The Black Hat Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 Well it would certainly suit the area. Im from the North East and a strong supporter of the historical legacy and engineering brilliance that the area had. Small collierys were really common all over the South Durham coal field. Some served by small branches off the main routes or main branches in the area. Your station has the feel of somewhere quite high up in the dales, the likes of Waskerley, given it also has a shed, or maybe Wearhead. The area had small mineral quarries and companies that shared loading or colliery branches that fed onto the main network. Your station really would be quite in tune with this. The A8 is a great model, what you need is a J21 or G5, heavy power from a Q6. A BR standard 2mT or 3MT would be perfect too. Some of them featured highly in wish list polls in the last year, so stay tuned on announcements this coming year and next! I'll join you in hoping for them as if they were made, Im sure to build a layout like yours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted November 30, 2013 Author Share Posted November 30, 2013 My father was born and brought up in north east as well, and he is also a very strong supporter of the railway and its history. He lived in Evenwood as a child and tells me about his story's of how every morning you would wake up to the smell of coke coal and the sky's filled with steam and smoke from the factory's. He would gladly spend hours talking about his childhood to anyone. Sometimes you can find real NER gems on eBay but they usually sell for a very high price. I hope someone makes some NER locos very soon as we desperately need some soon. Our next exhibition is in 2 weeks so more pics shall be taken then. But we are stuck. We cannot think of a name for our layout, do you have any suggestions? Many thanks Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Black Hat Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 Evenwood.... its literally a 5 minute drive away from me, and like you my dad has told me about sights and sounds of the period he grew up in being a lad from Shildon and loved seeing the engines shunt in the yard. In truth its where my love of branch lines really stems from, prefering the action of the lesser seen engines like the J21 going to the likes of Wearhead or towards Barnard Castle and beyond, or the Q6 bringing in freight from the collieries in the area to then go onwards for the ports on the coast or teesside. Evenwood is exactly where Id place your line. Not on the upper line where the station had the service from Bishop Auckland to Barnard Castle but onto the Hagerleases branch line that runs off underneath. There you can have a station and pretend the line was a tad busier than it was for a passenger service, but it gives you room for a colliery, shed as well all with a tad bit of modellers licence. Nearby is the small hamlet of Esperley, you can have your station there to serve Cockfield before the service continued to Hagerleases to serve Butterknowle. The line istelf was little more than a long siding and Hagerleases was litterally a track into a farm almost. Having a station there and glorifying it to be a bit more like the lines to Teesdale and Weardale means your station would fit in. Putting it as Esperley also means that should you want to extend further, you can build this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 (edited) Hi David Thank you for your comment. Dad lived on swan street in Evenwood, and he remembers all the old cottages and the collierys surrounding the area, His friend lived in Evenwood station and he visited regularly, he also remembers the pub at ramshaw called "the bridge inn" And He also remembers the track being lifted at west Aucklands level crossing, a very sad day. A Q6 would be a beautiful locomotive to own in RTR, I hope someone does one very soon. We never thought about basing our station on the Hagerleases branch, sounds like a very good idea. And that viaduct would be amazing and look superb if someone modelled it in OO Gauge. Many thanks Nelson Edit: a PM has been sent about our plans to do Evenwood in OO Gauge. Edited December 1, 2013 by Nelson Jackson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markeg Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 Hi Nelson, Looks like a good plan to have a colliery on the extension. Gives your coal trains somewhere to go and for some interesting shunting. Hopefully we will see al least one of those above mentioned locos announced very soon. I have a G5, a J21 or J25 and a Q6 or Q7 at the top of my list for my NE branch of Ponteland. I did pick up a DJH Q7 built of ebay OZ for only A$71 about GBP40 a few month ago. It needed better pick ups, so I added PCB and nickel siler wire to the front and rear driving wheels, which improved running a great deal, but still is a bit noisy and not as good at slow running, crawling that is. For that price I can use it for practising my kit building skills as there also was no brakes fitted. If there is no J21 or J25 announced in the next few months I may buy a London Road models kit and have a go at building one. Keep up the good work and a few photos too. very inspiring Mark in OZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 Hi mark Thank you for your comment and kind words, hopefully Bachmann (preferably) or Hornby have something up their sleeves for 2014. The layout is currently in storage, but we have an exhibition coming up in 2 weeks time, So, will take plenty of pics then and a running video. Thanks Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 Today we set up the layout ready for the exhibition tomorrow, I will take more pics and maybe a video if I have the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelling Martin Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Looking very good. Especially like the engine shed scene as its something i would like to create on my new layout Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornbyandbf3fan Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Very nice, I'm expecting a video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 14, 2013 Author Share Posted December 14, 2013 Thank you Gary and Will. A video may appear, if I have the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 (edited) Hi all, So the Christmas exhibition (1 day event) went grand, there was a good turn out of people and the show was spread across 2 halls. Everything went fine apart from the fiddle yard track expanding due to the sudden heat of the exhibition hall. (It's normally kept in storage in the garage) So here's a couple of pics, I didn't take many, but I do have a video of the layout in operation coming up very soon. Hope you enjoy them, please comment and give your opinion, and one last thing, I apologise for any non north east locomotives appearing in these pictures. Thank you I'm sorry that the quality of these pics are poor, they were taken on a iPhone and some had to be edited and cropped. My brake van, that I scratch built got some people's attention and positive feedback about it. A sack containing parcels is being delivered to the office down the road. The carriages await in the station while locomotive L1 runs round her train. A overall view of the junction by the bridge. A 04 waits light steam in the engine shed bays. Steam roller makes it way carefully along the narrow road. LNER V3 collects some wagons from the siding. A BR standard and B1 wait their turn in the sheds. A trains spotter view of the station from the road. And lastly, the signal box, with a porter carrying some heavy boxes. During the whole 6 hour exhibition, we changed from BR to LNER 4 times to add variety, obviously not both at the same time. Comments, opinions or constructive criticism is welcomed. Next year the layout will appear 5 times on the exhibition circuit. With cultra, carrickfergus and much more. Many thanks Nelson Edited December 15, 2013 by Nelson Jackson 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twright Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 (edited) Brilliant pictures, I look forward to the video. Edited December 15, 2013 by Twright Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 Thank you Tom If all goes well, then the video will be posted up tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londontram Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 That looks lovely Nelson, I think the whole thing has just the right balance and I just love the grass it works for me and I'm wondering on an exhibition layout more hardy than static grass yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermos Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Just found this thread and I take my hat off to you. A remarkable bit of work! "More power to your elbow" as they say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 Thank you for your kind words londontram and thermos. I will pass them onto dad, the majority of the layout was built by dad (I did the ballasting and that's about it ) and it currently stands at 10ft long including fiddleyard. Once the extension is completed then it will stand at roughly 20ft long and be in a "L" shape. The new part of the layout is going to incorporate a bridge, river and maybe a farm house. I will keep of all updated, Many Thanks Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted December 15, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 15, 2013 Hi all, So the Christmas exhibition (1 day event) went grand, there was a good turn out of people and the show was spread across 2 halls. Everything went fine apart from the fiddle yard track expanding due to the sudden heat of the exhibition hall. (It's normally kept in storage in the garage) So here's a couple of pics, I didn't take many, but I do have a video of the layout in operation coming up very soon. Hope you enjoy them, please comment and give your opinion, and one last thing, I apologise for any non north east locomotives appearing in these pictures. Thank you I'm sorry that the quality of these pics are poor, they were taken on a iPhone and some had to be edited and cropped. My brake van, that I scratch built got some people's attention and positive feedback about it. image.jpg A sack containing mail is being delivered to the office down the road. image.jpg The carriages await in the station while locomotive L1 runs round her train. image.jpg A overall view of the junction by the bridge. image.jpg A 04 waits light steam in the engine shed bays. image.jpg Steam roller makes it way carefully along the narrow road. image.jpg LNER V3 collects some wagons from the siding. image.jpg A BR standard and B1 wait their turn in the sheds. image.jpg A trains spotter view of the station from the road. image.jpg And lastly, the signal box, with a porter carrying some heavy boxes. image.jpg During the whole 6 hour exhibition, we changed from BR to LNER 4 times to add variety, obviously not both at the same time. Comments, opinions or constructive criticism is welcomed. Next year the layout will appear 5 times on the exhibition circuit. With cultra, carrickfergus and much more. Many thanks Nelson The 'sack containing mail' caption is incorrect - the Post Office were responsible for conveying mails to/from stations (and for handling lLetter Mail at stations - although that looks more like a Parcel Post sack than a Letter Mail sack). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 Hi Mike Thank you for telling me, I've made the correction to the caption. Thank you Nelson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornbyandbf3fan Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 (edited) I'm wondering on an exhibition layout more hardy than static grass yes? Go over static grass with hairspray and it goes almost solid Edited December 15, 2013 by hornbyandbf3fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 Here we are, finally got around to uploading the video of this layout in action. Sorry about the poor quality, it's best viewed via the apple app or minimised. Hope you enjoy it, any comments? Please fire away. Merry Christmas and have a happy new year everyone. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twright Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Brilliant video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 Thank you Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJH Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 (edited) Great video, the quality of the video is fine. Are you intending to add an extension to the layout? Edited December 20, 2013 by AndyJH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Jackson Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 (edited) Hi Andy Thank you for your comment, yes there is an extension baseboard already built, but no track or scenery has been started yet. it will be hopefully ready for an exhibition in April next year. Thanks Nelson Edited December 20, 2013 by Nelson Jackson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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