Les1952

Many thanks for this- I have pictures of the Covhops at Billingham so know about the Southern route- I'm still trying to work out where the stuff from Fulwell and hawthorn quarries went, and in what sort of wagons, though the tarps give a good looking train that looks the part. I may not be able to afford a rake of Covhops in any case as I'm getting together the bits for another new layout at the moment (German again and in a different time period to Furtwangen Ost). I am an NERA member and have the line diagram- but I'll get a copy of tyhe freight train diagrams as that should confirm the presence or absence of lime and/or sulphate traffic. All the very best Les

Colliery Track lifted and replaced I've finally got the defective point on the colliery lifted, and also replaced the one before it (the king point). The broken point didn't come up in one piece. Pictures show the new points in place but no scenic repairs done yet. The industrial nature of the colliery track is shown well in the second picture- it does run properly and trains lurch prototypically as they pass through. Good news is that there isn't a short any more. Bad news is that there isn't any power to the king point at the moment- job for tomorrow. Les

Update The grass is now completely relaid and the layout has had its dust cover put over it until I've got the trackwork on Hawthorn Dene finished. I'll re-do the overhead and replace the switch before the end of November, hopefully. Les

We're on the old RAF Newton site- the "old" clubroom we're vacating is the former chapel. This is due for demolition for new housing. One of the hangars is opposite the new clubroom and our building is in a designated buffer zone of light commerce between the houses and the hangars. It looks as if we are sharing the building with the police dog unit and training school, and with the ghurka security guards. Who is in the other parts of the building we've yet to discover. All the very best Les

A tale of two rooms this week. In the old room, Trevor, Alf and Geoff have been looking at buildings from Trevor's collection to see what would fit where on the layout. Close-up of the row on the bank top, posed in the wrong place so the sun is in the right direction.. The scrap yard will be at the end of a new lane along the front of the layout. A row of older cottages at the front of the layout, and a woodyard against the endscene, both to be bedded in. The row of houses from one of Trevor's competition pieces will be placed in Top Valley Market, with the row from the first picture in its own place behind. Meanwhile at the new clubroom certain things have happened, and others not...... The pile of industrial fridges and freezers dumped in front of the door hasn't been moved. However a gang has moved the left-hand row since the picture was taken. A hanging power point is still hanging.... The wall between us and the unit next door is now all-but finished. There will be another work session tomorrow with mops, buckets, floor paint and tile sealant to get the floor on its way to sorted. Much to do. Les

Looking at the plan- right at the bottom is the line between the crossover and the lower branch of the Y-point redundant? All the very best Les

A little more progress on the move. We've got the dividing wall between us and the next-door tenants all-but finished and a lot of scraping done on the ceiling. Quite a few floor tiles removed so an area needs some floor paint and the walls in places could do with a lick of paint. The second half of the ex-office wall in place with glazing happening. The first sheet of board for the studding wall between the two ends now in place. The door will have a pair of bolts on our side to make it a fire exit. Scraping the flaking paint off the end of the room to be used by the OO-gauge section. Our corner (as decided by Trevor). Lamps need replacing but this end of the room will be shared between the three N-gauge projects. Much still to do- we can't move in until a load of industrial fridges are removed from outside the main door. All the very best Les

Very many thanks for the comments, gents. The setting for the layout is "somewhere South of the viaduct and probably North of the more modern Easington Colliery" ie a fictional location with a flavor of the real area. With the half of the white steps modelled being about 200 scale feet from the Easington Colliery underbridge (which is modelled the opposite way round to the prototype) and an aerial flight that is more Blackhall than Easington if the truth were told, you can tell I've lifted features to give an impression rather than doing a full prototype location. I just hadn't enough space to do even one end of the real Easington Colliery and in any case I was scuppered when I couldn't manage to actually buy the etched brass pithead gear I'd originally planned. Still, it has had good comments at Grantham, and attracted one of the magazines' scouts (hence the photographer and article- publication next Summer.) Now, is there an exhibition manager in the North East with a show next autumn who wants a DCC N-gauge NE region layout that comes complete with a free magazine plug for his show? The feelers I have out take me East and South if anything comes of them and the only confirmed shows are in Nottighamshire and Leicestershire at present. All the very best Les edited for grammar rather than the usual spelling......

A small addition. At Aldershot show earlier this month I got a pack of farm animals to share between Furtwangen Ost and Hawthorn Dene, and a pack of shrub tubs to use in Furtwangen's tram station. First out of the pack were a pair of pigs, added to Mr Rose's pigsty, and a dog that looks like a bear, put on Furtwangen with the hurdy-gurdy player. Two of the shrub tubs had distinctly fewer flowers than the others, so the most herbal one has gone to Mr Rose's allotment- there is a goat to go in here so he will need to keep the herbs beyond the end of the goat tether. The more flowery of the two has gone in Mrs Her-next-door's back yard at No.2 Lilliput Cottages. Large flower pots did exist in 1960, my aunt had one in her back yard in Darlington. Only two for the whole layout, though. There are also four more good bikes to share between the two layouts, and HD is due to have a motorcycle parked somewhere, probably near the colliery workshops. Now I've almost finished the repairs to Furtwangen I can get on doing the colliery pointwork in a week or so. Pics when I get started. It may be delayed a bit if Bingham's clubroom move is delayed any more. All the very best Les Edited because in a fit of amnesia I forgot which allotment I'd added to...

Mostly re-grassed I've had a good weekend working on the layout, and have got most of the grass relaid at the incline bottom. These are the two ends of the loop- just a little more to do at the incline end. I've managed to match the grass matting rather better than last time, so the colour is better. At the front of the tram stop the infill wasn't going to go back as the track itself seems just a little wider. I've turned the infill upside-down and made it into a flowery border. There are also seven shrub tubs in the middle of the tram station. I'll probably put two advertising boards in there as well, to break up the line between the tracks. This week is curtailed by working on the clubroom, so not a lot will be done on Furtwangen. Once the clubroom move is done I can get on with the repairs to Hawthorn Dene. All the very best Les

Addition and enhancements Still working slowly at restoring scenery- some of the bits for FO have found their way to Hawthorn Dene as well. New addition to stock- From Rails via eBay- cheap(ish) because it had a broken pantograph. Now with a single-arm pantograph off a Taurus body in the scrap pile. It has a 6-pin interface, which means it will work on the new layout when made (more suitable for late seventies than current). The new poles are a result of viewing one of the fuhrerstandfahrt videos on YouTube- or rather a series of them. Freiburg tramways now have something I'd not seen on my visits there- on the grassed reservation sections they've allowed vegetation to grow up the tramway masts, which makes them look a lot more environmentally friendly. So- nothing ventured- all of the poles on the grass track now have vegetation- which makes the tramway look even more different to the usual way of doing things. The removed railway catenery masts will be resued on the new layout- which is getting further through the planning stage. New pic of a bit from two years back- a close-up of the loading dock fence, which gets appreciative comments at shows, usually from the fairer sex. Must get on- more grass to do- and fingers to separate again afterwards...... Les

A little more progress and starting the move. Jim has been working on the rock faces- this is the one above Geoff's Top Valley tunnel portal. Last week we spent a great deal of time discussing exactly where the roads were going to be on Rise Park Estate- or the little ficticious corner that reaches the modelled area. As a result I went in on Thursday evening last week and painted in where they were going to be- it helps make more sense of them. The showhome is on the site of the detatched house here- though it isn't the one standing there, which Alf has decided is too tall (reminds me of an old director who would send chorus members to the back row- "too tall, too tall, too tall....." as she went down the line). The terrace at the back is just showing where the house backs for the second row will be. Today was the first day of getting the new clubroom ready- the space in the new building has been divided into three, one of which has been separated off by building a brick wall. We're using internal wall panels that had created two offices in "our" space to make a new wall to divide us off from the other user of the bigger space- we think that is Notts Police, but aren't yet sure on that. Here Jeff (who did this sort of thing professionally) is securing one panel of the partition to the concrete ceiling beam that delineates our territory. Rather than shorten the panels to fit under the beam they're being fastened to the side. Some panels are too short. These are supported by those either side. The top may be finished off with plywood. Each panel has a window in it- BMRS Sectetary Martin and I managed to work out how to put the glass back into the first panel - gloves tomorrow so we can do the rest. View of what we have achieved so far- not bad for a small group of over-sixties in three hours. This is seen from the other tenant's side of the wall. The windows will either be painted or made reflective before we finish. Tomorrow dismantling the second office and making the other end of the internal wall. The gap in the middle will be done with studding. Knackered..... Les

NEWSFLASH! Hawthorn Dene has been invited to Nottingham East Midlands Model Railway Exhibition on 21st and 22nd March 2015. I've also finished and sent off the magazine article I was asked to write to go with the professional photoshoot. More details later. Added to that Howard Staniforth has asked me to operate Armathwaite for him on March 7/8 at Mansfield- I can't have done too badly at Aldershot. All the very best Les

Trams running again.... OK, as promised, a blow-by-blow set of photos showing getting the track back down... Firstly the other end of the new Tomix track connector. This was cut off leaving... ... bare wires. These in turn were passed through ... ... a new pair of holes (one for each track) drilled through the town sub-board and the main baseboard. The smaler hole here was the foundation for the tramway mast mid-loop. As the wires aren't long enough to reach the tag strip the old power feeds are connected to they were soldered to another tag strip nearby and the shortened old feeds used to connect to this from the main tag board for the tramway. This was done after the track was down. Very quickly it became obvious that the old track wasn't going to connect to the straight at the archway end of the loop due to a bit of solder on the rail end that had been needed to get some electrical connection to the tram stop. This dodgy rail had to come out and be replaced with a new one. The dodgy rail replaced. At this time the rails-in-street were still unconnected at the far end. Next the opposite end of each line in turn was connected clear of the board and sprung back into place. The front one had to be done twice as I managed to pull the connector off the underside of the track first time. The trackwork sprung back into place- not glued down in case any connections need re-doing (which one did, see above). The new feeds were soldered to the old at this point in the sequence and a test tram run to make sure the whole thing works Test tram doing its duty. One side-effect is that with the point to the depot working and the depot wired up (which it always has been) trams can now run into the depot for the first time- just as well the interior is detailed as there won't always be a tram blocking the view..... Lastly, off the workbench comes a new addition. This was bought from Paul Martin's estate at Aldershot show last weekend, as a non-runner needing repair and TLC. Having got the motor retaining clips bent back into shape it runs, but slips even when running light-engine. The rest of the repair basically is sourcing a new set of traction tyres and working out how to fit them. The TLC will involve cleaning and re-oiling it while the mechanism is in bits for the new tyres. Must dash- Bingham MRC's clubroom move now has a definite date, and I need to go and box up bits belonging to the Rise Park group. All the very best Les

I think luck will play a part- I'm using short pieces to give me as much flexibility as possible. A blow-by-blow account to follow when I manage it.... Les

Repairs started Track lifting to get at the non-working point has taken place. Useful bits are now in a box to be put back- and some shrub tubs put safely with them. This is the reason the point didn't work. The wire has been pulled off the point mechanism. Fortunately the point itself is undamaged. the devastation after the track was lifted. The lifted point has replaced the dead one as the point for the shed. Connected to that motor the point throws, which is more than its predecessor did. The new points more or less in place. I've got new track for the tram stop. This is the underside showing the power connector clip it comes with. A decent connection with no soldering should mean the trams have a better run into the stop. More work to do tomorrow. Les

I managed a very close look at them while chatting late on Sunday afternoon. To be brutally honest, I know a lot of people who would willingly amputate their own right arms to get an NER 0-4-4T even 75% as good as this O2. As it is, they're gnawing their fingernails almost to the wrist waiting for someone to anounce ANY NER loco beyond the Q6... The prototypes are truly stunning. Like a very large number of modellers I've talked to who DON'T model Southern I'm truly jealous of those lucky enough to have such a loco produced for them. All the very best Les

Still thinking about repairs. Not starting yet as I'm off to Aldershot show tomorrow for the weekend, driving the van for Howard Staniforth and "Armathwaite", then playing analogue trains for the public. Meanwhile I've been running in various locos, apart from 92133 in the last message. 92226 is one of the Dapol NQPs I bought last weekend- of the four I've kept this one intact, broken the worst one for parts, sold a third one to another club member for spares (for the same as I paid for it) and put the fourth one on ebay as "spares or repair" making sure bidders see clearly how much it cost me. This one has a paint smudge on the boiler side, just where I'm likely to weather it with heavy limescale. It also has an aversion to 10.5 inch curves, but is happy on the outside line for now. It may eventually become spare parts but we'll see. Behind is 118 008-2, the third of the locos for the next layout, provisionally titled "Furtwangen 2", though it won't stay called that.... Amazing the local inhabitants by trundling round and round the layout despite there being no overhead- it is DCC fitted, which Furtwangen isn't, hence running in through County Durham rather than Baden-Wurttemberg. Must pack.. Les

Doctor now doctored... On the second pic he looks as if he's standing in something nasty, but that can't be seen by the punters. All the very best Les

I'VE JUST REPLACED DOCTOR WHO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . on the roof of the brewery, that is. However, the new one will need a touch of black adding as there is too much white shirt showing. The old one has gone in the spare people box to reappear on another layout somewhere- he isn't really missing a foot, that just shows he was only attached to the board by one leg. All the very best Les

Thinking about repairs etc... Firstly the good news. A trip to Dapol's open day has yielded enough 9F spares to put all of my non-runners and dodgy runners back into good health. 92133 has now had a new front pony and centring spring from an NQP- the other dead one 92050 will get a new body with a straight cab at some time in the near future, but in the mean time has bits transplanted from an NQP to ghet it into service again. Looking at the bits that need replacing- these two points need lifting and replacing with new insulation to get rid of the short. I also need a new feed putting in here- which will be fun as it is underneath the aerial flight. All the very best Les

I found an efficient way to keep a railway shed warm in the winter (and keep the other half happier at the same time) is to put a small chest freezer in one corner- last winter I didn't need the main heater overnight once. It also gives a useful clear surface to park things where paint is drying or glue setting. A half-height cupboard freezer under a bench or high-level cupboard might have the same effect I think. All the very best Les

End of September update Still no news on the clubroom so modelling goes on apace. Jim and I have got the three points wired in- ready to test them one Thursday evening in October. Last to be done was the electric pencil, a banana plug found in my loft. The wire to it has since been shortened a bit to avoid it derailing trains below. Rise Park Estate is being built. Alf's showhouse is tried for size before another layer of plaster is applied to the ground. There will be a row of five basically complete houses here and more at footings or lower floor window height beyond them, with pegs marking where the next lot will go, and trenches etc for their utilities. All the very best Les

Looking through the Industrial Railway Society Durham handbooks there was an ex-Taff Vale (via the WD) 0-6-2T, no.67 GORDON, which went off for preservation in the National Collection- one of two Taff Vale 0-6-2Ts preserved, the other being No.52 from the Lambton system. It was the only South Hetton Coal Co loco that survived long enough to shunt at the Hawthorn Combined Mine when it opened. The other beast that survived at South Hetton with flattish tanks (but round on the top) was SHCC No.10, which was condemned in 1947, though allocated no.70. It was a long-boiler 0-6-0 saddletank built in 1857 (reputedly) by Sharp Stewart as an 0-6-0 tender engine- the exact date isn't quite certain but it was originally London & North Western Railway 408 BOOTH. The uncertainty is due to LNWR lists not matching other contemporary records. It was sold in July 1874 to Chatterley Whitfield Collieries Ltd in Staffordshire, having been rebuilt by the LNWR as an 0-6-0ST in 1870. It acquired the name WHITFIELD at this time, which it kept at South Hetton. Sold on to a dealer in 1904 who rebuilt it and sold it to South Hetton Coal Co in 1907. The NCB decided it was worn out and laid it aside for scrap. There were two ex-GWR matchboxes in County Durham- these were on the Pontop & Jarrow Railway at Springwell loco shed, though they were Barry Railway saddletanks rebuilt by the GWR. There were a few of that type in Northumberland also. No "proper" GWR pannier tank made it to the North East- the GWR locos that did were a result of non-standard locos being offloaded to dealers very cheaply at the end of the twenties after the GWR had conned the Government into buying them 200 new 57xx pannier tanks they really didn't need........ I've two of Dave Jones's WD saddletanks on order when they come out- one can become GAMMA or DELTA in blue, and the other may remain black with an unused number- for some reason 70 appears to have remained blank after the old long-boiler engine was scrapped. I know neither GAMMA nor DELTA reached Easington, but GAMMA got to Vane Tempest and DELTA finished up at Blackhall, and the line is a "might have been". Dave's Hudswell-Clarke saddletank had only one example in the Durham coalfield, an un-numbered one at Boldon known as Boldon No.1513, which lasted to the end of 1959. Another loco transferred to Hawhorn Dene. All the very best Les

Layout photographed. The raw images look good. Mr Simon's O1 looked good in its photo. Also a view I'd not thought of- a J25 passing under the safety netting taken broadside-on under the netting. Photoshoot took five hours...... Must have another look at South Hetton's stocklist. I thought their ex-GW loco was an 0-6-2T. All the very best Les