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Foxcote New Pit - formerly Highbury Colliery


queensquare
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It's hard to believe that it's over 18months since I retired Highbury. Many people have asked if I would be taking it out again and I did give serious thought to giving it a good makeover and bringing it out again in a couple of years but in the end decided to completely rebuild it, incorporate it into the main Bath Queensquare layout and, in the process, change it's name to Foxcote New pit.

The colliery itself and sidings won't change much. The old through line across the front will form part of some new interchange sidings and there will be a new, double track mainline across the front. The whole setup will be able to be shunted and operated independently of the mainline (one of the failings of the old design) and will hopefully have the feel of Writhlington/Norton Hill.

Operationally it will add greatly to Bath, generating traffic and working in tandem with the gasworks at Bath.

 

The train across the front is the unfinished Manchester Diner - all the right coaches but not necessarily in the right order. The locos aren't correct either, it's simply mocked up to see what it will look like and also measure exactly how long the lines principal train will be - almost exactly 4' for those interested.

 

 

Jerry

as always stunning

 

Nick

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Glad to see it's not going in the skip.

 

Hope that's double track at Foxcote though. Single track did not go well there for the S&D.

 

Regards, Andy

I was waiting to see who would be the first to pick up on the connection of the name.

 

There was a colliery at Foxcote but I wanted to use the name so have gone for Foxcote New Pit - Highbury was heavily based on Camerton New Pit so I thought the name would give a nice sort of continuity.

 

Jerry

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Great Idea Jerry. The modelling was too good to scrap.It will make a nice backdrop to the mainline trains giving the feel of the area (i find the blend of industry and scenic beauty most attractive), with the bonus of adding traffic.

Don

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Jerry,

Glad to see that Highbury will continue, it has always been my favourite part of the NSLR (indeed probably my favourite layout full stop!)

 

Ian

Thanks Ian although its no longer part of the NSLR - it's been promoted to mainline status. Mind, I've kept the backscene which was a complete, removable unit so there will almost certainly be another NSLR layout on the same footprint!

 

Wasn't the Manchester Diner the train that eventually became the Pines express?

It was Dave, the LMS named it the Pines in 1927

 

Great Idea Jerry. The modelling was too good to scrap.It will make a nice backdrop to the mainline trains giving the feel of the area (i find the blend of industry and scenic beauty most attractive), with the bonus of adding traffic.

Don

Thanks Don. It was never going to be scrapped just wasn't sure what to do. I'm happy with the decision I've come to though, it looks good in a much wider landscape.

 

Jerry

Edited by queensquare
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Hi Jerry great photo and good to see Highbury the coaches look great to .Maybe I can have a look when I pop down to pick up the locos

John

Very welcome John. Here's one of them, as befits sunny Somerset she has the roof open:-))

 

post-1074-0-05249800-1469830386_thumb.jpg

 

Jerry

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This is the third picture I took the other day when mocking up a few things on the new section so thought I might as well post it. The 2P in BR livery is set to be repainted in blue. The 4F is a straight Farish conversion. I'll renumber it and backdate the boiler fittings to original MR style. The coaches are almost finished - except for painting of course!

 

post-1074-0-29356400-1469888397_thumb.jpg

 

Jerry

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all the right coaches but not necessarily in the right order.

Ha! Love the reworking of the old Morecombe + Wise gag :jester:

 

Great stuff Jerry - glad it has a new home in BQS...

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On Saturday I went out for a jolly with the girls, roaming around Somerset in the name of research.

 

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The day started just west of Frome with a most unusual combination on its way from Bristol to Plymouth - a West Country and Royal Scot combo.

 

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Next up, Doulting on the East Somerset Railway. The main purpose of the day, other than just a bit of griceing, was to get some panoramic views for the new backscene. This is a regular spot for me to take the girls and perfect in that I was after views looking across a valley with a railway running through the scene. The Ivatt is rolling downhill here but trains make a stirring site when climbing the bank - we watched that from the bridge to my left but didn't take any pictures.

 

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The principal destination for the day was Camerton but to get there from Doulting involved a trip over the Mendips - past Kilmersden. So it made sense to stop and look around to see what was left.

 

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The colliery entrance - not much left now.

 

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Looking the other way the line crossed the road and headed for the incline. The gate is still there - just - but for how much longer!!

 

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About halfway to the head of the incline we look out over Radstock, and  then back toward the colliery. 

 

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Next was a real treat, and something I've not seen for a long time. A slow worm basking in the late spring sunshine. It soon slithered off once disturbed!

 

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The girls, Jelly and Jazz, look down the incline. Charging down it  might be fun but the climb back up would be hard work!

One of the reasons Kim rarely comes on these jaunts is that I like to go off the beaten track and, as she puts it, 'get all excited about lumps of metal sticking out of the ground'. Well as well as the rails there were some seriously big lumps of metal sticking out of the ground here!!

 

Next instalment, Camerton..........

 

Jerry

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by queensquare
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Nice day out Jerry. We used to find a lot of bits and pieces wandering around the Forest of Dean with the dogs. I must go and have a look at the Roadwater incline near here.

 

Don

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I must go and have a look at the Roadwater incline near here.

 

Don

The steps up to the incline aren't at all dog friendly. They have open lattice treads on the steps that I thought would be hard on a dog's feet, or put them off trying to use them. So I never managed to get up the incline, although I used to regularly walk along the trackbed.

 

If you walk along the trackbed from Roadwater, you can see the remains of Comberow station platform in the winter, and Roadwater station building is still there. And The Valiant Soldier is dog friendly!

Edited by BG John
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Off to Camerton. I took various panoramic views across the valley - great for reference to paint a new backscene but not terribly exciting so I will only inflict a couple on you.

 

post-1074-0-55656200-1494509664_thumb.jpg

 

Im pretty much opposite the site of the station here, in the trees at the bottom of the valley with the site of Old Pit behind.

 

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I swing slightly to my right and I'm looking pretty much straight at what was New Pit. The distinct conical hill, now covered in trees, is the batch for New Pit. My newly rebuilt colliery layout will feature a batch - see below.

 

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post-1074-0-94782400-1494509807_thumb.jpg

 

I've dropped into the bottom of the valley now and am standing roughly where Camerton signal box was. The station was to my left, the retaining wall holds back the Old Pit batch and to the right is the entrance to the sidings serving New Pit. on the far right the bridge that carried the lane over the branch can just be glimpsed - seen closer up in the second picture.

 

post-1074-0-05590500-1494510309_thumb.jpg

 

This picture has been used in a number of books and I have a fabulous large print of it on the workshop wall so Im pretty sure the copywright is long expired. Its the picture that inspired Highbury and will form the basis of Foxcote. on the right of the picture can be seen the foot of batch, seen covered in trees above. I intened to add a batch to the model in a similar spot and am looking for help - see below

 

post-1074-0-00356200-1494510378_thumb.jpg

 

tubs of waste were taken to the top of the batch and tipped using what is referred to as a McLane Tipper. I would like to make a static model of one for the layout but the only picture I have is the one above, can anyone help. I've searched the net but with no luck so far.

 

Jerry

 

 

 

 

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tubs of waste were taken to the top of the batch and tipped using what is referred to as a McLane Tipper. I would like to make a static model of one for the layout but the only picture I have is the one above, can anyone help. I've searched the net but with no luck so far.

We called them bings up here.

 

I have a book 'Lanarkshire's Mining Legacy', one of the many Stenlake publications http://stenlake.co.uk/ .  While there are plenty shots of pits (some taken from the top of the bing) and pithead gear,with bings in the background, there are none of the top of the bing.   :no2: Sorry I can't help.

 

Jim

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We called them bings up here.

 

I have a book 'Lanarkshire's Mining Legacy', one of the many Stenlake publications http://stenlake.co.uk/ . While there are plenty shots of pits (some taken from the top of the bing) and pithead gear,with bings in the background, there are none of the top of the bing. :no2: Sorry I can't help.

 

Jim

Thanks Jim, that's exactly my problem! I'm assuming a 'bing' is the same as a batch - a spoil heap.

 

Edit: you said in your first line you call them bings in Lanarkshire - I blame the glass of Scotlands finest export I've just enjoyed!

 

Jerry

Edited by queensquare
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There is a description of a McLane Tipper here, at the top of page 45: it's described as "a machine with two pans which, when reaching a set position, rotated and emptied the pans". So maybe the vehicle on the inclined plane is in fact the McLane Tipper. Should make a very interesting model!

 

Graham

 

Edit: sorry, I should get a prize for stating the bleedin' obvious ... since your photo's caption makes it clear that's what it's of :scratchhead:... the McLane tipper description refers to a frame at the summit where the tipper pans turned.

 

I have another of the Stenlake books Jim refers to which has a good photo of a hutch being tipped at the top of a bing in Fife. The track simply ends at a baulk of wood, with the hutch being tipped up onto its end to be emptied by a man with a shovel. Another photo in that book has a view of a bing at a larger pit, where the track at the top of the bing seems to have an A-frame above it and to continue some way into space, possibly for a pulley to return the haulage rope. Unfortunately it is too distant to see clearly and the photo screen is fairly coarse so it doesn't enlarge well.

 

A reference library in a mining area (such as the Mitchell in Glasgow) might have catalogues or yearbooks with contemporary advertising for the McLane tipper. 

Edited by Graham R
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A "bing" is the noise that goes off in your head as the penny drops that there's a better and simpler way to do what you've just spent ages doing.

 

The "bing" transforms into a audible expression of what is known in the trade as "gentleman's workshop words".

 

These must be used sparingly as they curdle milk, frighten horses and terrify those of a delicate disposition.

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There is a description of a McLane Tipper here, at the top of page 45: it's described as "a machine with two pans which, when reaching a set position, rotated and emptied the pans". So maybe the vehicle on the inclined plane is in fact the McLane Tipper. Should make a very interesting model!

 

Graham

 

Edit: sorry, I should get a prize for stating the bleedin' obvious ... since your photo's caption makes it clear that's what it's of :scratchhead:... the McLane tipper description refers to a frame at the summit where the tipper pans turned.

 

I have another of the Stenlake books Jim refers to which has a good photo of a hutch being tipped at the top of a bing in Fife. The track simply ends at a baulk of wood, with the hutch being tipped up onto its end to be emptied by a man with a shovel. Another photo in that book has a view of a bing at a larger pit, where the track at the top of the bing seems to have an A-frame above it and to continue some way into space, possibly for a pulley to return the haulage rope. Unfortunately it is too distant to see clearly and the photo screen is fairly coarse so it doesn't enlarge well.

 

A reference library in a mining area (such as the Mitchell in Glasgow) might have catalogues or yearbooks with contemporary advertising for the McLane tipper.

 

Many thanks, I've e sent you a pm

 

Jerry

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.... Another photo in that book has a view of a bing at a larger pit, where the track at the top of the bing seems to have an A-frame above it and to continue some way into space, possibly for a pulley to return the haulage rope. 

For several years in the late 1950's/early 60's my father was headmaster (The Dominie) in the mining village of Annathill, which was the village for Bedley Colliery.  The village sat in the shadow of two pit bings, only one of which was still in use.  I don't recall ever seeing men at the top when the hutches were being tipped, but I do seem to recollect something along the lines Graham describes.  Both bings are long gone, the material having been used for bottoming when the nearby A80 Glasgow Stirling road was made dual carriageway and later when it was converted to motorway.

 

Incidentally, Bedley became famous as the last place in Scotland to see steam locos in daily operation right up to it's closure on 11th December 1981.

 

A "bing" is the noise that goes off in your head as the penny drops that there's a better and simpler way to do what you've just spent ages doing.

 

The "bing" transforms into a audible expression of what is known in the trade as "gentleman's workshop words".

 

These must be used sparingly as they curdle milk, frighten horses and terrify those of a delicate disposition.

Is that not "Ping"?

 

Bing is a little black rabbit in an eponymous program on CBeebies! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoOc9M0VgduPIu1HPazSfjJU-nkmL14J8 .  The things you learn when you have a 3 yr old grandson!

 

Jim

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