johndon

Still there to this day, almost 30 years since the last train. This lot was picked up just this week at the site of Beamish station, still just lying on the surface: John

Very nice indeed... John

I'll be passing by, hopefully, around about lunchtime so I should miss the scrum... John

Which layout, I'll stop and say hello... John

You off to S4N Porcy? John

The turnout for the incline to the colliery sidings was a 3 way turnout and was much closer to the bridge that you seem to have drawn. It should be part of the turnout next to the buffer stop where you have the van parked. You can see the 3 way turnout underneath the signal next to the box on this EM gauge model of the junction: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LJECy2oQaLU/TyJ48sQsNFI/AAAAAAAAAQY/QAyz8-UaA64/s1600/IMG_3830.JPG as well as in the blown up section of the map below. John

Very impressive stuff, I do think that the incline to what was the colliery is a bit too far away from the bridge though... John

Looking forward to seeing it. John

According to the gradient profile in the book 'Consett to South Shields via Beamish' it was 1 in 73 between South Pelaw and Pelton. John

I've given the wagon a quick coat of paint so I can see if anywhere needs filling or sanding - there are a couple of places. The right hand bogie does not seem to be sitting perfectly flat so that will attended to as well. Underframe needs brake levers and then it is done. There is some conjecture of what the actual colour of these wagons was, I've used Tamiya Red Brown which looks good to me and, in any event, in reality the wagons were filthy so a lot of the underlying colour is going to be lost anyway... John

PM sent, you've got your work cut out Alan and Porcy, thanks for the additional information on that post, much appreciated. John

Thanks to Bill Watson, I've added 20 new photographs of South Pelaw Junction in the 1960s to the site here: http://southpelawjunction.co.uk/wp/?page_id=653 John

No layout of the Tyne Dock to Consett would be complete without the iconic iron ore trains which I've made a start on this week using Dave Alexanders newly released kit of the 56 Ton Iron Ore wagons. It's a white metal, PE, resin and lost wax kit and such, is the quality of the castings, even though this is my first attempt at a white metal kit, it is pretty much building itself. This is the result of about 10 hours work so far: John John

Working fine for me and thanks again for your permission to use on my website John

For anyone interested in the last few years of the line, this video has been brought to my attention today: Brought a tear to my eye... John

That may well have been 9th September 1972 on the RCTS 'Northern Dales' railtour: http://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/70s/720909bl.html John Neither had I until a few weeks ago... John

I've added some pictures from Stella Gill sidings here: http://southpelawjunction.co.uk/wp/?page_id=556 John

I decided to print out the Templot plan of the scenic section of the Junction and the enormity of the layout has hit home a little. In the following pics, the 37 is about half way between the 2 bridges that will form the scenic breaks at each end: John

I've currently got a mix of spring and fixed buffers in my P4 stock. I do find, as has been mentioned that they are sometime a bit to springy and the wagon bounces away from the loco when being propelled. I've got a couple of bogie wagons with fixed buffers and they have no problems being propelled through point work albeit they are fairly large radius turnouts... John

First time I've seen her 'naked'... John

I appreciate that this is an old thread but I found it after a Google search and though my new website may be useful for anyone interested in the line. Whilst it is primarily concerned with South Pelaw Junction on the line, I am beginning to cover other parts as well with a number of 'then and now' photos. The website can be found here: www.southpelawjunction.co.uk John

A new one for me, my very first kit built wagon, a Cambrian Boplate E which used to carry steel from Consett. Not the greatest kit but it's gone together with no problems it's fitted with brass bearings and Gibson wheels, still needs a but tidying up and the axle boxes and brake gear is still to be fitted. It weighs next to nothing so I'm going to add some lengths of brass rod to the underside of the floor. Whilst it could, undoubtedly be improved with etched brass I've decided I'm going to have to be pragmatic about my wagon fleet; given the number of wagons I'm going to need I can't possibly have them all super detailed, life is just too short... John

As the plan is almost finalised, I've started giving some thought to the train consists and what wagons will be required for them. Whilst a number of the wagons used will either require kits or some kit bashing/scratch building, some are available ready to run. First up are some bogie bolsters which took all of 5 minutes to convert to P4 running here past the works behind a Railfreight Class 26: And next up some Bachmann 16T minerals, purchased ready weathered from eBay. Not converted to P4 yet but I've already done some others and it's about 5 minutes per wagon as some plastic does need to be cut away from the underframe. John

Too right, I'll be concentrating on the train formations and the few structures next... John

Not really an issue for the way I foresee operations but I could add a crossover between the Washington and ouston lines at the left hand side... John