Powerhaul 70 Pey

Some brilliant night shots there Jim. I like the 90 and 86's pic. Wouldn't mind trying some night shots of the logs at warrington one day!

A great start. I like the incline and I also like the Metcalfe kits. What kind of locos and era are you planning on? What I like best is that it is a family project that you can all enjoy together during its construction and then the running of the trains.

As a fellow wiganer I will be following this project with great interest! Looks excellent so far.

I would just like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year. That will be all for this year on our project but hopefully after new year we can make more progress! Thank you to everyone for taking the time to view, rate, comment and follow our project, it is really much appreciated.

Two 70's from yesterday the first was 70018 photo taken at Acton Bridge with a Garston Container Terminal in Liverpool to Crewe Basford Hall. With a 30 minute gap in the timetable and my 5 year old son starting to ask when we were going home because it was cold we had a 10 minute drive to the next station south on the WCML which was Hartford. Never been here before, the station is in a deep cutting which makes photos a challenge at this time of year. Here 70007 was in charge of the Felixstowe to Ditton train. Would have preferred the photo to be on the other platform off the footbridge but that would have made the photo even darker! Not the best photos as photography for a novice like me is such a challenge, especially this time of year with either overcast skies or clear with low sun. Plus the trains are usually travelling at maximum speed through these two stations. Have a good Christmas everyone!!

Great photos, especially the 60 in fiddlers ferry. Such a shame there's not much happening on the warrington low level freight line at the moment.

I saw my first class 50, 50015 Valiant, yesterday when the Missus and I took the kids on the Santa Express at Bury on the East Lancashire Railway. I don't really know anything about these loco's but it was nice to see one. 34092 City of Wells was on the front heading out to Rawtenstall and the 50 was on the rear to bring the train back to Bury. There was also another train with a steam on the front and a 37 on the rear. A really nice afternoon out and would do it again next year.

Great photos. I like the back scene of the trees and that is a smart line up of locos you have, the class 60 in particular.

I have been doing a bit more work on the rural section but also had a go at making some low relief quarry buildings as I only have the Bachmann loading tower for this area. Made using some 2mm card, some Metcalfe dressed grit stone, corrugated card from hobby craft then painted with acrylic paint. I just need to make some girder type structures to support the low relief conveyor belt. I have made another conveyor belt to go from the tall thin building to the Bachmann wagon loading tower. I think I will have to keep these as there is nothing I can buy to fill the limited back scene space I have.

Hopefully the weather will be less dull tomorrow but this is today's shot of Freightliner 70010 on the Felixstowe to Ditton containers passing through Acton Bridge this morning just after 10:30am.

66018 on the Avonmouth to Clitheroe Cement train at Acton Bridge today before the rain comes down. The new wagons branded Hanson as the site at Clitheroe hasn't been Castle Cement for a few years now.

Great night time shot at Warrington Bank Quay. I might go one night this week to get some night shots of the logs and Castle Cement if they are running.

Not too sure of the details but 58008 has recently been moved by two class 56's (i think from Eastleigh to Barrow Hill). I may be wrong, seen something on another website but can't see all the details because I am not a member. I hope it's for a overhaul and not to break it for parts ans scrap.

I hope you don't mind me posting this photo. This is from 4th April this year when I walked half way down the bridge for the first time to get the baby to sleep whilst the missus and little lad finished their fish n chips. Found the track work very interesting close up!!

Great photos. I like the attention to detail in some of the scenario scenes, especially the park scene.

Your layout is excellent. The ballasting and track weathering is brilliant, something I am dreading attempting on my layout. I think I will do a few test runs on some old pieces of flexi track I have kept. I like the EWS 37's, the 58 and the combination of locos and plant machinery. It's about time someone resurrected a 58 for mainline use! Keep up the good work!

I don't know anything about routes and paths but there must be some logic behind why it goes down the WCML instead of across from wigan to Manchester. I don't know how accurate RTT is in terms of weights but the loaded train is 2000 tonnes. Lynx stated in his post it could be class 60 hauled. Do the DBS crews already have route knowledge to and from the two sites or is there to be route training runs first?

Thanks for your comment. At the minute its a bit cold up there but in summer it's like a sauna! Not seen many spiders yet! My little lad has been driving our trains since he was 2 years old and has always been very good with them. We did have one incident where he put a Thomas The Tank Take and Play Diesel on the track and our Pendolino hit it, de-railed and broke a coupler. He knows how to use the Hornby Select controller and what all the functions do and what number to put to call up and operate each loco. He also likes coming with me to see some freights. Here he is looking very chuffed to see a Colas Rail Class 70 on the Carlisle to Chrik log train!!

So tonight I have gone from shops under arches to the more rural section of the layout built on top of the wooden frame. Here it is so far placed on the kitchen table. A bit crammed in but at least all the buildings I have from my last layout will feature on this one. This is the tunnel viewed from on the old quarry workings. A sort of overhead view. The 2 quarry sidings will be in front of the rock face in the foreground. A view from the semi detached houses with the road and footpath roughly marked for when my new building materials arrive that I have ordered. Thanks for all the kind comments and views of our layout so far!

Thanks very much for that information. I have also found a link and it looks like SITA will run the site at the rail terminal. Is it Freightliner that have the contract to move the binliners from Knowsley? I know they currently do the Manchester binliners from the 3 Viridor sites. Lots of new freight flows heading your way Russ. I am looking forward to this one myself as the train will go through Upholland, Pemberton, Orrell and then onto Wigan Wallgate. These stations don't get any freight other than MPV's as far as I am aware. I will have to get down to these locations with the camera when it finally starts! http://www.sita.co.uk/news-and-views/our-plans/knowsley

I have noticed a working on Real Time Trains that seems to be a new working. It's Knowsley Freight Terminal to Wilton FLT on Real Time Trains. Well, I've never noticed it before anyway! I heard that Liverpool's waste is apparently going to somewhere on Teeside to be incinerated and that the train would originate from Knowsley Rail Freight Terminal which is not far from Veolias Gillmoss waste transfer station. Does anyone have any further information on this? Is this the "binliner train" or is it a general intermodal train? The working was showing yesterday but never ran and is showing today but never ran (see link for todays working) http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/ORR/2015/12/16/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=freight&order=wtt

Tonight I have been making 2 more shop fronts for in the arches underneath our station using some Metcalfe building sheets and various bits n pieces that I have saved from other kits. Here's the two shop fronts. I even managed to make a positive out of the Missus Next bill this month!! Here's the row of shops under the arches that will face the high street shops that are Metcalfe high street shop kits (3 of them I think shops, cinema, pub etc). Just can't seem to get stuck in to a specific project/area of the layout at the moment due to a severe lack of time and that I have to bring what I am making out of the attic and downstairs in fear of waking the kids up with the squeaky attic ladder!

Here is the coal terminal unfinished that I made placed on the layout in the photos below. I am sort of happy with the outcome but I am going to make it again and slightly different. A Freightliner coal train arrives at the coal terminal this morning as the sun comes out and is loaded by two Caterpillar wheel loaders. A few photos of running a few trains with my son. A Sunday morning engineers train passes through the station heading to Crewe Basford Hall after some overnight engineering work in the area with a Colas 66 in charge. A empty limestone train passes through the station with an empty rake of Tarmac hoppers heading for Guide Bridge Sidings with a Class 60 on the front. I am having a lot of second thoughts about the layout at the moment but I guess it's because its so unfinished.

Very realistic. Brilliant work!

This is an amazing model of such an iconic piece of railway structure. I really like visiting Barmouth. I am looking forward to seeing this progress and how you model the water!