Cawdor Quarry

[Alister_G]

I have a confession to make.

 

I have recently been smitten with an affliction, which I know has affected a number of other members of RMWeb, and have somehow managed to end up becoming the owner of a Hornby Peckett W4.

 

Having done the deed, I desperately tried to justify the purchase by seeing if I could find a legitimate use for it.

 

As you know, I like to model railways in close proximity to where I live, so imagine my delight on finding photographic evidence that not one but two Pecketts were employed at Cawdor Quarry, in Matlock, Derbyshire, just eight miles from home.

 

My grateful thanks go to Pete Hackney for allowing me to use photographs from his Flickr account.

 

This is the first loco, works number 1555

 

Copyright Pete Hackney, used with permission

 

And this is the second, works number 1749

 

Copyright Pete Hackney, used with permission

 

From Pete's photos you can see that whilst 1749 appears to be painted black, 1555 looks like it might be Peckett works green, and after a bit of digging I managed to find a colour photo by J W Sutherland whose photos I've used before:

 

Copyright J W Sutherland, used with permission.

 

For the purists, neither of these locos is a W4, 1555 is an M5, and the origins of 1749 are unclear, it may be a W6 or an R2, however I think the differences are such that for 1749 at least I can invoke Rule One and ignore them.

 

So that's the justification for this thread - a layout to run a couple of Pecketts on.

 

In a subsequent post, I'll enlarge on the location.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al.

Edited September 29, 2019 by Alister_G

[sir douglas]

well for a start the M series is considerably smaller than the W series

[Alister_G]

Cawdor Quarry was opened in the early 1800s to provide limestone for the construction industry. Stone from Cawdor was used in the construction of the Thames Embankment and the Ionic Screen at Hyde Park Corner in London. The owners at the time were Constable Hart Co. Ltd.

 

The neighbouring Station Quarry, which immediately adjoined Cawdor, was owned by Josiah Smart. In 1929 Constable Hart took over the running of both quarries, and the combined quarries were known as simply Cawdor Quarry.

 

In the 1920s and 30s the focus of the quarries changed, and they came to be the foremost producers of tar macadam and asphalt in the area, supplying road construction materials all over Britain.

 

The Quarries are located just to the north of the centre of Matlock, and are cut into the edge of the escarpment that overlooks the Derwent river. The main Derby - Manchester railway line is squeezed between the quarries and the river, with Cawdor's sidings occupying any spare space, as can be seen from this map:

 

 

and this 1930's aerial photo from Britain From Above:

 

In the below photo, you can see the Station Quarry is well named, as it is indeed right next to the railway station, whose platforms you can see in the bottom left of the picture:

 

 

As you can see, the site is quite extensive, and to model it all in 4mm would require a decent sized village hall, so my intention is to create a cameo representing the most iconic bits, inspired by Pete Hackney's photos like these:

 

Copyright Pete Hackney, used with permission

 

 

Copyright Pete Hackney, used with permission

 

 

Copyright Pete Hackney, used with permission

 

Copyright Pete Hackney, used with permission

 

In my next post I'll show you what I'm going to model.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al.

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by Alister_G
spillong

[Alister_G]

So I wanted the layout to be small and simple, as Ladmanlow was, so I can set it up and play with it work on it with minimum disruption.

 

Early on I decided that the most recognisable bit of the quarries was the pinch-point between the two where the quarry face bulges out towards the river.

 

My first design was this:

 

 

A four feet by 1 foot scenic board with two small fiddle yards.

 

I rejected this as being too simple and boring, so plan B was this:

 

 

Five feet long and 18 inches wide scenic section, incorporating the main lines as a scenic feature.

 

However I decided that was too cumbersome.

 

Whilst looking for inspiration I came across two photos on Facebook, belonging to Tarmac Roadstone Limited.

 

To set the scene, here's a crop of the aerial photo from earlier:

 

 

The foreground building is one that appears in Pete's photo here:

 

Copyright Pete Hackney, used with permission

 

The aerial photo is dated 1930, the two Tarmac Roadstone photos I found were taken in 1949, at which time there has been an extension built to the left of the large gable-ended building seen in the centre of the aerial shot above:

 

 

You can see on the far right the Manchester line and the sidings, and you can just make out the end of a railway wagon inside the far right opening in the bulding. The photo below is taken down at that level:

 

 

You can just make out the rails of the siding going into the righthand end where the lorry is parked, and also the siding with the Tar wagon.

 

These two photos were the inspiration I needed, and I decided to model this area, with the lower siding in Pete's photo running past, and the various different levels of the building and sidings above it, and the roadway and further buldings above that, with the quarry face rising behind.

 

Plan C then, looks like this:

 

 

Four feet long and one foot deep, with a fiddle yard at either end.

 

The trackplan is still quite simple, with just three small radius turnouts,  but the various land levels, and the quarry plant and buildings, should make an interesting scene.

 

I've only got large radius points in stock, and need to buy the world's supply of corrugated styrene, but construction of the baseboard will begin shortly, and hopefully some photos of that will follow.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al.

Edited September 28, 2019 by Alister_G
clarification

[Andrew P]

WOW Mate, were off again on another great adventure and the chance of some more stunning scenics.

 

Great mate.

[Alister_G]

Cheers Andy, I really hope I can capture the feel of the photos above, it should be good.

 

Al.

[Titanius Anglesmith]

Bookmarked, looking forward to seeing this develop 

[Andrew P]

9 hours ago, Alister_G said:

Cheers Andy, I really hope I can capture the feel of the photos above, it should be good.

 

Al.

Land Rovers, Old Wheel Barrows, Scrap and Tools everywhere, what could possibly go wrong?

[vulcan product fan]

Hi Al was trying to work out were this is , is it were sainsbury's is now ? . the peckett is a superb little kettle mate looking forward to your progress .

[Alister_G]

2 hours ago, vulcan product fan said:

Hi Al was trying to work out were this is , is it were sainsbury's is now ? . the peckett is a superb little kettle mate looking forward to your progress .

 

Hi Andy, yes that's right, Sainsburys is in what was Station Quarry. Here's what it looked like when they'd nearly finished building it:

 

 

They're just about to start re-developing the Cawdor end, which has been derelict since the nineties, they're planning a new housing estate there.

 

Al

[Poor Old Bruce]

18 hours ago, Alister_G said:

Cawdor Quarries are located just to the north of the centre of Matlock, and are cut into the edge of the escarpment that overlooks the Derwent river. The main Derby - Manchester railway line is squeezed between the quarries and the river, with Cawdor's sidings occupying any spare space, as can be seen from this map:

 

 

 

Al.

 

 

Methinks you may need a new compass Al!

 

If my memory is correct, 1749 (a W6 btw) was painted a dark green. Crackin' photos by Pete Hackney.

 

[Alister_G]

1 hour ago, Poor Old Bruce said:

If my memory is correct, 1749 (a W6 btw) was painted a dark green. Crackin' photos by Pete Hackney.

 

Ah, right, thanks for that Poor Old Bruce, a repaint may be in order then.

 

Al

[Alister_G]

This evening, I've had a go at making a cardboard representation of some of the buildings, to try and work out dimensions and so on. Although I have an idea of the track layout, it will to a certain extent depend on the position and size of the buildings, so I need to get the dimensions right first.

 

So here we are:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compare to the original:

 

 

 

My feeling is that I've just about got the vertical dimenisions right for the ground floor. However I think the apertures, and the whole building, are too large, and therefore the building is too wide. This is borne out by the fact that the model is over a foot wide - which ain't gonna fit on a foot wide baseboard!!

 

I'll have another attempt tomorrow to try and slim it down a bit.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Al.

 

 

[Alister_G]

This evening I mocked up Mark2 of the quarry buildings.

 

 

 

 

That looks much more the size it should be, and is nearly 50% smaller than the Mark1 version, as you can see:

 

 

Yep, much happier with that. So when the track turns up, I can start planning how it will all fit.

 

Al.

 

[Alister_G]

I found a piece of plywood that is 4 foot long and 1 foot wide, so I plonked the mockup buildings on it to get an idea.

 

 

It is immediately obvious that 1 foot width is not going to be enough to fit in the quarry face and higher level ground surface I was hoping for.

 

So I think 18 inches width at least, and maybe a bit more.

 

However I think you can get some idea. The buildings and sidings will be higher than the track nearest the camera by about an inch, which reflects the prototype, and means a gradual gradient will be required. The fiddle yard extension on the right (distant) end will be behind another building facade, with the low level track in front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all looking as I imagined it, so far, which is pleasing.

 

I can consider making a start on building a baseboard now, whilst I wait for my points to be delivered.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al.

[relaxinghobby]

On 28/09/2019 at 19:32, Alister_G said:

This is the first loco, works number 1555

 

Copyright Pete Hackney, used with permision

 

Is that a cheese factory or a loco converted to burn cheeses?

Edited October 2, 2019 by relaxinghobby

[relaxinghobby]

12 hours ago, Alister_G said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel that this photo is best for estimating the height of the buildings. Your historical photo of the yard seems to be taken at about door handle level of the truck or level with the cross bar on the rail tanker. Can you find a model tanker with a similar cross bulk as in the photo?

As artist say " the eye will know when it is right".

 

Can you adjust the road level and building foundation level so it is slightly lower than that of the track?

My guess is at some time before the photo they had dug out the road level so the  carts and trucks backed in to load had their flatbeds level with the floor of the work area, easier and quicker loading?

Then the later shed was added as the business became more profitable?

A varying ground level on the model would be more interesting visually?

Edited October 2, 2019 by relaxinghobby
Further thoughts

[Alister_G]

2 hours ago, relaxinghobby said:

Is that a cheese factory or a loco converted to burn cheeses?

 

Lol yep, it looks like that. They are I think tablets of Bitumen / Tar covered in a lime dust to stop them sticking.

 

2 hours ago, relaxinghobby said:

Can you find a model tanker with a similar cross bulk as in the photo?

 

Yes I have  Bachmann tar wagon on order which matches the prototype quite well.

 

2 hours ago, relaxinghobby said:

A varying ground level on the model would be more interesting visually?

 

Oh yes, definitely, that has always been my intention - what you see above is simply for me to work out baseboard widths and the relationship of the buildings and track.

 

The completed baseboard will have a number of levels - at the front will be the single line at the lowest level, then about half an inch above that, and separated by a retaining wall will be the first siding. The siding with the tar wagon will be slightly higher again, with the ground sloping between the two, as seen in the photos above. The there is a 2 inch high retaining wall and the higher level ground behind that, and a further slightly higher section again behind that. Finally there will be the quarry face.

 

A cross section through the layout should look like this:

 

 

 

Thanks very much for your thoughts,

 

Al.

 

Edited October 2, 2019 by Alister_G
Updated Image

[Alister_G]

This evening I've had a rush of blood to the carpentry muscles, and have built the main frame of the baseboard:

 

 

 

And then I went all flat earth for a bit, and cut the top:

 

 

 

 

This is 4 foot long, and 22 inches wide.

 

Here's an idea of how things will fit:

 

 

 

I may adjust the quarry face a bit.

 

I'm waiting for some track - three turnouts - so I can't finalise the layout until they turn up.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al.

 

[Andrew P]

Yet another good and quick start, well what else would we expect Al?

[Allegheny1600]

Hi Al,

This looks rather interesting, I must follow how you go.

 Cheers matey,

John

[Alister_G]

Thanks John,

 

I hope it will tempt a few Peckett watchers...

 

Al.

[Alister_G]

Finally my track turned up, which meant I could shove it around on the board until I was happy:

 

 

I'm using Peco Code75 small radius turnouts, and C&L finescale track.

 

 

Once I was satisfied, I marked up the baseboard top, and took it down into the Cellar of Doom for some brutality with a jigsaw.

 

I also carefully crafted some strange shaped pieces of 12mm ply:

 

 

 

 

When combined with the butchered baseboard top, you get this:

 

 

 

No more flat earth!

 

You can begin to get an idea of what it will look like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've got decorating to do tomorrow, but maybe in the evening I can carry on with fixing this all down, and laying the track properly.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Al.

[chuffinghell]

So this is where you’ve been hiding 

 

Looking great 

[Alister_G]

Cheers Chris.

 

Al.