Middleton Top and the C&HPR

[JustinDean]

More NLR Park tank tinkering….

 

High Level gearbox is now assembled. The low profile of this allows for the motor to be mounted backwards into the tank. Placing the part complete body onto the chassis shows the gear assembly won’t intrude into the cab. There’s also enough space to fit a flywheel on the other side of the motor. 
Everything turns/spins/ moves as it should so quite happy so far. 
 

Jay

 

 

[JustinDean]

The boiler is supplied as a piece of brass tube. I’ve cut this to length along with a slot for the motor and gearbox. A larger diameter piece of tube has been used to form the basis of the smoke box followed by a nickel silver overlay. Finally nickel silver strips are soldered in place to form boiler bands. 
 

Putting this down now as I’m off to play a gig in Derby. 
 

Jay

 

[JustinDean]

If anything my thread is documenting the snails pace I work at!

Todays progress:

 

 

[Fishplate]

8 hours ago, JustinDean said:

If anything my thread is documenting the snails careful and considered pace I work at!

 

Looking great 👍. 

 

Ps Hope you don't mind, I've amended your comment to reflect the effort I know goes into getting this sort of thing right . . . .

[JustinDean]

3 hours ago, Fishplate said:

 

Looking great 👍. 

 

Ps Hope you don't mind, I've amended your comment to reflect the effort I know goes into getting this sort of thing right . . . .

Thanks - to be honest most the build time is spent staring at it trying to work out what goes where. 

[Middlepeak]

7 hours ago, JustinDean said:

Thanks - to be honest most the build time is spent staring at it trying to work out what goes where. 

 

Too right Jay! That's half the fun of this hobby, although I sometimes feel that my rate of progress is somewhat glacial! Keep going though. It will be worth it in the end, and shout if you need any assistance. My two NLT's are awaiting further etches for new coupling rods before I can progress any more, but hopefully we'll be back at the workbench soon.

 

G

[Middlepeak]

An enquiry about a hitherto unnoticed extension to the back of the engine house at Middleton Top. I'm in the middle of refurbishing my model, which graced my Middlepeak layout for many years and is too good to throw away. Instead it will be mounted in its own case as a small diorama.

 

While I was looking at photos to pick up additional details to include on the model, I noticed a small stone extension to the back wall, which in one photo had a rather rickety slate roof and in a later photo was virtually derelict.

 

Photo Cty Transport Treasury, ref  MP90229, 12-08-1953

 

Can anyone throw any light on what this was for? The drawings I have make no reference to it.

 

Thanks,

 

G

 

[JustinDean]

23 minutes ago, Middlepeak said:

 

Too right Jay! That's half the fun of this hobby, although I sometimes feel that my rate of progress is somewhat glacial! Keep going though. It will be worth it in the end, and shout if you need any assistance. My two NLT's are awaiting further etches for new coupling rods before I can progress any more, but hopefully we'll be back at the workbench soon.

 

G

Thanks as ever G! 
I’ve been staring (working) on it this afternoon and managed to get handrails on. 

[JustinDean]

15 minutes ago, Middlepeak said:

An enquiry about a hitherto unnoticed extension to the back of the engine house at Middleton Top. I'm in the middle of refurbishing my model, which graced my Middlepeak layout for many years and is too good to throw away. Instead it will be mounted in its own case as a small diorama.

 

While I was looking at photos to pick up additional details to include on the model, I noticed a small stone extension to the back wall, which in one photo had a rather rickety slate roof and in a later photo was virtually derelict.

 

Photo Cty Transport Treasury, ref  MP90229, 12-08-1953

 

Can anyone throw any light on what this was for? The drawings I have make no reference to it.

 

Thanks,

 

G

 

I’ve never seen any reference to the lean to extension. I can’t imagine it serving any more purpose than storage though. 
 

Jay. 

[JustinDean]

Tonight’s progress on the NLR Tank. I’ve started to add some details such as filler caps, pipe work, valves and handrails. 
 

Jay

 

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by JustinDean

[JustinDean]

The NLR tank body is just about ready for paint. Needs a clean first. Buffers, smoke box handles, couplings and roof will be attached afterwards. 
There’s still a fair bit of work to go on the chassis yet. 
 

Jay

 

 

[Graham T]

Nice work there Jay.  Soldered construction?

 

[JustinDean]

3 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Nice work there Jay.  Soldered construction?

 

Thanks mate. All soldered apart from the whitemetal details; used Superglue Gel for those. 
 

Jay 

[Graham T]

Very neatly done then!

 

[JustinDean]

6 minutes ago, Graham T said:

Very neatly done then!

 

Thanks Graham. I was bought my first soldering iron at the age of 9 and haven’t stopped in the last 40 years so I’ve had plenty of practise!

[JustinDean]

Primer coat now on the NLR Park Tank. This has been the first nickel silver kit I’ve assembled and seems leagues ahead of the whitemetal stuff.  On that note the LNWR Dock Tank is now complete apart from couplings. This is the first loco I’ve ever built so while there are some cosmetic imperfections (which I can live with) I’m mainly pleased that it runs, and runs well!

 

In other news I’m off to SWAG in Taunton tomorrow. Very much looking forward to catching up with fellow RMWeb members and their layouts. If we haven’t met before do say hello. I’ll be the tall bearded bloke with tattoos!

 

Jay

 

 

 

[NHY 581]

1 hour ago, JustinDean said:

Primer coat now on the NLR Park Tank. This has been the first nickel silver kit I’ve assembled and seems leagues ahead of the whitemetal stuff.  On that note the LNWR Dock Tank is now complete apart from couplings. This is the first loco I’ve ever built so while there are some cosmetic imperfections (which I can live with) I’m mainly pleased that it runs, and runs well!

 

In other news I’m off to SWAG in Taunton tomorrow. Very much looking forward to catching up with fellow RMWeb members and their layouts. If we haven’t met before do say hello. I’ll be the tall bearded bloke with tattoos!

 

Jay

 

 

 

 

 

Two excellent builds there Jay. 

 

Rob

 

 

[MrWolf]

Very impressive work on a pair of unusual and eye catching locomotives. 

[JustinDean]

31 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Very impressive work on a pair of unusual and eye catching locomotives. 

Cheers Rob!

 

Got another three NLR Tanks to do after this one. Should probably finish the layout first. 
 

Jay

[JustinDean]

I had a very enjoyable day trip to Taunton for the RM Web SWAG gathering today. Impressive modeling all round and I managed to grab a few snaps. I didn’t manage to photograph all the layouts but here’s a taster:

First up Llandafal- a really well executed BLT

 

 

Fryer’s Lane by @Mark Forrest. Some grimy black country diesel action 

 

 

more dirty old diesels on Shwt by @Johndc120

 

 

S scale excellence right here:

 

 

@wiggoforgold’s Yelverton layout which I’ve followed for some time on here. I didn’t get the opportunity to speak to you Alex as you seemed a very popular chap today!

 

 

I didn’t catch the name of the builder or layout of this lovely pre grouping quay side :

As ever thanks to the hostess with the mostess @NHY 581 for bringing excellent vibes all round. Who knows, they’re maybe even a bit of C&HPR making it’s way down the M5 next year. 

 

Jay

 

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by JustinDean

[wiggoforgold]

Sorry I missed you today Jay. Thanks for the phot. It’s always interesting to see how others interpret the layout.

Alex

Edited April 23, 2023 by wiggoforgold

[JustinDean]

One aspect of visiting SWAG is bringing some motivation to get the layout completed. Today I’ve been on the grass. The static kind. A scene I’ve been keen on recreating is this; the meadow of parched grass leading up to the engine house:

 

 

These were the tools and products used:

 

 

Starting off with the burnt umber painted filler base the first layer went on using basing glue, then the following with layering spray:

 

 

 

 

 

The final layer is the beige stuff. Really important this stands upright!  Here’s a couple of views:

 

 

 

I then tackled the rear embankment with some ‘dead grass’. Finally an overall view of the last baseboard. Still plenty of DAS to go over trackwork along with timber planks at the top of the incline. 
 

 

 

The walls at the front of the layout are work in progress being built one stone at a time. The rear walls are from moulds.  I’m impatient!

 

Jay

[Rowsley17D]

Parched grass in Derbyshire... a bit of a rarity. Looking good though.

[JustinDean]

5 hours ago, Rowsley17D said:

Parched grass in Derbyshire... a bit of a rarity. Looking good though.

We’ve not seen the glowing ball in the sky for years round here.  Parched is just wishful thinking I guess. 
 

Jay

[JustinDean]

The past few days has seen more work on locomotives taking place. 
First up the NLR Tank has now got its black coat on. Really pleased with the finish of this. I’m just using Hycote rattle can spray off ebay. 
I need a long, clear day with no distractions to finish off the chassis. 
 

 

The original water slide numbers I used on the Dock Tank never cut it for me. No amount of varnish or weathering would get rid of the film squares around each number so I purchased some HMRS press fix transfers. Having never used these I tried them out on my ‘tester’ loco, the LNWR Chopper body I built a few months ago. This has been invaluable for trying techniques out on. At some point I’ll put together the Alan Gibson frames and make this a working model. 
 

 

Once happy with the technique I removed the old transfers from the Dock Tank and replaced them. I’m much happier with these. Just a touch of weathering needed now, along with somehow making those wires disappear. 
 

 

Finally long time followers of this thread may recall I bought a 3D print of a NLR Tank body. Building the nickel silver kit has really highlighted the imperfections/problems with this. Lots of lines were present in flat parts of the body and are produced by the layered nature of printing. I used very fine sandpaper to remove as much as possible. A small file was used to thin down some parts that appeared far too chunky and finally the body was bathed in hot water so the tanks could be pushed parallel as they were bulging. This has now been primed. You may notice the dome still retains the lines of manufacture. I’m hoping these will be less noticable when painted black.