Foxcote New Pit - formerly Highbury Colliery

[queensquare]

I thought I would start a topic showcasing some of the locos that appear on Highbury, both residents and visitors. I will start with the resident colliery shunter and a time traveller.
'Kimberly', is a real hybrid. The saddle tank and smokebox are are a savagely butchered set of Peco castings donated to the cause by Mark Fielder (2mm Mark), grafted onto a scratchbuilt cab, footplate etc. The chassis is an Ibertron cuckoo block with scratchbuilt cylinders and motion, a Mashima motor and Mike Bryant wheels. The result is a very steady and reliable little loco.
The Hymek, which the observant amongst you will notice dosen't quite fit my c.1920's period http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/rolleyes.gif , is the very nice Dapol model. The wheels have been turned down to finescale standards, the body lowered, the ends detailed then the whole lot weathered. The loco runs beautifully although the slop in the bogies is a bit annoying as they set off momentarily before the body although I am hoping that a bit of judicious packing will cure this.
As anyone who has helped me out at exhibitions will know I actively encourage visiting locos, the more inapropriate the better, to run on the colliery during 'happy hour' - not everyones cup of tea I know. One poster on another thread recently refered to it as 'silly hour' suggesting the practice short changed the exhibition goer. Oh well, thankfully the hobby is a broad church. I have a number of shots of exotic, and often very beautiful guests on the colliery which I will add over time but if anyone has snapped any guests on the layout please post them.
Enjoy.

Edited May 10, 2017 by queensquare

[Kris]

What did you do to lower the Hymek?

 

Somewhere I have some images from Taunton of inappropriate stock on Highbury that I will pop up.

[richbrummitt]

Waits for the 9F pictures from a keen house meet a few years back.

[2mmMark]

Very pleased to see you've finished the saddle tank. I almost wish I'd kept but realistically, it would still be sitting in it's gloatbox.

 

The Hymek looks really good. Dapol got this one just right.

[queensquare]

Kris asked

What did you do to lower the Hymek?

 

I took out the circuit board on top of the block (I'm not interested in the lights) and scraped some plastic away inside the roof to allow the body to sit lower over the motor. I also very carefully paired some plastic away on the bottom of the nose where it sits on the bufferbeam. Overall I managed to get it down by about .75mm - not much but I think it improves the look above the bogies.

 

 

 

 

Mark added

Very pleased to see you've finished the saddle tank. I almost wish I'd kept but realistically, it would still be sitting in it's gloatbox.

 

Many thanks Mark I'm really pleased with the end result - and so is Kim! I'm on the lookout for one of the Peco Pecketts to do something similar. The castings are a bit bloated to fit the old Arnold chassis but they are very clean and add invaluable weight just where its needed. With some surgery to slim them down they can make a nice little loco, as you have shown with your Peckett.

 

Jerry

[-missy-]

Hi Jerry.

 

Im looking forward to seeing some updates on this blog. The layout is amazing and I am already looking forward to seeing more engines that have appeared on it.

 

Kimberly is a fantastic little engine and its great to see it finally painted as Mark said. If I could I would build engines like that all day long, as I matter of interest (I am sure I have asked this before?) what wheels did you use for it?

 

Missy

[bcnPete]

Great idea Jerry

 

Its already a terrific inspirational layout...and enhanced even further with the gradual migration of diesels

 

Clicks 'watch topic'....

[The Nth Degree]

This is a beautiful layout. I stumbled across it on Youtube a few weeks ago but had no idea you were an RMWebber! The movie is lovely and the soundtrack is superb - well done.

 

I'm thinking of scratch building three 0-6-0 steam locos, and I know you're a model builder from another of your threads, so would love to pick your brains about the topic at some point. Kimberly is gorgeous, by the way!

[queensquare]

Thanks for your kind words Julia. The wheels are some the late Mike Bryant produced years ago specifically for the Ibertron chassis - wish I had bought a couple of sets at the time.

 

Hi Pete, diesels are making increasingly regular appearances on the colliery although Kim is still not keen on the idea.

 

Jerry

[queensquare]

This is a beautiful layout. I stumbled across it on Youtube a few weeks ago but had no idea you were an RMWebber! The movie is lovely and the soundtrack is superb - well done.

 

I'm thinking of scratch building three 0-6-0 steam locos, and I know you're a model builder from another of your threads, so would love to pick your brains about the topic at some point. Kimberly is gorgeous, by the way!

 

 

Thats very kind thanks although I can take no credit for the film or the music. They are the work of Ian Morgan of this parish. The little shunter is Kimberly in her unfinished state.

 

Please fire away with your questions. I'll help all I can although there are far better qualified on here to answer them. I have built and detailed a few locos commercially but principally its buildings and complete layouts I make.

 

Jerry

[The Nth Degree]

Thanks Jerry, and don't worry, I won't ask anything loco specific, it's the method and technical details I'm interested in at this stage so I can start to transfer drawings into plans, etc. However, I'll save the questions for a PM as I don't want to hijack this thread on your lovely layout.

 

I'll send you a note later this week. Thanks again.

Steve

[queensquare]

As I sadly won't be able to make the 2mm expo at Keighley (see http://www.2mm.org.uk/events.html ) coming up this weekend I thought I would post a picture of arguably Highbury's most glamorous visitor, Tim Watson's Midland Spinner which I borrowed to shunt the yard for a couple of hours at last years 2mm expo in Oxford. The loco looked stunning and performed beutifully although, I suspect much like the prototype, it struggled to take anything more than a light load up the bank at the front.

 

Jerry

[sixteen 12by 10s]

Hi Jerry

If this is the same loco, I can remember seeing it displayed at an exhibition at Cardiff around 1980? It was standing unpainted, on a length of track with a mirror beneath to show off the stunning working inside motion.

I was a young 17 year old away at an “away gig†with my local club for the first time, and out of all the exhibits there, its that one I remember.

 

PS, I was the large bloke with the missus, that you and Pixie persuaded to sign up and part with 20 quid, at Railex, what have I let myself into.

 

Gary

[Pixie]

Top thread Jerry - does Kim read it at all or can we start posting some diesels on the thread?

 

It was standing unpainted, on a length of track with a mirror beneath to show off the stunning working inside motion.

 

Inside... Working... Motion?! Crumbs. Things like that should be spoken about in hushed tones!

 

PS, I was the large bloke with the missus, that you and Pixie persuaded to sign up and part with 20 quid, at Railex, what have I let myself into.

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Pix

[Guest Natalie Graham]

Inside... Working... Motion?!

 

It did indeed. That 'brass' safety valve cover is cast in gold too.

[queensquare]

Hi Jerry

If this is the same loco, I can remember seeing it displayed at an exhibition at Cardiff around 1980? It was standing unpainted, on a length of track with a mirror beneath to show off the stunning working inside motion.

I was a young 17 year old away at an “away gig†with my local club for the first time, and out of all the exhibits there, its that one I remember.

 

PS, I was the large bloke with the missus, that you and Pixie persuaded to sign up and part with 20 quid, at Railex, what have I let myself into.

 

Gary

 

Hi Gary,

good to meet at Aylesbury and welcome to the dark side, you've let yourself in for a lot of fun hopefully.

 

The loco is the same one and is about thirty years old now. It was originaly built in N for running on Chiltern Green before being converted to finescale.

 

Jerry

[Donw]

Didn't Tim write up the Spinner for MRJ. If I remember right someone said he was only building the spinner because there was no coupling rods and valve gear to worry about. Tim couldn't resist the challenge. I remember his 0-4-4t running on Nick Dearnly's layout.

 

Don't worry about the sourpusses most people would enjoy seeing foreiners having a run as long as you are not pretending that it normal. Besides Highbury is a fitting backdrop for any 2mm loco. Love the layout.

Don

[Rhubarb Loop]

I took out the circuit board on top of the block (I'm not interested in the lights) and scraped some plastic away inside the roof to allow the body to sit lower over the motor. I also very carefully paired some plastic away on the bottom of the nose where it sits on the bufferbeam. Overall I managed to get it down by about .75mm - not much but I think it improves the look above the bogies.

 

Jerry,

 

Wow, the Hymek looks fantastic! Did you do anything else? On mine the axles seem ridiculously sloppy between the bogie sideframes, did you limit the sideplay?

 

Cheers,

Alex

[queensquare]

Wow, the Hymek looks fantastic! Did you do anything else? On mine the axles seem ridiculously sloppy between the bogie sideframes, did you limit the sideplay?

 

Cheers,

Alex

 

Thanks Alex. There is a lot of slop between the bogie sideframes although some of this is tightened up when it is converted to finescale due to the wider BTB. The more annoying one for me is the fore and aft slop which results in the bogies pulling away momentarily before the body. Next time I take the loco apart I will investigate packing this out.

 

Jerry

[queensquare]

Just returned after best part of two weeks working at Glastonbury Festival - cream crackered!!

 

As many of you will know Highbury was built as a test bed for techniques and a test track for stock built for my big layout, Bath Queensquare (renamed Green Park by BR in the early 50's) as it would have looked in the 1920's with lots of lovely red and blue engines. The two unfinished locos featured in this installment are both destined for Bath and will both be in MR red as running in the early 1920's. The 1P 0-4-4T will work local trains to Bristol whilst the 800 class 2-4-0 will pilot a 483 4-4-0 on the northern leg of the Pines. Coaches to form these trains are well advanced although my worries over how I'm going to do the lining stubornly refuse to subside!

 

Jerry

 

 

[Donw]

Two cracking loco's there Jerry especially the os framed 2-4-0. Regarding lining, one of my friends is a professional model painter (mostly in 0 gauge) I know he uses a support when lining I think its L shaped and of a suitable size that with a little packing under the model the support is the height to provide some support to steady your hand without pressing hard on the model. Another tip from a well known Modeller (the late Martin Brent) was to add a touch of the main body colour to the varnish to tone down the lining would need a bit of practice to get the touch right I think.

Don

[R31 Mark]

Great work on those locos!

[Weekday Cross]

Coaches to form these trains are well advanced although my worries over how I'm going to do the lining stubornly refuse to subside!

 

Jerry

 

 

Superb locos! Any chance of a view of the chassis without the bodies on?

 

As for lining the coaches, my limited experience with Midland/LMS coaches was to paint the yellow as a broad band and then use a black rotring-style pen to draw lines down the middle. You can get these in various thicknesses and from several manufacturers. Pentel ones are available in WHS, for example.

[queensquare]

Superb locos! Any chance of a view of the chassis without the bodies on?

 

I will try to remember to take some pictures when they are stripped for painting.

 

Jerry

[queensquare]

No new pictures this time although my good friend John Greenwood is coming up for the weekend so I will snap anything he brings with him and post it. The main reason for this post, and John's visit, is Camrail in Bradford on Avon this weekend - see http://titfield.co.uk/Camrail/Camindex.htm

 

This is one of the best and certainly friendliest shows in the calender and a firm favourite of mine. I shall be taking my new and very embryonic layout 'Tucking Mill', terminus of the North Somerset Light Railway, along which thanks to much late night frenzied wiring over the last few days is now fully operational. I'm hoping a number of 2FS members will be coming along and all have been encouraged to bring something to run so I'm hopeful of some interesting guest locos and stock.

 

hope to see some of you there, Jerry