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West Riding Terminus- Halifax Powell Street


BurscoughCurves
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8 hours ago, jrb said:

Pete,

 

I've only just found this thread but have spent a good few hours over the last couple of days reading it all, and all I can say is it's superb! Having lived in this area for almost all my life I think I'm qualified to say you've captured the atmosphere perfectly.

 

Your mill buildings are stunning, and are what I'm hoping to achieve on my own layout. So much so, I'm about to start re-designing one of the buildings for it, using yours as inspiration!

 

JRB

 

Hi JRB,

 

Thanks for the kind words, I’ve just started looking through your posts and you’ve got some great buildings on the go- I’m both impressed and jealous!

 

Atmosphere is what I’m looking for. This is my first layout so I’m treating it as very much a learning curve. I love looking at buildings or locations that scream out to be modelled, and West Yorkshire has so many of them in my opinion! 

 

I’ll be looking through all of your topics shortly, it looks like first class modelling from what I’ve seen so far.

 

Thanks again,

Pete

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all,

 

A little more progress on the layout to show.

 

Firstly I filled in a patch of scrub land between the MPD and control panel. It was one of those little jobs that I had been meaning to do for a year or so. The land was made up with deep gap Polyfilla mixed with brown acrylic, and finished with some flock and static fibres:

 

1._MDP_Scrub.PNG.4db4e62ea31540946b5f73556b930930.PNG

 

2._MPD.PNG.bb5a01acadf7719c20301ce8388ba5fe.PNG

 

Next some images of the small terraced row. I have just finished slating the roofs and have given them a coat of paynes grey and a dusting of talk. They look a little rough at the moment so may work on them some more. Next up is the doors and guttering/downpipes, and the rear yards of course.

 

1542022164_3.TerraceISOBoth.PNG.b9fa139dc9e74e8da5d3585190fa7d8a.PNG

 

894714807_4.TerraceFullISO.PNG.5f7fa60b48650da584cfbf375e408555.PNG

 

Continued.

 

 

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Excellent work, your attention to detail is first class.

 

Your houses remind me so much of the Mill where I served my apprenticeship as an Overlooker, you had to walk past two streets of Mill Houses to get to the factory gates.

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3 hours ago, richard.h said:

Excellent work, your attention to detail is first class.

 

Your houses remind me so much of the Mill where I served my apprenticeship as an Overlooker, you had to walk past two streets of Mill Houses to get to the factory gates.

 

Thanks again Richard.

 

One question; what is an overlooker? 

 

Pete

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1 hour ago, BurscoughCurves said:

 

Thanks again Richard.

 

One question; what is an overlooker? 

 

Pete

The nearest equivalent would be a foreman, Worsted Mills were split into different rooms carrying out different functions starting with carding or combing the raw wool then drawing, spinning and twisting the yarn plus some specialist departments for fancy yarns.

 

So as an apprentice you would study for five years at college and by spending time in each department, if you qualified you would become an Overlooker and could be sent to any part of the Mill to run that section as required.

 

Richard

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10 hours ago, richard.h said:

The nearest equivalent would be a foreman, Worsted Mills were split into different rooms carrying out different functions starting with carding or combing the raw wool then drawing, spinning and twisting the yarn plus some specialist departments for fancy yarns.

 

So as an apprentice you would study for five years at college and by spending time in each department, if you qualified you would become an Overlooker and could be sent to any part of the Mill to run that section as required.

 

Richard

 

Thanks Richard, that’s fascinating.

 

How was the raw wool, and later the finish product delivered to and from the factory? All by flatbed lorry I presume?

 

Regards,

Pete

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10 hours ago, richard.h said:

The nearest equivalent would be a foreman, Worsted Mills were split into different rooms carrying out different functions starting with carding or combing the raw wool then drawing, spinning and twisting the yarn plus some specialist departments for fancy yarns.

 

So as an apprentice you would study for five years at college and by spending time in each department, if you qualified you would become an Overlooker and could be sent to any part of the Mill to run that section as required.

 

Richard

 

Thanks Richard, that’s fascinating.

 

How was the raw wool, and later the finish product delivered to and from the factory? All by flatbed lorry I presume?

 

Regards,

Pete

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11 hours ago, richard.h said:

The nearest equivalent would be a foreman, Worsted Mills were split into different rooms carrying out different functions starting with carding or combing the raw wool then drawing, spinning and twisting the yarn plus some specialist departments for fancy yarns.

 

So as an apprentice you would study for five years at college and by spending time in each department, if you qualified you would become an Overlooker and could be sent to any part of the Mill to run that section as required.

 

Richard

 

Thanks Richard, that’s fascinating.

 

How was the raw wool, and later the finish product delivered to and from the factory? All by flatbed lorry I presume?

 

Regards,

Pete

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25 minutes ago, BurscoughCurves said:

 

Thanks Richard, that’s fascinating.

 

How was the raw wool, and later the finish product delivered to and from the factory? All by flatbed lorry I presume?

 

Regards,

Pete

Bales were quite often delivered by rail to good yards where presumably they would be taken by cart or lorry to the mill. Some mills did also have private sidings aswell.

 

Because wool is quite light in nature it would frequently be carried in low sided opens and tied down and sheeted over. Quite often it was only just inside the loading gauge!

 

By the 1950s I expect it will quite often have travelled in vans however.

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4 hours ago, BurscoughCurves said:

 

Thanks Richard, that’s fascinating.

 

How was the raw wool, and later the finish product delivered to and from the factory? All by flatbed lorry I presume?

 

Regards,

Pete

Hi Pete

 

By the time I started in the Mills (early 60s) all transport was by Lorry, the canal connection, Leeds and Liverpool had long since fallen out of use. A lot of the better quality Merino Wools came from Australia via Liverpool and then by road to the Mill.

Here is a photo still taken from a video I found last week about re-opening Queensbury Tunnel, just look at the colour of the buildings, but lots of detail in there.

 

2074151672_QueensburyMills.jpg.129e5727f7edbbdedaf0665989466fd6.jpg

 

You would normally see bales of wool processed on the ground floor because of their bulk then as the wool went through the normal manufacturing routine it would go onto smaller and smaller bobbins as it moved to the higher floors.

All internal movement between departments was done by Skeps, these are woven rectangular containers and onward delivery was also with Skeps.

 

There is a very good film titled Alberts Last Skep (Film ID YFA3852) which shows the process of making and using these and finishes with a loaded flatbed leaving the factory.

 

I would love to have some model Skeps on my layout as every large Mill had hundreds of them but I haven't been able to find any and can't figure out how to model them, possible a 3D printer might do the job.

 

Regards

Richard

 

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4 hours ago, richard.h said:

Hi Pete

 

By the time I started in the Mills (early 60s) all transport was by Lorry, the canal connection, Leeds and Liverpool had long since fallen out of use. A lot of the better quality Merino Wools came from Australia via Liverpool and then by road to the Mill.

Here is a photo still taken from a video I found last week about re-opening Queensbury Tunnel, just look at the colour of the buildings, but lots of detail in there.

 

2074151672_QueensburyMills.jpg.129e5727f7edbbdedaf0665989466fd6.jpg

 

You would normally see bales of wool processed on the ground floor because of their bulk then as the wool went through the normal manufacturing routine it would go onto smaller and smaller bobbins as it moved to the higher floors.

All internal movement between departments was done by Skeps, these are woven rectangular containers and onward delivery was also with Skeps.

 

There is a very good film titled Alberts Last Skep (Film ID YFA3852) which shows the process of making and using these and finishes with a loaded flatbed leaving the factory.

 

I would love to have some model Skeps on my layout as every large Mill had hundreds of them but I haven't been able to find any and can't figure out how to model them, possible a 3D printer might do the job.

 

Regards

Richard

 

 

This frame shows something which I cannot recall seeing modelled, not even on finely observed models such as MMRS's Dewsbury, namely a lorry adapted to carry wool.  The lorry typically had a platform over the driver's cab supported on stanchions from the chassis or front bumper.  I have always assumed that this was because there was a lower weight limit for lorries in general - I don't know what it was in the sixties, seventies or  earlier but I can recall ever increasing all-up weights being introduced in more recent years, 40 then 44 tonnes - perhaps as part of a harmonisation process with TIR and EU regulations.  I always assumed that wool bales would be relatively low in density and thus the smaller, lighter lorries could easily cope with a simple extension.

 

My picture from 1970 shows one such vehicle to move equipment in use at a Scout camp in the Yorkshire Dales.

 

1920344598_SummerCampDeparture1970.jpg.3335a94c5b16648fef123d9b4763b9c4.jpg

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Wow! A Thames Trader lorry. Haven’t seen one of those in years.

 

Really enjoying this thread as there are many modelling cues from the late Dave Shakespeare. He would be the first to appreciate what you are creating. First class stuff. You could bolt this onto Tetleys Mills and not see the join.....

 

Loved the girl sitting in her bedroom long before the internet and mobile phones came along.

 

Wonderful scratch buildings, so keep it coming.:good:

 

 

 

 

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On 29/09/2019 at 14:23, BurscoughCurves said:

 

Hi JRB,

 

Thanks for the kind words, I’ve just started looking through your posts and you’ve got some great buildings on the go- I’m both impressed and jealous!

 

Atmosphere is what I’m looking for. This is my first layout so I’m treating it as very much a learning curve. I love looking at buildings or locations that scream out to be modelled, and West Yorkshire has so many of them in my opinion! 

 

I’ll be looking through all of your topics shortly, it looks like first class modelling from what I’ve seen so far.

 

Thanks again,

Pete

 

First layout ? I thought it was your life’s work it’s so good. Seriously. Far better than most of us can probably ever aspire to..

 Very inspirational. Well done

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Gents,

 

Thanks for the comments.

 

Richard H and Adam88; the information is valuable and interesting, and the images are fantastic. I'll have to put an adapted lorry on the lengthy to-do list!

 

Richard; regarding the skeps- is this what you are referring to:

 

Skep.PNG.193da2bb65f6f3bfb121159e0e1df034.PNG

 

Source: https://sunnybankmills.co.uk/blog/the-industry-of-farsley/

 

I have a friend with a 3D printer, although the CAD modelling of the weave pattern could be interesting. I would like to model and print one though. If it looks okay I could try to use it as a master and make some resin casts. If the results are ok I can send some to you if you'd like. Again- another task on the list!

 

Gordon; I am completely open to the fact that Tetley Mills was a huge inspiration. I have taken so much from Dave Shakespeare's work, more so than any layout. It simply oozed atmosphere. You will find two characters from Dave's collection pottering about on HPS; a lovely Fairburn and the classic Barden - Tetley Mills Derby Lightweight:

 

   

765191276_DerbyDMUEdit.jpg.2d624febea8e0c3b5732f8b3ed227e43.jpg

 

Must continue to cut doors out for tiny terraced houses...

 

Best regards,

Pete

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Hi Pete

  That type of Skep with wheels  was used internally for local transport within the Mill but more often the type of Skep shown in the video would be used.

 

 This type had slats on the bottom so that it could be wheeled around on a sack barrow  plus a lid so that it could be stacked in the wharehouse until the contents were needed for the next process and this would be the type that you would see loaded onto wagons from the hoists outside the mill.

 

If you do get anywhere with a 3d print of this item please let me know as I don't know anyone locally who could do this so I would be quite willing to contribute to the cost of producing a batch, there would normally be 10 to 20 in a single lorry load.

 

Regards

Richard

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Folks,

 

I was intending to have progressed with more scenic work over the last few weeks but I haven't done anything. I have, however, expanded an operating schedule during lots of running sessions so I don't feel guilty for the lack of progress!

 

I took some images over a few sessions, and because most of my recent images haven't featured many locomotives I thought I'd add a few now.

 

So much to do but I am enjoying playing trains too much!

 

Regards,

Pete

 

1)_Brit_2.PNG.f8a640f6d86b87cfac2a40d09b92b541.PNG

 

1156132599_2)Brit3.PNG.cce93ce61bae0fb7262e0eb92d3ff2eb.PNG

 

1489272449_3)P3.PNG.2c2812c337dd5b8e555a60bd630a8219.PNG

 

4_MT.PNG.a6cc02b09341a4d2501a19f7ee9706e9.PNG

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