More Signals at Hessle Haven & Scarborough

[mike knowles]

Anywho, nothing to worry about, nothing sinister about penguins in general.

 

Try telling that to batman!

[mikemeg]

Everything new to this build is now completed; what is left to do has been covered on previous threads so I won't bore anyone with repeating it here.

 

This is the state of the model prior to fixing the dolls and adding the operating mechanism, the ladders and handrails and the final painting.

 

So I'll post another photo of this once it is complete. This is the last of the large signal models for Hessle Haven, there are a few others still to do - tubular post single arm, some ground signals etc. so the next one to be covered will be the first of the Scarborough models once that is under way in a few weeks.

 

Hopefully the model will do justice to these very elegant and quite magnificent things.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[mikemeg]

While the final touches are added to the last of the Hessle Haven signal bridges, then time to start the planning process for the building of the Scarborough signal bridges, which firstly entails making detailed 4mm drawings from photographs. The first to be built will be the one which stood at the down end of Londesborough Road Station, which is also referred to as Falsgrave Signal bridge, though not the one which is about to be replaced and removed - that is visible in the background of the photo below.

 

This structure spanned over ninety feet, which will equate to a model measuring around 15 inches (380 mm) long in 4 mm scale. By 1950 this thing had a mixture of upper and lower quadrant arms and had been re-equipped with LNER signal lamps, replacing the earlier NER lamps.

 

Basically, all of the techniques and approaches, necessary to make this model, have already been done on the two ex NER bridges and two ex NER gantries for Hessle Haven; there is just much more of it on this model. The only complicating factor will be the decking of this model, which, owing to its width (5 feet) will need to be scratch built - the MSE etching for large decking is only 3' 6" wide, which will not allow sufficient space to mount the eleven sets of pulleys to drive the eleven arms - the arm to the immediate left of the central post had its operating wire dropped direct to the formation. From photographs there were five separate points where the operating wires were brought up to the decking from the track formation.

 

The photograph of this bridge also shows the decking and handrail partially removed, from the rightmost doll to the right hand end of the bridge. Other photos of this bridge, taken in the early 1950's, show the decking and handrail present in their entirity, which is the state the model will reflect.

 

The drawing is shown here in two halves, as the original is A3 and too large to be scanned in a single pass. Quite coincidentally, this drawing has reproduced here almost full size (4mm/1 ft) so gives an impression of the size of the model.

 

All that now remains is to build this thing. By any measure, this was a monster!

 

So here goes, starting with a very large jig for the lattice girders!

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[Gallows Close]

Hi Mike,

 

I'm pleased to see you are moving on to the Scarborough bridges - but I just want to point out that today is the last day that the Falsgrave bridge will stand. As I understand it it will be removed tomorrow. What you are doing is recreating something that we will never see the like of again. Credit to you Sir.

 

Best wishes,

Chris.

[mikemeg]

Hi Mike,

 

What you are doing is recreating something that we will never see the like of again. Credit to you Sir.

 

Best wishes,

Chris.

 

Chris,

 

Thanks for that. When I started to build these things it was simply because they were a very prominent part of the railway which I was/am modelling - Hessle Haven. As there are no suitable etches for the lattice work on these things, then scratch building was the only option. Now, of course, I wouldn't use etches even if there were any!

 

These Scarborough bridges are a much more challenging proposition than anything I have done to date, but I think they can be built and can be made to work in a more or less prototypical fashion. Anyway, I'll post the odd photo or two, along with some words, as they progress.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[mikemeg]

Hi Mike,

 

You still painting...?

 

Cheers, Tony

 

Tony,

 

You've seen this one (the first photo) I think. Based on a 1930's poster, this is nonetheless a complete repaint with the image changed. It is Bridlington around 1930; art deco and summer sun. Perhaps a bit Vettrianoish; oh that I was as good as him!

 

The second photo was something I was asked to do based around another 1930's poster and is again a redrawn and repainted image. This is Tilbury, around 1935 and shows the LMS Railway's SS Picard setting sail for Dunkerque on a clear, crisp winter's evening. Weren't those coal burners just lovely?

 

Mods - No more paintings, for the time being, so back to the signals.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[The Stationmaster]

Tony,

 

You've seen this one (the first photo) I think. Based on a 1930's poster, this is nonetheless a complete repaint with the image changed. It is Bridlington around 1930; art deco and summer sun. Perhaps a bit Vettrianoish; oh that I was as good as him!

 

The second photo was something I was asked to do based around another 1930's poster and is again a redrawn and repainted image. This is Tilbury, around 1935 and shows the LMS Railway's SS Picard setting sail for Dunkerque on a clear, crisp winter's evening. Weren't those coal burners just lovely?

 

Mods - No more paintings, for the time being, so back to the signals.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

 

Very delectable Mike

[the penguin of doom]

Tony,

 

You've seen this one (the first photo) I think. Based on a 1930's poster, this is nonetheless a complete repaint with the image changed. It is Bridlington around 1930; art deco and summer sun. Perhaps a bit Vettrianoish; oh that I was as good as him!

 

The second photo was something I was asked to do based around another 1930's poster and is again a redrawn and repainted image. This is Tilbury, around 1935 and shows the LMS Railway's SS Picard setting sail for Dunkerque on a clear, crisp winter's evening. Weren't those coal burners just lovely?

 

Mods - No more paintings, for the time being, so back to the signals.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

 

Mike.

 

I recognised the one of my home town, (Bridlington) straight away. I used to work at the Spa and have seen that view in the flesh many times. Even Mrs Penguin recognised it!!!

 

If you ever sell that one, first refusal for me?????

 

Great work.

 

Sean.

[mikemeg]

Earlier in the thread one or two people very kindly posted photos of the Falsgrave signal bridge, in Scarborough. This bridge is a listed structure and, as such, is destined for preservation, now decided to be on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Major track relaying and remodelling has just begun at Scarborough and this bridge is to be dismantled and removed over the next day or two.

 

Dismantling of the bridge has already begun, with some of the decking and handrails removed. So this is the state of this bridge late yesterday, October 6th. The bolts securing the girder section to the end posts, where the radiused sections meet the posts, all seem to have been very recently renewed, presumably to allow the girder section to be separated from the posts more easily.

 

Surprisingly, trains were still passing and being signalled when this photo was taken, around 5.00 pm.

 

The thread can't follow every step of this removal; I just happened to be in Scarborough yesterday and took the opportunity to see how this bridge was faring. Also shows quite clearly how these things were made and braced, so I've no excuse for the models being incorrect now.

 

And another of those clear blue skies; who says the sun doesn't shine on the East Coast?

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[mikemeg]

Mike.

 

I recognised the one of my home town, (Bridlington) straight away. I used to work at the Spa and have seen that view in the flesh many times. Even Mrs Penguin recognised it!!!

 

If you ever sell that one, first refusal for me?????

 

Great work.

 

Sean.

 

Thanks Sean. Bit of a diversion from the thread, I know. The Bridlington picture is around A2 size and I'm thinking of having some prints made so if you're interested PM me. And thanks also to The Stationmaster for the encouraging comments.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[modelmaker87]

Tony,

 

You've seen this one (the first photo) I think. Based on a 1930's poster, this is nonetheless a complete repaint with the image changed. It is Bridlington around 1930; art deco and summer sun. Perhaps a bit Vettrianoish; oh that I was as good as him!

 

The second photo was something I was asked to do based around another 1930's poster and is again a redrawn and repainted image. This is Tilbury, around 1935 and shows the LMS Railway's SS Picard setting sail for Dunkerque on a clear, crisp winter's evening. Weren't those coal burners just lovely?

 

Mods - No more paintings, for the time being, so back to the signals.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

 

Hi Mike,

 

Love them both. If I recall the first photo you sent was yet to be finished at the time. Now, done, looks superb. You know how to hit my weak spot with anything art nouveau. The liner leaving dock is equally as superb.

 

Keep them coming, better than your signal bridge...?? That's a tough call and I'll step down from the plate on that. You're a Master Mike, but I wonder if your painting style will gravitate

to your signals, be kinda neat to see the white, black, yellow and reds art nouveau style.

 

Good chatting with you man.

 

Cheers, Tony

[mikemeg]

Hi Mike,

 

Love them both. If I recall the first photo you sent was yet to be finished at the time. Now, done, looks superb. You know how to hit my weak spot with anything art nouveau. The liner leaving dock is equally as superb.

 

Keep them coming, better than your signal bridge...?? That's a tough call and I'll step down from the plate on that. You're a Master Mike, but I wonder if your painting style will gravitate

to your signals, be kinda neat to see the white, black, yellow and reds art nouveau style.

 

Good chatting with you man.

 

Cheers, Tony

 

Hi Tony,

 

Thanks for that. Seems a very long time ago that I spent the afternoon chatting to you at Warley; I think you had flown Charlotte Road from the US to Birmingham for that show or was it UK resident? Learned a whole heap of stuff about weathering models that afternoon; still use the techniques.

 

Tough call as to which of the pastimes I prefer but, on balance, much as I enjoy making the models, it doesn't quite compare with the painting. Still I guess it's great to have the choice, so in true Brit fashion 'Mustn't grumble'.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[modelmaker87]

Hi Tony,

 

Thanks for that. Seems a very long time ago that I spent the afternoon chatting to you at Warley; I think you had flown Charlotte Road from the US to Birmingham for that show or was it UK resident? Learned a whole heap of stuff about weathering models that afternoon; still use the techniques.

 

Tough call as to which of the pastimes I prefer but, on balance, much as I enjoy making the models, it doesn't quite compare with the painting. Still I guess it's great to have the choice, so in true Brit fashion 'Mustn't grumble'.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

 

Your welcome, Mike.

 

You know it takes a lot, a huge amount even, to impress me, but your work is top drawer and it alwasy impresses, even when its not my bag. You have mastered the trick of taking up the tools of your pastime when it suits your mood and I'd say that is your best call. One day the paint brush and canvas, another a file and a piece of brass.

 

Was a good while since we last met, for sure. The actual shipping route was:

 

Truck from where it was packed to Charlotte, NC airport. From there transhipped to Washington Dulles airport, another change of planes and onward to Amsterdam, then another flight to Manchester and finally trucked up to Tim Rogers home in N.Wales. Then it was transported in the usual white van to Warley expo.

 

And now, very soon it will make its final journey to and from Darlington this December then it experiences the axe, unless someone wants to buy it.

 

Cheers, Tony

[mikemeg]

Given that, quite by chance, this thread became something of a chronicle of the final days of the last of these bridges to see service on our railways, then just to complete the story, or this chapter of the story, the Falsgrave signal bridge was successfully dismantled and removed on Thursday, October 7th. It has now been, or is in the process of being transported to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, there to be refurbished, reworked and re-erected as part of the signalling of Grosmont Station.

 

The local Scarborough Evening Paper covered this event with an article and photographs of the removal process.

 

So the photograph above could well be one of the last which will ever be taken (though perhaps not the last) of one more aspect of the railway environment which has now gone.

 

Now back to the models.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[micknich2003]

Given that, quite by chance, this thread became something of a chronicle of the final days of the last of these bridges to see service on our railways, then just to complete the story, or this chapter of the story, the Falsgrave signal bridge was successfully dismantled and removed on Thursday, October 7th. It has now been, or is in the process of being transported to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, there to be refurbished, reworked and re-erected as part of the signalling of Grosmont Station.

 

The local Scarborough Evening Paper covered this event with an article and photographs of the removal process.

 

So the photograph above could well be one of the last which will ever be taken (though perhaps not the last) of one more aspect of the railway environment which has now gone.

 

Now back to the models.

 

Cheers

 

Not quite the end, there remains one "Iron Bridge" at Harrogate. Best Wishes, Mick.

 

Mike

[The Stationmaster]

Given that, quite by chance, this thread became something of a chronicle of the final days of the last of these bridges to see service on our railways, then just to complete the story, or this chapter of the story, the Falsgrave signal bridge was successfully dismantled and removed on Thursday, October 7th. It has now been, or is in the process of being transported to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, there to be refurbished, reworked and re-erected as part of the signalling of Grosmont Station.

 

Now back to the models.

 

Cheers

Mike

 

Lots of dismantling pics here - might be useful for some detail?

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/imagelibrary/default.aspx?SubjectID=314

[mikemeg]

Lots of dismantling pics here - might be useful for some detail?

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/imagelibrary/default.aspx?SubjectID=314

 

Many thanks for the link. Someone certainly recorded this event very thoroughly. As you say, loads of detail of the construction of this thing. Given what has been said about the state of this thing, then it was good to see that the bridge section at least supported its own weight during the lift away from the site.

 

I wonder if the NYMR will get the dolls and arms or just the bridge? Certainly by the weekend everything had gone, bridge, dolls and arms.

 

For anyone interested (and I know there are a few ex Scaborians(?) reading the thread) Network Rail were removing the bay from Platform 1A, restoring platform 1 to a fuller length, and had already installed the post for the new colour light starter for platform 1, which is where the steam specials terminate.

 

And just look at the day on which the move was done; another glorious autumn sky.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[Gallows Close]

For anyone interested (and I know there are a few ex Scaborians(?) reading the thread) Network Rail were removing the bay from Platform 1A, restoring platform 1 to a fuller length, and had already installed the post for the new colour light starter for platform 1, which is where the steam specials terminate.

 

Sounds like they will build a direct line from P1 to Londesborough Road sidings to keep the specials away from the running lines. Any word on what the final layout will be anyone?

 

Thanks for the link to NR's site, the phots were most interesting. Is the bracket from the down carriage sidings also going to the moors? It was still standing in the NR pictures, but I'd heard that all those lines will be lifted, and of course that means the end for those signals as well.

 

Cheers,

Chris.

[mikemeg]

Sounds like they will build a direct line from P1 to Londesborough Road sidings to keep the specials away from the running lines. Any word on what the final layout will be anyone?

 

Cheers,

Chris.

 

I was told, by a local who had seen the proposed layout, that this is exactly what they are doing. The old relief roads by Londesbrough Road station (Numbers 1 & 2 relief roads), which now act as carriage sidings are, according to this character, to be retained and relayed.

 

As to the detailed layout then we'll just have to watch and see. Too early to tell yet, there is much digging, drain laying and re-ballasting to do first.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[The Stationmaster]

One feature of note at Scarborough in recent years is the variety in minor fittings such as point detectors, a very nice derailer (with both electric and mechanical detection!) and sundry other details. Basically a history of a few decades of minor changes and mods no doubt using whatever was available at the time.

 

Those who are interested are advised that watching detail like this can also be worthwile and, hopefully, useful one day for modellers. (and yes, my camera was pointed towards this sort of stuff up there some months back ).

[mikemeg]

Time for another of those black and white photos, this one of a Jubilee - 45694 Bellerophon which, in my spotting days, was a Leeds Holbeck locomotive. Again I don't know the date of this picture, though those who knew this locale may be able to date it. The warning stripe, on the Jubilee's cab, might also give some clue as to the date.

 

Yet another of Scarborough's signal bridges and there was another to the left of this one, off picture, controlling the exit from the two platforms at Londesborough Road and which had a very unusual curved girder bridge and a cantilevered gantry on the same structure. In fact the photographer must have been stood on this bridge/gantry to have gained this vantage point.

 

There is just so much of interest in these old photographs. The platform at Londesborough Road is still there, though the station building, apart from one wall, has long since gone. The two leftmost roads are also still there and are, or were until very recently, used as carriage sidings for the summer steam specials. Also notice that the pairs of tracks, here, are separated by a ten foot way, allowing the middle post to stand between the pairs of tracks and allowing a much slimmer bridge girder than would have been necessary for a single span.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[mikemeg]

The three lattice posts for the first of the Scarborough signal bridges are now built, though the left hand post still needs some nickel silver wrapping on the bottom 8 mm. As the assembly jig is designed to hold these posts absolutely square and tight, then the jig must be effectively built around the posts. On this prototype the central post was much narrower, in one plane, than the two outer posts. This was done by using two sides form the MSE lattice post etch and two sides from the MSE lattice doll etch, which allows a post of rectangular cross section to be made.

 

Each corner on each post has been 'wrapped' with .8 mm 'L' angle, both to improve the appearance and to add to the rigidity of the post.

 

Still many layers to add to this jig, probably another six hours work and this is made longer by having to wait for the PVA on each layer to set before moving onto the next layer.

 

Unlike other jigs I have made to build these, this one will allow both girders to be assembled, even though the girders are assymetric. In fact they are actually symmetrically assymetric, in that the two bridge symmetric girder sections are reversed i.e. short section/long section on one side, long section/short section on the other. This is necessary because the top horizontal girder members (1 mm 'L' angle) will run right across the model in a single piece, around 380 mm long, which is a scale 95 feet.

 

The ruler, in the photo, is a 20" steel rule which gives some indication of how big this jig and the resulting lattice girders will be.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[the penguin of doom]

Hope you were'nt standing on a chair for the picture above Mike?

[mikemeg]

Hope you were'nt standing on a chair for the picture above Mike?

 

No Sean. Ever mindful of 'elf an safety' considerations and the premiums on my life insurance, I cut the legs off this table so that I could stand above it without any resort to standing on furniture. If I make an even larger signal model, then I might have to cut the legs off the dining table or sideboard.

 

Just used the zoom facility on the old digi camera, saves any irretrievable woodwork on the furniture!

 

Cheers

 

Mike

[Gallows Close]

I cut the legs off this table so that I could stand above it without any resort to standing on furniture. If I make an even larger signal model, then I might have to cut the legs off the dining table or sideboard.

I thought you'd used a Cherry Picker to remain faithful to the prototype LOL

 

Cheers,

Chris.