Les1952 Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) Whippets surely? And they're going to be tiny ! Have fun Ralph Lambton58 I thought greyhounds sounded too big- I'm originally from Darlington, which is just about at the South end of the whippet club and leek show belt. I think in N greyhounds from Noch can pass for whippets (possibly with a little surgery), painting pigeons is definitely more daunting, and an odd greenhouse or two with pot leeks in might just be doable- I seem to remember some of the exhibits at the leek show at the Royal Oak in Darlington were enormous (I worked there for three years part time when at college). Somewhere I have a Brassmasters cab to put on a OO austerity- if I ever get round to it that would complete a set in my showcase-- high and low bunker 51A engines, 49 from Backworth, a geisl, a producer gas top and a Cromford alteration are there already. My favourite was number 7, having had a ride from Lambton engine works back to the shed on it, the only six-coupled Lambton engine I managed to ride (the other two were 11 and I think 31, both 0-4-0STs). I'm not sure if No.10 counts as it wasn't really a Lambton engine- I had a lift on that one at Morrison Busty colliery. Your favourite and mine- 58 and 7 at Derwenthaugh. This one is 58 again- there is a very similar pic of it on the front of one of the Oxford Publishing Co's industrial steam albums, taken by E.C.salthouse, who was standing just a little furter along the line (I'm the idiot in his pic taking the photo). Dr Salthouse had a better camera than me and knew how to use it (which is more than I did at the time.....) I did cut the cab off a Farish J94 body at one time- it is still in the scrap box somewhere. I might summon up the energy to try and make something of it one day. All the very best Les Edited February 13, 2013 by Les1952 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Lambton58 Posted February 15, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 15, 2013 ...an odd greenhouse or two with pot leeks in might just be doable- I seem to remember some of the exhibits at the leek show at the Royal Oak in Darlington were enormous .... Oh definitely! Somewhere I have a Brassmasters cab to put on a OO austerity- if I ever get round to it that would complete a set in my showcase-- high and low bunker 51A engines, 49 from Backworth, a geisl, a producer gas top and a Cromford alteration are there already. My favourite was number 7, having had a ride from Lambton engine works back to the shed on it, the only six-coupled Lambton engine I managed to ride (the other two were 11 and I think 31, both 0-4-0STs). I'm not sure if No.10 counts as it wasn't really a Lambton engine- I had a lift on that one at Morrison Busty colliery. I'd like to add Lambton 32 sometime - it was an RHS standard 0-4-0ST with a cut-down Lambton Cab and I know that it was stationed at Harraton when my Grandfather worked there. Mind you I've got a Chilton Iron Works kit for No 29 to build first... Your favourite and mine- 58 and 7 at Derwenthaugh. You're spoiling us!!! Cheers Ralph Lambton58 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 You're spoiling us!!! Cheers Ralph Lambton58 I do TRY to oblige....... First day of Sileby show today. Good show, and so far quite useful. I've managed to get hold of two (different) pigeon lofts, a garden shed and a weighhouse kit- there is a selection of assorted allotment privvies to get tomorrow after I've visited a cash machine. All the very best Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Looking good ,glad you are a Navy Lark fan ,Lesley Phillips went to my old school in N London EVERYBODY DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 I've so far managed to get all of series 1 to 8 of Navy Lark on CD- so start at episode 1 and play 2 per evening when on Ebay until I get to the newest, then go back to the first. Currently taking about 6 months to work through, so each second pass I lengthen the process by another series....... I'm going to have to put the pigeon lofts onto the bank to get pictures, as they've defeated the autofocus on my camera for now. I did manage to pick this up - referring back to a couple of the posts about Get Carter on page 1 -. I can't work the ropeway in as it would be heading directly out at the punter, so have had to settle for a conveyor. The film is ten years wrong for the period of the layout, but I'm thinking of placing this billboard somewhere on the bank- it might help set the scene. Comments anyone? Back to modelling tomorrow- the worst disaster we had at Sileby show was the superglue holding our Dapol uncoupler magnets in place on Stamford East failing (we use four tiny rare earth magnets placed across the track), so a rapid return to Rapidos and a shunting pole kept the parcels and RCTS trains running.... At least on Hawthorn Dene the magnets will be the long Dapol ones hidden under the weighbridge (one) and the screens (two more). These shouldn't be attracted off the surface of the layout by passing trains. Grand evening, isn't it? All the very best Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MrSimon Posted February 17, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 17, 2013 Hi Get Carter's 1971, and an iconic 70s film, which is blue diesel era - i know its right for the location but it dates the layout in the wrong period... is there an earlier film you could use instead? Glad to hear Sileby went well Cheers Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 (edited) The end of Get Carter was shot on the beach below the headland just North of where the layout is set- the idea is to use it to set the location. I'm not sure how many will equate the date of the film with blue diesels- and can always invoke Rule 1. I've had to lose the ropeway as it ended up coming straight out from the board edge, which wasn't on. The conveyor belt will work, but I need to set the location fairly firmly. However I'm not decided- and won't glue the billboard in- I'm looking at alternatives so leaving it removeable/interchangeable would allow this. I'm also a little concerned that it is on the big side- I'll have a chat about getting a smaller board if possible. Pics show the hoarding in place. Definitely more appropriate are the pigeon lofts- I'm still trying for other designs- the Faller summerhouse kits are far too modern. Each will need propping up at the lower end, with steps up to the entrance and vegetables on the slope below, rather like the ones that featured regularly in "Supergran" some years ago, though I believe these were close to the Collingwood Statue in Tynemouth... Lastly, the concrete walling for the cutting at the right-hand end below the washery, which will form the basis of the conveyor belt supports above. The conveyor will angle downwards with a pier at the top of the walling. The idea is to hide both backscene holes. Still plenty to do. Les Edited February 18, 2013 by Les1952 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Thursday Still staring at the Get Carter hoarding, and still unsure either way. This week I've plastered in the end of the slope by the concrete walling and also done the cutting side in front of the main line. However, I might have worked out how to get the aerial ropeway in - the conveyor will stay either way as it is to hide a hole in the backscene (the tall thin one clearly visible in the last post). If I bring the aerial ropeway out from the screens and diagonally across the tracks there is room fot a pylon close to the front of the baseboard. This would turn it through an angle to head out off the board at the front- the ropes can be in on the first bit but not from the front pylon onwards. I'll try to draw it onto the revised plan and post it shortly. Meanwhile another batch of ten hopper wagons have entered the workshop for weathering and fitting Dapol couplers- the WD might get weathered at the same time. With the front edge of the layout largely drying plaster there is a period where oddments can be done. Time to get some eBay sales off to post...... All the best Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian b Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Hi Les, Get Carter is one of my favourite films but I think of the blue deltic speeding up from London at the beginning and I'm not sure it instinctively sets the scene as north-east coast. Perhaps a body travelling in one of the buckets may be a subtler nod! I would say your plans, along with the stock used, shout the area as much as the poster does! Perhaps too much detail but afficionados of the film may also know the book upon which it was based was based in the Scunthorpe area! Keep up the good work, Kind regards, Ian B 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Hi Les, Get Carter is one of my favourite films but I think of the blue deltic speeding up from London at the beginning and I'm not sure it instinctively sets the scene as north-east coast. Perhaps a body travelling in one of the buckets may be a subtler nod! I would say your plans, along with the stock used, shout the area as much as the poster does! Perhaps too much detail but afficionados of the film may also know the book upon which it was based was based in the Scunthorpe area! Keep up the good work, Kind regards, Ian B I've got my eye on a few assorted billboards that would substitute. The problem with running early seventies is that in banger blue time there was one express each way per day, one parcels with a class 40, and 2-car class 101s on passenger with everything else handled by Class 37s, coal in 21-tonners or light engine plus brake. I will probably use a billboard for Blackpool- every coach company in the area ran Summer express services there in the sixties.... All the very best Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 I've just looked at the Trackside Signs website and ordered BR period billboards for Blackpool and Whitley Bay....... Pics when they arrive- the bank will get two signs probably as they are different sizes. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 (edited) Sunday Morning Day out of the shed altogether- eBay and catching up paperwork this morning then off to Nottingham to rehearse "Mikado" with the Raymond Gubbay chorus- first time I've sung with them, though I've sung with most of the members in other companies.... Yesterday I finished the green areas in front of the main line- just the part behind the colliery line to get the ground in. Still not drawn the route of the ropeway but it will come out of a forward extension of the screening house (probably a "wiggly tin" structure) then rise to a pylon by the left end of the run round loop, continue left to a second pylon on the green mound just to the left of the coal drops (passing behind the drops. At this second pylon it will turn sharp left and drop across the main line to a third pylon by the board edge, with just a couple of pieces of plastic strip jutting forward from this pylon to represent the ropeway continuing off the board and down to the beach. There will need to be netting over the main line below the ropeway. I've found some good pics of a cableway in Northumberland I can use for source material. The green in front of the railway has made a difference. Not the final colouring but it gives me an idea of where it might be going scenically. Lemberg on a down express for Sunderland and Newcastle. The washery end- the conveyor belt will pass between the two buildings above the wall top and cross the railway heading downwards. A little belt-and-braces this but I may model the conveyor as out of use. The alternative to a conveyor is a pair of pipelines heading the same way taking waste water from the washery to the sea for disposal. Whichever it is eventually it has the purpose of hiding the exits to the fiddle yard. Also in the background are the winding house and a fan house where the shaft used to be- the old headgear has been removed and coal is no longer wound at Hawthorn Dene. The washery remains and one shaft is now use to ventilate the mine, the other having been capped off. Hawthorn Dene coal is wound either at Easington (just a little South) or Hawthorn Combined Mine to the North West. The screening house will be behind these two buildings. I've found two more pics of coast line trains- a B1 on a train of all-Stanier stock forming a Liverpool to Newcastle express, and a Hunt on a Newcastle-Saltburn working with a non-corridoor rake of very mixed stock including two celerestories.. All the very best Les Edited February 24, 2013 by Les1952 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 Monday- main line ballasting day 1 Today's music by the Shadows and Status Quo. No visitors. One thing I didn't do was check the PVA supplies. I managed to mix enough PVA/water to do the bridge board. I'll get another lot tomorrow on the way back from the railway club and do the other board on Wednesday. Ballast down, but plenty of loose to get rid of before trains run again. I'll vacuum both ends on Friday together with the workshop floor. All the best Les 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Barry O Posted February 26, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 26, 2013 Les you said The end of Get Carter was shot on the beach below the headland just North of where the layout is set- the idea is to use it to set the location. I'm not sure how many will equate the date of the film with blue diesels- and can always invoke Rule 1. No it was south of Hawthorn - Blackhall to be exact I know cos we were there being asked to "go somewhere else" at the time. Strange they picked Blackhall as, at tehy time, there was a lot more spoil being tipped at Horden ( but less photogenic I suppose) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 (edited) Les you said The end of Get Carter was shot on the beach below the headland just North of where the layout is set- the idea is to use it to set the location. I'm not sure how many will equate the date of the film with blue diesels- and can always invoke Rule 1. No it was south of Hawthorn - Blackhall to be exact I know cos we were there being asked to "go somewhere else" at the time. Strange they picked Blackhall as, at tehy time, there was a lot more spoil being tipped at Horden ( but less photogenic I suppose) Thanks for that- I knew it was along the coast but was told it was here. I'm replacing Carter with a Blackpool billboard when it arrives- I was also a little concerned about the cigarette in the poster- not wanting to get into arguments with punters about promoting smoking (I never took up smoking)- bad enough having a woman complain the sunbathers on Furtwangen Ost were rude- and she didn't know about the bonking bankers behind the blue glass window, thank goodness....... I'm sure there was a coach company in Easington that used to run a weekend express to take holidaymakers to and from Blackpool. Certainly I remember seeing one of Select Coaches from Horden in one of the Blackpool coach parks- shame I didn't get a picture at the time. I'd originally thought of doing the Blackhall area and turning it round to look out to sea, but was told that would be too difficult. Looking inland Blackhall is still on the part of the land where the main line runs on embankment, which is more difficult to hide the ends convincingly. I can remember looking out of the train window on Sunday afternoons as we passed Blackhall Colliery to see if the WD "Delta" was still standing outside, and to see what diesels were visible. Blackhall had the first diesel I remember with a Durham plant number painted on it- that was 20/110/702, a North British 0-6-0DH they got from Appleby Frodingham steelworks. They also had similar 20/110/701 but I never saw that one. I seem to remember a Barclay 0-4-0 saddletank, but only caught a glimpse of it once. All the very best Les Edited February 26, 2013 by Les1952 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 (edited) Friday again- the vacuum cleaner strikes.... Actually this was pre-planned. Off came anything portable and the whole top was given a good going over with the vacuum cleaner nozzle. About 95% of the ballast has survived- I made a much more thorough job of glueing it down than I did with Furtwangen Ost. I then got out a pair of locos with pizza-cutter wheels (the Hunt and a Baby Deltic that has been hiding in Stamford East's shed at exhibitions until I fixed it last week) and ran them round and round on the hopper trains until they ran smoothly with no bouncing on bits of stray ballast. Everything with finer flanges runs nicely, and looks a lot better. The South end of the layout- progress overview. Note I've still got to fill in Trevor's saw cut just North of the bridge. Slightly soft focusing hides the missing bits of ballast just beyond the bridge. Looking the other way- the train hasn't moved, the 4MT has stalled through lack of decent pickups. Having to keep the motion swimming in more oil than the prototype uses in order to stop it locking up doesn't exactly help pickup either. I'm debating whether I actually need a 4MT. It will go for "sorting"- probably next month sometime. If it behaves when it comes back I'll keep it. The stalled 4MT is passed by a Nothbound DMU. Ballasting has improved this aspect. The new billboards have arrived- Blackpool is the brighter one of the two. The other one is for The Bridge Over the River Kwai, which is nearer the period than Get Carter. I'll keep that one in reserve, however. I'm still looking at ways of hiding the holes in the backscene at the ends. These are hawthorn trees, at least according to Busch. There is an overbridge to go just to the right of them, with a level crossing on the colliery line about where the loco is standing - ungated as the NCB often didn't bother with such things- a flagman for a road and a loud whistle for a farm track. This will be a farm tracfk. I've another group of Hawthorns which might go on the near side of the cutting between the bridge and the baxckscene. However I'm still not fixed on this, and will play with a few other ideas. Off to the right, starting behind the hopper wagon, will probably be a row of terrace backs. All the very best Les Edited March 2, 2013 by Les1952 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 (edited) Waiting for glue... As there is quite a bit of paint and glue still setting I've turned my mind to locos and stock for a time. The push-pull brake might be good enough to photograph in a few days (or maybe not) and I've been making some progress with the Hunt and the V1/3 tank. The V1/V3 has been lined out on one side, with the other started. I've got buffers ordered for it. It needed a go at the track tp get it to run across the front as it has deeper pizza-cutter wheels than the Hunt. I've also been running-in A3s, which are now all quieter than any of the V2s- as is the A4 now. Pic shows Colorado after being given some more weight to the Cortazzi truck to keep it on the track. All the best Les Edited March 4, 2013 by Les1952 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 Friday- Pylons arrived. A pack of three pylons for the cableway has arrived from Germany. Looking at the Brawa cableway the expansion pylons for this were almost the right shape- and the differences are mostly in the cable guides at the top. One is going to have to turn the cableway through a big angle. This will be pylon 2. The three pylons placed on the layout to see if three is enough (ie should I send for a fourth?). I think three is the maximum number. At this point pylon 1 is sitting on the baths building, and pylon 2 on a plant room. Pylon 3 is the one forward of the tracks, and this is where it will finish up (within a couple of centimetres in any given direction). More to follow Les 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 Looking closer at pylon 1 Basically there are two ways the cableway can leave the screening house- either in front of or behind the screens themselves. That means there are probably two sites the first pylon can occupy. It can either sit behind the colliery line and in front of the roads coming from the screens or it can sit behind the roads from the screens. I've placed it both ways and am presently thinking. Fortunately the final decision is several months away. In front of the screen roads Advantages - easy to get at. more room in front of the screens than behind to get the cable end into. Disadvantages- the pit head baths were going to be somewhere here. Removing these means the area becomes a little too open for my liking, and the bath house has few alternative positions. Cables pass over main shunting area One solution could be to sit the pylon on top of the baths. Cables still pass over main shunting area (disadvantage) but at a higher level meaning less conflict with the "hand of God". Problem with this is I'm certain it is totally unprototypical. Alternatively the pylon could sit behind the screening roads. Advantages of this- the cables are now clear of track cleaning and "sorting out" accidents etc. Pit head baths can go back where they were and still give hand-room while interfering with the sight line to the screens. Disadvantages- the cable end becomes cramped BUT it is behind the screen house so limitations of my modelling are harder to spot...... The backscene is extremely close to it so will need to be installed first- difficulty keeping it clean given my hamfistedness.. Overall I'm beginning to come down in favour of putting the mast behind all the tracks- the cableway will be almost the last thing to be installed and there is little important or fragile that can be knocked while installing it- most of the colliery buildings are Lyddle End or Scenecraft, and those that are going to be scratchbuilt will be near the back and end. Looking closer at pylon 2 This one turns the cableway through almost a right-angle, and the runner at the back will need extending a long way before and after the pylon- the forward runner is inside the bend and needs much less extension. The question is, whether or not to sit it on top of a square machinery house. This shows it without. The snag is that the cableway passes over the colliery line at a low level. If I place the pylon on top of the machinery house it gives more clearance where it passes over the line, and a steeper angle going down to pylon 3. I'm going to have to see if there are any examples of a ropeway pylon with a plant room built under it. The steeper cableway is probably better aesthetically and gives the impression of heading for the beach. This one needs a slightly earlier decision as the plant room goes in the ground at an earlier point, though still not until after the summer. Another consideration is that there will need to be protective netting where the cableway passes over the track to the beach, and over the main line. Ah well, back to the research..... All the very best Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 Friday update Layout is now standing on its ends while I get Furtwangen Ost ready for Sheffield show. Surprisingly just running Stan the Knife through the bits where I'd sceniced across the board joint was enough to allow me to split them first go. While it is in two pieces I'll take the opportunity of getting ant protruding trackpings out from the underside, and wire in as many drop wires as I can reach. Hopefully it will be back on its feet in June. Meanwhile still plenty of work going on to improve the trains. All the very best Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 Coo- four months since an update. Little to report- a trip to New York, exam marking and preparing Furtwangen Ost for two exhibitions in September have put paid to that for now. The layout is still standing on its end waiting for me to start to finish the wiring, so any stock done has to be posed on Furtwangen Ost at the moment . 62395 was the last D20 in service, withdrawn 1957, a little too early but I've also got a G5 which was withdrawn the same year. The D20 has been running on Trevor Webster's Parnhams as LNER 711, making it a veteran of Taunton and Warley shows amongst others. It is basically a simple repaint back into BR black, though the tender isn't the original. This tender was my first attempt at converting a small UM Midland type into something nearer an NER type. The rear is a little too flared but it looks OK when moving on a train. Maybe it won't be another 4 months before the next update.... All the best Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 To DCC or not to DCC, that is the question. The layout is now on its back- one half on the workbench, while the other half is on Furtwangen Ost's trestles, held vertical by bungee cords wrapped round the roof trusses in the workshop. Next job is finishing the wiring, but I'm not sure whether to make it analogue or DCC- the latter would involve chipping twenty-odd locos and a bit more expense on controllers. However- to remain DC the following jobs need doing.- three SCART plugs on each board to carry the wires across. forty extra pairs of drop wires to install in the fiddle yard three panels to make and wire in about 4 extra reels of wire to install. three new hand-helds to buy from Modelex. I'm not sure whether the time this will take can't be better spent on the scenics. Ideas? Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted October 9, 2013 Author Share Posted October 9, 2013 Decision Made (or gone over to the dark side) I've bought a PowerCab for the layout, and got as far as chipping five of the locos. I really couldn't face the six weeks or so wiring it up. All going DCC has meant was to common up the sections under the board- I will need to separate some places where the two polarities come too close together, but the layout now runs DC as a complete single section. Trackwork cleaning is going on, together with a little smoothing of a couple of bumpy bits in the fiddle yard. 5 locos chipped so far (all 6-pin NEM)- 60045 Lemberg with a Zimo 61018 Gnu with a Lenz Silver Mini the pannier with a small CT Elektronik chip the class 24 with a Bachmann, and the WD, also with a Bachmann. In addition the Class 24 will come back from DCC Supplies after warranty repair chipped, and one J25 has gone to DCC Supplies for chipping. All the very best Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two_sugars Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 re The Durham coastal pigeon cree. . .I remember one or two ex railway wagons converted to a cree... landing shelf in front of the window .... pailings along the front of the roof.... painted in makem stripes. . . . . . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 re The Durham coastal pigeon cree. . .I remember one or two ex railway wagons converted to a cree... landing shelf in front of the window .... pailings along the front of the roof.... painted in makem stripes. . . . . . Now that sounds like a good idea for a different cree. Time to look through the box of dead wagons for a suitable body..... many thanks for the idea. All the very best. Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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