Hartley Hills, LNWR c1900 - buffer stops, how do you build yours?

Wagonman

Western Thunderer
For those who are following the story of local folk, I think that there is not likely to be any more news from Hartley Hill until the middle of next week. I have packed my portmanteau ready for along journey. I shall be travelling on the night sleeper from Euston on Monday... I have an important engagement just north of the border and at this time I am not able to divulge any more on the matter. Suffice to say, I am expecting good news.



Oh my god– he's eloped!
 

iploffy

OC Blue Brigade
did you say oh my god!!!!!! more like thank ***. I have warned the sleeper staff to wake him up at John O groats:))
 

Tony West

Western Thunderer
nah !,,,just gone to ground when he realised that the only 4 bolt track chairs available in 7mm are MR type .
Which means that he will have to A, compromise, which leads to B, some cleverclogs on here spotting the subterfuge !!
......or C !, the crafty blighter has sourced a supply of the correct pattern chairs.
 

Jordan or Plymouth Mad

Mid-Western Thunderer
For those who are following the story of local folk, I think that there is not likely to be any more news from Hartley Hill until the middle of next week. I have packed my portmanteau ready for along journey. I shall be travelling on the night sleeper from Euston on Monday... I have an important engagement just north of the border and at this time I am not able to divulge any more on the matter. Suffice to say, I am expecting good news.
Somehow, I always feel that when I read posts from "Contributors to the World of Basilica Fields", I don't understand a single word....... :confused: :oops:
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Somehow, I always feel that when I read posts from "Contributors to the World of Basilica Fields", I don't understand a single word....... :confused: :oops:

You are not alone... I get the same feeling, takes me ages to get re-aligned every time that there is a change in either the history or the geography of Basilica Fields.

regards, Graham
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
nah !,,,just gone to ground when he realised that the only 4 bolt track chairs available in 7mm are MR type . Which means that he will have to A, compromise, which leads to B, some cleverclogs on here spotting the subterfuge !! ......or C !, the crafty blighter has sourced a supply of the correct pattern chairs.

How about "D"? A cunning plan to convert an available chair type into a LNWR chair with two hex-head screws and two round cup-head screws...
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
just gone to ground when he realised that the only 4 bolt track chairs available in 7mm are MR type .

Whilst not part of the Hartley Hill story, we have a similar problem, in the world of Basilica Fields, with the permanent way of the Metropolitan Railway. Information from the HMRS indicates that the most appropriate Met. Rly. chair for the Extended Widened Lines is that which was introduced in 1883 - this chair has two square headed bolts which are arranged in opposite corners of the chair ( see here ). Yet another cunning plan for creating the required chair type from what is available from Exactoscale.... involving a sharp knife blade and some 30thou square plastic rod.

As yet there is no equivalent idea for the GER permanent way over the viaducts in the Rookery.

regards, Graham
 

Tony West

Western Thunderer
Whilst not part of the Hartley Hill story, we have a similar problem, in the world of Basilica Fields, with the permanent way of the Metropolitan Railway. Information from the HMRS indicates that the most appropriate Met. Rly. chair for the Extended Widened Lines is that which was introduced in 1883 - this chair has two square headed bolts which are arranged in opposite corners of the chair ( see here ). Yet another cunning plan for creating the required chair type from what is available from Exactoscale.... involving a sharp knife blade and some 30thou square plastic rod.

As yet there is no equivalent idea for the GER permanent way over the viaducts in the Rookery.

regards, Graham
Hmm, seems like a very tedious chore. My main issue is however with the overall physical characteristics of a Midland chair which are very distinctive...its just the thought of removing those moulded on ribs...on every chair....
Many moons ago in the first issues of MBT there was a layout, Lonsdale, by Neil Corner (??), a huge jaw dropping affair as I seem to recall. Part of this was a 'pure' LNW line, which was chaired with the correct type of chair that he had made specially....so who made the chairs then ??.
Cheers Tony.
 

Wagonman

Western Thunderer
Many years ago, when people first started worrying about the correct chairs for S7 track, someone produced a range of chairs including P&C types using resin in rubber moulds – in fact you bought the moulds and cast your own. Could it have been Adrian Tester? (dredging the bottom layers of the memory bank here). Someone could produce a suitable set of masters... it would save altering hundreds of chairs.


Richard
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Many years ago... ... someone produced a range of chairs including P&C types using resin in rubber moulds – in fact you bought the moulds and cast your own. Could it have been Adrian Tester?

You are correct as to the person behind the product range and as to the principle / method of production. The chairs were cast without keys... the keys being cast as separate items. There was no mention of a 7mm key hammer.

Adrian Tester's offerings were reviewed in Model Railway Journal.

regards, Graham
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Many years ago, when people first started worrying about the correct chairs for S7 track, someone produced a range of chairs including P&C types using resin in rubber moulds – in fact you bought the moulds and cast your own. Could it have been Adrian Tester?

The MRJ article which reviewed the use of the moulds and the resin-cast parts is Issue No.36 (which can be found as the first issue in 1990).
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
OOoo-eerrr.... according to the S7 Group Newsletter, which dropped through the letterbox yesterday, I can read all about Mr Lewsey's Hartley Hill layout on WT - I had better get back to work then.

Life has had some ups and downs in South West Staffordshire - and that has been reflected in the lay of the land known as the "baseboard". The boards have been made with 6mm ply and braced adequately (well I thought so), then painted with primer and gloss oil-based paint to prevent moisture absorbtion - no one told the ply about the work of the civil engineering gang and hence the ply has had a moving experience. Suffice to say here that stability is being restored and life goes on.

The editor of the Newsletter is expecting some further contributions about the construction of Hartley Hill and the word on the street is that I have to contribute to the next issue. I wonder what to write about... maybe WT readers may wish to offer printable suggestions?

At least I have to write only about the permanent way... John has to contribute articles on scenery, buildings and stock. Maybe even a topic here about LNWR signal boxes.

regards, Graham
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Life has had some ups and downs in South West Staffordshire - and that has been reflected in the lay of the land known as the "baseboard". The boards have been made with 6mm ply and braced adequately (well I thought so), then painted with primer and gloss oil-based paint to prevent moisture absorbtion - no one told the ply about the work of the civil engineering gang and hence the ply has had a moving experience. Suffice to say here that stability is being restored and life goes on.

The editor of the Newsletter is expecting some further contributions about the construction of Hartley Hill and the word on the street is that I have to contribute to the next issue. I wonder what to write about... maybe WT readers may wish to offer printable suggestions?

Civil engineering work on the formation has stopped for now... the existing baseboard has been subjected to some deep ballasting and the track base has been restored to a stable condition. Thankfully the remedial work has been done without disturbing the sleepers and timbers which had been laid so some track laying can now re-start where I stopped in April. The initial steps are with the up loop to up goods line as this enables new construction techniques to be proved on plain line before commencing the S&C work at the station throat (for "new" read.... dropper attachment to rails, connecting droppers to power bus, rail support at baseboard joint.... ).

For those of you who are S7 Group members, our esteemed Newsletter Editor is asking for some scribbling as a contribution to a future newsletter and has suggested that I write about building the track for Hartley Hill. I thought that most members of the S7 Group were au-fait with track building as an Olympic sport a general activity and so I am not to keen on the "kitchen recipe" approach to the request. My initial thoughts revolve around two possibilities:-

[1] the path to truth (well, actually, the saga of torment - aka River of Tears - in trying to establish what the LNWR did for trackwork circa 1900);

[2] the jigs and gauges which are necessary / desirable for producing reasonable trackwork.

What do you guys think might be acceptable for a Newsletter article?

regards, Graham
 

Wagonman

Western Thunderer
For those of you who are S7 Group members, our esteemed Newsletter Editor is asking for some scribbling as a contribution to a future newsletter and has suggested that I write about building the track for Hartley Hill. I thought that most members of the S7 Group were au-fait with track building as an Olympic sport a general activity and so I am not to keen on the "kitchen recipe" approach to the request. My initial thoughts revolve around two possibilities:-

[1] the path to truth (well, actually, the saga of torment - aka River of Tears - in trying to establish what the LNWR did for trackwork circa 1900);

[2] the jigs and gauges which are necessary / desirable for producing reasonable trackwork.

What do you guys think might be acceptable for a Newsletter article?

regards, Graham


I'd say numbers 1 & 2 should do the trick nicely... but then I would!


Richard
 
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