Warspite

Paul Wow, you are good, some really excellent research material there. In 7mm, I have a number of the Peco 27T tippler kits and the ABS 26T tippler kits. The Peco kit looks pretty close to either diagram 1/180 or 1/181 with correct heavy duty 4 shoe brake gear and RCH buffers. It has the 9’ wheelbase and the higher 8’ 9” body side. I need to finish the lettering and wagon number and add some more variety to the weathering. The ABS kit represents the later diagram 1/184 26T tippler with 10’ wheelbase and the lower 8’ 5” body side with roller bearings and heavy duty buffers. I have added tie bars to the one ABS kit I have built although I know many of the unfitted ones didn’t have them so I may remove them. I need to take a photo of the finished model. Both kits represent unfitted tipplers. I have enough kits to make up 2 rakes of 5 tipplers each with the 27T tipplers predominating as per the prototype in the early 1960s. As you have said, the tipplers are a fascinating subject in themselves and the weathering possibilities are endless! Stephen P.S. Sorry, I didn't mean to hi-jack your thread with 7mm tipplers!

Those of you who, like me, have a passion for East Midlands ironstone railways will be delighted to know that Julian Peters has released a DVD version of his father’s 1988 VHS release “Ironstone Lines of the East Midlands” (Volume 6 of "The Ivo Peters Collection"). Ever since I took an interest in these railways a few years ago, I have been trying to get a copy of the VHS tape after seeing it on YT (since taken down). I tried charity shops, market stalls, second hand bookshops, all to no avail and had practically given up ever seeing it again. Over those years, I had regularly checked out the Wolverton Rail website as they had listed the VHS version as being ‘no longer available’ in the hope that a DVD version may eventually be released. I hadn’t checked for some time, but a couple of weeks ago, I went onto the website and there was the DVD version, released in December! My DVD arrived last week. I know a number on here already have the VHS version but for those who haven’t seen it, I think it is superb. I sense it captures so much of the feel and atmosphere of the ironstone railways, my favourites being Storefield and Cranford, representing a couple of the smaller railways. I understand Wolverton Rail is the official distributor of the “Ivo Peters Collection” series. I have no connection with them except being a very satisfied customer. Stephen

Paul I'm really impressed with what you are doing here. It's great to see another ironstone layout and puts my decidedly sluggish efforts in 7mm to shame. You’re absolutely right to keep track to the minimum. I have tried to do the same with my developing layout but you have the advantage of a higher track to space ratio. I like the idea of the gauntlet track and its looking great. I was intending to include one with my weighbridge but I'm not sure I've got the space and certainly not the skills to make a working one. However, I do like the inspection platform. I'm sure you've seen it but Eric Tonks has a photo of the one at Buckminster which (helpfully for us) is right next to the weighbridge. Yours looks spot on to the Harlaxton one. Nice work! Really looking forward to following your layout build. Stephen

The Ruston sounds great. I think the background scrapyard sound also works really well and adds an extra dimension to the scene. Just wondering what I can use as background sound to an ironstone yard. Probably just Paul Chetter's birdsong and some distant quarry sounds ... Stephen

Just finished catching up with this thread. Absolutely lovely work, especially the attention to detail. And as for those gorgeous Rustons ... Keep the pictures coming. Stephen

I'm delighted it was my 'Minimum Space Layout' from 2011 (!) that got you started in 7mm. I was inspired (and continue to be) by some of the superb 7mm modellers on here. Your weathering is very convincing and I just love what you have done to the planked van. The corrosion on both the van and the 16T mineral wagon is particularly effective. Keep up the great work. Any thoughts on a layout plan yet? Stephen

Thanks Giles and to everybody who has shown their support since I posted my update. Things are improving slowly and I’m trying to restore muscle wastage with leg exercises etc. I would like to get on with some modelling, perhaps kit building but need to be careful about using adhesives which may affect my respiratory issues. At least layout planning only involves sitting at the PC! Stephen

As I haven’t posted on this thread for eight months, I feel some sort of explanation is called for. In case anybody wondered, my planned quarry layout will still happen although, for a variety of reasons, progress has been non-existent in that eight months. Just to recap, after our house extension project was finished, SWMBO allocated me a space in our new shared study for a layout board measuring 3650mm x 900mm. However, as everybody knows, model railways and their associated paraphernalia create a lot of storage demands. Stock, track, scenic stuff, tools and bits and pieces not to mention many years of magazines all need space. Luckily, my wife had for some time been thinking of putting our garage to better use. We are fortunate to have a double garage but this was full of ‘things we might need in the future.’ SWMBO says it was at least half full of miscellaneous railway ‘stuff’ (the current car has never had a home there). The garage was built as double length rather than double width so we decided to divide it equally so there was still space to park a medium sized car in the front half if needed. After we had cleared everything out except for the ‘essentials’ left in the front half, we had a fire-proof dividing wall built between the two halves, a new insulated ceiling, window installed, all walls and floor insulated and valences fitted complete with hidden lighting . It already had some nice glazed double doors recycled from our old conservatory. When everything was dry and the walls, woodwork and valences painted, we put down carpet tiles. To be truthful, my wife shamed me by taking on that task with great enthusiasm and made a fantastic job of it! The dimensions of the new room are 4700mm x 2380mm (approx. 15’ 5” x 7’ 10”) with a width of 700mm for the main board and 600mm for the other. With hindsight, I had realised that the 900mm width of the layout in the study was too much, especially with a rail height of 1420mm. I’ve therefore cut the study boards back to 700mm as well and this has made more space for moving around, important when sharing a space, and also reduced the risk of banging heads when opening the cupboards underneath! The work on the garage was completed by the end of September last year. However, my part of the deal for taking over the new railway room was that I needed to sort out (in some sort of order) years of accumulating model railway stock of various scales and origins. There was also the not so small matter of many years of railway and model railway magazines to deal with. All this is taking a long time. Non-railway interests, holidays and life in general have also meant that there has been no time for the layout or anything much else railway related, including posting on here. At the end of January, I was determined to make a fresh start on the quarry layout regardless of life’s other interruptions. Unfortunately, this ‘new start’ coincided with me going down with Type A ‘flu and pneumonia. I ended up in hospital for two weeks with the first week in Intensive Care. I was on oxygen to assist my breathing and on IV antibiotics and ended up losing a stone in weight. I’ve been home now for nearly three weeks and have just finished another course of antibiotics as there is still some residual chest infection. So much for the ‘fresh start’! At least I now feel well enough to sit at the computer and start thinking about layout designs again, particularly with the new railway room giving me an opportunity to expand the quarry layout or indeed consider other options.

Jim I thought I recognised some of these pictures. The last three photos, the FP7A to the left of the station building, the wide landscape and the last one with a wider view of the station are all by Nicholas Morant, CP's renowned official photographer. The others may also be by Morant. These three photos are in J.F. Garden's book "Nicholas Morant's Canadian Pacific", with the FP7A one in colour. The first part of its caption says: "In the fall of 1951, freight No. 85 approaches Banff station, slowing down to pick up train orders. With FP7A No. 4033 leading, Morant photographed the operator about to pass train orders to the crew using a train order hoop ...". Morant took the landscape at Massive (west of Banff) "... class T1b "Selkirk" No. 5929 has Train No. 7, the westbound Montreal section of The Dominion in tow ...". The caption for the last photo starts: "On a summer day in 1947, Morant made a photograph of Train No. 7, the Montreal section of The Dominion as it arrived on schedule at 11.30 a.m. ...". I'm not sure if J.F. Garden's book is still in print (my copy dates from 1993), but it provides a fantastic record of Morant's sublime photography. Well worth getting. Stephen

Hi Barnaby Just catching up on your thread. You've done a great job on all those droppers and it will certainly make things more reliable. No more problems with loose fitting rail joiners. Which cosmetic rail joiners will you be using? It's all looking good so far. Stephen

Wow, nice 'Landie'! And the dragline's not bad either ... Stephen

Chris Looks very nice in black. Not sure I can justify another one though ... Stephen

Hi David I've only just caught up with this as I was searching for something (which I've now completely forgotten what!) and the search result brought me to this thread. Really pleased to see you getting this project off the ground and I just love the back story. And using the Weetabix box to mock up the buildings is just brilliant! Don't tell me it was coincidence ... Keep us the great work - you've made more progress than I have in months. Stephen

Great photos and narrative. Really enjoyed the story. Stephen

My point exactly! ... and see how beautifully it runs (and sounds). Stephen

Hi Barnaby I've tried a couple of ideas based on your plan 1. The first takes out one of the sidings as Simon and Andrew both suggested. I've tried to space things out a bit without reducing operational interest too much . I can't remember whether you discounted a run-round loop but the second plan includes this. The 'loco headshunt' allows for anything up to a class 47. I've moved the goods shed to the front to allow more room for the run-round. Not sure if the run-round works but it provides another option. Stephen

My initial impression is that plan 1 (the top one) looks neater as it is less crowded and less linear than plan 2. I'm not entirely sure about the loco spur in plan 1. Could you run it with a facing RH point from the exit to the fiddle yard, just to the right of the 'L' in the middle or put it where it is shown in plan 2, i.e. track 'F1'? Stephen

You asked "In the O gauge and 1 gauge worlds - is there any hope of raising the bar in quality and detail of the Ready-To-Run UK prototype offerings out there?". Have you actually looked at the quality of the offerings from Minerva where you will find prototype fidelity, high standards of detail, excellent smooth running together with affordability?

Thanks both for the great photos and video. Very inspirational! Stephen

The one downside of surface mounting the servos and SmartFrogs is that they have to be hidden. However, with the multitude of ancillary buildings at most ironstone quarry yards, I didn’t think this would be too difficult. To cover the first servo and SmartFrog, I’ve built a small maintenance hut broadly based on one at Irchester. I drew up a design in SketchUp and built the hut using my preferred method of a 3mm foamboard shell with covering from Slaters and Wills styrene sheet. On this one, I used Port Wynnstay windows and home-made doors. The original at Irchester was decidedly dilapidated so I wanted to create that look, but probably need to do a bit more distressing, particularly to the roof! My design in SketchUp The foamboard shell with styrene walls. Now with roof - the SmartFrog can be seen just inside the door. The final building. I need to fit door handles. It was my wife’s idea to have one door open but arranged so that the viewer cannot see inside. It was a bit of a hassle but it probably looks better for it!

After looking at options for slow action point control, I have opted for the Peco SmartSwitch system including Peco SmartFrogs and a DCC Stationary Decoder. I know other point control systems are available but SmartSwitch is very easy to set up, even for a technically inept individual like me. I'm trying surface mounting the servos using brass rod to connect the servo to the turnout. Because my ‘baseboard’ consists of foamboard ‘boxes’ (sitting on a metal frame), I don’t want to damage the structural integrity of the foamboard. Surface mounting on an additional layer of 5mm foamboard provides extra strength and ease of access to the servos and SmartFrogs. It also means the turnouts can be self-contained on individual ‘modules’ which gives me more flexibility in layout design. Overhead view of the ‘module’ with the wiring layout and servo connection. The wiring is in troughs in the foamboard. Overhead view with the top layer of foamboard added. This will be the base for scenery. The top layer is not pinned down yet. Side view. When the track is 'ballasted' (if I can call it ballast - more like 'gunk'), the wires will be covered and I have given some thoughts to hiding the servo and SmartFrog. Stephen

David The ‘fixed’ part of the traverser is made up of two layers of 5mm foamboard on top of the 5mm foamboard base. The ‘sliding’ part is a single layer of 5mm foamboard, sliding on a 5mm layer. On top of each side of the ‘sliding’ part is a narrow strip of foamboard which act as handles. One of these strips can be seen alongside the track with the tippler. Hope that helps. Stephen

I haven’t provided an update for a little while but have made some limited progress on the layout recently. I had a few concerns with my ‘final’ track plan after mocking up movements of loaded and empty tipplers on paper. Although I liked the idea of separate tracks to the quarries and the exchange sidings, I discovered that at some point a rake of loads would block the arrival of a rake of empties. This would mean removing the stock from the hidden sidings by hand before the loads could be dispatched! The best solution to this conundrum was a two track traverser to accommodate 6 tipplers (with a small 0-4-0ST) or 5 tipplers and anything up to a Victory 0-6-0T, or even (dare I say), an S&L ex-BR class 14. Although the traverser could be designed to feed the two separate tracks, I didn’t have enough space to align these tracks to the parallel tracks of the traverser without compromising the length of the run-round or the engine shed tracks. Having the traverser feed into a single track also keeps everything simple and less cluttered. I've constructed the traverser from layers of 5mm foamboard (suitably braced). One advantage of foamboard is that the shiny surface slides easily, even with a loaded train plus locomotive. In testing, the traverser has worked fine, even with a heavy Heljan class 47. On the non-shiny facing edges, I added thin strips of plasticard. Further update soon ... Stephen

For those on here interested in the East Midlands ironstone railways, there is an excellent 8 page article on Cranford in the June issue of Railway Bylines. Some wonderful photos - the double page spread on pages 306/7 just has to be modelled! Stephen

Ian Not sure whether you saw my post on the Rocks by Rail DIG IT day. Are these still available? They are still shown on the website and I can really recommend them. Stephen