Middlepeak

I felt I had to prove that the last 5 months have not been entirely idle, so here's a quick update on progress. Boards 1 and 2, covering the east end of the yard have now been joined and are sitting temporarily on the old Middlepeak legs to allow better access for track building. With the exception of two sets of point blades, all of this track has now been built and various tests with the Peckett and the battery controller show that everything is OK. Stretcher bars and a few cosmetic chairs around the rivets will then be added before an initial coat of paint across board 2. The photo below shows the view from the Middleton end of the layout. I've now taken delivery of the first batch of under board gubbins from my good friend Brian Page. Firstly the turnout operating units, which follow a design we first came up with many years ago, using K&S brass tube. Brian has now produced an etched nickel silver version, which will need the tubes soldering on that run up through the baseboard surface, with the wires attached to the point blades. Secondly we have a new version of the point motor. This uses a small enclosed motor and gearbox to drive a rotating cam, with a piston arrangement to provide an adjustable final throw. These work off a 12vdc supply, with a variable resistor to provide variation in throw speed. This design has proved very reliable for points and signals up to now, but the improved motor unit should increase the reliability still further. The less time fiddling under baseboards the better! It's been a very strange year for us all, but here's to a much better 2021! Happy Christmas All!! Geraint

Looks like the tram driver playing chicken with the swing bridge - reminds me of the bus drivers taking their chance with the traffic lights on the Cambridge Guided Busway! Geraint

Apologies - these are quick shots from my phone! G

A couple more. G

Jonathan, Another source, which you may have, is this book from Alistair Lofthouse, with steam era photos from E R Morten, largely 1950s and early 60s. Geraint

Jonathan, The Welch photo comes from Mike Bentley's "Scenes from the Past 2, The Railways Around Buxton" (Foxline). I can scan from that and the other relevant Foxline books if you haven't got them. Let me know what you're looking for in particular. Geraint

Jonathan, Buxton did have one, beyond the signal box, just before the goods yard lead joined the up road. Just visible above the rail bus on this photo taken by M S Welch in 1967. Regards, Geraint

Jay, The Simplex body is scratch built in plasticard. Likewise the McConnell tender, using drawings in Harry Jack's HMRS article. The six-wheel version is now available as an etched kit from London Road Models and on my 'to be built' shelf! G

Jay, Here's a photo of the beast (Derbyshire Stone No.3) at Killers in 1962 - Original from Jim Peden. Compare it with No.2, which looked all the more 'home made' - photo from John Windle. Finally a pic of my model of No.2 on Middlepeak. Tenshodo motor bogie with P4 wheels and quite a reliable little loco, provided that you keep the wheels clean! G

Jay, This is a Simplex or Motor Rail shunter employed at one of the quarries (probably Killers) for internal movement of wagons. I think this one survived at Bowne & Shaw's in Wirksworth until the late 70s, although probably not in working order. I remember seeing it peeping out of the undergrowth on one of my visits there. Killers had a second machine with what looked like home made bodywork, which was more frequently photographed. Regards, Geraint

Al, In general the later Midland tenders were left as 6-wheelers, I think because they were introduced in the 60s, after Middleton Incline was closed and water traffic came in from Buxton. The former LNWR tenders always did have the centre axle removed, and could therefore be used for the remaining water traffic up Sheep Pasture Incline. Regards, Geraint

Hi Jay, Coming along great and the variations in colour in the grass really show up well. One comment though - shouldn't there be a bit more scree showing on the surface of the tip in the background? As you say, "now for the walls"! Cheers, Geraint

Jonathan, When you say 'flexible' does that apply in the vertical direction too? Mine need to accommodate slight variations in ground level. Looks good though! Geraint

Jay, Those look great. Are you planning to "string" them? I've always shied away from that, on the grounds that it's very difficult to get the lines thin enough and with the appropriate amount of sag. Some people use EZLine, but being elastic that ends up taught and not very convincing. I did read somewhere of an idea that you somehow lay the line flat with the correct sag and then apply superglue over all but the last 10mm or so next to each pole, where you need some elasticity to maintain the right shape. Sounds a bit fiddly, but it might work. Regards, Geraint

OK Al, just to spur you on, here's my model of 47000 at work on my previous Middlepeak layout. Built from a Jidenco kit with many modifications, it has a 1219 Portescap motor and Sharman wheels, all of which date it considerably. That said, it survives in full working order after at least 25 years and will appear on the current Friden layout as a light engine returning from Crewe Works after repair in 1956 following the Steeplehouse derailment. I've looked at Mike's kit on his stand at shows, and it looks an excellent model. What's more, Mike's reputation as a kit designer suggests that it will be a relatively straightforward and enjoyable exercise to put it together. Take your time, and I hope you're pleased with the result. If you need any help ..... SHOUT!! All the best, Geraint

Jonathan, Looking excellent. I've found that in such locations the final touch is to apply selective patches of winter or dead static grass to simulate the longer growth found at the line side. Best wishes, Geraint

Hej Mikkel, Thanks for your nice comments. The layout has appeared in Lokomotivet magazine and we came to the DMJU exhibition at Bramdrupdam in 2014, so in some respects we may have already contributed a little to the 'revolution'! If you can think of any other way to get the video seen by a wider audience in Denmark, I would be very happy to consider it. Best wishes, Geraint

Very grateful Peter. Nice to have some positive comments at the end of what felt at times as a long slog! Geraint

Thanks Ian. Glad you enjoyed it. Geraint

Ian, Many apologies, the video goes 'public' at midnight, in deference to the S4um event today. It is however available on the Scaleforum site before then. Sorry I was a little impatient! Geraint

Today has been an interesting one, with Obbekaer appearing in its first 'virtual' exhibition - Scaleforum. In many respects the day itself has been quite a relaxing. I've even managed to multi-task by watching the cricket on TV whilst looking at the various presentations. The full show can be visited at www.scaleforum.org, even after the show closes in an hour's time. One of the stars of the show for me was Vincent de Bode's 'De Graafstroom'. I've been good friends with Vincent for many years and I saw this layout in an embryo state in Vincent's loft nearly 20 years ago. It's really a stunning depiction of a typical rural scene from the middle of the last century, and with a strong family connection .... but I won't spoil things any more! A few words about the process of filming though. This had to be done in the middle of lockdown, with my wife in shielding mode, so none of the usual helpers could be there to assist. It also meant that the layout had to be erected single handed across our lounge, with very little room to spare, and yours truly was left to operate the phone camera with one hand and the controller with the other, whilst occasionally running round the back of the layout to change points and signals! Thankfully the editing suite allowed me to remove the pregnant pauses and bad language. All in all, the whole project took around 30 hours, including story writing, filming, recording the commentary and editing. It's been good to get back to the workbench after all that. You can now see the video on my new YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/HilG__1p13k Regards, Geraint

I'm afraid I would have to agree with Berwicksfinest on this one. There are many sides to a business case, not just funding the capital for construction. I also look at it from the TOC perspective, as a former GA employee. A service like this will demand additional investment in rolling stock (potentially 3 units for an hourly service, dependent on the timing of available paths), and the incremental revenue generated from the new station at Wisbech will have to cover this. Incremental revenue from the other stations served would be marginal and may also detract from the bottom line of existing services. Then we have the issues of revenue costs of running and maintaining the new station at Wisbech, which will have to be set against the revenue generated. Finally, the question of revenue generation. We all know of the impact that the current pandemic has had on passenger numbers and consequently on TOC revenue. Current predictions are that it will take some time for revenue to even approach pre-pandemic levels. Both the level and frequency of commuting by rail is likely to be different in the future, so there will inevitably be some impact on the business case. Therefore the assumption that building houses in Wisbech will fill jobs in Cambridge and provide immediate patronage for a new rail service seems at best hopeful. As they say, we'll see.

Nick, I'd heard of these but never really investigated the website, so thanks for the link. Glad to hear that the service has been good too. I'll be interested in numbers for my Litra F - when I get round to finishing it! Geraint

Carl, I took the decision early on that these would not be commercial in any way because they largely cover a "might have been" railway and therefore would be of little use to anyone else. That said, if there was sufficient interest in transfers for a small range of Danish wagons from Epoch III, I could use the existing artwork to put something together, and we could see if Simon would be prepared to produce them. Regards, Geraint