The Heybridge Railway, 1889 to 1913

[PhilH]

I've been looking for suitable ballast for my narrow gauge layout, something a bit more varied in colour and size than the usual ballast aggregate, and obtained this from a local river:

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Its been passed through a sieve, so the maximum size of the sample is probably just under 1mm, and there are fines in it although it doesn't show in the sample. If you have the opportunity its probably worth scouting round the area your model is based in for any natural material, old gravel pits, river banks, etc. The inside of a curve in a river is the most likely place to find deposits of such material.

Mainline ballast is 2" nominal size, or at least that's what Penmaenmawr Quarry was supplying to BR in the 1960s when I worked there. Whether the specification has changed since or not I don't know.

 

[Richard Gawler]

Phil thanks ever so much. We often go to the area for walks, I can take a empty margarine tub.

In fact thank you to everyone for the last few posts. I've worked out what ballast I should be modelling, and I have ideas on how to go about doing it.

 

[daifly]

Folks

Extracting your own sands and gravel may seem like a very 'green' solution but please be aware that it contravenes several environmental laws and may also be considered theft in some circumstances. Just saying.

Dave

 

[PhilH]

Richard,
Another piece of advice I forgot to mention, when I go 'nicking material from the countryside I usually wear a balaclava, stick false numberplates on the car and make sure I'm not followed when I leave

 

[Richard Gawler]

I doubt I will ever discover what came out of the aggregate workings near Heybridge, but I did take a couple of photos in the Gipping Valley (Suffolk) last week.

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View attachment 214384
These deposits are beside some excavations now full of water, near Pipps Ford Lock.

I wonder, is this the sort of stuff we are talking about for ballast?

This is a possible ballast mix, trying to mimick the appearance of deposits in the Gipping Valley without the weeds and all legally-harvested.


This is equal parts of sieved bird grit, Proses "genuine limestone 00/H0" and Woodland Scenics "ballast, fine buff", laid loose for the camera. I sieved the bird grit twice, to remove the largest bits and then remove the dust. The grit is catching the light from the flash and looks a little more dominant here than it does in natural daylight.

I am actually rather pleased with this so I can now try some other resources and see if the result is better or worse.

 

[Richard Gawler]

Yes, I don’t see why you’d waste something new on this sort of application - fence posts, platelayers’ huts and so on have chair imprints on them, the Ffestiniog and other railways used half sleepers, rarely new. The rail on light railways was often second hand too (as I’m sure it was for buffer stops).

Adam

My entire Heybridge Railway project represents a fiction, with this fiction founded on a joint venture between a canal company and a railway company. I expect that some members of WT viewed this as an absurdity and stopped looking at this Workbench a long time ago. For everyone still here, the fiction needs to be good enough to hold an interest long enough to enjoy the model. This needs to be the lifetime of the project for me, less for everyone else.


I want my layout to be a fairly upbeat and colourful affair. If we suppose Charlie, the tree and the the track here are in their final colours then the buffer stop seems fine to me. Apart from anything else, I like the contrast of creosoted and untreated wood.

I enjoy imagining little back-stories for my layout, and I can happily imagine that Brown's (the timber merchant at the Chelmsford end of the Navigation) had an overstock of untreated six-foot narrow gauge sleepers left over from a cancelled order from a colony.

I do not see this as a "waste" in the context of my Heybridge Railway, but I do see that the Heybridge Railway is a bit left-field. This is how I want my model railway to be.

 

[Dog Star]

This is how I want my model railway to be.

Just so.

Keep on truckin'.

regards, Graham

 

[Richard Gawler]

A year on WT!

Thank you to everyone for your kindness and support during my first year here. This is a fine place and I am thoroughly enjoying myself both here and in 7mm scale. A special thank you to the members of the Flying Squad who are obliged to read every new post and therefore had to plough through my back-story and other ramblings.

Trying to post something suitable for everyone, here is an illustration from a children’s reference book I bought to help my project.

View attachment 187367
From “Eyewitness Victorians”, abridged edition published in 2021 by DK / Penguin Random House.

There is no mention of a water tank, though a caption above the tender explains, "coal was stored in this truck". Which is true. I bought my copy remaindered in Chelmsford Market, the idea was to get a simple introduction to Victorian life

Two years on WT, and about two and a half years modelling in 7 mm scale, I can see a good chance of actually building a model of a small light railway with most of the trains and scenics built from kits, and me being pleased with the result.

The main hinderance at the moment is waiting for glue to dry on scenic models. Soldering is so much quicker. Also I am making up some models as I go along and sometimes I don't have the materials I need to keep the momentum going. The station platform at Heybridge Basin (yesterday) is a good example, I couldn't decide on finishes until I could see the model on the layout.

The hobby room is getting cluttered with unpainted models. There is still Nellie, a passenger saloon and a van to be painted, plus a yard crane and a water column in similar state. One excuse is because I haven't firmed up on the liveries, but the real reason is because I much prefer making things. Painting the track on Heybridge Basin was the largest painting job I have ever done where I was mixing the colours as I went along and not simply applying something straight from a tin.

The project is more focussed now than it has ever been. I have sold the less suitable wagons and kits, and everything in the stash now has an application on the railway. Also, Heybridge Basin is wired and usable as a test track.

Earlier today I went to an open day at the Saffron Walden club. This was a pleasant day out though at least two people identified me as a visitor in possession of a layout! I won't finish off Heybridge Basin in a hurry, but things could work out after I give it a fiddle yard.

My main observation has got to be, WT remains such a genteel place. If a post gets little or no response, or a response couched in really guarded language, it usually means I really ought to reconsider. I am still enjoying posting photos of progress and I am still very happy here. Thank you for all of the continued support and feedback

 

[Richard Gawler]

I have always imagined the Heybridge Railway failed to develop a sustainable traffic in livestock; the GER at Maldon did it better. Nevertheless, individual wagons would have brought prize cattle and sheep to the agricultural show held in 1908.

This model is the work of Doug Thomas.





I bought this model from the Epson and Ewell MRC at the Kempton Park show yesterday. Doug clearly loves pre-grouping railways, and I feel privileged to have this.

 

[Richard Gawler]

I have assembled a water column for Heybridge Basin from a Duncan Models kit. This column is described as GER pattern but the design is so plain it ought to pass as generic.

View attachment 213988
The plywood base is something solid to fix the column onto. I can build up the surrounding ground level with foam board or similar.

Buying a few really nice wagons built and painted by others has given me a boost to start painting my own backlog of models, and first up is the water column.

E H Bentall operated a foundry and I suspect this sort of thing was well within their capabilities. If not then the railway contractor could have used the nearby Maldon Ironworks.


I have chosen this shade of green for my models of Bentalls products, so using it here ties the company into the railway. The hose is heatshrink sleeving, thanks Ken @chigley.

The paint is Halfords grey primer, Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics (brushed), and Humbrol enamel satin varnish.

 

[Richard Gawler]

I have just bought a printed model by accident. The seller described this as "resin" so I imagined it was a kit of parts cast from resin.

View attachment 216616
I don't know the technical details so I'm not sure whether this is helpful to people making their own prints; but the model is vastly better than the prints I have bought in the past i.e. five+ years ago.

View attachment 216615
I cannot see any traces of glue so I guess this was printed all in one piece. I am amazed!

From 'Narrow Minded Railworks', through eBay.

I can get a suitably minimal waiting shelter for my light railway by looking to narrow gauge. This is a model of a structure at Sylfaen on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, created as a one-piece print by Narrow Minded Railworks. The original building was still there a few years ago, but in a sadly dilapidated condition and looking like potential salvage for scrap rather than restoration.


My livery is fictional, with my chosen shade of “Bentall Green” making an appearance again to hint at the imaginary origin. I am trying to represent corrugated iron (not corrugated galvanised iron) for the roof hence the darkish shade.


I have been told, “if you can see it you can get a brush on it” but this was impossible when the handle of the brush was larger than the access spaces. I cut out a new seat top from card, painted it and then glued it in.

The paint is again Halfords grey primer, Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics (brushed), and Humbrol enamel satin varnish.

 

[Richard Gawler]

I have doubts about a proper colour for these windows in 1894 - cream or brown might be more typical. Looking at films by Mitchell and Kenyon in the early 1900s I see pale-coloured windows but I suspect these were cream not white. I can let a few weeks pass to let the varnish cure and maybe find some white windows before I try for a repaint.

 

[Richard Gawler]

A Victorian window frame could be painted off-white or cream. Photographed here in daylight shade against a background of white Bristol board, and with the camera white balance examined but not fiddled with, I have decided I will be happy with this. Apart from anything else, a dark brown will make the scene too dismal and dreary.

My 'pale cream' here is roughly equal parts of Vallejo ivory and white. I will try to remember this.

 

[Richard Gawler]

I bought a bag of of mixed crates and parcels from Skytrex to help me practice painting. These are castings, some resin and some metal.


I seem to be using Vallejo 860 ‘medium fleshtone’ in my mixes for many wood finishes. Well, it doesn't look much like any flesh I have ever seen! These actually look quite convincing in real life. I showed them to a mate and he thought they were made of wood and I had only painted in the details.

Halfords grey primer, Vallejo acrylics (brushed), and Humbrol enamel satin varnish.

 

[Richard Gawler]

I am very flattered by all of the 'likes' in the last post. I actually painted these before I did the waiting shelter and I hesitated whether to post them in case they seemed a bit trivial.

I have written very little about my painting because I am not very good at it and I would hate anyone to try to follow my advice. My application techniques are becoming tolerable, but I still get colours wrong. I think the most important thing is to do this sort of painting in good daylight. Just about every artificial light throws an unwanted cast on things. The second thing for me is to believe my own eyes and not the labels on the paint. What the manufacturers call medium flesh and red leather may well work out better as hardwood and surface rust. And thirdly, mixing two colours together is good, but three or more tends to go wrong and is difficult to replicate.

If the colours look right in daylight, be it sunny or cloudy, then errors from the camera flash are easy to edit out, and the only further major task is to arrange the lighting rig to make the layout look good. This is a complete reversal of my earlier thinking, which was to build the rig before painting the models. Sorry if I have mislead anyone. My lighting rig remains to follow.

 

[Pencarrow]

View attachment 218497
A Victorian window frame could be painted off-white or cream. Photographed here in daylight shade against a background of white Bristol board, and with the camera white balance examined but not fiddled with, I have decided I will be happy with this. Apart from anything else, a dark brown will make the scene too dismal and dreary.

My 'pale cream' here is roughly equal parts of Vallejo ivory and white. I will try to remember this.

Amazing how much 3d printing has come on. That's incredible considering we still see other products on eBay etc with very obvious print lines in them. I've been hugely impressed of what folk on here have also been getting out of their printers.

Interesting that you mention white /off white / cream colours. I tend to go a bit rogue when I'm painting and generally don't use black or white neat when painting scenic items. IMO they tend to look to harsh. I tend to use an off white, sometimes also followed by a light grey wash rather than a pure white. Similarly I add some grey or brown to black.

I also don't bother using the 'official' railway colours on buildings and wagons. Again to my eyes many look a bit too forward... I prefer a more muted overall look that helps blend items together and into the background, creating a bit of distance.

Obviously, that's just my approach.

 

[simond]

I wholly agree with Richard about mixing colours, it is clearly possible for some but I struggle, so I try to buy the colour I want premixed. I can faff about with weathering washes & powders afterwards, but only if the base colour is convincing.

I can’t sing in tune either…

 

[timbowales]

I wholly agree with Richard about mixing colours, it is clearly possible for some but I struggle, so I try to buy the colour I want premixed. I can faff about with weathering washes & powders afterwards, but only if the base colour is convincing.

I can’t sing in tune either…

Phew, that means that I'm not alone..........
(Not singing in tune is almost a capital offence in Wales)

 

[Richard Gawler]

Interesting that you mention white /off white / cream colours. I tend to go a bit rogue when I'm painting and generally don't use black or white neat when painting scenic items. IMO they tend to look to harsh. I tend to use an off white, sometimes also followed by a light grey wash rather than a pure white. Similarly I add some grey or brown to black.

I also don't bother using the 'official' railway colours on buildings and wagons. Again to my eyes many look a bit too forward... I prefer a more muted overall look that helps blend items together and into the background, creating a bit of distance.

Yes I discovered by accident, adding brown to black can work better than adding white or grey. I guess this is because brown is warmer.

I am trying for muted colours on my layout but this has barely started - see the platform edge. This approach should let the layout work with trains ex-works and well-worn. The reverse is unlikely to please me. I am fortunate for scenic models like the waiting shelter because the original colour is undefined. The neat Cockpit Green can represent the true colour or a muted version of something more intense; I can't really lose. Life gets harder when I come to the grass and especially the track. After all, I am supposed to be making a model of a railway.

Conversely wagons are easy, at least in Victorian times. No-one knows the reds and greys used, and if I aim for a fresh shade of grey on each new wagon I am likely to be happy. I am still using Halfords 228 Volvo Dark Grey to represent black - see my tar wagon and chaldron wagon. I've just started a fresh can of this for my yard crane. Recommended

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Black and white firmly remain off my scenic painting and weathering palettes. I tend to stick to various shades of the primary colours and greens.


Apologies in advance for the next bit if you are already aware of it .

The ony thing to watch out for when using pre WWII B&W photographs as clues for colour guides is before this time most, if not all, photographs were taken on orthochromatic film/glass plates.

Orthochromatic film/glass plate emulsion is very sensitive to blue light wavelengths, less so to green and almost insensitive to red light wavelengths rendering the latter almost black. In order to correct this filters were used and as the film/plate was processed under a red light this increased the blue wavelength sensitivity practically washing out the blue wavelength.

This is one of the reasons why official photographs of locos, rolling stock, etc appear in 'works grey' - not only to show the detail in the lining but also to take into account the orthochromatic film/glass plate emulsion's sensitivity to colour wavelengths. And also why although GER locomotives were ultramarine blue a number of photographs of the period would indicate this to be a lighter colour, unless a filter was used, as the blue has been washed out during processing.

Panchromatic film/glass plate emulsion - which is sensitive to all visible colour wavelengths - became commercially available around 1906 but was very limited and expensive. It's use over Orthochromatic emulsion film/glass plates was gradual. Panchromatic film/glass plates became more widely available from around WWII and virturally replaced Orthochromatic B&W film. However, orthochromatic film is still remains available.