Hill Top Quarries

[Zunnan]

Actual progress on the layout itself has been rather lacking in more than quite a while, but some baby steps have been taken now that the electrickery has been sorted out. I shan't go with the obligatory 'I've ballasted' photo, but the top of the incline is now sitting in cinders awaiting some grass and moss incursion. I think I'll be doing some more testing before I go that far too!

 

Trying to get a flavour of the location while also compressing about 16 feet worth of scenery and trying not to completely overdo it in typical cram everything in fashion was one of the things which I initially quite enjoyed at the planning stage. Coming back with a fresh view after a few years of literally ignoring the layout has in some ways helped. The original plan was to have some form of stone crusher on an upper level behind the incline top fed by a couple of sidings. With hindsight this would have been a bit much, so instead the ramshackle timber engine shed from further down the line from the incline is being moved here with a single through running line and a switchback to the rest of the system 'off camera'. Two points on the entire layout, simples!

 

Even so, with three of the four roads on the layout occupied, it can look rather busy!

 

 

 

The division between high and higher level has been a hole in the layout for years, so the first foot towards filling that hole is in progress. In reality this was a steep grass bank with the sidings much further away. But as I'm basically putting in some of the rest of the line beyond the winding house basically folded in on itself and much closer to the incline top, the walls can move forward too. In keeping with parts of the real location though the wall itself is a patchwork of original stone wall, brick additions, patchwork brick repairs and also shuttered in concrete. This bit serves as a test bed for just about everything I want to throw at it, so it has elements of everything chucked in. It also wouldn't feel right if it wasn't made (almost) entirely from Wills product. As much as I like the effect I managed with the concrete shuttering test, I'm dreading trying to replicate this for more than 18 inches further along where it needs to be of all concrete construction! Its done using 2mm x 1mm styrene, flooding the join between layers with solvent and then pushing the join to blow out the melted material to make the seam. I've still to figure out exactly how I'm going to be painting the concrete, some experimentation with Plastikote suede will be on the cards.

 

Stein um Stein, mache ich meine Mauer...bit of industrial metal on my mind, so a play on a rather fitting Rammstein song is called for!

Edited August 4, 2022 by Zunnan
reinstating images

[Zunnan]

Bit of a site visit day today with more than a few photos taken, but fear not, I'll keep it short!

 

 

 

Starting with the view from what used to be the over bridge looking down to the site of the trap points.

 

 

 

Its surprising how high the track bed mounted up over the path down from the bridge.

 

 

 

Still just about visible in the grass is one of the cable trenches. The foundations for the winding house are now long buried. I'm glad I found them here when I was working on the overhead phone cables through the site all those years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walls to the North of the cable trenches are cast concrete and brick, the brick being rather well hidden in a knot of nettles these days. Its days like this that I appreciate winter!

Edited August 4, 2022 by Zunnan
reinstating images

[Zunnan]

 

 

 

 

One of the features of Clee Hill I'd like to try and squeeze in is this structure set back into the retaining walls, inside which is dug a now filled with rubble stairway up to where the narrow gauge fan of sidings and inclines once lay.

 

 

 

More typical of the photos you can find of the walls at the site. Cast concrete on stone, the square holes and angled top at this point presumably showing its past as the location where stone was transferred from narrow gauge lines to the line of waiting standard gauge wagons at the top of the incline.

 

 

 

 

 

In the background of many photos of the incline top can be seen a girder bridge apparently to nowhere. In some photos it appears that the bridge carries lighting. The piles of rubble in the grass nearby would suggest it was possibly a footbridge over the narrow gauge lines as the foundations of the demolished parapet are very close to the top of the stairwell which leads down into the brick building inset into the walls. Behind this bridge is a walled in water supply, still trickling away but covered in corrugated iron to stop sheep from falling in.

 

 

 

The view towards Ludlow, down onto the incline top and Dhustone is stunning, even in the inclement weather today. 

Edited August 4, 2022 by Zunnan
reinstating images

[Zunnan]

 

 

On the D J Norton website is a photo of the old timber engine shed, which was sited at this spot. Even today some 60 odd years following closure you can still make out where it was dug into the small embankment on the right hand side. Those poles also hold some memories for me!

 

 

 

 

 

As well as the walls and bridge remains, this concrete monolith still stands. Quite how to incorporate something like this into Hill top is still to be decided, its a signature feature of the remains here, but space on the layout behind the winding house is rather limited!

Edited August 4, 2022 by Zunnan
reinstating images

[Zunnan]

I shan't toddle off down the rest of the route just yet as this is as far as the 4ft of Hill Top is going to try and squeeze in (somehow!), the concrete monoliths are at a point which from the road bridge would require more than 16 feet of layout as it is! But up on the hills above, some time ago I walked upon another rather nice little relic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quite literally a bridge to nowhere, another one! Its not small by any stretch of the imagination being by my reconing 11ft high, yet its still dwarfed by the scenery up here. 7 miles walked, and about half a mile in photos!

 

 

 

This little monster enjoyed her walk, the sheep were elsewhere so she got the rare opportunity to be let off lead in the fenced off areas, which more than made up for having to put up with me scrambling over the remains and rubble lower down the hill.

Edited August 4, 2022 by Zunnan
reinstating images

[5050]

The view from the top is amazing.  I well remember camping up there one Saturday night (probably 30 years ago at least!) when making a pilgrimage with my mate to the Severn Valley Gala Weekend.  A beautiful evening, dusk closing in, bacon and egg on the stove, beer bottles opened - and a train way down in the vally going to Ludlow sounding as if it was only half a mile away.  Wonderful

[Zunnan]

5 minutes ago, 5050 said:

The view from the top is amazing.  I well remember camping up there one Saturday night (probably 30 years ago at least!) when making a pilgrimage with my mate to the Severn Valley Gala Weekend.  A beautiful evening, dusk closing in, bacon and egg on the stove, beer bottles opened - and a train way down in the vally going to Ludlow sounding as if it was only half a mile away.  Wonderful

 

Absolutely! While there today I thought it'd be rude not to hike up to Titterstone summit as I haven't been up there since lockdown started. Its been a long time since I had to work up this way too, I think the closest I've got other than driving over Clee Hill in passing has been Cleobury a few years ago too. Its a stunning place, I only wish I'd made it up here in the snow the other day.

[Zunnan]

One of the remaining features of Clee Hill I am particularly drawn to is the inset brick structure, presumably once a dispatch office of some description as it links the standard gauge and narrow gauge lines and is not too far from the incline top. It presents quite a nice challenge being surrounded by both stone wall and cast in concrete so I thought I'd have a stab at it.

 

 

The bare bones brick portion wasn't too bad to get scaled and shaped, though I'm in no rush to go carving out those upper bricks again!

 

 

 

With a bit of stone walling added, with the raised moulding filed down so the stone appears a bit more dressed, its starting to take shape.

 

 

 

Once the concrete casting is added in, and a few interior pieces of brick, I'm quite pleased with how its starting to turn out. I ended up scaling down the concrete to 9" between layers, as when I tried with the real things 12" it looked a bit sparse, especially with the overall height of the model being reduced somewhat to match the height of the sidings above.

 

 

 

Foreshortening of the layout means there isn't a lot of room to squeeze it in, so for now its sited around 100 feet closer to the winding house. I may have to deepen the top concrete sill above the windows, it feels a little undernourished in this pic...

Edited August 4, 2022 by Zunnan
reinstating images

[2996 Victor]

Hi @Zunnan,

 

I've been following this thread on-and-off for a while, and just had another skim through. Have you made any more progress? Also, and I know this will a royal PITA, but is there any chance of the photos being restored? I seem to recall they were fairly spectacular!

All the best,

 

Mark

[Tortuga]

I agree. It’s always interesting to see the remains of industrial workings as they are now and this layout is shaping up nicely to showcase how those workings used to be when active.

[Zunnan]

Work has been getting in the way quite spectacularly since I took on a new role, lots of working on lodge so unfortunately the layout has taken a bit of a back seat in favour of making up for lost time with the family or quick and easy hack and slash conversions of old stock. Even my club chairman has got to the stage of threatening to book Hill Top at the clubs exhibition, he's even threatening to look into organising an industrial layouts exhibition just so he can book it twice! Just to get my backside into gear! I think he's addicted to the sound fit I did in the Sentinel to be honest... 😅

 

I'll have a scan through what images I still retain, a lot were taken on a phone I no longer possess, so some photos may be a bit more difficult to reinstate.

 

On the layout front I think the next thing to tackle before I start in anger on scenery is to get the fiddle yards sorted, the switch to DCC has proven pretty much bomb proof.

[2996 Victor]

Ah, work! The curse of the modelling (and drinking) classes! Seriously, though, family time comes first by a country mile, and I hope the new job is going well, too!

 

Glad to hear the layout is alive and well and that you're hoping to move on to the scenery. Don't worry about the photos, it happens, and hopefully they will be restored anyway..... And don't be pressured by your club chairman 😁

 

Looking forward to following your progress in due course.

 

All the best,

Mark

[Gordon A]

Thank you for reinstating your pictures.

I have an interest in this line as I am researching Bitterley sidings at the foot of the incline.

 

Gordon A

[2996 Victor]

Me again - sorry! 

 

I'm sure I saw the word "kip" mentioned in connection with the incline gradient, but cannot now find the post in question.

 

Could you possibly explain what a "kip" is, please?

 

Many thanks!

 

Mark

[Zunnan]

On 05/08/2022 at 08:31, 2996 Victor said:

Could you possibly explain what a "kip" is, please?

 

Many thanks!

 

Mark

 

I do know of the term. A kip is basically the change in gradient at the top of an incline with a slight grade down the rope side so that wagons can roll off and away from the main incline. Places like Bowes have quite pronounced Kips, and there is a nice description on the Tanfield Railway Blog.

 

As far as I am aware, Clee Hill did not use a kip, though the gradient profile of the railway at the top may have allowed wagons to roll away from the incline rather than towards it.

[Covkid]

On 01/12/2021 at 17:07, Zunnan said:

As well as the walls and bridge remains, this concrete monolith still stands. Quite how to incorporate something like this into Hill top is still to be decided, its a signature feature of the remains here, but space on the layout behind the winding house is rather limited!

 

Fascinating piccies, which remind me so much of mooching around Arenig a few years ago. Old stone and concrete structures, somewhat weatherbeaten, amidst what appears to be moorland grass and shrubs. 

 

Great stuff

[Zunnan]

A bit of modelling time has occurred!

 

I’ve been giving some thought to the conundrum of the scenic break to the right side of the layout and come to the realisation that nothing I can concoct will truly fit. So, I have resorted to one of my pet hates…PECO girders!

 

 

Suitably modified with a layer or two of styrene and a pouncing wheel!

 

 

To add to the oh so cliche PECO scenic break, I used another one of their oft used products to tie the plate girders together…

 

 

…And made the monstrosity longer!

[Zunnan]

Of course, the PECO monstrosity needs to be tied in with a bit of Clee Hill flavour, so my photos of the “bridge to nowhere” have come in handy!

 

 

My usual method of building a 1mm or 1.5mm plasticard sub-structure was employed. The now obligatory Wills brick then added to provide the masonry.

 

 

Shuttered concrete wing walls as per the bridge to nowhere we’re added using a scale 18” (6mm) styrene. The joins between concrete layers was done as before by flooding the join with plastic magic and forcing the join together causing melted material to seep out.

 

 

With a bit of primer liberally applied, it’s starting to look half presentable from some angles.

[Zunnan]

 

Drainage holes were added more or less as per the prototype, and pilasters based roughly on the surviving examples on another abutment up at Dhustone. I’ve not quite decided on the level of disrepair…some bricks and capping stones are going to go for a tumble sooner or later. A light mortar wash really helps the brickwork, but it’s FAR too clean! So far it’s just red oxide primer with a flesh tone wash for the brickwork, with Plastikote Suede for the concrete. Much weathering down is yet needed.

 

 

Just a very basic bit of paint and pilasters make a huge difference to the view from the fiddle yard!

 

And from the layout side, even those PECO girders are starting to fit in. The modifications to them just about help lift them from being a complete cop-out! 😅

Edited November 17, 2022 by Zunnan

[MrWolf]

Impressive, I found that taking the time to modify and improve some very basic commercial products even by small degrees can make the model look unique and fool the viewer that it's all scratch built.

[Ruston]

I like the method employed for making shuttered concrete. I'm going to have to nick that idea.

[Jack P]

This is a fantastic bit of modelling! Really embodies the full gambit of the skills that I think are so important to creating a cohesive scene. The scenic modelling really grabs me.

 

Has there been any recent progress you can share?