Midland Railway in EM gauge

[Mrkirtley800]

Larry, here are a couple of pics of the place where I ran out of my old ballast.  You can see the difference and I think I am going to have to get the paint pot out and try to even them up a bit.  I think the new stuff will weather in and the differences will not be so obvious, but it will take time.

Hope this is of some help to you, and please excuse all the rubbish strewn about.

Derek

Edited January 15, 2016 by Mrkirtley800

[v8cpt]

Don't worry Dad it just a sabbatical from 4mm/OO!!! 

 

I see it as something to practice on a larger scale for me to make my mistakes before going back down - plus it would not be good to have those locos simply in a box or display cabinet now would it!?!

 

Plus also it gives you an excuse to tinker - when mum wanders into the garage and catches you doing something on a slightly larger scale for us! ;)

[coachmann]

Your mix of grey and brown looks very effective. If I might add, I also like the older faded ballast. Some experimentation on my part is called for before track laying starts once again in a couple of months time. Thanks for your help Derek.

[Andrew P]

The pics above do look good Derek, and Al's treatment of your stunning low level shot had me looking twice.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Andrew P

[N15class]

A good excuse for the Ballast train in the siding with the gang still working on the line, save lots of matching in.

[Mrkirtley800]

Thank you for your comments fellas.

One more entry on this thread for a little while.

I have been beavering away on the dry stone walling along the front of the layout, and having done about a third of it, thought to do a bit of scenic work by way of a change.

So board 5, has now had some vegetation added together a stunted tree.

The road leading to the bridge is being worked on, but needs a bit of finishing to allow it to blend in.  The level ground at the bottom of the embankment also needs some work and this will be done when I remove board 4 (the one carrying the turn table).

I want the water tower to be sunk in the ground slightly, to get rid of the black line around the base.

Board 4 will need quite a lot of ground work to bring the level up to that of the turn table paving and to blend in the loco shed.

Meanwhile some operation is continuing, and the pics show a N.E.R. Class U 0-6-2 on the stopping goods to Leyburn Junction, via Grassington.  It is waiting for clearance for the main line from the long loop, having been on shunting duties at Kirkby Malham.

The loco was scratch built for a friend, who decided he didn't want it.  So I kept it since it is a very reliable and steady runner.  I used to have a small shunting layout, no buildings or scenery, to demonstrate the Alex Jackson couplings.  It was taken to one or two shows and I allowed any of the spectators to have a go. Surprisingly few took up the offer.  Those who did, often young lads, didn't want to give up when the time came to leave.  Thought world war 3 was about to break out at times when mum and dad decided it was time to leave.

This engine was used extensively on these operations.

Derek

[Barry O]

Excellent work Derek

[Mrkirtley800]

Could not resist having a play today.  While Olga was busy with the tennis, I sneaked into the railway.

The fact is, in one or two places, reliability is a bit low, so the only way to sort it is by doing some operating and at the same time pin pointing the dodgy bits.

Because of the operation of the law of sod, things ran pretty well.  However, one fault occurred quite often,  and that was a sudden coming to a halt of a train.  It seemed to happen anywhere, so I concluded it must be dirty track and wheels or a short circuit.

Then the penny dropped.  On one occasion when I had an unforeseen halt, I moved the lead between the controller and the layout.  The loco leapt into life.  It would seem the multi pin plug/socket was at fault.

Now that I knew that, the running was not too bad.

A few pics of some of the shunting operations, by a Kirtley goods in the new, experimental (for 1908) plain black livery.  This originated as a very old Jidenco kit, which took a lot of building.

In one of the pics, having brought in a stopping goods, it has shunted a  L&Y six wheeled milk van into the milk siding  This vehicle will be attached to the next passenger train out.  For all you L&Y experts, I realise it is the wrong colour, and should be two shades of brown.  I will get around to correcting it one day.

Then I spent an hour or more just making up a train and shunting wagons about.  I have not yet got power to the electro magnets to allow operation of the Alex Jackson couplings, so it was 'hand from the sky' uncoupling.  Fun though.

Derek

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Lovely photos of a lovely layout...

 

Between you, Ben Alder, Westerner and Coachmann my resistance to building a steam era BLT is weakening rapidly....

 

Edited January 24, 2016 by Dr Gerbil-Fritters

[coachmann]

Go for it Mr.Gerbil. 

[Mrkirtley800]

What I had also meant to say, the gaps between the baseboards will be filled as will those around the bases of the buildings. The baseboards, being old, don't fit together too well. I should have made new boards but of course I economise, then regret it.

Finally there will be some men on the milk dock. I seem to have lost my railway staff in all the alterations. I will, no doubt, find them when I have bought some new figures.

Derek

[Buhar]

Fun though.

Derek

I knew there was a reason for doing this model railway lark.  Thanks for reminding me.

[Mrkirtley800]

Lovely photos of a lovely layout...

 

Between you, Ben Alder, Westerner and Coachmann my resistance to building a steam era BLT is weakening rapidly....

 

Thank you DrGF that is praise indeed

Derek

[Mrkirtley800]

Just continuing on from the last posting. the Kirtley goods has been turned and is seen leaving the yard at Kirkby Malham South, to gain the up line.  It will call to pick up vehicles at Winterburn, Airton and Rylstone before reaching Skipton, then take the evening goods to Bradford before returning to Manningham Shed.

Meanwhile on the down line a Kirtley 800 class has brought in a late afternoon local passenger, and the engine is being turned.  This train will stop at Rylstone before taking the curve at Threapland Junction to get on to the Skipton - Ilkley line at Bolton Junction, stopping at Addingham, Ilkley, Guisley before reaching Leeds (Wellington).

While all this is going on, two locals seem oblivious to the activity as they cross the railway.

This is the kind of operation I hope to build in to the timetable when I get around to creating it. and this sort of BLT can accommodate the fanciful workings I have in mind.  However, anyone knowing the area to the north of Skipton will realise the liberties I have taken with the local geography, and for which, I offer no apology.

Derek

Edited January 25, 2016 by Mrkirtley800

[Andrew P]

Very nice Derek, some superb modelling.

[coachmann]

One of your shots brings back memories of looking down on the turntable at Chinley. Like you Derek, I used to feel nostalgia for pre-grouping days, but now I feel nostalgic about the later 1950's.

Edited January 25, 2016 by coachmann

[Andrew P]

One of your shots brings back memories of looking down on the turntable at Chinley. Like you Derek, I used to feel nostalgia for pre-grouping days, but now I feel nostalgic about the later 1950's.

I just feel Nostalgic.      FULL STOP.

[Jock67B]

Morning Derek,

That image of the bridge, overgrown roadway and stone walls is absolutely beautiful, made the more so by the two characters 'putting the world to rights'!

Well done as usual,

Kind regards,

Jock.

[Mrkirtley800]

Hello Jock, nice to see you back on RMW. Hope you are feeling a little better.

Just been listening to Stephen Hawkin delivering a Royal Institution Lecture. What a man. It seems he is able to laugh at his condition, and that keeps him going. Just simply incredible.

Derek

[Mrkirtley800]

Here is a pic of the bridge at the end of the line, on the old Kirkby Malham of the late 1980's.

The figure on the right of the pair is from the old Airfix 'Wagon Train' set and originally was carrying a rifle in the crook of his arm.

The other figure was from my early model railway days, years ago.  No idea where it came from.  I like this little scene so much that I decided to try and reproduce it on the present layout.

I have posted this before on RMW, so my apologies if you have already seen it.

The pic was taken at the Shipley Show in about 1990.  Happy days!!.

Derek

[islandbridgejct]

I've just been going back over the photos on the past few pages. The sheer beauty of this railway takes my breath away. I love the balance you have achieved between the bright greens of the countryside and the muted red of the locos and rolling stock. And the light tones of the track and buildings and the majestic skies mean that everything looks right together. The layout is a true work of art and an inspiration.

 

Alan

[Mrkirtley800]

Thank you very much islandbridgejct, every thing I do is merely by trial and error. Having spent a lot of time in the area I am trying to portray, I have some idea of the colours etc. although I don't particularly enjoy scenic work. I am more into building of the actual railway, track, points, stock etc.

However, it is gratifying to know that it gives some of my fellow modellers some pleasure, but I do rely very much on RMW for inspiration.

Derek

Edited January 29, 2016 by Mrkirtley800

[Mrkirtley800]

Kirkby Malham has been absent for some time due to the layout being dismantled.  I took board 4 - the one with the turn table - out to work on.  This is so I can sit down with the board perched on the bench.  The idea was to add some ground cover, using plaster,  and sort out a rail joint on the adjoining board.  Also the turn table was a bit iffy when it came to running a loco on to it.  If you remember,  power is picked up from the rail running around the well, and with ever increasing frequency the loco would stall, and have to go to the indignity of the big hand from the sky pushing it.

The various jobs have taken longer than anticipated, due mainly to the cold weather.  Anyway, all is done and everything back in place, although I am not happy with the ground treatment.  It needs some more building up to bed in the loco shed.  The enginemans bothy is now stuck and bedded in, so a bit more plaster around the shed will be done in situ.  I need to paint the ground as well, board 4 looks a bit yucky and will be repainted to match the adjacent board.  But I must do something about the ill-fitting boards.  The joints between the boards seem to be getting wider.  However, when all is done and dusted the gaps will be filled with plaster, although that is some way off yet.

The turn table was fitted with new sliding pick ups and in addition, I put scrapers on the four carrying wheels.  It now works as it should and engines run on and off the table as they should. 

The faulty rail joint was really due to my own carelessness and was fairly easily tweaked.  Of course, I should have done it properly in the first place.

The whole thing was re-assembled today and tested with some traffic movements.

The slim boilered 4-4-0 originated as a very early Ratio kit, with moulded handrails etc.  I threw away the motor, wheels, and scratch built the main frames (chassis).  I tried a whole series of motors in it over several years without a lot of success.  It nearly broke my heart.

Eventually I installed a home made tender drive.  It was a vast improvement but a bit noisy and the driven tender wheels slipped quite a lot.

So, in addition to the tender drive, I put a motor and gearbox in the loco as well.  A bit lavish, perhaps, but it works superbly.  Obviously, the two drives need to be matched up, and it is still a bit noisy.

Well here she is on a Skipton local.

The Kirtley goods is an old stalwart.  Olga bought me the kit in 1965, so it is knocking 50 years old.  Makes me feel old, but then, perhaps I am.

Derek

 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Midland small engine policy always meant you had to have two engines on a train - you've just managed to fit them into one loco!

[Mrkirtley800]

The main lines to Skipton are now working reasonably well with some reliability, so today I have turned my attention to the Grassington line.  It worked OK from the 'off'.  Apart from dirty track problems, trains ran.

I used, mainly, the NER C class 0-6-0 on a stopping goods.

The loco is a modified NuCast kit, using, I believe although can't fully remember, a DS10 motor and an 80-1 gearbox.  The loco is beam compensated and the pick up is via the tender, using split axles.  It has always been a most reliable runner and was my co-operators favourite shunting engine when exhibiting Kirkby Malham mark 1 back in the 1980's, and that aggravated me as it was supposed to be a Midland layout.

Here are some pics of the NER goods train in action.

Now, I shall probably disappear again to do a bit of scenic work.

Derek