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Bacup - Mills in the hills


Jason T
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Basically, I don’t have room to put the layout up, it’s suffered somewhat from being stored (track at baseboard edges, nothing serious) and to be honest, my interests have moved on to EM gauge, industrial settings & locos and smaller layouts - The Mill is more fun to operate than Bacup! So as you will probably guess, Bacup is to be dismantled, track sold on (if anyone would buy it) and scenic items salvaged for future use.

Having met you with the Mill at Gnosall I understand why you interests have moved in that direction. It's a superb piece of work. However, I'm very sad to see the demise of Bacup as one of the first threads I followed on here was by a chap called Sandside and this was the thread. It has really inspired my modelling ideas, though it has little in the way of green on it and was about thirty years later than my ideal. The detail was what captured me. So thanks for taking us along for the ride.

 

With all this in mind, I have started on a mini-project closely linked to Bacup and that is painting the window frames on the buildings. Once I found out that white paint was so rare in the late 50’s, the glare of those frames really annoyed me but I didn’t have the time (or inclination when construction of The Mill began) to deal with it. I now intend to revisit every building and sort it out so that when they come to be reused, it’ll be one less job to do.

The below shop and adjoined houses were among the first buildings for Bacup. It may not look like anything has changed but to me, the window frames are infinitely better through getting a lick of paint.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the mini-project develop and hope that you post a link (as you don't have them in your signature). I agree that the window frames look far superior in the muted colour. I wouldn't have thought about it until you pointed it out. So I look forward to it all as it develops and the direction that you take the buildings that were so inspiring on Bacup.

 

Kind regards, Neil

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Well, the deed is done. I managed to salvage all I wanted to including some full scenic areas, all buildings, most of the turnouts, all point motors and key for the future, two baseboard frames (one 6’ x 2’ and one 5’ x 2’, including C&L alignment dowels). 11’ x 2’ to start something new is pretty exciting (over twice the length and also wider than The Mill) and small enough to be exhibitable. My mind is already working overtime with the possibilities of what could come.

 

With the buildings I already have, expect something Northern, grotty, urban and industrial,

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Well, the deed is done. I managed to salvage all I wanted to including some full scenic areas, all buildings, most of the turnouts, all point motors and key for the future, two baseboard frames (one 6’ x 2’ and one 5’ x 2’, including C&L alignment dowels). 11’ x 2’ to start something new is pretty exciting (over twice the length and also wider than The Mill) and small enough to be exhibitable. My mind is already working overtime with the possibilities of what could come.

 

With the buildings I already have, expect something Northern, grotty, urban and industrial,

I wouldn't expect anything less mate.

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Well, the deed is done. I managed to salvage all I wanted to including some full scenic areas, all buildings, most of the turnouts, all point motors and key for the future, two baseboard frames (one 6’ x 2’ and one 5’ x 2’, including C&L alignment dowels). 11’ x 2’ to start something new is pretty exciting (over twice the length and also wider than The Mill) and small enough to be exhibitable. My mind is already working overtime with the possibilities of what could come.

 

With the buildings I already have, expect something Northern, grotty, urban and industrial,

Aye oop, northern, grotty, urban and industrial went out wit' mills, and the to-have retro-layout today is Welsh, GWR, countryside and pretty....  :whistle:  

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That’s just not me at all Larry; I just love the grubby nooks and crannies in old industrial towns, a rundown railway weaving its way between filthy buildings and crossing streets, a water feature so dirty that no life would want to survive in it, remnants of earlier industries either crumbling away or repurposed. Small industrial locos shuffling a ragtag collection of wagons amongst all this.

 

Uplifting? No, but reality often isn’t.

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That’s just not me at all Larry; I just love the grubby nooks and crannies in old industrial towns, a rundown railway weaving its way between filthy buildings and crossing streets, a water feature so dirty that no life would want to survive in it, remnants of earlier industries either crumbling away or repurposed. Small industrial locos shuffling a ragtag collection of wagons amongst all this.

Uplifting? No, but reality often isn’t.

And for those of us fortunate enough not to have lived in such an environment, intriguing and full of unfamiliar detail.
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Hi Jason

 

It's sad to hear of the demise of Bacup but I can understand the reasons for that decision, despite it being totally out of my area of interest I was always fascinated by following the build and seeing how you approached things, I'm sure some of your methods can be seen in some of my own work over the years.

 

Having seen The Mill and the level of detail that has I look forward to seeing your take on urban grot on any future project, however having never lived in or around such conditions and being a country lad I shall stick to my pretty trees and rivers with the odd building.

 

It's good to know that you have kept a few bits and that they will reappear somewhere.

 

All the best

 

Jim

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Never mind a few bits Jim, I’ve basically saved a town’s worth of buildings including a Mill (not yet complete) of considerable size that was built for an extension beyond the station, which was shelved when we had to move house and the space was no longer available. Somewhere, I also have a rather large sheet of Wills walling that I started to hide the joins on but never finished.

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Sad to see Bacup being dismantled I followed its progress with great interest especially the building of those northern streets and ginnels and learned a lot from it.

However its obviously time to move on and I am sure your new layout will provide new challenges which again I can learn from.

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So stage two of this realignment is to sell off a load of the OO locos and stock that is just taking up space and capital that could be invested elsewhere (Judith Edge and High Level will be seeing some of it). Just about all of it is weathered and locos & wagons converted to 3 links.

 

Before I hit up eBay, if anyone is interested in buying any locos and stock that ran on Bacup, pm me.

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So stage two of this realignment is to sell off a load of the OO locos and stock that is just taking up space and capital that could be invested elsewhere (Judith Edge and High Level will be seeing some of it). Just about all of it is weathered and locos & wagons converted to 3 links.

 

Before I hit up eBay, if anyone is interested in buying any locos and stock that ran on Bacup, pm me.

That's 123 pages to look through to spot any I am interested in.

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You may want to warn Chris (high level) that you will be chasing him again. Don't forget to look further afield too... there is heaps of smaller and larger kits that could keep you out of mischief for years.

 

I have a Dave Bradwell J26 that I need to finish... last worked on in 2015.... lovely kit. But that will be next month as I have to finish a couple of other things first! 

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Jason

 

Will you be disposing of any of your lovely buidings? They would be just the job for Bradford North Western!

 

Also, somewhere I have a High Level kit fhr an industrial 0-4-0 (I forget precisely which) tuat I will never build. Would you be interested in a swap for a BR loco?

 

Ian

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Hi Ian,

 

I may but not sure which yet as I want to plan out what will follow and what buildings will fit.

 

As for swapsies, that could be an option. Loco wise, there’s one Black Five still in OO, a Standard Five, a Crab, Ivatt Mickey Mouse Mogul, Jinty, Patriot that had the weathering started, a 4F, a WD, an Ivatt Mucky Duck (missing a front step - it’s somewhere but being elusive - and cab side windows replaced to get rid of the fishbowl effect), Stanier 2-6-4T, Fairburn 2-6-4T, Clayton (!!!) and a Derby Lightweight DMU awaiting re-numbering.

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PM me; I do love the WD and have the EM conversion kit ready and waiting but it doesn’t really figure in future plans for small industrial layouts.

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I was born and brought up in such an environment, I consider myself fortunate. Canals, gas works, electricity works, iron works, wagon works, chemical works, cotton mills, scrapyards with three legged one eyed dogs, terraced houses by the thousand, disused collieries and their slag heaps, steam, smoke, fog, smog, cobbled streets together with the finest, friendliest and most honest people on this planet.

 

lbfr3j3m.jpg

 

Belle Green Lane, Ince Wigan. My grandfather lived just past the crossing on the left. I remember swinging on the hand operated crossing gates to allow a WD 2-8-0 to clank past on it's way up to the old NCB workshop complex at Kirkless. The line here closed in 1958.

 

All but a memory these days.

 

Brit15

Not a car or white line in sight. How times change.

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Hi Jason

 

You know, it's been great seeing your site come up again in my list, even if it's just as a kind of goodbye. I really enjoyed watching it come to life while I had the opportunity. A quick question, what build thread are you on now so I can stalk your latest projects there?

 

cheers

 

Jason

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I was born and brought up in such an environment, I consider myself fortunate. Canals, gas works, electricity works, iron works, wagon works, chemical works, cotton mills, scrapyards with three legged one eyed dogs, terraced houses by the thousand, disused collieries and their slag heaps, steam, smoke, fog, smog, cobbled streets together with the finest, friendliest and most honest people on this planet.

 

lbfr3j3m.jpg

 

Belle Green Lane, Ince Wigan. My grandfather lived just past the crossing on the left. I remember swinging on the hand operated crossing gates to allow a WD 2-8-0 to clank past on it's way up to the old NCB workshop complex at Kirkless. The line here closed in 1958.

 

All but a memory these days.

 

Brit15

was the three legged one eyed dog called lucky

 

Andy

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  • 1 year later...
On 12 June 2018 at 12:08, clecklewyke said:

Jason

 

Will you be disposing of any of your lovely buidings? They would be just the job for Bradford North Western!

 

Also, somewhere I have a High Level kit fhr an industrial 0-4-0 (I forget precisely which) tuat I will never build. Would you be interested in a swap for a BR loco?

 

Ian

 

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