Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[St Enodoc]

On 28/04/2022 at 15:50, Barry O said:

Wot! No Sammy Ledgard bus???🙃

 

Baz

Too far from home, I"m afraid.

 

Today, I finished Step 11 by fitting the remaining four lever spacers. Step 12 is painting the levers, which I'd already done, so I moved on to step 13 - cutting the short locking bars to length. You have to cut 6.5 mm off each end, so that they can slide but are restrained by the locking bar guides, and some of them have to be cut into two or more sections with a 5mm gap between each section. Unlike Porthmellyn Road, where there were a number of such divided bars, St Enodoc only needed three bars cut into two sections and one cut into three.

 

Step 14 will involve fettling the short locking bars so that they slide smoothly between the long bars when they're installed in the frame. then we'll be on to Step 15, notching the tappets, which although not the most difficult step will probably take the longest time as there will be some 80 separate notches to be marked out and filed.

[St Enodoc]

BRMA National Committee meeting today (by Zoom) so no time for any lever frame action.

 

However, I have started to restore the images in this topic, working backwards from the start of the Great Hiatus. It's a tedious, rather than difficult or slow, job so I'll only be doing a few pages at a time.

 

The pre-June 2021 images are reappearing gradually of their own accord, so I'll leave those alone.

[KNP]

10 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

BRMA National Committee meeting today (by Zoom) so no time for any lever frame action.

 

However, I have started to restore the images in this topic, working backwards from the start of the Great Hiatus. It's a tedious, rather than difficult or slow, job so I'll only be doing a few pages at a time.

 

The pre-June 2021 images are reappearing gradually of their own accord, so I'll leave those alone.

 

I know the feeling, I have manged to go back 25 pages to date and it is slow and tedious, but as you said a few pages at a time and gradually those being reloaded at source should meet up with my efforts.....

[aardvark]

13 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

However, I have started to restore the images in this topic, working backwards from the start of the Great Hiatus. It's a tedious, rather than difficult or slow, job so I'll only be doing a few pages at a time.

 

I admire your, and @KNP's, dedication.

 

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, KNP said:

 

I know the feeling, I have manged to go back 25 pages to date and it is slow and tedious, but as you said a few pages at a time and gradually those being reloaded at source should meet up with my efforts.....

Thanks Kevin. I did five pages yesterday and there are about another 60 to go. I don't post as many images as you though, so about another 300 will do it.

[St Enodoc]

2 hours ago, aardvark said:

 

I admire your, and @KNP's, dedication.

 

Thanks. I wasn't sure whether to bother but already I've found myself looking back for references and of course the text is there but no images, so I've bitten the bullet. An hour or so at a time will be bearable.

[aardvark]

10 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Thanks. I wasn't sure whether to bother but already I've found myself looking back for references and of course the text is there but no images, so I've bitten the bullet. An hour or so at a time will be bearable.

 

Spurred by your example, I tried replacing a couple of images myself this afternoon, and I have to say, I'm not a big fan.  This experience only serves to further enhance the esteem with which I hold those who can be bothered.

[St Enodoc]

I woke up this morning with a sore back (settle down there...) so didn't feel like filing brass. Instead I made a list of tasks to convert 4270 to 4247 (but haven't started any) and cut some bits of rail to length for the next two points at Pentowan (but haven't filed any). I couldn't even be bothered to restore any more images here.

 

In other words, I've done two-thirds of buqqer all today as far as modelling is concerned.

[aardvark]

6 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

I've done two-thirds of buqqer all today as far as modelling is concerned.

 

That would be a normal day for us mortals.

 

PS: hope your back recovers soon: tricksy things, backses.

[Barry O]

Well.. youcould have started preparing a large airplane kit for the build line...just saying!!

 

Hope your back gets better soon!

Baz

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, Barry O said:

Hope your back gets better soon!

So do I. I'm helping Charles with Uley Junction at the Epping show in a couple of weeks:

 

https://www.eppingmodelrailway.org.au/exhibition/

[St Enodoc]

The replacement gears for 3862 arrived today. I should be able to fit them and get the loco working again before our next running session on 21/5/22. I don't think I'll be able to finish 4270/4247 but if I fit a coupling we could run it "as is".

[TrevorP1]

8 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

The replacement gears for 3862 arrived today. 

 

That's something that hadn't occurred John. Not replacement gears but 28/38XX in Cornwall. I rather like those but wasn't aware that it was allowed but obviously the tanks were so why not the tender engines. My 4206 is an excellent runner so I'm hoping that it doesn't suffer from any  gear malaise.

[St Enodoc]

14 hours ago, TrevorP1 said:

 

That's something that hadn't occurred John. Not replacement gears but 28/38XX in Cornwall. I rather like those but wasn't aware that it was allowed but obviously the tanks were so why not the tender engines. My 4206 is an excellent runner so I'm hoping that it doesn't suffer from any  gear malaise.

They weren't barred, Trevor - as far as I know that was only the Kings and 47xx - but they weren't all that common. I've only got a single photo of one in Cornwall during the 1950s, which is in "Images of Cornish Railways", showing 2843 on shed at Truro on 24/5/56. That's good enough for me!

[TrevorP1]

12 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

They weren't barred, Trevor - as far as I know that was only the Kings and 47xx - but they weren't all that common. I've only got a single photo of one in Cornwall during the 1950s, which is in "Images of Cornish Railways", showing 2843 on shed at Truro on 24/5/56. That's good enough for me!

 

Thanks John, that's good enough for me as well!

 

That's a book I'd missed. Is it one that is worth having?

[St Enodoc]

11 minutes ago, TrevorP1 said:

 

Thanks John, that's good enough for me as well!

 

That's a book I'd missed. Is it one that is worth having?

I think so. It's by Maurice Dart and consists mainly of slightly washed-out portraits of locos at various times from the 40s to the 60s, with a few even earlier than that.

 

Opening it again, I find there's also a photo of 2810 at Truro in 1947 and another of 3862 itself at Saltash in 1960. What more could you ask?

[Mulgabill]

I have done/ am doing, an exercise(ish) extracting locos allocated In / around, Bristol, Glos, Cornwall.

 

(Based on UK Rail Database listings).

 

My aim, to find suitable loco numbers for my allocation, preferably those  that were  shedded in

more than 1 area,

 

I can reveal that this (admittedly not entirely reliable), shows no 28xx/38xx as having been allocated to

Penzance, Truro, or St Blazey.

 

 

I would surmise that was because they could be rostered to work balanced turns, in /out of the duchy,

probably overnight.

 

Hope that helps

 

TONY

 

[St Enodoc]

11 minutes ago, Mulgabill said:

I have done/ am doing, an exercise(ish) extracting locos allocated In / around, Bristol, Glos, Cornwall.

 

(Based on UK Rail Database listings).

 

My aim, to find suitable loco numbers for my allocation, preferably those  that were  shedded in

more than 1 area,

 

I can reveal that this (admittedly not entirely reliable), shows no 28xx/38xx as having been allocated to

Penzance, Truro, or St Blazey.

 

 

I would surmise that was because they could be rostered to work balanced turns, in /out of the duchy,

probably overnight.

 

Hope that helps

 

TONY

 

3862 was a Laira engine in the 1950s, Tony. While most of my fleet is from Penzance, Truro and St Blazey, I do have quite a few that were based in England.

[TrevorP1]

59 minutes ago, Mulgabill said:

 

I can reveal that this (admittedly not entirely reliable), shows no 28xx/38xx as having been allocated to

Penzance, Truro, or St Blazey.

 

I would surmise that was because they could be rostered to work balanced turns, in /out of the duchy,

probably overnight.

 

 

38 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

3862 was a Laira engine in the 1950s, Tony. While most of my fleet is from Penzance, Truro and St Blazey, I do have quite a few that were based in England.

 

Excluding 'funny' engines like my A3, Deltic and 18000 all bar 2 of mine are from Laira or points west. I have a Newton Abbot Hall, plus Pendennis Castle (for a number of sentimental reasons) from Bristol. I really could use another Castle though.

 

Tony raises a good point about the 28XXs. The 4-6-0 classes were usually adequate for most work but in times of need 28s & 38s could easily work in and out of the Duchy overnight and few enthusiasts would be aware let alone be able to take photos with the cameras and film of the times. Food for thought.

[KeithMacdonald]

2 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I've only got a single photo of one in Cornwall during the 1950s, which is in "Images of Cornish Railways", showing 2843 on shed at Truro on 24/5/56

 

Here's some Laira 2800 locos that might easily have crossed the border:

 

2856

https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&id=2856&type=S&loco=2856

2875

https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&id=2875&type=S&loco=2875

2899

https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&id=2899&type=S&loco=2899

 

Even more if we include Newton Abbot.

 

Full listing here:

https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=class&id=128001&type=S&page=alloc

 

[Nick Gough]

There is a nice photo of 2839, at Bodmin Road, on a down class D goods, that features in a couple of Norman Lockett's albums.

 

Unfortunately it's a bit before your time periods, dating from August 1934.

[Chamby]

As well as BR database, for those checking out specific locomotives re: time and place, I can recommend:

 

www.shedbashuk.blogspot.com

 

 

[St Enodoc]

My back was slightly better this evening, so I spent half-an-hour on 4270/4247, removing the Hornby-Dublo couplings, that Graham used as standard, and replacing the front one (only) with a DG. I also changed the pony wheels, which for some reason were only 10.5mm diameter, for a Slaters Gibson 3' 2" set.

 

Even if I don't complete all the rest of the changes, we'll now be able to use it at the running session in three Saturdays' time.

Edited May 5, 2022 by St Enodoc
Brain f@rt

[Barry O]

After 3 days of operating Herculaneum then a trip to London  (LNER were 10 minutes early) I am afraid I can't get to 5he running session at the weekend.  Hope it goes well and pass on my regards to the operational team.

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

19 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

My back was slightly better this evening, so I spent half-an-hour on 4270/4247, removing the Hornby-Dublo couplings, that Graham used as standard, and replacing the front one (only) with a DG. I also changed the pony wheels, which for some reason were only 10.5mm diameter, for a Slaters Gibson 3' 2" set.

 

Even if I don't complete all the rest of the changes, we'll now be able to use it at the running session in three Saturdays' time.

Stupid boy! Gibson wheels of course, not Slaters. Original post corrected. I blame the extra-strength painkillers.