Irthlingborough ironstone mine diorama

[Dunalastair]

I used to live in Northamptonshire, well known for its many ironstone quarry railways, both standard gauge and narrow gauge. Most were steam worked till the end, but they did things differently in Irthlingborough, mining rather than quarrying and using electric traction. The 'main line' to the surface was overhead electric, with unusual large-wheeled locos.

 

 

Those locos were later converted to battery operation

 

 

Further into the mine, battery electric locos fetched wagons from the working faces.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1049433008400027/

 

There is historic video footage of the mine and those locos working deep under Northamptonshire fields.

 

 

I modelled various Irthlingborough locomotives using 3D printing, and put together a simple mine gallery diorama to set them in. That diorama is today's 'diorama a day'.

 

In the first image, an Eimco loader shovel throws ore into a wagon behind it. These machines worked from long electric umbilical cables. A battery 'tractor' waits to fetch the wagon.

 

 

In the second photograph, the earlier design of 'tractor' sits with two of the trolley pole overhead electric locos.

 

 

Another view, showing how the diorama was built up from carved lumps of insulating foam. A messy job.

 

 

An intermediate lineup - note the difference between wagons with and without 'greedy boards'.

 

 

Unlike many of the ironstone steamers, when the mine closed, the electric locos went to the scrapyard. Some years later, some were rediscovered under a pile of scrap metal. There was talk of one being retrieved, but I cannot remember the end of that story.

 

 

It is not often that you get a view of the underside of an electric loco, showing the motor arrangements, so aside from the poignant quality, this is a useful image from a modelling perspective, both metaphorically and literally.

Edited July 15, 2023 by Dunalastair

[Multigauge]

Great bit of video footage!