rope runner

Bloomin' eck! The dump car is looking excellent (and the rest of course) Paul A.

Yes, I've been beaten to that by my father... diorama at Rocks by Rail below: Also attached for interest is a nice photo of the van being shifted from Gretton Brook workshops at Corby. It occurs to me that the lorry is likely of as much interest to fellow modelers as the load... More soon Paul A.

Hi All, Briefly moving on to another topic now: internal user wagons, more specifically those for PW duties. In common with many of the larger industrial railways, the biggest quarry systems had dedicated internal user stock for the essential tasks of trackwork maintenance and repair. As might be expected, the largest collection of internal user PW wagons (knows as "platelayers" wagons) were at Corby quarries where the S&L Minerals mines system of some 60 miles was maintained year-round. Typically, these platelayers trains operated on weekends and bank holidays, so as to limit impact on production. Stock was a mixture of types at Corby but essentially was composed of cut down wooden mineral wagons for shifting trackwork materials and old vans retired from mainline use. These vans had makeshift windows added and sometimes a chimney added for a stove too. Personnel-carrying stock had safety chains added alongside the draw gear and the platelayers trains ran unfitted right through until 1980. Mines Platelayers No.3 Rescued from Corby in the early 80s and now preserved at Rocks By Rail (Cottesmore) is this diagram 218 Shocvan. The wagon has recently been thoroughly restored, though awaits re-application of the white S&L lettering. The eagle eyed will immediately notice that the frames are not original and are indeed from a 16ton mineral wagon. It is presumed that the body and chassis were paired up at Corby some time during the 1960/70s. Shocvan "Mines Platelayers No.3" running on a 16 ton mineral wagon chassis. Readily identifiable as an industrial railways vehicle from the homebrewed windows and archaic safety chains. Note also kit van "K2" behind, which is a modified Ministry of Munitions iron ore hopper wagon(!). Again, this is preserved from the Corby quarries system. In an effort to replicate a short platelayers train from the Corby it was a fairly quick and easy task to portray in model form. The shocvan body is from Red Panda and is paired with a 16 ton mineral chassis from Parkside. The windows were a doddle as I etched them for neatness. Mines Platelayers No.3 posed here with MW1762/10. It is doubtful though that they would have been seen working together, given the era the Shocvan would likely have been sold off by BR. Accompanying the van are some wooden-framed mineral wagon chassis for shifting general trackwork materials. There seemed to be a large number of these at Corby and it is likely that they were retired by S&L (losing their no doubt life expired upper planking) immediately post-war. More shortly Paul A.

Enjoying the thread Simon - just one note and FYI - that prototype loco looks very much like the larger design with 16'' cylinders offered by HL (and later RS&H). Paul

Hi Mark, I think I may have seen it, I've certainly got a colour photo of the loco at Buckminster and the composition looks like a Cooper shot. It does help that a good quantity of colour shots by Ken of the Ironstone lines have found their way onto ebay in the last few years (these being duly copied for modelling reference, of course). Paul A.

Judicious application of greenery, bringing it to life a little more. A small pile of scrap/rubbish will be added in front of the makeshift retaining wall. The floor for the shed has also gone in. More soon Paul A.

Hi All, Some scenic work on the layout now. The premise of this section below is a dirt road leading down from a road junction (off scene) which comes out just to the side of the loco shed. This is used as road access to the yard for quarry company employees and road vehicles/plant which require servicing at the (fairly basic) workshop facilities. Here is the landform with scratch built fencing added. Fence posts are from plastic strip from ebay (shipped from China). The plastic strip is not a consistent width and is pretty cheap and nasty shape but is plenty good enough for this. The row closest to the camera is to simulate wooden posts with buried rail every few meters for tensioning the wires. The rear fencing is round topped concrete fencing, heights measured from the real thing. Wires are omitted in both instances as I prefer this look to gluing on wire, which will ultimately be too heavy. As it is towards the back of the layout it's quite effective in my view. Road surfaces are tile grout with MIG powders added for colour. Also to be noted are the stacks of concrete sleepers used as a makeshift retaining wall. This is based on those seen used for a similar purpose on the Woolsthorpe system. The sleepers are of Ministry of Supply pattern (as supplied to many quarries during the second world war due to a shortage of wood) and were 3D printed by a friend. More soon Paul A.

Your coupling rods are incorrect for a 50550, they should have the bearings secured with a gib and cotter. Might be worth an email to Trevor at Mercian, I know he does the correct type with his 4mm kit so should do them in 7mm too. Paul A.

Right you are Dave, led astray by another post elsewhere Paul A.

No it's a Fowler diesel mechanical 4220038/66 Paul A.

I'm afraid I tot it up rather differently while still using high spec components - £195 loco & tender Gibson wheels & appropriate cranks £35 Tender wheels (Gibson) £ 18 HL Roadrunner+ £18 Mashima Can motor or equivalent £25 Paul A.

I think that £400 is a bit strong. Inclusive of wheels, gearbox and motor I think It'd be sub £300 - and you've got the bonus of working inside motion....and dare I even suggest the enjoyment of building it yourself. Paul A.

CAD looking fantastic. Nice rendering of the backhead injectors and the lubricator plumbing is a nice touch too. Paul A.

It's a mechanical lubricator arm. Ruston's were fervently attached to such things, even if by the late 50's these type of fittings were considered old hat. Paul A.

I'm afraid I have to disagree there David. The supply problems most manufacturers are facing (and have been facing for some time) and the sheer strength of the second hand N market in the last 3 years - my thoughts are that this is actually putting people off the scale. Compare and contrast with 2009-2012. Paul A.

That can be explained thusly: they're the most numerous preserved steam loco of a single design and by a long chalk. They're mechanically very simple, robust and capable of a decent turn of speed unlike many industrial locos. They may not be everyone's cup of tea but at the end of the day if you're looking to shuffle around 4-6 MK1's over a few miles they are absolutely fine. They're also cheap to run vs. other locos of the same power output. The preconception some people make about this class is presuming that as it's industrial it must be a shunting loco. This is incorrect and in truth they were primarily designed with trip working in mind. Paul A.

Certainly not while in industry, that accolade (standard gauge, in the UK at least) would belong to Black Hawthorn 266 of 1873 "Holwell No.3". Paul A.

Hi All, Another loco post, this time a modified RTR product. Peckett P1549 of 1919 "Betty" Built by Peckett's of Bristol to the B2 design, P1549 was delivered new to The Bloxham and Whiston Ironstone Co. Ltd. in 1919 as a replacement for an Avonside loco. Bloxham had taken delivery of another Peckett the previous the year in the form of P1456 of 1918 "Margôt". The pair worked at Bloxham until 1929 when the quarries closed. In 1931 the loco moved to the Islip Ironworks where she was rebuilt with standard buffers with 16'' heads and new sandbox push rods. At some time the lubricator arrangement was also altered. At the end of 1952 the loco moved again to Buckminster Quarries in South Lincolnshire as a replacement for an aging veteran Kitson loco (K1836 of 1872). At Buckminster a common job for P1549 was positioning wagons under the crusher at Thistleton (just over the border, in Rutland). She was sidelined in the early 1960's due to industry shrinkage and was cut up in February 1964. The model is is based on her typical late 50's condition and is complete with the modifications received while at Islip. Paul A.

My question was about "loading gauge" - a pretty critical consideration for layouts with platforms, bridges, tunnels etc. They are significantly wider and taller than a Mk1, are they not? Paul A.

These choices are very niche, even within the niche world of industrial locomotives and operations. Have you done any research prior to this announcement to determine market demand for a 12-axle Torpedo wagon? As it is at CAD stage I have to ask - one presumes that these are outside UK-loading gauge and will need design compromises to the bogies to negotiate typical set track curves and points? I have no agenda here , but these are questions which immediately spring to mind and I would want to hear much more on. Paul A.

A very worthy cause indeed. I've build a 4mm scale model of this loco. Some additional historic details and the build are covered over on this thread in the Standard Gauge Industrial Railways area of the forum. Modified press release posted over on the thread too, thanks Ian. Paul A.

Hi All, Some fantastic news regarding the future of Avonside 1972 of 1927 - please see press release below Help us to keep historic ironstone quarry locomotive in Rutland Standard gauge steam locomotive named “STAMFORD” currently resides, on loan, within the exhibition centre at Rocks by Rail – the Living Ironstone Museum based near Cottesmore in Rutland. This locomotive was built by the Avonside Engine Co. in Bristol in 1927 and spent all of its working life at the Staveley Minerals Ironstone Quarry railway at Pilton, Rutland. Furthermore, it is the only unrestored 0-6-0 steam locomotive from a Rutland ironstone quarry. The locomotive’s owners, the Bluebell Railway PLC, have now agreed to transfer ownership of the locomotive to the Museum so that it can remain in Rutland, not far from the ironstone quarry in which it was once in daily use. The Museum is now raising funds to purchase the locomotive with a view to rapid reassembly and conservation of this historic locomotive as an educational museum exhibit. How you can support The Museum would welcome any assistance and donations in the furtherance of this project. Any donations by way of cheques should marked on rear “Stamford Loco Appeal” and be made out to Rutland Railway Museum and sent to: Mr A Salmon, RbR Treasurer, 4 Main Street, Stanford on Soar, Loughborough LE12 5PY For donors willing to donate as Gift Aid there is an RbR Gift Aid Form which is available via email from the Curator email: Curator (at) rocks-by-rail.org For donors wanting to make their gift by bank transfer please contact the Treasurer for these details on email andysam (at) stayfree.co.uk Rocks by Rail - The Living Ironstone Museum, Cottesmore Iron Ore Mines Sidings, Ashwell Road, Cottesmore, Rutland LE15 7FF Tel: 01572 868415 Rocks by Rail is the trading name of Rutland Railway Museum - Registered Charity No 1115462 Thanks all Paul A.

Okay, but where are the quality photographs of this EP for further comment if that is the case? The video footage of the EP was linked by a forum member, not published directly to RMweb by KR. I wonder if there is something to that... There may be no such thing as "bad publicity" but gaffes and missteps do impact brand perception in the eyes of the consumer. Paul A.

Not too much interesting to report. Some more paint has been slapped around on the baseboard and three shades of coloured grout have been acquired to form the road and yard surface. I'll be working off prototype photos and mixing different relative quantities together for different areas etc. The shed has acquired a roof and is awaiting application of the side cladding. A few have commented that it seems a shame to clad it - but it needs to be fully completed if it is to represent a shed in use. The "newer" portion to the front should be self-evident due to the change in roof profile and window arrangement. Paul A.

This is seen on a number of Peckett works photographs around the same time period and was likely a style they occasionally turned out. Let's be clear here - the works photograph of 882 depicts the loco in its working clothes and it is the same colour as the rest of the works shots from the era. The locos wear a leaf green livery, it's not really open to debate. The frames of some have been painted grey or red to aid photography for a classic "catalogue" shot. Paul A.