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Coleshill (Forge Mills ) layout and stock


46256
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Moment of weakness I have purchased a Heljan class 27. I saw them in pairs prior to their mass transfer to Scotland. I never saw a full two tone variant so when I saw this on eBay was intrigued. I duly bought it then doubt crept in…just been researching and here she is in the parcels bay at Worcester Shrub Hill in 1966…phew

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2 minutes ago, 46256 said:

Moment of weakness I have purchased a Heljan class 27. I saw them in pairs prior to their mass transfer to Scotland. I never saw a full two tone variant so when I saw this on eBay was intrigued. I duly bought it then doubt crept in…just been researching and here she is in the parcels bay at Worcester Shrub Hill in 1966…phew

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45A2512B-B074-4B37-8B35-FE4F518AFFC7.jpeg

 

I don't think there were more than a handful, if that, in this scheme.

 

John.

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Hello John merry Christmas.

 

According to the website that photo is on Worcestershire Railways , only two were painted in this livery. I had my two Lima  white cab, central band , versions double heading around the layout earlier , one benefitting from having the cd motor fitted. 

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Whilst looking on net I saw that a Water Orton community group had written a book about the railway, it’s history and impact on the village. I have been in correspondence with Patrick Fleming, one of the authors. He sent me these photographs of recent specials through the station. The scaffolding may be an ominous sign …a leaking roof needing repair…how long will Railtrack maintain this lovely building?

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Heljan class 27 in two tone green landed whilst we have been away down North Devon to see-in the New Year. I’ve just been running it in very pleased.

 

Whilst away we travelled on the Barnstaple to Exeter link known as the Tarka line. It is very picturesque…lots of rivers …

 

Exeter Central is as the name implies ideally situated in the city centre, both it and St Davids hosting a fair number of trains. Well recommended and a surprisingly frequent service ….hourly, we picked the train up at Umberleigh…sadly unstaffed…We passed through Crediton which has been restored to LSWR colours and clearly well cared for by a group known as the friends of Crediton station….

 

a group for Water Orton perhaps?

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I have just clicked on the LMS society thread, only to read of the passing of Bob Essery.

I had the pleasure of meeting him on a number of occasions, the first time when researching my model . He immediately made available a number of his photographs. I know no words of mine will rightly express, the loss of such a significant figure in our hobby. A very sad day indeed.

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Well a bit of modelling at last, completed the comet tender chassis and attached to GBL black five . This enabled me to test the pulling power of the canon motor and gearbox combo. Oh dear three coaches at most…..just remarked to John R if I had wanted a train set I would have asked Santa for one!

 

A 16/26 and hi flyer ordered from Chris at high level…he claims it’s very powerful will report in due course…the canon and comet removed sitting miserably in my spares box..

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I find the comet motor/gearbox combo is very slow.. steady but slow...  I had one in a Millhome Patriot.. no go speed wise but it was powerful.. so it is now in a WD.

 

Baz

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Good morning Barry

 

Happy New Year

 
To be fair to the canon it was bought last year when supplies were scarce. My preferred supplier for motors and gears, as you know from these pages is High Level.

You may recall I tried to place it within the frames of this loco as I couldn’t get the riser attachment at that time to the gearbox. To achieve this I did shave some of the outer casing….it didn’t seem to alter the running, but totally accept not as intended by the manufacturer. I have a small high level motor, since purchased which I will try with the gearbox, albeit not now in the black five…

 

I do notice if motors get hot, and this did even before my alteration and without any noticeable load, that this seems to reduce the efficiency.
I've found this, also to be the case with Mashimas, some being too hot to touch at times after a short period of running. 
 

I know when modellers report on products the X factor which isn’t easily defined is their own level of skill or under what circumstances they placed the product under.

 

In this case the chassis is yet to have motion fitted and any associated resistance that can cause, the gearbox and motor has been run in extensively before being added to what is a very free running 460 chassis. The addition of lead weight is also a crucial factor to traction .The test train which failed at four coaches included two with brass sides which adds to the weight. The free running or not of certain items of stock is another factor. The Lima coaches on the hstfor example, far better running having had all their wheels replaced by excellent Peters Spares replacements. 

 

The joy of our hobby, what I havnt reported here, the trails and tribulations with the hst over the Christmas period , now sorted.

My friend John R being the recipient of those tales, and angst  on Pm s 

 

best wishes Brian

 

 

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Brian (46256) and I (John R) exchange PM's and treat each other as sort of "agony aunts" over our occasional frustrations with this wonderful hobby. It is often therapeutic, always helpful and occasionally amusing. It has generated a real friendship between 2 people who have never actually met.

 

I hadnt heard of any particular issues with the Wizard/Canon motors. Before he started using DJH, Tony Wright used them on Little Bytham, so it sounds as though Brian may have, unluckily, picked up a dud.  For bigger locos, I too tend to use either High Level products, or Taff Vale's smaller O/large OO motor, The only issue with the latter is that it fits askew in the gearbox, so can be a bit awkward to fit> I know some folk successfully drill a new hole in the gearbox to provide a way to fit these motors correctly.

 

 

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Two packages arrived yesterday . The first, another Strathpepper Jct Lima motor upgrade, for the second of my original class 27 models. This will make the recipient compatible with its twin .

The second, a High level 16/26 motor and hi flier gearbox for the Saltley black five, in a bid to improve its pulling capability before adding motion to finish off. It’s been a long drawn out project, not least my ability to be easily distracted.

The high level gearbox needs to be constructed and run in, I will only show when in the chassis. 

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Latest addition to Saltley fleet just a Stanier whistle cab glazing and crew to finish off…a great runner thanks to high level gearbox and motor…

 

You May notice a tidier workbench….shamed by some of the examples seen on other threads I’ve revamped my work desk…resolved to keep it tidy!

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I know Manna words , tidy, organised, keeping resolutions, as my better half would confirm rarely if ever apply to me!

The coaches behind the five are the comet LMS artic set, another project, which has stalled. The class five has now been glazed, just awaiting crew before it’s signed off from works,  to sit amongst the other examples I have on my stock shelf.

Having the comet gearbox spare, and now with a small high level motor attached (Canon abandoned) I wondered how to utilise?

 

The abandoned Taunton to Barnstaple line, has recently come to my attention. My eldest son’s in laws, live in the converted goods shed of Venns Cross station. It is a most impressive building sympathetically converted into domestic use. I was privileged to have a guided tour of the disused tunnel which is situated at one end of their property. This preamble to explain my choice of loco…a GWR 43 xx. A Mainline example duly bought of eBay. I hadn’t fully read the description only to discover my model had been adapted by the addition of a white metal cab giving the side window variant. I remember these add on kits being available back in the day. I was further intrigued as it is numbered 7331. I checked my 1955 loco shed only to find no such number. Further research showed these locos were originally numbered in the 93xx series…some were then renumbered into the 73 xx during 1956 to 1959. A check of my 1959 loco shed…( I have a number of these dating from the fifties up to the mid seventies…great reference books) 7331 had been withdrawn by then.

Fortunately a few, of these renumbered locos were still in service , one 7334 based at Taunton. New plates to be ordered.

 

The mainline chassis by the way seemed to be a good runner….until…on the umpteenth lap of my layout running in the gear wheel inner came loose. I know from previous experience cannot be made to stitch together again…Comet chassis ordered , fortunately have a spare set of 5 8 drivers.

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Thanks John as it wasn’t listed in my 59 loco shed I assumed the worst…then again it was a quick check, and if honest don’t really want to renumber so will retain  In any event it’s only really a representative of the type that used that line, ( and an excuse to use the spare motor etc, and add yet another inappropriate type to my roster ).

The West Country was largely unexplored by me in my youth. I am acquiring the relevant Middleton press books for any lines I discover. It’s quite heartbreaking seeing some of these stations in their heyday and how they are now. This series of books are a fantastic encyclopaedia of our railways.

In terms of then and now, the same of course can be said of my current area of residence, the Black Country. It’s  rail network was decimated and only now is it’s loss being fully appreciated , and steps taken to re dress the balance.

 

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The Middleton Series are excellent, and I too have a few relevant to this area. I suppose we are lucky up here in that passenger services are being restored to the Blyth and Tyne, which has been freight-only since 1964, and passes close to us. What staggers me is how long it takes to restore services. Prep work began in earnest in 2020, and services are scheduled for Jan 2024. It took less time to build the ECML from York to Newcastle. The current complaints are that the restored stations wont have a WOW factor!

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