Bilton Junction

[Jon4470]

7 hours ago, jessy1692 said:

Top stuff Jon! 

Are them tanks two different lengths or is it a trick of the light?  If so i need to brush up on them, been a while since i did any 009...In fact rolling stock wise you have achieved more than i have in a decade already haha!

Excellent builds there, looking forward to seeing how your Spencer comes on.

 

Have you got the got the RT models kits on stock for the other 2?

 

I still need to have a wander down to the railway and take some pics of the remnants, just a bit wary in the current climate as the latest trend in Harrogate is the facebook mafia constantly complaining of people wandering around and taking pictures of people exercising. (Its 5 mins down the road so legitimately within the decreed exercise remit for me)  I think ill wait until we can all go out without being labelled a pariah...

 

Top job, cant wait to see more develop

All the best

James

 

 

 

Hi James

 

Thanks for the kind words - they are much appreciated.

 

In the photo I think the left hand tank wagon looks much shorter than the right hand one. They are certainly meant to be the same length. So I had to check....quickly! In the flesh, so to speak, the chassis lengths are almost identical and the barrel of the left hand one is 1-2mm shorter. That is a bit frustrating but not really noticeable in reality. Will try to get a photo to show this. If I take a photo from above it will also show the different arrangement of fillers and outlets that the two tanks had.

 

I don’t have the Peckett or Drewery kits simply because they are too late for my time frame. On the other hand if Barber becomes available I will get one straight away

 

I’m tempted to paint Spencer green - on the basis that it might have been this colour later on in life ( and blacks and greys do get a little boring). Getting ahead of myself though - must build it first.

 

As for walks....I remember them! Stay safe even though it’s frustrating.

 

Jon

[jessy1692]

27 minutes ago, Jon4470 said:

 

Hi James

 

Thanks for the kind words - they are much appreciated.

 

In the photo I think the left hand tank wagon looks much shorter than the right hand one. They are certainly meant to be the same length. So I had to check....quickly! In the flesh, so to speak, the chassis lengths are almost identical and the barrel of the left hand one is 1-2mm shorter. That is a bit frustrating but not really noticeable in reality. Will try to get a photo to show this. If I take a photo from above it will also show the different arrangement of fillers and outlets that the two tanks had.

 

I don’t have the Peckett or Drewery kits simply because they are too late for my time frame. On the other hand if Barber becomes available I will get one straight away

 

I’m tempted to paint Spencer green - on the basis that it might have been this colour later on in life ( and blacks and greys do get a little boring). Getting ahead of myself though - must build it first.

 

As for walks....I remember them! Stay safe even though it’s frustrating.

 

Jon

Hi Jon, im sure once the tanks are in black you wont be able to notice the slight discrepency, looks like it is a trick of the light in the pic as it looks a lot shorter to me, anyway im sure they wernt exactly the same in real life!

 

Id be interested to see some close ups of the pipework on them for future reference if ever get back to my proper bench..

 

Ah yes i forgot your period wont have the later two engines, Spencer in green would be interesting, off top of my head i think it did go off to Hunslet's for an overhaul so quite probably it did come back in 'Hunslet" green, Barber certainly had 2 shades of green applied over its life, the bright Thomas Green green like its in now and the darker Hunslet green after overhaul- havnt the book to hand so might be worth a check!

 

One day the Barber kit will appear im sure, i see on RT's website you can buy Barber bits but not the full kit.. its close i feel, but iv been saying that for years! 

 

What bogies have you used for the wagons?

 

Cheers

James

[Jon4470]

Hi James

 

As requested a few close up details - sorry if they are a bit blurred in places. The close up and magnified ones really highlight some blemishes though.

 

I made the pipe using plastic rod bent to shape with the help of a hairdryer..... be cautious because it is very easy to overheat the pipe. (How do I know that.....)

The flanges are fibre washers and the valve is fashioned from filler.

 

 

 

 

The last one shows the bogies. These are Dundas Models WW1 War Dept bogies. These are not, yet, as free running as I want.  I’ll need to do a bit more fettling to sort that. I’ve added coil springs either side of the axle boxes. These are made from 5amp fuse wire rapped tightly around a piece of 0.45mm wire (not left in place just used as a former). The couplings are from Peco. Again a bit more fettling required to get them operating perfectly.

 

I think that I will leave them in grey, at least for now. Clearly there will be some heavy weathering to do.......what is the best way to replicate tar runs? From what I can see from the Tar Dock ( which still has the runs down one wall) it was very thick tar.

 

 

Oh - just to show that the wagons are  the same length here is a photo from overhead

 

 

 

Jon

[jessy1692]

11 minutes ago, Jon4470 said:

Hi James

 

As requested a few close up details - sorry if they are a bit blurred in places. The close up and magnified ones really highlight some blemishes though.

 

I made the pipe using plastic rod bent to shape with the help of a hairdryer..... be cautious because it is very easy to overheat the pipe. (How do I know that.....)

The flanges are fibre washers and the valve is fashioned from filler.

 

 

 

 

The last one shows the bogies. These are Dundas Models WW1 War Dept bogies. These are not, yet, as free running as I want.  I’ll need to do a bit more fettling to sort that. I’ve added coil springs either side of the axle boxes. These are made from 5amp fuse wire rapped tightly around a piece of 0.45mm wire (not left in place just used as a former). The couplings are from Peco. Again a bit more fettling required to get them operating perfectly.

 

I think that I will leave them in grey, at least for now. Clearly there will be some heavy weathering to do.......what is the best way to replicate tar runs? From what I can see from the Tar Dock ( which still has the runs down one wall) it was very thick tar.

 

 

Oh - just to show that the wagons are  the same length here is a photo from overhead

 

 

 

Jon

Cheers Jon, great looking wagons and definately banked for my future ref.

 

Indeed the tar on the dock is very thick, must be over an inch, you can still see the where the sleepers were on the top.

Looking this pic i think grey is the colour of thank bodies/chassis as the tar stains are darker, i think some dark/black washes will tone them down well and bring up the details and then build up layers of matt black/oily colour to get the tar, could we worth experimenting thickening up some paint and almost stippling it on as you can see a texture to the tar, its not that smooth and quite lumpy. I dread to think what nasty chemicals it contains!

Thanks for pics

James

[jessy1692]

Hi Jon, apolgies for a lot of posts, not easy editing pics on my phone!

I went down the river for a bit of a walk this morning as the weather is cool and grey to keep the hoards at bay managed to got a few snaps for you. Very over grown now round the drops and tar dock, cant get down to have a look at the wall. Hope they are some use

Tar dock from Woodfield Road

Corner of tar dock looking down Bilton Lane, entrance to gas works yard on left

Gate to yard, if you look very closely to the left of the gate post what looks like an original crossing gate is slowly rotting away

Looking down into the yard, just about see the wall of the tar dock on the right curving around to form the abutment for the girder bridge

Plaque on the concrete wall of the tar dock facing the running lines

Tar staining, note how thick it is at the top of the wall still, in hot weather it still can drip down! I didnt climb up the top, too many people about!

Pretty much covered in tar all the way along, ground in front of this part has been built up

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by jessy1692

[jessy1692]

Corner of the dock looking down into the entrance to the yard, girder bridge would have come over to the right

Looking across to the other side showing the abutment and retaining wall, the incline was pretty severe even for the size of the engines, i think they always pushed the tar wagons up

Looking back towards Bilton Lane showing widthe of the dock, you can just make out the masonry on the abutment corner in the Y of the tree

Edited April 13, 2020 by jessy1692

[jessy1692]

Exploring in the undergrowth now, you cant see much nowadays but the edge of the retaining wall for the drops is still there

Remains of the gas lamp still on the wall, the ground below still has a drop but has been built up from the original yard, this is about 10ft away from the corner of the tar dock

Now this view has the drop into the yard on the left, im stood on the stones on the top of the wall with the gas lamp behind me, i think this is one of the chutes, the masonry block you can see in the vegetation is the pier in between the two chutes. The chutes were originally tiled in orangy/terracotta tiles. I think ill revisit this area again once lockdown is over as its been so long since i explored and the new houses built i found it hard to get my bearings

Edited April 13, 2020 by jessy1692

[jessy1692]

Now moving away from the drops in the Ripon direction, hopefully these snaps will show how the sidings were on an incline

Not entirely sure what this stancion was for, seems a bit heavy duty for a fence post and there doesnt seem to be any more

To the right of the stancion hopefulhy you can see the track bed of the siding starting to rise, it looks like the siding closest to the edge was either level or not as inclined as the one nearest the running line

Moving further on the incline is more visible, a good couple of foot difference

 

Im back on the running lines now, you can see how the sidings were built up on stacked sleepers

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by jessy1692

[jessy1692]

The sidings came to an end where the cattle creep is, heres the blocked up entrance, the ground level here has been built up a lot, the other side where the farm is the arch is much higher, the steps on the right are coming down from the running lines

Here is the end of the bank the sidings were on, the stais and the cattle arch are just to my left. The sleeper retainers here now arnt orininal i dont think, originally it was a real sleeper stack with the sidings on top, i think i have an old pic sonewhere ill try find. The Barber line  yard exit was sonewhere where the garden fence is now

Edited April 13, 2020 by jessy1692

[Jon4470]

Hi James

 

Thanks for taking those photos. You’ve managed to take some interesting views ( and just before the vegetation really gets going  and blocks all the views,) Also thanks for the PM of the old photo. I spotted the sleepers in the undergrowth last year. I thought that they were just a retaining wall. Now it looks like they were part of a stack.

 

I’ll be comparing all of the modern photo with the old ones to compare.

 

Jon

[jessy1692]

3 minutes ago, Jon4470 said:

Hi James

 

Thanks for taking those photos. You’ve managed to take some interesting views ( and just before the vegetation really gets going  and blocks all the views,) Also thanks for the PM of the old photo. I spotted the sleepers in the undergrowth last year. I thought that they were just a retaining wall. Now it looks like they were part of a stack.

 

I’ll be comparing all of the modern photo with the old ones to compare.

 

Jon

No problem Jon, was nice to be out for a bit, didnt realise just how over grown it is off the cycle path now, probably have to wait for end of the year if you need any more!  I have some of the viaduct as well if you need but i lost patience uploading them on here earlier.

 

The sleeper stack next to the cattle arch will be a very interesting feature, cant think iv seen anything else like that anywhere else.

 

Wish id taken more pics when i was a kid and you could mess about down there before the 3 new houses got built...

 

Cheers

James

 

 

 

 

[Jon4470]

Well it’s been just over a week since I last did any work on Spencer. I was pondering how to repair the valve gear and tonight I got on with it.

 

I raided the scrap etch box and found a suitable piece of Nickel Silver. ( This is why I don’t throw things away)

 

 

I reckoned that piece would be ok - and a lot easier than trying to drill holes in pieces of strip.

 

The valve gear assembly (using lace pins and paper washers) was fiddly....but eventually I got this:

 

 

 

At a few points I did wonder about making Spencer an inside valve gear loco and throwing all this spaghetti away!

 

Anyway, I didn’t, and the wheel sets now look like this

 

 

 

I then then moved onto the chassis. This is just posed - nothing stuck together yet......maybe tomorrow.

 

 

 

I’m feeling better about this kit now that it is all going back together. I’m sure there will plenty of fun to come though...getting it all to work.

 

Jon

[jessy1692]

Nice job fixing that valve gear, once its free running the body is a doddle and benefits from added little details. Not sure how your minitrix motor runs but i ended up swapping it out for a more modern mashima i think, it was pretty easy to swap. I think....

 

Cant wait to see spencer progress, did i send you over the scan of the drawing from the book?

Cheers.

James

[Jon4470]

I’m still a bit concerned about the valve gear. It’s quite possible that the crank will simply revolve in the wheel and end up dangling around doing not much! It was a tight fit pushing it in - so fingers crossed it stays fixed.

The holes in the coupling rods are also huge so there is going to be plenty of slop in the valve gear. I would never  build a kit like that - but this was how it was on the chassis so I left it well alone.

 

so along with the motor problem that you had I guess we just have to say that it was a product of its time ( the design must be 40-50 years old by now).

 

I’ll see how it runs before deciding about the motor. It looks to be in good condition though. 

 

One question about the chassis though - can you remember if you left the plastic insulating washer on the retaining bush for the bogie? As it stands the casting for the motion plate won’t fit over the plastic washer unless I enlarge the hole. So I’ve taken the washer off. The bogie will be live to one side and without the washer that means that the chassis will also be live - I think that will be ok....just pondering it at the moment.

 

I don’t think that you sent the scan of the plans. I have the book of the history of the line at that has a plan in it (7mm scale I think) - is that the same one that you are thinking about?

I’m trying not to worry about making up the revised cab yet.........I feel that I should do it in brass - but plastic might be easier.

 

Final question - did you get the name plates from Narrow Planet?

 

Jon

 

 

[jessy1692]

51 minutes ago, Jon4470 said:

I’m still a bit concerned about the valve gear. It’s quite possible that the crank will simply revolve in the wheel and end up dangling around doing not much! It was a tight fit pushing it in - so fingers crossed it stays fixed.

The holes in the coupling rods are also huge so there is going to be plenty of slop in the valve gear. I would never  build a kit like that - but this was how it was on the chassis so I left it well alone.

 

so along with the motor problem that you had I guess we just have to say that it was a product of its time ( the design must be 40-50 years old by now).

 

I’ll see how it runs before deciding about the motor. It looks to be in good condition though. 

 

One question about the chassis though - can you remember if you left the plastic insulating washer on the retaining bush for the bogie? As it stands the casting for the motion plate won’t fit over the plastic washer unless I enlarge the hole. So I’ve taken the washer off. The bogie will be live to one side and without the washer that means that the chassis will also be live - I think that will be ok....just pondering it at the moment.

 

I don’t think that you sent the scan of the plans. I have the book of the history of the line at that has a plan in it (7mm scale I think) - is that the same one that you are thinking about?

I’m trying not to worry about making up the revised cab yet.........I feel that I should do it in brass - but plastic might be easier.

 

Final question - did you get the name plates from Narrow Planet?

 

Jon

 

 

Morning Jon, definitely a product of its time, must have been quite good back then but things move on. Hopefully your fix will hold up, im surprised there isnt a brass chissis kit appeared for the WD Hunslets yet, well not tht iv looked really...

 

Ooof now you are asking! I think i kept it to try insulate the chassis, although i do recall thinking id use the front bogie for extra pick ups, cant remember now and dont have access to the model. Ill boot up the lap top and see if i have any more chassis pics. Likewise with scans of the drawings, makes all the difference to be able to scale down to 4mm and print off- ill PM them over in a bit. I nearly did the cab in brass but im more used to plastic it was pretty easy to be honest, brass may just give it that extra fidelity though.

 

Name and works plates certainly came from Narrow Planet, i did them as a custom job and can thoroughly reccomend them, they may have them as a listed item on their site now. If not their ordering system is very clever, just select the style of plates you need and add details.

 

Hope some of this helps, ill get a pm sent shortly

Cheers

James

[jessy1692]

Ahh, just been looking over my blog on here and noticed something on the front bogie in this pic,

i have put masking tape on the bogie block on behind the wheels! Obviously to insulate it. The wheels i used came from an N gauge Bachmann american steam engine that i had that had a 4 axle bogie so the wheels must have been insulated themselves.

Not exactly the most technical fix but it works! So i must have not used the plastic washer as i probably had the same issue that you describe.

Hope this helps

James

Edited April 15, 2020 by jessy1692

[Jon4470]

James

 

Thanks for that idea....I’ve found some spare wheels that look like they have a plastic, and therefore insulated, axle. Even better they are solid and not spoked. I’m going to try fibre washers behind the wheels...the backup plan maybe masking tape

 

Jon

[jessy1692]

1 hour ago, Jon4470 said:

James

 

Thanks for that idea....I’ve found some spare wheels that look like they have a plastic, and therefore insulated, axle. Even better they are solid and not spoked. I’m going to try fibre washers behind the wheels...the backup plan maybe masking tape

 

Jon

Sounds a good plan Jon, running joke between my Dad is most of my models are made of masking tape and blue tac! Way i see it is just do whatever is easiest and most effective!

Good luck with the build!

James

[cornelius]

There are some notes on Michael Campbell's on sorting out his own WD Hunslet which might be useful.

 

http://michaelsrailways.blogspot.com/search/label/War Department

[jessy1692]

45 minutes ago, cornelius said:

There are some notes on Michael Campbell's on sorting out his own WD Hunslet which might be useful.

 

http://michaelsrailways.blogspot.com/search/label/War Department

Hi Cornelius, am i right in thinking you guys @NP did an etch for the hoppers many moons ago looking to make a kit? Any chance that could be resurrected?

Cheers.

James

 

[Jon4470]

54 minutes ago, cornelius said:

There are some notes on Michael Campbell's on sorting out his own WD Hunslet which might be useful.

 

http://michaelsrailways.blogspot.com/search/label/War Department

 

Hi Cornelius

 

Thanks for that link.....I expect that I will find it very useful in the next couple of days.

 

Since my last posting I have sorted out the wheels and bogie.The new wheels did have a plastic axle - which was good. Not so good was the diameter of the axle .... about twice that of the holes in the bogie. After much drilling, reaming, filing etc I have got that sorted.

 

Tonight I did a bit of construction ( soldering on the dome, sandbox, chimney) and plenty of destruction ( cutting down the chimney and cab.)

 

I also glued on the motion bracket and front frames. I used 5 minute epoxy but I’m leaving well alone for 24 hours to let the glue really cure. Then it will be time to reassemble the valve gear, motor etc. Fingers crossed!

 

For some reason I can’t upload a photo...never mind. I’ll try again tomorrow.

 

Jon

 

 

[Jon4470]

11 minutes ago, jessy1692 said:

Hi Cornelius, am i right in thinking you guys @NP did an etch for the hoppers many moons ago looking to make a kit? Any chance that could be resurrected?

Cheers.

James

 

 

I heard the same - think it might have been test etches.

I’d be interested - even if they are just the basic etches. Looking at my plastic version I don’t think it has enough weight. When I do my next one, I plan to use a brass chassis frame at least, which should help. Of course etched sides would be even better!

 

Jon

[jessy1692]

4 minutes ago, Jon4470 said:

 

I heard the same - think it might have been test etches.

I’d be interested - even if they are just the basic etches. Looking at my plastic version I don’t think it has enough weight. When I do my next one, I plan to use a brass chassis frame at least, which should help. Of course etched sides would be even better!

 

Jon

Evening Jon, it was definitely a test etch there pics on the net from NP  one of guys was building a model of the Gas Works or based on, it looked good for test so was hoping it may become a kit, id definately be in for 4 or 5.

[Jon4470]

Photo decided to upload at last!

 

Here’s the current state of play........hopefully a working chassis next.

 

[cornelius]

28 minutes ago, jessy1692 said:

Evening Jon, it was definitely a test etch there pics on the net from NP  one of guys was building a model of the Gas Works or based on, it looked good for test so was hoping it may become a kit, id definately be in for 4 or 5.

 

Yes this has been a long-stalled project, there was still a lot of detail to add. At the time it was also using Dundas bogies, although the later 1950s Hudson pattern with a strip added below the axleboxes.

 

 

I would still like to realise the plan I drew up for a layout based on the New Park end of the line but hard to say when this will happen!