Sedbergh, as a preserved railway

[Firecracker]

6 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Of all the classic vehicles I've nearly owned but talked myself out of at the last moment, the Ferguson TE20 is top of the list of regrets.  About thirty years ago I'd just learned to drive and I could have bought two complete (one runner, one non-runner) for £300 at a local farm sale.  They would be ten times that now which I really couldn't justify.

Agreed on the prices.  She’s the TEF diesel version (and is NOT, I repeat NOT for sale).  She’s been in the family for 45 years and was valued (for insurance purposes) in 2000 at £750.  Now, she’s nearer 2.5k.  I’ve been out of the vintage tractor world for about 15 years, the two things that amaze me now are the availability of spares online and the rise in prices.  I understand the regret, fergies are lovely little tractors and superb pieces of engineering.  Just need to sort her leaky rad (which, if the spares supplier comes through, is one of my Christmas jobs)

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

Yes, 2022’s living up to my low hopes for modelling time.  Anyway, another visit to my local lead to some goodies following me home.  Including yet another distraction.  Martin knows too well how to lay temptation in my path…

Also, these.  Which look far too clean.

So, after the usual attack, they get nearer what I want.  I’m aiming for ‘used and maintained’ for the pilchard (being unbraked, it’s come off front line PWay work and been adopted by the Sedbergh group) and ‘rust bucket’ for the turbot.  Mind you, that was bought off a then EWS tender list, spent the next 3 years on the Lowgill extension work and the Lowgill Junta didn’t have money to burn on rolling stock.  

The railways also got a new scrap metal merchant.  If you haven’t visited Ruston’s ‘Charlie Strong Metals’ thread yet, precisely why not?  The lettering’s not the best, but after a bit of rust, I reckon it’ll pass.

Owain

[Compound2632]

Now I remember a Furguson tractor like that* in use on the Howgill farm we holiday at, way back in the 1970s, towing sleds for collecting bales at haymaking time. 

 

*I wouldn't like to say what model

[Firecracker]

15 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

Now I remember a Furguson tractor like that* in use on the Howgill farm we holiday at, way back in the 1970s, towing sleds for collecting bales at haymaking time. 

 

*I wouldn't like to say what model

Fergie spotters guide, 101 (the basic models, ignoring the industrials, or the lamp oil engine (which I’ve never seen one of)).  First is the bonnet in line with the top of the dash or raised up?  If it’s raised, it’s the aftermarket Perkins conversion, so started off as (probably) a petrol or TVO machine.  If it’s flush, is the starter motor on the left or the right?  If it’s on the right (and you haven’t spotted the injector pump) it’s the diesel (TEF-20).  If it’s on the left, it’s either TVO or petrol.  Easiest way to spot a TVO machine is the tin heat shield over the exhaust manifold.   Second (and slightly more difficult) is the fuel tank has two separate filler caps.  Now a TVO machine may have been built as such (TED-20) or be an aftermarket conversion.  Finally, the petrol engine.  Two different engines were used, the imported American ‘continental’ engine in initial production or a home made unit, designed by Standard Motor Co. (to reduce dollar expenditure on the imports, although Ferguson’s regarded the continental as a better engine and used them as demonstrators).  Easiest way to tell the difference is look at the exhaust coming off the manifold.  If it’s got a kink in it, it’s the continental (TE-20) and if it’s straight, it’s the standard motor (TEA-20).

 

It’s my thread and I’ll go off on a tangent if I want to…

 

Owain

 

 

[Compound2632]

21 minutes ago, Firecracker said:

Fergie spotters guide, 101

 

Getting on for 50 years ago... I haven't the foggiest. It was grey!

[Firecracker]

And another quick update, to show the finished(ish in the case of the turbot, I’m deciding if it wants a bit of algae in amongst the rust) articles.  The pilchard is in the station groups work train, the turbot returns empty from the shed having delivered a load of scrap concrete sleepers.

Owain

Edited February 20, 2022 by Firecracker

[Din]

Beautiful work, do think it needs just that touch of algae, it'll be waiting in a siding for most of the year, in theory.

[Firecracker]

14 minutes ago, Din said:

Beautiful work, do think it needs just that touch of algae, it'll be waiting in a siding for most of the year, in theory.

My thoughts exactly.  I’ve seen a couple of preserved turbots in equally ratty condition, plus I remember sitting at Carlisle and seeing a rake of similar rust buckets in Dutch livery go through.  I’ve fancied having a go at a bit of extreme weathering for a bit, I’m pleased with how it came out.  Materials used are games workshop ‘Typhus corrosion’ (which is what’s given the texture) and Ryza rust.  Also Mig washes, their light rust, track rust and oil/fuel stains.  The effect on the floor is a coat of humbrol 121, let it dry then a coat of their blue grey wash, the excess removed with a cotton wool bud, then lightly dry brush with a stiff brush 121 in the direction of the grain in the planks.

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

A little bit of alternate history, recently cribbed from an issue of ‘Lune line News’ the magazine of the L,S&I railway, a piece by Richard Davies, the railways CCE on his involvement in the early history of the line.

 

”The first time I visited the railway, I was 16.  At that point, they’d got the Sedbergh station site and a run north, over Waterside viaduct to a loop at Waterside halt, just over the bridge.  At the time, the land north of there wasn’t for sale and south of the station the road bridge was missing, so that was as far as they could go.  I visited a couple of times again, and started coming regular as a volunteer after they’d reached Middleton.  But again, when they reached Barbon, another roadblock, with the housing estate there and the old station wasn’t for sale anyway.  So Barbon (North) was thrown up whilst we decided what was next, the joke was we ran from nowhere, through somewhere, to nowhere and back again.  I’d found my way onto the track work by then and working for Monkey Harris, I’d often end up sent there whenever they wanted a digger or a bit of stuff shifting.  Monkey always tended to loose the bill for me and my machine before it made it into the post.

 

It’s about then we got wind that the land north of Waterside was finally, possibly on the market.  I remember myself, Monkey and Pat Harper (the then GM) going to see the owner, best bib and tucker and getting the news that if we fenced it, put in an access road and shifted a power cable, it was ours.  Well, there’s many things you can say about Monkey Harris, but one is he shifts fast.  The road was in in a month, we had possession and we could start.  Except….the railway didn’t have the money to build.  So myself, Monkey, Tom Truslow and a gang of others got together and formed the ‘Lowgill extension gang’ (also known as the ‘Lowgill Junta’).  At the time, the PWay gang was lead by Bill Thompson and Bob Jones, out of Sedbergh and they didn’t want us rough lot in their yard, thank you very much, they were much happier with maintaining what they’d got and a bit of measured shovel packing on a Sunday, so we were on our own.  In the middle of this, the waybeams on Waterside Viaduct were condemned as well, so the railway decided to cut operations back to Sedbergh.  At that point, we took over from Sedbergh top points, to Waterside and  decided to start with the viaduct.  To keep Bill and Bob happy, that’s why the sidings at Sedbergh North appeared.  
 

There’s a bad joke that does the rounds, that we delivered an extension the railway didn’t want.  That’s not true, but we did cause a bit of a scatter as we progressed.  When the LRO was applied for, there were several who said it was a mistake, we should focus on a decent station at Barbon, we were taking on the expense of two large bridges with no guarantee of a payback, doubling the length of the line was a mistake.  Officially, the idea was repair the viaduct at Waterside (which turned into a saga all of its own), then sort the mile or so from Sedbergh, reopen and then decide what’s next.  Only problems were, we had a LRO, itchy fingers, empty track bed, a gang of lunatics who spent their weekends lugging sleepers around, a fundraising operation and Monkey Harris.  So when the viaduct was reopened, there was 1/2 mile of rails down north of Waterside and a field full of more at Sedbergh North, to several of the great and good’s surprise.”  

More of this nonsense if people like it…

 

Owain

 

[Firecracker]

Part 2.  Rick Davies continues…

 

”So, of course, it was said we’d built the extension without telling anyone.  That’s not true, it happened when the amount of work the wrought iron span at Waterside required was discovered.  That was being done by Cleveland Bridge and Harrisplant, so whilst that was going on, we hatched a plan to keep the volunteers busy.  We managed to get a couple of loads of rails over the viaduct before the contractors took possession, and with a sleeper dump at Sedbergh North, we could put in a temporary access at Firbank, where the track bed is right next to the road and get sleepers there using a tractor and trailer.  So, we started laying north from there.

 

However, this also lead to a change for me as well.  That summer, it was announced we’d got the grant to repair Lowgill viaduct, it was to be another contract job and we needed a project engineer who’d be there to oversee the entire job.  I was still working for Monkey Harris at this point, so he put my name forward and that took care of the next two years paychecks.  So that’s how the Lowgill extension came about.  
 

The station site at Lowgill, well, you’ve got the northern rail network lot and Ian McKenzie to thank for that.  Originally it was to be a single platform

 and loop, however with the West coast resignalling and the capacity increases, they decided to put the two avoiding loops in there. It’s at that point the idea of a connection came up and well, that was that.  McKenzie Railway Engineering paid for the connection and took over Middleton Yard, NRN paid for the platforms and we laid our rails into them.

 

In the next issue, Richard discusses the Barbon Deviation, moving out of Sedbergh and Middleton yards, Cowan bridge level crossing and how the PWay department came to be his.”

 

Owain

 

 

 

”

[Din]

More! More!

 

Brings the whole layout to life in a lovely different way.

[Compound2632]

Considering that in reality BRB Residuary spent £600,000 just to keep the Waterside Viaduct in good condition as a monument (rather than as a load-bearing structure), the fantasy preservation group's fundraising skills must have been phenomenal!

[Compound2632]

PS Very much looking forward to the model of the Waterside extension...

[TechnicArrow]

Brilliant! Adding history to the layout is yet another dimension to be explored. I just don't have that sort of creativity, so I'll enjoy reading yours instead!

 

14 hours ago, Firecracker said:

the joke was we ran from nowhere, through somewhere, to nowhere and back again

 

I briefly volunteered on a railway that definitely fits that description...

 

15 hours ago, Firecracker said:

At the time, the PWay gang was lead by Bill Thompson and Bob Jones, out of Sedbergh and they didn’t want us rough lot in their yard, thank you very much, they were much happier with maintaining what they’d got and a bit of measured shovel packing on a Sunday, so we were on our own.

 

...and that one too - I was even in said Sunday ballast-poking gang whilst I was there! Did we do anything of significant benefit? No, not really, but it was what fitted around my schedule

[Firecracker]

3 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

Considering that in reality BRB Residuary spent £600,000 just to keep the Waterside Viaduct in good condition as a monument (rather than as a load-bearing structure), the fantasy preservation group's fundraising skills must have been phenomenal!

They didn’t do too badly.  Apparently it was a mix of BRB residuary money in return for the railway taking liability for the structure, Lottery cash (apparently the first large grant given in South Lakes to a heritage organisation), PRISM, Rural development via MAFF (as it was then), some local authority cash and about 400k raised through conventional channels (including John Pratt’s infamous ‘Guide to the line’ sales) plus match funding in labour, material and professional services.  What Mr. Davies glosses over in his article is the time period, reopening the Lowgill section took just under a decade, from the first work at Waterside, to the first train into Lowgill station.  Pat Harper was to retire as GM two years into the project, it would be seen to completion under Harry Pryce, his successor.  Also, when one of your leading supporters is the MD of Cumbria’s largest plant hire company, doors tend to open, sometimes with the aid of a 360…

 

Owain

 

 

[Firecracker]

3 hours ago, TechnicArrow said:

Brilliant! Adding history to the layout is yet another dimension to be explored. I just don't have that sort of creativity, so I'll enjoy reading yours instead!

 

 

I briefly volunteered on a railway that definitely fits that description...

 

 

...and that one too - I was even in said Sunday ballast-poking gang whilst I was there! Did we do anything of significant benefit? No, not really, but it was what fitted around my schedule

You’ll remember Bob’s antics with easy start and that (redacted) Wickham trolley then?  
 

Owain

[Din]

Any chance you can dig through the archives about the first loco to arrive?

[Northmoor]

3 hours ago, TechnicArrow said:

I briefly volunteered on a railway that definitely fits that description...

There are quite a few preserved railways that go from nowhere, through nowhere, to nowhere in particular.  So long as they have enough volunteers to run services and bankroll the projects, they stay open......

 

I love this sort of imaginary history @Firecracker; keep it coming!

[Michael Hodgson]

19 hours ago, Firecracker said:

the joke was we ran from nowhere, through somewhere, to nowhere and back again.

 

Ah yes, I've been on that line, the good old NNER. 

Booking clerks on the Nowhere and Nowhere Else Railway are greeted with

 

"Two and two children to wherever the little train goes please", or sometimes

 

"Can I have a return ticket please"

"Where to?"

"Back here of course."

 

The old ones are the best

[Firecracker]

1 hour ago, Din said:

Any chance you can dig through the archives about the first loco to arrive?

I’ll have a dig.  The first locomotive was the little Open cabbed Ruston, arrived from Charlie Strong ‘s (founder of CS Metals&Recycling) scrapyard in Small Heath.  The first steam loco was the ex. LT pannier and I’m sure I’ve seen an old article on that.   Think it’s called ‘Red letters and Red(ish) engines’

 

Owain

[Firecracker]

Here we go.   The first steam locomotive to arrive on the L.S&I., pannier tank 7739, aka L98.   From Lune Line News, spring 1970. (Note - Queenie (after the distillery she was used at) was the name the Ruston was known as before being renamed in 2016 after overhaul)

“A red letter day and a red(ish) engine, by Tom Truslow”

 

Well, with the rumble of a Diesel engine and clouds of blue smoke, the big day dawned last week!  It was at an unreasonably early hour that Queenie was persuaded into life, to emerge from the goods shed into the grey light of dawn.  Accustomed to being the star of the show, she was to find herself abandoned in the yard as the rumble of a Gardiner engine heralded the arrival of her new stablemate.  Hauled by one of Robson’s Scammell tractors all the way from Neasden Works, Pannier tank 7793, in the red fading to brown of her estwhile employers, London Transport, was manovered into the yard and unloaded by a usurped Queenie, before being escorted into the sanctuary of the goods shed, there to be attended by her admirers.  
 

7793 was purchased by LT in 1962 and was used until recently to haul nocturnal works trains on the electrified rails more commonly traveled by the capital’s commuters.  Following her replacement with a battery locomotive, the breakers yard beckoned until several of our members stepped in with the purchase price.  A Glasgow born lady, she spent her working life in South Wales, until the bright lights beckoned.  In her next chapter, it’s hoped she’ll have a long retirement in Sedbergh, hopefully it won’t be too long before we can hear the bark of her exhaust echo through the valley.  Yesterday Neasden, tomorrow Lowgill and Barbon!”

 

The summer issue contains several photos of her in steam in the yard, plus a clipping from the Westmorland gazette (Headline ‘A Cockney in Cumbria’), at the time of her delivery the only track laid consisted of the road through the goods shed and the second road into the yard (now the station car park). Track would be laid on the actual track bed the following year following completion of the purchase of the station house and surviving platform and by the summer of 1972 brakevan rides were being run to Waterside.

 

Owain

[Compound2632]

9 hours ago, Firecracker said:

7793 ...  A Glasgow born lady, 

 

7739? 

 

I was taken aback by that and had to look it up. I was surprised how many 57xx were built by the trade rather than at Swindon. One learns something new every day. 

[Din]

2 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

7739? 

 

I was taken aback by that and had to look it up. I was surprised how many 57xx were built by the trade rather than at Swindon. One learns something new every day. 

 

There was always something close to 900 Panniers on the GWR's metals at any given time. 

 

Suspect even Swindon didn't have that much capacity!

[Firecracker]

3 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

7739? 

 

I was taken aback by that and had to look it up. I was surprised how many 57xx were built by the trade rather than at Swindon. One learns something new every day. 

You’re absolutely right, a slip of the finger there.  Yes, panniers being built by North British amuses me as well and I’ve a bit of fun before now asking GW-OohAr types if they’re better than the Swindon built examples.  For anyone interested in the use of panniers by LT, John Scot-Morgan and Kirk Martin’s ‘Red Panniers’ is highly recommended, excellent book.

 

Owain

[Compound2632]

31 minutes ago, Firecracker said:

John Scot-Morgan and Kirk Martin’s ‘Red Panniers’ is highly recommended, excellent book.

 

Are you sure that's not about the rise of the labour movement among Great Western footplate staff?