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  1. barrowroad
    Since receiving the model of the Coaling Tower from Peter Leyland I have been collecting research material on the operation of the tower with the intention of making the coaler operational.
    Whether this results in full operation, with the wagon tipper operational, or whether the wagon hoist is just raised under the hood, remains to be seen.
     

     
    Recently I obtained permission from West Coast Railways to visit their Carnforth Site in order to photograph the Coal & Ash Plants as part of this research. The most difficult part of the research was to identify the tipping mechanism of the plant which is obscured by the 'hood' at the top of the hoist.
    For those officionados of mechanical coaling plants here are a few close up photos taken with a telephoto lens. Unfortunately the plant has concrete cancer and for the usual health & safety reasons [ I did ask] I was not able to climb the plant [ sounds like Jack i the Beanstalk]. The other reason being the bottom 20ft of the access ladder had been cut off!
     





     
    I have other photos of details on both the Coal & Ash plants if anyone is interested.
    West Coast Railways kindly gave me a guided tour of the site where amongst other locos present I saw Scots Guardsman and the completed chassis of Jubilee 'Galatea'. A pleasure to see another former Barrow Road loco in the process of restoration.
     
    A trip down to the East Lancs followed with the sighting of another ex Barrow Road Jubilee 'Leander' and a trip behind her to Rawtenstall & return.
     
    Today I visited the History Centre at Chippenham where I found the 1937 GA drawing of Bristol LMS - Locomotive Coaling Plant - Ref 2515/409/0719ms. Excellent drawings of the end and front elevation with the 'hood' removed.This drawing has eluded me on previous visits not least because it is not with the other Barrow Road material - it was with the GWR Bath Road shed material - now I do'nt recall that railway having modern coaling facilities!
     
    In the meantime I am pressing on with the 'very long' ash disposal pits. An update will follow in the next few days.
  2. barrowroad

    Bristol Barrow Road

    By barrowroad,

    Bristol Barrow Road
     
    by Barrowroad
     
    original page on Old RMweb
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:55 pm
     
    About 25 years ago I started collecting information and photographs of my local ex Midland Railway shed, Bristol Barrow Road, and vowed that one day I would create a layout of the site. Well over the past year, with the help of some fellow modellers I now have the baseboards for the layout.
     

     
    The track plan has been produced using templot and has been printed out full size utilising O/S map information to position the shed roundhouse, coaling tower, ash plant and the prominent road viaduct - Barrow Road - which bisects the shed yard. The coaling tower was built for me by Peter aka 'Gravytrain'.
     

     
    Just a taster for now. I shall post some information on the construction of the boards later.
     
    Why 25 years - well I have managed to convert and extend to the garage to house the layout and in the intervening period I built a layout based on my other railway interest the Cromford & High Peak Railway.
    http://www.glevums4.co.uk/Sheep_Pasture_frame.html
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by 70015APOLLO on Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:35 pm
     
    Only the other day I came accross some very good photos of Bristol Barrow Rd shed whilst looking at Mac Hawkins book "Ivo Peter's Classic Steam" (ISBN 0 86288 058 0) - Photo on page 81 is a good shot alongside the main line, MPD to the left, looking along the sweeping curves to the road bridge. A first class location to model -- oozing with atmosphere.
     
    Brit15
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Kenton on Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:57 pm
     
    I'm intrigued to know why the baseboard is shaped like a coffin
     
    Is this to be P4 ? what time period ?
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by corax67 on Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:46 pm
     
    I'm intrigued to know why the baseboard is shaped like a coffin
     
    Perhaps one of the "fellow modellers" is an undertaker and recyled a bit of spare timber ? ? ?
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Mon Feb 09, 2009 10:47 pm
     


    70015APOLLO wrote:
    Only the other day I came accross some very good photos of Bristol Barrow Rd shed whilst looking at Mac Hawkins book "Ivo Peter's Classic Steam" (ISBN 0 86288 058 0) - Photo on page 81 is a good shot alongside the main line, MPD to the left, looking along the sweeping curves to the road bridge. A first class location to model -- oozing with atmosphere.
     
    Brit15
    Hi Apollo, I have that photo in front of me. Patriot 45504 Royal Signals was a Bristol loco from 1958 to 1962. I have a framed print of this wonderful Ivo Peters photograph on the wall which I obtained from Ivo Peter's son Julian. One of the Bachmann Patriot's, is waiting conversion to P4. The other two photos in the book aren't bad either!!
     


    Kenton wrote:
    I'm intrigued to know why the baseboard is shaped like a coffin
     
    Is this to be P4 ? what time period ?
    Hi Kenton,
     
    The boards look like a coffin because the track through the shed leads to a dead end!!
     
    The layout will be P4 and DCC set in the 1955 to 1962 period.
     


    corax67 wrote:
    I'm intrigued to know why the baseboard is shaped like a coffin
     
    Perhaps one of the "fellow modellers" is an undertaker and recyled a bit of spare timber ? ? ?
    Hi Corax,
     
    You need to look at it in perspective, nearly coffin shaped but not quite, as it doesn't taper at the 'head end'. Fortunately none of my fellow modellers is an undertaker but one could be classified a 'chip off the block'
     
    Cheers,
     
    Robin
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by BlazeyBridge2 on Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:44 am
     
    I imagine this is going to be a pretty good one if Sheep Pasture is anything to go by....
    I remember seeing SP exhibited at Cromford Wharf backalong....1995?... an excellent layout IMHO...
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Tue Feb 10, 2009 8:48 am
     


    BlazeyBridge2 wrote:
    I imagine this is going to be a pretty good one if Sheep Pasture is anything to go by....
    I remember seeing SP exhibited at Cromford Wharf backalong....1995?... an excellent layout IMHO...
    Hi Mike,
     
    Thank you for your kind words.
     
    Cromford Wharf April 1997, I remember it well, Sheep Pasture was in its embryonic state and was invited to attend an event to celebrate the 3oth anniversary of the closure of the Cromford & High Peak Railway. 'Middlepeak', the another CHPR layout, by my friend Geraint Hughes was also there and we even thought of joining the two together. Here is a photo of Sheep Pasture for you.
     

     
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Vanders on Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:11 am
     
    There's a coincidence: I've been looking at quite a few photos of Barrow Road & the old Midland line after a discussion elsewhere on RMWeb about Kingswood Junction, and I was thinking to myself "I've never seen a model of Barrow Road before"! I'll be sure to watch yours as it develops.
     
    Will you have any room on your layout for the Barrow Road arches?
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Captain Kernow on Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:21 pm
     


    barrowroad wrote:
    and we even thought of joining the two together
    For some reason, Robin, I thought that you had joined them together at one show, I have a particular memory of seeing them operating as one..... please tell me I'm not hallucinating!!
     
    Both are exquisite layouts and very nicely observed.
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:51 pm
     


    Vanders wrote:
    There's a coincidence: I've been looking at quite a few photos of Barrow Road & the old Midland line after a discussion elsewhere on RMWeb about Kingswood Junction, and I was thinking to myself "I've never seen a model of Barrow Road before"! I'll be sure to watch yours as it develops.
     
    Will you have any room on your layout for the Barrow Road arches?
    Hi Vanders,
    How could you have a layout of Barrow Road without the arches? I have room for the main line bridge and 5 arches but not the other eight. You can see the position of Barrow Road between the shed and the coaling tower.
     

     
    Hi Captain,
    I'm afraid to tell you you have been hallucinating
    It would have been a nice idea but we never did get round to it.
    Thank you for your kind comments on behalf of myself and Geraint.
     
    Cheers,
    Robin
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by adge-peanuts on Tue Feb 10, 2009 7:15 pm
     
    I like the idea of this layout.
     
    Used to work as a trainman and remember backing the Bristol Bin liner (Dusty Bin) train back into the siding that was is located there.
     
    Keep up the good work
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Wheeltapper on Tue Feb 10, 2009 8:10 pm
     
    I am looking forward to seeing the completed layout from the Days Road Bridge angle , a look over the parapet was always my first view of the shed with the resultant tingle of expectation . There was usually one or both of the sentinels parked on one of the stub roads beneath the vantage point and closely packed rows of locos on the sidings alongside the shed. Happy Memories !
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Gravy Train on Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:03 am
     
    Hi Robin,
    Its great to see that you are now making progress on the layout, just looking at the Templot track diagram it looks facinating, is it your intention to exhibit it?
    Looking at the coaling tower, i used to think it was a large structure but it appears somewhat dwarfed by the huge track layout, it is certainly going to be a layout to watch out for on RMweb as it developes.
    If Sheep Pasture is anything to go by then this layout will look the buisiness.
     
    cheers
     
    Peter
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:05 am
     


    Gravy Train wrote:
    Hi Robin,
    Its great to see that you are now making progress on the layout, just looking at the Templot track diagram it looks facinating, is it your intention to exhibit it?
    Looking at the coaling tower, i used to think it was a large structure but it appears somewhat dwarfed by the huge track layout, it is certainly going to be a layout to watch out for on RMweb as it developes.
    If Sheep Pasture is anything to go by then this layout will look the buisiness.
     
    cheers
     
    Peter
    Hi Peter,
    The coaling tower will certainly dominate the shed yard north of Barrow Road arches as did the prototype.
    I have designed the layout on seven boards to enable transportation to exhibitions. I have had some storage trolleys made, based on a design similar to one used by the guys from Liverpool Lime Street... I'll post some pictures in due course. Meanwhile here is a Bachmann Patriot positon under the tower... no track etc but I couldn't resist it.
     

     
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by timlewis on Wed Feb 11, 2009 3:22 pm
     
    Well, this looks like it will be very nice indeed: definitely one to watch.
     


    Kenton wrote:
    I'm intrigued to know why the baseboard is shaped like a coffin
    I'm glad to see that someone else has some weird shaped baseboards (see Coldstream link below), although mine are less obviously coffin shaped! Presumably, because you have the prototype track plan, you arrived, as I did, at an 'optimal' set of baseboard shapes taking into account the layout of the track, turnout positions etc. etc. rather than building a set of full-width rectangular boards and then finding joins in all the wrong places.
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by WD198 on Wed Feb 11, 2009 4:30 pm
     
    Looks like an ambitous project! Looks good so far, will be watching this with interest. About time we had some Steam MPDs, loads of modern TMDs but no so many Steam MPDs.
     
    Jack.
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:57 pm
     


    timlewis wrote:
    I'm glad to see that someone else has some weird shaped baseboards (see Coldstream link below), although mine are less obviously coffin shaped! Presumably, because you have the prototype track plan, you arrived, as I did, at an 'optimal' set of baseboard shapes taking into account the layout of the track, turnout positions etc. etc. rather than building a set of full-width rectangular boards and then finding joins in all the wrong places.
    Hi Tim,
    Just looked at your Coldstream link ....looking good. What adhesive have you used on the Exactoscale Foam?
     
    Barrow Road boards
    The size and shape of the Barrow Road boards were dictated by the templot track plan and the position of the turnouts. At the shed end I wanted the shed on one board and as the roundhouse is approx 182ft square this fixed the board size at 2ft 2in for the front elevation. The optimum board length worked out at 4ft 1in so I have the shed board at 2ft 2in by 4ft 1in. To fit in the main line and sidings alongside the shed, to include the prominent housing as a back scene requires a further board 1ft 6in wide giving a total width at the shed end of 3ft 8in... quite deep! These two boards are aligned along their length used C&L machined alignment dowels and joined using 6mm bolts and T nuts.
    The ajoining pair of boards are reversed, again giving a combined depth of 3ft 8in, in order to accommodate the trackwork. The next pair of boards, where the coaling tower and Ash Plant are to be sited are basically 4ft 1in by 1ft 6in but are made trapezoid to align them with the previous pair.
    The final board, a single 4ft 1in by 1ft 6in unit will house the trackwork at the throat of the shed yard and will contain Lawrence Hill Signal Box and the Lawrence Hill road bridge as a scenic break. This board has detachable trianglar boards which will accommodate 'urban scenery'.
    So to sum up we have two large boards [2ft 2in by 4ft 1in] and five small boards [1ft 6in by 4ft 1in] which, when joined together, form a large rectangle tapered towards the Lawrence Hill end.
    This standard length board has enabled construction of a pair of transport trolleys to be made for exhibition purposes. These are designed to fit into a transit type van.
     

     
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by London Midland Guard on Midland Guard on Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:58 pm
     
    I love that paper overlay plan, amazing! Please forgive me but Barrow Road is were in relation to Barton Hill ?
     
    I cant wait to see progress, amazing!.
     
    Cheers.
     
    LMG.
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:42 pm
     


    London Midland Guard wrote:
    Please forgive me but Barrow Road is were in relation to Barton Hill ?
    Hi LMG,
     
    You obviously know the Barton Hill area. The duel carriageway aka St Philips Causeway crosses the site and the Barrow Road arches were demolished to make way for this road.
    The stone wall behind the Formula One service garage - at the junction of the new Days Road - marks the route of the original Days Road around the back of the shed. On the other side of this wall is Barton Hill EWS depot. The EWS depot is adjacent to what was the midland main line which passed alongside the shed under Days Road bridge. In fact, I believe some of the main line track remains in the depot and is used to store visiting steam engines. One of the stone walls which borders the LEX facility forms the rear boundary of the shed site. The LEX site is situated on the site of the gas works at the rear of the shed.
    The main line continued on a curve to the side of the BIG YELLOW store and to the side of the BINGO hall. In fact this building is suitated where the coaler once stood. The embankment at the rear of the Bingo Hall is formed out of the rubble that once was Barrow Road Arches.The Bingo Hall car park continues up to the Lawrence Hill road bridge which is still there.
    The only original building remaining in Barrow Road is the Forgemans Arms pub.
     
    Hope this helps,
     
    Robin
     

     
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by London Midland Guard on Midland Guard on Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:58 pm
     
    I know where i am now, thanks for that. I think Ive actually walked round there once (It was enough ).
     
    Many Thanks.
     
    LMG.
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Tim V on Wed Feb 11, 2009 7:27 pm
     
    Does this help?
     

     
    Shows the Barton Hill flats.
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by timlewis on Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:40 pm
     


    barrowroad wrote:
    Hi Tim,
    Just looked at your Coldstream link ....looking good. What adhesive have you used on the Exactoscale Foam?

    Copydex for the first layer, which seems to work pretty well as long as you weight it well while it dries (although I think it would be relatively easy to remove, which may, or may not, be a good thing). The main running lines have two thicknesses, as they are slightly higher than the yard. I have attached this second layer using spray PhotoMount, which was easier and less messy than Copydex BUT, the boards have been lying around for a couple of months since I did this, and the second layer is beginning to peel off a bit along some edges. This may be because I didn't weight them properly, or because I didn't get enough adhesive at the edges (despite 'over-spraying' beyond the edge of the overlay). When I get back onto them (Christmas, work, decorating seem to have got in the way ), I think I'll re-do some with Copydex.
     


    London Midland Guard wrote:
    I love that paper overlay plan, amazing!
    Such is the power of Templot!
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Portchullin Tatty on Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:32 pm
     
    Robin,
     
    You are going to be busy in the coming months, years................. Then you have to build/convert the engines to go on it!
     
    It does look like the beginnings of a fine model though; and as others have said, you do have some positive history in this regard! I look forward to it.
     
    Don't use copydex to secure the ballest/track in place. When you subsequently come to do anything with it, such as drill holes for point rodding, it strings on you and you suddenly have a bare patch of foam. Now how do you think I know that...........!!
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by 10800 on Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:59 pm
     
    Look forward to seeing this, especially the roundhouse
     
    And another vote for non-rectilinear baseboards (see Eridge rebuilding link below)
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by ullypug on Sat Feb 14, 2009 7:49 pm
     
    Also looking forward to seeing more of this.
     
    How did you make the baseboards? i.e. frames, double beams, top down? I'm asking because I have a potential scheme for a roundy roundy that will need some very odd shaped baseboards.
     
    Cheers
     
    Andrew
    __________________________________________ Bristol Barrow Road
     
    by Barrowroad
     
    original page on Old RMweb
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by ullypug on Sat Feb 14, 2009 7:49 pm
     
    Also looking forward to seeing more of this.
     
    How did you make the baseboards? i.e. frames, double beams, top down? I'm asking because I have a potential scheme for a roundy roundy that will need some very odd shaped baseboards.
     
    Cheers
     
    Andrew
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:12 pm
     


    ullypug wrote:
    How did you make the baseboards? i.e. frames, double beams, top down?
    Hi Ullypug,
     
    Barrow Road boards are made from sheets of 6mm beech ply cut into strips 110mm wide and 104mm wide for the sides. The depth has been determined by the wish to use tortoise motors.
    The board sides are made by glueing one piece 110mm [outside] to one piece of 104mm [inside] to give a rebate on the top edge for the board surface, also 66mm sheet.
     

     
    A lightened cross brace of 6mm ply is positioned across the centre point of each side. The resulting box, including the top, was assembled and glued using clamps and the jig in the photograph. Please note one board from 'Brinkley' the S4 Glevum Group layout in the background.
     

     
    The alignment dowels are from C&L and were positioned, two per end and three per side using a jig to drill the holes using a fostner bit. Details of the number of boards and their dimensions can be seen in an earlier post.
     
    Cheers...Robin
     

     
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by ullypug on Sun Feb 15, 2009 9:11 am
     
    Thanks for that Robin
     
    I like the idea of laminating two sheets of 6mm and rebating the top. I did something similar with Weston, but used a twin beam a la Barry Norman. Do you plan to add any diagonal bracing? I've never risked not, but I don't know whether it's over the top really.
     
    That assembly table looks very impressive. Is it home built? I was thinking about making a jig for the 8 No trapezoidal boards I needs using an old kitchen worktop and some cramps.
     
    There's something about a new baseboard...
     
    Best of luck!
     
    Cheers
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:15 am
     
    Hi Andrew,


    ullypug wrote:
    Do you plan to add any diagonal bracing?
    I don't propose to use any diagonal bracing as the boards structure is very rigid.
     


    ullypug wrote:
    That assembly table looks very impressive. Is it home built?
    The assembly table is owned by my friend Chris in the Glevum S4 Group, without whose assistance and facilities, the boards would not have been built... at least not as accurately! I believe it was originally made to produce consistent 4 x 2 boards for a layout lost in the mists of time. It is certainly a useful piece of kit.
     
    Always liked your WCPR layout.
     
    Cheers,
     
    Robin
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by ullypug on Sun Feb 15, 2009 7:04 pm
     
    Hi Robin
     


    Always liked your WCPR layout.
    That's very kind. And I like Sheep Pasture too. It fits the 'different' tag which I seem to be drawn to. I've always thought Newquay harbour with its inclined tunnel would make an interesting layout, but that's another story!
     
    Cheers
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Spot on Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:22 am
     
    Nice work on the baseboards, as a Bristolian, now living in Gloucestershire, I am interested in how this is going now.
     
    Simon
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by 70015APOLLO on Sat Jun 06, 2009 6:04 pm
     
    Found some more very good colour pix of Barrow Rd shed in the book "British Steam in cameracolour 1962-68" by Robert Adley.Ian Allan book, published 1979 ISBN 0 7110 0987 2 (A4 format, double spreads are A3)
     
    P 28/9 Large double spread photo June 1964 - General view of Yard from overbridge, quite a few varied locos.
    P 60/1 Large double spread photo June 1964 - Unlined green, but clean Brit 70024 Vulcan at side of shed.
    P 68/9 Large double spread photo June 1964 - 1011 County of Chester in front of shed, gasholder to rear
    P 78 Single page, again June 1964 - 82004 on local train on main line passing shed.
     
    These are very atmospheric photos of workaday steam. In fact the whole book of large colour photos is first class, especially for the weathering effects.
     
    Long out of print, I got it for ?‚??1.00 yesterday in a s/h bookshop. Quick look shows 18 on Amazon from ?‚??0.73 - Bagain.
     
    Also, June 2009 "Steam Days" mag has an article re Bristol (MR/LMS lines), few photos, nice colour shot of Barrow Rd 1961, & photo of 2 L&Y pugs at rear of shed..
     
    Hope this is of use,
     
    Brit15
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Sun Jun 07, 2009 9:49 pm
     
    Apollo, Many thanks for the information on the Adley book. I do not have a copy but I have seen the photos you have listed. Just purchased a copy of Steam Days. I particularly like the shot of the BR Class 5 showing the trackwork into the shed yard.
     
    I am on a track building session at the moment and will, hopefully, and a post on the subject in the near future.
     
    Regards,
     
    Robin
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by michael delamar on Mon Jun 08, 2009 10:11 am
     
    this is going to be one fantastic layout, it has all the ingredients.
     
    I love sheep pasture, and Petes buildings are fantastic, your woodwork and standards seem very professional too.
     
    Im amased nowadays at people building large prototype locations, or what may seem large.
    maybe thats down to people realising that industrial areas dont actually take up as much space as a country branch say, theres a lot the real railway crammed in to Barrow road there.
    and of course using scratchbuilt track over rtr enables all the correct angles etc to be used.
     
    also having helped out with Lime st many times, the set up and take down with the trolleys will be so much more quicker and less tiring and stressfull than other less well designed or even smaller layouts.
     
    Mike
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by michael delamar on Mon Jun 08, 2009 12:47 pm
     
    will there be a way of seeing into the roundhouse?
     
    and Im sure youve collected many images of the area, are you looking for more and is there anything you need images of?
     
    a shot youve probably seen, a quick search of the net found it, but I thought it had so much atmosphere http://www.railphotoprints.co.uk/index. ... Ds&start=0
    Mike
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:41 pm
     
    Hi Michael,
     
    Thank you for your kind comments.
     
    I have a large collection of photos of the shed and surrounds but I am always interested in the more unusual shots. The RailPhotoprints shots are excellent, I only discovered them about 6 months ago and obtained a selection of prints.
     
    The latest Steam Days magazine has a good number of photos and as an example the unusal shot in this collection has been taken from Lawrence Hill Signal box and gives a wonderful view of the track approaches to the coaler and shed. This is the area where I have made some minor track modifications in order to shorten the layout. This involves the use of a double slip and repositioning of the mainline crossover in order to achieve it.
     
    The inside roundhouse will be viewable, achieved by making the west wall and first pitch of the roof out of perspex, at least that is my idea at present.
     
    Regards,
    Robin
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by alcazar on Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:28 am
     
    Can't wait to see more of this: Barrow Road was one of those sheds whose name you stared at in your combine and wondered what it was like. Being from Humberside, I never did get to find out
    The first jubilee I ever saw was off barrow Road, circa 1962, seen at Wath North, (in the old West riding), hauling the southbound Devonian. I was 10. Barfleur was the Jube, I still remember the whoop of delight from the older lad who'd taken me, since it was a "cop" for him too.
     
    The next time I went, three months later, the Devonian was in the hands of the Peaks, D9, Snowdon, and the next time, D100, Sherwood Forester. Not jubes, but.,...........
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Tue Jun 16, 2009 5:33 pm
     
    I am in the process of making the point work for the layout with 6 out of the 15 required turnouts completed - I must get round to posting a few photos.
     
    Alcazar you are of the same sort of vintage as myself.. fortunately I had relatives in Hull and paid two visits in the early 60's. I used the visits as an excuse to pay my respects to the Hull sheds, York and even a visit to Gateshead... interesting days.
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by mikemeg on Tue Jun 16, 2009 7:47 pm
     
    I've just come across this thread and what a joy. There's one picture of a Patriot, posed under the coaling tower, with the caption indicating that this loco - currently 45543 - will become 45519 - Lady Godiva.
     
    When I was a kid in Hull and made my first trip to York, train spotting (1958), I was fascinated by the locos on the Bristol - Newcastle services, often LMS Patriots or Jubilees and, quite often, from Bristol Barrow Road. I checked back through the notebook for that first trip to York (one of the few railway things which survived later parental clear outs) and there it is 45519 - Lady Godiva. I can still see it in my minds eye as it came into York, so different from the works of Worsdell, Raven, Gresley, Thompson and Peppercorn. There is a wonderful painting, by Philip Hawkins, of a Patriot (I think it's 45504) at Birmingham New Street - look on his web site.
     
    Also being another who is making a model of a railway (which this one is) as opposed to a model railway,then it's an added bonus.
     
    Many congratulations on a fascinating prototype and I look forward to seeing this evolve; it will be absolutely stunning.
     
    Regards
     
    Mike
     
    PS The Patriot picture is not featured on Philip Hawkins web site, currently, but if you Google LMS Patriot, you will find the site of the organisation, currently building a brand new Patriot and, under the link Appreciation, you will find this picture. It's actually 45506 so the memory really is failing, but oh what a picture.
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Tue Jun 16, 2009 8:24 pm
     
    Excellent picture of 45506 Mike.. another Bristol engine.
     
    Thanks for your kind comments.
     
    Regards,
     
    Robin
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Mallard60022 on Wed Jun 17, 2009 12:29 pm
     
    I'm absolutely blown away by this layout. It is going to be fantastic. I only ever went to B Road once on a trip to Bristol (and why did I not go out to Bath Green Park - idiot), in 1963 or 64 (can't quite remember without climbing into loft to dig out spotters' books). I was thrown out (gently) after covering most of the yard but never got 'inside' and I always wondered what it was like. I just remember it being a great and atmospheric shed with those arches splitting the site and the long 'stairway to heaven' from the road (Day's Bridge?) down to the yard. I'm sure local lads used the secret entrances around the back by those gas-ometers? In another posting on here some time ago someone mentioned the coaler being blown up in the late 60's and scaring half Bristol to death! Incidentally, I bunked St Phillip's Marsh, (lovely double roundhouse), with ease but was too scared by the 'reputation' of the Bath Road staff to attempt a bunk!
    As soon as the trackwork is down and buildings erected I would love to see it exhibited. If you have limited loco stock just now you could invite P4 boys (& girls) to bring their appropriate stock to visit the shed!
    Even if you don't go public I for one would pay a good fee to visit and admire!
    Very good luck, Stan Eight Freight.
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Wed Jun 17, 2009 6:27 pm
     
    The rear entrance for spotters was over the wall at the rear of the shed. For a nostalgic view see this link.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/fray_bento ... 155572977/
     
    We used to cycle round the back, prop the bike against the wall, climb over and enter the back entrance to the roundhouse. This is a 1981 shot, taken long after the shed had been demolished and shows one of the attempts to prevent us getting in, namely the fence. Like the Maginot Line it stopped at the end of this abutting wall and did not continue over the bridge itself so we climbed around it's end. Prior to the fence some nasty black tar/paint was put on the wall.
     
    The coaling tower was demolished in mid/late 60's.
     

     

     

     
    I have a large number of loco kits to build or RTR conversions to do. However, I do have some locos for the layout and friends in the Glevum Scalefour group have others to fill the gap.
     
    The layout is intended to be exhibited - it may even male an show appearance in an unfinished state.
     
    Thanks for your kind comments.
     
    Robin
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Wed Jun 17, 2009 6:30 pm
     
    Just noticed the Flickr link has not fully uploaded.
     
    fray_bentos/240857220/in/set-72157594155572977/
     
    add this after photos/
     
    Robin
    __________________________________________
     
    ??? posted on Sun Jul 19, 2009 2:19 pm
     
    I thought it about time I did an update on my progress with the trackwork.
     
    So far I have built about half of the required pointwork. Starting from the north entrance/exit to the shed the following have been completed:-
    North Crossover Down Main C8Lc
    North Crossover Up Main C8Lc
    North Exit B8R
    North Exit Double Slip 1:6
    Coaling Road Turnout B6Rc
    Wagon Siding Turnout B7Rc
    Coal Plant Wagon Road B6R
     

     

     
    In addition I have just finished the 3 Way Loco Sidings consisting of
    Loco sidings 3-Way B8Lc
    Loco sidings 3-Way C10Rc
    3 Way Crossing 1:6
     
    The position of this 3 Way is shown in the attached templot
     

     
    The finished 3 Way - all pointwork still requires the addition of cosmetic chairs which will be added following positioning and final adjustment - is shown along with the other piece of complicated pointwork, the part completed Tandem crossing, which will be positioned underneath the Arches of Barrow Road Bridge/Viaduct.
     

     
    Right, back to the workbench - Australia 128 for 5!!!!
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by michael delamar on Tue Jul 21, 2009 11:38 am
     
    really nice work on the track
    I like the shots of the coaling stage being demolished too
     
    Mike
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Mallard60022 on Tue Jul 21, 2009 3:05 pm
     


    barrowroad wrote:
    I thought it about time I did an update on my progress with the trackwork.
     
    So far I have built about half of the required pointwork. Starting from the north entrance/exit to the shed the following have been completed:-
    North Crossover Down Main C8Lc
    North Crossover Up Main C8Lc
    North Exit B8R
    North Exit Double Slip 1:6
    Coaling Road Turnout B6Rc
    Wagon Siding Turnout B7Rc
    Coal Plant Wagon Road B6R
    Barrow Road North Exit trackwork 3.jpgBarrow Road North Exit trackwork.jpg
     
    In addition I have just finished the 3 Way Loco Sidings consisting of
    Loco sidings 3-Way B8Lc
    Loco sidings 3-Way C10Rc
    3 Way Crossing 1:6
     
    The position of this 3 Way is shown in the attached templot
    Templot of 3 Way Crossing.jpg
    The finished 3 Way - all pointwork still requires the addition of cosmetic chairs which will be added following positioning and final adjustment - is shown along with the other piece of complicated pointwork, the part completed Tandem crossing, which will be positioned underneath the Arches of Barrow Road Bridge/Viaduct.
    Tandem & 3 Way Crossing 006.jpg
    Right, back to the workbench - Australia 128 for 5!!!!
    England 1 Aussies 0!!
    Very interesting to see your trackwork up close. Stud and wood I presume? I've just spent some time experimenting with trackbuilding in the various mediums including C & L on wood; works quite well (using Butanone) but the 'point' has not been used on a layout so strength is unknown! Keep the pics coming please. England's next victory should spur you on!
    Sincerely 82E
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by Mallard60022 on Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:00 am
     
    Re. this layout and Black Gill! I believe we could have a competition to see if Barrow Hill can match Black Gill for beauty and atmosphere.
    Any progress on Barrow Hill? Please don't hide this one away until I'm too old to operate this computer!
    Sincerely, P.Fourboys
    __________________________________________
    Comment posted by ikks on Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:38 am
     
    Brilliant, I love this apect of our hobby.......living in Derby for my first 24 years and being a very active "spotter" between 1958 and 1963, Barrow Road engines were a regular part of my diet.
    Great work...look forward to following this thread.
     
    Rgds....Mike
    __________________________________________
  3. barrowroad
    I have done some research on the type of buffer stops used on the shed and have identified three different types in five positions:-
     
    The first type is found on the headshunt alongside the coaling tower and has been difficult to identify as photos of this area have usually have a 16 ton mineral wagon blocking the view. I have managed to find a couple of useful shots one of which is courtesy of Patrick O'Brien on his flickr site:-
    http://www.flickr.co...157625157165429
    The buffer stop is to the right of the 16ton mineral.
     
    This buffer is made of lengths of rail and one of the same type is also to be found on one of the long wagon roads used for loaded and empty wagons for the coaling tower.
     

     
    The nearest buffer stop in this photo is of the same type as that found on the headshunt.
     
    The second type is also seen in this photo and I can best describe this as rail fabricated, using plates that are riveted and/or bolted together using horizontal pieces of rail to form the actual beam.
    This buffer stop is similar, if not identical, to that found on Pete Harveys [PHD] website
    http://www.phd-desig...ffer/Buffer.htm
     
    The third and final buffer stop is to be found at the end of the track which leads to the south exit of the shed alongside the four sidings.

     
    I have placed an order from Pete for a couple of his etches and in the meantime have borrowed an excellent rail bending tool, which I understand was available from the Scalefour Society stores. A quick check however shows no sign of it on the site - does anyone know it is still available as it is a most useful item.
     
    I then spent some time looking for suitable drawings for my type 1 buffer stop but gave up and made my own.
     
    During my research I did come across an article by Mick Moore in MRJ 121 which proved ideal for information on how fabricate a" Midland Bufffer Stop in 4mm". Mick's article has the benefit that the Midland bufferstop is of the type found at the shed south exit mentioned above.
     
    Now to the task of fabrication.
     
    The first photo shows the selection of tools I used to fabricate the buffers. It shows the jig I made for soldering up lengths of bent rail which are to be used to fabricate the main vertical supports.

     
     
    A close up of the simple jig:-

     
     
    The bending tool is also seen in the first photo and a close up is in the next photo.

     
    Finally this is what I am aiming for.

     
     
    This is completed model of a Midland Buffer Stop which used to be sold by "Puffers". This has been borrowed from a friend to use as a guide. Unfortunately I was not able to persuade him to part with it. Does anyone have one or two they no longer require?
     
    To be continued..............................................
  4. barrowroad
    As mentioned in previous posts I have decided to use the Brian Morgan turnout operating units for all the pointwork on Barrow Road. Brian has produced some superb etches for B & C switches in P4 which can be obtained from the Scalefour Stores. His main interest is the GWR and whilst the original units were designed specifically for Great Western loose heeled switches he has also produced the other version for non GW railway turnouts.
     

    The TOU etches, one for the standard B, C switch, the other showing one half of the double slip. Brian also does a single slip.
     

    Here is a close up of the underside of the TOU for Barrow Road north exit. It shows the base plate, tufnol operating bar in it's guide, and the operating crank on it's etched mount. The crank gives 12mm clearance under the board but Brian also provides a 15mm version as an extra. I have chosen to replace the 8BA crank nut and bolt with M2.5 as this allows the use of a M2.5 nyloc [ to be added] rather than fixing with loctite or nail varnish.
     

    A close up of the top side of the unit
     

    The north exit unit
     

    An overall view of the underside of the north exit TOU. The strips of 6mm wide black card have been added to minimise the contact surface for gluing to the baseboard and assists future removal of trackwork without damage. Credit for this idea goes to group a member Graham Turner who, unknown to me, incorporated it in the original build of Brinkley. It is well proven as some of the track on this layout required relaying and was removed without damage and relayed. The advantage is the card can be cut to remove trackwork.
     

    Here is the Brian Morgan etched jig showing an tufnol operating unit with 10BA bolt and brass tube inserts for the switch droppers
     
     
    Having built the north exit unit I found that the spacing of the Brian Morgan jig at 16.5mm meant that the spacing between the switch and stock rail looked too wide. Brian gives the required spacing as 1.45mm but I think 1mm looks better. Discussion with others, including Morgan Gilbert, resulted in a new specification of a 17.5mm spacing a a new drilling jig - thanks Morgan.
     

    Here is Morgan's new jig with the 17.5mm centres for the droppers. The centre hole is for the 10BA bolt for the operating crank.
  5. barrowroad
    It has been a while since my last post this being due to a move of house last year and the consequent storage of the layout and stock. Earlier this year I took delivery of a kit of parts to build a new home for the layout.

     
    Over the past few months with the help of friends the shed is now finished and yesterday I moved Barrow Road into it's new home appropriately christened 'The Engine Shed'. The intention is to make the layout a continuous run for the main line complete with a fiddle year down one side of the building.
     
    Here are a few photos taken yesterday showing the layout on it's transport trolleys and then erected inside the shed.
     

     

     

     

     

  6. barrowroad
    I have been looking through my collection of photos taken in and around Bristol Barrow Road shed during the 1950s and 1960s and have noticed two photos of what I believe is the shed breakdown train in the sidings alongside the shed. Is anyone able to assist in the identification of any of the three vehicles, one of which appears to be a modified clerestory of Midland Railway origin whilst I have no idea on the other two.
     

    Ivo Peters 1957 - the three vehicles are in the road behind the Mogul
     

    George Heiron 1957 - roof view of the same vehicles
     
     
     
    It has been suggested that the middle vehicle is a 6 wheel Full Brake which may be of SDJR origin and is similar to the Connoisseur Models O gauge of the same.
     
    My second question is therefore does anyone have a kit of the 4mm version that they are prepared to sell?
     
     
     
    I have two other photos of what I believe to be the same Midland clerestory taken at the other side of the shed in the former carriage sidings these are taken in the 1960s whereas the other two are 1957.
     

    Cedric Catt c1963
     

    Railphotoprints c1963
     
     
     
    Any help with identifying any or all of these three vehicles would be appreciated.
  7. barrowroad
    I have just started on the turnout complex in front of the shed.
     

    This George Heiron photo shows the three 'zig zag' turnouts which are the subject of this update.
     
    The next two photos show the relevant part of the Templot track plan of the shed, followed by the ply and rivit sleepers positioned on the template.
     
     

     
     

     
     
    This shows the reduced Templot plan of the relevant trackwork.

     
     
     
    More to follow in the next few days.
  8. barrowroad
    In 2013 I wrote an article for LMS Review on the then new Bachmann 4F. One of the two I purchased was 43875 which visited the Bristol shed.
     

     

     

     

    My intention was to convert it to P4 for the layout and a couple of years ago I purchased an Easi-Chassis kit from Brassmasters and started the conversion. This ground to a halt early in 2017 pending a decision on which method of pick-ups to use. Over the past week I have completed the project - not the easiest conversion to attempt - and this afternoon the 4F was tested on a freight on the layout.
     
    Here is a video of the test freight train. Especially for you John:-) Thanks to Morgan for the loan of the stock.
     

  9. barrowroad
    I took my Sheep Pasture layout to the Wigan Show at the weekend - what an excellent show and a big thank you to the organisers.
     
    York Model Makers attended the show and brought with them elements of a kit of laser cut parts for the roundhouse at Barrow Road Shed which they are making for me. The kit of parts is well on the way to completion so here are a few photographs to show the standard of work that can be achieved by this relatively new method - at least to the model railway world - of making accurate scale models.
     
    The specification for this model of the shed is to have fully detailed brickwork - english bond - on the exterior and interior of the shed, detailed roof with roof trusses and fully detailed windows and roof glazing. The shed walls consist of two layers of mdf, one 3mm and the other 2mm, whilst the window frames and doors are laser cut from Rowmark, a hard plastic used specifically for lasers and engraving. The shed window frames consist of two layers of Rowmark which sandwich a layer clear acrylic sheet for the glazing. These three layers are, in turn, sandwiched between the two layers of mdf to form a scale 2ft thick wall of 8mm.
     
    The project includes not only the roundhouse but the sand furnace and chimney, the office/mess/stores complex, a further store at the rear and a boilerhouse. At the rear of the shed there will be a four stall workshop of Midland Railway design to be accessed by 20ft loco turntables.
     


     
     
    All these photos show the parts temporarily assembled and held together by masking tape in order to test the fit of all the current parts.
     
    York Modelmakers can be found at:-
    www.yorkmodelmaking.com/modelrailway.html


  10. barrowroad
    Those who know Barrow Road Shed will be aware of the stand out feature namely the 13 arch viaduct that bisected the shed site. This allowed excellent views of the coaling and ash plants on the north side and the yard and roundhouse on the south. There was a gate in the viaduct that led down into the yard via a flight of concrete steps.
     

    Photo from top of coaling tower 1966.
     
    On Saturday I went to the Wigan Show and collected a model of part of the Barrow Road viaduct - the main line bridge and six arches - from Chris Dening of 3DCD. The spec for this model required assembly of the shell with overlays for the arch keystones and the skew brickwork on the underside of the arches. Chris, as requested, has also produced a set of overlays for use when I model the stonework of the viaduct. This will enable me to model this in sections on a flat surface prior to fixing onto the model.
     
    Any way enough rambling here are some photos:-
     

    With acknowledgement to Ivo Peters photo - Patriot for Jubilee
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Note the brickwork on the underside of the arch - superb - thanks Chris.
     
     
    Some additional photos for Peter - Coaling Tower and Gerry - The two Bristol buses in Tilling Green
    The 236 - Old Market, Barton Hill, Brislington until 13/9/58 then extended to Ashley Down and Filton.
    The 36 - Old Market, Baton Hill, Brislington and Knowle.
     
    Ash Plant temporarily moved for photos of viaduct.
     

     

     

     

     
     
    A few more photos added for friday:-
     

     

     

     

     

    A view from the top of the steps.....................
     

     

  11. barrowroad
    I attended an interesting talk in Bristol last night given by the Barton Hill History Group on the 50th anniversary of the closure of Barrow Road Shed. It was surprisingly well attended - around 200 - with a lot of former railway employees in attendance.
    As my own commemoration to that day here are my own colour photos taken at the shed around that time. Those showing 1420, 6435 and 7029 are from the 17th October 1965 as I believe are the others.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    A couple of the above photos have recently appeared in the November edition of Steam Days in an article by Steve Bartlett entitled Bristol's Barrow Road Shed and it's duties - 1959 to 1965.
    Well worth a read.
     
     
    Edit - added for John aka Killybegs and Mike G a photo of 70021 Morning Star taken at an earlier date probably 1964.
     

  12. barrowroad
    On Monday this week with the help of my friend Chris - builder of baseboards and designer of electrics - the lift out section Board 19 was fitted to complete the full circuit of the layout and some test trains were run to prove the electrics. On tuesday the local Scalefour Society area group had their monthly meeting and the layout was subjected to an evening of, in the main, successful running a variety of locos and rolling stock. Due to the numbers attending it was not possible to take any suitable videos so today I took the attached video of a passenger train - Bachmann 3F 43762 with four Mk1s and a 8F 48305 on a freight passing the shed.
     
    The Bachmann 3F is modified with a set of drop in Ultrascale wheels and has no compensation.
    The 8F is based on an upgraded Comet chassis and Hornby body - please correct me if I'm wrong Morgan.
     
    43762 and 48305 passing Bristol Barrow Road Shed
     

  13. barrowroad
    I have now completed most of the trackwork on the existing boards with only the South Exit turnout to finish the second phase of templot. The latest build consists of 8 turnouts, a Double Slip, 3 Way turnout and a catch point. Phase 3 will be the 2 new boards - to be constructed - one at each end of the layout which will form the scenic breaks. One will be Lawrence Hill Junction itself, with the road overbridge and the other Days Road Bridge at the rear of the shed.
     
    Lawrence Hill Junction signal box is now positioned on the layout - it is still removable - and I have constructed a model of the timber framed earth bank which protects the rear of the signal box - the surface has yet to be detailed.
     
    Here are a few photos:-
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  14. barrowroad
    I have just received a disc the some photos of the layout taken during S4N a couple of weeks ago when it was populated by locos and stock belonging to myself, Morgan Gilbert, Dave Holt, John Darch and Paul Hutfield - thanks chaps, I've never seen so many locos on shed.
    John's freight on the main line looked particularly impressive as did the Gloucester passenger with Morgan's coaches.
    The following photos are credited to the Scalefour Society courtesy of David Brandreth.
     

     

     

     

     
    This last photo displays the certificate from Eileen's Emporium for the best scratchbuilt model at the show - the roundhouse roof!
    From the front to back - Morgan, Dave, Chris [ baseboard builder ] and John.
  15. barrowroad
    In my last blog entry - was it really two weeks ago - I mentioned I had started to give some thought to the roof girders which support the two inner pitches of the roundhouse roof.
    The three pitched roundhouse roof has four supports - the outer walls form two - the other two are 4' high latticed girders each supported by four cast iron octagonal columns, situated under the two troughs of the roof .
    I obtained these columns from Colin Seymour - Alan Gibson - as left over stock from the EM Bath Green Park project that Alan was involved with - they are cast in whitemetal.
     
    Having now obtained sufficient stocks of brass and nickel silver section - courtesy of Eileens & Metalsmith Ltd - I decided today to make a start.
     
    Here is my scale drawing of one of the 46' lattice girders, six of which are required for the two girders together with four shorter ones each 18'6" long.
     

     
    The top and bottom of each lattice girder is formed from pieces of 'T' section - 5mm x 3mm - obtained from Metalsmiths. This special section is milled and includes a 0.5mm channel down the centre which I have used to insert and solder lengths of 2mm x 0.5mm nickel silver strip - Eileens.
     
    The 4 verticals were cut first and soldered into the bottom 'T' followed by twelve diagonals from the same material.
     

     

     

     

     
    Finally a piece of 5mm x 0.5mm nickel silver has been soldered at each end to form the vertical 'T' section.
     

     
    The next job is to cut the twelve pieces of 2.5 x 1.5mm 'T' section brass to form the outer diagonals at the two ends [ they are 7.5" wide] and 2mm x 1.5mm 'T' section for the twelve inner diagonals [ 6" wide ] and solder them in place. To complete each girder a rivetted overlay - top and bottom will need to be formed and added.
  16. barrowroad
    Having settled into the new large shed I have given some thought to extending the layout into a continuous run with a long fiddle yard down one side of the building with the layout along the other. With this in mind I need scenic breaks at each end of the layout. At the north end the break will be the road bridge at Lawrence Hill north of the Junction signal box, whilst at the south - Temple Meads - end it will be Days Road Bridge. For those of a certain age this will evoke memories of climbing the wall to gain access into the back of the shed and the roundhouse.
     

    Photo courtesy of Donald Flook
     
    I already have Templot track plans for both ends and the Days Road end will be tackled first.

     
    As you can see Days Road Bridge is an interesting subject in itself and I was fortunate to be able to take some photographs prior to it's demolition in around 1981.
     

    Days Road Bridge - north elevation
     

    Days Road Bridge - South Elevation
     
    The shed building for Barrow Road was produced for me as a laser cut kit by Chris Dening who now runs his own business 3DCD http://www.cd3dmodelmaking.co.uk
    I decided to contact Chris about making a model of Days Road Bridge with it's curved brickwork walls and he accepted the challenge. Chris is not producing a kit of parts this time and will produce the model as an assembled and primed unit.
    Chris has given me permission to post some work in progress photos of the bridge so here they are........
    The photos show the build sequence of the shell of the bridge including the curved section of the bridge walls. The wing walls are yet to be added.
    Chris's next task is to make up the templates for the brickwork especially the curved walling.
     

     

     

     

     

    South Elevation
     

    North Elevation
     
    I'm pleased with the results so far and am looking forward to receiving the finished product.
  17. barrowroad
    After the interlude with my diesel conversions I have returned to work on the baseboards to fabricate some more inspection pits.
    The first selected are the four inspection/preparation pits alongside the shed, one for each siding. Two of these pits were rebuilt in around 1956 [the two nearest the shed], while the other two were new. Unlike the pits inside the shed, photos show these pits were made using concrete not brick.
     

    This view was taken in Oct 1965 & shows locos over the two new built pits.
     

    Shows one pit in position.
     

    'Concrete apron' from 80thou plasticard. Main pit from 'reversed' laser cut base & sides as used inside the shed.
     
    I have also started the pit alongside the sand dryer although this still needs the top plasticard surface added to represent the concrete apron surrounding each pit.
     

     
    Here is a photo of this pit with 1420 on shed in Oct 1965 prior to travelling to Buckfastleigh.
     

     
    All these pits need the addition of concrete steps to complete the job.
    These will be fabricated form Evergreen strip which I will collect from the proprietor of Eileen's Emporium at the next Glevum group meeting.
  18. barrowroad
    For those who follow this blog you will remember that after attending the RMweb members day at Taunton in 2011 I purchased a number of P4 locomotives that were painted in LMS livery.
     
    One of these was Patriot 5535 in full crimson lake livery and after much thought I made the decision to strip this livery in order to transform the engine into Bristol Patriot
    45504 'Royal Signals' in lined British Railways lined green.
     
    The loco has spent the last 8 months with Ian Rathbone awaiting its turn in his paint shops and on Friday I collected it.
     
    Ian has done a superb job and the 'Royal Signals' now has its BR lined livery and has been lightly weathered.
     
    Here are some photos:-
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    Bristol Barrow Road will be at S4 South West in Wells on the 11th and 12th August 2012
  19. barrowroad
    Having promised some photos of recent work on the layout I managed to find time today to take a few. Time had come to cut a suitable hole in the baseboard to fit a removable pit to accommodate the wagon hoist apparatus for the 150ton Coaling Plant, so out came the drawings and after taking the appropriate measurements I marked out the outline shape and literally took the plunge using my Bosch multi-tool - what a useful piece of kit.
     
    I then made up a removable pit which is bolted to the underside of the board together with a temporary platform for the track. It is my intention to make the hoist operational at some stage and therefore provision has been made to accommodate the girders and hoist mechanism.
     
    As you can see from the photos work on the trackwork has progressed and now some crosses the first baseboard joint on its way to the coal tower and preparation pits.
     

     

     

     

     

     
    Here are a few shots of the Ash Disposal Pits which run under and alongside the Ash Plant. Included is a close up of one of the water hydrants in the pit wall - there are a total of five in the two pits.
     

     

     
    Finally a few more shots of the Coaling Plant showing the hoist pit.
     

     

     
    Oh I nearly forgot 51218 a Barrow Road L&Y Pug with a few empty minerals.............................
     

  20. barrowroad
    Having decided to use the new Cobalt digital point motors with the Brian Morgan TOUs I thought a few photos would be in order to explain how I have decided to fix them to the underside of the baseboards.
     
    The Cobalt motors are attached using M3 screws fixed into M3 Rivet Nuts, positioned in the baseboards using the rivetting tool shown in the photos.
    The position of the 4 holes is marked using a home made jig, whilst the hole for each TOU has been cut out using the Bosch multitool.
     
     
     

     

     
    Jig for marking position for rivet nuts.
     

     
    Rivet tool
     

     
    Three ready for motors
     

     
    Bosch multitool with plunge blade attached
     

     
    Cobalt Digital in place
  21. barrowroad
    I have just finished fitting the 22 smoke hoods and chimneys to the roundhouse roof trusses. In order to enable future maintainence I decided I needed a method that allowed easy removal and chose to use two lengths of 0.8mm nickel silver wire to fix and support the piece brass tube used for the chimney section of each unit. These can been seen in the attached photos.
     
    I also needed a suitable height jig to postion each unit at the correct height and orientation in order to mark the position for the support wires. By chance I found that the Ballast Spreader marketed by Greenscenes http://www.green-scene.co.uk/ proved to be ideal. Not only is it the correct height but when inverted I could use the grooves for the rail as a guide for aligning the chimney hoods to each road of the turntable.
     
    The 8 octagonal support columns have been temporarily fitted in order to assist supporting the weight of the roof trusses. These are from Alan Gibson and are cast white metal - originally produced by AG for Bath Green Park Station. They have been modified for Barrow Road with turned bases and a length of 3mm brass rod inserted into the top to slot into the roof girder. This work was kindly carried out for me by Morgan Gilbert - thanks Morgan.
     
    Here are some photos.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    You will note that some of the resin smokehoods are temporarily fixed using masking tape. This will be replaced by nickel silver wire.
    Each smokehood will also have handrail knobs - Markits WD variety - fitted to the 4 corners in order to attach 0.6mm wire for additional support.
  22. barrowroad
    I have been at Railex all weekend helping to operate our S4 group layout Brinkley. One of the highlights of my weekend was collecting the Turntable Pit for the 60ft Cowens Sheldon turntable used in the roundhouse.
     
    Thanks are due to Morgan Gilbert for all his hard work with the design and the CAD modelling and to Phil Hutfield for producing the turntable pit on a CNC machine out of an acrylic polymer - [brand with-held].
     
    I have attached some photgraphs which show the pit in position. Of note are the series of steps in the pit floor which fall from the perimeter and the centre to a drainage channel. Laser cut 10thou card overlays will form the pit floor of circular rings of engineering bricks and another overlay will also form the vertical wall of the perimeter.
     
    Also of note is the10mm cut out in the pit wall - on the prototype this is used as an access point to inspect between the plate girders of the turntable bridge. The method adopted involved a member of the shed maintenance staff squatting in this recess and waiting for the bridge to be turned and positioned with end of the bridge girders either side of the recess - he could then climb out and carry out any inspection and maintenance work to the inside of the plate girders.
     
    This photo shows the access recess between shed roads 4 and 5.
     

     
    Anyway here are the photos;-
     
    This is the underside of the turntable pit.
     

     
    and the top:-
     

     
    and with the inspection pits in position:-
     

     

     

  23. barrowroad
    The layout is not operational at present as all the power supply units, NCE equipment and circuit breakers are elsewhere for fitting into two power boxes than are being made for me - thanks again Chris!
     
    In the meantime I decided to make a start on the B7R and B7L turnouts for the storage sidings. I am using 4mm wide x 1.6mm thick copper clad strip for the sleeper timbers and Nickel silver bullhead rail.
     
    These series of photos show the latter stages of construction. The timbers have been laid out on templot templates the 1 in 7 crossing V constructed and soldered into position followed by the straight and curved stock rails. We pick up construction with the first of the wing rails. In the photos left to right are - DD Wheelrights Jig for crossing alignment - two three point track gauges and a Roger Sander 'Mint gauge'.
    To the front is a jig for filing up the 1 in 7 crossing V. It also will do 1 in 6; 1 in 8 and 1 in 9.
     

     
    The DD block gauge in use to set the wing rails.
     

     
    The Mint gauge is used to check tightness in the track gauge. If tight the soldering iron will assist adjustment.
     

     
    Three track gauges in use to hold the closure rail/switch blade in position.
     

     

     

     
    Wing rails added.
     

     

     
    Soldering the blades.
     

     
    The completed B7L
     

     
    Five made so far
     

     
    26 to go!!
  24. barrowroad
    The roundhouse kit of parts provided by York Modelmaking contained 13 roof trusses that were cut from 2mm mdf, but having made the decision to replace the two main girders with metal versions I decided to go the whole hog and replace the roof girders. Now I know some will think this to be foolish but I have concluded that the mdf versions are not robust enough to facilitate removal of sections of the roof for display purposes.
     

    the mdf version of girders and trusses
     
    This decision has not been taken lightly as it will involve fabricating 39 seperate trusses - 3 bays each of 13 - and then joining each set with longitudinal roof bracing.
    I carried out the necessary research - always an enjoyable task - and produced a drawing of one roof truss. Here are a couple of photos of the interior of the roundhouse showing the best close ups of the roof truss structure I could find.
     

     

     
    I produced the following drawing and used it to calculate the quantity of nickel silver and brass I required to make the structure. Rectangular section brass,T section brass, brass tube and nickel silver wire formed the shopping list.
     

     
    The best way to produce a consistent product is to use a jig so I constructed one on a scrap piece of melamine board using pieces of track ply and made a trial truss.
     

     
    Some while later I now have three completed trusses.
     

     
    Each truss is held together as per the prototype using tie bars and clamps which are formed on the model using 1.5mm tube and 0.8mm wire. These dimensions were upgraded from my original choice - used on the trial truss - of 1.2mm and 0.7mm wire. Why you may ask? The 1.2mm tube has a bore of 0.6mm and required enlarging using a 0.7mm drill. I subsequently found a supply of the 1.5mm tube which makes life easier and speeds up assembly and cuts down on the number of broken drills.
     
    Only another 36 to go......................................
  25. barrowroad
    The Workshop at the rear of the roundhouse was accessed through the shed - across the turntable - and via four 20ft turntables one for each of the workshop repair bays.
    By the 1950/60s - the period I am modelling - only two remained in situ the other two having been removed. Repair bay 2 remained in use for minor repairs whilst bay 4 contained a wheel lathe. Wheels were dropped on the hydraulic wheel drop and rolled to a small turntable at the end of the wheel drop road [ Number 14 ] and then into bay 4 via the forth 20ft turntable.
     

    The 20ft turntable on the road for bay 2 which is off to the right. The covered wheel drop is in the background.
     
    The small size of the turntables prevented all but the standard 8ft x 8ft 6in wheelbase Midland locos [or smaller ] from entering the workshop so their use in later years diminished.
     
    So to the model. I wanted a pair of working 20ft loco turntables and contacted Peter Harvey of PHDesigns who produced two 3D printed kits of parts for me.
     

    The turntable base and platform in Frosted Ultra Detail from Shapeways


     
    The parts were given a coat of etched primer from Halfords and are shown adjacent to their positions at the rear of the shed.

     
    The 3D prints are designed to take Alan Gibson sprung plunger pick ups which touch the underside of the running rail and connect to phospher bronze etches on the underside.



     

    Here are the two turntables in position
     
    and finally a Jinty 47544 on turntable 2 with the 5mm foam underlay in position.


     
    Now for the rest of the trackwork!
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