Millers Dale in the 80s - BR Peak Line in N

[Removed a/c]

Looks much better. 

[eastwestdivide]

Id like to include a signal box but whether I make it 'in service' or closed down out of use I dunno yet.

 

I guess I just need to know whether it would be likely that the semaphores would be kept after a station remodel or not I suppose.

 

Cav

Would this help you decide? Hot off the scanner, Chinley station around 1988, the 4 tracks are rationalised to two, and the box is out of use and crumbling, but there's still a building on the station. 

Funnily enough, I was just leafing through the big box marked "to be scanned", and saw this. Didn't even remember it like that. Haven't married up the photos to any notes yet, so I can't be certain of the date, loco, day of the week or anything else really. Blowing up the scan, it looks like  a brown Reliant 3-wheeler between the loco and signalbox!

 

 

 

And from the same batch of photos, you've got to save up for some of these:

 

There were a few of these running round too - oddly, this one has destination Blackpool, and set no BX375, presumably a Buxton-based unit, so what's it doing there apparently on a Sheffield-Manchester at Chinley? Sticker on the front reads (something) SPA LINE.

 

Edited March 26, 2013 by eastwestdivide

[Andrew P]

Hi Cav, great idea on the wheels that looks much better.

 

Andy

[RBE]

Yeah it does but also should now run on my proposed code 40 rail which is the main thing.

 

Cav

[RBE]

Great pictures those, the stock is exactly as I am imagining. I think I will be very interested in putting in a disused box and switching to colour lights. As a main route from london to manchester I think it would probably have been upgraded to lights by the 80s.

 

The 37s on roadstone WILL be making a showing. I may well scratchbuild the hoppers though to save cash.

 

 

 

Cav

Edited March 26, 2013 by RBE

[DanielB]

Nice photos all round, still can't wait to see this layout start to take shape. I have a cut down version of Peak Forest I am starting the baseboards for, and I'd very much like to make it that little bit more interesting by keeping the station intact and functional - my logic is that if Millers Dale were to be kept open like in your plan, then surely passenger traffic through peak forest would continue as well, as the Millers Dale Triangle would no doubt remain open too.

[RBE]

Thats exactly my plan Daniel. I would be routing all of the london to manchester hst services through there and also the cross country loco hauled services going west. Trains to Buxton will be local Derby to Buxton DMUs and the Millers Dale to Buxton shuttle for connection changes from the main line services.

 

Cav

[JBM37404]

Thats exactly my plan Daniel. I would be routing all of the london to manchester hst services through there and also the cross country loco hauled services going west. Trains to Buxton will be local Derby to Buxton DMUs and the Millers Dale to Buxton shuttle for connection changes from the main line services.

Cav

Scope for a nice mixture of 1st gen units? 104s were regulars off Buxton.

[Andrew P]

Hi Cav, will you will be using the 150 units in Reginal Rail?

 

Andy

[RBE]

Id prefer it if I could get the 150 in old school light provincial blue. Might have to repaint one. I could aslo maybe use a 156 and certainly some old generation dmus.

 

Cav

[Andrew P]

Id prefer it if I could get the 150 in old school light provincial blue. Might have to repaint one. I could aslo maybe use a 156 and certainly some old generation dmus.

 

Cav

Ha Ha, that was the colour scheme I was thinking of, DAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[RBE]

Do they do one rtr in that livery?

 

Cav

[Armchair Modeller]

Thats exactly my plan Daniel. I would be routing all of the london to manchester hst services through there and also the cross country loco hauled services going west. Trains to Buxton will be local Derby to Buxton DMUs and the Millers Dale to Buxton shuttle for connection changes from the main line services.

 

Cav

 

I did consider something similar a while ago, but at a slightly later period.

 

If the Millers Dale-Buxton services had survived, it might have made sense for BR to build a new through station in Buxton, on the connecting curve, to allow the Manchester-Buxton services to run through to Millers Dale, or Derby-Manchester locals to run via Buxton.

 

I guess it would make little difference to most trains at Millers Dale, except that you might see a wider range of DMUs at Millers Dale, including Network Northwest, Merseyrail PTE and GM PTE liveried stock.

[peanuts]

You can mix semaphore & colour lights three of the boxes I worked were like this one of witch (new mills south jn) on the route your modeling has that mix now ! The other two were (rochdale & glazebrook) were resignaled as part of rationalisation with the colour lights replacing semaphores .at rochdale you had semaphore distant and outer home colour light inner homes (on the end of the platform) then a semaphore starter so its possible

Keith

[coachmann]

Saddened to see Eastwestdivide's pictures, as I spent some happy hours in Chinley station signalbox but lost touch in the mid 1980s and thankfully never saw the box and station in this state of ruin. The double-headed 37's train looks like the RMC Radstone Fridays-only to Penmaenmawr supplying limestone to Manchester hope Street. The train consisted of 21 wagons usually.

[RBE]

I'm watching this thread with much interest too.

 

I like N gauge too, because scale length trains are possibly within the average British home. Although out of period, a 66 with 23 HYAs as used on the Aire Valley coal trains is just a tad over 6' 6", try that in OO! 

 

Just been calculating trains lengths for my fiddles and when getting my lengths harked back to your comment above. I think your a bit off with that mate. An N gauge HYA is 130mm long, 23 of those plus a loco is about 10ft 6in not 6ft 6in.

 

Cav

[sammyboy]

Your Manchester-London St. Pancras HST services would call at:

Stockport, Chinley, Millers Dale, Bakewell, Matlock & Derby and then run non-stop all the way to/from London if the line survived (which I really wish it did)

[RBE]

Good good, Ill be sure to get the station announcer to tell the passengers! Joking aside I am planning to have station announcements to help spectators to understand more clearly what services are stopping by. That will really help in recording them.

 

Cav

[Andrew P]

Good good, Ill be sure to get the station announcer to tell the passengers! Joking aside I am planning to have station announcements to help spectators to understand more clearly what services are stopping by. That will really help in recording them.

 

Cav

Hi Cav, I do like that idea mate, I can't do that with my DEVON ACCENT, hhhhahaaaa

 

Andy

[RBE]

I can do a scottish accent if you want it recording! Haha. My derbyshire one is perfect for Millers Dale mind.

 

Cav

[richierich]

Do they do one rtr in that livery?

 

Cav

 

They have in OO as a commission for Trains 4U. The N gauge society I think has approach Bachmann with suggestions of the original Provincial blue livery applied to the Class 150/1, and more modern liveries like Northern Rail, which is been applied to the OO Class 150/2 for 13-14. I'd quite like a 150/1 in the original livery plus several in Northern Rail livery.

 

Unfortunately, in N gauge limited editions are not that common, because the sponsor doesn't feel they will sell the minimum order quantity of 504 units, which Bachmann require.

 

Just thinking although tricky there is made scope for a model of the 150/0 prototypes, which may have reached Millers Dale while under evaluation while based on the Matlock - Derby locals? These had a livery much more close the livery BR Sprinter livery applied to the 150/1 supplied within the Train Set Farish produced a year or ago.

Edited March 28, 2013 by richierich

[richierich]

Just been calculating trains lengths for my fiddles and when getting my lengths harked back to your comment above. I think your a bit off with that mate. An N gauge HYA is 130mm long, 23 of those plus a loco is about 10ft 6in not 6ft 6in.

 

Cav

 

Sorry a miscalculation. Works out at 2990mm (130*23) + 145mm for a 66 = 3135mm approximately. Still more manageable than 1:76 scale! 

[DanielB]

The 37s on roadstone WILL be making a showing. I may well scratchbuild the hoppers though to save cash.

 

Cav, if you figure out a cheap way of scratchbuilding the curved sided JGA's please let me know - £20 a pop for the current Farish one - the incorrect version for the time period I want to model - just isn't going to cut it for me! 

 

EDIT: Just to note, a kit that makes all three varients of the JGA hopper wagon is available from the N Gauge Society. I've just re-applied for membership for the first time in about... 14 years, so I'll be ordering a few once the membership is processed - my 37 needs something to pull, no?

Edited March 29, 2013 by DanielB

[RBE]

I n gauge society ones are better priced at £130 for 10. Im thinking a rake of 15 would be long enough. I could do with a rake of full and a rake of empties though which makes £390 for the lot. Not cheap.

 

I'm looking into scratchbuilding to cheapen it but if I use say atm bogies at £7.50 a pop I only have just over a £5er meat to build the body before I get to N gauge soc prices. Only other option is to build the bogies too. I'm planning on doing an etch for them so could do etched bogie frames as part of the kit.

 

Cav

[eldavo]

I'm late to the party on this thread! Very tidy looking plan, should give you plenty of scope for artistry. The 47 is tempting me to spend more money though it would need to be in Colas or some such livery for Waton.

 

If you are planning on building your own track with 2mm society code 40 rail I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Look forward to following your progress.

 

Cheers

Dave