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jessy1692

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  1. jessy1692
    Apologies for lack of updates iv been doing a bit of decorating for a mate so thats taken up pretty much all my spare time over the last month or so.
    Anyway 13 003 last time i left it was painted so slowly but surely transfers were added including thh wasp stripes, slapped a bit of weathering on and then blasted everything over with humbrol satin which i think leaves a lovely sheen.
     
    Next i ordered an 08 sound chip from Charlie at DC kits and a couple of sugar cube speakers but then i found a a bigger speaker so put one in the master unit, now it was very loud but something didnt seem right with the engine noise it just didnt sound right to me, i tried a few things moving speakers around etc but i couldnt get it to sound correct to me. I dont doubt that Biffo's sounds are the best around, nearly all my other locos are Biffs sounds but for some reason i dont like the 08 but thats just me so itl be off for re blow as a 40 or 26 i think, iv been searching around at other 08 units on the internet and i cant work out which would be best as i think the problem is in videos its bad microphones picking up small speakers so i cant decide to try another sound project or not. I think ill keep my ear out at exhibitions and see if i can pick one
     
    so i spent most of the day de chipping so its just silent & DC only now. Its through wired so its 12 wheel pick up and it runs like a dream and will creep along at a snails pace.
     
    Heres a few pics of the completed 13 kncking around the shed yard, i was playing with my camera on the phone as well so iv added a couple more in of the super deltic for a bit of a change. Any comments/questions just fire away, id be interested to hear from anyone with 08 sound units and to see what they think.






    The 'pipe work' between the unites is the wire for the pick ups, i think it looks pretty good doubling up as air pipes.
     


     
     
    And i found a panorama setting as well

    Thank for looking
    All the best
    James
  2. jessy1692
    Evening all, in between all this football iv managed to get a bit of modelling done.
     
    The class 13 is slowly coming along, since the last update iv got some small details added but the biggest job left to do was change the doors from wooden to steel panelled looking ones.
     
    After a bit of a think i came up with a plan, first job was cutting some plasticard to fill up the recessed panal, easy enough and then milliput the gaps.


    To create the curved corners of the steel panalled doors, i filed away the top of the doors from the bottom of the window, enough so that i could glue some plasticard over to keep things flush. Once all had set i cut out the window & filed the corners round. Gives a prety good impression i think.


    Once i was happy with the corners i filed out a recess at the bottom to give an inpression of the lower door handles.
    After that it was a quick tidy up and a wash and out came masking tape & the primer, all was going well so out came the rail blue.



    Second coat went on tonight on the bodies, so most of tonight was getting the chassis painted and tidied up.

    Cheers for looking
    James
  3. jessy1692
    Evening all, so following on from last time, I have cracked on a bit and got Spencer back into one piece. The cab roof i made time was consigned to the bin and another one made that was square, every concievable space hase been filled with liquid lead, expecially the tanks to try address the balance issue and i even managed to get a bit of paint on it! The chassis is a lot better than it was although it does make a lot of noise campared to the farish 08 powered pecket & drewery diesel, any one know any alternatives/plug in replacements for minitrix motors?





     
     
    Here he/she? is in photgraphic grey or primer if you like, parked up next to the Pecket camparing size, doesnt the Pecket look huge for a 2ft guage loco? This was just after the first round of filling and attaching of vairous bits of pipe such at the lubricators on the smokebox and the odd boiler mounted sandbox operation rod (the dome thing nearest the cab is a sand box aparantly) Now according to the plans i have in the Harrogate Gas Works book and the 2 pictures i have, the dome is a little under size and the taks are slightly too short and the front frames arnt as long as they should be so it gives the impression of being higher than it should be, the chimney and cab hight is just about spot on so maybe one day i may get round to changing the dome but i think its looking ok so far. The original Spencer had its safety valves moved to the front of the dome so i recreated this by making a very small bracket for the slightly shortened langly castings to be stuck to. Once painted, i 'borrowed' a whistle from a Hornby pannier tank and mounted it sideways behind the safety but horizontal, looks odd but distintive as per the prototype.
     
    (St Paddy & 50 006 shouldnt be in the coal drop sidings, there just parked up whilst i was cleaning the dcc circuit, so if you can imagine a couple of 21t hoppers instead!)
     
    After a couple of checks and to see if it still runs, thankfully it did but its only highlighted where the 009 track has become warped, especially the points so whilst contemplating how best to rip the tack up I brushed on a couple of coats of lovely Humbrol black


     
    Last night i had a bit of a detailing session and created some head lights akin to the ones that it out shopped with from Hunslet in 1921 after the cut down rebuild, other bits picked out in copper and a bit of red splashed on teh bufferbeams. Off to Doncaster at the weekend so hopefully may find some Spencer name plates from some one (247 might be best bet) and a nice spray fo satin varnish is a must whenever the weather decides to behave!



    Nice to see 3 of the Gas works locos altogether now, just waiting RT models to release a kit for Barber, hopefully itl be this year when the real Barber gets back up and running with teh Pecket, cant believe out of 4 locos for a relatively unkown little line 2 are still in existance and hopefully working this year!
    I still need to figure out what couplings to use, latter the Gas Works used Bucke eyes so i may investigate Kadees for the job, but yet to make up my mind.
     
    As you can maybe see the track is slightly askew and makes the Drewery look like its falling over so this will be coming up shortly and the baseboard squeared back up and the track re laid, i think when it was ballasted it warped whatever we pinned the track to, not sure what it is for the 009 but i dont think its up to the job, its been down for years but the little trains have no where to go, so now iv got 3 of the 4 gas works locos (hint hint rt models!) a proper run will be shortly created.
     
    Think thats it for now, cheers for looking in. Been an intersting little project over the last few weeks, just wish the minitrix chassis wasnt quite as crude as it is but hey ho, iv got a Spencer now!
    Cheers
    James
  4. jessy1692
    Well well well, after finding a bit of time to do some modelling for once i have just about got something nearly finished!
    A long while back, i had a spare lima 50 and deltic and set about hacking them up to create a 'super deltic' as outlined in the the 'deltic locomotives of british rail' book. It started pretty well but as time is always at a premium, playing trains has taken over from building trains. Anyway, for this entry i thought id go back to the start with some pics of how the build went.
     
    It all started when i started to look at possibilities with lima deltics, one day i just chopped the roof off a lima deltic with an idea to fit it onto a redundant 50.
     
    Looking at the profile it was a half decent match so the cutting discs started to appear to attack the 50 and a very smashed up western for some extra grilles e.t.c
     
    Having the line drawing in the book helped to get things roughly in the right area but as its a made up it didnt really matter too much

     
    The 50 grilles were cut and rotated 90 degrees to go length ways and a couple of grilles were chopped off a western for some variety so after some frenzied chopping and gluing this was the pile of scrap left.

     
    The next and most time consuming stage was the filling and blending in of the mish mash of body parts now glued together, i forget how long it took but it was a while before i was any where near happy with the bodyside, but looking back on it over the past year or so perhaps a bit longer could have been spent to get it that bit more flat but hey ho, sometimes i think lifes a bit too short, especially on a mishmash 'might have been'

    It was about then that this little project stalled, for reasons i cant remember it sat on the shelf waiting and waiting......
    Last summer it was brought down again and given a coat of blue to see how it looked, reasonable enough but still the inspiration wouldnt come. By January it was still there and just by chance i found some DAve Alexander class 37 white metal bogie over lays, Hmm looking at the bogies i thought this could give it the impetus to get things going again with this.
     
    The lima sideframes were cut back and the white metal ones firmly glued on in place, the wheelbase is all wrong but you can barely see the wheels so it looks ok to me, also at theis point i chopped off the 50 tanks & boxes on the chassis and added the cut down deltic tanks, it was begging to take shape again. A couple of weeks back i sent off for a few craftsman bit and found the class 50 detailing pack including the bogie steps, once thes arrived the 'Thing' as it has become known has progressed nicely.

     
    So, pretty much 2 years in the making, just about ready to number it i realise im dangerously low on transfers so a quick order to Fox for some plates and numbers for another project duly arrived, (excellent service as always from them, couldnt reccomend them enough.) A trip to my dads tonight some me crack out the transfers eager to crack on, then it hit me, what number should it be? After a bit of a think and a read up i took a punt at D700, i thought it would be a bit different to letter it without the D prefix and add in the early data panels just like the 50s. So as of tonight, nearly 3 years in the making im please to unveil the one and probably only super deltic in existance!.
     
    It was supposed to have 2 super charged deltic 18 engines creating something like 4600 hp! Apparantly it was very close to being built with BR asking for quotes for 50 & 100 in 67/68 so just imaging what the east coast could have had.
     
    Anyway heres some shots of it tonight after putting it back together and giving it a run, next job it to give it some varnish but that will have to wait for better weather, whatever that is these days!
     
    Its a great feeling to see something that was in your head for so long come into existense, and i couldnt resist blue tacking a spare kestrel plate i found on the side! Its by now means an accurate representation of a proposed disign but to me it looks the part and i hope it looks ok to who ever will read this and if it encourages any one to have a go at something id love to some other might have beens appear, after all, they are our railways and well build and run what we like!
     
    Thanks for looking in, please excuse any spelling/gramar mistakes, its geting late so i spose i best get some sleep.
    Hopefully some more moddeling time will be comming soon so ill try clear the decks and see whats next on the production line.
    All the best
    James
  5. jessy1692
    Tell you what this years has absolutely flown, mainly because the missus & our 4 soon to be 5 year old little lad have moved up to Harrogate. Modelling time at the moment is vertually non existant except to run trains around the layout up at my dads and trying to ignore the growing pile of 'broken things' (arnt little people brilliant at helping things fall apart!)
     
    Anyway, as its his birthday on the 23rd and xmas only 2days behind that, i hatched a plan to build him his own railway that would go on the dining room table, after a bit of planning and a false start sourcing some wood, i bit the bullet & went to B&Q. Only realising i had 6 weeks from start to finish! The idea is to keep it as a surprise & so far its working, he has no idea what im building and have taken advantage of his absence this weekend to work on it in the house as opposed to freezing my backside off in the garage, Anyway heres some pics of the progress so far, its not much but for a 5 year old i think hell be bouncing off the walls when he sees it at xmas!
     
    So it all started one Sunday with a trip to B&Q, there was 20% off sheet wood so 2 sheets of 6x2 6mm ply was purcased with a pack of strip wood. I didnt really have a plan as such so i just started cutting wood & went with the flow but it came together pretty well. The little 1 thinks im building some kind of door!

     
    So all i basically did was knock up a frame with the strip wood, some of which more than resembled a banana, and then screwed & glued the play to to the top, nothing earth shatteringly complex. The main idea to make it as easy to lift & move about as feasable. The 2 boards are clamped together with some roofing bolts & wing nuts through an extra baton, simple & effective.

     
    Once i got the 2 made up after a week of working in sub zero temparatures it was time sort the track plan & figure out how much track & points were needed. The track plan is a folded figure of 8 which to me gives lots of potential to 'watch the trains go by' and also will be simple enough for a 5 year old (hopefully) So the track was ordered from Hattons and duly turned for the second week of the build. Work & the weather got in the way so track laying was pretty slow to begin with
    .
    Id stockpiled a load of superquick kits from the Leeds Grammar exhibition to make up for the layout so on a night after the little had gone to bed a superquick production line started up
    id forgotten just how much i enjoyed buidling them up & actually are pretty good value for money i reckon as well and a nice excuse for a laphroig!
     
    Now i had the buildings made up the shed roads & the platform roads were put in on the boards & the track sprayed in railmatch dark rust, that was friday so with the missus off to see her mum for the weekend it was nice to be able to bring the layout in for a bit of a play

    After wiring it up properly & devising a way to connect both boards with some 9v battery clips from the wakefield show, ballasting began in earnest. After what seemed lime an interminable amount of time the ballast was on & the glue applied it was now time to watch a bit of motd and watch it dry.
     
    Over night the glue had nearly dried, a few areas were still a bit squidgy so today it was time to gte some greenery on. as im on a bit of a budget & deadline i bought a grass mat from teh Wakefield show last week. Iv never used 1 before but im quite pleased with the results iv got, only quible is its a bit bright but hey ho 5 year olds wont be that picky....surely?
    Heres a pic of how the layout looks now, 2 weekends to go but theres still a lot to do but i think its come along pretty well in such a short time, very nice to see a train trundling round this aft. Just waiting for the missus to let me know when shes coming home & its demoted to the garage again, just hope the glue will dry clear as its a bit cold out there!
    Cant wait to see his face when he comes down to see this sat on the table when we get back after christmas at the in laws, doubt ill get a play though!
    Cheers for looking, might have some more update hoefully by the end of the week
    James
  6. jessy1692
    Since my old man has decided to go on his jollies for a week, iv been press ganged into feeding his two EM2 themed moggies. I havnt seen them for a couple of days so lord knows where they have got to. but with him being out of the way it has left me with a lovely empty house for me to have some peace and quiet to crack on with a few of me old stalled project and also the latest deltic.
     
    Progress has been slow with the Deltic, a weekend pencilled in to crack on was scrubbed out for a 'couple' of afternon drinks round York which ended up being a weekend in York with a very worrying incident involving a hen do from Redcar, least said about that the better....... anyway heres where im at at the mo, this ones shaping up to be Pinza circa 1978, pre man of kent tour, no sandbox covers but still with domino headcodes.


     
    New handrails are in, and the bulk of the lovely shawplan etchings are in/on the body, most of the wok tonight was getting the fan grilles in and after much swearing and superglued fingers there in (on?) Lovely ectches but being so fine its a juggling act as to how much glue you dare to use i just hope theyl stick on long enought to get some primer on.

     
    The windscreen surrounds are finally on and again they are such an improvement, the bonet top doors are on now as well. I reprofiled the bonnet top by eye, looks fine for now just hope a coat of primer doesnt show anything up if iv gone too far or not enough but im happy so far......

     
    Kick plates and lifting point covers are on as well, looking pretty smart as well in their stainless glory seems a shame to paint over them now. I added a small hook into the recess's which you can just make out, a little over scale but once painted and weathered in theyl be fine and just noticable as a little extra detail.
     
    Still plenty to do, lamp irons & headcode brackets are next to go on then i might give her a coat and see whats what but im happy with the job so far.
     
    Iv started hacking up the chassis chopping, opening up the gap between the tanks to give the impression the tanks are held on by the body. The improvement is worth the effort, even if it is a bit laborious and dangerous when the scalpel slips...

    Loads still to do on the chassis, plenty more drilling and slicing before any pipework will be added, also the etched bufferbem will be installed once alot of the 'manhandling' is out the way. The gaping hole i hacked out will be to fit a bass reflex speaker when i get saved up for sound chip and will be tidied up later.
     
    Thats pretty much it for Pinza, but having a bit of time on my hands iv revisited a couple of cut & shuts that have been gathering dust for a while.
    Firstly i finally got the super deltic 50 cabs stripped and the windscreens sorted, the body was in a right old state being a patchwork of 50 grills and scrap western grills as well, i think i did a blog a while back and literally havnt touched it since so out came the sand paper again for a good rub down, a quick rinse and another coat of primer and i think its starting to look how i imagined it could be:


    Its only a bit of fun but im quite pleased with how its shaping up, new hand need adding and more sanding filling but itl look the part in work stained blue (fingers crossed)

     
    And finally for tonight, heres a couple of pics of my green 'super hymek' to go with the maroon and blue ones, great way to use up triang hymeks and lima deltic chassis! this ones been loitering on a shelf for nigh on a year so it should be on the rails by the weekend as soon as i finish the yellow ends and get some transfers on, oh and iv still got to add the names i bought for all 3 so a naming ceremony is in the offing at Bilton TMD this weekend all being well.

     
    Thanks for looking any comments always appreciated, just realised its a bit long as well, so thanks if youve stuck with my wittering tonight, time for a kip.
    Cheers
    James
  7. jessy1692
    Not much has been happening in the last few weeks on my modelling front, work seems to have taken over again, anyway after a cold but very enjoyable day at the East Lancs yesterday i seem to have re captured my enthusiasm to start hacking things about again so heres the latest project.
     
    I bought a very tatty Bachmann Nimbus off Ebay months ago after id got St PAddy almost sorted with the plan to 'shawplan' another deltic. Nimbus was looking a bit worse for where with alot of orangy brown 'weathering' daubed on, after a quick model strip a couple of weeks back heres what i had to work with


     
    Theres still a bit of muck here and there but its scrubbed up better than i thought it would, first of all i removed all the windows, plastic handrails, lamp irons, buffers and fan grilles to leave the shell, no easy feat as they had been glued in with something that feels indistructable!

     
    Anyway after tidied up a bit i and removing the excess glue that was on the front and the stubbs of the handrails i started filing down the bonnet tops,these will be replaced with the excellent shawplan etches i bought at Doncaster a few weeks ago. When i did St Paddy I did a bit of re profiling of the bonnet top and curves, to me the Bachmann bosy isnt quite right here so i just kept sanding and filing until i was happy, Jon 020 also did a bit of work here but i think it was a bit more scientific than mine so ill have to revist his blogs.


     
    After a bit of flattening i gave up pending a bit more research before i go too far, next task on the list filing the moulded kick plates below the doors, carving off as much as i dared i finished off with with a file and then some fine sand paper.
    After sanding down i reached for the mini drill and started chain drilling to open out the foot holes for the kick plates and then started on the body side grilles. Im not sure if it was a rubbish drill bit or not but as i went around the body the plastic seemed to blunt it the bit pretty quick and heated up the chuck so now it feels as if my thumb prints are burnt off!


    Finally i opened out all the holes and also opened out the boiler & exhaust ports and removed the moulded lips ready for the etched replacements. Thats about all for tonight, hopefully in the next couple of days ill gain some momentum and start building up the shawplan bodyside grilles i got a Doncaster, they arnt cheap but they really do make a difference
     
    So heres hows shes looking as i packed up for the night, a bit folorn and looking a bit like something at the back of the doncaster scrap line, but hopefully itl be looking a bit better soon.

    Thanks for looking, any thoughts please give me a shout and hopefully ill have more progress this week.
    Cheers
    James
  8. jessy1692

    St Paddy Power!

    By jessy1692,

    Right then, after what feels like eternity iv got some progress to report! Having spent a very enjoyable saturday at the east lancs i thought its about time to push on and tackle the glazing on 9001 as i was getting sick of looking at it on the shelf. Since the last up date iv weathered it a bit to look a bit wok stained and used, based on a pic in 70s spotting days on the eastern region sometime in 73, im really happy with how it turned out so far, oh and iv put the headcodes and glazed them with acetate with the up & down Yorkshire pullman codes for 73/74 (would have been rude not to living in Harraogate i spose and me Dad told me to!)

     
    The original cab glazing was pretty well ruined when i got it out (someone had used some horrible glue to stick it at some point) so i have been racking me brain to come up with something that would be flush and had the right curve, many attempts with pop bottles and acetate sheets came and went, i nearly gave up until tonight.........

    Not the clearest pic but my great idea for tonight was to cut up one of them clear bags that 'bits' come in (shawplan nameplates in this case) Glue it to the back of the frames with crystal clear and leave to dry and then trim..simple!
    Was a bit sceptical, so after getting rid of Sunday nights quite frankly horrible attempts at crystal clearing the windows i gave it a go.

    Im quite happy with the results, much easier than cutting and curving acetate to try and fit behind the frames and the best part is is nearly limitless and free!
     

    So I did the other end and all the body side windows and fixed on the excellent name & worksplates all in about an hour tonight, i havnt yet sorted the other side out, something went a bit iffy with the varnish, probabbly because i sprayed it last week in the dark when it was so damp outside.....lesson learned. So that should be sorted at the weekend.
    I did cheat a bit and crystal cleared the windscreens which were still drying as i took the pics, but i think they will look fine.

     
     
    The chassis has been sound chipped and fitted with a bass reflex speaker (well worth it!) and has been sat under the Black Watch for some time howling around waiting for me to sort Paddy out and re unite the two, so tonight i married the two up and took some pics, i sent it for a spin and managed to ping off a brake lever as there a bit tight and need to be adjusted but now its together im really pleased at what iv achieved, theres still a few bits to add on but overall i think im on the home stretch like Jon. Its been a really good project so far, im even thinking about doing another! Any heres some pics from tonight, some taken on my new 'Deltic shed' area anyway time for a kip...
    Cheers
    James





  9. jessy1692
    After a hellish couple of weeks wthone thing or another, i decided it was time i got stuck in had a good old moddeling weekend. Someh iv managed to build a vickers valiant in just 2 days and what a good looking plane it is too! but also iv cracked on with my super detailed (Jon 200 inspired) deltic thats been on the go for a while now. Progress kind of ground to a halt trying to get the weather to finish off the painting but now all has come good, iv muckied up the roof a bit and tidied up the nose ends a bit and tonight i just thought sod it ill gte the transfers slapped on before the nameplates hope fully turn up this week.
     
    It feels really good to get something done again, so much so iv now even embarked upon making a new re fuling point in the liitle u]sed 'engineers' yard iv gt in the next room just for Paddy, ill gte some pics up soon hoefully. In the mean time ill ust stick up the shots i took tonght of my efforts at fiddly numbering.

    I realised i didnt have any domioes for the head code panels so i decided it to back date it to 1973 or so and then cursed myself as remembered is have to do 4 sets of numbering, gluton for punshment!

     
    If this 'heat wave' turns up this ill get a coat of vanich on her and then get the window frames stuck on, cant wait its really comming together now!
     
    The chassis and sound unit (wonderful noise!) is pretty much ready to go under, its currenty howling around the layout with the Black Watch body on it whilst i tinker with its chassis and tanks to match this one a bit better, such simple tricks like drilling out the tanks and lowering the bogie towers make such a difference.
     
    Also iv got another load of filler on the super deltic project so once i get filing and scraping away ill get an update done on that.
    Its been a good weekend taking my mind off stuff at work, hopefully when i get there tommorow ill still have a job but in the mean time i think its another sleepless night worrying about whats going on at work..
    Any coments/sugestions much apreciated as always
    All the best
    James
  10. jessy1692
    Evening folks,
    Following on from my last entry, iv spent the couple of nights using up vast quantities of filler to patch up the missing body work on the Super Deltic Heres how it was looking on Tues night, i decided to get out the drills and saws and put the new windows in which have been hacked out of the deltic,

    The horrible Khaki green stuff is milliput whcih this project seems to be devouringat a tremendous rate.
     
    leaving it overnight to harden off fully i commenced with the smooting and filing and smoothing and filing and the sanding and scraping, trying not to destroy the cantrails and window frames is the hardest part, anyway after much cursing and sneezing from the dust i decided it was time to give it a rinse and chuck some primer on to see how much still needs to be fettled.
     
    Spraying in the dark and the wind probably wasnt the best idea and with the sadium orange light from the street lamps it was looking rather good but on bringing it back in a fair bit more work looks to be required.

     

     
    i always find it fascinating how primer shows up the all the bumps and scrapes when your sure youv got it as smooth as glass, but still i spose its progress, just a few more days sanding and filling and it should be on the way From a distance its starting to look a bit more like a 'proper' loco and not just a 50 with a deltic roof stuck on top (i think so anyway or it may just be the liquid poly fumes getting to me!)

     
    Either way i spose its just a bit of fun and it clears out the the 'might come in useful one day' box of smashed up bodies a bit!

     
    Hopefully if all goes to plan one day it might end up something along the lines of this:
    http://www.fictitiousliveries.co.uk/photo.php?51029_BRB.jpg
    fingers crossed anyway!
     
    Anyway best leave it at that for tonight, got to order a sound unit for my deltic before the missus arrives back on friday so its time to go cripple the bank account again!
     
    All the best
    James
  11. jessy1692

    Super Deltic project

    By jessy1692,

    Right then, after a couple of weeks away off modelling and and with missus gone back for a while ive embarked on something new.
    My deltic is slowly progressing through the paint shop, so at a bit of a loose and and filled with ideas from a EE drawing of a 'super deltic' i had a look around to see what i could do. Reading the notes, it was to have 2 turbo charged deltic 18 engines rated at 2300 hp each and with an overall (estimated) weight of 117 tons it would have been an extremely poweful machine. according to the book BR actually looked at ordering some i think around 1967 but nothing ever came from it, possibly the HST lobby won through...
     
    Anyway it looks to be a class 50 body shell with a deltic roof cooling group on the top, so remembering i had a very knakered lima 50 body and a scrap spare lima deltic i did a bit of measuring and it looked possible to merge the 2 so out came the drills and saws:

     
    With the roof sections of the deltic and 50 chopped out i had to think how to create the 2 bodyside grills as per the drawing, coudnt think of anything to hand that looked right until i looked at the 50 radiator bodyside grills and thoughts of cutting them out and mounting the horizontally aproximately where the diagram showed, so i bit the bullet and whipped out the drill and cutting discs.


     
    Suddenly, after the speculative cutting and filling it was starting to take shape and as the cutting and gluing progressed i found myself thinking instead of it being just a rough chop glue and then scrap it excersise for something to do it was actaully becoming quite a pleasing new might have been/never was loco project. Knowing it was a bit of 'make it up as you go' sort of project i stated thinking of possibilites for the the other grills, another raid on the scrap body box found a battered wester which fited the bill for some extra grills so, the cutting disc came out again:

     
    the grills were roughly (very!) hacked out and slightly squared up, i found the best way to get the into the body was to measure up the body and the grills and find a centre line and work from there, basically to keep it as simple as possible and using the old 'if i looks right it is right' mentality just drew around the cut out grills and the chopped out the hole in the 50 body and gluing in, thankfully the body thikness of the western and 50 arnt too dissimilar so a flush finish is easyish to get.

     
    After only a couple of nights doctoring it was starting to take shape. i should have stripped the 50 1st but with a lack of modelstrip and getting a bit carried away with the chopping itl have to wait. Lots of filling will be required i know but i feel its coming together pretty well, the roof still needs some work so its loose stil,l but i reckon itl be quite a handsome beast.
    Would love to know if anybody else has done one or has thought of doing one, as im sure alot of people will have a copy 'the deltic locomotives of british rail' by Brian Webb ( one of the drawings just creeping in at the botom of the pic above) so id be surprised if no ones attempted moddelling one of the drawings towards the end.
     
    Anyway thats all for now, so if anybody on here has any thoughts/suggestions or modelled one themselves drop us a reply, id love to see what other models are out there.
    Thanks
    James
  12. jessy1692
    Evenin all, thought id start up a blog thingy of the bits and peices im working on so here goes:
     
    Main project at the mo is the super detailed deltic im working on, I always thought i should have a go at detailing one up properly and after reading Jon 020's posts and chatting with Mr Hanson at Burton on Trent i bit the bullet and forked out for the superb extreme etches ( minus the cantrail grilles, not brave enough for them yet!)

    I was going to take pics as i went but i kind of got carried away and ploughed on so the pics attached are of the stage i was at over weekend As you can see the roof fan grilles are a massive improvent, extremely fine and delicate really tested my patience getting them and not blathering them with glue!

    It started out life as a battered KOYLI off ebay, but with the etches geting added in its really starting to llok the part, i melted the sandbox fillers in by gently heating with a soldering iron, bit trickey but i think it really sets them in well and with a bit of sanding sit brilliantly flush especially on the nose ends. the new grilles are a huge improvement from the moulded ones, careful folding and glueing really pay off and the way they go together to for he 'unit' is most impressive. The latest 50 is perched above (part of the pair from ebay i got for 45 quid or so!), just finished it off as 50 028 if any ones interested.


    Some of the work on the nose ends so far, looks a bit tatty here but its still on going, ironing out the dents and scrapes etc, the nose doors and windscreen etches really add the 'face', i cant wait to get the stainless steel frames added after painting and the dominoes in to the box. the lifting point covers have seem to stand out a bit too much, i may rebate them in abit but it may be more work than its worth.
     
    Well thats about all the pics iv got so far, been working on the tanks and drawbar pipe work tonight so ill get some pics sorted for that at somepoint, Im going to finish her off a 001 St Paddy as its me old mans favourite, so as and when i can ill be purchasing a sound unit and bass speaker for it so if any one has any thought about which chip to pick give us a shout, i know its such a subjective decision but any thoughts are most welcome.
    Hope it all makes sense, and as i go forward ill pop some better pic's/ details in future updates, hope it all makes sense as well!
     
    And thanks Jon for planting the blog idea in my head, looks like iv found something else to distract from my modelling time!
     
    Any comments/ suggestions/critisims let me know its all useful
     
    All the best
    James
  13. jessy1692
    Ive been meaning to keep up to date with what ive been up to since i finished the 13 all the way back in August and obviouly have failed to either get anything done or when i have put it on here so i thought id stick a few pics up of whats been going since.
     
    So during and after the class 13 bash id set to and started to rebuild the tunnel mouth for the Gas Works coal 009, the original was a bit poor and not up to what im capable of now so i stripped it all back and set to guessing measurements from the Harrogate Gas Works book for the wall heights. At least the book has a good pic of the tunnel mouth and also measurements & diagrams for the actual tunnel bore.


    I did a few sketches & doodles and then drew out what looked right in 4mm scale on an old school book i keep lying around (quite funny looking back at the half a**ed attempts at economics homework!) I cut out the paper template and checked for size, trimmed back the grass and all seemed to sit pretty well. Out came the plasticard & thin ply and built it up. All looked pretty good so after lots of checking with teh 009 stock for clearence out came the paint. After that i reballasted teh the track and built up the rocky out crop in polystyrene which was coverend in polyfiller or somesuch and weathered up with plenty of greens & black to make it look like damp exposed millstone grit sandstone that we have up here. THen it was just a case of sticking the tufts of grass down to blend in with the original scenery and putting. Lastly i decided to have a bash at tree making, i have a 'forest in a box' i got years ago so i streched out some woodlands scenincs green & some orange 'foiliage' and had a play about, pretty please with the results so the plan is to get some more trees sorted this year, im going for a late september look so plenty of colours for these leaves....




     
    Iv also been fettling up another deltic with shawplan bits, progress is slow buts its coming on ok, name plates in stock already so its 9004 with dominoes i think, best check the books again just in case. Just need the ETH holder on teh front and a couple more bit from shawplan and its about ready for paint, if it ever warms up thats is...




     
    Finally iv also been tinkering with a warship over the past few months, it was bought very cheaply after what looks like a fall with one cab end all smashed in, i transpalted a cab off a mainline one but the Bachmann chassis must ahve taken a knock as well and is somewhat twisted and im guessing as a result of the fall the mazak chassis is failing. Much bodging has been done and the chassis is now re inforced with plasticard and the just about straight, the body isnt too far off and i think its come up pretty well as 866 Zebra, Iv always like the hydraulics so i got a western as an xmas present, a quick re number from 1073 to 1017 before the new year (i had a set of plates on an old Hornby model) and a set of shawplan grilles before a few coats of grime and much and im pretty pleased with the results, all its waiting for now is my 08 sound chip to be re blown by Legomanbiffo! Roll on payday, i fancy a Hymek........




     
    Cheers for looking
    James
  14. jessy1692
    Evening, just a little update on progress on the 13 for tonight. Would have been further on but i spent Sunday over at the KWVR for their diesel gala, very enjoyable day and reasonablt priced ale on the trains!
     
    Anyway, last nights work was building some replacement steps at teh front and r/h cab, pretty straight forward job with some styrene and liquid poly, reslly helps to make it look like an 08/13 again now they is something there again. They arnt perfect but im hoping once they are painted theyll disapear into the chassis a bit more.
    Before

    After


     
    After that, its was adding various handrails, simple enough but teh knobs i used were slightly too big i think they were off a an ancient airfix castle. They do the job and look ok and after some tidying up and painting im sure theyll be fine.
     
    Next up was the big buffer beams, these went on last thing last night so tonights job was adding the buffer and the buffer back plates




    Buffers on next, just needed to open hout the holes slightly, the buffers were salvaged from the 2 left on, iv cobbleed some for the rear of the slave from bits so hopfully not too noticeable that they dont match once its all done.
     
    Last job tonight was fitting the hand rails up to the back platform, all was going well until the drill bit got stuck in the white metal bulkhead. I tried getting it out everyway i could think but the inevitable happened and it snappled...... tried re driling but it was a no go so the rails on one side are slightly further inboard than id like but hey ho!
     
    Also i have added in the hand brake and the cabinet to the platform in the last couple of days, plenty more research to be done now on the various cables etc but i think progress is pretty good.



     
    Definately getting there now, RT models look to have sent the buffer beams and the exhauster box for the master unit today so expect some more progress soon, dare i say paint shops over the weekend? Now watch it chuck it down!
     
    Cheers for looking
    James
  15. jessy1692
    Evening all, thanks to a couple of very fortunate ebay purchases earlier this week i have just taken the plunge and started creating my very own class 13.
     
    Im aiming for 13 003 in blue when its finished, but at the moment there is a lot of work to do on the slave unit before i get to the spray cans out

     
    So this is what iv started with, a model of 3256, not in the best on nick but useable for the slave unit. I did some research and it soon dawned on me that the 13's all had smooth body side doors, after a bit of thinking out can the files and i removed the strapping, took a while but i think ill gte away with it.

     
    The filiing and sanding took up a fair bit of time, but im pretty happy how it went, a blast of pimer is needed though to check. Next job was to file back the end of the bonnet section to fit the end plate from the RT Models pack

     
    After that you have to unscrew the decoder socet and the metal block over the gear tower to file it back to clear the end plate


     
    After i filed the protrusions down i offered up the plate and checked all was well.

     
    I fount the top of the gear tower was preventing the cast white metla bulkhead from sitting flush with the plate so out came the dremel to take some material from the back of it. The red paint in the pic above on the gear tower was used to check id removed enough material from the back of the bulkhead, basically keep offering it up until no paint appears on the back of the casting.

     
    Once it all fitted together i removed about 1mm from the bottom of the bulkhead so it sat about right with corners of the plate and glued it all up.

     
    Next job was gluing the floor plate in and then folded up the back plate after punching the rivets through, next was gluing a bead of wire round the top, there is a strip included with the kit but i knackered mine by dropping it on the floor and bending it whilst i looked for it (stuck in my sock!)
     
    Whilst all that was setting, i turned my attention the chassis, it runs like a dream but has had a hard life, its missing the front left sandbox and also both front steps and r/h cab steps. These are the main things iv found missing also a buffer from each end but nothing that cant be bodged and fabricated.
     
    Last thing tonight was fitting a new sandbox, after a bit of thinking i rememberd i hav an ancient old kitmaster 08 sat waiting for snow plough to be added so i borrowed the sand box from there, not ideal but it does the job.

     
    Thats about it for now, ill be back at it tomorrow and hopefully get the staps sorted and the big buffer beams on, also the pile of bits in the back ground is the makings of class 42 Warship, was bought with a badly damaged body some time ago but ran well, a cab transplant from an old mainline warship was done a while back and is now going through the paint shops to become Zebra eventually

     
    Cheers for looking
    James
  16. jessy1692
    Finally the sun has appeared today and thankfully iv got a week off so out came the rattle can of satin and Spencer got a blow over to get it ready for naming.
     
    I ordered the plates specially from Narrow Planet, great service and the plates are fantastic, really impressed.
     
    So tonights job now the varnish had hardened was to get the plates on and finish Spencer off.







     
    Very interesting project, if i had to do it again id defiantely look into a better chassis but the mashima motor was easy enough to put in, and a bit of running in im sure itl be fine. So thats 3 out of the Harrogate Gas Works locos, roll on summer when Barber returns from over haul and RT Models kit will hopefully be released. Just need Narrow Plante to get their hopper kits sorted and that will be me sorted! I never thought id the Harrogate Gas Works locos modelled, let alone own them myself so im grateful to all involved who have produced the kits and prvided advice along the way.
     
    As Spencer has been runbling on, i have been adjusting the trackwork in the 009 yard and now the track actually continues through the tunnel mounth! except i demolished the tunnel mouth because i was really sick of my original effort from 10 years ago. Armed with the gas works book and a ruler i, set about drafting up a plan for a new tunnel mouth, was quite easy working from a pic and scaling it up, its not exact but it looks a dam site better. Iv trimmed the hill back slightly, its still not ideal coming straight out onto a point but it will have to do, heres a few pics of the process. Also i still need to get round to re ballasting the track after straigtening it back up after some board movement over the years.
     
    The new tunnel is made from plasticard and thin ply i had knocking around, pretty pleased with it so far, just need to get it bedded in to the scenery but first job is to re lay the track onto the hidden sidings in 009 rather than some scrappy old n guage we used as a 'practice'

     
    As you can see it was a very tight tunnel, its just about to scale but eased out slightly, you might just be able to make out the 'escape hatch' at the back of spencer's cab above the bunker, all the gas works loco's had these just in case they failed in the tunnel, wouldnt like to hae tried mind!
     
    And finally another bit of varnishing finished off my 09, it was a model zone limited edition me dad got years back when he worked there, i test ran it straight from the box and one of the extended axles sheared off after an hour or so! Was not happy that night, my dad says he remembers a few of the limited edition 09's came back to the shop with the same thing so any one know if it was a bad batch? Any way it was a long time back so after i calmed doenn i bought a new set of drivers and con rods from ebay and now seems well touch wood.

    Just pipes to add and its job done.
     
    I know i cant really justify it in N Yorkshire but it looks better in BR blue than that horrible mainline scheme it was in.
     
    Been a busy week off and its been good to get a couple of bits finished, and clear the desk, next up could be a 13 if i can get a cheapish Hornby 08 hmmm really useful in North Yorkshire!
    Cheers for looking
    James
  17. jessy1692
    Evening all,
    Since the last update on Spencer i havnt done mush with it, the trackwork for my 009 wa a bit dodgy so i have been slowly sorting that out and also building up some bargain parkside kits for the 00, so Spencer has been sat around for a while waiting for a break in the wether for a coat of satin varnish and somewhere to run.
     
    Now, as payday was last week and a bit of overtime time came through, i decided to take BernardTPM's advice from my last entry and get intouch with Branchlines for a new motor, the Minitrix motor frankly was a bit poor and Spencer was no where near as good as the new farish 08 powered Pecket & Drewery so i bit the bullet and emailed them last week for advice.
     
    I ended up with a Mashima 9/16, 90degree mounting plate and a 6/12 1.5 mm bore fly wheel. I ordered the bits last Friday and arrived this Monday, so all credit to Branchline for excellent service. Now i have never attempted owt like this before so on monday i dived in to see what was what, stripping off the 70's (?) Minitrix rubbish was the easy bit so a lot of tea was drunk whilst i figured out how to get the new motor mounted and working.
     
    After a while iI figured out it was do able so cracked on, the Mashima shaft is 1.5mm where as the original minitrix one was 1mm. I got the worm off by heating on the hob and giving it a pull, and thankfully it came off without damage to me of the worm. I carefully reamed it out to get it to 1.5mm bore and thankfully got it straight so it sat on the mashima shaft well.
     
    Next, i dismantled/destroyed the minitrix motor and extracted the original bearings, and bored them out to 1.5mm which allowed me to mount the new motor pretty much extactly how the original minitrix motor was. Disaster struck when one of the 2 sprung steel mounting clips snapped leaving me with the motor free to move at one end. So monday night ended on a bit of downer and no pics!
     
    Tuesday came round and id hatched a plan whilst pro crastinating at work, i had some sprung brass strip so repaired the spring clip by soldering it over the top of the clip and bending at right angles so that the i could solder the snapped leg of the clipon the inside to render it usable again.
     
    All systems were go and i was quite inpressed i could get the motor mounted and the worm to mesh so i fixed the flywheel on the back and mounted the mounting plate, packed out the chassis underneath the motor with a bit of plasticard and went for a test.
     
    All was well on the workbench with power applied but on the track it was dire, so tonights job was to sort the rubbish pick ups out, and mount the motor so it runs the right way.....
     
    All was well, but now i couldt get teh chassis under the body as the Mashima motor is wider than the minitrix one, so out came the dremmell........
    Minitrix

    Mashima



     
    Id filled the inside of the tanks with liquid lead so as you can imagine, it was a bit of job to open the body out but thanks to a nasty looking dremell tool i managed to get enough away to get the chassis to sit and not short.


    Thankfully i didnt go through the tanks of firebox top and destroy my fingers and on the first test all was well and iv had Spencer trundling up and down the sidings with great success. Very pleased with a couple of nights work to get a very good running loco and just a bit relieved that i managed it!
     
    Next job is to get some satin varnish on and to get the plates i ordered from narrow planet on the cab & tank sides and i can it done! Couldnt reccomend Narrow Planet more, great service and the plates look great, will be back for more im sure, ill get pics up once we get some warm, suny weather up here in grey dull Yorkshire!
     
    Cheers for looking
    James
  18. jessy1692
    Right then, so going from where i left it last time with the valve gear mounted the next step was to get the wheels & cogs back in and get the whole thing running smoothly. Easier said than done, it took best part of an evenings work to get the wheels lined up to get the coupleing rods on and the chassis running smoothly, the problem was getting the wheels at such an angle that when they were dropped into the axle slots that the they would revolve around the idler gears so the the crank pins would line up. Anyway after much to ing & fro ing i got it sorted and the motor reconected and wired it up for a test run, thankfully all was well and touch wood still is


    With the chassis put safely to one side it was now time to start on the body, i followed the instructions on for the main body components pretty much as they came except for leaving off and detailing bits as i knew id knock them off as there was a lot of mods to be done. The gas works line had a very limited loading guage so first job was to chop the cab sides down so out came the saw & files



    This was the easy and i was feeling pretty pleased with myself, all i needed to do now was re profile the spectacle plate and i was laughing....
    That didnt last long as when i got some plans scaled down i realised it wasnt just re profiled but it was a whole new cab that had been put on when it was rebuilt by Hunslet, que a bit of head scratching a few cups of tea until i came up with an idea

    I didnt fancy drawing the curve myself so i chopped the the plans up and stuck the cab profile onto some plasticard and cut round it very carefully. It was all going a bit too well so i cut the cab spectacle holes out and was rather pleased. Next was making the roof so i pre rolled some thin plasticard to roughly the right profile and cracked out the liquid poly

    After trimming down i thought id give it a test fit, then i realised id messed up pretty badly, for some reason id measured the distance from the back of the bunker to the front of the cab so the damn thing was 6mm too long, and as id done it to scale with the plans, it was nearly 2mm too wide!
    Golden rule measure twice, cut once or measure as many times as you can but make sure you measure from the right points!!!
     
    So after a bit LOT of cursin, i managed to get on spectacle plate off and cut off the extra 6mm but then was left wondering how to slim it down, only was i could thing of was by cutting it down the middle and filing the 2 halves to get rid of the 1.5mm extra. It took time but i got there and last night glued it back together and let it harden over night.
     
    So tonights job was to cut the cab openings into the new roof, i checked it was all ok from last night and smootherd over the joins which will require a little filler but look ok at the mo. Now i didnt fancy drawing the outline of the cab opening on as drawing on a curved surface is a nightmare so i choped upn the plans again. I cut out the top of the cab on the plan and then cut out the opening to leave me with a paper template of the opening which i taped on and followed with a pencil, the results i thought were pretty good so after careful checking and straighting up out came the scalpel.

    I carfeully followed the lines scoring away till the openings literally fell out, after a bit of filing it was begining to look something like. Now for the spectacles themselves, i did try chopping off the rims off the original spectacle plate but this ended in disaster as i couldnt get them cut withought bending and endangering my fingers

    So i coilde up some thickish copper wire round a scredriver and made my own. After gluing them round the window holes i filed them down to flatten them out. It seems to have done the trick but its a apin to keep them on especially filing out the window holes when they are attached, they soon come off and disapear into the black hole on the floor....
    Next job was to lop off the top of the chimney, Hunslet literally did the same when it converted, i drilled it out a little and glued it into the smikebox.
    So as of tonight heres what Spencer is looking like, its getting there but theres still a lot to go. Next job is to check it runs ok, so tomorrow there coudl be a bit of cursing as i think it might start shorting......but for another day....



    Cheers for looking
    James
  19. jessy1692
    So here we go new year and another new project. I have been wanting to crack on with my 009 version of Bilton coal drops for a while after building the RT Models Harrogate Gas Works Pecket & Drewerey so whilst im patiently waiting for RT's release of the Barber kit i got tempted at Wakefield show to visit LAngley and purchase one of their war office hunslet kits to bash around, thanks in no small part after chatting to the owner of the excellent Purbeck layout and chatting to him about his version of spencer and how he built his.
     
    Anyway, a little back ground, the Harrogate Gas Works line was a 2ft guage line running from the Leeds Northern main line (Harrogate -Ripon) where there were coal drops at Bilton junction, the line then ran through open countryside round the north side of Harrogate to the corporations gas works at New Park. The line was known locally as the Barber LIne, so named after the 1st loco Barber, named after the managing director of the gas works. It opened in 1908 and was quite successful, so much so that another loco was needed by 1920. After the ww1 there was a surplus of narrow guage engines that never made it to the front.
     
    WD 1340 was purchased from store and was rebuilt by its makers Hunslet in leeds to 2ft guage and also had its cab and boiler fitting cut down to fit in the very restricted loading guage to fit through the tunnel into the gas works, on arrival it was named spencer after one of the gas works directors. From the outset Spencer wasnt very successful, it wasnt as powerful as Barber resulting in a deviation of the line to lessen a gradient just so it could haul a train without slipping. Spencer eventually became a little more successful after it was found it would steam best on briquette coal, as came about when normal supplies of steam coal were scarce due to the general strike.
     
    Spencer settled down to a faily steady life as Barber's stand by and worked on the line until 1943 when the peckett arrived and was finally cut up in 1946 so ive read, heres a link to the only known phot of spencer in steam:
    http://www.warofficehunslet.org.uk/ukphots/WD1340Harrogate.jpg
     
    As you can seen the cab is heavily cut down from standard and also the chimney is smaller than standard as well.
    There is a good picture in a book about the line of an advert from Hunslet in the Railway Magazine in 1920, showing Spencer fresh from conversion looking very handsome to go to Harrogate. Obvioulsy they were trying to drum up some business to get rid of a few more suplus locos!
     
    So thats the history lesson over, now heres where the knives & saws appear........
     
    First of all i needed a minitrix 2-6-2 chassis said the instruction, now i wasnt paying what they were going for on that well known auction site just to chop it up so i took a gamble and went against the instruction and got a 2-6-0 for just under 30 quid which i thought wasnt too bad, so before i started the kit i stripped the chassis down gave it a good clean and made sure it was ok before i started messing with it. The main difference with the chassis is that the valve gear needs to be moved from driving the centre wheel sets to the front wheels, no mean feat for me who has very little in the way experience bashing steam engines about......

     
    So it began with it stripped down and the useful bits stored, it was time to start hacking the chassis block.
    I was quiet surprised as to just how much metal needed to be removed according to the instructions.


    Most of the front of the chassis needed removing to as to get the front frame extensions to fit, now the instructions on the langley kit are ok as a guidline but i found myself getting a bit lost as to how the motion plate & fornt extention peices fited on. It took a bit of head scratching and a couple of nights work to get my head round it all and the castings tidied up a little but tonight i managed to get some bits glued together.

     
    The first bit to secure was the new motion bracket as you have to split the original motion into two separate sides. After that the front extention was glued and squared up, although im not convinced just yet......

     
    Now here is the fiddly bit and the bit i have been dreading, rebuilding the valve gear. I followed the instructions and the very useful diagram of walschearts valve and managed to get it through through in my head. First job was to slip down the new cast cylinder mounts on the chassis extension, i took off quiet a lot of material, perhaps more than i should of but managed to get one side lined up, next stage was to secure it to the new motion bracket. This was very fiddley and one of them jobs you could do with having 3 hands! Next was getting the crankpin in the hole and making sure the gear ran smoothly easier said than done..... after a lot of trail and error i got one side of valve gera on and running very smoothly so chucked a bit more super glue about to lock the monting point up and then it was onto the other side, same process as before but i couldnt get smooth at all. 3 hours it took tonight of stripping down and rebuilding but i have finally got the gear on on running smooth.
     
    I found that bending the con rod out slightly heped as the cylinders are further out than they were for an N guage 2-6-0. Also what i found through a lot of trial and error is to make sure the fly crank & fly crank rod are set as close to the centre of the wheels as possible, alos i found that there is quiet a lot of play n the minitrix rods that making sure there is enough room around the motion bracket for the bits to move around, if not it gets tight very quickly and will undo any glued joints youv just done!
     
    After much cursing, cigs & tea i have finally got a rolling chassis of sorts together tonight. Heres a couple of pics shoing the vavle gear in place and the front extension glued in as well. The front bogie was added to check clearances and all seems to be well. Only problem now is ill have to take out the crankpins again when i put the idler gears, wheels and coupling rods in/on...........so ill be pretty much back to square 1 getting it all running freely again, but i suppose ill know what im doing this time, famous last words!


     
    I think thats it for tonight, apologies for any spelling mistakes and if its a bit of a ramble but its late and this valve gear has driven me round the bend. Hopefully by the weekend ill have a fully working chassis again and then i can crack on hacking the body about to get that distinctive cust down cab.
     
    Any comments critisims always welcomed, and if any one else has built one of these langley kits please let me in on any tips!
    Thanks for looking
    James
  20. jessy1692

    Tidy up time.

    By jessy1692,

    Evening everyone, Iv been at a bit of a loose end tonight what with being a little bit skint after going on holiday and buying school unforms so i thought it was a bout time i tidied up the layout to see what jobs need doing. Now scenery isnt the highest priority for me & me dad so not much has been done for quite a while as we are always working on the next loco project, usually about 3 at once. Im now in a position where i have far more locos than i could ever fit on the layout (think iv just done my 30th class 40 for example) so im trying to turn my attention to up dating the coaches, wagons, scenery/buildings instead of doing another deltic, 50 or 40. I love parking the on the depot but i desparately need some better coaches for them so im think im going to bite the bullet & try flog off the older stock...eventually.
     
    Anyway as iv tidied up one of the 'train rooms' iv taken a few pics of the layout so i thought id share them on here, any comments/sugestions most welcome as im quite a novice on scenery so any tips most welcome.
     
    So here goes, this room is my (loose) interpretation of Bilton crossing/junction on the old Leeds Northern line from Harrogate to Ripon and then on to the ECML @ Northallerton. The remains are literally 2 minutes down the road & i regularly walk the old trackbed with the dog occasionally i find some ailway relic down the bankings. Ill start from the 'Harrogate' end of the Layout, this is representing 'Dragon Junction' where the lines from Harrogate split, right to Starbeck & York & Left for Ripon & North to Northallerton. It was a triangle layout with a line from starbeck joining the line to Ripon at Bilton. Heres a pic of Dragon Junction so far:

    The tacks split, the line branching off to the left is the line to Starbeck wich in reality forms a loop back to mainline. The footbridge is representation of what was locally called the 'Iron Bridge' which i used to walk over everday to school. the signal box & its cotages has long since gone and the bridge has been updated. The line going round the back of the box is represnting the line to Harrogate goods yard, which is now ASDA, but for the layout its actually the conection to the branch line in the other room (all will hopefully be clear when i get round to putting pics up) The shed is my flight of fancy, supposing that when Starbeck shed closed a new diesel depot was built instead of a housing estate, all supposing the Harrogate - Ripon-N'Allerton line remained open of course!.
    Heres a few more shots of the depot & its layout, the line curving around is the 'main line'


     
    Past the shed & yards the line comes to Bilton Junction itself, the line from Starbeck come in almost dead straight to meet the curve from Harrogate. In reality there is no car garage its just an excuse for me to put out my ford carpri's & E types, there was a house there though before it was demolished to make was for the housing estate. The line from starbeck on the layout is actually a loop from dragon junction, the cutting being built up and designed to look as if the line carries on into the wall under bogs lane or 'the second bridge' as its known locally whilst the loop curves round under the hill. hope it makes sense so far! heres some pics:

     
    I scratch built the signal box and intend to detail the interior but the 1st job will be to correct the deformed roof!, the tar dock is just visible infront of it, just like the real thing. the garage is just a super quick kit with my sign on it. most of the jags have been repainted corgi ones, the capris are cararama i think.
     
    Now onto the interesting bit. Im not sure how well known the Harrogate Gas Works Railway is, so ill briefly explain, in 1908 the Harrogate Corporation were in dire need to get more coal to the Gas Works so it was decided to create a narrow guage line & from Bilton Junction to the works at New Park, at Bilton sidings were laid from the mainline to coal drops for the gas works line and a 'tar dock' created for transfering amoniacal liquers (a by product of the gas making process) to the standard guage wagons it lasted until lorries took over for a short time in 1956. Thanks to RT models there are now kits of 2 of the locos from the line, they were huge things for 2ft guage. Heres my representation of Bilton Siding both standard & narrow guage, the narrow guage track plan is as near as i could get it but the standard guage is how i would imagine if it had been rationlaised. Heres so pics of how i have tried to compres it in. Tunnel mouth for the NG is actually miles away and in someones back garden now but it creates a handy scenic break, the split levels are just about accurate for the coal drops as the terrain is quite undualting here, the line going up & onto the tar dock is steep but it was in reality. The face of the coal drops is still in existance, we used to slide down them as kids until some new houses were built on the site of the yard, funnily enough my better half lived in one for a while!. The tar dock is still there, still covered in tar as well but over grown but you can still see the sleeper marks, as are the abutments for the bridge. Also there is still what looks to be a crossing gate in the under growth as well. ill try take some pics next time i pass with my dog. Bilton box is also long gone but you can still see the foundations. My Grandad has great memories of being a kid & sneaking a ride on the narrow guage line through the tunnel to new park & getting chased off!. Heres one of the many 40s in the yard whistling away whilst the narrow guage locos potter about:


     
    Past the yard, the main line continues pretty much straight over open countryside to the loops put in during the was (when Bilton Box was extended from being a standard NER Box) i have represented them but have had curve them and also compres them down a lot to fit!At the end of the loops going north was the viaduct over the Nidd, a wonderful 7 arch span viaduct over the very steep valley sides, this will be be modelled in the space between the rooms (pics to come) but so far its just a plank where the tracks go through the wall behind the door. heres some pics of the sound fitted 24 on the DCC circuit (far track) and my Baby Deltic in the loop at the far end, my backs pretty much against the door. Iv tried to represent the loops in the shallow cutting as per the real thing, the fields are car sound profing material washed over with dilute poster paint & teased out. Im looking to upgrade this at some point & i will be creating some autumnal trees to disguise the wall as the woods start at the edge of the field. Im going to aim for a late summer/autumn time for the foliage on the tress so im going to have bash at some tomorow all being well. Ill post something when im happy with my efforts.
    Heres some pics of the 'North End' of the layout hopefully youll have been able to see what im trying to achieve through the pics.:

     
    And the final 2 pics are of the latest jobs on the go, a super detailed/shaplaned Pinza just waitin for a coat of varnish, how i do love the british weather, not being able to spray outside! and finally the 'super deltic' comming along a bit sat on Pinza's chassis.
     
    Thanks for looking through & sticking with it! if you want to know any more of the lines around harrogate, drop me a line and ill let you know some of the books i use, it really was a great place for railways back in the day but now its just a backwater line linking Leeds & York.
    As always any comments/critisims welcomed, its all part of the learning curve!.
    Time for a ciggy and a malt i think.
    All the best.
    James
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