Middlepeak

Look forward to seeing it again! Geraint

Great to see progress, however small! It doesn't take much to get back in the swing of things. Keep it up! Best wishes, Geraint

Fascinated by Hibel Road's comment about the hydraulic accumulator at Heaton Norris. I'm currently researching for a talk on the viaduct and spotted the water pipe in a cross-section of the post-1888 widened viaduct, located between the up fast and down fast. How was this used in the station - as a power source for what? Thanks, Geraint

A wee bit off topic today, but in a strange way it has relevance to Friden, which will be a layout where shunting is the norm. A hugely enjoyable day at the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, which included the usual short ride to the far end of the line in the charge of 0-6-0ST "Wissington". However, when we got there we were all invited to alight and stand at the end of the platform to watch a shunting demonstration, as the loco swapped a couple of coal wagons over in the adjacent siding. All this to the accompaniment of a running commentary from one of the volunteer railwaymen. It really emphasised just what it takes to complete a fairly simple manoeuvre, including four staff (driver, fireman, shunter and pointsman). Points unlocked by an Annetts Key, coupling up, wagon brakes off and loco reversal, all of which takes time. Something you very rarely see on a preserved railway and not very often on the average exhibition layout. It's really set me thinking about how I can make such simple operations more realistic and fulfilling for the operators on Friden. Thanks to the "Middy" for a thought provoking 20 minutes and a thoroughly enjoyable day! G

C22 has finally rolled out of the RGVJ workshop this afternoon, nearly two decades after it was purchased as an etched kit from a Danish manufacturer long forgotten. Just AJ couplings to add, then it can take its place in the second local passenger train behind Triangel M4. I'm getting to the point now where I almost have too much stock for the layout, but I do need to get back to the Litra N and finish that! G

Ray, Combination of Modelu and Preiser. G

A slight deviation this afternoon for my regular Wednesday modelling session with friends. This time I delved into the unfinished projects box to apply glazing to this coach, which started life as an etched kit all too long ago. I liked the design of this, which has the sides formed of three separate layers of brass - the inside panelling, a spacer layer and the outside panelling. The individual windows, cut from 0.5mm acrylic, can be slid in from above. The toilet window is frosted by scrubbing the inside face with a glass fibre brush. A few details need adding to the chassis before final assembly. C22 will be coupled to the large Triangel to form the second local passenger train for Obbekær's next outing at the Cambridge show in September. Back to the Litra N now ..... !!

I haven't seen the 1945 photo referred to above, but if you look at the 1937 photo of the filming shown in the following article by Michael Korn - https://bricketwoodstationtrust.org.uk/history/ there is clearly a single high arm for down trains to enter the St Albans bound platform. However the up starter was at the end of the platform, inside the loop points. What appears to be attached lower down the tall post is a small bracket which presumably carried a calling-on arm for wrong line running into the up platform or access to the single siding. By the time of the later photographs, the up platform, where the main station building and entrance to the station were located, was signalled for bi-directional running, which was used for one-train operation on the branch. G

Tickets please!! The insides of the General Waiting Room and ticket office are beginning to shape up, with all the internal walls now fitted, along with skirting, wainscot panelling and dado rails. The ticket window was also fun to build, using various bits of brass section and a bit of etched grill that I had spare in the odds and ends box. I particularly like the reference on the 1903 drawing to the opening in the bottom of the grill, which goes by the name of the "money hole"! The fireplaces also look suitably austere to have come off the Crewe production line. Although there are other details to fit in these two rooms, such as cupboards, bench seats, poster boards and a clock, these can come later. The next stage is probably to fit the windows and doors, once I have done the necessary filling in the corners where the wall panels meet. I also did some sighting tests today to determine how much of the interior of the other rooms you will be able to see through the windows, bearing in mind that some of them are partially or wholly frosted. As a result, I think I will have to cut internal walls for the separate ladies and gents waiting rooms, with some semblance of the brown and cream colour scheme. The urinal at the far end of the building has a different finish altogether, with blue and red diamond tiles on the floor and white tiled walls. Although there's no door on this, a suitable placed ruffian in the archway will help to disguise the fact that I won't be including urinals and a WC on the inside! More in a couple of weeks, depending on progress. G

Hi Jay, I found a picture in my collection showing the signal in operation. It was basically a signal from the hangers-on to the engineman that everything was set for the run to commence - wagons tied on, chocks removed. Regards, G

A bit of progress this afternoon, with the floors in the General Waiting Room and Ticket Office now completed. These are made of 0.45mm thick oiled manilla, laser cut and scribed for planking. Various passes with the airbrush followed, using natural wood and light grey acrylics. With the floors now stuck in the carcass, I've now started to add the internal walls, starting with the forecourt side. With the outer layer of the platform side wall clamped on temporarily, you get some idea of the scale of the final thing. For me, it's frighteningly big! G

A little more progress yesterday after a lengthy period working on a commission for someone else. Time to finish off the cylinder / slide bars / crosshead assembly, before the chassis can be painted. First thing though was to replicate the hefty bolts on the front of the cylinders. Although I'd half etched some recesses in the front plates in the hope of drilling them out and soldering in some short sections of nickel silver wire to simulate the bolts, I chickened out on the basis that application of a soldering iron might collapse the whole structure. Plasticard rod was used instead, secured with superglue, which also had the advantage that all the 'bolts' could easily to trimmed back to the same length with a fine file. You will recall that the somewhat flimsy slide bars are two layers of 0.3mm n/s, soldered up in a jig. They also extend right through to the cylinder front plate for strength and slot into the motion plate at the back. Time now to bite the bullet and remove the jig carefully with a jeweller's saw and clean things up with fine grit paper. In this photo, the cylinder on the left has had the jig removed, whilst the one on the right is awaiting similar treatment. Crossheads next!

Photos in the loading dock at DSF Friden show 5 plank opens in use, carrying 3 small open topped containers in which the bricks were packed with straw. Away from home at the moment, so can't access the picture I have in mind. The containers are described fully in one if Geoff Kent's books on wagon building, if you have those. Depends on the type of brick though, as not all of them could be packed and shipped in the same way. G

That picture was taken at Cromford Wharf in the mid-60s, after the closure of Middleton Incline, so they would probably all be going to Killer's at Middleton. I don't recall seeing any evidence of these wagons on the west end of the line, certainly not in any great numbers.

While we're on obscure CHP traffic, one of the strangest was an irregular delivery of sea shells from Cornwall to a factory at Longcliffe that produced chicken feed. Apparently when ground into the feed it helps the chickens' digestion! I presume it was delivered in sacks in either a van or a sheeted open. So, an excuse for me to run a van or two through Friden, and the traffic may have come north through Ashbourne, but I'm afraid it didn't get as far as Middleton! G

Progress on the internal walls for the two rooms that will have interior detail, namely the General Waiting Room and the Ticket Office. Pre-painted skirting, panelling and dado rails have been added, as well as architraves around the door openings have been added. Those around the windows will follow. All these are made from lime wood or oiled manilla, again new departures for a bloke who likes his plasticard, but somehow more appropriate in this scale. Plasticard has however been used to create the two fireplaces. A short break with family over the weekend, then back to it! G

I saw that, but also saw a review that wasn't particularly generous. Thankfully I've got a couple of etched kits on the shelf when the time comes. I'd be interested to hear of anybody's thoughts on the proprietary versions in due course. G

I suspect not much at all. Possibly some bricks from Friden or Longcliffe, but that wouldn't have been regular. All of the high volume stuff from the quarries would have gone north towards Buxton, and the stone traffic travelling south towards Uttoxeter and the Potteries seemed to come from Hindlow. G

I was looking forward to seeing Parkend at the forthcoming S4AGM, but sadly engineering works in our part of the world have scuppered any thoughts of a rail excursion to DRAGland. Hope it goes well John, and I'll look forward to seeing the layout on another occasion. Please send my best to any other DRAG members who might know me. Geraint

"It's been a long time" as they say, so let's try to bring this project a bit more up to date. I mentioned before that the model will be built up in a series of layers for each wall, so I thought it best to start off with a basic carcass, onto which the rest of the parts can be fixed. This is laser cut from 3mm MDF and is shown here assembled on the workbench. You will see that the carcass extends down below floor level. This is to allow for the platform that will be fitted on the near side. The window and door openings are also oversize, which allows these to be built as separate units that will ultimately be trapped in the carcass by the external and internal walls. Next stage was to cut the various layers for windows and doors. The windows are mainly sash types, so these can have 3 or 4 layers, and a similar construction allows the various panels and beadings on the doors to be created. Even so, it seems like a lot of cutting for one building! More to come shortly (hopefully!) ....... G

You might be interested in this! https://www.facebook.com/groups/932374656831223/permalink/6023559287712709/ Geraint

After what has at times seemed like an age, which to be fair included organising and managing a visit of a group from our Danish twin town of Ribe, I can at last get back to the chassis for the Litra N. The latest etch from PPD yielded a revised design of cylinders and slide bars. The latter are particularly flimsy, despite being constructed of two layers of 0.3mm nickel silver, so for now they still have the remains of the assembly jig between them to stop them getting bent. The cylinder and slide bar units are bolted to the frames, with the tails of the slide bars fitting in slots in the motion bracket. These will be trimmed back later, but the idea is that the whole unit can be taken off the chassis for painting. I'm currently making the drain cocks, but in truth these are too small to show sensibly in a photograph until they're assembled on the cylinders! More soon, hopefully ..... G

Kevin / Mike, Only just seen this. Hope your open day went well. Interesting to hear that Monyash is still in existence. I started out with a layout called Arbor Low, which was inspired by Parsley Hay, and was exhibited at the Manchester show in the early 70s. The club then decided to extend it with a second station at Monyash and it was exhibited at one or two shows in the north-west in that format. I'd be interested to see any pictures that you have of it in its current guise. Memories! Regards, Geraint

Jay, Just to reiterate here, Obbekær is a possibility for this, depending on the date. The other option would be for me to bring one or two Friden boards with a High Peak display and a demo, if you would prefer something more 'local'. Let me know if I can help in any way. G

Jay, Very happy to help and provide the layout or a High Peak demo. Let me know what I can do to assist. G