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Charlie Strong Metals (and Watery Lane Sidings)


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23 hours ago, Ruston said:

I think I may have posted these before but here are the only surviving photos of the scrap yard layout that I built in 1988.

 

00srcrapyard1.jpg.2038960d71d07c6d1da585205199bd4b.jpg

 

00srcrapyard2.jpg.acf94bac241c760ad78dbbdcc56a5d7a.jpg

The only thing that I have left is the Atkinson recovery truck that is now minus bodywork and parked on White Peak.

That Barclay looks familair................................

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2 minutes ago, 5050 said:

That Barclay looks familair................................

Yes, it does. :D Is it back in one piece yet?

 

I have bought some plywood, so I can start sawing it up soon. Rather than about going to the local model shops, wasting time and fuel and returning with nowt (because there's no call for them) I'm going to order all the Code 75 track and points from Hattons.

 

I've been searching the interwebz for Walthers gantry cranes and it would appear that there are none in the UK. I'm not buying anything from the USA as the last time I did that I had to pay as much in taxes as the thing (a model aircraft kit) cost, so I'll scratch-build the cranes.

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1 minute ago, eastworld said:

You could try ordering from Walthers dealers in Europe. Then you do not have to pay the tax. I have done this successfully once or twice.

 

Stu

Try Model Junction in Slough?

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To be honest, I don't think the Walther's cranes are really tall enough. I used one on the scrap unloading area on River Don Works and there wasn't much clearance between the magnet and the tops of any rail vehicles that went under it. When you look at the cranes at Booths, and the old T.W. Ward yard in Sheffield, they were much taller. I'll probably make them from scratch.

 

charlies-001.jpg.e388e4aa74adf0808ac27b5f56acd1ef.jpg

Edited by Ruston
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I was going to cut the plywood, today, but after dragging the circular saw outside, followed by a 110v transformer, I plugged the transformer in and it tripped the circuit under the stairs. So I dragged them back into the garage and that was that. I don't know how I'm going to cut it now as the circular saw has a guide and a straight line is guaranteed but, on the other hand, I can't saw a straight line with either a hand saw or a jigsaw.

 

I've been thinking about couplings. Tension locks are definitely not on the cards.  Three-links tend to be a faff but I have an idea...

 

The most dificult part of coupling using 3-links is picking up the link  - wouldn't it be so much easier if the link can be seen and accessed, rather than it hanging down? By fitting a tiny magnet under one end of each wagon, and the opposite end having a steel link as the end link on the coupling, when wagons are drawn near the steel link will be attracted to the magnet on the next wagon and will present itself to be easily picked up by the shunter's pole. That's the idea, anyway. I'll order some magnets and see if it works. If it doesn't, it's no loss as the magnets will come in useful for fixing buildings in place.

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On 20/12/2019 at 19:23, Tom Burnham said:

T W Ward, Silvertown, 1974, 1980 and 1985 (2).

 

silvertown-tww-fowler-1974.jpg

silvertown-tww-scrapyard-198002.jpg

silvertown-tww-hc-1985.jpg

silvertown-tww-rh-1985.jpg

 

Looks like I photographed that Ruston from the other side - September 1986.

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I'm not great with diesels, what's this I also snapped on the same visit? 

1289865482_IMG_20200108_0005-Copy.jpg.b67308803595e7294d04751d4fed0517.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by Barclay
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Looks like a Hudswell Clarke diesel hydraulic of the same type as was (is?) used at the Brush works in Loughborough. Renishaw Park colliery also had a pair of these and there's one preserved at the Pontypool & Blaenavon. It would be nice to see a kit of one. Mr. Edge?

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On 07/01/2020 at 21:07, Regularity said:

You will need to use iron, not steel, Dave. Steel links will become magnetised and get into a right old mess.

I think the wire that I have is iron anyway but thanks for that. I had no idea they behaved any differently as far as magnetism is concerned.

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28 minutes ago, Ruston said:

Looks like a Hudswell Clarke diesel hydraulic of the same type as was (is?) used at the Brush works in Loughborough. Renishaw Park colliery also had a pair of these and there's one preserved at the Pontypool & Blaenavon. It would be nice to see a kit of one. Mr. Edge?

I have the drawings of this loco , was in a magazine  from many years ago,  not even sure of the magazine  title so long ago ! If you want the drawing pm me and will see if i can find it , think it was done by a Don Townsley iirc 

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9 hours ago, Ruston said:

Looks like a Hudswell Clarke diesel hydraulic of the same type as was (is?) used at the Brush works in Loughborough. Renishaw Park colliery also had a pair of these and there's one preserved at the Pontypool & Blaenavon. It would be nice to see a kit of one. Mr. Edge?

I'll consider anything I can get good drawings of, we don't have anything Hudswell at the moment.

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9 hours ago, Tom Burnham said:

You got further into the yard than I did on my Sunday afternoon bike ride then!

Geography field trip - I had only the dimmest memory of this visit until I saw your pictures, which had me rummaging in my box of photo's looking for proof that I hadn't dreamed it !

 

Mike - I'd take one of those if you do it, plus the large Ship Canal Hudswell, Alnwick Castle of course...

 

Does the loco at T W Ward have a different bonnet profile to the preserved one mentioned by Ruston? Looks more like a pitched roof shape I think?

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I bought some tiny, but very strong, magnets, from t'internet. They measure 6x4x3mm.

 

The idea was to have one under one end of each wagon, so the iron link on the coupling would be attracted and rise up, thus making it easier to couple with a shunter's pole. This, however, did not work as intended and the link would not move until it was so near that when it did it could touch the magnet. I had one wagon now connected to another and as I dragged the wagon it pulled the other with it and that gave me an idea.

 

In the video, below, the train is only connected by the coupling links and magnets. The locomotive has a magnet only. The locomotive can be backed on to a wagon and the wagon's coupling attaches itself to the locomotive and the train can be hauled. By backing the locomotive onto the train and snatching the coupling, the train parts at the locomotive coupling. Wagons will similarly couple together but must be parted by use of a coffee stirrer with a notch cut in it. I think this is a perfectly suitable system for a small shunting layout as this.

 

The magnets are quite unobtrusive and will be even less so once painted and being at one end only, the main viewing end of all stock retains an unaltered end with 3-link coupling.

 

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I found this in my local model shop. It's suitable for the period and so, with a bit of work, will become one of Charlie Strong's fleet of scrap-carrying lorries.

 

roadttrain-002.jpg.6048235be6af5799b61cb106f9385fc7.jpg

Edited by Ruston
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Your task, should you decide to accept, is to motorise it and have it running in and out of the site, across tracks, full one way, empty the other.

 

Note - not my original idea but one suggested by a 'mutual friend' who, for the purpose of this thread, will stay nameless...........................................:rolleyes:

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Baseboard in progress and placed in the slot where it will live. That is only one side of the bookshelves and the centre support, to the right of the bridge, will need a hole making in it so as to allow through running to a fiddle yard.

charlies-007.jpg.dcf48996b72ce50a7c25dc92505f0adc.jpg

 

charlies-008.jpg.fa2736b3561e468205daea5023a91bff.jpg

Edited by Ruston
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