richard.h

The chimney build is excellent, it will be interesting to see how the smoke effect works out. I bought a smoke unit and oil to fit somewhere near the engine shed and then never used it as I was worried that the residue might mess up the locos and track

We catch up with the 04 again as it makes it's way through the station.

Weathering a Garratt I bought one of the Heljan Garratts when they were released (weathered version) but was never really happy with the appearance so I thought I would have a go at making it more realistic. The first stage was to spray below the footplate with frame dirt and the the bodywork was sprayed with a mixture of blacks, burnt black and smoke black. The firebox and cylinders were then sprayed with a mixture of rust and tan colours while the tender sides were sprayed dirty black again which was immediately brushed down vertically to give a streaking effect. To finish it off the firebox area had rust and black weathering powders stippled on and the wheels and valve gear were given a liberal coating of AKs Fuel Stains, this was also trickled down the cylinders to represent seepage in the cylinders. So now hopefully we have a Garratt that looks a bit more workmanlike

Further down the line we see the 04 as it clears Oxenholme.

Here's the Robinson Class 04 as it enters the countryside. It plods along with a heavy coal train.

To finish off the Mill section here are a couple photos of the hoist loading up plus a background story:- Health and Safety was quite primitive in the 60s all you had here were safety chains across the upper storey doors when not in use. I remember walking out of the ground floor door one day and wondering why someone in the office was waving to me, I had just got clear when a crate came wooshing down, there should have been someone on the ground floor to collect it and keep the door clear.

Maybe this is what you need, but properly detailed and weathered (beyond me)

The Mill section is just about finished now, Gatehouse done, Weighbridge and Hoists Added. When I was making this section I didn't want to make the buildings too dark as I thought you would lose the detail, then afterwards I found this video about Queensbury on the internet and took a still capture for detail purposes. Lots of useful info but just look at the colour of the buildings, Dave Shakespeare got it exactly right years ago, one of the many reasons why his layout still inspires today.

Hi Pete That type of Skep with wheels was used internally for local transport within the Mill but more often the type of Skep shown in the video would be used. This type had slats on the bottom so that it could be wheeled around on a sack barrow plus a lid so that it could be stacked in the wharehouse until the contents were needed for the next process and this would be the type that you would see loaded onto wagons from the hoists outside the mill. If you do get anywhere with a 3d print of this item please let me know as I don't know anyone locally who could do this so I would be quite willing to contribute to the cost of producing a batch, there would normally be 10 to 20 in a single lorry load. Regards Richard

Now we follow The Twins as they race through Byford Then through Oxenholme as they head north to tackle the hills.

Now we have The LMS Twins in action, the old meets the new or should it be style meets function. When coupled together the Twins had a combined power equal to a Duchess and were tested this way with loads like The Royal Scot, but I know which I would have preferred to see tackling Shap.

Hi Pete By the time I started in the Mills (early 60s) all transport was by Lorry, the canal connection, Leeds and Liverpool had long since fallen out of use. A lot of the better quality Merino Wools came from Australia via Liverpool and then by road to the Mill. Here is a photo still taken from a video I found last week about re-opening Queensbury Tunnel, just look at the colour of the buildings, but lots of detail in there. You would normally see bales of wool processed on the ground floor because of their bulk then as the wool went through the normal manufacturing routine it would go onto smaller and smaller bobbins as it moved to the higher floors. All internal movement between departments was done by Skeps, these are woven rectangular containers and onward delivery was also with Skeps. There is a very good film titled Alberts Last Skep (Film ID YFA3852) which shows the process of making and using these and finishes with a loaded flatbed leaving the factory. I would love to have some model Skeps on my layout as every large Mill had hundreds of them but I haven't been able to find any and can't figure out how to model them, possible a 3D printer might do the job. Regards Richard

The nearest equivalent would be a foreman, Worsted Mills were split into different rooms carrying out different functions starting with carding or combing the raw wool then drawing, spinning and twisting the yarn plus some specialist departments for fancy yarns. So as an apprentice you would study for five years at college and by spending time in each department, if you qualified you would become an Overlooker and could be sent to any part of the Mill to run that section as required. Richard

Excellent work, your attention to detail is first class. Your houses remind me so much of the Mill where I served my apprenticeship as an Overlooker, you had to walk past two streets of Mill Houses to get to the factory gates.

Here we have The LMS Twins being prepared for duty in the Depot. Ready for work they are coupled together to provide enough power to take on The Royal Scot.

The Class 4 now pulls into Byford Station.

Here's a Standard Class 4 emerging from High Fell Tunnel. And then running through the Cutting.

Thanks for that, I first got into military paints by accident when the Royal Mail decided it wasn't handling paints anymore I was suddenly stumped for supplies, after looking around I found AK and MIG products were available right on my doorstep. As you say they are primarily designed for wargamers but such a lot of the range is ideal for railway painting and weathering that I use them more and more now and find them excellent products. Like your story about the ME KR200, I think my better half said "where's the door, how are you supposed to get in" Regards Richard

Here are the backs to Old Bank Place. And Alma Street

Over the Garden Wall One part of the layout that rarely gets seen are the backyards and gardens of the houses so here are a few photos to show what goes on out of sight. Coal bunkers, rabbit hutches and the ever present washing line

I have had three lonely Presflo Cement Wagons for some time so I decided to add these to the Cemflo Train. I haven't found any photos of the two types running together in real life, they probably needed different loading facilities, so my excuse is that it's empty stock being returned to depot.

With the Cemflo train now complete we can watch it approach and run through Oxenholme. Then over the viaduct.

Thanks, it's a technique I hadn't seen before until I read an article by Tim Shackleton, but it has worked out well and will definitely use it again in future. Richard

To finish off the Cement Wagons they were given a light spraying of Mig Rainmarks for Tanks, (the type with guns not railway tankers) and this toned everything down a little and provided a slight sheen. Looking at them now I'm quite pleased with the result. And when you compare them with one of the original tankers they really do look like hardworking vehicles in everyday use.

Thanks for that, I was a bit worried I had spoiled a lovely model but there was one more process to do (shown on the next posting) which I have just completed and it seems to have tidied them up a bit.