mikemeg

Just to add a little more context to this next section, the bridge in the photo above forms the end of the second existing section of the railway, so what will now be built is the section approaching the foreground of this photo from the bridge, around a scale 200 yards. So let me post one more photo, this one of the model of the bridge, for this place has a very special significance to me and a whole generation of local railway enthusiasts (we were train spotters) in the fifties and sixties. So this photo is simply called 'The land of lost content'. Anyone familiar with the poems of A.E. Houseman will recognise the reference, for the bridge and much of the railway has long since gone. Cheers Mike

It's many a month since I posted anything regarding Hessle Haven, the layout, this simply because I haven't done anything to the layout. Having now largely completed the signals for both the existing sections and the third section, then it's now time to start work on that third section. Ever since I started this project, about three years ago now, much of the inspiration has been derived from those wonderful black and whote photos of the late fifties/early sixties. As I have oft times observed, I was very fortunate in finding a source of these photos and of various plans and drawings of this locale from which the model could be made. Thanks must go to my old mate, Mick Nicholson, for this material, without whose extensive archives, none of this would have been possible. As I've also mentioned before, this layout is unashamedly my attempt to re-create that place of my boyhood and youth where I and many of my mates first discovered the railway So, armed with the ex-NER white plan (this is the NER plan of the track and signal formations, detailed down to the yard, 36" yard), the signalling plan and some appropriate photos, I can now set about re-creating the real heart of this place, as it was in June 1950. I'll try and avoid any repetition of what has already been said but, if anyone is interested, then I will document the build of this section as thoroughly as I can. Additionally, there are a number of lineside structures to be built - Hessle Haven signal box, Hessle gasworks or some vestige of it and another bridge over the Haven itself, not forgetting the row of cottages, which is about all that now remains of the linesdie structures in the photo below. And, of course, there is a 4mm model of a very young 'Penguin of Doom' aka Sean, to place somewhere on the model, even if he didn't inhabit this locale in 1950. My intention is to scratch build much of the pointwork, using C8 and C9 turnouts wherever ppossible; the 'C' switches will be much kinder to the 8-coupled locos than 'B' switches, even if each turnout will be some 10 mm longer. So let me restart this thread with one of those black and white photos, this of one of Hull's ubiquitous Austerities bringing a freight into one of Hull's marshalling yards - mineral yard. One intersting aspect of this photo is how the track becomes 'pinched' from its 10', 6', 10' spacing, beyond the bridge, to 6', 6', 6' spacing towards the foreground. Not too many four track formations were so spaced, which is why there were no signals located within the bounds of the track formation from the bridge towards Hull. Cheers Mike

Thanks for that. I guess none of us aged eleven or twelve as we were could have imagined that we were seeing the beginning of the end of an era. Strange to think that while BR was still largely a steam railway with all of the toil and Victorian working conditions entailed in driving, firing and maintaining those machines, Boeing was testing a jet airliner, the 707, which would literally shrink the world. But for all of that, they were wonderful machines and they were memorable days. Cheers Mike

On this day in history. Doncaster - January 3rd, 1959 Leafing through those old and much treasured notebooks from my spotting days, I came across the section for a trip to Doncaster, made in very early January, 1959. It's strange how, even though the notebook records only a few times and, of course the loco numbers, as I read through these lists, memories of that day came flooding back. It was one of those very still, clear, bright, crisp days of winter; the sort of day that the railway photographers relished with exhaust plumes reaching straight up into a clear blue sky. We had left Hull on a Sheffield stopper, hauled by one of Dairycoates shed's redoubtable K3's. I didn't record the time of this departure but, from memory, it was around 8.00 am. The line out of Hull was always full of interest. Immediately after leaving the station we passed Botanic Gardens shed. Hull had three large locomotive sheds plus a sub shed located on one of the docks, though one of the three, Hull Springhead, had probably closed by this time. After passing through the town, the line then passed Dairycoates shed - the principal shed in the town before passing through the various marshalling yards situated between Dairycoates and Hessle. This was once the largest complex of marshalling yards in the world with four separate yards on the same site. The four track main line going westward split at Staddlethorpe, with one part going on to Selby and another to Doncaster. After the stop at Goole, the ex NER line crossed the old L&Y lines with Goole shed (50D) just far enough away to prevent the loco numbers being discernable. After Thorne North the line joined the old GN/GC line from Doncaster to Immingham and Grimsby at Stainforth. Here there was another large concentration of sidings where ex GC and GN locos would lurk - J11's, O1's, O2's - along with the ubiquitous WD's and 9F's. Also visible, occasionally, at this point would be one of Goole's ex L&Y pugs, doing some colliery shunting duty, though this was quite rare; they tended to work the dock lines around Goole docks. On through Hatfield North, passing a stream of freight trains, until the train made its measured and careful entry into Doncaster. And here we really were at the heart of the old LNER, with the 'plant' offices facing the station, the birthplace of so many of the locomotives which we had come to know. This was where Sir Nigel Gresley, Edward Thompson and Arthur Peppercorn had presided over their mechanical engineering empire. This was where the fabulous Gresley A1's (later A3's) and A4's had first seen the light of day, alomg with so many other famous classes. I can still remember, as we alighted from our train, seeing an immaculate Thompson A2 - 60531 Barham - waiting to set off for the South. This was a Scottish loco, rarely seen south of Newcastle or even Edinburgh for the 61B (Aberdeen) locos, so was a very welcome sight. Doncaster shed, which was then an easy 'bunk', was a fabulous place still clearly exhibiting its GN traditions with J6's, O2's, J50's and J52's. The proximity of the GC was also clearly evident with J11's, O4's; and almost every class of LNER locomotive was represented with the exception of the A4's, none of which were allocated to Doncaster but could be seen on their way to or from the locomotive works. A lone Britannia - 70007 Couer de Lion - in an appalling state, was the first 'Brit' any of us had ever seen. There were nearly a hundred locomotives on shed that day, of a profusion of types now only barely believeable. All of the principal trains were steam hauled; Copley Hill A1's or Kings Cross A1's, A3's or A4's on the Leeds trains, Kings Cross, Grantham, Doncaster, York, Gateshead or Heaton pacifics on the Newcastle or Edinburgh trains with V2's seemingly on everything from express passenger to empty mineral trains. A quick visit to the entrance gate by the end of the Crimpsall erecting shops to see what had just come out of the paint shop in the 'plant' revealed another gem - one of Haymarket's A4's 60012. There was only one working which would normally see a Haymarket A4 this far south and that was the Elizabethan, and that was a summer timetable working, so Haymarket Pacifics were always prize 'cops'. Two memories of that day abide above all others. Looking over the roadbridge to the south of Doncaster station and seeing three A3's all facing south. They were Lemberg, Donovan and Doncaster, almost consequtively numbered, each with an exhaust plume reaching up into the cold, clear sky as they set off for the south; each deliberately slipped by their drivers with that incredible cacophony of sound as they took hold of their train. The second abiding memory of that day was our first sight of A4's, at very nearly full tilt, as they came through Doncaster on those expresses which did not stop there. It was a sight to stir the heart of any enthusiast; it still is! Fabulous days in a world now long lost in the mists of time. Cheers Mike

I did find another photo of one of these vans during the build process. This one was finished in BR bauxite, with BR markings. At this stage, the van body is largely complete though the roof still has to be detailed and fitted. This van has the end doors with windows, where others had a plain door. This one also has the angle iron stiffeners under the solebars and a slightly different arrangement of lamp irons. This photo also shows the home made brake yokes, between the brakes and also the various drillings for the handrails, all of which were done before assembly. The modifications to the solebars also show up reasonably well in this picture. This is not the final paint finish but just the first very diluted coat of the final colour. Often, if I am going to seriously weather a van, I paint the whole thing in a greyed natural wood colour prior to applying the final colour. Part of the weathering process is then rubbing through the top colour back to this wood colour, simulating areas where the paint has simply fallen or worn away. Also worth noting that the roof has been rolled to a tighter radius than actually needed. It's easier to stick them if the radius is too tight than if it is undersized and once glued to the final radius, using the ends as the guide, the roof will retain that radius. Cheers Mike

Yeah, I too used masking tape for the same purpose, at first. But it does leave a residue of the m/tape adhesive on the plastic and, if rolling anything from .015" or .010" plasticard, then this can tear or deform when the masking tape is removed. What I wanted was a method which didn't impact the rolled component and where there was no residue left on the rolled component. This way seems to achieve that and everything used to brace the thing, while the rolling is being done, is reuseable (Yorkshire see; owt fer nowt - or at least very little. Only a comment on this one Yorkshireman, not a generalisation!) Cheers and have a very good Christmas. Mike

One final little 'wrinkle', this one for rolling van roofs. I normally roll these around a wine bottle, which I then fill with near boiling water and leave for around ten minutes. The roof then assumes the curve of the bottle and will retain it. However, it is the bracing of the roof around the bottle which is the trick, especially spreading the forces along the edges using strips of .060" plasticard. On van roofs I also place another .060" strip in the centre of the roof and, as with the edge strips, the full length of the roof. This to prevent the rubber bands, which are under quite some tension, from digging into and distorting the softened plasticard. Otherwise the roof may not roll evenly and may not retain its shape. The photo shows the trick of spreading the forces, though this was for a curved wall and was rolled around a wooden former; nonetheless exactly the same process. The whole lot was then dunked in boiling water and held down - wood floats - for five minutes. Again all roofs so rolled have retained their shape over three or more years. Cheers Mike

Jonathan, Make a simple jig, preferably from cardboard or any material not affected by poly solvent. This jig is cut to the curved profile that you want the rainstrips to adopt. Make the length of this jig 2 mm less, at each end, than the length of the rainstrips. Fix the jig to the roof, temporarily, with blu-tack, double sided sticky tape or whatever, where the rainstrip is to go. When I made my jig I also made it of the correct depth so that it not only provided the curve profile but, by lining the jig up against the edge of the roof, it also positioned the rainstrip with reference to the edges of the roof to ensure positional consistency. Take your rainstrip, cut to the appropriate length (and with this curvature the length of the arc is approximately equal to the straight line distance) and glue the ends to the roof outside of the jig but with the strip curved around the jig, so avoiding gluing the rainstrip to the jig or the jig to the roof - this is why the jig is slightly shorter than the rainstrip. Leave this to set, whereupon the jig can be removed and the remaining portion of the rainstrip glued to the roof and you have evenly curved and consistently curved rainstrips. Cheers Mike

Jonathan, I've taken enough space on this, your thread, so please allow me to offer you encouragement on your models and on the LNER Toad D, which is looking very good. If there is any more information which I may have accumulated in the process of building mine, then just ask, either on this thread or by PM. Keep up the excellent work. Now I'm back to building my signals and locos. Cheers Mike

I managed to get hold of a copy of an LNER GA Drawing, to supplement the Tatlow information; there were too many queries to use the drawing in the Tatlow book as the sole source. The chimney plate is 1' 3" (5 mm) square, bolted at each corner to the roof. The chimney has an o/diameter of 4.5 " with the stepped portion having a diameter of 6". I assume that this was to keep the hot flue pipe away from the roof timbers; there would have been a circular hole in these roof timbers of a larger diameter than the flue pipe, I imagine. And there is a small handrail adjacent to the mounting plate and parallel to the van ends, towards the centre of the van, which was around 9 " (3 mm) long. Yes I used the Dapol lamp mouldings. First I squared them up on very fine emery, then removed the flash from the top projection. Then drilled them right though with a 1 mm drill and inserted sections of 1 mm aluminium tube into which are fitted pieces of clear polystyrene rod. The ends of this rod are then lightly 'polished' to give the impression of glass. Again, I did all ten lamps in one go and each took around ten minutes, from memory. It's one of those tiny details which benefits the model out of all proportion to its size. Cheers Mike

Using the plastic solebars, as supplied in the kit, one thing you can do is to use some 3 mm x .015" brass strip (this used to be available from Mainly Trains) and superglue it to the back of the solebar, making sure that the strip is glued over its entire length. This will stop any bending or twisting of the solebar, at least in the vertical plane. Yes, I know, bit late for the one you're doing, but you might do another one. On the ones I did, I retained the plastic solebars, because I wanted the springs and spring hangars, which were attached, however I filed the back and front of the solebar flat (the '[' section of the solebar is way overscale anyway) then glued a length of 3mm brass strip all the way along the solebar, after which I added .020" x 1.5 mm pieces along each edge of the solebar to give the '[' section. I now had a solebar which was 4 mm deep, which matches the drawing. The top and bottom of the '[' section were dressed back to around .010" depth leaving a 3.5 mm channel. A 3.5 mm x .010" plasticard strip was then detailed with rivet and various other details and then glued into the '[' channel over the brass strip using slow setting cyano. I did all ten solebars together and the whole process took a couple of evenings to produce the ten solebars for the five models. These were done around two and a half years ago and have stayed absolutely straight. Getting the solebars right, on these LNER Toad D's, is half the battle to capturing the essential character of these vehicles. Another thing is the stepped chimney, where the chimney pipe goes into a casting which then fits into a square plate with the corners rounded. And don't forget that on the LNER vans the lamp irons were fitted to the lower section of the veranda, again all helps to capture that character. As to the rainstrips on these vans - were they straight or curved - all I can add is that the LNER General Arrangement Drawing does give an indication of this. It also shows the extent of that curvature (or straightness)! Cheers Mike

It certainly is a beautiful object. I live quite close to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway where 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley spends most of its time. It's amazing how many folks, who never knew these things, just stand in absolute awe when 60007 appears, just as we did when any 'streak' appeared, fifty or more years ago. They were and are a timeless classic and continue to thrill as they always have. Cheers Mike

Looking at the pictures of LNER Toad D long wheelbase vans - the Toad E's were 10' 6" wheelbase vans (Tatlow Pages 166 & 7) - I agree, the rainstrips do look straight and parallel to the edge of the roof. I think, however, part of that may be the angle from which these vans were photographed and I have worked on the assumption that these strips were quite gently curved. Sods law, the drawing on Page 168 of the Tatlow book doesn't show them, though the drawing of the Toads B & E (page 166) does. So I'll certainly not set out to prove you wrong or me right. And yes, the lines of rivets do follow the underframe members. Cheers Mike

Yeah, I too looked at what could be used/what needed replacing. This is an old kit - good for its age - but many of the mouldings are just overscale so were discarded. The steps were cut from .015" plasticard, with the reinforcing portion a piece of .020" x .020" plasticard, glued to the back of the stepboard. The supports and fixings for the stepboards are .030" x .010" microstrip. I believe that the end platforms, both concrete and sheet steel, were painted in the body colour - red oxide, or grey on the unfitted vans - but I can't find a photograph with a viewing angle to confirm or deny that. The veranda floor I painted natural wood on the basis that the guard would wear away any paint. What is visible from photographs is a line of rivets around three sides of the steel plate platform - covering the buffer beam and sides but not the join to the veranda end. Photo below shows a van (from that initial batch of five) similar to the one you are doing; this one well worn and weathered. The lamp fixed to the top of the body has been modified by fitting lens into the lamps. Just a point on rainstrips. These were always curved, otherwise they would have accumulated water along their length, rather than deflecting it. Cheers Mike

I hope you won't mind me posting this but I too did a batch of these Dapol brake vans, a couple of years ago, converting them to the LNER versions of this van, including one which was not vacuum fitted and was produced for the Cheshire Lines Committee. As well as the list of changes shown above, I made new solebars with full rivet and works plate detail - the original ones simply wouldn't stay straight and had no detail. A new roof (.020" plasticard rolled around a wine bottle filled with very hot water) with new rainstrips (strips of .010" plasticard cut with a scalpel) and chimney. The roof supplied is far too thick and can't easily be thinned, hence the new one. New ends to the cabin, which were flush glazed, though I retained the original ends to the veranda. New handrails (0.3 mm wire) and new steps under the solebars Also much new on the underframe. Anyway this is one of five I did; three with the concrete platforms and two with the iron platform. Peter Tatlows book on LNER Wagons gives quite extensive details of the various forms of the LNER long wsheelbase guards van. Oh and I glazed the duckets, too; makes a hell of a difference! And the grey colour on the platforms and veranda floor, that's just my version of soot and muck - it's actually a layer of dust! Cheers Mike

Nidge, Many thanks for the comments. Perhaps, when next we get to July and August dates, I will try and describe one August Sunday afternoon in 1959 when we did Camden, Willesden, Old Oak Common and Kings Cross, all between 12.00 pm and around 6.30 pm. To see the lines of Pacifics and V2's in 'Top Shed' or the first time I ever saw the copper capped chimneys and brass safety valves of the Kings, Castles, Counties, Halls, Granges and all of those other ex-GWR locos on their 'day off'. There again, perhaps first seeing the ex-LMS Coronations and Princess Royals, along with the Royal Scots, Jubilees and Patriots on Camden and Willesden. And that day the notebook shows seeing nearly four hundred steam locomotives, all in a single long, warm summer's afternoon. The following Saturday was Kentish Town and Cricklewood and the final Sunday of my 1959 summer was the various southern sheds. I used to stay with an uncle and aunt in Romford, near London, for about three/four weeks, each summer during the late 50's and early sixties. As a twelve year old (at least in 1959) I did get refused entry or just 'chucked out' of a number of sheds but, more often than not, perseverence paid off. The highlight was Stratford that same summer, for even by 1959, Sunday in Stratford was simply incredible, with well over two hundred on the one shed. Yet only four or five years earlier it could have been well over three hundred locos on that same shed on those Sunday afternoons - now it beggars belief! I would give a few quid to be able to see one of those sheds again, just as they were on those long, lazy summer Sunday afternoons of the late fifties for there were no places quite like them; they were 'cathedrals' dedicated to the steam locomotive - simply magical places. Cheers Mike

This day in history - York - October 11th 1958 On that day, now more than half a century ago, an eleven year old lad with two of his mates, made his first spotting trip away from his home town. Platform 9 at Hull Paragon station for the 8.25 all stations to York - an eight car multiple unit; four two car Cravens sets. The line from Hull to York still had many NER slotted post lower quadrant signals, stations with working goods yards and pick up goods trains. The entire line was much as it would have appeared in Victorian times, though then none of us had any idea of what we were passing through. As we drew into York, over Lendal bridge, we saw our first green engine of the day and the first V2 any of us had ever seen, as it slid into the station - 60872 Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. I can still see that V2 as it moved majestically into York station. Too many locomotives on that day to enumerate and you don't want yet another long list of numbers. Memories of that day - hundreds :- Looking through the window of the repair shop at the back of York shed to see three A1's - Boswell, Sea Eagle and Balmoral, 60138, 139 and 140. Where did they get those incredible names from. Later we would see another seven A1's but none more appropriately named than Hal O'the Wynd, was there ever a more evocative name for a locomotive. We saw nine A3's, six A2's - including an A2/2, Earl Marischal - on that day but only once would we thrill to the unmistakable sound of a chime whistle announcing the passing or arrival of an A4, 60015 Quicksilver. Jubilees and an Unrebuilt and unnamed Patriot came in on the Bristol and Birmingham trains; those going on northwards changing locomotives to Pacifics or V2's. Though we couldn't get into or round the two turntables in the shed, we were able to find a hole in the fence and do the locomotive yard and what a sight that was. Row upon row of locomotives, of two dozen or more different classes B1's, B16's, K1's, K3's, D49's and many more. An almost incessant stream of freights passed, either through the station or taking the avoiding lines at Holgate. Ex LNER 2-8-0's, LMS 8F's and Back 5's and Austerities and 9F's, over twenty different 9F's in the day, plus J39's, one J27 and a host of B1's, K1's and K3's. In the day we saw almost two hundred steam locos and various diesel shunters and multiple units; the later main line diesels had not yet made their appearance beyond the first examples of some classes. Home on the 7.13 stopper to Hull, sitting in a compartment of a Gresley coach and pulled by B1 61304. Tired, quite grubby but with three full pages of the new notebook filled with numbers. Now, it seems almost beyond belief that so many trains, so many locomotives of so many different types could be seen in a single place on a single day. I still consider myself lucky to have seen those days, yet only seven or eight years before that the locomotive numbers and variety would have been even more staggering. Cheers Mike

If ever there was a thread which espouses the view 'just get on and try it, you'll never know what you can do until you try' it is this one. For me, this thread is just essential reading on building model locomotives and shows just what can be done without expensive and complex machine tools. Many thanks for a truly inspiring thread. Cheers Mike

Here's another photo from the Hessle Haven 'archives'. One of the things which fascinates me is light; this largely through taking up painting only a couple of years ago. So though the railway ends abruptly on this photo, it was the light which gave rise to its being taken, the natural light of approaching evening. So in the lengthening shadows of evening, a Gresley V2 brings its train under shipyard bridge and on towards Hull. Cheers Mike

Pete, The chairs are glued to the sleepers using one of the proprietary plastic solvents, mek-pak or similar. I normally dose the sleeper in the solvent, at both points where chairs are to be attached, prior to glueing the chair. I normally allow the solvent to soak into the sleepers for around half an hour and then fix the chair with more solvent. It's not absolutely foolproof and I have had the odd chair loosen, but it does seem to provide a durable and lasting bond. It also affects the wood dye, around the chair, by somehow accentuating the brown, which, quite accidentally, gives that pool of rust around the chair seating on the sleeper. Yes if you look closely the lengthman has missed a few fishplates. I'm gonna have to 'walk' the entire track and put a few back. Cheers Mike

Hi Mike, Good to hear from you. You ask what was the colour of the ballast, as supplied. The ballast is a commercial product, for 'n' gauge, and is actually very fine granite chippings with a very light greenish grey colour. When this stuff is damped, then it really does turn a very discernable green colour, which doesn't seem to go away when it dries. I had hoped that by using the real thing it might be the real colour but I've never seen any ballast which was green, hence the need to paint the stuff. As supplied the stuff also has a very even colour, so even without the 'all over' grey base colour, I would still have needed to pick out the highlights in the various whites, browns, greys and black. Yes, the ballast was painted avoiding the sleepers, which were already couloured prior to laying them. I found this became reasonably easy after practice though maintaining the concentration to do this was a challenge. There are loads of good colour photos from the 1950's and 60's which show the colour and the effects on the ballast of years of weathering and I might yet just airbrush another coat of 'muck and oil' over various areas just to tone it all down a little more and to add some more variation, especially where locos would have been stationary i.e. ends of platforms, by signals, etc. Cheers Mike

Darren, Thanks for the posting. I spent a long while experimenting with ways of building and colouring the trackwork, to try and achieve that prototypical look. For me it is all about capturing that elusive 'essence' of the real thing. Hard to describe, harder still to define but recognisable when (and sometimes if) it is achieved. I use the digital camera throughout every aspect of the build, not just to record progress on here but to check whether that 'essence' is there. This by photographing various aspects of the models from vantage points as the prototypes would have been photographed. I was very lucky in finding a source of information about this place; someone who had plans, drawings, and a huge archive of photographs of not only this locale but much of what was the old NER and LNER - Mick Nicholson. Without Mick's incredible archive of information, none of this could have been done. It's strange just how my own recollections of this place had become almost idealised and bore no relationship to how it actually looked. Perhaps not surprising as the model represents the scene of sixty years ago - long before I knew it! I still have to 'plant' the banks on this section and build the fences, along with mounting point rodding (dummy) on those rodding stools by the up slow. Then some signal wire posts (dummy again, hell life's too short to try and use wires) and this scene is about complete. Cheers Mike

And when the next section of the railway is built; the section shown in one of the first photos on this thread, then the centrepieces will be these signals which stood here. Now, of course, they are long gone, replaced by colour lights, but this is what they looked like, now more than half a century ago. Cheers Mike

Not a lot of progress on the railway itself while I build the signals which stood in this place. This photo has been posted to the signal building thread but, I guess, it really belongs on here for this, for me, is what this modelling is all about - re-creating those scenes of our boyhood and youth. I can never think of this place without remembering the final lines of A. E. Houseman's immortal poem 'A Shropshire Lad' :- It is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain. Those happy highways where we went And cannot come again. Needless to say, the gantry is scratch built, as are all of the signals; there are no etches available for these things. Cheers Mike

Many years ago there was a bridge over the railway, at a place called Hessle Haven, just outside Hull on the mainline going to all points west. It was a railway kind of place with lots of intricate pointwork and three of those wonderful McKenzie and Holland gantries and signal bridges. As kids we would spend hours and days at this place, just watching the never ending procession of trains. So this was the view from Gasworks or Shipyard bridge looking west through the down gantry. This photo confounds all of the 4mm norms - too close, very dark, etc. but, hopefully it conveys just something of the atmosphere of the steam railway of the 1950's. Everything on here is scratch built. Cheers Mike