Boiler

"Rob" wrote

Hi Rob,

Very few (if any) UK loco sheds would have the facility to lift a boiler. This was a job which would invariably done at one of the loco works.

John.

So go for an old tender to soften the water...much more proto.

Ken.

Thanks John. OK, Ill modify the question. I am building a 3 (Metcalfe) Engine Shed area, have coaling stage and turntable and inspection pit in place. What assorted crap would be spread out and around in the yard? Rob

"Rob" wrote

A lot of ash! ;-)

John.

Depends on the era.

Probably worse towards the end and during W.W.II.

However, there are other myths, like spotlessly clean locos during the big four. Look at photos, they had dirty engines as well.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

Great idea, can you elaborate? I'm doing late 50,'s early 60's BR (Southern), at least on most days :-) Rob

Off the top of my head I would think about

Stack of used sleepers Some lengths of old rail Pile of old iron plates ready for the local scrap man. Coal heap or bunker for the shed stoves with whitewash on top to make sure the lads in the shunters hut arn't nicking it. Assorted ladders Pile of old paint cans

Hows that for starters?

As for buildings, add an oil store (small shed), and a depot office/enginemens lunch and locker room and toilet.Can't have the loco crews pissing on the coal stack and washing the whitewash off. Regards, Bill.

"Rob" wrote

Consider what a loco shed had to actually do. Their principle purpose was to undergo (mostly) minor maintenance and refuel the locos in their care. Maintenance would include removing tons of ash from the locos ashpans and smokeboxes, cleaning the firebox and washing out the boiler. Refuelling would generally include filling the bunker or tender with coal, topping up the water levels, oiling around and topping up sand in the sandboxes.

Ash and coal would generally require specialist facilities, whilst sand would need to be dried and stored. Oil would generally be in oil drums in the steam era.

Consider all of these aspects, look at contemporary photographs and then work from there.

John.

"John Turner" > Consider what a loco shed had to actually do. Their principle purpose was

All excellent advise.

I'd also suggest that you do NOT look at what other modellers have done. All you'll do is just perpetrate common errors. Do as John suggests, study photos, closely, and model what you see there, not what you see on other model railways.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

Have a few wagon wheels lying around. With nice and sharp pin-point bearings. Just like the real Hornby ones :-)

( Please copy the prototype, not other models ....).

- Nigel

Have a look at the HMRS website, there's a ref there to a tender with Return to Water Softening Plant on it. Google also has refs to North Eastern. Some of the eight wheel tenders that Drummond built for the Bens were used thus. IIRC there were eight wheelers on the Southern which probably met the same fate. Don't know anything about the south of England except that its geology implies lots of softening problems. Whilst looking through a few books I have for a photograph,(failed), I came across a picture of Wadebridge shed in BR days with a posh-looking Beattie well tank standing next to a large double A-frame hoist spanning the tracks. It's mounted on wheels to run on track, with chunky chain lifting gear. Looks strong enough to drop wheels and was taller than the two road shed, but the wheels don't look suitable for movement between sheds, so perhaps it was a fixture. Anyone recall it?

Ken.

John, was it the practice for UK sheds to have stationary boilers for washouts?

"NC" wrote

I don't *ever* recall seeing wagon wheels lying around loco depots. Wagons were generally dealt with elsewhere - at one of the numerous wagon repair depots.

John.

"Mark Newton" wrote

I don't recall any.

John.

Oh dear, John. I thought you'd have spotted the irony :-), I thought I laid it on with a trowel. I did say follow the prototype not the models !

- Nigel

"NC" wrote

Must be the alcohol I had a lunchtime. Bloody Bank Holidays are a nuisance - give you loads of time to do frivolous things! ;-)

John.

Well, it is a model newsgroup.

In message , John Turner writes

I thought Bank Holidays were a goof time to go and watch rugby league.