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Midland Railway Company


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5 hours ago, John-Miles said:

Being old school, I like your control panel. It's relatively simple and although you get lots of wires out of the back, if you test as you go, i.e. one wire at a time, it's a simple job. 

 

Thanks John. That's exactly how I'm doing it and so far have had no problems; mind you, I've discovered three dry joints in droppers from the track!!

 

Dave

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1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

That's exactly how I'm doing it and so far have had no problems; mind you, I've discovered three dry joints in droppers from the track!!

Would affect DCC even more than DC, I suspect.

(My earlier point was that good control of models is independent of DCC or DC. Sound construction plus quality controllers is required whatever standard one uses.)

Edited by Regularity
Not knocking Dave’s choices or workmanship!
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On 06/02/2020 at 13:35, John-Miles said:

The Bachman loco looks pretty good to me. Shame it's a Deeley smokebox door. I'm not too sure about the chimney - I'll leave the experts to comment on that. Once it's painted and heading a rake of Slater's 6 wheelers, it will look great. Slaters by the way are planning pre-printed carriage sides in 4mm, already available for 7mm. 

 

In reply to Tricky, I'll have a go at a close up but don't hold your breath. Cameras and me are like oil and water.

Does that mean they are planning to reintroduce the Midland coach kits in 4mm?

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On 02/01/2020 at 12:24, Tricky said:

On another matter completely, does anyone know of a decent etch or moulding of a 7mm banana van louvre, as depicted in plates 201 & 202, Midland wagons Vol 1? I have a vague notion this has cropped up before somewhere but can't for the life of me remember where....

So, as I couldn't find anyone who does banana vents I decided to make my own. They're laser cut by me in 3mm MDF from my own drawing. Further detailing can be done by adding bolt detail and a representation of the opening mechanism. The eagle-eyed will note the model isn't a banana van, purely a prop for photographic purposes! Check out my website as I've just added them.

IMG-9168.jpg.0a600a1e0564b05051553fec01a6dbc5.jpg

Edited by Tricky
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Dave I like it. Modelling midland three throws is a swine, I know ,I've tried in EM. I'me Building a shed layout as well but haven't got the space for 7mm. I too aim to be finished sometime in the late 20's. I live in hopes.

Regards and stay safe in these troubled times.

Tony

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On 22/03/2020 at 20:35, Dave Hunt said:

At last I have finished the track laying, wiring, control panels, point control and glitch curing (sort of) on my MPD layout. When I started work on it last April I told myself that if I had a running layout within a year I would be happy - I've made it with a week to spare. All that remains are the buildings, topography, ground work, ballasting and detailing so it should be finished by Christmas. Like all great battles, though, which Christmas that will be is highly debatable - 2025 if I'm lucky.

 

I wanted to use Tortoise point motors, mainly because I had all I needed in stock but also because most of the exhibition layouts I've worked on have had them and they've always been reliable. However, I didn't want to spend any more time grubbing about under the baseboards and if there were any problems I'd rather be able to get at them from on top (being of advanced septuagenerian years has its limitations). Therefore I decided to mount them above the baseboards and have developed a Heath Robinson way of working them as seen in some of the pictures. The motors will be hidden inside buildings, embankments etc. and the operating linkages underneath foot boarding, dummy hand lever mountings and earthwork. 

 

The point motor arrangement for one of the dreaded three-throws.

 

P1050896.jpg.56ba33130b8ae22eee09156ce7a3248e.jpg 

 

The arrangement as seen from above

 

P1050897.jpg.899cdbf5b80ed8d60fa4aa16cfaa2c88.jpg

 

The fleet awaiting the shed to house it. The siding in the foreground with the 0-6-0T and the inspection saloon on it will be outside the shed and will probably be home to the breakdown train I'm about to start making (since I don't have much else on at present).

 

P1050893.jpg.1ef936cd9cf5a001a1291e5dd2166fb0.jpg

 

Another couple of general shots. The three throw leading straight on to another turnout on the near side has proved to be very tight for some of the locos, even though the ruling radius is 7ft, and I've had to strengthen the bogie springing on the 0-4-4T and the Single to prevent derailments. I have to admit that the tracklaying isn't the best in the world and there are still some bumpy bits but it does all now work. I suppose I could claim that since the trackwork in MPDs wasn't that great anyway, I've tried to be prototypical. Sadly that wasn't the case, it was just poor workmanship, and there was quite a bit of fettling to do before a satisfactory result was obtained.

 

P1050898.jpg.14f52390090b4f4c9ce973b99e0a190c.jpg

 

P1050895.jpg.5d6fee56f23550670ad87d0bcfce3288.jpg

 

The large empty expanse front left will probably be taken up eventually by some exchange sidings or private sidings warehousing for the three little 0-4-0 industrial locos I made for a projected brewery layout a friend was building but which never happened.

 

Onward and upward as they say. More bulletins will be posted in due course.

 

Dave

All looking very impressive Dave. Enjoying seeing this take shape. 

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On 22/03/2020 at 20:35, Dave Hunt said:

At last I have finished the track laying, wiring, control panels, point control and glitch curing (sort of) on my MPD layout. When I started work on it last April I told myself that if I had a running layout within a year I would be happy - I've made it with a week to spare. All that remains are the buildings, topography, ground work, ballasting and detailing so it should be finished by Christmas. Like all great battles, though, which Christmas that will be is highly debatable - 2025 if I'm lucky.

 

I wanted to use Tortoise point motors, mainly because I had all I needed in stock but also because most of the exhibition layouts I've worked on have had them and they've always been reliable. However, I didn't want to spend any more time grubbing about under the baseboards and if there were any problems I'd rather be able to get at them from on top (being of advanced septuagenerian years has its limitations). Therefore I decided to mount them above the baseboards and have developed a Heath Robinson way of working them as seen in some of the pictures. The motors will be hidden inside buildings, embankments etc. and the operating linkages underneath foot boarding, dummy hand lever mountings and earthwork. 

 

The point motor arrangement for one of the dreaded three-throws.

 

P1050896.jpg.56ba33130b8ae22eee09156ce7a3248e.jpg 

 

The arrangement as seen from above

 

P1050897.jpg.899cdbf5b80ed8d60fa4aa16cfaa2c88.jpg

 

The fleet awaiting the shed to house it. The siding in the foreground with the 0-6-0T and the inspection saloon on it will be outside the shed and will probably be home to the breakdown train I'm about to start making (since I don't have much else on at present).

 

P1050893.jpg.1ef936cd9cf5a001a1291e5dd2166fb0.jpg

 

Another couple of general shots. The three throw leading straight on to another turnout on the near side has proved to be very tight for some of the locos, even though the ruling radius is 7ft, and I've had to strengthen the bogie springing on the 0-4-4T and the Single to prevent derailments. I have to admit that the tracklaying isn't the best in the world and there are still some bumpy bits but it does all now work. I suppose I could claim that since the trackwork in MPDs wasn't that great anyway, I've tried to be prototypical. Sadly that wasn't the case, it was just poor workmanship, and there was quite a bit of fettling to do before a satisfactory result was obtained.

 

P1050898.jpg.14f52390090b4f4c9ce973b99e0a190c.jpg

 

P1050895.jpg.5d6fee56f23550670ad87d0bcfce3288.jpg

 

The large empty expanse front left will probably be taken up eventually by some exchange sidings or private sidings warehousing for the three little 0-4-0 industrial locos I made for a projected brewery layout a friend was building but which never happened.

 

Onward and upward as they say. More bulletins will be posted in due course.

 

Dave

Good to see you're still going with the layout! Also, I see you still have your Midland Railway locos including the Midland Yankee Mogul!

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21 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Very nice work there Dave.

The locos are lovely but a tad clean(!).

 

Now get cracking and lets have more updates.

Baz

 

They were clean in 1906 Baz - not fresh out of the works clean (unless they were fresh out of the works) but a damn sight cleaner than in later LMS and, even worse, BR days. I do weather them somewhat and they range from fresh out of the works to a bit grubby but I suppose one or two could be a bit dirtier - I'll see.

 

As far as progress is concerned, I'm doing the foot boarding, barrow crossings etc. that were all over the place and it's taking a long time. Updates in due course.

 

Dave

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Dave, having had a go at weathering Mrs White turned to David and said.. right we will get your locomotives out and add some weathering..if only I had had a camera with me .. Davids' face was one of shock, horror and bemusement!

 

Baz

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3 hours ago, Barry O said:

Dave, having had a go at weathering Mrs White turned to David and said.. right we will get your locomotives out and add some weathering..if only I had had a camera with me .. Davids' face was one of shock, horror and bemusement!

 

Baz

 

Would those be the locomotives that used to run on the viaduct scene layout (Millers Dale - but just the 1860s viaduct?) attached to the shop in Matlock Bath - which I saw c. 1981 in the course of crusing the rails on a West Midlands Rail Rover (seven day) ticket? The stock I remember - square-light clerestories including a diner pair and a 48 ft newspaper van pair that I've hankered after ever since.

Edited by Compound2632
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3 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Would those be the locomotives that used to run on the viaduct scene layout (Millers Dale - but just the 1860s viaduct?) attached to the shop in Matlock Bath - which I saw c. 1981 in the course of crusing the rails on a West Midlands Rail Rover (seven day) ticket? The stock I remember - square-light clerestories including a diner pair and a 48 ft newspaper van pair that I've hankered after ever since.

 

I think that those were all built from stock Slater's components. So if you want some, you can probably.

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41 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

I think that those were all built from stock Slater's components. So if you want some, you can probably.

 

This was 7 mm scale - and before Slaters moved into carriage kits. The only square-light clerestories Slaters have ever done are 31 ft 6-wheelers (sharing an underframe with the arc-roof 6-wheelers) - the very useful D530 passenger brake van and the rather rarer D492 lavatory third. I have 4 mm scale examples of both kits. The 7 mm arc-roof carriages have sides built up on a modular system that allows for infinite variety (limited by strict adherence to the diagram book) as was being demonstrated at the Warley Show last November - I wish I could remember the demonstrator's name; it's embarrassing not to be able to do so.

 

Branchlines do a 4 mm scale kit for the newspaper van, etched sides and ends and Ratio parts for the rest. I have one (that ought to be two) in the pile.

Edited by Compound2632
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The Matlock Bath layout had two separate scenic sections. The larger one was Millers Dale with the two viaducts and the smaller was Monsal Dale and Headstones viaduct. Most of the locomotives were made by David White although for a while two of mine ran on it as well. The carriages and wagons were David's. The layout was built in the mid-70s, mainly by Davidand Neil Jury although Norman Solomon did some of the later work on it, then in 1982 was taken over by the Midland Railway Society who set up a limited company and ran it as a museum managed by a gentleman who also ran the shop attached to it as a separate business. Unfortunately it never attracted sufficient visitors and lost money so eventually Derby Council, who had advanced much of the money for the layout to be bought from David in the form of a loan, foreclosed on it and the layout was broken up. During all this I was Chairman of the MRS and the limited company and had a good few sleepless nights as a result but it was a great shame that the layout was broken up, it was a first class piece of work.

 

Dave   

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The layout ended up in the care of the HMRS at Butterley.  It was broken up into sections and put into a container for storage. I have no idea how the initial dismantling was done but i suspect that power saws had been used.  Eventually  the HMRS had a weekend where the pieces were looked at with a view to possibly recreating the layout. I went as a volunteer and it was immediately  obvious that it would be impossible to recreate the whole layout. After much discussion the decision was taken to save the two viaduct sections with a view to possibly creating a diorama but the rest unfortunately  was beyond repair. It had never been designed as a sectional layout and the scenery and trackwork had sufferred badly during the dismantling and transport. I seem to remember that many of the hillsides were actually made of concrete or something similar.  The heavy sections had fallen apart under their own weight. They were certainly very heavy.  It was a shame. I seem to remember that the container had to be emptied.

 

Jamie

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There was a lovely MR layout built back in the 50s, Kirtley Junction, a very good looking station on a big oval, and great selection of trains. It was located in the Derby Museum and Art Gallery at the town end of Friargate, Saturday mornings they had a running session.

Sometime back they decided to move it out to the old Silk Mill where an industrial display was being created, included a very good MR display. The layout needed a total rebuild, and I saw it when this was going on, but haven’t been there for some time, and have heard rumours that problems have occurred with the Silk Mill?

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The Silk Mill is currently closed and undergoing a major refurbishment and complete internal restructuring. All the contents, including the Midland Railway Study Centre and the model railway are in remote storage. It was intended that it should reopen this September as the Derby Museum of Making and that work would then recommence on the model but this is now obviously not going to happen and there is as yet no further target date that I am aware of.

 

Dave

Edited by Dave Hunt
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9 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

It was intended that it should reopen this September as the Derby Museum of Making ... l but this is now obviously not going to happen and there is as yet no further target date that I am aware of.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, can it be clarified that (unless there is any further development of which I am unaware) this is a coronavirus-induced delay not a cancellation of the project? As will all things at present, patience is the watchword, though I have no doubt that the present crisis will also be putting an additional strain on already creaking local government finances. 

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