Trainspotting at Little Benton Sidings, Newcastle.

[rowanj]

Researching which locos, with a bit of re-numbering, can be prototypically correct for a location turns up some oddities and surprises, even for someone who grew up "spotting" there. I never saw a J94 until I ventured to Darlington, but it turns out Heaton had 68014 through the 50's.... it left for Darlington to join its' class-mates. . Why it was there amongst all the J71/2/77's, I don't know. I have a picture of it on-shed in 1951 with express lamps. Was it the shed pilot?

I had an ancient Airfix model, a good runner but missing a middle step, and with the raised bunker plate. The first was easily fabricated and the latter just snaps off. I think I should have added a further window to the bunker rear, in the centre, but satisfied myself with adding coal and re -numbering with an early crest. I gave it a coat of Railmatch Weather Black to replace the original gloss plastic finish.

 

Just to make the scene more typical, a J27 takes hoppers north. If I had a £1 for every train I saw like that....In the works is another, again from Dave Alexander.

 

The next re-numbering is an Ivatt 4MT which was at Heaton for most of its' life and a 2MT which spent a year there in 1960. That only leaves a J50 from Darlington, and Heaton-based 04 and 08 to complete the work.

Edited March 5, 2019 by rowanj

[rowanj]

The time-scale has expanded a little beyond my comfort zone as D1100 didn't get to York , indeed wasn't even built, until 1966. But the model is special as a swap/gift from a friend. It has a York- Edinburgh semi-fast and will come back on the Heart of Midlothian later that afternoon.

 

I started the barrow crossing - next-stop point rodding at both ends of the scenic section.

[rowanj]

A bit more trainspotting at Little Benton. "Honeyway" was my first pacific kit. I keep going back to it, and it is a lovely runner. I'm unsure about the red nameplates, and the cab numbers are too small. I also need to fit draincocks, which I think sets off a loco.  Here it sets off back to Niddrie with a parcels from Tyneside.

 

 

The K2 finally runs properly, but needs , in my world, to get to Cowlairs for some tweaking. Heaton has used it on a short freight rather than waste a light-engine path. This old Nu-Cast kit was a pig to build, - there is almost no clearance around the cylinders, so they are wider than I would like, but at least the loco works. The chassis is the original much-maligned whitemetal lump, which has been filed out between the frames to take a High-level gearbox and Mashima motor, brakes fitted, and it now runs well. Given how little of a chassis is actually visible, as long as the whitemetal one is square and runs, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Of course, a modern etched brass chassis is a better bet, all things being equal.

 

Finally, my latest pacific build, but still an old Wills kit on a Comet chassis. It has an Edinburgh- Newcastle relief, The leading pair of coaches are Comet sides on Bachmann Thompson donors - the original ones. "The Tetrach" was a virtually everyday sight on Tyneside, and is entirely appropriate for Little Benton. In fact, from todays shots, only the K2 would have excited us.

[rowanj]

This O4/8 was converted from the Bachmann model with Replica B1 parts and some Graeme King resin etches.. I did it years ago when I was less fussy about geographic fidelity, and looked to park it in the "dead line"  - I wouldn't sell it, as I had built it and try to keep my builds for sentimental reasons. However, as it happens, Darlington began to repair them after Gorton Works closed, and they were used on running in turns, 

 

So mine has brought an oil train from Teesside and will head for Port of Blyth to deposit them.

Edited March 11, 2019 by rowanj

[Clive Mortimore]

Hi

 

I have just caught up with this thread. What a nice collection of kit built locos.

[rowanj]

21 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Hi

 

I have just caught up with this thread. What a nice collection of kit built locos.

Thanks, Clive,-  with another 6 boxes still to do.

 

Clive and I exchanged a nice pair of e.mails about oil/petroleum traffic, and he quite rightly pointed out that, until the 1960's, a lot was carried in mixed freights rather than block trains. This prompted a bit of research. I have a picture of a K1 with a block train, with 2 mineral wagons forming a barrier, passing Darlington in 1959, and a video of a J27 with Esso Type B's, just like the Airfix model, going through Central. That is undated, but is presumably early 60's.

 

I have changed the block train I have to all Shell-BP, and dotted the remaining tank wagons into my mixed freights, so it's a bit more prototypical.

 

Here is the block train passing Little Benton North, showing virtually the full length of the scenic section.

Locos "in the works", i.e still in their boxes, include a J27 and N10 (Dave Alexander), K3 (SEF), N8 (LRM),and N10 (North Eastern Kits) In addition, I'm trying to repair a Craftsman A5, having discovered a photo of a GC version at Saltburn in the early-mid '50's, A J50 will be re-numbered to a Darlington based loco, and I have a Mainly Trains J72 chassis and a few old Mainline bodies to convert to a short-bunker version. I also need to convert a Hornby O1 to a Tyne Dock loco. That should keep me going....

 

John

[rowanj]

This V2 will be going into the shops for some tidying up around the cab, and straightening of that handrail. The loco is a real "cut and shut". The cab and footplate was from GBL. basically a Bachmann clone with all the issues that had with the boiler shape. Yet Triang got it right in the 60's with their A3. So this one has a shortened boiler from an original Triang loco drive grafted to the GBL/Bachmann cab and footplate. The chassis is the Bachmann split chassis, and, perversely, is a good runner, at least for now.

 

The J21 is a Dave Alexander original, which is in ex-works, or ex-special, but is now on more mundane work taking an empty cattle train back tp Morpeth, a routine task while it was based at South Blyth.

 

I hope you are enjoying spotting at Little Benton with me.

 

John

[rowanj]

I never buy completed kits from auction sites, and the reason is this A5/1, which I assume is from Craftsman. It was cheap enough, came without a chassis, but was poorly built. I did buy some Gibson frames, and with a DJH gearbox, is a lovely runner. This week, I had a go at its' worse faults, but the silk purse is still a sows' ear. I wouldn't have bothered, but 69811 was the only GC - built loco in the NE in the early  50's, at Saltburn. Believe it or not, it is fully lined beneath the crud, I think a 52F Models A5/2 awaits. The leading coaches are from Kirk, as the loco draws out of the relief sidings and heads for Newcastle.

 

This is my "orphan".  I cant remember the provenance, but suspect it was a Bachmann V2 cab, Triang A3 boiler and Graeme King resin parts. 60507 was apparently well-liked at Haymarket, and was often used on trips to Tyneside. It has the tender previously attached to the A4 destroyed by the Luftwaffe at York, and is taking a very mixed freight back to Edinburgh. I doubt the freight is prototypical. I need to do more research. Would insulated meat and fish ever be seen in the same train?

 

[rowanj]

Though this might seem a less than interesting photo, it is pretty typical of what I saw in the 1960-63 period when I did most of my spotting at Little Benton. Many Edinburgh-London trains were diesel-hauled, and Deltics, Class 40, 45/6 and 24's were as common as steam. KOYLI is a GBL body on a Bachmann chassis, and will be weathered once it has completed its' journey south.

 

Though the loco is pretty much "out the box" at the moment, the 9-coach rake has a variety of Gresley etched-sides on Hornby donors alongside Bachmann Mk1's. Included is the 3 coach RFO, Kitchen and RSO trio.

[rowanj]

I had more or less finished going to Little Benton by 1964 when other interests started raising their heads. But one of my last memories is a Saturday evening when steam was pretty rare other than on coal traffic. A V2 headed south, running light. I can't recall the number, At the time, I assumed it was returning to Tyneside but now suspect it was Scottish loco headed for Darlington Works.

The photo/memory is York's double-chimney 60963, my usual Bachmann/Triang meld.

Sometimes photos produce results fit only for the Recycle Bin, but the re-numbered Heaton B16/1 61410 has a not too bad impression of smoke from under Scottie Bridge blanketing the leading coach as it heads a Berwick stopper. 

[Tony Wright]

On 16/03/2019 at 19:47, rowanj said:

I never buy completed kits from auction sites, and the reason is this A5/1, which I assume is from Craftsman. It was cheap enough, came without a chassis, but was poorly built. I did buy some Gibson frames, and with a DJH gearbox, is a lovely runner. This week, I had a go at its' worse faults, but the silk purse is still a sows' ear. I wouldn't have bothered, but 69811 was the only GC - built loco in the NE in the early  50's, at Saltburn. Believe it or not, it is fully lined beneath the crud, I think a 52F Models A5/2 awaits. The leading coaches are from Kirk, as the loco draws out of the relief sidings and heads for Newcastle.

 

This is my "orphan".  I cant remember the provenance, but suspect it was a Bachmann V2 cab, Triang A3 boiler and Graeme King resin parts. 60507 was apparently well-liked at Haymarket, and was often used on trips to Tyneside. It has the tender previously attached to the A4 destroyed by the Luftwaffe at York, and is taking a very mixed freight back to Edinburgh. I doubt the freight is prototypical. I need to do more research. Would insulated meat and fish ever be seen in the same train?

 

Whether meat and fish would be in the same train, I don't know, John,

 

However, those petrol tank wagons (red solebar, low-flash-point) would have a barrier wagon between themselves and the loco. 

 

Speaking of the loco, does 60507's tender in your picture have beading? If so, it shouldn't. It should also have a strip below the solebar, because it's one of the streamlined non-corridor tenders attached (originally) to A4s for working the streamlined trains. It used to carry the stainless steel embellishment.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[rowanj]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Whether meat and fish would be in the same train, I don't know, John,

 

However, those petrol tank wagons (red solebar, low-flash-point) would have a barrier wagon between themselves and the loco. 

 

Speaking of the loco, does 60507's tender in your picture have beading? If so, it shouldn't. It should also have a strip below the solebar, because it's one of the streamlined non-corridor tenders attached (originally) to A4s for working the streamlined trains. It used to carry the stainless steel embellishment.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Thanks for the comments, Tony. You have caught me with a "hat trick" of errors, one  of which is easily remedied by the provision of a barrier wagon. The tender for Highland Chieftain was already on my "to do " list, which is still quite long. Modelling a real location has already caused me to reduce inappropriate stock and renumber others, and I find it to be a really enjoyable part of the hobby. Mods to the tender have moved up to the top of the queue.

 

Re the tanks, they are not in a block train, but part of a mixed freight. Is this prototypical for the mid-late 50's? If so, where would they normally be in the consist? Would it depend on whether they were full or empty?  I am finding questions like these, and trying to act on the answers, as interesting as actually running trains these days.

 

John

 

[Tony Wright]

10 hours ago, rowanj said:

Thanks for the comments, Tony. You have caught me with a "hat trick" of errors, one  of which is easily remedied by the provision of a barrier wagon. The tender for Highland Chieftain was already on my "to do " list, which is still quite long. Modelling a real location has already caused me to reduce inappropriate stock and renumber others, and I find it to be a really enjoyable part of the hobby. Mods to the tender have moved up to the top of the queue.

 

Re the tanks, they are not in a block train, but part of a mixed freight. Is this prototypical for the mid-late 50's? If so, where would they normally be in the consist? Would it depend on whether they were full or empty?  I am finding questions like these, and trying to act on the answers, as interesting as actually running trains these days.

 

John

 

Good morning John,

 

I thought I'd responded to your question, but obviously not.

 

It's unlikely the short-wheelbase petrol tankers would be in a block train (they're probably not fitted), but you need to ask the question to those with the knowledge to answer. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Clive Mortimore]

Hi John

 

In steam days all movement of Class A tanks, grey tank with red solbar, would have barrier wagons both sides.  Even if it was only one tank in a mixed train or a train of wagons travelling between the refinery and the marshalling yard. It doesn't matter if they are full or empty. In fact an empty tank is not really empty as it will still be full of very volatile fumes and is potentially more explosive than a full tank.

 

 

[rowanj]

Thanks to both Clive and Tony. I really want to avoid obvious visual errors without being puritanical about it, so these comments are particularly helpful.

 

John

[rowanj]

On 24/03/2019 at 19:56, Tony Wright said:

Whether meat and fish would be in the same train, I don't know, John,

 

However, those petrol tank wagons (red solebar, low-flash-point) would have a barrier wagon between themselves and the loco. 

 

Speaking of the loco, does 60507's tender in your picture have beading? If so, it shouldn't. It should also have a strip below the solebar, because it's one of the streamlined non-corridor tenders attached (originally) to A4s for working the streamlined trains. It used to carry the stainless steel embellishment.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Good evening, Tony.

 

I have worn out my eyes working through Coster to see the strip on the A4 non-corridor tender. I accept it is there, but wonder if you have,or can point me to, a suitable photograph. I have a correct tender body, and,when I get good advice,it behoves me to try to follow it, otherwise what is the point of posting?.

Regards

John

PS the barrier wagons are now in situ.

 

Edited March 25, 2019 by rowanj
Poor grammar.

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, rowanj said:

Good evening, Tony.

 

I have worn out my eyes working through Coster to see the strip on the A4 non-corridor tender. I accept it is there, but wonder if you have,or can point me to, a suitable photograph. I have a correct tender body, and,when I get good advice,it behoves me to try to follow it, otherwise what is the point of posting?.

Regards

John

PS the barrier wagons are now in situ.

 

Good evening, John,

 

Any of the pictures of 60507 in The Power of the A2s by Gavin Morrison, OPC. It's clearly there.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[rowanj]

Highland Chieftain now has its' A4 non-corridor tender. It needs some weathering to match to the tender to the loco, but 64B kept their Pacifics in good order, so it will only get a dusting. It has the same mixed freight, but now heading for Tyneside. The barrier wagon is now in place, but I'm going to re-site the wagons in the middle of the consist, where I think it will look better.

 

The J94 is just a renumbered/repainted Airfix, now a Heaton loco. The loco held in the relief sidings is a Heaton J71, converted from an ancient Mainline J72 on a Mainly Trains/Wizard chassis as designed by Iain Rice.

 

Thanks again for the tips.

 

[rowanj]

Classic NE Region North of Heaton from my early-teens when J27's on hoppers  were every other train, and were usually ones we had seen umpteen times anyway. what I'd give for a Time Machine to see it again. Both locos are Dave Alexander kits, the completed one an original all-whitemetal on a basic etched chassis, The loco on test was his latest/last iteration, with an etched boiler and cab roof, bur, surprisingly, still a whitemetal cab.

 

[rowanj]

To complete the J27 posts, 65813 rests before setting off for the Esso terminal at North Shields for a fuel train bound for the RAF base at Carlisle, This was a turn the loco actually worked, and I have a photo to prove it. Whether it took the train the whole way, or perhaps was relieved by a Blaydon loco, I don't know. In reality, the train wouldn't have passed Little Benton, unless it went towards Backworth via Blue Bell, but it did in my world. A more authentic photo is the pair of J27's together - a wholly familiar sight.

[Avocette]

This excellent thread about Little Benton Sidings has both answered many questions about my trainspotting days and also set me on a search for more information. Memories fade after 55 years and although I trainspotted in the area of the 'Powder Monkey' many times, I no longer recalled the sidings. Selective memory I guess, and as you say John our desire to 'cop' a new engine number meant our focus on the ECML, and in the gaps between, riding around the Powder Monkey tracks on our bikes, the equivalent of BMX in more recent terminology.

With the help of the National Library of Scotland website, I easily overlaid the OS Map from the 1960s with a satellite image, and this has helped me greatly to picture the area once again. Included are the Rising Sun Colliery tracks also now long gone from the 'Rising Sun Country Park', and the High Farm housing estate, and the Jubilee School which we attended.

My sister bought one of the houses in 'Cheviot Court' newly built in 1982, and on many visits over the years I stared out of the back bedroom at the evolving ECML and could not quite picture where the Powder Monkey had been. This map image solved the issue for me. My sister's house is near where Little Benton North was, and the view from the upstairs window would have looked directly onto the signal box and farm bridge, which no longer exist. The sidings are now completely replaced by vegetation, trees and shrubs, and these effectively screen much of the ECML action, and with the electrification there is no significant noise.

Many thanks to you John, for such a stimulating subject for your layout.

Ed

[rowanj]

When the Up distant at Little Benton South was "on", this was always a sign that nothing interesting was liable to be on the way. Sure enough, 65813 heads another rake of hoppers through the bridge, to the spotters disgust.

Of course, for this location, J27's were the staple diet, and I was happy to win a NuCast kit when in France. I haven't checked the contents properly, but, in theory, it will become 65863, which was the last to lose its' superheater, but kept an extended smokebox until withdrawal in 1962. It is appropriate for the time/location, being  a Heaton and Blyth loco until scrapping in 1962.

[rowanj]

Class 17's arrived at Gateshead in 1965 and seem to have been used predominantly on pick-up and local goods turns. The loco is an ancient Silverfox resin kit, built many years ago. It runs on a pair of Tenshedo bogies, and if it has moved more than 100 yards since I built it, I would be surprised.

 

The photo showing it passing the DJH D20 held at Little Benton South's signal requires some flexibility (of about 10 years) in the imagination, though both locos are legitimate for the location, though certainly not at the same time.

[5BarVT]

Ah, the memories!  A Clayton on pick up goods used to run Up through West Jesmond just after 4pm in the late 60s.  Too young to be allowed a camera then.

Paul.

[rowanj]

On ‎10‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 18:56, 5BarVT said:

Ah, the memories!  A Clayton on pick up goods used to run Up through West Jesmond just after 4pm in the late 60s.  Too young to be allowed a camera then.

Paul.

Hi Paul. Here is a shot of a very short but interesting pick-up freight heading south in 1966. The site is where Little Benton South cabin stood - gone by the time of the photo, along with the sidings. The 3rd rail is still in situ, however.

 

john

Edited July 13, 2019 by rowanj