South Wales Valleys in the 50s

[tomparryharry]

I quite like that. What's the prospect of relieving the base around the signal, and dropping the base down by a millimetre or two? As they say in Africa, "Safari So Good".

 

Cheers,

Ian.

[The Johnster]

Pretty chuffed with it meself, bwtti bach.  I will be doing the blending into the scenery the other way, though, building up around the baseplates and scenic around them.   Next time I've got the polyfilla out!  

 

As we say in Roath, why are we all here?  Because we're not all there...

[The Johnster]

On 13/08/2019 at 01:01, The Johnster said:

Thanks Darwinian, I’ll check this out.  Important that they’re all different. 

Been having a belated look at the Unit Models/Frizinghall loft, which seems a nice little thing with a lot of character and not much work to do to it, and cheap as well.  Frizinghall's website says no stock but I have asked for notification if they ever do get any more of them.  For now it's unavailable and a waiting game, though.

 

There is an alternative from Harburn Hamlet, distributed through Peco.  Peco's website doesn't have an image but Rails of Sheffield do.  It's not as sharply defined as the Unit Models loft, but is an acceptable start to filling in mountainside space, so I've ordered one.  The Unit, if it ever materialises, can go next door to it. with a pathway leading up the mountainside to them.  They will be owned by members of the Ogmore Forest PFA, who occasionally charter a train of BGs and other suitable NPCCS for the area's fanciers.  Such trains also arrive at Cwmdimbath occasionally for the birds to be released, an activity not uncommon on steam age stations with the Stationmaster overseeing the release and entering the correct time of release of the birds.  I once witnessed this at Cardiff General as a child, a quite spectacular sight and a pity it can't be modelled!

Edited August 30, 2019 by The Johnster

[tomparryharry]

7 hours ago, The Johnster said:

Been having a belated look at the Unit Models/Frizinghall loft, which seems a nice little thing with a lot of character and not much work to do to it, and cheap as well.  Frizinghall's website says no stock but I have asked for notification if they ever do get any more of them.  For now it's unavailable and a waiting game, though.

 

There is an alternative from Harburn Hamlet, distributed through Peco.  Peco's website doesn't have an image but Rails of Sheffield do.  It's not as sharply defined as the Unit Models loft, but is an acceptable start to filling in mountainside space, so I've ordered one.  The Unit, if it ever materialises, can go next door to it. with a pathway leading up the mountainside to them.  They will be owned by members of the Ogmore Forest PFA, who occasionally charter a train of BGs and other suitable NPCCS for the area's fanciers.  Such trains also arrive at Cwmdimbath occasionally for the birds to be released, an activity not uncommon on steam age stations with the Stationmaster overseeing the release and entering the correct time of release of the birds.  I once witnessed this at Cardiff General as a child, a quite spectacular sight and a pity it can't be modelled!

 

Loft? Oh, pigeon loft! I had to read that twice! The North Road Federation had a steady stream of traffic out of the valleys, although by then, It was road borne. As for modelling pigeons, you might not be able to model 'in flight' but the guarno will be everywhere!

 

"Little birdie, flying high,

Drops a package from the sky.

The farmer winced, and clears his eye,

And thanks the Lord that cows can't fly."

 

Happy weekend everyone,

Ian.

[The Johnster]

12 hours ago, The Johnster said:

 

The racing birds would mostly be inside their lofts except when being exercised under supervision or raced, so most of those seen outside most of the time would be feral birds.  The Harburn loft is on order at Rails, and will be dispatched as soon as it arrives, which Heather from Rails says should be 5 working days.  There are more lofts to be imagined on the viewer's (unmodelled) side of the valley.  I imagine that Ogmore Forest PFA is closely affiliated to North Road.  I'm still on the lookout for a snack bar trailer to convert as well.

[The Johnster]

I installed the new signals on Wednesday and have, in the spirit of seeing if powering them with a 9v battery is practical, left them on continually ever since; they are showing no signs of giving up just yet!  Today's job has been tidying up the wiring and connections and the installation is now effectively permanent.  A local cheap shop has Duracell 9v batteries at £1.49 a pop, and I reckon they'll last a few months in normal service.  Meant to have a go at the platform lamps, but the day got away from me a bit and devolved into an operating session...

[The Johnster]

Postie just called with the latest 8750 off 'Bay, a good start to the week!  This one's gonna be repainted in G W R initials austerity black and have the vac bags and pipes removed to represent 6762, a steam brake only loco.  Reversing lever is removed for this variant as well.  Cursory examination shows all present and correct, but spectacle plate glass fogged for some reason.  Running is excellent, as it is on all Bachmann panniers.

 

You can never have too many panniers, but there will be at least one more, 5707 without top feed, when 8448 is replaced by the new Baccy 94xx and it's mechanism goes under a 57xx body.  I will then have 5 57xx/8750s in various liveries and forms, and 8 panniers altogether, way more than the timetable needs but, hey, come on, chaps...

 

Next job; order the numberplates.

[Philou]

Good one Johnster! Don't forget to post a couple piccies from time to time.

 

Regarding the signal bases, rather than build up the ground, I scraped away some of the landscaping/ballast upon which my yard lamps were to sit - it worked for me.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[The Johnster]

A combination of both methods is likely to work best for me, Philou.  Photos of the new pannier when the repaint and numbering are done I promise; I'll be ordering the numbers for this and 5707 from MMJE very soon, possibly today.  Which reminds me I haven't posted photos of the new Meat and Interfrigo yet!  Quite pleased with the heavy weathering on the Meat.

[The Johnster]

Bit of progress today, but a setback as well.  My attempt to wire up the platform lights was a dismal failure because the block terminals were incapable of securing the wires in a decent connection; I'll use car type spade connectors instead.  

 

I lashed out yesterday on some Woodland Scenics rock outcrops to improve the mountainside, and have put them in position after giving them a red-brown paint wash to simulate the colour of the Pennant Sandstone that forms the Mid Glamorgan plateau.  They initially looked a bit like lumps stuck on, which is of course what they are, but blended in with a bit of foliage look the part.  Photos later when the glue's gone off.  

 

The Harburn Hobbies pigeon loft arrived from Sheffield this morning, and has taken up residence on the mountainside near the sheep shelter.  And I've made up the remains of my Will's plate girder bridge to take the Dimbath River beneath the railway; it will run at the foot of the mountain behind the station.

 

Onwards and upwards!

[The Johnster]

As promised, in natural light.  More to do to vary the ground texture a bit and provide a footpath coming up to the pigeon loft and shelter.  Real mountains in the area are green, but not as uniformly green as this!  And a bit of green staining for algae/moss on the rocks, but I'm quite chuffed with the colour.  As supplied they looked a bit limestone/granite hued, but this wash is not unlike Pennant Sandstone.  The beds 'dip' correctly towards the south, echoed with more outcrops further north above the station building and entrance.  More rocks are needed and will turn up in due course.  

 

The pigeon loft is not bad, but not quite 'sharply' enough cast IMHO.  It could do with a bit of touching up, maybe a brass doorknob and some droppings, but I'm happy for now with this little area; the mountain was far too bland before!

[The Johnster]

I've done a bit of potching this evening, small jobs to be caught up with, and made a start on 5707, which is a body only that will inherit the chassis currently beneath 8448 when that loco is replaced by the new Baccy when it eventually appears.  I want this loco to have no top feed, so a good bit of butchery is required.  The top feed itself must be removed of course, and the damaged surface made good, but there are feed pipes which run along the top of the tanks and down the sides just in front of the cab, then disappear beneath the tanks, an awkward and faffy job which will probably mean replacing the handrail as well to get rid of the little jiggle in it to clear the pipes.

 

I'm by no means certain that 5707 had a boiler without a top feed at my period, but it is Tondu's oldest 57xx and hence IMHO least unlikely!  Having taken a punt on this pending better information, I'm going to take another punt and paint it in early 1948 livery, unlined green with 'BRITISH RAILWAYS' in GW 1920's style Egyptian Serif.  The loco will carry a BR smokebox plate and buffer beam numbers, and I'm going to giver her an 86F shedcode plate as well, and probably take another punt on blue route availability.  Numberplates will be red backed.

 

This is of course Rule 1 territory or cheating as it is otherwise known.  It ticks a livery box, though.  The other pannier project is 6762, with no vacuum brakes in black austerity G W R livery, which the loco must have been delivered new to Tondu in 1943.  This will also have a smokebox numberplate, and the plates will also be red backed.  Another blue route availability loco; BR (W) arbitrarily decided that all 57xx/8750s were yellow route availability, and all my existing ones are, even 9649 in G W R livery, and this decision was taken quite early but I'm not sure exactly when, or how quickly all the locos had their RA spots repainted, presumably done at sheds rather than waiting for main works attention.

[tomparryharry]

If your pannier is sans topfeed, then your boiler will have the original backhead-style locomotive clack valves. The topfeed, of course, carries a set of non-return, or 'clack' valves. You can have one or the other, but not both. The 2721, as a rule carries the slim pipes on top of the panniers, and these carry atomised oil for lubricating the inside valves. On the 8750 type, these pipes are normally hidden underneath the transition plates between boiler & pannier tank bodies. 

 

I've thought about marrying the 2721 tank top, with the body proper on the Baccy pannier, to try to bring about an very early series 57xx. I'd guess your preferred number (5707) fits that bill admirably.  My personal 'roundtwit' is currently unavailable, however.

 

Happy modelling,

Ian

[The Johnster]

The body I bought off ‘Bay for this project is either very early Bachmann or Replica/Mainline, and there are significant differences between it and the current spec Baccy body on 5756.  There are advantages and disadvantages to this, the disadvantage being that there are no bunker hooks and never were (there are no holes for them).  Cab handrails are moulded and the buffers are a bit mushroomy, not beyond the wit of man or even Johnster to rectify but I know from previous experience that the hooks are a b*gger to get right and all in line, which is essential or they look awful. 

 

On the plus side, the main handrail does not have the jiggle just in front of the cab that it should have to circumnavigate the vertical section of the feed pipes.  This is an advantage on a loco where the feed pipes are to be removed anyway. 

 

Another difference is that 5756’s cab front has some sort of trunking represented towards the top, and 5707’s doesn’t.  What this trunking is and whether it is on all 57xx I wot not, nor do I that it is correct or incorrect for either loco; I’ll therefore leave both as they are until I am informed otherwise. 

 

This is not really relevant to the layout and I will start a new topic on kits’n’scratch. 

Edited September 9, 2019 by The Johnster

[tomparryharry]

Don't worry unduly old chap. I'm so 'in & out' of the modelling genre, that by the time I get going there will be 'super DCC' with voice activation, working chocolate machines on the platform, and 'aromavision', so you catch a good whiff of it when the train goes past, and pigeon poo on your shoulder....

 

DCC; double Curry & chips.

[The Johnster]

I hope not.  The inclusion of a loft on Cwmdimbath, not to mention the sheep, now sounds a bit risky!

[The Johnster]

The Dimbath river now has a route beneath the railway and a plate girder bridge parapet on the platform to prove it; the platform rear fencing has been adapted to fit.  I'll weather and blend it next time I've got the weathering paint out, and blend it in properly, at which point I'll post a photo!  Intended job for the weekend is to wire up the station lights and get them working, then I can start on the river, which will run behind the station for most of the platform's length; it will hide the station lights wiring.  

[The Johnster]

As promised, plate girder bridge parapet suitably weathered.  Still haven't done the station lights, having been distracted with 2 new panniers which you may have been following on kits/scratch, though they should have really been in RTR mods.  I have now finished them and, as the last stage of the process, had the weathering mix out, so a bit of general muck and rustiness has appeared on the parapet.

[The Johnster]

And 2 new (alright, ‘Bay) panniers are in traffic, 5707, without a top feed which gives her a significantly different feel to her running mate 5756, and 6762, an 8750 variant without vacuum brakes.  6762 was delivered new to Tondu in 1943, and is thus in austerity black livery, as is 5707 though I’m less certain of the correctness of the livery in this case. 

 

6762 can thus only be used on pickup work, and I suspect the original seldom ventured on to running lined except to get into Tondu sorting to perform pilot duties.  Like 2721, an occasional outing doesn’t seem too unlikely, though...

 

There are now 2 57xx and 3 8750s, and 2 56xx with a third in a box which could be resuscitated.  8448 has donated her chassis and buffers to 5707, and is withdrawn pending the arrival of the new Baccy 94xx hopefully in May next year.  Ideally I need a spare auto fitted loco as well! 

 

Too many locos?  Moi???

[tomparryharry]

13 hours ago, The Johnster said:

And 2 new (alright, ‘Bay) panniers are in traffic, 5707, without a top feed which gives her a significantly different feel to her running mate 5756, and 6762, an 8750 variant without vacuum brakes.  6762 was delivered new to Tondu in 1943, and is thus in austerity black livery, as is 5707 though I’m less certain of the correctness of the livery in this case. 

 

6762 can thus only be used on pickup work, and I suspect the original seldom ventured on to running lined except to get into Tondu sorting to perform pilot duties.  Like 2721, an occasional outing doesn’t seem too unlikely, though...

 

There are now 2 57xx and 3 8750s, and 2 56xx with a third in a box which could be resuscitated.  8448 has donated her chassis and buffers to 5707, and is withdrawn pending the arrival of the new Baccy 94xx hopefully in May next year.  Ideally I need a spare auto fitted loco as well! 

 

Too many locos?  Moi???

Personally, I don't see your dilemma, old boy! So, you've a 67xx on the roster for class 8&9 traffic. I'd guess the days diagram covers quite a few locations where the standard pannier couldn't go. Specifically, the spherical bearings on the coupling rods, designed for just the situation of roughly laid track, and tight curves. 

 

Happy modelling,

Ian. 

[The Johnster]

Good point, Ian; I'd forgotten about those spherical bearings (which I won't be attempting to model).  This makes her ideal for another potential role, hire to the colliery to cover for their loco.  This could mean light engine movements in and out of Cwmdimbath.  I had an operating session shunting the pickup with her last night, and she's a lovely little mover, smooth and silent, perfect for the job.  It means the previous regular pickup engine, 5756, can be released for passenger or parcels work, and I like the idea of a 57xx with a low roof cab hauling auto trailers.  This seems to have happened when photographers were present at Abergwynfi, so must have been common practice at Tondu.  Presumably the shed had a shortage of auto fitted locos and now I've added a whole other valley service to the workload!

 

She could haul coal trains of course, but I reckon bigger engines look better with these, 56xx or 42xx seem to have been the norm at Tondu, presumably in deference to the gradients and with relatively short trains.  Which opens another possible role, banking, or even double heading with another 57xx if a bigger loco is not available.

 

I've previously used 2761 in this role, but she is now also available for passenger work, as will 1870 when I get around to her.  I very much doubt the real locos would have done much passenger work during my period, though, as they were approaching the end of their working lives and probably rough as... at even moderate speeds; they probably eked out their days as shed or yard pilots.  This leads to another possibility, Control orders and ad hoc specials with goods traffic, or deliveries to the colliery; the NCB are building pit head baths and need building materials, gravel, wood, bricks, pipes and so on, not to mention an occasional open with pit props from Lletty Brongu.

 

Nobody has ever explained to me what a 6750 was doing at Tondu anyway, but the loco was delivered new to the shed in 1943 and stayed there until 1956, when it went to Upper Bank Swansea.  There must have been a reason, and it's quite likely that it is something to do with those spherical bearings.  It can't have been to shunt Tremains, which was working flat out in '43, as that required spark arrestors.  Lletty Brongu perhaps?

 

I'm getting to a healthy state of provision for locos, with almost every duty having a spare loco available to work it.  Like the real Tondu, there is a dearth of auto fitted locos, though.

[tomparryharry]

The big use of your 67xx is of course, the shed pilot. LTS had a pilot loco, ex AND&JR No 1205, which did a lot of its time there. I'd conjecture that if 1205 didn't make it, then a 67xx might well had been allocated there.  TDU & LTS were only a hop, skip & jump away, so locomotives being 'loaned' was a common practice. In reality, you can bring in any locomotive off the division, so your premise of an strictly adhered stock list is easily worked around.

[tomparryharry]

5 hours ago, The Johnster said:

Good point, Ian; I'd forgotten about those spherical bearings (which I won't be attempting to model).  This makes her ideal for another potential role, hire to the colliery to cover for their loco.  This could mean light engine movements in and out of Cwmdimbath.  I had an operating session shunting the pickup with her last night, and she's a lovely little mover, smooth and silent, perfect for the job.  It means the previous regular pickup engine, 5756, can be released for passenger or parcels work, and I like the idea of a 57xx with a low roof cab hauling auto trailers.  This seems to have happened when photographers were present at Abergwynfi, so must have been common practice at Tondu.  Presumably the shed had a shortage of auto fitted locos and now I've added a whole other valley service to the workload!

 

She could haul coal trains of course, but I reckon bigger engines look better with these, 56xx or 42xx seem to have been the norm at Tondu, presumably in deference to the gradients and with relatively short trains.  Which opens another possible role, banking, or even double heading with another 57xx if a bigger loco is not available.

 

I've previously used 2761 in this role, but she is now also available for passenger work, as will 1870 when I get around to her.  I very much doubt the real locos would have done much passenger work during my period, though, as they were approaching the end of their working lives and probably rough as... at even moderate speeds; they probably eked out their days as shed or yard pilots.  This leads to another possibility, Control orders and ad hoc specials with goods traffic, or deliveries to the colliery; the NCB are building pit head baths and need building materials, gravel, wood, bricks, pipes and so on, not to mention an occasional open with pit props from Lletty Brongu.

 

Nobody has ever explained to me what a 6750 was doing at Tondu anyway, but the loco was delivered new to the shed in 1943 and stayed there until 1956, when it went to Upper Bank Swansea.  There must have been a reason, and it's quite likely that it is something to do with those spherical bearings.  It can't have been to shunt Tremains, which was working flat out in '43, as that required spark arrestors.  Lletty Brongu perhaps?

 

I'm getting to a healthy state of provision for locos, with almost every duty having a spare loco available to work it.  Like the real Tondu, there is a dearth of auto fitted locos, though.

 

Quite right. How do you think 5572 ( extant, Didcot) came into being? Off the top of my head I can think of:- 4581, 97, 99, 5520, 32, 45, 50, 56, 74, Now, you know only too well that further research is required, but 'that' is your job! All of those numbers mentioned are, at some time or another, locomotives which show up on your division, namely Ebbw Junction.

 

AFAIK, Tremains was worked by the diesels on site. There should be a set of working notices for Tremains, but I've never seen them. More research for you, old boy!

[The Johnster]

4581 and 5574 were both withdrawn from Tondu, and there is photographic evidence of 5555 at Abergwynfi.  My auto loco is 5555, but you have suggested another two candidates confirmed on the Rail UK site and I haven't even looked at BR database, which gives interim allocations as well.  As you very correctly say, more research is needed and nobody gonna do it but yours truly.  

 

Basic problem now just is the pending 94xx from Baccy, which must take budgetary priority.  When my wallet has recovered from this assault, I can think about other projects, such as another 4575 and the chassis for 1870. 

[tomparryharry]

11 hours ago, The Johnster said:

4581 and 5574 were both withdrawn from Tondu, and there is photographic evidence of 5555 at Abergwynfi.  My auto loco is 5555, but you have suggested another two candidates confirmed on the Rail UK site and I haven't even looked at BR database, which gives interim allocations as well.  As you very correctly say, more research is needed and nobody gonna do it but yours truly.  

 

Basic problem now just is the pending 94xx from Baccy, which must take budgetary priority.  When my wallet has recovered from this assault, I can think about other projects, such as another 4575 and the chassis for 1870. 

It seems like you've got it all sown up. Oh dear, what a dilemma, you poor old soul! Just watch out for the 'extra 56xx's, They're just more-ish. Of course, I could be tempted with an 04....