Ronchatt

Pete, I like. From 60 year old memory's you have got the essence of the scene. If I had the ability I could paint you a back scene from that memory thanks Mate. Ron

Sorry Pete I'm looking at gauge 1. not ho/oo . with the right loco 10 or so would look good running around a garden railway. repaint and new decals would not be a problem Later Ron

Thanks for that Bryan Nice to know the fires where still burning, I had left by then Pulling trains across Australia. Tom. or any one else. Will you look at Argyle Loco Works or Trackshack web sites in there gauge one offerings are some 4 wheel tanks are they same as the ammonia tanks ?? Later Ron.

G,day all Tom. Found the book, found the photo, so it has happened. The project may go ahead yet. Anyone any idea of the cause of the deviation, the date doesn't ring any bells ??. Later Ron.

Thanks for that info Tom. I Think I have that book somewhere in my library [for library read pile of books in back room ] as for access to the coal drops. don't remember a ladder there in the 50s. I think it would have been long gone by then, every kid in the area would have felt the need to climb it . Later Ron.

G'Day All, Tom, I do believe you could not have done better, as you say with the restricted space it says it all. When I say I am working on a tank train I mean if I can raise the cash, it will be July, Aug next before I can do anything. things keep getting in the way ,like power bills and house repairs, but it is some thing to work towards. lets call it my pipe dream. As for the coal drops, all my books on Ilkley history show nothing. As I recall, large timber beams laid across the stone piers, not too large as locos were not allowed on there, timber walkway on the road side Wrought iron post and rail railings on the outside. Sorry mate that's the best I can do. Later Ron.

Hey. Andrew that would make a good model. Red Yellow and Green bridge with a film crew there. Thanks Brian, that kills a lot of theories. Andrew, are You alright after that latest quake ?? I am working on a tank train in one scale, tanks, open wagons and guards van at available , getting a live steam loco is still a problem , would an 8F or a black 5 do ?? Thoughts please Later Ron.

Gday Folks I've been meaning to write this for the last 4 days but every time I start I get a memory overload and have to give it away , sorry about that First, Thank You Tom , for posting that photo .It is magic, yours is o/k our kid, but that is magic Andrew, I think is right , the original privies probably went the same time as the foot bridge end, to widen Springs Lane . In the 40s 50s the toilets were water closets and no sign of being anything else, I cant see the Midland Railway putting that in when they built them in the 1880s. The coal bunker was behind the toilet with the wash house next door. The house was as David says 2 rooms down stairs 3 up The lean too at the back was a scullery and porch the front just a porch The only features in the gardens was a shed at the bottom of our garden the 4th or no 7 and a large cherry tree at the bottom of no 3. If you wanted to model the houses in November in the 50s ?. There would have been a very large bonfire built on that area between the gardens and the first track All the local kids would collect firewood from as far away as Crossbeck Rd for bonfire night ,we always had the biggest fire in the district . I had better post this before I lose it all again if you want more just ask Later Ron

Goday Folks Tom Only one word to describe that photo, [to quote from Darling buds of may] 'PERFIC ' thanks mate. Simon Those photo tell the whole tale. Near heritage railings and no protection! The mind boggles As for Kingmoor I should call myself Romboldsron . I think I spent more time up there than I did in school , probably why I finished up as an engine driver in Australia instead of a doctor or engineer, BUT, no regrets Later Ron

Goday All Thanks Kingmoorkid [is there nothing shorter we can call you] I checked with the Gazette, it looks a real mess, lets hope someone finds a good welder to put it back together. Tom. Those tanks do look good I would love to see a photo on a train going under the footbridge

G,day All Did I not read somewhere that the railings or hand rails around the subway slopes had bean reused between platform 2 & the car park ?? If not, it should have, instead of scraping it all. The more I look at all the Photos of the dereliction of the station from the late 70s the more I think, the supermarket and other changes, was a good idea. It keeps the back bone of the original structure . Tom Did you know The original W H Smith book stall was against the wall between platform 1 &2, underneath the big clock until the early 50s when it burnt down Later Ron.

G'Day Folks Sorry Andrew, that's the yard crane also hand operated but built on a plinth about knee high. The one Tom is looking for came in abought once a year to load the logs dumped in the area between railway terrace and the tracks, using the two short tracks to the right of that crane on the plan. I do believe Kingmoorkid has got the answer to brick/stone conundrum. {I hope. } Later Ron.

G'day All The shed, there is a Fred Smith photo inside of the shed, to me, the floor is clearly brick paved, and smaller than the stone/brick in the wall behind it, my thoughts, please check. I will find and post if nobody has it Tom. I can only remember one crane ever used at Ilkley at any one time gray painted, strait lattice jib, hand operated. The crane was moved by hand up and down the first track, the wagons to be loaded on the second track. 'Piggy lane' is the only name I know for that lane way, the piggery's where war time allotments' between the lane and Backston Beck. The effluent was washed into the beck. nice thought. Later Ron.

G'day All Take a few days away and look what happens . The access to the loco shed was via "Piggy lane " , a laneway off Little Lane near Backstone Beck, took you up to the rear of the shed, Also a pathway, part of a public right of way that ran from the top end of Mayfield Rd past the turntable . Access via the station platform could only mean the original shed . So one mistake or two ?? . Brick or stone ? I could be proved Wrong but I still think stone. Tom. Those tanks look the real thing especially with that background. Later Ron

G'day all Sorry Tom can not help any more, even Fred Smith in his book has a photo of an ammonia heading from Heysham to Haverton Hill on page 44 but. But on page 46 a diesel hauled train heading from Teesside to Heysham , mind you, it only shows the engine and brake tender, not the train. My only argument is there is only a need for buffer wagons on a loaded train not an empty. The mind boggles on how you are going to model an ice bound tanker. You could wet it and put it in a freezer for an hour before you use it but then the wheels would freeze in the bearings Later Ron.

OOps it appears I pressed the wrong keys printing the photo twice and not describing it. Its a live steam Darjeeling Garret built by Roundhouse of Doncaster to 16mm scale A beautiful loco that shows British engineering is not yet dead. Later Ron.

G'day folks If the photo on the bridge at Ilkley is from Bill Smiths collection, it shows the MoS tank next to the engine if that had been loaded with dangerous goods such as ammonia or fuel, as it would have needed at least 2 buffer wagons between the tank and the engine.The only photos I have seen of the ammonia train with buffer wagons, have been heading from Skipton towards Otley . But as kids the only trains we would have noticed would have been the unusual ones like the ghost train coming out of the mist. Not empty's going the other way When I Found RMWeb and stumbled on this topic I was looking for steam locos on the Ilkley roster. Pete was kind enough to answer and put me right, and no the 1 gauge Midland tank loco I was looking to buy was never at Ilkley, so I lost interest. This is what I spent my hard earnings on.

G'day all Sorry Tom , must agree with Pete. The only time we ever set eyes on those tanks was when they where loaded heading East from Skipton towards Otley . I cannot recall ever seeing empty's going the other way . The photo shows the train heading East. I do not recall any other tank train using the branch. BUT . a lot of trains were diverted from the main line [ Keithley route ] onto the branch, especially during the war years and later due to engineering work on the main line. And Tom you were looking for the crane used for loading the timber at Ilkley. There is a book " The lost railways of east Yorkshire " By Neil Burgess. On the front cover is a photo with 2 cranes in the background , could the first one be the one used at Ilkley . I think so. Later Ron.

G'day all Gee, You are all bringing back memory's Tom. The ghost train, or the ammonia train as it was, was a loose coupled unfitted train of tank wagons loaded with liquid ammonia. It had to be kept off trunk routes whenever possible. It came from somewhere in the north west to somewhere in the Sunderland Newcastle area, it came onto the branch via Hellifield Skipton Otley to Haragate then up the old route via Hawes, then across to the east coast main line. It was worked by Starbeck men from Skipton. coming out of the fog on a freezing cold morning with the tanks covered in ice, it really looked like a ghost train. A few Years ago in Perth WA I met a young lady born in Haragate. Her grandfather had been a driver at Starbeck. He could have worked that train, and passed within a few feet of me father in the box at Ilkley. Small world. Andrew The Stacks were probably coal, stored in summer for use in winter. The P H on the plan was the platelayers hut. In the 40s 50s a lunch room /store room built of old wooden sleepers, walls and roof, seating all around also made of sleepers, a large cast iron stove in the corner kept it warm. In cold Rainy foggy snowy weather it possibly was a small pub Later. Ron.

G'day all Not a daft question Tom. Probably a different angle Its Helliwell & Hobbs Station Garage on Springs lane, Demolished around 1990 I'm told . Yes David in the words of Ronnie Drew , Remember ? how could I forget . I can still name every tenant and the kids in the 40s and 50s

Go'day All Thank You Andrew, in my memory, I could not see brick in the engine shed walls. all I could see in those old buildings is stone. I don't think brick came into Ilkley until well after the turn of the century. The stone could have come from the same Quarry as the Kieghley shed. Its only 5 or 6 miles over the top on the moor road, I know I've walked it a few times after missing the last buss home. Same plans, same stone, makes sense to me. Later Ron.

Gday everybody This is the only photo I can find of that end of the foot bridge. Whilst not showing the bridge it was obviously taken from the decking of it .Its too close to the road to have steps straight down to the road so the right angle steps must have been installed before 1930. Probably when the road was widened from a cart track to a two lane road.. I always thought the first building past the signal box was the malting house for the brewery the middle window in the top floor was a door. probably for a hoist from the siding below. The window was only put in when Spooners made that building there drawing office. A large RAF roundel was painted on the end of it. still visible until the 50s. As for our kids post, I was also certain the engine shed was stone and looking at the photos especially the one inside, if they are bricks they are very BIG bricks more like blocks and they did not use those in the 1890s I will leave you to ponder that one as my memory still says stone. Later Ron

Andrew et al [or whatever] "WHAT A FIND" It shows a h==== of a lot. I shows that when the photo was taken, Springs Ter had been built. That there was no water Crain on P 1. that the signals on P 1, were on one post the top one, being the starter, on the wrong side,{ the driver would have to cross the footplate to view it before he passed it]. The lower one being entry to the yard. It shows no "crud" on the sleepers on any road. All new ? That the starter signal from p 4 was possibly high enough to be seen over the station roof beyond Brook St. And, non railway, the brewery had a high chimney . As I've said before Springs Lane was probably just a narrow laneway in 1910--1920 . Your plan, to me, shows, from the railway, an embankment, then a wall, then the road. To me, to widen the road, get rid of the embankment, rebuild the wall, realign the bridge at right-angle to the road. The bridge as I remember from the early 40s was at right angles to the road. The photo you show must have been from the late 70s The stone steps from the road level to the railway level were built after I left in 1972 Later Ron.

Andrew You talk about a home starter signal. they where 2 completely different signals, a home signal let you into the station limits, a starter let you out again. there was no such thing as a home starter We left in late March 1972, in a rail car from platform 2. Every thing was still there then, including the subway and bottom gate. There are 2 books of photos of Ilkley compiled by Mike Dixon some from the 1980s showing Brook St and other roads around the station. There was a cricket field between the Crescent hotel, Nelson rd and the 'New' railway Wall in 1890. I found my copies through Amazon UK Later Ron

Hello Folks First Andrew, thank you so very much for the plan, I will try to get it blown up as big as I can, so little changed in the first 60 years since it was made, then so much in the next 60. Tom. If you haven't got one do so, it shows the fog signal hut and Your tar delivery pipe. James . not trying to put you down but please remember that wall would have been started about 1885 . Most roads where nothing more than cart tracks in those times .most of Ilkley as we know it had not been started. The land for the Town Hall was not acquired until 1890 when a farm house and out buildings where demolished . so the curve in the wall was more likely due to land or a building owned by the church or aristocracy in the way, they were the only ones that could object to parliamentary permission, but even so You and me seem to believe the curve is there, but please folk check the edge of the curb the curve is much more pronounced there with no narrowing of the pavement Some of the info here came from the book : History & guide Ilkley by Mike Dixon published 2002 byTempus Publishing ISBN 0 7524 2603 6. Later Ron