Midland Railway in EM gauge

[Mrkirtley800]

Yes, I remember that Larry. Fred took his LNER very seriously.

Derek

[Mrkirtley800]

Are any of these coaches the ratio ones...

 

I see you can still get them here and there...  nare they any good?

 

Andy

Hello wagonbasher, yes, those carriages are ratio. When I built them I didn't know a lot about Midland coaching stock. Come to think of it, I still dont, but the ventilators over the doors were window glass in Midland days. The LMS installed the ventilators ---I think.

Derek

[teaky]

Hi Derek,

 

I have somehow managed to miss this whole thread but have spent a few hours yesterday and today looking through from the first post.

 

Inspirational !

 

I shall pay more attention from now on.

[Mrkirtley800]

Not really been doing very much over the last few weeks.  My joints. especially my left knee, has been painful, which makes operating Kirkby Malham difficult,

At one stage I feared that KM's days were numbered, and that I would not be able to go on with it.  However, having been referred to an  orthopaedic consultant, I was able to get some sort of a commitment from him.  Firstly, my dicky heart valve needs to be sorted before any joint surgery, and he is going to make representations to the cardiologist on my behalf.  So we will see.  Whatever, it looks like a fair few hospital visits in 2017.

Christmas Day was a no-go as far as our railway was concerned but I did sneak a bit of operating on Boxing Day.  My daughter and brood are coming to stay on Thursday, so it looks like an enforced rest for me, unless she and hubby take Olga and the girls out and leave me in the house.  Hoping for fine weather. Ho-hum

The bit of running I did yesterday, was the early morning (first train of the day) from Kettlewell, calling at Coniston,  Grassington and Hanlith picking up the milk, and for this turn the Class M is used as motive power.   This train runs only on Mondays, the normal milk train is usually a couple of milk vans attached to the first passenger train of the day, usually hauled by an 0-4-4 tank loco.

On this day, the milk from the farms around Airedale head, will loaded at Kirkby Malham, and the vans will be attached to the next passenger train for Leeds (Wellington), with one of the vehicles detached at Shipley Junction to be forwarded to Bradford (Market Street)

The train is made up of a L & Y six wheeled slatted milk van, and yes, before all the L&Y devotees tell me it is the wrong colour, I know.  Just haven't got around to painting and lining it.  Then we have a van similar to those used on the Somerset and Dorset.  Then come a couple of Midland fruit and milk vans.  A few mineral wagons plus a six wheeled  (20 ton) brake van completes the train.

The piccies show the train arriving at Kirkby Malham, the loco running round and finally the milk vans in the dock and awaiting loading.

Derek

[mullie]

This really is a great layout, I do hope you can keep going with it.

[Giggle pin]

Hello derek, good luck in the new year. I hope they get you sorted out.

 

I like your railway.

 

Brian

[Mrkirtley800]

Thank you for your comments fellas.

Following on from the series of pics above, another lot showing the arrival of an express passenger train, to pick up the milk vans and take them to Leeds not forgetting to drop one off at Shipley, for Bradford.

1) shows the train passing the outer home signal on the approach to Kirkby Malham. The loco is a regular on this turn, one on Mr Johnson's slim boilered 4-4-0's of the 1357 class.

2) view towards the buffers after arrival. Also shows what a mess our railway room is, even after I have cropped out the worst bit.

3) the train engine has now to propel the carriages over the outer crossover to gain the departure side of the station, then running forward, leaving the train parked just off the platform, gets back on the down line via the end crossover, and into the loco yard to be turned.

4, 5, 6, 7) once turned, coupled to the milk vans and works them onto the carriages, and propels the whole train into the departure platform on the up main line.

The last piccie shows the departing train passing the water tower.

I would like to put my pics with the captions but my 'puter doesn't want to know, and refuses to co-operate, so I would like a bit of advice please.

I do realise that all the movements I have described are pretty simple, and very mundane to many modellers, so if you find my railway boring, I apologise. I hope that the movements I have described are useful to someone.

Last week my daughter, son in law and girls came to stay. I took advantage, by getting S-I-L (Tom) to lift down the board containing the turn table for me.

For some time the main point in the goods yard (opposite the loco shed) has been the site of some engines stalling. Once the board was on my bench, cup of strong coffee at elbow, I could examine what was wrong. Found it pretty quickly. I use separate switch blades in my points, with fine 'jumper' wires linking them with the relevant stock rails. Sure enough, one of the links had broken. A quick replacement and Tom was able to replace the board and order was restored. My cranky joints do not allow me to be able to lift out sections now, although the board in question is very light in weight.

Over the next few weeks, I need to work on the end board containing the buffer stops and a bit of the village. Again a very light board but difficult for me. However, we have some very good neighbours and one of them has offered help.

 

Derek

[skipepsi]

You may see faults on your layout and stock Derek, me I am astounded by how real it looks. Take all the help you can and just keep waking up.

[Donw]

I am glad you are finding help and can keep on with the modelling. It is very sad when modellers give up because they are finding it harder to do things. At our last place Marion insisted we put in proper stairs rather than a loft ladder. However here I have been alloted ground floor space. Even better.

Enjoyed the photo story.

 

Don

[Barry O]

Derek

 

what a lot of people don't know is how well it all works. Despite my hamfistedness I spent a delightful afternooon driving trains last Easter and hope to get to see you and Olga again this year (so if you need things moving about and it can wait till then no problem)

 

As it happens I have just been given a Midland 2F to dcc.. I daren't even open the box to look at it yet...(the last one was a very old Ks Spinner with a Ks MkII motored tender drive.. that took a lot of fettling to get it to work.)

 

Barry

[Mrkirtley800]

Thanks again fellas, your good wishes are a real boon to me.

Looking forward to seeing you at Easter Barry.

I will get Olga to make some cake or flapjack or something.

Derek

[Physicsman]

Derek,

 

I NEVER tire of looking at your photos. Everything just looks RIGHT, and the cattle dock scene (2nd pic above) and platform/passenger scene (5th pic) are fantastic.

 

Great stuff!!!!

 

Jeff

[L&Y]

If I was your neighbor you'd have to kick me out of there! Beautiful inspirational modelling. Never give up. 

[Mrkirtley800]

Derek

 

what a lot of people don't know is how well it all works. Despite my hamfistedness I spent a delightful afternooon driving trains last Easter and hope to get to see you and Olga again this year (so if you need things moving about and it can wait till then no problem)

 

As it happens I have just been given a Midland 2F to dcc.. I daren't even open the box to look at it yet...(the last one was a very old Ks Spinner with a Ks MkII motored tender drive.. that took a lot of fettling to get it to work.)

 

Barry

Barry, you have probably seen these pics before, and if you have my apologies for foisting them on you again.

My mate had a K's Midland 2F kit given him. He didn't really want a Midland engine so we shared the kit. He had the wheels, frames (chassis) and motor. I had the body castings. I decided on a 2F with a Kirtley tender, so exchanged the 3250 gallon tender in the kit for one of their Kirtley jobs.

It made up into a fairly decent model, with scratch built frames and initially a K's mark 2 motor and Romford wheels and gears. This was back in the 1970's. Over the years it has acquired a better motor, gearbox and wheels. It picks up the power through both engine and tender so runs reasonably well, but a bit noisy.

The thing you need to watch with this kit is the clearances between the driving wheels and the splashers, especially in EM gauge. If I was doing it again, I would build up the splashers from nickel sheet and cut off the cast ones.

Derek

[Mrkirtley800]

As I posted the last lot of piccies, I realised I had, once again, missed off the main part of my posting.  So here is the rest.  Sorry for being such a numpty.  I will never get to grips with these computer thingies.

I wanted to show the very simple controls I use.  I said in a very early posting that if I used a centralised control panel, as I had on Canal Road, after an hour or two's operating, my joints would seize up and I wouldn't be able to move .

I also decided that there would be a minimum of electrical gubbins under the layout.  So the points are changed using small slide switches and rods under the board linking each switch with its point.  The switch contacts are used to change the polarity of the point depending on how it is set.

So, in this layout, I locate the point switches opposite the points, the section switches near the sections they control and the signal levers by their respective signals.   

Everything is colour coded, so that the switches for points or track sections on the up main (the departure line) have red labels, the down line (arrivals) are blue, the milk dock and loco yard are green and the goods yard are yellow.  In addition, the track section switches have a corresponding label on the front of the facia.

The uncoupling magnets for the Alex Jackson couplings are red push buttons, labelled A,B,C  etc   but in this case the indicators are self adhesive circles high up on the facia and opposite the uncoupling magnets.

I have been a bit lavish with the number of electro magnets and really some will not be used very much, but I had them in my spares box, so may as well use them..

It now means that I can sit on my posh chair to control the locos, but if I need to change the distant points I will have to get up and walk for a few yards.  It all seems to work for me, so I am quite a happy bunny.

Incidentally, the section switches are centre off, two way change over type, bought back in about 1965 from a place in Brighton.  They were, if my memory hasn't gone gagar, advertised as being used in Lancaster bombers.  They are so very reliable with silver contacts.  So my little railway represents a slice of history not connected with railways.

The first three pics show the controls at the main station, the last one is of Hanlith Junction, although on this last one, I have a bit more woodwork to do.

Derek.

Edited January 9, 2017 by Mrkirtley800

[Alister_G]

Nice work Derek, very simple but very effective, and keeps you on the move.

 

I do like those proper toggle switches "as used in Lancaster Bombers", I'm glad I started my working career in an era when most of the test gear and electronics still used those instead of push buttons or clickety mice!

 

There's something very satisfying about the feel of them, and the "clunk" as you switch them...

 

Cheers,

 

Al.

[Andrew P]

Evening Derek, just caught up again and thanks for some great sets of pics.

[Donw]

 I used three links for Em and now for my 0 gauge. It would be silly having the the yard points worked from a central point so local switches/levers are handy, although a banks of them for the main turnout and signals that would be worked from the box makes sense. However on my 0 gauge shunting layout I swapped the levers for tortoise motors and put the switches in a small hand held box which I taped to the back of the walkabout controller. That worked really well I could follow a train up and down while shunting but still have access to all the controls.

Don

[Mrkirtley800]

Thanks for that Don, yes as the saying goes "there is more than one way to skin a cat". That is if you want to skin a cat.

But the fund of ideas expressed on RMW is amazing.

Derek

[kes]

Thanks for that Don, yes as the saying goes "there is more than one way to skin a cat". That is if you want to skin a cat.

But the fund of ideas expressed on RMW is amazing.

Derek

Happy New Year, Derek and Olga. Don't forget if you need something like a board moving please don't hesitate to give me a call. 

 

Kevin.

[Mrkirtley800]

Thank you Kevin. Yes in a day or two. Won't be at the club tonight, I cannot walk in strong winds these days, and can't afford to be blown over, it would be disastrous.

Derek

[Mrkirtley800]

At last I have got down to a bit more actual modelling. For the past few months or so I have been playing. At least I am learning about all the little quirks I managed to build in to the layout. Board 1, containing the buffer stops and part of the village, has been taken down and balanced on my trusty bench. I want to do some sort of scenic treatment on this board. The ground work will be granite setts with a few shops, the Station Hotel and the station masters house. This board will butt up to a narrow board with a row of low relief houses, all nothing at all like the actual Kirkby Malham.

While the board was out, I took a couple of piccies along the line through the station to give some idea of the long curve of the main lines. In one, the local early morning passenger train ex Kettlewell and calling at Grassington and Hanlith with two milk vans has, just arrived. The milk at Kirkby Malham will be loaded, and the vans attached to the next through train to Leeds, for Bells Dairy. This is a weekday (not Monday) working.

My modelling operations will be a bit curtailed in the near future. I will be paying visits to the hospital for various tests etc, with four over the coming two weeks, ending up with a consultation with the cardiologist. Each visit is a round trip of over sixty miles, and bearing in mind I cannot drive myself for these visits, we are fortunate to have some good friends and family.

Derek

Edited January 21, 2017 by Mrkirtley800

[Barry O]

Hope the hospital visits go well Derek

 

Baz

[ChrisN]

Hope the hospital visits go as well as they can.  They can be exhausting in themselves so look after yourself.

 

Lovely pictures down the length of the station.

[Edwardian]

Best of luck with the hospital visits.

 

This is, IMHO, everything that a model railway should be and I am not the only one who never tires of the glimpses we get on this thread.

 

I love the North Riding feel to the layout.