Wednesday 11 December 2013

December 2013 Meeting

The Pennine Area Group meeting for December will be this Saturday (14th) at Keighley MRC from 2pm.

Topics for discussion and things we're working on include the test track, buildings for Lightcliffe and also our plans for the next year.

Refreshments are available, probably with the odd mince pie thrown in too...

On my workbench...

I've been at work on a few projects of my own - firstly is a recently converted Class 14 (Swindon Type 1) loco, here at work on my test track shuffling a few coal wagons -


The wheels were turned down to 2FS standards by the association wheel turning service, with replacement etched nickel-silver coupling rods and a reasonable amount of cussing from getting the wheel quartering correct!

The loco is working on my test track - 'Vienna Road Sidings', though this name is likely to change...

New buffer beams are to be added, also from the same etch. The current arrangement using the buffer beams supplied by Farish (as on the picture) is a temporary one. When that's done the buffer beams, wheels and con rods will all be repainted and toned down.

Also in the works are various wagons and a J94 tank engine which will become 68012, one of those used on the Cromford and High Peak. This picture of them was taken at the AGM...



This is a photo of D2383, a Class 03 which is a long-running saga precipitated by my misting up the original glazing after forgetting to mask it whilst spraying it with matt varnish. Since this picture was taken it has been re-glazed and 're-touched' a tad.


Again, this is another loco that worked on the Cromford and High Peak. I've not come up with a decent excuse for the class 14 yet apart from that I like them!

Lightcliffe - Works in Progress

It's been a little while since the last posting so before the next post about the December Meeting, here's a few shots of some 'Works in Progress' both on Lightcliffe and also a couple of my own projects.

Firstly, this is a view from July of the station area on Lightcliffe showing work on the platforms, together with Chris Arthur's 3F Jinty and a couple of Stanier Coaches trying out the facilities...


Another view from the side shows the outline of where the station buildings will be -


Work has progressed since then and this will be shown on an update in the near future.

Tuesday 10 September 2013

September Meeting

The September 2013 meeting will be on Saturday September 14th 2013 at Keighley MRC from 2pm.

We'll be continuing work on the following -
  • Laying of newcurved track at the Bradford end with straight track to interface with fiddle yards. 
  • Installation of single slip for Brookes sidings and operating mechanism for single slip.
This weekend we will also be moving the layout into storage elsewhere in the clubroom in preparation for the 7mm Open Day at KMRC which takes place on October 13th.
 
Work will also soon be starting on the scenic aspects of the layout, particularly the form of the landscape and the situation of the principal buildings.

As well as that, group members and visitors can try out their locos and stock on our 2mm finescale test circuit, and as it is the club open day all of KMRC's other layouts will also be in operation.

Tea, Coffee and biscuits will be available too!

Thursday 8 August 2013

August meeting

The August 2013 meeting, will be on Saturday August 10th 2013 at Keighley MRC from 10am.

We'll be continuing work on the following -
  • Laying of newcurved track at the Bradford end with straight track to interface with fiddle yards. 
  • Installation of single slip for Brookes sidings and operating mechanism for single slip.
Work will also soon be starting on the scenic aspects of the layout, particularly the form of the landscape and the situation of the principal buildings.

As well as that, group members and visitors can try out their locos and stock on our 2mm finescale test circuit, and as it is the club open day all of KMRC's other layouts will also be in operation.

Tea, Coffee and biscuits will be available too!

Thursday 27 June 2013

Keighley MRC Open Day

Instead of our usual meeting, on the weekend of July 6th & 7th it will be Keighley MRC's open weekend from 10am to 4pm. 

We'll be continuing work on the following -
  • Replacement of curved track at the Bradford end with straight track to interface with fiddle yards - the old track has now been lifted and we're ready to start laying the replacement track in a new alignment to allow for the fiddle yard boards to be fitted.
  • Installation of single slip for Brookes sidings and operating mechanism for single slip - work is continuing on the mechanism for this.
Work will also soon be starting on the scenic aspects of the layout, particularly the form of the landscape and the situation of the principal buildings.

As well as that, group members and visitors can try out their locos and stock on our 2mm finescale test circuit, and as it is the club open weekend all of KMRC's other layouts will also be in operation and there will be trade support as well.

Tea, Coffee and biscuits will be available too!

Monday 3 June 2013

June Meeting

The June 2013 meeting, will be on Saturday June 8th 2013 at Keighley MRC from 10am.

We'll be continuing work on the following -
  • Replacement of curved track at the Bradford end with straight track to interface with fiddle yards.
  • Installation of single slip for Brookes sidings and operating mechanism for single slip.
Work will also soon be starting on the scenic aspects of the layout, particularly the form of the landscape and the situation of the principal buildings.

As well as that, group members and visitors can try out their locos and stock on our 2mm finescale test circuit, and as it is the club open day all of KMRC's other layouts will also be in operation.

Tea, Coffee and biscuits will be available too!

Lightcliffe - The story so far...

The model of Lightcliffe that the Pennine Area Group is currently working to build was originally started by Chris Arthur to model the station as it would have been in the 1930s when it was then under the auspices of the LMS railway.

Lightcliffe station, which closed on June 14th 1965, was on the line between Halifax and Bradford and the area modelled goes from the sidings for Brookes Ltd. at the Halifax end of the layout up to Lightcliffe Station and Goods yard at the Bradford end.
 
The track plan used is taken directly from Ordnance Survey maps of the area, with the pointwork built by Chris exactly as per the prototype -

The three scenic boards built thus far are 10'6" long and cover the area shown above, and any additional boards for the fiddle yard will be 'off stage' and not scenic.

Originally, the layout was to be set up in Chris's loft with the station and the backscene against the wall and the operators being inside the layout. With the group adopting the layout this is being changed so that the storage sidings will be immedaitely behind the station, reached from the main boards by curves at either end of the layout so that the baseboards will be in a 'dogbone' format.
 
So far, apart from the single slip on the crossing into Brookes sidings, all pointwork is operational albeit manually operated from the Wakefield Road side - this is to be upgraded to electric operation using servo motors on a single control panel. Also, the layout is wired to allow the goods yard to be operated, as well as a train run up and down the Bradford line.

Friday 10 May 2013

May Meeting and KMRC Open Day

A quick wee note on the May 2013 meeting, on SUNDAY May 12th 2013 at Keighley MRC from 10am, coniciding with the KMRC's open day.

The topics for this meeting are -
  • Replacement of curved track at the Bradford end with straight track to interface with fiddle yards.
  • Installation of single slip for Brookes sidings and operating mechanism for single slip.
After a few months of working 'under the boards' on the wiring, we can now run a train along the length of the layout on the Bradford line.

As well as that, group members and visitors can try out their locos and stock on our 2mm finescale test circuit, and as it is the club open day all of KMRC's other layouts will also be in operation.

Tea, Coffee and biscuits are available too!

Thursday 11 April 2013

April Meeting

A quick wee note on the April 2013 meeting, on Saturday April 13th 2013 at Keighley MRC from 2pm.

The topics for this meeting are -
  • Planning of fiddle yards including fiddle yard cassettes
    
  • Replacement of curved track at the Bradford end with straight track to 
    interface with fiddle yards. 
After a few months of working 'under the boards' on the wiring, we can now run a train along the length of the layout on the Bradford line.

Over the next month or two, we'll get running all along the Halifax line, and also complete the track around Brookes sidings with the installation of the single slip.
  
As well as that, group members and visitors can try out their locos and stock on our 2mm finescale test circuit. Tea, Coffee and biscuits are available too!

Wednesday 6 March 2013

March Meeting

The March 2013 meeting will be on Saturday March 9th 2013 at Keighley MRC from 2pm.

The topics for this meeting are -
  • Completion of bus bar wiring on the main boards
  • Planning of fiddle yards
  • Preparation for KMRC 2013 Open Weekend on March 16th/17th.
As well as that, group members and visitors can try out their locos and stock on our 2mm finescale test circuit. Tea, Coffee and biscuits are available too!

At the February meeting, we were testing out the 2mm circuit on the Keighley Test Track prior to this month's open weekend with a couple of recent conversions and works in progress...

Firstly is Sam Kennion's 'conversion' of a Dapol Terrier - an original use of some wagon wheelsets that actually worked...





Secondly is D2383, my old faithful grubby Class 03 Diesel Shunter, giving a bit of re-fettled trackwork a bit of a test...

    


Tuesday 5 February 2013

February Meeting

The February 2013 meeting will be on Saturday February 9th 2013 at Keighley MRC from 2pm.

The topics for this meeting are -
  • Replacing the securing screws on the bus bars
  • Completion of bus bar wiring on the main boards
  • Planning of fiddle yards
  • Maintenance of Test track prior to KMRC 2013 Exhibition
As well as that, group members and visitors can try out their locos and stock on our 2mm finescale test circuit. Tea, Coffee and biscuits are available too!

The March meeting will be mainly to prepare for the exibition which is being held the weekend after (16th/17th March) where the group will be putting on a modelling demonstration.  

Thursday 17 January 2013

Group Meetings and other events for 2013.


These are the group meetings planned at present for the rest of 2013, all taking place on the 2nd weekend of the month -

February 9th
March 9th
April 13th
May 11th
June 8th
July 13th
August 10th
September 14th
October 12th
November 9th
December 14th 
  
All meetings are held at Keighley MRC from 2pm.

Additionally, the KMRC Open Weekend will be on March 16th and 17th, where the group will be demonstrating.

Friday 4 January 2013

January 2013 Meeting

The January 2013 meeting will be on Saturday January 12th 2013 at Keighley MRC from 2pm.

The meeting will be to review progress on the wiring of the main boards of Lightcliffe, and to set objectives for 2013, with a view to completing the wiring and progressing the fiddle yard boards to allow the layout to be fully operational before starting major work on the scenery.

About the Group

The Pennine Area Group of the 2mm Association has been meeting for over 30 years in many places throughout East Lancashire and West Yorkshire, and we now usually meet on the second Saturday of every month from 2pm in the the clubrooms of Keighley MRC. We will often be at the club at additional times in the month, both to work on various projects and also help out with exhibitons and open days.

Over the past few years, the group has constructed a 2mm Finescale circuit on Keighley MRC's test track, which is a about a scale mile in length and allows a full testing facility which we use for the locos and rolling stock of group members and visitors.

The group's current major project is a group layout project which will be a model of Lightcliffe Station as it was in the 1930s under LMS ownership. This was started by group member Chris Arthur but has been taken on by the group and is currently at the wiring stage with construction of fiddle yard boards soon to commence. The initial phase will be to allow both circuits to be operated and then scenic work will commence in earnest.

Currently most meetings are based around this project, as well as member's own ongoing modelling projects and maintenance work on the test track. From time to time we will also have meetings on other themes, including rolling stock and loco construction and trackwork.

The aim of the group is provide practical sessions with expert help available in a friendly atmosphere; or, if you don't want to work, just come and talk!

For further details about the group, please contact John Ireland.