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McMullen Coal Company reborn into 7.1/4"


Owd Bob
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14 minutes ago, Northroader said:

When you’ve dug a hole to bury the rubble, what do you do with the the rubble you’ve dug out of the hole?

....dig another hole and hope its just full of good usable soil and hope its not a mine shaft, i've not enough rubble to fill one of those up! :lol: I can always use the cobbles as rocks or edging, i can't ever get enough.  A few more pics' which may show and explain it better,  some old carpet tiles are put down marking the route around from the gate and then it's a long straight northward up to the shed, curving gently passed the trailer where it meets the other end of the already laid track through another gate. :) The area from the end of my lean-to (where the Castrol signs are) to the other shed is wide open to the bar stewards from hell next door, a new shrub bed has been made to the left of the track bed and some 2ft. tall laurels have been put in, although it could take several years before they grow tall enough to keep us private and hidden from their envious jealous eyes and vocal bullying tactics, sadly they have'nt killed each other yet but there's time yet.:diablo_mini:

 

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I look forward to each new update from you Bob - I loved your SM32 line because of its atmosphere, realism and sheer artistry.  And now you’re doing it bigger and even better.  Thanks for brightening these difficult times by sharing your creation with us.  And maximum sympathy re the bar stewards - had to live next door to something similar myself in the past - not something I would wish on anybody.  
 

Looking forward to the next inspirational instalment!

 

David

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Thanks David, yes it's bad here some days and there's often days when we don't know why we bother to waste time and spend/waste the little dosh we have in staying, trying or carrying on at all, you would think anyone would be happy to live in such a lovely aspect and area, it's not really fair on all those poor folk who live in a flat and no access to a garden at all. It's hard enough being in lock down but even worse with these evil scum ruining every day and every chance of privacy in your own garden in all this lovely weather we've had. We'll see what happens later this year and will no doubt make a move away this time, because despite what others may think there is no one to help, forget the local councils and the Police. Believe me we've tried even with a lot of evidence gathered over several years and more! I don't believe in giving in to jealous bullies but for our own sanity maybe we should make a tactical withdrawal. Best thing is i'm learning with playing around with the bigger stuff and maybe i can move on even if its a flat and use my new found knowledge elsewhere. You just watch now that i'm finally ready to finish off my two wagons and make a start on the loco' chassis with the new welder....it'll go cold, wet and windy again!:rolleyes::D A Dog pic' whilst i'm here, he's not been in there for a while since i put a gate on each end. :D

 

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Commiserations with your plight Bob. Have you tried giving them a "Wigan Kiss"  (or the Leigh version) ?

 

Pity the King Billy (William) pub in Platt Bridge has closed - tale had it you could get people "sorted" in there for fifty quid !!!

 

Brit15

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Funnily enough i worked at the King Billy in the Early '80's when we put a beer garden in the back yard for 'em, it did'nt last long:lol:There was a time Apollo when i'd well and truly have sorted them out myself;).... but i'm not the man i used to be, with two heart attacks a broken neck and back in the recent past, and now i'm all held together with metal bits, an hernia op' has been much needed for three years now, and cancelled five times, and my last back building op' has been postponed and cancelled three times in just as many years....so don't bury me, just weigh me in for scrap! :) They know all that, and they play on it, knowing there's nowt i can do about now myself, it's not hard to pick on someone who uses a crutch or two, and you should see the types we get visiting them, all are alike, all violent threatening thugs, who always give us the evil threatening stares and mouth obscenities at every chance. The rules don't apply to some folks. No lock down rules for them either. Too many do-gooders and social workers are and have been getting their soft lefty ways for too long protecting scum like this, and this family is well known to them, the law protects the criminals in my own opinion and my experiences of things. We have a generation or two who can't do anything unless they are told how to by some so called experts, and so many people need their hands holding and their noses and other parts wiping for them these days 'cos there's no such thing as thinking for themselves or using any common sense or decency.:rolleyes:

Edited by Owd Bob
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19 minutes ago, alastairq said:

 I can tell.....judging by the dog's accusatory expression?? :)

 

Yes, he was very wary alastairq of what i'd say and do about him being on the wrong side of the gates:lol: but he behaved himself whilst i sat on my own station in the cooling shade from the hot lovely weather, and sat supping a decent brew of 'Yorkshire' tea.:)

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6 hours ago, Owd Bob said:

Funnily enough i worked at the King Billy in the Early '80's when we put a beer garden in the back yard for 'em, it did'nt last long:lol:There was a time Apollo when i'd well and truly have sorted them out myself;).... but i'm not the man i used to be, with two heart attacks a broken neck and back in the recent past, and now i'm all held together with metal bits, an hernia op' has been much needed for three years now, and cancelled five times, and my last back building op' has been postponed and cancelled three times in just as many years....so don't bury me, just weigh me in for scrap! :) They know all that, and they play on it, knowing there's nowt i can do about now myself, it's not hard to pick on someone who uses a crutch or two, and you should see the types we get visiting them, all are alike, all violent threatening thugs, who always give us the evil threatening stares and mouth obscenities at every chance. The rules don't apply to some folks. No lock down rules for them either. Too many do-gooders and social workers are and have been getting their soft lefty ways for too long protecting scum like this, and this family is well known to them, the law protects the criminals in my own opinion and my experiences of things. We have a generation or two who can't do anything unless they are told how to by some so called experts, and so many people need their hands holding and their noses and other parts wiping for them these days 'cos there's no such thing as thinking for themselves or using any common sense or decency.:rolleyes:

I do empathise on all fronts OB.

 

We have a Teflon non stick ASBO like that - hes long overdue being arrested.

 

I'm in a similar boat to you, health wise. He's tried to physically attack several of us that he perceives as weak over the two years he's been here. But although we have several wounded, injured, sick disabled and elderlely here, theyre far from weak in other regards, Eg resolve, courage etc.

 

Some other neighbours noted his behaviours, others disputed he was "like that" and some have turned a cowardly blind eye. It used to be a tight knit community, but not now. Suffice to say he tried to attack a 90yr old disabled lady in her wheel chair. He was witnessed and so he then called the police on her! Slowly, but surely though, he's metaphorically, put his own chair in place, a noose around his own neck as he does more and more, in front of others/neighbours and p!sses others off. His time is coming. He's now been given enough rope as the saying goes.

 

Local bobbies are a mixed bag, some good, some useless. Back in the day our local trouble maker would have been sorted quickly by the local bobby and/or others.

 

Strange thing is, we all made him welcome, he's abused that trust and any trust and support given. Many are sure that his previous neighbourhood police would have known all about him, but our lot are too lazy to pursue such. Lord knows how he's ever passed his CRB type checks - a strange, demented arrogant character. He's a virtue signaller too, claps and bangs pots for NHS et al, then does asbo behaviours, ignores social distancing, lockdown, lights outrageous bonfires etc etc.

 

The tide is turning though, albeit glacially.

 

One can gently push back, keep living your life, build a case in such away that it ticks all of the boxes, then lever the authorities with such, using the media et al.

 

No one should have to tolerate such, but there is very little 'protect and serve' from the authorities where I live. Anyone in that line - doing a good job? - gets ground down and doesn't last long (make of that what you will). And political correctness has been abused an weaponised in these parts by neo Marxists masquerading as liberals (classical wolves in sheep's clothing). As you say 'do gooders' who have their own mind-screwing agendas.

 

Thank God for hobbies - keep up the good work OB and don't let the bar stewards grind you down!

 

Back on topic ;-)

Edited by CME and Bottlewasher
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I entirely sympathise, I really do. We had certain problems with neighbours, some time ago, back in Yorkshire. They made noise at all hours, weekends included, and seemed to do what they liked. The couple who owned the property had screaming arguments at all hours, but then ran huge parties, also at all hours. Social services were involved, due to children. They were equally as threatening to us and other neighbours, who complained. But they were definitely not lefties, neither were the council officials or police officers who ended up siding with them (or at best, not taking action). You would not find any left-leaning councillors, or officials, in that part of the woods. It was not a case of politics, but a case of an inability to prove that they had actually broken the law, without spending a huge amount of money that we did not have.

 

We had the last laugh though - we sold the house to a Barrister, and I don't mean someone who served coffees..... I understand the neighbours have since moved on.

 

The virtual elimination of legal aid for civil proceedings, undertaken by a very right wing government, is mostly to blame.

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3 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

I entirely sympathise, I really do. We had certain problems with neighbours, some time ago, back in Yorkshire. They made noise at all hours, weekends included, and seemed to do what they liked. The couple who owned the property had screaming arguments at all hours, but then ran huge parties, also at all hours. Social services were involved, due to children. They were equally as threatening to us and other neighbours, who complained. But they were definitely not lefties, neither were the council officials or police officers who ended up siding with them (or at best, not taking action). You would not find any left-leaning councillors, or officials, in that part of the woods. It was not a case of politics, but a case of an inability to prove that they had actually broken the law, without spending a huge amount of money that we did not have.

 

We had the last laugh though - we sold the house to a Barrister, and I don't mean someone who served coffees..... I understand the neighbours have since moved on.

 

The virtual elimination of legal aid for civil proceedings, undertaken by a very right wing government, is mostly to blame.

Sorry to hear that, law, sadly, is only for the rich these days. Matters not, so it seems, these days, Marxist or "right wing" they all believe in the some being more equal than others policy.....the rotters! (and that's putting it mildly!).

Edited by CME and Bottlewasher
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  • 4 weeks later...

A month on and very little progress has been made, to be honest my heart has'nt been in it, but mother nature has been busy filling it up nicely.  The grass seed has sprouted all around and by the track side, blending the artificial turf into the beds near the small pond. I managed to get the loco's frame roughly welded and bolted up, at least now i have something to work off and build upon, the missing bogie is in bits and is hopefully having a drive chain sprocket fitted to one axle soon care of a old Atco lawn mower. :)

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Thanks Mike and all the well wishers. Well we've finally decided that enough is enough folks, and and for our own sanity and health we will move out as soon as we possibly can, i can carry on building my loco' and wagons and using the track for testing things out in the mean time, and the track can be easily lifted and taken/used elsewhere in time i'm sure. It's going to take a while and may even be as long away as next Spring before we can make a final move, so i'll be cranking up the welder and posting all the wagon and loco' progress as usual whilst we are still here.;) The little camper van seen in the pics' restoration had ground to an halt after three summers of slow fettling on it, but it will deffo' be sold off this week and we'll be needing all the cash to put towards an house move or for use as a rental deposit no doubt. :rolleyes: I think these weird times have forced a lot of people to re-think, plan and evaluate their lives afresh, i have just read that the sales of motorhomes have shot through the roof so we could'nt have picked a better time to move the van on.:D

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I empathise with you completely.

Round my neck o the woods, rents are actually falling slightly.

All to do with market forces, and a lack of renters willing to move to the 'countryside'...with all that entails...or lacks...depending on what one sees one's lifestyle needing?

 

Anyway...with a 2 bed hoose, with decent garden/space, going for around 480-550 a month or less, maybe we're an isolated case?

A 'private' rural rental is always going to be 'better' than social housing, rural or urban...Maybe nowhere near as cheap.....but yer pays yer money, etc etc.

 

Always good to remember...bearing in mind one's interests and proclivities......that, savings can be made if the rental includes decent workspaces, or land on which stuff can be 'stored?'

 

After all, if one has 'stuff' of a large nature..then storage charges can be a nightmare....even renting a space in  a field for 20 a month, soon mounts  up?

 

As for medical [future?] needs? Well, having made the enquiries/complaints to our local NHS thrust, when local hospitales closed their MIUs..I was told, simply get on the dog n bone, and dial [we don't dial, these days, do we??]....for the non emergency or, if that's no available, simply three nines.....and let the operators decide how best to deal with you...? Rather than trying to drive 20 odd miles with blood pouring from every orifice,and shock setting in, to the MIU nearest. Private [or NHS] transport is there to be used..even by the hale n hearty...and if folk complain of misuse, then they can re-open MIUs that didn't normally see more than one patient a week.  Just in case??

Moving is a chore I like to do without. But at least, if renting, one doesn't have the extra hassle of floggin' the  'ouse first?

Will you get your deposit back?

 Perhaps you'll need a few big bags of fine gravel...scatter it about, covers a multitude of sins?

 

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On 26/06/2020 at 10:38, Owd Bob said:

A month on and very little progress has been made, to be honest my heart has'nt been in it, but mother nature has been busy filling it up nicely.  The grass seed has sprouted all around and by the track side, blending the artificial turf into the beds near the small pond. I managed to get the loco's frame roughly welded and bolted up, at least now i have something to work off and build upon, the missing bogie is in bits and is hopefully having a drive chain sprocket fitted to one axle soon care of a old Atco lawn mower. :)

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That all looks wonderful OB, superb in fact. We are still building up our strength to fettle our, once, lovely garden. What a year!

On 28/06/2020 at 09:06, Owd Bob said:

Thanks Mike and all the well wishers. Well we've finally decided that enough is enough folks, and and for our own sanity and health we will move out as soon as we possibly can, i can carry on building my loco' and wagons and using the track for testing things out in the mean time, and the track can be easily lifted and taken/used elsewhere in time i'm sure. It's going to take a while and may even be as long away as next Spring before we can make a final move, so i'll be cranking up the welder and posting all the wagon and loco' progress as usual whilst we are still here.;) The little camper van seen in the pics' restoration had ground to an halt after three summers of slow fettling on it, but it will deffo' be sold off this week and we'll be needing all the cash to put towards an house move or for use as a rental deposit no doubt. :rolleyes: I think these weird times have forced a lot of people to re-think, plan and evaluate their lives afresh, i have just read that the sales of motorhomes have shot through the roof so we could'nt have picked a better time to move the van on.:D

I'm sorry to hear that OB. We are in a similar boat, not quite as bad, lord knows when/how but every little we do is the next step to a move. We have ASBOs, hypocrites and sheeple hereabouts. Non of us want to be driven out, but anything for a better quality of life. Good luck with everything mate. Chin up.

 

ATVB,

 

CME

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What a year indeed CME its made us stop and think! And is it really worth it wasting time with all the rubbish we collect that only sits around most of the time doing nowt and gathering dust!:unsure: This is a council house and i've been in it since 1976, since i was 13, i took over the tenancy in 1986 when my parents retired and bought a retirement bunglelow. So for 34 years it's been my own families home where i brought my own kids up. They don't want it, i've asked them if they want to take it over, No way! they say and who could blame 'em:rolleyes: Would be easy to do an house swap for a smaller two bed or flat as there is a big need for these three beds' around here, but what do you tell anyone who is interested in doing a swap when they ask why are you moving from such a lovely place? My best hope is to find a bigger load of scum bags than these are and move them in here, pay back is a b!tch.:D

           I got the wife to put a request on the local face book page for me asking for a home hobbyist with a lathe who could turn down an axle and fit my lawnmower cog on for me, within minutes we had found a great guy, an ex engineer who had every machine going in his back yard workshop, ten minutes of a trip later and a few quid later he had took a skimming off the shaft and had press fitted the drive cog and the wheels back on for me. :) Weather do'snt look too good for this weeks loco' frame fettling.:lol:

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not posting as much or as often from now on, but i will keep you updated on the progress on my garden build stuff and a couple of other topics. I fitted two buffer plates over the weekend, they are 4mm. thick steel plate off cuts,  came at just the right pre-cut size and bought off e-bay for less than a tenner inc' postage,  i've to take the sharp corners off yet as my shins will bare witness:lol: I clamped them into place, drilled through them and into the chassis frame with a 7mm drill bit, the fixing holes were then tapped out to a 8mm. No need for welding these on just yet or if ever at all as i've more fittings and the couplings to put on. Apologies to proper engineers, i'm more a back street bodger:crazy: but i do try my best with the limited tools available to me, and if i've not got the tools or expertise then i will look to find someone who has! I have a lot of parts and bits ordered now, it's just a case of waiting for them to arrive and for the weather to dry up!:)

 

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4 hours ago, Owd Bob said:

I'm not posting as much or as often from now on, but i will keep you updated on the progress on my garden build stuff and a couple of other topics. I fitted two buffer plates over the weekend, they are 4mm. thick steel plate off cuts,  came at just the right pre-cut size and bought off e-bay for less than a tenner inc' postage,  i've to take the sharp corners off yet as my shins will bare witness:lol: I clamped them into place, drilled through them and into the chassis frame with a 7mm drill bit, the fixing holes were then tapped out to a 8mm. No need for welding these on just yet or if ever at all as i've more fittings and the couplings to put on. Apologies to proper engineers, i'm more a back street bodger:crazy: but i do try my best with the limited tools available to me, and if i've not got the tools or expertise then i will look to find someone who has! I have a lot of parts and bits ordered now, it's just a case of waiting for them to arrive and for the weather to dry up!:)

 

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Is there a plan for how you'd like the body of the engine to look when it's completed? Or is it all just being made up as you go along? 

 

Excellent metalwork bodgery, I'm trying to not let it give me bad ideas as I already have enough unfinished projects!

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I was making it up as i went along;).... but now i've an idea for a Baguley Drewery ex RN 0-4-0 diesel, the 70hp shorter version with the two side bonnet/door panels. I've made a few in plasticard to 16mm scale so i've a rough idea in my head how things should look, it won't be spot on to scale but hopefully it'll give the impression of one. The bogies will be well hidden by the plated in side skirts, although it's not the correct wheel arrangement it might be better for the tighter curves. Being a back street bodger i'll be measuring the body panels by dividing the body length into thirds, one third being the cab section, the other two thirds will be the full bonnet length section, the height of the bonnet and height of the cab roof will be equally split in half when measured from the chassis rails. The length of the loco' is 130cm. and the width is 60cm. A cardboard template has been made for the grille panel and it's 60cm high, and 50cm wide, this will make the full cab height to around a metre but the extra 10cm. in height at 120cm. might be needed for the headroom. I plan to have the cab top half hinged and removable at bonnet height so as to be able to lift it open and then close it all up once inside....just like the old motorbike sidecars used to do. I should have all the materials to make the complete grille panel by the end of this week.:)

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