"Ironstone" - East Midlands rural quarry railway

[Quarry-Steam65]

Now that is a brilliant model of Salmon!

[Quarry-Steam65]

Evening Paul, any update on the layout?

[rope runner]

Not too much interesting to report.

 

Some more paint has been slapped around on the baseboard and three shades of coloured grout have been acquired to form the road and yard surface. I'll be working off prototype photos and mixing different relative quantities together for different areas etc. 

 

The shed has acquired a roof and is awaiting application of the side cladding. A few have commented that it seems a shame to clad it - but it needs to be fully completed if it is to represent a shed in use. The "newer" portion to the front should be self-evident due to the change in roof profile and window arrangement. 

 

 

Paul A. 

[rope runner]

Hi All, 

 

Another loco post, this time a modified RTR product. 

 

Peckett P1549 of 1919 "Betty"

 

 

 

Built by Peckett's of Bristol to the B2 design, P1549 was delivered new to The Bloxham and Whiston Ironstone Co. Ltd. in 1919 as a replacement for an Avonside loco. Bloxham had taken delivery of another Peckett the previous the year  in the form of P1456 of 1918 "Margôt". The pair worked at Bloxham until 1929 when the quarries closed. In 1931 the loco moved to the Islip Ironworks where she was rebuilt with standard buffers with 16'' heads and new sandbox push rods. At some time the lubricator arrangement was also altered.  

 

At the end of 1952 the loco moved again to Buckminster Quarries in South Lincolnshire as a replacement for an aging veteran Kitson loco (K1836 of 1872). At Buckminster a common job for P1549 was positioning wagons under the crusher at Thistleton (just over the border, in Rutland). She was sidelined in the early 1960's due to industry shrinkage and was cut up in February 1964. 

 

The model is is based on her typical late 50's condition and is complete with the modifications received while at Islip. 

 

Paul A. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by rope runner
Photos re-added

[rope runner]

Hi All, 

 

Some scenic work on the layout now.

 

The premise of this section below is a dirt road leading down from a road junction (off scene) which comes out just to the side of the loco shed. This is used as road access to the yard for quarry company employees and road vehicles/plant which require servicing at the (fairly basic) workshop facilities.  

 

Here is the landform with scratch built fencing added.

 

 

 

Fence posts are from plastic strip from  ebay (shipped from China). The plastic strip is not a consistent width and is pretty cheap and nasty shape but is plenty good enough for this. The row closest to the camera is to simulate wooden posts with buried rail every few meters for tensioning the wires. The rear fencing is round topped concrete fencing, heights measured from the real thing. Wires are omitted in both instances as I prefer this look to gluing on wire, which will ultimately be too heavy. As it is towards the back of the layout it's quite effective in my view. Road surfaces are tile grout with MIG powders added for colour.

 

Also to be noted are the stacks of concrete sleepers used as a makeshift retaining wall. This is based on those seen used for a similar purpose on the Woolsthorpe system. The sleepers are of Ministry of Supply pattern (as supplied to many quarries during the second world war due to a shortage of wood) and were 3D printed by a friend. 

 

More soon

 

Paul A. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by rope runner
Photos re-added

[rope runner]

Judicious application of greenery, bringing it to life a little more. 

 

 

 

A small pile of scrap/rubbish will be added in front of the makeshift retaining wall. The floor for the shed has also gone in. 

 

More soon

 

Paul A. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by rope runner
Photos re-added

[Mol_PMB]

Some rapid and excellent progress! I'm not far off adding greenery to mine, and this is a great inspiration.

[46444]

1 minute ago, 1whitemoor said:

Judicious application of greenery, bringing it to life a little more. 

 

 

A small pile of scrap/rubbish will be added in front of the makeshift retaining wall. The floor for the shed has also gone in. 

 

More soon

 

Paul A. 

 

Setting the scene and standard nicely Paul... 

 

Further updates soon hopefully... 

 

How about a similar shot with stock at eye level...

 

Cheers, 

 

Mark 

[46444]

On 14/01/2021 at 14:25, 1whitemoor said:

Hi All, 

 

Another loco post, this time a modified RTR product. 

 

Peckett P1549 of 1919 "Betty"

 

 

Built by Peckett's of Bristol to the B2 design, P1549 was delivered new to The Bloxham and Whiston Ironstone Co. Ltd. in 1919 as a replacement for an Avonside loco. Bloxham had taken delivery of another Peckett the previous the year  in the form of P1456 of 1918 "Margôt". The pair worked at Bloxham until 1929 when the quarries closed. In 1931 the loco moved to the Islip Ironworks where she was rebuilt with standard buffers with 16'' heads and new sandbox push rods. At some time the lubricator arrangement was also altered.  

 

At the end of 1952 the loco moved again to Buckminster Quarries in South Lincolnshire as a replacement for an aging veteran Kitson loco (K1836 of 1872). At Buckminster a common job for P1549 was positioning wagons under the crusher at Thistleton (just over the border, in Rutland). She was sidelined in the early 1960's due to industry shrinkage and was cut up in February 1964. 

 

The model is is based on her typical late 50's condition and is complete with the modifications received while at Islip. 

 

Paul A. 

 

Have you seen the photo of Betty at Islip belonging to the Industrial Railway Society/K. J Cooper collection?

 

There's a copy of it in Mitchell & Smith`s Branch Lines Around Huntingdon. Kettering-Cambridge. 

 

Nice work by the way on the Hornby Peckett and it's transformation. 

 

Mark 

 

 

[rope runner]

23 hours ago, 46444 said:

 

Have you seen the photo of Betty at Islip belonging to the Industrial Railway Society/K. J Cooper collection?

 

 

Hi Mark, 

 

I think I may have seen it, I've certainly got a colour photo of the loco at Buckminster and the composition looks like a Cooper shot. It does help that a good quantity of colour shots by Ken of the Ironstone lines have found their way onto ebay in the last few years (these being duly copied for modelling reference, of course). 

 

Paul A. 

[Kevin Johnson]

Hi Paul I have just caught up with your layout build. Progress is coming along nicely. 

I like the AB and the Peckett. Look forward to seeing more of your layout build.

[rope runner]

Hi All, 

 

Briefly moving on to another topic now: internal user wagons, more specifically those for PW duties. 

 

In common with many of the larger industrial railways, the biggest quarry systems had dedicated internal user stock for the essential tasks of trackwork maintenance and repair. 

 

As might be expected, the largest collection of internal user PW wagons (knows as "platelayers" wagons) were at Corby quarries where the S&L Minerals mines system of some 60 miles was maintained year-round. Typically, these platelayers trains operated on weekends and bank holidays, so as to limit impact on production.

 

Stock was a mixture of types at Corby but essentially was composed of cut down wooden mineral wagons for shifting trackwork materials and old vans retired from mainline use. These vans had makeshift windows added and sometimes a chimney added for a stove too. Personnel-carrying stock had safety chains added alongside the draw gear and the platelayers trains ran unfitted right through until 1980. 

 

Mines Platelayers No.3 

 

Rescued from Corby in the early 80s and now preserved at Rocks By Rail (Cottesmore) is this diagram 218 Shocvan. The wagon has recently been thoroughly restored, though awaits re-application of the white S&L lettering. The eagle eyed will immediately notice that the frames are not original and are indeed from a 16ton mineral wagon. It is presumed that the body and chassis were paired up at Corby some time during the 1960/70s. 

 

 

Shocvan "Mines Platelayers No.3" running on a 16 ton mineral wagon chassis. Readily identifiable as an industrial railways vehicle from the homebrewed windows and archaic safety chains. Note also kit van "K2" behind, which is a modified Ministry of Munitions iron ore hopper wagon(!). Again, this is preserved from the Corby quarries system. 

 

In an effort to replicate a short platelayers train from the Corby it was a fairly quick and easy task to portray in model form. The shocvan body is from Red Panda and is paired with a 16 ton mineral chassis from Parkside. The windows were a doddle as I etched them for neatness. 

 

 

Mines Platelayers No.3 posed here with MW1762/10. It is doubtful though that they would have been seen working together, given the era the Shocvan would likely have been sold off by BR. 

 

Accompanying the van are some wooden-framed mineral wagon chassis for shifting general trackwork materials. There seemed to be a large number of these at Corby and it is likely that they were retired by S&L (losing their no doubt life expired upper planking) immediately post-war. 

 

More shortly 

 

Paul A. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by rope runner
Photos re-added

[Corbs]

Love that. Also the detail of the safety chains and the chimney is nice.

An open-doored version could make a great diorama piece, food for thought!

[rope runner]

On 04/03/2021 at 21:35, Corbs said:

An open-doored version could make a great diorama piece, food for thought!

 

Yes, I've been beaten to that by my father... diorama at Rocks by Rail below:

 

 

 

Also attached for interest is a nice photo of the van being shifted from Gretton Brook workshops at Corby. It occurs to me that the lorry is likely of as much interest to fellow modelers as the load... 

 

 

 

More soon 

 

Paul A. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by rope runner
Photos re-added

[46444]

On 04/03/2021 at 17:59, 1whitemoor said:

Hi All, 

 

Briefly moving on to another topic now: internal user wagons, more specifically those for PW duties. 

 

In common with many of the larger industrial railways, the biggest quarry systems had dedicated internal user stock for the essential tasks of trackwork maintenance and repair. 

 

As might be expected, the largest collection of internal user PW wagons (knows as "platelayers" wagons) were at Corby quarries where the S&L Minerals mines system of some 60 miles was maintained year-round. Typically, these platelayers trains operated on weekends and bank holidays, so as to limit impact on production.

 

Stock was a mixture of types at Corby but essentially was composed of cut down wooden mineral wagons for shifting trackwork materials and old vans retired from mainline use. These vans had makeshift windows added and sometimes a chimney added for a stove too. Personnel-carrying stock had safety chains added alongside the draw gear and the platelayers trains ran unfitted right through until 1980. 

 

Mines Platelayers No.3 

 

Rescued from Corby in the early 80s and now preserved at Rocks By Rail (Cottesmore) is this diagram 218 Shocvan. The wagon has recently been thoroughly restored, though awaits re-application of the white S&L lettering. The eagle eyed will immediately notice that the frames are not original and are indeed from a 16ton mineral wagon. It is presumed that the body and chassis were paired up at Corby some time during the 1960/70s. 

 

Shocvan "Mines Platelayers No.3" running on a 16 ton mineral wagon chassis. Readily identifiable as an industrial railways vehicle from the homebrewed windows and archaic safety chains. Note also kit van "K2" behind, which is a modified Ministry of Munitions iron ore hopper wagon(!). Again, this is preserved from the Corby quarries system. 

 

In an effort to replicate a short platelayers train from the Corby it was a fairly quick and easy task to portray in model form. The shocvan body is from Red Panda and is paired with a 16 ton mineral chassis from Parkside. The windows were a doddle as I etched them for neatness. 

 

Mines Platelayers No.3 posed here with MW1762/10. It is doubtful though that they would have been seen working together, given the era the Shocvan would likely have been sold off by BR. 

 

Accompanying the van are some wooden-framed mineral wagon chassis for shifting general trackwork materials. There seemed to be a large number of these at Corby and it is likely that they were retired by S&L (losing their no doubt life expired upper planking) immediately post-war. 

 

More shortly 

 

Paul A. 

 

Lovely modelling once more Paul. 

 

A nice little project and the van's livery certainly has a Continental feel about it. 

 

Cheers, 

 

Mark 

[Sandhole]

5 hours ago, 1whitemoor said:

 

Yes, I've been beaten to that by my father... diorama at Rocks by Rail below:

 

 

Also attached for interest is a nice photo of the van being shifted from Gretton Brook workshops at Corby. It occurs to me that the lorry is likely of as much interest to fellow modelers as the load... 

 

 

More soon 

 

Paul A. 

Scammell Handyman.

 

[RANGERS]

20 hours ago, Sandhole said:

Scammell Handyman.

 

Scammell Trunker, the Handyman was the 4x2 version with single steer axle.

[Stephenwolsten]

I hope you don't mind me posting one of my Rocks by Rail videos here.  It rather fits with the theme.  

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Stephenwolsten

[rope runner]

No problem Stephen, a couple of familiar faces there including my own. 

 

I do recall when Stan (full name "Stan Tonn", no apologies for the pun..) had that funny turn and we needed to fetch the Wickham stretcher trolley for him (3.38 onwards in the video).

 

This trolley is ex-Buckminster Quarry. More on this unique piece of quarry railway rolling stock later in the thread...

 

Paul A. 

Edited March 7, 2021 by 1whitemoor

[Sandhole]

On 06/03/2021 at 19:43, RANGERS said:

Scammell Trunker, the Handyman was the 4x2 version with single steer axle.

OH JINGS, you are right.
Chris.

[rope runner]

Hi All, 

 

Not much news on the layout to report, I've been distracted with stock again...

 

This time it's an ancient 19th century 9'' cylinder Hunslet contractors loco. Several small 4-coupled locos built by Hunslet were acquired in the early years of Ironstone extraction by the pioneering James Pain Ltd. 

 

A bit of a departure for me, this won't be a model of a specific loco - but it is intended to complete it with a prototypical standard early Hunslet livery.

 

The etches were designed by Mike Edge who built one of these for a client as HE304 of 1883 named "Dillichip". He was good enough to run another set off for me, with a few sage words. Thank you Mike. 

 

This is practically a narrow gauge loco on standard gauge frames. The larger 10'' cylinder members of the class were around 12-14 tons and so this prototype can't have been much over double figures. A gentle reminder that this is in 4mm...

 

 

Forming the cab roof is not for the faint of heart. The sort of thing you only really get one shot at when building an etched kit.

 

 

The fittings for this have all come from the "bits" box, apart from the buffers which were from RT models. The soldering is still to be cleaned up here. Most of these didn't have a conventional coupling hook from new but I've built this with a set from Brassmasters for ease of operation. 

 

I wanted to use some miniscule ex-Sharman wheels but unfortunately the size of the final drive gear in the standard High Level gear boxes prohibited that approach. What follows is an attempt at my own gearbox in brass in an effort to overcome this.

 

The gears are 0.2 module with an overall reduction of 66:1. The reduction gearset is actually two pinion gears fixed on the layshaft and the whole lot rotates in 2mm bushes soldered into the gearbox frame.  One of the new coreless slow-revving tramfabriek motors completes the picture. 

 

 

Much to my (continual) surprise, it actually works! Beginners luck I'm sure and I won't be attempting anything similar if I can avoid it... 

 

 

There is daylight under the boiler and the mechanism is completely concealed - there's even a base to the ashpan! Boiler barrel to be cut out from sheet, rolled and fitted in due course. 

 

I've etched my own rods for this (slightly larger than those provided, to accept the larger Sharman crank pins) and I may cheat and use the slidebar/crosshead assembly included with an MRJ Manning Wardle casting pack. 

 

Until next time

 

Paul A. 

Edited November 9, 2022 by rope runner
Photos re-added (again!)

[sir douglas]

beautiful

[Quarry-Steam65]

Loving the Hunslet already, I maybe be wrong here but isn’t Vigilant/Trym also one of the Old Hunslet Contractor class?

[rope runner]

17 hours ago, Quarry-Steam65 said:

Isn’t Vigilant/Trym also one of the Old Hunslet Contractor class?

 

HE287 of 1883 VIGILANT is the oldest preserved standard gauge Hunslet loco and a cylinder size larger than this model. There's a few detail differences too, not least the cab which afforded much less protection for crews. Both would be considered "contractors type" locos though due to their lightweight design. 

 

Paul A. 

[5050]

On 12/05/2021 at 14:28, rope runner said:

 

HE287 of 1883 VIGILANT is the oldest preserved standard gauge Hunslet loco and a cylinder size larger than this model. There's a few detail differences too, not least the cab which afforded much less protection for crews. Both would be considered "contractors type" locos though due to their lightweight design. 

 

Paul A. 

Here he/she/it is working for H Arnold somewhere in the Leeds area.  One of my 'Leeds Industrials' collection.