No competition really. I’m going with Peco finescale code 55, with electrofrog points. I’m also trying to use large radius points only in the scenic areas, as they look better. I’ll mainly use curved points on the Beattock Summit bend.
Fiddle yard, when I’ve decided how this will work, will use any code 55 point, so long as it’s cheap.
I've acquired some second hand track and points on eBay, at roughly half the retial price. I may have bought too many points (or the wrong type) but I should be able to sell these again to recover any expense. I also picked up a scissors crossing, which I intend to use on the Beattock Station track plan. It's not strictly prototypical, but necessary due to compression of the track plan into the space available. I bought the scissors on eBay from the US! Amazingly it was cheaper to have it shipped from there than pick one up locally. A mad world.
Friday, 15 December 2006
Tuesday, 5 December 2006
Beattock research
I’ve accumulated some sources of information on Beattock. I’ve been surprised by the lack of info, given that Beattock was a major element of the WCML until its closure. My usual first source of information, Wikipedia, is surprisingly weak on the subject, though there’s useful background on the WCML and the Caledonian Railway.
The most useful sources found so far are:
Magazines
Modellers Backtrack, June-July 1993. This has a full track plan of Beatock station, plus photos and drawings of some of the key buildings (station building, station master’s house, etc).
Backtrack November-December. This has a fab article charting a single day’s traffic over the Summit. Though the day was in the 1960s it gives a great insight into typical operations on a busy day. Plenty of operational scope, then.
Railway World May 1974 charts the introduction of electric expresses and demise of the bankers at Beattock. With 5,100bhp available these engines could cruise up the bank at 90mph, a considerable improvement in performance from the slow experienced by both steam and diesel engines.
Timetable.
I acquired a copy of the LMS timetable for 1946/47. It shows the scheduled services running through Beattock
Maps.
These are some important sources of information, the best ones are:
Oldmaps.co.uk
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/maps/
I visited The British Library, which has old maps in large scales that clearly show the track plans. But it takes ages to retrieve them from the basement, and I timed out, so a return visit will be necessary.
Photos.
The best source I’ve found is www.phantasrail.co.uk/arcphotos. These are pictures of locos on the Summit taken in 1966, again later than my planned timeframe (BR rather than LMS), but I’m able to deduce much of the Summit track plan from these. They show the pronounced curve of the track plan, something to capture in the model.
There are some good pics of the station at http://130.209.236.149 – a site hosted by John Furnevel (thanks, John).
Also try http://www.railscot.co.uk/Caledonian_Railway
Other sources include eBay, where occasionally people are selling photos and postcards, and other random web sites. Believe me, I’ve searched them all. I believe there are commercial sources for photos, but I’m reluctant to spend cash on something I haven’t seen.
On http://www.mulehouse.demon.co.uk/stations/ there is an index of photographs for all British and Irish stations. This is really useful, and provides more than a dozen references of books and magazines with photos of Beattock station. No references of the Summit, though…
Videos.
North from Carlisle, by CineRail, is the best I've found so far. It dates from around 1964 and has useful info on typical stock used, the banking procedure, plus good footage at the station and summit.
The WCML from Lancaster to Beattock, pat of the Great Steam Routes series, was disappointing. despite the reference in the title, there is only a brief clip of Beattock station from a train as it shoots through, and a similar shot at the Summit. Nice shots of steamers going up the bank, though. There's also some interesting (but not strictly relevant) footage of bankers heading up Shap.
Books.
Hmmm. I haven’t found a “Beattock station and summit” book – a gap in the market?! There are a couple of books on my wish list for Christmas that sound useful:
Dumfries and Galloway's Last Days of Steam, Author: W.A.C. Smith
BRANCHES AND BYWAYS - SOUTHWEST SCOTLAND AND THE BORDER COUNTIES 1st Edition - January 2004 by Robert Robotham
LMS ENGINE SHEDS - VOL. 5 -THE CALEDONIAN RAILWAY, 1st Edition – 1987, by Chris Hawkins, George Reeve
I’ll tell you if they’re any good if they appear in my Christmas stocking…
Web sites and other sources.
I'll post separately on the various web sites I've found, though these tend to contain more generic info than specific to Beattock.
The most useful sources found so far are:
Magazines
Modellers Backtrack, June-July 1993. This has a full track plan of Beatock station, plus photos and drawings of some of the key buildings (station building, station master’s house, etc).
Backtrack November-December. This has a fab article charting a single day’s traffic over the Summit. Though the day was in the 1960s it gives a great insight into typical operations on a busy day. Plenty of operational scope, then.
Railway World May 1974 charts the introduction of electric expresses and demise of the bankers at Beattock. With 5,100bhp available these engines could cruise up the bank at 90mph, a considerable improvement in performance from the slow experienced by both steam and diesel engines.
Timetable.
I acquired a copy of the LMS timetable for 1946/47. It shows the scheduled services running through Beattock
Maps.
These are some important sources of information, the best ones are:
Oldmaps.co.uk
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/maps/
I visited The British Library, which has old maps in large scales that clearly show the track plans. But it takes ages to retrieve them from the basement, and I timed out, so a return visit will be necessary.
Photos.
The best source I’ve found is www.phantasrail.co.uk/arcphotos. These are pictures of locos on the Summit taken in 1966, again later than my planned timeframe (BR rather than LMS), but I’m able to deduce much of the Summit track plan from these. They show the pronounced curve of the track plan, something to capture in the model.
There are some good pics of the station at http://130.209.236.149 – a site hosted by John Furnevel (thanks, John).
Also try http://www.railscot.co.uk/Caledonian_Railway
Other sources include eBay, where occasionally people are selling photos and postcards, and other random web sites. Believe me, I’ve searched them all. I believe there are commercial sources for photos, but I’m reluctant to spend cash on something I haven’t seen.
On http://www.mulehouse.demon.co.uk/stations/ there is an index of photographs for all British and Irish stations. This is really useful, and provides more than a dozen references of books and magazines with photos of Beattock station. No references of the Summit, though…
Videos.
North from Carlisle, by CineRail, is the best I've found so far. It dates from around 1964 and has useful info on typical stock used, the banking procedure, plus good footage at the station and summit.
The WCML from Lancaster to Beattock, pat of the Great Steam Routes series, was disappointing. despite the reference in the title, there is only a brief clip of Beattock station from a train as it shoots through, and a similar shot at the Summit. Nice shots of steamers going up the bank, though. There's also some interesting (but not strictly relevant) footage of bankers heading up Shap.
Books.
Hmmm. I haven’t found a “Beattock station and summit” book – a gap in the market?! There are a couple of books on my wish list for Christmas that sound useful:
Dumfries and Galloway's Last Days of Steam, Author: W.A.C. Smith
BRANCHES AND BYWAYS - SOUTHWEST SCOTLAND AND THE BORDER COUNTIES 1st Edition - January 2004 by Robert Robotham
LMS ENGINE SHEDS - VOL. 5 -THE CALEDONIAN RAILWAY, 1st Edition – 1987, by Chris Hawkins, George Reeve
I’ll tell you if they’re any good if they appear in my Christmas stocking…
Web sites and other sources.
I'll post separately on the various web sites I've found, though these tend to contain more generic info than specific to Beattock.
Monday, 27 November 2006
Catalogue rant
Why do manufacturers charge for their product catalogues? Imagine if Marks & Spencer charged you to look in their shop window. I’ve just laid out £10 for three catalogues for what I believe are tier 1 suppliers: Peco, Graham Farish and Ratio/Wills. In retrospect, I needn’t have bought the GF one because they at least have a decent web site with their product descriptions available. Good for them. I suppose they’re entitled to try and fleece me for an extra £3. And they succeed (though that’s £3 less available to buy a loco from them).
But what is Peco doing? It’s living in the dark ages, that’s what. It’s web site has descriptions of its products, but no illustrations. Pointless. You have to buy the catalogue. Same for Ratio/Wills, now owned by Peco. So I have to buy the Ratio/Wills catalogue too, if I want to know what the products look like.
Come on, Peco. Get with the 21st century. Put your excellent products in full colour on the web site. I’m sure you’d sell more of them that way.
If Dapol can, you can.
But what is Peco doing? It’s living in the dark ages, that’s what. It’s web site has descriptions of its products, but no illustrations. Pointless. You have to buy the catalogue. Same for Ratio/Wills, now owned by Peco. So I have to buy the Ratio/Wills catalogue too, if I want to know what the products look like.
Come on, Peco. Get with the 21st century. Put your excellent products in full colour on the web site. I’m sure you’d sell more of them that way.
If Dapol can, you can.
Thursday, 23 November 2006
Beattock – a short history
The main motivation for building a railway line via Beattock was that it could serve both the Scottish centres of commerce: Glasgow and Edinburgh. As far back as 1835, surveys had been completed determining the viability or otherwise of various routes. The Beattock route enabled the line to diverge north at Carstairs, with a Y-junction connecting the Glasgow and Edinburgh branches. The decision to build via Beattock was controversial: could motive power of the day negotiate the steep inclines? Political and financial arguments also ensued – would a single line be more economical than two, and would it serve the commercial interests sufficiently?
The Caledonian Railway built its line from Carlisle to Beattock in 1847, and the line was extended to Glasgow and to Edinburgh in 1848, both routes going via Carstairs. Though the Beattock route was chosen to serve both Glasgow and Edinburgh, the line eventually competed with the Waverley route from Carlisle to Edinburgh via Hawick and the Scottish Borders region, and with the North British line from London to Edinburgh via Newcastle. The Glasgow & South Western Railway (GSWR) also provided a service from Carlisle to Glasgow via Stranraer. So there are now four lines crossing the border.
An independent branch, the Moffat Railway, just over one and a half miles long, ran between Beattock and Moffat. It was opened on 2 April 1883 and was taken over by the Caledonian Railway, by Act of Parliament, in 1889.
The Railway Act 1921 caused the Caledonian to be absorbed into the London, Midland Scottish (LMS) railway, in an exercise known as Grouping. The LMS ran trains direct from London to Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as throughout other parts of its extensive network. The backbone of the LMS was the West Coast Mainline (WCML) via Beattock.
From its inception, bankers were used to assist most engines and their trains up the gradient. The gradient from Beattock Station to Beattock Summit, running ten miles, averages between 1 in 69 and 1 in 88. Bankers were initially Caledonian Railways (CR) class 439 0-4-4 engines, then CR Pickersgill class 944 4-6-2 tanks, being replaced over time with LMS 2-6-4 Fairbairn tanks (and ultimately with Class 20 diesels). But engines were often borrowed from other depots, to help out in busy periods or perhaps to rotate engines through onerous banking duties.
The Moffat branch served vistors to the local spa, a popular destination that needed a service of twelve to fifteen small trains per day. These comprised a Drummond 0-4-4T CR class 194 with three carriages. By the 1930s this was replaced by the so-called 'Moffat Bus' or 'Puffer', a steam railcar. The Moffat branch closed to passengers in 1954, and to freight ten years later.
With the demise of steam, banking became less common and was eliminated completely by 1974 with the completion of electrification of the WCML and the introduction of the electric expresses.
Beattock depot closed in 1967 and the station closed in 1972 . At the Summit the sentinel signal box has been demolished and the trackplan simplified. But there are still passing loops and cripple sidings to remind us of the steep gradients and times gone by.
Sources:
http://www.virgintrainsmediaroom.com/media/adobepdf/6%20ShapBeattock%20D.pdf http://www.dalbeattie.com/moffat/history/industr.html
http://www.railscot.co.uk/Caledonian_Railway
http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r001.html
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/maps/I242.IMAGEMAP?369,61
http://130.209.236.149/ewan/chronology/dates.asp
http://www.railscot.co.uk/Moffat_Railway/body.htm
The Caledonian Railway built its line from Carlisle to Beattock in 1847, and the line was extended to Glasgow and to Edinburgh in 1848, both routes going via Carstairs. Though the Beattock route was chosen to serve both Glasgow and Edinburgh, the line eventually competed with the Waverley route from Carlisle to Edinburgh via Hawick and the Scottish Borders region, and with the North British line from London to Edinburgh via Newcastle. The Glasgow & South Western Railway (GSWR) also provided a service from Carlisle to Glasgow via Stranraer. So there are now four lines crossing the border.
An independent branch, the Moffat Railway, just over one and a half miles long, ran between Beattock and Moffat. It was opened on 2 April 1883 and was taken over by the Caledonian Railway, by Act of Parliament, in 1889.
The Railway Act 1921 caused the Caledonian to be absorbed into the London, Midland Scottish (LMS) railway, in an exercise known as Grouping. The LMS ran trains direct from London to Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as throughout other parts of its extensive network. The backbone of the LMS was the West Coast Mainline (WCML) via Beattock.
From its inception, bankers were used to assist most engines and their trains up the gradient. The gradient from Beattock Station to Beattock Summit, running ten miles, averages between 1 in 69 and 1 in 88. Bankers were initially Caledonian Railways (CR) class 439 0-4-4 engines, then CR Pickersgill class 944 4-6-2 tanks, being replaced over time with LMS 2-6-4 Fairbairn tanks (and ultimately with Class 20 diesels). But engines were often borrowed from other depots, to help out in busy periods or perhaps to rotate engines through onerous banking duties.
The Moffat branch served vistors to the local spa, a popular destination that needed a service of twelve to fifteen small trains per day. These comprised a Drummond 0-4-4T CR class 194 with three carriages. By the 1930s this was replaced by the so-called 'Moffat Bus' or 'Puffer', a steam railcar. The Moffat branch closed to passengers in 1954, and to freight ten years later.
With the demise of steam, banking became less common and was eliminated completely by 1974 with the completion of electrification of the WCML and the introduction of the electric expresses.
Beattock depot closed in 1967 and the station closed in 1972 . At the Summit the sentinel signal box has been demolished and the trackplan simplified. But there are still passing loops and cripple sidings to remind us of the steep gradients and times gone by.
Sources:
http://www.virgintrainsmediaroom.com/media/adobepdf/6%20ShapBeattock%20D.pdf http://www.dalbeattie.com/moffat/history/industr.html
http://www.railscot.co.uk/Caledonian_Railway
http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r001.html
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/maps/I242.IMAGEMAP?369,61
http://130.209.236.149/ewan/chronology/dates.asp
http://www.railscot.co.uk/Moffat_Railway/body.htm
Thursday, 16 November 2006
My best investment to date
Without question, the best source of information on N gauge is… the yahoo groups n gauge forum - ngauge@yahoogroups.com. This must be most knowledgeable bunch of guys (and ladies), and they’re just gushing out useful tips and titbits from their vast experience. It costs me the grand some of zero pence to subscribe and read their secrets. They have some entertainingly silly arguments about the precise weight of a lump of coal and exactly how long is a fireman’s shovel. Keep it up chaps (and ladies).
The second best investment to date is membership of the N Gauge Society. £23 including ring binder and joining fee. I’d been seesawing on whether or not to join – I’m not a great club joiner. But the first issue of the society journal arrive a week ago, and it featured an LMS layout – Springdale. Wow. Envy. And it was built 30 years ago. More please, editor.
The society also seems a place to collate information on what products are available. It’s just a tad out of date, last updated 2000. But the volunteers that run the society probably have better things to do than update lists…
The second best investment to date is membership of the N Gauge Society. £23 including ring binder and joining fee. I’d been seesawing on whether or not to join – I’m not a great club joiner. But the first issue of the society journal arrive a week ago, and it featured an LMS layout – Springdale. Wow. Envy. And it was built 30 years ago. More please, editor.
The society also seems a place to collate information on what products are available. It’s just a tad out of date, last updated 2000. But the volunteers that run the society probably have better things to do than update lists…
Budget
I am limiting myself to a maximum £25 per month allowance on the layout. Ouch, I hear you say. But this will be supplemented by selling some of my Dad’s old OO kit, birthday and Christmas lists, and odd bits of trading surplus items. But the point is not to go daft and spend loads. Any idiot can do that!
I have an understanding with Becca, my wife, that flooring the attic (proposed layout location) doesn’t count. But all the structural layout materials (baseboards, etc) do count. Which is why I’ll build it myself and over a long while. Be patient, dear reader.
I have an understanding with Becca, my wife, that flooring the attic (proposed layout location) doesn’t count. But all the structural layout materials (baseboards, etc) do count. Which is why I’ll build it myself and over a long while. Be patient, dear reader.
A bit of background
When I was at university I’d take the train from Edinburgh to Exeter, and trip of around 400 miles. Most of the journey was dull, and I’d sleep or read. But there was a part of the journey where the line runs alongside the A74 trunk road between Scotland and England. In this stretch of line there are the most wonderful hills and valleys, that mark a physical border between the hilly north and the flat south (excuse prejudices here!).
It turns out that this area is the location of Beattock Summit, the highest point on the West Coast Mainline (WCML). The gradient to the top of Beattock Summit reaches 1 in 74, not much by today’s standards, but in the early days of steam most locos struggled to get up. Banker engines were used to push trains up the hill. These bankers were based at Beattock, a village south of the Summit. Beattock Station became an important point on the WCML.
Now, I’m what I call a frustrated modeller. I never had a layout, due to time, cost and space. But things have changed. I now have a small amount of each. Enough to make a serious start.
I don’t know why, but it was always N gauge for me. Perhaps I was captivated by the tiny details and motion. Who knows what sparks the grey matter…
I’m also an LMS man. Easy provenance this – the Scottish connection.
So, an N gauge model of Beattock (Summit and station) in LMS days is what this blog is all about. I’m starting from scratch, in terms of the layout construction, and from a modelling experience point of view.
I’ll be charting the progress of Beattock, from design to construction. I know very little about modelling so the learning curve will be steep. I guess I’ll need some bankers on the way…
It turns out that this area is the location of Beattock Summit, the highest point on the West Coast Mainline (WCML). The gradient to the top of Beattock Summit reaches 1 in 74, not much by today’s standards, but in the early days of steam most locos struggled to get up. Banker engines were used to push trains up the hill. These bankers were based at Beattock, a village south of the Summit. Beattock Station became an important point on the WCML.
Now, I’m what I call a frustrated modeller. I never had a layout, due to time, cost and space. But things have changed. I now have a small amount of each. Enough to make a serious start.
I don’t know why, but it was always N gauge for me. Perhaps I was captivated by the tiny details and motion. Who knows what sparks the grey matter…
I’m also an LMS man. Easy provenance this – the Scottish connection.
So, an N gauge model of Beattock (Summit and station) in LMS days is what this blog is all about. I’m starting from scratch, in terms of the layout construction, and from a modelling experience point of view.
I’ll be charting the progress of Beattock, from design to construction. I know very little about modelling so the learning curve will be steep. I guess I’ll need some bankers on the way…
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