Nant Y Mynydd

[Ruston]

All the photies I've see show them carried vertically or very nearly vertically in normal coal wagons - simple economics; coal out and then send the empties back with pit props.

 

Modelling 'em really comes down to chopping up a large quantity of small dowel or skewers. Prudent to glue them together in a former and then you can take out the resultant blocks quite easily if the wagon requires to be run empty or given a coal load.

Dowels or skewers on their own aren't going to look very realistic.Pit props weren't perfectly straight, round and uniform machined lengths of timber, free from any bark. Some seem to have all the bark left on them and some have had it roughly taken off, presumably by going through a machine that also lopped off the minor branches.

 

http://c8.alamy.com/comp/B53E7E/two-miners-load-up-a-truck-with-pit-props-ready-for-the-next-days-B53E7E.jpg

 

http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/18th-june-1937-stacking-pitprops-at-boness-in-falkirk-scotland-boness-picture-id3422472

 

http://www.hhtandn.org/bundles/home/uploads/images/images/1308/unloading-pit-props-from-a-ship-at-the-docks_large.jpg

 

It's getting that effect that's important.

 

Loading pit props at Cardiff docks.

http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/28th-september-1937-a-large-pile-of-logs-from-canada-being-loaded-picture-id3423707?s=594x594

Edited February 22, 2017 by Ruston

[Caledonian]

True, but a bit of weathering could be very effective.

 

I particularly like that last photie. I had suspected that loading method was being used but its nice to see it being done and it ought to make modelling wagonloads a lot easier.

[Stubby47]

How about :

Take a long skewer, cover in mottled brown/grey paint, whilst still wet sprinkle with fine ash, when dry cut to length.

 

Inner poles in a wagon load don't need to be full length, so there should be quite a few 'poles' from each skewer.

[Ruston]

I'm still thinking about how to do the pit prop loads but I have made some coal loads. They are rectangles of card, supported on card and with a layer of real coal sprinkled on to PVA glue, with heaps of coal held by dripping on diluted PVA that has a drop of washing up liquid in it.

 

The terrace, based on this photo, http://c8.alamy.com/comp/ACXXY2/terraced-houses-south-wales-mining-town-ACXXY2.jpg is almost finished; it needs curtains and the letterboxes and door knockers painting.

 

The blue Peckett has been improved by painting the bright silver handrails black.

Edited December 23, 2022 by Ruston

[Stubby47]

You could have hidden the roof joint by 're-roofing' one house in different colour slates.

 

Stu

[Ruston]

The postie brought a delivery from Narrow planet. The plates will be left to dull naturally before I give them a coat of varnish.

 

Ceridwen and Taliesin.

Edited December 23, 2022 by Ruston

[Gordon A]

You didn't go for the builders plates as well?

 

Gordon A

[Ruston]

No. Will do now though as the nameplates show up the printed works plates for what they are.

[br2975]

On the previous page there was discussion about the carriage of pit props.

 

Now I'm wondering how to model them. Has anyone done this, or has anyone got any ideas?

 

I have used barbeque skewers, bought in a pound shop and cut to length.

.

Brian R

[Signaller69]

Incredible how you've achieved such a superb layout in so little time Ruston!

 

Further to the pit props discussion, Unit Models do Resin pit prop wagon loads in various lengths for anyone not wanting to make their own, carefully painted they can be very effective. http://www.unitmodels.com/index.php?id_product=48&controller=product&id_lang=1

[Ruston]

I'm not convinced by those resin pit prop loads. In comparison to the prototypes in the links that I posted they are very thick. The other thing I have to consider is the weight of the loads. These little Pecketts struggle to propel 4 empty wagons up the 1 in 15, so with heavy resin loads they wouldn't even take 3 wagons.

 

I have been making some pit prop wagon loads, today. When I was considering all the downsides to wooden dowels I was thinking with my 7mm head on. In 4mm you don't need so much detail and so dowels so look alright after painting and distressing them. I bought some lengths of 3mm dowel, which looks about right in diameter. I painted it all with a brown colour and then sanded and scraped the cut lengths at random to try and give the effect of most of the bark having been stripped. Pictures tomorrow.

[Caledonian]

I'm not convinced by those resin pit prop loads. In comparison to the prototypes in the links that I posted they are very thick. The other thing I have to consider is the weight of the loads. These little Pecketts struggle to propel 4 empty wagons up the 1 in 15, so with heavy resin loads they wouldn't even take 3 wagons.

 

I have been making some pit prop wagon loads, today. When I was considering all the downsides to wooden dowels I was thinking with my 7mm head on. In 4mm you don't need so much detail and so dowels so look alright after painting and distressing them. I bought some lengths of 3mm dowel, which looks about right in diameter. I painted it all with a brown colour and then sanded and scraped the cut lengths at random to try and give the effect of most of the bark having been stripped. Pictures tomorrow.

 

Look forward to seeing them. I will add a comment for the benefit of everybody else that while skewers are cheap and easy to find the bamboo or whatever they tend to be made from is pretty tough and cutting dozens of 50mm lengths is surprisingly hard work - stick with dowel. 

[Ruston]

Here are the pit prop loads. They are, of course, hollow to save weight and to save on dowel. The 7/8-plank wagon loads are nothing but a sheet of card, painted black and one layer of dowels glued on, with card supports to bring the load up to the tops of the wagons. The 5-plank loads are dowels glued around a card box for one of them. That used too much dowel, so the second one uses a line of shorter dowels on a flat card base, which sits on supports.

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by Ruston

[Ruston]

Impatient, as ever, I have made a backscene from internet pictures. The colliery tip part isn't too bad at all but the rest doesn't look much like it's in a valley.

 

Paddy Train.

 

Best steam coal.

Edited December 23, 2022 by Ruston

[Barry O]

I used Blackcurrant stalks for some pit prop for Mike edge on his Cwmafon layout. They do look like the wooden props and have a nice aroma.

 

Baz

[Corbs]

That backscene is surprisingly effective

[bgman]

The Ratio kit of an LNWR coach, for the Paddy Train, is finished. . If anyone has a Ratio GWR 4-wheeled coach could they please measure the length over buffers so I can see if I can fit it?

 

Hello Dave,

 

I've just found this thread and very impressive it is too.

 

If I've missed anyone answering your question I'll apologise in advance but I found an old model of a Ratio 4 wheeler I made years ago and it measures 130 mm over the buffers +/- hope this helps.....

 

 

Grahame

[stevejjjexcov]

I seem to remember that the brake coach is the longest of them hope this helps. Great layout and thread

Steve

[bgman]

I seem to remember that the brake coach is the longest of them hope this helps. Great layout and thread

Steve

 

I've found another one and it appears to be only 10 mm shorter.....

 

 

Grahame

[Ruston]

Thanks for those measurements; I will see if I can fit one in.

 

Well, this layout is all but finished now. I need to install some details, such as a gas lamp or two outside the houses, railings along the approach to the bridge and one or two other little things. Then I need to box in the facing ends of the bridges and generally tidy up the presentation of the baseboards and backscene boards and then that's it. I think... Until we get some decent weather and I'm able to get to Wales to take some photos for a permanent backscene, anyway.

 

I've got all the rolling stock I need now (although private owner wagons are always tempting), except for maybe another coach, a really old-style pre-grouping van and a flat wagon to be used as a PW/re-railing/breakdown train.

 

When Hornby release the next incarnation of the Peckett I have plans to slightly alter it, weather it to within an inch of its life and transfer my COAL 16 mineral wagons over from River Don Works and sometimes run Nant Y Mynydd as the 1970s.

[Stubby47]

I've found another one and it appears to be only 10 mm shorter.....

 

fullsizeoutput_e2d.jpeg

 

Grahame

 

Is that a left-handed rule ?

 

(Kudos if so !!)

[lincoln40a]

Here are the pit prop loads. They are, of course, hollow to save weight and to save on dowel. The 7/8-plank wagon loads are nothing but a sheet of card, painted black and one layer of dowels glued on, with card supports to bring the load up to the tops of the wagons. The 5-plank loads are dowels glued around a card box for one of them. That used too much dowel, so the second one uses a line of shorter dowels on a flat card base, which sits on supports.

 

 

Hi Ruston, loving this thread, i'm kicking myself for not ordering  a peckett . regarding the way the pit props are loaded i'm not sure the vertical  props would work without special strapping within the wagon to hold them in position while the horizontal props were loaded. On my dormant Holmes Yard thread there is a pic taken from the coaling tower of presumably a train heading for THE Notts coalfield I'm not 100%certain showing how they were loaded . i understand Holmes Timber at Wragby had the contract.

GRAHAM

Edited October 3, 2017 by Ruston

[Ruston]

1461238_506082016165831_1373762258_n.jpg

Hi Ruston, loving this thread, i'm kicking myself for not ordering  a peckett . regarding the way the pit props are loaded i'm not sure the vertical  props would work without special strapping within the wagon to hold them in position while the horizontal props were loaded. On my dormant Holmes Yard thread there is a pic taken from the coaling tower of presumably a train heading for THE Notts coalfield I'm not 100%certain showing how they were loaded . i understand Holmes Timber at Wragby had the contract.

GRAHAM

There doesn't appear to be any special strapping used here - http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/28th-september-1937-a-large-pile-of-logs-from-canada-being-loaded-picture-id3423707?s=594x594

[lincoln40a]

I will have to stand corrected, all i can see is what looks like a hand axe wedged in the corner.and possibly a chain.

[ianblenk]

http://www.davidheyscollection.com/page84.htm, last photo

 

IB