Blacker Lane D.P.

[mac1960]

I have really enjoyed reading and looking at the photos of your model, and indeed those of the actual place. You have captured the feel of the place, and the coal yards really well. I model in N Gauge (currently Horton on the S&C ) and I am trying to capture that same feeling with that as well. Well done.  

 

My own connection with the area was nearly running into an 08 on the crossing in the early 90,s, as I honestly did not know the place existed, and was more than a little surprised to find an 08 rumbling out from behind the bridge support without a banksmen when driving down from the Denby Dale Road !!

 

As an aside I also remember the barges that ran up to Ravensthorpe Power Station, I think until the early 70,s when the power station shut, which you would see from the train to and from Leeds, as the off loading point was really in the middle of know where between the Leeds and Wakefield lines. There were also some concrete coal hoppers in Huddersfield at the Aspley Basin (now Aspley Marina ) where the Broad and Narrow canals met. I remember them as a boy, so they were used into the 1960,s and did not look massively old. They were demolished when the Marina was set up in the 80,s. A friend's father bought one of the Hargreaves barges, I believe and was going to convert it into a bar and it was brought up to Mirfield for the work to be done, but he moved and I dont know if the project was completed.  

 

You mentioned further back about iconic Coal road trucks in in West Yorkshire at the time, and the other name I remember was Shaw Fuels which was owned by the Sykes Family who did Coal originally, but moved into Oil and indeed Petrol in the 70,s and their trucks were deep Blue with Gold lettering and usually 8 wheeled Atkinsons. The other very iconic commercial vehicle you could see all over West Yorkshire back then was Ripponden Carriers in the Blue and Cream livery and 16ton Albion, which I believe is available as a model.   

 

Anyway a very interesting project, which I have enjoyed reading about, and look forward to seeing the ongoing works.

 

Cheers

Mac

   

Edited December 30, 2023 by mac1960

[Ruston]

4 hours ago, mac1960 said:

You mentioned further back about iconic Coal road trucks in in West Yorkshire at the time, and the other name I remember was Shaw Fuels which was owned by the Sykes Family who did Coal originally, but moved into Oil and indeed Petrol in the 70,s and their trucks were deep Blue with Gold lettering and usually 8 wheeled Atkinsons. The other very iconic commercial vehicle you could see all over West Yorkshire back then was Ripponden Carriers in the Blue and Cream livery and 16ton Albion, which I believe is available as a model.   

I remember those Ripponden & District lorries from when I was a kid. They seemed very old fashioned with the sign-written lettering and those fibreglass tops on the load area. I could have one waiting at the level crossing.

 

For the coal lorries I've decided to do them all in Hargreaves orange livery. I'm not sure what the nearest one is, some sort of Leyland? I think the one behind it is a Leyland Mastiff.

Incidentally, the Flickr photo above shows the towed vibratory roller and compressor that I mentioned earlier.

 

I am waiting for this beast to arrive in the post, in the form of the Model Rail/Heljan RTR loco, any time now.

12099, at British Oak. It went on to work at Bowers Row, where it must have recieved an overhaul, or at least a fresh coat of paint. When I saw it in Booth's scrapyard it looked in better condition than above. I will definitely weather it but perhaps to Bowers Row condition, rather than the full-on faded wreck it looked at British Oak. Or is that just taking the easy way out? 🤔

Edited December 30, 2023 by Ruston

[Dunalastair]

18 minutes ago, Ruston said:

 

I am waiting for this beast to arrive in the post, in the form of the Model Rail/Heljan RTR loco, any time now.

12099, at British Oak. It went on to work at Bowers Row, where it must have recieved an overhaul, or at least a fresh coat of paint. When I saw it in Booth's scrapyard it looked in better condition than above. I will definitely weather it but perhaps to Bowers Row condition, rather than the full-on faded wreck it looked at British Oak. Or is that just taking the easy way out? 🤔

 

'Faded wreck' sounds good - or perhaps 'well used' might be kinder. I like the 'well used' cab steps.

[doilum]

Patina

[Ruston]

I added some static grass to some areas. I'm not sure about it. It may look better when I add some more.

None of these shed area buildings are fixed down yet. The shed itself needs joint pieces adding before it can be planted permanently. They've probably got a proper engineering or architectural name but I mean where the various pieces of angle iron come together and the plates that they all bolt to.

I have found a photo of the loco watering facilities at British Oak but I won't be changing what I've got now. There was a rectangular tank, with plain flat sides, mounted high on the outside of the rear of the shed. A pipe and bag swung out and the loco was watered on the track that ran past the shed. Obviously, I couldn't replicate that anyway as the nearest track diverges away too far from the shed on the layout.

 

I don't know how steam engines were coaled but one of the uses of the JCB could be that, so that's how it's done at Blacker Lane.

[mac1960]

5 hours ago, Ruston said:

I remember those Ripponden & District lorries from when I was a kid. They seemed very old fashioned with the sign-written lettering and those fibreglass tops on the load area. I could have one waiting at the level crossing.

 

For the coal lorries I've decided to do them all in Hargreaves orange livery. I'm not sure what the nearest one is, some sort of Leyland? I think the one behind it is a Leyland Mastiff.

Incidentally, the Flickr photo above shows the towed vibratory roller and compressor that I mentioned earlier.

 

I am waiting for this beast to arrive in the post, in the form of the Model Rail/Heljan RTR loco, any time now.

12099, at British Oak. It went on to work at Bowers Row, where it must have recieved an overhaul, or at least a fresh coat of paint. When I saw it in Booth's scrapyard it looked in better condition than above. I will definitely weather it but perhaps to Bowers Row condition, rather than the full-on faded wreck it looked at British Oak. Or is that just taking the easy way out? 🤔

The lead truck looks like Leyland Bison I think, though not an expert, but I was around at the time and have vague memories of the look. I sent it to a neighbour who owned a trucking company at the time, and he confirmed I was probably correct, though he did say they were had poor engines, he used Scania back then and indeed from then until he sold the business.

Cheers

[Ray M]

You mention 12099 at Booths.

Did it work there or did it get saved, from the chop, when it was there.

[37114]

18 hours ago, mac1960 said:

The lead truck looks like Leyland Bison I think, though not an expert, but I was around at the time and have vague memories of the look. I sent it to a neighbour who owned a trucking company at the time, and he confirmed I was probably correct, though he did say they were had poor engines, he used Scania back then and indeed from then until he sold the business.

Cheers

Yep, I would go with Bison, the Oxford Die-cast model is is good model of it. Your Neighbour is referring to the fixed head 510 engine, which weren't great, a horizontal version was fitted to the Leyland National bus and was legendary for its ability to produce smoke and breakdown.

[Ruston]

5 hours ago, Ray M said:

You mention 12099 at Booths.

Did it work there or did it get saved, from the chop, when it was there.

I don't think it ever worked there. It was saved and the last I knew of it was at the Severn Valley Railway.

[Ruston]

19 minutes ago, 37114 said:

Yep, I would go with Bison, the Oxford Die-cast model is is good model of it.

Hi Rob. I've just googled Oxford Diecast Leyland Bison and I get lots of bus models, a few LDV vans and some old-looking Leyland lorries, but nothing that looks like either of those lorries in the photo, or in fact anything that looks like a 1970s lorry at all.

[37114]

1 hour ago, Ruston said:

Hi Rob. I've just googled Oxford Diecast Leyland Bison and I get lots of bus models, a few LDV vans and some old-looking Leyland lorries, but nothing that looks like either of those lorries in the photo, or in fact anything that looks like a 1970s lorry at all.

Hi Dave, I iust had a look and can see what you mean. The Oxford one is the near identical AEC version, the grille is the only difference but it seems Oxford have yet to do a Bison, sorry for the confusion 

https://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/products/aec-ergomatic-tipper-london-brick-company-76tip005?variant=36067073753243&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_O_glvu5gwMViYCDBx2xsg8wEAQYASABEgKlWfD_BwE

[03060]

I wondered about this one having googled Matchbox Leyland lorries as your photo looked very much like the cabs I remember on a lot of my toy lorries as a kid which would be too small .... but .... 2nd photo on Hattons webpage states Kingsize on the box, bit short but maybe a starting point.

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/818614/matchbox_k_4mat_leyland_tipper_truck/stockdetail

 

Regards,

Ian.

Edited December 31, 2023 by 03060
Forgot link ... Doh !!

[Sitham Yard]

On 30/12/2023 at 12:42, Ruston said:

I remember those Ripponden & District lorries from when I was a kid. They seemed very old fashioned with the sign-written lettering and those fibreglass tops on the load area. I could have one waiting at the level crossing.

 

For the coal lorries I've decided to do them all in Hargreaves orange livery. I'm not sure what the nearest one is, some sort of Leyland? I think the one behind it is a Leyland Mastiff.

Incidentally, the Flickr photo above shows the towed vibratory roller and compressor that I mentioned earlier.

 

 

Have you considered www.roadtransportimages.com?

Andrew

[Ruston]

2 hours ago, Sitham Yard said:

Have you considered www.roadtransportimages.com?

Andrew

I might do. The Leyland Boxer skip lorry on Charlie Strong's yard was built from one of their kits.

 

The sun was shining through the shed windows and I had the proper camera with me, so took this snap. It's going to look alright once the trees are in place and the buildings are finished.

[The Bandit]

Wish my modelling looked half as alright! I’ve enjoyed following your build. Lots of food for thought - the knitting circle beckons again!

[Ruston]

The roller, from the bottom of page 9, has been reassembled. I've still got to make a new exhaust for it.

 

I also made some sleepers from balsa. I'd like to have some lying around with chairs on them but I don't have any chairs and C&L want well over £20 for a pack of 250, which is a huge waste of money when I only need about two dozen.

[AY Mod]

4 minutes ago, Ruston said:

I don't have any chairs

 

I wouldn't worry, most old sleepers would have had the chairs removed on removal.

 

Beats me how most old sleepers on models would have been removed with the chairs in place - all that extra digging.

[LBRJ]

Something very like C&L flexitrack sleepers would be the thing, the thicker ones being more appropriately dimensioned for redundant sleepers with chairs still attached. 

[Ruston]

20 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

I wouldn't worry, most old sleepers would have had the chairs removed on removal.

 

Beats me how most old sleepers on models would have been removed with the chairs in place - all that extra digging.

Of course, you're right. I guess it's just one of those imagined things. When I look again at the Flickr photo that shows the orange Jinty and the viaduct, there's a lot of both wooden and concrete sleepers lying about but not one with a chair on it.

[37114]

1 hour ago, Ruston said:

The roller, from the bottom of page 9, has been reassembled. I've still got to make a new exhaust for it.

 

I also made some sleepers from balsa. I'd like to have some lying around with chairs on them but I don't have any chairs and C&L want well over £20 for a pack of 250, which is a huge waste of money when I only need about two dozen.

If you still wants some chairs Dave I have some C&L spares from when I did 4mm you can have? PM and I can bang them in the post.

[Ruston]

23 hours ago, 37114 said:

If you still wants some chairs Dave I have some C&L spares from when I did 4mm you can have? PM and I can bang them in the post.

Cheers, Rob. It won't do any harm to have a few loose ones lying about. These little details are the sort of thing that the various 3D printing folks could be selling. I've got some hollow open-ended oil drums that could use a load of chair screws.

 

I made some removable coal loads. I was going to make them using dilute PVA in the same way we ballast track, but it would take days for the glue to dry, so I tried superglue. I use superglue for most modelling that needs glue and my usual type is the Javis yellow top stuff, the one that's mid way in consistency between the really watery blue top and the very thick red top. I have a bottle of the blue top that I bought as a last resort when I couldn't get any yellow top, but it goes everywhere and I spent a lot time ungluing myself from things when I used it. I reckoned it would be ideal for gluing coal loads in a very short time.

 

I cut rectangles of card to fit the wagons and smaller rectangles to support the larger ones and then glued them together.

I then tore off bits of kitchen roll that I had used to wipe brushes on, scrunched them up, flattened them a bit and glued them to the card.

Then I dripped the runny superglue on and whilst it was still wet I sprinkled on coal that had been previously crushed and sieved.

When I covered the kitchen roll in the runny superglue there was some kind of exothermic reaction and it started to smoke! So what did I do? I dropped a load of coal on top! 😁 Nothing caught fire anyway, so no harm, no foul. Instead of waiting for days for the glue to set, it was all dry and ready to use within minutes.

 

Repeat 8 more times for one train of 21-ton hoppers. Just 22 loads for RCH minerals and 9 for 21-ton steel minerals to go. The HAA/HOP32 still need loads but I'm going to wait and see what Accurascale come up with. Having those cross members at the top means a load cannot be placed in or taken out as the wagons stand currently.

A lot of the coal that is going to make these loads was collected on dog walks of the British Oak trackbed.

[Ruston]

More coal loads completed.

 

I changed the method of making them to using balsa wood for the humps and thick superglue to hold it all together. The thin stuff not only made the kitchen roll smoke but gave off a lot of fumes; so much so that I had to vacate the shed after doing each one. The thick glue gives off only a fraction of the fumes of the thin stuff and instead of dripping the thick glue on to the coal I put the glue on and sprinkled the coal onto the glue.

 

 

[Ruston]

The weekend's project was a lorry re-weather.

 

Way back on page 3 I showed the Oxford Diecast AEC 690 dump truck that I had bought for the waste tip. It was then pictured, weathered, on page 4 but, to be honest, it was lacking something. It didn't look filthy enough for a truck hauling pit waste. The shade of orange paint was the factory-applied Wimpey livery, which also didn't look right for my needs. I was looking at some photos on a Facebook group that showed big Scammell dump trucks hauling waste at North Gawber, which inspired me to give the AEC a makeover filthover.

 

This is how it looked after the first attempt.

 

And now.

 

 

 

It just needs a load in the back now.

 

 

 

 

[03060]

1 hour ago, Ruston said:

The weekend's project was a lorry re-weather.

 

Way back on page 3 I showed the Oxford Diecast AEC 690 dump truck that I had bought for the waste tip. It was then pictured, weathered, on page 4 but, to be honest, it was lacking something. It didn't look filthy enough for a truck hauling pit waste. The shade of orange paint was the factory-applied Wimpey livery, which also didn't look right for my needs. I was looking at some photos on a Facebook group that showed big Scammell dump trucks hauling waste at North Gawber, which inspired me to give the AEC a makeover filthover.

 

This is how it looked after the first attempt.

 

And now.

 

 

 

 

 

T'old lad wi't Whippets looks impressed an'all !

[4630]

It certainly looks the part.

 

The only thing that that photo lacks is the inevitable large plume of diesel emissions (clag) from the lorry as the driver puts his foot down.