Mrkirtley800

Don, I was 72 and a half when I had the first problem. Olga and I were keen folk dancers and used to be in three clubs, dancing three or four evenings each week. We were so very fit, then during the New Years Eve dance in 2007, my right knee gave up, and that was it. So treat your joints with kid gloves. Derek

Thank you for your nice comments fellas. Martin, I have some friends at the local model railway club, who I am sure would come and play with my trainset. I had two good mates, both lived about 20 miles away. One of them, Fred, loved to come and run our layout, but sadly Pete died about 15 years ago then Fred 10. I still miss them, having known them for well over 40 years. Fred and I used to phone each other regularly, especially if we had a problem with our modelling. During his last couple of years we spoke nearly every day. All that was when I had Canal Road, a big roundy of EM and 00. I started the present layout when my knees began playing up, placing the controls of signals and points so that I would have to keep moving during an operating session. It was a very successful idea and kept my seized up joints working, until that is, just recently, when movement has become more difficult. So it seems my idea has come back to bite me in the nether regions. I live about 180 miles north of you, Martin, but if you find yourself in the North Yorkshire coastal area, you would be welcome to do some operating. Probably have to clear the spiders webs away first. Coincidentally, before my cranky knees stopped my driving long distances, I used to visit your neck of the woods. My youngest son and family live near Stamford. Derek

Thank you fellas, it is all very frustrating to say the least. I even have problems climbing onto my posh chair. Derek

Quite a while since my last entry on this thread. Kirkby Malham has been pretty well dormant over the last six months with few trains running. Sadly, my arthritis got worse towards the end of 2018 and early 2019, so that operating the layout became difficult. So, off I went on a loco building exercise. I have always had a desire for a Midland Railway 1808 class slim boilered 4-4-0. There is a kit for these engines but I decided to do a bit of scratch building. I did say at the time that I would describe the build as it progressed, but because of my knee problems, once I sat on my stool at my bench, I didn't move away until the session ended, and I went on with the build, so for that I apologise to anyone who wanted to see the various stages. As it was, I could sit for only 90 minutes before giving up for the day, which might explain why it has taken me a long time to build a fairly simple engine. It isn't finished yet. It still requires cab details, guard irons, tender brake gear and some sort of propulsion. I would, in the past, have built the main frames and installed the wheels and motor/gearbox and made sure it would work before starting on the bodywork, but for the reasons I have already outlined. I went ahead and built the bodywork. I have a High Levels 60/1 gearbox to make up and use with my last Mashima 10/24 motor. I have had a go with putting the gearbox together but found it a bit difficult. I have steady hands and reasonable eyesight, but not good enough for these rather lovely gearboxes. Perhaps the years are catching up with me. So, here are a couple of pics of 1809 so far, a bit scruffy but 80% complete. I must say, how much I have enjoyed building this engine, and if my joints continue to stop me playing trains, perhaps I might indulge myself and build something else. You never know!! Derek

Here are a few pics of my attempt to scratch build a Midland slim boilered 1808 class 4-4-0, taken on Kirkby Malham turn table. It looks a bit scruffy although I do clean up after my periods of building. The other pics are really a very unlikely happening, with three Midland express engines in KM shed at the same time. The far engine is a 2183 class, again scratch built about 20/25 years ago for my Canal Road layout. Painted by Coachman Larry. The engine in front of 1808 is an early Ratio kit with moulded on handrails. I spent hours scraping them off and replacing with wire ones. The motor, wheels and frames (AKA chassis) I threw away and built new running gear of brass. This loco nearly broke my heart as it wouldn't pull anything, and after many years messing about with it I have a motor in the engine plus a tender drive, with matched motors and gears. It now runs so beautifully. The 1808 is only about 80% complete, still needing a motor and gearbox. I have a gearbox to make up, and although I have steady fingers and reasonable eyesight, the gearbox has so far defeated me. It is from the High Level stable. I have not started on cab detail or tender brakes yet, so I think it may be some time before it enters service. I find I have problems with the Johnson style chimneys. I have, over the years, bought by mail order a number of chimneys described as Johnson type, but when they arrive, are more like Fowler designs. The old Ks cast chimneys came nearest and I did buy some many years ago. The one on the 1808 was the last of the bunch and was quite distorted and needed a lot of fettling. If anyone has the same problem and has found a decent Johnson style chimney, please let me know. My youngest son models in '0' gauge and the chimneys on his Midland engines are really superb The last pic is of a train arriving at Kirkby Malham from Bradford Market Street. Derek

Thank you for showing those photos, I really enjoyed them. Derek

That looks very nice, are there some more pictures to come?

Strange isn’t it, that daughters never invite dads to romantic dinners, and it is fatallyeasy to embarrass them, I do it by starting to sing. I think I am pretty good, but obviously my daughter does not agree, neither do her two girls. Derek

Aye, you tell ‘em straight Al, don’t let the possibility of them dropping you amongst a group of hungry lions put you off. Derek

Hope it comes out in crimson lake this time Paul. Derek

Nice to see you again Jeff. I hope I will be around long enough to see your next effort, 2021 seems a long way ahead for such an old grump like me. An 8 foot viaduct would be quite something. Will the new layout be EM? Derek

Thank you for your nice comments Dave. I had meant to create a thread showing the building of my 1808, but because of my cranky knees, when I sit down at my bench, I stay there, so any photos I should have taken of the build are missed. I will, though, try to take some pics of the progress so far, although it looks anything but elegant at the moment. Derek

I should have added that the belpaire has had better wheels and motor gearbox since it was first built. Originally it sported Hamblins wheels and a Ks mark1 motor. painted by my old mate Larry Goddard. The compound was painted by me, so you will never see the two engines together. Derek

Here is the not quite alpha and omega of my model railway life. The 700 class was built in 1959, so is now knocking 60 years old. that summer was wonderful with wall to wall sunshine and I was swotting for my chemistry finals which were due to be sat in the September. So as a change from studies I built the engine. I built it outside at my parents house, using a blowlamp to heat up the soldering iron and a huge stick of solder and , what my father called, killed spirits, zinc in hydrochloric acid. My bench was the top of the concrete coal bunker and the vice was in the shed. Happy days. The bogie tender was built a little later when I had a house of my own. Up to then, I paired the loco with a tender from the Triang L1 This was built to EM gauge but previously I flirted with TT gauge when I built an LMS 2P. Later I had a go at narrow gauge and built a Trallee and Dingle 2-6-0T. Both these locos were not very good and I gave them away. A Midland 1400 class 2-4-0 followed but I managed to get the boiler sloping down to the front, so that was given away also. The Johnson compound was built over a period of about ten years 1995 to 2005 to run on Canal Road, my Settle Carlisle type station. Unfortunately Canal Road was scrapped when my arthritic knees started giving me grief, and now I operate Kirkby Malham, a terminus to fiddle yard layout, so my two engines with bogie tenders are not used , they will not fit on K-M turntable. between these two engines, I produced a fair number of locos, mainly Midland for me but North Eastern for friends. I am currently building a slim boilered 4-4-0 of the 1808 class. This one, I think will be my last one as this year I will be 84 years young. Derek

Very nicely modelled Jamie, and superbly finished Derek

He’s obviously having fun, wonderwho his partner is.

At least it is a clean version of the little ditty. I seem to remember we had different wording when I ‘were a lad’ Derek

Enjoy the weekend Paul. I am envious and wish I could be there, if only to hassle you and Boris. Don’t forget, if you need a reliable loco, you can borrow my old Kirtley. Derek

They look very good, and something I missed out on. In my other life, working for a living, I spent a lot of time driving between our laboratories in North Yorkshire, covering about 25000 miles a year during the 1980s, and all I got were soup bowls and wine glasses. Derek

Aye, if ever a man suffered. Us modellers have a hard life.

No need for any apols. My memory is a bit sieve like, so nice to be reminded of the relevant facts. Derek

Thanks, I will try that.

That looks really interesting. How about some more photos? Derek

This is very much one of my favourite threads for the atmosphere generated together with some delightful modelling. Superb. Derek

I can't really match that last entry, beautiful picture, was it anything to do with the 'Plant Centenarian' run to celebrate the centenary of Doncaster works. If I am way out on that, well, I am a Midland man. Here are a few pics of locomotives visiting Kirkby Malham during February and March. Some of the photos I have used before. I find it difficult to take new photos since I cannot stand very well and the camera is waving all over the place. However, these are some of the passenger locomotives being used of late. The Kirtley well tank was built in 1966 so is a grand old 53 years of age. I saw a photograph of one of these engines modelled in EM gauge by Frank Roomes on his Lutton layout on the front cover of the Model Railway News in about 1953, and lusted after it. It wasn't until I was married and bought a house that I could even think about doing anything about it. J.N.Maskelyne, editor of the Model Railway News did line drawings of many pre group engines, and I found he had done one of these old 0-4-4s. The drawing was to 10mm/foot scale, so was easy to scale down to 4mm. Originally it was powered by a Triang XT60 motor, which lasted for many years before giving up the ghost and was replaced by a Mashima. It is now used for the all stations local train between Skipton and Kirkby Malham. This is a six trains a day service with seven trips on Friday. Skipton market is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but Friday is the busiest (so I am told) so the additional round trip is on Fridays. The Kirtley 2-4-0, 800 class was built in about 1972/3. I wanted an '800' class after seeing the picture on the dust cover of the book on the Midland Railway by Hamilton Ellis. Again I turned to Maskelynes drawings, but this one was at a scale of about 8.25 mm/foot. So out came my slide rule (no electronic calculators in those days). The engine started off with a K's mark 2 motor, but was after some time replaced by a better motor and gearbox. Used on the service to Bradford (Market Street) The final one of the trio is a 2183 class (AKA class L) Johnson slim boilered 4-4-0, a very attractive looking engine. It was built during the later part of the 1990's, so was fitted with a good quality motor and gearbox from the start. All these locomotives were painted by my good friend (Coachman) Larry Goddard. Derek