Midland Railway in EM gauge

[Mrkirtley800]

After what seems an age, I am getting on towards putting Kirkby Malham back together..

The signals were installed on board 2, the main station board.  I had got them working and was cleaning up the track when a wayward elbow hit the down platform starter and broke the post. --- doh!

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I took the signal up and  looked at the damage.  I had snapped the post near the bottom, so instead of making another signal decided to try a repair.  I had some square brass tube  of the correct size, so made a new baseplate with a length of tube and araldited the broken post into it.

Once again installed  and got it to work, but it did not look right, so tried a vehicle with a high roof against it.  Of course, it fouled the vehicle as I knew it would -- double doh!!.

So, was it going to be a new signal after all?

I built up the ground slightly at the end of the platform, enough to raise the bracket to the correct loading gauge.

The pic shows the offending signal and the bracket on the arrival platform.  The pic also shows the bare boards, sans goods shed etc. I try to arrange for some of the buildings to 'plug in' the ground, and  this is one of them.  

 

While the layout was in pieces, I thought it might be a good idea to do some more scenic work at the rear of  board 5, the board carrying the entry to the private siding and the cross over from the yard to the up line.  The remaining piccies show what I am about, but apologies for the background being somewhat uncelubrious.  I continued the road round the corner, put another layer of ground cover and some vegetation.

The bushes were made by tearing lumps off a piece of rubberised horse hair and sticking them on with PVA.  When dry attach the foliage with cheapo hair spray. 

Sadly, I have run out of the hair spray, and Olga won't let me have any of hers.  Can't think why, some folks don't get their priorities right.  So I am waiting until we go to the supermarket to get some more.

     

Finally, while the board was still on the bench, I built up  the ground at the end of the loco yard.  Using plaster with a bit of PVA added plus some burnt umber powder paint.  You will see I overdid the paint, however it will be painted over when dry and the grass and bushes etc planted on the embankment.  The hole in the ground is for the water tower to 'plug into'.  

 

The signals on this board are worked by slow action point motors rescued from Canal Road, and are controlled by change over switches attached to the lever frame.

The last pic shows this arrangement.  Not particularly state of the art, but someone might  find it interesting.  

 

You might think it all looks a bit grimy.  You would be right, the whole thing is a mess, and I will be glad to be able to put everything together, and clean op.  Olga is tearing her hair out at my scruffy working.

Derek

Edited June 1, 2016 by Mrkirtley800

[kes]

It is looking good Derek.

[Mrkirtley800]

Eureka !!  we have movement.  Kirkby Malham is back in one piece and is up and running   --  at last.

Another couple of pics of the scenic corner against the backscene of a cloudy sky.  You can see some bare rubberised horsehair bushes  waiting for treatment.  I use, as a base, Woodlands Scenics  foliage net, which I have run out of, so the trees/bushes will have to stay in the naked state for now.

The first goods train ran into the station and I spent a happy hour or so shunting .  For the technically minded, the loco is an old K's kit.  It was given to my late friend Fred as a complete kit many years ago.  He kept the motor, wheels and frames (chassis) and gave me the body.  It now has a scratch built chassis, 80/1 gearbox and a DS 10 motor.  Ultrascale wheels for the engine, and Gibson for the tender.  I will replace the motor for a Mashima  eventually, but at the moment runs pretty well.  Power is picked up via both loco and tender wheels.  The loco is built to represent No 1785, a member of the 1698 class, built in the 1880's, with 4' 81/2" driving wheels.  It became 3177 in the 1907 renumbering.  It sports a Kirtley 2350 gallon tender.  A very visible  omission are the brake pull rods which should be outside the driving wheels.

Painted by Coachman Larry.

A few pics of the loco, arriving with the stopping goods from Skipton, on the turntable and awaiting the signal to run on to the down line from the loco yard.

Finally after the shunting session, waiting to cross over to the up line to run back to Skipton, picking up at Airton, Winterburn and Rylstone. 

In my dreams!!.

My apologies if the pics look a bit on the dark side.

Derek

[Mrkirtley800]

Thank you Simon. I seem to remember cutting off the old splashers but I made it over 35 years ago, so my memory has faded. Many of the cast kits of that vintage had to have their splashers modified, or at least, had to have metal removed from the inside to accommodate scale sized wheels.

I built a MPD 3F loco and tender at that time and remember having to replace the splashers, even though it was an etched kit.

Derek

[Andrew P]

Some cracking photos there Derek, it really WAS worth changing the Track, it looks stunning.

[Mrkirtley800]

Simon, one thing I forgot to add was that on some of my tender locos, and 3177 is one, I use split frames on the tenders. It means cutting axles in half and aralditing together in an insulating sleeve, but it is a pretty sure fire way of reliable pick ups.

My NER class C 0-6-0 picks up only via the tender and never fails. Having said that, the thing will probably run like a stuffed pig next time I use it, especially if visitors are present.

Derek

[Mrkirtley800]

My sympathies, Simon. It is fatally easy to set wheels a shade out, one way or the other, and then running is badly affected.

Regarding switch cleaner, I agree. I once dunked a whole loco chassis in it, motor and all. It never ran again, but the embarrassing bit was, it wasn't my loco.--- doh.

Derek

[Donw]

Simon, one thing I forgot to add was that on some of my tender locos, and 3177 is one, I use split frames on the tenders. It means cutting axles in half and aralditing together in an insulating sleeve, but it is a pretty sure fire way of reliable pick ups.

My NER class C 0-6-0 picks up only via the tender and never fails. Having said that, the thing will probably run like a stuffed pig next time I use it, especially if visitors are present.

Derek

 

I was thinking of trying this myself on some 0 gauge locos. I was wondering if a bit of plastruct tubing would be ok as a sleeve. There shouldn't be much stress on a tender wheel.

 

I wouldn't worry about the photos being dark they look fine to me and the layout is looking great.

Don

[kes]

Nice to see it back together again, with operating signals.  I will catch up with you soon, I have re-soldered several dodgy joints in those controllers, but I can't find any failed components so you may just have to try them out.

 

Kevin.

[Mrkirtley800]

Thank you Kevin, hope to be at the club on Wednsday.

Derek

[Mrkirtley800]

I was thinking of trying this myself on some 0 gauge locos. I was wondering if a bit of plastruct tubing would be ok as a sleeve. There shouldn't be much stress on a tender wheel.

 

I wouldn't worry about the photos being dark they look fine to me and the layout is looking great.

Don

Don,

I built an 0 gauge 2F for my son from an etched kit.  It was one from the late George Norton's range, although I bought it from Four Track Models. 

Both engine and tender are beam compensated, and pick up is from all twelve wheels.  The pick ups on the tender bear down on the treads, since in this gauge there is plenty of room for this arrangement.  It runs very well, so really, unless I wished to try out split frames, I personally,  wouldn't bother in 0 gauge.  The momentum of the engine and tender seem to negate any drag of the pick ups.

Derek

Edited June 13, 2016 by Mrkirtley800

[Donw]

Lovely Job Derek. Thanks for the suggestion.

Don

[Mrkirtley800]

Just a few more piccies of Kirkby Malham, when the first passenger came into the station after everything was re-assembled.

Pulled by a Kirtley 800 class 2-4-0.  These locos were built in the late 1860's/ early 1870's for use on the Settle Carlisle line, which was then under construction.

Kirtley died in 1872 and Johnson arrived in 1873, and immediately set about working his magic on the Kirtley engines.  My model represents one of the Kirtley/Johnson machines.

It has brought the train into the arrival (down) platform.  After a suitable interval has shunted the carriages over the crossover and drawn them into the departure side.

Then having crossed over again is stopped at the signal.  One of the pics shows the "calling on" signal pulled off to allow the engine to proceed to the loco yard, where it is coaled, watered and turned.  The GNR van is stood at the stops, having been brought in from Grassington, and awaiting shunting into the goods shed.

The last shows departure.

In the days of steam, the process of shunting coaching stock, and preparing for departure was quite a long drawn out affair, especially as the operation of screw reverse, servicing of engines  then the  creation of a vacuum.  No wonder that some railways made use of auto trains and diesel railcars to speed up the turn around.

Looking again at the pics, I must do something about the end board containing the buffer stops.  I have been thrashing around for ideas on how to create a reasonably authentic village scene, so far without any arrangement that satisfies me.

Derek

Edited June 15, 2016 by Mrkirtley800

[v8cpt]

Shouldn't a station pilot of performed the carriage shunting duties????

[Mrkirtley800]

No Chris, Kirkby Malham is really a pretty small and insignificant station, and a station pilot would be a waste of an engine and crew for relatively infrequent traffic.

[lezz01]

Hi Derek.

The 800 looks very nice mate. Is it scratch built or one of those horrible Falcon Brass alleged kits? Either way its a smashing looking engine. I tried to build one of the Falcon 700 class curved frame goods. Total desaster as the wheelbase was all wrong and I had built a chassis using Gibson frames and the splashers were out by quite a bit.

Regards Lez.Z.  

[Mrkirtley800]

Hello Lez.Z. The 800 class is scratch built, back in about 1973 . The drawing used was from J.N.Maskelyne, editor of the Model Railway News magazine. He did a whole series of drawings of different pre group locos, but all to fit on the same sized sheet of paper. The 800 class drawing worked out at something like 8.35 mm to the foot, or something like that, I can't remember exactly.

I got another of his drawings, of a 0-4-4 well tank. That was scaled at10 mm to a foot, so much easier.

In those days, getting a good reliable motor and gears was a bit of a lottery, and for the 800 I used a K' s mark 2 , the small one with Romford 40/1 gears.

The 0-4-4WT used a Triang XT60 motor (as used in their TT locos) but again with Romford 40/1 gears.

Both engines used Romford wheels.

Since then with the advent of good small motors, gearboxes, wheels and compensation they have been rebuilt considerably.

The 800 class uses an Ultrascale motor and gearbox, and Gibson wheels.

The 0-4-4 has a Mashima motor and Gibson wheels.

They weren't bad performers before, but they are much better now.

Derek

[kes]

Don,

I built an 0 gauge 2F for my son from an etched kit.  It was one from the late George Norton's range, although I bought it from Four Track Models. 

Both engine and tender are beam compensated, and pick up is from all twelve wheels.  The pick ups on the tender bear down on the treads, since in this gauge there is plenty of room for this arrangement.  It runs very well, so really, unless I wished to try out split frames, I personally,  wouldn't bother in 0 gauge.  The momentum of the engine and tender seem to negate any drag of the pick ups.

Derek

A nice job Derek.  I am building an old CCW cast white metal J50, with a rigid chassis, and back scratcher wipers, - as it is so heavy, it just irons the track out as it runs. My A4 works on the American system - the engine is live to one side and the tender live to the other, with an insulated draw bar of course.

Edited June 18, 2016 by kes

[Mrkirtley800]

CCW !!! That takes me back an awfully long way Kevin. I bought three of their 4 mm scale Midland 6 wheeled carriage kits some time in the 1950's from the Wade Lane Model Centre in Leeds. That shop, a real Mecca for modellers, is long gone. The kits were made out of wood and when built up were very heavy.

The three I got were built for me by a friend in exchange for me to scratch build a Midland 0-4-4 Johnson tank engine. Coachman Larry did the painting and lining and they did look very good. I still have them, and they must be the oldest model railway items in my possession.

Derek

[coachmann]

Derek, that Kirtley 2-4-0 would sound great with sound and there's room in the Tender. Go on, it'll add an extra element and you won't rest until they've all been fitted after that! I found the fun starts after fitting the decoder wires and speaker, as the couple of hundred CV's leave bags of options for altering the various sounds, acceleration, momentum and braking. You would also have to research to find out if your various Kirtley's and Johnson's clanked while coasting......Now there's a question you never needed to ask before! One thing that stuck in my mind after a 1975 visit to Keighley was the chattering snifter valve above the running plate on the ex. MR 4F Derby goods. I have one but have yet to find a decent sound.

Edited June 18, 2016 by coachmann

[Donw]

I don't know about the Kirtley's and Johnson's but the ex S&D 7F do you can hear the difference to a GWR engine half a mile away.

Don

[Mrkirtley800]

All very interesting stuff, but I do not have DCC. If I were a bit younger, Larry, I think I would add sound, having seen and heard your videos.

Derek

[kes]

All very interesting stuff, but I do not have DCC. If I were a bit younger, Larry, I think I would add sound, having seen and heard your videos.

Derek

Hi Derek, how about adding some speakers under the baseboard and having a steam sound generator wired to the controller? All the Midland engines have 2 cylinder beats, with the exception of the compound on starting up.

[Mrkirtley800]

Hello Kevin, perhaps it might be useful, but there are so many different sounds coming out of a steam engine, from accelarating away from a station to coasting along to coming to a stand , blowing off etc etc. The beauty of Larry's outfit is that the sounds are controlled, if that is the right expression to use, by the movement of the engine and presumably the setting of the controller.

Derek

[coachmann]

 All the Midland engines have 2 cylinder beats, with the exception of the compound on starting up.

Wrong. Only a Compounds outside cylinder exhaust to the atmosphere so the loco only ever gives 4 beats per driving wheel revolution whether the cylinders are fed by live steam on starting or exhaust steam from the middle cylinders receiver.

 

Regarding my mention of DCC sound, a good number of my friends happen to be self-made businessmen and I have never heard them cite age as a barrier to absorbing and learning about new technologies if deemed to be of use. In short Derek, we both might be physically barred from indulging in certain things at our age but our minds are still alert. 

Edited June 19, 2016 by coachmann