Chop Yat - The NER through the North York Moors.

[Worsdell forever]

Chop Yat (Chop Gate) on the York, Helmsley and Stockton Railway.

 

There were a couple of proposed lines through Bilsdale, linking the  west of the Vale of Pickering with the Cleveland district. First the Leeds, North Yorkshire and Durham Railway (LNDR) in 1864 was backed by LNWR to end the monopoly of the NER and to extract Ironstone which it turned out wasn't there, the NER fought this proposal and it never came to anything. The Ingleby, Bilsdale and Helmsley Railway. (IBHR). was proposed 1874 in partnership with NER but again nothing came of it.

 

And then in the late 1870s, in our small scale world at least, there came a proposal from the York, Helmsley and Stokesley Railway. (YHSR), enough financial backing was found and a start was made on the line, ultimately the NER completed the line and it opened in 1882 from Helmsley on the Gilling to Pickering line to the North Yorkshire and Cleveland branch near Great Broughton east of Stokesely.

 

The line left the Gilling and Pickering branch a little west of Helmsley station (creating a through route from Pickering and Scarborough), it wound it's way up Bilsdale following first the river Rye then the Seph and finally Bilsdale beck to the top of the dale with stations at Reivaulx, Hawnby, Chop Yat (Chop Gate) in Bilsdale and after negotiating Clay Bank the line emerged into the vale of Cleveland where the last station was at Great Broughton before it made a junction with the North Yorkshire and Cleveland line east of Stokesley where trains ran into the station and could continue on via Picton to Stockton.

 

Rough sketch of the railways of the North York Moors.

[Worsdell forever]

The track plan is based on various stations in the area, such as Snainton, Hovingham and Kettleness.

 

 

Proposed traffic.

Despite the lack of Ironstone this far west there was still plenty of traffic to keep the line reasonably busy, a cattle train ran from the Pickering line to Stokesley on market days, through passenger trains from Teesside to Scarborough and a Saturdays only York to Stockton and return, reversing at Helmsley.

[russ p]

The LNWR of all companies actually proposed a line up bilsdale to serve hartlepool docks which somehow they had a stake in

The line was to use the Starbeck and Pilmoor branch and that connection to the ryedale line which was built but never used was supposed to be part of it

No idea where it would have ran on teesside but a substantial tunnel was to be built under clay Bank 

I've seen somewhere that earthworks were started in bilsdale but I can't confirm this 

[russ p]

You could build it in the style of Malton and Driffield where things got scaled back 

Maybe model what could have been called Broughton tunnel with a double track portal but only single track . As if LNWR started it but pulled out and was completed as an independent branch and ran by NER

[Worsdell forever]

31 minutes ago, russ p said:

You could build it in the style of Malton and Driffield where things got scaled back 

Maybe model what could have been called Broughton tunnel with a double track portal but only single track . As if LNWR started it but pulled out and was completed as an independent branch and ran by NER

 

The back story for the line is all decided, it's in a similar style to the Whitby to Loftus line where a small (in this case the third fictitious) local company started to build then ran out of money and the NER finished the build then leased and later bought the line. 

I think the tunnel would be a bit further up the valley.

[Worsdell forever]

After the style of layout and a rough idea of a track plan had been decided the whole thing was sketched out full size then drawn full size a little more accurately using a couple of carriages and the buildings already completed (weigh office), nearly complete (station building) or a close alternative (signal cabin) to gauge size and position on the layout.

 

 

 

Baseboards are fairly standard, 9mm plywood with a semi open construction, the land sloping from the back of the layout to the front with Bilsdale beck running the full length of the layout. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[manna]

G'Day Folks

 

When I saw the title, Ah ! someone's building a Chinese restaurant....................😲

 

manna

 

But the Layout, looks good.

[Worsdell forever]

The legs for the layout are the same as for The Depots, at the moment it's exactly the same footprint, 12' x 2'6" although this will of course have a fiddle yard at each end with the possibility of moving these along and adding another 3' board of countryside at each end. 

 

 

 

 

There was a bit of an issue with one of the legs, it popped up through the bed of the beck...

 

This was soon sorted.  

 

The boards are held together with these spikey captive nuts and M6 bolts that can be whizzed in and out with the drill. 

 

[49395]

Looking forward to seeing this develop.

Is adapting the fiddle yard from Greyscroft to make it a circuit an option?

[Worsdell forever]

8 minutes ago, 49395 said:

Looking forward to seeing this develop.

Is adapting the fiddle yard from Greyscroft to make it a circuit an option?

 

I had thought about that, it would be possible but I don't think it would have the capacity.  

[john new]

2 hours ago, russ p said:

The LNWR of all companies actually proposed a line up bilsdale to serve hartlepool docks which somehow they had a stake in

The line was to use the Starbeck and Pilmoor branch and that connection to the ryedale line which was built but never used was supposed to be part of it

No idea where it would have ran on teesside but a substantial tunnel was to be built under clay Bank 

I've seen somewhere that earthworks were started in bilsdale but I can't confirm this 

My memory from reading up on that proposal a couple of years ago was that the LNWR were negotiating for the rights for the Rosedale ores but the NER grabbed them instead. Outcome the incline and Rosedale branch for the NER was built and the proposal dropped by the LNWR as they lost the option for the iron-ore freight. My guess is that had the LNWR actually got the ores contract they would have tried to do a deal with the NER anyway to get some running rights or similar rather than build a very costly line through Coxwold and the Gilling gap and then west of Helmsley and on up Ryedale & Bilsdale plus the tunnel through at the north end. 

[KeithHC]

Looking forward to this developing. I have a small connection to the area. My late father went to school in Hawnby for several months of the year as my grandfather worked for the Earl of Mexborough durning the 1930’s at Arden hall.

 

On my grandfather’s day off he would reverse cars up Sutton Bank as the majority then had gravity feed fuel tanks. So we now have four generations in the family who have driven up and down Sutton Bank.

 

Keith

[doilum]

Excellent project well researched like a good historical novel. Great to see proper baseboards under construction. One comment on the use of T nuts. My experience is that they can tend to work loose. The industrially installed ones are fine on furniture but the diy version leave a bit to be desired. My solution on Houghton Street was to glue a small offcut of ply to sandwich the T nut in place. Subsequent layouts use a a nut welded captive on a 50mm washer but that is another story. I look forward to following this build, I still have the books on Rosedale from a never built layout 40 years ago.

[Worsdell forever]

3 hours ago, doilum said:

Excellent project well researched like a good historical novel. Great to see proper baseboards under construction. One comment on the use of T nuts. My experience is that they can tend to work loose. The industrially installed ones are fine on furniture but the diy version leave a bit to be desired. My solution on Houghton Street was to glue a small offcut of ply to sandwich the T nut in place. Subsequent layouts use a a nut welded captive on a 50mm washer but that is another story. I look forward to following this build, I still have the books on Rosedale from a never built layout 40 years ago.

 

The nuts were only cheap and can easily be changed for something more substantial if necessary, perhaps a 1/8" or 1/4" steel plate tapped and with a couple of holes drilled to fix them to the board.

 

[doilum]

8 minutes ago, Worsdell forever said:

 

The nuts were only cheap and can easily be changed for something more substantial if necessary, perhaps a 1/8" or 1/4" steel plate tapped and with a couple of holes drilled to fix them to the board.

 

Fair enough. They certainly wouldn't last too long using power tools to whizz the bolts out. Iike the idea of tapping out a short length of steel. I also use the joining bolts to connect the busbars between the boards........

[Worsdell forever]

Then I got to laying track, starting with the north end crossover, this is the only board where the track is straight due to the crossover and adjacent level crossing, it will just make it so much easier. The track plan was transfered on to the board by 'pushing through' with a scriber and the dots joined up. Holes were drilled for droppers and operating rod then when satisfied all was lined up PVA was brushed onto the board and track pushed down into it one section at a time then weighted down with some offcuts of ply with whatever heavy objects were to hand on top, an axe head, mash hammer and a selection of cold chisels. 

 

 

 

This was followed by the crossover at the other end if the passing loop.

 

And then filled in in between, the rail ends at board joints will be soldered to brass pins.

 

The yard turnouts were aligned and holes drilled but left loose, other stuff needed aligning before these could be fixed down. 

[KeithHC]

Are those British Finetrax points and crossovers.

 

Keith

[Worsdell forever]

1 minute ago, KeithHC said:

Are those British Finetrax points and crossovers.

 

Keith

 

Yes, B7s, on the mainline are the newer fabricated rail crossing and the ones in the yard are the original cast crossings. Superb kits as long as the printed plastic lasts. 

[KeithHC]

Forgot to ask what time era are you basing this layout on. Also did you consider modelling Riveaux and include a tramway connection to the Waterloo plantation. 
 

Keith

[Worsdell forever]

7 minutes ago, KeithHC said:

Forgot to ask what time era are you basing this layout on. Also did you consider modelling Riveaux and include a tramway connection to the Waterloo plantation. 
 

Keith

 

It will be 1918/19ish. When I was looking around at locations and this proposed line came up it was pretty much settled what I wanted to model, not done a bucolic branchline station in a pastoral landscape since I was a kid!

[Worsdell forever]

Tonight's post sees the layout up to where we are now, the yard turnouts had been left loose until the coal depots were built and they couldn't be positioned until the basic platform width had been decided. When these were in place the ramp up could be built and then a start could be made laying the track. 

 

 

 

 

Installing the ramp.

 

 

Suitable weights for track laying....

 

 

 

[Worsdell forever]

A few buildings, a loco, a carriage and a couple of wagons and we can start to see where we're going. Also got a couple of yard turnouts down tonight. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark Forrest]

On 20/09/2023 at 14:56, Worsdell forever said:

 

The nuts were only cheap and can easily be changed for something more substantial if necessary, perhaps a 1/8" or 1/4" steel plate tapped and with a couple of holes drilled to fix them to the board.

 

I've used threaded inserts like these on my last couple of layouts (and several other DIY projects; I also use them to fix a pillar drill and mitre saw to my workbench).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Threaded-Flanged-Furniture-Carpenter-Project/dp/B09N1Q6V56/ref=asc_df_B09N1Q6V56/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=570420064276&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1609350159466634588&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007103&hvtargid=pla-1620588124454&psc=1

 

Have had no problems with them working loose.

[Jason T]

Blimey mate, you don’t hang around do you? At EXPO EM, the photos you showed us was of a couple of baseboards under construction and that was about it, and now you’re further on than a lot of people’s layouts ever get!

 

Looks lovely already 

[Worsdell forever]

Bit more track down, well up to the coal depots, the last inch or so at the top isn't glued and when it's dry I'll solder the ends to the pins which should create a nice curve without lifting the rest of the track. 

 

 

The track for the rest of the yard is cut to length and ready to go when the weights are available, they're currently holding the headshunt down. 

 

The coal depot is just about done, it needs some coal in there but I'll make the heaps separately so there's no risk of getting glue everywhere!