Fenwick Pit: a North East Colliery in 2mm

[Geordie Exile]

***Edit: Thread moved to 2mm Finescale Forum 10/10/2020 ***

 

Having not picked up a sheet of plasticard or a Swann Morton blade in 36 years, I'm getting back into railway modelling. I've a hankering to recreate the feel of a North East colliery, so I'm giving Fenwick Pit a go. There's a wealth of archive material out there, and it's not that far from where I grew up.

 

Because the winding house still exists, and it's a simple box, I thought I'd make a start on that. I'll (try to) update this thread as the projects grows,  but it'll be a pic a week probably, as real life gets in the way.  Anyway, here's my first attempt, still clearly work in progress...

Edited October 10, 2020 by Geordie Exile

[Mark Saunders]

It looks good as I had that feeling of deja vu when I saw it and then  read the script!

 

Having seen the building in the distance everyday when going to school!

[Caledonian]

And of course its still there and instantly recognisable from the model 

[Geordie Exile]

Thanks, both, that's really encouraging!  It's now got a coat of paint (note to self - mix up enough brick-red for all four walls!) and some glazing.  Will bung on the fourth wall and take another pic.

[Geordie Exile]

Roof on, base coat on. Those lintels and cills were fiddly! Still need to weather it to lighten up the brickwork which is way too dark, and figure out how to build the exterior steps. Spot the source photos in the background.

 

And I've realised I haven't cut the lower aperture for the winding cable. I've been working from plans I found, and that aperture is masked by a roofline. .

[Geordie Exile]

That's the main winding house done. Now to tackle those exterior steps. I have no idea how to make them!  

 

And does anyone know what sort of door went in the big hole I've left? 

[Geordie Exile]

The exterior stairs can wait!  I've now started on the workshops and outbuildings. I think I've made a rod for my own back building the windows with microstrip, cos it's so fiddly.  Thank goodness I've got one of those magnifying headset things.  I'm working from photos and plans but the construction of the roofs remains a mystery, and pretty much all the photos of this building are from ground level.  I'm just guessing that they were concrete and corrugated iron.  Anyway, the outbuildings attached to the southern aspect of the winding house are in place, awaiting painting, glazing and doors.

Edited September 19, 2019 by Geordie Exile

[Geordie Exile]

The finished (apart from the exterior steps, for which I have a cunning plan) winding house and associated workshops.  It's sitting on a brick from the Hotspur Brickworks, which made bricks for the colliery, and which took coal from the colliery to make the bricks - a wonderfully symbiotic relationship.

 

Next I'm going to tackle the pithead building and screens, which is far more complicated, and for which I only have photos to work from, all from the same, southern, aspect. (Apologies that I can't credit the picture; I've done so much internet trawling that I didn't think to make a note at the time.)

 

[Caledonian]

On 20/09/2019 at 13:54, Geordie Exile said:

The finished (apart from the exterior steps, for which I have a cunning plan) winding house and associated workshops.  It's sitting on a brick from the Hotspur Brickworks, which made bricks for the colliery, and which took coal from the colliery to make the bricks - a wonderfully symbiotic relationship.

 

 

 

 

I've always been rather pleased that my house is made from Hotspur bricks from Backworth

[Geordie Exile]

On 23/09/2019 at 13:34, Caledonian said:

 

I've always been rather pleased that my house is made from Hotspur bricks from Backworth

I considered including the brickworks on my layout, but they were vast. I think I'll just have a line going off-scene with a sign saying "to the brickworks"! 

[Mark Saunders]

Are you going to build any of the signature wagons?

 

 

[Geordie Exile]

8 minutes ago, Mark Saunders said:

Are you going to build any of the signature wagons?

 

 

Oh, I'd love to - they're special, aren't they!  But if I build one, I'd need to build a fleet.  I'm hoping that by the time I get to the rolling stock, Peco will have come up with them, otherwise I'm looking at a 3D printer that I really can't afford.  I want to 'badge' them as NCB for the period I'm modelling, but there's no escaping their distinctive look.

 

(Photo courtesy of Billy Embleton collection)

 

[Geordie Exile]

Having stared at photos of the heapstead for a couple of weeks, and drawn up some crude plans, I've put knife to plasticard again and made a start on the building itself. It feels weird starting on the upper floor first, but it sits on H-beam stilts with only the western wall going from ground to apex.  I've ordered some H-beams from Squires, so construction will stall until that arrives, hopefully next week, although I can still crack on with the ground floor elements to some degree.

 

All the photos I have are from the south, more or less, so I've guessed at the northern aspect.

[Geordie Exile]

Some lessons learned from the winder house: 

- the embossed brick card is thin, and warps when components are glued together, so I've made a skeleton of plain plasticard and applied the brick & microstrip elements onto that.  There are just under 100 separate pieces therefore!

- I've taken into account (this time) the corners where walls meet, so the joins are better.

- Wherever there's a window (only one so far) I've painted the interior black.  The winder house is gloriously white and clearly empty on the inside!

- Although I've painted the window frames before applying the glazing, I'll not paint anything else until the model's complete.  Trying to mix the same brick colour in several batches for the winder house was a nightmare, and took a lot of judicious weathering to hide the differences.

[Geordie Exile]

Man, this is getting fiddly.

[Ruston]

I didn't realise this was 2mm until you edited the title. No wonder you said it's getting fiddly!

[Geordie Exile]

4 hours ago, Ruston said:

I didn't realise this was 2mm until you edited the title. No wonder you said it's getting fiddly!

I was aiming for a rough facsimile of the pit, but the more I do the more obsessed I am getting with the details.  Nobody warned me this would happen!  If I do carry on with the screens, washery, pit head baths, canteen, stores etc, I'm not going to have any room on my layout for track.  Still, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself.  Maybe I'll just turn it into a diorama and settle for a Great Western branch line to play trains on  

[Geordie Exile]

Pleased with the way the headgear has turned out. The wheels are scavenged loco wheels and I need to find much finer versions somewhere.  Suggestions welcome as to where to source them. 

 

Ground floor and west wall to do next. 

 

[Barclay]

How about P4 loco wheels ?!

[doilum]

9 hours ago, Geordie Exile said:

Pleased with the way the headgear has turned out. The wheels are scavenged loco wheels and I need to find much finer versions somewhere.  Suggestions welcome as to where to source them. 

 

Ground floor and west wall to do next. 

 

Make them?

A disc of clear thin acrylic with 0.4mm wire spokes superglued in position. As you have two, back to back, you will not see the reverse.

The spoke pattern is quite distinctive and is key to authenticity.

[rope runner]

Langley models do some in 2mm, though they may be too chunky or small for your needs:

 

http://www.langleymodels.co.uk/shop/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww.langleymodels.co.uk%2facatalog%2fOnline_Catalogue_OO_Buildings___low_relief_Incl_Church__Pitt_Head_45.html&WD=pitt&PN=Wheels.html%23a1_21NV13#a1_21NV13

 

Paul A. 

[Geordie Exile]

4 hours ago, Barclay said:

How about P4 loco wheels ?!

I've been googling and found a couple of likely candidates: I could position them so the hole where the tie rod goes is hidden (if I've got the terminology right).  But they're pricey.  Do I want to pay over twenty quid?  I really don't know.  (That's not a "no" yet! )

 

4 hours ago, doilum said:

Make them?

A disc of clear thin acrylic with 0.4mm wire spokes superglued in position. As you have two, back to back, you will not see the reverse.

The spoke pattern is quite distinctive and is key to authenticity.

Thanks Doilum.  I might give that a go.  I'm thinking a printed version underneath would help as a visual jig, if that makes sense.  It's certainly cheaper than buying them, and if they don't turn out OK I can just bin 'em.

 

2 hours ago, 1whitemoor said:

Langley models do some in 2mm, though they may be too chunky or small for your needs:

 

http://www.langleymodels.co.uk/shop/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww.langleymodels.co.uk%2facatalog%2fOnline_Catalogue_OO_Buildings___low_relief_Incl_Church__Pitt_Head_45.html&WD=pitt&PN=Wheels.html%23a1_21NV13#a1_21NV13

 

Paul A. 

Hmm.  I had a look at them when I was digging around the internet, and I'm not impressed.  As you say, too chunky.  Thanks anyway, Paul, appreciate the suggestion.

 

Richard

[maridunian]

I've been thinking about these for my own freelance pit model (Mwynwr Tryciau Colliery). I initially used some "wire wheels" that decorated a child's yo-yo, but they're heavier looking than I'd like.

 

Mike

Edited October 7, 2019 by maridunian

[DLT]

On 18/09/2019 at 19:38, Geordie Exile said:

 

Edited September 19 by Geordie Exile

 

Wow!  while I knew this was 2mm scale, its this photo that really shows how small it all is.

Wonderful stuff,

Dave.

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by DLT

[Geordie Exile]

1 hour ago, maridunian said:

I've been thinking about these for my own freelance pit model (Mwynwr Tryciau Colliery). I initially used some "wire wheels" that decorated a child's yo-yo, but they're heavier looking than I'd like.

 

Mike

They would be ideal, Mike, but for the size.  They're just a few mm too large.  I've sat and stared at them wistfully, but (apart from the mods I'd need to make to the headgear) they'd not look right.  I'm going to get on with the ground floor stuff over the next couple of days, & then maybe give DIY a go.  I'm currently thinking thin copper wire for the spokes if I can find/make a suitable rim.