moment. This is "Pen Green", Hudswell Clarke 607 of 1903, ordered by the Lloyds Ironstone company for their new Pen Green Quarries at Corby. This loco has the historic note of being the first six-coupled standard gauge loco delivered new to the ironstone industry in Northamptonshire. The loco was eventually absorbed into the steelworks fleet at Corby, being too small to be of practical use in the S&L minerals division in later years. The photograph shows her in the early 1960s, much modified from original form. More soon Paul A.

Yes, it is prototypical... I was able to pass on some colour photographs of this loco to Rapido. Paul A.

Nevertheless, it is encouraging to hear that the kit development is still moving forward. Paul A.

Good question. Do post if you find out - I've put the deposit down but will seek it's return if it's not a goer. Paul A.

I'd also spotted that in the GWRA auction, glad it went to an appreciative home... I do hope you'll be leaving the plate as-is and not attempting any restoration? Paul A.

Those etches look superb. Paul A.

Correct - top marks. Yes the water softening tube would have been fitted at Harlaxton similar to their 15'' Barclay and HE50550 types. For a short time the loco also carried a white headcode disc above the tank which was an unusual feature for an industrial...I'm not sure if I will include that as it may look a bit too odd. Still, I'm hoping this Peckett will make a nice pair with one of the forthcoming Rapido Nassington Hunslet locos. Paul A.

Since you asked nicely Corbs, here's one from t'other side. And here's the next one in the queue, a B2 class Peckett. Open to guesses on the identity of this one from any industrial aficionados... it shouldn't be too hard given the general theme and trend... This model has had a moderately involved renovation to the front end to depict an earlier member of the class, more on this in 2022 after paining is completed. Paul A.

Manning Wardle 1317 of 1895 No.35 (formerly “Rhiwnant”) Originally ordered new by the Birmingham Corporation Waterworks for their expansive Elan Valley reservoir project and appropriate named “Rhiwnant”, this loco and sister MW1316/85 “Calettwr” came second hand to Lloyds Ironstone Co. in 1912. Uncharacteristically for Manning Wardle locos they did not feature raised fireboxes, though most other details were typical of the makers. Both were obtained chiefly to displace smaller 0-4-0 types which were unsuitable for increasingly longer trip working which was being asked of the locomotives at Corby. Much modified during working life, the loco lost her original name as was simply numbered 35 within the S&L series. The addition of full-height buffer beams to accept buckeye couplings for working dump cars is worthy of note. From the early 1950’s the locomotive was displaced from routine quarry work by the arrival of the larger 18’’ RSH 56 class and was relegated working PW trains. In the late 1960’s it was preserved, moving first to the fledgling Foxfield Railway. I've plenty of colour photographs of this loco, but can't post for copyright reasons. A fair photograph of her can be found at the bottom of this page: https://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/2/ironstone_tramways.htm edit - I do have one in my collection after all, shared below The model The model came about via an email exchange with another RMweb member who had part-built the loco in 7mm. See here: Jim’s CADs were passed to a Mike Edge who ran a few sets off in Nickel Silver as a first shot test etch. I’ve added a few parts from my own artwork to supplement these. All of the boiler fittings, backhead details, lubricator etc all came from the bits box. The model is fitted with a High Level gearbox and scale working buckeyes from Sergent Engineering. In the fullness of time the model will hopefully operate with the forthcoming RTmodels dump cars... Photograph below shows the model posed with my other completed S&L minerals locos. There's two more waiting in the wings, hopefully the subject of a future update. The injector pipework and actuating arms were a bit of a bodge on the real thing, hopefully captured here without looking like too much of an afterthought. The arm above the injector controlled a small valve which dropped water in front of the leading and trailing wheel sets - this was in an effort to ease progress round tight quarry trackwork. That’s all for now Paul A.

Gold star Robert, nobody else has spotted that yet! The simple answer is that I'd already completed the loco before your detailing kit was announced. I decided I could make use of the spill plates but the rest went in the bits box. Paul A.