Bacup - Mills in the hills

[coachmann]

The real Bacup confuses me a little. This morning, a video mentioned the passenger train service from Rochdale ended in 1947. Another mentions a Bury-Bacup service, and I seem to remember the very first generation Met-Camm DMU's of 1955 I saw in Manchester Victoria were off Bacup services. Did Bacup have two lines?

Edited November 27, 2012 by coachmann

[Jason T]

It did Larry; one from Bury via Rawtenstall and the other from Rochdale via Waterfoot, Facit, etc. The junction was pretty much just after the platforms, and the shed was down the Rochdale line.

 

I wish I could have modelled the junction; as it is, it is assumed to be off-stage and the Rochdale line has stayed open longer.

[John B]

Amazing progress inside one calendar year - and of such high quality to boot! It's certainly one of my favorite threads on RMWeb right now and is becoming a fantastic model. Thanks for sharing with us, Jason!

[lmsforever]

This is some layout, your buildings are terrific and the rail side looks so like the real thing,I had a look in one of my books and guess what the layout is perfect.Looking at the houses you can almost imagane the smell of hot pot or black pudding coming from the kitchens ,a great year and heres to the next year.

[Steve Hewitt]

It did Larry; one from Bury via Rawtenstall and the other from Rochdale via Waterfoot, Facit, etc. The junction was pretty much just after the platforms, and the shed was down the Rochdale line.

 

I wish I could have modelled the junction; as it is, it is assumed to be off-stage and the Rochdale line has stayed open longer.

 

Sorry to be pedantic, but Waterfoot is on the Bury to Bacup line.

Its about half way between Rawtenstall and Bacup.

Its where I used to alight for school each morning.

 

ex L&Y 2-4-2T push-pull until the first diesel railcars came along.

Great sitting right behind the driver, even in First Class until the guard threw us out.

 

It was possible to free-wheel on my bike all the way from Bacup Shed, which was almost in Britannia, right down the valley to Rawtenstall station.

 

Really enjoying the story of your build. Most inspiring.

 

Steve.

[2ManySpams]

Some very nice scenes building up around the railway. Great decision not to have the standard tabletop flat boards. Requires more thinking but the end result looks a lot more like the real world.

[definate maybe]

I read all the updates but dont normally comment on this thread as I have nothing constructive to add and didnt want the thread to over run with 'gee thats impressive' comments but as this is an anniversary I thought I would post just to say how impressively this layout is progressing and how its quite amazing that 'northern urban grit' (hope that doesnt sound offensive) can look so inspiring in the right hands. Your doing a grand job!

Regards

Mark

[Jason T]

You may have spotted that I have been putting together another row of houses and documenting it step-by-step, in my other thread. Anyway, these houses sit next to the station end of the large mill. Their proximity to both the railway and the mill may look a bit odd but I assure you that I am modelling these in this position after extensive trawls of Bacup using Google Streetview have thrown up quite a few examples.

 

The houses aren't yet finished (although they are in some ways further on than ones I built months ago) but I thought I would pop them in position and get a couple of photos. The third shot is the view I will see of them when operating. Why do I bother? :D :D :D

 

 

 

 

 

In case you haven't / can't be arsed to look at the other thread, here is what they look like as sat on my desk:

 

[Physicsman]

You bother because YOU want to know that you've done the job to the best of your ability. A very laudable attitude. I was looking at the track I'd laid in the fiddle yard tonight. It was only meant to be a quick visit, as it was bl***y cold in the bunker. I spotted a slight wobble in one of the lines - so what did I do. Yep - ripped it out and replaced it. Who's to know apart from me - and it's "only" a fiddle yard for heaven's sake...

 

Same with you. Your constructions are real quality, Jason and you won't drop your standards. Good for you!!

 

Jeff

[Colin parks]

Hi Sandside,

 

I really like watching your progress on this project. This is going to be a very fine layout when completed. You are doing something more unusual than most of us do in modelling a town with a railway running through it. I suppose that is the advantage of modelling, or being inspired by, a real location.

 

All the best,

 

Colin

[Jason T]

Thanks Colin. It is more by accident than anything else though; Bacup was the inspiration as the single platform terminus and the kick-back goods yard using the platform run round really appealed, and that photo I saw all those years ago of the Cravens Dmu and Black Five jumped out of the page at me. The area where I have placed the mill is (or was) in reality a rough grassy hill with a couple of chicken sheds on it, the River Irwell passes under the line (in a stone sided channel) where the road under bridge is, there was a sizeable mill where the street of terraced houses is on the model (which would have blocked the view of the station completely) so I moved the town around a bit. If truth be told, most of the non-railway structures are based on buildings in Newchurch, which is slightly further own the line.

 

I wanted to create a purpose for the railway's existence, which meant mills, factories and houses. I never intended to knock up as many as I did but when I had build a few, the area next to them looked empty so I built something else to fill the space, and it sort of carried on from there. The area where the large mill is was originally going to be populated with some really ugly looking brick built council houses that I found on the other side of town (Google Streetview) but then I fancied having a go at a large structure. Once that was in, the area next to it looked bare, so the curved row of houses followed, etc.

 

At the end of the day though, I really enjoy making the buildings, with the possible exception of the bloody slates

Edited November 29, 2012 by Sandside

[LNER4479]

Hi Sandside,

 

Just wanted to add my 'gee that's impressive' comment on or around your first anniversary and otherwise enjoying your postings.

 

As I originally hail from the Manchester area, I readily recognise the 'northen grit' scenes you are creating. Your use of different levels and the general 'station within the town' atmosphere is most convincing.

 

I once pedalled my push bike up the valley from Rochdale to Bacup. It was bad enough on a bike so goodness only knows what it was like for the steam-hauled trains that used to pant up those fearsome grades!

[Jason T]

Thanks for the kind comments

 

Just been looking in 'An illustrated history of Rochdale's railways' to check the gradients on the Facit line and to quote:

 

'On leaving Britannia, the mill dominated the view to the right as the branch at first descended a 1 in 61 gradient and then a severe 1 in 35 descent before New Line Tunnel.'

 

1 in 35 !! At least I can justify short freight trains

[LNER4479]

Aye, thowt it were steep like!

 

Don't forget your 'all goods trains must stop to pin down brakes' sign somewhere then!

 

Mind you, 1-in-35 were nothing in that part of the world. I think I'm right in saying that the famous(-ish) Werneth incline from Middleton to Oldham was 1-in-27, by which it was claimed to be the steepest passenger worked (adhesion) incline in the country.

[beast66606]

You appear to have a yellow lever in the signal box and it appears to be reversed despite the home signal being at danger - very few terminii had working distants.

 

Very poor show.

 

<kidding>

 

Very nice work (except the yellow lever )

 

 

 

Mind you, 1-in-35 were nothing in that part of the world. I think I'm right in saying that the famous(-ish) Werneth incline from Middleton to Oldham was 1-in-27, by which it was claimed to be the steepest passenger worked (adhesion) incline in the country.

 

River Bed to James Street on the Mersey is 1:27 and still in very frequent use today.

[Jason T]

Ah yes, the signal box; wondered when that would get a mention

 

The box was actually given to me about 30 years ago when I was a member of Kendal MRC, and they had bought and built it a long time before that (the name on the box in Brindall, and I can't remember them having a layout named that). It is, apparently, a GN box and would I be right in thinking that it was a Heljan kit from many years ago? I do have another inappropriate box that could go there, this time a Skaledale Midland one with no levers whatsoever.

 

Building the real signal box is on the list of things to do. I have quite a few photos of the real box at Bacup but to date, haven't managed to get any dimensions. There are also no signals on the layout yet (other than an old Ratio one plonked down somewhere). At some point in the not-too-distant-future, your good self and Stationmaster Mike may be asked to assist on that front with the placement, etc.

[beast66606]

Ah yes, the signal box; wondered when that would get a mention

 

The box was actually given to me about 30 years ago when I was a member of Kendal MRC, and they had bought and built it a long time before that (the name on the box in Brindall, and I can't remember them having a layout named that). It is, apparently, a GN box and would I be right in thinking that it was a Heljan kit from many years ago? I do have another inappropriate box that could go there, this time a Skaledale Midland one with no levers whatsoever.

 

Building the real signal box is on the list of things to do. I have quite a few photos of the real box at Bacup but to date, haven't managed to get any dimensions. There are also no signals on the layout yet (other than an old Ratio one plonked down somewhere). At some point in the not-too-distant-future, your good self and Stationmaster Mike may be asked to assist on that front with the placement, etc.

 

I was being kind and not mentioning the wrong company .. it does look like the old Heljan one.

 

A pure Midland box appeared deep in LNWR territory on the Bootle branch from Edge Hill - Bootle at Tuebrook, quite why no-one currently knows, possibly because the old one was on an embankment and was in danger of falling down, so a quick replacement was sort.

 

You should be able to scale of the dimensions from photos. Have you seen the Trevor Suttcliffe books on L&Y signalling, there were two produced which provide information on the cabins, but I can't remember how detailed the info is, might only be frame size (which may help if it's a standard cabin) and opening date, not sure where my copies are currently I'm afraid.

 

Happy to help when you're ready for it (as I'm sure Mike is and my good mate Keith - Flyingsignalman knows a bit too (as do several others))

 

 

PS - I have some L&YR appendices, these may be of interest if there's anything about the real Bacup in them ? I can photograph the pages if you're happy for them to be posted ?

[Jason T]

I have had what is known as an evil day at work, finished late and as such, have not really had time to do much of anything other than crack open a couple of beers and make a door.

 

I am sure that quite a few of you have noticed that there was a door missing from the mill, namely a wooden sliding door. The runners were there (at least the covers for them) but below was a blank section of wall. Well, here we go; the missing door (s). A quick visit to Googletown for a view of the real door, out with the scriber and knife, followed by sticking it to a suitable sized piece of black Plastikard followed by a very quick lick of paint (more coats needed) and here we go. It may not seem like much but it's these little jobs that get put off for another time, and tonight was that other time.

 

 

Last night, when I had more time, I made a start on the downpipes for the houses (58 of them - I just counted). That is a lot of downpipes and as such, I am not going to spend ages and ages making them look absolutely perfect but hopefully these will suffice. Plastikard 0.060 Microrod with thin strips of sticky label wrapped round them and then dabbed with Superglue to hold them together and in place. Not sure how I will affix them yet but it will probably be judicious use of Superglue. I did think about the fuse wire method but because of the 'knot' on the back, it always seems to hold the drainpipe too far away from the wall, unless I am doing something wrong. Anyway, time will tell.

 

 

The above reminds me; my ex-girlfriend is from Leeds and went to quite a rough school on the edge of Chapeltown. One of the kids in her class was called Dwayne Pipe.

 

No, I am not joking.

 

Seriously.

 

Poor sod.

 

 

But then, at Bank Of America Merrill Lynch (the last two parts of the name are the important bit as far as I am concerned.....) we have a member of staff called Randy Beaver. He is American though.

[Physicsman]

Jason, my best mate, when I was 12, was called Ian Paul Downwood. If you reduce this to initials and surname his parents were clearly being cruel to him. Poor sod!

 

You've done well to get anything made tonight after a crap day at work. Puts some of us to shame!

 

Jeff

[MichaelW]

The door looks good - you've done a very good job of scribing in the planks. On first sight, I thought you'd done a good job of a weatherbeaten door, but I guess with all the grime on the rest of the layout, it's a bit too clean to be a Bacup door.

[Physicsman]

Another bad day at work, Jason? Don't you work from home?

 

Have a good evening - even if it doesn't involve modelling!

 

Jeff

[Jason T]

This morning, before I started work, I started to tackle another item that is needed but caused a fair bit of head-scratching; namely, the chimney for the mill.

 

The main issue is that because of the sloping roof of the attic, I couldn't make the monster of a chimney that the mill that inspired this one has and in fact, it looks pretty diminutive in comparison - almost daft really. The thing is, is it better to have a short chimney in place or no chimney at all? I go for the former and the imagination will just have to add the other hundred or so foot onto the top of it.

 

Once again, it is made from mounting board that is clad with SE Finecast embossed plastic, the edges of the mounting board being cut at a 45 degree angle and glued together with PVA. I found this Olfa thing in a stationers the other week, looks like a hole punch but is for cutting at (yes, you guessed it) 45 degrees and I have been dying to give it a go. It's actually a pain in the arse to use when you are trying to cut a straight line for over 300mm.

 

The little door thing at the bottom (for cleaning it? Removing ash?) is on the real thing (3rd across in the photo, albeit bricked up) so I included it on mine. Going to need quite a lot of Milliput to tidy the edges up on this before it is painted.

 

[Jason T]

And having just put it in place next to the mill, it's a bit too wide. Arses. At least I know that the construction method now works, although as I now have no SE Finecast stone at all, it'll have to wait

 

Anyone want a half-finished rather short and fat chimney? I'll throw in an overly tall water tank I built last month.

[Jason T]

And wouldn't you just know it, I've just found enough embossed plastikard to finish it off but not enough for it's replacement

 

Motivation is sinking fast tonight folks.....

[lmsforever]

Fred aught to be up that chimney on his platform round the top ,just a thaught?