DavidLong

It was 'St Minions' by the East Riding Finescale Group. Appeared in, I think, BRM and Model Rail as well as several exhibitions.

David

Edit: Certainly Hornby Magazine December 2011   https://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19877

2 hours ago, richbrummitt said:

Hopefully you only bought one and not several...

I've got two more that I'm going to give him 

David

3 hours ago, Argos said:

 

This works but I prefer the performance I have seen from DGs.

 

Well said, Angus! If only more people, especially N gaugers, could grasp this simple fact. "But they are awfully fiddly", oh for heaven's sake, if you can't do 'fiddly' why do you work in a small and fiddly scale?

David

Edit to add, don't get me started on Electras . . .

I should, of course, add that when my split-box Class 40 rolls in it will have the coupling both on the buffer beam and on the bogie 

It will also mean that finally I will have to build a layout that accommodates something larger than a Type 2!

https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p766079789

Mechanical magnificence!

Sorry Justin, drifted off a bit there . . .

David

Justin,

A couple of snaps of a Class 24 that show the principle that I described in the previous post:

I took these a while ago when Pete Matcham asked a similar question.

David

Justin,

My diesels always have the DGs on the bufferbeam and I haven't experienced any problem with them. They manage alright with A6 points and the advantage is that you can fit all the pipework which isn't possible with bogie mounted couplers. It certainly improves the look of the front end. If you cut the mounting plate shorter and then bend it at ninety degrees the coupling can be glued to the the rear of the buffer beam. You will need to remove the coupling box from the front of the bogie.

There is a potential for problems when propelling stock such as tube wagons that have a greater amount of end swing due to the  greater distance between the axle centres and the buffer beam. I solved this by widening the buffing plate and fitting wider loops. I'm a 'loop one end , latch at the other' DG person but fitting the full couplings to both ends, if you prefer, wouldn't make any difference to these principles.

David

On 10/06/2019 at 18:36, 62613 said:

Southport/Wigan Athletic, in about 1978?

 

 

Still haven't got over that and forty one years later the Port still haven't made it back into the EFL.  

David

22 hours ago, Ian Morgan said:

 The real location could only be operated by SECR 'P' class steam locomotives, and Class 03 diesels, so that could be a clue as to what I want to build.

 

 

Ian,

Would this layout be based on Kingston Wharf at Shoreham?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31890193@N08/11384237025

http://www.brightonlocoworks.co.uk/kingston-wharf.php

Look forward to seeing how the slip develops.

David

On 05/06/2019 at 14:48, south_tyne said:

Interesting reading this week as the retained players lists for clubs are published. Lots of speculation about where free agents could end up. The two that stand out to me are undoubtedly Andy Carroll and Daniel Sturridge, two players who have seen their careers blighted by injury and whom should have gone on to much bigger and better things. Totally different kind of strikers but both are unplayable in their day. It's just so sad that neither can stay for and ultimately you can have all the talent in the world but if you can't get on the pitch then you're no use to anyone. I would imagine both would probably be limited to 'pay as you play' deals given the injury track record but both still have a lot to offer if they can stay fit. You wonder whether there is anyone in the Premier League who will take a chance or whether they will need to be looking at moving abroad or dropping down to the Championship? 

 

I was wondering if Sturridge might be reunited with Brendan at Leicester. He was part of the Liverpool team that almost won the league under Rogers and Leicester desperately need someone who can stick the ball in the net without always relying on Jamie Vardy. Scoring goals on a regular basis is something that Iheancho and Demarai Gray have singularly failed to do. And as for Islam Slimani . . .

Leicester have some terrific players and, along with Wolves, could just profit from any more stumbles by the infamous 'top six'.

David

On 27/05/2019 at 18:34, nick_bastable said:

It would be nice if some clever clogs got this etched  and offered via the shop 

 

Nick

As well as the 3D printed jig for pushing out the etched chairs 

David

Allegri for MU? Discuss.

David

Oh bu**er, I missed a gloat box!  Teach me to go on holiday.

David

There's nothing quite like an Irish rural railway in these islands.

'Argadeen' on the Timoleague & Courtmacsherry

David

An excellent idea if I may say so and also on the choice of gauge. I've been to a number of shows in Ireland and they are sea of Peco in either 4mm or N. So depressing!

I've toyed with some Irish work myself but haven't spent much time on it recently but a couple of examples are here:

The loco is the beginnings of a MGWR J26 0-6-0, the open is from the Cork,Bandon & South Coast Railway, the van is a post-war (sorry, post-Emergency!) CIE vehicle and the tank is Peco. On the loco the frames are a little wider apart, 7.5mm I think and I just moved the back-to-back out to 9.6mm. This may not be absolutely correct for pointwork but I haven't built any to try it!*

The difficulty with the rolling stock is that you really need some 13mm axles. This used to be the Association standard and both axleguards and some basic chassis' were produced to use these axles but are, sadly, no longer available. It may be obvious that with a 1mm increase on the b-to-b that the pinpoints would disappear with 12.25mm axles! It would be possible to cut the 2-312 RCH W-irons down the middle and rejoin them further apart and this may also be possible with some etched underframes. For axles you could use the 13.7mm version from Shop 2, file down one end and then restore the pinpoint at 13mm.

For the track I would suggest using pcb sleepers and soldering the rail directly to them to give the best impression of the lightweight permanent way. The rail to use is a matter of choice, 40thou strip, bullhead or FB. Ideally you could try the 30thou strip but it's a pig to use and would require a lot of persistence and bad language to complete the layout.

If you really get bitten then I would suggest a modest subscription to New Irish Lines:

https://newirishlines.org/

Alan O'Rourke is very helpful and may be able to point you in the direction of useful information.

I hope that you succeed as Irish railways are the great unexplored part of railway modelling and deserve a wider exposure. With the correct gauge, of course

David

* The correct standards for 2FS are here: http://www.2mm.org.uk/standards/basicstd.htm

On 31/07/2018 at 07:28, roomey said:

I will put track diagram up tonight

Cheers

Roomey

Still waiting for that track plan!

Fine layout by the way from another fan of Ting Tong Yard.

David

On 28/04/2019 at 15:18, 62613 said:

Given the cash cow which is the (almost) Champions' League, yes!

 

On another note, we (Stalybridge) survived, with a 1-0 victory over Grantham, and finished above them. I don't think anyone noticed that, if both ourselves and Mickleover won (they did!) and Marine lost (they did!) then they would be the ones relegated. A very sad day for a friendly and well-run club, which has been in the NPL Premier for as long as I can remember.

Yes,I'm glad they survived as well since we're looking forward to a visit to the Bower Fold next season with Atherton Collieries. Not sure how Colls will get on next year in the higher league as it's a big step from where they've been playing until recently.

Not been to the Bower Fold for some years, I think it was when Southport and Celtic were in the Conference as was. A delightful ground with an equally delightful name.

David

On 18/04/2019 at 08:18, Bob Reid said:

All of the Mk1 Brake Vehicles had them fitted originally but after the constant problems they had with them - Jamming, keeping them clean etc. they were removed from all but those allocated to the Southern Region, and had been completed over December '63 and January '64.  The Southern never quite had the same problems and some were still noted as being operational in the late 80s...

 

Bob

Interesting information about the removal of the periscopes. Were the actual projections on the roof removed as well as the associated equipment in the guard's compartment? If so, would there be any sign of removal on the roof such as patching?

David

May I offer the Pool Dam branch which ran from Knutton Junction on the Stoke to Market Drayton line to a canal wharf at Brook Lane via Pool Dam on the south east side of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It can seen on this map from NLS:

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=14&lat=53.0127&lon=-2.2321&layers=168&right=BingHyb

The book 'Newcastle-under-Lyme Its Railway and Canal History by Baker and Fell and published by Irwell Press has copious details. Pool Dam was basically a coal depot and there was a gas works just before the wharf on the western side of Brook Lane. In later years a structural steel contractor had workshops at the wharf who received steel sections from Corby.

These houses on Brook Lane can be seen on the map on the corner of Stubbs Gate:

The site of the gas works is now a Morrison's supermarket. Photo is looking north from the trackbed just west of where the railway crossed Brook Lane:

The wharf opened out on the other side of Brook Lane but, sadly, nothing much to be seen today:

By the way, in 1958 a SPD warehouse was opened by Lever Brothers on the site of Knutton Forge, just on the branch, and provided extra traffic but only lasted six years. The whole branch closed in October 1967.

David                                                                                                                                                                                                         

A constant problem for regionalised leagues. A few years ago Lowestoft Town won promotion via the play-offs from the Isthmian Premier and, much to their disappointment and protests, were placed in the National League North. It isn't just that the teams at the edge of the country like Lowestoft and Truro have long distances to travel but it isn't too popular with their opponents who have to make the journeys to play them.

Nice problem coming up for the National League in that all four teams being relegated are very firmly from the South, none of them is even North of the Thames! I foresee a bit of shuffling going on between National League North and South.

David 

Some snaps taken today at Hag Fold station in Atherton while out to photograph the Wilton to Knowsley binliner*

142034 at 13.54 on the 13.15 Kirkby to Manchester Victoria

Then 142066 and 142014 at 14.08 on the 13.36 Manchester Victoria to Wigan Wallgate

David

* https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/106139-a-working-from-knowsley-freight-terminal-to-wilton-flt-on-real-time-trains/page/2/

66061 on 09.10 Wilton Efw Terminal to Knowsley passing Hag Fold (Atherton) at 13.59 on 16/4/2019.

David

Three views today taken from the bridge at the end of Taylor's Lane.

Looking towards the depot with large numbers of people in orange working in the distance around the connections to the new depot area.

Two views looking south along the headshunt with the Volker Rail crews and plant in action.

David

4 hours ago, Ian Morgan said:

Still busy doing electrics and electronics for club and friends layouts, but I try to spend one evening per week on things for 'Freshwater'. I saw a nice photo of an engineering train on the Isle of Wight in an rmweb thread about Wight Freight, but the photos disappeared before I saved copies. The picture showed lengths of rail on a train of short wheelbase single bolster wagons.

 

I picked up some old S/H brass etches of unknown origin at a meeting a while back, so I thought I might reproduce this for 'Freshwater'. The etches perpetuated the old Tri-Ang trait of brake shoes in line with the W irons, so these were removed and parts of an old Association brass etch of brake gear was pressed into service. The wagon wheelbase is shorter than any of the brake gear on the etch, so it needed some modification. Association etched nickel silver axleboxes and springs, and cast buffers were added. Some square brass tube will form the bolsters, and small T-section brass, filed down to even smaller, added to the body ends to replace the rather poor stanchions on the etch.

 

Because of the required modifications, and lack of locating aids in the etch, each one is taking 4 or 5 evenings to complete to this stage, so it is a long, slow process. Still, 3 down and 3 to go...

 

Ian,

Following on from Andy's comments I'm attaching some photos that I took on a visit to the Island five years ago when they were in the newly erected stock shed.

Never miss an opportunity to take photos of wagons!

David

On 09/04/2019 at 19:22, John-Miles said:

As one of the authors of the book, I apologise for not including the information about this. We have a lot of information on private siding agreements which wasn't included, partly due to space constraints and partly because our market research told us that people prefer images to text. That said, it is not clear when the line to GCG closed. The private siding agreement was "deleted" in September 1964, the signal box was closed on 27/9/64.  John Smith, aka Lens of Sutton did his National Service in the area and photographed many of the stations. They mostly look very neglected. From memory the last Jinties were moved elsewhere in 1957 and I presume the 57s took over although towards the end 08s were used to move traffic from Yniscedwyn.

 

The bridge over the Twrch at Gurnos was in a bad condition. John Mann the former western region bridge engineer said there were plans to replace the timbers with prestressed concrete but this was never done. I suspect a 56 would have been too heavy. The track on the Swansea Vale was well maintained and so there would be no problem there. There was a railtour in the 1950s when a Jinty was clocked doing over 50 and it was reported that the riding quality was good.

 

If you want information on how the track layout changed over time, Cooke's books, available from Lightmoor are invaluable.

Many thanks for your reply, John. No apology is necessary as 'The Swansea Vale Railway' is a quite splendid publication. I was especially impressed that, in the signalling section, the order of pulling levers to initiate particular movements is given. For a signalling ignoramus such as myself this was most informative and not something that I have seen in other publications.

With that in mind, may I ask a couple of supplementary questions? In all the signalling diagrams prior to that for Brynamman, the designated directions seem to follow the usual South Wales principle of 'up' being away from the coast/towards the head of the valley. However, at Brynamman, from the various movement descriptions, it appears to have been reversed. Is this correct or have I misunderstood the descriptions?

Also at Brynamman there is mention of signal 10 which is under the control of the West (GWR) signaller. This would seem to be the GWR signal that is adjacent to the line to the West station and is facing the route from the Gurnos direction. However, in the movement descriptions it appears to be used for movements both in and out of the West station. This appears to be unusual; again, have I misunderstood the relevant movement notes?

David

Does anyone know when traffic ceased on the Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen to Cwmllynfell section of the Swansea Vale Railway? The recent book from Lightmoor states that the Brynamman to Gurnos section closed in September 1964 but it doesn't seem to have any information of when traffic on the G-C-G branch ended.

The track is still in place on the OS 1962 1:2500 map and a photograph in the book from Lens of Sutton looking north through the road bridge seems to show  the sidings (or at least the entry to the loop) and signals in place. The photo is, however, noted as 'circa 1965'.

I assume that traffic in later years was handled by 57xx panniers tanks as, after the removal of LMS motive power, they seem to be the predominant type. I wondered about the non-appearance of 56xx locomotives in that period. Would it be anything to do with the rather poor engineering standards on the SVR and thus a problem with axle-loads? The Midland seemed to spend as little as possible on the railway; so long as the coal reached the docks they seemed to be content with the situation.

Incidentally the 1962 map shows a simplified but nonetheless adequate layout at Cwmllynfell sidings whilst the pre-WW1 versions appear to show exotica in the form of a scissors crossover which gave access for every movement likely to be required:

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=51.8052&lon=-3.8319&layers=168&right=BingHyb

The 1962 1:2500 is only available on the old-maps website. As is often the way in more rural areas there was no 1:2500 issued between 1919 and 1962. Note on the side-by-side NLS map the huge hole in the ground of the G-C-G opencast workings.

David