The Taddington branch of the LNWR

[runs as required]

Personally speaking (well aware of both actual locations - and your insightful historical earlier posts) I'd opt for Taddington Exchange Sidings as the more unexpected. It might  set a good few pre-grouping enthusiasts a challenging psycho-geography test.

dh

[Argos]

Thanks for all the "Friendly/Supportive" ratings.

 

I thought I'd end the day on a more positive note.

 

A bit of work after dinner saw the layout re-mounted in its old place.

With the backscene missing I was able to take  couple of views that are not otherwise possible:-

 

 

 

Finally a new facia section was cut out (but not fixed) and the end backscene fitted.

 

 

It's starting to come back together.

I'm leaving it overnight with the heater on to try and dry the damp wood out.

 

The appearance of the D1 wagon ready for loading indicates the LNWR goods agent has already moved back in.

It doesn't take long!

 

I believe there was a joke at the time that when Scott arrived at the South Pole he found a LNWR goods agent there ready to take his consignment.....

Edited August 25, 2018 by Argos

[NeilHB]

Sorry to read Argos about the ongoing damp problems and the demise of the Taddington branch.

 

However I am very glad to see that Three Shires Head/Taddington Exchange Sidings have survived and are making a reappearance as a layout in their own right - it really is a lovely little layout!

 

Shall look forward to more progress as and when.

Edited August 26, 2018 by NeilHB

[Argos]

Thanks Neil,

 

Actually, breaking the layout back down to its original module has been strangely motivating.

 

I've now got the backscenes up, the corners disguised, the lighting moved to suit the new/old location and the front fascia attached.

 

The fiddle yard still needs connecting as the female dowel aligning holes were lost when I scraped the original backscene.

It will be easier to drill and insert new dowels than to try and align the existing one.

 

 

The 910 tank is on route gauging duties.

 

Which is just as well as I cut the backscene holes out to the rough dimensions of the LNWR loading gauge....

 

 

Cleverly forgetting to start the height measurement at top of rail level and not ground level.

Fortunately the check revealed the error and avoided this week's numpty award.

The hole was re-cut giving another 5mm or so clearance.

 

It's coming back together, once I've got the fiddle yard aligned and connected I can relay the missing track.

Then all I need to do is finish the battery conversion of the loco stock and I can start operating again.

I've ripped out all the electrics so no going back.......

 

still one of my favourite views:-

 

 

 

 

[Northroader]

Glad to hear you’ve been able to pick things up quickly after your setback. It looks really promising.

Edited August 27, 2018 by Northroader

[Edwardian]

Well worth resurrecting; it's a great composition and some nice flowing track.  I'd like to see this develop.

[Argos]

A couple of evenings ago I felt a bizarre urge to do some ballasting......

 

So I did.

That's an itch that shouldn't be left unscratched!

 

I've now completed the cinder ballasting for the industrial sidings on the exchange.

 

 

The newer ballast is cleaner and you can see the sleeper tops, my ballasting technique has clearly improved.

With a bit of weathering it will all blend in.

 

I need to attack the mainline section next.

From memory the Ashbourne branch was ballasted with 2" to 5" graded limestone so about 1-3mm in 7mm scale.

I'll keep my eye out a Telford at the weekend for something suitable.

Interestingly a lot of model ballast sold looks too fine to represent this size.

I think we sometimes forget just how "lumpy" real ballast can be.

[Argos]

Despite an enjoyable sojourn to Telford for the O Gauge show I still managed to get some more ballasting done.

 

I had just about given up hope of finding anything decent in terms of appropriate ballast when I spotted some labelled "limestone ballast O gauge" on the Squires stand.

Size and colour seemed right so a couple of bags were bought.

Judging by the weight it is actual crushed limestone!

Still it looks the part:-

 

 

It needs a bit of weathering to tone it down a bit but I'm pleased with the effect.

 

Following a chat with the guys on the Radio Control demo stand I now have the answer to one of my problems installing the RC gear.

I wanted an easy plug in connector for the three way charging socket for the battery.

I had decided to go down the jack plug route but was worried this would create a brief, temporary short every time the charger was plugged.

I was hesitant to try this as LiPOs can knock out some hefty current when so treated which wouldn't do the batteries any good.

 

The answer is a simple 5 way PCB power connector the ways 1&5 and 2&4 paired so it doesn't matter which orientation the plug is inserted.

Some were purchased and I'm looking forward to getting these working.

 

Hopefully by the time the track is all laid I'll have a couple of fully functional RC locos. 

[Argos]

Whist the photos above appear to show the layout in good order, in actuality the baseboard has suffered.

 

Given its history this is hardly surprising.

The layout was original built 10 years ago on a piece of 6mm MDF and framed with standard 2x1" timbers and housed in the small backroom of our cottage.

Following a house move the frames were stripped and the board added to a larger layout situated in an unheated garage, at which point the whole lot got soaked due to a leak in the garage roof.

The board was salvaged and rebuilt on new frames.

In this format it was developed as reported in this topic, until of course I decided to expand again, which culminated in another soaking!

It really is no surprise the MDF is now anything but level.

It is tempting to scrap the whole lot and start again, but that would mean a lot of abortive work and ultimately quite demoralizing so I want to try to work through the issues.

 

 

During the week I laid the connecting piece of track between the Quarry sidings with the quarry fiddle yard.

 

This revealed all was not well, running a wagon round the new curve revealed two things:-

 

Firstly the point had shifted, the main exit rail was now 2mm higher than the adjacent rail.

I can only assume this was down to the glue being softened during the ballasting process. 

I had weighed the point down heavily to keep it flat to the baseboard (note - flat to the based board doesn't necessarily meant the baseboard is flat!).

The ballast was cleaned off the affected area and a more brutal approach was adopted to line everything up:-

 

 

This time UHU was used in place of PVA to, hopefully, keep everything down.

 

The next problem was the curve into the fiddle yard was laid over a twisted section of board which caused this:-

 

 

A sharp curve combined with a negative cant of 1-2mm is never going to result in anything other than constant derailment.

The sleepers under the outside rail were carefully peeled of the base board and some thin PCB sleeper strips used to shim the rail back level.

This just moved the derailment point further down the curve.

 

Frustrated I pondered a while.

Then turned to the prototype for inspiration and fitted a check rail.

 

 

It looks a bit of a mess but works and once cleaned up, pained and ballasted it will blend in nicely.

 

In fact the check rail was so successful I decide to attack another location.

 

 

The curve here is a shade over 24" radius so tight  for 7mm!

Whilst all of my wagons will consistently go round this curve certain combinations complain.

Most notably a combination of Slater's Plastic kit with sprung buffers combined with heavy white metal and etched wagon kit with rigid buffers tended to cause problems.   

I had gauge widened the curve slightly which has led to the wagons pushing each other at odd angles.

 

Buoyed with the success of the first check rail installation a second was installed in this location.

 

 

 

This improved running no end, I seem to have cured the derailment problem in this location, and lets face it, a check rail look right on such tight curve.

Edited September 8, 2018 by Argos

[Caley Jim]

Fitting check rails on tight curves, wherever they may be, is always a good idea.  Operationally they help prevent derailments (which is, after all, why the prototype fitted them) and visually they both acknowledge the presence of the tight curve and make it appear less tight as they make the gauge look narrower.

 

Jim

[NeilHB]

Glad to see that a solution has been found to the problem Argos - the checkrail does make a big difference to the look of that bit of line.

[runs as required]

Very uplifting to see work resume on this much needed addition to the white Peak's rail infrastructure.

dh

[Argos]

Thanks Run as Required,

 

Despite the issues I am enjoying attacking the layout this time around.

 

It is great to feel progress has been achieved after a modicum of work.

 

Which is an interesting observation for any grand schemes that come along in the future.

 

I need to get some engines running next.

[Argos]

Having got at least part of the track running, I now need some locomotive power.
 
The track is completely dead since I made the decision to switch to RC control and battery power using Deltang equipment and LiPo batteries.
 
The easiest loco to tackle is the 4' shunter.
I had already run this with the battery installed in a truck behind the loco so all should be good.
 
A pleasant hour or so was spent carving out the underside of the resin tank on the loco to fit the battery and then connecting up a charging socket, battery and an on/off switch.
 

 
I still need to clean off some of the resin dust and reattach a couple of parts (and one of the crew), hacking out for the battery was by necessity quite brutal.
I must fit the battery before I finish the model next time!
 
I was worried that the lack of bottom to the boiler might be noticeable, but in actuality I don't think it is.
 

 
I still need to fix the On/Off switch and blacken and hide the wires.
I may fill in the underside of the boiler with some black Plasticine to give the underside more volume.
 
Once done I've then hit a snag, I can bind to the receiver, I can charge the battery but the motor doesn't respond. 
I need to spend some time fault finding to tease out the problem, all was well before I connected everything up so it's probably something simple.
 
The second option is the Ixion Hudswell Clarke.
 
This has been laying disassembled for about a year awaiting work.
As I had it in this state I also want to back-date the model.
As supplied by Ixion the model represents a 1920's build so too modern for my 1894 timeslot.
 
I intend to use the Easingwold Railways No 2 as a reference point as plenty of photos exist of this loco.

This loco was supplied to the Easingwold Railway in 1908 (I think) but I have found photos of similar Hudswell Clarkes built around the turn of the century so, whilst I'm pushing a bit the, finished loco should fit in with the timeline better.
 
There is a superb conversion done by David Smith on his blog ( http://www.davidlosmith.co.uk/GCR_Humber.htm ) which will serve as a useful reference.

However, I don't pretend to possess the engineering skills the David can lay claim to.

My approach will be much more bodge it and hope!

 

There are some detail differences between David's version and the one I am aiming for.

Most noticeably rivets......lots of them......everywhere!

 

 

Other alterations are a change to the smoke box door, front sandboxes above the footplate, whistle on the roof and the most complx is a change to the coupling rods to hinged after the middle wheel with marine style bearings.

The latter is the most serious challenge.

As supplied the Ixion loco is a sweet running engine and I don't want to alter this for the worse!

 

too be continued......

 

 

[Argos]

First job before starting the back dating alterations was to fit the battery.

 

Space is quite limited and I had to use a smaller battery than I would have liked.

This should still be sufficient to operate the loco at full load for about an hour so on a shunting layout like Three Shires Head it should last a fair while.

 

Even with this small battery some carving out is necessary.

The inside of the tank contains a moulding that covers the motor and worm gear, this extends beyond the end of the worm by a fair margin.

By removing some of this surplus the battery is now a snug fit.

 

 

The rest of the RC equipment should be straight forward.

The Receiver will sit in the bunker, or also under the tank (I haven't decided yet) the Charging socket and On/Off switch will sit in the Speaker void.

 

Next job was to attack the tank.

One widely commented on area that lets the model down is the curve of the tank.

This has a distinct Threepenny bit (20p post metirification?) profile.

 

 

A few minutes with some fine sandpaper, then polished up with some 1000 grit wet and dry soon produces a nice smooth curve.

 

 

Next up is the Cab.

It is a shame to loose the nicely applied lining but needs must.

 

 

The lining was removed with a fibreglass scratch brush and then the surfaced polished with a 1000 grit sanding pad.

Another compromise of the production process is the rear bunker.

This doesn't sit neatly with the back of the cab sides.

Again it but a few minutes work to fill the gaps, and once set, sand back to a smooth surface.

 

 

The final job before giving the cab a good wash ready to add the rivets was to add the noticeable fillet the runs under the cab roof.

Some suitable styrene strip was cut to size and prodded into position and glued down.

 

 

So we're all ready to start riveting.

I have some Archers and MicroMark O Scale rivet decals.

These appear slightly overscale but have suitable spacing to match the rivets patterns in the photos (please note I'm not counting! I am not trying to make an accurate model of Easingwold's no 2 rather a similar sibling).

Looking through the photos of number 2 the rivets look more pronounced depending on the lighting.

In the photo above they appear as mere pimples compared with the industrial looking ones in more close up pictures.

 

One finally thought to ponder is what colour to paint the finished engine.

I want to represent a newly out-shopped industrial loco that the owners are justly proud of.

I'm quite tempted by Caley blue, but this might make the engine look like an escapee from Scotland.

Easingwolds No 2 was Midland red, but I'm not sure we can allow that.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Edwardian]

I wonder if these references might also assist.  Works Nos. 325 and 327 of 1889, and drawings f 347 of 1892.

[Regularity]

Easingwolds No 2 was Midland red, but I'm not sure we can allow that.......

At one point, it was plain black.

 

When applying the bunker side rivets, do follow the drawing from Don Townsley, and not that from Iain Rice. Both appeared in MRJ, but only the former matched the prototype.

[Argos]

Thanks both.

 

Edwardian, the example provided has the earlier cab (and fewer rivets) a useful reference for other parts though.

 

Regularity,

I am working from the drawing in Oakwood Press's "Easingwold Railway'. It is not the most detailed of drawings and doesn't show the rivets.

For those I am relying on the copious photographs of No2 in the book.

 

You Don't by any chance know the issue of MRJ the drawings appeared? I'll have to track down a copy.

Edited September 12, 2018 by Argos

[Edwardian]

My post was presumptuous, because I think the 1880s-1890s cab style better suits the aesthetic of your layout! 

 

I think Easingwold No.2 was supplied in 1903.  I believe the cab was as per your picture when built, in which case it must be a relatively early example of the more enclosed cab.  I don't know when the cut-off point was for the old cab-style, but it was still in production in 1895.

 

I do not know whether this was a standard cab, or peculiar to the Easingwold.  Evidence of similar Hudswell cabs in the early 1900s might settle the matter.

 

I do not know the date at which your layout is set - the only clue I have noted so far is the pre-1908 livery LNW wagons - but it has always had the feel of an 1890s-1900s scene.  If so, the earlier cab style might be a better fit, as more typical of the period.  Moreover, given the LNW locomotives I have  seen, I think the old style Hudswell cab is a better fit from the aesthetic viewpoint, preventing the locomotive from looking too relatively modern, though I daresay it is relatively modern nonetheless.

 

Sorry to seem so opinionated - but opinions are there to be ignored!

 

[Argos]

Hi Edwardian, opinionated is fine, it's an attribute I am frequently accused of having...

 

The earlier cab would be more suited to the layout timeline which is set in 1894.

 

I'm just not inclined to make that much of an alteration. The later cabs were in use by 1900 as there is a works photo of an engine in the Easingwold book so referenced. I'm guessing the change over happened in the late 1890s.

 

Whilst not totally true to the timeline it is close enough. I have another couple of anomolies I can overlook.

 

The Ixion model was always seen as a temporary solution until I can get around to building something more suitable.

 

That said, it will also provide an interesting modelling exercise and hopefully of interest.

[Caley Jim]

Sorry to seem so opinionated - but opinions are there to be ignored!

An ipsi dixit quote we had for one of our lecturers in our yearbook was 'I don't hold by other people's opinions.  I have a few of my own!'

 

Jim

[Regularity]

Thanks both.

 

Edwardian, the example provided has the earlier cab (and fewer rivets) a useful reference for other parts though.

 

Regularity,

I am working from the drawing in Oakwood Press's "Easingwold Railway'. It is not the most detailed of drawings and doesn't show the rivets.

For those I am relying on the copious photographs of No2 in the book.

 

You Don't by any chance know the issue of MRJ the drawings appeared? I'll have to track down a copy.

I am away from home (if you can wait until Saturday, I still can), otherwise would send you a copy, but I think it may been issue 31 or so.

[Argos]

Thanks Regularity,

 

It does indeed look like issue 31.

I'll see if I can track down a copy.

[Caley Jim]

Issue 31 it is.  There is a downloadable index here.

 

Jim

[Argos]

Work today focused on the smoke box door.

 

The profile looks about right but I need to remove the double straps and install a single hinge plate.

getting rid of the moulded smoke box door handle will also be an improvement.

 

Before

 

 

After some work with a scalpel, some files, some sand paper and a grit pad.

 

 

The small amount of filler was needed where I got a bit over enthusiastic with the scalpel when pairing of the hinge straps.

 

Pondering some more on colour I'm coming around to the idea of leaving the engine a similar green to what it is now, helped in no small part by the colour shot in Edwardian's post above.

It'll save me repainting the wheels (assuming I don't feel inclined to remove the cast in balance weights) and will provide a nice contrast to LNWR black of the mainline engines.