Trainspotting at Little Benton Sidings, Newcastle.

[rowanj]

A couple of other photos at Little Benton South, Taken more or less from the fence where we did most of our spotting. The J39 is Heaton's only one with the 3500 gallon GS tender, and is on the Eyemouth-York" Fish 'n Meat". The 3rd wagon is the Airfix/Dapol kit which I came across in a model shop, and built, really, just for a change. The loco is ex-GBL on an original Bachmann chassis, with a cut-down tender using an Ian Beattie drawing for the dimensions.

The J27 is the later Dave Alexander kit with an etched boiler. It is on test, following a necessary re-build after falling to the floor from the baseboard, caught by an errant sleeve. It is on  a return trip one of the 2 daily pick-ups from Blyth to Newcastle,( though latterly only one was required as traffic fell away).

ArthurK's J73 waits at the exit of the sidings, having been into works to get its' pickups tweaked. I really like this loco, even though it is stretching things to have it at Little Benton, rather than its' Selby home. They were occasionally seen post_War at Heaton, usually after a visit to Gateshead Works. Once the Works closed and Darlington took over, that was that for a lot of rare sightings from the south of the NER.

[rowanj]

And the last 2 photos i took during RMWeb's "lockdown". Both locos are unlikely visitors, though a semi-plausible excuse can be made for the J73. The 84xxx is another story, though it's a model I'm tolerably pleased with. It started out as a GBL Ivatt, and I modified it to 84009 simply as a modelling exercise. The loco was another "orphan" in the NER, the only one of the class in the Region, based at Hull. It is on a slightly modified Bachmann split-frame chassis, which I put through the shops, and now runs beautifully. 

What is it doing at Little Benton? It somehow made it's way to Darlington, who gave it a casual light repair then stuck it on a running-in turn to Tyneside, That's the best I could come up with.

As an aside, I serviced the chassis after watching a series of Youtube videos by 00Bill, who basically repairs old locos. His modelling tastes are not for the purists, but his repair techniques are handy for getting older locos running well. 

[rowanj]

This is the first train of the day  from Edinburgh to Newcastle, which had a TPO Sorting Van at the front. The rake is a right old mix but includes my GBL Mk1's which came with the first edition of the mag for £2.99, basically SK Bachmann clones. I'm in the process of detailing the underframes, and replacing the couplings, which are very tight. One coach  has been resided as a BSO and another as an SO, with a 3rd as an RU. The TPO was a gift from Sir Willian Stanier, alias 46256!

The B16/1 was my first foray into etched kits. Heaton had a few until they all finally left for Yorkshire by 1958, and, in BR days, those at 52B tended to be confined to freights, if photos are to be believed. So that is what we see here.

I used to see the Edinburgh-Newcastle train after this one in Platform 4 at Central after I got off the EMU from Wallsend and headed round in a usually futile attempt to get onto the through platforms l. This was in the period when many Gateshead A1's had gone to Tweedmouth, and I often saw BORDERER at the buffers as I passed. It was a common sight at Tyneside, so, fools that we were we took no notice as we hunted down rarer beasts. In this case, the train has Sir Walter Scott, so another disappointment.

Edited April 25, 2022 by rowanj

[rowanj]

A bit more playing on the layout.

52A's 60016 has a relief to the Heart of Midlothian, and is caught from Halls Bridge, which was just beyond Little Benton North Box. It is still there, though the spotters are long gone, replaced by kids looking for their heroes at the Newcastle United training ground. The loco is far too clean, so must be ex-works. Gateshead's loco superintendent seems to have been ambivalent about his A4's,  with many of their booked turns  handled by A1's instead.

There were a handful of Standard 5's on Tyneside, though they weren't particularly popular. with B1's and V2's better liked, presumably through a combination of familiarity and prejudice. 73160, re-numbered Bachmann, has an Edinburgh-York for a change.

And then something completely different. The K5 is a cut and shut on a Bachmann V1/3 chassis. It was seen in LNER livery at Blaydon by Arthur Kimble, but its' use here on a fitted freight is wholly fictitious. However, for all its; faults, I let it out now and again. It is seen held in the sidings before making its' improbable way back to London and the GE.

[Colin_McLeod]

On 29/09/2021 at 14:47, rowanj said:

.....built back in the days of 3 TV channels.

 

Love it. Must remember that phrase for future use. 📺

[rowanj]

This is the Summer Timetable SO Glasgow-Whitley Bay in 1960 or so. It has been brought into Newcastle by a Haymarket A3 and now has to get the 10 mile or so to Whitley. I don't know what route it took in real life, as there are 3 options. It could go on the electrified North Tyneside loop either clockwise via Benton or ante-clockwise via Wallsend, or as here, up the mainline and join the loop by the north to east curve at Quarry Junction, just North of Little Benton North box, This is the route indicated by the 3-way distant signal.

The V3 is appropriate, By now, they had only limited passenger turns, following the DMU influx. This was one and another was the Ferry trains to and from Tyne Commission Quay, The locos were still all over Tyneside on Parcels and empty stock movements. 

I'm no great shakes as an architectural modeller, but one photo does show the Wartime Austerity Box at Little Benton North in all its' gory detail, including an attempt at an interior.

[rowanj]

I built this layout as a "memory book" of where we all gathered from about 1960 to '64 to collect train numbers, and it still gives me a good degree of satisfaction. As an exercise in trainspotting my locos, it works well enough, but it has become increasingly obvious that it has very limited photogenic appeal- or rather that there are only a few views where I can take photos of the trains. So now is the time to wind the thread up other than when or if something interesting is built or bought.

So, to wind things up, one of York's B16/3;s takes the empty York-Berwick "Meat n' Fish" back North. Quite why it was left on the train at Heaton rather than handing over to a Tweedmouth V2 is a mystery, But at least we leave with a cop for the lads on the fence.

Edited April 28, 2022 by rowanj

[rowanj]

 A few trains pass by.

Edited May 4, 2022 by rowanj

[Brian D]

I have enjoyed following your thread.  My 60s spotting days were sometimes spent on the Durham Coast line at Easington.  I remember the V1/3 hauled pidgeon train and a streak once (must have been a ECML closure that day).  But the usual fair was J27 and Q6 hauled hoppers too and from Easington Colliery and of course DMUs on the Newcastle - Middlesbrough hourly services.  Really enjoyed your video above.

Best regards,

Brian.  

[rowanj]

A "occasional " post of a a photo I took for another purpose, The "Pitman's Pullman" has no right to be on the main line, but I was testing the stock in preparation for an industrial NCB layout I hope to build if I ever get the garage cleared. The locos are a scratch- built RSH and a High level RSH 14 inch, The leading pair of ex-NER are from D&S and the brake is Worsley Works.

I thought I may as well also show the O8 putting the RK into the sidings. The coach is a re-sided GBL SK using Comet sides, and to my shame, I have forgotten what the diagram is.

[rowanj]

And , very different, a couple of snaps of locos at Broadway on the GWSR. These are steam stock currently in service.

[rowanj]

This K3 has been in the works, and is seen here on test, thankfully now able to go round corners without de-railing. It is a Wills kit on an SEF chassis. The train is the slowly growing Eyemouth-York "Meat n'Fish" extra, which has gained the addition of a Dapol/Kitmaster meat van. I picked up 3 of these kits at Cheltenham Models on our recent break. The leading cattle wagon in the siding is another, with the third a Prestwin. The Kitmaster ones were all he had, being unable, he said, to get stock from Peco of the Parkside or Ratio product.

Edited June 11, 2022 by rowanj

[Clive Mortimore]

Hi John

 

The other night a group of us were communicating via PMs saying how the number of threads we view is getting less as time goes by. Your layout is on the list of threads I visit because I can see the fun you have with modelling and running it. Thank you for sharing it.

[rowanj]

A couple of photos to show what I have been up to, The B16/1 was my first etched kit, and It was due an oil change. Heaton is getting it back after a trip to Gateshead Works, and has rostered it on a very short passenger from Alnwick. The van is an old Wrenn model, which I painted in my twenties to represent one I saw immediately behind a Class 40 at Chathill on an Edinburgh - Newcastle stopper, Hard to believe there was a fairly regular service there once, as opposed to today's one in the morning to get commuters to Newcastle, and another in the evening to get them back. Even more wierdly, the Sprinter then has to go further North to the closed station at Belford for overnight stabling.

The 9F is a GBL body on a Hornby tender-drive chassis, and represents one of the class transferred rather late in the day to York. It has a block train heading to Scotland- exact destination unknown. I am actually testing that the second wagon runs OK, a recently built Peco wagon. The rest of the stock are Bachmann or Mainline, orginally bought, largely second-hand, in all the colours of the rainbow. Whether these wagons would still run as a block train in the 50's/60's I don't know.

 

Finally, the V3 has pulled a short rake of ex-GBL Mk1's into the sidings. The coach bodies were great value at £2.99, but they were pretty crude underneath,  I re-sided one as a RU, another as a BSO, and fitted out a third as a TSO. I also fitted some cast details to the TSO, having carved off most of the original mouldings They were always prone to coming off my (dodgy) track, which I put down to poor wheels and too stiff couplings. A post on Youtube pointed me to very reasonably priced magnetic couplings, so I fitted them, and new wheels, and they are on test, being pushed and pulled round bends and through pointwork, So far so good.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by rowanj

[rowanj]

And here is the almost completed rake, which, with a CK added, will make a suitable Edinburgh-Berwick-Newcastle train. I travelled on one only once, from Chathill, hauled by a Class 40, so this photo reflects that trip. In my spotting days, it was often a Tweedmouth A1 in charge, with BORDERER being a regular,

[rowanj]

The final set of photos for the time being. BRONZINO and MADGE WILDFIRE were common sights on Tyneside, The A2 is simply re-named Bachmann plus a double chimney, and heads north on a Glasgow express. The A1 is re-named Bachmann, with the minor addition of a hook and bar tender connestion to replace the broken original. They say youth is wasted on the young, and it struck me that the spotters, who should have been delighted by the sight, probaly just groaned at the familiar pair. How foolish we were.

The A1, SIR WALTER SCOTT, on the fish empties, would be another familiar sight. Less so is the DJH A8 on a short non-corridor rake. Last weekend was the Northumberland Plate meeting at Gosforth Park, and, back in the day, several specials ran to Killingworth for race meetings, especiallyon  Plate Saturday, So The A8 has a short rake from Wearside, and is heading back empty to Heaton to allow the platforms at Killingworth to accept new arrivals. 

 

Edited July 2, 2022 by rowanj

[Clive Mortimore]

On 29/06/2022 at 15:38, rowanj said:

And here is the almost completed rake, which, with a CK added, will make a suitable Edinburgh-Berwick-Newcastle train. I travelled on one only once, from Chathill, hauled by a Class 40, so this photo reflects that trip. In my spotting days, it was often a Tweedmouth A1 in charge, with BORDERER being a regular,

A proper n-gin 👍

[rowanj]

17 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

A proper n-gin 👍

I dunno, Clive - a common or garden Class 40 when all those lovely "kettles" pass by? 

Actually, this was trainspotting reality in 1960 and for the next 4 years. As Gateshead got its; deilvery of 40's ( as they became) along with Haymarket, my memory is that they quickly dominated the passenger turns, rather than gradually being integrated with the Pacifics. I should really run mine more often.

Great to hear from you- all the best

 

17 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

A proper n-gin 👍

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by rowanj

[rowanj]

 

A loco which doesnt get out very much is my D49, BERKSHIRE. It is a tendr-drive body on a Railroad chassis, with an ex-GC tender. it has probably brought a SO train from the Borders- possibly Kelso  .This sort of train was fairly common until the late 50's, and brought more unusual visitors to Newcastle.

On the other hand, the j27 is common as muck, This one is a Dave Alexander kit. I keep living in hope that someone will take on Dave;s kits.

Edit- this photo was taken a while ago, and I typed the text from memory- the J27 is actually an ancient NUCast, built as the last of the class to keep the extended smokebox after the superheating was removed. I could claim I was having a "blonde" moment, but my hair, which used to be brown, is now largely grey.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by rowanj

[MarkC]

27 minutes ago, rowanj said:

On the other hand, the j27 is common as muck, This one is a Dave Akexander kit. I keep living in hope that someone will take on Dave;s kits.

Agreed, John, but with the Oxford Rail RTR J27, I suspect that the J27 might not be one to reappear

[rowanj]

27 minutes ago, MarkC said:

Agreed, John, but with the Oxford Rail RTR J27, I suspect that the J27 might not be one to reappear

I agree, Mark, I would, however, quite like another of his Q7's, and would also be able to live with his N8/9/10 series, and a J21 and J25. I know ArthurK has released or has plans for some of these, but I find them a little hard to lay hands on. Dave's kits were always available, almost until the end, as well as being  a source for a whole set of spares. We were in regular contact  up to his death, and he kept promising me a North Tyneside Artic EMU set. Much missed, and not just for his kits.

Edited July 15, 2022 by rowanj

[MarkC]

7 minutes ago, rowanj said:

I agree, Mark, I would, however, quite like another of his Q7's, and would also be able to live with his N8/9/10 series, and a J21 and J25. I know ArthurK has released or has plans for some of these, but I find them a little hard to lay hands on. Dave's kits were always available, almost until the end, as well as being  a source for a whole set of spares. We were in regular contact  up to his death, and he promising me a North Tyneside Artic EMU set. much missed, and not just for his kits.

Dave was a lovely bloke - always enjoyed a chat with him at shows. I have built a few of his kits - a G5 is presently in the paint shop for the full NER treatment, and I was fortunate enough to have him sell me what was the very last of his K4 kits.

 

Mark

[rowanj]

A couple of shots of recent work/acquisitions. Darlington had a few L1's includ 67777, and they made occasional forays to Newcastle. This included a SO from Barnard Castle, and the train loco was used on local empty stock work before the return working,... which is what it is doing here. The loco is bog-standard Hornby, and doesnt even need renumbering, (so why bother).

I'm playing with a variety of magnetic couplings, including on the pair of wagons being shunted by the J72. The loco is adapted from a pair of old Mainline bodies to represent an early short-bunker version, The chassis is Mainly Trains/Wizard. The WD is renumbered Bachmann, and is a rather improbable sight north of the Tyne.

Finally, my engineers/ballast train- still a work in progress. The staff/tools wagon are an isinglass kit, followed by a D&S ex-NER 6-wheel brake, and show a couple of different attempts at LNER teak or brown. The loco is simplt re-numbered Bachmann.

Edited July 24, 2022 by rowanj

[rowanj]

All go today, as I got a few locos out which had not run for a while. From the top, the NuCast K2 has a train for Alnmouth. K2's were seen reasonably often on Tyneside- I have photos of them on 52B, so let's assume Heaton has borrowed one to replace some unexpected failure.

Next, the EMU Parcels sets out for Central, where it will begin a counter-clockwise run around the North Tyneside Suburban route. Kit by Dave Alexander.

The renumbered Hornby Q6 has a rake of 16T minerals. Most coal traffic was carried in hoppers, but I recently came across a series of photos of trains which had originated in the Northumberland Coalfied, and went oner the N&C towards Carlisle. So the Q6 will probably come off at North Wylam and be replaced by a Blaydon K1.

The Bachmann Ivatt suffered a fall some time ago which damaged the loco-tender connection. I thought I'd fixed it, but it was too closely coupled to get round eeven 4th radius curves, so I modified it again. It is re-numbered as a 52B loco, but I only changed the last pair of numbers, Depite some weathering. I was never happy with the colour match, so took the oppertunity to add a bit more overall grime to the loco- not too much as Heaton kept their locos reasonably clean.

Finally, the 24/1 has reversed the engineers train into the last of the 4 sidings to check running of the stock after fitting of magnetic couplings.

[rowanj]

I still take photos when I run the layout for my own purposes, and I find they often prompt memories of my early teens. For some reason, typing them and posting them makes them fresher in my mind.

60002 was the last A4 I saw in service, racing North through Chathill in Summer 1963. Gateshead seemed to have a strange relationship with its' A4's, certainly before double-chimney or Talisman days, with CMEE orders to use A1's as the preferred choice. I have a DVD of the A4's where a rather supercillious commentator is pretty snotty about the Gateshead locos. My model heads North  probably on an extra.

The only Pullman at Little Benton was the Queen of Scots. I remember standing at Chathill waiting for the last Down train, Deltic hauled. I have a photo on a tranparancy which I keep meaning to dig out and try to "fix", I've decided to re-create it in pre-60;s condition using Hornby K -style cars. I wish I had done it earlier, when they were cheaper and easier to get, So far, my "rake" consists of 3 cars. Bachmann A1, renamed as 64B's Auld Reekie, emerges from Halls Bridge with the Up train, always a Haymarket turn. 60160 was a common sight on Tyneside, 

Edited July 29, 2022 by rowanj