South Pelaw and Stella Gill EM

[johndon]

Looking across the colliery exchange sidings to the rear of South Pelaw signal box.  Across the other side of the line are the two rows of railway cottages.  The cottages were gone by 1967 and not trace of them remains, the signal box lasted until 1982 although a few bricks and the concrete base of the small extension at the rear of the box remain today.  The extension is, correctly, modelling with a sloping roof although this was changed to a flat roof in later years.

 

 

A look across Stella Gill to the two sidings that used to exist next to the down main sees two scratch build NER snowploughs waiting for some snow to arrive.  The sidings they are sat in were gone by the mid 1960s although the buffers at the ends are still in situ today if you know where to look in the undergrowth.  The two lines in from of the snow ploughs are the main lines to Consett.

 

 

Photos, once again, from Tony Lambert.

[johndon]

17 hours ago, Grosmont Jnc said:

 

Love the weathering Joe, it is subtly filthy...

 

John

 

 

[RichardClayton]

 

There is still scope for extra wagons on South Pelaw, and here are a couple of recent additions to the fleet.
 

First up a 13T steel open from Parkside.

 

 
 

Van traffic was in the minority, but I enjoyed making this 12T ex-LMS van despite the extra effort involved in modifying the roof profile.

 

[johndon]

Who's transfers did you use for the open Richard?  I've got one built and painted, waiting for transfers.

 

John

[RichardClayton]

Probably the ones that came with the kit, but I don’t recall exactly.
 

The overall look was inspired by the wagon lurking in the background of this photo on Ernie Black’s most excellent Flickr pages — https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/41534051062/in/album-72157663860935107/ . Though I have just noticed the black chalk panel on the original ...

[johndon]

Cheers Richard, mine didn't come with any transfers unfortunately.

 

John

 

[tom shaw]

14 hours ago, johndon said:

Cheers Richard, mine didn't come with any transfers unfortunately.

 

John

 

John,

try modelmasters transfers

 

Tom

[johndon]

Although the 9Fs are, perhaps, most associated with the iron ore trains to Consett, before they came in to use, the iron ore trains were hauled buy either Q7s or, in this case, Thompson O1s.  Like the 9Fs they were modified with the addition of Westinghouse Air pumps on the right hand side of the footplate to operate the doors on the iron ore wagons.  Unlike the 9Fs, due to their power, the O1s were limited to trains of 8, rather than 9, iron ore wagons.

 

Here we see O1 63760 crossing the junction from the Washington Branch to the main line to Consett.  Once the train has passed the bridge on the left, it will wait for it's banker to be attached before proceeding up the line.  Empty coal wagons can be seen in the colliery exchange sidings and the signal that can be seen above the third iron ore wagon would suggest that a train is due to cross the junction from the Consett line to head down the Washington branch.

 

 

At the same time as the O1 was crossing the junction (it can just be seen under the bridge in the background) we have another photographer a little further along the line at Stella Gill.  Here we can see the six incoming and outgoing lines for the Stella Gill Yard which was off to the left of the photo and consisted of 36 sidings in to which came the coal from several local collieries.  This was also the route of the original Stanhope and Tyne Railway before the 'Annfield Plain' diversion was built which can be see in the background with the start of the climb to Consett.

 

The bridge in the foreground still stands today as it carries a gas main which can clearly be seen attached to the girders although it looks rather different today as the 'valley' underneath it has been filled in and the bridge is now at ground level.  As with all the infrastructure on the layout, the bridge, signal box and signals are all scratch built.

 

 

By the late 1960s, very early 1970s, all of the lines at Stella Gill had been lifted and the signal box had been demolished.  As mentioned, the valley was filled in and hundreds of trees planted.  Below is a photo of the bridge as it is today taken from just off the centre left of the model photo above.

 

 

John

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by johndon

[5BarVT]

10 hours ago, johndon said:

Although the 9Fs are, perhaps, most associated with the iron ore trains to Consett,

Or Type 2s (Class 24) for ‘youngsters’ like me!

 

10 hours ago, johndon said:

In reality, the rather impressive signal gantry had even more arms but, as the 36 sidings are not modelled a number of arms have not been modelled.

NER ‘if it exists, signal it’ policy.

Thanks for reminding me of the enjoyable day watching the signals on your layout. I was most impressed. 

Paul.

[johndon]

17 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Or Type 2s (Class 24) for ‘youngsters’ like me!

 

Or Class 37s if you're even younger

 

John

[tom shaw]

I believe Peaks were tried and I know EE type 4s worked as bankers.

 

Wonderful layout and pictures.

 

Tom

[johndon]

12 minutes ago, tom shaw said:

I believe Peaks were tried and I know EE type 4s worked as bankers.

 

Wonderful layout and pictures.

 

Tom

 

D171 took an iron ore train, unassisted, to Consett on on 28 September 1962.  It made the journey over 20 minutes faster than the schedule allowed for.

 

Type 4s (later Class 40s) were used as bankers from December 1964 after responsibility for banking was moved from Tyne Dock to Tyne Yard.

 

Thanks for the comments on the layout, plenty of photos to come...

 

John

[johndon]

Today's visit to the line sees us at Stella Gill.

 

First up, a look across the yards and we see Q6  63429 with a single brake van.  The line to Consett curves away to the right and we can see the signal gantry that controlled the entry and exit to the 36 siding yard as well as the three story Stella Gill Flatts signal box that controlled the gantry and the bridge that I highlighted in the last update.

 

 

On the other side of the bridge, we see 63429 again, this time with a rake of empty 21T wagons.  In the background can be seen the NCB 'Shed' which was part of Stella Gill coke works that stood on the site.  We don't have the space to model the coke works so they are represented on the backscene.  The NCB building was/is huge and the model is reduced by around 50% in length and 10% in width to fit the space available on the layout.

 

 

The NCB building is, as far as I know, the only building on the line that survives to this day albeit is now derelict. Here is what it looks like today, this is the opposite side to the one you can see in the photo above.

 

 

Model photos, again, from Tony Lambert.

 

Edited January 7, 2021 by johndon

[johndon]

Not that it shows much albeit, I guess that's the point really, the photo below was taken from the same location and looking in the same direction as the first photo of the Q6 in the previous post a couple of years ago...

 

 

 

 

[CXW1]

On 04/01/2021 at 09:18, johndon said:

 

Or Class 37s if you're even younger

 

John

 

Hello John

 

I grew up a few miles further up the line (at East Stanley) and the only thing I can remember apart from Class 37s is when a Class 31 brought Prince Charles on the Royal Train up to Consett. That must put me in the 'youngster' category . My dad took me to Consett to get a glimpse of the heir to the throne but I was more interested in the train. I can't exactly remember when that was but it was probably just after the steelworks had closed. 

 

Anyhow, I've always had a keen interest in the railway between Stella Gill and Consett and I think your layout is superb as it gives me a visual understanding of what used to be there but had long gone when I was a kid. I moved away from the area many years ago and looking at the layout reminds me of the area I still consider to be 'home'. The quality of modelling is great - one of the best layouts on here in my opinion. 

 

Cheers

 

Chris 

 

 

[johndon]

Cheers Chris. I lived at East Stanley when I first got married but that was years after the line closed. 
 

The Royal Train visited Consett in December 1982. There are a number of photos of the train on my website here: http://southpelawjunction.co.uk/wp/?page_id=493 who knows, you may be on one of them  

 

John

 

[CXW1]

11 hours ago, johndon said:

Cheers Chris. I lived at East Stanley when I first got married but that was years after the line closed. 
 

The Royal Train visited Consett in December 1982. There are a number of photos of the train on my website here: http://southpelawjunction.co.uk/wp/?page_id=493 who knows, you may be on one of them  

 

John

 

 

John

 

Thanks for the link to the photos. I reckon I would have been just out of shot on the left of the picture of Prince Charles getting off the train on the white steps - I was stood with my Dad next to the photographers and TV crews.

 

My memories of the day have faded but I do remember an old lady who I was stood next to asking Prince Charles 'how's the bairn, hinny?' (referring to the recently-born Prince William). Charles smiled politely but with a look on his face which said 'I don't have a clue what you have just said to me'. 

 

I also recall driving up to Consett and there being lots of people standing next to the line at Annfield Plain with their flags at the ready. However, the train was already parked up on the curve between East Castle and Leadgate by that time, so the good folk of Annfield Plain would have been disappointed. 

 

Apologies for interrupting the discussions with my trip down memory lane....

 

Chris 

 

 

[johndon]

Our photographer has ventured to South Pelaw Colliery to get a look across a very quiet South Pelaw Junction.  In the distance, the two lines on the left joined the East Coast Main Line (strictly speaking, they joined the slow lines that ran parallel to the ECML) at Ouston Junction and the lines on the right went to Tyne Dock via Washington.  The NER certainly liked it's signals and a wide variety are on display here.  With the exception of the lorry and the plain track, everything else you see in the photo is scratch built.

 

 

Of everything in the photo above, all that remains is the bridge although it looks somewhat different today as seen below taken from the same side of the bridge above.  The stone abutments at each end remain but the deck has been completely replaced and most of the underside filled in.  The line now forms part of the Coast to Coast cycle route.

 

 

Our photographer must have a lineside pass as he has ventured trackside to get a photo from under the bridge as a Q7 passes with a loaded steel train heading for Ouston Junction.  Just visible on the right is a 9F waiting for the next iron ore train for Consett which it will bank as far as Medomsley, a couple of miles away from Consett.

 

 

Model photos by Tony Lambert

 

Edited January 11, 2021 by johndon

[tom shaw]

It's a great thing when you know where you are in the country without any stock on the layout to give the game away and the top photo illustrates this perfectly. Another example of this, for me, is Chris Pendlenton's North Shields but I put this layout in the same mould.

 

Superb models, layout and photography.

 

Tom

[johndon]

We are back to the junction for today's photos.  

 

First up, from the colliery exchange sidings, we see 9F 92064 drifting through the junction with an empty iron ore train heading back to Tyne Dock for a reload.

 

 

Next up, it must be 1965 as we have a Tyne Yard Type 4 (which took over banking duties around December 1964)  waiting for it's next duty as a banker. 

 

Note the brake van parked on the up branch which was part of one of the interesting shunting moves at the junction.  Coal trains consisting of 21 21T hoppers would arrive at the junction but the loco, typically a Q6, could not handle taking such a heavy train up the hill to Consett.  As result, 14 of the 21 wagons would be shunted in to the sidings at South Pelaw (seen in the photo above) while the loco took 7 up to Consett.  It would then return, with the brake van (which would, as per the photo, often be left on the 'main') for another 7 and then repeat for the last 7.

 

From the setting of the signal in the upper centre, we must be due a train down the main to Ouston Junction.

 

 

Next to the signal mentioned above, you can just about make out one of the many lamp posts that were scattered around the junction.  Remarkably, the post in question survives to this day and can be seen below:

 

 

Model photos by Tony Lambert.

 

[johndon]

This week's update starts at the east end of the junction where we see a Q7 approaching the junction from Tyne Dock with a loaded iron ore train.  Note that the train consists of 8 wagons, a 9th was only added when the 9Fs were introduced.

 

The bridge in the distance is the break for the scenic section of the layout and is based on one that took the Beamish Wagonway over the East Coast Main Line at Ouston Junction.

 

 

As with all layouts, there is, inevitably, some compromise and, in order to get the tracks round to the fiddle yard, we've had to curve the Tyne Dock lines round to go in the same direction as those that headed to Ouston Junction.  The photo below (taken during track lifting operations in 1983) show how the lines actually diverged.  The ECML Line runs under the bridge that can be seen above the Class 37 at the far end of the train:

 

 

Back to the junction itself and we see Q6 63459 on it's way back to Jarrow via Ouston Junction with a train of empty tank wagons.  On the right can be seen a 9F waiting it's next turn as banker.  Note the ground signal in the foreground which, like all the signals on the layout is operational and fully interlocked as per the prototype.

 

 

Model photos by Tony Lambert and the real location by Craig Oliphant.

 

I joined the group around 4 years ago when the layout was substantially complete, but here are a couple of photos from 2012 of the layout in the early days of construction:

 

 

 

John

 

[RichardClayton]

Nice to see some historical shots. I think these show the benefit of using OS maps to plan the layout — the curve through South Pelaw junction is both subtle and distinctive, and Martin’s trackwork captures location perfectly.

 

Meanwhile  here’s some gratuitous lockdown wagons. These are a model of lowfits, some of which were converted into twin bolsters beginning around 1960. The models are built from Red Panda kits with some Parkside underframes. We have no evidence that I am aware of for their use at Consett, but they make a plausible change from plate wagons and bogie bolsters.

 

Transfers are a right mixture of HMRS methods, Cambridge Custom Transfers, and Railtec.

[johndon]

Having returned from banking duties to Consett, 9F 92062 sets back in to the banker siding at South Pelaw to await it's next turn.  The banker locomotive would make 3 trips to between South Pelaw and Consett before returning to Tyne Dock.  The NER certainly liked it's signals with 9 signal arms visible in this photo.  The signal box would last until 1982 when it was demolished, 2 years after the closure of the steelworks at Consett.

 

 

Q6 63459 heads out of Stella Gill with a loaded coal train.  In reality, South Pelaw Colliery would be visible at the top of the embankment behind the loco but it's size made adding it to the model somewhat impractical. 

 

 

The lamp post visible on the left in the photo above is still there today, if you can see it through the trees:

 

 

And a couple more throwback photos of the layout under construction in 2012:

 

 

 

John

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

2 hours ago, johndon said:

In reality, South Pelaw Colliery would be visible at the top of the embankment behind the loco but it's size made adding it to the model somewhat impractical. 

 

Scope for a photographic backscene?

 

Mike.

[johndon]

5 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Scope for a photographic backscene?

 

Mike.

 

Afraid not as the colliery is on the public side of the layout.