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Hills of the North - The Last Great Project


LNER4479
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Around this time I remember camping near Shap and seeing those new fangled diesel locos being banked up shap by good old steam locos. 

 

I have no idea how long that went on, but we saw both goods and passenger trains with an oily smelly diesel up front and a magnificent example of the steam locomotive engineer's art behind. Not that we were/are biased. One of our number was a locomotive engineer employed by British Railways, and long and hard did he lecture us on the merits of diesels. Long and hard did we argue, that, if they were so damn good, why did Mr Stanier's  finest need to trouble themselves aiding these horrible green boxes over the climb. Many a comment that a 4P in good nick would have stormed the hill were, sadly, and rightly ignored, and the diesel revolution came to the UK.

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Around this time I remember camping near Shap and seeing those new fangled diesel locos being banked up shap by good old steam locos. 

 

I have no idea how long that went on, but we saw both goods and passenger trains with an oily smelly diesel up front and a magnificent example of the steam locomotive engineer's art behind. Not that we were/are biased. One of our number was a locomotive engineer employed by British Railways, and long and hard did he lecture us on the merits of diesels. Long and hard did we argue, that, if they were so damn good, why did Mr Stanier's  finest need to trouble themselves aiding these horrible green boxes over the climb. Many a comment that a 4P in good nick would have stormed the hill were, sadly, and rightly ignored, and the diesel revolution came to the UK.

Indeed.

 

Putting aside the emotion, and pedant mode on for a moment, there was actually a limit on the number of unbraked vehicles that could be taken up the hill without a banker - off the top, I think that number was a paltry 15. So if the train was only partially braked, the banker was sometimes there for insurance against a coupling breaking as much as anything and nothing to do with the power available from whatever was at the front end. This is the more prosaic reason behind many a photo of steam banking diesels up Shap.

 

Pedant mode off

 

Smelly 'ol boxes on wheels :jester:

 

'Stinkers', Ivo Peters used to call them (he still photographed them, all the same!)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Time for another instalment, methinks

 

post-16151-0-09244500-1516986204_thumb.jpg

With the front baseboard structure complete, it's chicken wire time. This is the point of no return in terms of finding out whether the contours of the land work out as you've envisaged them. I'll come back to the balsa wood strips in a moment...

 

post-16151-0-17505600-1516986304_thumb.jpg

With the road bridge (from the last episode) in position, chicken wiring can go up to the bridge and beyond.

 

post-16151-0-06551400-1516986390_thumb.jpg

And now to the balsa wood. I'm sure you've worked out by now that this is associated with the dry stone walls. Having tried this out on the test piece and been pleased with the results, this became the established technique. This in 3mm balsa, cut into strips 16mm high but not otherwise too straight and true - a certain degree of higgledy-piggledy-ness is to be encouraged! A small sliver was removed off the top edges (again, doesn't have to be too neat) to promote the rounded top of the caping stones. It is then deliberately snapped every 2-3 inches and then fixed in placed using short lengths of soft steel. This allows it to follow the contours of the land. The fixing in place is only an interim stage, as what follows next firms it up solid.

 

post-16151-0-98764700-1516986457_thumb.jpg

After chicken wire, comes the mod-roc (other brands of plaster-impregnated bandage are available). This is the 'trick', if there is one: short strips as shown are shaped round the balsa formers and checked for uprightness.

 

post-16151-0-52088000-1516986536_thumb.jpg

The next strips of mod-roc are then laid so as to overlap the previous pieces up to the base of the wall each side. I then add a second layer to strengthen things up but this doesn't need to be over the wall former at all. By doing it like this, the drystone walls have become integral to the scenery structure. In actual fact, the spine of the wall even adds some strength to the structure.

 

post-16151-0-17302500-1516988813_thumb.jpg

So now we get some idea of the famous Shap Wells scene. In spite of the whiteness, the outline of the walls can be made out.

 

post-16151-0-42704200-1516988947_thumb.jpg

And an idea of the view as it enters the cutting. Note how the texture of the mod-roc actually does a passable impression of the stonework as it is - but we didn't leave it like that! The Brit was picked up a swapmeet and gets some attention in due course. It's actually a tender drive version but destined to double-head with a Black 5 so that doesn't matter so much.

 

More soon.

Edited by LNER4479
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Time for another instalment, methinks

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6572.JPG

With the front baseboard structure complete, it's chicken wire time. This is the point of no return in terms of finding out whether the contours of the land work out as you've envisaged them. I'll come back to the balsa wood strips in a moment...

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6580.JPG

With the road bridge (from the last episode) in position, chicken wiring can go up to the bridge and beyond.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6582.JPG

And now to the balsa wood. I'm sure you've worked out by now that this is associated with the dry stone walls. Having tried this out on the test piece and been pleased with the results, this became the established technique. This in 3mm balsa, cut into strips 16mm high but not otherwise too straight and true - a certain degree of higgledy-piggledy-ness is to be encouraged! A small sliver was removed off the top edges (again, doesn't have to be too neat) to promote the rounded top of the caping stones. It is then deliberately snapped every 2-3 inches and then fixed in placed using short lengths of soft steel. This allows it to follow the contours of the land. The fixing in place is only an interim stage, as what follows next firms it up solid.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6584.JPG

After chicken wire, comes the mod-roc (other brands of plaster-impregnated bandage are available). This is the 'trick', if there is one: short strips as shown are shaped round the balsa formers and checked for uprightness.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6586.JPG

The next strips of mod-roc are then laid so as to overlap the previous pieces up to the base of the wall each side. I then add a second layer to strengthen things up but this doesn't need to be over the wall former at all. By doing it like this, the drystone walls have become integral to the scenery structure. In actual fact, the spine of the wall even adds some strength to the structure.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6602.JPG

So now we get some idea of the famous Shap Wells scene. In spite of the whiteness, the outline of the walls can be made out.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_6577.JPG

And an idea of the view as it enters the cutting. Note how the texture of the mod-roc actually does a passable impression of the stonework as it is - but we didn't leave it like that! The Brit was picked up a swapmeet and gets some attention in due course. It's actually a tender drive version but destined to double-head with a Black 5 so that doesn't matter so much.

 

More soon.

Very nice Graham. I like the walling technique and might try that in due course.

 

A cheaper alternative to plaster bandage that is used a lot round here is to use Chux towels (J-cloths to you) soaked in plaster.

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Very nice Graham. I like the walling technique and might try that in due course.

 

A cheaper alternative to plaster bandage that is used a lot round here is to use Chux towels (J-cloths to you) soaked in plaster.

I do something similar with Garden Floss from the garden centre, cut into squares and then soaked in Hydrocal.

 

Jamie

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  • 3 weeks later...

With all the attention focused on getting Grantham ready for the next two show, I managed to build a few wagons to supplement the Shap rolling stock collection.  Looking at historic photographs produced two photographs with wagons that interested me.  The bulk Soda Ash wagons built for ICI in the early 1960s and a much earlier milk tank transporter, which may find a use in the future.

post-27867-0-87356400-1518763315_thumb.jpg

post-27867-0-21148500-1518763377_thumb.jpg

Edited by LMS29
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Dear Mr Duck,

yes please.. I still have a pile of sides and other bits from all sorts of etchers to buildup into LMS coaches.

 

Baz

Baz

  

Baz, if I have not done this by this time next week would you please PM me as I am forgetful, even after writing notes to myself!

Thanks

Phil

Hello Phil,

 

Would you mind sending this to me too please?

 

Thanks,

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Just before Geoff Brewin passed away he was working on a plan for using Comet LMS bits on Dapol Kit donors. I have a copy of the notes he made about this suggesting which LMS Diagrams could be created. Happy to send you that if it could be useful? It would probably be better for Graham's planned project but could suit Shap.

Phil

Phil

Andy, can you remind me what it is I was supposed to be doing? Thanks

Phil

Yeah, it would help if I'd multiquoted the correct (as above) post, wouldn't it Phil?

 

Sorry for the confusion, but it's a copy of those notes that I'm after if you would be so kind?

 

Rgds,

Edited by leopardml2341
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