Bacup - Mills in the hills

[Donw]

I no longer consider myself to be a young un but I have found that if you exercise a bit regularly it doesn't hurt its the going mad at the weekend then needing to take it easy all week to recover that hurts. Also not being a young un I do remember when things were like this layout. The memories flood back outside lav, bath in the kitchen, door to the lav through the kitchen when me mam had a bath, it was legs crossed or  half a mile round the block to get from the front door to the back. Happy days eh.

Don

[Rowsley17D]

 

I no longer consider myself to be a young un but I have found that if you exercise a bit regularly it doesn't hurt its the going mad at the weekend then needing to take it easy all week to recover that hurts. Also not being a young un I do remember when things were like this layout. The memories flood back outside lav, bath in the kitchen, door to the lav through the kitchen when me mam had a bath, it was legs crossed or  half a mile round the block to get from the front door to the back. Happy days eh.

Don

Ahhhh, those were the days. We used to eat inside and go to lav outside, now we eat outside and go to the lav inside. Progress or what?

[Physicsman]

Jason, the photo in post #1515 - the one you posted in KL - is a classic. Definitive Bacup with a relevant loco, weathered stock and those terraced streets...

 

Love the way the line runs "over" the houses.

 

Great picture!

 

Jeff

[unclebobkt]

It's the positioning of the upper end of the white diagonal which is being questioned.  ... . 

As for creosote and related products, it's banned for domestic/amateur use and for sale to the general public ... . 

 

 -- Arthur,,

 - Thank you for your courteous and clarifying reply.

 - Clearly you have recognised that I am a newbie to this particular thread and still have a lot of reading to do before I come to present time.

 - In fact I have been OUT of England, effectively, since 1990.;  and it was back in the early '50s. that I used creosote for the last time - hence my appearing to be somewhat out-of-touch with the latest edicts of 'elf'n'safety etc. etc. .

[unclebobkt]

I may venture over to Bacup soon, when I've relocated. I guess I should visit the real place at some point.

 

Anyway, not been up to too much of late but I have made a start in chopping off tension locks and replacing them with 3 links, which is a lot easier on kit built stock than on RTR, which involves a fair bit of chopping. Why 3 links, you may ask.

 

The first reason is asthetics, and personally I think Kadees look worse than tension locks. The thing is, when I go to exhibitions and see wagons on finescale layouts, I always think that they look better than mine, even if they are RTR and have only basic weathering. It struck me at the weekend whilst messing around with Mark's Foundry Lane that the big difference in looks is caused not by the the tension locks on their own, but the huge chunk of plastic / NEM pocket that hangs down, e.g. the mounting point. 

On the left is a wagon with 3 links and on the right, one with the tension lock and NEM pocket. See what I mean? And that isn't the best of pics to demonstrate it

 

Secondly, and maybe I am a masochist, but I like the fact that fiddling around with the links when coupling/uncoupling delays the shunting manouvres, so the temptation to (tension) hook up and shoot off straight away is eliminated.How many lovely layouts do you see with 'instant' shunting at exhibitions? Loads; it says to me that the operator is bored.

 

So, tonight I have been shunting the yard with the locos and stock so far converted, and it's been very enjoyable although it has highlighted (or maybe increased) the necessity to try and sort out the overhang issue with Hornby Black Fives when they go round curves (the body doesn't follow the pony truck) so I'll be looking again at what Richard (Ben Alder) did and having a go myself.

 

Anyway, here are a few more of the 'converted' and in the background, my new purchase courtesy of Tim. This will become 90555 shortly, as I can place that at Broadley on the Facit branch in 1961.

 

 

(the flash on this has made the Five appear a bit brown; it's not in reality as previous photos will prove)

 

 

 

 

Oh, and whilst I was at the job of changing couplings, I finally got around to adding lead weights to my wagons, something I should have done ages ago. I also sorted out the Double Bolster with new buffers and uprights after clumsiness had snapped the original Parkside bits years ago. Beer o'clock now

 

 -- Sandside,

 - Concerning the WR. 'Fruit.' van, (W1342., if I read it aright?), - it being XP. should it not be fitted with screw couplings?  I didn't see any flexible & vacuum pipes fitted, but possibly that's caused by the angle at wch. the photo. was taken?

 - But glad to see that you're getting rid of those Tension Locks and replacing them with more prototypical couplings - small but necessary improvements that add to the realism.

 - As you can see I'm catching-up so s-l-o-w-l-y,  such a wealth of details, tips and suchlike to be absorbed to achieve a life-like scene, wch. you are doing to perfection! 

[Clive Mortimore]

 -- Sandside,

 - Concerning the WR. 'Fruit.' van, (W1342., if I read it aright?), - it being XP. should it not be fitted with screw couplings?  I didn't see any flexible & vacuum pipes fitted, but possibly that's caused by the angle at wch. the photo. was taken?

 - But glad to see that you're getting rid of those Tension Locks and replacing them with more prototypical couplings - small but necessary improvements that add to the realism.

 - As you can see I'm catching-up so s-l-o-w-l-y,  such a wealth of details, tips and suchlike to be absorbed to achieve a life-like scene, wch. you are doing to perfection! 

Hi unclebobkt

 

Didn't many GWR (and later BR) fitted vans have instanter couplings instead of screw couplings? So either design might be appropriate.

[Donw]

So far as I know to be XP rated and run in passenger formations the couplings had to be screw type whether fitted or just piped (the pipes were painted white on piped only wagons). However there were a lot of company wagons which were unfitted and therefore had three link or instanter couplings. A wagon could be fitted but not passenger rated.

Don

[Clive Mortimore]

So far as I know to be XP rated and run in passenger formations the couplings had to be screw type whether fitted or just piped (the pipes were painted white on piped only wagons). However there were a lot of company wagons which were unfitted and therefore had three link or instanter couplings. A wagon could be fitted but not passenger rated.

Don

Hi Don

 

Browsing through my Larkin books and Paul Bartletts website I have come across large numbers of XP rated fitted vans and opens with instanter couplings. I have not seen a photo of a GWR fruit van with instanters as yet. I need to have a look at my copies of David Larkin's photos of the GWR fruit vans that I have, but that will be a job for tomorrow.

[Donw]

I have no doubt you have seen the pictures as such vans would be used in express goods trains but have you seen any pictures of them used in passenger trains?

Don

[black and decker boy]

 -- Being an avid reader of Private Eye, and especially of its Pedants' corner, may I enquire if those are air-vents shwn on the slate roofs?

 - Correct or some other explanation?

 

Yes they will be air vents. My terrace has them fitted too. Not sure what they do given that the roof has a 2 inch gap all round at eaves level behind the gutters which lets lots of air flow into the roof but any modernised roof in these parts will have them and that row looks to have had new roofing fitted as they are all uniform.

[unclebobkt]

 

... .

The stinkpipe, etc., on the left are Langley ones. The residents of this house are lucky enough to have an inside toilet!!!

[ ... . /quote]

 

-- Just a small reminder re the stink-pipes - they should have small & wire mesh globes atop to prevent birds perching and dropping-down their poo.

 

[buffalo]

XP rating has been discussed several times before. Try this topic for, I think, the most recent occasion.

 

Nick

[unclebobkt]

 

... .

It was quite sad to go to Rockliffe Road and see where the station was, and a surprise to see that the area that the station occupied was narrower than I expected.

... .

-- Sandside,

- When you have a spare moment - ha! - you might like to take a look-at:

> http://www.davidheyscollection.com/ <; then look-at the LEFT hand side and scroll-DOWN to page 56

which has a few pictures of BACUP.

- "Ichabod!". :-(

Edited October 1, 2013 by unclebobkt

[Welsh Yorkie]

 -- Creosote has been banned?  Good heavens - so what does one use to preserve timbering?

 - The only alternative of wch. I know is 'Cuprinol.' - a ghastly green colour, if I mistake not?  But then possibly that, too,  has been banned,  as I believe that it's copper-based?

 - You may see that I'm working my way through this thread, albeit slowly, (a couple or so weeks, to date.), - plenty of valuable info. and useful tips herein!  Plus, of course, all of those delightful and other threads mentioned; the main lines and branch lines of railway modelling,  (and of much else, besides.),.

Replacement is Creocote. Not as gooey, and the smell is nowhere near the marvellous, original smell; same colour, but not as deep.

[unclebobkt]

Replacement is Creocote. Not as gooey, and the smell is nowhere near the marvellous, original smell; same colour, but not as deep.

 

      Welsh Yorkie,

  Thanks for your reply.

 - One query, if I may: is thus new-fangled Creocote as effective a preservative as the olde Creosote?

 - Apart from wearing goggles to protect my eyes and the usual overalls I can't write that I ever bothered about a few splashes of creosote on my skin - nor its smell, either.; but that was back in the early 50s. - NO 'elf 'n' safety and/or Risk Assessments in those days;  back home one was given a job and got-on with it.

Edited October 4, 2013 by unclebobkt

[The Stationmaster]

    

 - One query, if I may: is thus new-fangled Creocote as effective a preservative as the olde Creosote?

 

I don't think it is (based on the versions I have used and what the paints expert in the local branch of Jewson has said about it).  I find that it doesn't seem to 'soak in' like proper creosote although is does quote the surface fairly well.  Coverage improves, I have found, if I mix in some compatible black bitumen (which I also used to do with the real stuff as it happens).

[BR(W)]

And then there's old sump oil which seemed quite popular in the 60s, but as fewer people do their own car servicing these days, plus the increased mileage between oil changes (remember 5,000 miles, or even 3,000?), its availability for use as a wood preservative has declined: gone are the days of draining the hot oil into a container and then slapping it on your timber garage, it seems!

 

Cheers,

 

BR(W).

[coachmann]

Regarding streets in cottonopolis, I took in Oldham in 1970. We lived at the fourth from the left house from 1947 till 1955. My maternal gran lived at the first house. By the time of the photo, most of the houses had been vacated and the street condemned. While no one would have dreamed of painting their front door yellow in 1955, the shot does nevertheless give a clue as to how drab things were in earlier years with black gutters and downspouts. The house we lived in looks to have been painted with the cardinal red weatherproof paint that was popular at one time. The door steps and window sills were always donkey stoned when we lived there. The darker patches on the pavement in front of each house (except ours) was a grid. This was lifted by the coalman to tip coal into the cellar. The houses were on steeply sloping land and had cellars benieth except ours, which was built sideways hence the long wall. Our coal went into a skulery beside the kitchen.

 

I slept in that front bedroom with gran towards the end of the war. When we returned home one evening the ceiling was on the bed, disturbed by earlier bombing. Lucky escape then....

 

Edited October 4, 2013 by coachmann

[bluebottle]

... I slept in that front bedroom with gran towards the end of the war. When we returned home one evening the ceiling was on the bed, disturbed by earlier bombing. Lucky escape then....

 

WEB Lennox St.jpg

 

Well, I don't care if Hermann Göring was a fellow railway modeller, I shall now think of him as the one who nearly deprived us of the coach ...

[coachmann]

Headline....Heiligen shmoly, Hermann snuffs out coachmann...  

[Andrew P]

We would be LARRYLESS

 

Bodgit

[mark axlecounter]

Hi Jason I must say bacup has come on it looks good

next time you are in bacup let me know

I have built a few class 27 locos and they are a nice kit to do but bacup looks better than what it is now new buildings piping up everywhere lol

[Grimleygrid]

Hi Jason, just catching up on your excellent thread. Truly incredible modelling of the highest order, the buildings are just stunning and you can really see it all coming together. Great work.

[unclebobkt]

u

  I don't think it is (based on the versions I have used and what the paints expert in the local branch of Jewson has said about it).  I find that it doesn't seem to 'soak in' like proper creosote although is does quote the surface fairly well.  ... . 

 

      Stationmaster,

  Thank you for your reply.

  Many, many years ago I read that the GWR. used to put a load of sleepers at a time into a pressure vessel, then put-in a qty. of creosote and finally INCREASE and hold the pressure for a period to ensure that the creosote was forced into the sleepers.

  At one time that rly. had commissioned some professor to conduct trials to find-out the optimum pressure to obtain a long life of the sleepers.

  The prof. found-out that too LOW a pressure didn't force the creosote into the sleepers, whereas too HIGH a pressure would tear-apart the sleepers' fibres and thus negating the creosote's preservative properties.

  This reading was s-o-o-o long ago that, regretably, I'm unable to quote any references, (apart from my own & amnesic memory.),.

Edited October 9, 2013 by unclebobkt

[Jason T]

As riveting a topic as it is folks, can we please stop talking about creosote in the thread. If I am honest, I couldn't give a monkeys if creosote used to be made on the moon by squirrels

 

I know I haven't popped anything up recently but I am getting on with a load of stuff, just not worth taking photos of or commenting on at the moment.