Wigan Wallgate

[katwigan]

Isn't YouTube wonderful Apollo, that clip has prompted me to gather together a bunch of Frankie, Lonnie and a whole lot more that I will stream through into mum's rooms later on, she will enjoy that! 

Back on topic, the weather has cooled back down again and I have just checked the lifting flap 'clearances' the gap at one end has opened up to about 4mm! that's going to be one helluva clickety click. We ( Deb and I) are getting into  the train room for several hours every day    so hopefully things will be rather more productive than it has been over the last while! 

Cheers

Kev

[katwigan]

Hi all,

A bit of an update on latest activity, after doing battle with getting trains up and running again (still?) I felt like doing some modelling.

So Westwood lane bridge got the short straw, the main sidewalls of which are made from photos of the actual bridge although the inner face of the walls has become the outer face but hey it's still based on and roughly in the correct location .

 

 

It may also be a wee bit narrower than original but not by much, oh and the 4 + tracks of the West Coast mainline should all be on the same level.

 

 

The Setts in this instance are courtesy of a Linka Compatible Mould ( shown / spoken about much earlier in the thread )

 

 

The rusty panels and vertical angles irons are from the original photos, I just used Gimp to skew (I think) the whole thing so it was on about an 8deg angle down as it crosses the tracks.

I think (?) I still have the original 0deg print so if anybody wants a copy of either / both just holler.

 

 

 

A view of the underside structure ( unfinished )

 

 

Similar shot but with flash  ( eewwww )

 

The support beams that probably have a technical name are lengths of 4mm I beam and Channel wrapped in a print that I cobbled together out of suitable sections of the original bridge photos, as I think I have said before as a painter I make a good butcher.

 

 

Bit of a montage showing the wrapping of a piece of beam, the wraps are printed onto sheets of A4 sized self adhesive labels. So far some of them are 5 y.o and have stayed put But if they do start to fall off you in the UK will hear the scream eminating from Oz as my whole layout will be about to undress!

 

Temperature in the mid 30's C again today a week or so ago it was 35 one day and 18 MAX the following after the 'cool change' came in,To say it felt B Cold was an understatement.

Enough Drivel for now!

Cheers

Kev

 

[Wigan Wallgate OO Gauge]

Cor Blimey! That is sublime Kev

[danstercivicman]

Nice bridge!!!'

[Powerhaul 70 Pey]

That is a great bridge.  Very cleverly done.  It will make a great scene when done. 

[katwigan]

G'Day all,

Hope you all had a good New Year, I shan't mention the weather as it appears a bit extreme( having said that we had 42.9C the other day, however even that pales compared to Sydney earlier this week where my daughter says it reached 47.1!!! Damn Sydney have always got to go one better.

 

Anyway havent got much done on Wallgate over the last few weeks what with Xmas etc, I did however get stuck into building two units for two of the Granddaughters to use with their Shopkins stuff ( I am assuming that you have all that stuff over there) and a Lego compatible 'Space Port ' for one of the Grandsons.

 

 

Avah Rose (6) is one of the GD's and the other one is Caitlin (7) ( therefore Caitlin Towers) they were both here when I brought them out to tell them that Santa had asked me to make them as the Elves had not had the time this year, they were occupied for about 1 1/2 hours during the afternoon, so big tick.

 

When I showed Jackson (8)  his Space Port with a similar story about Santa's Elves, He stood and looked at it for several minutes without speaking and I thought Oh! err failure, Then he said " That is Sooooooo Cooool" !

 

 

He promptly spent a good hour just setting up what little bit of Lego was around the place.

One of his schoolfriends has since seen it and wanted to know where he got it from, Hmm maybe a business opportunity here, has any one got more Papier Mache packaging, a piece of rectangular downpipe, a jelly container and the lid off a spray container and some printed bits etc.

 

Anyway I am back on the Railway now so things are moving again, hopefully the DCC Concepts  'PowerBase ' thingy is as good as the blurb says and I will be able to get the 8 or 9 coach business man's express up the incline without wheels spinning furiously. We shall see when it gets here from Perth, I will let you all know how it goes.

 

Last part of the update , had some bad news for Xmas, the Dr. tells me that "IT" has returned only this time in my lungs, so I guess I am in for a bit of a fight again and FIGHT I will.

 

Stay Warm ( or cool if reading in Sydney) 

Kev

Edited January 10, 2018 by katwigan

[Waraqah]

 

G'Day all,

Hope you all had a good New Year, I shan't mention the weather as it appears a bit extreme( having said that we had 42.9C the other day, however even that pales compared to Sydney earlier this week where my daughter says it reached 47.1!!! Damn Sydney have always got to go one better.

 

Anyway havent got much done on Wallgate over the last few weeks what with Xmas etc, I did however get stuck into building two units for two of the Granddaughters to use with their Shopkins stuff ( I am assuming that you have all that stuff over there) and a Lego compatible 'Space Port ' for one of the Grandsons.

 

IMG_1993.JPG

 

Avah Rose (6) is one of the GD's and the other one is Caitlin (7) ( therefore Caitlin Towers) they were both here when I brought them out to tell them that Santa had asked me to make them as the Elves had not had the time this year, they were occupied for about 1 1/2 hours during the afternoon, so big tick.

 

When I showed Jackson (8)  his Space Port with a similar story about Santa's Elves, He stood and looked at it for several minutes without speaking and I thought Oh! err failure, Then he said " That is Sooooooo Cooool" !

 

IMG_1990.JPG

 

He promptly spent a good hour just setting up what little bit of Lego was around the place.

One of his schoolfriends has since seen it and wanted to know where he got it from, Hmm maybe a business opportunity here, has any one got more Papier Mache packaging, a piece of rectangular downpipe, a jelly container and the lid off a spray container and some printed bits etc.

 

Anyway I am back on the Railway now so things are moving again, hopefully the DCC Concepts  'PowerBase ' thingy is as good as the blurb says and I will be able to get the 8 or 9 coach business man's express up the incline without wheels spinning furiously. We shall see when it gets here from Perth, I will let you all know how it goes.

 

Last part of the update , had some bad news for Xmas, the Dr. tells me that "IT" has returned only this time in my lungs, so I guess I am in for a bit of a fight again and FIGHT I will.

 

Stay Warm ( or cool if reading in Sydney) 

Kev

 

Hi Kev,

 

Been following the thread with interest even though Wigan's not really my part of my world, although I did go there once or twice to watch Plymouth play back in the 80's.

 

Sorry to hear about IT coming back. Good luck battling that; really hope you can see it off sharpish and get back to what everyone reading your posts enjoys best, your brilliant modelling.

 

All the best.

 

 

  Waraqah

[leopardml2341]

Hi Kev,

 

Been following the thread with interest even though Wigan's not really my part of my world..........

Me too, despite the fact that it's definitely on t' wrong side o' t' hills :

[shedman]

Sorry to hear about the return of IT. Keep fighting, and all best wishes to you.

 

Your posts have brought back many happy memories for me as I remember the place well. Used to stand on the platform, or on North Western, to watch the five early diesels, 10000/1, 10201/2 and 10203 go through. Also, of course lots of Stanier's masterpieces.  Ex L&Y 0-6-0's and 2-4-2's, Fairburns, Standard 4's, Black 5's and the odd B1  in summer, through Wallgate. Even Austerity 2-8 -0's on summer excursions. Must have been desperate for power then! How I wish I'd had a camera! Keep up the good work. Trevor

[katwigan]

Thanks all for messages of support,ticks and appreciation of my various ramblings.

Had some news from another oncologist on the far side of town today about a research trial they want me on that involves some chemical drug that costs around $100,000 for a year's supply. Fortunately paid for by the research sponsor not yours truly.

 

I would have to trim the modelling budget to pay for that I am afraid . Ha Ha.

Having read the 28page info sheet it would seem that other than a limb falling off anything else is possible as a side effect, of course absolutely nothing could happen as well, we shall see I guess.

Thumbs up

Kev

[Wigan Wallgate OO Gauge]

Thanks all for messages of support,ticks and appreciation of my various ramblings.

Had some news from another oncologist on the far side of town today about a research trial they want me on that involves some chemical drug that costs around $100,000 for a year's supply. Fortunately paid for by the research sponsor not yours truly.

I would have to trim the modelling budget to pay for that I am afraid . Ha Ha.

Having read the 28page info sheet it would seem that other than a limb falling off anything else is possible as a side effect, of course absolutely nothing could happen as well, we shall see I guess.

Thumbs up

Kev

Just make sure to check that it isn't one of those where half the patients receive nothing to test the placebo effect

[katwigan]

Hi Tom et al, thanks for the ticks of support.

Tom the trial is a comparison of two different treatment regimes, one includes Chemo and a couple of other chemicals while the other utilizes a drug that has been tried on other forms of cancer where it highlights the cancer cells to our own Immune system. Apparently we are all ( Don't want to scare anyone here !) constantly developing cancers and our immune system deals with them as a matter of course, sometimes though they manage to shield themselves from or go undetected by our immune system >>>>> 'Problem' !

 

Anyway enough of that, my Powerbase stuff from DCC Concepts (Perth WA) has arrived this afternoon so hopefully in the next couple of days I will get it fitted and tried out, Watch this space!

36 -41 - 36 degrees C over the next few days coming so too B hot to do anything too active, it's a good job Deb has lots of Papercraft hobby interests to undertake, so kick the air con on and hide in the craft (Train ) room!

 

Cheers for now 

Kev 

[APOLLO]

Kev I can only echo what others have said and wish you all the very best in your "fight" - and fight with might you certainly will, you're a Wiganer !!

 

All the best

 

Lindsey

[manna]

G'day Folks

 

All the best mate, hang on in there.

 

manna

[katwigan]

Hi all, 

Not much to show as an update for the trains although I am working on it still. Mainly been working on the running reliability which seems to include crawling about under the boards as much as on top.

Received and installed the DCC Concepts Powerbase under the the incline that gives the Hornby Black 5 all the grief, will still have to fine tune it somewhat I think as it has improved but really only from 4 to 6 carriages which is reasonable but then the Bachmann Ivatt tank hauls 7 of the same with no problem up the same slope. I have a feeling that the rear axle on the 5 being sprung is causing half the problem.

I have a Hornby Patriot on it's way with the same drive train but No sprung axle so that will be an interesting comparison. If it does the job the chassis may end up being donated to my Jubilee in order that I can get 'Mars' into it's role with the L/pool to Newcastle express which I would like to see with at least 8 on board. I f I extend Wallgate's platform a smidge I think I can get 8 plus loco against the platform face easily, we will see.

 

Figured I had better sort the running reliability out before the Chemo inspired Lethargy kicks in, had the first dose of that on Friday after what seemed like an eternal wait while they ran more checks, tests etc etc. All of which confirmed what they had said in the first place ie "It's back but in your lungs this time".

No Radiotherapy this time which did as much collateral damage as good last time, only immediate side effect to show up is I have had around a dozen sessions of Hiccups since Friday!! Hopefully that wont last much longer.

Stay tuned I will try and get some more pics up soon. and let you know of the running trials between the Black 5 and the Patriot.

Cheers 

Kev

[katwigan]

Hi all, 

Well 2 weeks post 1st chemo dose and I feel human again, one chemo at the hospital and one in a takeaway pack that went on for 4 days left me constipated and with a mouthful of ulcers. Dr's 'surprised ' by the rapid onset of those events!

However both have cleared up now and I  have one week before they belt me again!

In the meantime the new loco has turned up from the UK for me alas it sat unopened in it's wrapping for almost a week such was the Lethargy associated with the treatment, Yes I know , shame on me! 

Anyway finally unwrapped it, removed the DCC Locos from the track 'just in case' and set it up to run in on DC.

It did two laps of the track at ' running in ' speed and stopped, Fortunately not the Loco's fault, Unfortunately a full short in the track was trying to melt the controller, mad panic hit the E/Stop !

Now all I have to do is find the problem in roughly 280' of mainline plus about 50' of sidings, Oh well where's my meter and that screwdriver?

Let you know shortly

Kev

[danstercivicman]

Oh no sorry to hear... hope things start to improve

[Ian Smeeton]

Glad to hear that you are on the road to recovery.

 

I only have the one photo from Wallgate, at least tghe only one which has survived numerous moves.

 

Not brilliant, but if it helps....

 

 

 

The smell from the sweet factory was wonderfully mouthwatering.

 

Regards

 

Ian

[katwigan]

Ian,I am thinking of building a 'spare' Uncle Joe's Mintball into the factory building with a little fan a bit like one of the room deodorizer that hangs on the wall and squirts lavender or whatever at you periodically. Hmmm maybe that would provide the incentive for working on the layout! My taste buds may have gone west again but I bet I could taste them!

To any of you poor deprived readers out there, get some and try them, if you dont like 'em send them to me

Uncle Joe's Mintballs, Keep You All Aglow

Cheers

Kev

[katwigan]

Owd Bob,

I thowt tha'd got thi finger stuck fer a time theer, but nough,

Cheers mate,

Kev

[shedman]

Hi Katwigan. I also wish you well with your treatment. I used to enjoy Uncle Joes Mint Balls as a kid. I also well remember Mars, along with Dauntless and Glorious with a few others. 75019 used to turn up a lot as well. I used to go spotting at Wallgate on the train from Walkden.All the best, Trevor.

[APOLLO]

You can buy an "Uncle Joes Mintball" flavoured vodka in Bar revolution King St Wigan (backs onto the L&Y line) - tastes really nice but you can't buy it anywhere else so I am told.

 

Keep up the good work Kev, Take care of yourself and be well soon.

 

Brit15

[katwigan]

Well, thank you all for the Ticks of support and well wishes although no Uncle Joe's have turned up yet.  . Have to say though Apollo the Vodka variation sounds interesting!

Anyway after several hours of fault finding the offending short has been located and sorted!

 

What sort of blithering idiot uses PCB sleepers at the end of the rails in a set of sidings that hinge up for access then drills a hole right through the centre of the slot cut between for the rails AND STICKS A TRACK PIN IN IT so the head bridges the gap ?????? .

As the problem hadn't raised it's head before now I can only put it down to a variation in temperature causing movement??? , just sheer bad luck, incompetence or divine intervention ( choose whichever option you see fit )

 

Anyway the new arrival is happily running round at half speed not that it appeared to need freeing up judging by the absolute smooth crawl it managed straight out of the box on DC.

 

All this exertion has left me feeling rather shagged out and unable to concentrate, so I had better have a kip before I stuff something else up.    

Cheers 

Kev

[katwigan]

Hi all,

Couple of updates / news

 

Medically, latest scan done last monday show that midway through the Chemo treatment the tumours have shrunk significantly

to about half their previous size 

On the Railway,

 As is my want I have been fiddling around in a previously untouched corner of the layout that needed to have the main running lines hidden from view. 

Also whilst invoking Modellers Licence the corner was to be used as a site for one of the many collieries that abounded around Wigan, The actual location is probably quite accurate but as it was closed down sometime in the 1920's (un)educated guesswork will get involved.

Anyway a few pics of developments.

This general view of the corner has the running lines in question hiding under the raised white area at the rear and then passing through / under the buildings on the right.

 

 

The lines can be seen passing through the buildings and in front of the John Woods Engineering building. I am 6' 2" and looking down onto this area .

 

 

In this shot the loco can be seen , however it is not normally visible from a 'normal viewing position'

 

 

This shot is taken from a 'normal' viewing position, anything on the running line is hidden by the brick wall to the right of the gates.

 

 

The area to the left of the gates I spent sometime trying to work out the best way of hiding the passing trains, the end result (hopefully) will involve sacrificing probably the body of the loco shown and possibly a van body,

 

 

If I cut the bottom of the bodies off and support them at the appropriate height on a thin wire frame the end result should look like the above photo whilst still being able to hide trains passing underneath. ( Thats the theory anyway)

Hopefully over the weekend I will see how the theory goes.

 

 

The last photo shows the area to be occupied by the colliery with the loading area to go over probably the two farther sidings and the Winding house and head gear on the upper level at the back, still working on those bits, but I did lash out and bought a pair of 60mm dia sheaves for the Winding gear through shapeways, and very nice they look to.

 

 

 

Edit: I seem to have mixed up a couple of photos, but I am sure that sense can be made of it all anyway. ( well it's no worse than normal )

 

 

Will update again after the sacrificial loco ceremony!

 

Kevan

Edited April 20, 2018 by katwigan

[37038]

Good to hear the chemo is working

 

The winding wheels look good - I reckon the complete headgear will be very impressive!