mikemeg

Oh I can feel an attack of the A2/3's might be coming on towards the end of this year. Mick, can I pick your brains when that attack occurs? Lovely job. Regards Mike

At the risk of being a real pedant, you could probably take the letter size down a little further Mick; just comparing the start and end points of Sculcoates Junction with Sallyfield Junction. Certainly the lettering on the most recent nameboard has come out very well for colour. Cheers Mike

Cracking job, my old mate. As 7mm Mick observed, above, now you'll have to build the rest of the layout to go around the signal box. As to the signals for your layout, there's a very good book by some character called Mick Nicholson, all about building 4mm (and 7mm) signals. Cheers Mike

And my first attempts went a similar route, they were cr-p. But if we persevere, then eventually we start to produce stuff which is acceptable; it is the individual's own definition of 'acceptable' which is the defining factor. Jack Nicklaus (the golfer) was once asked, during an interview, to explain why he was so lucky in winning major Golf Tournaments. His reply was broadly :- 'Practice. The more I practice, the luckier I get.' Says it all and you're welcome re the comments; the locos are superb. Cheers Mike

Anyone seeking the inspiration to start loco building or simply to improve their loco building should really look no further than this thread, for these are consistently and unfailingly superb. Not just the photos of what is done but the advice and guidance on how it is done. For me, this thread is mandatory reading and my own efforts are inspired by what I see on here. Just the very best of the modeller's skill, techniques and true artistry. Cheers Mike

I managed to find a 4 mm drawing of the Austin 7's, which was published in the December 1987 edition of Railway Modeller. Some salient dimensions (not scaled from the drawing but explicitly stated) :- Driving wheels are 4' 8 1/2" (19 mm) 15 spoke, with the crankpins between spokes. The distance from the rear dragbeam to the centre of the rearmost set of driving wheels is 6' 0" i.e. 24 mm. The wheel base, reading from the front set of drivers, is 6' 9" (27 mm), 5' 9" (23 mm), 5' 9" (23 mm) i.e. a total coupled wheelbase of 18' 3" (73 mm). Yes, the distance between driver sets one and two is 1' 0" (4 mm) larger than between 2 & 3 and 3 & 4. The distance from the front driving wheel centres to the front buffer heads is given as 8' 9 1/4". The overall length of the frames is not shown but the dimension from the drag beam to the front buffer heads is shown as 33' 0 1/4" (132 mm). So subtracting the 1' 9" (7 mm) of the LMS buffer, plus a small (1" or .33 mm) allowance for the plate of the front buffer beam, would give an approximate frame length of :- 132 - 7 - 0.33 = 124.66 mm or 31' 2". The drawing was attributed to Ian Beattie and, in view of the above drawing scaling dichotomy, there is no indication where these actual dimensions were taken from. Hope this helps. Cheers Mike

These last two photosets are just lovely. We are all transported back to a clear, blue, high summer's day in the late 1950's to see, again, the glory that was the railway of that time. Just sitting and watching that seemingly unending procession of trains. Keep them coming, Gilbert (and Tony), they are inspirational. Cheers Mike

This layout really is capturing that 'essence' of those halcyon days of the late 1950's and the last shot, in the posting above, really does tell it like it was. Lovely to see those sweeping curves and the intricacy of the trackwork before the rationalisations of later years. I wouldn't worry too much about the gauge being 'OO', after all it's the overall effect which you have sought and which you have achieved. Just wonderful to watch this layout coming together and it is a fitting tribute to a time which, for those of us who saw it, remains an unforgetable experience. Cheers Mike

For those whose interest is green diesels, then here's another of those much treasured black and white photos, this one taken in 1963 - perhaps the same wet spring or early summer's day (there is blossom on the bush by the house next the gasworks) as the photo of the B16/3 at the start of this thread - and showing an EE Type 3 (they weren't yet Class 37's) on an up fish train. It is these photos which have proved so useful in establishing just how this place looked. One thing, apparent from this photo, is the staggering of the two turnouts which formed the facing junction into New Inward Yard - the two turnouts on the bottom left of the picture. I can only think that this staggering was to compensate for the spacing of the two down roads, which was 10', in order to produce a spacing nearer 6' to the left of the junction on the entry roads into Inward Yard. Also interesting just how much clutter is laid around on the permanent way. Cheers Mike

Craig, Yes, as you surmise, all of the pointwork so far built has used my own stained wood (obechi) sleepers. I build them on paper templates which are stuck to the trackbed. I'll cover the techniques and approaches as I build the next section. The key thing, for me, about this approach is allowing all ballasting, and ballast painting, to be done before any rails are laid - makes the ballasting operation very much easier. The first job I will have to do is to build jigs for the filing and shaping of the switch rails ('C' switches) and for the various crossing noses (1 in 8 and 1 in 9). One thing which will significantly aid the process is the availability of the sets of special chairs for turnouts, diamonds and slips which can now be bought separately from The P4 Track Co. Templates for the various track formations needed can also be purchased from the same Company. Earlier in this thread is a photo showing an ex-NER interlaced, or sleepered turnout, which I built from scratch, largely as an experiment to determine how to do this and what jigs I would need to make to 'mass produce' the various turnouts, diamond crossings and slips on this third section of the railway. Cheers Mike

Many thanks Mod6. I thought it might be an admin function, but wasn't sure. Cheers and, again, many thanks. Mike

I haven't posted anything to this topic for a few weeks, though I am now starting the third section of the railway - the section going east, towards Hull, from shipyard bridge. This section, as well as having quite a complex track layout with a curved double junction into Inward Yard and various crossovers and single slips, will also need a number of buildings - the railway cottages, Hessle Haven signal box and some semblance of Hessle's gas works and more bridges. Might even try to build a waterline model of a 1950's trawler, or perhaps a tug (ship, not Class 60) being fitted out in the Haven? I fear that most, if not all, of this trackwork will have to be scratch built using C8 and C9 turnouts; I'm not sure that the budget can run to ten or twelve point, diamond crossing and single slip kits. So, if anyone's interested then I'll chronicle this track build on the thread, as it proceeds. Many thanks to Sean and to DaveF for adding the photosets to the thread. Sean's pictures certainly illustrate the enormous changes to this place since the early 1960's, which was when most of the black and white photos on the thread were taken. And DaveF's photos, especially the earlier ones, still show Hessle Haven almost as we knew it. You know I never thought I'd say this but those green diesels on rakes of maroon Mk 1's and on the freight wagons of the time now have almost as much nostalgia in them as the earlier photos of steam through this place. So by way of introduction to this next section, here's one of those much treasured black and white photos of what the next section will (hopefully) look like. And it just wouldn't be complete without the ubiquitous Austerity on an unfitted freight. Interesting thing about this location is that the four track main line went from a 10',6',10' spacing, just before the overbridge, to a 6',6',6' spacing in the foreground. Apparently, the up slow (leftmost track on the photo) was an up independent up to the crossover, hence the trap point. This is exactly the same place as is shown in Sean's photo's, in the posting above; now barely recognisable to most, save those of us who, once upon a time, knew it. Thanks and regards Mike

Yeah, but don't you just love mad. It's projects like this one and Manchester Central, Birmingham New Street, Peterborough North and one or two other real locations and lifetime projects which make accessing this site worthwhile! Mike

Of course there is always that final recourse for locos working out of their normal geography - football excursions, though I don't know where Peterborough Town FC were, in the football league, in your chosen timescale. So, York playing Peterborough in the FA Cup with York having a sudden, unexplained shortage of Pacific, V2 or B1 availability and resorting to a B16? After all, it's your layout so you can make the pretext whatever you wish. But I'm completely stumped as to how you could justify one of the ex-NER 0-8-0's at New England . Cheers Mike

This is one of those topics and one of those layouts which is just a joy to behold and to read about. For those of us who saw those halcyon days (1958 - 1961), albeit at the beginning of the end of them, this layout simply oozes the atmosphere of those days. My mind travels back to a Sunday afternoon in the summer of 1959, bunking round 34E, New England and a summer Saturday afternoon in 1960 on Peterborough Station just watching that procession of Pacifics, V2's and the numerous other classes which made this place so special. Sadly, I never did get to see the B17's working into Peterborough, though I do remember one or two on New England, that Sunday afternoon in 1959 and a profusion of J6's, O2's and O4's and the ubiquitous WD's. Those and a host of other classes. Just a great re-creation of an incredible place in a wonderful time. Cheers Mike

Amen to that. Once again it's worth opening up this topic area to see what is/has emerged from your workbench. Just essential morning reading. Cheers Mike

Thanks Mick. I can let you have that tap wrench back when I've finished with it. Do you want the 10BA tap back too? Course I could pay you for them, the wrench was around 4s 6d then, so accounting for inflation in the last forty odd years, but discounting for the tap now being a 'second user' item (canny fellas, us Yorkshiremen), would 25p (5s 0d) cover it? You don't happen to have a milling machine I could borrow, do you. I'll let you have it back just as soon as I'm done with it - around 2055 on current form; we'll both be centogenarians, and some, by then. But hey, the demographic stats now say that one in fifty (or less) of us could live to clock up the ton. I wonder if we'll still be making models by then? Perhaps time for the thread to revert back to Hessle Haven so here's that black and white photo which is still so much part of the inspiration for the layout and the painting. Cheers Mike

Jonte, If it's any consolation I'm also my harshest critic, though I can probably summon up others! No different to you and I get the same response from my lady partner. I remember last year I drew up a new painting, this my first venture into railway paintings. The picture (and the photo used as a basis may be on this thread) involves a WD 2-8-0 on a long mineral train passing under one of those huge signal bridges. Anyway a cracking photo which would make a great painting, if I can get it right. I finished the drawing up of the picture and looked at the finished drawing. 'Not bad' I thought. But the little voice on the shoulder started to be a bit more objective 'Did Austerity locomotives really have oval shaped boilers?' the little voice asked. This because I had got the ellipses wrong; and everything circular on a steam locomotive becomes some form of ellipse unless viewed exactly head on or side on. Then the little voice further queried 'why were the driving wheels on Austerity 2-8-0 locomotives of differing diameters?' Quite hard to answer that one! Finally, and a mere quarter hour after the little voice had begun this observational discussion, it observed 'I didn't realise that Brunel's broad guage had extended to the old NER and had lasted into railway nationalisation, even if it had been reduced from 7' 0" to around 5' 9"." Clincher! The little voice was swatted into oblivion but its damage had been done. This drawing was actually cr--p and was duly binned and I've just done the drawing again. As yet the little voice has remained silent but I'm still awaiting the 'Oi, what's that' which then pressages another bout of 'objective assessment'. But, where would I be without that objective, critical and very rational little voice? Cheers and best regards, Jonte Mike

Jonte, Many thanks for the comments above and I was simply going to accept the compliments and leave it at that. But I notice one or two things, across this forum generally, that might be worth commenting on :- For me there are a few (and it is a few) posters whose work I find truly inspirational. These posters work in all of the scales (2mm, 4mm, 7mm) and are certainly not just the P4 folk in 4mm; there are some wonderful 'OO' models and modellers. Interestingly, many of the posters whose work I so admire, are now posting much less than they did, though I can't believe that they have stopped making models, so where have they gone? I also notice that some of the more regular posters are now raising topics to elicit much more balanced and objective responses. Instead of seeking the 'Oh that looks nice' responses, they are now asking "how good is this model?" or "what's wrong with this" and, in so doing, are risking some very objective responses "well it looks nothing like the prototype, so throw it away and start again" or "the idea's good; shame about the workmanship". My own modelling ethic is very simple :- Locate the best models and modellers, in any discipline, and set the objective of matching or exceeding the quality of their work. This by reading, understanding and analysing exactly how they do what they do, learning and mastering their techniques and then identifying where improvements to those techniques can be made. Clearly, I will probably never achieve this but I will never stop the pursuit and will never be satisfied until I feel I have reached my limits. Many of my earliest (and some later) models have simply been thrown away - they were just not good enough. Now, thankfully, I don't throw much away but there is still room for considerable improvement and improvements in techiques, in accuracy and workmanship will continue to be sought. But, ultimately, this is the nature of this beast (me), whether it be the model making, the pictures which I paint and draw, or my various other interests. On one thread, I read on here, someone said "I don't want to be seen as one of those irritating people who seem to do everything well (quote)". Well, quite simply, I do want to be one of those irritating folks and will vigorously pursue that objective. Cheers Mike

I can't reproduce the 'convoys' of locos going through Botanic but here's the nearest I can get. A convoy of Dairycoates shunting locos off to the works. 69915 and 69003 for overhaul; the J71 to be completed. So when these return to Hull, Darlington should have completed the J71 and painted it. The J39 has just been the subject of an 'upgrade' with new springing on the chassis; there was plenty of power (Mashima 1620 and Comet 50:1 gearbox) but nowhere near enough tractive effort. Now it will pull/push upwards of thirty five wagons so is just about acceptable. Cheers Mike

While on the subject of J71's and J72's, I recently bought another Bachmann J72 body for 50p from the 'odds and sods' stall at an exhibition. The plan for this is to use it to build one of the earlier, LNER built, J72's numbered in the 87xx (1946 numbering) / 687xx range. So, if anyone's interested I'll post a thread under Scratch Building and kit Building, once I've finished the other loco projects currently ongoing. Cheers Mike

Jonathan, No other problems. The J72 had its buffers located at the top of the buffer beam to match the buffer height of wagons and coaches. So as long as the buffers are as high on the buffer beams as can be accommodated, then the ride height will be fine. When I first used the High Level gearboxes, I had the same reservations as you i.e. the difficulty of removing the final drive gear from the driven axle. I have had to remove one of these gears and here I had to take the wheels off the axle and then remove the axle from the gear. I did this by carefully scraping the loctite from around the axle and gearwheel with a new, sharp craft knife blade, rather than trying to tap it out. I also found that filing a small notch, not a flat, in the axle where the gear wheel sits aids the process of loctiting (is there such a verb?) the gear wheel to the axle. Cheers Mike

James, Yes, both the J71 and J72 use the Mainly Trains etched chassis. These kits also contain a white metal casting for the boiler bottom and rivetted buffer beams. I did modify the chassis a little, especially the J72, to get the correct ride height but only slightly. And yes, I well remember those 'convoys' of shunters from Alexandra Dock shed to Dairycoates though I only ever saw it once or twice with three or four locos - J71, J72's and a J73. And I never did see Jubilees on freight over the high level, though I'm told that Dairycoates did use these 6P's and even 7P's on such trip workings. It's one of the consolations of growing old, that I was around to see those days! Cheers Mike

Jonathan, The motor is the Mashima 1224, with a High Level 108 : 1 gearbox. I didn't fit a flywheel though it is possible to get one in with some judicious removal of the side tank mouldings inside the body. With this gearing and, provided that the chassis is free running, I felt I didn't need a flywheel. The loco will run at crawling speed but still has sufficient torque to pull or push a reasonable load at these very slow speeds. I did cram as much weight as I could into these but they still only weigh in at around 7 ozs. I should add that both this chassis and the J72 chassis are sprung; that makes a hell of a difference to the haulage capability, though the driven axle is rigid on both locos. These chassis' also use a combination of metal and plasticard frame spacers. I find it much easier to fit pickups to a plasticard base than to try and isolate them from the metal frame spacers. The Bachmann body has new front splashers, sprung NER taper buffers, new handrails and safety valves. I still have to make the new footplate steps and tank front handrails plus a few other details but, hopefully, the photo below gives some idea. Still a bit to do on this J71 chassis as well! Hope this helps. I took the photo, earlier in the thread, as I was doing my six monthly service of all of my locos - cleaning wheels and pickups, removing gunge and just oiling around the locos. Cheers Mike

Certainly is, Iain. These gearboxes are about as good as it gets and, once the final drive gear is secured to the driven axle and the gears meshed in, they are virtually silent. The J72 in the photograph will actually push that lot up a 1 in 50 with almost no reduction in speed and this at a scale 1 - 2 mph. I'm just completing a J71 (from the Bachmann J72 body) with the same arrangement and this has similarly prodiguous pulling and pushing ability. Usual disclaimer - I've no connection with High Level Models; just a very satisfied user. Cheers Mike