Charlie Strong Metals (and Watery Lane Sidings)

[sb67]

They look good Dave. I like the small canisters lying around as well. Where do they come from? 

[Ruston]

On 10/06/2020 at 19:29, sb67 said:

They look good Dave. I like the small canisters lying around as well. Where do they come from? 

The 5-gallon oil containers? Knightwing castings, with my own decals.

 

There are now facilities for fuelling the steam engine. Water comes from the pipe in the previous photo but I have now added a coal store. The coal man would run his lorry alongside and empty sacks into the rudimentary bunker, made of scaffold poles and corrugated iron. Some people really take loco facilities too far on industrial layouts but this is as basic as they come. I've also made some buckets that would be old grease tubs, or somesuch. that are filled and lifted by hand into the cab, to be tipped into the loco bunker - only I took the photo without them in place.

 

I mentioned that I'd fitted sound to the Peckett and here it is. There's no stay alive in this one; there isn't the space. Apart from having the sound, these Zimo decoders provide a very realistic driving experience and the way they have been set up as a sound and driving project is brilliant and differs from loco to loco. The almost instant acceleration of the diesel mechanical in the Fowler is present, whereas the slow build up to begin moving is in the Peckett. Shutting off the power and stopping the loco on the brake makes stopping in the right place to couple, and obviously not banging into the wagons, makes shunting far more entertaining and enjoyable than simply turning the controller down and stopping dead. The sounds are a bonus.

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Ruston

[sb67]

Thanks Dave. I like the minimalist loco facilities, I thought I didn't have room for any loco coaling/re fuelling on my micro layout but seeing that makes me think otherwise. 

[PhilMortimer]

That last shot of the loco backing away from the camera looked fantastic - had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't the real thing.....

 

[Ruston]

Another one for the scrapline.

 

And a large shot (unless the forum shrinks it) of the overall scene.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Ruston

[Worsdell forever]

Just as I came to have a catch up with what's going on here, Nick Cave came on the radio...

[Ruston]

I have now made enough loads to fill every scrap-carrying wagon and am running an improved operating system/sequence.

 

Taking 4 wagons  as a minimum number, a 10-sided dice is thrown to give the amount of wagons in addition to this figure that will be incoming on the next train from BR.

 

The sequence begins by loading all wagons that are already present and shunting them off to the exchange siding (fiddle yard). Wagons must be sorted so that any fitted with continuous vacuum brakes must be all together.

Empties are brought in and placed in the main stockpile area (up to 7 wagons) and any excess is put into the green crane road for loading.

The line of scrap wagons has to be added to and shunted down (the end wagon is lifted away by the hand from the sky).

 

In rotation, one loco must be left on the fuel/water siding at the end of the session.

 

It's fairly simple but as the headshunt can take a maximum of only 3 wagons, plus loco, it can get interesting, especially as the wagons are very heavily weighted with lead sheet (60g each) and the Rustons are used. These can't manage more than 2 through the tight curve where two points join under the large crane.

 

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Ruston

[Ruston]

 

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Ruston

[Ruston]

A lowmac for scrap.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Ruston

[Ruston]

Another wagon but this time it's not in for scrapping. It doesn't seem sensible to put scrap in wooden-bodied wagons but I have seen a photo of some what appear to be Diagram 1/044 13-ton high wagons carrying scrap, so I've built one as a bit of a change from 16-ton minerals. I need to change the middle links for Instanters and to get some TOPS numbering for it to be properly finished.

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Ruston

[Ruston]

The Ruston 88DS that I built for White Peak Limestone & Tarmacadam has been taken out of its cabinet and aged by 20 years by weathering. It's gone from very tidy in the 1960s to getting a bit scruffy in the 1980s. The change of ownership has been marked by the addition of decals on the cab sides.

 

More importantly, the Dingham couplings have gone, replaced by 3-links. The fitting of DCC sound has enabled it to run on this layout and although no sound is yet available for the 88DS I have gone for the nearest thing. I have fitted Paul Chetter's Ruston 165DS sounds. It's the same engine in both, only two more cylinders in the 165 and both have a constant mesh mechanical transmission and air-start. Whatever the inaccuracy it sounds damned good and rorty!

 

 

[Ben B]

1 hour ago, Ruston said:

The Ruston 88DS that I built for White Peak Limestone & Tarmacadam has been taken out of its cabinet and aged by 20 years by weathering. It's gone from very tidy in the 1960s to getting a bit scruffy in the 1980s. The change of ownership has been marked by the addition of decals on the cab sides.

 

More importantly, the Dingham couplings have gone, replaced by 3-links. The fitting of DCC sound has enabled it to run on this layout and although no sound is yet available for the 88DS I have gone for the nearest thing. I have fitted Paul Chetter's Ruston 165DS sounds. It's the same engine in both, only two more cylinders in the 165 and both have a constant mesh mechanical transmission and air-start. Whatever the inaccuracy it sounds damned good and rorty!

 

 

 

That's a lovely model (and fitting for a Midlands industrial yard).  What make is the model please?  Is it a Judith Edge kit?

[Ruston]

12 hours ago, Ben B said:

 

That's a lovely model (and fitting for a Midlands industrial yard).  What make is the model please?  Is it a Judith Edge kit?

Yes, it is a Judith Edge kit.

[Ruston]

 

[sb67]

That is indeed a lovely model, it looks and sounds great 

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Very very good, a like isn't enough!

 

Mike.

[Ruston]

Just off the low-loader, this former Coal Board Rolls Royce suffered an engine fire. It will be broken and any saleable parts kept, whilst the rest is cut up.

 

 

 

Built from a Knightwing plastic kit. I fitted some Gibson wheels and sleeved the holes in the chassis with plastic tube to take the 2mm axles. The plastic wheels and axles wouldn't say on the track, or rotate, very well. It's weighted with a lot of lead to give the little Rustons a hard time moving it. A 7-ton 48DS probably would have a hard time moving a 50-ton dead weight.

 

 

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Sleeve the chassis with brass bushes next time?

 

Mike.

[eastworld]

I seem to recall that a scrapyard near me used to cut up wagons and that they were marked "COND" and  also had a large circle with a "X" in it painted on them. What was the significance of the circle and "X" - how were they derived?

 

Stu

[Ruston]

4 hours ago, eastworld said:

I seem to recall that a scrapyard near me used to cut up wagons and that they were marked "COND" and  also had a large circle with a "X" in it painted on them. What was the significance of the circle and "X" - how were they derived?

 

Stu

It was just a marking to let railway staff know that they were condemned for scrapping and not to be used for traffic. It was only used on railway-owned stock though. Ex-Private owner wagons would have M.T.D. (Move To Disposal) painted on them.

[Gibbo675]

7 hours ago, eastworld said:

I seem to recall that a scrapyard near me used to cut up wagons and that they were marked "COND" and  also had a large circle with a "X" in it painted on them. What was the significance of the circle and "X" - how were they derived?

 

Stu

Hi Stu,

 

The circle with the cross signified "no brakes".

 

Gibbo.

[Ruston]

Another wagon load made. I've used cotton thread in an attempt to represent steel cable as part of the load in the 13-ton High.

 

[Gibbo675]

Hi Dave,

 

That is top quality clutter, if such a phrase may be used as a compliment !

 

Gibbo.

[Ruston]

More wagon loads. This time to fit 21-ton ex-PO wagons. Fine wire and swarf as well as a few bits of larger stuff in the first and a bit of variety in the second.

 

The wagons were bought cheapy, second hand and were originally used on Nant-Y-Mynydd, where, in the Dapol factory GWR livery, they masquraded as Loco Coal wagons. I chopped off the thick tie bar between the axle guards and replaced it with finer plastic strip. They have been weathered and renumbered in BR ex-PO series.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ruston]

Diagram 1/117 8-shoe clasp-braked unfitted, converted from the old Airfix kit. Oleo pneumatic buffers, from Lanarkshire Models, brake shoes.hangers from 51L Models, other brake bits by myself.